Inside Scoop

Gender Wars

Is it time for a truce?

Do boys have an unfair advantage in school, or do girls? The confusing debate about gender and education has gone back and forth over the past decade.

But a new report by the American Association of University Women (AAUW)-Beyond the "Gender Wars"-takes a different approach.

Its conclusion: Both boys and girls are thriving in some areas of school life and struggling in others. And where they are struggling, the prejudices and expectations created by gender roles are holding them back.

What's the war about?

In 1992, AAUW released a study called How Schools Shortchange Girls. It found that women and girls were underrepresented in curriculum materials, that teaching behavior and tests tended to favor boys, and that girls trailed boys in mathematics and science. Such inequities, AAUW argued, severely limit opportunities for women and girls.

That was the first salvo. The other side has since fired back, most recently with The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men by Christina Hoff Sommers of Clark University. She charges that educators are trying to break the spirit of boys and make them more like girls.

AAUW's new report summarizes discussion at a symposium of researchers who study boys' and girls' experiences in school. It says educators should and could do better for both boys and girls.

"Issues of gender and gender equity are not either-or," says Barrie Thorne of the University of California, Berkeley, one of those who took part. "This is not a zero-sum game. There are multiple problems in the education of girls and boys that need to be addressed simultaneously."

Also, says the report, it is wrong to portray all boys as fitting one pattern, and all girls as fitting a different pattern. The characteristics of boys and girls overlap a great deal, and their problems in school are often shaped more by economics, race, or language than by gender.

"Race, class, and ethnicity should not be rendered invisible in some generic 'boy crisis,' 'girl crisis,'" says Michael Kimmel of the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

How do girls seem better off in school?

Girls are much less likely than boys to be diagnosed with attention disorder or be placed in special education programs. Girls also tend to outperform boys in reading and writing.

More women than men are pursuing college degrees. But, the report notes, that is mostly true in minority groups.
The numbers of white men and women in college are almost equal: 51 percent female and 49 percent male. Among African-American students, 63 percent are female and only 37 percent are male. Among Hispanic college students, 55 percent are female and 45 percent male.

How do boys seem better off?

Many more boys are in math-related fields such as computer science and engineering, which can lead to high-income careers.
Boys also often avoid some of the inner struggles that can lead to anorexia, depression and other disorders that peak in adolescence for girls. Girls' self-esteem and their interest in school work both tend to sink during the middle school years.
But this isn't true for all groups. Re-search indicates that African-American girls usually do not suffer a loss of self-esteem in early adolescence, and they are less likely than white girls to report a negative body image or worries about their weight.

Aren't differences among boys and girls in our genes?

"Anyone who would say that there's no such thing as nature would be silly, because boys and girls do have some differences," says William Pollack of Harvard University.
But he contends that social influences-from parents and other people-are 10 times more powerful than biology in determining how boys and girls experience school.

"When you talk to parents, they'll tell you, 'Oh it's really true. Girls really are more this way and boys are more that way,'" says Susan Bailey of the Wellesley Center for Research on Women.
Bailey doesn't want to deny these parents' feelings. She does want to acknowledge them and offer a reason why that might be the case--and also argue "that it doesn't necessarily have to be the case."

What can educators do?

Provide a school environment that goes "beyond access," says Pollack.

Yes, adults have dealt with legal issues such as prohibiting sexual discrimination in education. But schools need to aim for equal outcomes, not just equal opportunities.

The report urges building a culture that supports a wide range of choices for both boys and girls.

"Boys supposedly now have all kinds of opportunities to do things that they never did before," says Pollack. "But they won't do them. They won't take the chance because they're going to be made fun of, just as men can take paternity leave in three or four major corporations, but when you study new fathers, they never take it."

He adds that boys say "they'd like to have more of a range of how they can express themselves, that it shouldn't be uncool to be smart.

"They say, 'We want a school environment that can help support us so we don't get made fun of every time we try to be who we are.'"

-Dina S. Gómez

For More:
Order the report ($9.95) from the American Association of
University Women at www.aauw.org/ 2000/research.html.

Students Grading Teachers

Can a competent, tenured teacher be fired solely on the basis of student evaluations? A famous Nebraska school thinks so, but a federal court says "no."

Immortalized in the 1938 Spencer Tracy movie Boys Town, Father Flanagan's Boys Home is well known for its unique mission to house and educate troubled youth.

But the nonprofit school's treatment of NEA member Michael Mullins was, well, somewhat less than charitable.

The school fired him in 1999—despite glowing administrator and peer evaluations of his job performance—solely because a handful of students gave him poor marks on an anonymous student survey.

Teachers at Boys Home are evaluated in eleven categories of job performance. Administrators and co-workers conduct the evaluation in ten of the areas. The 11th category, "Student Satisfaction," is the product of a student questionnaire. The teacher has to score at least a 6.0 on a 7-point scale in each of the 11 categories in order to "meet expectations" and be rehired.

Mullins had taught 11th grade English at the Omaha, Nebraska, school since 1984. And by all accounts, he was a stellar teacher.

On his 1998-99 evaluation, fellow teachers and his principal gave Mullins almost perfect ratings in the ten categories of job performance they assessed.

But the kids—for whatever reason—didn't see it that way. In two "Student Satisfaction" surveys during that year, Mullins fell a fraction short of the magic 6.0 figure, scoring 5.57 and 5.74.

While most of the students gave him superior marks, others flunked him, skewing the survey results.

Their complaints? "He gives us too much homework"; he's "too pleasant and positive"; he should show "more movies" in class; and "he talks funny and doesn't have no humor."

So the school board voted not to renew the contract of the 15-year veteran teacher. The only reason given was his failure to achieve the 6.0 score on the two student evaluations.

Upset but undaunted, Mullins turned to his union for help, and the Boys Town Education Association filed a grievance over the termination.

The school argued that under the collective bargaining agreement, it had the right to terminate a teacher after two unsatisfactory performance evaluations.

The union countered that the bargaining agreement also prohibited the school from dismissing employees for "arbitrary and capricious" reasons,

In an October 1999 decision, Arbitrator Michael Gordon sided with the union and ruled that the nonrenewal was "arbitrary and capricious" because it was based solely on student evaluations.

