National Writing Project

March 2004 Table of Contents Cover Story J is for Job Features Everyday Low Standards Writers Bloc Medi-Scare Jane Goodall: Torchbearer Departments ESP Organizing Money People Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Leading the Way Up Front State Report Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Change your address Write a letter View past issues

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Writers Bloc

By Mary Anne Hess

Part grassroots movement, part summer institute series, the National Writing Project has changed lessons and lives.

Photo by Michael York

Instead of charting new courses for her high school English students, Jan Kwiatkowsky found herself switching on autopilot at times. After almost 20 years in the classroom, she was starting to consider herself merely a "lecturer and test giver." But her teaching life was transformed when she attended the National Writing Project summer institute at the nearby University of Maine.

There she gained greater insights on how to convey her love for the craft of writing to her students. "It was an opportunity for teachers to get together and show what works best for them," says Kwiatkowsky, a teacher at Bucksport High School in coastal Maine. "If something works for you, you love to share it."

More than 2 million K–16 teachers from all disciplines have attended Writing Project programs, developed at 175 university-based sites in all 50 states. Launched in 1974 in an effort to fill the void in writing instruction for teachers from all disciplines, the Writing Project is a professional development model that has grown into a unique network of colleagues teaching colleagues about writing. It brings teachers from kindergarten through the university level together in its programs, says Mary Ann Smith, a former teacher who now works as the director of governmental relations and public affairs at Writing Project headquarters at the University of California at Berkeley.

Federal money ($17 million in 2003) is the Writing Project's largest single funding source, with support also coming from foundations, corporations, universities, and K–12 schools. Programs vary—from a Saturday morning session on creating suspenseful stories to five-week invitational summer institutes where teachers take a hard look at their classroom practices, delve into the latest research on writing, and develop their own writing skills.

As children get older, "we tend to stifle creativity, and that's a mistake," says Kwiatkowsky. "I emphasize voice and tell students that's what will make their writing unique." Although she assigns her share of term papers and essays, she believes that putting all the emphasis in that direction "is cheating the child."

Her students write proposals for new businesses and present them to officials in their small town. Despite the test-driven trend toward formulaic writing, Kwiatkowsky has also placed a new emphasis on creative writing. "I want the kids to dig down deep."

She digs, too, and writes poetry along with her students. A favorite activity has students writing prose or poetry about a childhood memory that's uniquely Maine. Kwiatkowsky and her students joined other Maine schools in recording their writing for the Writing Project's Rural Voices Radio collection.

Most Bucksport students are middle class and plan to attend college. About 600 miles to the southwest in Youngstown, Ohio, Betsy Johnquest teaches many 10th graders from families struggling with poverty. Like Kwiatkowsky, she wants her students to let their voices resonate.

That drive springs from her experiences at a 2002 Writing Project institute at Kent State, where participants were asked to search their attics and closets for pieces they'd written and share them with the group. "By the time we'd finished, we knew each other well," she recalls.

That fall, Johnquest asked her students to share childhood writing, and she assigned them to write about the first time someone read to them. Those who couldn't remember asked their mothers or grandmothers to reminisce and, in the process, created new family bonds. "They all wrote so much and everyone wanted to read theirs out loud…we were all becoming writers."

In years past, typical assignments consisted of journal writing or perhaps a paragraph about the topic of the day from a pre-made calendar. "I think kids looked on it as busy work," she says. "Now their writing is something they want to save. It's about their families. They're making portfolios, adding pieces they're writing on their own or from their past, poems they wrote when they were little. They'll hang on to these portfolios for the rest of their lives."

Students also keep spiral notebooks where they free write, list vocabulary words, paste examples of writing they like, or attach pictures to spark ideas. "I tell them to think of the notebooks like a bank where they make deposits and withdrawals," she says. Although it's not required, students often read her their free writing. Writing, she says, is a way for teenagers to vent their anger and still get positive feedback.

Establishing one-on-one relationships with kids is important to Johnquest, and getting kids to write makes that easier. "After you've heard a student read a story about his father being in prison, you make a connection." She often suggests books in which students can learn how others cope with similar problems.

But Johnquest doesn't ignore writing mechanics. Tired of incomplete sentences and bad usage, she injects a healthy dose of grammar into the curriculum, reviewing parts of speech and common errors.

About 65 percent of the school goes on to college or technical schools. Johnquest aims to give students experience in the kind of writing that will give them more confidence to talk about themselves and their ideas in college and on the job.

Before Johnquest signed up for the Writing Project institute, she says, burnout was looming. "I was in a routine, it was boring for me and my assignments were just okay. Now, teaching excites me again," she says. "I consider myself a writer and I'm passing that experience on to my students. I was an average teacher before this. Now I think I'm pretty good."

I am from Down East Maine.
I am from cool damp mornings
when firm wild blueberries
fill cracked overworked buckets.
From frigid ocean water and brisk salt air
I am from the land of inner strength and chapped hands.
I am from a hardworking people
from long days and quiet evenings.
I am from Down East Maine.

By Danielle Meneses and Brittany Howe,
two students on the National Writing Project's Rural Voices Radio Vol. II c. 2001

Add crashing waves, twittering birds, a gentle guitar, and distinctive regional voices and you have the sound of Rural Voices Radio, the first spoken word production of the National Writing Project, in collaboration with the Annenberg Foundation for Rural Choice. The programs showcase writing from students and teachers talking about places, from Maine to Nevada, that they call home. The three-CD set, which can inspire writing about any community, is free to teachers by contacting nwp@ writingproject.org. Since 2001, the award-winning series has aired on public radio stations in the United States and Canada.

A related resource is the new Rural Voices: Place-Conscious Education and the Teaching of Writing ($16), edited by Robert Brooke and his colleagues at the Nebraska Writing Project.

Given the national emphasis on writing in all content areas, the Writing Project sees itself as a resource for math and science, as well as humanities, teachers. Enrollment in its summer writing institutes is competitive. Applications are online at local Writing Project sites. Information about other in-service programs, online discussion forums about writing, publications, and much more is also available on the Web site.

State Report

Taxing Times for State Governments

As the economy grows, state deficits persist. NEA suggests ways to tap more revenues from those who can most afford to pay.

