Ready to Learn Mom

What a powerful video to remind you that seat belts save lives!

“Mrs. B., I hope you have a daughter, because you have already raised a son.”  With tears in my eyes and a hand on my eight-month pregnant belly, I hugged my student as he got ready to walk the graduation line.  It is statements like those that make me glad I became a teacher.  The first day I set foot in a classroom, I knew that I was truly born to teach teens.  For the first time in my life, I felt …home. 

The young man who I quoted above came from a broken home.  Although he had a wonderful mom, she had to work around the clock to make ends meet.  When I first met him, he was so angry and had such a chip on his shoulders.  I realized that until we could break through his frustration, English Lit was about the last thing he would be learning.  So I became a mentor, a friend and a tough teacher.  I had high expectations, but made sure there was always a soft place to land.  He knew he could not get away with anything less than his very best, and he delivered.  All he asked for in return, was that I believe in him.  This relationship has forever changed my heart for the better, as have the relationships I have had with so many of my students.  I know that I had a small part in making them better citizens in this world.

Now I am afraid.  I am afraid for tomorrow’s children.  We are facing a National crisis in our education system.  Our funding is literally disappearing and as a result, so are our teachers and mentors.  With 35-45 students in my classroom, would I have time to connect with students like this?  Of course not… so who would?  We are in danger of losing over 150,000 of our teachers if action is not taken, and quickly.  If you are moved, even a little by this story…or have one of your own, don’t sit by and watch as we lose good teachers…or worse…we let kids miss an opportunity to have a mentor truly believe in them. 

So what can you do?  Learn and then Act!  To become more educated on the issues, please read http://www.educationvotes.nea.org.  If you are as concerned as I am, tell your elected officials; I did!  It is an easy process, just follow this link: http://bit.ly/8ZBh8M.  They will be voting soon on the Education Jobs Fund, which could release money to schools this summer and save the jobs of tens of thousands of teachers.  And if you are so inclined, Tweet your opinions with the hash tag #EducationJobsFund.  I have felt so helpless to make a difference lately, but I know we can speak as one voice and do what is right for our kids.  Join me…please.

Hilary

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Please show support of teachers on May 26, 2010 for Speak Up for Education & Kids Campaign to support #EducationJobsFund. National Call-in Day 1-866-608-6355 please tell our national education leaders to stop cuts to education – http://bit.ly/9VNbuB

I was so honored to be selected as the Wisconsin Delegate at Mom Congress in DC earlier this month and invited to the Wisconsin Engagement Summit on Saturday to meet with the Governor, First Lady and Secretary of Education to empower parents, kids and teachers to be involved in education.

Our children’s quality education is under threat from budget cuts– music and arts programs, bus routes, sports, extracurricular activities, books, crossing guards, special needs, gifted and talented and foreign language programs are all on the cutting block–and teacher layoffs could mean perhaps as many as 35 or 45 students per classroom.  

This is not the answer!   Students need individual attention, not crowded classrooms and fewer educators, to succeed in the 21st century and help keep America competitive.  It’s not just failing schools that need our help!!  Gwen Samuel, the Mom Congress Delegate from Connecticut is fighting to keep a top 10 HIGH PERFORMANCE school OPEN.  It serves over 70% minority, 20% ESL, 10% disabilities and it is on the chopping block to close!  We need your help to get the message out to parents to get involved!! School should be replicated not closed!Their excuse the budget.SBCTA is convener of event

For more information on this important legislation visit: http://www.educationvotes.nea.org.

Here is a sample to share with your social networking sites: 

National Call-in Day 5/26/10 to Speak Up for Education & Kids to stop cuts! Yes to #EducationJobsFund 1-866-608-6355 http://bit.ly/9VNbuB

Thank you so much for your help and support!

Smiles – Stacey

As we continue to enjoy our family and friends, please know that we wish you all the best for the end of 2009 and a FANTABULOUS 2010!  Amazing things are happening with us, and we’re SO glad you’re along for the ride!

