February 1990
Teacher Magazine, Vol. 01, Issue 05
Education
Romance and Reality
Teaching is teaching whether you're doing it in a red brick schoolhouse in Iowa, a lycee in France, or a thatched hut in Kenya. So, if you aren't happy teaching here, you probably won't be happy teaching overseas. Like any career move, arranging for an overseas job consumes time and energy, even though most teachers apply through one of a dozen or so placement organizations. (See page 74.) Many people find that teaching overseas is more demanding and stressful than teaching in the States. On top of adjusting to language and cultural differences, visiting teachers must cope with differences in teaching methods and materials. In some situations, teachers may find no materials at all. Don't expect to see a photocopier, says Carol Byrne, manager of educator and special programs for the American Field Service Teacher Exchange Program. Other basic items that U.S. teachers take for granted, such as textbooks and blackboards, also may not be available in some host schools, she adds. Although it is possible that your school might have a high-tech resource center and well-stocked library, don't count on it. In fact, be prepared for the worst. Your only teaching resource may be yourself, so you have to be good at thinking on your feet.
Education
Mom, For Now
Occasionally, he came to her for advice; sometimes, however, it seemed what he was after was the kind of advice one gets from a mother, not a teacher. For example, when he had to attend a formal sports banquet, he asked her what she thought he should wear. She helped him match a tie with his suit and paid him to do a few odd jobs for her so that he could afford a new pair of shoes.
Education
Where To Write
European Council of Independent Schools 21B Lavant St. Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3EL, England 011-44-730-68244
Education
Class Dismissed
Twenty-five years ago, that challenge got the elementary school boys in Idaho Falls, Idaho, hopping mad. It got them hopping, too: They began training with then-physicaleducation instructor Terry Jensen for the districtwide jump-rope competition he was organizing. Today, the annual event draws more than 1,000 boys and girls from 13 schools and rivals the district's track meets in popularity and prestige. Official medals are awarded Olympics-style to the best male and best female jumpers in three grade divisions.
Education
A National Priority: The Search For Common Goals
But it could also prove to be a key catalyst for the transformation of American education.
Education
Small Change
One wintry Minnesota dusk in 1987, 6-year-old Ben caught Noble's eye as she was leaving school. He was playing alone in the snow without a hat or mittens. His coat was unfastened. Although Ben was not in Noble's class, she took him to the foster home where he was living. Throughout the rest of the year, she kept an eye out for him.
Education
Effective Programs: 10 Principles
engages people in responsible and challenging actions for the common good;
Education
The Art Of Survival
Rollins, 34, an artist dressed all in black this day, is seated at a long white table on the third floor of the Kelly center, in a room that obviously was once a basketball court. Backboards still hang from the walls. It is a studio now, the walls whitewashed and hung with canvases, the floor littered with plastic sheeting and here and there splotched with paint and dribbled with glue. Sunlight, or what passes for natural light on a hazy afternoon in New York City, filters in through the floor-to-ceiling grating, casting crisscrossed shadows against the far wall.
Education
Travel Resources
The International Schools Directory, $24.95. The European Council of International Schools' comprehensive guide describes 270 ECISmember schools worldwide and includes statistical data on 800 other schools.
Education
How To Find Happy Endings
Storytelling Teaching Tape by Lynn Rubright contains stories and suggestions for use in the classroom. Cassette, $9.95. To order, contact: NAPPS, P.O. Box 309, Jonesborough, TN 37659; (615) 753-2171.
Education
Liquid Flight
A self-professed "beach rat'' in childhood, Shearer grew up playing "King of the Wave'' on rubber surf mats at his home in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Nearly three decades later, he still holds court in the water: In addition to his world bodysurfing titles, Shearer has captured three national championships in bodyboard surfing, which is done on a short, polyethylene board also known as a boogie board.
Education
Coming Home
Weaver has found that in many instances, returning teachers expect to be treated "like a movie star'' by family and friends. They look forward to telling long stories of their adventures, but find that few people are willing to listen. "People are apt to say, 'Isn't that interesting?' and drop it without wanting to talk about your experiences in any depth,'' Weaver says. Most people who have not had an overseas experience simply can't relate to it, he explains.
Education
Readings of Note
From When I Was Young I Loved School, by Children's Express, edited by Anne Sheffield and Bruce Frankel (New York, Children's Express Foundation, 1989).
Education
'What Can I Do?'
Moreover, that number does not include the hundreds of thousands of troubled young people who live at home, but are victims of poverty, abuse, and violence--children who are failing in school and in danger of failing in life. All too often, society has given up on them, and they have given up on society. Too often, but not always. Sometimes someone steps in and makes a difference.
Education
The Ultimate Homework
His teacher knows that no matter how good her lesson plans are, she has little chance of reaching him until his basic needs for food, shelter, clothing, and love are met.
Education
Video Clips At Your Fingertips
"But, the sun is at a 40-degree angle from the hive,'' responds another.
Education
The Textbook-Market Shakeup Continues
Critics warn that the deal represents the continuation of a trend that could result in fewer options and less innovation in educational materials. Because of the mergers and buyouts that have swept through the field over the past few years, industry officials say, the number of publishers producing major basal series in key subject areas has been cut in half.
Education
Telling Tales In School
For decades, the art of storytelling has been overshadowed by print, radio, and television. Now, Americans are falling in love with it again.
Education
Money Matters
Make sure you have money to tide you over during the lag between your last check in the states and your first check in your employing country.
Education
Convergence On Choice
The convergence of both the Administration and the union on the rationale for choice could have major ramifications for the debate this year--a debate that is likely to intensify as more and more choice advocates attempt to press their agenda in the nation's legislative bodies.
Education
The Right Stuff
Am I able to enjoy doing things on my own?
Can I live without watching Sunday afternoon football?
Can I live without watching Sunday afternoon football?
Education
Who's In Charge Here?
"Everything I get, I channel to a committee,'' the principal says. "I don't know if that's right or wrong.''
Education
Equal Work, Unequal Pay
When education levels, experience, and other factors were accounted for, women teachers in public high schools on average earned $1,134 less than their male colleagues. In Catholic schools, women teachers were paid $1,670 less, and in private schools they made $2,582 less.
Education
Not A Stranger's Home
They knew that the boy's toughness was just a front. John was having a hard time at home. He had been in and out of foster homes for years and now was living with his biological mother again.
Social Studies
Opinion
Losing Our Sense Of Place
It has become commonplace to observe that Americans know little of the geography of their country.