Your students will remember the things you do and say for the rest of their lives, says a Chesapeake educator.

by Johnny J. Moye

Many of us in education have been asked questions like, “Why do you teach?” or “How can you teach teenagers?” Good questions. Of course, different teachers answer them in different ways, but for most of us it seems to come down to having the chance to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. Most teachers realize that students, like our own children, will probably not fully understand the effect we have on their lives until after they’ve left school and are out in the world on their own.
 
Over 30 years have passed since I graduated from a small-town Indiana high school, but I can still remember every one of my elementary school teachers and most of my junior high and senior high school teachers.  I wasn’t an “A” student, and many times I was that “little Johnny” that we have always heard about and sometimes referred to. At times my teachers were less than impressed with my work and used their skills to try to “reach” me. Many influenced me in ways that they’ll never know. I appreciate my teachers much more now that I’m an adult, and I appreciate them not only for the academics that they tried so earnestly to teach me, but for the lifelong impressions they made on me. Many of my teachers have probably passed on to that big school house in the sky but, as the saying goes, teachers will continue to live as long as their students are alive.

When I was teaching, I would devote the first day of a course to processing the necessary paperwork and to taking some time for my students and me to get to know each other. After all the introductions were over, I would explain my teaching philosophy and tell my students why I felt good about teaching. Among other reasons, I would explain that I taught because many of you will remember me for the rest of your lives. This might have been the first thing I said that really caught my students’ attention. I continued by telling them that I would do and say things that would have an influence on how they act and think in the future. I told them that having a positive impact on students is the real benefit of being a teacher. I told them this because I knew it to be true. I remember specific things about my teachers that occurred over 40 years ago. I would close that portion of our discussion by saying, “Many of you will remember that I said that you will remember what I say—think about it.”

I know it from my own experience: I remember my first, second and third grade teachers very well. They each had a large impact on my life, but it was Mrs. Wilson, my fourth grade teacher, who probably had the biggest effect on me during my elementary years. She planted a seed one day that continues to grow in me to this day. Once, after I rushed through one of her mathematics tests, she decided to keep me in the room during recess. I’m not sure exactly what grade I had gotten on the test, but Mrs. Wilson knew I could do better. She told me that I knew how to solve the problems but I must take my time and do things right the first time. So, without any extra study time, I retook the test, taking my time, and I got every problem right, a grade of 100. Back then, I had way too much energy and I was not a very patient person. Nowadays there are fancy medical terms and medicines for that condition. Even though it was after I graduated from high school before I worked very hard to apply Mrs. Wilson’s words, they are something that have had a major impact on my life. Mrs. Wilson, thank you for spending your personal time to help me learn a life lesson: Take your time and do it right the first time.

Mr. Benny Hasfurter was my seventh and eighth grade physical education teacher. Our gym classes were held in the old “Brown Gym,” located in downtown Madison, Indiana. While us boys would gather for class, Mr. Hasfurter would take—and constantly make—“granny” shots from half court. A granny shot is a shot taken with the basketball positioned between the hips and knees. By the standards of the early 1970s, when dunking and jump shots were the norm, granny shots were incredibly old fashioned. One day a boy asked Mr. Hasfurter how he was able to make those incredible shots. His words impressed me enough that I still remember them today. He said, “You can do anything if you practice enough.” Certainly those words are simple, but I have thought of Mr. Hasfurter and what he said many times as I struggled in life to learn algebra, trigonometry and even more difficult things, like being a good parent. Years later, while reading Mr. Hasfurter’s obituary, I realized that he was a part of the famous 1950 state basketball championship team from our small town. The Brown Gym was his home court during that championship season and subsequent years. To me, he won more than a basketball championship on that court. Mr. Hasfurter won my respect and admiration.

Mr. Dwyer was one of my eighth grade teachers, but it was his advice as my high school counselor that had a major impact on my life. During one of our meetings, Mr. Dwyer recommended that I take a typing course because I might use it if I enter the military, which he knew was a consideration for me. Now it was very uncommon for a boy from the hills of southern Indiana to be in a typing course in the early 1970s. It was considered one of those “non-traditional” things. However, I thought about all the girls that I would meet in that class so I agreed to take the elective course. Mr. Dwyer and I were both correct. I met many young ladies that helped me master the manual keyboard, and I also joined the U.S. Navy shortly after high school graduation. During my early years in the Navy, my typing skills enabled me to get into a very technical job, which I stayed with for more than 27 years. Thanks to Mr. Dwyer I learned a life-changing skill. Knowing how to type helped me while I was in the Navy and it continues to be a tremendous asset as I type my Ph.D. dissertation.

Mr. Black was my typing teacher. I don’t remember much about the typing course besides, of course, the girls, and trying to keep from jamming the keys. Out of the whole semester I can only recall one thing that he said. He told our class that it was important to learn to type, but it was even more important to type the correct information. As an illustration he told us about getting a letter one day that was addressed to Mr. White instead of Mr. Black. He didn’t read the letter, telling us that if whoever wrote it couldn’t even get his name right, there wouldn’t be anything in it that he wanted to read. I’ve remembered Mr. Black’s illustration many times as I’ve tried to produce accurate information. You know – getting it right the first time!
 
I cannot recall my 10th grade English Composition teacher’s name, but I do remember his answer to one of my questions. To this day, I follow his direction quite frequently. After being given a writing assignment I asked about the length requirement of the paper. What he had to say was pretty risqué for those days and may not be too politically correct even today, but it’s forever emblazoned on my mind. He said that a good paper should be like a lady’s skirt, long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting. Man, those are words to live by! 

In keeping with his philosophy, I must bring this article to a close. But before I do I must mention the teacher that had the largest impact on my life, Mr. Darryl A. Smith. He was my 11th and 12th grade marketing teacher. Mr. Smith was not one of those “touchy-feely” kinds of teachers—he was a tough old Army veteran, and played the part well. He was an excellent teacher and took the time to talk sense to me while I was sowing the wild oats of my teenage years. I always listened, but did not always do, the things Mr. Smith recommended. Eventually, after many years, I realized that he was correct in everything he had told me. Mr. Smith already knows how I feel about him and what he did for me but I will say it again: Thank you, Mr. Smith, for providing the guidance that I needed to get through my difficult and confusing teenage years!

There are many teachers that I did not mention because of the limitations of this article and in keeping with my English Composition teacher’s thinking (keep it short and interesting). Surely many of things that I do today and the way that I think are because of my teachers. As a teacher myself, I displayed concern and respect for each student. I asked for the same. I taught my students course requirements but I know that I played a larger part than just that in their lives. The everyday things that I said and did changed them and how they think about life today. I conveyed my feelings about life and explained that they, too, must think about their part in the lives of others.

Just this morning I received and answered an e-mail from one of my former students. He is in his third year in a technology teacher education program. I again encouraged him to work hard, told him that he would be a very good influence for his students, and let him know that he will have a positive impact on the teaching profession. Because of his e-mail, I realize that he appreciates me and my influence. Hopefully I am still a positive influence on him.

