Even Astronauts Are Scared

Astronaut Sally Ride:  Sometimes it's smart to be to be afraid, it's never smart to be dumb.

The first American woman in space, Sally Ride, says science and math are important subjects in a well rounded education even if you don't want to blast off into outer space.

Kid Reporter spoke to Ms. Ride after a panel on how to increase the emphasis and interest in the two subjects in schools. Click on the play button to find out about what it was like to ride on the space shuttle and what that has to do with education.

—Mariam El Hasan

 

VIDEO: Scholastic Inc.

How to Use an iPod for School

Change your thinking about schools and get students excited about school again!

Milton Chen wrote a book called Education Nation. The title is now being used for an education conference put on by NBC News, Scholastic and others. Chen, who is head of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, was part of a panel about how technology can help improve education.

"My fantasy school doesn't look much like a school, I wouldn't even call it a school," Chen said. "I would call it a learning center. and it would be open all year around."

Click on the play button to find out what Chen means by a community-based, year-around school! He may change your way of thinking about schools.

—Grace McManus

 

VIDEO: Scholastic, Inc.

 

 

Teacher Shortage No Joke

There is a crisis in the country, said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at a live broadcast at NBC's Education Nation today.

"We need more teachers in schools," he said from the stage of NBC's comedy sketch program Saturday Night LIve. The stage, which normally looks like Grand Central Station, took on a more serious look and feel for the education conference.

Seated with Duncan was NBC newscaster Tom Brokaw. Together they took questions from the audience of education experts as well as from college students in Florida, Arizona, and Washington, D.C., via satellite.

The room was cold and industrial looking except for the stage, which was a blaze of lights.

Secretary Duncan began his remarks with a plea to the college students listening via satellite: please consider becoming teachers!

"We are going to travel the country to recruit the next generation of teachers," he said. "This is going to be the largest teacher recruiting effort ever in this country."

Math and science teachers are especially needed, he continued. He also made a plea for more men and minorities to get into the profession. He called on the education departments at colleges to work on recruiting more teaching candidates.

Teachers need to be valued more in this society, he said. This happens when you pay teachers more and when you understand that teaching is the most important job in the country.

I got to talk to Secretary Duncan after the press conference. I asked him about paying teachers more.

"People have been saying that for years," I said. "Realistically, how are you going to that?"

He had a ready—and passionate—answer, at least for providing incentives for college students to get education degrees.

"With 10 years of public service, all your college loans are forgiven," he said. " Up to that point, it's reduced to 50 percent of your income. That's a huge, huge financial incentive."

He also pointed out that all of the work can't be done by the Department of Education, or the administrators, or even the teachers. It's a community problem with a community solution.

"We have to promote parental engagement," he said. "Schools have to be open longer hours. They have to open up their doors more to the community."

—Kid Reporter Kenny Figueroa

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Kenny Figueroa at a press conference with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

 

Nutritious and Delicious!

At Education Nation, it’s all about helping kids learn.  But kids can’t learn if they don’t have nutritious food.

When I went to the Education Nation summit at NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza, I found out that there was going to be a cook off to find the healthiest — and tastiest —  school lunches. Four past competitors from the reality cooking show Top Chef were given a budget of $1.31 — the price of a regular, unhealthy, school lunch — to spend on the ingredients of healthier, tastier alternatives. Four children from local New York schools were appointed as judges. After all, kids are the ones who will be eating the food! Their names were Maya, Lila, Ryan, and Maliq.

"My first thought was that I wasn’t going to like it, but I was going to try it anyway, and if I didn’t like it, I’d probably feel like vomiting," said Maya.

Lila said that after she first saw the food, she thought, "it looks not so healthy and very disgusting. But it tastes good, and it’s very healthy." 

I also interviewed Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture. He was at the competition because the Agriculture Department is responsible for making sure kids in public schools get nutritious lunches while at school. As part of his job, he has committed himself to making sure every student in America has access to great tasting, healthy lunches.

"Thirty-one million children, every day go to the school lunch room for school lunch," Secretary Vilsack told me after the contest. “A lot of children today don’t get the right kind of food for lots of different reasons, and we need to improve on our school lunch program."

"It’s helping youngsters eat well, so they can learn well," he added.

The dishes the kids taste-tested were chicken stir-fry, vegetable pizza, meatloaf sandwich, and Mexican chicken.  After trying the food, the kids voted and in the end the chicken stir-fry won. It was made by Ariane Duarte, and she won $1,000 to donate to a charity of her choice.

The school lunches competition was a lot of fun! And when it was over I learned that — to quote mothers around the world — even if the food looks bad, eat it anyway!  It could be delicious, and even healthy!

                                                                                                            —Kid Reporter Grace McManus

PHOTO: The kid taste testers bite into the four school lunches created by past Top Chef contestants. (Photo: Dante A. Ciampaglia)

Learn Math and Science and Reach for the Stars

Imagine that you are in space; a beautiful view of earth behind you.  Zero gravity makes you float weightlessly as the planets calmly orbit the sun. That was  Sally Ride's experience when she was up in space. Ride was the first female astronaut to blast off as a NASA astronaut. 

