A Mind-Boggling Resource | Documenting Diversity |
Tech Tools | Bytes for Beginners | My Favorite

Learning: Bits & Bytes
A Mind-Boggling Resource

Each week a couple of Web sites from the warehouse site www.4Kids.org are featured in my Sunday funnies supplement. 4Kids has six major categories to choose from, each with several links to subjects of interest to kids and adults.

My favorite link that 4Kids has highlighted recently is a rich Web site on optical illusions, www.illusionworks.com/html/jump_page.html. The site includes lots of links to interactive experiments with illusions, as well as information about artists such as M.C. Escher.

Carolyn Stanley
Technology teacher
Bethany, Connecticut
Telariond@aol.com

Wish There Were Two of You?
I teach six classes for all fifth, sixth, and eighth grade students in a 30- station computer lab. I use my computer, a microphone, VCR, and televisions to present all my lessons. I videotape each lesson each day and play the lesson back to each class.

This lets me move around the room, working as my own aide to help students with the assignment.

I’m able to keep all my classes together as to what they’re learning, and students who are absent can keep up with their assignments by watching the taped class.

Randall Surline
Computer lab instructor
West Branch, Michigan
surliner@i-star.com

See One, Do One, Teach One
My students work in small groups at the beginning of the year to design a class Web site on paper. Each group shares its design with the class, and we vote on the best one.

I instruct students in the winning group in FrontPage Web authoring software. After they complete and upload their page, they teach the next group, and so on.

This saves me time, and students enjoy communicating our classroom accomplishments via the Web.

Theresa Bowen
Sixth grade teacher
Defiance, Ohio
theesajb@defnet.com

E-mail Partnering
Gaggle.net is a super E-mail service for students. It’s safe and free. Every E-mail that my students send through this service is “carbon copied” to me immediately. I can proof students’ messages and monitor their communications.

I use Gaggle.net E-mail to pair a remedial student with a student who needs a challenge. Students are not allowed to divulge who they are—or even to hint at which student with whom they are paired. The pairs complete projects together via E-mail.

Our first project is to write a story together. One student E-mails the first five sentences of a story to his or her partner, who then adds five sentences to it and E-mails it back. This continues until the story is completed.

All finished stories are published on the Web and printed in booklet form.

This project has really motivated my students. It’s great for self-esteem. Not being able to “see” the friends who have helped them certainly has created bonds for students who are not readily accepted into certain circles.

Betsy Norris
Middle school English teacher
Shelbyville, Tennessee
Norrisb@k12tn.net

Have a nifty classroom tip or lesson plan that uses technology? E-mail a description (under 200 words, please!) to wiredclassroom@list.nea.org.

Is there a Web site, CD-ROM, or piece of software you can't live without? E-mail your favorites--and why you love them--to myfavoritetech@list.nea.org.

Or send your responses by regular mail to NEA Today, or by Fax to 202/822-7206, or through the Web at www.nea.org/cet.

Those published here will receive a sparkling NEA Today mug!

Documenting Diversity

We're not in Kansas anymore. Norm Conard helps kids explore new worlds through video production.

Through documentary film-making, rural Kansas students learn lessons in multiculturalism and tolerance.

Who:
Norman Conard, social studies and video production teacher, Uniontown High School, Uniontown, Kansas

E-mail:
Nconard@prodigy.net

Inspiration:

“We should teach tolerance in our school system. Students need to be exposed to diversity whether or not it exists in their community,” explains Conard. “And teachers are the facilitators of this process.”

Conard’s students design multicultural research projects that are a perfect marriage of technology and social studies curriculum. To produce documentaries and performances for Conard’s classes, students must master film-making and research techniques.

“Hardware and software are cold,” Conard says. “We have to tie them in with issues of sensitivity.”

For a moment, forget the more than 100 state and national awards his students have won for their projects. The real impact lies in the stories they tell:

• Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine. Conard’s students were the catalysts for a reunion between Eckford and a white schoolmate who had befriended her 40 years earlier.
• Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who helped prevent 2,500 children in the Warsaw Ghetto from going to Nazi death camps.
• Bill Moore, a white civil rights activist who lost his life in 1963 during a protest walk across Alabama. Conard’s students contacted Moore’s widow, who pieced together information that the students developed into a performance.

“My students gain a lot from researching, writing, and producing multicultural projects,” says Conard. “But the greatest value is their increased awareness of other cultures, ethnicities, and world events—and their place in the middle of them.”

Lesson:
Students begin their projects with research—searching the Internet, reading newspaper and magazine articles, and gathering information from organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center. Then, like any good reporter, they catch a lead. Two lines here, a mention of a name, and their creativity begins to flow.

Thanks to grants, the classroom contains PCs and Macs, a standard Panasonic video camera, and a digital editing system. Videoconferencing technology lets students interview experts in other states and countries, without the time and expense of travel.

“The difference in our classroom is not the technology—it’s how we use it,” Conard explains. “But while it’s key to our work, technology only speeds up the research process.”

That may be so, but the creative process can’t be rushed.

“Making a film or writing a performance takes an enormous amount of time,” says Conard—about 200 hours for a 10-minute documentary. “Students spend a majority of their time outside the classroom completing their projects.”

Click:
Still, the time spent is worth the perspective students gain on life outside Uniontown. Conard encourages educators to develop their own open-ended multicultural research projects.

“These projects cross disciplines, meet national standards, and develop critical thought,” he says. “But they also change lives and bring a new view of tolerance.”

“Our class motto, to paraphrase the Talmud, is ‘He who changes one person, changes the world entire,’” Conard adds. “I don’t do it, my students do.”

—Erik Komendant

Tech Tools

• A wide variety of professional development opportunities are listed on LycosZone. Continuing education courses, seminars, and mentor programs are among the offerings.

• Looking for a free site to host your class Web page? At the Free Web Page Provider Review you'll find a guide to free Web page providers around the world.

• Need help with that grant proposal? A guidebook for educators from Lucent Technologies has tips on project planning, grantmaker research, and proposal development.

• Teachers on the Internet by NEA member Kim Mitchell is designed for the educator who is new to using the World Wide Web in the classroom. The book features chapters on acceptable use policies, using search engines, and finding lesson plans—or designing your own. $9.95 from Instructional Fair, 800/443-2976.

Bytes for Beginners

My students are trying to convince me that its safe to make online purchases. Is this true?

You should buy what your students are selling you! Shopping the Net is as safe asand in some cases safer thanbuying something via the phone.

In both cases, you’re “transmitting” personal information (name, phone, and credit card numbers) to someone you don’t know.

On the phone, we use intuition to help us decide whether or not to divulge personal information. On the Net, only a secure connection guarantees that no one is “listening in” on your purchase—intercepting your data as they move from your computer to the online store’s.

How do you know if and when your connection is secure? Many Web sites use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt the information that you send over the Internet. If the Web address on the page that asks for your credit card information begins with "https" instead of "http," then SSL is in place.

Other ways you can tell if a Web site uses security software? Your browser will display one of these icons:

• a locked padlock at the bottom of the screen (Netscape Navigator 4.0 and higher)
• an unbroken key at the bottom of the screen (earlier versions of Netscape Navigator)
• a lock on the status bar (Microsoft Internet Explorer).

Have comments or questions about technology? Go to www.nea.org/cet, or E-mail your questions to webeditor@dear.nea.org.

My Favorite...

Web Site:
“MySchoolWork has helped me communicate more with parents. Parents can access their child’s grades, homework, and school news from anywhere in the world.”

Anna Lilly
High school algebra teacher
Lavergne, Tennessee

Software:
“Internet Typing Challenge (South Western, 800/ 354-9706) is a fun way to improve keyboarding skills. After taking the tests and posting them on the Web, students can compare results with students around the nation.”

JoAnn Santillo
High school business teacher
Canfield, Ohio

Books by NEA Members | New from the NEA Professional Library | TV Tips | Announcements | Web Winners | Free or Inexpensive | Diversity Calendar

Departments: Resources
Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year

Put a new teacher into a fifth grade classroom on Chicago's South Side and you get an experience to last a lifetime.

Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year
By Esmé Raji Codell
Algonquin Books, $17.95, 204 pp.

When Esmé Raji Codell was preparing for a career in education, her mentor told her, “You are a very gifted teacher. Don’t teach. Be an actress instead.”

But Codell was as headstrong as she was dramatic. And so, in 1992, she began teaching fifth grade in a brand new public school on Chicago’s notorious South Side. Like many first-year teachers, Codell came to the job with boundless energy and a determination to work magic in the lives of her underprivileged students. Yet, unlike many first- year teachers, she also had abundant confidence and a big, fresh mouth.

