Cover Picture Courtesy of "Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias de España" Photo by Marino Scandurra
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ART & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
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ACCOUNTING & FINANCE DIRECTOR
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MEDIA RELATIONS DIRECTOR
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CONTENT VOLUME 01, ISSUE 01
GOYA AWARD WINNER ANTONIO BANDERAS
HONOR ROLL
04
HOW SAFE IS YOUR SCHOOL?
Principal’s
Office Lesson Plans
10 14
Principals’ survey reveals ways of protecting students and staff.
HOPE DICTATES EFFORT
Nontraditional classes require nontraditional teaching techniques.
READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY
SCHOOLIBRARY
18 ROLE MODEL
22 SCHOOL NEWSPAPER
His life is driven by a passion for the arts and humanity.
K-12 selects its Top 10 books for children of all ages.
TEACHER'S DETERMINATION INSPIRES HER STUDENTS Being in a wheelchair doesn’t stop Carolyn Diaz from doing anything.
NEWS AND TRENDS
26
Presenting education updates from across America.
HONOR ROLL
ANTONIO BANDERAS: A Life Driven by Passion for the Arts and Humanity
J
osé Antonio Domínguez Banderas was born in Benalmádena, Málaga, Andalucía, Spain, on August 10, 1960 during the reign of Francisco Franco, to Ana Banderas Gallego, a school teacher, and José Domínguez, a police officer in the Guardia Civil. As a child, he wanted to become a professional soccer player until a broken foot at the age of fourteen shattered his dreams. He then showed a strong interest in the performing arts and created a new dream to follow. He began his acting career with a series of films by director Pedro Almodóvar and then appeared in high-profile Hollywood movies, especially in the 1990s, including Assassins, Evita, Interview with the Vampire, Philadelphia, Take the Lead, Desperado, The Mask of Zorro and Spy Kids. Banderas also portrayed the voice of “Puss in Boots” in the Shrek sequels and in Puss in Boots. His impressive body of work, humanitarian efforts and sterling professional reputation made him the perfect recipient of Spain’s prestigious 2015 Goya de Honor award for lifetime achievement in the arts. The Goya Awards, known as Spain’s Oscars, was established in 1987 by the Spanish Academy of Cinematic Art and Science. The award itself is a bronze bust of Francisco de Goya created by the sculptor José Luis Fernández. Upon receiving this award, Banderas mused that the honor represented a reflection of the past and presented an opportunity for a new beginning. His perspective on his life and career is particularly instructive for students of the arts. Here in its entirety is Banderas’ acceptance speech to the assembled members of the Spanish Academy:
4 · April 01, 2015
“
Chaos is the best ally of any artist”
Antonio Banderas Goya Award Winner. Photo by José Haro. Courtesy of "Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias de España"
www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
HONOR ROLL
J
ust two or three years ago I was attending a Charity Gala in L.A. I was waiting to make my little speech there at my table. Taylor Swift was performing on the stage. She was doing great. When she finished her performance she passed by my side on her way off the stage. When she saw me, she said my name with noticeable emotion. Automatically I thought, “Wow, Taylor Swift knows me!” A very white smile, very long legs…you know. But then she said, “My grandmother loves your movies!” “Okay. Give a hug to your grandmother for me.” I am saying this to balance the big volume of compliments that I’ve been receiving since I was honored with this award, all of them referring to my youth. Everything I have is because of my profession, which I’d rather call a vocation. Even more important, what I have, what I am, I owe to my profession.
Photo by Alberto Ortega Courtesy of "Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias de España"
6 · April 01, 2015
Seeing life as an adventure or maybe like a game, I’ve always liked the expression to play to define my work as an actor, director, or producer. This expression should be useful to reveal the real nature of who I am. Pablo Picasso, an illustrious man, used to say that he came so far, but he was still a child. That’s what I am, a child...a child from Malaga. If I could from that chair look at this other self called Antonio Banderas with the award in his hands, I’d have to recognize that the one on stage isn’t just me alone. He also belongs to many others who have added fragments of their lives, pieces of a puzzle of different colors and shapes to me. He belongs to all those eyes that saw and showed me the way, to all those mouths that spoke to me so wisely, to all those souls that accompanied me all the way to where I am now, all the way to this same stage. All of them are myself, and in some way, I am all of them as well. If I look back, I see myself as old. However, if I look forward, I feel really young. There’s a reflection in the nature of this award that I’m receiving today that it’s not for a particular job but for a lifetime achievement. The reflection has two directions: one to the past and the other one toward the future. From the first reflection a lot of big names come to mind. I am talking about celebrities in the movie industry, and the names of people who have spent their lives in the movie industry. They are the names of people with whom I have had the honor, the privilege and the luck to share moments on the big screen with and also on that set we call life. People on one side and the other of the Atlantic, people who have left a mark on those like me with the big opportunity to be around them at some time of our lives. Some of those names are known, recognized, admired and celebrated. But also, some of those who have been part of my life at some moments are unknown to the audience. These people will never be nominated. No one will ever ask them for an autograph. They don’t walk the red carpet and aren’t photographed. Nonetheless, they’re part of the big family that the movie industry is. I’m talking about carpenters, painters, electricians, drivers, specialists, co-workers, members of my family and friends with whom I spent time. I could keep
talking about them for many more hours. There are many stories, so many remembrances of those whose lives are touched by the film industry. When I look at the past, I feel the need to remember and pay tribute to two people. These two persons that I saw became smaller and smaller from the window of a train in Costa del Sol at 6 pm on August 3, 1980. They were my parents, frightened by the idea that their son was the victim of an attack of madness. They were saying goodbye with the hope that sanity would return to the head of their child - the child that I was then, and I still am now. But sanity lost the battle. It wasn’t the head but the heart that was guiding me. One mission and one determination were traveling with me on that train. The mission: To become what I admired, one of those magical beings who challenged time and space, those who have made me travel in an extraordinary, artistic stint to distant places, even the remotest places in my soul. I’m talking about actors. The determination: I would never, ever, come back to my Malaga empty handed. Now, with this Goya in my hands, a lot of people might think that my goal was accomplished, and indeed, it