“It was very, very cool,” she said. “It was an exhilarating experience.” 

Ever since she had that experience, Ride has wanted other kids to strive for it.  She created a great program for kids titled Sally Ride Science.  Her goal is to teach kids more about science and engineering so they can have a better future.

At the panel discussing how to prepare America’s students to complete in a Global Economy, Ride spoke about her opinion on the subjects of math and science in school. The panel was part of NBC's Education Nation conference held in New York City this week.

“It’s important for kids to realize how important science and math are to their futures and careers,” said Ride.

Her program was built to help educate kids on science and help them pursue their dreams for the future. That requires a good education. 

“Our programs are all about showing kids that it (science and math) is important, and that there are a lot of students just like them who are fascinated with it (science and math) and that there are lots of scientists and engineers that have very, very cool careers, who do very interesting things that are very, very relevant to every day life,” she said.

Another great program for kids interested in science is a program called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Studies.  STEM Studies and Sally Ride Science are both important programs that help to teach and influence kids.

                                                                                                           —Mariam El Hasan

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Mariam El Hasan interviews astronaut Sally Ride. (Photo: Amanda Hebert)

Bad Weather in New York Breaks NBC Tent

I entered the NBC Learning Plaza on Monday and I met Mr. Dante, a Scholastic editor, who would be my "sherpa" for a planned interview with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. My questions were ready, but Dante told me that the tent over the NBC Education Nation conference was  collapsing under the weight of rain water. The ten was built over the Rockefeller Plaza ice skating rink to house the event.

A day before, NBC NIghtly News anchor Brian Williams described during a Teacher Town Hall  meeting held in the tent that an inflatable roof designed to shelter Education Nation would not actually inflate. At the last moment, crew members found a replacement and the conference went on. However, a day later, as rain came pouring in over the city and sidewalks got drenched, so did the tent, leaking on dozens of dignataries including NBC newscaster Tom Brokaw.

"All of a sudden, Tom Brokaw told us that we needed to leave because of the weather," says Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer at Scholastic who was participating in the event. "So I have to say, with a lot of teachers and educators in the audience, it was orderly. Teachers know what to do because they teach others what to do."

She was talking about fire drills, tornado drills, and other emergencies that schools must be prepared for. Alexander knew how to evacuate the tent along with the other teachers. IF the audience had been another kind of audience, there might have been chaos.

As for the Education Nation conference, panels were moved upstairs into the NBC building. Some were held in the space set aside for Saturday Night Live comedy show, while others were held in the Dr. Oz studio.

No one was hurt and NBC pages and other workers certainly smoothed things out quickly. Like the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared, NBC certainly was.

                                                                                                              —Andrew Liang 

PHOTO: Workers clear rain from the Education Nation Learning Plaza on Monday morning. (Photo: Amanda Hebert)

Think Outside the Xbox!

Computer labs are a thing of the past—more computers a thing of the future.

You may think that things like Xboxes and iPods are for fun and games, but it can help you with school and make you much smarter. That’s what I’ve learned so far at the NBC Education Nation conference in New York City. And I like what I’ve learned so far!

Today, I sat in on a conference in 30 Rock, the NBC news building in New York City, about technology in the classroom. Panelists discussed ways to get electronics into schools in a way that helps both teachers and students.

Just putting a computer in a classroom without technical support or teachers trained to use them is not enough, panelists agreed. And computer labs should be considered a thing of the past, not the future.

“Would you have a pencil lab where kids would have to go when they need to use a pencil?” asked panelist Barry Schuler of Raydiance, a company focused on developing the smallest, fastest computer technology ever. “Computers are not something separate from the students.”

He and others made the point that schools are supposed to get kids ready for the work place and that computers are used in every aspect of almost every job from the service industry to retail to manufacturing, on and on.

Some of the most exciting ideas came from right there in the audience. Suzi Levine of Microsoft, who sat right right next to me, told me about a teacher in Switzerland who teaches his students with the Xbox! He uses guitar hero to teach a variety of subjects.

For math the students are told they are rock stars and are given a budget to plan a concert tour. They have to write songs, decide how much to spend on hotels, T-shirts, and employees. They also have to plan their tour schedule. Now that’s thinking outside the Xbox!

I spoke to Scholastic CEO Dick Robinson after the discussion was over.

“I hope this conference will help bring a higher awareness of the importance of education, a higher awareness of the need to enable teachers to have the tools to do the jobs of helping the kids,” he said. “And also to need to make available the technology that every kid can use.”

So what should kids take away from the conference?

“I’d have to ask you that Kenny,” he said. “I hope that you will find out that there are a lot of adults focused on improving education for young people and working to help you become a leader for the 21st century.”