Stacey Kannenberg, Get Ready to Learn Mom!

As we anticipate the upcoming holiday season and all its excitement, you may have had a chance to participate in the base tree lighting ceremony which will took place Dec. 3 at Building 11777. It was an occasion upon which we could spend time with family and friends to welcome this special time of year.

And, as we approach the holiday season and the New Year, it is a great time to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments. One purpose in doing so is to evaluate where you stand and then take the time to set or update your personal and professional goals for the next year and beyond. As part of the “Year of the Air Force Family,” personal and professional development is the focus area for the month of December 2009. I both encourage and challenge you to take the time this month to plan for your education.

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Are your students too focused on the “gimme” elements of the holiday season? Teach about the true meaning of the season by emphasizing the giving over the getting. Included: Ten classroom activities that focus on doing good things for other people!

Christmas trees spring up in shopping malls even before the trick-or-treaters have arrived at your doorstep.

The gifts — even kids’ toys — grow more sophisticated and more expensive each year.

TV ads scream out buy, buy, buy! — as they compete to out-scream one another…

Getting caught up in the commercialism of the holidays is easy — but teachers are in a unique position to remind students that holiday time is as much about giving as it is about getting. Lessons in holiday-giving present models of good citizenship for a new generation; and giving unselfishly can generate good feelings that students will carry with them for a lifetime!

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I came across an article in the CEC SmartBrief that came from the Newton Daily News in Jasper County, Iowa, titled “Teacher writes book to raise awareness,” written by Jessica Lowe.  It is about Jennifer Springer, a special education teacher at Delaware Elementary School, who was concerned about the teasing and bullying she had seen her students endure at the hands of fellow students.  She was quoted in the article saying:  “One of the more unfortunate things I have seen in my experience as a special education teacher are instances where my students are made fun of and rejected by peers. I feel that the issue for most kids is not that they are just cruel children, but that they are not educated and do not understand whey children with special needs do the things they do.” 

As a tutor of those with learning disabilities I do not often see the actual bullying, but I have stories recounted to me by my students about their experiences of being teased and bullied.  On a more personal level, my son, who is dyslexic, has shared with me his painful struggle with these types of encounters.  The one that he remembers most and brings up occasionally is being called “dumbo” by a class mate after he received a low score on a spelling test.  Others have made fun of his handwriting, which looks very juvenile with floating letters of different sizes and incorrect spacing due to his dysgraphia.   I agree with Springer that these kids are not just cruel children but really do not understand the issues associated with dyslexia and so to them, it does appear as it will to most that these students are simply unintelligent.

While painting together at the easel, Sonia and Ashley keep dipping their brushes into all of the paint containers. After they make a fascinating discovery that the paints have turned a muddy brown, the preschoolers abandon their brushes and begin to make handprints on the easel paper. Then, continuing this messy process, the four-year-olds giggle as they decide to paint-print each other’s faces!  

Because young children frequently make a mess with art media, you need to think through about how you feel about the mess. For example, did you feel that the girls were developing their cognitive skills as they experimented with color mixing? Did they discover that paint could be applied with a tool other than a brush? Were they learning about the concept of cause and effect? Was this a pleasurable social interaction between friends? Or, were you more apt to feel that they were making a mess because they ruined all of the paints and got paint all over themselves?

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Foreword

Families play a vital role in educating America’s children. What families do is more important to student success than whether they are rich or poor, whether parents have finished high school or not, or whether children are in elementary, junior high, or high school.

Yet, for all that common sense and research tell us, family involvement often remains neglected in the debate about American school reform. To focus more attention on this important subject, the U.S. Congress recently added to an initial list of six National Education Goals another that states:

Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children.

The Office of Educational Research and Improvement has produced Helping Your Child With Homework to contribute to the drive to increase family involvement in children’s learning. As the handbook points out, we know that children who spend more time on homework, on average, do better in school, and that the academic benefits increase as children move into the upper grades.

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