Parental Involvement Pledges

Does your state or school district have Parental Involvement Pledges? Florida has one, you can view it here. Do you want think every state should have pledges or would you be against this? Let us know what you think!

5 Things Schools Should Implement

We found 5 practices that could be useful to all schools. Check them out here.

Number 2 is "Reading as a high school graduation requirement."Does your high school have a reading requirement? Or would you like your school to implement one? As always let us know what you think!

Halloween Fun

Are you looking for some fun Halloween math activities? We found a site that has lots of great ideas. Check it out here. What types of Halloween activities are you doing in your classroom? Let us know!

Are Teachers Making The Grade?

In Tennessee teachers are graded on a scale of 1 to 5. They are graded by a four page checklist which includes their performance on how well handouts are passed out. Check out the full article here.  Do you think grading teachers this way is effective? Does your state use this rubric for grading?  Is there a better way to grade teachers? Let us know what you think!

Who is able to run PA school districts?

 Superintendents in Pennsylvania no longer have to be educators in order to get the job. Act 24 gives people with a business or finance degree eligibility to run a school district. Check out the article here.   Do you think this good change or a bad change? Do you want your state to adopt these changes? We like hearing your thoughts. Let us know what you think!

Let's Quote It

We often post educational quotes on our facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/martinpublic)  but we thought it would be fun to make a collection of quotes for our blog. If you have any quotes you would like to contribute just let us know and we will add it to this list.

"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow." -Anthony J. D'Angelo

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence." - Abigail Adams

"The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." -Robert M. Hutchins

"To be able to be caught up into the world of thought - that is being educated." - Edith Hamilton

"Education is the most powerful weapon whichyou can use to change the world" - Nelson Mandela

Top 100 History Speeches

Do you want to liven up your history class with some audio, video, or even the text of famous historical speeches in the 20th century? We found this awesome website that has the top 100. Check it out here. Do you think these will be helpful for your history classes? Drop us a line and let us know what you think!