Virginia Journal of Education: November 2023

VIRGINIA JOURNAL of

EDUCATI N The magazine of the Virginia Education Association November 2023

What’s at Stake November 7

INSIDE

• Connecting the arts and the core curriculum. upg.12 • Elementary teachers need planning time, too! upg. 15 • It’s only a teachable moment if we learn from it. upg. 17

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Editor Tom Allen VEA President Dr. James J. Fedderman VEA Executive Director Dr. Brenda Pike Communications Director Kevin J. Rogers Graphic Designer Lisa Sale Editorial Assistant/Advertising Representative Kate O’Grady Contributors Rosina Simmons Anne D. Smith Joshua Folb Belinda Folb

COVER STORY

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CONTENTS

What’s at stake November 7.

Alejandro Prince Bruce Ingram

Vol. 117, No.2

UPFRONT

Copyright © 2023 by the Virginia Education Association

4-7 This month: Top five every time, warnings about fentanyl, and Touching Base with Rosina Simmons of the Education Association of Alexandria.

The Virginia Journal of Education (ISSN 0270-837X) is published six times a year (October, November, December, February, April and June) by the Virginia Education Association, 116 South Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

FEATURES

Non-member annual subscription rate: $10 ($15 outside the U.S. and Canada). Rights to reproduce any article or portion thereof may be granted upon request to the editor. Periodicals postage paid in Richmond, VA.

12 The ‘Smart Art’ of Bridge-Building Connecting the arts and the core curriculum can have amazing results.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Virginia Journal of Education, 116 South Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

15 Elementary Teachers Need Planning Time, Too! Virginia law makes it less of a priority than it does for secondary teachers.

Article proposals, comments or questions may be sent to the editor at tallen@veanea.org or Tom Allen,116 South Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219, 800-552-9554.

17 It’s Only a ‘Teachable Moment’ If We Learn from It How to turn potentially dicey classroom moments into progress.

Member: State Education Association Communicators

DEPARTMENTS

VEA Vision: A great public school for every child in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

20 Membership Matters Albemarle members suspend bargaining talks with school board; VEA weighs in on state teacher shortage report.

24 Insight on Instruction Speaking politely and effectively with students and others who have disabilities.

30 First Person Giving students the wheel can mean outstanding learning.

Cover image and photo above by iStock.

“My mom says she heard our field trip was cancelled because only five chaperones signed up. She says she understands, though, because that’s not nearly enough adults to handle this many kids for an hour.”

VEA Mission: The mission of the Virginia Education Association is to unite our members and local communities across the Commonwealth in fulfilling the promise of a high quality public education that successfully prepares every single student to realize his or her full potential. We believe this can be accomplished by advocating for students, education professionals, and support professionals.

UP FRONT

“His teacher says he’s texting and posting memes at a high school level.”

The number of community college students who were dual enrollment high-schoolers in fall 2022, according to estimates from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which puts the number of such students at more than 1.4 million. Some think that number could be much higher when spring 2023 is included.l

You Gotta Show Up!

While children are the reason for schools, teachers are often the reason behind students’ enthusiasm. A talented educator can make mundane subjects compelling and imbue in students a zeal for learning that can last a lifetime. They are difference makers, and so many successful people can point to a teacher whose patience, guidance and attention helped them achieve…With a staggering number of teacher vacancies across the commonwealth, it’s more important than ever that these talented educators have the resources to succeed, but also the community’s appreciation and support for all they do.l — From an August editorial in the (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot and (Newport News) Daily Press

“Ten percent of the school year, according to research, seems to be the tipping point for when absenteeism starts to really impact achievement. Obviously, any days you miss could impact your achievement, but there’s a lot of research that ties that 10 percent figure to when students start to have trouble.”l — Phyllis W. Jordan, longtime absenteeism researcher and associate director of Future Ed, on why some states, including Virginia, are defining chronic absenteeism as missing 10 percent of school days in a school year.

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

ROSINA SIMMONS

EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF ALEXANDRIA Middle School Reading Specialist What do you like about your job?

Being a Reading Specialist allows me to support students who struggle with reading comprehension, along with parents and other educators. I love to see that ‘lightbulb’ moment when students make textto-text, text-to-self, and text-to-real-world connections. Initially, students may not be thrilled to lose an elective course for reading intervention. However, I teach them to tap into a genre of interest to engage, and I watch them build confidence in reading and oral communication and strengthen their writing and critical thinking skills.

How has being in the Union helped you?

As an EAA/VEA member, I’m a content developer for our Teaching and Learning portal, where professional development courses help us continue to grow. Over 60 self-directed courses and on-site workshops provide recertification points. As a member I love receiving a monthly e-newsletter to stay abreast of hot topics in education. VEA also supports National Board Certification, and in 2022 I participated in a meeting at which members were encouraged to apply. I accepted the challenge and am now a NBCT candidate and awaiting my scores, which should arrive in December! I am optimistically eager to receive them.l

“I can’t get through to Ryder.

Do you know his password?”

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TOUCHING BASE WITH…

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

Photos by iStock

1 in 5

Resources and Respect: Well-Deserved and Well-Earned

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UP FRONT

In the Top 5 Every Time Virginia’s public

school system has been ranked 5th best in the nation in a new study by WalletHub, a personal finance firm. The study used 32 metrics, including performance, instructor credentials, safety, class size, and funding, to compare the 50 states and the District of Columbia.l

This is What We Do, Every Day As we unlock the doors of our classrooms, we swing wide the doors of opportunity.

Each time we open a book, we open a space to grow. We pick up pieces of broken pencils in one moment, and pieces of broken hearts in the next. We show how to add proper place value, as we add and place value. We teach on the battles fought for freedom and we hope this thing we’re a part of, this thing called public education, will indeed free them…from marginalization, from systemic inequities, from generational poverty.

This is why we teach. Because public education is for all of us.

May we keep showing up for our students. May we reflect on the impact of our work. May we continue to stand with one foot grounded in reality, while the other stands in the promise of what can be.l — 2023 National Teacher of the Year Rebeckah Peterson, a high school math teacher in Oklahoma

Fentanyl: Your Students Can’t be Warned Too Many Times Here’s why school divisions around Virginia are shouting from the rooftops to warn students and families about the dangers of fentanyl: It’s a powerful synthetic opioid that can be as much as 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it can kill someone with a dose as low as just 2 milligrams. It’s also dangerous because it’s used in what appear to be normal prescription drugs—and it’s involved in 84 percent of drug overdose deaths in young people ages 10-19.

“In my 20 years with the DEA [U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency], this is the deadliest drug that I have ever seen,” DEA Special Agent Jarod Forget told Alexandria students, parents, and educators earlier this year.

