The Wisdom of Fred Rogers During Times of Tragedy

Just as adults struggle to understand the devastating explosions at the Boston Marathon, children also need help to deal with the frightening news they see and hear from various sources.  Fred Rogers long ago understood the best ways to nurture healthy young people during good times and bad , and he left a legacy that supports educators and parents today.   Thanks in part to the assistance of UNC-TV, North Carolina’s public television network, and public television station WTVI Charlotte, a  booklet entitled  Helping Children Deal with Tragic Events in the News:  Timeless wisdom from Fred Rogers for parents, caregivers and teachers is available to you.

In it you’ll find information about what children fear at times such as these, how to make them feel more secure, how to talk and listen to them as well as other helpful hints.  The booklet also shares the story Fred Rogers often told about his mother’s words to him as a boy when he watched frightening news:  “My mother would say to me, ’Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’  Teachers have always been among the world’s helpers, and we hope you’ll find this wisdom from Fred Rogers helpful.

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Extending the School Day and Year

Over 1,000 public schools across the United States have lengthened the time that students spend in the classroom and after school.  The New York Times reports that in the 2012-13 academic year, five states will be adding a total of 300 hours to the calendar, and in the next three years, forty more schools will be adding time to the school day as well as after school.

Coordination and support of the extended learning initiative comes from state education officials, the National Center on Time and Learning, a nonprofit research and advocacy group; and the Ford Foundation, whose president expressed the need “’for creating a learning day that suits the needs of our children, the realities of working parents and the commitment of our teachers.’”

Children targeted are those underperforming students who need to catch up academically and  experience more enrichment activities.   Those in favor of the initiative add that these high-need students, with less structured after school time, lack extracurricular activities often enjoyed by more privileged classes.  On the other hand, some in teachers’ unions  argue for fair compensation for teachers and believe that adding time on learning is inadequate to address the problems at hand.

Even some local schools in Greenfield, Springfield, and Holyoke have either already extended the school day or are thinking about doing so in the future.  Read the latest in a recent Masslive.com article.

As a teacher, please let us know your thoughts about the benefits and/or the disadvantages of extending the school day and year.

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Teaching Channel Presents

Are you anxious to try some new and innovative techniques this year to engage your students and prepare them for the 21^st century?  In October, Teaching Channel Presents and PBS LearningMedia invite the educational community in our region to observe master teachers do just that.  You can learn how to incorporate digital literacy, the common core standards, the arts, and science technology into your classroom.  (Season 2 premieres on WGBY World on Sunday, September 23 at 5:00a.m.)

Now in its second season, Teaching Channel Presents is a groundbreaking series showcasing inspired teaching in America’s K-12 classrooms. Each weekly one-hour episode focuses on a compelling issue facing education today, a wide variety of topics including the New Teacher Experience, Bullying, The Common Core State Standards, Digital Literacy, and the Arts.  For more information and a free online library of more than 500 videos featuring real teachers in real classrooms,  please visit http://www/teachingchannel.org.

For now, check out one of their videos on teaching the Common Core Standards in Elementary School.

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Celebrating America’s Beloved Culinary Teacher – Julia Child

A large part of what made Julia Child a cooking legend and cultural icon was her ability to teach, and with more than a dash of that special ingredient that teachers add – enthusiasm!  In her passionate and sometimes breathless way, Julia forever changed the way we cook, eat, and think about food.

This month, WGBY wished Julia Child, TV’s first celebrity chef, a happy 100th birthday.  As you enjoy these August days, you might want to relax by watching some of the most memorable episodes from her classic cooking series, The French Chef.  Featured will be commentary from noted chefs, actress Meryl Streep, and author Julie Powell.

Check out this remix video from PBS Digital Studios that was created for this special centennial celebration of Julia’s life:

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You can also watch clips from Julia’s pioneering public television series as well as related video, including one of Meryl Streep giving her private theory about Julia’s “animating sparkle” and indomitable spirit.  Bon appétit!

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New PBS TeacherLine Course: Fundamentals of Virtual K-12 Teaching

New research predicts that the number of K-12 students taking online classes will jump to more than 10 million by 2014 – either attending a virtual school for all their classes or a hybrid situation where they combine virtual with face-to-face experiences. With this increase, school districts need highly qualified educators who can meet the needs of all students in an  online environment.

Because of this boom in virtual schools and blended learning experiences across the country and few quality PD experiences for virtual K-12 teachers,  PBS TeacherLine has just launched a brand new course, TECH570:  Fundamentals of Virtual K-12 Teaching.  The first section is now open for enrollment and will start on February 29^th in the late winter term.

In this course educators learn how to be effective virtual teachers who build community, develop tone and voice, and effectively assess virtual students.  They also learn about national standards for quality online courses from iNACOL, SREB and the NEA.   As a project-based learning experience, the course provides the opportunity to build an eLearning Toolbox with resources and materials to use in future virtual experiences.

To view all 70+ TeacherLine courses for PreK-12 educators in content areas, STEM, Instructional Technology and Instructional Strategies, visit www.pbsteacherline.org .

