Resources

January 2004   

NEA Resources

Classroom Management Training
Since its development in California in 1997, NEA's I Can Do It training has helped thousands of new and almost-new teachers become more comfortable and skilled at classroom management.

I Can Do It is a crash course that walks teachers through establishing effective rules and procedures, choosing strategies to deal appropriately with student behavior, and cultivating positive relationships with students and parents. Several thousand teachers in 26 states have taken the training since 1997.

For more information on I Can Do It or other classroom management workshops in your area, contact your local or state NEA affiliate.

Get help from the following NEA Professional Library resources. (For more information, including prices, contact the NEA Professional Library at 800-229-4200 or www.nea.org/books.)

Classroom Management (VHS Video and CD-ROM)
Whether you're new to the profession or a seasoned veteran, maintaining a safe and orderly classroom can be a daunting task. This multi-media kit (VHS video and CD-ROM) has tips on how to create a good classroom floor plan, establish and reinforce rules, communicate with parents, write behavior contracts, and create effective time-out strategies.

The Discipline Checklist: Advice from 60 Successful Teachers, Revised Edition
by Ken Kosier
How would you like to consult with dozens of your colleagues without leaving your desk? Sixty teachers--each recognized for highly successful efforts at maintaining discipline--share their secrets for managing the classroom and motivating today's students.

But High School Teaching Is Different: Success Strategies for New Secondary Teachers
by Mary C. Clement
Many classroom management books are geared toward the elementary grades, but this book addresses the specific needs of secondary teachers, with useful strategies and practical advice on classroom management, effective communication, and professional growth.

Other Resources

Elementary Teacher's Discipline Problem Solver: A Practical A-Z Guide for Managing Classroom Behavior Problems
by Kenneth Shore
This handy A-Z guide offers proven strategies for addressing a variety of behavioral problems that surface in the elementary school years, from aggressive behavior to whining. $29.95, Jossey-Bass, www.josseybass.com.

Discipline in the Secondary Classroom: A Problem-by-Problem Survival Guide
by Randall S. Sprick
This combination tool kit and guidebook offers proven solutions to 42 common student behavior problems and practical techniques for managing teens, including how to control talking back or swearing, incomplete assignments, fighting, cheating, smoking, drug use, and more. $32.95, Jossey-Bass, www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/.

Tools for Teaching
by Fred Jones
The classroom management columnist for the Education World Web site offers numerous tips for establishing smooth-running classrooms and handling disruptions. $29.95, Fredric Jones Institute, www.fredjones.com.

The Key Elements of Classroom Management
by Joyce McLeod, Jan Fisher, and Ginny Hoover
All teachers know that classroom management is important, but many are uncertain where, and how, to focus their energies. Three veterans give step-by-step instructions for managing classroom time and space, student behavior, and instructional strategies. $25.95, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, www.ascd.org.

Reluctant Disciplinarian: Advice on Classroom Management from a Softy Who Became (Eventually) A Successful Teacher
by Gary Rubinstein and illustrated by Larry Nolte
In this humorous and insightful book, Rubinstein describes his transformation from incompetent to successful teacher, sharing what works and, even more critical, what doesn't work, when managing a classroom. $12.95, Cottonwood Press, www.cottonwoodpress.com.

Grants, Awards, and Competitions

The NEA Foundation Announces February Grant Application Dates

NEA members just like you have applied for and received hundreds of grants from your foundation, The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education. All members who are practicing U.S. public school teachers in grades K-12, education support professionals, or higher education faculty and staff at public colleges and universities are encouraged to apply this month for the next round of grants. We now offer bigger and better grants--up to $5,000 per project--to fund your BIG ideas.

Apply by February 1 for Innovation and Learning & Leadership Grants, and you will be notified by June 15. Innovation Grants fund break-the-mold innovations that significantly improve achievement for underserved learners. Learning & Leadership Grants provide opportunities to engage in high-quality professional development and lead colleagues in professional growth. These grants are available for all subjects, including the arts, literacy, science, and technology.

Applications are accepted on an ongoing, year-round basis, but proposals received after February 1 will be included in the next grant review cycle beginning June 1. Grants fund activities for 12 months from the award date.

Apply by February 2 for Fine Arts Grants, awarded through NEA local affiliates, to enable fine arts teachers to create and implement fine arts programs that promote learning among students at risk of school failure.

Visit www.nfie.org for complete program details, guidelines, examples of funded projects, and an application. Or call us at 202-822-7840.

Tech Grants for ESPs

NEA offers ESP Technology Grants in the amounts of $250 to $3,500 to local education support professional Associations. These grants provide an opportunity for ESP locals to involve members in the application of technology in projects that could help their locals, schools, and/or communities.

The application process is open to all NEA local Associations that have not been awarded an ESP Technology Grant in the past three years. (Individuals are ineligible for awards).

Grants are awarded, in part, based on the integration of the ESPIS--the ESP Information System created to provide ESP members and staff immediate and widespread opportunities to share data and information throughout all levels of the organization. The ESPIS includes, for example, the ESP Web site, the ESP Listserv, the ESP Data Book, and a variety of publications.

Other considerations when awarding grants include:

• the level of involvement of ESP members
• the merits of the proposed goals and projected outcomes
• the proposed project's contribution to achieving the NEA Strategic Focus of restoring public confidence in public education
• n the completeness of the application form.

ESPIS and the Technology Grant Program are overseen by a User Advisory Group comprising governance and staff who are available to provide training on the use of ESPIS.

To learn about the kinds of projects that have received technology grants in the past, or for information about how to apply for ESP Technology Grants, go to www.nea.org/esphome/members/howtoapp.html or contact the ESP program assistant at NEA's ESP Quality Department (202-822-7131, 1201 16th Street, N.W., Room 410, Washington, DC 20036). Grant proposals for 2004 must be postmarked by April 15, 2004.

NEA-Saturn/UAW Partnership Award

The NEA-Saturn/UAW Partnership Award recognizes NEA locals and their school districts that work together as partners in pursuit of quality education. The 2004 Partnership Award seeks "best practices" mentoring programs that are created and sustained through the joint efforts of both the school district and the union and have resulted in substantially assisting new teachers in their education careers.

Six winners will be recognized at the NEA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., and in their home districts. The winners will also be invited to visit the Saturn Plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, during American Education Week in November.

The deadline for the 2004 NEA-Saturn/UAW Partnership Award application is February 20, 2004. For more information, go to http://web.inetba.com/saturnuaw/filecabinet/Satfile/partnership.html or contact the Saturn and UAW Union Partnership Team at 800-738-1817.

Albert Einstein Fellowship Program

Public K-12 mathematics, science, and technology teachers may apply for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship for 2004-05. Fellows will spend 10 months with the federal government and may be assigned to congressional offices or a federal agency, where they are involved in education-related activities. Fellows are paid $5,250 per month and receive relocation and professional travel allowances. Established by Congress, the program is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy with the assistance of the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education. For more information, visit www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/Einstein/about.htm. The application deadline is February 1.

Freida J. Riley Award

Know someone who teaches with an illness or disability, teaches in a low socioeconomic environment, or did something heroic for students, despite facing adverse circumstances? Then nominate them for the $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award. Freida J. Riley taught in the 50s despite her Hodgkinson's disease and encouraged students to achieve their potential. The award is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. For a nomination packet, call 330-376-8300 or visit www.pafinc.com. All materials must be received by March 3, 2003.

Discovering the U.S. Student Contest

K-9 students can celebrate the bicentennial commemoration of Lewis and Clark's adventures by researching U.S. geography and presenting a minimum of 52 spectacular sights (one from each state, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico) in a story, poem, travel journal, game, or video--whichever inspires them--for the Capstone Press Contest, "What's Great About Our 50 States?" A free packet includes an entry-form, step-by-step activities, a U.S. map poster, temporary tattoos, and bookmarks--great for an individual or a small group of contestants. Over $23,500 will be awarded in book prizes. Entries must be postmarked no later than April 10, 2004. To order a packet, call 800-747-4992 or e-mail customer.service@capstone-press.com, For more information, visit www.capstonepress.com.