Any substance abuse program at your school should address the dangers of counterfeit pills and the absolute avoidance of prescription drugs that do not come from a pharmacy.l Sources: Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency

Show Your Students a Whale of a Time

“Your skills as a classroom teacher will translate beautifully into this job.”

Who’s in Charge Here?

“Allowing a small subset of parents to dictate what is or isn’t taught in classrooms, or what books are allowed in school libraries, is a great way to start a political firestorm, but it leads to inherently bad public policy.

K-12 education cannot reasonably exist as a constitutional right by handing over decision-making to a vocal minority.”l — From an August editorial in the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Another Reason Why What You Do is So Important: Academic success is an excellent indicator for the overall well-being of youth and a primary predictor of adult health outcomes.l

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Photo-illustrations by iStock

“You might want to rethink that mic drop.”

There’s more than one way you and your students can check out dolphins, whales, and other sea creatures through the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach. Virtual learning can bring marine subjects to your classroom, outreach programs can bring aquarium items along, field trips offer memorable outings, and “suitcase science” makes learning kits available for check-out.

Educational offerings are tied to Virginia’s Standards of Learning for preK-12 students, and you can apply for financial assistance to make a field trip.

Learn more at virginiaaquarium.com.l

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COVER STORY

What’s at Stake When We Go to the Polls The results of this year’s elections will be echo through our schools for years.

By Tom Allen

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Our Schools, Students, and Colleagues Need Us on Nov. 7!

— Dr. James J. Fedderman When you read the bold type at the beginning of several paragraphs in our cover story, spelling out some of the disasters that could be looming for Virginia schools, you’ll know why I believe it’s absolutely essential that we elect the right legislators this year.

Filling our General Assembly with public education supporters is critically important, for our students, our educators, and our communities—and we have a personal and professional obligation to do all we can to make it happen.

We must not be distracted. Elections matter, and the results of this November’s races will reverberate through our schools for years to come. The education policies that affect our daily lives and the lives of our students are, unfortunately, often made by elected leaders whose only knowledge of the classroom is their memory of having once been a student. Not all our leaders “get it,” and understand

that public education faces some very different challenges than it did when they were younger, challenges that require an “all-in” commitment on the part of the state to meet. We must elect the ones who do get it.

No one knows what our students and schools need like our members do. We’re the ones who work in them—and make them work—every day. So, as Election Day nears, let’s do what we must do. Let your family, friends, neighbors, and others know a little of what you know. Tell them our kids need real support from our legislators. The men and women on the ballot who have earned the recommendation of our members through the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education are listed on these pages.

Support them, and encourage others to do likewise. Make sure everyone in your sphere of influence votes.

We’ll feel the impact of this election very quickly, and we have an opportunity to make sure that impact is a positive one for our public schools. Let’s make it happen!l

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Photo-illustration by Lisa Sale

H

igh-stakes campaigning and voting are going on in Virginia right now and, if they go haywire, supporters of our public schools could wake up on the morning of November 8 in a world in which those schools quickly begin to look very different.

“Everything about our classrooms is governed by politics,” says Christina Bohringer of the Education Association of Alexandria, “and it’s crucial that all educators are paying attention to who is running for local and state offices so we can help elect pro-public education candidates—maybe even more so now, when some politicians are working to decide what books educators can use, the names we can call our students, and the information they want to force us to leave out of American History.”

Every single member of our General Assembly is up for election, and here’s some of what could be headed our way if we fail to elect a majority of legislators who want to protect and strengthen public education: Continued and probably worsened underfunding. Governor Glenn Youngkin proposed an education budget that stripped millions from school coffers, hoping instead to use that money to offer tax breaks to corporations and wealthy individuals. Such a move would have made raising the money to grow salaries and provide schools with

COVER STORY

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VEA FUND RECOMMENDED CANDIDATES House of Delegates

Senate District

Delegate

District

Delegate

District

Delegate

SD11

Creigh Deeds

HD001

Patrick Hope

HD030

Rob Banse

SD13

Lashrecse Aird

HD002

Adele McClure

HD038

Sam Rasoul

SD14

Lamont Bagby

HD003

Alfonso Lopez

HD055

Amy Laufer

SD15

Ghazala Hashmi

HD004

Charniele Herring

HD057

Susanna Gibson

SD16

Schuyler VanValkenburg

HD005

Elizabeth Bennett-Parker

HD058

Rodney Willett

Rip Sullivan, Jr.

Rachel Levy

Clint Jenkins

HD006

HD059

Karen Keys-Gamarra

HD065

Joshua Cole

Louise Lucas

HD007

Shelly Simonds

Angela Williams-Graves

Irene Shin

HD070

SD21

HD008

HD071

Jessica Anderson

SD22

Aaron Rouse

HD009

Karrie Delaney

HD076

Debra Gardner

SD23

Mamie Locke

HD010

Dan Helmer

HD078

Betsy Carr

SD24

Monty Mason

HD011

David Bulova

HD080

SD26

Pam Garner

HD012

Holly Seibold

Destiny LeVere Bolling Deloris McQuinn

Joel Griffin

Marcus Simon

HD081

SD27

HD013

Jeremy McPike

Vivian Watts

HD082

SD29

HD014 HD015

Laura Jane Cohen

Kimberly Pope Adams

SD30

Danica Roem

HD016

Paul Krizek

HD083

Mary Person

SD31

Russet Perry

HD017

Mark Sickles

HD084

Nadarius Clark

SD32

Suhas Subramanyam

HD018

Kathy Tran

HD085

Cia Price

HD020

Michelle Maldonado

HD086

Jarris Taylor

HD022

Travis Nembhard

HD087

Jeion Ward

HD023

Candi King

HD088

Don Scott

HD024

Luke Torian

HD089

Karen Lynette Jenkins

HD025

Briana Sewell

HD091

Cliff Hayes

HD026

Kannan Srinivasan (D), Rafi Khaja (R)

HD093

Jackie Glass

HD094

Phil Hernandez

HD027

Atoosa Reaser (D)

HD095

Alex Askew

HD028

David Reid

HD096

Kelly Fowler

HD029

Marty Martinez

HD097

Michael Feggans

SD17 SD18

SD33

Jennifer Carroll Foy

SD34

Scott Surovell

SD35

Dave Marsden

SD36

Stella Pekarsky

SD37

Saddam Salim

SD38

Jennifer Boysko

SD40

Adam Ebbin

SD40

Barbara Favola

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

Reduced support for the most vulnerable. The Youngkin administration has downplayed DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) initiatives and removed crucial protections for LGBTQ+ and transgender students.

None of this is good, and there’s more, which is why public education supporters cannot stand by and let any of it happen.

“We desperately need officials in office who support public school students, public school educators, and the freedom to teach our full history,” says Bohringer, one of VEA’s representatives on the National Education Association’s Board of Directors.

make recommendations. The Fund also makes financial contributions to some candidates, paid for by donations—no membership dues are used for this purpose.

