NEA Today articles from November 2000

NEA Today archives from November 2000

School nurses. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... I did not notice any references to school nurses in your recent article on immunizations and immigrants (Health & Fitness, October). It is time NEA supported all members, not just teachers. I have paid dues for seven and a half years....

The race for president. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... Just wanted to let you know that I, as a teacher and NEA member, do not support your choice for president, Al Gore. I was never asked for any input, nor did I receive a survey asking my opinion. I, as well as many others, also pay dues. ...

Are they crazy? (Letters).
November 1, 2000... The authors of The End of Homework (Resources, September) say homework cuts into quality family time. I suggest that any useful interaction between parent and child is "quality time." Parents need to become more involved in their children's...

Teacher bashing. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... Apparently I will no longer have to await the yearly teacher basher letters from my local newspaper. I can now read them in my organization's magazine. Stephen Richardson's letter (October) was bashing at its worst. I wonder if the...

Teacher shortage. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... Last August, while traveling through Colorado, my husband and I read that Denver had a shortage of over 300 teachers. Then, after reading the employment opportunities in NEA Today, we could see the reason. A math position was advertised...

Writing as punishment. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... Since this is my 18th year as a high school language arts teacher, I like to read the viewpoints of new teachers such as Julie Ollmann (Letters, September). I heartily agree with all she wrote about using writing as punishment. Sadly, we have...

Sam the turtle. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... One glance at the photo on page 34 of the September issue ("Alabama Support Staff Create Bus Safety Program"), and I knew how the program achieves such great success: visions of the giant turtle, Safety Sam, chasing them across the school...

Guns. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... In response to your article "It's Time to Uncork the Bottle" (News, September), I agree with your sentiment, but disagree with your conclusions. As teachers and child advocates, we need to protect the children in our care. In the matter...

Vision test. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... I was glad, as a school nurse, to see "Seeing 20/20 Isn't Enough" (Innovators, September). I have had personal experience with children who pass our vision test, yet I know they have reading difficulties. Arline Goodman Quincy,...

School fundraising. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... The September Debate question was, "Is school fundraising worth the time and effort?" Del Patterson made it sound as if we are turning schools into Third World soccer ball factories. This is not Pakistan. There are always ways to make...

Boy scouts. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... I was not surprised at the one-sided, biased response by NEA attorney Michael Simpson to the Supreme Court decision on the Boy Scouts (Rights Watch, September). He assumes everyone agrees the Boy Scouts are a group of "homophobic bigots" that...

Tests for congress. (Letters).
November 1, 2000... I am an English teacher. I also happen to be a lawyer. I was disturbed by the debate on whether candidates for Congress should be required to pass competency tests (October). Both debaters failed to state the obvious: It would be...

Wal-Mart "F". (Letters).
November 1, 2000... Bravo! I didn't read your article on Wal-Mart, but if you gave them an "F," my opinion of the NEA just went up. Apparently, Mr. Arakaki (Letters, September) thinks laying off hundreds of meatcutters nationwide because one Wal-Mart...

The almighty vote: urge a nonvoter to vote, and you just might change the course of history. (President's Viewpoint).
November 1, 2000... As an old social studies teacher, I've always found the excuses people give for not voting on a par with "the dog ate my homework." As educators concerned about children and public schools, we need to confront these excuses seriously and...

National Board Certification: time to accentuate the positive: is National Board Certification for you? For this Idaho teacher, there's no doubt. (My Turn).
November 1, 2000... A couple of months ago, I was in a discussion about National Board Certification at a regional conference I was attending. I was quite frankly stunned to hear some of the sentiments teachers in the room were expressing. Many were hostile...

Editor's note.
November 1, 2000... You may have noticed a subtle change in some of the cartoons and illustrations placed throughout the issue. For example, on our Letters pages, we've decided to dispense with the cartoon approach and add a little edge with an illustration....

Taming the paper tiger: is special ed paperwork devouring your time and energy? Here's real help from NEA members for keeping that tiger at bay. (Cover Story).
November 1, 2000... Less paperwork. That was one prime goal of IDEA '97, the revision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that Congress enacted three years ago. But--in far too many schools across the United States--NEA members are reporting...

