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If you still don't believe what happens on Capitol Hill impacts your classroom, then look in your school's wallet. You'll discover the dollars dwindling for programs such as Title I, Head Start, and IDEA, not to mention the perennially underfunded Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the so-called No Child Left Behind law. All the more reason to keep an eye on Washington. And with the presidential election only months away, the time has never been more critical.Fortunately, educators aren't the only ones who need—and want—to make sure politicians keep their campaign promises. More than 90 percent of parents say education issues influence their decision to support a political candidate, according to the National PTA. And school funding tops their list of concerns—85 percent of moms and dads believe the federal government needs to ante up for public education. The findings were echoed in another new survey by the nonpartisan Public Education Network and Education Week, which found a majority of the public vowing to vote for candidates who make education a top priority—and 80 percent saying they favor a presidential candidate who'd protect the federal budget from education cuts. Fueling some of the fire may be the growing disenchantment with ESEA. In the last year, the survey found, opposition to the law increased from 8 to 28 percent of voters. Even students are beginning to take notice—and not just of education issues. More than half of 15- to 26-year-olds think it's important to pay attention to government and politics, while two-thirds believe it's important to vote, according to a recent survey. Still, their interest remains relatively low compared with levels seen during the politically charged 1960s, when nearly two-thirds of college freshmen followed politics, says Linda J. Sax, UCLA education professor and director of an annual survey of college freshmen. But, that's likely just a sign of the times, she says. Back then, students generally believed their efforts would bring about change, says Sax, while today's students often encounter more cynicism when it comes to politics. They can turn to educators for inspiration, however. Show them how to flex political muscle—and get results. Visit www.nea.org/lac to contact your congressional reps and urge them to support NEA-backed legislation to fix and fund ESEA. And in November, don't forget to vote. Empty PocketsIt's not just a myth. Schools with lots of poor and minority kids really do get less money.During the 2000–01 school year, the poorest school districts in 22 states received as much as $2,384 less in per-student funding from state and local sources. Meanwhile, districts with the highest percentage of minority students received as much as $2,073 less per student in 28 states. "In too many states, we see yet again that the very students who need the most, get the least," says Kevin Carey, a school funding expert with Education Trust, a nonprofit education group dedicated to helping poor and minority children succeed. Some states have tried to close the funding gap. New Jersey, notably, shifted from providing poor schools with $587 less per pupil in 1997 to providing $398 more per student in 2001. By contrast, in Arizona the gap grew by $848 per pupil during the same period. That translates into a loss of about $36,225 a year to a high-poverty classroom.
The countdown has begun! With just two months (or less) until the last day of school, you—and your students—are probably itching for summer. So as visions of beach balls bounce in your head, try these tips to survive the home stretch.
Seal of ApprovalSo what will it take to truly leave no child behind? Providing students with National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) may be part of the answer.A new study from the University of Washington and the Urban Institute finds that National Board Certification (NBC)—a voluntary advanced credential process—successfully identifies more effective teachers. An analysis of three years of student test scores showed that students taught by NBCTs improved an average of 7 percent more on their year-end math and reading tests than students whose teachers did not attain the certification. Younger and low-income students saw even greater gains, improving by as much as 15 percent compared with their peers. The research did not show that the NBC process itself makes teachers better. But anecdotal information from Board candidates shows the process does affect their teaching. "Thousands of people have said the process was transformative," says Susan Carmon in NEA's Teacher Quality Department. "Having a credential that distinguishes people who meet this high standard is important. But more important is the value of the process and what people tell us about how it's changed them." Security Threat?Earlier this year, President Bush's Secretary of Education carelessly labeled NEA a "terrorist organization." Now, his Secretary of Defense is treating an NEA affiliate—and its hard-won rights—as a national menace.In a recent meeting with the Federal Education Association (FEA), which represents more than 9,000 educators in Department of Defense (DoD) dependent schools and other labor organizations, DoD officials announced plans to eliminate the bargaining rights of the Department's civilian employees. If FEA and other unions don't agree with the DoD's "bargaining" proposals, management will be free to impose them unilaterally, upon official notification to the unions. But the assaults don't stop there. The DoD also plans to abolish the impartial bodies that settle federal labor disputes and replace them with a new Defense Labor Relations Board consisting mostly of Pentagon-controlled appointees. The Department also will have the power to scrap any existing negotiated agreements that "interfere" with new personnel policies or regulations and to reduce the right of unions to represent employees at disciplinary meetings. NEA President Reg Weaver and FEA President Sheridan Pearce have urged Congress to call a hearing on the DoD's personnel plans. "By using 'national security' as a rationale for abrogating the rights of thousands of teachers," they write, "DoD officials have made it clear that unionized educators pose a threat to our nation." To find out how you can help DoD teachers and ESPs preserve their rights.
