Giving--And Getting Back

A teacher uses chess to show his students they can slam-dunk their way to success--without ever picking up a ball.

I Choose to Stay: A Black Teacher Refuses to Desert the Inner City
By Salome Thomas-EL with Cecil Murphey
304 pp. $23 hardback; Kensington Publishing Corp. (www.kensington.com).

Tales about do-good educators who inspire kids to achieve are a dime a dozen. To inspire, after all, is one of the unspoken prerequisites of the profession. What's rare about Salome Thomas-EL's story is not simply that he gets to tell it himself in this impassioned memoir. (Most teachers have neither the time nor the privilege.) It's also that the author is an African-American man--in an elementary school, at that--which puts him in an ever-fading category in public schools today.

In I Choose to Stay, Thomas-EL affirms what many educators already know and believe: Underprivileged students can do great things when they have a community of adults who firmly care and believe in them. When they also have teachers who can personally identify with their struggles--racially, economically, socially--all the better. And in this case, it is all the better, for great things really did happen, and still are, under Thomas-EL's tutelage.

Remarkably, one of the magic bullets is chess. Thomas-EL tells how he uses this game of intellectual muscle to teach Philadelphia students lifelong lessons that help them break the cycle of violence, teenage pregnancy, drugs, gangs, and illiteracy. In the end they take home not just championship victories, but victories over low self-esteem and underachievement.

Thomas-EL says he had a hunch it could be done. A Philadelphia native, he was raised in the projects along with seven siblings by a single mom. Though he ended up at a school for gifted junior high students and then at a prestigious college, he says he was forever aware of the opportunities his peers would never get. And so despite numerous work experiences and teaching jobs at more affluent schools, he became determined to teach in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of his hometown.

When he finally did, students saw him almost as an oddity. "I wasn't the kind of role model they had seen," he writes, "because their eyes had been filled with dreams of becoming multimillionaire athletes." His goal, he says, "was to get them to strive for an MBA instead of the NBA."

A math teacher, Thomas-EL thought of chess--"a game of algebraic concepts"--as a way to spur excitement. And so in 1994, while teaching at Robert Vaux Middle School, he began using its concepts in class. Lessons turned into lunchtime chess, which progressed to after school, weekends, and then to summer.

But to be able to play, Thomas-EL had rules. Students had to keep up with class work. They had to behave--to learn to resolve conflicts with their minds instead of their fists. They had to develop stamina and patience. The result: School attendance improved, grades soared, and behavior turned positive. Along the way, students competed in a slew of tournaments, and won some major championships.

All was not glory, however. Between 1996 and 2000, while the chess team racked up successes, 20 of Thomas-EL's students were murdered. "I loved seeing kids achieve, but it always hurt--like a personal failure--when one of them turned in the wrong direction," he writes. He eventually chalked it up to his best efforts just not being enough.

What he did give to those who succeeded was a bounty of gifts, and in recounting the stories, Thomas-EL spares no details about his own sacrifices, which sometimes makes him sound more boastful than perhaps he intended. He opens the book, for example, recounting how he turned down an assistant principalship, a promotion with a $20,000 raise. (He eventually did become a principal.)

Despite that, the book is an inspiring read, one that would uplift and rejuvenate the most battle-worn teacher. Certainly it would propel anyone--perhaps even more Black men--to seriously mull over a teaching career in the schools that beckon for help the loudest.

--Tamara Henry

Excerpt
"My goal was to get them to strive for an MBA instead of the NBA. They had to figure it out for themselves. And the best way I knew to do that was to be myself and to show them love. I determined that no child would leave my classes without knowing he or she was loved. I wanted to be a father figure to them. Deep inside, I wanted to be for them the kind of father I never had myself."

From the NEA Professional Library

Join a Free Summer Book Club to Talk About Great Children's Books
Educators, parents, librarians, and others are invited to take part in a free, online Summer Book Club to talk about great children's books.

