Volume 18, Issue 10
June, 2010
MCALLEN AFT NEWS
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
KEEPING YOU INFORMED
A Little Bit of Everything
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Say No to Budget Cuts and Layoffs
This year it is estimated that as many as 300,000 teachers, school support staff, and higher education faculty will receive pink slips throughout the country.
This will result in drastic increases in class sizes and less individualized instruction; it will erode classroom discipline and school safety, and eliminate essential programs like art, music, AP classes and summer school. But students need educators in the classroom, not in unemployment lines.
"The magnitude of the cuts is staggering. The number of educators who might be pink-slipped in the fall is nearly equal to the population of Toledo, Ohio," said AFT President Randi Weingarten. "This isn’t just about saving jobs; it's about saving the next generation."
Sign AFT’s online petition protesting budget cuts and urging federal aid to fill the budget gap. Help us reach the goal of 300,000 signatures--one for every educator who may receive a pink slip this year.
Hundreds of members were nominated as AFT Everyday Heroes by those who appreciate the extraordinary work they do day in and day out. Our campaign to search out and honor those members who have had a profound influence at work, have done extraordinary community service or have succeeded against great odds, began in mid-May when we asked for nominations. The response confirmed what we already know: AFT heroes are everywhere, in every walk of life. Now it's your turn to vote.
While it was difficult to narrow down the nominees to a manageable list of finalists, we have settled on a field of worthy candidates in each of the AFT's constituency groups.
You have a chance to vote for one Everyday Hero from each AFT constituency group. Go to the AFT website, where you can read the stories of all the nominees, and then cast your vote. Voting will be open through June 20. (Among the nominees: Charles Johnson of our Alliance-AFT local in Dallas ISD, where he is a safety worker at North Dallas High.)
One AFT Everyday Hero from each group will then be honored at the AFT convention in Seattle in July.
In Need of an Education Renaissance, Not Another Hollow Reform
Our counterparts at the American Federation of Teachers have come out with an excellent new edition of American Educator, AFT’s quarterly magazine for the teaching profession. Here's the rundown from AFT's Jennifer Dubin:
“While over reliance on test scores is distorting the very purpose of schooling, overblown faith in market mechanisms is blinding us to the fact that markets have winners and losers. For all students to receive a well-rounded education, we must revive our neighborhood public schools.”
"In The Death and Life of the Great American School System, excerpted in the new issue of American Educator, Diane Ravitch chronicles her realization that high-stakes tests and the proliferation of charter schools are undermining public education. 'The great challenge to our generation is to create a renaissance in education,' Ravitch writes. To that end, she calls for a renewed focus on curriculum and instruction 'that seeks to teach the best that has been thought and known and done in every field of endeavor.'"Supporting Ravitch's concern with the nation's current approach to accountability, an article by Linda Perlstein shows how high-stakes testing in reading and mathematics can result in high scores, low standards and a narrow education. And Daniel Koretz follows up with a discussion of how score inflation is common not just in education, but in other fields.
"The summer issue of Educator also features an article by Daniel T. Willingham, who addresses this provocative question: Have technology and multitasking rewired how students learn? Willingham explains that while bringing technology into the classroom can increase student engagement, using it effectively is complicated. He also debunks the notion that multitasking is highly efficient and discusses the importance of focusing on one task at a time.
Additionally, the magazine includes an article by Nora S. Newcombe on how improving students' spatial thinking--such as their ability to visualize the earth rotating--can increase math and science learning.
"The magazine concludes with 'The Professional Educator,' a new feature focused on strengthening the teaching profession. In this issue, state and local AFT leaders discuss the development of a seamless professional development and evaluation system that will increase teacher--and student--learning." The complete magazine is available online at: http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/index.cfm. 
