Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Teens Talk

Tuesday, May 16th, 2006

While parents and policymakers are consumed with the academic component of high school, students have much more than tests and grades on their minds. Host Frank Stasio recently sat down with ten students from Riverside High School in Durham to ask about their biggest concerns. On the next State of Things, from gossip and conformity, to staying safe and staying out of trouble…teenagers talk about high school. The conversation is part of the series “North Carolina Voices: Studying High School.” (59:00)

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Public Forum

Monday, May 15th, 2006

Are high schools failing our students? Or are they better than ever? We kick off our series “North Carolina Voices: Studying High School” with a public forum looking at the state of high schools. Hosted by Frank Stasio and recorded last month, guests include: Howard Lee, chairman of the North Carolina Board of Education; Willie Gilchrist, superintendent at Halifax County Schools; Steve Unruhe, teacher at Riverside H.S. in Durham; and Tony Habit, executive director, The New Schools Project. (59:00)

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Freshman Academy

Monday, August 15th, 2005

All 556 incoming freshman at West Johnston High School in Johnston County attended a day long orientation today to ready themselves for their first year of high school. They’re participating in a school-within-a-school experiment meant to prevent drop outs and truancy and increase the joys of learning. Melinda Penkava speaks with Kenneth Dobyns, a teacher participating in the Academy at West Johnston High School and a frequent contributor to The State of Things. We’ll check in on the Freshman Academy through out the year. (12:00)

Freshman Academy

School (De)Consolidation

Monday, May 16th, 2005

What’s best for North Carolina’s school children — bigger, consolidated districts or smaller, locally controlled districts? As some citizens push to break up or deconsolidate the Charlotte Mecklenburg school system, others work to combine or consolidate the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County systems. Who wins and who loses? Is this about budgets or test scores? Host Rusty Jacobs speaks with Representative John Rhodes of Mecklenburg County, Lindalyn Kakadelis, director of the North Carolina Educational Alliance, John Poteat of Public School Forum, and Kathy Christie, vice president of research and information of the Education Commission of the States about the ideal size of school districts. Listener Call-In. (59:00)

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Music Eduation

Tuesday, October 5th, 2004

Music Education: Host Frank Stasio talks with Peter Perret, conductor emeritus of the Winston-Salem Symphony, and Janet Fox, an arts and education writer, co-authors of “A Well-Tempered Mind: Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn” (Dana Press/ October 2004) Their book tells the story of five musicians, a first grade class and a ground-breaking program in a North Carolina School. Also joining the conversation are George Zarr, a composer and educator in New York; and Cathy McKinney, professor at Appalachian State University. (59:00)

Essay: Kenneth Dobyns, a teacher in Johnston County, visits the Mule Days festival in Benson. (6:00)

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