Looking forward to meeting Sue Waters of Edublog fame. She has a practical advice blog that has saved my teaching skin many times. My students all have Edublogs and we are quite familiar with this format so I am thrilled James let her come to NECC. Nothing like a Face to Face to enhance our teaching.

Next I am looking forward to being inspired. I want to be a sponge absorbing information, but also a sprinkler who shares my classroom experiences with others. By the end of the conference I should reach saturation!  Can’t wait to get wet.

The Cape region is blessed with great libraries and good knowledgeable librarians! From Bethany, through Rehoboth, Lewes, Milton, Selbyville, Georgetown, Millsboro and Frankford there is a complete network of experts ready to help you and your family find the right books. Just in time for summer reading, these libraries most likely have all of the Newbery Medal winners and they can be reserved.

Not familiar with the Newbery Medal? The seal is a badge of honor worn by distinguished books that have earned this honor from the American Library Association in honor of a British bookseller, John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

The following is an account of the latest winner from the ALA site.

The 2009 Newbery Medal winner is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean, and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.

A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned graveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens.

“A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising,” said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Treviño.

The 2009 Newbery Honor books follow.

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by David Small (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing)

Underneath the canopy of the loblolly pines, amid the pulsating sounds of the swamp, there lies a tale. Intertwining stories of an embittered man, a loyal hound, an abandoned cat and a vengeful lamia sing of love, loss, loneliness and hope. Appelt’s lyrical storytelling heightens the distinguished characteristics of this work.

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle (Henry Holt & Comapny)

The Surrender Tree utilizes compelling free verse in alternating voices to lyrically tell the story of Cuba’s three wars for independence from Spain. Combining real-life characters (such as legendary healer Rosa La Bayamesa) with imagined individuals, Engle focuses on Rosa’s struggle to save everyone–black, white, Cuban, Spanish, friend or enemy.

Savvy by Ingrid Law (Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group in partnership with Walden Media, LLC

This rich first-person narrative draws readers into a wild bus ride, winding through the countryside on a journey of self-discovery for Mibs Beaumont and her companions. Newcomer Law weaves a magical tall tale, using vivid language and lively personalities, all bouncing their way to a warm, satisfying conclusion.

After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Books for Young Readers)

This tightly woven novel looks back on two years in a New York City neighborhood, where life changes for two 11-year-olds when a new girl joins their game of double Dutch. Bonded by Tupac’s music, the three girls explore the lure of freedom and build a friendship that redefines their own identities.

Thinkfinity

As summer time draws near and schools begin to close their classroom doors for the last time, it falls on parents to keep the education wheel turning. There is no limit to the resources on the Internet but often finding the right website can be daunting. Enter Thinkfinity.

Thinkfinity is a user friendly education site that is the cornerstone of Verizon Foundation’s literacy, education and technology initiatives. Their goal in developing this site was to improve student achievement in traditional classroom settings and beyond by providing high-quality content and extensive professional development training. They also allow parents to share the wealth.

Thinkfinity, formerly MarcoPolo, is a free website.

This site was designed in collaboration with associations who had already developed content for each of the subjects including

• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Council for Economic Education
• International Reading Association
• National Center for Family Literacy
• National Council of Teachers of English
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• National Geographic Society
• ProLiteracy
• Smithsonian National Museum of American History
• The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

The website explains that “Thinkfinity.org makes it easy for educators to enhance their classroom instruction with lesson plans, interactive activities and other online resources. Thinkfinity.org also provides a wealth of educational and literacy resources for students, parents and after-school programs. All of Thinkfinity.org’s 55,000 standards-based K-12 lesson plans, student materials, interactive tools and reference materials are reviewed by the nation’s leading education organizations to ensure that content is accurate, up-to-date, unbiased and appropriate for students. At Thinkfinity.org, you’ll find primary source materials, interactive student resources and grade-specific research lists to help you tailor materials to meet your needs.”

Using Thinkfinity is easy. I have had good experience with the language arts site, READ WRITE THINK but there are other sites that have excellent content that can be adapted for parents and children in the summertime.