"The core defect," Gordon wrote, "is not the Home's professional judgment about [Mullins] but the fact it ceded that judgment exclusively to an anonymous, non-validated student questionnaire."

Gordon noted that many of the students "are emotionally troubled, educationally disadvantaged and inexperienced in responsible decision making." The arbitrator said it was "unreasonable" for the school to rely on "student surveys about 'satisfaction' levels" to justify firing Mullins, particularly where the school's own trained professionals gave him great marks.

The arbitrator ordered the school to reinstate Mullins with back pay and benefits.

The school then asked a federal judge to throw out the arbitrator's award. But U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Bataillon refused, declaring that the arbitrator acted well within his authority in ruling that Mullins' termination was arbitrary and capricious and violated the contract.

Father Flanagan's Boys Home then appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which upheld the arbitrator's ruling in Mullins's favor.

The Boys Home decision likely will have only limited precedential value because the court simply upheld an arbitrator's interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement.

Nevertheless, the case sends a clear message to school employers that they shouldn't base employment decisions solely on student evaluations.

—Michael D. Simpson
NEA Office of General Counsel

In a decision with profound implications for the reproductive freedom rights of female workers nationwide, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled last December that an employer's health insurance plan must cover prescription contraceptives for women if the plan covers other prescription drugs such as Viagra.

The EEOC declared that the failure to provide such coverage is illegal under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The PDA applies to all school districts and colleges and universities.

NEA joined with a coalition of some 65 organizations represented by the National Women's Law Center in petitioning the EEOC for the ruling.

Citing the EEOC decision, a federal court in Seattle last June became the first in the nation to find an employer guilty of discrimination for failing to include prescription contraceptives in its health care plan.

Ruling in favor of Jennifer Erickson, a pharmacist at Bartell Drug Co., Judge Robert Lasnik said, "Although the plan covers almost all drugs and devices used by men, the exclusion of prescription contraceptives creates a gaping hole in the coverage offered to female employees, leaving a fundamental and immediate healthcare need uncovered."

The National Women's Law Center has prepared a brochure titled "Take Action" that provides employees with practical advice about how to obtain coverage for prescription contraceptives from their employers. It's posted at www.nwlc.org/pill4us/index.cfm.

The EEOC decision is posted at www.eeoc.gov/docs/decision-contraception.html.

—M.D.S.

In a surprising move that may affect many teachers' classroom procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether teachers can allow students to grade each other's tests.

As reported in the November 2000 NEA Today, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled that the common practice of peer grading violates a federal privacy statute known as FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. That's a 27-year-old law that prohibits schools from disclosing a student's "education records" without parental consent.

The appellate court said that students' test scores are education records and can't be disclosed to third parties-including other students.

Complaining that "our teachers are overworked and underpaid now," a dissenting judge warned, "What will happen to them when they can be sued by every irate parent or student claiming that someone saw a grade?"

The Washington Post applauded the Supreme Court's decision to enter the fray and urged the Justices to "correct this ridiculous holding." NEA will be filing an amicus brief urging reversal of the lower court decision.

The case, Owasso (Oklahoma) Inde-pendent School District v. Falvo, will be argued this fall, and a decision is expected sometime after the first of the year.

—M.D.S.

Departments: Resources

Public Education's Remarkable History

Book chronicles 200 years of schooling in America.

EXCERPT

"One article of faith among the founding fathers was that a republic could survive only if its citizens were educated. School has continued to shape the core of our national identity. 'The free common school system,' Adlai Stevenson once said, is 'the most American thing about America.'"

SCHOOL: The Story of American Public Education
Edited by Sarah Mondale and Sarah B. Patton, Foreword by Meryl Streep
Beacon Press, $30. From www.beacon.org.

On a typical school day this fall, almost a quarter of America's population will be inside a public school building. Even more will be working, in some way, to further education.

There is no doubt that public education is an enormous enterprise, one that is surrounded by a host of issues: how to educate children who don't speak English, how to fairly assess a child's academic potential, how to make education more equitable between the haves and have-nots, and how to find a balance between state and local control.

But according to School: The Story of American Public Education, the issues and questions educators and parents, politicians and voters grapple with today are not new. They have been around for 200 years, when free public schools were first introduced as a "radical, crazy-seeming" idea.

The book—which includes more than 125 black-and-white historic photographs, pictures, and line drawings that date back to colonial times—clearly presents America's struggle to educate all of its citizens over the last two centuries.

If you like an overview of history without a lot of detail, this book is for you. Designed as the companion piece to a four-part PBS documentary series that aired in early September, School is fast-moving, simplified, and vivid: the Cliff's Notes of America's public education history with a modern twist at the end.

The book is broken into four parts plus an introduction, each written by a different education historian.

Part one, by Carl Kaestle, looks at the "Common School" from 1770-1900. Formed in response to the Protestant concept that people needed to be able to read the Bible and interpret it for themselves, early schools were dealing with "multiculturism"—in a sense—even then. The bitter debate between Protestants and immigrant Catholics about the materials and methods presented in school led to the country's first Catholic schools in the mid-1800s.

In part two, Diane Ravitch looks at the role of the public school in "Americanizing immigrants" from 1900-1950. With the passing of child labor laws to get children out of factories and into school, many more students started graduating from high school. This is also the time when college attendance began to soar.

In part three, James Anderson looks at the public school in 1950-1980, with the challenges of Sputnik, and an increasing focus on science education and creating equal opportunities for all students.

And in part four, Larry Cuban examines the public school from 1980 to 2000 with a brief overview of many of the challenges that have been mounting over the years: charter schools, vouchers, home-schooling, corporate interest, and the never-ending push for high academic standards.

Like a good television program, the book is colored with an abundance of quotes from education experts and historians, as well as interesting facts about American schools. What's missing? The serious debate about the very debatable issues in part four, as well as the voices of children, parents, and teachers.

But the pictures, combined with the simplified version of history, make the book an easy weekend read. It puts into perspective what we tend to take for granted today: how middle-class women were lured a century years ago to western frontier towns to become teachers; what it took to abolish school segregation across the country; and how Mexican-American students in Texas inspired the movement for bilingual education.

