TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2009   * Feds List Texas Among States Faulted for Handling of Education Stimulus Dollars * New Issue of American Educator Merits Attention   Texas Among States Faulted by Feds Over Stimulus Spending: Texas is among four states cited for shortcomings in the handling of federal aid for education provided through the economic-stimulus bill passed in February, according to the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO).   It's hard to tell exactly what Texas has done wrong from the opaque language of the GAO report on this matter. But the Quorum Report newsletter says the GAO's concern might be that Texas had failed, at least as of August 28, to draw down any money from the main source of education-stimulus dollars and thus had not distributed any of the funds earmarked for Texas K-12 or higher education. Texas also had drawn down negligible percentages of its allotted share from other stimulus funding sources.   As the Quorum Report also notes, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has said that states failing to use their allotments of stimulus dollars quickly will be at a disadvantage in competing for an additional pot of discretionary grant funds at his disposal. Texas already may be at the back of the line for the secretary's discretionary "Race to the Top" funds, though, because it is one of just a couple of states that are not participating in a joint effort, encouraged by the feds, to develop common core standards for math and English language arts.   New American Educator Merits Attention: A lead article in the latest issue of American Educator makes a vigorous argument for taking mathematics instruction in elementary school to a new level and reconsidering the generalist elementary teacher's role. In order to prepare for the demands of algebra in higher grades, children in the elementary grades must understand challenging ideas like place value and fractions. Just like teaching reading, therefore, teaching elementary math requires deep knowledge of content and pedagogy. That leads mathematician Hung-Hsi Wu to advocate having math teachers--those who teach exclusively math--deliver elementary math instruction starting no later than the fourth grade. His argument is worth a good look.   The new American Educator also looks at high-poverty and high-minority schools that have achieved success and at key characteristics they share: genuine teacher collaboration, a sharp focus on what students must learn, assessments that inform instruction, and strong relationships between adults and children.   The magazine includes as well an essay on art created during the Great Depression and features several pages of paintings from 1933–1934 that depict "the American Scene." An article about lesson study, a Japanese form of teacher professional development, comes next. American teachers have begun to engage in lesson study, a practice that allows teachers to improve their instruction by working together, deepening their content knowledge and thinking about how students learn. The issue concludes with an article that explains why students should learn scientific content and scientific reasoning together.   If you haven't found the Fall 2009 American Educator in your mailbox yet, you can check it out at http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/fall2009/index.htm online.