The sites include ArtsEdge, EconEdLink, Edsitement, Illuminations, Literacy Network, Science NetLinks, Smithsonian’s History Explorer and National Geographic’s Xpeditions.

In Delaware, Thinkfinity is partnered with the Delaware Center for Educational Technology and they provide training through Denise Tuck who recently conducted a workshop at Cape along with Lori Roe.

This week on the Thinkfinity Parent page they feature a fully developed lesson that goes with the new movie, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. This is really exciting stuff that kids would love. There is quest, an interactive game that allows you to hunt for treasure using all kinds of reading and map skills. There are artifacts that inspired the movie and a backstage tour of the stars and characters explaining how they became part of the script. The actress Amy Adams discusses her role as aviatrix Amelia Earhart and director Shawn Levy talks about the ups and downs of filming inside the Smithsonian.

The IMAX version of the movie will be shown at the National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum. There are additional resources for hungry minds.

Parents who love to challenge their children will find a wealth of resources at Thinkfinity.org.

Back in Town

5-22-09

In the spring it is hard to focus! For teachers too! We are tired, the students are tired and everyone is looking forward to the beach and NO MORE SCHOOL! We are people of the tides. We listen to the waves lap the shore and think about the tides and seasons of our lives. So here comes another summer. Here are a few observations and notes from a classroom teacher who gradually morphs into a Boardwalker about this time every year.

The Boys are Back in Town – in case you had not noticed, our boys and girls who went away to college are returning. We smile, we laugh and we run for cover! Prepare for lots of laundry, larger grocery bills and the messiness that comes with young adults coming and going in our homes. So great to see them again and hear their stories! As they infuse our beach workplaces with enthusiasm and honest labor, may we all enjoy the season and each other.

The Visitors are Back in Town – not aliens from another planet unless you consider that people from Pittsburg are a lot like Martians, but real live people who fill up our motels and restaurants, and make us late as we drive down Route one. Plan extra time and patience in driving anywhere and an attitude of gratitude when it comes to welcoming newcomers who just might need a day on the beach to mellow and return to their senses. They certainly help our economy and we may be able to help them slow down a bit and breathe our salty ocean air. It has that effect.

The Trees, the Birds, the Bees – yep! They’re all back in town unfolding their tender leaves just in time for some sunshine and cool night breezes. Isn’t it amazing how fragile yet incredibly strong a tree buds, blossoms and produces leaves? There is a symphony of bird calls outside my window at five in the morning each day. The light just begins to break and the birds begin their songs of joy. The insects cannot be far behind. There will be flies, gnats and mosquitoes, all part of summer’s wide array of creatures. In my neighborhood there are also many rabbits, fox and even an occasional deer.

People Get Out – The springtime draws people outdoors. There are the gardeners, the bikers, the walkers, each with a mission and an attitude that being outside beats being inside any day.

I come from a long line of window washers. This time of year necessitates the ritual washing of the windows, a messy job that must be done before Memorial Day. If I’m lucky, I can lasso some help with this job because it’s easier to have one person on the inside and the other on the outside so that we can comment on each other’s streaks. Strange I know but I share this with you in hopes that you too may discover your inner spring bug, the thing that draws you to the outdoors. Decide what fulfills your needs and get right to it! Memorial Day is this Monday!

3-27-09

Teachers in this state from Brandywine to Delmar are horrified. We helped to elect Governor Markell and now face a devastating blow in terms of our salaries and benefits based on his latest budget announcement. Markell wants to balance the state deficit by initiating deep cuts into teachers’ salaries. His consolation to us is that he won’t eliminate positions!

Wait a minute. As state treasurer for eight years Markell should know how to raise revenue and lower the impact on all state workers (including teachers). During his campaign he promised to look at programs and eliminate waste. He also promised fair taxation. None of this is reflected in his budget proposal if you are a looking through the eyes of a teacher (and especially paraprofessionals). Teachers give Markell a D for research to solve the budget problem.

