Hello Friends,

This month in WinkWorld, I am sharing a bit of my pedagogical perspective and a peak into my spring break on the ranch. Next month, I plan to share many of the treasures, which students have written/created in a class this spring.

NCTE's recommendations on NCLB
http://www.ncte.org/about/issues/action/alerts/126994.htm

Talking Points in Spanish on NCLB. Thank you to Francisco Ramos.
http://www.elladvocates.org/documents/nclb/ILEP_NCLB_Recomendaciones_Espanol.pdf

Bad Teachers or Bad Policy?
The following article is not about bad teachers, rather it is about bad policy, the mandated NCLB, which controls how teachers teach. Now that the federal mandate of NCLB has finally succeeded in getting all teachers to be "highly qualified" which requires that they teach with scripted rote strategies and buy curriculum only from a few tightly-controlled publishers. To a very high degree, NCLB has removed all critical thinking from American public education; I hope the public reads the following story with a critical eye. Teachers, if we don't continue to speak out, who will?

USA TODAY
"Study Gives Teachers Barely Passing Grade in Classroom"
http://www.ecs.org/00cl9792
The typical child in the U.S. stands only a one-in-14 chance of having a consistently rich, supportive elementary school experience, say researchers who looked at what happens daily in thousands of classrooms. The findings, published in Science magazine, take teachers to task for spending too much time on basic reading and math skills and not enough on problem-solving, reasoning, science and social studies. They also suggest that U.S. education focuses too much on teacher qualifications and not enough on teachers being engaging and supportive. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study is among the largest conducted of U.S. classrooms, producing a detailed look at the typical kid's day. The researchers found a few bright spots -- kids use time well, for one. But they found just as many signs that classrooms can be dull, bleak places where kids don't get a lot of teacher feedback or face time. For example, 5th-graders spent 91.2% of class time in their seats listening to a teacher or working alone, and only 7% working in small groups, which foster social skills and critical thinking. Findings were similar in 1st and 3rd grades. Kathy Schultz, director of teacher education at the University of Pennsylvania's graduate school of education, says studying how teachers teach is helpful, but ignores the reality of larger mandates such as the federal No Child Left Behind law. Teachers, she says, are under enormous pressure to increase basic skills.

Debra Schneider, (see Poverty/Prosperity, WinkWorld, April 2007, http://www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2007/news0407-intro.html) shares another resource this month.
Selecting a Graduate School
http://www.gradschooltips.com/rightforyou.htm
Graduate School Admission Essay Help
http://www.gradschooltips.com/typesofessays.htm

Karalee McClymont, a former graduate student, is enjoying a terrific secondary teaching experience. Recently, during a conversation, she scribbled the following on a piece of paper for me.
The classroom must demonstrate:
C - Consistency
L - Love
A - Assessment
S - Structure
S - Safety
R - Reflection
O - Organization
O - Objectives
M - Management

The teacher must consider:
T - Transformation
E - Ethics
A - Appearance
C - Citizenship
H - Humor
E - Education
R - Relaxation

CAL, Center for Applied Linguistics
Directory of Two-Way Bilingual Immersion
http://www.cal.org/jsp/TWI/SchoolListings.jsp
Kathryn Lindholm-Leary
http://www.lindholm-leary.com/
http://www.lindholm-leary.com/present&handout/IllinoisConf2006_MakingGains.pdf
http://www.cal.org/twi/EvalToolkit/index.htm
http://www.lindholm-leary.com/present&handout/CABE2007_FeatureSpeaker_StudentAtt.pdf

Make a Difference Movie: http://www.teachermovie.com

Prairie Pedagogy: What is bilingual education?

Recently, I was asked this question by 2 colleagues: one in Tailand and the other in India. As I was on our cattle ranch on the prairies near Howes (population: 2), South Dakota, I was struck by, not only the wonder of technology, but also the small global village, which we all inhabit.

Enclosed is my email response to my colleagues:
Today the most compelling task is to make sure that our young first-time mama cows (heifers) have a successful delivery of their first calf. I just came back in from the pasture, where one young mama should deliver successfully within the next 1/2 hour. When I finish this email, I will go back out in the snow (20 degree today) and check on her. I am so hoping that she does not have trouble, as then I will have to find someone to help me pull the calf. It is a cold, messy, muddy, bloody job, and I am here alone on the ranch without a vehicle today. However, in India seeing the birth of a cow brings good luck. If so, my future is bright.

What is bilingual education? Bilingual education is how I might make the previous paragragh meaningful, if the you did not understand English. What would I do to help you understand what I just told you about my ranch life today? This is bilingual education: It encompasses many methods and many different programs for helping students access information or core curriculum. Bilingual education makes English comprehensible; it make learning meaningful.

Sometimes we might simply tell the cow/calf story in a language which the students understand; or we might use lots of sheltered content instruction with pictures and actions; or we might pair the student with another student who speaks the same language and the target language; or, we might have a video of cows having their baby calves; or, we could do a search on the web.

Bilingual education makes English more comprehensible. Now, I have to bundle up in my warm boots, coveralls, jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves and go back our and check on our heifer.

Sincerely,
Joan

I received a response from each colleague within hours, however I feel my story failed, as neither asked about the calf. I told the story later to a couple of SD ranchers, and the only response I had from each was, "What happened to the calf?" Sadly, the calf died. I believe I already mentioned that calving is a cold, messy, muddy, bloody job.

Notes from the Real World
I will retire (sort of*) this summer.

New Angel: Marie Clay

Family Photos
4 Idaho Bunnies
http://joanwink.com/gifs2/Idaho-04-07-07.jpg
3 New Mexican bunnies
http://joanwink.com/gifs2/NewMexicans04-07-07.jpg
Easter on the Ranch in South Dakota
http://joanwink.com/gifs2/RanchEaster.jpg
Joan's Easter outfit
http://joanwink.com/gifs2/GrammieEaster.jpg
Joan bottle-feeding a calf
http://joanwink.com/gifs2/Joanfeedingcalf.jpg
Wink's Easter outfit
http://joanwink.com/gifs2/BopBopEaster.jpg

*I don't plan to ever ~really~ retire, but I'm looking forward to the next chapter of life, which will hopefully have a bit more flexibility and fun with my family. In our CSU retirement plan, we can continue to teach 50% for 5 years. I am planning on this option, but my main home will be on the ranch beginning in September.

To Reference This Web Page Wink, J. (2007, May).
WinkWorld: May 2007
Retrieved ,
from www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2007/news0507-intro.html.