Photo by Mike Riggs

In 1996, a Delaware-based business reporter discovered more than 700 company headquarters miraculously squeezed into five floors of a "slender" office tower in Wilmington. Some 500 claimed the 13th floor alone.

What kind of magic was this, the inquiring sleuth wanted to know. "Frankly," the building manager snapped, "it's none of your business."

Well, frankly, the identities of those so-called "passive investment companies" (PICs) in the building are the business of every taxpaying school employee. PICs, the subsidiaries of prominent corporations, help their corporate offices evade the very state business taxes that help fund public education.

How? Each PIC "charges" its corporate parent a "royalty" for the use of its own trademark or patent, and that fee becomes a tax-deductible expense for the corporation.

How dare they, you ask, when your school board is pleading poverty and class sizes are increasing? Welcome to the hot topic of tax reform—business loopholes.

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, corporate income taxes provided 10.2 percent of revenue in the states levying them in 1979, but just 6.3 percent in 2000. That's because corporations are getting more sophisticated and aggressive in exploiting legal loopholes such as PICs, says Michael Mazerov, a tax system analyst for the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Mazerov, who has studied the most common state loopholes points out that such loopholes are easy to close and "can generate income fairly quickly."

That's income sorely needed by states still facing huge budget deficits. "Just because the economy is finally improving doesn't mean basic tax structures are," points out Michael Kahn, an NEA Research Department manager. "State revenue lags by at least 18 months after a recession ends, even as the economy grows."

States can't expect to tap much more revenue from average taxpayers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the nation's median income actually declined by $500 in the last economic quarter of 2003.

But America's super-rich and its corporations are, yes, getting richer and can chip in more during these tough times, says Kahn. To that end, NEA Research recommends that NEA state affiliates lobby to close corporate tax loopholes, pass a temporary income tax surcharge on the wealthiest 2 percent of taxpayers, and "decouple" state tax codes from the federal estate tax formula—which drains state coffers.

These are pages right from the playbook of the New Jersey Education Association. NJEA helped Governor Jim McGreevey pass the Business Tax Reform Act of 2002, which closed the three most common loopholes studied by Michael Mazerov (including PICs) and yielded an immediate payoff. Corporate tax revenues, which had shrunk to $1.17 billion in Fiscal Year 2002, shot up to $2.5 billion in FY 2003.

The bottom line: At a time when many other states are slashing education funding, deficit-battered New Jersey can at least afford "level state aid to schools, the same as in previous years," says NJEA staffer Ed Richardson. "However, there have been some layoffs—although nothing widespread—and multiple years of state-mandated district spending caps are taking their toll, so we're not out of the woods yet."

Not by a long shot. That's why NJEA, through the broad-based Fairness Alliance coalition, campaigned hard last year for a temporary, incremental personal income tax increase on New Jersey's top 2 percent of earners—dubbed the "Millionaire's Tax" by the press—to raise another $1 billion and restore the worst of the state's budget cuts. State lawmakers said "no, thank you" to that one, but this year they're facing another huge deficit and running out of quick fiscal fixes.

"We're working to reinvigorate our coalition and update our plan for the upcoming budget debate," says Richardson. The new proposal may be somewhat different, he says, but it will rely "on the same principles of 'recapturing the windfall' from the wealthiest New Jerseyans, who reaped the greatest tax cuts in the boom years."

NEA's Kahn says activism like that is critical. "If current trends in tax policy continue," he notes, "we won't be able to maintain the quality of life that we are used to as Americans, let alone create great public schools for all children."

—Dave Winans

For more on tax issues, visit the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Alabama

Instead of insisting that out-of-state corporations pay their fair share of taxes, the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) recommended to lawmakers that school employees and retirees pay the cost of the financial crisis facing schools—through cuts in health benefits and alterations in the retirement system. The Alabama Education Association (AEA) called on its members to "fight back" through mass lobbying.

"The unfair burden that the BCA wants to put on your back is based on greed and fueled by the misguided belief that what's good for big business is good for all," AEA Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert told educators. "Over the years, tax loopholes have allowed the big boys to rob us blind and shortchange the Education Trust Fund."

Maryland

As the state legislature met in February, Maryland State Teachers Association (MSTA) members rallied en masse with partners in the Coalition for Public School Funding against lawmakers' threat to dilute school aid in the next budget. "Our teachers, education support professionals, and other partners in education understand the grave ramifications of limited resources in our public schools," said MSTA President Patricia Foerster. "We don't want to see students cheated or compromised."

Iowa

In a show of unity, the state's leading education groups—the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA), the state PTA, and the organizations of school boards and administrators—launched a major grassroots organizing effort to convince Iowans that the school funding crisis is real and that it will affect education quality for years unless something is done soon.

At the heart of the campaign: informational meetings and forums across the state to create awareness of the problem and to mobilize citizens to lobby for a solution.

California

The California Teachers Association (CTA) led discussions with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to shape a state budget proposal that protects base funding for schools. The spending plan protects campuses from dangerous cuts this school year and increases education funding by $2 billion next year, including cost-of-living adjustments for all K–12 schools and community colleges.

CTA President Barbara Kerr thanked Schwarzenegger for working with teachers in difficult budgetary times. "The way he involved us in the process is a first and we appreciate that," said Kerr. "We will continue to work with the governor and legislature to implement this agreement."

Wisconsin

Governor Jim Doyle, who has consistently opposed expansion of the Milwaukee district voucher program, vetoed bills to extend the state's voucher program. Any changes to that program, he explained, "must be part of an overall package that improves education for everyone and addresses serious concerns that have been raised about accountability within that program."

"Governor Doyle recognizes that these bills would inflict severe damage on public education," said Wisconsin Education Association Council President Stan Johnson. "If true accountability is to exist, standards for voucher schools and public schools must be identical."

Utah

The Utah Education Association (UEA) filed a suit in federal district court charging that the state legislature, in amendments to the 2001 Voluntary Contributions Act (VCAI), is unconstitutionally infringing on UEA's rights of "protected speech and association."

The new law, VCAII, prohibits UEA and other public sector unions from using dues to communicate positions on political candidates to their members—or to communicate to the public about ballot initiatives and other issues of public importance. Incredibly, the law does not impose similar restrictions on private sector unions or businesses.

