Saturday, October 24, 2009
3 regions in South to get dictionaries from USAID
Tom Crehan, USAID chief in the country, told The STAR that these dictionaries will be given out to 6,000 public elementary schools and community learning centers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Regions 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) and 12 (Central Mindanao).
Crehan bared this as he presided over the distribution of 692 dictionaries to the pupils of the Quevedo Baptista Elementary School in the village of Blingkong in Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat last Friday, which incidentally was World Dictionary Day.
Crehan was assisted by DepEd Central Mindanao regional director Luz Almeda and National Bookstore Foundation project coordinator Bea Torres in the event.
"Thousands more of dictionaries will be distributed in various parts of Central Mindanao and two other regions. It's our way of helping improve the learning of schoolchildren in Mindanao," Crehan said. If you want to inquire more about such help http://philippines.usaid.gov/
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Teacher Lesson Plans
Digitizing History: Exploring Moments in Time Through Web Design
Students create a home page or small Web site based on a theme related to a recent history or social studies lessons.
Creating a Poetry Collection
In this lesson, which encourages students to think about the sounds of poems, students use lip-syncing software to produce an animated talking head.
First- and Third-World Challenges
Students develop an understanding of third-world and first-world problems and discuss issues related to the role of computer games in education.
Chatting With Historical Figures
Students research an historical figure and create a chat bot representing that figure.
Creating a Multimedia Journey
Students take a journey through sound, exploring the sounds of the places they visit. They then research some of those places and write a fictional account of their journey.
Who in the World Is....?
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this lesson in which students scan the newspaper for information. (Grades 3-8)
Sports and Geometry
Debbie Miskiel, who teaches at Workman High School in La Puente, California, submitted this lesson in which students learn how geometry concepts play a role in many sports. (Grades 6-12)
Ball/Barrel Attack
Charles Milliren, who teaches at Owen-Withee Elementary School in Owen, Wisconsin, submitted this lesson, which provides a PE game that will build teamwork skills as students get an excellent workout. (Grades 3-8)
Math Dice Review Game
Kaitlin Kelly, a student at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, submitted this lesson, which can be used to reinforce almost any math computation skill. (Grades 3-12)
Let's Get Along
Kristina Davenport, an education student at the University of Idaho (Coeur d'Alene), submitted this lesson in which students learn valuable lessons about getting along by reading Eve Bunting’s award-winning Smoky Nights. (Grades 3-8)
Geo-Critters (Geometry Critters)
Loretta Greenough, a student at the University of Idaho, submitted this lesson that integrates literature (The Math Curse by Jon Scieszka) and math as students create geometry critters from four shapes. (Grades 2-5)
Following in Their Footsteps
Patti Stephenson, who teaches at Tri-City Christian School in Independence, Missouri, submitted this lesson in which students read a biography and look for the positive character traits they might "follow" in their own lives. (Grades 3-12)
36 Public Policy Questions to Energize Your Government/History Classroom Debates
Michael Boyer, who teaches at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Caroplina, submitted this lesson that offers 36 public policy questions to energize your government/history classroom debates. (Grades 9-12)
Your Five Senses
Miriam Lev, who teaches at The Jewish Institute of Queens in Elmhurst, New York, submitted this lesson in which students learn how each of their five senses help them identify the world around them. (Grades K-12)
Comparing-Contrasting With Cookies
Lesley Roessing, who teaches at Ridley Middle School in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, submitted this lesson that offers a fun compare-and-contrast activity using Girl Scout cookies to ready students to write more complex comparisons of characters, literature… (Grades 3-12)
Art On Trial (A Mock-Court Activity)
Diane Franken, who teaches at Lincoln Academy of Integrated Arts in Davenport, Iowa, submitted this lesson in which students take on different roles as they determine which work of art will be constructed in their community park. (Grades 3-12)
North, South, East, or West
Gay Harrod, who teaches at Washington Intermediate School in Piqua, Ohio, submitted this lesson, which is a fun any-time game she created to reinforce geographic directionality. (Grades K-5)
Beat the Clock
Cheryl Rains, who teaches at Kingswood Elementary School in Sacramento, California, submitted this week’s lesson, which offers a fun idea to help teachers manage transitions such as grouping students, end-of-day cleanup, others. (Grades K-12)
Appetizing Adverbs
Laura Graham, who teaches at Tri-City Christian School in Independence, Missouri, submitted this appetizing lesson that teaches the concepts of verbs and adverbs. (Grades K-5)
Vivid Descriptions and Works of Art
Megan Wynne, who teaches at St. Joseph School in Hawthorne, California, submitted this lesson in which students test their vivid-writing skills with an art activity. (Grades 3-12)
Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
Michele McKinnon, who is interning at Liberty Elementary School in Frederick, Maryland, submitted this lesson, which uses a popular children’s book about Abe Lincoln to teach the five parts of a letter. (Grades K-5)
Snowy Similes
Cindy Behnke, who teaches at Gateway Pointe Elementary School in Higley, Arizona, submitted this lesson in which students work cooperatively to develop an understanding of similes and how they can be used to improve writing. (Grades 3-8)
Treasured Comments
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this lesson in which students fill treasure chests with positive, self-esteem-building comments about each other. (Grades 2-5)
A "F"able
Linda C. York, who teaches at Wateree Elementary School in Lugoff, South Carolina, submitted this week’s lesson, which uses a fable to teach how to make plurals of words that end in f or fe. (Grades 3-5)
Yours and My Trail of Tears
Marcus Garcia, who teaches at Lincoln School in Stockton, California, submitted this week’s lesson in which a simulation teaches students about the forced relocation of Cherokees along the “Trail of Tears.” (Grades 6-12)
Native Americans of Our Region
Julia Snyder submitted this lesson in which students use a variety of reading strategies to learn about Indian tribes native to their region. (Grades 3-8)
Walk In My Shoes
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson in which students write a story from the viewpoint of a shoe. (Grades 2-8)
Perplexing Puzzles
Melissa Thomas, who teaches at Dacula (Georgia) Middle School, submitted this lesson in which students graph the number of pieces of a puzzle put together at 5-minute intervals. (Grades 3-8)
Preposition House
Colleen Moak, who teaches at Blessed Sacrament School in Washington, D.C., submitted this week's lesson, which helps students visualize how prepositions describe things in relation to one another.