After instructing the children in her class to call her “Madame Esmé,” Codell created a “time machine” filled with books to inspire them to read. She designed a rigorous, innovative curriculum that recast the basics in fun and exotic terms. “Math” was “Puzzling.” Instead of science, she taught “Mad Scientist Time.” Instead of social studies, she taught “Time Travel and World Exploring.”

Codell also roller-skated down the hallways, wore costumes to class, and inundated her students with literature and art. When kids in her class acted up, she made them teach the class in a spirited bit of role-reversal.

The result? Codell won her fifth graders’ undying devotion—and raised their test scores higher than any other class in the school. She also incurred the wrath of her school’s administrators, who didn’t appreciate her unorthodox attitude. She and her principal butted heads throughout the year, and, despite her best efforts, many of her students remained poverty-stricken, troubled, and demanding.

Eventually, Codell became exhausted and demoralized. She considered quitting teaching all together. Instead, she stuck it out and wrote a book.

Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year is based on an award-winning feature Codell recorded for National Public Radio. It is an honest and often hilarious account of her inaugural year in the classroom—a must-read for anyone entering the profession.

With its strong voice and distinctive protagonist, Educating Esmé is Generation X’s answer to Bel Kaufman and Frank McCourt. At turns entertaining, damning, and heartbreaking, the diary is a testament to the very best and worst of teaching—to the small miracles that occur in the classroom every day, as well as the deadening bureaucracies. It describes in equal parts the joy and the thanklessness of the profession, the thrill and the frustration.

Codell spares no one in this memoir—least of all herself. She portrays her own naiveté and arrogance unabashedly, along with the ineptitude of her principal and the poignancy of her most difficult students. Both beginning and seasoned teachers can draw comfort and inspiration from her experience. Surely, they will identify with it. Certainly, they will feel touched and entertained.

—Susan Gilman

Excerpt:
We are studying inventors. While the kids were at gym, I dressed up in an outfit with all sorts of weird stuff sticking out: rubber bands, gum, chocolate chip cookies, light bulbs, with a tag attached to each item saying who invented it. I wore roller skates, too.

Mr. Turner was nervous when he saw me. . . Boy, he would have been really nervous during my science magic show, if he had seen me put a piece of paper I had set on fire in a bottle to illustrate Bernoulli’s Principle. Of course, I had a fire extinguisher near. But certain people just think it’s their job to freak out.

--Esmé Raji Codell in Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year

Books by NEA Members

A Drop Around the World
Barbara S. McKinney, illustrated by Michael S. Maydak Travel with Drop around the world and explore how water is transformed into steam, rain, snow, and ice. Describing the water cycle in poetic form and beautiful illustrations, this book can help elementary school students learn just how vital water is.$7.95 plus $2.50 s&h from Dawn Publications, P.O. Box 2010, Nevada City, CA 95959, 800/545-7475. On the Web at www.DawnPub.com.

Gems in Myth, Legend, and Lore
Bruce G. Knuth Tracing the use of gems in religion, medicine, magic, and astrology, Gems in Myth, Legend, and Lore explores almost everything you would ever want to know about 46 different gems. Gems in Myth also includes an informative section on literature references to gems from the Bible to Marbode to Shakespeare. $45.95 plus $3.50 s&h from Jewelers Press, 13440 Jackson Place, Thornton, CO 80241, 303/452-7764, Fax 303/450-3894.

Rebellion with a Purpose
Richard Sidy Designed to help students accept challenges and reach their potential, Rebellion with a Purpose asks readers to look at their past experiences and make decisions for their futures. The SNS Web site has a free teacher’s guide, lesson plans, and student resources. $9.95 plus $4.00 s&h from Seeking New Solutions Press, 380 Raintree Road, Sedona, AZ 86351, 520/284-9055, E-mail edresources@snspress.com.

Write a Book For Me: The Story of Marguerite Henry
David R. Collins Collins relates the details of the life of Marguerite Henry—from her early days to her books to her love of horses. With the help of black and white photographs and excerpts from Henry’s letters, readers are given a personal perspective on this renowned writer. $18.95 plus $3.00 s&h from Morgan Reynolds, Inc., 620 S. Elm Street, Suite 384, Greensboro, NC 27406, 800/535-1504.

I Can Do It, I Really Can
Hope Blecher-Sass, illustrated by E. Silas Smith I Can is a short book for young readers about a boy’s self-assurance and self-motivation. Blecher-Sass also wrote 100th Day of School Activities, which details 100 activities for elementary students, including science experiments and art projects. I Can is $4.50 plus $4.50 s&h from Dominie Press, Inc., 1949 Kellogg Avenue, Carlsbad, CA 92008. 100th Day is $2.95 plus $3.50 s&h from Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 6421 Industry Way, Westminster, CA 92683.

New from the NEA Professional Library

Teaching to Teach: New Partnerships in Teacher Education
Cherie Major and Robert Pines, editors.
NEA Professional Library. 216 pp., $16.95, #2083-9-00-WB

Teacher education is transforming, and NEA is playing a vital role in the transformation. For the past five years, NEA’s Teacher Education Initiative has been creating environments where schools, universities, and the Association act as equal partners in changing how the nation’s educators are prepared for the classroom. How are these partnerships faring? Teaching to Teach explores teacher-training partnerships from the perspective of the educators involved in the process. These educators describe how professional development schools (PDSs)—often compared to the medical profession’s teaching hospitals—can provide realistic, clinical experience for preservice teachers, ongoing professional development for practicing teachers, and opportunities for all educators to improve the quality of education for children and adults.

For more information or to order, call 800/229-4200. To order on the Web, go to www.nea.org/books.

Excerpt
Extended practical experiences are essential to an “educative practicum,“ as compared to an “apprenticeship” where beginning teachers follow a model but never have the opportunity to construct their own solutions or develop their own strategies for improving the educational system. Teachers entering the field will be better prepared if they have regularly engaged in ongoing debates about best practices, worked collaboratively to design curriculum and performance assessments, and helped to improve connections between schools and communities.

TV Tips

KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, DC, provides the TV Tips listings. For more information on children's shows, check out the KIDSNET Web site.

Homecoming: Sometimes I Am Haunted by Memories of Red Dirt and Clay
PBS, Thursday, February 3, 10-11 pm ET, check local listings. Filmmaker Charlene Gilbert returns to her family’s Georgia farm to explore the hardships Black farmers have faced since the early 20th century. The number of Black farmers in America has dwindled from nearly 1 million in 1920 to fewer than 18,000 today. The program uses archival photography and interviews with farmers to explore the symbolic and spiritual meaning of land ownership and loss. Visit www.pbs.org/homecoming for timelines and educators’ guides.

Angela Anaconda
Fox Family Channel, Thursdays, 7-7:30 am and Saturdays, 9:30-10 am ET, check local listings. This animated series follows the wild imagination of Angela Anaconda, a third-grader trying to negotiate the expectations and friendships of school and home life. Nanette Manoir, the teacher’s pet, is a constant thorn in everyone’s side, but Angela manages to resolve her frustrations and cope with difficult situations creatively by constructing imaginative fantasies that give her perspective on her problems.

Girlzopolis and Boyzopolis
girlzChannel and boyzChannel, Daily, 3-3:30 pm and 5-5:30 pm, check local listings. These fast-paced, magazine-style programs examine topics of relevance to today’s girls and boys through the use of animation, discussions, and interviews. Each program features an older moderator and a panel of young girls or boys who discuss teen issues such as self-esteem, body image, emotions, stereotypes, and the opposite sex. New from Fox Family, girlzChannel and boyzChannel are networks that feature programs and issues of specific interest to girls or boys. See gchannel. com or bchannel.com for games, teen advice, discussion questions, and parenting topics.

Beakman’s World
Sci-Fi Channel, Monday-Thursday, 8:30-9:00 am ET, check local listings. Now airing on the Sci-Fi Channel, this series features Beakman, a humorous, inquisitive scientist who has dedicated himself to answering science questions from viewers of all ages. Beakman responds to queries by performing various experiments that demonstrate how the world works. The award-winning series has attracted wide critical acclaim and praise from parents and educators for its unique and effective format. Visit www.beakman.com for more information.

Disney’s Doug
UPN, Daily, check local listings for times. Now airing on UPN affiliates, this animated series follows the everyday adventures of 12-year-old Doug Funnie, an impressionable daydreamer dealing with the ups and downs of adolescence, middle school, and life’s unusual dilemmas. Doug’s imagination, his friends, and his daily diary help him through the toughest situations. At www.disneyone.com, kids can find puzzles, safety tips, and advice for making the most out of their visits to the Internet.