Maine

The Maine Education Association (MEA) is cooperating with the Maine state Department of Education in an anonymous survey of teachers' workloads. Survey data are needed to support a legislative study on the issue, and MEA has urged members to participate.

"The higher the participation by teachers, the more powerful the data will be," the MEA membership magazine urged readers. "The information is vital to demonstrate MEA's contention that educators are overburdened by mandates and in need of a greater voice in educational policy decisions."

Oregon

When the Dalles and Chenowith school districts merge this July, the Oregon Education Association (OEA) will gain 68 new ESP members in addition to the 100-plus members currently represented by the Dalles Association of Education Support Professionals.

The reason: In a recent representation election conducted for ESPs in the merged district, OEA beat a competing organization by more than two to one.

Speaking of Solidarity

March 2004 Table of Contents Cover Story J is for Job Features Everyday Low Standards Writers Bloc Medi-Scare Jane Goodall: Torchbearer Departments ESP Organizing Money People Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Leading the Way Up Front State Report Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Change your address Write a letter View past issues

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Everyday Low Standards

Love those Wal-Mart bargains? What you save in that big-box store, you may be paying for in your hospital bills—and in deadly hits to public education.

By Dave Winans

And not for the better.

The world's largest corporation soon plans to open 40 general merchandise/grocery "supercenters" in the Golden State, and three of the biggest supermarket chains there are citing Wal-Mart's notoriously meager employee benefits as a reason to demand huge cuts in the health coverage of their unionized workforce—75 percent for new workers and 50 percent for current employees in their central and southern California stores. The result: a bitter strike and lockout of 70,000 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW), of which Tim Strobridge is a member.

These are tough times for the Strobridges, not only because Tim, a Ralphs grocery store receiving clerk, is locked out of work, but because of the potential impact of Wal-Mart on the economy around them.

So influential is this stridently anti-union corporation, says Mary, who is president of the San Miguel Teachers Association, that she fears Wal-Mart standards are exerting a downward pull on contract bargaining for educators and furthering the "erosion of the middle class" in America. "My own local and district are now stuck on the health care issue in bargaining, and only health care," she says. "Why do we have to settle for inferior benefits because minimum-wage workers do?"

That view is shared by the California Teachers Association (CTA), which has offered unwavering support to the supermarket strikers. "Teachers have been wonderful in not crossing the picket lines," says Strobridge, "and many CTA local chapters have 'adopted' struck stores by supplying picketers with water and snacks and walking the lines."

"Solidarity can't just apply to one group, like teachers," she stresses. "It has to stretch out to all unions, from retail clerks to electricians." And in the case of Wal-Mart, she and other California activists say, the more activism, the better.

In fact, they say, if you're concerned about growing out-of-pocket costs for your medical care, worried about kids who arrive in your school without health coverage, or alarmed over the power of the pro-voucher lobby in this country, you might seriously consider mouthing off every time you walk through a Wal-Mart door.

The nation's largest private sector employer, retailer, and grocer has not become the model of corporate efficiency for nothing. With nearly 3,500 U.S. stores, it racked up an $8.2 billion net profit in 2002 and rang up $1.5 billion in sales the day after last Thanksgiving by promising "Always Low Prices"—and delivering.

How? By squeezing out extra pennies from everything from vendor prices to employee compensation—and using some of those proceeds to support anti-public education causes.

For example, campaign finance records show that John Walton, son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, donated money for pro-voucher ballot initiatives in California in 1993 and Michigan in 2000 and for a Colorado tuition tax credit measure in 1998. More recently, Walton donated money to pro-voucher state political action committees and pro-voucher school board and legislative candidates.

And, according to tax records, the Walton Family Foundation, largely funded with proceeds from Wal-Mart stocks, funneled $28 million in 2002 to the CEO Foundation and the Children's Scholarship Fund, which promote taxpayer-funded vouchers and private tuition tax credits. Another $300,000 in grants went to the Institute for Justice, a right-wing legal group that defends voucher programs and fights state constitutional barriers to them.

A Model With Costs

As the Los Angeles Times concluded last fall in an extensive series: "The company's size and obsession with shaving costs have made it a global economic force. Its decisions affect wages, working conditions, and manufacturing practices—even the price of a yard of denim—around the world." But in the view of many, not in ways that are healthy to workers.

"As we're seeing in the California grocery strike, the mere presence of Wal-Mart is like a huge neon sign announcing the way to the low road and blocking the entrance to the high road," says Jared Bernstein, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, which researches economic issues facing working families. "Firms that operate under a model based on higher quality jobs, unions, and low turnover—and higher prices—will be hard-pressed to compete, and thus the quality of those jobs will either deteriorate, or they could even disappear."

Why does this matter to educators? Let's start with medical care. Across the nation, the issue of decent, paid health care has become a "monster at every bargaining table," explains California high school counselor David Turner, an executive board member of the Oakland Education Association. "Time and again, we hear from school employers, 'Everybody else is giving up something; you need to accept health benefit cuts, too.'"

Wal-Mart's non-union workforce of nearly 1.2 million employees helps subsidize bargain basement store prices through pitifully low wages; a bare-bones health plan (with family coverage costing $139 to $277 a month, depending on deductibles); a six-month waiting period for full-timer health care (and a two-year wait for part-timers); and an annual turnover rate of at least 45 percent.

Wal-Mart reports that only 46 percent of its employees are covered by some part of its health plan. The rest receive either taxpayer-supported health care—which competes head-on with public education in many state budgets—or simply go without. And when their ailing, uninsured children arrive in public school classrooms, "Wal-Mart really becomes an education issue," says Turner.

No unions welcomed

It's become a union issue, too. The corporation is well-known for fighting unionization tooth and nail. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued complaints—the rough equivalent of indictments—against Wal-Mart for ejecting UFCW organizers from its stores, harassing or interrogating union activists (without witnesses), conducting unlawful surveillance of union supporters, and undermining union elections with illegal promises, raises, or threats.