Technology for Teaching Grants

HP Technology will award grants to K-16 public schools using a collaborative, team-based approach to implementing technology integration projects. The project must focus on using technology to teach, rather than teaching students to use technology.

Potential applicants are encouraged to register online. Applications will be accepted from January 15 to March 1, 2004.

Each of 150 available awards will go to a team of five teachers from K-12 public schools. The award package includes five Tablet PCs, five multimedia projectors, free help desk support for one year, a $500 stipend per teacher, and customized professional development. HP also will give 40 awards to two- and four-year colleges and universities. The award package, valued at $50,000 each, includes an HP product package and a faculty stipend of $7,500.

U.S. public schools and two- or four-year colleges or universities are eligible. Preference will be given to low-income schools and to projects that also integrate mathematics and/or science into the curriculum. For more, go to www.hp.com/go/hpteach.

School-Business Partnership Awards

Created by the Council for Corporate & School Partnerships, the National School and Business Partnerships Award recognizes exemplary partnerships between schools and businesses in the U.S. Partnerships involving K-12 public schools and/or school districts and businesses are eligible to apply. Up to six schools or districts will receive $10,000 to support partnership efforts.

Members of the Council for Corporate & School Partnerships will judge applicants on a number of criteria, including:

• the strength of the partnership's foundation, as evidenced by shared values, and the partners' ability to define mutually beneficial goals
• the success of the partnership's implementation, demonstrated by the management process and determination of specific, measurable outcomes
• the partnership's sustainability, based on support by school and business leaders and by teachers, employees, students, and other constituents
• the partners' ability to present a clear evaluation of the partnership's impact.

A PDF version of the application packet may be downloaded at www.corpschoolpartners.org/award.shtml. Applications sent via mail must be postmarked by January 29, 2004. Winners will be announced on April 21, 2004.

Baldrige National Quality Award

Can your school serve as a leader and role model to others? If so, you might want to apply for the Baldrige Award. This prestigious award is given by the President of the United States to education organizations and schools that apply and are judged to show achievement and improvement in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; student, stakeholder, and market focus; information and analysis; faculty and staff focus; process management; and organizational performance results. Baldrige Award winners receive national recognition and the opportunity to share their best practices with colleagues at the annual Quest for Excellence Conference.

Potential applicants need a copy of the Baldrige Criteria and the Baldrige Award Application Forms booklet. Once you receive the booklet, you must certify eligibility in the education award category and submit the eligibility forms. After certifying eligibility, the second step is to submit an application form and your application report responding to the Criteria questions.

Applications are assessed by a panel of volunteer experts. The panel's 50-page report contains an applicant-specific listing of strengths and opportunities for improvement and will be given to the applicant upon completion of the review process.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) manages the Baldrige National Quality Program. Any public organization that provides educational services in the United States or its territories is eligible to apply for the award, including elementary and secondary schools and school districts; colleges, universities, and university systems; schools or colleges within a university; professional schools; community colleges; and technical schools.

For more information, including a free copy of the Education Criteria for Performance Excellence and the Baldrige Award Application Forms booklet, visit www.baldrige.nist.gov, e-mail nqp@nist.gov, or call 301-975-2036. Eligibility forms are due April 13, 2004. Applications are due May 27.

On TV

DreamKeeper
ABC/Hallmark Entertainment, December 28 and 29, 9 p.m., ET, check local listings.

Shane, a troubled Native American teenager who is only interested in money and girls, is forced to accompany his grandfather to the All Nations ceremony. Grandpa is a Lakota storyteller who bores Shane with mystical tales about birth, death, and renewal. Shane is a boy on the run, in trouble with his gang, and in need of direction. His trip is really a journey toward manhood, and is mirrored in the story Grandpa tells about Eagle Boy, also on a quest. Shane finally comes to peace with his heritage, and learns to honor the importance of Indian wisdom and legend in this four-hour miniseries. A Dreamkeeper Educator's Guide for use in middle/ junior high schools is available online and includes activities and discussion questions, program ratings, and a content advisory. Commissioned by Hallmark Entertainment and produced by KIDSNET, the guide can be found at www.kidsnet.org.

Michael Palin's Travels: Sahara
Bravo, January 1, 6, 7, and 8, 6 a.m., ET, check local listings.

This four-part series follows Palin as he crosses the vast and merciless Sahara Desert. Part 1, "A Line in the Sand," follows Palin as he prepares for the exotic journey and his start onto the first desert trails. Part 2, "Destination Timbuktu," shows Palin's travels getting harder as he enters the heart of the Sahara. "Absolute Desert" tracks the journey in Chad, and the final part, "Dire Straights," follows Palin through Libya, Tunisia, and his return home across the Mediterranean. The series can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.

DNA
PBS, January 4, 11, 18, 25, and February 1, 10 p.m., ET, check local listings.

Fifty years ago, James Watson and Francis Crick, two unknown scientists, solved the riddle of DNA and launched a new era of biology with the double helix as the icon of life. This five-hour series, a Windfall Films Production for Thirteen/WNET New York in association with Channel Four, offers a look at the dazzling progress that has been made in biological science. It shows how an experiment with cardboard models in the back of a physics lab grew into one of the most ambitious endeavors in human history. Episodes feature groundbreaking scientists and explore the underlying issues and consequences of being able to read the genetic code. For more information, visit www.pbs.org.

The Great Pharaohs of Egypt
A&E, January 5-8, 7 a.m., ET.

This four-part program looks at the 3,000-year legacy of the Egyptian pharaohs, covering the pyramid complex of Pharaoh Snefru through the death of Cleopatra, Egypt's last pharaoh. Can be taped and used in the classroom for two years. Teaching materials are available at www.aetv.com/class.

The Proud Family: I Had a Dream
The Disney Channel, January 6, 3 a.m., ET, check local listings.

This animated program finds Penny, an African-American teen, transported back to 1955 where she is confronted with living in a time of segregation. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for one year with materials at http://psc.disney.go.com/disneychannel/cableintheclassroom.

On TV listings are provided by KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D.C., www.kidsnet.org and by Cable in the Classroom's Access Learning magazine at www.ciconline.org.

On Film

Anti-bullying film released

A new, 35-minute documentary, Let's Get Real, takes an illuminating look at name-calling and bullying from the point of view of young people. Let's Get Real allows kids in grades 6-9 to speak openly about what it's like to be targeted, to bully others, and to stand up as an ally when they witness harassment. Directed by Debra Chasnoff and part of the Respect for All Project, the film is designed to support students speaking up both to their peers and the adults in their lives, and to encourage empathy in order to prevent acts of aggression and violence. The Respect for All Project's national campaign against bullying includes curriculum guides and teacher-training programs to junior high schools and youth-advocacy programs. Educators should preview the film to determine how it best fits their needs. The film ($75 per copy), may be purchased at www.respectforall.org.

Portrait of a teaching artist

To Be and To Have, directed by Nicolas Philibert, follows Georges Lopez, a calm and compassionate teacher who has presided over a one-class school in an isolated French village for more than 20 years. Philibert and crew spent six months observing Lopez's class, and the result is an often-hilarious portrait of a teacher's day-to-day interaction with his students. They may range in age from kindergarten up through the end of primary school, but the ever-patient Lopez tends to each student with the kind of respect and devotion that could only be mistaken for love. Look for screenings of To Be and To Have in selected U.S. cities in January: Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; Denver; Santa Fe; and San Francisco and Berkeley, California. Educators may rent videos or films from New Yorker Films. For more, go to www.newyorkerfilms.com.

Diversity Calendar

[January]

January 1-3 - Japanese New Year Celebration
Three days of festivities mark the beginning of a new year. Celebrations include giving gifts, visiting local shrines, and decorating house entrances and cars. For more, visit www.japan-guide.com/e/e2064.html.

January 18 - World Religion Day
Celebrated in countries around the world on the third Sunday in January, this day is observed to help promote the understanding of all religions.

January 20 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The Civil Rights leader of nonviolent resistance and Nobel Peace Prize winner was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. This federal holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of the month. For more, see http://thekingcenter.com/holiday/index.asp.