The candidates the Fund is recommending for this November’s elections are listed to the left.l

HOW YOU CAN HELP There are some concrete ways you can help support your students and colleagues at the polls, including helping with Get Out the Vote efforts, being a part of nonpartisan phone banks, or volunteering in a candidate’s campaign. To get a full listing of what’s available and needed, visit mobilize.us/vea. You’ll find a variety of excellent opportunities to dip your toes into the political process.

The inside information you have as an educator is your biggest advantage. VEA members staff our schools every day and know what our students and their colleagues need most to succeed. Share what you know!

The Virginia Voter Guide (thevirginiavoterguide. com) is a VEA-created resource ready to answer your election questions and help ensure that you don’t miss your opportunity to vote. If you type in your address at the site, you’ll learn who’s running for statewide and local offices in your community and which candidates have earned the recommendation of the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education. There’s also a way to check your voter registration status, apply for a mail-in ballot, and find your polling place, along with a section of answers to frequently-asked voting and election questions.l

WHO DO VEA MEMBERS THINK DESERVE YOUR VOTE? Our members carefully evaluate candidates in General Assembly elections through the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education, our union’s voluntary political action arm.

The VEA Fund’s mission is to help elect friends of public education, so members interview candidates and

Tom Allen is editor of the Virginia Journal of Education.

Check Out the Virginia Voter Guide!

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

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Photos by Lisa Sale, photo-illustration by iStock

adequate resources virtually impossible.

The loss of collective bargaining. The wrong General Assembly members could mean the loss of the right to negotiate contracts, something educators have fought for decades to achieve, and something that works in favor of both school employees and students.

Severe restrictions on teaching. There’s a significant movement in our state to whitewash “uncomfortable” history, to remove books some deem unacceptable, and otherwise manage what teachers can teach and the way they do it.

The freedom to teach the truth must be protected.

More public money being diverted to private schools. Too many legislators and statewide leaders seem interested in turning the public against its schools in favor of private schools even though such education is beyond the means of most Virginians, especially the economically disadvantaged.

FEATURE STORY

Connecting the arts and the core curriculum can have amazing results, says an elementary school teacher.

By Anne D. Smith

T

here are more than 14,000 bridges in Virginia, and while they don’t all look the same, they have one thing in common: they were all created to connect us and help us gain access to something different.

Bridges are indispensable. We need to be designing and building bridges in our classrooms, too, because students need innovative and effective ways to connect with both their academic and

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social-emotional skills. I’ve found that incorporating the arts helps create some amazing bridges.

It’s Edutainment!

Years ago, there was a study that revealed something that came to be known as “The Mozart Effect.”

Researchers found that listening to pieces written by Mozart or other classical composers stimulated spatial intelligence and helped students achieve higher test scores.

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

The report made the influence of the arts on academics a popular theme in research and in practice, and prompted a rush to enroll students in instrumental music classes. When looking at research, we should look at why it was being conducted before we try to apply it in education. This research was about brain science, not academic achievement. But we can create a real and meaningful bridge between academics and

physical and intellectual ability of a student all affect how they process new information. Research indicates that the “say, replay, and obey” method does not work for most students.

What does work is repeated exposure to new information presented in a variety of ways, reaching young people with a variety of learning styles. Many CLD students who struggle in the general education classroom often shine in the arts. What’s important to educators is not when or how they get it, but rather that they do. Learning is the kids’ job. Ours is to prepare them to move into management— managing themselves and their lives.

Assessment One of my favorite sayings is, “Say what you mean and mean what you say,” and that’s why I love to use rubrics. To make things clear from the beginning for all stakeholders, including parents, I try to list all important items. I don’t give grades; students earn them—another reason it’s important to provide multiple ways for them to show what they know.

Many students are not great paper-and-pencil test takers. If the math skill to be assessed is to identify shapes, discuss other ways that it can be demonstrated. Can you sing a square? What would it look like if your students created and presented movement pieces that had to include a square, a triangle, and a circle? Can they show you the different shapes in their dance? According to Bloom, showing is a higher order thinking skill than telling. What is our goal for assessment? Most educators say that they do not want to teach to the test. If so, then we must allow our students to learn beyond the test.

Indoor recess can be a great time to sneak in extra skills practice.

Create a shape-shifting activity, using actual shapes. Play music, any genre, while students move around the room. The teacher or student leader will call out a shape and students will have to form that shape.

Differentiate by showing the shape.

A game of “Where’s the Shape” is also a way to get students moving and interacting with new vocabulary, especially helpful after students have been sitting for a long time.

I don’t like the term “brain break” because it can cause confusion for students, plus I don’t want them to turn their brains off. The leader will ask students to find specific shapes.

If you still have an analog clock in your room, ask students what shape it is. What about your Smart Board or White Board? How about the door? As students see the shapes around the room, these concepts become more concrete to them.

Many visual artists use shapes in their work, and you can laminate or place copies of examples in sheet protectors. Have students look for and identify the shapes they see.

Using Dry Erase markers, invite students to create a legend for their piece: A blue dot identifies a square, an orange dot identifies a circle and so forth. We often forget that most larger museums, not just children’s museums, have education departments. Working with them can provide resources and inspiration to shore up the foundation of your bridge and expand your students’ horizons.

All the World’s a Stage Shakespeare said it, and I believe it.

Let’s face it, educators are performers—and so are our students. The problem is that in school, there is often only one acceptable

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Illustration by iStock

The ‘Smart Art’ of Bridge-Building

the arts. I call it Edutainment!

Edutainment is more than throwing in an arts (visual or performing) activity, causing students to magically “get it.” Think about all the dioramas that you have seen over the years. They were often used in science or social studies to “show” what the students had learned, and were great for Back to School Night or Show and Tell. But what did students actually learn from it? Did they have to create the fish in proportion to the shoebox ocean? Did they learn the name of the indigenous tribe that lived in that area they were trying to depict? Working with the visual arts teacher, they might have learned to curate a museum exhibit. They would have had to write about their topic as well as be able to answer questions about it, creating deeper meaning as well as introducing them to a new potential career option. When we carefully build a bridge, activities are purposeful and thoughtful.

The arts can present opportunities for differentiation, helping culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students deepen their understanding by giving them additional opportunities to engage with the concepts and language. All students do not come to school with the same foundational skills.

There are also many skills, sometimes called soft skills, that are critical for academic and career success. In the arts, skills such as cooperation, listening, communication, critical thinking, empathy, respect for others, and creativity are taught and reinforced.

The demographics in our schools are changing. The language level, economic background, and

FEATURE STORY

way to perform. Science is not an area where we would typically think of performance but remember, science is generally about two things: questions and facts. So, how can the arts be used in science? Actually, it’s easy! For the record, I am not against a good diorama. However, the information presented should be based on facts, not randomly put together for aesthetics alone. There are online versions of popular game shows that can be adapted to the classroom. However, it can be fun and interesting to create a game show on your own, using the facts you want students to know as questions or clues. Students can assist by creating their own questions if they also provide the correct answers.

