GLOBAL
AllAfrica. South Africa: Children With Disabilities Must Be Part of Nation Building The vice-chancellor said that UCT would continue their work in the field through an accredited research unit, Including Disability Education in Africa (IDEA). This will provide in-depth analysis of TEDI’s data on teacher empowerment, disability inclusion, and the overall landscape of teacher education to support disability inclusion.
Education Cannot Wait. Education Cannot Wait Interviews Karina Gould, Canada’s Minister of International Development Ensuring that teachers are well-trained and equipped to instruct children who have or are living through a crisis; that curricula and learning materials reflect relevant cultural realities and do not perpetuate negative gender norms…
Global Partnership for Education. Global Partnership for Education provides US$130 million to support education in Guinea, Niger and Somalia The Federal Government of Somalia will receive US$9.2 million to increase access to quality preschool education, including in existing Quranic schools, build or renovate 700 classrooms to welcome out-of-school children, including those with disabilities, train head teachers, review the curriculum to improve learning outcomes, and conduct annual exams for Grade 8 students.
UNITED STATES
Education Week. Future Teachers Mistake Black Students as ‘Angry’ More Than White Students, Study Shows In this study, researchers studied 178 prospective teachers who were enrolled in education programs at three southeastern universities. Most of the future teachers in the study were white women, which is in line with the national teaching force.
Hechinger Report.
1) TEACHER VOICE: ‘Before teaching Algebra 2, I was an EMT, a Starbucks barista and a real estate agent. I learned to treat people with compassion’ To address these issues, our education system must equip teachers with the tools they need to teach young people how to ask for help through social-emotional support. Unfortunately, many teacher-training programs don’t offer these kinds of skills. I completed my bachelor’s degree last year, and never once did I have any kind of professional development that addressed social-emotional learning.
2) TEACHER VOICE: Reimagine schools?: Three priorities for schools as they make plans to reopen: personhood, relationships and equity
We must widen our starting points [By E. Shieh TC EdM ’10, EdD ‘20] In my school, many of my students with special needs and my emergent bilingual students struggled mightily with remote learning’s extraordinary challenges. So, too, did students who suffered depression from long hours spent alone at home, as well as the trauma of sickness and death. We need to be ready to say, more than we ever have before, how we are prepared to serve these students better.
NYTimes. Most Big School Districts Aren’t Ready to Reopen. Here’s Why: All but two of the nation’s 10 largest districts exceed a key public health threshold, according to a New York Times analysis. But fully staffing the Broward school system to maintain social distancing between students and staff members would require at least $230 million in new funding, Mr. Runcie said, because of the need to hire thousands of additional teachers to reduce class sizes to an average of 14 students.
Washington Post.
1) How to teach in these troubled times: A trauma expert’s advice for educators But, as we approach fall and the transition back to school, in whatever forms that takes, teachers who do not share students’ racial identities and the trauma of racism — white teachers like me — must commit to anti-racism so we can bring awareness, advocacy and the keenest compassion to supporting students.
2) School in a coffee shop? A different approach to teaching and learning during the pandemic. University of Georgia professor Stephanie Jones takes the idea of unconventional learning settings even further … a professor in the department of Educational Theory and Practice. She is a former elementary school teacher and has worked in teacher education for 20 years…
Yahoo News. Maintaining the Teacher Pipeline During a Public Health Crisis and Beyond: Scaffolding teacher prep with student avatars, virtual classrooms and live coaching. The Danielson Group and Mursion joined forces to support teacher preparation programs and school leaders in preparing teachers to lead engaging, student-focused learning experiences …
NEW YORK STATE
NYSBA. So Much More Than a Teachable Moment [by B. Rosa, Chancellor, New York State Board of Regents] …the Regents and I have for so long worked to make the teaching of civics and civic engagement an integral part of what is taught in New York’s schools. It is particularly important for our schools to take on this role now – because we have an administration in Washington now that is fomenting a hateful culture war designed to pull us down and drive us apart, rather than lift us up and draw us together.
NYSED.
1) State Education Department Issues Guidance to Reopen New York State Schools As schools and school districts create their plans for the 2020-21 school year, they must ensure that all teachers, school and district leaders and pupil personnel service professionals hold a valid and appropriate certificate for their assignment; can continue to utilize incidental teaching when determining how to staff their classrooms; can employ substitute teachers to address staffing needs for the allowable amount of days given their qualifications and teaching assignment; should work with educator preparation programs to identify appropriate ways in which student teachers can support classroom instruction…
2) Shortened Semester Flexibility for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 Semesters At its July 13, 2020 meeting, the NYS Board of Regents approved an amendment to Section 145-2.1(a)(i) and (ii) of the Commissioner’s Regulations to permit NYS colleges and universities to shorten the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters from a minimum of 15 weeks to no less than 12 weeks without impacting a student’s eligibility for NYS financial aid.
NYSED Office of Teaching Initiatives. Emergency COVID-19 Certificate The Emergency COVID-19 certificate is available for candidates who are seeking one of the following certificates that require exam(s): Initial or Professional certificate in the classroom teaching service, Initial or Professional certificate in the educational leadership service (School Building Leader, School District Leader, School District Business Leader), Initial Reissuance, Teaching Assistant certificate, School Administrator and Supervisor (SAS) Provisional Renewal, Supplementary certificate, Transitional A certificate through the Option B pathway, Transitional B certificate, Transitional C certificate, or Transitional D certificate.
NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. This award-winning NYC music teacher had her students making podcasts during the pandemic One day, I was sent to a neighborhood school to do a short demo lesson for first-graders… At the end of that lesson, the teacher and the paraprofessional grabbed me and informed me that her young boy was not usually as engaged as he was with me, and he really loved my lesson. They thought I was going to make a “wonderful music teacher.” That little boy has never left my heart! From that day forward, dropping the music ed major was no longer an option for me.
Teachers College.
1) Re-Imagining: The Arts in a Time of Reckoning [by TC Prof. J. Burton] Perhaps, if we are willing to look, we will also find a way to prepare teachers to traverse disciplinary boundaries, confront the unique and complex challenges of our time, and infuse their pedagogy with bold and imaginative practices that respect and deepen the natural inclinations of human minds.
2) Telling Young People Better Stories About Themselves: At TC’s Reimagining Education Institute, Lisa Delpit demands narratives that ‘uncover students’ brilliance’ “We have to create better relationships between students and teachers,” she said. “The students have to feel they belong to the school club. And we have to help the teachers show students they are welcome, celebrated and a vital component of every school day in every school classroom.”