Sponsored by Reading Rockets, the club will include discussions on 16 children's books and how to use them to get kids ages 4-9 talking and excited about reading. The books are drawn from the forthcoming NEA Professional Library publication called Books Your Kids Will Talk About! Co-authors Maria Salvadore and Susan Hepner will moderate three online discussions about the books:

• "Yes I Can!" books on July 17
• "Getting Through Scary Times" books on July 30
• "A Different Perspective" books on August 12.

To sign-up, send an e-mail with "Book Club" in the subject line to readingrockets@weta.org. For more, go to www.readingrockets.org/summerbookclub.php.

Books by NEA Members

Reconsidering Read-Aloud
By Mary Lee Hahn
Reading aloud is a time of enjoyment and relaxation for teachers and students. This book looks at both the spontaneous and planned conversations surrounding read-aloud. Drawing from her experience as a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher, Mary Lee Hahn offers practical ways to make your read-alouds count. A study guide to help teachers explore the concepts of the book in greater depth is available at www.stenhouse.com/0351.htm (the book can be ordered here as well). 168 pp. $16 from Stenhouse Publishers.

Growing Up Abolitionist
By Harriet Hyman Alonso
This book tells the story of William Lloyd Garrison's seven children whose lives were shaped by the great 19th-century campaigns against slavery, racism, war, and the repression of women. A history professor, Alonso writes how they collectively and individually became involved in the struggles for racial justice, women's rights, anti-imperialism, and peace. 409 pp. $24.95 from the University of Massachusetts Press. To order, go to www.umass.edu/umpress/FW02/alonso.html.

The Journal of C.J. Jackson: A Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935
By William Durbin
This journal is the tale of a young man's perseverance during the Dust Bowl in the Oklahoma panhandle. Desperate to survive the country's difficult times, C.J. and his family head to California where they hope to make a better life. The book illustrates the issues facing farmers and migrant workers during that era. 168 pp., $10.95 from Scholastic, Inc. For more, go to www.scholastic.com/titles/mynameisamerica/timeline/index.htm. To order, go amazon.com.

Under the Midnight Sun
By John Jancik, Steve Gardiner, and Javana Richardson
As members of the "2001 Return To The Top Of The World Expedition," the authors write of their exciting journey to unexplored reaches of the Arctic. The nine-member team successfully summited the highest unclimbed peak in the Roosevelt Range, the northernmost on Earth. The book includes magnificent photos by National Geographic photographer Galen Rowell. 197 pp. $29.95. from StarsEnd Creations. To order, write to StarsEnd Creations, 8547 East Arapahoe Road, #J224, Greenwood Village, CO 80112, or fax 303/694-4098.

After the Death of Anna Gonzales
By Terri Fields
Inspired by her feelings of despair over teenage suicide, author and educator Terri Fields wrote this collection of thought-provoking poems that center on the suicide of fictitious high school freshman Anna Gonzales and portrays her classmates' and teachers' reactions to the loss. When read together, these poems create a moving testimony to the effects of one girl's devastating choice. 100 pp. $16.95 from Henry Holt and Company. To order, go to www.vhpsva.com/bookseller/HBGenInfoHowTo.html.

Heads Up From NEA Member Benefits

NEA members have saved more than $650,000,000 for their retirements with the NEA Valuebuilder Program.

Concerned about retirement? School districts around the country are now offering 457 Deferred Compensation Plans, and many of them are making the NEA Valuebuilder®‚ Mutual Fund 457 Plan available to members. You may want to inquire if your school district offers this NEA-endorsed program.

As a Trust Account under Section 457 (g) of the Internal Revenue Code, a 457 plan gives you the opportunity to save and invest for retirement on a tax-deferred basis, even if you are already contributing to a 403 (b).

When you participate in a 457 program, you may contribute up to $12,000 tax-deferred in 2003. If you're age 50 or older, you have a unique opportunity to set aside even more through special "catch-up" contributions. The 2003 catch-up limit is $2,000. You may also be able to make additional catch-up contributions during the three years prior to the normal retirement age defined by your plan. All these contribution limits are on top of what you already may be contributing to a 403 (b) plan.

The NEA Valuebuilder Mutual Fund 457 offers many of the same advantages as the other NEA Valuebuilder products, including 40 different investment options from some of the country's oldest and largest money managers, flexible pricing alternatives, and personalized asset allocation and rebalancing with the assistance of experienced financial counselors.