Little Bill
Nickelodeon, Mondays 9-9:30 am and Sundays 8-8:30 pm ET, check local listings. Based on the book series by Bill Cosby, this animated series follows the adventures of an inquisitive and energetic five-year-old boy as he learns about the world around him and how he fits into it. The show emphasizes the importance of friendship while showing children how to solve problems creatively and fairly. Backed by research and a panel of educational consultants, the show is specifically designed to teach kids how to make a difference in their lives and in the lives of the people around them. Visit teachers.nick.com for lesson plans and more information.

TCM By the Book
Turner Classic Movies, February 6-11, 6:00 am ET. Because of the positive response from educators last year, TCM is re-airing its Teachers’ Choice Award-winning By the Book selections this month. This season’s classic literary films are Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, Christie’s Murder Most Foul, Wells’ The Time Machine, Kipling’s Kim, Dickens’ David Copperfield, and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Enrolled teachers receive free curriculum guides for the films and may record the commercial-free broadcasts for one-year use. Guides and enrollment information can be found at www.turnerlearning.com, or call 1-800-344-6219.

I’ll Make Me a World
PBS, Fridays, February 11-25, 9-11 pm ET, check local listings. This three-part documentary explores the legacy of African-American artists in the 20th century, including the vaudeville performers from the first generation born free, the writers of the Harlem Renaissance, the development of jazz over the years, and the contemporary filmmakers, authors, and hip-hop artists who continue to make an impact on modern American culture. Visit www.pbs.org/immaw for an arts chronology, artist profiles, and educational resources.

Mystery of the First Americans
PBS, Tuesday, February 15, 9-10 pm ET, check local listings. The 1996 discovery of a 10,000-year-old Caucasoid skeleton in Wahington State set off a scientific controversy about the origins of “Kennewick Man.” This NOVA documentary looks at previous theories about the earliest settlement of North America, the implications of early Caucasian presence, and the conflict with Native American groups who are calling for a halt to the scientific study of their ancestors’ remains. Visit www.pbs.org/nova for transcripts and in-depth information.

Announcements

Science Prizes
Scholastic’s Ms. Frizzle Award 2000, presented by Microsoft, honors proposals from K-6 teachers for creative science education projects that inspire imagination and learning for the new millennium. Eligible teachers must submit a proposal for a project that encourages kids to learn science through hands-on discovery and problem-solving. Applications must also include a description of the classroom environment, a letter of recommendation, and a budget and timeline plan for the project. The grand prize winner receives an award of $6,000, second place wins $2,000, and third place receives $500. The deadline for submissions is April 10, 2000. For complete rules and more information, contact Scholastic, Corporate Communications, 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, 212/343-6570. On the Web at www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/
programs/awards.htm.

Violence Free
In a continued effort to decrease the levels of violence in our public schools, the ViolenceFree Network is creating a community forum. Educators, parents, and students are invited to participate in a variety of ways: the Public Schools Search Conference, Open Space Technology Conference, Cyberspace Internet Conference, and by creating their own CyberZones. Designed to bring more people into the debate, CyberZones will be established in public libraries, school libraries, businesses, and service organizations. For more information on the ViolenceFree conferences and organization, go to www.ctarrce.org/nomore_violence.htm.

Space Day
Ever wonder what it would take to create a special exercise machine for use in microgravity? Or how to build a human habitat in outer space? Beginning this month, teachers and students in grades 4-6 throughout North America and beyond will be contributing their solutions to these questions. Through a series of creative problem-solving Design Challenges, students will grapple with the demands and challenges of living and working in space,the theme of the fourth annual Space Day celebration on Thursday, May 4, 2000. Prior to Space Day, students will be able to join in this National Classroom by logging on to a virtual environment where they can seek information and exchange ideas with other student "experts" and adult experts as well. Further information on the Design Challenges and Space Day 2000 are available on www.spaceday.com.

Web Winners

Online Information
At the ERIC/AE Full Text Internet Library, there are over 250 links to the best books, reports, journal articles, newsletter articles, and papers accessible through the Internet. The collection currently includes titles from nine online journals and 29 organizations. ERIC/AE provides a well-structured framework in order to browse and search with ease.

News from Space
Lift off into outer space with this NASA-designed Web site just for students. With current news about our universe, information about space weather and the aurora, and scientific research, this site offers everything from light(-speed) reading to substantive data about our stars. NASA also includes links to other student sites such as Space Link and Lift Off to Space Exploration.

Free Radio
Dedicated to free speech, free press, and freedom, the Freedom Forum offers free online radio broadcasts of current debates about our First Amendment rights. Each month features a variety of programs. Past programs have included “The National Y2K Summit: Public Preparedness vs. Public Panic,” “State of the Media in Latin America,” and “Exploring Sensation: Art, Outrage, and the First Amendment.” Real Player/Real Audio required to hear broadcasts.

Aging Concerns
Concerns about your parents’ health and happiness can arise with each passing day. Answering questions about health care, nursing homes, Social Security, medical problems, and financial planning, ElderWeb Online offers tools to help prepare for the needs of aging parents. It also offers valuable information you’ll need for your retirement and long-term planning.

StudyWeb
“The learning portal” provides research quality links on everything from grammar and composition to teacher resources. Compiled by Ph.Ds, teachers, homemakers, and students, StudyWeb provides safe and useful links for everyone’s needs. Whether general interest, research help, or just curiosity, StudyWeb has a link for you.

School Locator
Need to find a school? Or want to know about your district’s demographics? The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics provides an online national public school and school district locator. Find which public schools are in an area, a school address or phone number, or the number of students in a school district.

Health and Fitness
Whether your interest is competitive sports, recreational sports, or health and fitness, the Women’s Sports Foundation is for you. The site is devoted to improving the physical, mental, and emotional health of women. Through education, advocacy, recognition, and grants, the Foundation tries to increase opportunities for girls and women in sports.

Britannica Online
Opening with links to the day’s top news events, Britannica.com organizes Web sites, magazines, books, and even the complete Encyclopædia Britannica for students and educators online. Also included is the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Great for learning what’s on the Web and starting on students’ research papers.

JournalismNet
When you need information, JournalismNet provides 150 Web pages and over 3,000 links to breaking stories, international headlines, and in-depth research. Created by an investigative journalist, this site is perfect for students needing story ideas for the school newspaper, teachers who need more information to supplement course material, and administrators who want to know how public policy will affect their school.

Edifying
Looking for some useful educational software without all the hype? You may want to try tukids.tucows.com. Here’s a site with thousands of useful, virus-free files that parents and their children can download.

Nothing Fancy
The Air Force has a newly redesigned Web site to offer viewers an insider’s view of the service—current and historical. Included on the site is an Online Airline Show and free screen saver.

Ordering Info
Sampleville boasts that it doesn't just find the greatest free offers—“we actually order them for you!” Categories range from beauty products to food to pet merchandise. Registration required, but membership is free.

Peace Promotion
The Peace Calendar, created by young Palestinian and Israeli artists, seeks to encourage communication among children across borders.

So Timely
Share your thoughts and feelings with the universe—or at least whatever universe there is 50,000 years from now. The KEO satellite will be launched in 2001, hang out in orbit and then deliver your message back to Earth 50 millennia from now. See www.keo.org.

Fighting Fire
With nearly 100,000 fires started every year by children, the United States Fire Administration developed a Web site to teach kids about fire safety. Teaching about smoke alarms, escape plans, fire safety in the home, the site includes informational and interactive tools to promote these precautions. Once kids learn about fire safety, they can test their skills in Hydro’s Hazard House by identifying fire hazards.

Quoteables
You'll never again be at a loss for a good quote. This cyber version of Bartlett's provides a quick search feature. All you do is type in a keyword and then browse through some familiar quotations.

Yeats Fans
Fans of the 20th century poet William Butler Yeats will love this site, courtesy of a Harvard Web wonder. At the site, you can listen to Yeats recite his own works in 1930s broadcasts.

Ask the Experts
XpertSite wants to be the Web site where people with questions find people with answers. An extensive range of subjects to choose from, including such diverse topics as law, gardening, technology, and travel.

A Heavyweight Weighs In
One of the world’s largest educational publishers has launched its new Web site and it’s huge. Scholastic, Inc. claims its new site, Scholastic.com offers 12,000 pages that directly support teachers and other school staff, including lesson plans, interactive Web activities, and live author interviews. J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, was a recent guest on the site. There’s also a news section that offers updates on student-appropriate current events, pop culture features, and student polls.

