Chronic Absenteeism is a Double Disadvantage
Teachers view absent students as being more withdrawn and having lower math and literacy skills, a study published in AERA Open finds.
Student-teacher relationships were weakened by teacher’s perceptions that absentee students display more “internalizing behaviors,” such as being withdrawn, but not by externalizing behaviors, such as acting out, the study said. That being the case, the study’s authors recommend that schools focus on building connections in the classroom rather than concentrating on teaching strategies to manage behaviors.
4 Ways to Handle Pressure
Leaders can stay cool under pressure by planning for the worst, knowing their priorities and remaining flexible, writes LaRae Quy.
I’m not a natural athlete. This sad fact became evident at a very inconvenient time — my first day of new agent training at the FBI Academy. New agents are tested in physical fitness and are required to accumulate a certain number of points in different areas. I landed at the bottom in every category; the pressure to perform was intense because if I didn’t get high enough scores, I’d get kicked out of the Academy.
Injecting Christianity into Public Life
The proposal comes as part of a larger effort by officials in Texas and across the country to inject Christianity into public life.
Members of the public told the Texas State Board of Education on Thursday they worried a proposed elementary school curriculum infused with religious references is too complicated, biased toward Christianity and below the standards of a classical education.
The public hearing occurred a month after the Texas Education Agency unveiled the curriculum and offered the public an opportunity to share their thoughts with the body that will decide whether to approve the materials.
Beyond College & Career
For more than two decades, the term “college and career readiness” has defined success in K-12 education. As it became clear that a high school diploma was no longer enough to secure a well-paying career with advancement potential, education advocates recognized that simply getting students across the graduation stage couldn’t prove that school had served them well. Rather, measures of readiness for college — including advanced coursework and scores on entrance exams like the SAT and ACT — were better indicators.
Chronic Absenteeism Causes
Nearly 15 million children were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year, doubling pre-pandemic numbers, and millions have lived through at least one traumatic experience, such as parent death or abuse.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2024 Kids Count Data Book examines the causes driving the “astonishing” rates, resulting in bleak educational outcomes and disproportionately impacting Native, Black and Latino children.
Banning Cell Phones
The Los Angeles Unified School District voted Tuesday to ban cellphones during the entire school day, becoming the largest school system to take such a step in an era of concern about youth cellphone use and social-media addiction.
Actually keeping students off their phones, however, could be a challenge.