Time Line of the Year
Lynda O'Brien, who teaches at Twin Oaks Home School in Melrose, Florida, submitted this lesson in which students create a timeline of the school year that includes photographs, work samples, much more.
Mr. Mascot's Magical Musical Tour
Melanie E. Shaw, who teaches at Vogelweh Elementary School, a Department of Defense school in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland Pfalz (Germany), submitted this lesson in which a class mascot leaves clues. Where in the U.S. or world is it? (Grades 3-12)
Graph Mole
Sulan Dun of Redmond, Washington, creator of this and other learning games found at FunBasedLearning.com, shares this engaging game that teaches students about, and provides practice in, plotting points on a coordinate plane. (Grades 3-8)
Investigating Volume
Erin Coy, who teaches at Dacusville Elementary School in Easley, South Carolina, submitted this lesson in which students "discover" the concept of volume. (Grades 3-8)
Mi Perro Perdido (My Lost Dog)
Sonya Darnell, who teaches at Pickens (South Carolina) High School, submitted this lesson in which students earn bonus quiz points for following foreign-language directions. (Grades 3-12)
Frisbee® Horseshoes
Molly Schock, who teaches at Casa Grande (Arizona) Middle School, submitted this lesson in which students play a fun game of Frisbee Horseshoes. (Grades 3-12)
Book Buffet
Patti Stephenson, who teaches at Tri-City Christian School in Independence Missouri, submitted this idea that she uses to pique student interest in reading books from a variety of genres. (Grades 3-12)
Listen and Guess Vocabulary Game
Susan Person, who teaches at Piqua (Ohio) Junior High School, submitted this game that builds vocabulary and provides a fun break too. (Grades 3-12)
Whittling Out Haiku
Elizabeth Jackson, who teaches as Sweetwater (Texas) High School, submitted this week's lesson in which pictures inspire haiku writing and sharing. (Grades 3-12)
Animal Diaries
Mary Pat Mahoney, who teaches at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Grapevine, Texas, submitted this week's lesson in which students write a diary from an animal's perspective. (Grades 3-12)
Fortune Cookies Motivate Writing
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson in which a fortune cookie motivates student writing. (Grades 3-12)
"The Eyes Have It" Bulletin Board
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson, which uses a unique bulletin board to challenge students' observation skills. (Grades K-5)
Foreign Language Lip-Sync Karaoke Contest
Tina Matic, who teaches at Oxford Academy in Cypress, California, submitted this week's lesson in which a lip-sync contest provides an unforgettable foreign language lesson. (Grades 6-12)
Doubles Plus One
Patti Woodhull, who teaches at Vista Fundamental School in Simi Valley, California, submitted this game in which students practice doubling numbers. Player with the most X's on the gameboard wins! (Grades 1-5)
Button Math (and Button BINGO)
Mindy Martincic, a student at the University of Pittsburgh (Johnstown, Pennsylvania), submitted this lesson in which buttons are used to teach or reinforce the concepts of greater than and less than. Also sets and attributes. (Grades K-2)
Traveling Community Journal Project
Pauline Finlay, who teaches at Holy Trinity Elementary School in Torbay, Newfoundland (Canada), submitted this week's lesson in which students' traveling journals teach them about communities and cultures. (Grades 2-8)
Our Dinopals With WordArt
Marci McGowan, who teaches at H. W. Mountz Elementary School in Spring Lake, New Jersey, submitted this lesson in which students listen to a Jane Yolen story then create a dinopal of their own. Included: Easy tech integration activity for first graders. (Grades K-3)
Play Battleship on Graph Paper
Peter Heusinger, who teaches at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina, submitted this lesson in which the board game Battleship is adapted to teach coordinate plane algebra. (Grades 3-12)
Beanie Baby Biographies
Mary Pat Mahoney, who teaches at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Grapevine, Texas, submitted this lesson in which students develop a biography for a Beanie Baby. (Grades K-5)
Back-in-Time Travel Brochure
Brett Sidle, who teaches at Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep in Orchard Lake, Michigan, submitted this lesson in which students learn about history by creating back-in-time travel brochures. (Grades 6-12)
Survey Says...
Veronica Davis, who teaches as Hector P. Garcia Elementary School in Temple, Texas, submitted this lesson in which student create and conduct surveys and report the results in graph and letter form. (Grades 3-8)
In the Pumpkin (Dans la Citrouille)
Barbara McLaren, who teaches in Ontario, Canada, submitted this lesson for harvest time; students learn foreign language vocabulary words for a variety of vegetables. (Grades 3-8)
Popcorn Fractions
Diane Meehan, who teaches at Trinity Lutheran School in Freistatt, Missouri, submitted this hands-on lesson that uses popcorn to teach about fractions. (Grades 3-5)
A Seashell Lesson: Writing for Detail and the Scientific Process
Jayme Steighner, who teaches at Gregory Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, submitted this lesson in which seashells are used to teach students about the importance of including detail in their (science) writing. (Grades 3-8)
Puzzling Clue Vocabulary
Elizabeth Eaton, who teaches at Savanna Ridge Elementary School in Fort Pierce, Florida, submitted this lesson in which students "puzzle" over the connection between clues as they review or build vocabulary. (Grades 3-12)
Find the Mean, Median, and Range (A Mathematical Game)
Melba Smithwick, who teaches at Paul R. Haas Middle School in Corpus Christi, Texas, submitted this lesson in which students use playing cards to reinforce finding the mean, median, and range of data. (Grades 3-12)
Hog Dog Writing
Barb Frye, who teaches at Titusville (Pennsylvania) Middle School, submitted this lesson in which a hot dog is used as a metaphor and assessment checklist for good student writing. (Grades 3-8)
Showing and Telling: The "Outburst Writing" Activity
Colin Bridgewater, who teaches at The American School in London (London, England), submitted this lesson in which he stages an elaborate ruse in order to teach kids an important lesson in good writing.