January 23 - First American Indian senator takes office
Charles Curtis of Kansas became the first American Indian Senator on this day in 1907.

[February]

February 1 - Chinese New Year
Celebrated by Chinese all over the world, this day begins the Year of the Monkey. For more, visit www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/chineseny.html.

February 2 - Eid al-Adha
This Muslim Holy Day is known as the Feast of the Sacrifice and commemorates the end of the Pilgrimage to Mecca. The day is filled with prayer and feasting. For more, visit www.cie.org/ teachers/hajj/hajj.asp.

February 15 - Susan B. Anthony's Birthday
After teaching for 15 years, Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) fought for women's rights and the abolition of slavery. For more information, go to www .susanbanthonyhouse.org/.

February 25-April 10 - Lent
Christians observe this period of fasting and penitence for 40 days, excluding Sundays, beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending with Easter. For more, go to www.factmonster.com/ce6/society/A0829403.html.

Take Note

Free Forensics Units

The National Science Teachers Association and Court TV have partnered to develop science units for elementary, middle, and high school science teachers. The units, available for free, are located on the Court TV Web site and use forensics as a hook to spark student interest in science, teach key biology and chemistry concepts, and suggest possible science careers. Students learn how to analyze footprints, identify fingerprints, and view hair samples under a microscope. Registration on the site is required. For more, go to www.courttv.com/forensics_curriculum/.

Art Resources for Hire

Need art education resources but lack the funds? Then borrow what you need from the National Gallery of Art. Over 120 teaching resources are loaned free of charge to educational institutions and community groups. Programs are designed to meet national standards in the visual arts. View an online catalog and find detailed ordering information at www.nga.gov/education/ep-main.htm.

Pets Primer

Why are many Dalmatians born deaf? Why do rabbits love telephone books? A 45-page guide, Pets for Life: A Look at the Relationship Between People and Their Companion Animals educates teens on the facts, history, legal issues, and laws about pets. The guide can be downloaded for free from the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education's (NAHEE) Web site at www.humaneteen.org/pets_for_life or ordered in print for $5 a copy.

Help for Early Readers

By age three a child is eager to write and maybe a little interested in reading. The Partnership for Reading announces, "A Child Becomes a Reader" for parents of preK-3 children. The guide suggests proven ideas from research to help young children become strong readers. The guide may be downloaded free of charge at www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading.

What's Up at NEA's Health Information Network?

HIN Launches Audio Book Series

The NEA Health Information Network and 212 MEDIA have partnered to produce an audio book series to benefit children's health initiatives. The Hear and Now series will feature popular children's stories narrated by celebrities that support better health and treatments for children. Notable voices and personalities in film, television, music, and sports will recite tales from such classics as Curious George and Arthur. Profits from the sale of Hear and Now will benefit NEA HIN and the Elizabeth Glasser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The audio book series will be released in Spring 2004.

For more information, contact David Hoover at dhoover@nea.org or Neal Shenoy at 212 MEDIA, 212-931-0182.

Building Coalitions For Healthier Schools

NEA Members and UniServ staff from Washington, Connecticut, and Oregon attended the October National Coalition For Healthier Schools Meeting coordinated by the Healthy Schools Network, a national not-for-profit organization based in New York. U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton opened the meeting that focused on federal policies and the activities of State Healthy Schools Reform Coalitions. Earlier in the week, the NEA coalition meeting attendees were among the 95 NEA representatives who attended the fourth Annual Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Symposium. The National Coalition discussed opportunities for collaborations, partnerships, and state activities to advance health protections for children and adults in their "workplaces"--schools.

For information on linking to or starting a healthy schools reform coalition, or to learn more about school environments, call or visit the Healthy Schools Network at 518-462-0632, www.healthyschools.org.

Join the NEA Fitness Challenge!

More than 60 percent of American adults and nearly 20 percent of children are either overweight or obese, according to statistics projected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data relating to teachers specifically are even more alarming than the national average, making educators more vulnerable to sequel disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic stress disorder. NEA HIN has collaborated with NEA Today to launch the first NEA Fitness Challenge. Join the challenge and get in shape with the help of the "dream team"--a personal trainer, nutritionist, stress reduction expert, and a meditation teacher. It's never too late to get started and chat with the experts, ask personal queries, and share your success stories with colleagues.

To learn more or to join the NEA Fitness Challenge today, visit www.neafitness.org/home.htm.

On the Web

Poetry reading

Why just read a poem when you can hear it read aloud? The Academy of American Poets offers dozens of poems in text form or as RealAudio files for listening. Many are recordings of the authors reading their work. All are searchable by title and author name. Go to www.poets.org/booth/booth.cfm.

Mark Twain In His Times

This site focuses on how Mark Twain and his works were created and defined, marketed and performed, reviewed and appreciated. Students and teachers can see what Mark Twain and his contemporaries said about each other. Go to http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/, for texts and manuscripts written by Twain, as well as contemporary reviews and articles.

History in Coins

The U.S. Mint's History In Your Pocket Change Web site is a fun, educational tool that generates interest in coins, the Mint, and U.S. history. The site, at www.usmint.gov/kids/, uses games and stories to bring to life the individuals who appear on U.S. coinage. The site also helps teachers share the innovative ways they've found to use coins in the classroom.

It's My Life

It's My Life, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, focuses on the everyday issues kids and teenagers deal with, but from their perspective. On this site, kids can read informative articles, share stories, participate in polls and quizzes relevant to them, participate in games and activities, get advice from older kids and experts, and contribute their own comments and questions. Go to www.pbskids.org/itsmylife.

School Bus Safety

The Web site for the National School Transportation Association (NSTA), located at www .schooltrans.com, has information on school bus safety for drivers, children, and parents. It offers information regarding reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on seat belts, and a school bus exhaust report that examines whether buses that use diesel release fumes harmful to students. The "Do You Know?" and "The ABCs of School Busing" sections present simple, meaningful facts about the school bus system in the United States.

Start Buying Differently

Clothes. Fast food. Basketball shoes. The things we buy keep us fed, clothed, and entertained. But the World Wildlife Fund's site, www.ibuydifferent.org, sets out to show that everything we buy has an impact on the environment. Learn what biodiversity is, how what you consume can affect the environment, and how you can take action to help make a difference.

OWL.org

OWL.org Joins Read Across America to Support Literacy

"The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat." What is more natural than a partnership between an OWL and a Pussycat? English poet Edward Lear certainly thought that there was an affinity between feline and fowl, and so do OWL.org and NEA's Read Across America (RAA) and its signature figure, Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat.

Since its launch in August of 2002, OWL has featured numerous articles about reading--from reading and literacy resources to incorporating reading skills into subjects such as math and science. Now OWL has taken another step and formed a partnership with one of NEA's most popular programs--Read Across America.

What does this partnership mean for NEA members? Registered users on OWL will have exclusive access to a variety of reading activities and materials developed by the RAA team to help celebrate Dr. Seuss's 100th birthday on March 2 and promote reading all year long. NEA members who shop online through OWLShopper will be contributing to RAA efforts to support student literacy since a portion of OWLShopper sales support student literacy grants.

So come to www.owl.org for exciting new Read Across materials -- and don't forget to click on OWLShopper to support important local literacy programs!

Heads Up From NEA Member Benefits

The New Year is a good time to consider your family's future financial well-being by increasing your life insurance coverage.

With the NEA Preferred Term Life Insurance Plan, members, and now their spouses, too, can apply for insurance benefit amounts of $100,000, $250,000, and $500,000 for 10-, 15-, and 20-year terms.

An expanded number of rate classes (eight instead of only three) provides more flexibility in qualifying for coverage. And with level premiums and level benefits, rates and benefit amounts stay the same for the entire term of coverage.

To learn more or to apply, go to www.neamb.com/insurance or call our Member Service Center toll-free at 800-637-4636, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (or Saturday,

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) ET. TTY users call: 800-445-1269.

Adding up your savings...

If you are contributing to an NEA Valuebuilder retirement program, did you realize how a small increase each pay period has the potential to improve your retirement nest egg?