 With all the directions students may take today, they need guidance more than ever. Many do not want to listen to parents or sit in an office and listen to counselors. We as teachers have them for what they may think is an eternity. During that eternity, we have the opportunity to build a relationship with our students and have an influence that transcends the subjects that we teach. Remember: Even when they do not appear to be listening – they are. When they look like they are not paying attention – they are. 

My teachers made a lasting impression on me. They influenced me in how I view and live life. And I will remember them for the rest of my life. I am a gratified teacher because I realize that many of my students will remember me for the rest of theirs.

Moye (moyejj@cps.k12.va.us), a member of the Chesapeake Education Association, taught technology education at Hickory High School for five years. He is currently serving as a Career and Technical Education Supervisor in the Chesapeake Public Schools system. In August 2008, Moye was named the Virginia Technology Education High School Teacher of the Year by the Virginia Technology Education Association. He’s currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Old Dominion University.

Children in military families can be hit hard by deployments or homecomings. How educators can help.

by Meg Gruber

In nearly 25 years of teaching in Norfolk, the last 13 at Camp Allen Elementary School, Ruth Prattis has dealt with countless students whose parents either ship out for military service or return home after a deployment. Either situation is a potential stressor for both student and teacher, and an issue with which a growing number of Virginia educators are becoming familiar.

“When parents leave,” says Prattis, a member of the Education Association of Norfolk, “particularly right after they leave, you often see changes in children. They may be more sensitive emotionally, cry easily, or act out more frequently. Right before parents are due to return, children can become very excited and even more distracted.”

At Camp Allen, which is right next to a U.S. Marine installation, staff members try to help students and their families in a variety of ways. “Parents may give an individual teacher a heads-up that a father or mother is about to be deployed, or is due to return home, and let us know that we may see a change in a child,” says Prattis. “Just being aware is very helpful.”

The school’s counselor also holds “deployment groups,” which give students a chance to talk about their concerns in an environment outside the classroom. “If they participate in those groups,” says Prattis, “they’re often able to focus better in class.”

In addition, Camp Allen’s principal holds regular “parent-principal chats,” to help parents with a broad range of issues, including the effects of military service on their children. “How well children handle the changes has everything to do with how well the parents handle the changes,” says Prattis.
 Most people expect those changes to be difficult when a family member leaves, but the situation can turn out to be equally stressful when a family member returns after a lengthy absence. Homecomings, while greatly anticipated, also bring major readjustments to the life of a child. For example, the eldest child can suddenly be relegated back to a child status from a position of authority after picking up some duties of a deployed parent. Many young people find this loss of status confusing and difficult, as does the returning parent, who is often dealing with his or her own readjustment to civilian life, perhaps with recent psychological and physical trauma. 

The good news for educators is that there are resources that can help. The U.S. Army, for example, has been instrumental in recognizing the need to collaborate with public schools to meet the needs of the military child. About 10 years ago, it conducted the Army Secondary Education Transition Study, which led to a series of Army Education Summits. These summits broadened from a focus on high school students to students at all levels, including special needs children. 

Sesame Workshop (http://archive.sesameworkshop.org/tlc/) has been developing materials to assist military families, including a program called "Talk, Listen and Connect," which offers videos and pamphlets to help children and their parents with deployments, homecomings and other changes. Sesame Workshop’s newest project is called "Coming Home: Military Families Cope with Change."
 Here are some other helpful resources:

• The Military Child Education Coalition (www.militarychild.org) offers professional development for educators in the areas of transition, special education, “Living in the New Normal” and supporting children whose parents are in the National Guard and reserves.

• Operation Military Kids (www.operationmilitarykids.org) provides "Ready, Set, Go" training to help educators and others help with the issues that children of armed forces members face.

• The Military Impacted Schools Association (www.militaryimpactedschoolsassociation.org) offers an educator’s guide to deployment issues. Click on the “deployment” tab on the website.

Gruber, a member of the Prince William Education Association and an earth science teacher at Forest Park High School, is the VEA’s Vice President.

Some advice on navigating the new world of education technology.

by Elizabeth G. Jamerson

Teachers of the 21st century have entered a new dimension. The stereotype of the bespectacled teacher droning on through a 60-minute lecture from the front of the classroom, while clutching a stack of worksheets, has vanished. All the tools of the trade have changed. An observer walking down any hallway in any school system today can find an array of electronic devices that seems to go beyond those found in any work of science fiction from past decades. Gone are the old slide rulers and typewriters, discarded for new graphing calculators and word processors.  Interactive media boards dwell in positions of prominence at the front of classrooms where blackboards once resided. Soon, no one will remember chalk and VHS tapes will be but a fading memory.

Students have evolved as well. Their backpacks, once filled with books, now contain laptop computers and cell phones. They text message, instant message, play music on MP3 players, and download videos from the Web. Instead of going to the library to do research, they go online and Google. They shop on eBay, chat in real time, and keep their calendars on their PDAs. They live in a virtual world and hang out in “Second Life.” For fun, they play with a Wii, an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3.

The classroom stays in a constant state of flux, for the lifespan of these new technologies is limited, sometimes measured in mere weeks or days. The speed, memory capacity and processing ability of computers changes overnight. The evolutionary chain goes forward rapidly—floppy disks were replaced by zip drives, which were replaced by CDs, which have been replaced by flash drives. Bulky CTR monitors gave way to flat screen LCD monitors. The technology new today is obsolete tomorrow.
 
An entirely new vocabulary has developed—terms such as high def, wifi, wiki, blu-ray and Bluetooth pepper conversations. Slang from the digital world is running rampant. Students speak in code, texting expressions such as “TTFN”—or “ta ta for now” for the uninitiated. The code has even been adopted by the corporate world, and businessmen have been caught writing messages like “OOTO” (out of the office). These and dozens of other acronyms fly through cyberspace. The publishers of Merriam Webster Dictionary choose “w00t” (translation “great” or “yea”) as the word of the year for 2007. Spelled with two zeros rather than letters, the word reflects the growing use of the numeric keypad in the digital world. Even the classroom is not immune. The modern-day Teacher-Student dialogue now goes something like this:

Teacher: Good morning, students. I hope you all e-mailed me your homework last night.

Student 1:  I tried to, but my hard drive crashed. [The equivalent of “The dog ate my homework.”]

Teacher: That’s no excuse. You should have backed up your work on an external hard drive. Now, we are still working on our research papers. I would like you all to get out your laptops and log-in to Moodle. I have posted a video tutorial on writing research papers and a Word document containing questions to be answered. I want you to download both to your computers so you can watch the video and answer the questions. Headphones are on the counter. While you are working on this, I’ll call you to my desk one at a time to discuss your introductions.

Student 2:  I also need some help with my Works Cited list.

Teacher:  Put your Works Cited list on Google docs, and send it to the members of your group for peer editing.