Packing Nouns
Sharlene McIntyre, who teaches at Arthur Williams Middle School in Jesup, Georgia, submitted this lesson, which reinforces students' knowledge of nouns. (Grades 3-8)
Greater Than or Less Than With "Mr. Great"
Yitty Lev, who teaches at Queens Gymnasia in Queens, New York, submitted this lesson, which offers a fun way to help students grasp the concepts greater than and less than. (Grades K-5)
Drawing a "Life Map"
Lindsay Bigham, who teaches at Liberty (South Carolina) Middle School, submitted this lesson in which students create "life maps" of their lives. This can be used as a prewriting activity for writing autobiographies. (Grades 3-12)
Oreo Cookie Writing
Mark A Schneberger, who teaches at Oklahoma City (Oklahoma) Community College, submitted this lesson in which Oreo cookies teach a valuable less about good writing. (Grades 3-12)
Stir Up a Character Analysis Recipe
Mary Pat Mahoney, who teaches at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Grapevine, Texas, submitted this week's lesson in which students stir up character analysis "recipes" for characters in literature/history. (Grades 3-12)
Game Board Review
Kris Gazdziak, who teaches at Naperville (Illinois) Central High School, submitted this week's lesson, which provides a great review game for all grades, all subjects. (Grades K-12)
Wall of Peace
Mary E. Noyes (with Barrie Citrowske), who teaches at Minneota (Minnesota) Public School, submitted this week's lesson in which students' essays are used to build a classroom Wall of Peace. (Grades 5-12)
Ball Attack
Charles Milliren, who teaches at Owen-Withee Elementary School in Owen, Wisconsin, submitted this week's lesson in which students play a team game. (Grades 3-8)
My Alphabetical Autobiography
Leah Bivins, who teaches at Colfax Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, submitted this week's lesson, which challenges students to create A to Z autobiographies. (Grades K-12)
Picture a Tarantula
Leigh Lewis, who teaches at Wynne (Arkansas) Junior High School, submitted this week's lesson. Students draw a picture of a spider based on a detailed description. How close will their drawings come? (Grades 3-8)
3R Activity (Reading-Relating-Responding)
Fatih Durmus, who teaches at Ozel Kasýmoglu Coskun Lisesi in Istanbul, Turkey, submitted this week's lesson, which provides a fun cooperative-group reading-comprehension strategy. (Grades 3-12)
Cooperative Group Spelling Game
Jane York, who teaches at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova, Tennessee, submitted this week's lesson, which offers a fun and active game that can be used to reinforce spelling or vocabulary words. (Grades 3-8)
Fear Factor Fun
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this lesson in which students create and write vivid descriptions of new "Fear Factor" stunts they create. (Grades 3-12)
Character in a Bag
Miranda Babin, who teaches at Southdown Elementary School in Houma, Louisiana, created this lesson in which pairs of students use clues from a paper bag to cooperatively develop a mystery character and produce a PowerPoint about the character. (Grades 3-12)
100 Famous Quotes Game
Doug Evans, who teaches at Nagoya International Junior/Senior High School in Nagoya, Aichi (Japan), submitted this lesson in which students compete in teams to learn 100 famous quotes. (Grades 3-12)
Circles, Squares, Triangles and Rectangles In Our World
Ms. K. Berni, who teaches at Faith Lutheran Child Care Center in Pasadena, California, submitted this week's lesson, which offers five days of activities for teaching young students about shapes. (Grades Pre-K-2)
Seven Wonders of the World
Priya Ravikumar, who teaches at DAV Public School in Mumbai, Maharashtra (India), submitted this week's lesson in which students explore the Seven Wonders of the ancient and modern worlds. (Grades 3-12)
Take a Roller Coaster Ride
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska, submitted this lesson in which students design a roller coaster. They will learn about different types of coasters as they design their own and test it for success. (Grades 3-12)
Celebrate Abe Lincoln: A Primary Timeline Activity
Martha Leslie, who teaches at Centennial Elementary School in Graham, Washington, submitted this lesson in which students create simple timelines based on the life of Abe Lincoln. Other projects include painting Lincoln portraits. (Grades K-2)
Interviewing Famous Leaders in History
Lisa Auanger, a teachr at Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, Virginia, submitted this lesson in which students research famous leaders (e.g., U.S presidents, Roman emperors, English monarchs…) and create a realistic interview based on that research. (Grades 5-12)
Sequencing The Mitten
Nicole Tyminski, who teaches at McKinley Elementary School in Westfield, New Jersey, submitted this week's lesson, which teaches sequencing skills using The Mitten by Jan Brett. (Grades K-2)
Filling in the Holes, 20 Years Later
Glenda Smith, who teaches at Glenpool (Oklahoma) Middle School, submitted this week's lesson in which students draw conclusions about what the main characters in Louis Sachar's Holes will be doing 20 years into the future. (Grades 3-8)
Perfecting My Pal's Poe Paragraph
Kathryn Donlin of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (Pennsylvania) submitted this week's lesson in which students study the opening paragraph of one of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, the use some of the same elements Poe used to create their own great opening paragraphs. (Grades 9-12)
Meaty Words
Angie Morris, who teaches at Bellflower (Missouri) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson, which focuses on choosing the "meaty words" when summarizing a piece of text; a good introductory lesson to note-taking too. (Grades 3-8)
The Life and Poems of Emily Dickinson
Rhiannon Brownlee submitted this week's lesson in which students learn first about the life of Emily Dickinson, then use that information to help them interpret several of her poems. (Grades 9-12)
Santa Claus and Newton's Three Laws of Motion
Leigh O. Cody, who teaches at Needwood Middle School in Brunswick, Georgia, submitted this week's lesson in which students decide which of Newton's Three Laws of Motion applies to each of three Santa scenarios. (Grades 3-8)
Get the Ball Rolling: Fun With English-Language Idioms
Cindy Kimbrell, who teaches at Rusk Elementary School in Midland, Texas, submitted this week's lesson in which students think about multiple meanings of some English-language idioms. (Grades 3-12)
The Price Is Right
Christa Broadwater of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (Pennsylvania) submitted this week's lesson in which students use a variation on "The Price Is Right" to learn that different coin combinations can have the same value. (Grades K-2, 3-5)
Fraction Fun With The Doorbell Rang
Pauline Finlay, who teaches at Holy Trinity Elementary School in Torbay, Newfoundland, submitted this week's lesson in which the children's book The Doorbell Rang (by Pat Hutchins) stimulates fraction learning and fun. (Grades K-4)