If you invest $100 per month earning 8.5 percent interest compounded daily over a 40-year career, you will have $370,994 at retirement. Look what could happen if you increase your contribution amount by $25 per month periodically throughout your career:

First 10 years	$100/month
Years 11-20	$125/month
Years 21-30	$150/month
Years 31-40	$175/month

Assuming the same 8.5 percent interest rate, at the end of 40 years you will have accumulated $429,786 for retirement--an increase of almost $59,000!

Consider giving your retirement plan a boost.

Contact your NEA Valuebuilder representative or call 800-NEA-VALU, today.

Books by NEA Members

Fawn's Story: The True Story of A Special Therapy Dog
By Susan W. Burney

Written for children ages 8-12 by an elementary teacher, the book tells the true story about the adoption, training, and experiences of Fawn--a disabled pup with only three legs. Fawn's Story sends a positive message about overlooking a "disability" and realizing that "it's what inside that counts." Fawn, a certified T.O.U.C.H. dog (Therapy of Unique Canine Helpers), visits hospitals and schools to comfort and entertain students and patients. 40 pp. $10--proceeds benefit Support Dogs, Inc. and Open Door Animal Sanctuary. To order, go to www.supportdogs.com or call 314-423-1988.

The Classroom Is BareÙThe Teacher's Not There
By Martha Karlovetz

This is the moving and inspiring story of a talented young teacher whose life and career were cut short by brain cancer. Facing incredible odds, Linda Favero's determination to teach, even though she was told to forget about teaching when first diagnosed, spanned six years. Written by her mother, a caring teacher herself, The Classroom Is Bare gives readers rare insight into the bond formed between a mother and child during a time of grief. The author's name appears in the National Teachers' Hall of Fame. 224 pp. $15.95 plus $4 s&h from Linmar Publications. To order, go to www.classroomisbare.com, or call 636-398-5909.

Improving the Quality of Teaching Through National Board Certification: Theory and Practice
By Jill Harrison Berg

This first-of-its-kind resource gives educators a clear understanding of how and why National Board Certification can help them improve their teaching. Berg, a National Board Certified Teacher and doctoral fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education, gives her own and 12 other NBCTs' hands-on experiences with the process. Well-organized, the book provides practical strategies to support teachers' growth during their candidacy. 169 pp. $27.95 plus $3 s&h from Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc. To order, call 800-934-8322, or go to www.christopher-gordon.com.

Welcome Home or Someplace Like It
By Charlotte Agell

This debut novel for teen readers explores the meaning of "home" for two children left with their grandfather in a small Maine town for the summer. Once granddaughter Aggie begins exploring the town, however, things get interesting. Anything seems likely--even the possibility the children have found home. The author is a creative writing and English teacher on the junior high level. 240 pp. $16.95 from Henry Holt and Company. To order, go to www.henryholtchildrensbooks.com/search.htm or call 888-330-8477.

In Print

Making The Minutes Count

While educators may deserve an in-class secretary for organizing all their tasks, for now Time-Saving Tips for Teachers by Joanne C. Watcher and Clare Carhart must suffice. The book helps teachers become more efficient and organized with effective time-saving tactics for student assessments, conference planning, research, handling absences, substitute communications, filing, and a whole lot more. 95 pp. $27.95 from Corwin Press. To order, call 800-818-7243.

Digging the Past

Discover what life was like during the adventures of King Tut, or before the burning of the cities of Troy and Pompeii. Author John Orna-Ornstein in Archaeology: Discovering the Past reconstructs ancient civilization in this full-color book that defines the study of archaeology, its key terms, and the modern equipment used to determine the paths of the prehistoric life with an easy-to-read approach. 39 pp. $17.95 from Oxford University Press. To order, call 212-726-6057.

What Was It Like, Grandma?

In Grandma Lai Goon Remembers, eight-year-old Allyson and her nine-year-old brother, Daniel, find out more about the culture, recipes, and traditions of their Chinese-American heritage each day they spend time with their grandmother. Author Ann Morris has written several books in the "What Was It Like, Grandma?" series, each featuring a different culture. The books contain recipes, crafts, and other activities to help young readers explore family traditions. 32 pp. $22.95 each from Millbrook Press. To order, call 800-223-2336 or go to www.millbrookpress.com.

Lakas and the Manilatown Fish

When Lakas, a Filipino-American boy, goes shopping with his father for a pet, he learns he has no ordinary fish. Lakas' new pet can talk, jump, and run--just like a small boy. When it leaps from its bowl, Lakas and his friends try to catch the fish before it plunges into the San Francisco Bay. Will he ever catch it? Author Anthony D. Robles captivates with his colorful bilingual book (in English and Tagalog). 32 pp. $16.95 from Children's Book Press. To order, visit www.cbookpress.org or call 415-821-3080.

Courage Under Fire

During the summer of 1910, Jarrett, Lizbeth, and Seth's lives are changed forever as one of the biggest wildfires of the century sweeps through Montana and Idaho. Using historical documents and firsthand accounts of the actual historical event, author Jeanette Ingold combines information and imagination to create a convincing story for readers ages 12 and up. In The Big Burn, readers learn how the three teens struggle to grow and come into their own while the fire threatens their homes and lives. 304 pp. $17 from Harcourt Books. To order, visit www.harcourtbooks.com or call 800-543-1918.

Single-Sex Comeback

Since the 1970s, coeducation has been the predominant form of public and private schooling, but single-sex education has recently started making a comeback. Rosemary C. Salomone delves deeply into the matter with research and examinations on educational achievement and the legal questions of single-sex schooling with her book, Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single-Sex Schooling. Salomone supports and advocates single-sex education with sound theories and also corrects many current misconceptions. 320 pp. $29.95 from Yale University Press. To order, visit www.yalebooks.com or call 800-405-1619.

Working Hats Off, Reading Hats On with NEA's Read Across America

Can you think of 100 ways to celebrate reading and celebrate Dr. Seuss's 100th birthday? March 2 is fast approaching and NEA's Read Across America has the resources and ideas to help you spread the joy of reading. How about asking everyone from cowboys to chefs, race car drivers to skateboarders, police officers to footballers to trade their working hats for reading hats? Why not celebrate your local authors in Seussian style and keep the reading momentum going long after the birthday party? Check out the Read Across America Web site: www.nea.org/readacross for a hatful of ideas. You'll find booklists, activities, and a special Seussentennial section, plus a link to OWL.org for more.

Up Front

January 2004   

Whither Head Start?

Congressional lawmakers have spent a lot of tense hours of late debating the reauthorization of the premier program for low-income preschoolers and their families. Now as the final showdown approaches, it's still unclear whether Head Start, which has helped shape the development and growth of 18.5 million kids since 1965, will survive efforts to undercut its effectiveness.

Already the Administration has ordered up widescale testing of the program's four- and five-year-olds, even though the so-called No Child Left Behind law doesn't require such tests in public schools until third grade. Will the madness end?

The future is currently brighter in the Senate than in the House, where lawmakers passed a measure that begins turning Head Start over to the states; allows discrimination against Head Start staff on the basis of religion; prescribes unrealistic academic outcomes for participating kids; and leaves the program grossly underfunded. NEA has been fervidly lobbying for a more reasoned and nurturing approach--and the bill the Senate will debate in January gets close. It:

• keeps Head Start squarely in the hands of the federal government to ensure critical monitoring
• increases funding levels by $400 million
• requires the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to recommend what a reasonable academic outcome should be for a preschooler before requiring high-stakes assessments
• makes it clear that funding of Head Start centers would not be entirely linked to whatever NAS determines those academic outcomes should be.

One problem: the Senate measure fails to provide funding for professional development, even though Head Start teachers and aides will be required to earn certain academic degrees and certificates over the next several years.

As Congress gears up to square the competing bills, NEA urges members to contact their lawmakers to make sure Head Start remains a federal program, gets the funding that will allow it to serve all eligible kids (it only serves 60 percent), and stays immune to the kind of high-stakes testing fever already taxing the morale of public school educators everywhere. For more, visit www.nea.org/lac.