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Exemplary Schools and Practices from Edutopia

Film producer/director/screenwriter George Lucas believes that the audience for his award-winning website Edutopia is “Everyone with an interest in improving education.”  The site can be a valuable resource for those dedicated to furthering education, especially the classroom teacher.

Edutopia allows you to browse by grade level, core strategies, videos and more, providing information that ranges from introductory to in-depth material.  For example, for integrated studies – combining disciplines to reveal their interrelationships through student collaboration and critical thinking – you can view the 3-minute video An Introduction to Integrated Studies or a 10-minute video Common Sense: An Overview of Integrated Studies and then explore real-life examples.  One such example is an article, Reinvigorating Education in East Oakland with a video illustrating the success of expeditionary learning at the ASCEND School, where the principal says  the best education “teaches students how to ask questions — and how to discover their own answers.”

Another of the exemplary schools featured on Edutopia is Houston’s YES Prep, with the “cornerstone values of hard work, proactive thinking, honesty, and patience to life.”  Heavily invested in finding the best new teachers, the school hired consultants to identify their own teachers’ personalities to help in screening new teachers.  These seven attributes comprise the quiz Super Teacher Traits, which you might want to take.

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Innovative Learning: Khan Academy

In a recently published NY Times article entitled Online Learning, Personalized we can see a paradigm for innovative learning in classrooms.  The article begins by describing a charter school classroom in California where a mathematics teacher views students’ individual work on a laptop while moving about the room interacting one-on-one.

Students are using software created by Salman Khan, Harvard-trained son of an immigrant single mother, whose Khan Academy math and science lessons on YouTube garner 3.5 million viewers a month.  Mr. Khan would like these digital lessons integrated into school curriculum and more than 36 schools have signed on, with lessons and software completely free to anyone with Internet access.

In a May PBS interview on Charlie Rose, Mr. Khan explained the genesis of his tutorial lessons and the effect they can have on students.  (He also gives a lucid explanation of learning gaps.)  While his program  has its critics, Mr. Khan  has funding support from donors such as Bill Gates and Google and has won support within the education community, many of whose members are influenced by his model.  Check out the interview below:

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What are Qualities of Effective 21st Century Teachers?

eSchool News: Technology News for Today’s K-12 Educator  recently asked its readers what they found to be essential qualities of 21st-century educators.  While many would agree with today’s idea that teachers should be guides or facilitators rather than classroom “sages,”  other traits were also submitted.

Some of the following top five characteristics relate directly to technology.  Others are long-held characteristics that seem never to change.  Effective educators today:

1. Anticipate the future, aware of fast-changing technologies and current projections for the skills/talents that students will need for their futures (e.g, in STEM) and advocating for those needs to be met.
2. Are flexible, lifelong learners, learning from students as well as colleagues, embracing change and allowing themselves and students to makes mistakes.
3. Foster peer relationships, modeling and teaching interpersonal skills so that students can learn how to develop and maintain relationships through courteous, respectful communication.
4. Are able to teach all levels of students, assessing their current levels of ability and giving them a voice in what they learn.
5. Identify effective technology, utilizing those tools that are most productive  in advancing students’ learning and making the best use of teachers’ time.

We’d love you to let us know what you think about any of these characteristics or what you might add to this important list.

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Honored Educator: Nancy Mahoney

Continuing our commitment to feature outstanding educators from across western Massachusetts, here’s another bio from the Pioneer Valley Awards for Excellence in Teaching:

Name: Nancy Mahoney
School: Williamsburg Elementary School
Grade/Content Area: Art

As a teacher, where do you find inspiration?

“I go to museums and look at art to get inspiration for interesting ideas and combinations of materials.  I adore children’s art, and their pleasure working keeps me excited and inspired in my teaching.”

What is one of your most creative/successful lessons and how did it come together?

“Three Tribes is a lesson I enjoy.”

Why did you become and why have you stayed a teacher?

 ”My training and work was in pottery, but when my daughter entered elementary school, I got very interested in teaching art.  A few years later I went back to school to get my art certification. I have stayed a teacher because it is always interesting, always challenging, there is always more to learn, and because I get so much joy watching children create.”

 Congratulations Nancy!  Check back often to read more bios from the Pioneer Valley Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

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Elms College & WGBY partner on PBS TeacherLine

WGBY General Manager Russell Peotter and Elms College President Sr. Mary Reap

Through a special partnership with WGBY, Elms College is now offering PBS TeacherLine online courses for educators. These graduate-level courses, available for PDPs and CEUs, make learning affordable, accessible and flexible with an online format that respects teachers’ often demanding schedules.

With the high-quality you expect from PBS, these professional development courses allow PreK-12 teachers to collaborate with peers from across the country, sharing best practices, reflecting on their practice, and applying their course work to their classrooms.  In addition to learning about strategies and resources to integrate technology into their curriculum, teachers gain the confidence and enthusiasm that is essential for effective educators.

The Fall 2011 term begins October 26^th and, thanks to this partnership, you can enroll in one of the  PBS TeacherLine courses offered by Elms College and earn graduate credit through its Division of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education.

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