- The city’s first-day attendance was 77 percent, down from 84 percent last year. (no link)
- A teacher who ended the year in the rubber room still doesn’t know where to report for duty. (Fidgety)
- Starting the school year off with a poem about teaching in the modern era. (Ruben Brosbe)
- Dana Lawit on what innovations in pencil technology tell her about teaching. (GothamSchools)
- Reader photos from the first day of school depict a lot of shellshocked students. (City Room)
- A former blogger describes how his school reacted to landing on a federal failure list. (Jay Mathews)
- A questionnaire from her son’s Brooklyn school caused one mother to ask who he really is. (Finslippy)
- A city teacher who relocated to Beirut is amazed by the positive feelings at her new school. (NY Teacher)
- Diane Ravitch lays out the topics she sees dominating discussion this school year. (Bridging Differences)
- A D.C. teacher says the District’s students, not Michelle Rhee, define the city’s schools. (Mother Jones)
- Houston is looking for individual tutoring to make a big difference — and it might. (Starting an Ed School)
- New-wave speed bumps in Canada put children first. (Yahoo News)
- The After School Corporation helps parents practice reading with their children. (Vimeo)
Source: Philissa Cramer