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More Amazon Wish lists?
Hey Tumblr Education teachers! I’m guessing more of you have Amazon (or other store) wish lists, or Donors Choose projects or other similar stuff. Does anyone have a compilation of this, or want to help me compile a list? I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would like to help out (especially those like myself who aren’t currently working in education, but hope to be soon, and would like to contribute to the field where we can). Thanks!
"In order to get beyond racism, we must first take race into account. There is no other way."
Justice Harry Blackmum, SCOTUS, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978.
"Because of the capacities of their teachers, classrooms serving poor children continue to provide fewer opportunities for students to engage in powerful forms of learning."
Linda Darling-Hammond
Responding to a good question
Question for anyone who’s taken education classes, especially if it was secondary ed-specific:
Are all education classes/degrees rubbish and useless, or have I just been talking to the wrong people?
Definitely not! I think about 50% of my education classes were great, or maybe slightly more than that. The further into the program I got, the better they were. I especially enjoyed my subject matter methods course, and assessment. Classroom management was good too, though it would have been perhaps more helpful if I had been in a classroom at the time.
There are always going to be classes that seem like a waste of time. No school is ever going to get every course taught by a highly skilled professor. My school had a major problem getting teachers, especially since they use a lot of adjunct professors who teach in public (or private) schools full-time.
Talk to some more people. I also advise that you find a school that has a similar philosophy about education that you do. Most institutions (in my experience) are quite traditional in their approach to education, but not all are. The one I went to was quite non-traditional and I feel like I got a lot more out of the experience than my counterparts at other schools, and I was a lot more prepared for the real world of teaching.
Just my 2-cents.
A is for app: iPads change landscape of learning (StarTribune)
Inside Kim Campbell’s seventh-grade social studies class, every student gets to keep one of the Apple tablets for the year. They use them constantly, researching class projects, reading e-books and communicating with teachers. On this day, students are using a maps app to study geography. The iPads in Hopkins’ schools are just one edge of a digital revolution in metro-area classrooms that is changing teaching and learning as fast as the latest device is introduced. YouTube videos are replacing in-class lectures. Music applications help students learn to read music and play instruments. Teachers distribute and grade assignments digitally. Gadgets once seen as distractions are now front and center on desks as essential learning tools. Along with a handful of other Minnesota teachers, Szporn has “flipped” his classroom — moving himself from the whiteboard in front of the class to the handheld devices in students’ pockets. Szporn records and posts his lessons online for students to access at lunch, on the bus or at home. Class is spent working on difficult material together, giving teachers more one-on-one time with students. “As teachers, we’re always looking for ways to give kids more responsibility for their own education,” Szporn said. “I could never find a way to do that until now.” Proponents say the approach works particularly well for struggling students, who can work at their own pace, replaying the videos as needed.
Don’t Know Much About Asian American History? Books for Children
In 1992, Congress proclaimed the month of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. And what better time to teach your kids about the history of Asians in the United States? Perhaps you’ve shared with your children how you or your family members came to America, but this is also a great opportunity to learn about the experiences of other Asians in the United States.
I’ve reviewed plenty of Asian children’s books before, but I’m especially excited about this list, because these are all titles that focus on the rich and varied history of Asians in America. Here are some picture books that feature experiences of immigration, forging an identity, and key points in history. Because these subjects are rarely taught in class. Think of it as Asian American Studies for the elementary school set.
Kai’s Journey to Gold Mountain: An Angel Island Story by Katrina Saltonstall Currier is a book I first saw while visiting Angel Island. In case you’re not familiar with it, Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay, was the Ellis Island of the West. During the 19th and early 20th century, immigrants from China, Japan, Korea and the Phillippines were detained in barracks, often for long and unpredictable lengths of time. Twelve-year old Kai is one of those new arrivals, who must wait to be released so he can join his father on “Gold Mountain”.
Coolies by Yin and illustrated by Chris Sontpiet tells the story of Shek and Little Wong, who arrive in California to build the transcontinental railroad. Inspired by actual events, this story reveals the harsh truth about life for the Chinese railroad workers in 1865, while celebrating their perseverance and bravery. The author and illustrator also teamed up to create Brothers, a story about a friendship between Ming, a boy in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and his Irish neighbor, Patrick.
Where the Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai and illustrated by Felicia Hoshino is a recommendation from my friend Elisa Koff-Ginsborg. The book tells the story of Mari, who — along with thousands of other Japanese Americans– has been forced to move to the Topaz internment camp during World War II. An art class and a kindly teacher offer a ray of hope amidst these unjust circumstances.
