NEA Today articles from September 2000

NEA Today archives from September 2000

The Real Choice.(school vouchers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... When it comes to making a choice, America's parents, in overwhelming numbers, choose public schools. As the political campaigns heat up in the weeks ahead, expect "school choice" to become a big issue from coast to coast. We know...

Subbing: A Most Wonderful Time.(Gail Dawson-White )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... A Pennsylvanian finds subbing so rewarding, she's decided to teach full time. February 1999. I quit my job as a vice president in community development banking. For the previous 25 years I had worked in social services and banking, but...

Editor's Note.
September 1, 2000... Welcome to a brand new school year! As you page through this first issue of the year, you'll find just a few major changes in the organization and design of NEA Today. You'll notice, for starters, that we've expanded our health coverage,...

Getting Help from Home.(utilization of parents in education)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... As you launch into a new school year, don't forget one of your most important resources for student success: parents! Take a lesson from NEA members who know: Parents aren't just for permission slips anymore. In theory, everybody...

Is school fundraising worth the time and effort?(for teachers)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... yes Teachers are tired of being nursemaids, secretaries, janitors, medical technicians, wardens, bookkeepers, and vendors. Bell time is often consumed with what seems like a hundred housekeeping tasks. The last thing we need is the...

It's Time to Uncork the Bottle.(educational legislature analysis)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... This Congress has bottled up legislation vital to children and public education, like common-sense gun control. We need to elect new people. If you need just one reason to put pro-education people in Congress and the White House this...

`We'll Be One, With One Voice'.(National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... In Florida and Montana, state affiliates of NEA and the American Federation of Teachers have moved closer together over the past decade, overcoming rivalry to battle against never-ending attacks on public education. Step by step, the...

Heroes & Zeroes.(Education Support Personnel Organization celebrates anniversary)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... (a) This year, these and 20,000 other members of the Education Support Personnel Organization--an arm of the Alabama Education Association--are celebrating ESPO's 25th anniversary. And they've got a lot to celebrate. Back in 1975, Alabama ESP...

My Story Is This: Utah Students Deserve More.(Utah educational system opinion)
September 1, 2000... By going public, Utah NEA members win one of the largest school funding increases in a decade. At first glance, professional life couldn't be better for Utah first grade teacher Tom Little and his teaching team colleagues Linda Page,...

THE BOTTOM LINE.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... CRIME: Sending youthful offenders into the adult criminal justice system increases their rearrest rate as much as 50 percent, note new studies in Florida, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania. For more: www. aypf.org/mendel/index.html. ...

Do'ers Profile.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... * Name and profession: Barbara Keim, high school business teacher * NEA local affiliate: Billings (Montana) Education Association * Latest accomplishment: Earlier this year, Keim ended a seven-year term on Montana's Board of Public...

Earning Respect Through Numbers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... With grassroots lobbying, Kentucky ESP win new supporters -- and passage of eight key bills. Educational support personnel in Daviess County, Kentucky, were awestruck. There on a video--made by their NEA state affiliate--was state...

IN THEIR OWN WORDS.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... "Many of the schools couldn't operate without classified employees. When you walk into the schools, the halls are shining and the walls are clean. These folks play an important role in the dignity of these children." --Kentucky State...

YOUR DUES DID IT.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... * Thanks a Million: NEA's Read Across America team thanks all members who made Read Across America a success this year--enlisting more than 25 million people in this reading celebration. To learn more about what's been happening, go to...

KUDOS TO ...(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... ... The Louisiana Association of Educators led a broad coalition--including the Associated Grocers, Inc.--in "shutting down" a bill authorizing school boards to use state dollars to contract out food services. "We did so much damage," says...

Latest Supreme Court Rulings Raise Questions for Schools.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Church-state and gay rights decisions will impact local districts. In three closely watched cases decided last June, the Supreme Court struck down student-led prayer at high school football games, upheld the Boy Scouts' right to...

Janell Byrd-Chichester Segregation: Then and Now.(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 1, 2000... School segregation is again on the rise, nearly 50 years after the Supreme Court ruled it illegal In 1954, the Supreme Court declared in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka that laws separating the races in school are...

Networking to Improve Schools For Poor Kids.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... This educator is building foundations that link schools and community. In 1974, 24-year-old Wendy Puriefoy was just out of graduate school and planning to teach colonial history in college. But Boston was struggling with court-ordered...

Treating the After-Effects of Violence.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Innovator: Robert Pynoos Job: Director, Trauma Psychiatry Program, University of California, Los Angeles Bright Idea: Pynoos estimates that 3 percent to 7 percent of middle and high school students in highcrime areas have witnessed...

