Month: November 2020

GLOBAL
Education International. The Global Climate Literacy Campaign   … the world is way off track to include climate change education in education policies and frameworks, curriculum, teacher training and assessment. Recent monitoring shows that efforts to mainstream climate education across these four areas have been patchy and insufficient.

The Conversation.
1) Saying more with less: 4 ways grammatical metaphor improves academic writing   But the term “grammatical metaphor” is not explicitly used in the Australian Curriculum: English and is less known in school settings… This calls for more attention to professional learning in this area for teachers and in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs. This will help equip student teachers and practising teachers with pedagogical content knowledge to teach and prepare their students to write effectively in a variety of contexts.
2) Victoria is boosting disability support in schools by A$1.6 billion. Here are 4 ways to make the most of it   4. Ensure these changes are sustained To ensure the education system sustains these changes, our future teachers need to be included. The state government should partner with organisations offering teacher education in Victoria.

Washington Post. Mexico arrests soldier in missing students case  Mexican authorities arrested the first military officer in connection with the investigation into the 2014 disappearance of 43 students from a teachers’ college in southern Mexico.

 

UNITED STATES
CT Post. Teacher shortage has Connecticut turning to college students   The NextGen Educators program is a partnership between the state Department of Education and Central Connecticut State University, which this week placed 18 of its education students in Bristol’s elementary schools to work as apprentice teachers. Officials said the program is recruiting CCSU students from diverse backgrounds, in an effort to give schoolchildren of color role models who look like them and increase the number of educators of color in the state by about 1,000

Education Week. Schools Grapple With Substitute Teacher Shortages, Medical Leave Requests, Survey Finds   One of the biggest challenges is finding substitute teachers to fill in for teachers who are absent or on medical leave. The demand is outpacing the supply, and the quality of those applying for substitute teacher positions is a concern in many school districts, the survey found.

InsideHigherEd.
1) A College Professor as First Lady.  …she attended classes at night, and while it took 15 years, she earned master’s degrees in becoming a reading specialist and in English. At 55, she also earned a doctorate in education leadership from the University of Delaware.
2) In Reversal, USF Will Keep Some Undergrad Education Programs   “While changes are needed at USF after a 63 percent drop in the college’s undergraduate enrollment over the past decade, we intend to continue offering carefully selected undergraduate degrees in education, though likely fewer than the nine baccalaureate degrees, 15 majors, five minors and 18 concentrations currently available,” the statement says.

New York Times.
1) Live Webinar: How to Teach Review Writing With The New York Times  Join us on December 3 as we introduce our Student Review Contest and share mentor texts and strategies for teaching review writing.
2) Roger Jepsen, Senator From Iowa and Reagan Ally, Dies at 91   Roger graduated from high school in 1945 and attended Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) for a year. After Army service in 1946-47, he attended Arizona State University in Tempe, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1950 and a master’s in guidance counseling in 1953.

NPR Education. How Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Will Be Remembered   TEACH Grant…in one of the more surprising moves of DeVos’ tenure, the Education Department sided with teachers and not only worked to improve the program, but officially apologized for its failings (even though they were not the fault of the Trump administration) and created a path to make things right, ultimately helping more than 6,500 teachers shed their debts.

The 74. D.C. Sees Warning Signs Teachers are Considering Leaving Jobs Amid Weeks of Uncertainty, Stress Over How District Will Open Schools   “Ensuring we have excellent educators in every classroom remains a top priority,” a spokesman said. He added the district has received a $30 million federal grant that “will focus on prioritizing recruitment, rethinking teacher preparation [and] enhancing professional development.”

Washington Post. Progressive education hard to pin down because it’s everywhere   Its most famous advocate was John Dewey, a philosopher and psychologist whose first book on the subject was published in 1897. Progressive education has influenced millions of teachers around the world. Many education schools remain committed to its principles, although they are sometimes criticized for that.

 

NEW YORK STATE
Miami University. Jason Lane named dean of Miami’s College of Education, Health and Society   Jason Lane, dean of the School of Education and professor of Educational Policy & Leadership at the University at Albany, will become dean of Miami University’s College of Education, Health and Society (EHS) on June 1.

