Welcome to NSTA's WebNews Analysis, a monthly feature to help science educators monitor and study the latest issues in education and science. The NSTA WebNews Analysis offers teachers a digest of online news articles focusing on a particular issue of importance to science educators.
We hope this new service will enable you to catch up on the news you may have missed during the past month. More importantly, however, NSTA's WebNews Analysis can help you stay on top of issues affecting your science classroom. Don't forget to look for NSTA's WebNews Analysis on the last Friday of every month!
Back to School
As the traditional end of summer approaches, some teachers and students will already have returned to school, while others will be preparing for the big first day. Several districts have started the school year before the Labor Day weekend in an effort to find more time to prepare students for state exams or in order to finish the fall semester before the winter holidays. Experts, however, question the value of early start dates. Without a sufficient break during the summer months, they say students will not have adequate time to explore and learn concepts outside of the classroom.
Teachers, on the other hand, have to sacrifice the final days of summer to create an inspired classroom. Educators agree that preparing for opening day is both art and science. Classroom walls in Georgia, for example, have become adorned with colorful decorations to help students learn. A survey released in 2002 by Quality Education Data, an education research firm, showed that teachers nationwide spent, on average, $521 out-of-pocket on their classrooms in 2001. Congress passed legislation in 2002 allowing teachers to deduct up to $250 from their federal taxes for classroom supplies, but the two-year program ends in 2004. The National Education Association, however, is lobbying for a permanent and larger tax credit for teachers that would cover supplies and professional conferences.
Teachers face a variety of other issues such as opening day absenteeism and parental involvement as they start a new school year. A CNN article reports how a New Orleans school district is attempting to curb the trend of opening day absenteeism by luring students to school with free school supplies and other incentives. A Baltimore Sun article discusses the First Day of School America campaign, a national grassroots program that encourages parents to escort their children to class on the first day of school. Event organizers estimate that 10,000 schools will participate in the program this year.