And a federal judge has found that Wal-Mart illegally refused to bargain over job function changes it imposed after meat department workers in a Texas store voted for UFCW in a 2000 NLRB representation election. The company demoted these skilled meatcutters to "sales associates" and eliminated meatcutting from all of its stores in favor of prepackaged meat.

Wal-Mart tries to "isolate" union supporters from other workers in its stores and "uses peer pressure to verbally intimidate them," charges Al Zack, UFCW's assistant director of strategic programs. "It's a pretty scary feeling, being all alone and swimming upstream."

So what can educators do? Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton used to say, "The customer is always right," so here's an invitation. "If NEA members who are Wal-Mart customers would tell Wal-Mart associates that they are union members and proud of it," says Zack, "and tell them they would have the support of a lot of their customers who are also union members if they formed a union, that would start to break through [the fear]."

Zack also recommends that NEA local affiliates let Wal-Mart managers know they're being watched for illegal anti-union activities. David Turner likes the sound of that. "I think as educators we should tell the managers of Wal-Mart stores that we won't shop there until their workers have the right to organize, to health care, and to a decent living wage," he says, "and I think our locals should encourage our members to shop elsewhere."

For more, go to www.walmartwatch.org

Resources

NEA Teacher-to-Teacher Series

96 pp. $9.95 NEA Members, $12.95 nonmembers
NEA Professional Library, www.nea.org/books

[ Book Excerpt]

According to the Foundation Center, there are nearly 42,000 grantmaking foundations in the United States. In one year alone, those foundations gave $13.8 billion in funds to organizations. Of that amount, only 5.25 percent went to primary and secondary schools. That leaves millions of dollars untapped by educators. The money is there for the asking.

How To Get Grants and Free Stuff aims to make it easier for you to wade through the grant writing process. Six teachers share practical tips and step-by-step instructions for getting grants and free stuff for your classroom.

• Nancy Norem Powell, a high school math teacher, has become a whiz at completing grant applications and proposals. Powell describes what each section of a grant proposal requires and why grants get rejected.
• Elementary teacher Susan Midori Jones describes how she and her colleagues created a team to apply for grants. Team members are assigned specific parts of the grant application to complete. For educators who have trouble finding the time to write, she offers suggestions for creating a time line to meet grant deadlines.
• Janice Tolley describes how she brought a planetarium and a young astronaut program to her elementary school by applying for grants.
• Rhode Island civics teacher Maureen Spaight provides information on the types of grants available and sources to use in researching grant programs.
• Arkansas teacher Joan Reid and her colleagues at Skyline Heights Elementary School have received hundreds of free products and services from local businesses—by simply asking for them. She also gives tips on using parents as resources for free materials and offers advice on soliciting free donations from community businesses.
• Teachers from Seattle Alternative School #1 use corporate partnerships to get hundreds of dollars' worth of free materials for art, science, history, and drama projects. The educators explain how these donations help to fund an innovative experiential learning program.

To order this book or other books from the Teacher-to-Teacher series, visit the NEA Professional Library or call 800-229-4200.

Take Your Job Hunt to Cyberspace

Whether you're new to the profession or looking for a change in your teaching position, these Web sites can help you in your job search. For more information on employment in education, check out "J is for Job."

Grants and Awards

NEA Friend of Education Award Nominations Due April 2

Letters of nomination must include:

• Name of the nominee
• Nominee's position and/or organizational affiliation
• Nominee's mailing address (or organization mailing address)
• Name of the nominator or affiliate
• Signature of nominator or affiliate officer
• Name of nominator's local affiliate, if applicable
• Nominator's mailing address
• Nominator's telephone number

If the nominator is an NEA member, send proof of membership (such as an NEA Today mailing label that includes a membership number).

In 100 words or less, indicate the reason for your nomination and summarize the nominee's qualifications for the award. Nominees will be evaluated based on leadership, acts, and support of education on a national scale. Supporting materials, such as publications or videos, may be submitted along with the nomination information.

Submit all nomination information and materials to:
NEA Friend of Education Award Committee; Executive Office; Attn: Da'aiyah Bilal-Threats. National Education Association; 1201 16th Street, N.W.; Washington, DC 20036. Nomination information may also be faxed to 202-822-7012.

Tech Grants for ESPs

Has your local Association applied for an ESP Technology Grant yet? Well, time's running out to make the April 15 deadline. NEA offers technology grants in the amounts of $250 to $3,500 to local education support professional Associations. These ESP Technology grants provide an opportunity for ESP locals to involve members in the application of technology in projects that could help their locals, schools, and/or communities.

The application process is open to all NEA local Associations that have not been awarded an ESP Technology Grant in the past three years. (Individuals are ineligible for awards).

Grants are awarded, in part, based on the integration of the ESPIS—the ESP Information System created to provide ESP members and staff immediate and widespread opportunities to share data and information throughout all levels of the organization. The ESPIS includes, for example, the ESP Web site, the ESP Listserv, the ESP Data Book, and a variety of publications.

Other considerations when awarding grants include the level of involvement of ESP members and the merits of the proposed goals and projected outcomes. The proposed project's contribution to achieving the NEA Strategic Focus of restoring public confidence in public education and the completeness of the application form are also important factors.

ESPIS and the Technology Grant Program are overseen by a User Advisory Group comprising governance and staff who are available to provide training on the use of ESPIS.

College Help from the Brown Foundation

The Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research offers financial support for minority education majors enrolled or enrolling in college. Entering freshmen may apply for the Lucinda Todd Book Award Scholarship, a one-time, nonrenewable book grant of $300. Students entering their junior year of college may apply for the Brown Foundation Academic Scholarship, a $500 award per year for two academic years. For eligibility criteria and application procedures, contact the Brown Foundation at 214 W. 6th, Ste. 306, Topeka, KS 66603; 785-235-3939; brownfound@juno.com. Applications must be received by March 30.

Ecology Curriculum Grants

Illustration by Bruce Worthington

To ensure that curricula are implemented, the Foundation will require a letter of endorsement from the science supervisor and/or principal of the school(s) involved to validate applications.

To apply, submit a formal proposal that includes:

1. Detailed goals and objectives of the curriculum that indicate its focus, mission, and/or philosophy
2. A budget
3. A letter of endorsement from the science supervisor and principal of the school involved or any other partners involved
4. A timetable of when work will be conducted and completed
5. Résumés of all individuals involved
6. A stated understanding that the Foundation will require a progress report.

