Dallas Morning News – Terrence Stutz

“AUSTIN – In a slight improvement over last year, nearly one of seven high school seniors from the Class of 2008 couldn’t pass all sections of the state’s high school graduation test and will not receive a diploma, according to a report from the Texas Education Agency on Friday.” (more)

Economist - Staff Writer

“Girls are becoming as good as boys at mathematics, and are still better at reading. TRADITION has it that boys are good at counting and girls are good at reading. So much so that Mattel once produced a talking Barbie doll whose stock of phrases included “Math class is tough!” (more)

NPR – Larry Abramson

“Morning Edition – Dalian, China, a coastal city not far from the North Korean border, has created an unlikely alliance with a small university college thousands of miles away in upstate New York.” (more)

NPR – Larry Abramson

“Morning Edition – As more and more Chinese go to college, U.S. universities are trying to grab a piece of this growing market. Even smaller schools feel they must have some sort of exchange program with Chinese schools. Exchange students were once motivated by a desire to spread international understanding, but now many feel that global education is important to their success in the job market.” (more)

NPR - Staff Writer

“Morning Edition · This year has been called the toughest ever for high school graduates seeking admission into selective colleges. The result is a lot of super-achieving students are ending up at their “safety” schools.” (more)

NPR – Melissa Block

“All Things Considered – The young people coming out of universities in China are entering an economy that’s booming. But they also are facing much more competition.” (more)

News Herald – Juliann Talkington 

“Computers are incredible tools for information searches, complex scientific and mathematics computations and compilations, editing and other tasks.  However, computer use for basic subjects in early education has significant risks.

We see the results of inappropriate computer use every day.  Some of the more obvious examples are high school graduates who struggle to solve basic math problems, college freshmen with limited educational options because of weak math skills and young adults who cannot write legibly.  

There are other problems that are less obvious.  Children that do not spend adequate time honing handwriting abilities, miss an important opportunity to develop fine motor skills.  And according to a recent publication by Claudia Carello and colleagues in the Journal of Psychological Science, reading and motor skills are linked.  ”To the extent that speech production and skilled movement share the requirement of coordinating a variety of muscles over time and space, less fluid manual coordination may be a signature of less fluid productions (movements) which, consequently, are less supportive of fluent decoding (reading),” Carello and her co-authors write.  

So early computer use for writing activities can actually delay reading.  As a result, even though handwriting may seem technologically backward, it is very important for a child’s development.

Allowing young children to use computers and calculators to solve math problems early is a significant problem as well.  Kids need to understand how to perform mathematics operations.  If your child just plugs 1 + 3 into the calculator, how will he/she know what it means?  And more importantly when the child needs to apply math to solve basic “real life” problems, how will they know how to do it?  

Sadly there is a tremendous emphasis on computers in early education classrooms.  Preschools market themselves based on the number of students per computer and elementary schools are constantly raising funds to buy more of these machines.  

Even with data on the negatives of early computer use, many parents still opt for computer exposure early, because they believe computer skills are difficult to learn.  Unlike old programs, modern software has become so simple it is very easy for most children to pick-up the basic skills in a few hours.  

So even though it is disconcerting, put away your fears and demand that your child learn the basics before they start math and writing on the computer.  You and your child will be happy you did.  

Juliann Talkington is the Administrator of the Panama City Renaissance School (www.pcrschool.org).  Reach her at jtalkington@pcrschool.org or 850-215-8712.  

WMBB News Channel 7 – Joe Moore

“The Second Annual Contemporary and Latin American Art Show wrapped up Monday at the Visual Art Center. The show is sponsored by the Panama City Renaissance School. It features original works from well-known Latin American artists, as well as students and local artists. Each of the renaissance students created at least one work of art.” (more)

PCBDaily – Juliann Talkington 

“With the dismal state of primary and secondary education around the country, Bay County has a tremendous opportunity, if we are willing to lead.

According to Michael Hodges in Dangerous Erosion of Education Quality and Productivity, the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) * shows advanced US high school seniors continue to score poorly in international science and math comparisons – near the bottom of all the countries tested.  In addition, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) * shows the general US student population scores well below the international average in math and science.  And worst of all, this trend has continued for many years.

To lead, we must admit that most primary and secondary schools in Bay County have the same quality and performance challenges that schools have everywhere else in the US.  Admitting we have a problem may be difficult to stomach, but it is probably easier than believing we can be a catalyst for significant change.  After all, large cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York have been unable to turn the tide.

It might make sense to change our viewpoint.  Almost all innovation occurs in small places.  Steve Jobs developed the first personal computer in a garage.  When he approached Hewlett Packard about a job for himself in exchange for the technology, he was rejected.  Then he went on to found Apple Computer to produce his product.  This company completely changed our way of life.

So what is holding us back?

Perhaps is it fear that admitting inadequacies might make economic development difficult.  In the case of education, the opposite is probably true.  With all the press about problems with US education, most parents know quality is a concern and most would prefer honesty rather than platitudes.  What a refreshing change it would be to hear: 1) this is the current state of education in the US, 2) this is the current state of education in Bay County, 3) this is our plan for improving education in Bay County, 4) this is how we will track our performance compared to foreign countries and 5) this is how you as parents will be able to know the quality is improving.

Many people in large US cities are so dissatisfied with their educational options, that an honest plan to correct the problems would make them interested in moving to an area.  Then if Bay County could deliver, there would be national interest in our county.

So let’s believe we can lead, embrace change and watch people flood to the area.  

Juliann Talkington is the administrator of the Panama City Renaissance School. Reach her on 850-215-8712 or jtalkington@pcrschool.org. 

*If you click on the links, please make sure to click more or scroll down the page to see the graphs. 

Forbes – Bill Gates

“Strengthen educational opportunities for young students: Too many of our students fail to graduate from high school with the basic skills they will need to succeed in the 21st-century economy, much less prepared for the rigors of college and career.” (more)