Should special needs students be exempt from graduation tests? (Debate).
November 1, 2000... TIMOTHY BUSH teaches special education at Seaford Senior High School in Delaware. Currently a member of the Delaware State Education Association executive board, he's also a lead teacher for his district's New Teacher Mentoring Program. ...

Fighting vouchers--it's everybody's job: NEA members have four good reasons to defeat voucher initiatives in California and Michigan. (News).
November 1, 2000... While undergoing chemotherapy to beat cancer, California guidance counselor Erma Kyser has both "good" and "bad" days and knows she has to work hard to avoid infections and to "just feel good again." Yet somehow, this NEA member has also...

Voucher pushers outspend us, but they can't outwork us: NEA members fight vouchers by reaching out and speaking out, for kids and public schools. (News).
November 1, 2000... NEA members may not be able to outspend the high rollers who are funding voucher initiatives this November in California and Michigan. But they can certainly outwork them. In both states, Association members are working with "vote no"...

Heroes & zeroes. (News).
November 1, 2000... * NEA has given its 2000 Friend of Education Award to Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy for his four decades of hard work on behalf of children and public education. NEA President Bob Chase notes that every major education law passed...

Where teacher quality pays off: through legislation won by NEA's Connecticut affiliate in 1986, teachers get decent pay in return for tough--very tough--standards. (News).
November 1, 2000... When Connecticut math teacher Elise Santoro enters Ridgefield High at 6:45 a.m., she isn't the first educator in the building. And when she has to leave at 3 p.m.--instead of her usual later hour--the faculty parking lot is still mostly full....

The bottom line. (News).
November 1, 2000... CLASS SIZE: Some 23,000 schools across the nation, almost one-third of the nation's elementaries, are adding teachers to create smaller classes, with help from the new federal Class Size Reduction Program. For more: www.nea.org/lac/size. ...

Political action made a difference. (Basics for Beginners).
November 1, 2000... Why are Connecticut teachers among the best paid in the nation? Some factors: the Educational Enhancement Act (EEA) of 1986, a vibrant state economy, binding contract arbitration, and strong political action by NEA's state affiliate. ...

Do'ers profile: Doug Provencio. (News).
November 1, 2000... * Name and profession: Doug Provencio, K-12 substitute teacher * NEA local affiliate: Oakland (California) Education Association/CTA * Positions: President of the NEA Substitute Teachers Caucus, OEA executive board member, and...

Paying the price for professionalism: by sticking together and telling their stories to legislators, Delaware ESP win their largest pay increase in 20 years. (News).
November 1, 2000... The 10 food service staffers at Middletown High School in Delaware are quite proud of the quality of their baked goods, chicken cheese steaks, and subs--not to mention the fully balanced menus and range of options they offer each day to MHS's...

Delaware Paras push for training. (More to the Story).
November 1, 2000... Helping make Delaware's $1,000 ESP raise possible last spring was the NEA state affiliate's 12-member Para Issues Committee, which initiated a successful community petition recognizing paraeducators' link to student achievement. But...

The steadiest folks around. (Facts & Figures).
November 1, 2000... On average, NEA's K-12 ESP members have nearly 11 years of experience with their current employer. This employment stability means that education support personnel really know their schools. (Source: NEA National K-12 Educational Support...

Back talk. (News).
November 1, 2000... When they say: "Food service workers don't need a union." Think about this: "The first place a school district looks to cut money is the path of least resistance, which is non-union employees," stresses Lynn Lenker, president of the...

Protecting student privacy: don't use students to grade classmates' work, a federal court warns. (Rights Watch).
November 1, 2000... In a decision that may change the way many teachers do their jobs, a federal appeals court has declared illegal the practice of having students grade each other's papers. The U. S. Court or Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver ruled...

John Wilson new executive at the NEA helm: NEA's new executive director offers a vision for the future of public education based on his own classroom experiences. (Interview).
November 1, 2000... When John Wilson comes on board this month as the top staffer at NEA headquarters in Washington, D.C., the nation will be watching. It's not every day, after all, that a national organization over 2.5 million educators strong brings on a new...

Teaching about homosexuality: a new book helps dispel old myths. (Innovators).
November 1, 2000... Big misconceptions face those who teach about homosexuality, says Arthur Lipkin. Some people believe, for instance, that talking to kids about homosexuality will turn them into homosexuals or that talking about homosexuality means describing...

