GLOBAL
Chalkbeat. How should the U.S. teach about slavery? Here’s how other countries face their most shameful chapters. Managing difficult emotions in the classroom requires preparation, particularly when many teachers have lived through the difficult history they are now teaching… In Canada, most teachers did not learn about residential schools when they were students, and huge efforts have been made to provide resources and training… In South Africa, teachers are explicitly trained to facilitate difficult conversations… Alan McCully, a history teacher educator in Northern Ireland, advocates for teacher training to include experiencing discomfort. “You cannot teach controversial history, difficult history, unless you have felt the discomfort of being taught that sort of history yourself,” he argues.
Korea Herald. Education Ministry earmarks W600b for ‘education recovery’: Ministry says omicron-driven virus peak at schools has passed College students, enrolled in programs trained to be teachers, are to tutor elementary and middle school students, consulting them on learning, relationships and future prospects.
National Center of Education and the Economy (NCEE). Getting Teachers in Classrooms Where They’re Needed Most: America’s most effective teachers are often not in the classrooms where they’re needed most. Some new research shows other countries face the same challenge. Ideally, teachers are given rigorous preparation and then when they are placed in schools, they are provided extensive support that leverages the expertise of more experienced, senior teachers. They’re given time to work collaboratively and to intervene with struggling students to help them stay on track. When it comes to teacher assignment policies in particular, Japan, Singapore, and Shanghai offer good examples.
The Guardian. Number of male teachers in England at all-time low as pay levels drop: New research also raises alarm over lack of minority ethnic senior teaching staff The Department for Education said: “The teaching workforce is becoming more diverse – with the latest data showing 9.3% of teachers reported being from an ethnic minority background, while 21% of postgraduate teacher trainees reported the same. This is compared with 14% of people in the general population, but we know there is further to go.
UNITED STATES
100Kin10. The 100Kin10 Project Team is seeking applicants to serve as faculty interested in implementing a re-imagined Intro to Education Course through a racial equity and social justice lens. The team searched for introductory courses that take this approach, requested enrollment data from those courses, and created a recommended course syllabus to share with the broader community.
Chalkbeat.
1) Dyslexia bills pass Michigan Senate with bipartisan support Key features of the bills:… The State Superintendent could no longer allow teacher preparation programs — typically colleges of education at public universities — to provide certification if they don’t offer instruction specific to dyslexia by 2023.
2) How four Philly students ended up working for their principal as teachers All four attended Lamberton School, in the Overbrook Park section of West Philadelphia, when Travis was principal there between 2003 and 2014. And all of them were, in part, inspired by her to enter teaching, at a time when the profession is suffering a shortage nationwide, and the proportion of Black teachers in particular is on the decline.
3) Teacher prep programs can do better. Here’s how. Teacher preparation programs should create opportunities for future teachers not only to observe classrooms but also to practice teaching throughout their preparation, in the same way that apprenticeships and medical residencies allow for intensive and sustained on-the-job training. Pre-service teachers should have opportunities to work with students and share leadership of classrooms from their freshman year of college. Mentor teachers must also be trained to support, coach, and gradually release responsibility to their student teachers.
Courier-Journal. How abolishing useless state tests helps increase Kentucky’s pool of Black teachers First, no studies indicate that the passing of Praxis ensures that teachers can positively impact K-12 student learning. There is little evidence that these exams predict teacher effectiveness… Second, since the reliance on teacher testing, there has been a steep decline in ethnic and racial minority candidates entering the teaching profession. This decline may be because Black, minority and poor students are more likely to fail the tests.
Deans for Impact. Fueling the fire of teaching desire: How tutoring is helping one future teacher To ensure teacher-candidates were well-equipped to work as tutors, the district offered comprehensive training to them, including a full-day workshop on Tennessee’s new phonics program, Reading 360, which is being implemented in schools statewide. Instructional coaches from the district are also coaching the candidates throughout the process, grounding their support in the science of reading.
EdSurge. New Research Looks for Better Ways for Schools to Recruit Teachers of Color …the Premiere 100 Program in Richland, two school districts in South Carolina, where superintendent Baron Davis has a goal to recruit a hundred black male teachers over three years. In his first year, he recruited 50. And he does it through this brotherhood. The Premiere 100 is a brotherhood. So when you join as an African American male teacher, you have a network, a very deep support network.
EdWeek. (Unlimited access to TC community via Gottesman site license)
1) Are Teacher-Prep Programs Out of Touch? This is the first post in a three-part series…. PJ Caposey, Keisha Rembert, Stephanie Smith Budhai, Ph.D., Jasmine M. Wilhelm, and Jeffrey Wilhelm share their responses.
2) Teacher Prep Should Include Classroom-Culture Training This is the second post in a three-part series… Andrew Sharos, Tairen McCollister, Kelsey Pycior, and Wendi Pillars continue the conversation.
