District Administration - July 2007 - (Page 10)

Letters even though most kids will not pursue a mathematics degree. If taking algebra is mandated, then why isn’t programming? The pride a student feels after building a working program reinforces his or her attitude about being a capable learner and transfers across subject areas. All of this information should resonate with teachers, especially those who are avid technology users. The deeper question is why it doesn’t resonate with the head of the major national association devoted to technology in education. David Thornburg, educational consultant and contributor to The Pulse: Education’s Place for Debate Questioning the ISTE Standards At one point in Gary Stager’s interview with Don Knezek (“Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards,” June), he asked why the new NETS Standards did not include having students learn how to create their own programs. Knezek raised the question, “Why would our standards indicate that every student needs to program and master computer science?” Ah, where to start. If all we do is run programs written by other people, we are limited to performing the kinds of tasks other people think we should perform. The real mystery of how programs work seems outside the realm of understanding for most computer users—including children. Don Knezek said that a motivator for the new NETS Standards was the ﬂattening world. The fact is that U.S. companies are outsourcing expensive creative programming design work to countries like Brazil because they lack the talent here in the U.S. Each year American companies try to hire 100,000 engineers. U.S. colleges and universities only produce 65,000 engineers each year. This forces companies to outsource critical design projects to countries that have the requisite talent. Now do I think that getting kids (and I do mean all of them) to learn something about programming would have an impact on this? Yes, I do. Of course, the argument arises that “not all students will want to become programmers.” True, but since when has this been an issue for education? After all, every child is expected to learn algebra, 10 July 2007 Fox News Left Behind I am curious as to why you left Fox News out of your News Sources category in February’s “Curriculum Hotspots.” I plan to keep this issue as a resource for my students and teachers, but I am left wondering about this omission. Christine Stockslader, library media specialist, Lancaster Central High School, Lancaster, N.Y. fact, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)—which administers the Newbery Medal—and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) have yet to be notiﬁed of a single library deciding not to place the book in its collection because of the use of the word. Libraries are about inclusion rather than exclusion. The freedom to read, think, and speak is at the core of our American values. Part of living in a democracy means respecting each other’s diﬀerences and the right of all people to choose for themselves what they and their families read. We agree with you that children and their families should be given the opportunity to read this book and develop their own opinions. Cyndi Phillip, president, American Association of School Librarians Appalled at Book Banning Amen to a thoughtful and well-written article about the book The Higher Power of Lucky (“Speaking Out,” April). As a school librarian I was appalled when I ﬁrst learned that some school librarians were banning the book for such an insigniﬁcant reason. Should not all students learn correct terms for parts of the human body? Your article made my points far better than I could. Millie Cannon, librarian, Old Town High School, Old Town, Maine Comparing Apples to Oranges You pose some questions about credibility and then compare debating scientiﬁc theories to the social and moral issues of the Holocaust and slavery (“Speaking Out,” March). You cannot debate the immorality of Nazism or slavery, but the very nature of the sciences is to test your hypotheses and question everything. You are comparing two entirely diﬀerent issues in attempting to prove your argument. Whatever happened to academic freedom? Al Gore does not have a monopoly on the truth. Educational leadership requires the assertion of expertise and a willingness to District Administration Book Banning Misstated Thank you for the strong stance you have taken in favor of intellectual freedom (“Speaking Out,” April). However, your characterization of school librarians’ reactions to this book is a bit misleading. The author’s use of the word “scrotum” did not prevent the book from being added to school library collections. In

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July 2007

Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Facilities/Construction Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Cover Story: Rethinking School Bus Safety
Broadening Collective Bargaining
Searching for Subs
Jersey City’s Broad Appeal
Improving Nutrition in Schools
New Products
Computer Literature
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Research Corner
Problem Solution
Online Edge
Speaking Out
Supervisor’s Opinion
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - July 2007