This will increase buy-in from students because they are creators, not just consumers. Use props such as toy microphones and buzzers to add to the fun.

I am a teacher of music; however, there are many times when I cross the bridge using other arts disciplines. I’m a terrible photographer, but looking at photos is a great way to get students writing and learning to interpret emotions.

Frederick Douglass is known as a great orator, writer, and abolitionist, and he was also said to be the most photographed man, of any color, of the 19th century. There are more than 160 photos and portraits of Douglass at various ages and stages of his life. Pictures can be used as writing prompts, which can be as simple as asking students to use an adjective to describe the subject of the photo. A more intensive prompt may be asking students to discuss why the person in the picture appears to feel a certain way by relating it to the year it was

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

taken. For example, have students compare how Douglass looked before the war as opposed to after.

Differentiate by asking students why they think he did or did not look the same? Provide time for students to discuss their thoughts.

It doesn’t have to be done in one day. A Thursday or Tuesday Table Talk will give students a chance to present the facts about a subject, express their opinions, and learn to separate the two. It’s important that we give students opportunities to talk, discuss and, yes, debate. Let’s be honest, they are going to do it anyway. We can use the arts to help them learn to do so in a healthy and respectful way, in a safe setting.

It Takes Hard Work and Humility to Build a Bridge Although it’s helpful to work with someone else on these kinds of activities, it’s not always necessary.

The first time I crossed the bridge in the classroom, I had to start building alone. I found out that my 5th grade students were studying the Harlem Renaissance, a part of the social studies curriculum not given a lot of attention in the textbook. I could see the other side of the bridge.

When I mentioned it to my social studies colleagues, they agreed that it would probably be fun to learn a song by Duke Ellington in music. I had more in mind, and wrote a performance piece with songs, movement, and poems, and we started on it in class. As we continued rehearsing, other teachers began to see what was going on. Soon, we had costumes, a set, and a daytime assembly production. After the performance, students took a post-test, and the increase in factual knowledge and depth of understanding

of the Harlem Renaissance since the pre-test could not be denied. In fact, it worked out so well that I was invited to present a session at the National Social Studies conference. A part of me wanted to go by myself; after all, I did the work. Instead, I invited one of the 5th grade teachers to present with me. She accepted and as a result the audience received a perspective on the project that I could not have given them. When we crossed the bridge together, we all benefited.

Many Hands Make the Work Lighter Some have said that 2020 was a double pandemic, both physical and emotional. It took many hands doing many things to get us back into our schools. Now that we’re back, we can see that it will take many hands to help our students recover from their academic and social losses. The distance between the arts curriculum and the core curriculum can sometimes seem as long as the 14.9-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Yet, when we work together, we might find that the distance is closer to the Varina-Enon Bridge, which is only 4,680 feet long.l

Anne D. Smith, EdD, a member of the Education Association of Alexandria, teaches General and Vocal Music at Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School.

She has been a presenter on integrating the arts into the general curriculum at VEA’s EPIC Conference.

Elementary Teachers Need Planning Time, Too! Virginia law makes it less of a priority than it does for secondary teachers.

By Joshua and Belinda Folb

A

t last year’s VEA convention in Roanoke, a new business item about increasing planning time for elementary school teachers generated a lot of discussion: Educators from all over the state argued the need for adequate time to prepare for lessons while also expressing concern that school divisions might not be able to afford it. Eventually, the NBI was referred to VEA’s Legislative Committee to consider a statutory solution.

Elementary planning time is a key issue for teachers across Virginia, and to properly advocate for it, it’s helpful to know how it’s defined and what the law currently requires.

As a starting point, here’s what Virginia law says about high school planning time, which is more clearly, but not perfectly defined. The Code of Virginia says, “the secondary classroom teacher’s standard load shall be based on teaching no more than the instructional day minus one planning period per day or the equivalent with no more than 150 students or 25 class periods per

week. If a secondary school classroom teacher teaches more than 150 students or 25 class periods per week, an appropriate contractual arrangement and compensation shall be provided.” So, what’s a planning period? Again, from the Code of Virginia: “’Planning period’ means a segment of time in middle and secondary schools during the instructional day that is unencumbered of any teaching or supervisory duties…not less than 45 minutes or the equivalent of a class period, whichever is greater.” That includes passing time for class changes. Sometimes this state law gets forgotten in the pressure to administer Standard of Learning tests.

For elementary school teachers, Virginia law says, “Each school board shall ensure that all elementary school teachers in its employment are provided at least an average of 30 minutes per day during the students’ school week as planning time.” Now we need to see the definition of planning time. Back to the code of Virginia we go: “Planning time means

a segment of time for elementary teachers that provides at least an average of 30 minutes per day for planning during the student’s school week as provided in the Code of Virginia.” Sounds pretty cut-and-dried, doesn’t it? Elementary teachers get planning time. We’re good, right?

Not quite.

Let’s look at the definitions of a planning period and planning time again, starting with the most basic part–secondary teachers get more time, and it must be provided daily.

We’re not here to suggest that 45 minutes is a sufficient amount of planning time for anyone, we’re only pointing out a basic mathematical fact: 45 > 30. Further, at the secondary level planning has to be unencumbered and during the instructional day; “bell to bell,” in colloquial terms. Worse still, the 30 minutes at the elementary level only has to be an average during the week, leading one to conclude that some of the unspoken activities accomplished during planning, like going to the bathroom, do not necessarily need

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Photos-illustration by iStock

The FEATURE Virginia Public Education CoalitionTheT STORY

FEATURE STORY

The Virginia Public Education CoalitionTheT

A Bill We Need to Make a Comeback From House Bill 2612, proposed in 2019 only to die in committee: Requires each school board to ensure that each elementary school, middle school, and high school teacher in its employment is provided at least one 45-minute period per school day as planning time that is unencumbered and otherwise uninterrupted, except in the case of the emergency need for classroom support or another emergency situation.

Urge your elected representatives to bring this bill, or a similar one, back to the floor of the General Assembly.l

to occur every day.

An average of 30 minutes a day is not enough planning time for elementary school teachers. When advocating for more, it is crucial to explain the many benefits of planning time. Teachers need time to review completed assignments and adapt lessons to student’s needs.

Additional planning time allows Joshua Folb, a high school math for more opportunities to increase teacher, and Belinda Folb, a first grade school-home communication, such teacher, are members of the Arlington as sharing progress on assessments Education Association. and meeting with parents and guardians. The increased time allows teachers to collaborate, and to have a quiet moment to center themselves so they have Teaching is a full immersion experience. When teachers are at school, most of more energy their time is spent face-to-face with students, simultaneously playing the roles of to give to our instructor, counselor, coach, and nurse. As a group, they have big hearts and are students.