Student 2:  Okay. After I revise it, I’ll put it in the electronic drop-box.

Teacher: If anyone finishes early, I have put your assignments for the week on my Web page. This week I want everyone to use the link I provided to subscribe to the podcast on improving your writing; then finish blogging about your topic and start work on your final PowerPoint presentations.

Student 3:  When do grades go home?

Teacher:  I’ve updated grades in the electronic gradebook and they are posted online. If your parents have questions, I’ll be available on Skype tonight between 7:00 and 8:00.

And so it goes. But what does all of this mean for teachers? First, it means that the expectations placed on teachers have increased. Teachers must now not only find time to learn the new technology, but find ways to incorporate it into the classroom in a way that is meaningful. This requires a tremendous investment of time and effort. How can teachers possibly remain current in a world where technology seems to be spiraling out of control? While schools generally have Instructional Technology Resource Teachers who provide instruction and support for teachers, there may not be enough of them to go around. The following 10 tips may help.

1. Ask for training. School systems routinely require teachers to participate in a specific number of professional development sessions each year. Be proactive and ask that technology workshops be incorporated into the professional development calendar.

2. Seek out training on your own. Teaching certificates must be renewed every five years. In order to be eligible for renewal, teachers must accumulate sufficient points through course work or other professional development activities. Often teachers take courses in their content area, but according to Virginia Department of Education recertification guidelines, other courses that prepare teachers to be more effective in the classroom—including courses in educational technology—are acceptable. Consider taking a course on Web design, podcasting or some other technology application to fulfill this obligation. An online class may be just the answer, since not only would it earn recertification points, it would also provide experience using an online course management system.

Teachers interested in locating a good technology course should check the local community colleges course offerings. Generally, community colleges are very supportive and will offer almost any course for which there is sufficient enrollment. Courses offered through the community college system are reasonably priced. Teachers considering taking an educational technology course should also check their school division’s policy for tuition reimbursement to help pay for classes.

3. Form a support group with other educators at school. The group can meet over lunch or after school briefly once a week to share technology tips. Teachers can then share skills with each other. Or time can be set aside for sharing information at department or grade level meetings. Those wishing to branch out into cyberspace can join an online community of practice for support. Sites, such as MERLOT (www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm), allow users to share advice and resources with others. Networking is the heart and soul of technology.

4. Locate an online tutorial for an area of interest. Many great tutorials are available for free on the Web. For example, Microsoft in Education provides help for students and teachers for using technology. Located at www.microsoft.com/education/tutorials.mspx, the site offers detailed, step-by-step directions for integrating Microsoft products into the classroom. Another example is “How to Create Your Own Podcast,” found at http://radio.about.com/od/podcastin1/a/aa030805a.htm, which takes the user from the beginning to the end of the podcasting process. These online tutorials have the advantage of being free and can be taken anytime, including during planning periods, at night and on weekends. The only thing needed is an Internet connection.

5. Get to know the library/media specialist. Often, much of the hardware and many of the technology resources are located in the media center. The specialists can supply information on what is available and provide instructions on how to operate the equipment. Many schools have laptop carts, GPS units, classroom sets of Palm Pilots, or LCD projectors available for checkout. If the media center does not currently have the desired technology resources, library/media specialists have annual budgets for ordering materials and equipment, and they may be able to procure these resources.

6. Locate and read the school’s technology plan. This plan normally contains an inventory of all technology resources available for the division and identifies the location where they are stored. See if any of these resources would benefit your classroom instruction and then make arrangements to use them.

7. Build your own library of online technology resources. Many great sites exist on the Internet just waiting to add zest to your classroom activities. For example, Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org/home.aspx), sponsored by the Verizon Foundation, provides links to lesson plans, interactives, worksheets, sound clips, assessments and reference materials—all free of charge to educators. Other online repositories exist that are great for specific content areas, including NASA Education (www.nasa.gov/offices/education/about/index.html), American Memory (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html), and Grammar Bytes (www.chompchomp.com/). Teachers can locate great activities such as educational games, Web quests and puzzles that increase student motivation. Begin your list by asking other teachers in your subject area what sites they have found.

8. Buy a book. There are many great books out there to assist teachers in using technology in the classroom. Teachers can browse online or peruse the shelves of the local bookstore. Rather than buying, teachers can also check out books from nearby libraries, particularly those affiliated with colleges or universities.

9. Attend a conference or workshop. Schools commonly include money in the budget for professional development activities such as attending conferences and workshops. Ask colleagues to recommend a good conference and see if funds are available to attend. Often the conferences provide hands-on sessions and resources to bring home. An added benefit of attending conferences is making contacts with educators at other schools who can offer advice and support.

10. Create a personal plan for improving technology skills and incorporating them into the classroom. Set aside a specified time each week to develop technology skills. The time may be used to read an article, observe another teacher, or practice using a new piece of hardware. Update your lesson plans or curriculum guide. Look for places where technology can be seamlessly incorporated. An old lesson plan can be revitalized by using an LCD projector to show a video clip, by including a Web quest or podcast, or by using an online assessment.

Teachers can do all of these things to improve their technology skills. What teachers cannot do is put their heads in the sandbox. The technological parade will continue and those who cannot keep up will go the way of the dodo.

Technology can be a tremendous asset to the classroom. Technology helps students develop 21st century skills necessary to be successful in the workplace, increases student motivation, appeals to multiple learning styles, increases productivity, and assists students with disabilities become successful learners. However, to realize these benefits, teachers must map their journey through the brave new virtual world, or they will be hopelessly lost in cyberspace. And to all of those who have already entered the digital jungle—w00t!

Jamerson, a member of the Cumberland Education Association, is the county’s technology coordinator.

*******************

An Organization That Can Help

Whether you’re an educator in Virginia schools who already feels pretty comfortable with several forms of educational technology, or you’re one who’s just beginning to find your way into a whole new world, you’re bound to find like-minded colleagues in the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE).   

VSTE was founded in 1986 to serve as a community of educators using and learning about technologies that will help better prepare our students for life, both professionally and otherwise, after their schooling.   

The organization seeks to promote excellence in the use of educational technology and in professional development opportunities for educators. VSTE’s website offers links to continuing education opportunities, partnering organizations and resources, along with plenty of networking options.  

VSTE also has access to a broad range of nationally-based resources, as the state affiliate of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).  

To learn more about both groups, visit www.vste.org or www.iste.org.

What really works for teachers' professional development.

In February, researchers at Stanford University and the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) released a major study on professional development for educators entitled “Professional Learning in the Learning Profession.” The following is an excerpt from that study, reprinted with permission of NSDC (www.nsdc.org), 2009. All rights reserved.

Rigorous research suggests that sustained and intensive professional learning for teachers is related to student-achievement gains. An analysis of well-designed experimental studies found that a set of programs which offered substantial contact hours of professional development (ranging from 30 to 100 hours in total) spread over six to 12 months showed a positive and significant effect on student achievement gains. Intensive professional development efforts that offered an average of 49 hours in a year boosted student achievement by approximately 21 percentile points. Other efforts that involved a limited amount of professional development (ranging from 5 to 14 hours in total) showed no statistically significant effect on student learning.

