HELP FOR TEACHERS WHO ARE JUST STARTING OUT OR WHO HAVE RUN INTO A SITUATION THEY HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE.

WE ALL NEED HELP!

I taught full time for fifteen years and am now subbing so that I can finish my novel. I don't have all the answers. None of us do. In fact, even if something works great for me, there is no guarantee it will work for you.
I hope that we will give each other suggestions. I went to all the trainings I could get my principal to approve when I taught full-time. I talked to a lot of teachers. AND I just kept trying things until I found something that worked FOR ME. We can not go against our own nature. Kids can sense that and will test us.
So, don't give up. Keep on trying new things and always know that there is a place to go where you can be anonymous and speak freely.
Best of Luck to all of you. Our children deserve the best that we can offer.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

NCTE asks "What Makes an Effective Teacher?"

What Makes an Effective Teacher?
The federal government has begun discussions on how the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, currently known as No Child Left Behind) will look after the next reauthorization. One aspect of that discussion concerns teacher effectiveness (a new definition to replace the Teacher Quality definition in NCLB). Reports such as the one from the Center for Education Policy at Harvard and those of pundits such as Jay Matthews of The Washington Post have joined that conversation as well.

NCTE's 2010 Legislative Platform urges that federal policy define teacher effectiveness as professional practice that:

*Applies deep content knowledge
*Uses pedagogical strategies and assessment strategies to enable diverse students to meet learning goals
*Is characterized by continuous engagement in and application of professional learning
*Includes participation in teacher learning communities to plan, assess, and improve instruction
*Connects students' in-school and out-of-school learning
*Incorporates current technologies in learning and teaching
*Engages parents and community members as partners in educating students
*Uses evidence about student learning to improve instruction