For most students, a school locker is more than just a place to stow their books. It's a haven of self-expression, complete with photos of friends and pop idols, the ever-essential hair brush or backpack, and the occasional pair of smelly gym socks.But at many schools, these steel sanctuaries sit empty, collecting dust, as administrators look for ways to reduce potential threats to school safety. Jacksonville Middle School in Texas, for instance, hasn't used lockers in years, even though the school has them. NEA member Kathy McCown, who teaches history at the school, says there were just too many problems with weapons on campus. Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona, meanwhile, never planned on having lockers. Instead, students receive an extra set of books to keep at home, eliminating much of the need for on-campus storage. Among schools that do use lockers, many have opted for locker "islands" with shorter lockers in common areas instead of corridor lockers spread throughout the building for easier supervision, says Michael Hantel, an architect with an Illinois-based firm that specializes in K–12 buildings. At the same time, schools have beefed up their locker-use policies to maintain safe, weapons-free environments. A school safety report from the school of education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro recommends that schools inform students that lockers are district property borrowed for personal convenience. And they can—and will be—searched if reasonable suspicion arises. All the more reason to make sure those sweaty gym clothes make it home. —Chris Kotterman Small School SolutionSmall schools can be great at keeping students from falling through the cracks. But teachers at these schools often handle several subjects. And many run afoul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, even though the law's new name, "No Child Left Behind," has long been their mantra.UNDER The law secondary school teachers must have a college or graduate degree in every subject they teach, pass a stringent assessment of content knowledge, or meet a state standard of "competency" in each field, which some states haven't finalized yet. That put teachers like Alyson Mike, Montana's 2003 Teacher of the Year, in a bind. Her bachelor's degree covers her for her biology classes, but not the physics and chemistry classes she also teaches. After intense pressure from educators and state legislatures, the U.S. Department of Education reversed an earlier ruling and decided that if a state has a "broad-based" science certification that allows a teacher to teach multiple sciences, the feds will take the state's word for it. The Department is also allowing states to have a streamlined process called "HOUSSE" (High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation) for teachers of multiple subjects. HOUSSE lets experienced teachers demonstrate that they are "competent" to teach a subject if they have neither an academic major nor have passed a subject matter test. Teachers in rural and isolated areas will get more time to become "highly qualified" as well. The new rule, however, won't help social studies teachers, who often teach history, geography, and government in small schools. Not-So-Sweet DreamsYou probably didn't get enough sleep last night.And, most likely, your students didn't either. More than half of all first through fifth graders get fewer than the 10 to 11 hours of sleep recommended for their age group, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Too much TV and caffeine could be partly to blame. Children who drink at least one caffeinated beverage a day miss out on three and a half hours of sleep a week compared with their caffeine-free friends. Those who have televisions in their bedrooms—43 percent of school-age children—lose more than two hours of sleep a week. But kids aren't the only ones missing out on those precious z's. Parents and caregivers are paying the price for their sleepy little ones, averaging just 6.8 hours of sleep per night, slightly less than the seven hours per night most adults get. So go take a nap. A Girl's Place?More than 30 years after Title IX prohibited gender discrimination in school sports, girls still are struggling for a place on the field. In Boston, for instance, 36 percent of high school girls played on one or more sports teams in 2001, compared with 55 percent of high school boys, according to a report by the Harvard School of Public Health and the National Women's Law Center. The reason? Plain old discrimination, says Neena Chaudry, senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center. Many female athletes don't have access to the same sports teams as boys. They also face lower quality facilities and harassment when they play on predominantly male teams. "You