Author Archives: Sara Bennett

The Importance of Allowing Your Children to be Ordinary

I really like this piece, Pushing for Perfection–A Poor Choice in Parenting, sent to me by northTOmom, who often writes interesting comments here. Pushing for Perfection–A Poor Choice in Parenting The importance of allowing your children to be ordinary by Joanne Kates (from postcity.com) I was talking the other day to a woman who describedContinue reading “The Importance of Allowing Your Children to be Ordinary”

Send a postcard to Michelle Obama – End High Stakes Testing

Time Out From Testing and other organizations and individuals from across the country are launching a May 29th postcard campaign asking First Lady Michelle Obama to encourage the President to put an end to the use of High Stakes Testing. On the campaign trail, Michelle Obama stated: No Child Left Behind is strangling the lifeContinue reading “Send a postcard to Michelle Obama – End High Stakes Testing”

Such, Such Were the Joys (cont’d)

Today, FedUp Mom answers the final question she posed five weeks ago in her guest post where she suggested that people read Such, Such Were the Joys by George Orwell. Read her answers to the other questions she posed here, here, here, and here. And, of course, don’t forget to chime in with your ownContinue reading “Such, Such Were the Joys (cont’d)”

High Schoolers and Cheating

A small study of 100 high school juniors from a mid-Western high school, published in the Mid-Western Educational Researcher, shows, yet again, that cheating is rampant. According to Kenneth Kiewra, professor of educational psychology at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and one of the study’s authors, “Students generally understand what constitutes cheating, but they doContinue reading “High Schoolers and Cheating”

Nearly Half of England’s Schools Boycott National Standardized Tests

In England last week, nearly half of its schools refused to administer the national standardized tests. The National Union of Teachers, as well as the National Association of Head Teachers, voted in favor of a boycott. The reason: the importance placed on the tests is forcing teachers to teach to them instead of focussing onContinue reading “Nearly Half of England’s Schools Boycott National Standardized Tests”

Such, Such Were the Joys (cont’d)

Today, FedUp Mom answers a question she posed four weeks ago in her guest post where she suggested that people read Such, Such Were the Joys by George Orwell. Read her answers to the other questions she posed here, here and here. And, of course, don’t forget to chime in with your own answer. Such,Continue reading “Such, Such Were the Joys (cont’d)”

Draft Homework Policy from Davis, California

In Davis, California, a committee that had been working on a draft policy submitted its report to the Board of Education for review last week. Take a look at the report. It has many family friendly recommendations and, where the people in the committee disagreed with each other, they wrote their own dissents. Here areContinue reading “Draft Homework Policy from Davis, California”

Two New York Schools Drop Standardized Testing for Pre-Schooler Admissions

Pre-school applicants to New York City private schools have long had to take a standardized test used for screening purposes. Now, two schools have dropped the requirement, in part because many parents are prepping their young children and in part because the test isn’t a useful admissions’ criteria. Steve Nelson, the head of the CalhounContinue reading “Two New York Schools Drop Standardized Testing for Pre-Schooler Admissions”