3) The Rise of Tutoring and Where It Falls Short, in Charts Research has found that paraprofessionals, college students and others, if properly trained and supported, can also be effective tutors. But few districts are going this route.
4) These 3 Latina Teachers Are Pushing the Boundaries of Computer Science Class Standards are still being written and revised. Curricula are being developed. Teacher-training programs are slowly adjusting. But there’s plenty of excitement about the country’s diversifying computer science teaching force, which now includes a critical mass of Latina educators determined to make their mark.
5) Timeline: How Federal School Accountability Has Waxed and Waned No Child Left Behind…which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, on Jan. 8, 2002, replacing the previous law. The new law significantly toughens up accountability and introduces teacher-quality requirements.
Hechinger Report. Is recess a right or a privilege?: Despite evidence they shouldn’t, teachers still take away recess. Experts say it’s time to stop.
Training in better classroom management practices could also stem turnover: Many teachers say classroom management struggles are a primary reason for leaving the job.
Iowa Public Radio. English-only test for teaching license frustrates efforts by dual language schools to find teachers Currently, a Praxis spokesperson said, the general test is only offered in English. Teachers who are studying to become world language educators are offered Praxis exams in the language they will be teaching. However, this test does not apply to dual language immersion teachers who will be educating on all subjects in a different language.
Kxii.com. Oklahoma removes requirement to pass OGET for future teachers Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 3658 into effect that removes one of the testing requirements for Oklahoma teachers. Future candidates no longer have to pass the general education portion of the competency examination if they have a bachelor’s degree from an institution whose accreditation is recognized by Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Los Alamos Reporter. PED Ends Requirement For Costly Tests For New Teachers The Public Education Department is changing the way new teachers prove their fitness for the classroom, moving from a battery of expensive tests to a comprehensive portfolio students will prepare during their New Mexico’s college-based educator preparation programs… The portfolio assessment is an option, not a requirement. Praxis tests still will be available to those who prefer that pathway
NYTimes. Pre-K Is Powerful if Done Right. Here’s How. A new study by the National Institute for Early Education Research finds that, because of the pandemic, a decade of progress was lost and the equity gap widened. “The pandemic confirmed that providing quality preschool programs that benefit children and families is not easy,” the report notes. Only five states had programs that met the institute’s list of 10 benchmarks of preschool quality, which include “college-educated teachers with specialized early childhood training, small classes that support individualization, and rigorous continuous improvement systems.”
Prism. Why New England school districts are struggling to retain diverse teachers: Teachers of color point to low wages, little institutional support, and a lack of commitment to diversity efforts After southern schools integrated, Foster said, more than 38,000 Black teachers lost their jobs, and soon after, the idea of teacher testing came about. In the Northeast, Foster said, white teachers were often hired to teach by nearly all-white school district committees. “Those two things collided so that fewer Black people became teachers,” Foster said. “And because most of these school districts struggling to hire teachers don’t know the history, they’re asking themselves, ‘Where are the Black teachers?’—well, you fired them in the ’60s and ’70s!”
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). SF Board of Education Selects Dr. Matt Wayne as SFUSD’s Finalist for Superintendent of Schools Dr. Wayne, who is fluent in Spanish, began as an English Language Arts teacher in 1997 at The Riis Upper School at PS 126 in New York City…. Dr. Wayne earned … a Masters of Arts in English Education and a Masters of Education in Public School Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.
NEW YORK STATE
NYSED.
1) Board of Regents May 2022 Meeting Agenda [5/16 & 17]
2) State Finalists Selected for 2022 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching incl. New York State Science Finalist (K-6) Shiela Lee, TC MA 2011
NYS Register. PROPOSED REGULATORY CHANGES: The April 27, 2022, NYS Register included proposed regulatory amendments regarding registration requirements for residency programs and revision to residency certificate requirements (see page 28 for this proposal). The public comment period is open and will expire on June 27. Submit comments to: William P. Murphy, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 975 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 486-3633, email: [email protected]
NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. In a seismic shift, NYC to mandate elementary schools use phonics-based curriculum Educators will also have more opportunities to be trained in evidence-based phonics programs, including Wilson and Orton-Gillingham… Changing a literacy curriculum is no easy process and can be challenging without buy-in from educators and solid training.
NYTimes.
1) Kathy Boudin, Radical Imprisoned in a Fatal Robbery, Dies at 78 … she got a master’s degree in adult education and literacy from Norwich College while in prison and then, five years after her release, a doctorate from Teachers College at Columbia University.
2) Mayor Adams Unveils Program to Address Dyslexia in N.Y.C. Schools The mayor, who has dyslexia himself, would open two new schools, train teachers and direct schools to use phonics-based lessons as a way to address a literacy crisis in the city.
Teachers College. An Aspiring Hometown Hero for Newark Schools Sociology & Education graduate Elijah Gardner looks to fulfilling a historic family promise to improving public education in Newark, New Jersey