was but just partially. The adventure continues. The road has become more complicated and therefore more thrilling especially now in times of crisis. Truthfully, this profession has always lived in crisis. Sometimes I’ve wondered if the comfort and the tranquility of stability would let me enter into the complicated intricacies of life inside the arts. No. Crisis is our natural state. It has to be. We must assume and embrace the insecurity of our profession. Chaos is the best ally of any artist. We must enjoy having our hands dirty in the mud we are shaping and with the uncertainty of success or failure breathing down our necks. With this we have to live. Today, with the figure of Don Francisco de Goya in my hands, I understand that our artists, our intellectuals and our culture are the best way to know what we are and how we got here. Also, looking at some of the scenery – just some of it – you see through that shining window that we all have in our houses and realize that mediocrity has become the big business of our times. We must look again with our eyes wide open and try to unravel the warning behind Goya and Picasso’s work. We must be
Photo by Alberto Ortega Courtesy of "Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias de España"
impressed with the ability of Falla, Tárrega, Albéniz and Granados, composers who created scores that honor the glory of Spain; with Cervantes, Unamuno, Valle-Inclán, Lorca, Machado, tattooing on paper the misery and greatness of our people. Expressed as well, of course, by Buñuel, Saura, Berlanga, Erice and my very loved and admired Pedro Almodovar. And there are so many others to praise. I don’t know if this award is timely or even if I deserve it. However, I believe that I’ve survived with dignity and constancy between forests of subjectivities, jams of success, lonely moors of failure and the gaslights. What I do know about this award is that it makes me feel the impulse and the rush to get rid of those things that used to be useful, but right now I do not want to keep. I know this award is like a starting gun in a race and sets the time to make sure not to let what is really important stay in the inkwell. I have to give myself body and soul to find those roads I still need to walk down and that - I hope you forgive me for express it this way - I know, I wish, I believe they are the definitive ones. There will be those in which you recognize me more because I’ve now realized something that was www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
hiding in my past and maybe not completely identified. Now I can see clearly that I chose this path and decided to get on that train because intrinsically I knew that culture and arts were the best ways to understand the world in which I was living. It doesn’t matter that much how far I’ve come because of my career as an actor or the gratitude I feel for Hollywood. It is mostly, by the way, especially because of how well they treated me, how well they have considered me or the respect I feel for my Hispanic brothers and sisters. You have to believe me when I tell you that every single time I finished a scene, a sequence, or a film, my mind was in Spain, not in Arizona, not in Cleveland, not in Ohio. No, no, no. For me, the important thing was to know how this work would be received in my country, being more specific, in Malaga, and being even more specific, in my neighborhood. I’ll finish now making a direct reference to the future. I am not talking about my future, but the future of our movie industry. Here, tonight, we have concentrated on an important number of young people who, besides having great talent, have been able to quickly develop a sense of commitment and responsibility to the public. These young people are claiming a critical spirit that helps them to be better every day: a clear understanding of the parameters of the Spanish movie industry that get them closer to the reality of our people. Above all I claim for them, for those new generations of actors, directors and professionals of this industry, the love and support that make them feel and know that their effort and sacrifice is not in vain. It’s worth the effort to represent our cinematography inside and outside our frontiers. I think that every award should be dedicated, and I’m dedicating this to that person that maybe has suffered the most because of my passion for the film industry, my long absences and my professional commitments. That person is the one I’ve missed the best scenes and the best sequences with, and yet she has been my best production. I dedicate this award to you, asking forgiveness, Estela del Carmen, my daughter. And now I’m going to go because the second part of the game of my life has just started. Thank you very much! • 8 · April 01, 2015
Taking the Lead for a Noble Purpose
O
ne of the film experiences Antonio Banderas had that gave him some of his greatest fulfillment wasn’t a blockbuster at the box office or gave him the chance to play a bigger than life legend. When he was handed a script that would become the movie Take the Lead, he found a role to play that was the real life story of a real superhero – an inspirational teacher, Pierre Dulaine, a Manhattan dance instructor who volunteered his time to teach ballroom dancing to a diverse group of New York inner-city high school students serving detention. Using dance, Dulaine showed these young people that they could turn their lives around and lead fulfilling lives. Once Banderas read the script and met Dulaine, he was hooked. He was not only impressed with Dulaine, he also saw it as a chance to instill compassion in his own children and inspire hope in other children less fortunate than his own. “Knowing somebody capable of doing things without expecting anything in return; it’s called being altruistic, and I think that’s something people don’t do nowadays. Everybody expects something in return. I traveled around the world with my family because for me it was important to show them another reality. So they saw the shantytowns in Buenos Aires, they saw the kids in Mexico, and so they know that these realities also exist. This movie is not going to change the story of motion pictures; it’s not going to win prizes at the Cannes Film Festival or anything like that. It is just a grain of sand.” He said at the time. “It’s just meant to inform, just to say, ‘Pay attention to this. This is happening.’ Especially in America where in the last 10 or 15 years we’ve seen things happening in schools that are absolutely dramatic and tragic.” Banderas told Beliefnet. com in 2006. Banderas told Gesica Magazine that same year there was one particular scene in Take the Lead which had special meeting for him. “I love the scene that I had with the parents <questioning his character’s tactics> because it’s sincere to me. The guy is not trying to solve the problems of the world. The guy is saying, I’m just trying something. Ballroom dancing doesn’t kill anybody. Why don’t you just allow me to do this? I’m talking about dignity, self-respect and manners. Something that is very superficial apparently but can be making the life of people a little bit better.” One thing is certain; there is nothing superficial about Antonio Banderas, a dignified, well-mannered and gifted artist who continues to make the lives of people a little better with every performance. By Mary Ann Cooper
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Principal’s
Office
How
Safe Are Today’s Schools?