Send four copies of your completed proposal, postmarked by April 9, 2004, to: The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation, P.O. Box 621, Skaneateles, NY 13152.

AIAA Foundation Classroom Grant Program

If you are a K–12 teacher interested in the development or application of science, mathematics, and technology within your educational curriculum, you may qualify for a grant of up to $200 per individual request to supplement your learning program. Each school is limited to up to $1,000 per calendar year.

Use your grant for classroom demonstration kits, classroom science supplies, or other materials to enhance the teaching—and learning—of science, mathematics, and related technology.

To become eligible, you must either be or be willing to become an AIAA Educator Associate (it's free to join). Next, complete and submit a one-page AIAA Foundation Educator Classroom Grant Proposal PDF form to the AIAA Foundation Educator Classroom Grant Committee. When your proposal is approved, a check for the proposed amount will be sent to your school on your behalf. Please submit a Feedback PDF Form with pictures of how the grant money was used! We want to share your good ideas with other teachers across the country. PDF forms can be accessed under the Classroom Grant Program Forms category.

For questions on an application, check with your local AIAA Section or call Lisa Bacon at 800-639-AIAA, ext. 527 (United States only), or 703-264-7527.

In Print

Celebrating Spring

Super Science

Math Wonders

Get Outdoors

U.S. History in Documents

Nurturing Young Artists

Mummy Mystery

OWL.org

An Educator's Best Friend

Learn more about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. OWL has a wide variety of articles related to NBPTS in the "My Profession" section, including profiles of successful candidates, a menu of pre-candidacy activities, and tips for those who are thinking about becoming a candidate.

Take an online course. OWL offers online courses and professional development opportunities though partnerships with Canter and Associates, Pearson Education, and the Center for Online Professional Development. NEA members receive special discounts on courses—only though OWL. You can find them in the OWL Marketplace.

Find ways to save money and be more financially secure. The "My Money" section of OWL has information on everything from buying drugs online to protecting your credit.

Support literacy activities. Shop online at OWLShopper and a portion of sales goes to NEA's Read Across America literacy grants.

So, beat those March doldrums. Log on to www.owl.org today!

What's Up at HIN Help Create Asthma-Friendly Schools! Did you know that at least two children in every class have asthma, and that asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism? Alarmingly, students miss approximately 14 million days of school per year because of asthma. To increase awareness about the asthma epidemic, the American School Health Association has recently published Health in Action: Asthma-Friendly Schools are Healthier for Everyone Vol. 2, No. 2. The publication includes tools, tips, and resources on asthma education and the basics for establishing an asthma-friendly school environment. You may purchase the publication for $10. Learn more about asthma. National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Every year in this country, close to 850,000 teenage girls become pregnant. The consequences of these pregnancies are enormous, as only one-third of these girls complete high school. To raise awareness about this troubling issue, NEA is once again a partner in the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on May 5, 2004. Teens can go online and take an engaging "quiz" that presents them with real life scenarios around the issue. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, sponsor of the event, has materials available to help you promote this important day in your community. Fitness Challenge Team Update The NEA fitness challenge, a joint venture of NEA HIN and NEA Today, has been successfully helping members to stay fit and healthy. Since October, 14 teams have joined the fitness challenge and have lost an average weight of 25 pounds per team. The fitness challenge provides a platform for teams to receive expert advice and to share experiences, success stories, and motivation. Congratulations and good luck to our Fitness Challenge Teams! Learn more or to join the NEA Fitness Challenge today.

On TV

Jane Goodall's Return to Gombe

Biography

A&E
Celebrate Women's History Month with Biography series episodes profiling notable women. Shows may be taped and used in the classroom for one year with teaching materials available at www.aetv.com/class. All shows air at 7 a.m., ET. "Amelia Earhart: Queen of the Air," March 1; "Barbara Bush: First Mom," March 2; "Rosa Parks: Mother of a Movement," March 9; "Eleanor Roosevelt: A Restless Spirit," March 10; "Gloria Steinem: Ms. America," March 15; "Hillary Rodham Clinton: Changing the Rules," March 16; "Katharine Graham: Pillar of the Post," March 18; "Helen Thomas: The First Lady of the Press," March 19; "Karen Silkwood: A Life on the Line," March 22.

Africa Today

Discovery Channel, March 1, 9 a.m., ET.
A look at students in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, the daily activities of an Ethiopian girl, the impact of AIDS on the people of Africa, and the effects of deforestation in Ghana and oil drilling in Nigeria. The hour-long program can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.

TLC Elementary School—Earth's Changing Surface

The Learning Channel, March 5, 6 a.m., ET, check local listings.
Designed for grades K–6, this series consists of segments edited from original documentaries. This episode, "Earth's Changing Surface," explores an innovative mapmaking technology, soil formation in the American prairie, and the geologic history of the Grand Canyon. Can be taped and used in the classroom for two years.

Wild West Tech

The History Channel, March 30, 10 p.m., ET.
"CSI meets The Lone Ranger," might describe this new series. Actor Keith Carridine hosts the program, which looks at how the lawless used technology to open safes, shoot accurately from long distances, and get away with the help of a good horse. The evolution of new techniques to trap and hunt down these gunslingers is also presented, which makes for a fair, balanced, and just plain fun show. Viewers get a real glimpse of 19th-century American life, which fifth-grade teachers will especially appreciate. Topics for other episodes include Cowboy Tech, Military Tech, Execution Tech, Hunting Tech, and Train Tech.

The Great Campaign of 1960

PBS, March 22, check local listings for times.
A survey of the presidential campaign of 1960 between Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican candidate Richard M. Nixon, the first national election campaign in which television and the Catholic religion played a major role. Can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.

Hong Kong Symphony: Heaven-Earth-Mankind

Ovation, March 23, 12 p.m., ET, check local listings.
Composer Tan Dun and cellist Yo-Yo Ma celebrate the passing of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule in this one-hour program, which can be taped and used in the classroom for one year with teaching materials from www.ovationtv.com/artszone.

