VIRGINIA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION = NSTC UNAM BS Loca PRESS eee sa) FEBRUARY 2016 PRESIDENTS note : Getting to Know You Vingnia Journal of Eluation Elicia Bryant, ea a Building Positive Relation- my plans, and there was no time speech, and we hadn't tou erst iin students i ertleal folie She consuded by tion, We were however, ake ships with students i rice tending everyone of reuest,_ sve group, We sted Hes and Valerie York, 7 _ * and said she'd be dropping in to found we had common likes. We heck on our progress Hal Reluc- ad started the hard journey of Mppeenets ‘A wonderful educator and former tantly, researched ice-breaker mutual respect. principal in Lynchburg, Susan Mor~ gtves,gtto-know you Eames, REE ico once sid in profesional and dicussion topes. { marked Susan was ahead ofer time. To- Bedford Co. development session that teachers through the plans I'd made over day, maybe more than ever, stu should spend the entire first week the summer and penciled inthe dents crave that relationship with Cocteeeh Coen na Feet ae Oe 1 new activities. Slogging through their teachers. “Generation students thought she wa crazy: the Monday activity, students bae- Ys they've been dubbed by Campbell Co. tras concemed about geting my ly poke, There was nervous lugh- author Tie Elmore has always had ine students started withthe curricu- ter but no real breakthroughs. By a yoice in what they do. Social connie Finney, lum, not letting them lose their Friday of that first week, however, — media has allowed them to com- teoeey beginning ofthe school year” knew my students favorite pent without fie, on the world pi on sane precede er eae, Sie paetions Sot Set around them, and they do this with a nm thevarhgh-lateeek ae goals. I could sing the song the relish. They expect that ability in essiew TROMP#OM | Ghacsroom, Susan persisted, saying lass had agreed was thet favorite, fhe elassroam: Is no longer effec Nelson Co. teatonships are the key to student gnd (sort of) mastered the hotest tie to sit students in ows and success and ifwe dc bull those ance pe I'm sre the YouTube Tidge whh conn We'd kates yaevot fed onset BIN Ow : vi moments stil cet jacher can't know students only 6 ‘ery hard time with the est of the lating the Internat. The real work y-qhe same on his or her Delaney Year. though eetngy about of curiclum had not stated We ar The oldies sil teaching get ignoring her suggestion. made n'teven discussed apart of hat ference! H's no longer ef have them take mindless notes. A Child Nutrition Bill Heads for Senate Floor ves insier EET senate bill largely preserves lose eligibility for school BASE the current guidelines for meals and impose a signifi- FE healthy school meals, ex- cant burden on school dis- pands the farm-to-school _tricts at the same time they program, enhances the sum- are implementing the new met food program, and pro- ESEA law. vvides an extra snack for kids in child care settings—all Take action and tell Congress NEA priorities. We continue to protect the guidelines for Happy Valentines Day a The Senate could vote on.a__t0 push for clarification that jealthy school meals, im- Seay iertsan compromise billto raining for food service per- renew ehild nutrition programs sonnel isto be conducted dur- Prove training for echool food in the next few weeks; the ing paid working hours. In service professionals, and House has yet to take up child addition, we are very con-_strengthen programs that help a nutrition reauthorization, but cerned that a proposed change _kids eat when school is out verification requirements could cause some students to may do so next month. Thefective for the teacher to stand atthe podium and speak to “the room.” Direct instruction must be tempered with interactive activities that engage students and require them to discuss relevant topics. UPCOMING OF Oot by Relationship building cannot stop with the first week, We must continually renew and enrich the ‘connections we have with our students, An iniffer ‘ent approach to these ideas is sure to deflate any excitement students have about the learning experi- tence. As you move through this school year, think ‘of ways you can reinforce the bond with your stu- ‘dents, Figuring out what makes them tick keeps me young, too, I seroll through Twitter trending lists, 1 bring through-provoking articles to class, and I share my own thoughts about the world around ws. Task their opinion, A lot. Seriously. They say some amazing things. | react genuinely to their responses. T've leamed to laugh in the classroom. I laugh with them, not at them. I'm sorry, friends, but sarcasm is not going to help you build rapport with your stu- dents, I've also laughed at myself. ‘You may disagree with me, but these students love to learn, and they do it in ways we never thought imaginable. They also expect to have fun while learning. They grew up learning to read through ‘games that involved talking frogs and pens that read books for them. Their video games and interactive screens help them toggle through