The Cowboy Life
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson in which students choose from a wide variety of activities aimed at "spurring" interest in cowboy life and the Old West. (Grades 3-8)
Mad Math Desk Derby
Stephanie Templet, who teaches at Galvez Middle School in Prairieville, Louisiana, submitted this week's lesson in which students review and practice math facts by playing a fun game. (Grades K-8)
Amusing Animal Adaptations
Jeana Carlson, who teaches at Navarro Elementary School in Bryan, Texas, submitted this week's lesson in which students write creatively as they use their knowledge of animal adaptations. (Grades K-5)
Fast Facts
Linda Nation, who teaches at Crockett Elementary School in Bryan, Texas, submitted this week's lesson in which students play a fun, hands-on game to reinforce basic math-facts skills. (Grades K-8)
Novel Jeopardy
Pauline Finlay, who teaches at Holy Trinity Elementary School in Torbay, Newfoundland (Canada), submitted this lesson, which presents a Jeopardy-style game that is a great way to review the novel students have just finished studying. (Grades 3-12)
Take Five: Writing a Color-Coded Paragraph
Brenda Armstrong, who teaches at Ann Whitney Elementary School in Hamilton, Texas, submitted this week's lesson in which a traffic light's colors serve as a tool for writing strong paragraphs. (Grades K-4)
Tomie dePaola's Adelita: A Bio Poem
Christopher Lucero, an education student at Long Beach State in Long Beach, California, submitted this week's lesson in which students write a bio poem about the main character in Tomie dePaola's Mexican Cinderella story, Adelita. A nice lesson for Hispanic Heritage Month. (Grades K-2)
A Symbol of Myself
Tammy Buehler, who teaches at Forest Park Elementary School in O'Fallon, Missouri, submitted this week's lesson in which students create a clay "symbol of myself." Nice open house display idea. (Grades 3-8)
The Perfect Teacher
Linda Mauriello, who teaches at Salem High School in Conyers, Georgia, submitted this week's lesson, which offers a fun activity that will help teachers drive home the concepts of mutual respect and high expectations. (Grades 9-12)
Faces Bingo
Laura E. Lambert, who teaches at Marion C. Seltzer Elementary School in Cleveland, Ohio, submitted this week's lesson in which students match classmates' name cards with their pictures on a bulletin board. (Grades K-2)
"Me" Resource
Julianne Z. Cugini, who teaches at St. Louise de Marillac School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, submitted this week's lesson in which students create "Me" entries for a dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas, newspaper... (Grades 3-8)
Summer Camp in the Classroom
VaReane C. Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this lesson, in which students team up to create summer camping adventures. (Grades 3-12)
Sports and Hobby Math
Melissa Thomas, who teaches at Dacula (Georgia) Middle School, submitted this lesson, in which students write about ways in which they use math in a favorite sport or hobby. (Grades 3-12)
Invent a Holiday
Katrina Stroup, who teaches at Alcorn Central School in Glen, Mississippi, submitted this lesson, in which students create a new holiday worth celebrating. (Grades 3-12)
Sheep and Wolves
Denis McCarthy, who teaches at Sheng Kung Hui Primary School on Macau, submitted this lesson, in which students release energy in a quick game of "Sheep and Wolves." (Grades K-5)
Mother's Day Trip
Rox-Anne Cox, who teaches at Albia Community School in Albia, Iowa, submitted this lesson in which students send their mothers on a special Mother's Day trip. (Grades 3-8)
Writing a Character Sketch
Pauline Finlay, who teaches at Holy Trinity Elementary School in Torbay, Newfoundland (Canada), submitted this lesson, in which students use a graphic organizer to learn to write a character sketch about someone they know. (Grades 9-12)
Pizza Biography
Jennie Griffin, who teaches at Rockvale (Tennessee) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson, in which students create pizza box biographies. (Grades 3-8)
What Is in the Water?
Susan Sanders, who teaches at Central Junior High School in Pollok, Texas, submitted this lesson, in which students compare bottled water qualities to water found naturally in a pond habitat. (Grades 6-12)
Poetry Shopping Spree
Kristen Cash Pittman, who teaches at Pickens (South Carolina) High School, submitted this lesson in which students go on a "poetry shopping spree." (Grades 6-12)
Shopping the Sunday Circular
Amy Wheaton, who teaches at Foley Intermediate School in Foley, Alabama, submitted this lesson, in which students figure the cost-per-unit of a variety of items in a grocery store's sale circular. (Grades 3-8)
Bill of Rights
Adam Burkett, a student at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, submitted this lesson, in which students explore the Bill of Rights by identifying the right that relates to each of a dozen scenarios. (Grades 6-12)
In Search Of Wisdom: An Interview With An Elder
Leah-Rae Bivins, who teaches at Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, submitted this lesson, in which students interview an elder, then write and present a narrative in that person's voice. (Grades 6-12)
Go Nuts With Peanuts
Gail Hennessey, who teaches at Harpursville Central School in Harpursville, New York, submitted this week's lesson, in which students learn about peanuts by exploring a variety of Web sites. (Grades 3-8)
At the Dinner Table: A Foreign Language Lesson
Adrien Morel, who teaches at E.W. Stokes School in Washington, D.C., submitted this hand-on activity, in which students learn the foreign language vocabulary for a dinner-table setting. (Grades K-3)
The Power of Mental Images: Visualizing Literature
Stiles X. Simmons, who teaches at Mann Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan, submitted this week's lesson, in which students learn and practice a new reading strategy: visualization. (Grades 3-5)
Number Line Game
Sr. Ann Claire Rhoads, who teaches at Mother Seton Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, submitted this week's lesson, which offers a game that reinforces number line concepts and the addition of positive and negative numbers. (Grades 3-8)
An Experiment in Unfair Treatment/Prejudice
Pauline Finlay, who teaches at Holy Trinity Elementary School in Torbay, Newfoundland (Canada), submitted this lesson, which offers a simple experiment to help launch a discussion of unfair treatment and prejudice/bias. (Grades 3-12)
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Gail Hennessey, who teaches at Harpursville (New York) Middle School, submitted this lesson, which includes a handful of activities -- including an Internet scavenger hunt -- that teach about Harriet Tubman. (Grades 3-8)
Grab a Story and Go!
Kamese Fogg, an education student at the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore, Maryland, submitted this shared-writing activity emphasizing the importance of continuity in short-story writing. (Grades 3-12)
Picture This!
