GLOBAL
Ethical Schools. “Critical analysis: not just for students” [interview with S. Abrams of TC] … claims that teachers in the United States teach nearly twice as much as teachers in countries like Japan and Finland. First of all, it makes countries like Finland and Japan irrelevant. Because what legislator in her right mind is going to consider hiring twice the number of teachers? Okay. You can’t do that. And setting aside that it’s just wrong, it makes these countries irrelevant as models for teaching.
Global Competence in Teacher Education. May 2021 Newsletter-Issue 1 In a shrinking world where we increasingly face shared challenges such as climate change, the integration of newly arrived peoples through the migration crisis, the rise in nationalism, and preparing youth for life in a digitally interconnected global society where they face uncertain futures, acquiring Global Competence is increasingly important.
Haaga-Helia. Haaga-Helia’s new teacher students represent 17 different nationalities Each year, a new group of international students starts in the Vocational Teacher Education program. This year, Haaga-Helia’s 23 new teaching students represent 17 different nationalities. Students are from countries such as Brazil, India, the United States, Spain, Ghana and also Finland, including one from the Åland Islands.
Radio New Zealand. Government bankrolls pay rises for early childhood teachers The Educational Institute, which represented some early childhood teachers, said some earned as much as $17,000 less than kindergarten teachers with the same qualifications and experience.
UNITED STATES
AACTE. Prepared to Teach and WestEd Release Three New Reports on Financially Sustainable Teacher Preparation Prepared to Teach and WestEd have partnered on the Sustainability Project, a series of reports and interactive tools to support high-quality, financially sustainable teacher preparation. Three reports are being released this week through that project.
Chalkbeat.
1) Colorado’s largest teacher prep program wins full state approval after literacy overhaul … the University of Northern Colorado won kudos Wednesday for making changes to two majors within its teacher preparation program… The state began cracking down on teacher preparation programs, specifically their approach to reading instruction, in 2018 as part of a broader push by lawmakers, state education officials, and parents of students with dyslexia to get more Colorado children reading at grade level.
2) States want to prevent schools from telling the truth about racism in America. Here’s what educators can do about it. Thankfully, there are some things that district leaders can do. First, they must really invest in their professional development programs — ones that teach about historical truths surrounding white supremacy and racism and ones that teach educators how to apply this knowledge to their content area and the grade levels they teach. Second, district leaders must identify teachers willing to teach — or willing to learn how to teach — these necessary truths to students in all content areas…
3) The struggle to close reading gaps in a pandemic year is real. Just ask Chicago parents: The crucial process of learning to read was made even more complicated this year by remote learning and wide-ranging inconsistency in how Chicago schools teach readin. As teachers are assessing students, anxious parents are doing the same, but often without tools, support or, at times, their children’s cooperation. “Our parents have basically become student teachers,” said first-grade teacher L’Rae Robinson. “Their kids may be learning to read, but they are also learning to teach.”
CITED. May Conversation with Dr. Danny Martinez “Black and Brown Youth Languaging in Solidarity: Implications for Teacher Learning” [May 26 4pm]
Citizen Ed. After 23 Years Cleaning Schools, This Georgia Custodian Earned His Teaching Degree Bailey, a 23-year veteran custodian at Hightower Elementary School, has spent the last four years attending Georgia State University… Now, with his newly minted teaching degree in hand, Bailey’s on the job hunt to become a physical education teacher. He’s got quite a reference in his current school’s principal.
EdWeek.
1) Full-Time Virtual Schools: Still Growing, Still Struggling, Still Resisting Oversight The new laws are mostly “emergency stop-gaps,” said education professor Luis A. Huerta of Teachers College Columbia University. Most of the bills focused on strategies like providing emergency internet access, or adjusting bureaucratic mandates around issues like counting student attendance and evaluating teachers.