TT
he reputation of the neighborhood school as a safe haven for learning has taken a beating over the past few years as stories about school shootings and violence splash across the Internet, local TV coverage and on the front pages of hometown news. For concerned parents, educators and students, the question remains: how safe are today’s schools? In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics published their latest data, a report based on
10 · April 01, 2015
the responses of school principals across the United States about what safety measures have been implemented at their schools, and more importantly what ones haven’t been. The answers will surprise you. What the report shows is that public schools use a variety of practices and procedures intended to promote the safety of students and staff. In the School Survey on Crime and Safety, public school principals were asked about their school’s use of safety and security measures and procedures. Certain practices such as locked or monitored
doors or gates are intended to limit or control access to school campuses, while others such as metal detectors, security cameras and limiting access to social networking websites are intended to monitor or restrict studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and visitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; behavior on campus. By 2012, 88 percent of public schools reported that they controlled access to school buildings by locking or monitoring doors during school hours. Other safety and security measures frequently reported by public schools included the use of security cameras to monitor the school (64 percent) and the
enforcement of a strict dress code (49 percent). In addition, 44 percent of public schools reported that they controlled access to school grounds by locking or monitoring gates during school hours, 24 percent reported the use of random dog sniffs to check for drugs, and 19 percent required that students wear uniforms. In general, higher percentages of public than of private schools reported the use of various safety and security measures in 2012. For example, higher percentages of public than of private schools reported the use of security www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
P’O
In general, higher percentages of public than of private schools reported the use of various safety and security measures in 2012.
cameras (64 vs. 41 percent) and random dog sniffs to check for drugs (24 vs. 4 percent). Higher percentages of public than of private schools also reported the following measures: controlling access to school buildings during school hours, requiring that students wear badges or picture IDs, requiring that book bags be clear or banning them from school, conducting metal detector checks on students (including both random and daily checks) and conducting random sweeps for contraband. However, higher percentages of private than of public schools enforced a strict dress code (71 vs. 49 percent) and required that students wear uniforms (57 vs. 19 percent). Also, higher percentages of public secondary schools or combined schools than of elementary schools reported using the following safety and security measures: enforcing a strict dress code, requiring that
Article Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2014). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013 (NCES 2014-042).
12 · April 01, 2015
students wear badges or picture IDs, requiring that book bags be clear or banning them from school, conducting metal detector checks on students (including both random and daily checks), using random dog sniffs to check for drugs, conducting random sweeps for contraband and using security cameras to monitor the school. The use of safety and security measures in 2012 also varied by public school locale. Higher percentages of public city schools than of public schools in suburban, town, and rural areas reported the following measures: controlling access to school grounds during school hours, requiring that students wear uniforms, enforcing a strict dress code, requiring that students wear badges or picture IDs and conducting metal detector checks on students (including both random and daily checks). •
PERCENT PUBLIC PRIVATE
Percentage of public and private schools that used selected safety and security measures by 2012.
Safety and security measure Controlled access to buildings during school hours
80.1
Security cameras used to monitor the school
64.3
40.6
Enforced a strict dress code
49.1
Controlled access to grounds during shool hours
88.2
71.3
44.1 42.1
Random dog sniffs to check for drugs
24.0
4.1 19.3
Required students to wear uniforms Random sweeps for contraband
7.5
Required students to wear badges or picture IDs
2.7
Required clear book bags or banned book bags on shool grounds
1.7
Random metal detector checks on students
56.9
12.1
7.4
5.7
5.0 1.2!
Students required to pass through metal detectors daily
2.7 0.4! 0
20
40
60
80
100
NOTE: Responses were provided by the principal. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2014). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013 (NCES 2014-042), Figure 20.1. www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
Lesson Plans
HOPE Dictates Effort in
Classroom Story by Gary Cooper
It
makes sense that the way students perceive themselves often determines whether or not they will be successful students. So why is it that some students seem unaffected by repeated attempts to have them develop positive perceptions of their current academic status and overcome misperceptions of their past actions? It might be because, as educators and parents, we are ignoring the most impactful concern of students – the perception of the future. The premise of this article is that a person’s perception of the future has the greatest effect on behavior. Give a student hope about what he could accomplish, and he will put forth the best efforts to learn and comply with class behavioral norms.