This budget bleeds red from the teachers who will be impacted and the state workers who will be denied. In fact, his proposal is disproportionate in every way. He not only seeks to cut our salary, he is also cutting our length of contract and raising the cost of our health benefits. This is a triple whammy. Cut, cut, cut. Teachers give Markell an F for fairness.

Teachers across the board will be affected. Teachers who have just entered the profession will be cut and teachers who have been working for thirty years will be cut.

Administrators will be affected. They collect state salary. Their salaries are indexed on the teacher scale but of course, they make much higher salaries due to length of contract and years in administration. So proportionally, the first year teacher is sacrificing far more than the administrator, and may be reconsidering being in education at all based on the low pay and high accountability. Teachers give Markell an F in equality.

We have been asked repeatedly to raise the level of instruction, raise our expectations, and to do more about becoming effective teachers. Now we feel as if we have been thrown under the school bus, our professional credentials marginalized and our benefits devastated by this budget. Why must the state seek out teachers and punish us for their inability to generate enough revenue? Teachers give Markell a D for innovation.

What about raising Delaware’s Personal Income Tax? The brackets for this tax stop at $60,000 meaning that people with income above that limit all pay at the same rate. So private sector workers who earn six digit salaries pay the same rate as a teacher who has been teaching for 30 years. Why not create a more progressive tax that allows private and public sector citizens to shoulder the tax deficit burden?

Many teachers work summer school to supplement incomes and realize that this opportunity has been eliminated because there is no summer school. No money. No summer school.

Teachers are talking. We serve the children of this state but soon you may see us in another capacity. We may be serving the citizens of this state as waitresses and fast food servers. You may see us this summer cutting lawns, working retail and lifeguarding at the beaches instead of in classrooms to learn and to teach.

State budget problems? Just ask the teachers to take a hit by creating a budget that is unfairly places the burden on teachers and watch what happens.

3-20-09

Isn’t is bothersome that the headlines often tell of tragic events yet seldom proclaim the good that is being done in schools? Countless victories are won every day in our nation’s schools, but we content ourselves with a large sweep of test scores or unbalanced budgets.

Why? Big news versus little news. Big news is when agencies can summarize trends in a headline in a few short words. Test Scores All Time Low! Students Performance Dropping! Administrator Admits to Felony! Sensationalism sells. The big picture allows the public to formulate opinions of schools in a brief time without really delving into the depths of the issues. The problem here is that their opinions are formed on filtered information that is sifted to reveal only the warts and blemishes of the system and not the progress or record of successes.

Two possible solutions to the problem. The first one has been suggested by the PTO President from Rehoboth Beach Elementary. He says that parents should get involved in the schools. He helps out in the computer lab and could verify firsthand the difficulty students have accessing the internet. When the Town Meetings were held, this gentleman expressed a credible opinion about the issue and people in the room listened. Rehoboth was the only area to pass the Technology Referendum perhaps due in part to the high level of involvement of the parents there. When the time came to vote for an issue, their informed opinions stood out supporting students.

Getting involved can mean going to the school, having lunch with the students, showing up for events, working on a PTO committee, serving on a planning committee and hosting fundraisers. Involvement is defined by presence and this need not only be from parents. There were many non-parental voters who showed up to the Town Hall meetings to ask where the District moneys were being spent. These folks would make great mentors for at-risk students or helpers at various events. You don’t have to be a parent to get involved: you just have to care and want to make things better.

The other idea is for the school system to become more transparent and proactive in providing information. One of the top priorities for the schools ought to be to get the word on all things that relate to the schools, student achievement, operations, plans and success. We don’t need to spin it but we do need to constantly provide it.

We do not do enough to insure that the citizens have access to good information and the people with the answers. It is especially disturbing that anyone can get on the radio and say anything about our schools without regard for truth. Letters to the editor in local newspapers must be signed; what about voices on the radio? How are these anonymous and often time venomous voices to be held credible?

In this age of technology there are many ways to communicate. Websites, news articles, school district newsletters, and phone messages are good ways to get the story straight. This coupled with volunteer efforts in our schools would go a long way toward informing and improving education.