More than anything, School demonstrates that even with all of its blisters and boils, American public education has made remarkable progress over the years — especially given the demands that Americans have placed on their schools. It explores how Americans have sought to shape their society through public education.

While it lacks in-depth detail, School does not gloss over the array of practical problems schools face. What it does is suggest that we take a closer look at how well education has, and has not, adapted to the remarkable pluralism of the American population.

—Dina S. Gómez

Books by NEA Members

Moonlight and Mill Whistles
By Terry Ward Tucker

The author is really South Carolina teacher Margaret Patterson writing under a pseudonym. Patterson, a teacher for more than 20 years, tells the story of a 13-year- old Tommy and his 17-year- old sister Jewel, both forced to work in a mill after their father dies early on and their mother is bedridden. Their lives change when a gypsy princess named Rona appears. A 52-page teacher's guide is available. $15 from Amazon.com.

Social Studies
Internet Director
By Pam Vaughan

Travel around the globe with a click of the mouse. Explore the amazing world of social studies by completing map projects, viewing flags of all the countries, and going on virtual expeditions from your desktop. Member Pam Vaughan provides a helpful guide to social studies via the Internet. E-mail Vaughan at www.pamcob@ix.netcom.com to request your Internet directory.

Lessons from the Hawk
By Mark Kennedy

Teachers know that students learn in different ways. Kennedy explains how students' learning styles can be matched with the subject matter and how homework can be designed to build on students' talents. Kennedy believes schools serve students best when they allow—and encourage—individuality and diversity. $18.95. Order from Psychology Press/Holistic Education Press, Box 328, Brandon, VT 05733-0328, or call 800/639-4122, or go to www.great-ideas.org.

Character Kaleidoscope: Chinese Mythology
By Irene Dea Collier

Learning Chinese mythology has never been so easy and fun. Learn about mythology's themes, characters, and symbols. Question and answer section follows each chapter. An expert commentary section enhances the myths with opinions by noted scholars. This book by NEA member Irene Dea Collier has lively illustrations that will amaze and capture the imagination of your students. 128 pp. $20.95. Visit www.enslow.com to order, or write: Enslow Publishers, Inc. PO Box 398, 40 Industrial Road, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-0398.

An Architectural Guidebook to Portland
By Bart King

If you're thinking about a visit to Portland, Oregon, you may want to consult this book. King has written and photographed the eye-catching architectural highlights Portland has to offer. The guide not only has pictures of the monuments, but also the history and the significance of each major building, park, warehouse, and many more landmarks found in the five-mile downtown district. $15.36 from Amazon.com.

An Architectural Guidebook to Portland
By Bart King

If you're thinking about a visit to Portland, Oregon, you may want to consult this new book. King has written and photographed the eye-catching architectural highlights Portland offers. The guide not only has pictures of the monuments, but also the history and the significance of each skyscraper, building, park, warehouse, and many more landmarks found in the five-mile downtown district. $21.95. To order, go to www.gibbs-smith.com or call 800/748-5439.

Teacher and writer Pollard-Johnson brings you a delightful story about the new boy in school who learns the true meaning of friends and how to be a friend, the hard way. To order, contact Perfection Learning Corporation at 515/546-0500.

Word Power: What Every Educator Needs To Know About Teaching Vocabulary
NEA Success in Reading Series
Steven Stahl and Barbara Kapinus
40 pp., $10.50 members, $12.50 nonmembers
#2050-2-00-FN

A good vocabulary is one of the major building blocks for success in reading, and every content area has vocabulary to master. Whether you're teaching third grade math, fifth grade literature, or high school science, Word Power offers K-12 classroom teachers proven techniques for effective vocabulary instruction. You'll find out how to increase the vocabulary and content understanding of your students, involve your students more actively in word learning, and guide your students toward the deep understanding of words that comes from thoughtful learning rather than rote memorization. The authors of Word Power, Steven Stahl and Barbara Kapinus, give teachers the tools they need to turn their students into "wordophiles," by verifying what all readers know—there's always been a vital link between a love of words and a love of reading.

EXCERPT
In order for a student to own a word, the word and its meaning must be readily available for communicating. Far too many students and teachers believe that getting a word or definition correct on a quiz constitutes knowing a word. When a student can use a new word in conversation or writing, he or she truly knows or owns that word. Instruction that goes beyond assigning words and their definitions as preparation for a test carries the message that knowing a word means being able to use or think about it in a variety of ways.

TVTips

P.O.V. — 5 Girls
PBS, October 2, 2001, 9 p.m. ET, check local listings. Web site (right) goes active September 27.
Following the everyday challenges of five real teenage girls growing up in diverse sections of Chicago over a three-year period, this film provides a glimpse into their struggles with poverty, sexual identity, race, parents' expectations, first loves, and overall challenges of growing up female in America. The program aims to break stereotypes that girls are unable to navigate through adolescence for themselves or that they don't desire relationships with their parents and other adults.

Insect Safari: Earth's Ecosystem
CNN, CNN Newsroom, October 1, 4:30 am, ET,
This CNN Newroom presentation teams up with the Smithsonian Institution to create a study of the interdependency of Earth's systems, as explained through insects. The program will cover topics such as plant life, entomology, and weather. Support materials at www.CNNfyi. com will include feature articles, an interactive quiz, video clips, photo gallery, and a link to the Smithsonian O. Orkin Insect Safari (http://insectsafari.com).

Egypt Beyond the Pyramids
The History Channel, October 1-4, 6:00 am, ET,
This two-part four-hour special explores Egyptian art, architecture, politics, culture, death, and immortality. Part One explores the restoration of several temples, examining the important role art and decoration played in their religious power and political prestige. In the second hour, the special turns to the mystery of Ramses the Great's missing children. Part Two looks at the everyday lives of Egyptian farmers, priests, and merchants in its first hour and examines the Egyptians' religious beliefs about heaven and hell in its second.

Electric Money
PBS, October 3, 9:00 p.m. ET,
In this two-hour special, Bob Cringely takes viewers on a tour of the mysterious world of money, commodities, wealth, and debt. Traveling from the financial centers of London to the wireless capital of the world, and from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, the program explores how the digital revolution has transformed every aspect of financial activity. The program explores how information technology has vastly expanded futures, options and stock trading, while offering insight into the invention of the credit card, beginning with the first step in the bills-to-bytes revolution.