Support Personnel Job Descriptions Made Clearer.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Innovator: Tita Ferriol Job: NEA staffer working with the NEA Job Description and Evaluation Task Force Bright Idea: Ferriol has been developing a manual for education support personnel that focuses on results-oriented job...

Truancy KO'd in Washington.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Innovators: Joann Maynard Karen Anderson Job: Kindergarten teacher and library technician, respectively, Franklin Elementary School, Port Angeles, Washington Bright Idea: Round One started for Joann Maynard with a complaint from one...

Seeing 20/20 Isn't Enough.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Students who see "clearly" may still have vision problems that affect learning. "Behavioral optometry," which focuses on how children see, not what they see, can help, says Dr. William Moskowitz, a leading behavioral optometrist from...

New Teachers Find a Friend.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Kentucky educators can turn to a full-time professional development staffer--funded by the district, selected by the local Association. The concept of teachers taking charge of their profession has hit some lofty new heights in Jefferson...

How I Did It.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... June Karr Preschool special needs teacher Fairview, West Virginia I love to cook and bake, so I started "Patti Cake Bakers" to encourage learning and raise self-esteem in my developmentally delayed preschool students at Watson Elementary....

[DILEMMA].(Support for new teachers)
September 1, 2000... How do you make life easier for a new teacher? When I mentored a fifth grade teacher, I helped her by continually anticipating anything that could catch her off guard during the day. I made a list of these potential pitfalls and gave it...

What Makes a Quality School?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The staff and students of Maryland's Walkersville Middle School know, and they have the KEYS to make it happen. Four years ago, Walkersville Middle School in Maryland's Frederick County received low ratings--from its own staff. On a...

Idea Exchange.(Teaching techniques)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Social Studies Hoops My students really enjoy reviewing for a social studies test by playing this game. Place a basket against the wall and stick pieces of tape on the floor, starting close to the basket and then going further back....

Real Teachers ...
September 1, 2000... "Real Teachers... watch Star Wars: Episode One and jot down trivia for bonus questions or anticipatory sets at the beginning of class." --Ellen Levy, middle school teacher, Buffalo Grove, Illinois

`Oh, The Places You'll Go!'.(2001 Read Across America campaign)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... That's the theme for the 2001 Read Across America campaign, the NEA project that's stirring up year-round interest in reading. More than 23 million children and adults celebrated the joy of reading and Dr. Seuss's birthday last March 2 as...

HOW TO ... LINE UP AUTHOR VISITS.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Inviting "real-live authors" to visit your school or classroom can add an exciting chapter to a young reader's life. With enough advance notice, most authors are willing to tailor their presentations to meet your needs. Here's how to...

The Wealth Factor.(Socioeconomics and educational achievement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... A sociologist says racial differences in family assets, not culture, explain achievement gaps in school performance. Over recent years, magazines and newspapers have run a variety of articles that explore why middle-class Black children...

Alabama Support Staff Create Bus Safety Program.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... A giant turtle helps spread the word about bus safety in Dothan, Alabama Six years ago, Alabama bus driver Jeanene Stremski returned from NEA's annual ESP conference with an inspiration. She had seen a presentation about a bus safety...

NEA's ESP Tech Grants.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... NEA's ESP Technology Grants are designed to help local affiliates use online resources to become more effective and to help restore public confidence in public education. Applications for the next cycle of grants will be due in the spring,...

Going the Extra Mile.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Food has become a vital part of education, "because a lot of kids don't get what they need at home," says Rosemarie Wood, head cook at Sedgwick (Maine) Elementary. "Sometimes the kids just don't want to eat when the bus comes early in...

Out From Under the Thumb.(School cafeteria management)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Name: Helen Loop Job Title: Head cook and custodian at LeRoy Elementary in Michigan's Pine River School District What I do: From 7 a.m., when we start making breakfast, to 1:30 p.m., when we finish serving lunch, I'm in the...

RESOURCES.
September 1, 2000... A new approach to job descriptions If you work in an educational support personnel position but have no job description --or have a job description that has very little in common with your actual job --you're not alone. This situation is...

Investor Dilemma: Try the New Or Stick With Tried and True.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Q: I'm a beginning investor. Should I be investing in the old economy or the new economy? A: Excellent question. These terms have come into vogue this year as investors try to explain the split in the performance of different sectors of...

Thrifty Educator.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... This month's tips come from Marilyn LaPorte, mklaporte@hotmail.com, a computer literacy and earth science teacher at Merrill Middle School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and from Valerie L. Townsend, vtownsend@imail.valpo.k12.in.us, a fifth grade...