Free or Inexpensive

Read-Alouds
We all know that it is important to read to our children, but which books should we read them? The Latest and Greatest Read-Alouds offers book suggestions for 5- to 11-year-olds with brief plot descriptions. Included are tips for engaging children and inspiring them to read. $18.50 plus $2.75 s&h from Libraries Unlimited, P.O. Box 6633, Englewood, CO 80155-6633, 800/237-6124.

Defending Public Education
covers five key issues: vouchers, charter schools, public school privatization, bilingual education, and parental rights. As a resource guide, it includes advice on organizing, national education organization listings, reading recommendations, article reprints, and more. $15, s&h included, low income pricing available from Political Research Associates, 120 Beacon Street, Suite 202, Somerville, MA 02143, 617/661-9313. On the Web at www.publiceye.org.

Drug Abuse Information
Technical background about kids and drugs. Drug Abuse Information for Teachers offers brief descriptions of many different drugs, exploring their impact, how they’re used, and how they’re treated. All this information is available in English and Spanish on the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s automated phone system, InfoFax, at 888/644-6432. Also free on the Web at www.nida.nih.gov. Or write: NIDA, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5213, Bethesda, MD 20892. By phone: 301/443-1124.

Science Fun
Need an idea for a science fair? How about a Moon Box, Lava-Flow Volcano, or Homemade Perfume? These are just a few examples in 100 First-Prize Make-It-Yourself Science Fair Projects. Each science project lists ingredients and includes the procedure and expected results. $21.95 plus $4 s&h from Sterling Publishing Co., 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, 800/367-9692, Fax 800/542-7567.

Hate Response
With 17 guidelines on teaching tolerance, Responding to Hate at School is a guide for all school personnel that deals with everyday challenges such as graffiti and student alienation, school-wide emergency responses, and long-range commitment. This short guide covers both the long-term and short-term effects of and solutions for acts of hate. Free from Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104; fax 334/264-7310. On the Web at www.teachingtolerance.org.

Family History
History Comes Home gives children a chance to explore their own heritage and culture. Through interviewing family members, researching kinship charts, creating timelines, and making family videos, students learn and write about their family history. $17.50 plus $3.50 s&h from Stenhouse Publishers, P.O. Box 360, York, ME 03909, 888/363-0566.

Raising Children
Raising Black and Biracial Children is a quarterly journal about parenting children of African descent. With articles on politics, health, wealth, and family issues, as well as a book section, this journal offers good advice, pertinent information, and experienced know-how. $2.50 each, one year subscription $9.95, from Raising Black and Biracial Children, P.O. Box 17479, Beverly Hills, CA 90209. 310/358-2932.

Free Catalog
Designed to help educators teach and develop skills for social justice, Teaching for Change is a catalog full of multicultural books, videos, CD-Roms, and cassette tapes. Each listing includes a brief description, subject area, length, and price. Some resources are available in Spanish. Free from Teaching for Change Catalog, Network of Educators on the Americas, P.O. Box 73038, Washington, D.C. 20056, 202/238-2379, Fax 202/238-2378. On the Web at www.teachingforchange.org.

Multicultural Education
Advocating multicultural education, An Introduction to Multicultural Education examines the multicultural debate, stating the difficulties and positive consequences of curriculum reform. Included are educational guidelines for reform, suggestions for how to teach multiculturalism, and comments from experienced teachers. $26.65 plus $3.59 s&h from Allyn & Bacon, 160 Gould Street, Needham Heights, MA 02494, 800/278-3525.

Lost Love
What can we say to a child who has just lost a parent, sibling, or other loved one? Offering comfort, compassion, and advice, Helping Children Cope with the Loss of a Loved One is a guide for adults to help children. With anecdotes about children’s experiences, this book is divided into age groups in order to address each situation. $13.95 plus $4.95 s&h from Free Spirit Publishing, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 616, Minneapolis, MN 55401, 800/735-7323.

Honoring Educators
With short stories and poems, To Honor a Teacher is a collection of student tributes to teachers who influenced their lives. With notable contributors such as James Earl Jones, Richard Riley, Joanne Woodward, and Ara Parseghian, this book is just a small thank you to educators and a tribute to our educational system. $14.95 plus $4.25 s&h from Andrews McMeel Publishing, 4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111, 816/932-6700.

Reevaluating Literacy
Literacy with an Attitude discusses how literacy is currently taught in order to redefine its place in education today. In a call to reevaluate curriculum and literacy techniques for working-class children, this book details how working-class children do not and therefore should receive education comparable to upper- and middle-class children. $16.95 plus $3.50 s&h from State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY, 12246, 800/688-2877.

Problem Solver
The Special Kids Problem Solver gives teachers the tools to help students with academic, behavioral, and physical problems. This resource provides background information about the causes and nature of each problem, references for more information, and a listing of organizations to contact. Teachers also learn how to assess and improve academic performance in their classrooms. $19.95 plus $3.95 s&h from Prentice Hall Press, 240 Frisch Court, Paramus, NJ 07652.

Commercials and Effects on Kids
The Center for a New American Dream is mounting a campaign to expose practices of commercials directed at children. The campaign consists of a free brochure, a short book, a public opinion poll, an essay/art contest for children, and a nationwide effort for this cause. The Kids and Commercialism brochure is available free. Contact the Center for a New American Dream, 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 900, Takoma Park, MD 20912, 877/68-DREAM, E-mail newdream2@newdream.org. On the Web at www.newdream.org.

Technology Guide
Touted as “the one source for all your school technology needs,” the Scholastic Technology Guide includes more than 3,000 company and product listings. The guide is divided into five sections: educational software, teacher software, administrative software, hardware, and Internet & telecom. Each semester introduces a new guide, and the online version is constantly updated. $19.95 hardcopy, free online version, from Scholastic Inc., 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, 800/724-6527. On the Web at www.schooltechguide.com

Maintaining Momentum
Maintaining Momentum reports the findings from the American Institute of Physics’ Fourth Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. The survey reveals why more and more high school students are taking physics, an improvement in teacher qualification, increased teacher salaries, and courses designed to be more accessible to students with less advanced mathematics backgrounds. However, there are still large disparities in student numbers and achievement levels across gender, racial, and economic lines. Free from the American Institute of Physics, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, 301/209-3070, fax 301/209-0843. Available for free download on the Web at www.aip.org/statistics.

Diversity Calendar

April
Qing Ming Festival, April 5
The Qing Ming Festival is a Chinese national holiday honoring the dead. Dating back to almost 200 B.C.E., this Confucian festival is observed by visiting ancestor's graves, cleaning them, and presenting offerings. For more information, contact the Organization of Chinese Americans, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 707, Washington, DC 20036, 202/223-5500.

Buddha's Birthday, Hanamatsun, April 8
One of two major holidays for Buddhists, Hanamatsun marks the birth of Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha lived in India from around 563 to 483 B.C.E. Buddhists usually celebrate this occasion on the nearest Saturday so as not to interfere with work. For historical information, go to http://www.buddhapia.co.kr/buddhapi/news/event/bongchuk/
bong2543/english/index.html.

May
American Indian Day, May 8
American Indian Day honors American Indians in the United States. The first American Indian Day was observed on the second Saturday in May 1916 after a formal request was submitted by Red Fox James of the Blackfeet tribe in 1914. Now observation and its dates are left up to the individual states.

African Liberation Day, May 25
African Liberation Day focuses on the current struggles and progresses of all African nations. The day is marked by rallies and parades. Celebration takes place throughout Africa and in parts of Russia, Canada, Brazil, and the United States. For more information, go to http://www.wanonline.com/blackhistory/
blackhistory2026.html.

June
Dragon Boat Festival, June 18
The Dragon Boat Festival honors China's first major poet, Ch'u Yuan, who drowned himself in protest of injustice and corruption in 278 B.C.E. Regattas, boating sports, and races between dragon-shaped boats mark this summer holiday. The celebration is to protect from evil and diseases. For more information, log on to www.ncsu.edu/midlink/dec97/holiday/boatz.html.

Juneteenth, June 19
In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom for all slaves. The end of slavery was a gradual and local process. Celebrating the freedom of slave, Juneteenth originated around the time of the Civil War in Galveston, Texas. For more information and history, go to www.juneteenth.com.

Reading
Training and Coordination Produce ‘Early Success’

Wisconsin teacher Heidi Hubing reviews a lesson with Sean Flatman.

A two-year-old project in Wisconsin ties special reading instruction with regular classroom curriculum.