2) Remote Learning Is Changing Schools. Teacher-Preparation Programs Have to Adjust. The most recent available data, published in the academic Journal of Online Learning Research in 2016, suggests that fewer than 5 percent of the nation’s teacher-training programs offer field experience in online learning environments. And while the U.S. Department of Education has encouraged teacher-prep programs to infuse an emphasis on “active” technology use across their curricula, there’s been little indication to date of systemic change.
3) What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack? The core idea is that racism is a social construct, and that it is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies… CRT also has ties to other intellectual currents, including the work of sociologists and literary theorists who studied links between political power, social organization, and language. And its ideas have since informed other fields, like the humanities, the social sciences, and teacher education.
Hechinger Report. Twenty-six studies point to more play for young children: Play has the potential to reduce inequality, report finds More importantly… is that teachers are trained to facilitate free play and guided play opportunities. “Play is often defined as recreation…not serious or practical”… Instead, many schools are focused on academic skills and standardized assessments
LPI. Brown at 67: Segregation, Resegregation, and the Promise of Federal Policy With the aid of historic federal investment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, states and districts can also play a role by investing these new funds in ways that promote equity and integration, such as creating magnet schools or supporting the retention and training of diverse educators.
NEPC. Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2021. [TC Prof. L Huerta co-author] It is recommended that policymakers:…*Require high-quality curricula, aligned with applicable state and district standards, and monitor changes to digital content; *Define certification training and relevant teacher licensure requirements specific to teaching responsibilities in virtual schools, and require research-based professional development to promote effective online teaching…
NYTimes. Explore 100 Years of Immigration History With The Times Archive In this lesson, students will use the New York Times archive to learn about immigration laws from 1882 to 1986. Then they will make connections to today. Note to Teacher: Some of the articles use racist or outdated language and depictions of people. Please read the articles selected to ensure that they are appropriate for your class.
Washington Post. How America failed students with disabilities during the pandemic …schools almost never have enough special-education teachers. The federal government says the national shortage is at 8 percent, but it’s more acute than that in some states… The lack of trained special-education teachers have led many districts to hire people who aren’t credentialed in the field. In California… only about 38 percent of new special-education teachers were credentialed. “As a result, students with disabilities who often have the greatest needs are frequently taught by the least qualified teachers,”
NEW YORK STATE
NYSATE-NYACTE. 2021 Conference: Educational Innovation for Equity and Excellence October 2021 [CFP deadline June 1st]
NYSED.
1) Decision No. 17,983 Appeal of B.W. from action of Richard A. Carranza as Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education and Yeshiva Mesivta Arugath Habosem regarding substantial equivalence. Petitioner specifically asserts that the student has not received instruction in any secular subjects; that YMAH offers students in grades four through seven less than 1.5 hours per day of secular education; that YMAH’s teachers do not possess appropriate education and/or qualifications to teach secular subjects…
2) State Education Department Seeks Public Input in Developing New York’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Plan Soliciting and incorporating public input into a state’s ARP ESSER plan is required by USDE and NYSED will be required to describe how meaningful consultation was engaged upon and input incorporated from the following stakeholders: *students; *families; *teachers; *principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff…
Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB).
1) February meeting minutes
2) March meeting minutes
NEW YORK CITY
NYDailyNews. Advocates urge NYC Education Dept. to revamp approach to teaching reading in wake of pandemic City educators also come in with varying levels of training on how to teach reading from their teacher preparation programs, advocates say… DOE chief academic officer Linda Chen acknowledged in a City Council budget hearing Wednesday the agency “has always seriously considered” updating its literacy curriculum, “but are now able to actually resource it.”
Spectrum New NY1. Teacher pipeline programs to expand after pandemic cuts The Teaching Fellows program was one of several teacher recruitment efforts that saw massive budget cuts last year, due to the pandemic. But thanks to an influx of stimulus cash, the city is now restoring the funding. There will be 900 new teaching fellows this fall – up from just 75 from last year.
Teachers College. Teaching Residents at Teachers College 2012-2021 Production List. 20 peer-reviewed publications, 57 global conference presentations and counting…