can't say women are not interested if they are not given the opportunity," says Chaudry. "You could probably do that study anywhere and find the same types of problems." Nationwide, girls represent just 42 percent of all high school and college varsity athletes, even though they make up more than half of the college population. Those who do play sports in college aren't exactly rewarded, either. Women playing on Division I and II teams received at least $133 million less in college scholarship money than men in 2000. But a large college debt isn't the only concern they face. Women who skip out on sports are more likely to engage in sexual activity, smoke, use drugs, and become overweight. "It's a public health issue as well as a civil rights issue," Chaudry says. —Deitrich Curry [ Book Focus ] Inside a Movement"Too often, the teaching of the Civil Rights Movement—as a spontaneous, emotional eruption of angry but saintly African Americans led by two or three inspired orators—discounts the origins, the intellect, and the breadth that guided this complex social movement. Rather, strategic brilliance, logistical messiness, exalted joy, heart-gouging sorrow, sharp tactical conflicts, and near-religious personal transformations are all part of the very human story ending formal racial segregation in the United States."
Selections by Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Jackson, Malcolm X, Octavio Ruiz, Pablo Neruda, and several NEA members, among others, explore not only the experiences of Black Americans, but also of Mexican Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and women as they struggled for equality in this country. The interconnectedness of the different social movements plays a pivotal role in the various works. The materials in the book—which meet or exceed national history and language arts standards—offer teachers the resources they need to present a more rounded and action-oriented history of the Civil Rights Movement and, ultimately, to empower "contemporary youth to understand themselves as the makers of history, not as passive customers."
It's been said it takes a village to raise a child. Well, members of the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) know it takes a group effort to educate one too—and to run the Association that advocates on the educators' behalf.
Before Kathleen Thomason, an art teacher at Campbell Elementary School in Fairburn and new GAE member, attended the retreat, she didn't know ESPs could belong to a local affiliate. But, after sharing a room with a bus driver and learning about her Association involvement, Thomason understood the important role of ESPs. "They are part of the educational team," she says. For Lea Ogozelec, a bus driver and paraprofessional for Sweet Apple Elementary School in Roswell, the retreat helped her appreciate the stresses teachers face—and the hours they spend grading stacks of papers. "It was a great way to talk about what was involved in each of our jobs," Ogozelec says. Ultimately, the program strives to create lifelong relationships and leaders who can tackle educational issues from all points of view, says Mark Perez, the UniServ director who oversees the program. "We are strengthened because we are no longer divided." —Deitrich Curry [ Nobody Ever Told Me ] You've Got Mail!A new second-year elementary teacher in my building learned an important lesson about e-mail use this year. Our school's e-mail system is a bit different from the one she used in her previous school. It features a specific mailing list teachers can select to send a message to the staff at our school only, a feature her previous school did not have. We also can access a mailing list that will send a message to everyone in the district.This teacher wanted to e-mail the staff at our school about her room's missing bathroom passes. So she typed up her message and clicked on the mailing list "All" thinking this would send the message to everyone in the building. Only later did she realize that the "All" list sends a message to the entire district. Every teacher in every elementary, middle, and high school, all of the secretaries, and even the superintendent were soon on the lookout for the missing bathroom passes. This happened early in the school year and the teacher still is gently teased by people who tell her they are searching for her missing bathroom passes. —Bob Griffith Busy BeesCan it be that we have underestimated the value of the humble honeybee? Researchers—including two NEA higher ed members—at the University of Montana think so. These industrious insects responsible for pollinating most of the fruits and vegetables we eat also could be great environmental police. In fact, their foraging habits may be the key to sniffing out millions of buried land mines.Last