Find out more about the advantages of the NEA Valuebuilder Mutual Fund 457 by calling 800/NEA-VALU. An NEA Valuebuilder Financial Representative will be happy to answer your questions and discuss how to start building for your retirement future.

TV Tips

TV Tips are provided by KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D.C., www.kidsnet.org, and from Cable in the Classroom at www.ciconline.org.

Hitler: The Rise of Evil
CBS, May 18 and May 20, 9 p.m., ET, check local listings.
This four-hour mini series explores Hitler's rise to power in the Nazi party during the years prior to World War II. Hitler, played by Robert Carlyle, takes advantage of the economic devastation following World War I to rally Germans to greatness, but on his terms. He surrounds himself with a tight band of admirers and enforcers and manipulates his enemies. The series ends in 1934, before the "Final Solution," but Hitler's menace to the Jews is clear. The show tries to address the haunting questions of history, asking not just how did this happen, but why could he not be stopped?

A KIDSNET-produced study guide for high school teachers is available. Developed in conjunction with a leading Holocaust researcher and an award-winning historical writer, the guide includes six pages of activities, extensive resources, and discussion questions available in PDF format from www.KIDSNET.org.

A Walk in Your Shoes: Teen Pregnancy
The N, May 7, 9 p.m., ET/PT.
A New Jersey cheerleader and her boyfriend exchange places with a teen couple who are the parents of a toddler. The pretend parents arrive late, can't stand to change a diaper, and don't know how to keep the toddler engaged for even one morning. The real teen parents work part-time jobs, attend a teen parenting group, and long for their former carefree lives. Produced in partnership with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, this half-hour episode is an excellent conversation starter for teachers, teens, and parents. A special parent discussion guide is available at http:\\discussions.the-n.com.

The Life of Mammals
Discovery Channel, May 8 and 9, 8 p.m., ET. Check local listings.
Sir David Attenborough takes viewers on a journey into the lives of the most successful animals on the planet--the mammals. In this six-hour series, he "spies" on an Australian platypus and her baby using high-tech camera equipment, and swims with manatees and encounters--at close quarters--a giant blue whale. The series tells the story of 4,000 species, which have outlived the dinosaurs and colonized every part of the globe, dry or wet, hot or cold. Their adaptations for finding food have also profoundly affected how they move, socialize, mate, and breed.

Nick News: Special Edition
NICK, May 16 and 21, 6 a.m., ET. Check local listings.
This series of specials from the Emmy, NEA, and Peabody Award-winning news magazine for kids in grades 4-6 was created and produced by Linda Ellerbee. This month's program, "The Thrill of the Chill: Kids and Stress," examines stress induced by the real world and kids' anxiety over what they see in the news. It also looks into how to deal with and relieve stress. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for 10 years.

Amazing Destinations (Assignment Discovery)
Discovery Channel, May 22, 9 a.m., ET. Check local listings.
This series tours some of the world's finest cultural centers and scenic destinations. This episode, "Peru & Brazil"visits some unique locations of cultural, geographical, and historical significance in these South American nations, including the Brazilian federal state of Bahia, where steps were taken that led to the construction of modern-day Brazil, and Machu Picchu's remains of the ancient Incan civilization. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for one year with teaching materials available at http://school.discovery.com.

Ken Burns American Stories
PBS, May 26. Check local listings.
This series features works from the Ken Burns library. Using historical photographs and newsreels, live footage, and interviews, this program "The Congress" explores the history and promise of this unique American institution, chronicling the personalities, events, and issues that have animated the first 200 years of Congress and, in turn, our country. Can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.

April 1865: The Month That Saved America
History Channel, May 26 and 27, 6 a.m. ET/PT.
The History Channel presents a fast-paced examination of the events leading up to the end of the Civil War, from Lincoln's second inauguration to his assassination. The two-hour documentary is based on the book by Jay Winik, who is featured as a commentator, along with several historians. Winik lays out his premise that engineering the peace is as vital as waging any war. "The Month That Saved America" could have been the month that ended our experiment in democracy, if Lee had not surrendered. This documentary is geared for older students, grades 8-12, or for college level courses. Extensive teacher materials are available at www.historychannel.com/classroom.

