GLOBAL
EL PAÍS. Wanted: 3.2 million teachers Latin America and the Caribbean have an enormous educational setback, and those who carry the burden are poorly paid, technologically challenged teachers with pandemic fatigue “Those who study to become teachers have to know what it means to teach long before they graduate,” since in cities like Buenos Aires, for instance, only one in three teaching students graduates.
The Scotsman. Student teacher scheme ‘failing’ as fewer than 7% agree to be sent anywhere in Scotland Under the scheme, student teachers can choose to be placed anywhere in Scotland for their probation year by ticking the preference waiver payment box… If they tick the box, secondary teachers receive a payment of £8,000, while primary teachers get £6,000… A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There are undoubtedly challenges around the recruitment of teachers in certain geographical areas, which is why we provide up to £8,000 for probationary teachers if they are willing to complete their probation anywhere in Scotland, specifically in remote and rural areas.
Times of India. First batch of Integrated Teacher Education Programme begins at IIT Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar, which has introduced a 4-year BSc-BEd Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) from the 2023-24 academic year, began classes for the first batch of 50 students from Tuesday. IIT Bhubaneswar is one among the two IITs to start the programme this year. Other one is IIT Kharagpur. The students were selected via a national-level common entrance test conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Co-Teaching Coast-to-Coast: Virtual Conversations and Co-Teaching Engagement Awards The AACTE Co-Teaching in Clinical Practice Topical Action Group (TAG) recently wrapped up two exciting initiatives focused on bringing teacher preparation faculty together with administrators and teachers in schools across the country… Teacher preparation institutional partnerships with local school districts where co-teaching is valued seem to be increasing expertise for clinical interns, practitioners, and the higher education teacher preparation faculty involved.
2) Preview #AACTE24 Featured Sessions Ascending New Heights: Propelling the Profession into the Future November 1 – Early Bird Registration closes [Feb. 16-18 Denver, CO]
3) Virginia State University to Address Petersburg Teacher Shortage The Virginia State University (VSU) College of Education has announced a new teacher residency program to help with the teacher shortage in Petersburg, VA, and provide future educators with an immersive educational experience… HERO, or Hybrid Education Residency Opportunity, is a comprehensive and innovative program that combines coursework and practical teaching in an actual classroom setting. In total, five VSU students are participating in the HERO program for the 2023-2024 school year.
Care.com. What’s the best age to learn a new language?: Experts share the research and the benefits of learning a second language in early childhood. “Children learn languages, especially pronunciation, more effectively and efficiently if they learn them early. Plus, learning a language early opens up communication with others, different worlds and cultures and ways of thinking, and the realization that there’s not just one way to speak or to live or to think.” —Erika S. Levy, director of the speech production and perception lab at Teachers College, Columbia University
Chalkbeat.
1) A career switch led this teacher to helping students build businesses of their own I decided to become a teacher during 2020, during the pandemic, when I was working in marketing for a local credit union in the investment department… Now that I’m three years in, I absolutely love what I do and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I just wish I would have done it sooner.
2) Dyslexia support proposals are back in the Michigan Legislature * Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat who represents parts of Canton and Livonia, introduced a bill that would set standards for teacher education programs to ensure future educators have the tools to help students with dyslexia….* Schmaltz’ House bill would require school districts to have at least one teacher trained in Orton-Gillingham, a multisensory teaching methodology that research suggests helps students with dyslexia.
3) Illinois is revamping its literacy plan. Parents, advocates say it needs more for students with dyslexia. In June, the state board released an initial draft of the plan, which says universal screening for literacy skills is essential and aspiring teachers need to be trained in the science of reading… The so-called “Right to Read” Act required the state board to create literacy grants, change teacher licensure tests for elementary school teachers, and develop professional development opportunities for current teachers.