year, entomologist Jerry Bromenshenk, a professor at the University of Montana, and fellow NEA members Colin Henderson and Steve Rice, teamed up with explosives experts and the Department of Defense to train bees to follow certain colors and scents, such as the chemical plumes discharged by buried land mines. Traditionally, teams have used bomb-sniffing dogs to detect such explosives, but it is slow and dangerous work. Bees can be equally effective, hovering over areas that emit key scents. They also are quite efficient, says Bromenshenk, covering one mile in just four minutes. "We don't anticipate that bees are going to replace dogs any time in the near future, but they could be a very helpful adjunct to reducing [the size of] areas searched and setting priorities," he says. Land mines exist in 90 countries outside of North America and, according to a recent study, maim or kill 15,000 to 20,000 people each year. Scientists estimate that it could take as long as 500 years to locate and disarm all land mines around the world. But, the Montana team believes that with sufficient support for research and development, bees could help get the job done in just 50 years. A Safe Place To LearnGay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students say they still find school an unwelcoming place—and that undermines their academic progress.A majority of students surveyed say they experience verbal harassment in school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and some are even subject to physical attack, according to findings of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) biannual survey of middle and high school students. Such violence, or even the fear of violence, ultimately takes its toll in the classroom. Students who find the school environment hostile generally have lower grade point averages (2.9 versus 3.3), and 13.4 percent say they do not plan to go to college. Meanwhile, students harassed because of their sexual orientation are twice as likely to report depression or serious thoughts of suicide, according to a study published by the California Safe Schools Coalition and the 4-H Center for Youth Development at the University of California Davis. "Most disturbing to me is that 83 percent of the time, when hateful things are said to these students, teachers don't do anything, which is seen as an endorsement of the behavior," says Kevin Jenkins, a former teacher and president of GLSEN. Teachers tell him they aren't sure what to do. Jenkins says that school standards against bullying must clearly include sexual orientation and teachers must receive guidance on how to intervene.
When it comes to teaching a child to read, focusing on the student's individual needs makes all the difference. That's something you probably already knew. But, new research from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Education has the numbers to back it up.A three-year study comparing the highly scripted Direct Instruction (DI) reading program with more flexible methods found that students who received DI scored significantly lower in overall reading achievement, decoding, and reading comprehension. Those results remained consistent in urban and suburban school districts and across grade levels. Teacher involvement also played a critical role in student success, says Randall Ryder, a literacy professor and head of the study. Teachers who maintained a steady pace of instruction, set high expectations for their students, and encouraged student independence had classes that performed better. Simply put, teachers need to support the reading methods they use, Ryder says, and, consequently, deserve greater input on curriculum decisions. "There needs to be a more balanced approach in how we look at reading instruction, maintaining the flexibility to do what's in the best interests of the child," Ryder adds. "That's the focus. It has to be the focus." And the Winner Is...!When you've won the NEA Fitness Challenge, can Survivor be far behind?Nine months ago, NEA members across the country formed alliances with fellow co-workers to compete in NEA's first-ever national fitness competition. With advice from a team of experts—including a personal trainer, nutritionist, stress reduction specialist, and meditation teacher—Challenge participants huffed, puffed, and sweated their way to better health and buff bods. The results? Awesome. One team lost a total of 143 pounds. How will they stack up against the competition? Which team will win the grand prize—cash for their school? To get the skinny on the Challenge champions, check out www.neafitness.org, where we'll announce the winners on May 17. And don't miss the September issue of NEA Today, which will feature an in-depth profile of our champions. |
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