c.c # 1.2

A Manhattan researcher states in an article written by Corey Kilgannon, " a high school is actually not Manhattan's saddest spot..." professor Yaneer Bar-yam, told media outlets that "Hunter High School, an elite  public school on the upper east side, had the highest percentage of " negative sentiment" posts of any place in Manhattan."  Through out  the research the they read the twitter posts of hunter college high school and reviewed all the negative posts.
      Hunter High was the source of an unusually high percentage of negative Twitter messages, even higher than hospital locations and spots with particularly frustrating rush hour traffic; although, these posts where also posted while there where several reasons for a teenager to be stressed out. All the posts where gathered when the students had a high work load, and  where coming back from spring break also where facing final exams. Being a high school student myself, in the 12th grade, I understand the stress level coming for exam time and over load of work that comes with it also. To get your feelings out at the end of the day feels nice and just make counter act with a long stressful and negative post!
   When the students and staff found out about the study they where baffled; therefor,  leading to an article on the new York times magazine focusing on the reaction at the school  that prompted an outpouring of comments and e-mails from readers questioning the validity of the study.Some pointed out that "Hunter collage High School was not mentioned in the study." Others wondered If researchers simply confused the high school with the Hunters Point subway station in Queens, Which itself was named as a "negative-tweeting" spot in the study. Many students interviewed for the article pointed pointed out that very few of their peers used twitter and that most students were happy to be at Hunter. Following  the many comments and e-mails assailing the study, the times contacted professor Bar-Yam for clarification  and more information. He stood by the naming of the high  school and wrote, in a note.That was posted in the comments section of the online article, that he had not confused Hunter and Hunters Point. After all the work the professor put into the study and finding out the information I highly doubt that he would "mistake" hunter for Hunter Point.
    Professor Bar-Yam later said " He did a more detailed analysis  of the data and realized that he had incorrectly interpreted a data map that seemed to indicate that the High school was the source of a flurry of negative posts during the period of recording the data in spring 2012." Closer analysis revealed that  the posts had actually come from a single twitter account "From a region just south of the school," Said professor Bar-Yam, Who declined to identify the account or the exact location of the posts emanated. Professor Bar-yam stated " he saw that Hunter Collage High School's students were returning from vacation during the period of data collection," and also Say's that " This provided a rationale" why Hunter could be the source of the posts.

c.c # 1.1

The Author Catherine Gewertz brings us this report titled " Roundup: Low College Completion Rates, 21st Century Skills." The Education Trust put out a new study yesterday, "Charting A Necessary Path," that shows troubling college completion rates for low-income and minority students. The data come from a collaborative project, of 24 public college and university systems that are committed to improving outcomes for disadvantaged students. It's impossible to look at these data without asking what the K-12 system can do to make sure that the neediest students get the strong preparation and support they need to flourish in higher ed. The Washington Post's story about the study is here.
Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews has a nice post today about a couple of new books that take on the 21st century skills debate. Very interesting, clearly-made arguments on a topic that can be frustratingly abstract (not to mention strongly debated). The high school space would be a prime target for change in this arena, so it's worth watching. What are advocates of 21st century skills actually advocating? And how would their vision be translated into curriculum and instruction? Read  Stephen Sawchuk's story on this for another interesting perspective.
And, speaking of things that could be coming to a high school near you, take a look at my colleague Debra Viadero's very good story on a much-argued-about study on charter-management organizations. Districts have increasingly thrown up their hands trying to fix stubbornly bad high schools, and brought in C Mos or private companies to give it a whirl. The feds are hot on improving high schools, and have expressly invited charter-management groups to play a role in that work. Again: worth watching.