This lesson, in which students write text for picture books, was developed from ideas presented by teachers Kellie Slaughter of Belmont Hills Elementary in Smryna, Georgia, and Katrina Stroup of Alcorn Central Elementary School in Glen, Mississippi. (Grades K-8)
Outgroup Experiment Reveals Bias, Stereotyping
Marcie Pachter, who teaches at Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, Florida, submitted this week's lesson, which includes an activity to let students experience the bias and stereotyping often experienced by people who are different. (Grades 6-12)
Gold Rush California and Its Diverse Population
Roselyn Wang, a student at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, submitted this week's lesson, in which students compare the population of California today and at the start of the Gold Rush in the 1850s. (Grades 6-12)
The ABC Project
Beverly Thomas, who teaches at the Alief Hastings Ninth Grade Center in Houston, Texas, submitted this week's lesson, in which older students create ABC books for younger students. (Grades 3-12)
Happy 100th Birthday, Airplane!
Gail Hennessey, who teaches at Harpursville (New York) Central School, submitted this week's lesson, which offers a handful of ideas for celebrating the Wright brothers' historic flight. (Grades 3-8)
Spell, Shoot, and Score
Cynthia Mackel, who teaches at Rosemont Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland, submitted this week's lesson in which students play a fun game to review their spelling word lists. (Grades K-5)
Jump Rope Math
Laurie McGrath, who teaches at Holy Trinity Elementary School in St. John's, Newfoundland, submitted this fun-filled math game that can be used to reinforce math skills across the grades. (Grades PreK-12)
Plains Indians Pictographs
Laura Wolfram, who teaches at Horace Mann School in Bronx, New York, submitted this week's lesson, in which students design their own pictograph sentences on scraps of "buffalo hide."
Hands-On Outlining
Jessica Maroney, who teaches at Armstrong Elementary School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, submitted this week's lesson, which offers a fun hands-on activity to engage students as they learn about outlining. (Grades 3-8)
Digital Scavenger Hunt
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield (Nebraska) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson, in which teams of students take photos of a variety of scavenger hunt items -- for example, something that changes shape, something that flashes. (Grades 3-8)
Team Up for Sports Marketing
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska, submitted this week's lesson, in which students create and market their own sports franchises. (Grades 3-12)
Spelling Relay
Caroline Lowther, who teaches at Captain James Cook Elementary School in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), submitted this week's lesson, in which students participate in a spelling relay contest. (Grades K-12)
Red Square, Red Square, What Do You See?
Susanne Shorday DiMarco, who teaches at Abington Presbyterian Nursery School in Abington, Pennsylvania, submitted this week's lesson, in which students create a book in the style of Eric Carle that reinforces color and shape awareness. (Grades PreK-2)
Writing Descriptions of "My Favorite Place"
Michael Pratley, who teaches at Frankfort (Michigan) High School, submitted this lesson, in which a special exercise helps students focus on imagining and then write excellent descriptions.
Measurement Masterpiece
Laura Graham, who teaches at Tri-City Christian School in Independence, Missouri, submitted this lesson, in which students use their measurement and estimation skills to create a "measurement masterpiece."
Reconstructing Artifacts
Michelle Gay, who teaches at Foley (Alabama) Intermediate School, submitted this fun, hands-on activity, in which students learn about an archaeologist's work.
Equivalent Fraction Bingo
Raymundo V. De Jesus, who teaches at the Harriet Tubman Learning Center (P.S. 154M) in New York City, submitted this lesson in which students play a BINGO-like game to reinforce equivalent fraction skills.
Fuzzy-Feeling Chair
Pauline Finlay, who teaches at Inuksuit School in Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut (Canada), submitted this lesson, in which a special chair becomes the setting for an activity that builds students' self-esteem and self-confidence.
Talking About Your Name in Math Terms
Paulina Jurkijevic, who teaches at Bakewell Primary School in Palmerston, Northern Territory (Australia), submitted this lesson in which students examine their own names in mathematical terms.
First-Day-of-School Activity: The Kissing Hand
Teachers Amanda Dobson submitted this week's lesson, which uses a popular children's book to help alleviate young students' first-day-of-school jitters.
ABC Book of Tongue Twisters
Marci McGowan, who teaches at H.W. Mountz Elementary School in Spring Lake, New Jersey, submitted this lesson, in which students study alliteration and create a class ABC Book of Tongue Twisters.
Spelling Clue Race
Miriam Arvinger, who teaches at Guilford Middle School in Greensboro, North Carolina, submitted this week's lesson, which provides a motivating way to review spelling words.
Make Quiz Time a Fun Time
Lisa Kwisnek, a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania, submitted this week's lesson that provides a fun quiz game format you might use to culminate your next science, history, or literature unit.
Money Management: Grocery Shopping for a Family Profile
Shirley Huinink, who teaches at Laurentian Hills Christian School in Kitchener, Ontario (Canada), submitted this week's lesson in which students work in groups to create menus and shopping lists for one of five profiled families.
Our Changing Community
Sharon Hall, who teaches at South Lebanon Elementary School in Maineville, Ohio, submitted this week's lesson, a hands-on project that teaches students how communities change as they grow.
Spelling Review Game
Andrea Hazen, who teaches in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, submitted this week's lesson, in which students play a fast-paced BINGO-like game to review the week's spelling words.
Using Literature to Teach About Bullying
Joanne Hughes, who teaches at Covert Avenue Elementary School in Elmont, New York, submitted this week's lesson, in which students use literature to learn about different types of bullying and different ways of dealing with them.
Aesop's Fables
Michelle Stiglitz, who teaches in Staten Island, New York, submitted this week's lesson, in which students use Aesop's fables as a backdrop for a lesson in citizenship and letter writing.
The Great Kapok Tree: Teaching About Conflict in Literature
Karen Garcia, who teaches at Parkview Elementary School in Opa-locka, Florida, submitted this week's lesson, in which students use The Great Kapok Tree and a graphic organizer to illustrate the role of conflict in literature.