4) My students asked if I was ‘Team Israeli’ or ‘Team Palestinian.’ Here’s what I said. I highly recommend the following resources to educators looking to teach the topic in their classrooms: War Grips Israel and Gaza After Surprise Attack from PBS NewsHour Classroom, Processing the Violence in Israel and Gaza from Facing History & Ourselves, The Israel-Hamas War: A Forum for Young People to React in The New York Times, How Do I Talk to My Kids About Violence? from Common Sense Media, and What Is U.S. Policy on the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis? from the Council on Foreign Relations. [by S. B. Rosenberg, TC MA’02]
5) Schoolwork shouldn’t double as screentime: Learning on screens was the best could do during school closures — not a best practice that we should continue. Many educators are demoralized and under-appreciated, but an over-reliance on screens will not make the work of teaching more rewarding or valued. It’s human connections that make teaching an endlessly rewarding calling. I know this from my own classrooms and my experience training future teachers. [by J. Frank TC PhD’10]
EdSource.
1) Credentialing commission could change the way California tests teachers The CBEST is a barrier for educators of color, said John Affeldt, managing attorney at Public Advocates told EdSource after the meeting. He said the best outcome would be for legislators to eliminate the test…“We continue to struggle with the reality that our state, through these examinations, is systematically discriminating against the very diversity it alleges it wants to track into our workforce,” Davis said. “This can end with this body.
2) Time to retire the tainted, unfair basic skills test for teachers … former employee of the defendant Commission on Teacher Credentialing had examined the CBEST for her doctoral dissertation and concluded it was racially and culturally biased. The Commission suppressed the study, including when our lawsuit specifically requested such reports… It’s time for the credentialing commission and the state to drop the tainted CBEST. It’s also time for some reconciliation. The commission can start by releasing that long-suppressed study of the CBEST’s racial and cultural bias.
EdWeek.
1) Here’s What High School Students of Color Think About Being a Teacher The students cited a few common deterrents to choosing teaching as a future career. For starters, they mentioned low salaries… Another concern shared by many of the students was that teachers don’t have the autonomy to design a curriculum that is representative of the diversity of their schools … Finally, the students also noted that they’ve experienced microaggressions and harmful comments at school, both from students and staff.
2) Reading Recovery Sues Ohio Over Ban on ‘Cueing’ in Literacy Instruction The Reading Recovery Council of North America filed a lawsuit against the state and DeWine earlier this month, prompted largely by the bill’s attempt to stamp out a teaching practice that it has used in its own teacher-training program.
3) Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff Find your next job in K-12 education! [November 9, 2023 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM EST (11 a.m. – 3 p.m. PT) FREE EVENT]
Hechinger Report. Disabilities in math affect many students — but get little attention: Dyscalculia and similar disorders are largely ignored in schools and in policy Teacher training programs offer little instruction on disabilities of any kind, and even less on math. In a 2023 survey by Education Week, nearly 75 percent of teachers reported that they had received little to no preservice or in-service training on supporting students with math disabilities.
InsideHigherEd. Faculty Teaching the Way They Were Taught: Whether you consider teaching an art, craft, science or profession, it is clear that K-12 teachers are more fully prepared than many of us who teach in higher ed. Teacher education programs leading to elementary and secondary certification often require significantly more than the traditional 120 credit hours for the baccalaureate degree… To renew teacher certification commonly requires the completion of continuing professional development courses. Elementary and secondary school teachers have far more schooling in the teaching field than most of our Ph.D. programs require.
MSN.com. After life-changing setback, former Miss Oregon rebounds to create groundbreaking preschool program Emily Cadiz used her Miss America scholarship money to attend Columbia University and would follow her family of educators to become a special education teacher… In 2015, a student attacked Cadiz in the classroom. She suffered a severe brain injury and lost much of her ability to speak… At the September Portland Incubator event, Cadiz told visitors interested in her educational system that more attention needs to be focused on early education. Cadiz believes teachers aren’t given the most effective tools to help young children get ready to read.
NEA Today. Teacher ‘Pay Penalty’ Reaches Record High According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the teacher “pay penalty”—the gap between the weekly wages of teachers and college graduates working in other professions—grew to a record 26.4% in 2022, an increase from 23.5% in 2021… Such a disparity in salary makes teaching a less attractive career choice to college students, exacerbating staff shortages and harming student outcomes.
NYTimes.
