What I’ve Learned: The Public Needs to Know More About ESPs
By Cindy Long
Educators may spend their careers preparing lessons, but often the most memorable are those they learn themselves. With that in mind, NEA Today asked school staff – everyone from classroom teachers and bus drivers to guidance counselors and school nurses – to share the everyday lessons they’ve picked up along the way in a series called “What I’ve Learned.”Audrey Haskell: Administrative Assistant, Lewis & Clark Elementary School in Grand Forks, North Dakota
I’ve learned that most parents and kids have no idea how many hats we wear in our schools. No matter what our job descriptions really say, we are also nurses and counselors. We repair everything from glasses to copy machines, straighten lopsided ponytails and listen to whatever really important story an eager student has to tell us each morning. One little boy told his mom that my job was to give out ice packs, answer the phone and be nice to people. He said I must be pretty good at it because they give me money.
I’ve learned that no matter how prepared I think I am for almost any situation, I’m wrong. The only one who
Two Teachers Killed this Week: How Safe Are US Schools?
Residents of Boston’s North Shore suburbs were struggling to absorb the news Wednesday that Danvers High School math teacher Colleen Ritzer was murdered, and that a 14-year-old male student has been charged. The tragedy occurred one day after the Sparks Middle School shooting in Nevada, in which police say math teacher Michael Landsberry was killed by a 12-year-old male student who then killed him
American Education Week 2013, November 18-22
American Education Week—November 18-22, 2013—presents all Americans with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every child receives a quality education. The weeklong celebration features a special observance each day of the week. Check out NEA’s American Education Week page for more information. Related posts: Ameri
YESTERDAY
In the Danger Zone: Schools Bring Healing to Communities Hit by Disaster
By Anita Merina and Brenda Alvarez In our continuing series on ZIP codes – and on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy – NEA Today takes you to three areas of the country that share a menacing trait—they are ground zero for destructive natural disasters. But they also share an inspiring trait—they are resilient and they draw strength from their school communities to recover and move on. The
Why Do Teachers Quit?
Approximately 15.7 percent of teachers leave their posts every year, and 40 percent of teachers who pursue undergraduate degrees in teaching never even enter the classroom at all. With teacher effectiveness a top priority of the education reform movement, the question remains: Why are all these teachers leaving—or not even entering the classroom in the first place? “One of the big reasons I quit w
No Time to Wait for a Definition of ‘Bullying’
The challenge of defining bullying is real for researchers and lawmakers who need the specificity in order to measure and determine the consequences of bullying. However, while that larger discussion is taking place, people in the trenches continue to face the many manifestations of bullying, social cruelty and victimization, whether it appears in schools, colleges, workplaces or the community. So
Corporal Punishment Persists in U.S. Schools
Even as an increasing number of districts and states abolish the practice, corporal punishment remains a legal form of discipline in 19 states, most of them in the South, according to the Center for Effective Discipline, a nonprofit based in Columbus, Ohio, that provides educational information on corporal punishment and alternatives to its use. That’s a decrease from 2004, when 22 states permitte