Third grade test scores in reading were below state standards for two years straight at Fox Prairie Elementary School in Stoughton, Wisconsin. Then, two years ago, the school implemented the Early Success Program for all first and second graders having trouble reading.

Test scores improved almost immediately.

Staff members credit the training they’ve received with the program as a key to their newfound success. All kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers, as well as some paraprofessionals, receive four full days of training. They come away with a common vocabulary and coordinated strategies to implement.

Four to five children per class are typically identified for participation in the program. Students spend 30 minutes a day in a small-group session with the reading specialist and also participate in reading instruction in the regular classroom.

Teacher Linda Milam works with James Homburg on a word recognition exercise.

Linda Milam, the reading specialist at Fox Prairie, uses one book per week during her sessions with students. The same book is also read one-on-one with the child’s regular teacher.

Some educators at Fox Prairie like the Early Success Program because it ties remedial reading “directly to the classroom,” as principal Mike Jamison puts it.

Another big plus for the program: consistency. Every Monday, points out reading specialist Linda Milam, children review the previous week’s book and receive a new book. Every Friday, they take home a summary of the current week’s book, which the child reads and the parent signs.

The Early Success Program requires regular communication between educators and parents.

“Our reading specialist to teacher to parent link is much stronger now,” says second grade teacher Heidi Hubing. “You just don’t see the same growth when the parent element isn’t there.”

Hubing finds the formatted books that come with the Early Success Program engaging and interesting. Milam likes the “practical and workable” daily lesson plans provided by the publisher. The program also features tools, games, and other materials.

Using cardboard letters, for example, students try to create different words using a set of letters—such as “eat,” “ate,” and “tea.” In another exercise, Milam puts three words from each new book on a “word wall.” Students then write group sentences using words from the wall.

Early Success students who get stumped by a word can find, posted on each classroom wall, a big hand listing a reading strategy on each finger:

• Say the beginning sound of the word. Read to the end of the sentence.
• Look at the pictures.
• Use the sounds.
• Look at the word parts.
• Ask for help.

“Kids get very excited when they find a word they can read” while they’re in the regular classroom, Milam says. “They are beaming and taking off.

Free Tips for Parents

Plan on inviting parents and community members to your Read Across America celebration? If so, give them more than a slice of Seussian birthday cake. Offer them practical, reliable reading resources from NEA.

Free give-aways include tips for parents to help their children become better readers and a handout for community members explaining the importance of helping children learn to read.

To learn more, visit our Web site at www.nea.org/readacross.

Reading Resources

• The CIERA—Center for Improvement of Early Achievement in Reading—Web site now includes charts synthesizing findings across five studies of effective reading programs. The synthesis covers studies done by separate research centers and programs. For more information, visit www.ciera.org.
• What Do the Experts Say? Helping Children Learn to Read (Heinemann) offers reading advice from both teachers and researchers. The new book provides ideas and rationales for reading programs and instructions. It also features a companion set of six videos. For more information, visit www.heinemann.com.
• The Family Education Network’s Web site for parents and teachers includes activities and advice for helping students at all levels become better readers. The site also features reviews of children’s book by parents. Visit http://familyeducation.com.

People
A Great Move

Photo by Chris Seward

A custodian trades his chess skills for a chance to read. Everyone wins.

A year ago, North Carolina custodian Otis Pittman heard one of the best offers of his life: "If you teach our students to play chess," said his school principal Lane Anderson, right, "We will teach you how to read."

Pittman took Anderson up on his offer, and what started with a few students and a couple of chessboards has exploded into a school-wide project. Each classroom at Sedalia Elementary now has a chessboard, and last spring the school held its first tournament.

"Taking time out for kids is what it's all about," says Pittman, who grew up one of 13 children in a sharecropper family. "I've always liked helping kids."

Every time he sits down with kids to play a game, Pittman teaches students critical and creative thinking skills. Chess, he says, requires students to think.

"Chess is not like checkers, where you can move a piece anywhere on the board," notes Pittman.

For his own part, Pittman is working hard to become an active reader.

"At age 62, Otis has taught us that we are all lifetime learners," says Anderson, "and that we are all teachers who can share our individual gifts with others."

Adds Anderson: "By his courage and willingness to learn, Otis has truly inspired all of us."

Photo by Randy Squires

As a music teacher in rural Tutopolis, Illinois, Craig Lindvahl spends his spare time producing, writing, and composing documentaries.

His talents and special "hands-on" approach recently won him the Mid-America Emmy for his documentary titled "Weathered Secrets: Barns of the American Midwest." Telling the histories of German, Polish, and Finnish barns in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, Lindvahl goes beneath the wood barn surfaces painted red.

"I explore the life that exists around the barns," explains Lindvahl. "Looking behind the romanticized image of barns reveals the less than perfect, real-life struggles of American families."

Lindvahl has produced two other documentaries, "They Served With Honor" about World War II veterans and "Destination: Marshall Islands," a music video that linked his students and the Peace Corps.

Lindvahl did not intend to make the classroom his career when he first started teaching 21 years ago, but he quickly found a love for the profession and his students.

"By working on documentaries, I spark family discussions across the country," says Lindvahl. "But, with teaching, I affect children's lives every day."

Lindvahl divides his time between teaching music to first through sixth graders, working with the local junior high and high school bands, and his extracurricular filmmaking.

"You don't have to be confined by what you do or what you teach," says Lindvahl. "Kids push you to do things. We can learn from them."

Lindvahl is currently working on another documentary, about his local high school basketball team and its relationship with small-town Tutopolis.

Riding the Airwaves

Photo by Chase Photo

During her 23-year career as an elementary school teacher in Michigan, Betty Smith never dreamed of becoming a radio talk show host. But, for the last two years, Smith has entertained and informed listeners of WSDP Radio (88.5 FM) in Plymouth-Canton through her weekly show, "Lemonade with BJ."

"It all started when the radio station staff visited my local senior citizens center," explains Smith, who's now retired. "They announced they were interested in piloting a senior show and wanted volunteers. I said I was interested. Next thing I knew, I was writing the show and choosing music and guests."

Smith's guest list has ranged from retired football coach Bo Schembechler to local teachers.

"I try to use my show to raise important issues as well as entertain," says Smith. "I also show listeners that retirees are not couch potatoes, they're active in the community, in the schools, in the churches."

Smith's Wednesday morning show has become a staple to seniors and non-seniors alike.

"This has become a great new career, and I'm having a wonderful time," adds Smith. "It just shows you, never say never."

Music Makes the Man

Photo by Fred Solowey

Unhappy in his previous career, San Diego teacher Keith Ballard has found his calling: teaching mariachi music and heading up a steel drum band at a middle and high school just three-and-a-half miles from the Mexican border.

Now 36, Keith Ballard spent much of his 20s selling pharmaceuticals to Phoenix doctors.

"The job was monotonous, boring, easy, and decent-paying," he recalls. "I wanted something more out of life."

So Ballard--who had experience playing percussion instruments professionally--went back to school for degrees in music and secondary education. Now Ballard teaches all five instruments used in mariachi bands--violins, trumpets, guitars, guitarrones, and vihuellas--to seventh and eighth graders.

Last year Ballard started an Island Steel Drum Band at Montgomery High School. The band--one of the largest such groups in the country--has been a great hit, appearing on the nationally televised "Donny and Marie Show" last August and cutting a CD at Montgomery Middle School, which has a predominantly Mexican-American student body.

"I believe that many of these kids feel better about themselves, thanks to mariachi," says Ballard. "They're not alone. I always wanted to do something that could make a difference in people's lives. I feel like I have one of the greatest jobs in the world."

Life on the Bottom

Ever heard of the Strait of Juan de Fuca? High school science teacher Ken Harasty has. Harasty, who teaches in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, spent time last summer off the coast of Canada and Washington State and experienced the local straits from an unusual angle--up from the ocean floor.

Harasty and seven other science teachers accompanied university professors to the Juan de Fuca area last summer. On a series of deep-sea dives, researchers gathered tube worms to study how they can live at 2,276 feet below sea level.

Harasty was the only teacher in the research group to dive to the ocean bottom in the expedition's deep sea vehicle.

"Life at the bottom of the ocean is a whole different world," says Harasty. "Having that perspective gave me personal experience to draw on to teach my students."

Adds Harasty: "These opportunities for real research exist for all teachers. It takes some work, but participating in current research programs allows teachers to get real life experience on what they teach."

To find out more about this teaching project, log on to www.ocean.washington.edu/outreach/revel.

My Turn
Trying To Save Them All

One of the joys of teaching is running into relatives of former students and hearing about their successes. Sometimes, as this California teacher relates, the news isn’t so good.