14 · April 01, 2015
Ilustration by © Depositphotos.com/ JrCasas
Educators generally believe that students learn more by doing than by listening or observing. This system works within those parameters and has students working with teachers cooperatively after a given lesson. It is not enough to keep students centered on daily progress and success. Students have to feel as if they are charting and controlling
their own destinies. Letting them project future success through tasks of organization, teamwork and leadership is more powerful than any piecemeal daily positive reinforcement that teachers dole out for completion of individual and narrowly cast assignments. The logistics of how a classroom is organized and the overall atmosphere created is key to the success of this program. First, the classroom is arranged in groups. This produces better learning results. I have always believed that the whole is greater than the sum of it parts. I find that groups of four works best. However, when class size is not divisible by four, a group of three or five work just as well. Each group or team selects a captain who selects a lieutenant. The captain need not be the best overall student but an individual that the others will listen to (and hopefully be motivated by) so that the team can work together to achieve an assigned goal. As a teacher you now have a group of allies with captains and lieutenants to help organize and direct the learning process. If a captain is not working out, simply elevate the lieutenant or select a new captain. Once the student leaders have been identified, the groups choose a name for their team. With older children I have them select colleges or universities' names. Younger learners pick a color for team names. However, whatever name the students select, let them have fun with the naming process. One of the keys to organizing classroom instruction is the amount of time the teacher
allows to present a lesson and how it is presented. I cannot over emphasize that the time a teacher lectures in front of the class should be significantly reduced. Rarely do I take more than 15 minutes to lecture on a given lesson regardless of the subject or age of my class. The “real” learning takes place during their group time. Remember it’s not how much you teach, but how much they learn. What is not completed becomes homework. When possible, I have students exchange papers team by team and grade someone else’s work. Upon obtaining his or her own work back, students are able to have the teacher reexamine the assignment and make a final decision. In this way students get results quickly and get a sense of what is needed to make their groups more successful. However, essays and more complicated assigments are graded by the instructor. What works for me is getting students out of their seats and away from their desks and on the floor. Sitting at their desks seems
to inhibit communication and for these students needing to stretch their legs is a welcome respite from constantly remaining in their assigned chairs. Most importantly, in this system of teaching points are awarded for good work and decorum. For example, after each session of group work, points are assigned for those who worked in an orderly fashion, helped each other and simply avoided copying each other’s work. Generally speaking, it takes two weeks to a month before all students are comfortable with this method of operation. Scores are tallied daily and the members of the winning team or teams receive an award. It is human nature that the more severe the consequences or the greater the reward will result in a higher level of motivation. Over the years I have found great success in rewarding the winners in all assignments of the day the grade of A or (in the case of a perfect paper) an A+. Those who do not win simply earn whatever grade they achieved. Although it may seem counterintuitive, www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
Lesson Plans It is not enough to keep students centered on daily progress and success. Students have to feel as if they are charting and controlling their own destinies.
Photo by © Depositphotos.com/pressmaster
16 · April 01, 2015
students knowing that they have an A grade most often try harder to earn the A+ grade. The daily totals are added together, and at the end of a week or whenever a test might be given the team or teams earn(s) an A is the test to be given the following day. My experience has been that even weak students prepare for the test enthusiastically knowing the grade of A awaits them. They almost always put in great effort to achieve an A+. The whole class is focused on earning points for teams. I recommend not taking away points for poor conduct, but awarding all other teams. Through peer pressure students tend to accept the procedures and rules of the class without having much if any teacher–student confrontation. If, however, a given child is having difficulty, I speak to the student privately, encouraging that individual to attempt to comply to the class’ code of conduct. It is
extremely rare that any situation ever needs more than this type of communication. Approximately every month or so I change the makeup of the teams, making sure that other worthy students have a chance to be captain. Over the years my students have enjoyed and embraced my teaching methods, realizing that punishment is rarely if ever part of my classroom management style. In general the parental response has been overwhelmingly positive. Many of the parents over the years have raved about the level of enthusiasm their son or daughter exhibited at that time toward learning. Occasionally, a few parents raised concerns about my style of teaching, but upon receiving standardized test scores, they came to realize it was all worthwhile. Now and then a parents have been uncomfortable with my non-traditional methods. One of fellow teachers stated, “I guess some people see
what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.” However, keeping parents informed so that they will view these changes with an open mind can quell any reservations and fears about this approach. Overall, I and my methods of teaching have usually been popular with students and their families. My philosophy is that school is a serious place, but most learning should be fun. The future perception method I have personally used in my classroom for more than decades has resulted in a significant improvement in standardized test scores and the drastic reduction (if not complete elimination) of discipline problems. Although my methods work well across the board, it is particularly aimed at the reluctant learner and students with various learning difficulties such as ADD, ADHD, dyslexia and dysgraphia. Major behavioral issues have been managed very well under this system as well. Those that have tried my methods and adopted my philosophies have embraced them enthusiastically. I hope you try these methods and modify them to your needs. I strongly believe that once you do, you will never go back to a traditional classroom. • Gary Cooper has been an educator for more than 45 years and has taught students from nursery school to college. He is also a guidance counselor and has a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Cooper is a recipient of a Teacher of the Year Award and has also been cited twice in Who's Who Among American Teachers.