Survivor in the Classroom
Mary E. Noyes, who teaches at Minneota Public School in Minneota, Minnesota, submitted this week's lesson, which presents a series of challenges to students. Could your students survive? (All grades)
Discover the Pythagorean Theorem
Narinder Jeet Makkar, who teaches at Salwan Public School in New Delhi, Delhi (India), submitted this week's lesson, in which students discover the Pythagorean Theorem and find a real-world example of it. (Grades 6-12)
Three Healthful Meals: A Practical Food-Guide-Pyramid Activity
Mandy Logue, a teacher at Alcorn Central Elementary School in Glen, Mississippi, submitted this week's lesson in which students create paper plate art showing a day of healthful eating. (Grades 2-6)
A Modern Pandora's Box
Anita Wadhwa, who teaches at Lee High School in Houston, Texas, submitted this lesson, in which students read the story of Pandora's Box and then create modern-day versions of boxes filled with evil and hope. (Grades 6-12)
Using the Senses to Write Descriptively
Joanna Wolanski, who teaches at Evergeen Elementary School in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, submitted this lesson, in which students learn to improve their writing by including information from all five senses. (Grades 3-8)
Iditarod: The 1925 Serum Run from Anchorage to Nome
Patrick Nolden, a biology teacher at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska, submitted this lesson, in which students learn about the history of the Iditarod. (Grades 6-12)
Yummy Gummy Subtraction
Tori Ledlow, who teaches at Pinson (Alabama) Elementary School, submitted this week's yummy hands-on lesson, in which gummy bears are used to teach simple subtraction. (Grades PreK-2)
Famous African-American Fabric Portraits
Doris Metcalf, who recently retired from the Florence (Alabama) City Schools, submitted this lesson, in which students create a fabric-portrait exhibit of famous African Americans. (Grades 6-12)
Abraham Lincoln: An Internet Buddy Activity
Peggy Chauncey Cramer, who teaches at Hamilton Elementary School in Kentwood, Michigan, submitted this week's "Internet buddy" lesson in which younger and older students team up to learn about Abraham Lincoln. (Grades K-8)
When A Story Met A Sandwich
Kym Rodriguez, who teaches at Kalles Jr. High School in Puyallup, Washington, submitted this lesson, in which a sandwich serves as a metaphor for good writing! (All Grades)
Human Nature: Good or Evil?
Patricia Rose Pflaumer, who teaches at Abington (Massachusetts) High School, submitted this week's lesson, in which students debate the question Is human nature inherently good or inherently evil? (Grades 6-12)
Fractured Fairy Tales
Linda Bray, who teaches at Alcorn Central Elementary School in Glen, Mississippi, submitted this week's lesson, in which students write their own fractured fairy tales in the style of Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. (Grades 3-8)
Using Literature to Teach About Bullying
Joanne Hughes, who teaches at Covert Avenue Elementary School in Elmont, New York, submitted this week's lesson, in which students use literature to explore different forms of bullying. (Grades K-8)
Positive and Negative Integers: A Card Game
Pam Harper, who teaches at Rockville (Indiana) Jr/Sr High School, submitted this lesson -- a card game in which black cards have positive values and red cards have negative values. (Grades 6-12)
Striking Out Stress: A "Gallery Walk" Activity
Andrea W. Petho, who teaches at Mahwah (New Jersey) High School, submitted this lesson, which actively involves students in a discussion about stress and how to cope with it. (Grades 6-12)
Shopping Spree
Julie Graves, who teaches at Centre (Alabama) Middle School, submitted this week's lesson. Students go on a shopping spree that requires them to calculate discount amounts and sales tax. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)
"Yarning" About Latitude and Longitude
Sharon Childress, who teaches at Asbury Junior High School in Albertville, Alabama, submitted this week's lesson. The hands-on activity helps students understand the concepts of longitude and latitude. (Grades 3-8)
Paper Bag Book Report
Linda Bray, who teaches at Alcorn Central Elementary School in Glen, Mississippi, submitted this week's lesson. Students promote community literacy by creating "paper bag book reports" and workers at a local grocery store pack customers' groceries in them! (Grades 3-8)
Comparing Cinderella and The Rough-Face Girl
Kellie Replogle, a soon-to-be teacher, submitted this week's lesson. Students use a Venn diagram to compare two popular children's stories -- Cinderella and the native tale The Rough-Face Girl.
Evaluating a Book By Its Cover
Steven Vetter, who teaches in Manatee County Schools in Bradenton, Florida, submitted this week's lesson. Students examine and evaluate book covers, then create their own cover for a favorite book. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)
Acrostic Book Report
Marci McGowan, who teaches at H. W. Mountz Elementary School in Spring Lake, New Jersey, submitted this week's lesson. Students use the letters in a book's title to write an acrostic book report. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)
Franchise Opportunity
Amy Derr, who teaches at East Lyme (Connecticut) High School, submitted this week's lesson. Students use a questionnaire to guide them as they explore and evaluate a business franchise opportunity. (Grades 9-12)
Comparing Two Poe Classics
Alexis H. Groah, who teaches at Daniel Morgan Middle School in Winchester, Virginia, submitted this week's lesson. Students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two classic stories of Edgar Allan Poe. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)
Mystery Lessons
VaReane Hesse, who teaches at Springfield (Missouri) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson, which includes a handful of fun ideas for teaching about mysteries. (Grades 3-5, 6-8)
Doughnut Race
Tara Snider, who teaches at Albertville (Alabama) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson. Students practice math facts as they race around a doughnut in this fast-paced and fun game. (Grades K-2, 3-5)
Writing Takes Shape!
Julie Graves, who teaches in Centre, Alabama, submitted this week's lesson. Students identify geometric solids and where those solids can be found in the world around them. (Grades 3-5, 6-8)
Math Facts Game
Charity Cleveland, who teaches in Oneonta, Alabama, submitted this week's lesson, which provides a fun game for practicing math facts. (Grades K-2, 3-5)
Survival Experts
VaReane Heese, who teaches at Springfield Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska, submitted this week's lesson. Students create educational brochures to educate others about how to survive such natural disasters as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.
(Grades K-2, 3-5)
Shaving Cream Spelling
Catina Stewart, who teaches at Albertville (Alabama) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson. Students use shaving cream for hands-on spelling practice. (Grades K-2, 3-5)
Sharing Under the Sea
Danielle Walchesky, who teaches at Meridian Elementary School in Butler, Pennsylvania, submitted this week's lesson. The picture book The Rainbow Fish is the starting point for a lesson in manners and sharing.
(Grades Pre-K-2)
Fraction Spelling
Spring Charles, who teaches at Albertville (Alabama) Elementary School, submitted this lesson. Students create fractions to represent the number of vowels and consonants in each of their weekly spelling words.
