New national goals set for teaching profession
By Tom Chorneau
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
A blueprint for improving the teaching profession nationally calls for more emphasis on quality preparation programs, higher standards for entry into the profession and better compensation for both classroom educators and school administrators.
Released by the U.S. Department of Education, the report represents collaboration between federal officials and a number of private school organizations including Council of Chief State School Officers, American Federation of Teachers, the National School Board Association and the Association of School Administrators.
Noting that U.S. education is under increasing pressure to produce college and career ready students, the authors pointed out that many educators view the current setting not so much as a crisis but as an opportunity for reform.
“The American education system is situated at a historic crossroads where we have the ability to continue on our current trajectory or to chart a new course,” the report’s authors said. ‘“This is our Moon Landing moment,” a principal
Updated classroom textbook guide includes gay, lesbian uses
A statewide social content guide for school leaders is set for revision this month to incorporate a newly adopted state law requiring classroom textbooks to recognize the contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
The guide, which was originally adopted in 2000, is used by school administrators and local district boards to evaluate instructional materials in context of issues of social importance.
The update to the Standards for Evaluating Instructional Materials for Social Content is scheduled to come before the California State Board of Education next week. The changes were prompted by the adoption in July 2011 of SB 48 – by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco – which made California the first state in the nation to require that school textbooks and history lessons include the contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans.
Tom Torlakson, state schools superintendent and Mike Kirst, state board president, said in the foreword of the proposed updated content guide that instructional materials used in California classrooms need to provide a positive educational experience for all students.
“Instructional materials play an important role in forming a child’s attitudes; therefore, these materials need to reflect a multicultural society and to avoid stereotyping,” Torlakson and Kirst said. “The following standards ensure that