The Ultimate Guide: Mastodon
The Discovery Channel, October 7, 9:00 p.m. ET,
This one-hour special follows the events behind the excavation of the near-complete skeleton of an 11,000- year-old mastodon. Scientists and volunteers, headed by Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institute, pieced to-gether more than 90 percent of the mastodon's skeleton. The program explores several controversial theories regarding the mastodon's North American extinction.

Incas: Past and Present
CNN, CNN Newsroom, October 8-11, 4:30 am, ET,
This CNN Newsroom presentation examines the life of a teen who is a descendent of the Incas and examines the ways the present-day generation preserves the values and the traditions of their ancestors. Support materials are available at www.CNNfyi.com.

The Ponder Heart
PBS, October 15, 9 p.m. ET.
Based on Eudora Welty's prize-winning novel, this Masterpiece Theater presentation tells the story of Uncle Daniel Ponder, heir to the largest family fortune in Clay County, Mississippi, who has a generous streak unchecked by common sense. Uncle Daniel's family tries to have him committed for his serial kindness and to saddle him down with a respectable bride, then Uncle Daniel winds up indicted for a mysterious murder. A companion Web site can be found at ncteamericancollection.org.

Weather Extreme
Discovery Channel, October 21, 8:00 p.m. ET,
Combining special-effects technologies, dramatic footage from actual storms, and insight from top meteorologists, storm chasers, and disaster planning officials, this two-hour special illustrates the power a Category 4 hurricane or a Force 5 tornado could unleash on a crowded metropolitan area, such as New York City or Dallas. The computer-generated imagery brings to life the natural process from which these catastrophes emerge. The program features interviews with a wide range of experts, from scientists and meteorologists to New York's and Dallas' disaster plan officials, to give viewers a full perspective of the consequences of these devastating meteorological events and to address preparedness plans in cities across the country.

free or inexpensive

Free Lesson Plans
Here is a way to consume time and also provide high-quality education for your students. Teachers nationwide strongly support the United States Mint's initiative to provide free lesson plans for Grades K-6. These free lesson plans feature lesson outlines, objectives, graphic handouts, interactive games, cooperative learning activities, and evaluation exercises. For more information or to order your free lesson plans contact Stephanie Dawson at 202/354-6717.

Experimental Science
If you have budding biologists in your science class, then The Science of Life is the perfect resource for you. This informative text introduces students to the scientific method and has 25 experiments so they can apply what they have learned. The book is meant for students ages nine and up and includes a glossary, bibliography and index that makes it a good resource for students, teachers, and librarians. The book, written by Frank Bottone, Jr. is available for $14.95 from Chicago Review Press. and is Call 800/888-4741 or go to www.ipgbook.com to order.

Student-Written Riddles
Riddle Math is classroom-tested and kid-friendly, in part because all of the math riddles were written by students. The book is recommended for students in grades two through five. The book provides guidelines for teachers on how to get students to write effective math riddles and provides lots of reproducible pages to use in your own classroom. Written by Carl M. Sherrill, the book is $21.95. To order Riddle Math, call 800/852-4890.

Exploring the 20th Century
Covering America's history starting with 1900 and going all the way to 1999 is no easy task to accomplish in one school year. Janet Kragen has made it easier, though, with her book Decade Days. Kragen gives ideas for teachers about possible activities for each decade. She includes projects, journal topics, and other activities for teachers who want to make learning history fun for their students. Recommended for grades seven through twelve, Decade Days focuses on history and social studies. $16.99. Call 800/421-5565.

Appreciating World Music
World Playground 2, a new CD released by Putumayo World Music, is a great way for you and your students to explore music around the world. On this CD, there is music from countries such as Jamaica, Trinidad, India and South Africa. The CD comes with a multicultural activity kit, which includes a passport so students can document which countries they learned about. The CD also has translations of all the songs included. World Playground 2 can be incorporated into any curriculum starting with kindergarten and going up to the sixth grade. To order, call Putumayo World Music at 212/625-1400 or visit www.putumayo.com.

Far Out
The Atlas of Space is a pictorial reference that will teach you and your class how to find stars, name the moons, and learn about Hubble and his invention. You can order this 80-page resource for $12.95 from the Millbrook Press by logging on to www.millbrookpress.com.

Science on the Small Side
Popular Science offers four mini-guides to bugs, dinosaurs, space, and the earth. Learn how oil forms under the crust and how bugs communicate, by consulting these colorful and detailed guides. To order these $7.95 Popular Science Mini Guides, log onto www.sterlinpub.com or call Sterling at 800/367-9292

webwinners

Antebellum Reform
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony are recognized as two of the most influential and prolific reformers of the 19th century. Now, you can track the first decade of their collaboration via Travels for Reform, an online collection of historical documents presented as live transcripts of the originals and graphic images. An introductory essay, selected biographical dictionary, and explanatory notes are also available on this easily-navigated and thorough site. To learn more about women's reform, antebellum politics, and the alliance of abolitionists and women's rights advocates, visit
http://adh.sc.edu/sa/sa-table.html.

World Weather Education
Want to know if it's sunny in Rio de Janeiro? Raining in London? Or how about the five-day forecast for your hometown? Find the weather and climate of any place in the world with the meteorological Web site of the UK. This searchable page provides weather news and links to climatologists around the globe. Especially interesting is the education section, replete with weather data, historic events, a curriculum center, and resources. Be sure to check out the infrared globe disk, a continuously updated view from 36,000 kilometers above the earth.
www.met-office.gov.uk.

Britannica Education
Britannica Education recently launched BritannicaSchool.com, an easy-to-use online resource aimed at helping students organize assignments and conduct research. BritannicaSchool provides colorful study guides on over 200 topics, along with activities, glossaries, and learning assistance. Templates and tutorials are also accessible to students, as are editor-selected links to age-appropriate and relevant Web sites. Currently focused on grade levels 9-12, BritannicaSchool will include kindergarten and elementary guides by 2001. For a free online tour and registration information, go to www.britannicaschool.com.