 

NEW YORK CITY
Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Educator Preparation Programs Lead the Way for Racial and Social Justice for All [OpEd by J. Easley, Dean, Touro College]   …educator preparation programs must: 1) redesign curriculums centered on racial and social justice; 2) model and impart skills needed for educators to engage in inquiry, instruction, and advocacy for educational equity; and, 3) provide greater access for minority aspirants to address the current rate of racial teacher disparity. 

GLOBAL
Microsoft. Australia’s first NAIDOC Minecraft Education Challenge brings traditional stories to life through mixed reality and Minecraft Education   Delivered in partnership with Indigenous Digital Excellence (IDX), an initiative co-founded by the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) and Telstra Foundation, the Challenge celebrates and promotes a better understanding of our shared history, and builds respect and recognition of the unique place Australia’s first peoples have in this country. By bringing together community elders and stories, cultural training, teacher training and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, the challenge can be delivered in a culturally appropriate way in a school environment.

OECD. Global Teaching InSights: A video study of teaching

Sarajevo Times. EU continues to help BiH to improve its Education System with €2.6 million   The increasingly different needs and expectations of teaching staff have led to the diversification of teacher training needs, thus the project will further improve human resources in the education sector, which will include teacher training and capacity building of education staff. The project will also help develop new study programmes and curricula for teacher training colleges based on learning outcomes, which will include modern teaching methodologies and key competencies, according to the adopted qualification and professional standards for teachers.

The World Bank. From Crèche to Classroom: Exploring Possibilities for Integration in Sri Lanka’s Early Years Services   The World Bank-funded Early Childhood Development (ECD) project, being implemented island-wide by the SMWCDPPESIES, aims to enhance equitable access to and improve the quality of ECCE services. It seeks to do this by facilitating teacher training, improving facilities, devising assessments for child development, creating a common registration framework for ECD centers, and introducing a management information system for ECCE services, among other activities.

 

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) AACTE Survey Results: How Does Your Program Compare to Others?   To learn how COVID-19 and the racial injustice crisis have impacted educator preparation—and the steps EPPs are taking in response—AACTE conducted a survey this fall of its members. 
2) Board of Directors Approves New Committee Appointments
3) Video Observation Technology Implementation Grant Program [Applications due Dec. 7]

Billings Gazette. Solving Montana’s teacher shortage   The Montana Rural Teacher Project is determined to solve Montana’s teacher shortage by paying Montanans to pursue a Masters in Teaching and helping them land a job educating Montana’s future leaders.

EdSurge. University Scholars Plant Seeds In a New Field of Study: Early Childhood Policy   … most college programs that address early childhood education still focus on classroom teaching, not policy. Meanwhile, political support for early childhood education tends to simply create new programs rather than ensure existing ones are high-quality, equitable, sustainable and efficient, says Sharon Lynn Kagan, co-director of the National Center for Children & Families at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

EdTrust. Is Your State Prioritizing Teacher Diversity & Equity?   Use the tool below to learn about promising educator diversity policy practices across the country, review each state’s educator diversity data and policy profile, and see how your state rates against other state profiles… *Invest in educator preparation programs to increase enrollment and improve the preparation of teachers of color

EdWeek.
1) ‘One of Your Own in the White House’: A History of Teacher First Ladies and Presidents   Jill Biden, who holds a doctorate degree in education, has taught for more than three decades at a public high school, a psychiatric hospital for adolescents, and community colleges… Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-69): Johnson earned his teaching certificate at Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now known as Texas State University-San Marcos). He got a teaching job in Cotulla, Texas, a small town on the Mexican border. 
2) Training Bias Out of Teachers: Research Shows Little Promise So Far   Student-teachers, in a separate study, were more likely to view Black children’s expressions as “angry” compared to those of white children.