‘Any Good Teacher will Tell You This’

This problem has not gone unnoticed by our legislators in Richmond. A 2019 House Bill (2612) sought to make elementary planning time in line with high

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selfless in their efforts to teach and care for their students. But a productive day of teaching requires substantial planning time to choose effective strategies, design lessons, prepare materials and collaborate with others. Any good teacher will tell you this, and they do, whenever they are asked.l Source: Kappan Online

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It’s Only a ‘Teachable Moment’ If We Learn from It How to turn potentially dicey classroom moments into progress.

By Alejandro Prince

I

n my work in Virginia schools, I see two things happening at once: One, our schools are increasingly emphasizing the need for students and educators to feel a sense of belonging to have a thriving learning community. And two, those students and educators are surrounded by biases, historically entrenched conflicts, and experiences with, and reports of, acts of hate. The tension between the two is very real. This is made even more visible when, for example, a discriminatory comment shifts the attention from lesson plans or curricular units to stereotypes, history lessons, and debates.

Instances like these are referred to as “teachable moments,” or as one Virginia educator calls them, “unplanned opportunities to grow.”

Such moments can provide meaningful chances for relevant

education. However, many educators avoid getting involved due to feelings of awkwardness, frustration, or lack of support. We know that when they do get involved, it can help students find the sense of belonging that helps them flourish.

If schools are to increase their capacity to create belonging, educators must have the tools needed to address the moment.

I’d like to describe some of those skills, and, in addition, offer a longer-term approach to school climate that reduces or eliminates these kinds of teachable moments in the first place. Healthy learning communities and meaningful inclusion are maintained by building on existing structures while staying flexible to meet needs. Here’s the approach: 1) Affirm Your Mission; 2) Examine Your Lens; 3) Ask and

Encourage Tough Questions; and 4) Address Institutional Biases.

Affirm Your Mission In school, we share classrooms, hallways, buses, and meals; this means we also share an inherent accountability for one another’s well-being. Begin your response to a teachable moment with a reminder of that. Reminding a group of students, for example, that “Near Coast High School uplifts every person’s dignity” can reel in animosity and serve as a starting point for a longer lesson on what “every person’s dignity” means in that classroom/school. Examine your school’s common language in mission and value statements for implicit and explicit ties to prejudice reduction, inclusion, and belonging.

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Photos by iStock

school, at 45 minutes per day. The bill died in committee. As you begin the collective bargaining process with your school system, remember to protect planning time and advocate for more.

It is also important to share personal stories about why planning time is important with state representatives.

Encourage lawmakers to reintroduce House Bill 2612 so that teachers have enough time to prepare for students. If the goal is to provide a high-quality education for every single student, every single day, time must be found for educators to do the job right.l

FEATURE STORY Examine Your Lens Addressing behavior as a community is important, yet the ability to do so effectively depends on how prepared we are as individuals. This is why it is critically important to examine our lenses.

Know your hesitations. “What if I say the wrong thing and make the problem worse?” “What if addressing a moment of discrimination leads to months of strained workplace dynamics?” “Am I even the right person to speak on this issue?” Without adequate preparation, our concerns may end our allyship before it begins.

Being familiar with ourselves adds clarity during challenging events.

We need to regularly ask ourselves: What power dynamics should be considered in this situation? How do I tend to respond during stressors or triggers? What could go wrong, and what could go right as a result of me addressing this situation? The more we can confront what stops us from speaking up, the greater our capacity to help others do the same.

Consider your social identities.

How do the ways we show up in society impact how we interact with the world and vice versa? The “Big 8” social identities are some of the most common considerations: physical and mental ability status, gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. Some opt for the “Big 9” and include language skills. Though these categories don’t fully encompass our personal and social experiences, they are a useful starting point for understanding what aspects of life we’ve navigated and others where we may need to bridge an empathy gap in order to deepen interpersonal understanding. For example, if my experience in school

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as a native English speaker is drastically different than a bi/multilingual student, what assumptions do I bring to the table that may impact my classroom practices?

Approach unconscious biases/ stereotypes with a growth mindset.

Our lives don’t happen in a vacuum. As the popular saying goes, “if you have a brain, you have a bias.”

Sources of conditioning (e.g., peers, public discourse, family, belief systems, media, digital life) unconsciously inform the ways we view one another. Stereotypes develop based on popular messages we receive at early ages, and they often go unaddressed for decades.

A growth mindset acknowledges that we all can develop new ways of thinking. Facing challenges can increase our desire to learn. In teachable moments, a growth mindset encourages us to: •

•

•

Model for students that making mistakes is okay, but refusing to respect each other is not. When adults demonstrate that mistakes are normal learning opportunities, we help students to be transparent with us and each other when they recognize their own growth opportunities.

Achieve our stated learning objectives. Responding thoughtfully to a teachable moment may lead to follow-up activities to deepen awareness.

Embrace long-term growth.

Shifting our personal or communal norms around how incidents of bias are addressed can encourage other peers and colleagues to act and create innovative approaches to increase belonging and inclusion.

The more people we have ad-

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dressing bias in our communities, the smaller the burden on one individual or small group to do so.

Ask and Encourage Tough Questions After a communal approach and individual experiences, we next need to examine how we do this work interpersonally. In another job a few years ago, I was teaching a Family Life Education lesson to a group of high school boys about sexual harassment and the types of comments, gestures, and social norms that make the issue so prevalent. The students split up into small groups to discuss how they would respond to certain scenarios, then share what they discussed. While many students gave thoughtful, empathetic replies, one group spent a lot of their discussion time laughing, even though they were given one of the more egregious scenarios. I approached the group, casually reminding them of the importance of the content and why their maturity matters.

When it was time for them to share highlights of their discussion, they unsurprisingly yet shockingly went to great lengths to defend the harmful behavior in the scenario, explaining why “nothing wrong” happened, even to the point that the one being harassed was blamed for the harm done.

What would be a constructive response to the small group? A lecture? Publicly expressing disappointment? Asking them to stay after class to redo the activity? Since I had encountered similar challenges before, I’d already reflected on some pros and cons of different approaches. The learning objective involved them developing their own critical thinking skills and sense of respon-

sible decision- making. So, I asked the tough questions with the class: What did it feel like to respond to this scenario? What does it mean that laughter was involved? What do we learn from the different responses to this material? Whereas a lecture on every detail they should have learned from the scenario may have allowed me to fit every grain of knowledge into the space before the bell rang, embracing the difficult questions allowed for numerous response. Ultimately, asking and encouraging tough questions aims to shape interpersonal and communal involvement when faced with harmful biases.