By Ruben Cueto

Ruben Cueto has taught seventh grade language arts and social studies at Hargitt Middle School in Norwalk, California for seven years. His E-mail address is rubenc49 @aol.com.

My wife made an appointment for me at my local hair salon after work. The day had been uneventful, considering that I teach middle school.

This means no major property damage or unforeseen amputations had occurred in my seventh grade classroom.

Walking into the salon, a woman I didn’t know approached me. She asked me if I was a teacher. She said she recognized me as the teacher of her young cousin. His name was Francisco, though everyone called him Kiko.

My mind hit the rewind button. Kiko was one of those bright kids who thought homework assignments were part of an option package he’d rather pass on. His quick mind and restless spirit made his behavior a challenge.

Still, Kiko was likable, even admirable. I would catch him helping other students with their work, even when he didn’t bother to do it himself. But I never praised him for this. That might have damaged his veneer of coolness.

I remembered one incident in seventh grade. It was time to turn in homework, and Kiko gave his classic “forgot-it-at-home” routine. His parents were aware of his poor work habits, but I felt I had to intervene again. Too much potential was being wasted here.

One evening I drove to Kiko’s house around the dinner hour. Surprise covered his mother’s face when she saw me, but that word doesn’t begin to describe Kiko’s reaction. His face was pale and his arms were swinging back and forth like some early 20th century attempt at flight.

I told his mom that Kiko keeps forgetting the work at home, so I was stopping by to pick it up. There’s no need to describe what happened next. You’ve pictured it already.

Fast forward to some years later. Kiko advanced to high school. I was told he had matured—and was even doing his homework—but that was all I knew. Once students leave the classroom, they drift from our lives like autumn leaves.

Unfortunately, the news I would receive about Kiko would be most unwelcome. He had gone drinking and driving with a cousin during spring vacation. They had a serious auto accident. There’s no need to describe what happened. You’ve pictured it already.

Back to the hair salon, present day, and with Kiko’s cousin. She laughed as I told her of my home visit. That was her cousin alright. I then relayed to her the postscript to my visit that very few people knew about. A couple of days after my surprise visit, Kiko came up to me.

“Why did you do that?” he asked. “Why did you come over my house?”

I remember looking at him as if I were looking at myself.

“Because you’re worth saving, Kiko.”

His cousin then lost her smile. She began to cry. She cried enough for us both. No words came to me. I awkwardly said something to end the conversation quickly and sat to await my haircut. I had made a complete stranger cry.

I sat in the hair stylist’s chair, staring at nothing, staring at everything. I thought about all the things Kiko would miss. I watched my hair fall to the floor, thankful for every student I’ve ever had. I thought about all my former students and the current crop. I thought about tomorrow’s lesson plan. And I thought about who needed saving.

Editor's Note

In the early ’80s, NEA Today regularly carried ads from a company selling grade calculators. I don’t know if the company’s still in business, but my guess is it couldn’t keep up with the sophisticated electronic tools that reside in the working environment of many school staff.

I’m pretty sure that that grade calculator wouldn’t have been able to handle some of today’s grading systems, at least not the one that produced my daughter’s recent mid-term report.

It was an electronic marvel—a two-page print out with rows and rows of raw scores for quizzes, tests, homework assignments, and participation. Each was assigned a certain weight within a category and then a percentage of the total for the subject.

I was tempted to call the teacher to find out what kind of wondrous calculator had produced such a detailed accounting for each of her 30-some history/language arts students. Even if I’d wanted to, there was no way I could have done the calculations to refute the final grade.

Another interesting idea came my way recently by phone. A new start-up company was pitching the value of software that would allow a music teacher to grade student performances on the spot using this company’s software and a hand-held computer.

Instead of slogging through a bunch of cryptic notes, the teacher could just key in an evaluation, then download the notes into the traditional desktop computer. The idea came from a music teacher who’d spent 20 years trying to find an easier way to judge his students’ musical works.

We’re constantly bombarded with information about new products coming to the educational market. Whenever we can we’ll pass along news about some of these new tools in future issues of NEA Today.

—Bill Fischer

Letters

Wrong Number
Lynn Bonsey’s article “Dial T for Teacher” (My Turn, January) sent a chill up my spine. Not only would I never give out my home number to my students, I don’t even let them know the name of the town that I live in.

Maybe Surry, Maine, is like the idyllic Mayberry RFD, but I teach in a large suburban school district just outside Washington, D.C. Twenty years ago, as a new teacher and single mother, I moved to an apartment just a few blocks away from the high school where I was hired. I wanted to be part of the community and have my two children, then three and eight, grow up in the town where I worked.

I laughed off the first incident when a carload of students came by on a Saturday night and yelled out for me to come party with them. I even tried to ignore the obscene phone calls.

But the day after report cards came out, I discovered someone had thrown a brick through my bedroom window, flattened the tires on my car, and spray-painted obscenities on my front door. I recognized the handwriting and the mis-spellings.

I moved to the next county. Ever since then I’ve paid to have my phone number unlisted. With the advent of caller ID I don’t even call parents from my home phone.

Margaret Bartley
Montgomery County, Maryland

Way to Go!
Congratulations to Barbara Morgan (Interview, January) for her strength and perseverance in becoming not only a teacher, but an astronaut in training.

Southwest Wisconsin teachers had the opportunity to hear Marsha Ivins, a veteran of four space flights, present a stimulating recount of her experiences.

Educators should sit up and take notice of these professional women in space, but so should our up-and-coming future—the children in our classrooms.

Marcia Chambers
Lancaster, Wisconsin

Bytes for Beginners
With a little care, the modern searcher has a tremendous advantage because of the search engine, as explained in Bits & Bytes (January).

Search engines are a funny breed. They are mechanical in their routines, but they seem almost human in their quest to make sense of a user’s request. Following the rules presented in the article will reduce a user’s time considerably, but I would like to offer one tip that has helped me immensely.

When I first started searching on the Internet, I simply typed in a keyword that I was looking for (on Alta Vista), not realizing that the engine would produce any and everything that has this combination of letters in it.

I soon found that limiting my search by adding quotation marks quickly produced better results. I’m not sure if this works with all search engines, but it has been very beneficial for me.

Albert Baggetta
Agawan, Massachusetts

The “Good News for Reading” article (Bits & Bytes, January) was an eye-opener for me. It’s great to know that “CNN Newsroom” offers a Web site with lesson plans that can go along with our educational program.

As a teacher, I’m always interested in finding new methods to improve my students' reading skills and to better meet the needs of all my students. Getting students to enjoy reading is very important.

In order for students to be successful in reading, you need to build a strong reading program. Using a variety of resources will do that.

I would like to thank Wanda Zamorano for this information.

Judy Pounds
Durham, North Carolina

21st Century Schools
Our goal for public education in the next century should be more than survival (Debate, January).

The time has come for us to overhaul our outdated educational system before outsiders do it for us. After all, the current factory model of education, where we warehouse children in buildings that resemble prisons, has changed very little over the last nearly 100 years.

Yes, we have tinkered endlessly with the system, but the basic institutional structure of school has changed negligibly over that time.

The first thing to change is the idea of Carnegie Units where “seat time” equals learning. Education is not a function of time. Education should be about what one can do, rather than how long someone “has been exposed to learning,” quietly sitting in seats listening to others.

The belief that all students a certain age need to learn the same thing at exactly the same time and rate is ludicrous.

Most adults would agree that much of their education was meaningless—and, at times, mind numbingly boring.

Yet our schools have changed little, and we wonder why our children loathe going to school for 12 years and set “getting through” as their primary purpose for being there.

If we do not set about improving education as a priority for the 21st century, we won’t have to worry about much else.

David Fiore
Bend, Oregon

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
In regard to the response from Renae Hanson (Letters, January) on paraprofessionals, I don't think the issue here is whether teachers should receive a duty-free lunch while the “aides” relieve them. The issue is a matter of respect!

While the teacher probably receives at least one duty-free prep each day, the para is off to another classroom enriching and reinforcing the learning of yet another group of students. No break for her!

While we’re comparing (paralegals to attorneys), let’s look at the percentage of dues compared to the salary of both paras and teachers. The para pays a whole lot more!

Paras do not profess to be teachers. But they are human beings. And as for you “having” a para, you do not have a para. The para is there to assist and enhance the lessons, working alongside the teacher—not for her!

Rachelle Hafey
Howell, New Jersey

About the E-Rate
I take exception to your praise of the E-rate as discussed in your November issue (Interview).

First, the E-rate is a tax, imposed mostly on businesses (I know: Besides teaching full-time, I own a business), and cleverly disguised on our monthly phone bills.