                                                                                                              —Kid Reporter Kenny Figueroa

PHOTO: Kid Reporters Kenny Figueroa and Grace McManus listen in on a panel discussion about technology in the classroom.

Time Warner Exec Talks Success

It takes more than teachers: parents and students needed for better education

The first panel of Monday's NBC Education Nation was titled "Job One." The panel was made up of a group of businessmen and other top leaders of their professions, including Sally Ride, Dick Parsons, and others. Sally Ride is the first woman astronaut in space.Parsons is the former CEO of Time Warner, a media company.

Debates erupted into full swing during about one and a half housr of panel discussions about how to interest kids to learn more about science and math.

I spoke to Parsons, right after the discussions. The interview was not planned, but I managed to snatch a few minutes with him with the help of my Scholastic editor.

Parsons expressed views on having high expectations toward students and how to enhance interest in technology. The 21st Century is new and science is playing an important part in everybody's lives, he said.He came to be part of the Education Nation conference for that reason.

"I think we are entering an important time," he said passionately. "We're going to either embrace and make more vigorous, this public education for the public or we can walk away from it."

Parsons says he is choosing to embrace it and educate teachers and parents on how to do so as well.

As the panelists sat in front of cameras and also a live audience, Parsons was one of the main proponents of using current materials and strengthening American education with the tools we have right now. Others agreed saying that other countries have less than one tenth of the supplies we have and they are ranking higher on the overall education list.

"There are hundreds of ways that we can bring kids into math and science," he said. "We just have to be creative and find out the right innovative ways for the right kids."

When Parsons was a child, his family had high expectations for him. He developed a drive and interest in learning. For example, he never thought about not going to college or not going to school. He knew that that wasn’t the right choice and that his parents would be angry.

That brings me back to one of the discussions during the panel: how much parent involvement is needed in school  for students to succeed?

"Both of my parents had certain expectations for their children in terms of achieving different milestones and improving their life," he said. "They made those expectations clear from the time before memory began."

That's strict parents from a young age—or maybe just really interested parents. Either way, it worked. The result of that strictness: a bold businessman that eventually became the CEO of Time Warner.

Parsons now wants to promote better education for everyone.

"The bottom line is that we as a country need to put more focus on educating our young people," he said. "That's got to be one thing we can't just delegate to teachers. Parents have to play a role, and young people themselves have to play a role if they don't want to be left behind."

                                                                                                              —Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

PHOTO: Panelists at the Job One panel discuss the importance of science and math to American education. (Photo: Dante A. Ciampaglia)

Brian Williams at NBC's Education Nation

Williams admits to teachers: he couldn't have done it without them!

He didn’t complete college, yet he is at the top of his career. Today, he stood up in front of a bunch of teacher’s and admited how much he needed them along the way.

“I dropped out of college,” said NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. “There were teachers that picked me up along the way. I guess in a strange way, I am an education don’t.”

Teachers from all over the country came to Rockefeller Center Sunday to speak at a Teacher Town Hall meeting with Williams as moderator. The town hall kicked off a three-day conference on education called Education Nation. I sat down with Williams after the two-hour televised live event. Click play on the video below to see what he had to say about the teachers and the state of education in American today.

—Mariam El Hasan

Video: Scholastic Inc.

 

Teachers Show Passion for Education

Teacher Town Hall kicks off NBC/Scholastic Education Nation conference

The first segment of the NBC Education Nation summit began Sunday in a temporary structure over the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. NBC Nightly news anchor Brian Williams moderated a Town Hall meeting in a white plastic tent full of teachers and journalists.

Thousands of teachers also participated online, sending in comments as the discussions got really heated. Teachers both at the event and online responded passionately to the topics discussed. They engaged in spirited discussions about what they need to do to help students achieve the very best.

“This was a terrific opportunity to let teachers have a voice,” said Mark Lukasiewicz, NBC executive producer for the conference. “What we planned was to make sure to get as many teachers as we can and let them talk. And boy, they did not disappoint.”

The teachers themselves also found that they could relate to other teachers and their stories. Many have faced low-income families whose students were not doing well in school. Others discussed how best to understand their students and how to help them be successful as adults.

“I met a girl who does a lot of project-based learning in her classroom,” said teacher Amy Beenedetti. “So, I plan to do more projects like that, too.” That’s just what one teacher learned while standing in line with other teachers waiting to be seated.

Teachers were buzzing with conversation during every commercial break and grouped together after the town hall to continue their discussions.

Dennis van Roekel, the president of the National Education Association, a labor union that represents public school personnel, spoke to this Kid Reporter after the event.

“I think there will be more discussion about education,” he said when asked what affect the conference might have on America’s classrooms. “And I hope what happens out of that is that we stop just talking about only a piece of education and look at the whole system.”

—Andrew Liang

PHOTO: Kid Reporters Andrew Liang and Mariam El Hasan at the Education Nation Teacher Town Hall at Rockefeller Center in New York City, September 26, 2010. (Photo by Suzanne Freeman)