InsideHigherEd. University of Wyoming Cutting 80 Jobs   A handful of programs are on the chopping block, including … the master of science in teaching in chemistry; the master of arts in teaching in history; the bachelor’s program in secondary French, German and Spanish education…

National Review [OpEd] We Need to Change Teacher Training   It has been evident for decades that our schools of education — those college programs that aspiring teachers must usually complete if they want to become certified — do a poor job. Those schools were long ago overrun by educational theorists who disdain knowledge but love the idea of using schools to shape young minds as they believe they should be shaped.

NYTimes. What Biden’s Election Could Mean for Student Loans.  The federal government is the primary lender for students who borrow money for college and graduate school, and the Education Department directly holds more than $1.4 trillion in student debt…Mr. Biden said he would create yet another forgiveness plan for workers in schools, government and other nonprofit organizations. For each year of service, workers would be eligible to have $10,000 of their undergraduate or graduate debt erased for up to five years (for a total of $50,000).

Star Tribune. Program aims to retain aspiring American Indian teachers. In her 17 years of teaching teachers at the College of Menominee Nation, Kelli Chelberg observed how difficult it is to retain aspiring educators of American Indian descent. “Really, we need our Native teachers to teach our Native children,” she said.

The Atlantic. Teaching Isn’t About Managing Behavior: It’s about reaching students where they really are.   In the fall of 2001, armed with an undergraduate science degree and a rushed teaching credential, I stood in front of a sea of Black and brown middle-school students in the Bronx and announced that I was their teacher… All teachers will sometimes fail. But that’s why we have to accurately see ourselves in the classroom. I suggest that teachers videotape their teaching for study, so they can self-diagnose for the racism virus they may be suffering from and spreading unintentionally.

 

NEW YORK STATE
NYSED Board of Regents.  November 16 meeting
*Proposed Amendments to Sections 52.3, 52.21, 57-4.5, 70.4, 74.6, 75.2, 75.5, 76.2, 79-9.3, 79-10.3, 79-11.3, 79-12.3, 80-1.13, 80-1.5, 80-3.15, 80-4.3, 83.5, 87.2, 87.5, 100.2, 100.4, 100.5, 100.6, 100.10, 100.21, 119.1, 119.5, 125.1, 151-1.4, 154-2.3, 17
*Definition of “University” in New York State

The Daily Gazette. Regents overhaul legislative priorities in face of COVID challenges   Many of the issues were included in the Regents legislative proposal last year and touch on plans to expand teacher training programs, encourage educator diversity, bolster programs supporting English language learning, review the state’s graduation requirements and strengthen early childhood education options.

 

NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College. Redefining High-Quality Early Learning — and Identifying Core Principles for Putting It into Practice: A new study co-authored by TC’s Mariana Souto-Manning puts family and community at the center of children’s learning and development    *All early-childhood educators should have child development and depth of preparation in early childhood education. This practice, alongside salary/and benefit parity, will support a high-quality and diverse teaching workforce and help retain teachers in community-based centers.

GLOBAL
China Daily. Required PE scores to be raised on nation’s high school entrance exams.  The students are also expected to learn up to two art skills… there is still a big shortage in the number and quality of art teachers at schools, and the key to improving aesthetic education is to nurture more art teachers.

GMA News. Duterte backs bill strengthening teacher education in the country —Nograles   The proposed measure seeks to enhance the professional development of teachers in the country by ensuring coherence and continuity between pre-service and in-service education of teachers.

Jewish Chronicle [UK]. Cuts to teacher training show ‘short-term’ thinking   The government pays significantly towards the trainee’s salary by way of either a grant or a bursary, which range from £9,000 to £26.000… The cuts to religious education trainee teachers’ salaries are a particular blow as this is such a critical area to enable us to engage the next generation and preserve their Jewish lives and identities.

