Course, Counselor, and Teacher Gaps: Addressing the College Readiness Challenge in High-Poverty High Schools in June 2015 CLASP: Policy solutions that work for low-income people 
This is an issue that has been discussed for years.  As I read the study, I wondered about the way poverty is measured in schools.  Do you think the statistics we are usig are correct? What changes do you think might need to be made in the way we measure student/family poverty? 

If you can Google it, why teach it?  
by Carla Bluhm and Kevin Mobbs on June 12, 2015 for eSchool News 
Since I began my teaching career many years ago, my classes were taught in a traditional setting.  When I began teaching online, I discovered that I needed to be organized with details concerning lessons and assignments for the entire year. Teaching online made me a more organized in my ground classes. This is one of the things I thought about when I read this article, especially the second tip on page 2.  I wonder if you have taught or taken classes both online and on ground.  If so, did one way of teaching or learning affect the other method? 

 A Vision For Teacher Training At MIT: West Point Meets Bell Labs
by Claudo Sanchez on June 17, 2015 for nprEd
This short story envisions a new method for teacher training.  If you had the power to begin a new school for future teachers, what would it look like?  What would you include?  

Is the 'App Mentality' Killing Students' Creativity?
by Frank DiMaria on June 16, 2015 for T.H.E. Journal
Katie Davis worked on the Developing MInds and Digital Media (DM2) with Howard Garder.  In her book, The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy and Imagination in a Digital World that she and Gardner found that today's youth seem to believe that their questions and desires can be answered by apps.  If the answer cannot be found on an app, then the questions or desire must not matter.  I wonder what you think of that idea.  Have you found yourself thinking that your question must not matter because there is not "an app for that?"  Is this part of our desire to have a quick answer or solution for every problem or question?  Which came first; our need for a quick answer for our questions or that we have become accustomed the ability to find an answer quickly? 

How to Turn Digital Games Into a Fun Physical Learning Experience at School 
by Katrina Schwartz on June 16 for KQED News
Using games for learning has been around for a long time.  Digital games are popular with students and now a school in Pittsburgh is experimenting with having students interact with scenarios projected on the floor.  I wonder what games you played, or are playing, in school.  Have you found that playing games makes learning more fun than traditional classroom work?  Why do you think some people seem to imply that learning should not be fun? 

Goodbye to Grades: Windsor Locks (CT)Schools Pioneer a New Way to Assess Students
by David Desroches  on June 8 for WNPR 
The article and video discusses the freedom and knowledge that self-assessments provides students. Students have choices in how they will learn the material.  Often the work is in groups. Rubrics are used by both students and teachers to assess their projects.  How important should self-assessment be for students today? Would you like to teach/attend a school like this?  

4 Digital Safety Tips for Summer Break 
by Josh Work on June 11, 2015 on edutopia
The four tips in the article are to remain cautious, express positivist, stay active, tell someone. Before I read the article, was going to say that staying active was the most important tip.  While I think that all four of the tips are important, it seems to me that expressing positive thoughts might be the hardest for many middle school and high school students, as well as adults.  What do you think?  Do you have a tip you would like to add to the list? 

Duel immersion students leave sixth grade fluent in two languages
by Heidi Hatch on June 3, 2015 at KUTV.com from Salt Lake City, Utah.
The second language that the students studied for six years was Chinese.  Many of the teachers come from mainline China. Students, teachers, and administrators have judged to the program to be a success.  
Would you like to work/attend a school where you could become proficient in another language?  If so, what language would you choose?