How is the Trayvon Martin case reverberating in your home or classroom?
March 23, 2012, 8:21 a.m.
By Mary Ann Giordano
How is the Trayvon Martin case reverberating in your home or classroom?
As the days go on, reaction has been building nationwide to the
shooting death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old who was
killed by a self-anointed neighborhood watchdog in Sanford, Fla.
Surely the case is playing out in classrooms and over dinner tables in
New York City.
Parents, teachers: what impact has the shooting had on you, and what
lessons, if any, can be taught out of this unspeakable tragedy?
Respond to our query below.
And students, the Learning Network, which provides "Teaching and
Learning with The New York Times," is looking for your response: "What
is your reaction to the Trayvon Martin case?"
The release of the data reports for 18,000 New York City school
teachers late last month continues to reverberate, and now MetroFocus,
the news blog of Thirteen/WNET, has asked key officials what it means
going forward.
The blog taped a series of video interviews with people like the state
education commissioner and the city's chief academic officer, asking
what impact the reports' release will have on efforts to develop
teacher evaluation systems for every district in the state. According
to the blog:
"My own view is that the publication of the data with teacher names
was unhelpful," answered New York State Education Commissioner John B.
King. He continued to explain an alternative evaluation system in the
works. "We're building a multiple measurement system where growth on
state tests is 20 percent of the evaluation, not 100 percent." His
opinion is similar to other city education officials who have
expressed concern about using test data as the sole measure of teacher
effectiveness.
New York City Department of Education Deputy Chancellor and Chief
Academic Officer Shael Polakow-Suransky said, "It [the Teacher Data
Report] was designed as a source of support within the schools. We
always want this information to be used in context. This information
by itself doesn't tell you the whole story, it tells you part of the
story."
Victor Mather of The New York Times writes this Friday morning about
Mike Tolkin, the new head coach of the United States men's national
rugby team. While he is now known as Coach Tolkin to the team, he has
been more commonly known as Mr. Tolkin to hundreds of students who
have taken his English class during the last 20 years at Xavier High
School, a Jesuit school in Chelsea, Manhattan.
Mr. Tolkin, 44, has "built a remarkably successful rugby program at
Xavier High School in Chelsea." But while rugby coaches are often
larger-than-life characters who reflect the rowdy and bawdy image of
their sport, "By contrast, Tolkin's disciplinary actions at a recent
class extended mostly to urging his students to start learning a list
of vocabulary words beginning at 'sacrosanct.' "
Mr. Tolkin has a philosophy that he says applies as well in the
classroom as on the field: "Students remember 10 percent of what you
say, 50 percent of what they see and 90 percent of what they do."
Keep an eye on him:
The next World Cup is not until 2015, but there will be three games in
June against Canada, Georgia and Italy, who are ranked 13th, 15th and
11th in the world. With the United States in 17th place, Tolkin sees
these as good tests. "If we win, we start moving up," he said.
Gotham Schools' Rise & Shine morning post has a more complete roundup
of what is in the news this unusually warm Friday morning in March.
Here's some of what's going on around the city:
At 8:15 a.m., Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott will be at the Harvard Club
(27 West 44th Street, Manhattan) speaking at the meeting of the New
York City Charter School Coalition.
And March 23 is Rock the Vote's second annual Democracy Day, a
nationwide effort to bring civic lessons to students and help
18-year-olds register to vote.
Rock the Vote, which is supported by numerous politicians and
celebrities, has created a period-long lesson plan "that includes a
mock election, classroom discussion, and a new video featuring Grammy
award winning artist John Legend, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Roc
Nation recording artist Bridget Kelly and Glee's Darren Criss about
the importance of civic engagement in 2012," a news release says. "The
class is a nationally accredited curriculum that teachers can sign up
for online for free."
So high school teachers, if you are looking for a way to keep your
students focused on class, rather than the budding trees and the
summer-like temperatures outside — check it out.
Mary Ann Giordano is the editor of SchoolBook. Follow her on Twitter
@magiorNYT.
More:
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/03/23/are-there-lessons-in-the-trayvon-martin-tragedy/
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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