After-school programs boost success. (Innovators).
November 1, 2000... Young people who participate in community-based after-school programs achieve more and hold higher academic expectations, says Milbrey McLaughlin, professor of education and public policy at Stanford University. Her report, Community Counts,...

College credits take off. (Innovators).
November 1, 2000... Innovator: Dale Eash Job: Aircraft mechanics teacher, McGavock High School, Nashville, Tennessee Bright Idea: Eash is the first teacher to receive Federal Aviation Administration approval for an articulation agreement between a high...

Science and the Super Bowl. (Innovators).
November 1, 2000... Innovator: Dean Kamen Job: Founder of FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, in Manchester, New Hampshire Bright Idea: "You get what you celebrate," says Dean Kamen. "Our society celebrates sports, not...

New teacher support initiative aims at `Better Beginning'. (Innovators).
November 1, 2000... Innovator: Marilyn Nagano Schlief Job: NEA staffer working to promote quality teacher induction and mentoring Bright Idea: One of the biggest challenges facing the teaching profession may be retaining more of the new teachers who are...

Learning well by doing good: service-learning meshes with academics at this California school. (Innovators).
November 1, 2000... "When will I ever need to use this in real life?" That's a common cry from high school students bored with academic subjects. But those dreaded words are seldom heard by NEA member Nathan Ivy at Irvington High School in Fremont,...

Parents in high school. (Idea Exchange).
November 1, 2000... I keep parents involved at the high school level by inviting them to my biology class to work with their child in lab activities. This gives parents the opportunity to observe first-hand what their child is learning in class and,...

Turn into Ms. Frizzle. (Idea Exchange).
November 1, 2000... Here's a tip on how to look like Ms. Frizzle of The Magic School Bus without having to spend a lot of money on your wardrobe. Cut out designs in felt (such as trees showing the four seasons, the water cycle, life cycle of a frog) and...

Hanging student work. (Idea Exchange).
November 1, 2000... I have painted cinder block walls in my classroom, and I found that charts stay on the wall better with hot glue than with stick tack. To display student work, I hot glued clothespins to the wall in alternating rows. I glued my students'...

What do you do when a student is sick and can't go home or to a nurse's office? (Dilemma).
November 1, 2000... When a child in my class gets sick and we cannot get in touch with anyone, and there is no nurse's office, I set the child up in the back of my room with bean bags and pillows. More than likely the child will fall asleep until someone can...

To Mexico, in search of roots: North Carolina teachers visit the homeland of a growing number of students and return with some unexpected lessons. (Learning).
November 1, 2000... North Carolina English teacher Victoria Greene-Epps traveled to Mexico last summer, and brought back a lot more than tourist shots. She came away better prepared to engage her Hispanic students in learning. Just one example: In teaching...

How I did it. (Learning).
November 1, 2000... I became concerned when I realized that there aren't a lot of workshops for elementary teachers in science and math. So I created professional development workshops to provide K-5 teachers with new ways to teach these subjects. It's too...

How do you handle disruptive students? (Dilemma).
November 1, 2000... We all have those students in our rooms who make it their mission in life to disrupt the teaching and learning process. I believe they do this because they see us as teachers, not as individuals. When the school year begins, I identify...

Engaging older students in `reading for understanding': a new resource helps educators improve the more advanced reading skills needed by middle and high school students. (Reading).
November 1, 2000... In middle school or high school, a student who knows only how to read individual words does not meet the definition of a "good reader." At the secondary level, a good reader needs to be able to question, summarize, clarify, and predict, based...

How to ... build a multicultural library. (Reading).
November 1, 2000... November marks Native American History Month, and National Children's Book Week is November 13-19. To honor both, Joseph Bruchac--Abenaki storyteller, publisher, and children's book author--shares his thoughts on enriching your bookshelf with...

Why aren't girls more tech savvy? Girls blow off the high-end computer culture because it doesn't incorporate their interests. How--and why--the computer culture needs to change. (Inside Scoop).
November 1, 2000... In 1998, the American Association of University Women report, Gender Gap, revealed that while young women are taking math and science classes in almost equal numbers to young men, they're lagging behind in participating in computer science...

ESP take the lead on school safety: school staff focuses on being prepared for all emergencies. (Teamwork).
November 1, 2000... To Rene Medcalf, school safety is a feeling. "When I was a kid, school always felt like the safest place I could be outside of my home. But it wasn't feeling that way anymore. I just wanted kids today to feel as safe in school as I did when I...