Theory into PRACTICE CASE STUDY: TIM When I was a history teacher in a seventh grade departmentalized program, I taught four of the six classes at that grade level. The other two were taught by an instructor who taught the seventh and eighth grade classes. Tim was a student in one of the other two classes and was a major disruptive influence in all his classes including gym, art and music. A vice principal in a middle school faculty meeting said the office would no longer allow Tim to be sent to the office. He was beyond anything they could handle. A few weeks later the principal, a lifelong friend, delivered Tim to my homeroom, informing me that Tim was now a member of my class. I shook the boy’s hand and welcomed him to the class. His first class was language arts with the same teacher with whom he had developed a very poor relationship. Second period he had mathematics with a different teacher than he had previously. I had worked with this teacher to adopt my methods, and Tim was placed in a group. It made a great impact on him. Upon his return to his history class, it appeared my students had taken him under their collective wings, and he was working collaboratively with three other students. I did not hear any negative reports about Tim and assumed all was well. Three weeks later the principal asked what I said to encourage this former miscreant to conform. When I explained I hadn’t said much more than "hello" he left my room scratching his bald head. Later, I asked him why he abruptly changed although most of the teachers were the same as before. He claimed he liked his classmates and felt he could succeed in his history and math classes. He was excited to have the chance to earn an A+ -- an experience he never had before. In regard to his other classes, he said it was no longer any fun getting into trouble. Tim finished the year as a solid student and a student leader. Currently, Tim is serving as a detective in a local police department. CASE STUDY: JOHN John was a student of mine in a self-contained fifth grade class. His reputation was that of being belligerent and openly defiant. On the first day of school John was selected captain of his team. Early October, John asked if he could organize his group differently than I had recommended. I agreed to let him try. With his new method of operations, John’s group (no matter who was in it) won most frequently by far. When a guidance counselor asked John why there was such a turnaround in his behavior, he informed his counselor that he enjoyed being in charge and wanted to be a teacher just like Mr. Cooper. John eventually sought a different career, in military intelligence. Upon his retirement from the army, he started his own private security company.
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SCHOOLIBRARY
READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY
Scholastic’s Parent and Child, The New York Public Library and Pragmaticmom.com have
compiled lists of more than 100 books that they consider must-reads. We sifted through their choices and came up with our own top 10 books for children of all ages – and you can find most of them on amazon.com or in your neighborhood or school library. Let us know if you agree with our choices.
AGES 4-7 THE SNOWY DAY
by Ezra Jack Keats 1996. 16 pp. ISBN: 9780670867332. Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers (Puffin Picture Books) Winner of the Caldecott Medal, The Snowy Day celebrates the magic and boundless possibilities of the very first snowfall. Young Peter can’t wait to jump into his snowsuit and explore for there are snowmen to build and snowballs to pack and snowbanks for carving a snow angel! A favorite of millions, The Snowy Day will continue to win new fans in this sturdy board book edition designed for the very youngest readers.
18 · April 01, 2015
CHATO’S KITCHEN TOMÁS AND THE LIBRARY LADY by Pat Mora 2000. 40 pp. ISBN: 9780375803499. Publisher: Dragonfly Books It’s not easy moving time and again, but Tomás and his family are migrant workers who travel from state to state, helping farmers harvest their crops. When they arrive in Iowa for the summer, Tomás finds an escape from the scorching heat at the town library. And once inside he also discovers a surprising world filled with dinosaurs, tigers and a great new friend.
1997. 32 pp. ISBN: 9780698116009. Publisher: Puffin Books; Reprint When Chato, the hippest cat in the barrio in East Los Angeles, invites a family of mice to dinner, he and his friend Novio Boy expect a wonderful meal of chiles rellenos, enchiladas and chorizo con mice. But the mice are wise to his plan. When they arrive, they bring a surprise that changes the course of the whole meal.
Ilustration by © Depositphotos.com/ johny007pandp
AGES 8-10 THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH
Esperanza Rising MATILDA
by Roald Dahl 1988. 240 pp. ISBN 9780670824397. Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different, but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by Trunchbull, she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It'll take a superhuman mastermind to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves, and Matilda might be just the one to do it!
by Pam Munoz Ryan 2002. 262 pp. ISBN: 9780439120425. Publisher: Scholastic Esperanza believed her life would be wonderful forever. She would always live on her family’s ranch in Mexico. But a sudden tragedy shatters her world and forces Esperanza and her mother to flee to California where they settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn’t ready for the hard labor, financial struggles and lack of acceptance she now faces. When her mother gets sick, Esperanza must find a way to rise above their problems. Her mother’s life and her own depend on it.
by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer 1988. 272 pp. ISBN: 9780394820378. Publisher: Bullseye Books (imprint of Alfred A. Knopf) Reprint edition Milo is bored with his life. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side of the booth, things seem different. Milo jumps to the Island of Conclusions learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason. Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes he was wrong about everything. Life is far from dull. It’s interesting and exciting.
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THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET
by Sandra Cisneros 1991. 110 pp. ISBN: 9780679734772. Publisher: Vintage Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught everywhere from inner city grade schools to universities across the country and translated all over the world, The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero. Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become.
HATCHET
by Gary Paulsen 2006. 192 pp. ISBN: 9781416936473. Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition Since it was first published in 1987, the story of thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson's survival following a plane crash has become a modern classic. Stranded in the desolate wilderness, Brian uses his instincts and his hatchet to stay alive for fifty-four harrowing days. This twentieth-anniversary edition of Hatchet contains a new introduction and sidebar commentary by Gary Paulsen that was written especially for this volume.
