Extra Credit

Winning with Words competition

Good with words? Here's a sample question from the National Vocabulary Championship. Which word means a reward: imprest, guerdon, diadem or onus? Spelling bee star Samir Patel, a Colleyville homeschooler, is among 50 students taking part in the championship finals on March 10 in Los Angeles and will vie for $40,000 toward college tuition. (Answer: guerdon)

Jessamy Brown

Introducing Teach North Texas

Here is the first part of UNT's news release on its big announcement. Read the whole thing here.

DENTON -- The University of North Texas announces the launch of a $2.4 million grant-funded program that will increase the number of undergraduate math, science and computer science majors obtaining teaching certification and will enhance UNT's efforts to address a national shortage of teachers qualified to teach those subjects.

Teach North Texas, a collaborative effort between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education, builds on UNT's already strong support of secondary education in the North Texas region through a partnership with the Fort Worth school district. One of the features of Teach North Texas, which is modeled after the innovative UTeach program at the University of Texas at Austin, is the opportunity for students to explore the teaching profession in two free one-hour courses that can be taken as early as their freshman year. Once in the program, students will take courses in the professional development sequence that emphasize field experiences, teaching strategies and concepts related specifically to the subjects the students will teach.

-Patrick M. Walker

Weekend fun

Check out the family page our in Go! section for fun and educational things to do this weekend.

Star-Telegram staffer Phyllis Stone rounds up some of the best bets, including:
1. University of North Texas Elm Fork Education Center's Family Fun Science Day.

2. Activites, including an art scavenger hunt, at the Nasher Sculpture Center.

3. Informal drawing exercises for kids ages 5-10 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

4. A children's program of multicultural dances at the Irving Arts Center.

-- Julie Sobczyk Mitchell

Your A.M. roundup

In today's Star-Telegram:

Martha Deller and Diane Smith tell us how the buzz of an exciting presidential campaign is giving powerful instructional tools to area high school government teachers. Students interviewed for the article sound energized and interested by the races and the opportunity to participate by voting or volunteering. I don't know about you, but I find that encouraging. Visit www.star-telegram.com for more.

And something to look for later: The University of North Texas is making a big announcement this morning regarding a sizable grant it is receiving to help address a critical issue regarding secondary education. As one commenter to this blog correctly pointed out a few days ago, the announcement has to do with math and science teachers. The Fort Worth school district will have a big role. Be sure to check back later for more details.

-Patrick M. Walker

Transfer opinions sought

Happy campers _ and otherwise_ can weigh in on Arlington's school transfer procedures at a public meeting Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the school administration building. Every year, more campers set up housekeeping for longer periods of time on the school district's turf in advance of the first day for transfer requests, which is Monday. Arlington parents can request transfers to any school in the district that has room for their children, for a fee. But not everyone can lease an RV for two weeks to be first in line.

_Shirley Jinkins

syjinkins@star-telegram.com

Actors getting in on the Obama act at UTA

Seems like everyone is rallying around here. At 5:30 p.m. Friday, actors Sophia Bush of One Tree Hill and Adam Rodruiguez of CSI Miami are going to be in the Palo Duro Lounge, Herford University Center, to beat the youth vote drum for Barack Obama. The event is open and sponsored by University Democrats.

 

- Kristin Sullivan

Live from the Iditarod!

Icenhower principal Duane Thurston has arrived in Alaska for the annual Iditarod race. The Arlington educator will travel the first 11 miles of the ceremonial opening with musher William Kleedhan. Check out his blog daily as he tracks his experiences.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Online teen pranks target teachers

One-third of American students regularly post offensive language or manipulated images on the web and 26 percent of those target teachers and principals, according to a recent study. But teachers are fighting back, filing lawsuits against students who post derogatory comments about them. Read more about it here.

-Martha Deller

California hate crime; gay teen killed in school

I've been thinking about this story a lot over the past couple days, partly because of a debate in my community over homosexuality. Anyhow, in California, one 14-year-old boy fatally shot a 15-year-old boy who had declared publicly that he was gay inside their junior high school computer lab. Shocking and sad.

- Kristin Sullivan

Mean teacher

reaThis Houston mom slipped a digital recorder in her pre-kindergartner's backpack to figure out why her daughter was acting up at school. Read about one really mean teacher in this ABC news report.

- Kristin Sullivan