There are many moments where I am reminded why I chose a career in education. These moments arise when I am engaged in conversation with other teachers, conducting professional development workshops, developing new lessons, or simply reading about changes and latest developments in the field. Education is a dynamic field, and it has provided me with many opportunities to positively impact the lives of young learners as well as provide inspiration and support to new teachers. One such occasion occurred in mid-April when I was invited by Dr. Rosalinda Quintanar to conduct a presentation to students in a class entitled Meeting the Needs of Second-Language Learners (EDTE 162), a course within San Jose State University’s Teacher Education Department and a credential requirement. The class consisted of approximately 30 credential candidates, and its primary focus is applying theory and practical classroom techniques for providing equitable access to content for English language learners. ...
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¡ Olé mis amigos! Holy Guacamole! It’s once again time to celebrate Cinco De Mayo—the 5 th of May! Instead of all the controversy around Mexico in the past year, this may be an excellent opportunity to educate your students and allow them to ask questions about what they hear on the news. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain (which is September 16 th )! “ ¡ Ay, caramba!” as Bart Simpson would say…. This is “la verdad” (the truth): when the French invaded Mexico in 1862, Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza’s force of 4,000 soldiers defeated 8,000 French soldiers in the Battle of Puebla on May 5 th . The Mexicans’ courage inspired Mexican Americans (Chicanos) to celebrate the victory even though the French occupation continued four more years. Later in the 1960’s and 70’s, Chicanos involved in the civil rights movement associated Cinco de Mayo with their quest for respect in the U.S. They identified with the Native Mexican and Mestizo (people of mi...
By Amanda Amburgey M.A, Maker Science Teacher, Bulldog Tech What is going on in this classroom? There are kids everywhere excitedly making, testing, remaking, retesting, hot gluing, hammering, there is so much duct tape! This is what engineering looks like in a middle school science class. This is excited, meaningful learning. How did I get to this place where I feel comfortable facilitating such an active engineering process with my classes? As a science teacher I have had practice with hands on, inquiry based labs, technology and math makes their way into those labs easily. But, engineering had me stumped. How was I going to be an effective engineering teacher as required with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) when I knew so little about engineering? This is where RAFT and their STEM workshops really saved me and gave me the courage to start engineering projects. I started with a somewhat common misc...
By Jeanne Lazzarini, RAFT Math Educator/R&D Specialist - Published in CMC ComMuniCator, Volume 40, Number 4