It Ain't Getting Cheaper

More than 25 state colleges or university systems increased their tuition by amounts between 10 and 20 percent, according to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. In addition, five raised tuition by 20 percent or more, four by 25 percent or more, and another four by 30 percent or more.

Four Ways to Revel in a Snow Day

(Or Other Such Gifts From Nature)

Say January and think hot chocolate, crackling fires, and�snow days! Well, okay, for some of us. If you live in a place where the white stuff rarely stops the show--or even appears--it's still not a bad idea to prepare for that unexpected day off. Here's what to do:

1. Follow the wisdom of the American grizzly and hibernate for a day. Unplug the phone, turn off the TV, make some hot chocolate (with a dash of peppermint schnapps), climb under a comforter, read that favorite book--or just snooze.
2. Oh, kids in the picture? If you've got snow, sledding is tops, but a rowdy snowball fight will do in a pinch. Catch snowflakes on your tongue. Make a snow angel. Build the biggest snowman (or woman) ever. Play snow football or snow volleyball, too; they're a great way to meet your neighbors and work off some, er, energy.
3. Teach your child, or somebody else's, how to make a gingerbread house. Take seven planks of gingerbread, assemble them into a house by sealing them together with cake icing in a tube. For decoration, use peppermints, gum drops, or mini candy canes. Your home smells great and the houses last for years--or maybe only a few minutes!
4. Hop a plane to Hawaii and go surfing.

Girls Rule (the Books)

Women and girls around the industrialized world moved up so fast academically during the 1990s that they're now ahead of boys and men, according to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a think tank on global social issues.

Females are now more likely to get college degrees in most OECD countries. Men still get more degrees only in Japan, Switzerland, and Turkey.

At the high school level, 15-year-old girls reported higher expectations for their future occupations than boys. Girls in fourth grade outperformed boys in reading in every country surveyed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

"Fifteen years ago, we were reporting that girls don't stay in school and don't go on to post-secondary education," said Barry McGaw, OECD's education director. "Look what they've done in 15 years."

--Urmila Subramanyam

Reluctant Hero

It was an educator's worst nightmare.

Photo: Mark Johnson

On an otherwise quiet Fall day, Mark Johnson, a physical education teacher at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. A ninth-grade student in his gym class allegedly had just used it to fatally shoot a fellow classmate and critically injure another.

Standing about five feet away, "he pointed it toward me," Johnson says, recalling the horrid moment last September. Other students watched, aghast. But Johnson, a big man with a booming voice, held up his right hand, sternly shouted, "No!" and like a child waiting for direction, 15-year-old John McLaughlin lowered his arm, emptied the remaining bullets, and dropped the weapon.

Johnson still describes his actions as instinctive, and not really heroic, but colleagues, parents, and community members say they still can't thank the 27-year-old teaching veteran and former football coach enough.

Johnson remains circumspect.

"He did a terrible thing at one point and he did do the responsible thing at one point," Johnson says of McLaughlin, who some students claim was teased because of his acne. "He had six more shells, so he could have fired six more times."

Johnson, who tried to save the student who died, says the tragedy was life-changing. But the community has grown closer, and his will to teach remains steadfast.

"I still think schools are one of the safest places to send your kids," he says.

--Tiffany Mitchell

[Civic Lesson]

"Yeah, I Know Springfield!"

Most young Americans know the name of the new American Idol, and even the hometown of the cartoon Simpsons, but many don't know the name of the U.S. Speaker of the House or their state governor's party affiliation.

That's one of the more sobering findings in a national survey of youth ages 15-26 by the Representative Democracy in America Project, a civic education collaborative of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The study found that many youth aren't tuned into their civic responsibilities, lack knowledge of the U.S. political process, and are just plain unappreciative of American democracy.

The study affirms that civic education heightens youth interest in American government, but only 39 states require a civics class for high school graduation. And now such classes are being threatened by the emphasis on reading and math testing under the new federal education law.

"I challenge states to examine their civic education requirements to make sure their schools are turning out informed citizens who don't take for granted the freedom that America provides," says Utah House Speaker Martin Stephens, president of NCSL.

For a copy of the report, visit www.ncsl.org/public/trust/citizenship.pdf.

--T.M.

How Do I Flunk Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

If you tuned in last month, you discovered one reason why so many schools aren't making the grade under the new federal education law. (Review: The law required every state to set standards so high that at least 20 percent of students started out in schools that were substandard.) Now comes the answer to this brain twister: Why do so many states have more than 20 percent of their schools missing the mark--in many cases over 50 percent more?

Puzzling, yes, so take a deep breath.

The law applies the same academic standard to the entire student body in a school as it does to its various subgroups: low-income students, major racial/ethnic groups, English-language learners, and special education students. Each group has to meet the standard separately for reading and math. That could mean nine subgroups of students for each subject--that is, 18 chances to miss the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) mark. Miss for two years and get branded "in need of improvement."

Seem unfair? It's only half the story. At least 95 percent of students in each group has to show up and take the test on test day. For many schools, that makes 36 new opportunities to make the dreaded list.

States do have some flexibility. If a school has only a few students in any subgroup, the subgroup's scores don't have to be considered when determining whether or not the school makes AYP. That's in part because each state determines for itself how big those subgroup sizes will be. Not surprisingly, those numbers vary widely from state to state--which, of course, opens up yet another can of worms. But more on that next time.

Got Living Wage?

Photo: WEAC

Unfortunately, most education support professionals don't. But members of the Oshkosh Paraprofessional Education Association (OPEA) in Wisconsin are one step closer to getting the salaries they deserve. More than 70 OPEA members gathered in October to strategize about building a livable wage campaign, one of the first locals in Wisconsin to join the effort. But, in a state where the average ESP makes just $13,000 a year, other locals are not far behind. Local Associations in Stevens Point, Wausau, and Denmark are exploring the idea as well.

No Child Left Poor?

Bold objectives, firm timetables, and not too much fussing over how to get there. That about sums up the Administration's strategy for implementing the new federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

But is it reasonable? One high school teacher, Michal Lile of Indianapolis, Indiana, wonders. Lile recently challenged ESEA boosters "to cut the rates of joblessness, infant mortality, homelessness, poverty, crime, or child abuse to 0 percent by 2014"--the same year 100 percent of all public school students are required under the law to be proficient in reading and math. Can it be done, Lile asked in a letter to the Washington Post.

Hmmm. We wondered, too, but not to be unreasonable, we'd ask government officials to tackle just one of those scourges: child poverty. Turns out rates in the United States are higher than in any other wealthy nation--two or three times higher than in Western Europe. As the Administration itself would say, "No excuses!" Let's lift every child from poverty by 2014 and make sure it happens by setting mandates along a straight path to success.

Here's the math: the U.S. Census Bureau says 16.7 percent of American children were poor in 2002--almost exactly one out of six. To get to zero in 2014, we'll mandate a 1.4 percent reduction each year. Easy. But, ah, what penalties shall we impose on politicians if they don't make Adequate Yearly Progress?

You choose. Send your suggestions to ajehlen@nea.org.

Middle School: They Do Things Differently There

"Right before puberty, brain cells grow extra connections.... This growth...peaks at age eleven for girls and twelve for boys; the cells then fight it out for survival. The ones that are being used prevail. The rest will be shed."

--Not Much Just Chillin'

What a wonderful age for teaching. And so easy! Just offer the material and middle school students soak it up like eager little sponges.

We'll wait a moment for middle school teachers to pick themselves up off the floor. As Not Much Just Chillin' (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003) illustrates, the realities of middle school, like the children themselves, are in constant conflict: The wonderful opportunities for learning and living struggle with the hormonal awkwardness that makes learning--and life--so difficult.

Author Linda Perlstein spent a year documenting the lives of suburban middle schoolers--their conversations, thoughts, ambitions, hopes, fears, shopping habits, dating rituals, gossip, and rollercoaster emotions. What she discovered only affirms what middle school teachers have known all along. Pre-adolescent children are inhabitants of their own land, with their separate language, value systems, and courtship rituals.

