http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=837F3698C649E0CF

**Sitting down outside at the local sports park, I discuss the challenges and rewards of teaching at shogakko (elementary school) in Japan.

I hope to film one more vlog touching on some other important aspects of teaching at elementary, so if you have any questions related directly to teaching younger kids, then please leave a comment and I’ll address them in the next vlog on this subject.

小学校 (shougakkou) is grades 1 (１年生) ichi nen sei – thru to grade 6 (６年生) roku nen sei. So usually we’re talking about kids age 6 to 12.
This term I’m teaching 5th graders and 6th graders exclusively, as my area is trying out the newly introduced English textbook, Eigo Noto 1 and Eigo Noto 2.

Every week I visit 5 different elementary schools, in addition to my regular teaching at one of my two Jr High Schools.

I plan on doing a separate vlog about the book being used and possibly I’ll go over some of the lessons I’ve been teaching this first term so you can get an idea of what level of English we’re talking about.

By way of example, yesterday I taught two classes of 6th graders the names of the months in English.

OK – hope you enjoy this vlog and more soon.

-Jason

Duration : 0:10:57

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The liberals are out of control; this new found power that they have has gone straight to their heads, and hopefully it will be the cause of their demise. The ironic thing is how most of what they are doing is hurting the poor of this country, who by the way, this is the ironic part, are the ones who put them in power.

On top of the democrats trying to destroy the future of poor children by limiting their school choices, they have also placed an unfair tax on the poor by raising the tax on tobacco. A pack of cigarettes now costs 60 cents more, and a 50 count box of cigars now costs $17.50 more. The cigar tax is what really ticks me off, sense I smoke cigars. I just found out about this 700% increase in the cigar tax today, and now I’m as mad as Hell, and they will pay for what they are doing to us.

Of course I’m talking about at the ballot box, and nothing more. I am not advocating violence in any way. I feel I need to say that because if I don’t, then some dim witted liberal will accuse me of inciting violence against dim witted liberals, which I am not.

Once the poor of this country realize that the democrats are really not interested in them becoming more independent and successful, then that is when we will have real change. A poor black family with children, who are well educated by a school of their choice with the assistance of a voucher program, will be so much better off than a poor black family that is eternally dependent on the government for all of their needs.

This is why the democrats are against school vouchers, because vouchers will in the end make the poor better educated and more able to take care of their own needs without crawling to the government for help. The former poor will then no longer have a need for the democrats and therefore they will no longer vote for them; they will have been freed of their chains.

I believe that the conservatives, and which ever party wants to represent them, should grab onto this issue and run with it. This one issue may very well be the key to the future of our country. I do not believe that I am overstating this because as we all know, the children are the future, and those who control their education, will by that means, control the future.
jbranstetter04

D.C. Families Bemoan Imminent Loss of Voucher Program

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has decided not to offer vouchers for new students because Congress extended the program for only one more school year.

The D.C. program gives about 1,700 low-income children scholarships worth up to $7,500, paid for with federal taxpayer dollars each year to cover costs of attending private schools — rather than the long-troubled D.C. public schools. The five-year pilot program was set to expire this year until Congress extended the program for only one more school year.
As a result, Education Secretary Arne Duncan decided not to offer vouchers for new students.
“To put them in for a year and then put them out didn’t make sense,” he said.
The issue of vouchers has exposed a deep fissure between Republicans, who support them, and Democrats, who oppose them.
Republicans insist that parents deserve a choice if their kids are in failing schools, saying vouchers create competition that puts pressure on public schools to do better.
Democrats, teachers’ unions and other opponents say it is impossible to expect public schools to do better while precious public dollars are being siphoned away to private schools.
But the voucher program in Washington has been an exception in the debate over vouchers. Because of the sorry state of public schools in the nation’s capitol, some Democrats were willing to allow it in 2003 when a Republican-led Congress created the voucher program.
It is the only federal voucher program in the country. Other cities and states have similar programs — vouchers are available in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Florida, Utah, Arizona and Georgia — but they are paid for with local tax dollars.
Supporters of vouchers have said teachers unions are putting pressure on Congress and the Obama administration to kill the voucher program in Washington. But Duncan insists that had nothing to do with it.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/14/dc-families-bemoan-imminent-loss-voucher-program/

Duration : 0:9:26

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In Minnetonka’s video, district teachers and students explain how and why they use tools in their Blackboard system (such as podcasting, discussion boards, paperless assignments, testing and study preparation for exams) to make the learning process more accessible and engaging.

For more information about Minnetonka Public Schools, please visit http://www.minnetonka.k12.mn.us

For more information about the uses of Blackboard technology in K-12 schools, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/k12

Duration : 0:5:42

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Expert: Erin FitzPatrick
Bio: Erin FitzPatrick is a third grade teacher at Glenn Elementary Enhanced Option School, located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge

Duration : 0:2:29

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Duration : 0:4:30

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Expert: Erin FitzPatrick
Bio: Erin FitzPatrick is a third grade teacher at Glenn Elementary Enhanced Option School, located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge

Duration : 0:2:23

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• http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd
• http://ncseweb.org

Proving ID = Creationism in disguise. NCSE’s staff worked behind the scenes in the archives to find the missing links tying “intelligent design” to its creationist ancestry.

When creationism flares up in the United States, the NCSE is there to put out the fires. The National Center for Science Education defends the teaching of evolution in the public schools. The NCSE is a nationally-recognized clearinghouse for information and advice to keep evolution in the science classroom and “scientific creationism” out.

Subscribe to Science & Reason:
• http://www.youtube.com/FFreeThinker
• http://www.youtube.com/FFreeThinker2
• http://www.youtube.com/BestOfAtheism
• http://www.youtube.com/Best0fScience
• http://www.youtube.com/SagansCosmos
• http://www.youtube.com/AtheistExperience
• http://www.youtube.com/TheAtheistExperience

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit, membership organization providing information and resources for schools, parents and concerned citizens working to keep evolution in public school science education.

The NCSE educates the press and public about the scientific, educational, and legal aspects of the creation and evolution controversy, and supplies needed information and advice to defend good science education at local, state, and national levels. The 4000 NCSE members are scientists, teachers, clergy, and citizens with diverse religious affiliations.
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Duration : 0:4:36

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Duration : 0:2:59

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Duration : 0:8:24

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Expert: Susan Goms
Bio: Susan Goms has been a teacher for over 30 years.
Filmmaker: Michael Burton

Duration : 0:3:23

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