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee is another title about the Japanese American internment experience. The main character is a small Japanese American boy who dislikes baseball because he is often teased as he plays with his white peers. Life is even harsher at the camp, with tempers flaring in the tight quarters. However, a makeshift baseball game at Whether your kids are sports nuts or benchwarmers, they will probably find the baseball aspect of this story something they can relate to.
Going Home, Coming Home by Truong Tran, illustrated by Ann Phong is described by Terry Hong of Smithsonian BookDragon as “A poignant, lovely bilingual tale about a little girl who visits her ancestral home in Vietnam and realizes that she can be both Vietnamese and American, with a home here and a home there.”
Chachaji’s Cup by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Soumya Sitaraman is also a BookDragon pick. “A young boy’s special relationship with Chachaji, his father’s old uncle, teaches him important lessons about family bonds and his rich Indian heritage,” writes Hong. This book was also made into a stage performance in 2010 that featured Bollywood and sitar music and a multicultural cast.
Apple Pie Fourth of July by Janet S. Wong and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine is a more contemporary story that deals with an issue that many children of immigrants can relate to: food shame. The main character is embarrassed that her family is cooking Chinese food to serve in their shop, even though it is Independence Day. Of course, there is a delicious twist to the story.
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi portrays a dilemma all too familiar to immigrant youth — whether or not to trade in a foreign sounding name for an American one. Unhei must make this decision after she moves from Korea to New York, and her new classmates attempt to help her by filling a jar full of potential monikers.
Do you have any recommendations?
For more recommendations, including chapter books and Young Adult literature, my favorite Taiwanese American author Grace Lin has a Asian-Pacific Heritage Month Booklist on PBS Parents.
For more suggestions check out the San Francisco Public Library site. Also, Pragmatic Mom has recommendations for Japanese American Internment and Chinese American books.
These are more for older students, but are very good books:
Farewell to Manzanar - the story of a Japanese family as they go through life in an internment camp during WWII.
The Latehomecomer - memoir of a Hmong woman who moved to the US when she was 6 years old.
Advice needed on professional development for a future teacher
I completed my education program and student teaching in April, but have not yet completed all of the paperwork and some other stuff required to get my license. It was hard to be motivated to complete it all when there are absolutely no jobs in Social Studies in my area right now. Anyway, I obviously won’t be teaching this school year and have applied for zero jobs. That’s OK - I have a full-time job.
My question is, what do I do to make sure future potential employers know that while I wasn’t teaching, I was trying to remain engaged and further develop myself?
I’m hoping to substitute teach a bit (not full-time, maybe a day or two a week) once I get my license, but I don’t think that’s enough. Some of the volunteer tutoring I’ve done doesn’t really reach my target audience (tutoring through the library is mostly upper elementary kids whereas I’m 5-12 licensed, and the after school program I worked at was mostly Spanish-speaking and I don’t know Spanish) and I’d rather not move my schedule all around to accommodate something that isn’t ideal.
I know that I should probably contact the school I want to work in (where I student taught) to see if there are any volunteer opportunities or tutoring opportunities there.
Aside from that and substitute teaching, what should I do? I’ve been thinking about taking a class, perhaps Spanish or Sign Language. Spanish would be much more useful for the area that I’m in (but my work might pay for Sign Language). Other thoughts? I’m looking for things that I could put on my resume or at least talk about in an interview. I mean, I want to do things that are beneficial to myself and my future career, but it would definitely help if it aids in my getting a job someday.
I’m married, have a full-time job, own a home, and don’t plan on moving any time soon, so obviously some enrichment options are out, and these factors have limited the jobs available to me as well. I’m OK with that. I just want to make myself the best I can be.
Moët on 40k: Stalker Students
Yet again, an infrequent teaching issue I pose to you tumblr teachers! Have you ever had a student “creep” on you? Have you ever had students show up at your house on Halloween or another holiday? Last year, one of my students looked up my address on whitepages.com and then asked me in front of… I student taught (and would love to some day teach at) the high school one block from my house this past spring. I loved it. I didn’t specifically tell the kids where I live, but since one of the practice fields is literally across the street from my house (we’re on a corner), it was inevitable that they’d figure it out. Since I’ve been done student teaching, I’ve had students wave while walking back from baseball practice, said hello to students as band practice lets out, and seen plenty of them drive by on their way to practice, meetings, etc. My university supervisor said that for 25 years he lived near the school he worked at in Minneapolis, and he never had any problems. The only problem I’ve had is that I no longer feel like I can run out to the grocery store or DQ without looking at least halfway decent. No more sweat pants, makeup-free weekends unless I stay inside. It’s a fairly small community I live in (in the middle of a major urban area - we’re completely urban, in case anyone gets misled that I’m talking rural America here with all its quaintness). Trying to figure out what to wear to the fireworks on the 4th was difficult, as it was 95* outside but shorts and a tank top somehow seemed inappropriate. There are also several teachers at the school who go to church with some of the students and see the students outside of school, and that doesn’t seem to be a problem. I do think it would be weird to have a student recite my address to the whole class if I didn’t live so close. Weird, inappropriate, but not necessarily punishable. Perhaps a conversation about how it’s inappropriate with the student, including a parent if necessary. Maybe I will feel different after a decade of teaching, but first I’d have to get that first teaching job, and since I’m still working on my licensure requirements, I don’t think that will be this upcoming school year.
