Tomorrow's Teachers -- 2003

Classroom Connection

Hooking Up With the Experts

NEA initiative pairs Student members with local classroom teachers.

When Nela Foster saw an agenda item labeled "speech by a local Association member" at a meeting of the University of Central Oklahoma's (UCO) Student Association, she didn't expect much. "I had little knowledge about local Associations or NEA--anything beyond the campus," she says.

But that changed when Martha Wissler, a local veteran teacher and president of the Edmund Association of Classroom Teachers (EACT), finished her 20-minute presentation to the college students.

"I suddenly 'got it' that being a teacher wasn't all pink petals," Foster says. "In school we were learning about theories and hearing about ideal classroom settings for 18 children, while Martha shared with us the teacher's reality--day-to-day stories about her own classroom with 30-plus students."

Wissler's presentation represented one aspect of a partnership she and Jenny Cartwright, then president of the UCO Student Oklahoma Education Association (SOEA), created through an NEA initiative called Hook Up. Hook Up, which debuted in 2001, helps Student Program locals build cooperative relationships with nearby teacher, education support professional, higher education, and retired affiliates.

Under the partnership, Cartwright and Wissler attended the meetings of each other's locals. Cartwright attended a hands-on training for emerging leaders through EACT, and Wissler helped her arrange for speakers at her chapter's meetings.

When Foster succeeded Cartwright as president of the campus SOEA chapter, she and Wissler were so impressed with the success of the blooming partnership that they began a mission to encourage other student chapters and local Associations across Oklahoma to "hook up" the way they had.

With an $11,600 NEA Student Organizing and Assistance Resources (SOAR) grant in hand--the largest single SOAR grant ever awarded--the duo funded a statewide retreat for Student Program members and classroom teachers to learn more about the initiative. They also shared their success story at several national conferences.

"Hook Up is a win-win for Student and local Association chapters," Wissler says. "It's a great investment for teachers because Student members are our future colleagues. There is so much we can share now about the teaching profession that will help them become better teachers later."

Foster, who also chairs Oklahoma's statewide Student Program, calls the partnership a plus for students. "There's a feeling of belonging in being able to call upon practicing teachers or even help them with simple school events," she says. "The relationships we've established are preparing us for our own teaching roles."

Annemarie Riphagen, a first-year teacher in Illinois, agrees. Last year as vice chair of the Illinois Education Association Student Program (IEA-SP), Riphagen played a key role in launching a Hook Up program with a unique spin--partnering with NEA-Retired members.

"College students across Illinois are paired with retired teachers in a mentoring-type program, and many retirees also attend our annual Student Program conference," says the new sixth-grade teacher. "It's another support system, an outside perspective that can offer real classroom advice about the teaching experience."

Through e-mail exchanges, weekly lunches, or telephone calls, the more than 100 participants develop "deep relationships that go beyond the classroom," Riphagen adds. In addition, retired and student teacher leaders pair up at the statewide Representative Assembly and participate in a series of community service projects.

Jenny Weter, vice chair of IEA-SP this year, stresses that any amount of "hooking up" with current or retired teachers is a good thing. "At Illinois State, we work with a local school, Prairieland Elementary, to celebrate every Read Across America," she says. "It's becoming a simple tradition that we all look forward to."

North Dakota's Kelly Torgerson agrees. Her Student chapter at Minot State University works hand-in-hand with members from the Minot Education Association, also supporting their efforts in NEA's Read Across America.

"While Student chapters are great for meeting other students, the Hook Up program is helping us network with people already out there doing what we're going to be doing, and showing us what is on the other side," Torgerson says. "There's no better education than that."

--Dina Gómez

Get Hooked Up

Do you want to connect with other Association members? These tips can get you started.

Call your state Association's Student organizer or talk to your local UniServ director. These people can put you in contact with practicing or retired teachers. Ask for names of classroom teachers who serve as Association trainers and invite them to conduct workshops for Student members.

Ask a local school if your chapter can sponsor a reception honoring staff for American Education Week. Use the event to network with teachers and education support professionals.

Volunteer at a local school. Schedule a meeting with the principal and ask if you can observe a classroom in action or help the teachers. This is a great way to introduce yourself at a school where you might want to teach.

Invite local classroom teachers to sit on a panel at one of your chapter meetings. Education students can ask questions about teaching today and get feedback on ideas they might have for their own classrooms.

Get Ready To SOAR!