Independent Lens: The New Americans

PBS, March 29–31, 9 p.m., ET, check local listings.
This series follows refugees and immigrants from five different countries, documenting their preparations as they travel to America, for work, for love, for safety. From Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams, these stories introduce us to Barine, a Nigerian mother of four, who moves to Chicago and works three part-time jobs to make ends meet. Other subjects include baseball players from the Dominican Republic, a computer programmer from India, a Palestinian woman, and a Mexican father of six. Episode 1 (March 29) establishes the backgrounds of the travelers and reveals their hopes for a better life in America. Episode 2 (March 30) shows how they confront the culture shock of modern, urban life. The last evening completes the tale of transition. The New Americans condenses four years in the lives of these hopeful people. Check out Web components for the series at www.pbs.org/newamericans and at www.itvs.org/outreach/newamericans.

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

On the Web

Women's History Resources

Biographies of notable women, history quizzes and timelines, and classroom activities pepper this Thompson Gale site honoring Women's History Month. Visitors can also find links to other Women's history resources.

March into Women's History

Visit Edication World for an overview of Women's History Month as well as links to lesson plans and other useful sites for teaching about women's issues and contributions to U.S. history.

Profiles of Women

Looking for brief but informative bios of famous women? Then check out the History Channel's Women's History Exhibit pages boasting more than 30 profiles and an online feature on women's suffrage.

Stream Studies

This Environmental Protection Agency site provides lessons and activities for studying how runoff affects streams, how to analyze what's upstream and downstream from your community, and how families can reduce "nonpoint source" pollution, which results from rainfall or snow melt moving over and through the ground. The site is especially geared toward middle school science teachers and students.

¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina!

This bilingual English-Spanish site provides information to help Hispanic/Latina girls ages 9–14 enhance decision-making and communication skills. The site, hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services, offers visitors homework tips, ways to explore family history and their futures, and information on a new Latina role model each month. Free activity books and posters may also be ordered.

Super science fair project help

Completing science fair projects can be a lengthy and complicated process. Madeline Binder, a Chicago-area educator, has developed an interactive site to make science projects more enjoyable and less difficult. Binder has created Detective ThinkMore, a cartoon character that guides visitors through the complexities of science fair projects.

Get More From Cable

Cable in the Classroom's new professional development site helps educators become familiar with cable's content, broadband technology, and educator technology resources. Visitors can view multimedia case studies of teachers using technology successfully in their classrooms, as well as link to television schedules, state and national standards, and other education resources.

Jolly Old England—Online

Want to go on a virtual trip to Britain? Visit the site maintained by the British Embassy, includes everything from history and geography information to a picture gallery of London and surrounding areas. The site also features activities kids can do if they visit London, and a sports section detailing the more popular sports in England today. A guide for teachers and students is also included, which may be useful for students working on related research projects.

Hangin' with Yak

Published by the Detroit Free Press, Yak's Corner, a magazine aimed at kids, now has an online version. The site contains plenty of activities, including a recipes section, an arts and crafts section, profiles of celebrities, and news and tips kids would be interested in. In addition, you can find teacher guides that assist in every section covered by the site.

Take Note

Online Lessons for Hope

ESP Quality Workforce Series

NEA's ESP Quality Department has released the final two publications in its Building A Quality Workforce Series—a series highlighting the challenges members of each ESP job group face, including job descriptions, downsizing, health and safety issues, and professional development. Technical Services gives an overview of the challenges faced by ESPs in this area, including mastering new technology, federal and state statutes, time management, and ambiguous reporting structures. Security Services highlights the tasks of ESPs working in security, such as protecting individuals from intolerance and guarding against larger crises, while facing a shortage in equipment and training resources. Read these publications online or download them.

Free magazine subscription? YES!

Are your students ready for some good news? Then sign up for a free, one-year subscription to YES!, an award-winning ad-free national journal filled with inspiring case studies of practical solutions to a broad range of environmental and social justice challenges. Published quarterly by the Positive Futures Network, an independent, nonprofit organization, YES! can help inform students about ecological and social problems while providing solutions and channels for constructive action.

New Online Newsletter for Priority Schools

A new electronic newsletter and discussion group—CAREshare—supports NEA members in their work to meet the needs of all students, particularly students in priority schools and schools not making adequate yearly progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Each month, subscribers receive an electronic newsletter that includes examples of what educators are doing around the country to improve teaching and learning conditions in their schools, promotes dialogue among educators, and shares research and best practices particularly applicable to struggling learners.

Each edition includes information about one of the "CARE" themes—culture, abilities, resilience, and effort—and features practical classroom applications. Participants will be encouraged to post success stories and engage in discussions about the shared information. NEA Human and Civil Rights Department staff will moderate the newsletter and discussion as part of the "C.A.R.E. for Priority Schools" project. To join CAREshare, e-mail mgreen@nea.org.

For more information, contact Linda Bacon or 202-822-7724.

Help Stop Bullying

NEA's National Bullying Awareness Campaign aims to reduce, and eventually eradicate, bullying in America's public schools. Research indicates that this goal can best be achieved by fostering the active involvement of teachers, administrators, school support personnel, parents, and the community. Your school can be a part of this campaign. NEA has a national cadre of trainers who can train members and assist the district in developing a Whole School Bullying Prevention/Intervention Program at no cost to the school district. For more information, contact Gaye Barker or 202-822-7732.

Books by NEA Members

The Story of Pup Daddy

By LaMonte Heflick, illustrated by John Lakey

21st Century Writing: An Accelerated Program to Help Students Develop Their Writing Skills

By Paul Heisher, Donna Fout, and Mary Ann Ready

Michael and Marie: Children With Prader- Willi Syndrome

By Valerie Rush Sexton and Debbie Erbe Fortin, illustrated by Bonnie Branson

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a complex genetic disorder that typically causes low muscle tone, short stature, incomplete sexual development, cognitive disabilities, problem behaviors, and a chronic feeling of hunger. Designed to be read to elementary school children, this book, shows the positive side of the syndrome, while helping children without disabilities understand the problems PWS kids face. Similarities rather than differences between children with and without this disability are stressed. 32 pp. $8 from the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association. To order, call 800-926-4797 or see www.pwsausa.org/publications/ index.htm.