The research base also illustrates the shortcomings of the occasional, one-shot workshops that many school systems tend to provide, which generations of teachers have derided. More importantly, this research suggests some general guidelines for the design of effective professional development programs.
 
While we stress that causal relationships are not fully established, the literature does point to some basic principles for designing professional learning that school and district leaders and policymakers would be well advised to consider:

1. Professional development should be intensive, ongoing and connected to practice.
Today, as in previous decades, most professional development for teachers comes in the form of occasional workshops, typically lasting less than a day, each one focusing on discrete topics (such as classroom management, computer-based instruction, student motivation, assessment, the teaching of phonics, and so on), with their connection to the classroom left to teachers’ imaginations.

However, such episodic workshops disconnected from practice do not allow teachers the time for serious, cumulative study of the given subject matter or for trying out ideas in the classroom and reflecting on the results. Research that finds changes in teacher practice and, in some cases, student learning, supports the conclusion that:

Intensive professional development, especially when it includes applications of knowledge to teachers’ planning and instruction, has a greater chance of influencing teaching practices and, in turn, leading to gains in student learning.

Indeed, the duration of professional development appears to be associated with stronger impact on teachers and student learning—in part, perhaps, because such sustained efforts typically include applications to practice, often supported by study groups and/or coaching. As noted earlier, research studies of in-service programs found that programs of greater intensity and duration were positively associated with student learning. In addition, two separate evaluations of a year-long program designed to promote inquiry-based science instruction found that teachers who received 80 or more hours of professional development were significantly more likely to put the given teaching strategies into practice than were teachers who had received many fewer hours. Further, the more intense, long-term professional development teachers have, the greater the achievement gains posted by their students during the following year.
 
Rigorous research illustrates the shortcomings of the occasional, one-shot workshops that many school systems tend to provide, which generations of teachers have derided.
 
Professional development is most effective when it addresses the concrete, everyday challenges involved in teaching and learning specific academic subject matter.

These findings match up well with teachers’ self-reported beliefs about the value of intensive and ongoing professional development. According to results from a national survey, teachers view in-service activities as most effective when they are sustained over time.

2. Professional development should focus on student learning and address the teaching of specific curriculum content.
Researchers have found that teachers are more likely to try classroom practices that have been modeled for them in professional development settings. Likewise, teachers themselves judge professional development to be most valuable when it provides opportunities to do “hands-on” work that builds their knowledge of academic content and how to teach it to their students, and when it takes into account the local context (including the specifics of local school resources, curriculum guidelines, accountability systems and so on).

Equally important, professional development that leads teachers to define precisely which concepts and skills they want students to learn, and to identify the content that is most likely to give students trouble, has been found to improve teacher practice and student outcomes. To this end, it is often useful for teachers to be put in the position of studying the very material that they intend to teach to their own students. For example, one well-known study focused on elementary science teachers who participated in a 100-hour summer institute, during which they actively engaged in a standard “learning cycle” that involved exploring a phenomenon, coming up with a theory that explained what had occurred, and applying it to new contexts. After going through this process, teachers went on to develop their own units and teach them to one another before returning to their classrooms. Later, the researchers tested the reasoning ability of randomly selected students in those classrooms and found they scored 44 percent higher on average than did a control group of students taught by teachers who had not participated in the summer institute.

 It can be useful also for groups of teachers to analyze and discuss student-performance data and samples of students’ course work (science projects, essays, math tests and so on), in order to identify students’ most common errors and misunderstandings, reach common understand¬ing of what it means for students to master a given concept or skill, and find out which in¬structional strategies are or are not working, and for whom. Notably, one study of three high-achieving schools found that high levels of student performance seemed to be associated in part with teachers’ regular practice of consulting multiple sources of data on student performance and using those data to inform discussions about ways to improve instruction.

3. Professional development should align with school improvement priorities and goals.
Professional development tends to be more effective when it is an integral part of a larger school reform effort, rather than when activities are isolated, having little to do with other initiatives or changes underway at the school. If teachers sense a disconnect between what they are urged to do in a professional development activity and what they are required to do according to local curriculum guidelines, texts, assessment practices and so on—that is, if they cannot easily implement the strategies they learn, and the new practices are not supported or reinforced—then the professional development tends to have little impact.
 
One prominent model of carefully integrated professional development is the National Science Foundation’s Discovery program implemented in Ohio in 1992, which offered sustained support for teachers as part of a larger statewide effort to improve student achievement in science. Following intensive six-week institutes focusing on science content and instruction that matched those outlined in the state standards, teachers were given release time to attend a series of six seminars covering curriculum and assessment. In addition, they were provided on-demand support and site visits from regional staff developers, and contact with peers through newsletters and annual conferences. According to an independent evaluation, this combination of support led to a significant increase in and continued use of inquiry-based instructional practices.
 
4. Professional development should build strong working relationships among teachers.
The nation’s teachers exhibit a strongly individualistic ethos, owing largely to the built-in privacy and isolation of their daily work as it has been organized in most U.S. schools. Given the prevalence of an “egg¬crate model” of instruction—whereby each teacher spends most of the day in a single room, separated from other adults—the American teaching profession has not yet developed a strong tradition of professional collaboration. Historically, schools have been structured so that teachers work alone, rarely given time together to plan lessons, share instructional practices, assess students, design curriculum, or help make administrative or managerial decisions.

Such cultural norms are not easily changed, particularly if school structures and working conditions continue to favor privacy and isolation. However, research shows that when schools are strategic in creating time and productive working relationships within academic departments or grade levels, across them, or among teachers schoolwide, the benefits can include greater consistency in instruction, more willingness to share practices and try new ways of teaching, and more success in solving problems of practice.

For example, a comprehensive five-year study of 1,500 schools undergoing major reforms found that in schools where teachers formed active professional learning communities, student absenteeism and dropout rates were reduced and achievement increased significantly in math, science, history and reading. Further, particular aspects of teachers’ professional communities— a shared sense of intellectual purpose and a sense of collective responsibility for student learning—were associated with a narrowing of achievement gaps in math and science among low- and middle-income students. A number of large-scale studies have identified specific ways in which professional community-building can deepen teachers’ knowledge, build their skills, and improve instruction.

Perhaps the simplest way to break down professional isolation—but one which rarely occurs in most schools—is for teachers to observe each other’s teaching and to provide constructive feedback. In an evaluation of 12 schools implementing Critical Friends Groups—a peer-observation system developed by the National School Reform Faculty employing a set of protocols that teachers use to guide their observations and responses—researchers found that teachers’ instruction became more student-centered, with a focus on ensuring that students gained mastery of the subject as opposed to merely covering the material. In survey responses, teachers in these schools also reported having more opportunities to learn and a greater desire to continuously develop more effective practices than teachers who did not participate.
 
