=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= Classroom Toolkit Newsletter =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= May 31, 2006 Issue #5 Volume 2 Number 5 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= Written by Joseph Chmielewski, M.S., L.P.C. (c) copyright 2006 Center for Creative Learning, San Antonio, Texas =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* TABLE OF CONTENTS *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= 1. News Nuggets 2. Site Progress 3. Open Source in Education 4. Featured Article: - Bilingual Programs: Short Shrift as Usual for a Double-Barreled Opportunity - 5. Top Tips - Teacher Resources -- - Tips to Help you Save Time and Money - - Short Article -- Tips for Interviewing your Prospective Employer: Questions for Choosing the Right District 6. Book Review 7. Requests 8. Site or Newsletter Feedback 9. Upcoming Articles =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= NEWS NUGGETS *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 1 - ----- -> News Nuggets <- School Busses are Dangerous for our Children What's going on that the air inside our school busses is worse than the air outside the bus (if the bus windows are closed)? Check these articles: School Bus Fumes from: ScienceNetLinks.com http://tinyurl.com/lewjx School Bus Diesel Fumes Fueling Kids' Cancer Risk? from: Life.FamiliyEducation.com http://tinyurl.com/h4oho School Bus Diesel Fumes May be Cause of Rise in Asthma from: Mindfully.org http://tinyurl.com/gey6h Protect Children From Diesel Fumes from: the Minnesota OEA and MPCA http://www.moea.state.mn.us/ee/noidle.cfm The Office of Environmental Assistance and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency states on their web site... "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that diesel fumes contain 40 toxic chemicals, including 15 carcinogens." http://www.moea.state.mn.us/ee/noidle.cfm Accolades to the Minnesota State Legislature for passing a bit of legislation that benefits and protects children. "In May 2002, Minnesota adopted legislation to protect the health and safety of children from harmful diesel bus emissions. This law calls for schools to reduce the unnecessary idling of school buses in front of schools, and reroute bus parking zones away from air-intake vents (or if necessary, relocate the air-intake vents)." http://www.moea.state.mn.us/ee/noidle.cfm What is going on here? "Toxic chemicals in diesel emissions increase the risk of asthma, lung and heart disease, and are responsible for as many as 125,000 cancers nationwide. Yale University's Dr. John Wargo recently found that students on school buses are exposed to 5 to 15 times the levels of particulate pollution than at nearby monitoring sites. Bus idling and bus queuing (back-to-front line-up of buses) increases the concentrations of harmful particulate pollution inside school buses." http://www.moea.state.mn.us/ee/noidle.cfm What these articles also state is: * Older busses have higher concentrations of noxious and toxic chemicals * Some school busses that were tested were built in 1975, and are still on the road * Concentrations of toxic and noxious chemicals are higher in busses when the windows are closed What these articles don't mention that: * In times of high fuel prices (maybe for the foreseeable future), idling busses get 0 miles per galleon, and fuel economy dissipates faster than the noxious fumes - The busses do not have to idle to keep the air conditioner in operation (Does anyone know of a school district that has air conditioned busses?) - Maybe the bus drivers want to keep the heater running during the Minnesota winters! * The fumes outside the bus are unhealthy for teachers who are required to perform bus duty * The gasoline powered vehicles of the parents who wait in a cue to pick up their children donate a lot of fumes to the parent pick up area, too * Some states have moved school bus fleets to the use of natural gas as a cleaner, more environmentally friendly, alternative to diesel fuel It is nice that some attention is being paid to the health of our students in one state out of 50. And, what about seat belts on school busses? If we care so much for our students, wouldn't seat belts make sense? No, it turns out. The cost retrofitting seat belts on school busses would be too high. And, if two seat belts were placed on a seat, then they wouldn't be much good when three students have to sit on one seat because of over crowded routes. One author states that school busses are safer than private transportation, and that parents shouldn't pull their children from the busses. Sure, it is better for some children to die a lingering cancer death years later than for our school districts to spend the money to do what protects them now. The number of children that acquire cancer from school bus riding will only be a small percentage, as compared to the huge number of students that benefit economically from going to school. And, what is the reason that school districts keep busses running for thirty years? Could tight budgets be the culprit? The saga of bureaucracy and management is the endless compromises that are caused by budget shortfalls, and a "Let's do something, even though it isn't enough" reality. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= SITE PROGRESS =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 2 - ----- -> Site Progress <- Site Strategy Our site's strategy is to provide a time-saving plan and a management framework for teachers. This benefits our site's visitors with a value beyond just searching the Internet for an endless supply of unconnected, free materials. Finding just the "right" materials for a specific lesson takes more time than it saves. It is more efficient to create your own materials...if you have a strategy for reusable templates and generic components. We offer creative and unique materials, freely, to show teachers how this time-saving strategy for saving time actually works. In addition, our site demonstrates a practical method for integrating technology into instruction. This is a stated goal of almost all school districts and the federal government. However, it is easier to say that the integration of technology is a priority than it is to provide adequate funding for equipment, materials and professional development. We show teachers how to integrate technology without adding another hour or two to their workday. In fact, we show teachers how to save time. Site Progress * We added a couple more reprints to our site * Our second eZine (Multiple Intelligences ) is in nearing its production stage. Look for this eZine to be another installment in clarifying our overall strategy for making teaching more productive (with less stress) * The Classroom Toolkit Blog articles show teachers that many of the problems they face are not caused by themselves, or their shortcomings; but are caused by the bureaucratic and political system that they work in * A tutorial site is in the development and testing stage. We are building a tutorial site where we demonstrate the step-by-step methods for implementing the Classroom Toolkit strategy. These tutorials will parallel the contents of our eZines. Here is our eZine publication schedule. The focus of these issues will be: Volume 1 -- 2006: Winter Teacher Planning and Holistic Project Management (published and online) http://www.classroomtoolkit.com/support-files/volume-1_number-1.pdf Spring Multiple Intelligences (Planned and research in progress, Prepublication stage) Summer Higher-Order Thinking Fall Project-based Learning Volume 2 -- 2007: Winter Teaching to the Test: A How-to that doesn't Sabotage Learning Spring Teacher Creativity and Performance Learning Summer Mathematical Cross-Pollination: Integrating Math into all Content Areas Fall Visual Phonetics If you have any ideas for what you would like to see included in our eZine, please send your suggestions to... joseph@classroomtoolkit.net If you would like to contribute an article, please let us know. Note: Our first eZine is posted at: http://www.classroomtoolkit.com/support-files/volume-1_number-1.pdf * We now have 77 subscribers, So far, the new E-mail system seems to be functioning smoothly * Look for a format change in our next newsletter. Currently we write the newsletter in plain text, then convert the content to PDF and HTML formats by hand -> Results <- * We reached over 1,383 visitors for the month of May We continue to attract visitors to Classroom Toolkit though search engine referrals. These referrals bring visitors to our site, and many of our pages rank highly. Here is a summary: Google(TM): Rank on Search # of Pages Engine Results Page Number 1 4 pages Number 2 1 page Number 3 2 pages Number 5 1 page Number 6 3 pages Number 11 1 page Yahoo(TM) Number 2 3 pages Number 17 2 pages Number 20 2 pages Number 29 1 page MSN(TM) Number 1 9 pages Number 2 3 pages Number 3 2 pages Number 5 2 pages Number 6 1 page Number 14 1 page Number 28 1 page The number of visitors to our site decreased this month. Our Web site averaged 43 visitors per day during May, as compared to 55 visitors per day during April. The reason for that drop in traffic to our site was that for almost a week, the MSN(TM) Search Engine dropped Classroom Toolkit from its top ranked search results pages. When this happened, the number of visits to our site decreased. This indicates that MSN(TM) provides substantial search engine traffic to our site. What we notice is that different search engines prefer different types of pages. For example, Google(TM) seems to like our article reprints, while MSN(TM) seems to like bulleted lists and links to other sites. We will test a strategy of creating content that is presented in two different styles, to determine if our hypothesis is correct. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= OPEN SOURCE PROGRESS *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 3 - ----- -> Open Source in Education <- Progress on our Goal for sparking an Open Source in Education Movement: Our goal is to find teachers who are willing to share the materials that they create. -> Our Latest Strategy <- Our latest strategy has been... * Make more Daily Oral (Language, Math and Vocabulary) files available. Look for more of these original and creative materials after the publication of our next eZine * Publish reprints of our newsletter articles as independent Web pages * Focus our Blog on helping teachers learn that the system that they work in is the cause of many of their frustrations * Posting articles on forums that refer to our Blog -> Partners Needed <- If you want to partner in developing materials for use as Open Source Content, please let us know. Send your proposal to: joseph@classroomtoolkit.net Unlike other Web sites, we insist that authors retain the copyright to their materials. Of course, you have to give us written permission to publish your material on our site. By posting your materials, other teachers will use your materials. So why would you want to share your materials and still retain a copyright? * You can do your part in stemming the tide against over priced