AGES 11 &ABOVE 20 · April 01, 2015
THE GIVER
by Lois Lowry 2014. 240 pp. ISBN: 9780544336261. Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelveyear-old Jonas who lives in a seemingly ideal (if colorless) world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son.
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
by Katherine Paterson 2004. 208 pp. ISBN: 9780060734015. Publisher: HarperTeen (Harper Collins Publishing) This Newbery Medal-winning novel centers around friendship and loss. Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer, so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie's house where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief.
How can an online MEd in middle level education help you reach new heights?
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Designed to meet the needs of practicing educators throughout the country, William Paterson University’s new online MEd in middle level education is the first program of its kind in New Jersey and one of only a few nationwide. This 30-credit program—taught by distinguished faculty in our NCATE-accredited College of Education—offers active educators substantial experience in theory, research, and practice related to middle level education and provides a solid foundation for doctoral level study. For more information, call 973.720.3641 or visit wpunj.edu/graduate/MidLevelEd.
ROLE MODEL
TEACHER'S DETERMINATION INSPIRES HER STUDENTS Story by Meredith Cooper
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“I’ve been in a wheelchair all my life, and I don’t let it stop me from doing anything.” Carolyn Diaz
22 · April 01, 2015
hat many people would consider impossible problems have been surmountable challenges for Carolyn Diaz. Born with the hereditary condition Larsen’s Syndrome, Carolyn is wheelchair- bound but has maintained a job her entire adult life. “I’ve been in a wheelchair all my life, and I don’t let it stop me from doing anything,” Carolyn said. This determination became essential, however, in 2009 when Carolyn found herself in the middle of the Great Recession and facing unemployment. Looking back today, Carolyn describes herself at that time as a “newly-minted” graduate with a Master’s of Arts in Teaching in the field of Museum Education. Unfortunately, openings as a museum educator were limited
due to the poor economy and because she lived in Florida, which she explained “was not the best state for securing gainful employment in that field.” “I was in a situation where I was going to be unemployed,” Carolyn said. “I found myself in a bad economy, with no employment prospects, so I turned to VR for help.” VR or Florida’s Vocational Rehabilitation is a federal-state program committed to helping people with disabilities become part of America’s workforce. Carolyn worked with VR Counselor, Kate Seipp, who helped her pursue a career in education. “I already knew I wanted to be a teacher before I went to see Kate,” Carolyn said. “I’d always liked working with students and had considered going into teaching before. The recession gave me the extra nudge (or swift kick,
depending on how you look at it) I needed to change my professional focus and pursue a career in formal education.” Although VR assisted her, Carolyn said that she was not the typical VR client because of her young age (24 at the time) and because she had two degrees. “Kate would joke that she’d never requested education funding for a client with a Bachelor’s Degree much less a Master’s degree before,” Carolyn said. “I believe it was my clear vision for myself, my well-developed self-advocacy skills and determination to change my circumstances that really paired well
with Kate’s willingness to try to help me get off the waitlist and get services quickly that really formed the solid basis for the working relationship we enjoyed while I was a VR client.” “VR paid for a year of education credits, which led to Carolyn’s certification as a special education teacher,” Kate said. VR also assisted with upgrades to Carolyn’s home and car to help her with her Larsen’s Syndrome. Carolyn has stated that she financially would not have been able to pursue her career in education without VR’s involvement. Despite accomplishing her goal of becoming a teacher, she now
faced a new challenge: teaching remedial reading and social skills on the high school level—an experience that she said she learned a lot from but would not want to repeat. “My first day as a teacher was a blur; my students were remedial high school readers who obviously could smell my inexperience,” Carolyn recalls, adding she was in a “high needs school” that didn’t offer a great deal of support on either an administrative or departmental level. Immediately, she was facing a number of disruptive students who were talking too loudly, breaking rules and even assaulting her with
Vocational Rehabilitation made it possible for Carolyn Diaz become a teacher. Photo courtesy of Vocational Rehabilitation
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ROLE MODEL
Carolyn receives positive feedback from students and parents alike. Photo courtesy of Vocational Rehabilitation
“My first day as a teacher was a blur; my students were remedial highschool readers who obviously could smell my inexperience.” Carolyn Diaz 24 · April 01, 2015
catcalls. “I definitely went home that day resolved to strategize ways to prove my value to them and reach them on their levels,” she said. “Teaching high school is challenging because from a presenter’s standpoint teenagers can be a tough crowd to read. So much of reaching them with content involves figuring out how to earn their respect and motivate them to learn.” One of the plans Carolyn implemented was to make two positive calls to her students’ parents for every one negative call she had to make. She said this approach caught many parents off-guard
since they were used to only being contacted when there was a problem. As a result Carolyn said she received good feedback and at the close of her first year received a nice surprise. “A parent actually sought out the address of the school I had been transferred to in order to send me a hand-written note to thank me for standing up for her son and always believing in him during the year I taught him,” she said. Today, Carolyn teaches foundational reading and math skills to elementary school students with disabilities in Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public School