Heads Up from NEA Member Benefits.(National Education Association)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Members planning to travel this year have a new resource for car rental: Alamo. The NEA Car Rental Program introduced Alamo Rent A Car, LLC, as an additional provider for NEA members earlier this year. NEA members 21 years and older can...

A Web Site for Reflection.(Online services for teachers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Virtual Visits in History This site offers a panoramic virtual visit to the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles where world leaders met to sign the Peace Treaty ending WWI. It's a stunning view for history students, and I've used...

Bytes for Beginners.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Occasionally, when surfing the Web, I come across content that's labeled PDF formatted. What exactly does this mean and why can't my browser view it? The acronym PDF stands for "Portable Document Format" and was developed by Adobe...

People.(Fiftieth National Teacher of the Year Marilyn Whirry)
September 1, 2000... The Nation's Top Teacher The Fiftieth National Teacher of the Year is a veteran of 35 years in the classroom. Her 145 AP English students know not to expect the ordinary from this imaginative teacher. Marilyn Whirry's passion for...

Keeping Kids Out of Trouble During After-School Hours.
September 1, 2000... If kids are going to get in trouble, it's often between 3 and 7 p.m. Rena Large of the NEA Health Information Network looks at a possible solution: model after-school programs that include anti-drug messages and teach that substance abuse...

Starting Block by Block, She Now Goes the Extra Mile.(Mary Heil-Allen, teacher, interview)(Interview)
September 1, 2000... "I've fought the battle of the bulge my entire life," says high school teacher Mary Heil-Allen. "Then, at 5 a.m. one rainy February morning five years ago, I started walking." "The first weeks were painful," says Mary Heil-Allen, a...

Quick Tip.(weightlifting advice)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... "When considering body-shaping goals, think in terms of months rather than weeks or days. The most common reason given for abandoning a fitness routine is that you don't see results quickly enough." "You need patience, patience, and more...

From the NEA Health Information Network.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... * New Partnership for Women's Health The NEA Health Information Network is partnering with Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, to distribute Healthy Women Healthy Lives. This new grassroots women's health program...

The 2000 NEA Representative Assembly.(National Education Association)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... At NEA's annual convention, held this year in Chicago, delegates pledge to protect kids and public schools. William Wagner won't be competing in the Olympics this September. But for a week this past July, as a delegate to the annual NEA...

THE END OF HOMEWORK How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning.(Review)
September 1, 2000... THE END OF HOMEWORK How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning By Etta Kralovec and John Buell, $20, Beacon Press, 128 pages, www.beacon.org In this brief but fresh look at the practice of homework,...

BOOKS by NEA Members.(Review)
September 1, 2000... E-Mail Essentials: A Basic Guide to E-mail Style ($9.95), How To Search the Web ($12.95), and Getting the Young Child Started on the Web ($12.95), (Best of the Web Series) Edited By Robert Want These guides help students and educators who...

FREE OR INEXPENSIVE.(Review)
September 1, 2000... Middle School Survival Too Old for This, Too Young for That is for students entering the exciting and confusing middle school. Organized around seven survival tips, the guide covers topics ranging from getting braces to dealing with...

TVTIPS.(Review)
September 1, 2000... The City (La Ciudad) PBS, Friday, September 22, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET. Check local listings. Filmmaker David Riker cast non-actors in "The City," using each person's own true story in this film about New York's Latin American...

The Multicultural Resource Series: Resources for a Multicultural Classroom.(Review)
September 1, 2000... The Multicultural Resource Series: Resources for a Multicultural Classroom Martha Green, Joyce Blakley, Sybille Scott, Deborah Stuart, Gene-Tey Shin, and Paul Gorski, Editors 296 pp., $18.95, #2012-X-00-F If you're ready to make...

FREE OR INEXPENSIVE.(Review)
September 1, 2000... Lead the Way The Leader's Guide, Student Handbook, and Assignment Sheets make up The Grand-friends Project series. Martin Kimeldorf's material prepares students for their first visit to a care facility and guides them in the unfolding...

WEB WINNERS.(web site, directory)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Faces of Hope www.facesofhope.org Faces of Hope is a nationally recognized breast cancer awareness group. This Web site offers general health care information as well as materials for educational purposes. Exhibits for conference-style...

ANNOUNCEMENTS.(web sites)
September 1, 2000... World Teacher's Day Commemoration Education International (EI) links more than 20 million educators who are members of educator unions worldwide, including NEA's 2.5 million members. EI recently announced a new section on its Web site in...

in the Light Lane.(letters)
September 1, 2000... Not Quite Right For weeks, we had read the book and watched stellar cinematic performances by Brock Peters and Gregory Peck. We discussed, acted out short parts, and wrote about the story. I was thrilled at how much my students loved one...