corporate content * You can gain exposure for your ideas and skills if you are (or wish to become) a consultant * You can list the materials you share as publications on your resume * You can test whether other teachers like your materials, and if they do, collect your materials into a book or eBook * You can test whether there is enough interest in your materials for you to start a Web site of your own, or, to develop your own online business -> Writing for the Web: A How-To <- If you want more information on how to write for the Web, check out this free course. This link can get you started in developing Open Source Educational Content for the Web. http://tinyurl.com/rkxzd If you want more information about the process of creating a site without knowing HTML or without purchasing high- end (expensive) Web development tools, check out... http://tinyurl.com/r5e3t If you want tutorial information on how to build a Web standards-based and Cascading Style Sheet-based strategy, visit our site at... http://www.sitebuildersuite.com =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* FEATURED ARTICLES *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 4 - ----- -> Bilingual Programs: Short Shrift as Usual for a Double-Barreled Opportunity <- There is a need for quality Bilingual education in many countries including the United States. But, the delivery of quality, useful, benefiting-our- country learning to our children gets bogged down, side- tracked, subverted and "short-shrifted" by the bureaucracy, just like most other programs. "A gentleman by the name of Ernesto Ortese, a foreman on the south Texas ranches quoted [sic] as saying, 'My children learn Spanish in school so that they can grow up to be bus boys and waiters. I teach them English at home so they can grow up to be doctors and lawyers." (Thursday, April 30, 1998, House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families, Committee on Education and the Workforce, words of Representative Martinez) (http://tinyurl.com/jlcu4) Aside from the political issues (because there is a perceived connection between the need for Bilingual instruction and immigration in the mind of many citizens), there are basic educational issues that seem to be ignored by almost everyone. In addition, some "Bilingual" issues are economic, because, in many cases, children with lower English language proficiency will earn less money, particularly in an "Information Economy." Is Bilingual education responsible for maintaining a large Spanish-speaking underclass? Here are words from Congressman Martinez at the same House Hearing... "None of my brothers and sisters went to college. In fact, I was only one of two that graduated high school of ten. But we did all right, and we didn't have bilingual education. But I'll tell you something else, 50 percent of the kids that started with me in kindergarten never finished high school, because they dropped behind because they had English-barrier problems. They dropped behind until they were so frustrated they dropped out. (Thursday, April 30, 1998, House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families, Committee on Education and the Workforce. Words of Representative Martinez) (http://tinyurl.com/jlcu4) "If you are learning math, you first learn all the terminology in Spanish, Laotian, Tagalog, whatever. Then you have to retranslate it when you are taught it again. Is it any wonder these kids are bombing achievement tests when they are given in English? They are having to learn the subject matter twice. (Thursday, April 30, 1998, House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families, Committee on Education and the Workforce. Words of Mr. Jim Boulet, Executive Director, English First) (http://tinyurl.com/jlcu4) Here are some relationships: * Struggling with the English language in high school can lead to more school leaving (dropping out) by "Bilingual" students * Struggling with English language learning in college can lead to leaving college, avoidance of advanced degree program, or the choice of attending a technical school instead of college So, what does all this mean? It means that we have a mammoth opportunity to help children when they are children and (our society) for generations. Are we likely to take advantage of this opportunity? No. We are not likely to fund ordinary, run-of-the-mill education to an adequate level, or to fund other special interest areas of education, i.e., Special Education, Education for the Gifted and Talented, Early Childhood, Technology Integration; Health-Art-Music Education, Sports...every specialty area would rightly demand their slice of available funds. But, what are the facts about learning for native Spanish speakers that most educators would accept as "basically" true?: * Children learn languages "better-easier-faster" when they are younger, the younger, the faster. This is because a child's developing brain is structured to learn languages * If learning a language is deferred for several years, then learning that language will be more difficult; at the same time that content area and technical vocabulary become more difficult (prescription for stress, frustration, failure and school leaving) * Failures by children in the early grades are the best predictors of which students will leave school early (drop out) * Segregating students for any reason, even well intentioned ones leads to separate, but unequal, educational opportunities * Learning the words of a language is only part of the learning process. Language learning is inseparable from learning the culture of