1) How readers are working to renovate our democracy There were some respondents who have been able to make their democracy concerns a full-time occupation — social studies teachers and advocates in particular. One reader wrote: “I have become a certified teacher in my state for social studies and teach at a local public school.”
2) Smaller Classes? At Elite Schools, Some Parents Say ‘No Thanks.’ Beyond admissions, officials will face other challenges, including hiring about 9,000 new educators. School officials have often warned that the law could worsen the system’s financial constraints and require tough trade-offs…
3) Teaching About the Israel-Hamas War A collection of resources to help students learn about Hamas’s recent attack on Israel, the dire situation in Gaza, the conflict’s roots, media literacy and more.
4) The True Story Behind ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Being Erased From Oklahoma Classrooms … ironically, at the same time that the film is being released, there is a new attempt to suppress the teaching of this very history in the state where it took place… The vagueness of the law has caused teachers to censor themselves, for fear of losing their licenses or their school’s accreditation.
5) What Pain Will a New Wave of Student Loan Payments Bring? More effectively regulating interest rates, offering relief to those who have overpaid because of compounded interest and developing a program similar to Public Service Loan Forgiveness to address pandemic debt would be crucial steps forward.
The74. America Is Facing a Shortage of STEM Teachers: Here’s One Way to Solve It In a September 2023 policy paper, a colleague and I recommend that in order to solve America’s STEM educator shortage, elected officials and education leaders should adopt something that is widely used in higher education – an endowed chair position for STEM teachers… The benefit of an endowed chair is that it will be paid for decades to come by the interest on investment…
Washington Post. A high school band teacher quit. Now, the students teach, direct themselves. West Virginia is experiencing a certified teacher shortage like many states nationwide, Riley said, noting that music programs are often in short supply.
NEW YORK STATE
NYSED Board of Regents October Meetings
1) Higher Education Committee
Presentation by the Office of College and University Evaluation (OCUE)
Presentation of Proposed Amendment …Relating to the Use of the Term University
2) Higher Education Consent Agenda
* Proposed Amendment … Relating to the Requirements for the Endorsement of a Certificate for Service as a School Counselor The Department proposes regulatory amendments to align the pathways for certification for school counselor candidates with the pathways for certification for teacher and educational leadership candidates who hold a certificate from, and/or completed an educator preparation program in, another state or territory of the United States (U.S.) or the District of Columbia.
* Proposed Addition …Amendment…. Relating to Temporary Practice by Certain U.S. Servicemembers and Servicemembers’ Spouses Licensed or Certified in Another State The proposed amendment also allows the Department to issue an educator permit to eligible servicemembers or their spouses who hold an out-of-state educator certificate comparable to a New York State certificate. The temporary practice certificate/educator permit would provide evidence that the individual is authorized to practice in New York State under the out-of-state license or certificate for the duration of the military order or orders.
NEW YORK CITY
Teachers College
1) Center for Educational Equity. Media Literacy & Democracy: An Essential Partnership with Nan Eileen Mead, MA, MEd, DemocracyReady NY How an effort in New York State is working to help educators & policymakers build students’ media literacy skills to become democracy ready. [Virtual Event. FREE. October 26th, 12:00 – 1:00pm ET]
2) Digital Futures Institute. Exploring AI in K-12 Education: Empowering Educators to Take the Lead This workshop is designed to equip K-12 educators with the essential knowledge and skills to navigate the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI).Through this interactive session, you’ll explore AI fundamentals, its capabilities, risks, and ethical considerations, while also discovering innovative ways to integrate AI solutions into your classroom and community. [Saturday, October 21 · 10am – 12pm EDT Russell Hall 4th Fl – Smith Learning Theater 525 West 120th Street New York, NY]
3) Guest Talk: Connecting, Curating, and Constructing Mathematical and STEAM Learning through Purposeful Pedagogy, with Dyanne Baptiste Porter Some of her research interests include equitable teaching and learning practices in STEM and increasing representation in advanced mathematical sciences. [ONLINE. Wednesday, October 25, 2023 2:00pm – 3:30pm]
