The Boise Education Association Groupsite bea.groupsite.com

By Justin Snider - The Hechinger Report / The Huffington Post, March 17, 2011

On March 16, I sat down with Finland's Minister of Education, Ms. Henna Virkunnen, for a discussion of the Finnish educational system -- and what lessons it might hold for the U.S. educational system.

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Hechinger Report: It's well-known that Finland's teachers are an elite bunch, with only top students offered the chance to become teachers. It's also no secret that they are well-trained. But take us inside that training for a moment -- what does it ..

Amid a nationwide stir in which teachers' rights are up for discussion, a new report says the U.S. should raise the status of the profession.

The McGraw-Hill Research Foundation's "What the U.S. Can Learn from the World's Most Successful Education Reform Efforts" says the U.S. should take a hint from education systems in top-scoring countries. Nations such as South Korea, Singapore and Finland seek out top level college grads and offer greater pay and mentoring for teachers, the report says.

In an education speech Monday, President Obama repeated sentiments from his State of the Union address, calling for greater respect of ..

Yong Zhao is currently Presidential Chair and Associate Dean for Global Education, College of Education at the University of Oregon, where he also serves as the director of the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE). He is a fellow of the International Academy for Education.

Until December, 2010, Yong Zhao was University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, executive director of the Confucius Institute, as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence.

His research interests include educational policy, ..

By Elena Aguilar - Education Week, written Jan. 5, 2011

It seems obvious, but if we are feeling depleted, confused, overwhelmed, or despairing, how can we possibly engage fully in a professional development session on backwards planning or academic literacy? Research tells us that when teachers are more relaxed, students are calmer, and the overall climate at a school can be transformed. When emotions are attended to, teachers' attention, concentration, and job satisfaction increase and relationships with colleagues improve. (See the report, "Research on the Effect of the Inner Resilience Program on Teacher and Student Wellness and Classroom Climate" for more ..

By HILARY STOUT - The New York Times, Published: January 5, 2011

Too little playtime may seem to rank far down on the list of society's worries, but the scientists, psychologists, educators and others who are part of the play movement say that most of the social and intellectual skills one needs to succeed in life and work are first developed through childhood play. Children learn to control their impulses through games like Simon Says, play advocates believe, and they learn to solve problems, negotiate, think creatively and work as a team when they dig together in a sandbox or build ..

BEA Members Morgan Coats, Christine Simon, and Emily Hammond get an early start on Saturday, Dec. 4th for the Salvation Army's "Dress A Child" event.

On December 4th, roughly 30 BEA members gathered with volunteers from throughout the community to participate in the JC Penney Dress a Child Event. Members were matched with a child and turned loose in the store for an hour. Members helped a child select clothes, shoes, and coats. They could spend $100 on each child. Children walked away with warm items to help them this winter. It was a great event, well organized by the Salvation ..

By Dennis Van Roekel, President of the National Education Association

At a forum on public education last month, outgoing city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein  challenged educators who don't think it's a good idea to evaluate teachers on the basis of gains in student test scores.

"If you don't like test scores, come up with something better," he said. We can expect incoming Chancellor Cathie Black to echo that message.

The National Education Association, of which I am president, accepts the challenge. The alternative won't be a simple sound bite, because there is no easy way to evaluate someone whose profession combines ..

By JAN HOFFMAN: New York Times - Published: December 4, 2010

Ninth grade was supposed to be a fresh start for Marie's son: new school, new children. Yet by last October, he had become withdrawn. Marie prodded. And prodded again. Finally, he told her.

"The kids say I'm saying all these nasty things about them on Facebook," he said. "They don't believe me when I tell them I'm not on Facebook."

But apparently, he was.

Marie, a medical technologist and single mother who lives in Newburyport, Mass., searched Facebook. There she found what seemed to be her son's page: his name, ..

By Stephen Sawchuk: Education Week (11/10)

Perhaps no other aspect of the teacher-quality system in the United States suffers from an identity crisis as severe as that of professional development.

Few in the education field discount the eminently logical idea that teachers should be supported in the continuous improvement of their craft. But as a term for describing ongoing training investments in the teaching force, "professional development" has become both ubiquitous and all but meaningless.

Though frequently invoked by lawmakers and consultants, most recently in states' applications for the federal Race to the Top competition, professional development plans generally incorporate little ..