LCEA Executive Board Training & Retreat

Your dedicated and member-elected LCEA leaders decided at their May LCEA Meeting to give part of their summer for some planning time, collaboration and training and team building before we kick-off a great 2013-2014. 

Here's what they decided (with a change of location).

WHAT:  LCEA Association/Building Representative and Executive Board Training/Retreat

WHERE:  Lewis Central High School Drama Room

WHEN:   Wednesday, August 14, 2013 from 8:00 AM-Noon

BREAKFAST:  LCEA will provide a continental breakfast of assorted bagels and pastries, fresh fruit, orange juice and coffee.

OVERVIEW:  We will take some time to have some breakfast; work with our wonderful SWUU Directors, Pat Shipley and Cindy Formeller (our new director who we are very lucky to have in SWUU) to evaluate the LCEA program; discuss our goals and expectations for the year; work with our building teams and more.

6 Classroom Management Tips Every Teacher Can Use

by Dave Foley

Effective teachers are passionate about educating their students. They want to spend their time teaching, not dealing with classroom disruptions.
Here are some classroom management tips to help teachers settle problems, or prevent them from occurring, so that they can spend more of the classroom hour on teaching and learning.

1. Take Charge of Your Class

Get everyone’s attention before beginning class. That means the lesson won’t be started, the lecture won’t begin, and nothing will be written on the overhead until everyone is in his or her seat paying attention. It doesn’t take a shout of “Let’s be quiet” or “I won’t start until everyone is ready” to get them to focus on you. It can be just as effective to walk to the front of the room and engage them with something interesting to them such as “My thermometer said it was zero this morning. It must have been freezing out there waiting for the bus” or “How many of you saw the Hunger Games?” Open with couple attention getting comments and continue until everyone is with you. Remember, don’t start teaching until all eyes are on you and everyone is in their seat.

Teachers and Teacher Unions Are the Same

 

by John Wilson on August 30, 2012 7:15 AM

There they go again--trying to divide teachers from their union. Do they really think teachers will choose the unfilled promises of a politician over their union? Teachers know New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is no friend of theirs and that the New Jersey Education Association and the National Education Association have been tireless advocates for their interests and the interests of their students.

Listening to Governor Christie deliver his keynote speech to the Republican National Convention was a fairy tale moment. He said, "They (Democrats) believe in teacher unions. We (Republicans) believe in teachers." As we say in the south, "That dog won't hunt."

The Seven Most Surprising Findings of the 2012 PDK/Gallup Poll on Public Schools

by Learning First Alliance on August 23, 2012 8:15 AM

By William J. Bushaw, Ph.D., Executive Director of PDK International

As co-director of the PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, I anxiously await the results each year. It never fails. I am always surprised by what Americans think about their public schools — and this year is no different. So here you are — the seven most surprising findings of the 2012 PDK/Gallup poll. (For a free copy of the full report, go to www.pdkpoll.org or download the free Phi Delta Kappan iPad app.)

1. There is lukewarm support for evaluating teachers using students' test scores. Only 52% of Americans favor teacher evaluations that include how well a teacher's students perform on standardized tests. Many policy makers and teachers know that we do not have the tools necessary to create a thoughtful teacher evaluation system that relies on student test results, and it looks like the public agrees, despite the attention this has received. My prediction: Look for an increasing percentage of Americans to oppose this in the future.
   
   

5 Ways to Build Sustainable Relationships that Work

by John Wilson of EDUCATION WEEK

Note: Alan Blankstein, president and founder of the HOPE Foundation, shares some of the work he has been doing to transform public schools with a guest post today.

Building relational trust with school staff is a precursor to sustainable success. In the HOPE Foundation's work in thousands of schools and districts, this trust has been built by the leader using the following approaches:

1. Listen First. The new-leader syndrome, however, often entails changing things quickly to establish authority. Many veteran leaders, on the other hand, may feel they already know what is best and may move forward without building consensus. In both cases, the "slow" part of going fast- listening- is cut out of the process and initiatives are short-lived.

Teacher Voice: How Not to Be a Bobble-Head Doll

by Jose Vilson from TEACHER LEADER'S NETWORK

"Teacher voice" is one of the most ambiguous phrases in education reform—used differently by governors, chancellors, commission leaders, advocacy organizations, and school administrators.
Sometimes, "teacher voice" means that the convening group or individual actually wants meaningful input from educators. But more often than not, teachers are being asked to complete a project or support an agenda that needs little more than their reluctant signatures. 

I offered a different definition of "teacher voice" at April's TEDxNYED conference. This is a phrase we can reclaim. Truly engaging with "teacher voice" means taking seriously the collective and individual expression of teachers' professional opinions based on their knowledge and classroom expertise. Anything else is just a "teacher nod." Like we’re all bobble-head dolls.