Here are other considerations for this outcome: •

Sequence questions with the ORID method (adapted from the book Practical Facilitation: A Toolkit of Technique).

– Objective – What observa tions do you have? What just happened in this moment?

– Reflective – What thoughts and feelings come up for you personally?

– Interpretive – What does this experience mean for me? For our group?

– Decisional – What should we do with the information?

Address power dynamics. Are there socio-historical realities that make certain subjects more difficult to talk about for some social groups than others? Is there a dynamic with authority that prevents or supports dialogue around prejudice reduction? What are effective ways to work together amidst these concerns? What is our re-

sponsibility to address this situation?

•

Give the benefit of the doubt.

Hurtful behaviors and comments are often made due to lack of exposure rather than malintent. Teachable moments involving stereotypes and biases invite us to consider what information will be helpful rather than simply what form of discipline will achieve the desired behavioral outcome. When malice is involved, however, it is important to be able to measure accountability; establishing and referring to group norms, or affirming your mission may be a great starting point.

Address Institutional Biases Responding to a million teachable moments will not ultimately improve school climates for belonging and inclusion without acknowledging ways that institutional policies, practices, and traditions can reinforce biases among and between individuals.

Here are some examples of ways to address institutional biases: Holidays. Schools with multicultural populations have the opportunity to recognize the various holidays, traditions, and religious practices of a variety of ethnic groups. Reviewing the calendar for which cultural holidays are paired with days off may be an indicator of institutional biases that deserve addressing. Not only could this prevent students who celebrate those holidays from missing important lessons, but it also encourages the entire learning community to respect one another’s differences.

Discipline. Examine the root causes of disproportionate discipline referrals. Pre-pandemic data from the Legal Aid Justice Center’s

Suspended Progress (2018), indicates that in Virginia, Black students were suspended at 5 times the rate of White and Hispanic students; and that students with disabilities were suspended at 3 times the rate of non-disabled students. Addressing institutional biases in discipline asks schools and districts to consider what policies and conduct codes may be influencing the individual biases of educators in disproportionate discipline referrals.

Curriculum. Well-rounded, age-appropriate curricula that reflect the diversity of experiences across social identities within our society are integral in creating understanding across lines of difference. Regular curriculum audits are a useful strategy to help schools to determine who is included and who is left out of classroom education. An inclusive curriculum might spark more opportunities for teachable moments; better yet, it may prevent harmful incidents from occurring As it turns out, our responses to teachable moments begin long before the moments arise and continue long after they end. Staying committed to the process comes with perseverance, intentionality, and, I hope, the company of a thriving learning community made better because of it.l Alejandro Prince is the Director of Educational Programs at the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities where he facilitates workshops and provides consulting to schools, businesses, and communities to promote positive human development for peaceful communities and just societies.

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MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

The Birth of VEA’s Newest Local

UPDATE

Members of the Albemarle Education Association have suspended collective bargaining talks with the county’s school board after its continuing unwillingness to compromise on key terms in the new policy.

“We will continue to fiercely advocate for a fair, inclusive collective bargaining resolution, which is what we deserve,” said AEA President Vernon Liechti. “But the Board’s conditions so far have been antithetical to collective bargaining, the beliefs of our organization, and our membership.”

The resolution proposed by the school board did not recognize the vast majority of employees who signed a card in support of collective bargaining, and denies all employees’ rights to a free and fair election. AEA proposed a resolution similar to the one recently passed in neighboring Charlottesville.

When talks will resume is undetermined.

In other parts of the Commonwealth, however, after successful school board resolutions and representation elections, VEA locals are preparing to begin formal contract negotiations: Bargaining teams representing members of the Arlington Education Association, the Falls Church City Education Association, the Montgomery County Education Association, the Prince William Education Association, and, for a second time representing two new bargaining units, the Richmond Education Association will open bargaining soon.

Members of the Petersburg Education Association and the Harrisonburg Education Association continue to work with their local school boards to create a more equitable collective bargaining resolution.

At press time, the Charlottesville Education Association was preparing to hold a representation election, the final step before bargaining begins if CEA wins.l

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

Graduate students who have teaching or other paid positions at Virginia Tech have organized to form the Virginia Tech Graduate Labor Union, a new VEA affiliate. At their first public rally, GLU members declared that, “Every person working on our campus deserves an advocate on the job, a living wage, a safe working environment, academic freedom, and respect for their individual contributions to the university.”

NEA Grants Up for Grabs Your national union can help you try some new, innovative practice in your teaching though grants from the NEA Foundation. You can apply for any of these three grant programs: • Student Success Grants support projects that promote critical thinking and real-world applications of learning.

• Learning and Leadership Grants support educators’ professional development, innovation, and collaboration.

• Envision Equity Grants provide educators with the opportunity to center equity in improving students’ educational experiences and outcomes.

Photos by Olivia Geho

AEA Members Say ‘Enough is Enough’

Grants range from $1,500 to $5,000 and are typically awarded on a rolling schedule three times a year (winter, spring, and fall). Applications for the next round open December 1. To learn more, visit neafoundation.org/educator-grants-and-fellowships.l

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

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MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

Ethan West a new UniServ Director in Prince William, bringing seven years of experience as an organizer in openshop unions, coordinating legislative and political mobilization training and leadership development, contract bargaining, employee representation in grievance and ULP matters.

Sara Duran has joined VEA’s Organizing and Affiliate Support department as an Organizing Specialist. She spent the last two years as an organizing director with Metro Nashville Education Association.l

Nominations Open for VEA-Retired VEA-Retired members will honor one of their own with the 2024 Martha Wood Distinguished Service Award, saluting him or her for their continuing contributions to public education and to educators.

Named in honor of its first recipient, Martha Wood of Charlottesville, the Award will be presented at next year’s VEA Delegate Assembly in Hampton. To learn more about how to nominate a deserving individual, contact Bea Snidow at VEA headquarters (bsnidow@veanea.org).

Nominations are due by Monday, January 8, 2024.l

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VEA on State Teacher Shortage Report: We Need Bold, Committed Leadership to Fix This We all want our public schools to be places staffed, in every classroom, by fully qualified and effective educators. But, says the state’s nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), for too many Virginia students this year, staffing shortages and not fully qualified instructors are an increasing challenge. Here are 4 takeaways from the new report, from a VEA analysis: Teacher shortages are getting worse. While many other states are seeing improvements in teacher vacancy numbers, shortages are looking significantly worse in Virginia for the current school year – increasing from 3.9% to 4.8% in the 2023-24 school year. And while we’ve had more teachers leaving the profession in Virginia than entering it for the past decade, the problem has gotten significantly worse in recent years as real pay has declined and attacks on teachers from opportunistic politicians seeking to stoke culture wars have increased.

Better pay remains the top issue for teachers to return to the classroom.