Practical Math
If you're looking for ways to relate math to real-world situations, this Web site can help! Math word problems are arranged by level, from grade five through twelve. Each section has a number of problems stated in sentences, encouraging students to relate mathematical concepts to external dilemmas. Hints are offered and answers are available at a click of the mouse button. It's great practice for kids and a handy resource for teachers. Visit
www.stfx.ca/special/mathproblems/welcome.html.

Improving the Practice
Great Online Tools for Schools (GOT School, Inc.) announces a new site for educators to improve their practice, advance their careers, and share resources and ideas. The searchable database provides links to relevant articles and recent news, as well as a discussion forum, a section detailing professional standards, and certification information by state. Visit online at http://teachers.gotschool.com.

Girls' Math
"Boys are better at math" will be a less-heard phrase with the help of Color Math Pink's Website. Designed for elementary and middle school girls, it is designed to encourage and develop basic math skills. Visitors to this site will find homework tips, sample math problems, and helpful links, as well as workshops and other materials for parents and teachers. Visit this site at www.colormathpink.com.

Reading Rockets
There's a new Web site created specifically to help children learn how to read. ReadingRockets.org is the first part of a multimedia project funded by the Department of Education that includes a documentary narrated by actor Morgan Freeman, an educational television series, a bilingual print guide, and a series of teleconferences.

Launched by WETA, the public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, www.readingrockets.org features tips and forums for parents, teachers, tutors, and care givers, a database of the most beloved children's books, along with behind the scenes looks at how children's book authors work, video clips of reading teachers modeling best practices for teaching reading, interviews with reading experts, plus up-to-date articles on reading research and practice.

NEA is a partner in the project, along with more than a dozen other educational organizations.

Reading

Reaching Hispanic Readers

The Young Readers Summer Program shows young Hispanic students that reading skills are valuable in any language.

Rosa Briceño was too busy to go to the beach this past summer, but she did transport dozens of His-panic kids there without a bus or van. Her vehicle? A book.

Briceño, family program coordinator with Arlington County Public Schools in Virginia, took part in the Young Readers Summer Program, a project of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) that encourages language-minority children to make reading a lifelong habit. The Arlington program—one of 20 sites nationally—was coordinated and run by the local LULAC Council, in partnership with the NEA and the Arlington Education Association.

"If we can help establish consistent reading practices at an early age," says Briceño, "students will have more of a chance of succeeding." This foundation is critical as Hispanic students get older and have to manage content-rich subjects, she says. "Without it, the achievement gap widens, and many will start dropping out."

That's why five staffers and two very active moms spent five weeks of their summer immersing 90 students from pre-K to fifth grade in the joys of reading. They read beach-themed books, made sand art, shared salt water taffy, even witnessed the shark feeding at the aquarium in Washington, D.C.

"When you build on involved reading experiences, it means something to the students," says reading ESL teacher Kathryn Scruggs, president of the Arlington Education Association.

"And that's what makes for lasting achievement."

All activities took place at Barrett Elementary School, whose regular population is 70 percent Hispanic or Latino. LULAC, with help from NEA, also started a monthly reading program at the school for parents and students this September.

"Research tells us that it doesn't matter what language you read in," says Briceño. " If you're able to master reading in your own language, it's very easy to transfer to another."

She suggests ways that educators can help build positive reading experiences for Hispanic students:

• Make sure school and classroom libraries are stocked with bilingual books.
• Encourage students to take bilingual books home so parents can read with them.
• Show that other lan-guages have equal value by using and displaying voca-
• bulary words and visuals throughout the classroom. That "background curriculum" is often neglected.
• Consider family library interactive storytimes that engage parents and students. Share books that are bilingual or in Spanish. Encourage participation through call-and-response and make-and-take activities. Finish with a book check out.

"Respect literacy no matter how it comes—in less-than-perfect English, or in Spanish," says Scruggs. "Literacy builds on talking and writing and reading in any language."

—Michelle Y. Green

For More: Visit www.lulac.org

HOW to...

INCREASE LITERACY THROUGH ART

Edward Gonzales is well known for fine art depicting Hispanic culture. Gonzales also produces a bilingual poster and calendar series that promotes literacy, learning, and cultural identity.

Why did you become an artist?
When I returned from Vietnam and got a degree in art, I decided my art was going to focus on the Chicano identity. One reason I felt compelled to do this was the lack of realistic images of Hispanics. As a child growing up in New Mexico, I wondered where the positive images of my culture were. I decided to use my art in a positive way to show how much our culture shaped New Mexico.

Why did you create the poster series on literacy and learning?
I wanted this series to send the message that Hispanic families want a good education for their children as much as anyone. Each of these paintings supports the theme that education is paramount in the Chicano family and culture. Everyone is appalled at the statistics that show Mexican-Americans doing poorly in school, but you never hear about the families who've sacrificed themselves to make sure their children have a sound education.

I wanted a visual means to say, even to children who have struggled in school, that education is important. That's a part of our heritage. It's also saying to the dominant Anglo culture and others that we have the same belief systems and expectations. We're not raising taggers and little gangsters. We're more alike than they realize.

Everyone wants a good education for their children. That's my social message.

How are educators using the series?
Educators from California to Delaware are using the series for the positive role models they show. Hispanic children and adults are depicted learning, teaching, and helping others. It helps Latino children see themselves, and it helps others understand our culture.

The fact that the posters are bilingual also sends a strong message. We are a nation of many cultures and languages, and young people need to grow up with the language of their culture. We should not fear other cultures, we should embrace them. That's why my art shows the beauty of my people.

For more: www.edwardgonzales.com

Problem Solving:

Breaking Barriers

AVID program prepares low-income minority kids for college success.

When Claudia Arellano entered high school four years ago, she had her sights set on becoming a hairdresser. "When you are poor and minority, you just want to get through school without too much hassle," says the 18-year-old in heavily accented English. "I came to America from Mexico when I was nine. My parents both work. College was never a consideration."

But this fall, Claudia and hundreds of students like her are enrolling in universities such as Cornell, Pennsylvania State, and, for Claudia, the University of California, Berkeley. Almost all will be the first in their families to attend college.

They are graduates of AVID, Ad-vancement Via Individual Determina-tion, a small but growing initiative in middle and high schools across the country to prepare mainly minority students with mediocre records for the rigors of advanced education.