(Grades K-2, 3-5)
Illustrated Safety Contract
Sister Maureen Fallon, who teaches at Notre Dame High School for Girls in Chicago, submitted this week's lesson. Students create illustrated contracts that spell out chemistry lab safety rules. (Grades 9-12)
Good Deeds Reap Rewards
Pauline Finlay, who teaches at Holy Trinity Elementary School in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, submitted this week's lesson. Students recognize the good deeds their peers do. (Grades 3-5, 6-8)
Getting-to-Know-You List Poem
Ruth Henck McCreery, who teaches at Visitation School in Kansas City, Missouri, submitted this week's lesson, which involves students in writing poems that will help them get to know one another's likes and dislikes. (Grades 6-8)
Desktop Spelling
Tara Snider, who teaches at Albertville (Alabama) Elementary School, submitted this week's lesson. Students have fun while reviewing spelling words. (Grades K-2, 3-5)
Persuasive Writing -- Commercial Style
Tara Snider, who teaches at Albertville (Alabama) Elementary School, submitted this lesson. Students create persuasive TV commercials for common products. (Grades 3-5, 6-8)
Bubbles Galore
Kellie Slaughter, who teaches at Belmont Hills Elementary School in Smyrna, Georgia, submitted this lesson. Students blow bubbles, measure them, and predict their staying power. (Grades 3-5)
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Monday, October 19, 2009
OLET (Licensure Examination for Teachers) Results for April 2009
The figures represent 27.86 percent and 24.67 percent passing rates for elementary and secondary levels, respectively.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Free Books Online that Teachers can use
Genre Pages Free
Because this page is becoming extremely long I have switched the genre sections to their own pages. Please check these separate pages out if you are interested in a particular genre as they have some links that have not been added to this main list as of yet and they also have links to audio books.
- Free Children's Books Online
- Free Science Fiction & Fantasy Books Online
- Free Horror, Ghost & Gothic Books Online
- Free Romance Books Online
- Free Computer & Internet Books Online
- Free Mystery, Detective, Thriller & Crime (Fiction) Books Online
- Free "Westerns" Books Online
- Free Cooking, Food & Wine Books Online
- Free Religion & Spirituality Books Online
- Free Health, Fitness & Medicine Books Online
- Free Biography, Autobiography & Memoir Books Online
- Free Travel Books Online
- Free History Books Online
- Free Business Books Online
The lure? Electronic books she can download to her laptop. Beginning earlier this year, Ms. Lambert, a 19-year-old community college student in New Port Richey, Fla., borrowed volumes in the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series, “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold and a vampire novel by Laurell K. Hamilton, without ever visiting an actual branch.
“I can just go online and type my library card number in and look through all the books that they have,” said Ms. Lambert, who usually downloads from the comfort of her bedroom. And, she added, “It’s all for free.”
Eager to attract digitally savvy patrons and capitalize on the growing popularity of electronic readers, public libraries across the country are expanding collections of books that reside on servers rather than shelves.
The idea is to capture borrowers who might not otherwise use the library, as well as to give existing customers the opportunity to try new formats.
“People still think of libraries as old dusty books on shelves, and it’s a perception we’re always trying to fight,” said Michael Colford, the director of information technology at the Boston Public Library. “If we don’t provide this material for them, they are just going to stop using the library altogether.”
About 5,400 public libraries now offer e-books, as well as digitally downloadable audio books. The collections are still tiny compared with print troves. The New York Public Library, for example, has about 18,300 e-book titles, compared with 860,500 in circulating print titles, and purchases of digital books represent less than 1 percent of the library’s overall acquisition budget. REad the complete original article here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/books/15libraries.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Pinoy teachers ask for salary upgrade
Antonio Tinio, ACT national chairperson, said the inadequate pay raise given by the recent enactment of the new Salary Standardization Law (SSL) and their continuing battle against over-deductions and difficulties in obtaining loans with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), make the lives of teachers difficult in the Philippines.
“Sadly, teachers, whether from public or private schools are still not given decent compensation showing a lack of appreciation for their hard work and sacrifices,” Tinio said.
“Our underpaid public school teachers, who resort to loans to make ends meet and support their own families are given a harder time by the GSIS through their claims and loan interdependency program,” he added.
ACT, in observance of World Teachers’ Day, has urged governments all over the world “to provide teachers with the resources and support necessary to attain quality education for all.”
Tinio said that despite the SSL-3, they will continue to fight for a higher salary.
The so-called Salary Standardization Law 3, which upgraded the Teacher I position by one salary grade or from Salary Grade 10 to 11 and provides an increase of P6,500 over four years, was inadequate, according to Tinio, since it did not cover for the lack of pay hike for teachers for several years during which inflation and the cost of living also rose.
“The pay hike granted by SSL3, coming after a six-year moratorium on public sector salary increases, remains inadequate because it fails to restore the purchasing power of teachers’ salaries eroded by the rising cost of living,” ACT said in a statement.
“Furthermore, the SSL3 fails to address the long-standing distortion in standardized salaries whereby teachers are paid lower than other positions with lower qualifications,” ACT noted.
“For these reasons, ACT will continue the struggle for decent remuneration for teachers by campaigning for the upgrading of teachers to a minimum of Salary Grade 15,” ACT said.
Another teachers’ group, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), a federation of public school teachers’ associations all over the country, called off last week a couple of activities they had scheduled to celebrate the event.
TDC canceled a big gathering of about 10,000 teachers at the Rizal Coliseum and a caravan rally they were planning to hold at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to protest against the state workers fund’s alleged anti-public schoolteacher policies.
Meanwhile, militant teachers from Central Luzon celebrated the event with a demand for the upgrading of their salaries to about P25,000 monthly.
Fabian Hallig, secretary-general of ACT-CL, said public teachers want the upgrading of their pay from the current Salary Grade 11 to Salary Grade 15.
He said that under the present salary grade the pay of the teachers range from 14,198 to P16,335, covering the first tranche of the four-year upgrading of their pay under Executive Order No. 811.
The demand of the teachers would be on top of their pay covered by EO 811, as Salary Grade 15’s salary range is from P24,887 to P26,868 monthly.
Hallig said the teachers are also demanding the “acceleration of full implementation of salary increases granted under Executive Order 811 in two years instead of four years.”
“We are also renewing our call for scrapping of anti-teacher policies and practices of the GSIS,” he stressed.
Teachers from various parts of Central Luzon yesterday held a forum at the Dau Elementary School in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and ACT-Philippines National Council member Louie Zabala were guests. –Ding Cervantes. Read the original article here
PLDT-Smart pays tribute to teachers
MANILA, Philippines - On Oct. 10, PLDT and Smart Foundation’s Gabay Guro Program holds a grand celebration of the National Teachers’ Day.
