The Daily Report Card: Bored Teachers, Church-State Separation, Enrollment Up At ISU

In the classroom this morning…

Council firm on Family Dollar decision – South Bend Tribune If a city transfers property to a religious school, does that violate the separation of church and state? That’s what a D.C.-based activist group says, and they’re threatening legal action against South Bend’s Common Council. (southbendtribune.com)

ISU expects another enrollment increase – Terre Haute Tribune Star Indiana State’s enrollment is already up 4.4 percent over this time last year. (tribstar.com)

Howard County Township merger feasible – Kokomo Tribune Everyone who lives in the boundaries of the Northwestern school district in Howard County could be living in the same township — a study group found this plan for merging three existing townships “fiscally feasible.” (kokomotribune.com)

Teacher influence persists in early grades – Education Research Report The early years are important in education. Here’s another study to underline that point — kids especially need good elementary teachers to succeed. It’s just as important as small class sizes. (educationresearchreport.blogspot.com)

Better classroom teachers begin wtih better teacher education programs at colleges and universities – N.Y. Daily News “The old saw that ‘those who can’t do, teach,’ is a terrible insult to a great profession. But far too often, those who teach teachers to teach – universities – know next to nothing about how to get educators ready for the realities of big-city public school classrooms.” (nydailynews.com)

Teacher Who Complained About Students (And Her Own Boredom) On Her Blog Will Remain In District Okay, so this has no Indiana connection whatsoever, but this is just too good. As if we didn’t need one more lesson in not filtering what we write on our blogs — it looks like Natalie Munroe has given us one. But there’s something different about her punishment: The district will keep her in the same school, teaching the same kids she found “frightfully dim.” (phillyburbs.com)