Second, the E-rate is oppressive to Internet service providers. One of the owners of a local ISP told me recently that he could provide the 15 schools in our district free Internet access on his system for less money that he is paying as a tax, on his phone bills, to support the E-rate!

Third, your reference to learning more about E-rate using www.fcc.gov is incorrect. There is no reference to E-rate anywhere at that site.

Alan Kent
Sebring, Florida

Editor’s note: The background on the E-rate appears on the Web at www.sl.universalservice.org.

Academic Freedom
I have been an active member of NEA and the Georgia Association of Educators for 16 years. I have just finished re-reading your November 1998 article, “Academic Freedom Takes a Hit.” I cannot believe that it laments a higher court’s rejection of the use of profanity and R-rated films in America’s public schools.

How sad it is that people think like this today!

You should be glad we have some strong limitations on these practices where our young people are concerned, and you don’t have to worry that there’s going to be too much censorship—we Americans have very little of that once we graduate from high school.

If public schools don’t start teaching more of what is right and good, our nation is going to end up with many more adults whose consciences have been seared—and some of them might become your next-door neighbors!

I believe the Holy Bible is right when it says, “Raise up children in the way they should go, and they will never depart from it.”

You should believe it, too.

D.S. Wesson
Doraville, Georgia

On Gun Control
In a letter in the November issue of NEA Today, an Iowa teacher compares the death toll of guns to that of automobiles. Such a comparison needs to be examined more closely.

To drive a car, a person must pass a test, which, for many people, is the most difficult test they will ever take. Perhaps we should do the same for guns. Every vehicle must be registered every year with the state, and in some states must pass inspection every year. Compare that to guns.

Dozens of safety devices are featured on automobiles, many required by law. The NRA will not allow even one safety device to be required by law on guns.

Hundreds of thousands of laws govern every aspect of the use of motor vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers spend much of their time enforcing these laws. By comparison, the laws governing the use of firearms are miniscule.

Every vehicle owner must pay hundreds of dollars per year for insurance, in case the vehicle is in an accident or is misused.

Shouldn’t we do at least as much for guns?

A more complete comparison would also include the basic purpose, or function, of motor vehicles and firearms and their relative contribution to society.

Eugene Carlson
Mitchell, South Dakota

Out of Place
While I wish the best for all peoples, the article about sweatshop child labor (News, November) was incomplete and misplaced. As my daughter asked, “But what will 12 cents buy in China? Perhaps a lot.”

Please don’t try to apply American standards to other countries. And the article, while compassionate, does not belong in a publication that serves American professional educators. Perhaps the editorial section of the Sunday New York Times would be a more appropriate place.

Gary Wilson
Northeast, Maryland

Faulty Comparison
Keith Ensminger’s comments about the meaningless comparison between American and Asian school systems (Letters, November) were right on the money as far as homework and instructional duties are concerned, but there is much more to be said about cram schools and other factors.

Over half of all Japanese junior high and high schoolers attend cram schools (private, for-profit test-preparation institutions) on evenings and weekends, in hopes of achieving higher scores on high school and college entrance examinations.

Cram schools teach students how to take standardized tests and instruct them in accelerated versions of the national curriculum for math, science, and language arts. The Japanese invest tremendous amounts of time and money in cram schools because, in Japan, one’s alma mater determines one’s career choices to much higher degree than in the United States.

Anne Hooghart
Battle Creek, Michigan

NEAT Redesign

As I read magazines, I find that NEA Today is too tall, a little flimsy, and more difficult to control (on the order of a newspaper). Have you noticed?

Donna Fredrick
Grand Island, Nebraska

News: Interview
Paul Newman
Working for New Priorities

Actor and businessman Paul Newman is joining with business leaders across the nation to urge a greater investment in education.

It’s lunchtime at the Daytona Speedway in Florida, and actor, businessman, and race car driver Paul Newman is in a race against time. During a small window of quiet, Newman tapes a television ad for the new national group, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, an effort led by Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen.

Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities is now launching a massive media campaign that calls for the reallocation of precious federal funds from the Pentagon to domestic programs like education and health care for children.

For Newman and other business leaders involved in the campaign, it’s time to get the message out about unnecessary Pentagon spending and the need to shift the nation’s federal budget priorities. Newman spoke briefly recently with NEA Today’s Anita Merina.

Q: Why have you joined the Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities campaign?
Because I just had my first two grandchildren. I want them to have a future filled with opportunity and the best education possible. But not every child is as lucky.

About fifty cents out of every discretionary dollar spent by Congress now go to the Pentagon budget, while just six cents go to educating our children and four cents go to health care. That’s too much for Pentagon defense contractors and too little for our children’s education and our families’ health care.

The only way we can give our children the best education in the world and prepare them for the next century is by funding the programs that serve them.

Q: Over the years, other groups have tried to lobby for cuts in military spending. Why makes you think Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities will be successful?
Just because you come up against a wall doesn’t mean you quit. I think, little by little, people are beginning to understand there’s a lot of pork out there, in almost every area.

Building weapons that we don’t need, don’t work, and aren’t necessary, and have no mission—that’s not bad politics, that’s robbery.

Q: Those who want to keep military spending high say the nation can’t afford to make cutbacks that would risk our national security. What do you say?
Retired Vice-Admiral John Shanahan, the head of our business leader committee of military advisors, is the man with the numbers. He says we have enough warheads in our arsenal to destroy every major city on the planet 10 times over.

If we reduce that arsenal so that we could destroy every major city on the planet only four times over, we’d save $15 billion a year, every year.

That could buy a lot of education for a lot of kids.

Q: What do you hope educators will do?
Continue teaching good values to all your students. Help them recognize the priorities we need to have to keep this nation competitive and strong.

Paul Newman is one of more than 500 business executives who have joined the Sensible Priorities Campaign, explains campaign staffer (and former NEA staffer) Virginia Witt:

Q: Who’s involved in the Sensible Priorities work?
Many of the top names in business make up the ranks of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, and a number of retired senior officers are part of the effort, too.

Our senior military advisors understand that we can defend our national interests, against all conceivable threats, for a lot less than we are spending now, and our business leaders know that investing in domestic programs like education will keep our nation strong.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish?
We’re out to convince the politicians and Presidential candidates that the nation needs to shift 15 percent out of the Pentagon budget for contractors and weapons manufacturers and invest this savings in education, health care, and state and local programs that support children.

For the cost of one F22 fighter plane—$188 million—we can build 20 new schools. For the $15 billion a year savings we’d gain by reducing nuclear weapons, we could enroll every eligible child in Head Start and cover every uninsured child in America.

BLSP members are using their expertise as marketers, business leaders, and military leaders to arm Americans with information and let the people know the real facts.

Q: How much military spending waste is there?
There’s a lot of waste in the Pentagon budget. It’s not just the legendary $640 toilet seat. The Pentagon cannot account for $43 billion of its budget over the last decade.

According to the General Accounting Office, the Pentagon books are so bad that they can’t even be audited. And the Pentagon continues to receive billions more than it asks for.

Q: The Sensible Priorities Campaign is targeting the public outside the Washington beltway. Why?
Because that’s where the campaign needs to be—out in the communities. This is a grassroots, community effort. It’s the people who need to raise their voices and send a message to the politicians.

Q: What can average citizens do?
Get informed. There’s a report about defense spending on our Web site, written by Dr. Lawrence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense under President Reagan. Find out what the facts are and take a stand.

Linking Cultures, Building Better Schools
TV and Kids: Not Always A Good Mix
Teachers as Actors at the Head of the Class
Members Behind Works4Me Work Overtime for You
NEA Innovators | Trends

Learning: Innovators
Linking Cultures, Building Better Schools

In Philadelphia, an educator helps Asian American kids forge connections and find themselves.

Realizing the need for an “activist pan-Asian group that could address social justice issues,” educator-activist Debbi Wei in 1985 co-founded Asian Americans United.

Back then, most Asian organizations in her Philadelphia area were identified by country or focused on the needs of either recent arrivals or long-term residents, remembers Wei, a curriculum specialist in Asian Pacific American studies for the Philadelphia city schools.

“We wanted to link across ethnicity,” says Wei, “and to help the most disenfranchised.”

When Asian Americans United started, Wei, who is Chinese American, was an English-as-a-second-language teacher organizing in the neighborhood where she lived and worked.

“I felt committed to my kids and their families,” Wei says. “I see my role as an educator holistically. In Asia, teachers are viewed as a second parent, but that respect comes with responsibility.”