What Men Do Right? A Guide for Improving Relationships

By Patrick A. Koneval

Get Ready to Read!

What do actors on Broadway, park rangers on Mount Rushmore, chefs in Atlanta, high school rodeo champs in Kansas, and miners in West Virginia have in common?

They'll all be donning their reading hats and sharing a book with kids to celebrate NEA's Read Across America. March 2 is Dr. Seuss's birthday and NEA's Read Across America celebration of the joy of reading will be bigger and better than ever. Check out the Read Across America Web site for more events and don't forget to let us know what you're doing to spread the joy of reading. You'll also find our latest video PSA featuring such well-known readers as James Earl Jones, Esai Morales, and Shaquille O'Neal, as well as reading resources to use all year long.

President's Viewpoint

March 2004 Table of Contents Cover Story J is for Job Features Everyday Low Standards Writers Bloc Medi-Scare Jane Goodall: Torchbearer Departments ESP Organizing Money People Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Leading the Way Up Front State Report Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Change your address Write a letter View past issues

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Is the glass half-full or half-empty? It's all in how you look at it

Photo by Sandy Schaeffer

I learned a long time ago that I could tell the optimists from the pessimists simply by asking: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? It's all in how you look at it—an important point to keep in mind as we consider different perceptions of the state of public education today.

Me, I'm an optimist. And when it comes to public education, so are most Americans.

Most Americans give their local school—the face of public education they know best—a "B" or better. While they support standards and accountability, they also know that teachers are the key to quality—teachers who know their subject as well as how to teach. And they support paying teachers more even if it means raising taxes.

Most Americans favor other changes that would improve public education as well. Universal preschool. Small classes that permit individualized attention. Involved parents. Up-to-date textbooks and teaching materials. Schools that are in good repair and equipped with modern technology.

In short, the public and NEA are on the same page. We agree that the glass is more than half-full—public education is in good shape and getting better. But the powers-that-be in Washington see it differently. When they look into the glass, they see rock bottom.

With such widely diverging perceptions, it's tempting to think someone's picked up the wrong glass. But that's not it. The truth, my friends, is that we fail to see eye-to-eye because Washington is in the grip of ideologues who sing only one song: privatization.

They are driven by a market philosophy that assumes anything the public sector does, the private sector can do better. It's a popular song with the investor class, but doesn't do a thing for working people like us.

Like chameleons, the color-changing reptiles, the ideologues try to blend in. They cloak themselves in compassionate rhetoric—"leave no child behind" and the like—while laying the groundwork for radical change. And what better place to start than by undermining confidence in public education?

Other than the name, the so-called No Child Left Behind law is an ill-conceived piece of work. Instead of supporting the weakest link and helping the chain grow stronger, it seeks to batter the chain until it falls apart.

This year, one-fourth of America's schools were labeled failures for lack of "adequate yearly progress." Next year, there will be more. Already, parents are receiving notices that their children are being taught by someone who is not "highly qualified." Next year, there will be more. And, if the ideologues have their way, this will continue until confidence in public education is so shaken the people throw up their hands and cry, "Let the market decide!"

NEA is determined not to let that happen—and we're not alone. With 2.7 million teachers and education support professionals nationwide—roughly one out of every 100 Americans—we have it within our power to send the ideologues packing. We have it within our power to elect supporters of public education to office on the state and local level, as well as to Congress and the White House.

But NEA has that power only because of you—who you are and what you do. From the start, America's schools have been endowed with civic as well asacademic functions that instill a shared sense of purpose and bind our nation together.

America can't do without that any more than NEA can do without you!

NEA President Reg Weaver

People

March 2004 Table of Contents Cover Story J is for Job Features Everyday Low Standards Writers Bloc Medi-Scare Jane Goodall: Torchbearer Departments ESP Organizing Money People Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Leading the Way Up Front State Report Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Change your address Write a letter View past issues

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Clowning Around

Jason Harrison is, and always will be, the type of person who likes to work a crowd.

Photo by Dale Folkerts

The seventh-grade science and social studies teacher at Garrison Middle School in Walla Walla, Washington, has spent his life entertaining, whether he's in the classroom or in the rodeo arena, where he performs as a clown.

As a rodeo clown, Harrison performs short acts designed to interest the sport's youngest fans. His impromptu songs—which change with the rodeo's location—quirky dance steps, and acrobatic stunts always bring the crowd to its feet. Harrison believes it's important to draw each child into the fun and make the child feel important. It's a philosophy that holds true both in the arena and in the classroom.

"The key is to make every child feel wanted and to get them involved from the very beginning. If you have that connection with the kids, you're set," Harrison says.

Harrison began his rodeo career by "attempting" bull riding, but he quickly changed over to team roping. "I learned that I didn't have the same passion for it as other riders," Harrison says. So, at the suggestion of one of his friends, he decided to see if he could make it as a rodeo clown. After three years of performing, he hasn't looked back. The reactions he gets from the audience rev him up every time he steps into the arena.

"The excitement of entertaining—to see kids react to you so positively—that's one of the greatest parts of what I do," Harrison says.

—Urmila Subramanyam

A Helping Hand

While many educators welcome summer as a time for much-needed relaxation, Natalie Nienhuis spends her breaks far from the comforts of home.

Photo by Stephanie Judge

Nienhuis, a world studies teacher at Watertown High School in Wisconsin, spent the last two summers as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, building houses in developing countries.

"I love to travel abroad, but I don't like to do the touristy thing," she insists. "So, it's really the perfect solution."

Nienhuis has co-led two builds at village locations in Papua New Guinea and Botswana, and she plans to do similar work this summer in Guatemala. During her trip to Papua New Guinea in 2002, she lived with the local villagers and befriended many of the children during her stay. The trip to Botswana last year was more difficult, she says.

"Botswana was harder to be a part of because we didn't stay on site and the abject poverty was palpable," she says. "They had no land to farm and few chickens for food." Nonetheless, the villagers showed amazing commitment to the project. Children, many of them orphans, helped volunteers carry concrete blocks for the homes, while villagers mixed mortar by hand.

"The interaction with the kids and people I meet there gives me so much," says Nienhuis. "It's a great way to spend the summer."