Teachers can also use videotapes of teaching to make aspects of their practice public and open to peer critique, learn new practices and pedagogical strategies, and analyze aspects of teaching practice that may be difficult to capture otherwise. Recent research on teachers undertaking certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards—which involves them in producing and analyzing their own classroom videotapes in relation to professional standards, and often discussing them with colleagues—has found that the experience can lead teachers to change how they teach, increase their knowledge of various approaches, and enable them to engage in more effective teaching practices in the classroom.

While efforts to strengthen teachers’ professional relationships can take many forms, a number of researchers have identified specific conditions necessary for their success. For example, in a study of 900 teachers in 24 elementary and secondary schools across the country, researchers found that teachers formed more stable and productive professional communities in smaller schools, schools with little staffing complexity (i.e., where more staff members are classroom teachers and fewer are assigned to specialist and administrative jobs), schools where teachers were relatively more involved in educational decision-making, and, especially, schools that scheduled regular blocks of time for teachers to meet and plan courses and assignments together.

Other Promising Strategies
In recent years, schools and districts across the country have invested in school-based coaching programs, one of the fastest growing forms of professional development today. Typically in such models, administrators identify well-regarded veteran educators and assign them to provide ongoing guidance, advice and mentoring to a group or groups of teachers to help them improve their instruction.

When schools are strategic in creating time and productive working relationships within academic departments or grade levels, across them, or among teachers schoolwide, the benefits can include better instruction and more success in solving problems of practice.
 
While coaching, mentoring and induction can be justified on commonsense grounds, the jury remains out as to their effectiveness or the conditions under which they are most likely to be effective.
 
Closely related to school-based coaching is the increasingly common practice of providing mentoring and other forms of formal induction to beginning teachers. Often serving as the primary source of professional development for teachers in the first few years of their careers, various forms of new teacher induction are now required in more than 30 states.
 
While both of these strategies can be justified on common-sense grounds, their results are not yet confirmed by a solid body of evidence, and the jury remains out as to their effectiveness or the conditions under which they are most likely to be effective. Thus, policymakers would be well-advised to keep in mind the following two points.
 
School-based coaching may enhance professional learning. Several comparison-group studies have found that teachers who receive coaching are more likely to enact the desired teaching practices and apply them more appropriately than are teachers receiv¬ing more traditional professional development.
 
Several evaluations have suggested that coaching models of professional development have contributed to positive reforms in literacy instruction. For example, one study cites the impressive achievement gains of students whose school participated in the Alabama Reading Initiative, which utilized a school-based coaching model (following an intensive two-week summer institute) to provide ongoing support to teachers implementing the new literacy approach. Another recent evaluation found that as a result of a differentiated literacy program and other interventions that utilized a coaching model, the percentage of students meeting benchmark standards in an Illinois district increased markedly. In a study by the Foundation for California Early Literacy Learning, teachers reported that the coaching they received had a positive effect on student achievement. Likewise, some researchers have linked achievement gains in reading and writing to literacy coaching.
None of these studies, however, employed comparison-group methods with sufficient controls and on a large enough scale to establish a strong association or causal link between coaching and student achievement, and more rigorous research is required to confirm these relationships.
 
Further, a major literature review conducted as part of an Institute for Education Sciences evaluation of the Reading First program reported mixed findings on the impact of coaching on instructional practice. As the authors explained, those findings should be read as neither an endorsement nor a criticism of the professional development model, since they may reflect variability in the expertise and practices of those assigned as coaches. In other words, the findings may have as much to do with the content or the uneven implementation of the specific coaching received as with the coaching model itself.
 
As in any professional development enterprise, it is also critically important that the instructional practices promoted through coaching are themselves more effective for the goals and circumstances in which they are being used than the practices teachers are otherwise using. The content of professional learning matters as much as the process by which it is transmitted.

Mentoring and induction programs for new teachers may support teacher effectiveness. In one large-scale literature review, researchers found that induction programs tend to be effective in reducing attrition among beginning teachers. The strongest retention rates were associated with the assignment of a teacher mentor working in the same subject area and/or grade level, common planning time with teachers in the same subject, regularly scheduled collaboration with other teachers, and participation in a network of teachers. One analysis found that when beginning teachers received a combination of such induction supports, attrition declined by half.

Some studies suggest also that when teacher mentors receive formal training, along with release time to provide one-to-one mentoring, the retention and classroom performance of beginning teachers improves. Further, a recent literature review noted that a number of case-based research studies give strong support to induction programs that are “collegial” and “job-embedded” (as when mentors observe beginning teachers in the classroom), while finding that workshops for new teachers tend to be ineffective. However, these same reviewers also note that the research to date has tended to rely on teachers’ self-reported gains in their knowledge and skills.

Recess Guidelines for
Kids with Asthma

Asthma is the leading health reason children miss school in the United States, causing more than 14 million missed school days a year. That alone is reason enough for general education teachers to understand something about the disease, how to manage its symptoms, and how to create a healthy breathing environment at school. The physical exertion of recess provides a special challenge for students with asthma and their teachers. To help ensure everyone’s health and safety, here are some guidelines for teachers to keep in mind in the recess setting for students with asthma:

1. Develop an asthma action plan for recess. It’s important for the classroom teacher to assist in the development of such a plan, and to thoroughly understand the step-by-step instructions for how to avoid triggers and treat symptoms of asthma. To avoid triggers, teachers need to be cautious of substances that may cause symptoms, such as pollen. To treat symptoms, teachers need to understand when and how a student should take medication from the school nurse.

2. Make sure the student can take asthma medications at school. Classroom teachers should make sure that all medicines needed are properly given to the school by parents. The parents will need to not only supply medications to the school nurse but also follow all guidelines, such as filling out necessary forms. A teacher must be prepared at recess to send the student with a peer to the school nurse for medication when appropriate.

3. Monitor the recess environment. Teachers should pay attention to the playground or other area students spend time in at recess, keeping an eye out for possible asthma triggers. If necessary, students should be moved to a different area. Parents, teachers and the school nurse can also teach students with asthma to self-monitor.

4. Help the student fully and safely participate in recess. The classroom teacher must confirm with the school nurse when a student may or should use medications, such as before, during and after physical activity. Teachers should be realistic about the activity presented to the child and provide alternative activities during recess, with less exertion, if the student is unable to participate in a certain activity.

--by Matthew D. Lucas, assistant professor of physical and health education, Longwood University

Youth Organization Promotes
Living Without Tobacco
Over 1500 Y St. members volunteer across Virginia, organizing events and spreading information in a statewide tobacco prevention youth empowerment program. Y St. has two main goals: to convince younger teens that a smoke-free lifestyle is the real way to be cool and social, and to fight against tobacco advertising that reaches young people.

The organization also offers mini-grants to high school organizations that want to kick off an education project designed to promote a smoke-free Virginia.

For more information, visit www.YStreet.org.

