Getting Ready for the end of the School Year

 While some of you who reading this article may have a month of school left for this academic year, for others the year ends next week. You may be thinking about those leisure activities that you have been putting off and that much needed and well deserved time to re-energize before the next school year creeps up on you.

Many of your school administrators may have given you a check list for end of year’s formalities- collecting and counting text books, submitting end of year grades, collecting of classroom keys and other administrivia you need to complete before you leave.

I have comprised my own check list for the summer that should help you focus on the year ahead,

1)      Summer reading. Sure there are a great many books that that you have put off reading because you were too busy and now you can delve into the thriller of your choice. But don’t for get to keep up with your profession reading. Journal articles and current literature about your chosen occupation will help get ready for next year.

2)      Professional Development. Summer is the ideal time to take graduate courses or attend professional development workshop. In some areas pay raises can be affected by obtaining additional graduate credit or complete an advanced degree. Attending workshops provides teachers with an opportunity to network with other teachers, to share strategies and ideas.

3)      Summer Education Travel. There are numerous opportunities for educational travel throughout the United States and throughout the world. Some of the programs are parts of research projects. Others grant graduate credit or professional development hours. Check with your school district as well as your state teachers’ union for details.

4)       Make a list of activities that worked well and those that did not. Search the interest for engaging lessons that will make you a more effective educator not just for next year for years to come.

5)      Letter to parents. If you are teaching in an elementary setting next year, it might be a good idea to write a letter of introduction to the parents of your incoming students. You can welcome the family to your class and provide an introduction to you expectations for the upcoming year.

A Final Note-

Our hearts and thought go out to the good people of Norman, Oklahoma after the tragic tornado of this past week. In addition to the first responders, we must applaud the efforts of the teachers who saved the lives of their students and put their own lives in jeopardy by doing so. There should never be any doubt that teachers care about the welfare of their students.

c.2013 J. Margolis

Are You Teaching in a Toxic School?

Toxic Schools

Last year CNN aired a documentary about schools that are actually making children and their teachers sick. Due to the funding cuts and neglect, many schools have unrepaired roof leaks that cause mild and mildew. Schools have not been tested for radon and other schools have never had asbestos mitigation performed. Figures are hard to come by, but studies have estimated that a third or more of U.S. schools have mold, dust and other indoor air problems serious enough to provoke respiratory issues like asthma in students and teachers. According to the CNN report, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the network’s chief medical correspondent, reported that  many of our nation’s public schools have air quality issues that can cause these respiratory ailments. Interestingly enough there are no federal air quality standards for schools. A number of these toxic schools are located in Reading PA, a school district with a high dropout rate. Reading is a city that been deemed as one of America’s poorest.

I had my own personal experience with this issue a number of years ago while working in a middle school in New Jersey.  Recurring health problems, including asthma, caused me to miss a number of days of work; I took matters in to my own hands.  I climbed to the ceiling of my office and removed the air filter and took it to school boards meeting. The board did agree to run an air quality test but were quite unhappy about having to pay for the inspection and subsequent lab report.

Reading, PA is not the only city to have reported issues with mold and asbestos issues. Similar issues have been reported in Chicago, New York and Boston.  Much of the blame has been placed on budget cuts where school officials have deferred needed maintenance and upgrading of a school’s air quality system.

School students are not the only ones who have become victims to this national disgrace. Teachers, too have suffered from a wide variety of ailments. One teacher in Connecticut had to retire on a disability and her efforts to make the public aware of the school’s problems eventually led to a toxic school being torn down a new one built.

It is imperative that teachers be proactive about these issues. Challenge school officials. Keep reports of student absences (and your own).  BE on the lookout for mold development, unusual odors and leaks.

For more information about this topic go to http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/health/school-indoor-air-pollution

c. 2013 J. Margolis

Common Core Curriculum- Here We Go Again!

Here we go again. The latest new “best idea” for improving public education in the United States is upon us and with not a little bit of criticism. Whether it’s No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top or if you are a more veteran teacher, team teaching, ability grouping, etc. You get the picture. In a nation where the federal constitution specifically ignores the education of its citizens- making it the purview of the individual states- we now have what is tantamount to a national curriculum. This new magic bullet is called the “Common Core Standards.”The content areas to be included in this program are English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Literacy standards. Social studiers and science are not included in this phase of the program. These new core standards will be implemented in grades kindergarten through the twelfth grade. The essence of the program is to get students to do more than rote learn the material. The goals include getting students to determine independence, build strong content knowledge, comprehend as well as critique, value evidence and use technology. The English language objectives include reading more complex narrative information text. The mathematic objective include attending to precision, construct viable arguments and critique  reasoning of other, and to reason abstractly and quantitatively.

While some of the goals are lofty and  desirable there are several flaws in the fed’s thinking. First- There have been no field studies of the program. It will be implemented beginning in the fall in some of the grades. Second, and of great concern to teachers, is that until now there has been no significant professional development to aid in the program's implementation. These issues take on great significance in those states where teacher evaluations and even salary increases are tied to student performance on the assessments that go with these programs. It should also be noted that five states have opted out of participating in the program. Interestingly enough, Texas, home of the original No Child Left Behind law, is not participating in the Common Core initiative. For  more information go to http://www.corestandards.org/.

There are a number of groups that are against the implementation of Common Core. You can read about their objections at the web site www.stopcommoncore.com. This group spearheaded in Georgia, seeks to return education to local control. Another site, www.truthinamericaneducation.com is chronicling protest movements and objections to Common Core around the country.

You are encouraged to look at all of the facts and make up your own mind. Is this the real “ best new thing” or just another scheme that will soon fall by the wayside?

c.2013 J. Margolis

A Museum of America’s Conscience

 In an address to Holocaust survivors, World War Two veterans and individuals who hid and rescued European Jews, President Bill Clinton said “you know the truth. You have enshrined it here.” The place to which   the President was referring was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which was commemorating its 20^th university. Since its inception in 1993 over 35 million people from all over the world have visited the museum. Often the line for admission stretches all the way down 14^th Street. In a nation where only six states have mandatory Holocaust education for school students, the museum has provided great resources for teachers, having trained over 10,000 who then returned to their home schools to teach their students about the Nazi atrocities and the Holocaust.  On my visit to the museum last week, there were numerous high school groups from all over the United States.

I encourage all teachers who teach the Holocaust to arrange for a museum visit if your school is within a reasonable distance from Washington, DC.  Sara Bloomfield, Museum Director, noted that” visitors come to a building deliberately designed to create a feeling of discomfort.  The building's architect sends cues to people entering the building that "you're in a different world, like he would say, a world turned upside down."

  I would also strongly recommend   accessing the museum website- http://www.ushmm.org/education/ Here teachers will find access to lessons, activities, and resource guides. There is even an online teacher workshop. You can also sign up for email updates. If you live in area with Holocaust survivors, please try to invite them to speak to your classes. Most survivors are in their 80s and 90s and may not be able to tell their stories much longer.

C.2013 J. Margolis