System. While Carolyn said children in the grades she has taught, first and fifth, usually are “pre-programmed” to have respect for their teachers, that does not mean elementary school aged children do not have their own unique learning difficulties. “Teaching elementary school is challenging,” Carolyn said, “because younger students are a lot more impulsive, need a lot more assistance with simple processes (as opposed to older students needing more help with content and product) and are generally less adept at managing their own behavior and emotions.” Carolyn’s strategies for work-
ing with her elementary school students include using engaging instruction as well as consistently communicating her expectations of them and clearly implementing both positive and negative consequences for their actions. She also began this year using her classroom-based Facebook page to help keep engaged not only her students but also their parents. “I post announcements, events, links to videos we use in class as well as videos and photos of students engaged in activities,” she said. “It’s really helped me stay in communication with my parents, kept them in the loop as to what their student is learning in school and helped strengthen our teacher-parent partnership.” This combination of teaching methods has yielded results for Carolyn who saw “marked growth” in her students’ reading scores from the beginning to the middle of the year. “Each first grader I teach made gains, and two doubled their initial scores on state-mandated assessments,” Carolyn said, adding these improvements have made her more confident in her instructional methods. Classroom victories, however, also come in smaller but just as significant moments. Carolyn recalled being inspired when one of her 6-year-old students hugged her and said without prompting, “I love you” in the middle of reading instruction. She also said she is inspired when a student accidentally calls her, “mom” because it indicates the children she’s teaching feel a sense of
“It’s really about helping students find their voices and influencing them to be the best self-advocates they can be.” Carolyn Diaz security and structure. “Teaching is very challenging but it’s also rewarding,” Carolyn said, adding her disability allows her to reach her students in a very personal way. She says she enjoys telling her students and their families about how she became a teacher and offers guidance as others begin pursuing a career of their own. “It’s really about helping students find their voices and influencing them to be the best self-advocates they can be,” Carolyn said. “I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am without people pointing me in the right directions, and me picking up where they leave off. I know the same is true for my students. I have the ability to positively effect change in the lives of each individual I serve, and I take that responsibility very seriously.” • www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
SCHOOL NEWSPAPER
News and Trends in K-12 Education from Across America
Baltimore City Public Schools Adopt Innovative World Geography Program
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altimore, MD - Revolution Rhythm, LLC announces Baltimore City Public Schools’ adoption of its arts integrated world geography/social studies program, Sounds Around the World (SAW). At the center of the SAW protocol is an innovative game, combining global music, team competition, and specialty maps, that offers outstanding student motivation and proven educational outcomes. In addition to supporting NCSS C-3 and Common Core Standards for Social Studies, SAW’s collaborative-learning format equips students with essential 21st century skills.
26 · April 01, 2015
Designed for middle and high school students, SAW has been played by students from diverse backgrounds in a wide-variety of learning environments. The protocol employs the gap theory of education, which recognizes curiosity and the desire to fill in knowledge gaps as powerful
motivators for learning. SAW was designed by Baltimore musician, music therapist, and owner of Revolution Rhythm, LLC, Jason Armstrong Baker and will be presented at the National Council for Geography Education in Washington D.C. in August 2015.•
The Key to Solving the Teacher Labor Shortage: Online Learning
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an Mateo, Calif. - For more than 50 years, schools across the country have faced a decline in teacher quality and – despite an overall teacher surplus – chronic local and position-specific shortages. A new research study from the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation shows that online learning could hold the key to providing the quality teacher labor supply that schools so desperately need. Solving the Nation’s Teacher Shortage: How Online Learning Can Fix the Broken Teacher Labor Market unpacks the compounding reasons behind teacher shortages to focus on the solution: online learning. By allowing educators to reach students from anywhere in the country, online learning creates a new
degree of flexibility and productivity among teachers, while also making the field more attractive to new teachers. To expedite the process of solving the nation’s teacher labor shortage crisis, the Christensen Institute recommends policymakers prioritize three initiatives: 1. Develop “Course Access” programs allowing enrollment in a combination of traditional and online settings to enable high-quality teachers to increase their reach (and compensation).
2. Replace seat-time requirements for online and blended learning with content and skill-mastery requirements. 3. Provide districts with resources for evaluating technology options so education leaders can invest their finite resources wisely. The full study can be found on the Christensen Institute website at http://www.christenseninstitute.org/publications/solving-the-nations-teacher-shortage/. • www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
SCHOOL NEWSPAPER
News and Trends
I Teach K! Delivers Strategies and Inspiration to Kindergarten Teachers
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ETERBOROUGH, N.H. -Staff Development for Educators (SDE), one of the nation’s providers of professional development for K-12 educators, will be having its annual I Teach K! National Conference for Kindergarten Teachers, July 6-10, 2015 in Las Vegas. Each summer, kindergarten teachers from across the country gather to learn how to energize their classrooms, meet the needs of today’s students, transform their teaching, and maximize student learning. The conference delivers ready-to-use strategies over five exciting days.
