Carrots fort Charlie is Back!

The lovable cavalier king charles spaniel and his friend Max are romping through Naples Florida. This book, enjoyed by hundreds of school children in Florida and New Jersey is available for purchase for the holidays. This inspirational story about friendship as well as the importance of good health, exercise and nutrition makes the perfect holiday gift. Hundreds of copies

of “Carrots for Charlie” have been donated to children’s organizations and hospitals around southwest Florida.

Now is your chance to purchase a copy of this endearing book. The cost is $10 plus shipping. If you are interested in obtaining an autographed copy guaranteed to arrive for the holidays, please leave your name and email address in the message portion of this blog.

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.

Reading is Fundamental for Teachers

There have been dozens, no make that hundreds of books written about education in this country. Some discussed what was right with America’s education process while others wrote about all that was wrong with it and how our nation has fallen behind other developed nations in educating their students. A number of books proposed new theories and revolutionary ideas as to how to change the course of America’s public education. There were those authors too that examined the way that we prepare teachers in this country. Still other academicians dissected the curriculum, arguing about what should or should not be taught . About the only thing that the authors could agree upon was that something needed to be changed.

A recent article in “Educator”, the publication of Temple University’s College of Education in Philadelphia, examined several new works published by its faculty.

One book, “The Bilingual Mind” by Aneta Pavlenko, explored the dominant theories of language and how it affects thought. Another book, “Uncommon Core,” by Michael Smith, Deborah Appleman, and Jeffrey Wilhelm, delved into the Common Core State Standards and noted the importance to retain pre=reading and pre-writing lessons in the curriculum. A third publication “Reading Unbound: Why Kids Need to Read What they Want- and Why We Should Let Them,”(Jeffrey Wilhelm and Michael Smith) brings home the importance of getting students to read and to like what they read. It is just as important have students read the Harry Potter books, as it is to have them read great American classics. The fourth both mentioned in the article is entitled “Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adolescents and Adults,”(edited by Matt Tincani and Andy Bondy). This book is a compendium of current research of how to give support to adolescents and adults who have been diagnosed with autism and related disorders.

You certainly might find a title here to place on your Christmas wish list, but like the topic covered in “Reading Unbound,” it is extremely important to keep up with your professional reading and to gain an understanding of what is trending in American education today.

c.2014  J. Margolis

A Veterans Day Story for Teachers

A story crossed my desk the other day that I would like to share with the education community and is appropriate for Veterans Day. This story is about David Oclander, a West Point graduate and a veteran who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.  When he returned home, Oclander decided to pursue a career as a classroom teacher. He felt that he had a great deal to contribute to the community and his leadership skills would serve him well in the front of a classroom. There was just one problem- he did not have a teaching credential. Fortunately for Oclander and the school district of Chicago, the state of Illinois does not require teaching credentials to teach in a charter school. So after a three month crash course he wound up at a Noble Network Charter School in one of the worst neighborhoods of Chicago and began to make a difference. Oclander began to take a participle interest in a young man who had said that he was considering enlisting in the army after graduation. He suggested to his student that he should consider applying to West Point, a goal well beyond his imagination. As  you might have guessed, the student, with his teacher’s help, is now a cadet at the United States Military Academy ( West Point.) For teachers- you never know who is sitting in your classroom and who you can help succeed. For students, stay in school and don’t be afraid to ask your teachers for help.  They want to help you success in school and in life.

To all of our veterans-  Thanks for your service. America honors you.

c.2014 J. Margolis

The Tenure Debate Heats Up

A study completed three years ago indicated that by “replacing a poor teacher with an excellent one could increase students’ lifetime earnings by $250,000 per classroom.” Armed with ammunition like that, it is easy to see that there is a growing list of advocates who would like to see an end to teacher tenure in America’s public schools. With the jaw-dropping decision in Los Angeles by Judge Rolf True, California’s teacher tenure laws, in place for decades, were struck down. (See Vergara v. California)  The judge reasoned that having poor teachers in the classroom were detrimental to students’ education and thus unconstitutional. At the forefront of this effort that is gaining traction nationally, is David Welch who developed an interest through his involvement in the NewSchoolsVenture Fund.

It is true that removing a tenured teacher from the classroom is a costly and time- consuming undertaking. It is also true that much of the original intent of teacher tenure laws was to protect teachers from indiscriminate dismissal for political or other reasons and was inherent in the collective bargaining process.

The question that has been raised for many years and is still the overriding issue is what makes an excellent teacher? Is it content knowledge or is it compassion? Is it classroom management skills or is it student performance on standardized test? With the imposition of Common Core State Standards which are linked to state curriculums and standardized tests, it seems that the federal government along with other education reformer have the selected the last question as the one top answer.

The American Federation of Teachers, a broad umbrella organization for many teachers unions across the country has yet to be heard.  AFT President Randi Weingarten indicated that the Vergara court decision would be appealed. There is a great deal at stake with this issue. Has teacher tenure become obsolete? Have financial juggernauts like David Welch and Bill Gates become the new faces of the direction of public education in America? Don’t look for this issue to go away any time soon and be aware of the possibility that this may become a campaign issue in the 2016 Presidential Election.

See the article “Taking on Teacher Tenure” in Time Magazine, November 3^rd issue pp.36-39.

c.2014 J. Margolis