Education Labs Offer
Reference Service
Got an education question you’d like to have a research-based answer to? The new “Ask a REL” can help. The program is a collaborative reference desk service offered by the Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

All you need to do is visit the Ask a REL website and submit your question. You’ll be connected with the REL in your area, which for Virginia is REL Appalachia, which serves Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. The service provides:

• Referrals, to places such as websites or education organizations.
• References, which may include electronic copies of federal government publications or reports.
• Regionally-specific information.

To use Ask a REL, visit http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/askarel/index.asp.

Bestseller Leads Students
To Help Eastern Peers
Because of Greg Mortenson’s best-selling Three Cups of Tea and the author’s Pennies for Peace organization, educators are inspiring students across the country to raise money to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The NEA Foundation is helping this movement; educators can download a free K-12 service-learning toolkit designed to help create effective penny-raising campaigns through schools.

The Pennies for Peace Toolkit was collaboratively produced by Pennies for Peace and the Pearson Foundation with support from the NEA Foundation and can be found at www.penniesforpeace.org. 

It provides a standards-aligned, service-learning curriculum for all grade levels, including classroom activities, fact sheets, maps provided by National Geographic, and videos about life and culture in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The toolkit also supplies campaign tools, including letter templates to civic leaders, press release templates, stickers and flyers.

Teacher Institute Focuses
On U.S. Civil War
Want to learn how you can use local Virginia history to teach about the Civil War? Want to trace America’s evolving view of slavery? Those are just two of the workshop topics at the eighth annual Teacher Institute being held July 24-26 in Spotsylvania County by the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT). It’s free, and includes numerous workshops, battlefield tours of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg, speakers, networking opportunities and entertainment.

New this year, the Teacher Institute will include teacher exhibits, giving participants a chance to showcase how they’ve been teaching about the Civil War in their classrooms. Teachers are encouraged to bring samples of student work, lesson plans and innovative ideas.

For more information and to register, visit www.cwpt.org.

How to Help a
Traumatized Child
According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, one in four schoolchildren has been exposed to a traumatic event, such as witnessing violence, involvement in an accident, death or loss of a loved one, some form of abuse, or bullying. Here, from NCTSN, are some tips for educators to help such children:

• Maintain usual routines. A return to “normalcy” will send the message that the child is safe and that life will go on.
• Give children choices. Often, traumatic events involve loss of control and/or chaos, so you can help young people feel safe by providing them with some choices or control when appropriate.
• Increase the support and encouragement given to a traumatized child. Designate another adult who can provide additional support if needed.
• Recognize that behavioral problems may be transient and related to the trauma.
• Provide a safe place for the child to talk about what happened.
• Give simple and realistic answers to the child’s questions about traumatic events. If it isn’t an appropriate time, give the child a time and place to talk and ask questions.
• Warn young people if you’re doing something out of the ordinary, such as turning off the lights or making a sudden loud noise.
• Be aware of other children’s reactions to their traumatized classmate and to the information they share. Protect the traumatized child from peers’ curiosity and protect peers from the traumatic details.
• Be sensitive to the cues in the environment that may cause a reaction in the traumatized student. For example, victims of natural storm-related disasters may react very badly to threatening weather or storm warnings. Young people may increase problem behaviors near an anniversary of a traumatic event.
• Anticipate difficult times and offer additional support. Many kinds of situations can be reminders. If you can identify reminders, you can help by preparing the student for the situation. For instance, a child who doesn’t like to be alone can be provided a partner to accompany him or her to the restroom.

For more information, visit www.NCTSN.org.

Association Honors Outstanding Educators

VEA named winners of the following awards at the annual convention, held this year in Hampton in April:

Friend of Education Award. Gary L. Jones, a former member of the Virginia Board of Education, is the 2009 recipient of the Association’s highest honor. First appointed to the Board by Governor Mark Warner in 2001, Jones served for eight years.

“As chairman of the Board’s Committee on the Standards of Quality, Dr. Jones worked tirelessly with educators statewide to define and provide the essential elements of quality education in Virginia,” says VEA President Kitty Boitnott.

Jones led the Board’s efforts to strengthen state standards by funding technology positions, elementary resource teachers, and planning time for secondary teachers, and promoting efforts in prevention, intervention and remediation. He later fought, unsuccessfully, in the General Assembly for additional reading specialists, speech pathologists, math specialists, test coordinators, and principals and assistant principals.

Prior to his service on the state level, Jones served as chair of the Fairfax County School Board, Acting Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, and Undersecretary of Education from 1982-85.

“Dr. Jones was the right person for public education at the right time,” says Boitnott. “He will be sorely missed on the Virginia Board of Education. Our schools are better for his efforts, and he is deserving of our deepest and most sincere thanks.”

Award for Teaching Excellence. Steve Rapp, an astronomy, engineering, physics and robotics instructor at the A. Linwood Holton Governor’s School in Abingdon, is this year’s honoree. Known for his innovative, hands-on science activities, Rapp has long been recognized for his outstanding work in the classroom, receiving a U.S. Department of Education American Star of Teaching Award in 2007 and being named Virginia’s Technology Educator of the Year in 2002 and 2004.

He has taught at Holton since its 1998 inception and today does the bulk of his teaching online, to students scattered throughout southwestern Virginia. After discovering an online resource which allowed his students to download images from a telescope in South America, his Rapp’s classes discovered over 150 new asteroids, which were later recorded at the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Mary Hatwood Futrell Award for Distinguished Leadership in Education. Petersburg Mayor Annie M. Mickens, a longtime math teacher and community leader in the city, received this award for 2009. Mickens established an in-school tutoring program, using master’s degree students from Virginia State University; coordinated a summer enrichment program sponsored by VSU, DuPont and Dominion Power; helped bring The Algebra Project to Petersburg schools; and advocated for the adoption of the SAVY (Supported Alternatives for our Valued Youth) program in the city.

Recently re-elected, Mickens has also, in the past, been named Petersburg’s Citizen of the Year and Educator of the Year.

Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year. As an instructional assistant in a special education classroom for hearing impaired first graders at Fairfax County’s Camelot Center, Janet Valent has a host of responsibilities. She provides individual and group instruction, troubleshoots hearing equipment, and helps create instructional materials, in addition to providing supervision in the cafeteria and bus area, and assisting the art teacher.

Valent, who holds a master’s degree in educational psychology, also launched an environmental awareness club for students in grades 4-6 called The Green Team, and oversees many PTA fundraising activities.

“Janet makes a huge impact on both Camelot Center and Camelot Elementary School,” says Donna Grossman, principal of Camelot Center. “I know that whatever she undertakes will be done with perfection. One thing everyone on the staff agrees with is that Janet makes this school a better place for everyone.”

“Janet is a model professional who is always willing to lend a hand,” says Boitnott. “Her commitment to children, professionalism and collaboration give all ESPs a better name.”

Autism Toolkit
Helps Educators

Autism Speaks, an organization devoted to helping improve the futures of people with autism spectrum disorders, has created an online School and Community Toolkit to help educators and others to be better equipped to help.