Looking for a way to fund your membership recruitment project? Apply for an NEA SOAR grant. SOAR--Student Organizing and Assistance Resources--grants recognize NEA locals and state affiliates for their recruitment of student members. Student locals working with UniServ units receive priority consideration. SOAR projects generally focus on areas such as minority teacher recruitment, urban college and university recruitment, community college recruitment, and high school future educator programs. For an application, visit www.nea.org/futureteachers/apform.html.

Standing For Children

Lloyd Elm could not escape his destiny to teach. His American Indian name means "He who stands for children," and by age 14 he knew where his life was headed.

"Most of the men in my family were iron workers, but I knew that I was going to be different." And different he is. For more than 30 years Elm, two-time winner of NEA's Leo Reano Memorial Award for Human and Civil Rights, has transformed the lives of his students by teaching innovative reading skills and pursuing a compassionate quest to ensure that all children are treated equally.

As principal of Mounds Park All Nations Magnet School in St. Paul, Minnesota, Elm rescued the school from academic decline with his Balanced Literacy Program. Through the program, children learn to read by learning a whole concept and then breaking the idea into smaller parts. For example, for a lesson about animals, Elm recommends presenting all the animals together and then allowing children to learn about each individual animal as it relates to the group. "We have to shift from teacher-centered learning to child-centered learning," Elm says. "We must allow students to see themselves within the process."

When children connect their environments to what they are learning, reading becomes natural, he says. This concept has been a pivotal teaching tool for American Indian students as the children recognize themselves in American Indian stories and lessons infused with American Indian culture and customs. "You have to let the children guide you through their learning and allow them to have ownership," he says.

While Elm has garnered praise for his work with American Indian students at Mounds Park in St. Paul and the Native American School in Buffalo, New York, he doesn't attribute his exceptional career to test scores. His career rests on the belief that all children are sacred.

"We have to make children the center of everything," he says.

Closing the Achievement Gap

Study after study shows that minority students lag behind their white peers in mathematics. So why, after decades of research, does the achievement gap persist? Lee Stiff, past president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and a professor of mathematics education at North Carolina State University, addresses this question.

Why is there an achievement gap?
There's a gap because lots of students don't have the opportunity to learn mathematics. We have a tendency to separate children into distinct groups and these groups have different access. I think with increased access the gap can close.

Why has the gap closed between girls and boys but not between minority and white students?
When teachers have been given the opportunity to see how they interact in the classroom, they see that they have treated girls differently from boys. When it's called to teachers' attention they are more willing to put in place changes to their approach. It's more sensitive when you bring to teachers' attention that disparities exist along racial or ethnic lines. There is a tendency to say that those don't exist. It's not that teachers intend to harm the students, but we need to be willing to see the differences when it comes to race. Society values these children less. They are more likely to get teachers who are less prepared to teach them.

How can we eliminate the disparity?
Recognize that there is one--and that it may be caused by something we are doing. Don't blame the students. Put qualified teachers in front of these kids.

What can individual educators do?
They need to make sure they are attending to the needs of their students. You don't find teachers who don't want kids to do well. The problem is the system wants those kids to be successful effortlessly. We have a cultural attitude that some kids can't do math. A lot of kids can understand the fundamentals. They may not become mathematicians, but they can have great success in math.

The Process of Knowing and Learning

"I arrange the classroom seating into a circle as often as possible throughout our time together. The talking circle is a concept that is foreign to many Western students. Often they feel awkward, exposed, or self-conscious. However, the more they participate in the circle, the more they expect and look forward to the seating arrangement. I explain to my students that the circle represents honesty, respect, and equality. We are all equal when we come to the circle and we respect each other's voices. The circle also allows us to look at the spirit of another instead of the back of another. This creates and encourages respect for others and their differences. The circle is a safe place where students begin to be honest with themselves, thus allowing them to be honest with others. Indeed, a cultural acknowledgment begins to take place, almost silently, as we begin to trust the process of the dialogue and see one another as peers rather than as competitors fighting for a grade. The circle is also inclusive in that the students begin to recognize that their voice is important. It encourages even the most silent student to participate. I sit in awe as I watch the simplicity--and power--of respect give voice to those students who dared not speak in class prior to the talking circle.

The more we talk, the more we explore and question the power that culture has in shaping us, the more we discover who we are and who we hope to be."

From "The Process of Knowing and Learning: An Academic and Cultural Awakening" by Brenda Collins in Professional Development Guide for Educators. Available from the NEA Professional Library for $13.95. Call 800/229-4200 or visit http://home.nea.org/books/.

Fast Fact

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 28.4 million people (10 percent of the U.S. population) were born in foreign countries. That's up from 9.6 million people in 1970. About half of those people immigrated from Latin American countries.