the language (language includes a lot more than syntax, vocabulary and grammar) * Language learning and the learning academic content are different learning tasks, with a facility of the language being a prerequisite for acquiring content area and technical vocabularies * Learning the vocabulary of each academic subject in two languages is more difficult, but not "twice" as difficult. Learning two vocabularies is only efficient if these vocabularies are presented at the Instructional Level of each student * Presenting information at the Frustration Level of a student produces worse learning outcomes than not presenting any information at all (because of the stress and because a failure process teaches and trains students to adopt a "I No Can Do" attitude) * The "Immersion Method" of learning a language focuses upon a day-to-day facility of the language. Just because some adults can develop to an "Advanced Plus" level of language use does not mean that they have the ability to translate academic subjects with specialized vocabulary, even when they recognize the concepts * There is little agreement in what the term, "Bilingual Education" means. What is sure is that "I am Bilingual" means something other than "Bilingual Education." Ideal Programs? Maybe "I am Bilingual" should mean a demonstration of both a personal and a professional proficiency in two languages. Maybe "Bilingual Education" should mean an educational process that starts early, continues for the entire school career of every student, one that produces a knowledge of the grammar, syntax, and culture of both languages; so that each person can communicate fluently, without accent, on a professional level in each language. Since no Federal or Local Education Agency (LEA) will fund and support such a program, these definitions are impractical. What does "practical Bilingual Education" mean? * The flip answer is: "Whatever the Federal, State or Local School District says that it means"...maybe... - Teaching all students to be fluent in two languages? - Teaching Spanish speaking students academic subjects in two languages - Teaching Spanish speaking students for seven years in their native language; then turning them loose to learn all academic subjects, in English, on their own - Placing children in classes where Spanish is supposed to be taught in equal time as English, but pulling the students out of that program as soon as they pass standardized tests, but teaching them hardly any English skills These "definitions" are just a few of the possible guises that "Bilingual Education" might take when "What are we going to do" decision-making interfaces with the "Whatever it is, we must do it as cheaply and quickly as possible" vision of politicians and school administrators. Actually, the public in our country is divided over this issue, and probably even the parents of an majority of native Spanish speakers want their children to be fluent in English and to be fluent in academic, content area English. There would be wider agreement if honest, "tell-it-like- it-is" dialogue was possible. Everyone wants the best outcomes for all our students; but there is limited agreement on what the "best" is, and less agreement on who will pay for an ideal education program. But, practical considerations and long term vision are not issues that influence the ideologues on either side of the "Let's offer Bilingual Education, or not" debate. The arguments "for" providing Bilingual Education are often the same arguments "against" providing Bilingual Education. The arguments "against" providing Bilingual Education cite trainloads of evidence that Bilingual Education "doesn't work. This is the "straw man" logical fallacy error. This error deceives by showing that lots of under funded, under supported Bilingual programs show poor, negligible, or non-existent measurable student outcomes. Then, the meager results of these programs are added up, and Bilingual Education is shown to be statistically irrelevant. From this conclusion, the theory of an "ideal Bilingual program" is attacked. The logic is, "Since proponents can find almost no evidence that Bilingual programs work, Bilingual programs don't work." Proponents of Bilingual education distort common sense in the opposite direction. To justify the expense of providing Bilingual classes, proponents of Bilingual Education cite a school that is delivering an "ideal Bilingual program." What proponents fail to notice is that once Bilingual classes are developed, these classes are seldom funded and supported at an ideal level. Here is the formula: Less than ideal funding + Less than ideal support = Less than ideal results What does "Less than ideal results" mean" This is "bureaucratic speak" for... * Marginal * Mediocre * Disappointing * Of Questionable or Dubious Value * "We made a mistake, but since we don't know what went wrong, we'll keep doing it" * "We don't know what we are doing, but since people demand action," we'll throw them a bone (instead of serving a program with meat) What less than ideal means is that, like most other educational programs, Bilingual programs are usually under funded, and marginally supported. What kinds of educational programs and initiatives are under funded? Here are a few examples: * General Education * Special Education * Gifted and Talented Education * Health and PE * Music and Art Education * Library Services * Technology Infrastructure and Training * Professional Development * Women's Sports * School Health Services * Food Services * Maintenance Services * Transportation Services * Almost