California Educator

JUNE/JULY 2012

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letters and comments The Educator welcomes letters to the editor. There is a 250-word limit. Signed letters with the writer's name, address and a daytime telephone number will be considered for publication. All letters will be edited. Write to editor@cta.org. THANK YOU, CTA EDUCATOR We were sur- prised and delighted to find our daugh- ter on the cover of the [May] Educator. Everything about Rebecca having been chosen SPECIAL EDUCATION DISTRICTS BREAK THE LAW? FEATURE PAGE 8 THE HUNGER GAMES WHETS APPETITES FOR READING FEATURE PAGE 16 PLUS BILLS THREATEN RIGHTS ELK GROVE SETTLEMENT ESP DAY 26 32 35 The political practice of requiring citizens to prove their loyalty to the state by kissing or touching a pig has been used throughout human history to excuse the tortures and executions of innocent humans of faiths that bar the touching or use of swine for any reason. Surely there are better challenges May 2012 Volume 16 Issue 8 TEACHER OF THE YEAR MIELIWOCKI NATIONAL REBECCA » PAGE 28 National Teacher of the Year has been pretty amazing. We knew that she was a good teacher and that she loved her job, but who would have guessed that our self-confessed "goofball" would be so composed and unflappable in all the interviews and speeches? It was such a thrill to go with her to the White House and to meet President Obama. She'll be a won- derful spokesperson for the teach- ing profession, and I'm sure she'll continue to surprise us all year. Bill and Sue Lipshultz CTA/NEA-Retired Parents of National Teacher of the Year Rebecca Mieliwocki PIG KISSING IS BULLYING? The "Would you kiss a pig? Cre- ative fundrais- ing" article [in April] sports a large photo of a person kiss- ing a pig, which is disturbing and incites bul- lying in its pur- est and most insulting form. FEATURE How far would you go to raise badly needed funds for your school? Would you audition for a reality show? Kiss a pig? Play cow chip bingo? Squeezed by budget cuts, teach- ers are going above and beyond to provide the basics for students. Of course they should not have to do these things. Our state should be pro- viding schools with enough money to educate children and prepare them for the future, which is why CTA is 16 California Educator / April 2012 8 DRAISING Story by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photos by Scott Buschman to be used than this divisive practice. Let's not teach students disregard for their neighbors' beliefs. Bully- ing is not new. Why encourage it? … Although fundraising activities are good for schools, this is a shameful story as it promotes the "bullying" attitude those schools work so hard to stop. A. Tygard Hawthorne Elementary Teachers Association APPRECIATED DEAN VOGEL'S MESSAGE I usually enjoy the president's arti- cle, but I am writing because this time I was VERY impressed with the personal style and specific issues you handled in the May issue. Keep it up. Ken Hewitt CTA/NEA-Retired HUNGRY TO READ Gordon Sadler finds some types of smooches "swinetastic." When the going gets tough, teachers get creative backing an initiative to raise revenue for schools. Until then, desperate times call for desperate measures, and we salute CTA members' creative spirit when it comes to raising badly needed money for their schools. Puckering up to a pig is "swinetastic" Math teacher Gordon Sadler has been the reigning champion of the "Kiss the Pig" competition at Bret Harte High School in Angels Camp for the past three years. Held annually to support the school's agriculture program, the event is organized by the school's Future Farmers of America chapter. It started in the '90s, took a hiatus for several years, and then returned when the economy tanked. Students set up a "Kiss the Pig" jar in the classrooms of brave teachers I greatly enjoyed your "Hunger Games" article [in May]. I fell in love with the books last summer and was determined to teach the first novel in conjunction with Fahrenheit 451. After my principal generously purchased my juniors a class set, I was set to reinforce the elements of dystopia with this popular young adult book. California Educator June/July 2012 While I had hoped The Hunger Games would engage students, I had no idea it would take off like it did. Boys and girls read it whenever they could. Even students who said they hate to read could not put it down. Our librarian bought extra copies of Catching Fire and Mocking- jay to keep up with the interest. One district official who visited while I was teaching the story picked up the book, loved it and even made her husband read it. The best part was the week after the movie came out when we as a class compared the written and filmed versions. While they mostly enjoyed the film, they were nearly universal in their criticism that the movie did not explain well Kat- niss' internal motivation. We were able to discuss the differences between first-person and third- person narration with a depth of understanding I had never been able to reach before. While I love classics like The Great Gatsby, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, I have discovered how beneficial it is to introduce new books into our curriculum as a way to engage stu- dents in new and exciting ways. Dave Milbrandt Bonita Unified Teachers Association TEST PREP COMMENTS? How much time do you spend preparing your students for standardized tests? How does test prep impact their learning? How does it affect you and your fellow teachers? For a story in a future issue of the Educator, we are gathering information and comments from teachers about test preparation for standardized tests, district tests and the High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). We'd like to hear from you. Please help us by taking our online survey at www.cta.org/testprepsurvey. Thank you for your response. Congratulations Our Fun the Pig! Kiss Courtesy Photo

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