Going the extra mile. (ESP On The Team).
November 1, 2000... Last May, Angie Dykema, Michelle Chamberlain and June Stansbery, all members of the Vergennes ESP unit of the Addison Northwest Teachers Association, ran across a small item in the Vermont-NEA newsletter that piqued their interest. NEA...

Getting to know us. (Team Player).
November 1, 2000... Name: Sue Caron Job Title: education technician Background: Last March, Caron wrote a full-page article for an issue of the Maine Educator, the publication of the Maine Education Association. In the article, Caron told about her workday...

Resources.
November 1, 2000... Making Our Schools Safer Increasingly, school districts are looking outside for information about making schools safer. Here's a source. Classroom Killers? Hallway Hostages? How Schools Can Prevent and Manage School Crises is a new...

Sights and sounds of nature. (Nature: in sight and sound).
November 1, 2000... I work with home independent study students, providing weekly small group/classroom experiences in science for fourth to sixth graders. We did an owl pellet investigation activity, and I located several sites which greatly enhanced our...

And now, the news. (Nature: in sight and sound).
November 1, 2000... Increasingly, schools around the country are offering video production and television broadcasting classes to their students. From small daily newscasts to sophisticated, state-of-the-art film productions, more and more schools are embracing...

Help with History. (Nature: in sight and sound).
November 1, 2000... There's a valuable resource designed to help world history teachers tap into the power of the Internet. It is called Historylink101.com, a site that divides each culture/time period into six main categories: art, biographies, daily life,...

My favorite Web site. ((Tips For The Wired Classroom)).
November 1, 2000... I've created a math page where students can find organized, easy-to-understand help with algebra. There are explanations, examples, and practice problems with hints and answers. Go to: www.homestead.com/stroh /mathpage.html. Eric, Stroh...

Bytes for beginners. (Tips For The Wired Classroom).
November 1, 2000... My students are turning in various assignments that sometimes make use of music saved in something called the "MP3 format." I've been told that this is a violation of copyright. Is this true? First, let's define MP3. MP3 stands for MPEG...

A decade of AIDS awareness: what have students learned? (Health & Fitness).
November 1, 2000... Schools have traditionally played a major role in providing health education to young people. So when the need to educate about HIV/AIDS emerged, public schools quickly came to play a major role. Here's how, as two NEA Health Information...

Zen and the art of biking. (Health & Fitness).
November 1, 2000... For this NEA member, regular exercise all started with a high cholesterol reading years ago. His doctor prescribed exercise. So Steve Sliwinski hit the road, on his bike. Steve Sliwinski, the sole secondary art teacher for northern...

Quick tips. (Health & Fitness).
November 1, 2000... "When biking, pay attention to the shorts. Padded shorts can bring comfort to the most sensitive, tender part of your core, and when it's happy, you'll be happy. There are lots of cycling shorts besides the lycra, show-it-all style. Terry, a...

From the NEA health information network. (NEA HIN).
November 1, 2000... * Help Kids Identify Their `Anti-Drug" Help students identify that something special in their lives that stands between them and drugs--sports, art, family, or friends. The What's Your Anti-Drug Partner Participation Pack offers seven...

And the Grammy goes to ...: a choral music teacher experiences the thrill of her teaching career. (People).
November 1, 2000... As a dedicated College Park, Maryland, music teacher with 35 years in the classroom, Betty Scott thought little of Grammys and Academy Awards. But that all changed last February, when Scott floated across the stage of the 42nd Grammy...

Getting her prime-time fame. (People).
November 1, 2000... "The CBS Early Show" knows people are interested in people. That's the premise behind the network's popular Friday segment called "Everybody Has a Story'--profiles of everyday Americans who are picked at random from the phone book, videotaped...

Better than bowling. (People).
November 1, 2000... In 1989, Earl Ziemann--then 26 years old--was reaching his "prime" in the bowling world. He ranked 33rd in the world, traveled the nation, and earned a living playing the sport he loved. That's when Ziemann says he did what any sensible...