Every Other Program What kinds of educational programs are over funded? Examples might be: * High-stakes Testing Programs * Pet Projects of High-Ranking Decision-Makers * Men's Varsity Sports What kinds of programs might have adequate funding, but little impact upon targeted educational outcomes? Here are some examples: * Federal Programs * Compensatory Education Programs So, why do Bilingual programs continue, and why are so many parents denied the right to remove their children from non-functional programs? (Goodling and Riggs, 1998) An answer may be found in the "fuzzy logic" of school district management. Here is a practical example... What happens if there is a classroom with 20 Bilingual students, and ten parents request that their students transfer to classes that are conducted in English? All the English classes are full, so the district would have to hire another teacher. And, that leaves a Bilingual teacher with only ten students. According to the wisdom of bureaucratic thinking, this move will cost the district 100% more (two teachers) and the district will receive only 50% productivity (two teachers with half-sized classes when they could get away with hiring only one teacher). Here is another practical example... The school district starts the year with 20 students in the Bilingual class, and ten make substantial progress as the year wears through (no pun intended). Now, the Bilingual teacher can start placing students in English- speaking classes, and monitoring their progress (sort of like Sp. Ed.). But, the teacher in the English-only classes complain about the extra work, and complain that as their class load increases, the Bilingual teacher isn't pulling his or her weight with the successively smaller class. And, both the Bilingual and English-only teacher will be asking for tutoring help, i.e., hiring yet another person. To a school district administrator, this solution is even worse, i.e., being tricked by the gradual creation of another class and hiring a tutor to manage the transition. Three teachers hired when they could have gotten by with two! The bottom line... Education is under funded and producing less than ideal, less than desirable, and results and outcomes are less than possible and less than attainable. Real Ideals... Spanish speaking and English speaking (actually any language and ethnic group of students) learn best at their own pace, according to their own talents; based upon their individual learning styles, in a stress-free, supportive environment. Teaching toddlers both languages (two and three year olds) will create students who speak both languages, accent-free. This is the approach that we should take if we really want "Bilingual" citizens. Of course we don't really want Bilingual citizens, do we? Not if building a Bilingual citizenry means spending the money to make truly two-language-fluent adults. This really is another issue of "Lets have a program and see if we can get folks to believe that we are solving their needs." How long has this been going on? IN 1998, Representatives Bill Goodling (R-PA) and Frank Riggs (R-CA) wrote in the Washington Times (Monday, July 20, 1998) that the Federal Government had spent $4.4 Billion on Bilingual programs over the previous 30 years, and still didn't "know what works." "But the 3 million limited and non-English speaking students enrolled in these programs know that federal bilingual [sic] education doesn't work. Why? Federal bilingual [sic] programs emphasize native language instruction, not English. They also keep children and teenagers trapped in programs for years. Goals and results are rarely emphasized. Most studies show that native language based programs are no better, or even worse, than doing nothing." (Washington Times, 7-20-1998 http://tinyurl.com/pbfyq) This is no surprise. The Feds have a track record of not knowing what is happening with our tax dollars. Goodling and Riggs also note that in 1997, only one in 15 students in Bilingual programs learned enough English to transfer out. But, this is still better that our Representatives' track record where not one in 500 have learned enough to get the Feds out of the education business. So, everyone's strategy for Bilingual education is wrong. The claim of proponents that native Spanish speaking children learn better if taught in Spanish is false. What these proponents see is that children do make more progress in the Kindergarten, First and Second grades when their instruction is in their native language. This would be great if... * They were going to continue this language for their entire school career * They would be competitive in the job market and in higher education once they graduated * That learned English better when they were older Unfortunately, none of these wishes are correct, and the delay in learning English places many of these children in a weaker academic (and economic position) for the rest of their lives. So how can well-meaning educators support Bilingual Education in any of its "practical application" guises? The culprit here are the monkey-wrench-gremlin, standardized testing programs. Paying attention to standardized tests in reading during the first years leads to the mistake of supporting Bilingual Education. If students were to attend English-only classes, their "test scores" would be lower for a year or two, until they caught on and began to excel in academic English. The curriculum transitions to an academic, content area focus around the Third grade. The correct target is to have the children English proficient as they enter this part of