TES.
1) Forcing trainees on schools idea played down by the DfE  Schools not ‘committed to initial teacher training’ could end up offering lower quality support, the DfE warns
2) Teaching ‘surge’ justifies ‘radical’ bursary cuts – DfE   Maintaining bursary levels was ‘not defensible’ in light of rise in ITT applications due to Covid, teacher trainers told

 

UNITED STATES
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
1) AACTE Urges Educators to Resist Attacks on Critical Race Theory in Education.  AACTE and its member institutions are committed to revolutionizing education by upholding high standards in the preparation of future teachers through inclusive curriculum and evidence-based instructional strategies, modeling, and advocacy that dismantle racial oppression. AACTE members are actively working to diversify the teaching profession, address the teacher shortage, redesign curricula that reflects the needs of 21st century learners, advocate for policies that fund student teachers of color, and build social justice partnerships for strengthening the education community…
2) Complete CEEDAR Survey on Virtual Instruction.  The CEEDAR Center is working on a collaborative effort to collect information from educator preparation programs across the country who are implementing effective, practice-based opportunities for teacher candidates within a virtual space.

AZCentral. Arizona voters approve Prop. 208, education tax on state’s highest earners   3% would go to scholarships for the Arizona Teachers Academy, which waives college tuition for teachers-in-training who commit to work in Arizona schools after graduation.

Chalkbeat. If Biden wins, a major ed reform group is set to push Chicago, Baltimore, Philly schools chiefs for ed secretary   All are former public school teachers, too — something Biden has said is a prerequisite for the job. Jackson began her career as a high school social studies teacher before rising through the administrator ranks in Chicago. Santelises started her career with Teach for America, taught for three years in New York City, and spent time as the Baltimore district’s chief academic officer. Hite began as a marketing teacher, and was later the head of Prince George’s County schools in Maryland.

Education Week. Why This Scholar Says The Last Decade Was One of Public Education’s Most Brutal   We had a war on teachers—an attack on teacher tenure, the attack on benefits, and what they’re doing in the classroom. We thought we could find grossly ineffective teachers using a statistical method and root them out and make them better. The job has gotten more expectations, less money and a lot more political heat. Some states turned them into boogeymen, and that dried up the teacher pipeline.

LPI. Closing California’s Opportunity Gap: Ensuring All Students Have Access to Fully Prepared Teachers.” [Webinar: 10:30am Nov. 12]

New York Times.
1) Are We Losing a Generation of Children to Remote Learning?  What children ultimately need and what the deadening constraints of Zoom learning cannot adequately transmit is exuberance; children need to feel championed. “They need people to see what they are doing, to cheer them on, to rally them to care and respond,” Lucy Calkins, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College and one of the country’s best-known experts on literacy told me.
2) Chicago Teachers’ Strike, Longest in Decades, Ends   … a vote to approve a tentative deal was noticeably split, and some teachers wanted to press on to seek steeper reductions in class sizes, more teacher preparation time and aid for special education.
3) How an Oregon Measure for Universal Preschool Could Be a National Model   Another debate in early childhood policy is whether teachers should be required to have college or equivalent degrees. When they do, it’s associated with high-quality care and teaching… The Multnomah County measure requires that lead teachers have a college degree or its equivalent, and that assistants have an associate degree in child development. But it gives current teachers time and money to earn the qualifications, and includes a plan to partner with local colleges to train new teachers.

Phys.Org. Conflicts in kindergarten can reduce children’s interest in reading and math   Teacher education programs may also benefit from educating teachers not only about academic content and pedagogical practices but also in strategies that build supportive relationships with children.

University Business. 4 financial constraints facing student teachers   Tuition, fees and full student budget that education majors face before financial aid are each approximately $3,000 lower

Wichita Business Journal. Educating the educators: Covid-19 shifts the way colleges educate Wichita’s future teachers with new technology focus   Student teachers from WSU and Friends are in classrooms around the area, seeing first-hand the challenges and opportunities that come with remote learning, hybrid learning or socially distanced, face-to-face learning.

 

NEW YORK STATE
NYSED. 2022 New York State Teacher of the Year [applications due Feb. 1, 2021]

The Saratogian. State Senate seats to be contested.  A resident of Schenectady, McCalmon holds associate degrees in human services and teacher education, an undergraduate degree in history, and a graduate degree in teaching. She has been an educator for more than 10 years, a Congressional campaign manager, and a Senate campaign consultant.