Since its inception in 1980, 93 percent of the more than 20,000 AVID graduates have gone on to college.

AVID began in 1980 at suburban San Diego's Clairemont High School, after a federal court desegregation order siphoned off half of the all-white student body. Arriving to fill their seats were low-income Latino and African-American students.

Nervous that they might automatically be placed in remedial classes, NEA member Mary Catherine Swanson—then English department chairwoman—created AVID.

"A lot of people thought I was crazy," Swanson says, "but I wanted to prove that with rigor and support, these students could achieve what we teachers expected from our own kids."

She enrolled her first class of 30 AVID students in the school's college preparatory curriculum, and worked with them daily for four years in an hour-long course that offered study skills, tutoring, and moral support. In 1984, 28 of the original 30 graduated and went on to four-year universities.

It's not magic

Twenty years later, AVID has grown to more than 1,000 schools in 16 states.

At Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Georgia, where 98 percent of students are African-American, all of the school's 2001 AVID graduates are now in college. At Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, only one AVID student didn't go to college.

What's the secret?

"I have no magic to sell," says Swanson, who now leads the national AVID program. "It's the right combination of good teaching and hard work."

But AVID does not enroll random groups of low-income students. Getting in—and staying in—isn't easy.

Teachers and counselors first iden-tify students who fit the typical AVID profile: C average, no behavior problems, and parents who did not graduate from college. The students must show a desire to do better, and their parents must sign a contract agreeing to help.

These are the children AVID has been able to help.

Once accepted, students are placed in a daily AVID class where they are taught, among other things, how to take good notes. College students tutor them at least three periods a week.

"Even a D student who is willing to work hard can be college material," says Swanson. "We're particularly good at helping kids who don't know English well learn it quickly. If a student tells us they are willing to try, we ask them to prove it."

To get into AVID at Atherton High School in Kentucky, students must get teacher recommendations, answer ten essay questions, and interview with a faculty team. Once in, they must keep up their grades, attendance, and behavior.

"It's about pushing the average kid to go further, and not all kids want to be pushed," says Richard Guetig, a science teacher and coordinator for the AVID program there. "The program can also be hard on a student's ego," he adds. "Many go from getting As and Bs in a regular class to getting Cs in advanced placement."

At Georgia's Cedar Grove High School, being in AVID is a source of pride, says Faatimah Muhammad, a science teacher and AVID coordinator. "It's become 'cool' to be smart."

At Mira Mesa High School in San Diego, AVID coordinator Jan Parkinson says, "Many of my students had never been on a college campus, or seen a play. They didn't realize there was more to life than their own neighborhood."

"AVID provides rigor and support," says Swanson. "Rigor without support is a prescription for failure. Support without rigor is a tragic waste of potential."

Finishing college

AVID kids don't only enter college, they graduate. Researchers from Palo Alto's Center for Research and Evaluation in Education found that 84 percent of California's AVID students complete college.

According to the national AVID office, the start-up cost is about $640 per student but falls to $170 by the third year. The money covers teacher training, tutors, and field trips to college campuses and cultural centers.

"This program is not a panacea, but it works," says Georgia's Muhammad. "It gives teachers the framework to help their students succeed. That's what any teacher wants."

—Dina S. Gómez

For More: Visit www.avidcenter.org.

How I Did It

Nancy Beattie
Pierce Middle School
Sixth grade teacher
Redford, Michigan

Middle school students catch on to spelling with a program that goes beyond rote memorization.

After seeing unsuccessful results from the spelling program used in my own class, I wanted to create a program that would work better than just writing and memorizing words in isolation week after week.

I decided to include words students actually read and use in school, and skills important for middle school students to review.

Phonics and spelling rules became the basis for my program. I wanted to help students learn these rules and letter patterns, and recognize them in other words when reading on their own.

Our spelling word list was generated from three areas.

First, it made sense to include words that students hear and read in their classes. So I asked core, exploratory, music, and gym teachers from several districts to send lists of recommended words.

Second, I looked at troublesome words—words children often write yet frequently misspell.

Third, I included words commonly written in middle school.

With these three lists, I was ready to begin.

In every spelling lesson, students practice many skills while writing sentences. For example, we practice compound sentences in lessons 3, 7, 11, and 19. We practice possessives in lessons 2, 8, 12, and 16.

We review 24 skills such as writing prefixes, suffixes, antonyms, synonyms, and dates. Definitions and examples for these skills are on a page called "Writing Reminders" to help promote success in completing the spelling lessons correctly.

For information on Spelling—An Integrated Approach for Middle School, call 248/689-5317 or E-mail bteducationalprog@home.com.

Dilemma:

How do you deal with a class that has spun out of control?

I pull out my cell phone (our class phones don't dial out), call their parents in front of their classmates, and have the students explain their behavior. I make it clear to the parents that I am calling during class. Pulling out the cell phone gets the class silent every time!

Jarrad Grandy
History teacher
Grand Rapids, Michigan

• If the noisiest students are energetic but unaware, I discuss their behavior privately with them and ask them to take a leadership role or work privately on a project. Other students who act out may be disconnected or afraid they'll fail. I arrange for them to come for tutoring or to discuss their interests and goals. A phone call to parents often reveals why usually cooperative students are suddenly out of control: Grandma dying, or parents divorcing, perhaps.
  
• When a whole class won't cooperate, try something different—mix up activities, bring in a visitor, act mysterious. Sometimes, I've asked ninth and tenth graders to spend a few days in class with older students where the younger ones can observe more serious behavior.

Jacque Fitzgerald
High school counselor
Anderson, California

• Every teacher has days when lessons go wrong and 24 angels turn into 24 wild things.
  
• Don't throw up your hands or consider leaving the profession!
  
• Go with the flow. Forget quiet reading and seatwork. Harness that energy into cooperative learning.
  
• Get out chart paper, markers, and paints, and divide students into small groups. Assign them something related to your original lesson. Hopefully, you have used this sort of set-up before, when your class was more tuned in.
  
• Set a time frame to help them focus, and use the remainder of the period for group presentations.
  
• Textbook reading, written questions, or worksheets can be sent home as homework, or saved for a quieter day.

Mary Lea
Second grade teacher
Jefferson, Wisconsin

• When it seems students are about to get "wiggly," I lead them in yoga breathing and postures. After they get used to this, they often request the activity when they aren't able to focus.