The Toolkit defines autism, offers general strategies for intervention, points out readily-available resources, and answers questions such as “How might a special needs child be part of our school?”. Information is included for everyone in the school community—teachers, administrators, paraeducators, office staff, bus drivers, nurses, custodians, peers and parents.

To access the Toolkit, visit www.autismspeaks.org/school.

Museum Looks at WWII
Technology Advances
According to the National World War II Museum, in New Orleans, the WWII years saw more advances in technology, medicine and other math and science related fields than any other era in history. At the Museum’s website, students can explore how those advances affected not only the war, but everyday life today.

The website, along with a free classroom poster, detail how WWII-related research led to advances in the food we eat and the way we travel, and to the atomic bomb. Visitors to the site can see artifacts from the Museum’s science and technology collection, travel a timeline of the Manhattan Project, answer ethical questions about the use of technology in war, and send coded messages to friends. An “Ask the Expert” section offers students the chance to get questions answered. The “Top Ten List” lets students vote on what they think are some of the most important breakthroughs of the WWII years.

To check out the site, visit www.ww2sci-tech.org.

Smithsonian Offers
Heritage Materials
The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies is offering a new series of free, online cultural heritage tours for educators and students, featuring artifacts from the Smithsonian’s extensive collections.

At www.SmithsonianEducation.org/heritage, you’ll find objects, archival musical samples, activities, links to additional content, and a number of interactive features which allow users to examine and research the objects they see. For teachers, there are pre-, during and post-visit activities, downloadable images for classroom display, and information on the Standards of Learning addressed.

Study: Facebook Users
Have Lower GPAs

SAN DIEGO, CA—College students who are Facebook users may be having a lot of fun connecting in cyberspace, but a new study says they may not be doing their academic careers any favors. The study, conducted at Ohio State University, found that users of the social networking site tend to spend less time studying and have lower grade point averages than students who haven’t signed on to the site.

Researchers, in a survey of over 200 undergraduate and graduate students, found that Facebook users study an average of one to five hours per week; non-users spent 11 to 15 hours hitting the books. In addition, Facebook users in the study typically had GPAs between 3.0 and 3.5, while non-users earned GPAs of between 3.5 and 4.0. Despite these findings, more than three-quarters of Facebook users said that their time on the site didn’t interfere with their academics.

“We can’t say that the use of Facebook leads to lower grades and less studying,” says OSU researcher Aryn Karpinski, the study’s co-author, “but we did find a relationship there.”

Also, Karpinski says, “There’s a disconnect between students’ claim that Facebook use doesn’t impact their studies and our finding showing they had lower grades and spent less time studying.”
 The OSU study found that 85 percent of undergraduate students had a Facebook account and only 52 percent of graduate students did.

More Than a Third of U.S. Teachers
to Retire in Four Years?
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The teacher shortage in the United States could grow significantly in the near future, according to a report by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, which anticipates that more than a third of the country’s 3.2 million teachers could retire over the next four years.

In addition to the number of retirements, NCTAF notes that the problem is worsened by a high attrition rate among beginning teachers, many of whom leave the field within their first five years because of difficult working conditions and low pay.

Several steps could ease the pressure, says the report, including altering state retirement systems to allow more veteran teachers to remain in the classroom longer and mentor young teachers, and restructuring working conditions to allow for more collaboration among teachers.

The current recession may actually help alleviate some shortages because teaching has better job security than many professions, which may attract more applicants.

VEA MembersTake
McGlothlin Teaching Awards

Two Association members are the winners of the 2009 McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence, presented annually by the McGlothlin Foundation to outstanding teachers in southwest Virginia and parts of Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky. This year’s winners are Elizabeth Lester of the Martinsville Education Association, a first grade teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary School, and Jayanne Bridges of the Montgomery County Education Association, a science teacher at Christiansburg Middle School. The Awards, among the largest teaching prizes in the U.S., come with a $25,000 check.

Among the finalists for the Awards were Teresa Hash of the Smyth County Education Association and Erin Wigginton of the Pulaski County Education Association. Each received a $1,000 check.

Alicia Deel, a member of the Buchanan Education Association, has earned national recognition from the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET). A teacher at Grundy High School, Deel was named a recipient of the NASET Special Education Teacher’s Award, which honors teachers across the U.S. who demonstrate outstanding achievement in curriculum development, engagement with students, innovation and quality teaching.

Montgomery County Education Association member Teresa Helms, a teacher at Blacksburg High School, has won the State Teacher Award for Virginia in the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. She’s a 35-year veteran of the classroom and has taught AP Calculus for nearly 20 years.

Elizabeth Castillo, a member of the Arlington Education Association and a sixth grade science teacher at Kenmore Middle School, has been named the county’s Teacher of the Year. She’s taught in Arlington for 28 years.

Bristol Virginia Education Association member Heather Lawson, a teacher at Stonewall Jackson Elementary School, won the 2009 Rotary Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

Education Association of Suffolk member Renita Langston, who teaches pre-algebra at John F. Kennedy Middle School, has been selected as the city’s 2009 Middle School Teacher of the Year.

Curl Up With a Good...Computer?

by Glen Bull

For 500 years books and paper have been synonymous. Two complementary advances are altering this relationship. Google is converting the world’s books to digital format while new electronic book readers offer a means of reading digitized books. Together, these two advances are shifting the teaching and learning landscape.

Many books and periodicals that Google has digitized are already available through Google Book Search on the Web at http://books.google.com. This provides access to past issues of popular magazines and serious academic journals as well as fiction and nonfiction books covering almost every genre and subject.

Future textbooks will be created specifically with digital formats in mind. Virginia’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Aneesh Chopra, established the nation’s first officially-approved open source digital textbook (http://virginia.ck12.org/flexr/) because “we live in a dynamic world of discovery.” Chopra was recently appointed as the nation’s first CTO by President Obama, where these ideas are likely to be introduced on a broader scale.

In a complementary development, electronic readers such as the Kindle are moving into the mainstream. Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief of Slate, uses the Kindle for much of his recreational reading, finding that it “provides a fundamentally better experience — and will surely produce a radically better one with coming iterations.”

Jakob Nielsen, the prominent usability expert, had a similar reaction: “When I was carrying the Kindle through the house, I felt like a Star Trek character with a datapad. But when I actually sat down to read the novel, I became so engrossed in the story that I forgot I was reading from an electronic device.”

Two classes of electronic readers are becoming increasingly popular. One is based on electronic ink (E-ink) while the second has arisen from the growing use of smart phones as electronic readers.

Electronic Ink (E-ink) Readers. The Kindle is currently the most popular E-ink reader, in part because Amazon provides a wireless connection between its bookstore and the Kindle. This allows the reader to download and sample the first chapter of any of a quarter-million books, and then download the entire book, for a fee, if it is of interest. 