As it happens, these are the years when children acutely need positive role models, family connectedness, and guidance. But, Perlstein points out, it's exactly the time when many parents back off, figuring their children are old enough to start caring for themselves and making decisions. Of course, the risks (flunking school, smoking, depression, experimenting with alcohol, drugs, and sex) are huge as the children struggle to figure out life and how to react to it.

The kids in Not Much Just Chillin' speak with a candor that will alternately shock, fascinate, and inform both parents and teachers. Of course, middle-school teachers could probably write their own travelogues, living and working as they do with the exotica of pre-adolescence year in and year out. The slang and fashions change, but the inhabitants remain as vulnerable and confused as ever.

Need a Mentor?
Check Your E-Mail!

What's a new teacher to do when she can't find a mentor in her school district? She taps one by clicking her e-mail, of course.

Education Minnesota's novel "e-mentoring" program makes it possible for new teachers and volunteer mentors to connect online. The mentors are all National Board Certified Teachers from across the state who've decided to "give back" by corresponding with rookie teachers in their content areas. Program administrators basically play matchmaker.

"It's a great opportunity, especially for small districts and for areas that may have only one new person in a department," says Lynette Wayne, a first-grade teacher and one of the e-mentors. "It's going to allow new teachers to build a relationship with someone else in their field in their state."

With budget cuts, many districts have hired fewer new teachers and eliminated traditional mentor programs, so many beginners no longer have access to an experienced teacher for help, says Sara Gjerdrum, manager of field services for Education Minnesota. E-mentoring provides the support to fill that gap, she says.

"We can reach into every district using our online community and using e-mail; however, we can't match people physically from different districts any other way," she says. "This also allows new teachers access to the experiences of a National Board Certified Teacher, which they wouldn't necessarily have in the traditional form of mentoring."

[ Nobody Ever Told Me ]

Home Run Hero

After completing a successful first year of teaching, I became head coach of a high school varsity softball program. From day one, all players had to earn their spots on the field. If a player made too many errors, I pulled him from the game to work on any weaknesses in throwing, catching, or fielding. Unfortunately, some parents didn't agree with my approach.

We had just beaten our school rival when a parent confronted me about my coaching strategy. At that same moment, another parent complimented me on the team's victory. The exchange escalated as the parents traded verbal assaults. I finally convinced them to walk away and cool off. Later, the umpire of our game told me the other umpires were buzzing about the way I had reclaimed the softball program for the school and built a solid new program. The moral of this story--don't give in to the way things used to be. You are the future, make it what you want.

--Ryan Dumkrieger
Secondary business teacher, Sioux City, Iowa

Getting 'Em Healthy

Photo: Ryan McVay

By now you've heard the news: Disturbing numbers of America's kids are suffering from obesity, and the list of attendant problems--diabetes, low academic achievement, tardiness, absenteeism, and low self esteem--just keeps getting longer.

So here's the question: Can schools already trying to make financial ends meet and answer the demand for testing also focus on making students healthy, too?

You bet, says Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, executive director of Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), a nonprofit coalition of 39 government agencies and organizations (including NEA) chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. In the year since it was launched at the groundbreaking Healthy Schools Summit, AFHK has been working with schools nationwide to better support sound nutrition and physical activity.

"Schools are the place where we can reach the vast majority of children," Moag-Stahlberg says. And because schools are nurturing environments, kids listen. Already some 2,000 members of AFHK have joined 51 state "teams" that are developing innovative ways to help schools make a difference.

Want to find out what your own state team is doing and join up? Visit AFHK's Web site at www.ActionForHealthyKids.org.

Homework:
A Hung Jury?

Could the common complaint of the heavy homework load be a myth?

No doubt different views have reigned through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, homework was seen as child labor and banned in some parts of the United States. It gradually became part of the fabric of education, but it seems never to escape controversy.

Today, a common argument holds that since the space race of the 1960s, the increased emphasis on academics in the United States has led to far too much of the stuff. In many communities, parents have protested what they see as an onerous workload for their kids.

But recently, two national studies--one from the Brookings Institute and one from the Rand Corporation--found that, on average, students spend less than one hour a day on homework, no more than students did 50 years ago.

Nevertheless, some parents still argue that the national averages hide pockets where workloads are excessive.

As the debate rages, it's perhaps a good time to review NEA's policy, which expresses healthy support for homework--but stresses the discretion of the individual teacher in determining how much homework is necessary and feasible.

Naps Begone!

"Hey, you five-year-olds, wake up! It's time to get ready for your test."

Photo: David Buffington

That's how the Sarasota, Florida, Herald-Tribune led its report on what may be the latest trend in kindergarten education: no naps. Turns out Alabama kindergartners have to take a standardized test this year, which means the golden time for 40 winks may well be endangered.

The tests apparently evaluate kindergartners on naming and pronouncing the sounds of letters and are designed to take a minute. The Gadsden, Alabama, superintendent reportedly told the newspaper that the recommendation to stop kindergarten napping hailed from the state, but he later clarified to say it came from the "testing people." Whatever. The important point, says Rebecca White, spokesperson for State School Superintendent Ed Richardson, is that Alabama is definitely not anti-nap. And in any event, the tests are required under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Not quite so. The new law requires testing starting in grade three. But many districts are testing children early to see who's going to have trouble later.

Gadsden, though, seems flexible. Children who get sleepy get the special privilege of resting their heads on their desks.

Very Berry Burgers? Don't Laugh

Blueberries in hamburgers sounds about as normal as ice cream on omelets, but it may soon be the newest menu choice in school lunchrooms across the country. Al Bushway, a food scientist at the University of Maine, has discovered that adding blueberry puree or powder to chicken, turkey, or beef patties improves the taste of reheated meat, makes the burgers juicer, and increases the nutritional value. Even better are the potential health benefits, including helping memory, preventing cardiovascular disease, and fighting cancer.

This is not the first time fruit has been added to burgers--an earlier Michigan study tried cherries. In the last few years, a growing number of schools have been adding fruit and vegetables to meat products. Students in taste tests either say they can't taste the difference or that the burgers taste even better with the fruit puree. Bushway says the secret is to use very finely ground puree so that students chowing down on berry burgers can't taste the blueberry seeds.

It's not surprising, then, that blueberry burgers have been recommended for school lunch programs by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The antioxidants in blueberries may reduce the fat content of burgers, making them a tasty weapon in the fight against childhood obesity.

Taking the Middle Road

D. Falcon/Photolink

We don't need to tell you: Guns remain at the center of one the most polarizing and contentious public debates in America. But now, as a raft of gun safety measures wends through Congress and state legislatures, NEA members are weighing in unlike ever before to promote a common sense approach--one that respects the rights of lawful gun owners while protecting schools and communities from gun violence.

What's driving this middle-of-the-road activism? The facts, ma'am: 65 million Americans describe themselves as gun owners, and 48 percent live in a home with a gun. Yet, according to recent polls, 86 percent of Americans believe that while some gun rights exist, those rights come with bigtime safety responsibilities. Indeed, while many NEA members say they don't dispute lawful gun ownership for self-defense, hunting, sport shooting, and collection, they're adamant about safety. As Colorado Education Association Vice-President Jane Goff puts it, "The moderate approach touches everybody."

So what's at stake? In Congress, it's several bills, including initiatives that enforce existing gun laws, stop criminals at gun shows, fight illegal gun trafficking, continue the ban on 19 models of military style assault weapons, and improve the instant check system that identifies prohibited purchasers. With the guidance of NEA member resolutions, NEA has been lobbying hard for passage, as have members who are making their voices heard in their own states.

In Wisconsin, for example, paraprofessional Roxann Dalton is organizing friends and family to renew the national assault weapons ban, which expires September 2004. After losing her nephew in a neighborhood shooting incident in 2000, Dalton organized a letter-writing campaign to make her neighborhood safer, then turned her attention to Congress, which is set to vote on the ban in early 2004.

In Idaho, David Nelms, a middle school social studies teacher and an occasional hunter, says he's speaking out "to make it more difficult for those who would abuse the privilege to own a gun." Nelms, who holds a concealed weapons permit, says it's particularly important for politicians to hear the thousands of people like him who rarely see their moderate views reflected in a debate of extremes.