The program supports and uplifts the professional development of teachers through scholarship grants, English proficiency and computer literacy trainings. PLDT, this year’s recipient of the Philippine Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) Employer of the Year award, through this endeavor goes side by side with the Department of Education’s commitment to improve the quality of education in the country. It is PLDT’s way of giving back and giving more to those who give unconditionally.
From a small beginning of just having 15 scholars in PNU, the Gabay Guro Program has grown into having over 100 scholars nationwide. The scholars include the best from various state universities.
For its second year, the PLDT-Smart Foundation with the Managers’ Club Incorporated (PLDT MCI) and its supportive partners again commemorate teachers’ unflinching dedication and hard work through the Gabay Guro Teacher’s Day on Oct. 10. Chaye Cabal, PLDT finance head and spokesperson of the Gabay Guro Program said selected teachers/partners from different provinces will be flown in to Manila to enjoy special treatment and attend various special PLDT-conducted seminars and activities tomorrow, Oct. 7.
This year, PLDT continues to change lives as it gives scholarships to deserving students, and to open partnerships with LGUs, government institutions and other non-government organizations to continue helping our public school teachers. Plans include housing projects for teachers, micro-financing and other livelihood projects to augment the teachers’ income.
For details, log on to www.gabayguro.com.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=511526&publicationSubCategoryId=70
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Build the future; invest in teachers now
This annual tribute to teachers was enunciated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Education International, the recognized organization of 30 million teachers worldwide, in 1994 to commemorate the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the Unesco/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers.
That joint recommendation has been the foundation of a number of global initiatives meant to enhance the welfare and ensure the dignity of teachers as the bedrock of educational reforms. Since then the three organizations have joined hands in ensuring that the world takes stock of the status of teachers and the teaching profession as the centerpiece of such reforms and the attainment of the UN-sponsored Education for All (EFA) agenda.
It is fitting that this year’s theme—“Build the Future, Invest in Teachers Now”—takes note of the possible impact of the global economic crisis on the avowed goal of governments worldwide to achieve the EFA goals by 2015. That agenda puts critical emphasis on, nay, guarantees the full and proper recruitment, training and professional development of teachers.
More than that, in an unprecedented move, the global educational sector has included other school workers, i.e., nonacademic personnel and community-based educational assistants in their broadened agenda of support.
These are welcome, albeit belated, moves. Nonetheless, we join the international community in celebrating this day and, thus, focus on the plight of teachers worldwide. We have said before and will say it again—societal reform can best, and will probably, happen mainly via educational reform.
By upgrading the quality and access to education, we ensure the enhancement of our quality of life and the sustainable future of the global community. That can only be assured as teachers get their just due, work and live in an atmosphere of peace and stability and with full dignity. Like second moms (or pops), teachers have very distinct and critical roles to play in shaping and moving societies.
In enunciating this year’s theme, the three organizations advised “the need for ongoing development of teachers from the pre-service or Initial Professional Education of Teachers to the in-service or Continuing Professional Teacher Development, levels.”
They also called upon governments to “invest in education by availing [themselves] of more financial resources with the ultimate goal of, among other things, improving the quality of human resources and their conditions of service.”
It is noted that sustained investment to develop a well-trained and motivated teaching force at this critical juncture is required more than ever. The organizations noted that an estimated 10.3 million new teachers must be recruited worldwide by 2015 just to meet the goal of universal primary education.
They noted that “in our rapidly changing and interdependent world, teachers not only have to ensure that students acquire solid skills in basic subjects, but also that they become responsible local and global citizens, at ease with new technologies and able to make informed decisions about health, the environment and other challenges.”
Indeed, the challenges for governments, is such that to falter in their resolve is to set back the progress and development of their societies in more ways than one.
We note that there is a shortage of teachers worldwide if we are to achieve universal primary education, and an even greater number needed for the provision of secondary, higher, technical and vocational or nonformal education, including alternative systems.
The teaching profession faces other challenges, as well, such as economic, social and technological issues, to name just three of the more pervasive ones, impacting on the profession. These challenges get even more serious in countries such as the Philippines, which are increasingly becoming the target of international migration as quality teachers get “poached” for jobs overseas. Innovative approaches to accelerate the development of a pool of quality teachers for our own requirements and that of other countries will be a big challenge for our educational managers now and in the future.
It is worth noting that the Philippines has been at the forefront of enhancing the quality and access to basic education and, more critically, the upgrading of the status and dignity of our teaching force. The education budget has been increasing on a full amount and even on the basis of percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
Although we have yet to reach the ideal percentage of at least 5 percent to 7 percent of GDP, we are almost or may already be there if we combine all the funds dispersed in other agencies within the education and social-services sector committed to education. We note, in particular, those allocated for capital outlay, feeding programs and the like which also run in the billions of pesos.
The active and overwhelming participation of the private sector, especially at the tertiary levels, as well as endowments from other sources committed to education and training, should already enroll us among the world’s most “education-oriented” governments and societies. Which is why it is not surprising at all that every Filipino family is heavily committed to education and training as the principal, perhaps even the only, means for future advancement and social mobility.
We are aware that government funding will always fall short of our desired goals. Which is why we have to be creative in our approaches to teacher enhancement and in the provision of quality education. We note the deliberate and focused use of the additional funds for teacher training which Congress is poised to provide through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on a multiyear basis.
To put this to good use, the CHED, Department of Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the National Council for Curriculum Assessment, the Commission on Early Child Education and Development, and the private sector will have to work together and pinpoint the “gaps” in the provision of quality, motivated and sustained teaching professionals.
Indeed, as we celebrate World Teachers Day, today we are reminded of the need to nurse our limited resources for the benefit of our teachers, the better to get more people interested and stay for life, if possible, in the profession.
This is particularly acute in the Philippines since we have become a prime target of teacher recruitment for other countries, especially in the critical positions, and, if we don’t watch out, the transfer of our teachers to other professions. There has to be a proper and comprehensive approach to stem the tide and enlarge and enhance the pool of professionals who are going to accelerate the molding of the responsible and patriotic citizens of a future progressive, united and dignified Philippines.
So, as we say “Thank you” to our teachers and salute them for their sacrifices, we can only promise to continue advocating the enhancement of their welfare and dignity as we monitor the implementation of programs and projects meant to synchronize intentions with real, active and positive implementation.