The Kindle is, in effect, a portable bookstore. The ability to read the first chapter of any book is the equivalent of browsing through an aisle of books – without the necessity of physically traveling to a bricks-and-mortar store. A book can be downloaded in less than a minute, typically at a cost less than the physical book. Amazon also makes it easy to place an online order for the physical book, if you prefer it in that format.

Sony also makes an E-reader based on the E-ink technology. The Sony reader does not yet have all the features of the Kindle, such as a wireless connection for effortless download of books. Nevertheless, Sony is breaking new ground and has concluded an agreement to make a half-million of Google’s digitized public domain books available though its reader – creating another choice in electronic reading.

The Sony and the Kindle are the first in a series of successful electronic readers based on E-ink technology. Others inspired by their successes are sure to follow.

E-books on Smart Phones. Smart phones are increasingly being employed as electronic readers. Amazon offers a Kindle book reader for the iPhone. A book read on the Kindle is automatically synchronized to the same location on the iPhone. Shifting between the two devices - reading a page or two on the iPhone reader in a spare moment, and later reading longer passages on the Kindle - is convenient.

There are also versions of Google Books (http://books.google.com/mobile/) for the iPhone, the iPod Touch, the Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Android phones. These devices are rapidly becoming ubiquitous portable book readers. In Japan, many best-selling books are designed to be read on cell phones. As digital books increase demand, this trend may be adopted by Western culture as well.

Educational Opportunities. Electronic book readers offer benefits for those with reduced visual acuity or other visual impairments. The Kindle includes a built-in text-to-speech option that allows any book to be read out loud. Students are using this feature to increase comprehension and focus as they read. Future research on ways in which this may assist beginning readers may yield benefits in this area as well.

Jacob Weisberg concludes, “I'm optimistic that electronic reading will bring more good than harm. New modes of communication will spur new forms while breathing life into old ones.”

Today’s electronic book readers are not perfect. However, readability that is as good as a print document combined with other features, such as multi-device integration, suggests a promising future.

Bull is co-director of the Center for Technology and Teacher Education in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia.

“When school nurses become primary care providers, as happens all too frequently today, we’re well past the time for health care reform. Students can’t learn unless they come to school healthy.”
Jaim Foster, member of the Fairfax Education Association, during Congressional testimony in March

“Knowing what education should be doing in an age in which people are likely to have more than 10 jobs by age 42, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, has greatly complicated matters. Further exacerbating the situation is the projection that the top 10 jobs that will be in demand for today’s students don’t yet exist.”
John M. Eger, chair, communications and public policy department, San Diego State University

“Every great teacher is part motivational coach, skillfully leveraging energy and language to lift students up and draw out high performance.”
Marc R. Major, author, The Teacher’s Survival Guide

“Our public schools are the personnel division for our democracy.”
John Glenn, former U.S. Senator from Ohio

“Educators are in a position to advocate for children and to assist parents and families in building safe, decent communities. They are in a position to help bridge the now widening gap between the I and we in America.”
Charles Taylor Kerchner, co-author, United Mind Workers

“Instead of focusing only on large, expensive sports facilities, schools should create indoor-outdoor fitness centers that all students can benefit from through dance, yoga, work in kitchen gardens, and exploration of nature trails.”
Prakash Nair, architect specializing in school design with Fielding Nair International

"Our students are not at risk at any level ... by virtue or rank that they don't possess a cell phone. I think it's incumbent on this board to eliminate as many distractions as we can possibly eliminate."
Hampton School Board Chairman Fred Brewer, after the board voted to ban cell phones from city middle schools next year

“Schools need to be structured so adults can be in sync with one another, as a prerequisite to being in sync with the kids.”
Julia Steiny, co-director of Information Works!, Rhode Island’s school-accountability project

“For the millions and millions of struggling Americans who wake up each day and worry about the uncertain future that awaits their children—we remain their only path to a meaningful and rewarding life.”
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

Merit Pay Won't Work

by Jamie Beasley

Some people fear change; I have always embraced it. That’s why I was refreshed by the excitement that followed last year’s election of Barack Obama, regardless of whether or not he was first on my list. As a teacher, I saw that he valued public education and I looked forward to the positive change he could bring to it. I was right there with him, until I heard three little words: merit-based pay.

The idea behind merit-based pay holds a world full of good intentions. I know that I work very hard at what I do to be the best teacher I can be and I would love to be rewarded for that work. The problem, thus, does not lie in merit-based pay itself but in the real world application of this idea. There are three ways I have heard merit-based pay could be measured, none of which are feasible in the reality we know today.

Test scores, namely those from the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, are the primary measuring stick I have heard associated with merit-based pay. These will not work because not every class gives an SOL test. Furthermore, if pay were to be based on the SOL tests, teachers would begin to teach to the test even more so than some are doing now. Any educator can tell you that teaching to the test is a real phenomenon that ultimately hurts most everything good in education. Reflect on your own time in school: what had the most impact on you? Chances are you don’t remember that stellar worksheet on World War II your teacher made, but you might remember visiting the Holocaust Museum. As more and more weight is put on the SOL tests, less and less time will be available for students to actually interact with the material, as opposed to simply covering it to put a check next to a school-, county- or state-generated to-do list.

Since SOLs aren’t a part of every classroom, another option is to look at the grades students receive in each teacher’s class as a way to evaluate student performance. The problem with this is obvious: teachers will end up giving higher grades. Especially in today’s economy, any teacher who is faced with the decision between elevating grades or losing pay will find it hard to not cheat the system.
 
A discouraging commonality between both of these options is that the teacher is being assessed more by what the students do than his or her own performance. By using SOL scores or grades, it is the student’s merit being appraised rather than the teacher’s. How could teacher merit be evaluated? One common idea is that the work of the teacher could be evaluated by means of observation by a superior. This option is far too subjective: to one observer, a good classroom is quiet and controlled; to another, it is active and energetic. Add to that the fact that resources are strained right now for most school systems. In a world where teachers are sometimes asked to buy toner for printers in the classroom, what funds would be available to pay an observer?

This begs another question: who is qualified to assess the work of a teacher? Could anyone outside the classroom really understand the worth of a teacher? Would they be willing to stay after school to see the work the teacher puts in after hours on a lesson? Would they consider the emotional involvement teachers have with their students as they listen to their struggles and try to teach more about life than what is in the textbook? The value of a teacher is bigger than what can be assessed in a 20-minute classroom observation or a bar graph of test scores.

The problem is this: teachers are not assembly workers. There is no cookie-cutter product shot out of the end of a metal belt at the end of our day that can be measured for accuracy. That being said, there is no easy, cookie-cutter way to assess a teacher. And the idea of the government creating some asinine way of assessing a teacher’s merit without taking into consideration every aspect of teaching is frightening.
 
I have not given up hope for a positive change to come to education soon. But we must be cautious. No one can afford another unfunded, federally mandated, ill-thought-out school scheme: not the counties, not the teachers, and not the students.

Beasley, a member of the Hanover Education Association, teaches English at Lee-Davis High School.