In Colorado, Goff, who was local president during the 1999 Columbine shootings, helped make state gun shows safer and is now rallying colleagues on the assault weapons ban.

And members elsewhere are scoring legislative coups. The New Jersey Education Association played a critical role in the passage of its state's Childproof Handgun Law last year. The first such law in the country, it requires all handguns sold in the state to be designed with safety features to prevent children and unauthorized users from injuring themselves or others. Last fall the Maryland State Teachers Association helped win overwhelming Congressional support for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act. Following the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings, members lobbied Congress to stem the flow of firearms to criminals and make 35 million missing records available to NICS.

NEA, meanwhile, made its own strides by helping successfully encourage responsibility by gun retailers. Now Wal-Mart and K-Mart, two of the nation's biggest gun sellers, have adopted "Don't Know, Don't Sell" gun sales policies. When store authorities can't determine whether would-be buyers are banned from owning a firearm, they won't sell it to them.

TAKE ACTION! Promote both gun safety and safe gun ownership. Ask your senator to renew the assault weapons ban and vote for legislation closing the gun show loophole. For more visit www.neahin.org/gunsafety.

--Mara Osman
NEA Health Information Network

Teacher Stress

January 2004   

Stressed Out

It's the daily cry of almost everybody who works, but researchers say educators are sounding off in record numbers--and for good reason. The big question: What to do?

By Sheree Crute

Linda Flournoy seldom missed a day of school. Juggling five classes of nearly 130 students a day at Eastside Union High in San Jose, California, she saw stress as part of the drill. "I was always a warrior," says Flournoy, a teaching veteran of more than 20 years. "The work was always really stressful"--particularly, she said, because of "the load of paperwork."

But Flournoy kept at it, day in and day out, and her take-no-prisoners approach to handling the pressure--getting by on savvy advice from professional journals and the thrill of helping students--worked like a charm. That is, until she developed hypertension and a raft of other health problems at the age of 43.

"I knew it was time for a change," says the wife and mom of two sons. So five years ago Flournoy moved to nearby Accell Middle College, an alternative public high school where she teaches 50 kids a day. It's not that life has changed dramatically, she says, but she's managing better and taking better care.

Flournoy is just one of thousands of educators who grapple every day with the frustrating question of how to handle this most baffling--but constant--of professional hazards: stress. A recent survey by Optum Research, a Minnesota-based company that studies work-related health risks, found that 88 percent of teachers experience moderate to high levels of stress--and this research is only the most recent in a small avalanche of work on the topic.

Why all this interest in educators, given the pervasive nature of stress throughout our culture? Because, researchers say, educators face unique circumstances. The often overpowering combination of overcrowded classrooms, testing pressures, paperwork, and anxious parents, not to mention often rambunctious and stressed-out kids, has put teachers at particularly high risk. And teachers tend not to know when--or how--to stop and refuel.

"Teachers are troopers," says Mark Attridge, Ph.D., principal research analyst at Optum, "but they're wearing themselves down." Unlike people in many other professions, he says, they appear "more committed to facing stress" day after day.

Committed, but at what cost? Stress, Attridge says, can make large workloads even tougher to manage, interfere with our personal and social relationships, and as NEA's own data bear out, ultimately send educators hitting the exit door. One-third of new teachers leave the profession after the first five years--in no small part because of the stressful challenges. And as Flournoy discovered, when you "bear up" without positive lifestyle fixes, the long-term loss can be your health.

A Litany of Ills
Still, homing in on the health effects of workplace stress is a little like tracking a chameleon. The warning signs masquerade as familiar things, taking on the appearance of seemingly unrelated ills. "We've documented at least 50 common symptoms of stress," says Paul J. Rosch, M.D., president of the American Institute of Stress. Headaches, back pain, frequent colds, heartburn, anger, depression, overeating or undereating, and insomnia--all are just a few of the signs that surface before full-blown illnesses like heart disease and hypertension develop.

The source of this bad news: the flood of adrenaline and hormones, specifically cortisol, which rush through your body when you feel stressed, temporarily halting normal functions. Unfortunately, almost every organ in our bodies gets in on the act--heart, liver, kidney, lungs. Stress can even damage the brain, attacking memory and cognitive skills, according to Guy McKhann, M.D., and Marilyn Albert, Ph.D., in their book, Keep Your Brain Young (Wiley, 2002).

So can you avoid stress? Sorry, no. But you can manage it. "The most important thing to learn about stress," says Rosch, "is that it's often not the external events that are stressful, but how you perceive them. And perception is entirely under your control."

Getting a Handle
Making changes is actually not as hard as it may seem. "Figure out what's ticking you off," Rosch says. "Conduct a stress audit." Sit down with paper and pencil and make note of situations that fray your nerves. Be aware that stress is different for each of us, and that there's good stress (called eustress)--the sort of adrenaline rush that spurs you on to great achievements--and bad stress--the kind of daily burden that drains you of energy and drive. Make good use of the first kind and learn to eliminate or manage your response to the second.

"Don't waste time on what you can't control," says Rosch, "but look openly at everything"--your commute, your lunch hour, your reactions. Once you uncover your most likely stressors, you can adopt solutions that bring greater peace.

Clear the Decks

Nothing cuts stress like banishing confusion from your life. Getting organized can work miracles if you're working with hundreds of kids each day.

"The average person spends six weeks a year just looking for things," says Shawn Kershaw, a former elementary school teacher who is now a professional organizer in Chalfont, Pennsylvania. Just writing things down--you can only recall seven things at a time--can produce great results. A quick guide:

At Work:

Create systems. To track assignments and tests, list student names on a log and track work as "on time," "a day late," etc. If you move from one part of the school to another, organize to-do lists, student papers, or your on-the-job supplies in lightweight, portable file boxes or containers. Move your "work station" from home to office, cafeteria, nurse's station, or classroom.

Create two sets of "day of the week" hanging files using two colors--one for this week, one for next. Store completed work on the day it needs to be returned to your colleagues or students.

Get centered. Set up classrooms on the kindergarten model of "centers." Store children's supplies and teaching materials by topic (reading), season (the holidays), and function (recess).

Upgrade your technology. Purchase or download free software to input and track grades.

Take five. At the end of the day, consider the next day's to-do list and be prepared.

At Home:

Coordinate your crew. Fill in the family's calendar every Sunday night. Post a copy on the refrigerator and keep it with you in your planner. Record where each person will be and when, including parents. Don't forget childcare pick up and drop off schedules.

Fill 'er up. Never come home with your tank on empty.

Live by the list. Note regular after-work errands and keep the list with you.

Meal plan. Figure out a week's worth of dinners ahead of time and shop once a week.

Box �em in. Create a homework box for each child containing paper, scissors, glue, pens, pencils, markers, and crayons.

Cool down. Plan some down time every night, even if it's just 10 minutes.

Cultivate Calm

Don't know how? Try these stress-reduction tips from Mark Attridge from Optum Research, Paul J. Rosch, M.D., president of the American Institute of Stress, and Jeff Goelitz from the Institute of HeartMath.

1. Walk it off. Run, bike, or hike, just move. And, eat light and right. It will soothe your nerves and reduce stress-related health risks. (Visit www.neahin.org/challenge to learn more about reducing stress through fitness and nutrition.)
2. Choose rhythm and blues over road rage. Remember, a lot of stress is in the eye of the beholder, so take 10 deep breaths, listen to music, and decide not to get angry or anxious about everyday aggravations.
3. Run your own show. Learn to say "no" to obligations that may be stressful and time consuming.
4. Manage up. Administrators and supervisors should be constructively informed about problems at work and asked to provide solutions. If you're being treated unfairly, calmly make your case until you get results. Remember, you deserve a better situation.
5. Talk it out. Teacher support groups work. Discuss problems with colleagues and help each other find solutions.
6. Use your emotions. Use positive feelings to offset negative feelings. Take an "appreciation break." Capture a sincere feeling of appreciation for your spouse, favorite outdoor haven, or a dear friend, and hold onto that feeling while breathing deep into your heart (the center of your chest.) Continue deep breathing for one or two minutes while concentrating on those warm thoughts. Do the exercise anytime and, research shows, you'll balance your heart rhythm and build up your emotional strength and resistance to stress.