—Amir Shoucri

Swing Time

Seventy-six percent of choral singers participate in charity work, according to a survey by Chorus America, a national organization that promotes choral music.

Photo by Norman Y. Lono

That doesn't surprise pianist and music teacher Fran DePalma-Iozzi, who has spent the past 14 years

tickling the ivories for her philanthropic swing band.

Reeds, Rhythm, and All That Brass emerged about 30 years ago with 17 musicians, one singer, and two missions: preserve 1940s big band music and donate their earnings to charity. To date, the group has raised more than $1 million for organizations such as the American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity. Band members vote before each performance about whether the benefactor is a bona fide charity. Otherwise, the band's benevolence could be abused by wealthier organizations clearly capable of hiring a paid band.

"We don't want to take a job away from regular musicians who are earning a living," says DePalma-Iozzi, who teaches at James Caldwell High School and Jefferson Elementary School in New Jersey.

After years of entertaining, DePalma-Iozzi still finds fulfillment in the band's charitable endeavors. In fact, at times she feels a little guilty for taking so much pleasure in the pastime.

"It's joyful to feel that you're doing something meaningful," DePalma-Iozzi says. "It gives me back much more than I give."

—Cheryl Ross

Frontier Teacher

Retired Nebraska member Janet Gardner takes students back to a time when math was called arithmetic and cold pancakes or potatoes were the lunch of choice.

Photo by Norman Y. Lono

It's still 1888 at the Flowerfield School in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where Gardner has served as a "school marm" for four years. Rebuilt as part of the Banner County Historical Museum, the school now serves groups of fourth graders who visit to walk in the shoes of real frontier schoolchildren. Since 1987, more than 10,000 students have taken part in the unique program, which is offered each fall.

Always striving for authenticity, Gardner dons a bonnet, brings her lunch in a pail, and wears a dress of her grandmother's. And students always ask her about the dunce cap that sits on a stool; fortunately, she's never had to use it. But it does spark a discussion on discipline in the late 1800s, when misbehavior was cause for a spanking or a rap on the knuckles with a pointer. Before lunch, students wash their hands with lye soap, and they aren't allowed to bring items like bottled soda or processed, packaged foods. In addition to working on their penmanship, students read from McGuffey Readers (circa 1879) and have a spelling bee at the end of the day.

Gardner loves being a school marm, and after 20 years of teaching she's still learning about Nebraska history. "This has been such a wonderful experience," she says, "and it's a great way to keep my hand in teaching."

—Lorinda Bullock

Got a Tip?

Do you have an interesting story idea? Contact Sabrina Holcomb.

Money

March 2004 Table of Contents Cover Story J is for Job Features Everyday Low Standards Writers Bloc Medi-Scare Jane Goodall: Torchbearer Departments ESP Organizing Money People Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Leading the Way Up Front State Report Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Change your address Write a letter View past issues

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Don't Be Shortsighted on Long-Term Care

Is long-term care insurance for you? These tips will guide you through the maze.

By Mary Rowland

Illustration by Kara Fellows

The statistics are frightening. As baby boomers age, more of them are expected to spend time in a nursing home. The Department of Health and Human Services projects that 65-year-olds have a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home in their lifetime. Nursing home care now costs an average of $158 per day, and that's bound to rise.

These scary numbers have whipped up interest in long-term care insurance, a market that can be treacherous to the uninitiated. Long-term care insurance is still relatively new—coming to market in the last 25 years or so—and the policies can seem complicated and daunting. If you are looking for a policy, you need to be armed with facts. Here are some tips from the experts:

Age 55 is a good time to consider buying a policy. After the early 60s, initial premiums increase significantly.

Don't compare policies based simply on price. Some companies have entered this market only to withdraw within a few years because they've found it too difficult. You want an insurer that's committed to the market and has a reputation for treating policyholders fairly. Check A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Weiss for company reputation. To check claims-paying experience, go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Study policy terms carefully. Most policies pay when the insured is unable to perform two or more activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, or eating. Many frail, elderly people who need help do not qualify under that definition. You should be certain you understand what you're buying before you actually need it.

Most policies provide a daily benefit for a specified number of years. Daily benefit limit and benefit period are key variables in a policy. To determine what daily limit you need, check the cost of a nursing home stay in your area.

Benefit periods range from one year to lifetime, with premiums going up as the benefit period increases. The waiting period before benefits begin also varies, with premiums going down as the waiting period increases. Don't increase the waiting period too much just to save money. Part of the value of the insurance is knowing that you have some protection. If you're forced to wait six months to a year before you begin to collect benefits, it can seem interminable.

Insurers can raise premiums for an entire class of policyholders. Make sure you understand under what conditions your premiums can change. Some experts suggest buying a policy that will be paid off in 10 years to avoid the likelihood of premium increases.

Get inflation protection for your coverage. Five percent is typically recommended. There are generally two types of inflation protection: the compound interest option and the simple interest option. If you're 70 or older, the latter may be the more sensible and economical option.

Before buying long-term care insurance, you'll need to make a number of decisions about which policy terms and features are best for you. Be prepared to do your own research.

For more: You can get a free copy of A Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Apartment Shopping 101

Illustration by Dan Yaccarino

Just got that diploma? Before you shop for a new apartment, you'd be wise to hit the Web for a little research.

First, you need to figure out how much you can afford to pay for an apartment. A rule of thumb is to plan on spending no more than 30 to 35 percent of your gross (before-tax) income, but that ignores other factors such as your credit card bills or car payment. For a more accurate picture, go to Springstreet.com and use a financial calculator.

Once you're plugged in to the Internet, you can find an apartment just like you find an airline fare or a rental car. And, if you're thinking of relocating, it's not a bad idea to look up the average cost of an apartment in your new location, which you can calculate at springstreet.com. For example, the average two-bedroom apartment in Richmond, Virginia, costs $683 a month, a little more than the $672 average in Tucson, Arizona, and $372 a year more than the $652 in Columbus, Ohio. But watch out if you've got your eye on Boston, where the average two-bedroom rents for $2,287!

Once you've found your ideal spot, you can pick up decorating tips or even rent furniture (check out www.bfr.com or www.rentfurniture.com).