Carnival of Education

Welcome to the 62nd edition of the Carnival of Education. For most of you, this blog may be new, but some of you may be familiar with my other two blogs, the science blog Circadiana and the general-purpose blog Science And Politics. The Magic School Bus is the latest addition to my blogging empire - the third leg of the Triple Crown!

I was wondering what theme to use this time and how to classify the entries. Then, as the posts kept coming in I realized how many of them were practically unclassifable. So I was going to invent some kind of Borges' Chinese Classification of Animals to break down the entries.

Then, yesterday morning, cleaning the house for Passover and pulling out the Haggadahs for tonight, I knew this would just had to be a Passover Edition, and the Ten Plagues are ideal page-breakers placing together vaguely related posts into small groups (click the thumbnails to enlarge images, even the one that at first sight looks just black). How is this carnival different from all the other carnivals?

So, here we go, drop of wine by drop of wine....

* Passover Plague #1: Blood - G-d transformed the water in the Nile River into a river of blood for 7 days, causing the death of fish and leaving the Egyptians with undrinkable water. (Exodus 7:14-25)

Chris Clarke is a science and nature writer who blogs on Creek Running North. His wife is a school teacher and Chris had some thoughts about teaching just Last night.

Sandra Porter keeps Discovering biology in a digital world every day. Euthanasia? Dead issue. Ethical issues in biotechnology: contrasting companies and classrooms.

Janet D. Stemwedel aka Dr. Free-Ride of Adventures in Ethics and Science has been on a roll recently, and produced a four-parter post:
Study suggests U.S. science teaching falls short on content
How to fix science education in the U.S
Not-entirely-random bullets on science teaching as I rush to class
How important is effective teaching to science professors anyway?

* Passover Plague #2: Frogs - G-d created a swarm of frogs that came up out of the Nile river and covered the land of Egypt, infesting Egyptian houses. (Exodus 8:1-25)

Ruchira Paul is an Accidental Blogger and she explores the schoolchildren stereotyping of the image of a "scientist" in What Is Wrong With This Picture?

Editor's Choice #1: Ms. Frizzle (of course the Carnival on The Magic School Bus has to have Ms. Frizzle on board!) has some cool recent anecdotes from the classroom: Kids.

Cameron of My Corner of the Universe asks the perennial question: Physics First?. How about separate courses in physics and chemistry and earth science and biology every year from 5th through 12th grade (the way I had it as a kid)?

* Passover Plague #3: Lice - G-d created a plague of lice from handfuls of dust which swarmed in the air and irritated the skin of the Egyptians and their animals. (Exodus 8:16-19)

Dean Dad confesses something every day and compiles his confessions on a blog. This post really hit a nerve with me, as I am a gen-X-er myself: Generation X Faculty (and Deans): A Response to which Palazzo of The Daily Transcript had his own response: Yet another note on academic life.

Editor's Choice #2: My neighbor David Warlick of 2 Cents Worth explores a new concept in a two-part post: Flat Classrooms and Flat Classrooms - Curious Students.

Brett from The DeHavilland Blog has assembled an impressive list - and added thoughful comments - on How can business make an impact.

* Passover Plague #4: Dog Flies - G-d created the plague of dog flies that bit the Egyptians and attached themselves to their eyelids, but the Hebrews were unaffected by them. (Exodus 8:20-32)

Scott Elliott of Get On the Bus (Which bus? The Magic School Bus?) muses on a recent report: It actually IS harder to get into college today!

Portable classrooms may cause health problems. NYC Educator has the scoop: Trailer Trash.

Marcia Adair wrote a heart-breaking story about growing up too young: Just Another Maniac Monday

* Passover Plague #5: Murrain - murrain means a cattle plague. This is a virus that affects cattle and eventually kills them. Most Egyptian cattle were affected by this plague but the Hebrew cattle were not. (Exodus 9:1-7)

Mr. Lawrence of Get Lost, Mr. Chips is taunted by a particularly "good hearted" student: Haze Me.

Blaming the Student? Don't do it, says D-Ed Reckoning.

Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly has great anecdotes about some colorful characters in her middle school: Both are moist, brown, and strong-smelling. . . . . and The Lazy Boy.

The Art of Getting By may shock you with A Shock To The System - on dealing with children with special needs.

* Passover Plague #6: Boils - G-d sent the plague of boils so that the Egyptians would have great difficulty standing or walking, plus it was very painful to endure. (Exodus 9:8-12)

A Teacher's Perspective thinks positive. And asks us all to think positive. At least for a week. Check the Reality check....

Polski3 is positive. Do you know what a "dam cup" is? Read High BP or a pencil to learn.

Why are male teachers under suspicion when they want to work with younger kids? EdWonk reports in Irrational Suspicion

What would a Carnival of Education be without a post on Testing…testing… . Try also the podcast from The reflective teacher.

* Passover Plague #7: Hail - G-d kept on upping the ante by creating the worst hailstorm ever seen in Egypt until that time. People and animals perished as a result, and the agricultural economy of Egypt was severely damaged. (Exodus 9:13-35)

Harvey and Laurie of Trivium Pursuit provide some good answers to the question: Why Homeschool?

Headmistress, zookeeper of the homeschooling Common Room finds some Hidden Costs of Public Schools.

SpunkyHomeSchool wrote some More on the cost of homeschooling

* Passover Plague #8: Locusts - G-d created a swarm of locusts that covered Egypt, infested Egyptian homes, and ate all the plants left over from the hailstorm. There were clouds of locusts that were so dense, they darkened the sky. (Exodus 10:13-14, 19)

Bill and Melinda Gates concluded that their grants are not working. Scholar's Notebook reports in The failed promise of small learning communities.

National School Boards Association Dislikes Mayoral Control and the Mayor strikes back. Dave of Friends of Dave has the report.

DL of TMH’s Bacon Bits thinks that obedience is a positive trait that needs to be instilled in our children. Or is it just good old discipline: Obedience: In Danger of Extinction?

* Passover Plague #9: Darkness - G-d created darkness over the land of Egypt; it was so dark, one could feel it. The Egyptians could not see anyone in this thick darkness nor leave their houses for 3 days. However, the houses of the Hebrews were filled with light. (Exodus 10:21-29)

Here's a whole series on education politics in Illinois (and other places). Lennie of EducationMatters.US! has some words about the Illinois Big Ed tactics: No Tax Pledge: Bad Public Policy. And from Extreme Wisdom, in a similar vein, The Mob That Whacked Jersey (Or is it Illinois?), from CrossBlogging.com - Univeral Preschool Still In Budget, and from Citizens for Reasonable And Fair Taxes comes The Cost of Remedial Education..

From The Rain of I Thought a Think, looks at the new collective bargaining report from Rick Hess and Martin West: Nitpicking Hess and West: The Hourly Pay Issue

Andrew of EduWonk has his own take on the same report in Casey Turns The Guns On His Own Lines Just Like At [Insert Very Obscure Battle Here]

* Passover Plague #10: Death of the Firstborn Son - The final plague that befell the Egyptians was the slaying of the firstborn son of every Egyptian family, including the firstborn son in the Pharaoh's family. This plague caused the greatest emotional outcry from the Egyptian people, and finally convinced the Pharaoh to let the Hebrews leave Egypt. (Exodus 12:29-36)

Rightwingprof of the Right Wing Nation wrote about The NCC On NCLB. If you know me, you know I disagree, but it is a thought-provoking piece so go and read it for yourself and make your own opinion.

John and Michele of AFT NCLB Blog discuss the first NCLB report. First, John: Where's the Research?. Michele responds: Michele's Response to "Where's the Research?".

Let's finish with Scott Elliott again...or he'll bust your kneecaps.

Also, do not miss the latest edition of Carnival of Homeschooling on Tami's Blog and check out the next edition of the Teaching Carnival, coming up on April 15th on A Delicate Boy...

Next week, the Carnival is going back home to The Education Wonks. The deadline for entries is April 18th, 9:00 PM (Pacific). The address is: owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net