Jean Dodge
Resource teacher
El Paso, Texas

• When a class has spun out of control, I look for children who are obeying the rules and praise them, ignoring the rest as much as possible. When you praise young children, they do their best.

Scotty Price
Second grade teacher
Ashburn, Georgia

• I am a substitute teacher. I work in two buildings and I know the children well.
  
• I leave the regular teacher a list of helpful and not-so-helpful students. My students know all about "The List."
  
• When they do something inappropriate, I have a one-on-one and explain why their name is going on the not-so-helpful list.
  
• When they see Mrs. Livermore, they know that everything they do, good or bad, will be revealed.
  
• If the class becomes so unmanageable that students aren't learning, I have them lay their heads down or write. This works because most students don't want to write.

Teresa Livermore
Substitute teacher
Lansing, Michigan

• When a class is out of control, I walk to the board and write a message. It conveys my expectations (sit down, be quiet) and the consequences (detention/staying after class). I make sure one student notices the message and observe as the class follows my direction.

Lisa McGrath Bogolin
Middle school reading teacher
Hedgesville, West Virginia

Got an Answer?

What do you do when you think a student has cheated on an exam?

E-mail your answer to dilemma2@ neatoday.nea.org. Or send by regular mail, or fax to 202/822-7206. Please include your name, city, state, and job title. Published respondents will receive an NEA Today mug!

Arts Across the Curriculum

At a Maryland magnet school, teachers are learning from the prestigious Kennedy Center how to use the arts to teach . . . everything.

It's a safe bet to expect high achievement at the Thomas G. Pullen Creative and Performing Arts Magnet School in Landover, Maryland. But never expect the ordinary.

In any of this K-8 school's classrooms, you might find students acting out a drama, doing a square dance, or painting—even if the subject they're studying is math or science.

Pullen's strategy is to infuse the arts into the teaching of all subjects, and teachers are learning how to do that through Changing Education Through the Arts, a program of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Pullen is one of eight Washington-area schools taking part in A Change of Course, a grant program from The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education that helps to fund this Kennedy Center initiative.

"We studied drama, instrumental and vocal music, dance, and the visual arts," says Judie Strawbridge, who teaches third grade at Pullen.

"Then we took part in group activities to learn how to integrate the arts into everything: language arts, social studies—even math."

Westward expansion and the arts

Strawbridge and several of her colleagues had a chance to put their new skills into action this past school year when Pullen third graders studied the U.S. westward expansion as a social studies assignment.

"This was hard work," says Straw-bridge. "But it made teaching more fun. This was not about kids getting to play instead of doing social studies. Every single detail of the standard social studies curriculum had to be included.

"It was quite a challenge for us, but it came off wonderfully."

Pullen drama teachers had the students write a play about the westward expansion. A music teacher taught them songs and dances of the pioneer period.

"In my class," says Strawbridge, "we made buffalo hides out of paper bags. We also constructed covered wagons and made a wagon train, including all the fine details of what pioneers carried on their trains.

"Then came a language arts element. Each kid had to write a short story or poem about the westward expansion. If it was a story, it had to include all the artistic elements of a story as well as the proper social studies elements. The same with poetry. It had to be artistically correct and historically correct—so the exercise was truly interdisciplinary."

In another project, music teacher Leslie Thomas taught students how orchestration enriches a musical piece, by starting with a melody and adding the orchestration. Then Strawbridge showed them how adverbs and adjectives play a similar role in written communication.

Strawbridge is convinced that the arts-infused approach helps her students learn better.

"It covers every learning style and modality," she says. "Some children are kinesthetic, and learn from movement. Some are more tactile, or verbal, or visual learners. No one was left behind by our method. Every child was touched."

"The teachers work as a team," says Amy Duma, director of professional development for the Kennedy Center.

"First, we help to acquaint them with a variety of artistic forms. Then, we provide them with specific information and challenge them to find ways to impart the information in an artistic, interdisciplinary manner."

Pullen Principal Jan Reed says the school's test scores have been rising since the program began two years ago, and last year, the eighth graders had the highest scores in their county.

"We aren't teaching to the test," she says. "We're teaching in a creative environment that the students love."

—Matt Simon

For more: Visit www.nfie.org to read about grants currently available from The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education. Visit http://kennedy-center.org/education/pdot for more on Changing Education Through the Arts.

How do you respond when students
tell you about family problems?

I find out what bothers them the most and give them coping tools. I try not to take sides. I help them realize the potential for personal growth that the situation presents. I role-play "I" messages with them and encourage them to talk with the other people involved. I teach them deep breathing techniques so they can calm themselves and encourage them to journal about their feelings. Most important, I listen. I can't solve their family problems.

Bonnie Hutchens
Ninth grade social studies teacher
Westminster, Colorado

• Sometimes, all they want is a listening ear. Depending on the problem, I may alert the school nurse about potential dangers. She has good rapport with them and maintains communication with social services.
  
• I can refer concerns to our Student Assistance Program for mental health, drug or alcohol concerns, or at-risk behaviors. I also can contact guidance counselors.
  

Darlene Forsythe
K-12 librarian
Galeton, Pennsylvania

• Early in the year, I talk about "family talk" and "public talk" and how to tell the difference. We explore where it's "safe" to talk about private matters, and where to get help. When a student begins to tell about family problems, I suggest they talk to the guidance counselor or set a time when we can talk privately.
  

Harriet Hardy
Title I reading and math teacher
Gretna, Virginia

I'll never forget a boy who was having trouble getting work done. He said, "My daddy is in jail." I listened to his story about police coming to their home, and tried to assure him it would be worked out. I felt that having someone to share his worry gave the boy some peace of mind.

In junior high, I once found a note from a girl worried that a friend would commit suicide. We set up a conference with the friend, brought feelings out, and offered reassurances.

I never solved the problem for them, and I let them know that some things were out of their control. Bottom line—kids need to know there's someone who cares enough to listen.

Evelyn Tanner
Retired
Kaysville, Utah

• The best way to respond is with an open ear and an open mind. I want students to feel they can trust me, but also to know that if their problems are harmful to them, I'll go to proper authorities. Luckily, the problems I've dealt with haven't resulted in contacting higher authorities.
  
