Texas Ed Spectator

In case you’re wondering what I’ve been doing instead of blogging about education (I really want to get to Perry’s column on community colleges), take a look below. We’re getting ready for our 4th Annual Homeschool Roundup. If you’re in San Antonio on July 28th and have any interest in homeschooling, be sure to drop by. As soon as the conference is over, I’ll get back to all the wonderful opportunities Perry has provided for blogging.

SA-HERO Roundup Conference Workshops

Special Programs and Activities Mentoring: Sign up for one-on-one mentoring with an experienced homeschooler.

Used Book Sale: HERO will be selling avariety of books and other items to support its resource center. In the exhibit hall, table 13.

Teen Socialization Lab: Room 302 of Metz Hall will offer teens the opportunity to develop those “lacking social skills.” Drop by to test your skills at games, conversation, and munchies.

Concessions: Hotdogs, chips, drinks, popcorn, and more will be sold at the concession stand in the lobby.

Children’s Sessions
9:00 am	Jewelry and Small Sculpture with Polymer Clay
	ITC: Folk Medicine
10:00 am	Charcoal Gesture Drawing
11:00 am	A Relief on Tin Metal
	ITC: One-Room Schoolhouse
1:00 pm	Peruvian Rock Art
	ITC: Archeology in Texas
2:00 pm	Boston Tea Dyed Flags
3:00 pm	The Glass Blowers Art
	Dinosaur George
4:00 pm	A Painter’s Life
All art classes are free. Art class attendance is on a first come, first served basis. ITC: Institute of Texan Cultures presentation

Teen SAT Test Prep
9:00 am	SAT Math
1:00 pm	Instant Improvement in Writing
3:00 pm	Free College at Your Fingertip
For high school students who have at least one parent registered for the conference.Space is limited. You must pre-register by sending an email to collegePrep@sahero.org with the following information: Student Name Student Age Parent Name Parent Phone Parent Email

Demonstration/Lessons
9:00 am	Fencing
11:00 am	Mexican folklorico and castanet playing
1:00 pm	Fencing
3:00 pm	Martial Arts
Space is limited. Instructor reserves the right to determine participation. Release forms may be required.

9:00 am
Room104	Rebuilding Your Education Paradigm: Writing, Thinking & the Essence of Teaching
Room 109	Homeschooling 101
Room 110	Dyslexia, Auditory Processing or Both Hindering your Child?
Exhibit B	Jewelry and Small Sculpture with Polymer Clay
Stage	FolkMedicine
Metz 102	College Math Test Prep (reservations required, continues to 11:30)
Metz 103	Mentoring (sign up at registration table)
Demo Room	Demonstration/Lesson: Fencing by Dreams for Youth
10:00 am
Room 104	Learning Through Living – Unschooling
Room109	Look Forward to Teaching Language Arts and Writing
Room 110	Math can be Fun with Math-U-See
Exhibit B	Charcoal Gesture Drawing
Metz 102	College Math Test Prep cont.
Metz 103	Mentoring (sign up at registration table)
11:00 am
Room104	GottaLove ‘Em
Room109	Unit Studies for Dummies
Room 110	Spelling and the Brain
Exhibit B	A Relief on Tin Metal
Stage	One-Room Schoolhouse
Metz 102	College Math Test Prep cont.
Metz 103	Robotics Information Session
1:00 pm
Room 104	Online Homeschooling Resources at the San Antonio Public Library
Room 109	Files, Foldables, and Fun! (limited seating)
Room 110	Homeschool Dads
Exhibit B	Peruvian Rock Art
Stage	Archeology in Texas
Metz 102	Instant Improvement in Writing
Metz 103	Homeschooling 101 (repeat)
Demo Room	Demonstration/Lesson: Fencing by Dreams for Youth
2:00 pm
Room 104	Getting Through Middle School
Room 109	Don’t Panic Curriculum
Room 110	Homeschooling on a Shoestring Budget
Exhibit B	Boston Tea Dyed Flags
Metz 103	Odyssey of the Mind Information Session
3:00 pm
Room 104	Herding Cats or How EVERYONE Can Have a Great Time on Fieldtrips!
Room 109	Homeschooling while Working
Room 110	Good Citizenship: What does it mean and how do I teach it?
Exhibit B	The Glass Blowers Art
Stage	Dinosaur George
Metz 102	Free College at Your Fingertips
4:00 pm
Room 104	Reaching the Reluctant Writer
Room 109	Homeschooling through High School
Room 110	Conference Wrap-up: Get answers for any questions you haven’t had answered
Exhibit B	A Painter’s Life
Metz 103	Mentoring (sign up at registration table)

Technorati Tags: homeschool conference, homeschooling, San Antonio, Homeschool Roundup, San Antonio HERO, San Antonio Home Education Resources and Opportunities

I’m not sure what they think they will accomplish.

MyWestTexas.com – Texas Democrats threaten retaliation for Perry’s veto

Meeting today in Washington, the Texas Democratic Congressional Delegation is so perturbed about Gov. Rick Perry’s veto of $154 million in community college funding that it may consider reprisals, spokesmen said.

The 12-member group sent an angry letter to Perry June 25 and will wait for an answer before deciding what to do, but Higher Education Act reauthorizations and federal grant funding are the obvious options, they said.

As far as I can tell, Republican members of the legislature aren’t happy with Perry’s veto. Why would he worry about what some Democrats think? They might cut funding to more college students? He’s already shown he doesn’t care.

Technorati Tags: Community Colleges, Rick Perry, health insurance, funding

There is going to be a pilot program that teaches classes in both English and Spanish to those who only speak one or the other language. Never mind that

MySA.com: Metro | State

Research shows children who learn two languages at an early age outscore students in traditional monolingual classrooms, she said.

Representative Debbie Riddle of Tomball doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

MySA.com: Metro | State

Under the program, half of each class where possible would consist of English-speaking children.

Riddle said children should study foreign languages in a separate course and that schools should not force them to learn academic subjects in two languages.

She also believes Spanish-speaking children should learn English by being immersed in English. Some believe that English immersion is the most effective approach.

So if English immersion is effective for Spanish-speaking children, wouldn’t Spanish immersion be effective for English-speaking students rather than learning Spanish as a separate course?

Technorati Tags: Bilingual education, Texas, HB 2814, Debbie Riddle, Bob Eissler, dual language

Hands up if you’re a leader in the playground | Uk News | News | Telegraph

Schools have always had them, the sporty all-rounders with lots of friends and the quiet wallflowers who stand alone in the playground.

Now, however, teachers are being urged to carry out detailed analysis of how pupils get along, as part of a drive to improve their emotional, behavioural and social well-being.

But I thought that’s the main reason why homeschoolers should send their kids to public schools–opportunities for socialization?

Hands up if you’re a leader in the playground | Uk News | News | Telegraph

However, Frank Furedi, a sociology professor at Kent University and author of Therapy Culture, said: “Kids have to learn to interact. This is like getting a teacher to ride a bicycle for you. Children make friends and lose friends -they have to work out strategies to deal with it.

“This is trying to short-circuit that organic process. It is ineffective, unrealistic and utopian.”

So socialization is an “organic” process. I would love to hear the argument then that this “organic” process can only happen in an appropriate, controlled, school environment.

Technorati Tags: homeschool, socialization, home education, homeschool issues