Biography
A&E, May 27, 7 a.m., ET.
This Biography episode, "William Shakespeare: A Life of Drama" uses film clips from the Royal Shakespeare Company, dramatic readings from Hamlet, and location filming in London, to portray the poet and playwright whose work is as popular now as it was during his own lifetime. Can be taped and used in the classroom for two years with teaching materials available at www.aande.com/class.

Pandemic: Facing AIDS
HBO, June 15, 22, 28, and July 6, 7 p.m., ET/PT.
These five episodes are geared for mature high school students. Each episode features a different country, Thailand, Uganda, Russia, Brazil, and India, and the many different modes of AIDS transmission. But it is the personal stories themselves that are most compelling, such as the seven-year-old Ugandan orphan who lives alone in a hut with his younger sister. Because the stories focus on countries outside the United States, students will gain a global perspective on the epidemic. Funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this documentary is the centerpiece of a larger public engagement campaign, with a website, www.pandemicfacingaids.org, a traveling art and photography exhibit, a book, an education packet and a music CD.

Web Winners

The Role of Our Oceans
What role do oceans play in the lives and economics of the world's population? Find out on the United Nations' Atlas of the Oceans site. The Atlas includes four main sections: 1) about the oceans--including history, biology, maps, statistics, climatology, and ecology; 2) uses of the ocean--such as fishing, shipping, and tourism; 3) issues--such as food security and human health; and 4) geography--information categorized by geographical area. Go to www.oceansatlas.org.

We the People
Need to look up something in the Constitution? Or the Articles of Confederation? Then visit this site for the text of historical documents, and a history of the Constitution. The "Teacher Resources" section helps teachers locate materials for teaching the Constitution and other civics-related topics to students of all ages. Teachers will find lesson plans and ideas for classroom activities, as well as links to other sites. Go to www.constitutioncenter.org.

Click on Current Events
Looking for ways to teach current events? Check out the C-SPAN website, which features information on the branches of government, recent public speeches, video archives, current events lesson plans and activities, and the chance for educators and students to send questions to C-SPAN guests. Go to www.c-span.org/classroom.

The Mummy Maker
Want to be an embalmer's assistant in ancient Egypt and help prepare a body for burial? This quick, educational, interactive game takes students through the steps of preparing Egyptian mummies, aided only by their concentration and hints from the embalmer's cat. Other links on this BBC site include articles on Egypt past and present. Go to www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/mummy_maker_game.shtml.

Free or Inexpensive

Building a House on a Budget
Building Homes of Our Own is an interactive teaching tool developed for the middle school classroom environment. The Microsoft® Windows®-compatible CD-ROM game presents a macro view of the entire home building process from site selection to final sale. Players collect information, solve problems, and make choices as they build a 3D home against a budget. When complete, they review credit applications and sell to the buyer of their choice. Part of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) ongoing educational outreach initiative, in partnership with the National Housing Endowment, Freddie Mac, and the Fannie Mae Foundation, Building Homes of Our Own is free to educators. To register for a copy, go to www.homesofourown.com.

Lessons Plans from the Peace Corps
Standards-based, language arts lesson plans, and workshops based on the uniquely personal stories written by Peace Corps authors can be accessed online. The materials that comprise Voices from the Field: Reading and Writing About the World, Ourselves, and Others strengthen students' reading comprehension and writing skills, engage and inspire students to create their own personal meanings and narratives, and broaden students' perspectives of the world. For more information, or to download materials, go to www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/voices/stories.html.

Free Science Posters
Educators can obtain copies of up to seven science posters from the Wright Center for Science Education at Tufts University. To preview the posters, go to www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/svl/posters/posts.html. You must submit a written request on school letterhead to Wright Center, Department W, Room 267 C, Science & Technology Center, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155. You can also request a pedagogical teachers guide that accompanies the posters.

