Life's a Carnival–-the Education Buzz Edition #5

Welcome to the Fifth Edition of the Education Buzz--an eclectic smattering of things buzzing about the EduSphere. 

Get your mindset right. Are you ready for some Friday Night Lights?

Make sure you have your ID card with you. If you're not classified as a highly qualified teacher, you're not going to get in. Nancy Flanagan from Teacher in a Strange Land asks if a test can determine who really is a qualified teacher.

Would someone pah-leese tell Mr. Teacher that while his orange tickets might improve his test scores, they are not going to get him into the game.

Where does everyone want to sit? Let's ask Darren from Right on the Left Coast. Although his Back to School night went well, there's always that one parent and I think he's sitting over there.

Pat over at Successful Teaching wants to sit over by the band so she become one with the tubas. It's that salamander-transformation-thing she's got going on. Jeez Louise, what some teachers will do to eke out better writing from their students.

Would you please scoot over and let Old Andrew in.  He wants to know if you're one of those people who question special education needs and then are accused of thinking that A Christmas Carol "should have ended with Scrooge going over to Bob Cratchit’s house and giving Tiny Tim a good kicking…"

And if all of that doesn't get you yakking, scoot over some more and make way for the Dancing Crocodile and find out why rote learning doesn't stink. 

Are y'all watching the field? What in the world is the drill team doing down there? Put your left brain in, take your right brain out, put your left brain in and then shake it all about, let's do the hokey pokey and… Sharper Brains gives us the latest in learning styles or rather the lack there of. 

At halftime, you might want to head up to the press box and see TeachTechTopia about some apps for iPads.

Well the Education Optimists have finally decided to join our fun-filled extravaganza. I'm including both of their posts because (Shameless Self-Promotion Warning: like me they were named one of the best education blogs of 2010 by the Washington Post). One deals with a new initiative called VIVA which will make you happy, and other other deals with value added scores of individual teachers that made me all rather very sad and wondered what part of all that was optimistic.


I hate to leave everyone on a sad note, so make sure you check out my post on "Picture Day, Math Humor & Bad Hares." It's guaranteed to make you smile.

If your post was included, please link back to the carnival. Otherwise, I'll get snarky and may not include you next time. If you are interested in submitting a post, please check our guidelines first and then use this handy dandy form to submit. The carnival will appear back here in two weeks on Wednesday, Oct. 13. Submissions are due by 5 p.m. CST on Saturday, October 9.

Please let me know about any broken links or problems.  As always…

“I’ve got this feeling that there’s something that I missed…” 
–Snow Patrol

And, if I did, my apologies.