Fact-Checking Romney's Teacher Claims (Education Week)
Republican Presidential presumptive nominee Mitt Romney’s first major education policy stump speech was heavy on criticism of teachers’ unions, but light overall on the details of how he’d revamp federal teacher-quality spending. My colleagues at Politics K-12 have a great overview that you should be sure to check out. In the meantime, let’s fact-check some of Romney’s claims in his speech. • “There are currently 82 programs in 10 agencies that spend $4 billion on teacher quality. As president, I will consolidate these programs, and block grant them to states that adopt innovative policies. For example, states will be rewarded if they regularly evaluate teachers for their effectiveness and compensate the best teachers for their success.” The figure of 82 teacher-quality programs comes right out of this Government Accountability Office report, but the rest of the proposal is somewhat confusing. For one, fully three-fourths of the $4 billion figure is in the nearly $3 billion Title II-A state grants, which basically already are a block grant. As for consolidating programs, the Obama administration has already proposed this a number of years running, but not gotten anywhere with it. Those consolidations were envisioned as competitive grants—not a fill-out-the-paperwork-and-get-your-cash block grant. • Romney dragged out a quote from the American Federation of Teachers’ Al Shanker, in which the late labor leader purportedly said, “When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of children.” The problem with this is that Shanker may never have actually said it. Debates continue to rage about whether this quote is apocryphal or just badly documented. • “And our job keeps getting harder because the unions wield outsized influence in elections and campaigns. … Annually, many teachers are forced to pay almost $1,000 in union dues. The two major teachers’ unions take in $600 million each year. That’s more revenue than both of the political parties combined. In 2008, the National Education Association spent more money on campaigns than any other organization in the country. And 90% of those funds went to Democrats.” Where to start. The unions are most certainly among the biggest campaign spenders and are still probably the largest in K-12 education. But the statement confuses two things: dues and campaign dollars. Until 2010, dues money could be used for lobbying but not campaigns; unions had to keep campaign cash strictly segregated in a PAC, which members donated to voluntarily. (The “voluntary” nature of these donations, of course, can certainly be contested. As Mike Antonucci of Intercepts aptly pointed out, in states like California, PAC donations can come out of your paycheck unless you fill out often jargon-laden paperwork correctly.) This has changed somewhat, because campaign-finance rulings now permit unions—and corporations—to spend from their dues-funded general treasuries on independent expenditures, such as campaign advertising, as long as they are not officially coordinated with candidates. The NEA figure from 2008 seems off. At the federal level, it was 48th in the list of top donors that year, far below the American Federation of Teachers, which was No. 19. (Goldman Sachs was No. 2 that year and the realtors’ and bankers’ association were also in the Top 10.) It’s possible Romney was talking about state spending, and I will update this post once I can access the database of the National Institute on Money in State Politics, which seems to be down at the moment. UPDATED, 5:10 p.m. Romney’s claim that the NEA is the largest spender seems to pass muster at the state level, where NEA and affiliates topped the list of donors in 2007-08 (the realtors’ association was No. 8). Keep in mind, though, that this is largely because of its ballot-initiative expenditures. Only 35 percent of its spending overall was on candidate races, or about $19 million. (When you look at it from this perspective, it spent about the same as the realtors’ association.) • “So, President Obama has been unable to stand up to union bosses—and unwilling to stand up for kids.” The campaign cites the administration’s bids to shutter the District of Columbia’s Opportunity Scholarships Program, which the unions pushed hard on, as evidence that it’s kowtowing to the unions. But at the same time, the Obama administration’s push to open charter schools and evaluate teachers partly on student-achievement gains have earned the administration some fairly well-publicized rebukes from the unions and raised some good questions about how many teachers are going to want to volunteer on his behalf once the campaign ground game gets started.