28 · April 01, 2015
The agenda features 150+ sessions on relevant topics, such as shaping behaviors, thinking skills, writing, differentiated instruction, literacy, and math. Designed to be interactive, educators will see learning in action through video, make & takes, and hands-on experiences. Sessions are facilitated by more than 30 expert presenters, including
nationally-known names, classroom practitioners, and popular bloggers. I Teach K! also features some exciting conference additions, such as a Meet & Greet for teachers and presenters, the return of the Techie Throwdown, a Pinterest Party, Jazzercise class with presenter Rachelle Smith, author signings, and more. •
Winners of Nationwide High School Automotive Design Competition Announced
A
UBURN HILLS, Mich.Leaders of the FCA US LLC Design team have awarded four talented young artists at the “Meguiar’s 63rd Detroit Autorama” for their winning vehicle sketches in this year’s “Detroit Autorama High School Design Competition.” The FCA US Design team joined forces with the College for Creative Studies (CCS) and challenged U.S. public high school students to design a next generation Dodge vehicle for the year 2025. Students were asked to submit hand-drawn sketches of their vision, along with a 500word essay explaining what the
Dodge brand means to them. All four winners were awarded with prizes, including a threeweek summer automotive design course at CCS (includes housing, meals and field trips), a MacBook or iPad, and passes to Detroit Autorama. The first place winner also received a $60,000 scholarship to CCS. The four student winners recognized for their futuristic designs include:
First place - Joshua Blundo, Moultonborough Academy (Moultonborough, New Hampshire) Second place - Conner Stormer, Stoney Creek High School (Rochester Hills, Michigan) Third place - Hwanseong Jang, Bloomfield Hills High School (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) Fourth place - Dongwon Kim, Homestead High School (Sunnydale, California) • www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
SCHOOL NEWSPAPER
Study Finds Volunteers Can Boost Reading Proficiency and Resources in Schools
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AKLAND, Calif. -- Community volunteers and AmeriCorps members can make a significant impact on student reading proficiency and are a low cost option for schools, according to the results of a study by MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research firm. The yearlong randomized control trial examined Reading Partners, a national nonprofit organization that engages volunteers to deliv-
er a structured, evidence-based curriculum through one-on-one tutoring to struggling readers in low-income communities. The study found that Reading Partners boosted three different measures of reading proficiency over a control group of students, many of whom also received supplemental reading services. It also included a cost analysis, which revealed that the Reading Partners program is substantially less costly for schools to implement than typical literacy interventions. Nationwide, two out of three fourth-graders are reading below grade level, and almost onethird of children lack even basic reading skills. Children who struggle with reading in elementary school are at high risk of academic failure, high school dropout, and other negative outcomes. â&#x20AC;˘
News and Trends Articles Courtesy of PR Newswire and PRWeb.com
30 ¡ April 01, 2015
UNICEF’s New Kid Power Program, Empowers American Youth to Get Active and Save Lives Around the World
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EW YORK -- The U.S. Fund for UNICEF has completed the launch of UNICEF Kid Power, an innovative child health initiative that encourages elementary school-age kids in the United States to get physically active in order to help save the lives of their peers in developing countries. Kicking off in New York, Boston and Dallas the initiative leveraged the power of technology together with movement-based curriculum and activities to promote fitness among American students. Kid Power simultaneously helped UNICEF— the world’s largest purchaser and distributor of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food—provide lifesaving nutrition to severely malnourished children around the world. UNICEF Kid Power was sponsored by the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF and backed by Mayors Bill de Blasio (New York), Marty Walsh (Boston) and Mike Rawlings (Dallas), and supported by local sports teams and players including the Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks. Over the course of the 30-day program, sports teams encouraged kids to stay active by cheering
them on with classroom visits, recognizing the young philanthropists at home games and more. Some 10,000 participating elementary school students monitored their physical activity with UNICEF Kid Power fitness bands that displayed the number of steps taken and number of points earned. Program supporters converted students’ points into monetary donations toward the purchase of therapeutic food. A full day of physical activity—12,000 steps—translated into five Kid Power Points. Every five Kid Power Points earned converted into one packet of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, a specially-designed protein and vitamin-rich peanut paste that is used to save the lives of children with severe acute malnutrition, a deadly condition if left untreated. The UNICEF Kid Power program also included in-classroom curriculum and educational
activities focused on childhood malnutrition. The three-city launch followed a successful four-week pilot program this past October in Sacramento, where nearly 900 students, teachers and teaching assistants at six schools tested the potential of UNICEF Kid Power with the support of the Sacramento Kings and Mayor Kevin Johnson. According to an assessment by independent evaluators, school kids engaged in the program were 55 percent more active than those not participating in the initiative. UNICEF Kid Power participants in Sacramento also earned enough therapeutic food packets for 473 severely malnourished children to complete a full course of treatment. The numbers for this latest launch are not yet available. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF aims to launch UNICEF Kid Power in additional cities in the Fall of 2015 and into 2016. • www.k12hispanicoutlook.com K
THE HISPANIC OUTLOOK IN HIGHER EDUCATION MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 23, 2015
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VOLUME 25 • NUMBER 10
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Brookings School District #5-1, located in South Dakota, seeks an individual with visionary leadership and strong administrative skills to lead a district of 2,992 students. The salary will be in the range of $150,000 plus an excellent comprehensive benefits package. The final salary for the successful candidate will be negotiated and determined based upon proven experience, qualifications and meeting Board criteria. Interested candidates may apply online at www.rayassoc.com Ray and Associates, Inc. Ph: 319/393-3115 E-mail: glr@rayassoc.com Application Deadline: April 20, 2015 Please do not contact the Board or District directly.
On August 31, 1939, Raymond Fishler went to sleep at about midnight dreaming of the wonderful future he envisioned for himself. Less than five hours later he was awakened from his peaceful slumber by the start of World War II. Before Raymond’s mother perished, along with five of his siblings, at the hands of the Nazis, she made him promise to go to America and tell the world what was done to them. To this day Raymond has told the story of his life’s journey in classrooms, lecture halls and now in his book, Once We Were Eight, a gripping firsthand account of the Holocaust and a miraculous survival through the eyes of a teenage boy.
Like The Diary of Anne Frank, it is suitable for classroom study. To order Once We Were Eight or for more information visit www.thebookpatch.com
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