Schools are complex social settings where students, teachers, administrators, and parents interact to shape a child’s educational experience. Any effort to improve educational outcomes for America’s children requires a dynamic understanding of the environments in which children learn. In "The Social Organization of Schooling," editors Larry Hedges and Barbara Schneider assemble researchers from the fields of education, organizational theory, and sociology to provide a new framework for understanding and analyzing America’s schools and the many challenges they face.

"The Social Organization of Schooling" closely examines the varied components that make up a school’s social environment. Contributors Adam Gamoran, Ramona Gunter, and Tona Williams focus on the social organization of teaching. Using intensive case studies, they show how positive professional relations among teachers contribute to greater collaboration, the dissemination of effective teaching practices, and ultimately, a better learning environment for children. Children learn more from better teachers, but those best equipped to teach often opt for professions with higher social stature, such as law or medicine. In his chapter, Robert Dreeben calls for the establishment of universal principles and practices to define good teaching, arguing that such standards are necessary to legitimize teaching as a high status profession. "The Social Organization of Schooling" also looks at how social norms in schools are shaped and reinforced by interactions among teachers and students. ! Sociologist Maureen Hallinan shows that students who are challenged intellectually and accepted socially are more likely to embrace school norms and accept responsibility for their own actions. Using classroom observations, surveys, and school records, Daniel McFarland finds that group-based classroom activities are effective tools in promoting both social and scholastic development in adolescents. "The Social Organization of Schooling" also addresses educational reforms and the way they affect a school’s social structures. Examining how testing policies affect children’s opportunities to learn, Chandra Muller and Kathryn Schiller find that policies which increased school accountability boosted student enrollment in math courses, reflecting a shift in the school culture towards higher standards.

Employing a variety of analytical methods, "The Social Organization of Schooling" provides a sound understanding of the social mechanisms at work in our educational system. This important volume brings a fresh perspective to the many ongoing debates in education policy and is essential reading for anyone concerned with the future of America’s children.

The Social Organization Of Schooling

When they arrived at his crib, McClain allegedly tried to strike a cop with a four-foot sword. After missing, McClain retreated to his basement, where he donned a chainmail armored vest and leather gauntlets to protect his arms. He also added a giant wooden mallet to his arsenal and beckoned officers to come downstairs and get him. "I'm gonna crush your fucking skulls," McClain warned. Then, in a nice rhetorical flourish (for a lunatic, at least), he added, "I have a thousand years of power." That omnipotence, however, was no match for a police Taser, which felled McClain. He was then carted off and charged with felony assault and a misdemeanor count for failing to remain at an accident scene.

By the Power of Greyskull... I... HAVE... THE {ZZZAAAPPPPPPPPPPP}!

Medieval loser tasered by cops.

The Federal Communications Commission ruled Friday that big telephone companies no longer have to lease their high-speed Internet lines to competitors, giving the companies more power over the delivery of popular fast Internet services.

The final nail in the coffin that is competition and progress. I'd say that if you aren't outraged, then you haven't been paying attention. But frankly there's so many more important things that fall into that category.

FCC ruling gives telecoms power over Internet access

Please Note:This entry discusses the etymology and application of a selection of words that, to varying degrees, can be considered vulgar or offensive. As a necessity, this entails the use of said words, and it is strongly advised that, should you find such words distressing or inappropriate, you do not read on beyond this point.For the rest of you, there now follows an informative and hopefully educational entry on a potentially controversial topic - bad language...

BBC - h2g2 - The Origins and Common Usage of British Swear-words

He has earned that right. And in the brave new NHL, the Wings can use all the savvy and leadership Yzerman, 40, brings. No, he doesn't play with speed and flair anymore, but he did score 18 goals during the last season after recovering from knee surgery.

He will begin his 19th season as captain -- the longest streak in NHL history -- and before he retires, he could serve as a significant link from the flashy, three-time champion Wings to the trimmed-down Wings in the salary-cap era.

Thank you Kenny! Steve, you're my hero!

Final skate for Wings' captain?

In the past Microsoft's approach to standards was simple, and went by the mantra "embrace and extend".
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So what would it mean for Microsoft to try to "embrace and extend" Linux? It might go something like this.

I've been saying this all along. The best way (only?) for MS to eliminate the Linux threat is to 'embrace and extend' it. Just like they did for the browser and Internet technologies abroad (SMTP, etc). The more that they play the game and use their considerable resources to extend it, the more they will disintermediate the Linux cycle.

It's a bit more of a leap of faith, since MS has primarily accumulated power from hiding their IP. But by exposing some of your IP, you'll be able to quickly become the leading and most powerful open source player in the galaxy. This position will undermine almost every other oss project that you have an alternative to, and therefore you will dominate this market as well.

I seriously thought they would've done this by now, but this miscalculation on their part might become the beginning of the end for them.

Opening up challenges to Microsoft

That explains the bond between the fans in Detroit and McCarty, who was, and is, the Wings' most popular player next to Steve Yzerman over this last decade of championship success.

...

But it was McCarty's toughness and his willingness -- eagerness, really -- to stick up for teammates on the ice that quickly won over Detroit fans, who had grown to love the Pistons' Bad Boys and the Wings' Bruise Brothers in the 1980s. His pummeling of Colorado's Claude Lemieux in the now-infamous March 1997 brawl in Detroit -- payback for Lemieux's vicious hit on Draper in the 1996 playoffs -- is still viewed as a "coming-of-age moment," as McCarty puts it, for the Wings en route to Cup titles in 1997 and '98.

When that highlight was played on the television sets Tuesday night at the restaurant, the crowd roared as if it had just happened the night before.

Oh Mac, we'll miss you so much. Thanks for the memories!!

Detroit can't forget McCarty

I need to create a few new playlists in iTunes so that I can stop using "shuffle mode" when I play my iPod during social gatherings. As the embarrassing conversation lull during last night's dinner party revealed, it was a bad idea to rip the "Star Trek II" soundtrack.

ah... so true.

Our So-Called Digital Life

In so stating, I thank those researchers who are genuinely motivated by the public good, most of whom never get the headlines of their more notorious brethren. I also acknowledge that the vendor community needs to improve the quality of commercial software so we have far fewer vulnerabilities.

I found this timely, given the current circumstances. I think she makes valid points, but it's kinda like decrying teenagers for being poor drivers. Duh! Not everyone is going to have the same level of professionalism and decorum. I think in the current Cisco case, Michael covered his bases well and with integrity. For that, he should not be vilified.

When security researchers become the problem

The networking giant and Internet Security Systems jointly filed a request Wednesday for a temporary restraining order against Michael Lynn and the organizers of the Black Hat security conference.

We may need to start a legal defense fund for Michael.

The thing that really gets me about these occurances, is how is this not equivalent to whistle blowing? I mean, if this was a disease or a terrorist threat that you had discovered and you published it or exposed it, you'd be lauded as a hero. But because there's technology involved, then you're a target and a criminal.

Cisco hits back at flaw researcher