When JLARC asked licensed teachers currently not teaching what it would take to get them back in the classroom, better pay was the top issue. Virginia continues to have the third least competitive teacher pay of all states when you compare it to average pay other professionals in the state make with a similar level of education.

While there was a significant state surplus on hand, a fraction of which could have been used to get Virginia teachers’ pay to the national average, the current administration chose to push for tax giveaways instead.

We have fewer fully licensed and trained teachers in more of our classrooms. The number of provisionally licensed teachers in Virginia has climbed significantly, though research and surveyed school leaders find them to be less effective than teachers who are fully trained and come from traditional teacher preparation programs. Further, VEA analysis shows that provisionally licensed teachers here are more likely to teach in schools with the highest vacancy rates and a higher share of students who traditionally face more barriers to learning.

Traditional teacher preparation and residency programs produce the most effective teachers. The vast majority of new teachers in Virginia come from traditional preparation programs each year, while a small number – fewer than 100 – come from residency and apprenticeship programs. VEA has long argued that the state can and should do more to support residency programs that allow teachers to gain more classroom experience and have all or part of their tuition covered if they teach in high-need

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content areas or schools for a certain period of time after graduation. JLARC finds these programs are rigorous and highly effective. State lawmakers should take note and double down on investment in these programs over the coming years.

We can’t seriously address our teacher shortages without bold funding solutions. If we care about having highly qualified teachers in all our classrooms, we can’t get distracted and only focus on the relatively small-scale recommendations in this JLARC report. Ultimately, we need our leaders to put their money where their mouths are to change our dire teacher pipeline trajectory and attract a new generation of fully trained educators to our classrooms.l

The MBP at VRS Can Lead to R&R Jen’s life is busy. As a middle school earth science teacher and mother of two – a future track star and an aspiring thespian – her schedule is jam-packed with lesson planning, attending sporting events and driving to and from auditions.

She wishes she could spend a little more time planning her financial future, and the Virginia Retirement System can help. VRS members can review their annual Member Benefit Profile (MBP), a printable planning document that serves as a checkpoint to help gauge their benefits and plan the next steps on the journey to retirement.

Even if your schedule is crazy, like Jen’s, carve out a little time to look your MBP over before year’s end to see when you’ll be eligible to retire and decide whether you should adjust your savings strategy to reach your target income.l

What’s in Your MBP You may already use myVRS or Defined Contribution Plan Account Access to monitor your retirement savings and account balances. Your MBP provides a snapshot of your retirement and benefit information as of June 30 and includes a target income analysis to assist you in making decisions today to help you reach what you need to live comfortably in retirement. See if additional savings could help you bridge the gap and consider other benefits you may be eligible for, such as life insurance and the health insurance credit.

• • • • • •

Your MBP provides your: Projected monthly benefit amount at your earliest reduced and unreduced retirement age.

VRS member contribution account balance.

Defined contribution account balance, if applicable.

Life insurance coverage amount (if eligible).

Future income projections.

Eligibility for other retirement benefits, such as the health insurance credit.

Find your MBP at myvrs.varetire.org. Log in and locate My History in the menu, then select Annual Statements.l

Hit Your Target Retirement Income Photos and photo-illustration by iStock

VEA Welcomes New Staff

Most retirement planning experts recommend setting at least 80 percent of your current earnings as the benchmark for what you will need during retirement. The customized retirement income analysis measures your retirement income estimate against 80 percent of your current compensation.

Your MBP may prompt you to set a resolution for the new year, such as increasing contributions to a supplemental savings plan or increasing voluntary contributions if you’re in the Hybrid Retirement Plan.

You can also use personalized tools, such as myVRS Benefit Estimator and myVRS Retirement Planner, to help you map out your future. Get started by going to myvrs.varetire.org/login.l

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INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

Your Words Have an IMPACT

Tips on speaking politely and effectively with students and others who have disabilities.

T

here is, as we all know from our own experiences and those of people close to us, great power in words. A well-chosen word can build confidence and a relationship; a poorly-chosen one can do just the opposite. Either outcome, either positive or negative, can be long-lasting for a person with a disability.

Words are crucial when you speak with a student or other person with a disability. The most important thing to remember is to speak to those individuals as you would anyone else. Here are some ideas to consider in those situations, from the National Education Association: •

People with disabilities do not need to offer any explanation of their impairment. It is up to them what or whether to share. Even if it is a close friend, they have no obligation to answer any questions.

•

Do not presume that people with disabilities need help. For example, a person using a wheelchair may not need help with opening a door, carrying a bag, or crossing the street.

Always ask before helping someone and clarify how you can best assist them.

•

Always treat people with disabilities as independent individuals with their own agency. For example, if a person has a

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sign language interpreter, speak directly to the individual, not the interpreter. Also, don’t make assumptions about what a person with a disability can or cannot do.

•

Be mindful of personal space and physical contact.

When addressing someone using a wheelchair or other mobility device, offer to shake hands as you would with anyone else and make eye contact at the person’s level. Refrain, however, from unexpected touching when someone is using a cane or other assistive device required to support balance.

•

When interacting with people who have visual impairments, identify yourself and where you are (e.g., “I’m Emily and am sitting across from you”) and let others in a group do the same. Do not presume that the person needs help; you can ask if they need any guidance or support (e.g., “would you like to hold my arm while we walk?”). Remember: This is someone who knows how to best navigate their world.

•

When talking to someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, use the same tone you would with others, speaking clearly and distinctly to support lip reading. Follow the person’s cues on whether they want to speak or use

•

For people with speech disabilities, give your full attention and be patient without being condescending. Do not interrupt or finish the person’s sentences. If you are not sure that you understood, repeat for verification. It’s okay to respectfully ask to use writing or another form of communication if you are having difficulty understanding someone’s speech pattern.

•

When interacting with a person with a developmental or intellectual disability, do not assume they don’t understand age-appropriate concepts or words. Don’t speak down, over-simplify, or use a baby-like voice.

•

If a person uses a service animal, do not distract, feed, or pet the animal.

•

Finally, you don’t need to apologize if you say something that you then find awkward. “See you later” or “I’ve got to run” are common expressions in English and people with sensory and physical impairments use them.

An apology might make the situation more uncomfortable.

Following simple courtesy and showing respect for individuals can go a long way to creating an anti-ableist, inclusive, and respectful environment for people with disabilities. These are the kinds of environments we must strive to provide for students in all learning communities. As educators, we must embrace these changes to empower all students, educators, and others with disabilities.l

Don’t UnderChallenge English Language Learners: USDOE There are number of common misconceptions about newcomer students in your classroom, according to the U.S. Department of Education, which defines newcomers as “K-12 students born outside the United States who have arrived in the U.S. in the last three years and who also are still learning English.”

One such misconception is that such students need simplified content and language as they learn English.

