Abstract
Save $40 by registering by Feb. 25 for the Future Educators Association® National Conference in Orlando, Fla., from April 26-28.
Jim Abbott, the former Major League baseball player who pitched and caught with one arm and once threw a no-hitter, will be one of the featured speakers at the conference. Rebecca Mieliwocki, 2012 National Teacher of the Year, also will make a presentation.
Participants will be able to attend a free workshop to improve their advocacy skills on behalf of children and schools. They'll also learn how to plan and host high-quality/high-interest local events and minimize red tape when organizing local educators.
Meet the early bird deadline and pay only $160 for conference attendees staying at the Hilton Orlando or $260 for those opting to stay at another hotel. Regular registration fees will be $200 and $300, respectively, for Hilton Orlando and non-Hilton Orlando attendees.
For more information, see
Read Classroom Tips, share one
The next Classroom Tips will be available online on Feb. 4. That's the same day as the deadline for submitting classroom tips for the April edition.
Classroom Tips are short articles written by PDK members that K-12 classroom teachers can quickly read, absorb, and use to implement positive changes in their classrooms. Articles are 500 to 600 words and focus on a single theme in each issue. They are published five times each school year: October, December, February, April, and June.
The theme of the February Tips is how to support students struggling with their sexual identity. For the April issue, Classroom Tips will focus on how teachers can motivate students and stay motivated themselves.
For more information, see
SARAH HUGHES JOINS PDK
Sarah Hughes has joined PDK International as director of programs.
In this new position, Hughes will explore new strategies for expanding the presence of PDK and Pi Lambda Theta. She'll support local chapters, help launch national and regional events, manage PDK Emerging Leaders gatherings, and help craft the education policy and practice agenda for PDK's international study tours. A former elementary school teacher and education reporter, Hughes also founded two media training projects for youth.
Hughes received her master of journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband and son.
Emerging Leader: Helping the brightest do their best
Daina Lieberman is a classic English teacher — and that's a double entendre. At Reston (Va.) South Lakes High School, Lieberman teaches International Baccalaureate and Honors English, filling students with all the classics they can digest. If she were to write a book, she said, it would be a poetry volume. A classroom teacher for 10 years, Lieberman has begun doctoral work in education administration and policy and is a PDK Emerging Leader for 2012-13.
You teach IB courses; do you feel that our best and brightest can still compete with top students around the world?
Definitely. Our education system values creativity and, as a result, it produces inventors, innovators, artists, and entrepreneurs. Many countries that beat us in test scores in science and math produce students who struggle to think creatively (as demonstrated in the article Flunking Innovation and Creativity by Yong Zhao in the September 2012 issue of Kappan). My IB students are brilliant; they often come up with ideas or interpretations that had not occurred to me. When they ask me questions, I throw the questions back at them instead of answering to challenge their critical thinking skills. Working together, my students always come up with interesting possibilities that are often more creative than my own answer. I have the highest expectations for their futures and believe they will help our nation continue to compete globally in all areas.
If you were not a teacher, what would you be?
I would open a brunch restaurant that also sold baked goods because I love to bake, and brunch is the best meal. There's nothing better than coffee and amazing pancakes in a busy little café on a lazy weekend morning! Otherwise, I'd write. And hey, there's still time to do both of those!
You also teach an online course. What's been the most important step to master in moving from the classroom to the Internet?
Engagement is by far the most difficult skill to master when moving from a physical classroom to an online course. I have been lucky enough to work with some excellent administrators who have demonstrated effective strategies to engage students online. In addition, building rapport with students helps keep them engaged. There is a learning curve at first, but I genuinely enjoy online teaching.
— Greg Patterson