For Women Only

Women should be especially alert to the overwhelming stress of wearing three hats--mom (or caregiver), wife, and professional. Several studies have shown that women not only work hard on the job, they often work harder at home, and have prolonged stress responses to negative relationships and higher levels of stress due to motherhood.

So psychologist Shelley Taylor urges stressed out women to use their secret weapon. "Several different hormones are produced in women in response to stress," says Taylor, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles and author of The Tending Instinct (Holt, 2002). According to her work, oxytocin, boosted by estrogen, encourages women to tend to their and others' needs and seek out support from good friends in times of strain. Giving into that instinct may be a woman's best defense. So nurture a neglected body, mind, or spirit. And never neglect girlfriends, Taylor says. Reaching out is an important part of managing stress.

State Report

January 2004   

Florida

The Florida Education Association (FEA) has joined with the Florida AFL-CIO and other unions with members in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) to campaign against Governor Jeb Bush's proposal to invest as much as $180 million of FRS assets in Edison Schools, Inc.

The buyout, approved by Edison shareholders, would make this money-losing firm private and give Edison founder Chris Whittle a sweet package: a seat on the company board, a salary increase of at least 42 percent, eligibility for a bonus equaling 245 percent of salary, and a $1.68 million loan.

Beyond the very idea of sinking public pension dollars into a vehicle for school privatization, the deal's timing stinks. The New York Times reports that Florida retirees are "still smarting" from the loss of a $420 million pension fund investment in Enron and WorldCom.

New Mexico

A broad coalition, including NEA-New Mexico (NEA-NM), has won passage of two ballot measures that inject accountability and funding into the School Reform Act of 2003. Amendment 1 creates a new cabinet position of Secretary of Education, while Amendment 2 directs more resources annually from the Permanent School Fund--some $62 million a year for each of the next 12 years--to pay for reforms such as a new three-level teacher licensure system based on rigorous state criteria. The system is linked to minimum teacher salary levels, such as a $50,000 floor in four years for Level III educators.

NEA-NM local affiliates mobilized voter turnout through a "Give Me Five" campaign, in which each activist pledged to deliver five "yes" votes. The payoff: Amendment 2 passed by a razor-thin 92,198-92,003 margin.

Department of Defense (DoD)

Despite intensive lobbying by members of the Federal Education Association (FEA), Congress has finalized language in the Fiscal Year 2004 defense authorization bill that could put the union rights of 740,000 civilian DoD employees--including 9,000 educators in schools for DoD dependents--at risk. This provision "gives the Secretary of Defense the authority to essentially change 50 years of practice and strip workers of their rights, including the possibility of limiting their collective bargaining and due process rights," says FEA President Sheridan Pearce. "We�ll continue to protect our members in every way possible."

California

In October, the California Teachers Association (CTA) donated $18,000 to support 70,000 United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) members on strike at Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons supermarkets. CTA also urged its 335,000 members and the public not to cross UFCW picket lines--and to shop at other union stores.

One key strike issue: the owners' attempt to raise employees' health care costs. UFCW members were "fighting for something that is very near and dear to us--health care," said CTA President Barbara Kerr. "Their struggle has implications for us all."

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) and other unions have testified against a bill that would dramatically change the municipal collective bargaining law, tipping the balance of power in favor of employers. Using "cyberlobbying," WEAC members have also urged legislators to oppose the legislation.

"That input is priceless," says WEAC President Stan Johnson. "Legislators listen to their constituents. Member activism is crucial as we battle an anti-union, anti-public education legislature in the next few months."

Texas

Big surprise. The Texas State Teachers Association won a major class action grievance over oppressive paperwork in the Skidmore-Tynan Independent School District.

Among other things, the grievance settlement frees teachers from putting detailed state standard/assessment information in lesson plans, writing and turning in Curriculum Guides every two weeks, and completing nine forms not required by the state Education Code.

The frosting on the cake: Teachers can now decline to consent to any forms/paperwork not required by the state code.

Washington

Members of the Marysville Education Association (MEA) returned to work without a new contract October 22 after conducting the longest teachers' strike in Washington history--50 days. So they tried something different: On November 4, these educators helped toss out three incumbent school board members and elect three MEA-backed challengers by a landslide.

There's still a new contract to bargain, but MEA now has reason for optimism. "We look forward to working with the three new board members," says MEA President Elaine Hanson. "They are good people who respect and value teachers."

Spotlight

January 2004   

In It for the Long Haul

Photo by Dave Winans

In Pennsylvania's longest running contract dispute, a small local fights a battle for surrounding school districts.

There's been no love lost here in the west-central community of Somerset, home of the longest running teacher contract dispute in Keystone State history.

So contentious has been the four-year battle between the Somerset Area School Board and the Somerset Area Education Association (SAEA), that one school board member calls it "the moral equivalent of war."

And though it involves just 168 SAEA members, it's a "war" that's being keenly watched across the state and beyond, as its resolution could have a far-reaching impact.

At issue, not surprisingly, is teacher pay. For four years, and through three walkouts, the school board majority--including a landlord, a labor relations attorney, the owner of a metal fabricating firm, and a company comptroller--has fought to limit salaries. The board aims to budget no more for teacher pay in 2010 than it does in 2004.

Not that there's no money. The board freely acknowledges that there is, and has willingly shelled it out for school repairs and a $2 million school computerization project. But teacher salaries have remained frozen since 2000, taking up just $9.2 million of a $26 million school budget. Meanwhile, property taxes--a political hot potato--have remained low.

In the latest gesture, school officials offered SAEA's 12-teacher bargaining team a salary increase of no more than $1,000 for members at the top of the scale--and that would be tied to a health care "co-premium" that escalates out-of-pocket costs for family coverage from zero to $2,700 in three years.

One need only do the math, SAEA members say, to know there's no bargain there. And imagine, these educators say, what life is like for a new Somerset teacher who's been locked at Step 1--just $26,000--for five years, without district reimbursement for the college credits needed to attain permanent state certification.

The dispute has grabbed the attention of educators in surrounding districts, in part because health care co-premiums are so rare in this part of the state, where teacher salaries tend to be modest.

"We understand our district is being watched by everyone else in the area to see what will happen to health care," says SAEA President Jon Critchfield, a ninth-grade physical sciences teacher at the Somerset Area Junior High School. "If we cave in on health care here, the same thing will happen elsewhere in contract after contract."

"This is a flagship district," agrees Lonnie Luna, Ph.D., UniServ director for the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). "I have six locals up for bargaining in January, and they're all waiting to see what happens in Somerset." Other districts have already settled contracts--and quickly--"because they're afraid of what's happened here," he says.

So now, almost daily, PSEA affiliates from everywhere send messages of support or cash to this feisty little local. They're stirred, and encouraged, by Somerset teachers' battle to:

v Confront administration harassment. SAEA has paid the cost of pursuing numerous grievances that the school board refuses to settle, in hopes of bankrupting the local through arbitration fees. Donations have helped pay these fees, and messages of support have bolstered Somerset's teachers, who face electronic workplace surveillance and management intimidation.

SAEA Vice President Mary Critchfield, a ninth-grade English teacher at Somerset Area Junior High, reports that administrators personally visit teachers to try to undermine their confidence in the union.

v Speak out for quality in the classroom. The school board has cut teacher positions, pared down the curriculum, combined classes, and boosted class sizes. "Another teacher and I have 178 students in one study hall," says Jon Critchfield. "It's pack �em deep and teach �em cheap--we've lost top students and a lot of good teachers to other school systems." The bottom line, he says: The school board "doesn't care about education."

v Stay united. "The school board is astounded that this union hasn't caved in," says Critchfield. The secrets: constant communications, member education by PSEA UniServ staff, trust in the bargaining team, and belief in the cause. "We're past the point where we'll settle for nothing," Critchfield concludes. "We're not asking for too much and we've come too far."

--Dave Winans

FOR MORE, contact Jon Critchfield at jacritch@yahoo.com or Lonnie Luna at lluna@psea.org.

Retracing History

January 2004