• I try not to talk down to students. I have them find solutions by themselves. Teenagers don't want to be preached to.
  

Melissa Jordan
Eighth-ninth grade
reading teacher
Roselle, New Jersey

• If students talk about something deeply personal, I remind them that there's a valuable resource at school—the counselors.
  
• If they tell me of abuse, I tell them I'll share the information with a counselor. If you don't inform the student that you'll share the information, the student may feel betrayed—and you may be one of the few people that student trusted.
  

Pamela Galus
Tenth-twelfth grade science teacher
Omaha, Nebraska

Got an Answer?

How do you cope with over protective parents?

E-mail your answer to dilemma2@ neatoday.nea.org. Or send by regular mail, or fax to 202/822-7206. Please include your name, city, state, and job title. Published respondents will receive an NEA Today mug!

Idea Exchange

Gold Shoe Award

I'm an elementary physical education teacher with a problem: Children forget their gym shoes on gym days. So I created the gold shoe award. It's kind of like the Stanley Cup. Every two weeks, the class with perfect shoe attendance wins the gold shoe. Now, I don't have half the problems I had before. Some students even call classmates to remind them to bring their shoes.

To make the gold shoe, I painted an old gym shoe and nailed it to a piece of wood cut in the shape of a trophy.

James Myrick
Troy, Michigan
Educational Stickers

Many charities send me address labels, some with neat pictures. There's no way I can use them all. So I cut off the pictures, put them on paper from stickers I've already used, and use them on my students' papers. It takes a little time, but it saves on buying stickers—and it is recycling.

I explain to my second-grade students where the pictures come from, and we discuss other ways to recycle. I also discuss charities I contribute to. It makes an excellent science and social studies lesson.

Colleen Miner
Harlem, Montana
Future Careers

My students are just starting to realize that there's a world beyond their playground, so I try to connect their lives with the world of work on a daily basis. At dismissal, I write "Goodbye, future ___________" on the chalkboard. I fill in the blank with a top-of-the-line profession that requires a college education, leadership skills and lots of training. I hope to encourage them to not settle for entry-level work and to move their imaginations off the typical dream of becoming a professional athlete.

Mary Beth Solano
Timnath, Colorado

Works4Me

Have a great idea? You can pass along your tip to NEA Today's 2.6 million readers in one of five ways:

1. By mail: NEA Today, 1201 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036
2. By phone: 202/822-7201
3. By fax: 202/822-7206
4. By E-mail: Ideas@neatoday.nea.org
5. Through the Web: www.nea.org/neatoday
   

Problems and Solutions
Breaking Barriers

AVID program prepares low-income minority kids for college success.

When Claudia Arellano entered high school four years ago, she had her sights set on becoming a hairdresser. "When you are poor and minority, you just want to get through school without too much hassle," says the 18-year-old in heavily accented English. "I came to America from Mexico when I was nine. My parents both work. College was never a consideration."

But this fall, Claudia and hundreds of students like her are enrolling in universities such as Cornell, Pennsylvania State, and, for Claudia, the University of California, Berkeley. Almost all will be the first in their families to attend college.

They are graduates of AVID, Ad-vancement Via Individual Determina-tion, a small but growing initiative in middle and high schools across the country to prepare mainly minority students with mediocre records for the rigors of advanced education.

Since its inception in 1980, 93 percent of the more than 20,000 AVID graduates have gone on to college.

AVID began in 1980 at suburban San Diego's Clairemont High School, after a federal court desegregation order siphoned off half of the all-white student body. Arriving to fill their seats were low-income Latino and African-American students.

Nervous that they might automatically be placed in remedial classes, NEA member Mary Catherine Swanson—then English department chairwoman—created AVID.

"A lot of people thought I was crazy," Swanson says, "but I wanted to prove that with rigor and support, these students could achieve what we teachers expected from our own kids."

She enrolled her first class of 30 AVID students in the school's college preparatory curriculum, and worked with them daily for four years in an hour-long course that offered study skills, tutoring, and moral support. In 1984, 28 of the original 30 graduated and went on to four-year universities.

It's not magic

Twenty years later, AVID has grown to more than 1,000 schools in 16 states.

At Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Georgia, where 98 percent of students are African-American, all of the school's 2001 AVID graduates are now in college. At Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, only one AVID student didn't go to college.

What's the secret?

"I have no magic to sell," says Swanson, who now leads the national AVID program. "It's the right combination of good teaching and hard work."

But AVID does not enroll random groups of low-income students. Getting in—and staying in—isn't easy.

Teachers and counselors first iden-tify students who fit the typical AVID profile: C average, no behavior problems, and parents who did not graduate from college. The students must show a desire to do better, and their parents must sign a contract agreeing to help.

These are the children AVID has been able to help.

Once accepted, students are placed in a daily AVID class where they are taught, among other things, how to take good notes. College students tutor them at least three periods a week.

"Even a D student who is willing to work hard can be college material," says Swanson. "We're particularly good at helping kids who don't know English well learn it quickly. If a student tells us they are willing to try, we ask them to prove it."

To get into AVID at Atherton High School in Kentucky, students must get teacher recommendations, answer ten essay questions, and interview with a faculty team. Once in, they must keep up their grades, attendance, and behavior.

"It's about pushing the average kid to go further, and not all kids want to be pushed," says Richard Guetig, a science teacher and coordinator for the AVID program there. "The program can also be hard on a student's ego," he adds. "Many go from getting As and Bs in a regular class to getting Cs in advanced placement."

At Georgia's Cedar Grove High School, being in AVID is a source of pride, says Faatimah Muhammad, a science teacher and AVID coordinator. "It's become 'cool' to be smart."

At Mira Mesa High School in San Diego, AVID coordinator Jan Parkinson says, "Many of my students had never been on a college campus, or seen a play. They didn't realize there was more to life than their own neighborhood."

"AVID provides rigor and support," says Swanson. "Rigor without support is a prescription for failure. Support without rigor is a tragic waste of potential."

Finishing college

AVID kids don't only enter college, they graduate. Researchers from Palo Alto's Center for Research and Evaluation in Education found that 84 percent of California's AVID students complete college.

According to the n