their school career. To delay the learning of English until Middle School is backwards in terms of the psychology of learning, and backwards in terms of what students need to learn to succeed in high school, higher education and in the job market. There are also some psychological and economic reasons that well- meaning educators would support programs that don't have face-value common sense. One of the psychological reasons for wanting children to experience "less stress" and an easy transition from their native language to English could be overcompensation for being punished for speaking Spanish in school when they were children. Another psychological/ sociological reason could be the desire to maintain a cultural identity and develop a political power base. What proponents of "Bilingual" education know, at least on the internal, hidden level, is that you cannot know a language unless you know the culture of that language. Otherwise, you only know vocabulary, syntax and grammar. Words, ideas and concepts...but you don't know the people and what makes them unique. But, children that learn English will gain a new culture. Of course this new culture is what they need to succeed in high school, higher education and in the world of work; but as the children embrace academic and economic success, they are free to pick and choose among the cultural artifacts of both languages. To some proponents of Bilingual education, there is a "racial pride" in maintaining a Hispanic identity. Of course, this pride is misplaced since "Hispanic" is not a genetic classification, but a social and cultural one...a cultural classification that some wish to maintain and support through Bilingual education. To be fair, Social Activists with "Cultural Pride" agendas have as miniscule an impact in delivering quality teaching to our students as our elected Congressional delegates. Both groups use "carrot and stick" approaches to education, and both groups believe in using politics and bureaucracy to improve our schools. Both groups have it wrong. The underlying problem is that our schools operate with the vestiges of the factory model of production, and most of our children will never reach their potential as long as schools are operated in this way. Because of this model of education, the stress of school for lower socioeconomic and non-native speakers is tremendous; and related more to the Industrial Age model of schooling, than their particular native language. The solution to this issue is to teach all children English...in daycare, in preschool, in Headstart language programs, in Kindergarten, and in every grade. One other factor contrives to make the "Bilingual" experience a loose-loose situation for native Spanish speaking children. There are not enough Bilingual teachers who are competent enough in Spanish to do an adequate job of teaching Spanish. This is the reason that many parents of native Spanish speaking children complain is that the children learn better Spanish at home. Gearing Up for Real Bilingual Education: Turning the United States into a Bilingual country would take at least two generations of teachers and probably forty years time. The biggest challenge would be to find the funding and support for such a program. The second challenge would be to train enough teachers whose technical, content area Spanish was good enough to do the job. One fact that the proponents of Bilingual education and the opponents both miss is that probably a minority of native Spanish speaking teachers are qualified to teach content area and technical classes. Of course, cutting students off from help in Spanish after Elementary school, and providing only part-time English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at the Secondary level contribute to this lack of knowledge of content area and technical vocabulary for native Spanish speakers. Even the term, "English as a Second Language," should provide enough of a clue that the children will acquire a "second class" grasp of English skills and American culture through these programs. Conclusion: The way that many Bilingual programs are designed provides On-the-job training in Special Education methods for the Bilingual teachers; and structures economic disadvantage into the lives of the children that cannot escape the program. A true "Bilingual" program we would not segregate a few students and hold them captive. A true Bilingual program would train every single student in both languages. This is an unrealistic approach, and no one but the very wealthy who send their children to a private school will learn the two languages to the level of proficiency that is required for personal and technical fluency. However, agreement can be reached on this issue if the motivations of parents of native Spanish speaking students are held paramount. If given a choice between economic advantage or cultural identity based upon a language, what would these parents choose? Apparently there are about 11 million people that risked a dangerous journey, skirted arrest, who live in fear of deportation that would answer that they want every economic advantage for their children. Bilingual programs of every stripe will remain ineffective until the program moves students' lives toward real life success... successes where the unique talents of each child are valued and celebrated. But, come to think of it, all education would benefit in exactly the same way. Except that no one is willing to pay the truly substantial costs associated with delivering a truly ideal educational system. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* TOP TIPS =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 5 - ----- ->Top Tips <- ->Teacher Resources<- Mind Tools -- A Career Resource Site We have found a career development site that has many resources that parallel Classroom Toolkit's strategies for improving teachers' lives. http://tinyurl.com/ldtb4 Some of the areas that this site explores are: * Time Management * Stress Management * Information Skills * Communication Skills * Memory Improvement * Leadership Skills * Problem Solving * Decision Making * Project Planning * Practical Creativity The site also has a coaching program: http://tinyurl.com/lw44h Of course, you have to wade past the heavy sales pages and sales links, but if you are careful, you can find a lot of free information. For those who want to check out the items that this site has for sale, here are some links... (Note: open a new browser window, since some of these links don't provide a way to other pages of the site. Stress Management Link: http://tinyurl.com/rk4gb Time Management Link: http://tinyurl.com/p5tjx Leadership Link: http://tinyurl.com/ooa4g ->Other Discounts<- For any other hardware and software need, call Rob Wehman of CDW*G. Give Rob a call at 1-866-339-7397 if you want immediate current prices. Rob will help you, or put you in contact with someone who can. Rob's E-mail address is robweh@cdwg.com -> Short Article <- Tips for Interviewing your Prospective Employer: Questions for Choosing the Right District This article coaches you on how to interview your prospective school district or campus. While, most articles reveal how to excel at a job interview, this article shares strategies to ensure that you don't choose the wrong school district or campus to work at. If you live in a rural area, and there is only one choice, then study Classroom Toolkit to find ways of saving time while being more effective. However, if you have choices of where to work, you are in a position to interview your prospective employer to learn what working in each organization is really like. One strategy is to talk to people in the district's technology and maintenance departments. Technical staff members tell the truth, and as Scott Adams of Dilbert fame points quips, engineers are like Vulcans, and cannot lie. If you cannot obtain permission to visit the Technology or Maintenance Departments, be wary. And, redouble your efforts during the interview to discover how the organization treats staff members. Here are some questions: * How does a teacher communicate classroom needs, and what is the timeline for providing for these needs (in full)? * What is the tutoring program for every student, and if there is ever a delay in providing needed help, what is the length of that delay? * What process is in place to ensure a delay in providing needed help to every student does not happen again? * What administrative support keeps teacher morale high? * What tools does the workplace environment provide for staff and team collaboration? * What awards, recognitions and commendations has the campus or district received for delivering outstanding learning opportunities to all students? * How does the school or district respond to changes in student demographics, federal law, and technical innovation? * What distinguishes this district or campus in the delivery of exemplary learning opportunities for students and teachers? * What specific professional develop initiatives of this district or campus target teacher creativity, collaboration and self-expression? Accepting a job is cause for celebration, but, if you have a choice, pick the district or campus that matches the kind of answers that you want to hear when you ask questions similar to these. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= BOOK REVIEW =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 6 - ----- -> Work 2.0: Rewriting the Contract <- Author: Jensen, Bill ISBN: 0-7382-0569-9 Format: Hard Cover Pub. Date: 2002 Publisher: Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishers Pages: 194 Cost: $25.00 (List) Available: Amazon at as low as $0.50 (new paperback) $0.03 (used paperback, shipping $3.99 at eBay(TM) (Note: if you are short of cash, wait until our review next month, and buy another book by Bill Jensen. This review tells you everything a teacher needs to know about this new concept of work.) Subtitle: Rewriting the Contract This book really is about how information the economy is different from the Industrial Age economy, and how talent is an organization's most valuable asset. The Books' Topics: * Finding and retaining talented workers is the most important aspect of an Information Economy * Information workers need to be supported in the creative and individual expression of their talents * People need to interact, find inspiration, motivate each other, and collaborate...and these relationships should not be restricted to a company or organization. Collaboration should be world wide * Leadership means supporting and nurturing talent, trusting people and allowing for wildly better results than were first anticipated The central themes of this book are: * No one needs companies to help them collaborate in our information society * Talented workers won't stay on a job that restricts their output, or their expression * It is difficult (or impossible) for talented employees to accomplish organizational goals with a top-down structure * Leadership (and supporting talented workers) means delivering what workers need, now; and in creating easy solutions for that worker to use on the job Keywords: * Invisible Workplace * Asset Revolution * Peer-to-Peer Value * Extreme Leadership Main Idea: The old-style, top-down, chain-of-command management of bureaucracy is ineffective and obsolete Talented employees are the most valuable asset of any organization, and collaborating employees leverage (multiply) that value still further Leadership and management is about trust, and about understanding that meddling with the talents and creativity of employees is always detrimental to the positive outcomes and beneficial results that the organization needs. Management support means getting out of the way of these talented employees, and letting them express their abilities. Quotes: "The biggest shift in the next few years will be how leaders lead." (p. - 46) "Your company may serve a critical marketplace or customer need. But nobody needs companies anymore to help them collaborate, share, or create. People can now self-organize amazingly well, thank you. Their daily challenge is to get the most out of each connection, often in the least amount of time." (p. - 47) "If I'm not working on something that is incredibly challenging and incredibly important, I'm not going to be there... My Work My Way includes the way we need to work in order to meet the team's goals. Nonnegotiable are the best tools, total flexibility about how to achieve results, and completely open information sharing." (p. - 51) "Extreme leaders constantly ask, "Am I doing enough to demonstrate that I respect and trust the people around me? Am I changing enough?" (p. - 120) "Extreme leaders constantly ask, "How far will we go to ensure that employees can control their own destiny?" (p. - 120) "...freedom and autonomy ranked equal to, or higher than, compensation in job-interview questions...in order to attract and retain key talent in highest demand, companies will need to create more opportunities to affect company decisions, build businesses, and share in wealth creation." (p. - 184) Issues Addressed by the Book: This book addresses the issue of employee's autonomy and creativity. This concept is important to teachers in two ways: * Politicians and school administrators need to understand that teachers are the most valuable asset of a school (and district), and need to understand that support for autonomy and just-in-time delivery of materials, supplies and resources are the leader's main job Teachers should be telling their leaders what they need, and leaders performance should be gauged by how well the employee's needs are fulfilled. * Students have the same talent and value as workers. It is the teacher's job to listen to students and to deliver what students need to create, collaborate and produce. Teacher who demand that school leaders deliver what they need should provide a similar level of support to their students. The Book's Shortcomings: This book's style is a bit boring and objective. The book presents information and ideas, rather than a compelling story. Comments: The ideas that are presented in this book are valuable for teachers on two levels: 1.) For teachers' contribution as talented knowledge workers 2.) For teachers' "Extreme Leadership" with students The author's belief that "trust is central" is precisely right-on. Politicians and school administrators must trust teachers, and teachers must trust students. The impulse toward mastery and achievement is innate in all people... a force that traditional, factory-oriented schools have been targeted for elimination. Supporting and nurturing creative minds is required for a society to remain competitive in the global, information economy. Summary: The concepts in this book lay the groundwork for understanding how "out of sync" our Industrial Age, factory-based schools are. Note: Bill Jensen published a better book the following year, and we will review that book in next month's newsletter. Mr. Jensen's other book is more useful to teachers that we will expand some of his ideas in our main articles of our summer newsletters. Rating (Four Point scale): _ Useful 4 _ Applicable 4 _ Relevant 4 _ Innovative 4 _ Original 3 _ Interesting 2 - Overall Rating 3.5 =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* REQUESTS =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 7 - ----- -> Requests <- What would you like to see in this newsletter? Send your requests for future articles to: joseph@classroomtoolkit.net =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* FEEDBACK =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 8 - ----- Site or Newsletter Feedback: Send feedback and suggestions to: joseph@classroomtoolkit.net =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ARTICLE PREVIEW =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= ----- - 9 - ----- -> Article Preview <- Dealing with Bosses who don't "Get it": How you can do Important Work, Instead of Their Work Send your article ideas to: joseph@classroomtoolkit.net =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= Feel free to send this newsletter to a friend. We won't send a newsletter to anyone unless they request to be placed on our mailing list. But, if you know someone that you think might benefit from our newsletter, send them to this address: http://www.classroomtoolkit.com/join-us.html =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= http://www.classroomtoolkit.com =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= Written by Joseph Chmielewski, M.S., L.P.C. Center for Creative Learning (c) copyright 2006 San Antonio, Texas U.S.A. 78265 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~