Asking Good Questions
How can teachers ask their students intelligent, clear, searching questions? Questioning in the Primary School by E.C. Wragg and G. Brown give primary school teachers strategies to help them ask questions to engage students and improve interaction. Wragg and Brown discuss types of questions and how body language and the tone you use to ask a question has an impact on how students respond. 96 pp. $16.95 from RoutledgeFalmer. To order, visit www.routledgefalmer.com.

Sound and Music
What's the difference between sound and noise? In Science Experiments with Sound and Music, authors Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone explain complex concepts like sound waves with the help of a SlinkyTM and also why if you press your ear to a glass that is pressed against a wall you can hear what's happening on the other side. Using materials you could easily find at home, young people can understand how different musical instruments work and why certain objects make certain sounds. 80 pp. $10.95 from Sterling Publishing. To order, visit www.sterlingpub.com or call 212/532-7160.

Speaking Out for Justice
When people think of women writers leading the struggle for equality, most think of Harriet Beecher Stowe. But they should also think of Lydia Maria Child. A popular author of domestic handbooks, she made the decision in 1833 to write a "scathing indictment of slavery." In Lydia Maria Child: The Quest for Racial Justice, author Lori Kenschaft tells the life story of America's first professional woman writer to speak out for Black slaves, American Indians, women, and the poor. 128 pp. $24 from Oxford University Press. To order, call 800/ 445-9714 or visit www.oup-usa.org.

Games as a Teaching Tool
As a coach and teacher, author Adrian Harrison knows that children need innovative and fun ways to learn and play. In 36 Games Kids Love to Play, Harrison provides safe, fun games whether indoors or out for K-4 children. Games include Rock, Paper, Scissors to settle disagreements, Human Alphabet, and a number of tag games that vary in difficulty. 78 pp. $12 from the Northeast Foundation for Children. To order, visit www.responsiveclassroom. org or call 800/360-6332.

Blazing a Trail
Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners has had some incredible achievements upon his arrival to American baseball from Japan. Learning the value of hard work, and balancing mind and body from his father, Suzuki became an American League All-Star, Rookie of the Year, and MVP. Suzuki raises the bar for athletic performance and helps to change the face of baseball and defy stereotypes. Author Mark Stewart adds Suzuki to the Sports' New Wave biography series in Ichiro Suzuki: Best in the West. 48 pp. $23.90 from Millbrook Press. To order, visit www.millbrookpress.com or call 800/462-4703.

A Spring Thing
Spring isn't just another season for author Linda Glaser--it's a celebration. Every page in It's Spring, is a tribute to the budding leaves, singing birds returning to build their nests, and longer days where the "sun sets after dinner." Cut-paper illustrations by Susan Swan create fun 3-D-type images that jump off the page in the book written for preK-K children. 32 pp. $21.90 from Millbrook Press. To order, visit www.millbrookpress.com or call 800/462-4703.

Our Favorite Pastime--En Español y Inglés
Looking for reading material for your young baseball fans? Have them open Latino Baseball's Hottest Hitters/Los Mejores Bateadores del Béisbol Latino, a dual-language sports book by Mark Stewart (with Mike Kennedy) with Spanish text by Manuel Kalmanovitz. This book contains photos and facts about today's shining Latino baseball stars such as Alex Rodriguez, and Sammy Sosa discusses the 150-year history of baseball and Spanish-speaking people. 64 pp. $26.90 from Millbrook Press. To order, visit www.millbrookpress.com or call 800/462-4703.

Baby on Board
While the rest of high school senior Sam Pettigrew's peers play sports and hang out with friends, he has an even more demanding extracurricular activity--his son Max. Hanging on to Max takes a rare look into the life of a young dad who decides to take an active role in his son's life. Even though author Margaret Bechard uses humor to discuss the serious topic of teenage parenthood, this book can be a way to open a dialogue with young adults about taking responsibility for their choices. 160 pp. $22.90 by Roaring Brook Press. To order, visit www.millbrookpress.com or call 800/462-4703.

Take note

Remember National School Nurse Day on May 7. The day recognizes the work of school nurses and helps communities develop a better understanding of their roles in the educational setting. For more, contact the National Association of School Nurses at 303/663-2329 or visit www.nasn.org.