Teaching's real McCoys. (People).
November 1, 2000... In nearly a combined century of teaching, Emma and Lottie McCoy have seen a lot--nearly all of it in distant lands. From Pakistan to Bermuda, the two sisters have traveled the world over, learning exotic languages, exploring new cultures, and...

Not just for the sport of it. (People).
November 1, 2000... Baseball fans, take heart: Juiced-up baseballs are not behind the increase in homeruns hit this past season. That's the finding that comes out of NEA member Jim Sherwood's work as part of the Mechanical Engineering department at the...

Will Standards Save Public Education? (A High-Stakes Debate).
November 1, 2000... WILL STANDARDS SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION? By Deborah Meier Beacon Press, 104 pp., $12, www.beacon.org/spring00.html If anyone in America can claim success in helping low-income children get an education, it's Deborah Meier, former head of the...

TV tips. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... Animated Epics: Beowulf HBO Family, December, Check Local Listings This animated presentation tells the story of the epic struggles of the great 6th-Century Scandinavian warrior who faced three mortal enemies: the monster Grendel,...

Books by NEA members. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... The War in I Corps By Richard A. Guidry Vietnam veteran Richard Guidry tells the story of what it was like on the battlefield, as a young Black Marine from Texas. Currently a history teacher at Highland High in Palmdale, California, Guidry...

Free or inexpensive. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... Comic Relief Take a light-hearted approach to the struggles of school life with The Little Giant Book of School Jokes. Covering every subject from English to math, homework, classmates, and silly sports nonsense, this silly book will...

New from the NEA professional library. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... Innovative Discipline Sabrina Holcomb and Marina Michalski, Editors 96pp., $9.95 #2916-X-00-FN In this book, you'll find stories from teachers across the country illustrating, step-by-step, how they tackled a specific discipline...

Announcements. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... 2001 UniServ Affirmative Action Program NEA is seeking minority and female candidates for the 2001 UniServ Intern Program. Individuals who successfully complete the four-and-a-half week training program and the three-month field...

Awards/grants. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... Woodrow Wilson Science Institutes The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation is offering science teachers, grades 6-12, the opportunity to study biological or environmental science at residential summer institutes at Princeton...

Web winners. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... Call Outs Some online resources are just plain handy. Like this Area Code Listing, by Number site, which lets you identify major cities by, of course, area code. A reverse-tracking tool. Go to: www.cs.ucsd.edu/ ~bsy/area.html. Fraud...

American Education Week: November 12-18. (Resources).
November 1, 2000... "Children-Schools-Parents: Helping Students Achieve" is the theme for this year's celebration of American Education Week (AEW). ESP Day is Nov. 15, a day especially set aside to spotlight the work of NEA's school support staff members. Go to...

Calendar. (Diversity).
November 1, 2000... January, 2001 Epiphany, January 6 Epiphany, also called the Twelfth Day, is celebrated 12 days after Christmas. Epiphany means "dawning of light" and commemorates the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus, who would later...

What can I count on? It's your life, insure it! (Money).
November 1, 2000... Q: What kind of investment returns should I expect? A: Most people expect too much. It's not difficult to see why. For the four years from the beginning of 1995 through the end of 1998, the U.S. stock market, as measured by the Standard &...

Thrifty educator. (Money).
November 1, 2000... This month's tips come from NEA members Mary Baker, a Waterbury, Connecticut, second grade teacher, and Patricia Butchko, a first grade teacher from Scottsdale, Arizona. Baker: "I recently received a plant holder as a personal gift. But...

Memberometer. (Money).
November 1, 2000... In FY 1999-2000, over 10,000 NEA members traveled over 4.2 million miles in cars rented through the NEA Car Rental Program.

Heads up from NEA member benefits. (Money).
November 1, 2000... Calculators Online If you're puzzled about how much home you can afford to buy, try the "Financing Calculator" pages on the NEA Member Benefits Web site. The calculation will take only a few seconds, after some personal financial data is...

`Yeah, that's the one!'. (in the Light Lane).
November 1, 2000... When students are absent or late, they must bring in a letter from home or have a parent call to excuse their absence. One girl came in after missing a half day and reported to the attendance office as required. The girl said she was late...

In jeopardy.
November 1, 2000... After studying the Southeast region of the United States, I reviewed the chapter with my fourth grade students by playing a game of "Jeopardy." One of the categories in the game was "A Growing Region." I called on a student to pick a...