Stenhouse Newslinks
May 16, 2006
C O N T E N T S
1) Launching literacy work stations
2) Teacher working conditions
3) PD Corner: From craft to profession
4) Living in a world filled with fear
5) Patricia Polacco controversy
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1) Launching literacy work stations
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How do you set up 10-12 literacy work stations in a small
classroom? What problems arise and how can they be avoided or
solved? How can mini-lessons be used to help manage stations,
introduce new materials, and constantly build connections to
current events, student interests, and the literacy curriculum?
Demonstrating key principles and practices from the best-selling
book Literacy Work Stations, Launching Literacy Stations is a new
three-part video series by Debbie Diller. Primary teachers Patty
Terry and Vicky Georgas work with Debbie as they launch new
stations together, develop lessons and strategies for managing
stations, and help students sustain interest and high-quality,
independent work.
A 24-page Viewing Guide complements the video series, providing
discussion questions, classroom extensions, suggestions for short
PD workshops, and 11 reproducible handouts including "The Most
Common Mistakes Teachers Make in Launching a New Station and How
to Address Them." Follow this link to download the entire Viewing
Guide and watch three sample video clips:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0443.asp?r=n89
Launching Literacy Stations: Mini-Lessons for Managing and
Sustaining Independent Work, K-3 * Debbie Diller
3 30-minute programs + Viewing Guide * $295.00
DVD format (includes 12 minutes of extras):
http://www.stenhouse.com/0443.asp?r=n89
VHS format:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0420.asp?r=n89
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2) Teacher working conditions
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In 2002, 2004, and again this year, North Carolina surveyed
teachers as part of the state's Teacher Working Conditions
Initiative. The questions address five areas: professional
development, leadership, facilities and resources, teacher
empowerment, and time. Results are used to shape state and local
policies, recruit and retain teachers, and evaluate school
leaders.
Data from the 2004 survey were used by the Center for Teaching
Quality to develop the Teacher Working Conditions Toolkit, a
website that provides recommendations and resources for each of
the five areas of the survey, with links to hundreds of web
resources for teachers, leaders, policy makers, and community
members:
http://www.teacherworkingconditions.org
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3) PD Corner: From craft to profession
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*May Quote of the Month*
If you are committed to your own lifelong learning,
to an ongoing study of the art and science of your craft,
then consider being a teacher.
--Rick DuFour
Two recent articles reflect on teaching as a profession and
explore the challenges that teachers and schools face to assess
practices and professional development. "Examining the Teaching
Life" (Education Leadership) suggests that school staff members
develop a set of learning principles and use them as a basis for
peer review, self-assessment, and evaluation of professional
development:
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdteachinglife.htm
"The Buddy System" (Teacher Magazine) asks how educators can go
beyond professional learning communities to create ongoing models
of collaborative problem-solving:
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2005/01/01/04view.h16.html
(Free registration required; if you are not already a registered
user, click on the red "Register now" button.)
Is teaching a true profession, or merely a skilled occupation? How
does it compare to established professions such as medicine, law,
engineering, and social work? In "The Development of Teaching as a
Profession," Vince Connelly and Michael S. Rosenberg attempt to
define what distinguishes professions from other occupations,
tracing the evolution of established professions and comparing
them to education. They conclude that teaching is "not quite a
profession" and present several factors that may determine whether
it will become one:
http://www.coe.ufl.edu/copsse/docs/RS-9E/1/RS-9E.pdf
(9-page executive summary)
http://www.coe.ufl.edu/copsse/docs/RS-9/1/RS-9.pdf
(34-page full paper)
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4) Living in a world filled with fear
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"Increasingly we are living in a world filled with fear. It's a
world in which the majority of children are stored away in
warehouses called schools and daycare centers, and in which great
pains have been taken to remove the risks from everyday life."
Chris Mercogliano, codirector of the Albany Free School, describes
one person's suspicions about meeting him at a downtown bus stop
with six kindergarteners during a bagel run, and goes on to
explore how fear in our society affects the ways we raise and
teach children:
http://great-ideas.org/Mercogliano191.pdf
This essay is from the Spring 2006 issue of ENCOUNTER: Education
for Meaning and Social Justice. Published quarterly, selected
articles of the current issue are posted here:
http://great-ideas.org/enc.htm
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5) Patricia Polacco controversy
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The dispute between children's book author Patricia Polacco and
SRA/McGraw-Hill involving the cancellation of her appearances at
the IRA convention surfaced in the general interest press over the
weekend. Here's an account from Saturday's New York Times:
Critic of No Child Left Behind Was Disinvited From Meeting
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/13/us/13author.html
(Free registration may be required.)
An open letter by Polacco fueled the story, circulating widely via
e-mail, listservs, and blogs. The letter is posted on her website,
along with her response to McGraw-Hill's position:
http://www.patriciapolacco.com/"
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