Passion Counts: The “I Love” Admissions Essay

• Passion Counts: The “I Love” Admissions Essay
• Rethinking Schools - by Linda Christensen – Fall 2016
• Article Link

Educators Dipping Into Their Own Pockets To Help Fill Funding Gaps

• Educators Dipping Into Their Own Pockets To Help Fill Funding Gaps
• NeaToday - by Tim Walker on November 30, 2016
• Article Link
• Key Points: This article examines a very important issue in education that seems to be relevant year after year: funding. The author takes into consideration outside barriers as well as poverty levels throughout schools. He also takes a look at how many students do not have year-round access to books as well as how high quality teachers aren’t being retained and how educators continue to spend their own money for school supplies and classroom needs.
• Relevance: This article is very relevant to myself and others in this program as the majority of us are beginning teachers with a large debt to be paid back. Many school districts were recently awarded large bonds which will help immensely for future schools and classrooms. From my personal experience, I have already dug into my pockets to pay for small classroom needs. I think it’s vital that as newcomers we don’t shy away from these issues, that we voice our opinions at union meetings and advocate for funding for our classrooms and schools.

Reducing Anxiety in First Year of Teaching

Title: In First Year of Teaching, Acting More, Reacting Less, Can Reduce Anxiety 
Source/Author/Date: neaToday, Sara Ketcham, 10/13/16
Url Link: neaToday
Key Points: In this article, a third year High School teacher dispenses some advice on how to survive your first year without drowning. She lays out some practical strategies for staying on top of work instead of letting it overwhelm you. She also emphasizes finding a healthy work/life balance, which is critical for maintaining your sanity.
Relevance While This is written for brand new teachers (which we all will be), the advice and tips are useful reminders for all teachers to try to implement not only to help them be better teachers, which obviously benefits their students as well.

A Shortage of Teachers

• Article title: Teacher Shortage Crisis Can Be Averted by Keeping Educators in the Profession
• NEAToday/Cindy Long/9/19/2016
• URL Link [http://neatoday.org/2016/09/19/teacher-shortage-crisis/]
• Key Points: The keys points in this article detail how we are losing about 200,000 teachers each year, while we are gaining in the number of enrolled students. Many say that this loss of teaching staff is due to attrition, but others say it is a symptom of 13 years of No Child Left Behind stripping creativity from the curriculum, low pay and low levels of support and lack of respect for the professionalism of teachers. The article continues on, outlining strategies that can be used to attract and retain talented teachers.
• Relevance: This drain of teachers leaves a critical shortfall of good teachers in low-income and high-minority schools. We are teacher candidates in this program. We should be concerned with what we will face when we leave the sheltered walls of University.

Sir Kenneth Robinson: How to Escape Education's Death Valley

         

How to Escape Education's Death Valley 
Sir Kenneth Robinson

April 2013

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley

Key Points:

1.       Education in the US is based on conformity rather than the reality of diversity. Sir Kenneth highlights the point that students suffer from “childhood”. He says that children prosper when a curriculum touches and accesses their interest and curiosity. His point that, if you sit a child down and expect them to do 6 hours of office scribing, you get wiggly children is so evident in today's schools. I believe that this is more relevant now than it ever was. With drop-out rates at an all-time high in many areas, we need to be finding ways to excite the interests of students, encouraging them to explore and expand their interests rather than just having them become pencil pushers in classrooms.