Simplified language reduces, rather than increases, meaning, USDOE says in its “Newcomer Toolkit.”

Removing connections between sentences and paragraphs and using simple sentences reduce the content and meaning of a text.

Instead, texts for newcomers should be amplified, not simplified.

Ways to do this include embedding definitions, repeating and rewording key terms, and exposing and inviting students to participate in contentrelated discussions in English.

The Newcomer Toolkit can be found at https://ncela.ed.gov/ educator-support/toolkits/ newcomer-toolkit.l

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | NOVEMBER 2023

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Photos by iStock

sign language and an interpreter.

INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

“It is also worth noting that the teacher shortage is not solely due to retirements or individuals leaving the profession. Enrollments in teacher preparation programs have been declining for the past decade. Once a strong major in most teacher preparation institutions, it has become one that far too many young adults do not find to be an attractive pathway for their future.

Increasing salaries will help attract students to consider teaching as a career. However, there may be more that’s needed to “jump-start” students to select a teacher preparation major. Loan forgiveness should be considered, along with scholarships and better-focused recruitment efforts from institutions offering teacher preparation programs. Significant state funding for residency programs and apprenticeship programs remains crucial in this effort, as well as intentionally designed mentoring programs to support students while seeking their degrees and through induction as a professional teacher."l — From an essay written by Jane S. Bray, former dean of the Darden College

of Education & Professional Studies at Old Dominion University, and Tammi F. Dice, current dean of the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies at ODU.

Literature and Life Good literature challenges readers. It takes them to far-away places and drops them into different and sometimes uncomfortable situations, seeking to inform, enlighten, anger, and delight them using characters, both real and imagined, with whom readers can identify—or who are nothing like them.

That’s the heart of the problem with singling out books for censure and removal…Those crusades narrow the scope of experiences available to young readers, though it will not satiate their curiosity, and coddles them instead of challenging them.

Parents are obviously a critical part of a child’s schooling and should be active, welcome participants in the education process. But it is a mistake to set the bar to challenge and remove “controversial” books so low that it empowers a small number of parents to make decisions for all…keeping a wide variety of books available to young readers will illuminate the path to a better, brighter future.l — From a May 2023 editorial in The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk) and the Daily Press (Newport News)

Photo top left and graphic illustration by iStock

Our Instructional Resources Have You Covered

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VEA has a plethora of research-based resources to help you grow and sharpen your instructional skills, and now we’ve made it simple to find them all in one place.

Just visit www.veanea.org/ professional-growth and you’ll find VEA’s Department of Teaching & Learning’s newsletter, our Learning Portal, information on micro-credentials, NEA-produced podcasts, national certification tips, and much more.

Helping you become the classroom professional you want to be is just another benefit of union membership. Don’t let it slip by!l

Nominations Open for Presidential Awards The 2024 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) will salute teachers of K-6 math and science in each state. (The Award rotates from elementary to secondary each year.)

Nominations are submitted on the PAEMST website (https:// paemst.nsf.gov/) and can be made by students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Teachers can also self-nominate. Nomination forms must be done by January 8 to allow nominees to finish an accompanying application by the official deadline of February 6, 2024.

National PAEMST awardees receive $10,000 and are invited to national recognition events and activities.l

“Teaching seems to require the sort of skills one would need to pilot a bus full of live chickens backwards, with no brakes, down a rocky road through the Andes while providing colorful and informative commentary on the scenery.”l

Photo-illustration and photos by iStock

Problems in the Pipeline

— Franklin Habit

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FIRST PERSON: NARRATIVES FROM THE CLASSROOM

Giving Students the Wheel Can Mean Outstanding Learning

Photo by iStock

— Bruce Ingram

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As I write this, I am preparing for an assembly at Lord Botetourt High School where three World War II veterans will be on a panel and answer questions from English and history students.

But this culminating part of my World War II/1940s unit is just one of many ways that I used student-based learning lesson plans to communicate the importance of this time period.

The unit began with my two classes of English 10 Advanced Studies students presenting PowerPoints on the decade. Before beginning the assignment, I explained that students would earn two grades: one for creating a PowerPoint and another for presenting it. I also instructed that the bullets should be short on the “show part” (a few words per bullet), but long on the “tell part,” where the students would explain in detail to their peers the importance of their bullets.

In effect, I tasked my students with teaching the class on the day they presented their PowerPoints. The student audience was also encouraged to ask questions and consider points made. The topics ranged from the serious (Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, the Holocaust, polio, Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb, the internment of Japanese Americans, and World War II weapons) to the daily (sports, cars, music, movies, fashion, and comic strips).

As an example, one of the most stimulating class discussions came during the Oppenheimer presentation when my young people debated the morality of the United States

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dropping two atomic bombs on Japan versus the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of American deaths and casualties if this country had had to invade Japan. The fact that the Oppenheimer movie had recently come out and some of the students had seen it, added to the debate.

The consensus among students from the two classes was that the United States’ decision to bomb was the correct one, but, most importantly, it was a verdict they decided on themselves.

Another thought-provoking topic was the presentation on the internment of Japanese Americans. The presenters explained that President Roosevelt and both Democrats and Republicans were in favor of the imprisonment. Once again, the students came to a consensus–on their own–that this was a tremendous injustice done to American citizens.

For both classes, very important presentations involved the Battle of Iwo Jima as a crucial conflict in the United States ultimately defeating Japan. I explained that whoever chose Iwo Jima as his or her topic would also have to present that PowerPoint to the assembled classes when the WW II veterans were present.

Also of note, I said, was that one of the veterans coming participated in the Iwo Jima battle, and the man would be talking about his experiences there after the student presentation. Further, I encouraged the other students to help the Iwo Jima presenters with “making their PowerPoint perfect.” I was extremely pleased with the feedback they gave to the presenters.

Next, I created mini-bios of each of the veterans and asked three different students in the two classes to use them to introduce each one of the vets. The program would begin with the Iwo Jima presentations, followed with students introducing the vets. While all these activities were happening, I had my students devise questions to ask the veterans and requested teachers of the students in the attending classes to do the same.

While all these activities were going on, Mike Moser, communication specialist for Botetourt County Public Schools, contacted local media outlets, and a television station asked if a staffer could come to my classroom and interview and film the veterans and the students who would be presenting the PowerPoints – with parental permission of course. I eagerly assented to the television reporter coming as it was another chance for students to lead.

Student based learning is a wonderful way to let our young people engage in critical thinking, self-direction, and problem-solving. Sometimes it’s best to give our young people a little instruction…and then let them take the lead.l Bruce Ingram (bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com), a member of the Botetourt Education Association and a veteran educator, teaches English and Creative Writing at Lord Botetourt High School. He’s also the author of more than 2,700 magazine/web articles and 11 books.

A publication of the Virginia Education Association 116 South Third Street, Richmond VA 23219 veanea.org

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