Monday, June 10, 2013

Important Announcement

I believe the following is an excellent opportunity for teachers. Please note that the deadline for application is fast approaching. If you need to know more before deciding to apply please contact Lance Hill of the Southern Institute for Education and Research for more information.

 For Immediate Release:

The Southern Institute is proud to announce the third annual Southern Institute Goldring Teacher Fellow program July 15 - 19, 2013 to be held on the Tulane University campus.

The program is open to all teachers grades 6 -12 in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. The goal of the program is to train middle and high school teachers (1) to make presentations on Holocaust survivors to schools and community groups and (2) to serve as Southern Institute Adjunct Faculty to assist in training other teachers to make Holocaust presentations.
This year the program offers a $1,000 stipend to cover transportation, meals, and housing.
Application deadline is June 17, 2012.
Find the workshop announcement at: http://bit.ly/14KSsSY
Find the workshop application at: http://bit.ly/10IQlL1
Contact: Lance Hill, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Southern Institute for Education and Research Tulane University
(504)-247-1600, Lhill@tulane.edu

Legislative Session Rating

Some of my readers have properly pointed out that I was probably too harsh in my grading of the legislative session in the post below. I agree that there has been progress made in the effort to get the legislature to become more supportive of the concerns of professional educators and that a rating of D- for the entire legislature was too harsh. I guess it also goes to show that letter grading systems are always by their nature arbitrary in some way. For example, the misguided letter grading system now being applied to our public schools by BESE and the DOE.

My readers correctly pointed out that the entire House of Representatives voted for several changes in the teacher evaluation system that would have given an opportunity for reconsidering this program over the next year. Also it was pointed out that the attack on payroll deduction rights for teachers was defeated in committee and the reverse parent trigger passed the entire legislature.  Representative Reynolds and others were eloquent and courageous in supporting teacher issues. We must remember to thank them for their support. I will consult with other education advocates to provide you with a list of recommendations in the near future.

We must redouble our efforts to encourage the legislature to make positive changes for the benefit of our students and the teaching profession. I plan to work very closely with other education advocacy groups in the near future to strengthen our legislative contact system. Please do your part as a teacher, administrator, school board member or concerned parent to participate in this important democratic process. It may be flawed, but it is still a good system.
Thanks again for your efforts,
Michael Deshotels