In 1986, Wei’s fledgling group began addressing student issues. Involving students was also a good way to organize the Asian community across disparate cultures and languages.

“The young people learning English had common denominators––a Vietnamese kid, a Chinese kid, and a Lao kid could all speak English, and they were all growing up here and understood racism,” Wei recalls. “From the start, the youth wanted their home language respected at their schools and to see themselves in the curriculum.”

Impact:
In the mid-1980s, Asian Americans United filed a class action lawsuit charging that Asians in the area weren’t getting an equitable education, because bilingual education wasn’t offered.

The case eventually resulted in the creation of “sheltered” ESL classes, where ESL students could take all their subjects together. The outcome, to Wei, was not ideal, but the new arrangement did help students speaking little to no English who couldn’t keep up in the regular classroom.

After the case, Asian Americans United continued to fight for bilingual ed, and, two years ago, the district finally started a small Asian bilingual program in two languages.

Teenagers belonging to Asian Americans United’s Community Youth Leadership Project currently mentor younger kids and help organize community projects. With their help, the group recently won bus transportation to a bilingual school serving children in Chinatown.

For More:
Write to Asian Americans United, 913 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, contact 215/925-1538, or send E-mail to aaunited@critpath.org.

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TV and Kids: Not Always A Good Mix

Innovator: Tom Robinson

Job:
Assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine at Stanford University

Bright Idea:
In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Robinson found that American children are getting fatter because they spend too much time watching TV, playing video games, and engaging in other sedentary activities.

The link between obesity and children’s viewing habits may seem obvious, but other studies previously conducted on the topic had found only a weak relationship, Robinson notes.

Robinson’s study took a novel approach. He sought to change student viewing habits before measuring their weight. He also developed an 18-lesson curriculum giving students a major role in determining their own TV watching.

The study started with third and fourth graders at two San Jose elementary schools monitoring their TV viewing for a week. The students were then challenged to go 10 days without any TV at all.

About two-thirds succeeded. For the next six months, teachers collected weekly SMART (Student Media Awareness to Reduce Television) slips, which indicated how closely students came to meeting a personal budget of daily TV watching.

Six months later, Robinson found reduced weight gain among these students, compared to a control group at a school with similar demographics.

Impact:
The teachers in this study had a big impact on their kids’ TV viewing and, as a result, their health, says Robinson, “a bigger impact than I have as a single pediatrician.”

Robinson hopes to have both school and parent versions of the curriculum available for distribution by next fall.

For more:
Contact Robinson at trobinson@scrdp.stanford.edu. To read his study, visit http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v282n16/full/joc90434.html.

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Teachers as Actors at the Head of the Class

For almost 20 years Dr. Morris U. Burns, professor of theater at Colorado State University, has given workshops across the country with his colleague Dr. Porter Wood, helping teachers explore the connection between acting and teaching. In 1992, Burns and Wood co-wrote Teacher as Actor.

What’s the initial reaction of teachers to your “acting” workshops?
There’s an element of fear, but teachers like it once they realize we’re not trying to turn them into actors. We’re just helping them expand the skills they already have. After all, teachers are already involved in public performance.

Give an example of an acting technique that could work in the classroom?
First, develop an awareness of how you can project feeling to your audience. The number one feeling teachers need to project is enthusiasm. It can be as simple as focusing on how you hand out papers or use a pointer. For an actor, nothing’s done physically that’s not important. Even simple actions can communicate boredom or enthusiasm.

It’s not uncommon for teachers to get bored. It happens to actors who play the same role repeatedly. Try this technique. Ask yourself, if I were excited about doing this, what would I do? Recall a time when you were excited and draw on those feelings.

How can thinking like an actor impact discipline, learning?
Just as actors reserve part of their consciousness to observe the audience, teachers need to be aware of student reactions.

If kids lose focus, take time out for exercises. Before class, rearrange physical space, putting desks in a circle to create more openness and energy. If you lecture in front of the class, try exploring students’ physical space. At different times of day, change your normal ritual to grab the students’ attention.

What about feedback?
Some actors develop a core of other actors who watch performances and give feedback. As teachers, we’re pretty protective of ourselves. It would be valuable to develop, as a group, a way to guide each other and give feedback.

For More:
E-mail Morris Burns at mburns@vines.colostate.edu to order Teacher as Actor ($16.95) or to get information on his acting workshops.

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Members Behind Works 4Me Work Overtime for You



Innovator: Susie Olesen

Job:
Special education teacher and curriculum director at Greenfield Elementary and High Schools, Greenfield, Iowa

Bright Idea:
Three years ago, Susie Olesen brought her passion for networking with other teachers to the Internet. That’s when NEA created Works4Me, a free weekly E-mail that features practical teaching tips. Olesen, a classroom veteran, volunteered to help launch the program.

“Three of us got started giving tips ourselves and asking for suggestions from friends,” she recalls.

The volunteers would then edit the tips into the weekly Works4Me E-mails. As word spread about the weekly E-mails, more and more teachers began signing up to receive Works4Me, and the wider audience started generating more and more tips. Works4Me subscribers are now contributing as many as 40 tips in a single week.

All the tips circulated through the Works4Me E-mail list are also available at the NEA Web site. The Works4Me area offers tips on topics ranging from teaching techniques to managing your classroom.

Tips come from teachers who’ve tested the ideas in their classrooms, says Olesen, who helps determine site content. Those educators who want to have in-depth discussions about topics––ranging from Shakespeare to guided reading––can join “threaded” discussion groups.

“Teachers often are isolated and need to feel connected with other teachers and their ideas,” says Olesen. “Works4Me provides that opportunity.”

Impact:
When it started in 1997, Works4Me had about 20 subscribers to its E-mail list. At last count the number had grown to 23,759. One recent tip featured on the Works4Me Web site was downloaded approximately 10,000 times.

“The power of teachers being connected with each other is not to be diminished,” Olesen says. “Together we have far more ideas than apart.”

For More:
Visit www.nea.org/helpfrom/growing/works4me/index.html.

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NEA Innovators

If the Teacher Education Initiative (TEI) had to be summed up in one word, it would be “collaboration,” says NEA’s Sylvia Seidel, who directs the program.

Now in its fifth year, TEI is devoted to transforming teacher education through partnerships among schools, universities, the Association, and its affiliates.

The initiative takes the best practices from current research and tests them in professional development schools (PDSs). “PDSs provide a reality-based training experience for teachers-to-be and rich [research] opportunities for educational professionals,” says Seidel.

For a copy of Teaching to Teach: New Partnerships in Teacher Education ($16.95, Item #2083-9-00-F), a new NEA book based on TEI findings, call 800/229-4200 or visit www.nea.org/books.

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Trends

When it comes to getting students new to speaking English proficient in the language, most politicians and policy wonks agree that three years is sufficient, according to a recent article in Education Week.

Supporters of the time frame include the Clinton administration, House Democrats and Republicans, and most state officials with a position on the issue.

But education researchers say it takes four to six years to become proficient and called the three-year mark "arbitrary" and unproven.

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News:
Heroes & Zeroes

Bill Cosby’s got his priorities straight. A recent episode of the “Cosby” show visited an alternative universe where teachers, not athletes, make millions of dollars, and educators live a lifestyle complete with groupies, shoe contracts, and school supply endorsements. “What we want to do with this show,”says Cosby, “is really try to give some airpower to these teachers and superintendents and principals.”

ABC News correspondent John Stossel bashed public education big time in a recent “20/20” broadcast. Stossel alleged that “SAT scores are lower than they used to be,” that the public school graduation rate is just 49 percent, and that only 20 percent of teachers feel prepared to teach to high standards. “Given the level of inaccuracy in Stossel’s report,” notes the watchdog group Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), “it’s worthwhile to note the irony—an error-filled attack on the supposedly low standards of our public education system.” Read more about Stossel at www.fair.org/activism/stossel-education.html.

Reda Thurman, a fourth grade teacher at Albany (Kentucky) Elementary School administered the Heimlich maneuver and saved a 9-year-old from choking on a piece of a pencil. Lucky kid. Thurman is a former emergency medical technician—and a very typical teacher. “When I’m in here with these kids, they are my kids, and I watch them as I would my own,” says this NEA member. “And I love them. They know that.”

At the start of a teacher salary dispute in New South Wales, Australia, state education and training director Ken Boston spent public money on newspaper ads that ridiculed and demeaned the profession. “Dr. Boston presented teachers as overpaid and underworked,” reports Iocal teacher leader Dick Shearman, “and he’s now pushing to cut wages in real terms over the next four years and worsen the conditions under which teachers do their work.”