]]> http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/2009/03/24/recognizing-excellence/feed/ 1 http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/2009/02/05/educational-research-jungle/ http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/2009/02/05/educational-research-jungle/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:34:14 +0000 Diane Albanese http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/?p=150

The Educational Research Jungle

2-20-09

What do children know and how do they learn? These two questions have produced mountains of research and speculation. College students who are studying to become teachers are asked to read the literature and come up with viable classroom techniques that work. Administrators are trained to detect teaching strategies that constitute best practice.

In Chicago there is a school that is called “Best Practice.” In that school many of the techniques that have been proven to be effective are implemented in the classroom. A cutting edge school. Children are taught according to the most current knowledge from the best research institutions of higher learning.

Just one minute. The research is constantly changing and the recommendations are often time conflicting.

Here’s the problem. Educational research findings define teaching practices and curriculum but they are unstable at best. Today’s educational pog is swiftly in the trash heap, moved aside for another major breakthrough.

The educational trends are like an enormous pendulum that swings one way and then the other. There are the “ins” and “outs” of teaching. What is cool and what is crass? These trends usually rock and roll, come and go in the span of a decade. A teacher who has been in the classroom for ten years can detect the shift almost imperceptibly at first and then the connection occurs. “Oh we don’t teach that anymore!” or, “We don’t teach that way anymore.” Often times indignation sets in as in “How dare they change a perfectly good practice/technique/objective when it was working so well for me!”

A teacher who has been toiling away for twenty years in a classroom can look at her past practices, guidebooks and resources and tuck them away embracing what is new at least when she is to due for her annual classroom observation. She will demonstrate an effort to embrace the new and discard the old. Secretly she is wishing they would just leave well enough alone. There is no indignation, just acceptance and regret.

A teacher who has been teaching for thirty years sees the tide in educational trends turning and just smiles: a knowing smile. A smile that says, “Yeah, I’ve seen this before; I’ve done it this way before. It’s all good.” This seasoned veteran may add a thing or two but she sticks with what works. After all, thirty years is a long time and experience is the best teacher and an experienced teacher is the best bet. There is a steadfastness and resolve in her demeanor as if an invisible line has been drawn in the sand and no mere researcher/statistician dare cross it.

A teacher who is a forty year veteran, laughs at the so called new, improved way of teaching and curriculum because she has discovered long ago what works and what doesn’t and she kept the good and threw out the bad. Her judgment of best practice is the one that counts and she knows it. Her daily planning and delivery of lessons are what really matters. The piles of research can only be a guide and often time a guide that is not needed because she has seen it all before and it is all good. But alas, there is only time and space for one path through the educational research jungle and she is very adept at navigation.

Another piece of evidence in my contention that NYC is one of the most astonishing places on the planet.

Please feel free to comment and to leave me notes about your Italian experiences.

The picture below was taken during our last night at the best little town in Italy, Ripatransone.  We studied there for 8 days and every night we experienced another great effort by the mayor, Paulo and the townspeople to involve us in their wonderful culture. Ripa is a gem set on a hillside by the Adriatic Sea. I speak from my heart when I say that I loved being there and appreciate all that they taught me.  I will return!

]]> http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/2008/08/04/italy-and-me/feed/ 0 http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/2008/06/02/alexs-cape-team-wins-state-lacrosse-tournament/ http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/2008/06/02/alexs-cape-team-wins-state-lacrosse-tournament/#comments Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:06:59 +0000 Diane Albanese http://dalbanese.edublogs.org/?p=110

Alex was incredible! One minute and thirty seconds left in the state championship game with a tie score and Sallies controlling the ball. Alex scoops it up and runs down the field handing it to an attack, he scores and CAPE WINS THE GAME!!!

Alex played incredible lacrosse this season. He was chosen FIRST TEAM ALL STATE!   I am so proud of him (as if you couldn’t tell!). He has grown to be an phenomenally talented, competent and confident young man.  He will attend University of Delaware next year and work this summer at the beach shacks in Rehoboth. 

Note! Alex’s Graduation Party has been rescheduled for Saturday, June 21 at 6pm so that he can play in the state wide All Star Lacrosse game on June 14th.