an increasingly smaller world, They can reach out to China while texting the friend sitting next to them; they can slide en their screens to lear about Peru on Goggle Maps while they SnapChat, Nothing is beyond their reach. ‘Asa teacher, we must both respect and harness these abilities. Here in Bedford County, our division adopted personalized learning objectives as part of its vision for the schools. We're challenged to pro vide new and varied learning experiences, and stu- dents respond to them because these kinds of les sons show students that you understand who they are as students, You are relationship-building in the lesson planning process! Guess what? Students real- ize that you are concerned about their growth. It's no surprise they respond positively to personalized lessons. Their generation needs that kind of person- al importance. Susan was on to something She saw that kids were changing, How did we not see i? In some faculty lunges, you'll find teachers lamenting the fact that students are so much worse than the generation preceding them. We should be rejoicing they're so different! Students today have an incredible lan- Getting to Know You Continued. ! guage of technology, and they can move between | formal and informal language with ease. They don’t » always make good decisions, and they have lots to” Team, but that just means they need us, right? In or- | der for teaching and learning to happen and for that relationship to work, we must listen to them. Listen, ‘That can be dificult for teachers. We always want to | be the ones talking! I | remember an old-time methods class where was told there is nothing more effective in classroom — 1 than a mindful pause. My professor, a longtime clss-j room veteran, told us “wait time” was a way to make Kids squirm. it did, In some of my very first lessons 1 penciled in the word “pause” and I waiched the mag- | happen. Kids shuffled their feet, looked down, and Aipped pages. [had them! But wait..nothing was happening in those pauses. Now I think of pauses in. | different ways. I pause to listen. [keep an iPad handy » to write dow ideas as Ido. We revisit some fof the ‘ideas in future lessons or create impromptu debates | or four-comer activities. Listen! Ifthe relationships You've been working on are soli, the listening wil be mutual 1 My students keep their cellphones under ther pillows and never miss a text or anotifiation. I've taken to being available at all hours, and 1 use technology that | Keeps me on their minds ali day. When school closes, I'm Tweeting, Reminding and using Goosle Class- room to notify them of intresting news and videos. 1 | ak for responses on discussion boards and they an- | ser, because the questions are fun, relevant, and are asked ona platform that resembles texting. They know I'm listening. Iread every post. They get im- | mediate responses from me and their peers. hate to admit it, but like the feedback, too | sil start school with alot of get-to-know you activities, but ‘ve continue to learn about each other though our ‘communication all year. I've found that I enjoy the ‘rat of teaching more because students get excited 1 about aclass that doesn’t involve mindless note- 1 1 1 1 1 1 taking or a hide-behind-the-podium instructor. Teen- agers are realy interesting people. They see the ‘world in ways that awe me. Isn't that why we chose this profession? I certainly didn’t become a teacher because | love transitive verbs; I did it because I love people. Build relationships, let students teach you something this week, and then run with i. You'll have wonderful school year if you do. Deb Serio, a member of the Bedford County Educa- | tion Association, teachers Dual Enroliment English at Jefferson Forest High School. ISSUES AND ANSWERSVOLUME xxxI! PAGE 3 “Ty . /” FY2017 Budget Proposals to be Released Soon seine \ | r President set the stage for what may be an ac-_ FY2016 increase in Labor-Health- 1g Obama tive appropriations process this year, Education was less than half the av- 1 will e- as Republican leaders in both cham- erage increase for other non-defense 1 ‘oak Tease his bers press to pass all 12 bills funding programs. After adjusting for infla- F FY2017 the government. NEA will be push- tion, education funding for disadvan- budget ing hard for more money for educa-_taged students is 10 percent below 1 proposal tion and health programs, especially FY2010 levels due to years of budget | on Feb. 9, followed by the House Re- for the students most in need. De- caps and sequestration, according to publican budget resolution before the spite small targeted increases anew report by the Center on Budget ' Pi 8 | end of the month. The budget will help some education programs, the and Policy Priorities. What's Going on in Your Association? The Nelson County Education Associ: tion is working hard to recruit new members by showcasing what the NCEA can do, Last semester our organization sent out a climate survey due to concems about moral and overall ‘school environments. We learned a wealth of information and are actively working with the superintendent to make ‘our school system the best that it can be. While climate and "happy" teachers are extremely important, our number one priority is our students. As our group project this year, each school in the district is hosting an “item” fundraiser. NCEA representatives spoke with guidance counselors and teachers to determine needs that are not being met for students, We will be collecting clothing, toiletry items, and essential school supplies. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ' ! 1 1 ' 1 1 ' 1 ! ' Three Bedford County Education Association members went to Richmond on Monday, February Ist, for VEA Lobby Day, We met with three of our area representatives: Senator Steve Newman, Delegate Scott Garrett and Del- ‘egate Terry Austin, We shared our concerns about several bills before the General Assembly this session. Some of those include support to allow school systems to join the state insurance program (SB384 & HB864), protecting 1 teachers’ personal information (HBS24 & SBS64), opposition to the Charter School Constitutional Amendment 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ' ' ' 1 1 1 1 ' ' ' ' / (which allows a 9-person panel in Richmond to determine if an area needs a charter school and then the locality ‘would have to pay for the charter school) and opposition to the Virtual School Bill (HB8). As first time participants in Lobby Day, we found the experience to be positive and were encouraged by their responses to our personal stories and experiences in the education field ‘The Campbell County Education Association has been actively participating in School Board Meetings. Here is a speech that CCEA President, Christel Coman, gave during public comment: “Our school board has done every thing in their power to meet the needs of our students, our schools, and our teachers, without sufficient funding. And, please take note that I used the word “need,” not desires. Democracy only works when the general public is clearly made aware of the issues...and not presented with unending accusations of reckless spending, as some of those in the “other” board keep perpetuating. Promoting one of the lowest tax rates in Virginia is not something to stand up and ‘cheer about if diminishing public services was how you accomplished it. If anyone supports strong local services and illing to pay higher taxes for these services, they are accused of being a tax and spend liberal..or a closet Demo- crat, even if they are Republican. You see, unless you hold fast to the partisan polities and not the good of the coun- ty, You are not adhering to the political agenda of some on the “other Board.” And, Lord help you if you say you are an “Independent.” To those with common sense, that only means you are issue driven and party blind and would vote for what’s good for the county as a whole. County services, including schools, police, first responders, and all other areas, are economic drivers for a community. It’s easy for some on the “other Board” to constantly vote “no” ‘on ideas and not come up with new solutions or new avenues to bring revenue into our county. Instead of bringing together the citizens of our county, these “others” have created a rift on who and what we support. | am asking that the public stand behind our School Board and insist that this “other Board” promote and uphold excellence in our schools by providing the needed funds to do so. Cutting taxes sounds great when you're involved in campaigning tion. Be careful what you ask for.” 5 1 ' 1 1 ' ' 1 l 1 ' ' 1 1 ' 1 1 1 1 1 1 ! 1 1 1 1 1 ' ' 1 1 \PAGE 4 VOLUME xxxI!VOLUME XxxI! Local Legislator Contact Information Delegate Kathy Byron Email: DelKByron@house.virginia.gov Office Phone: (804) 698-1022 Serves Counties of Bedford, Campbell Franklin, Lynch- burg City Delegate T. Scott Garrett Email: DelSGarrett@house.virginia.gov Office Phone: (804) 698-1023 Serves Amherst, Bedford Counties, Lynchburg 4 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I t | Delegate Benjamin L. Cline | Email: DelBCline@house.virginia.gov | Office Phone: (804) 698-1024 ! 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 i 1 1 ! 1 I 1 Serves Counties of Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Rockbridge, Lynchburg City Delegate Terry Austin Email: DelTAustin@house.virginia.gov Office Phone: (804) 698-1019 Serves Alleghany, Bedford, Botetourt Counties, Coving- ton City Delegate Matt Fariss Email: DelMFariss@house.virginia.gov Office Phone: (804) 698-1059 Serves Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Nelson Counties Senator Creigh Deeds Email: district25@senate. virginia gov Phone: (804) 698-7525 Serves Charlottesville City, Nelson County, and part of Albemarle County Senator Steve Newman Email: district23 @senate.virginia.gov Phone: (804) 698-7523 Among others, serves: Bedford, Campbell Counties, and Lynchburg Senator Tom Garrett istrict22@senate. virginia. gov Phone: (804) 698-7522 ‘Among others, serves: Amherst, Appomattox Coun- ties, Lynchburg City