Summer HEAT 2006 Offers Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers in Miami

An Overview of Summer Heat 2006

Miami Schools are offering a range of summer professional development courses for its public school teachers and administrators in order to help teachers meet federal requirements and learn new methods and approaches to teaching. Teachers are eligible to take one Summer Heat course. These courses will be offered during June and July. Most courses last about a week and meet from 8:15 AM to 3:15 PM daily.

The teacher must attend every day of the session in order to receive Master Plan Points. The Miami – Dade County School District’s Master Plan Points Program help teachers earn the graduate level credits that they need to meet the Highly Qualified Teacher Status outlined by the No Child Left Behind Act. Six Master Plan Points per day are awarded for all the courses with the exception of those that grant actual college credit.

Professional Development for Teachers

Miami – Dade County School District teachers benefit from a range of courses that help focus their teaching on special at – risk groups as well as providing instruction in key subject areas. Many courses focus on the needs of children with Limited English Proficiency. These courses help teachers improve literacy of Limited English Proficiency students as well as learn culturally sensitive techniques for including such children in the general classroom. Other special groups include children with autism and children with behavioral problems.

In addition to these special groups, Miami – Dade County School District teachers have the opportunity to enrich their teaching of various core subjects. Courses abound in all aspects of literacy and mathematics as well as science, the arts, and social studies. Both elementary and secondary education is covered, including preparation for teaching the Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations at the secondary school level. On the other end of the spectrum, special attention is also given to the design and implementation of Pre – Kindergarten curriculum. Miami – Dade County School District teachers are also given the opportunity to explore general instructional methods to promote leadership in the classroom, including the Continuous Improvement Model (CIM), Object – Based Learning, and many others.

Professional Development for Administrators

Miami – Dade County School District administrators also benefit from the Summer Heat course offerings. Principals, Principal Trainees, and other support staff have opportunities to learn how to improve their own performance and to help motivate the teachers on their staffs. The Principal Preparation Program runs courses for Principal Trainee both in their first and second year of training. Several meetings of the Assistant Principal Academy are scheduled to help teachers make the transition to administrative roles. In addition, the role of the school psychologist and the teacher – counselor are also explored in various course offerings. The School Support Team also has a variety of courses to choose form in learning how to implement school reform.

University and Community Partnerships

Miami – Dade County School District teachers and administrators rely on the support of many university and community partners. Courses take place at many Miami – Dade County area schools in addition to universities and private businesses. Barry University, the University of Miami, the University of South Florida, and Florida International University all offer their campuses for professional development courses. The Miami Lakes Educational Center also plays a vital role in providing a location for Miami – Dade County School District teachers and administrators to meet and share ideas.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information visit schoolsk-12.com/Florida/Miami/index.html Miami Schools

Ten Tips to Teaching Middle School

I can not tell you how many teachers have began their career teaching Middle School and quickly started looking for a new occupation. Believe me when I tell you that if you are not prepared for the job they will eat you alive on the first week of school.

If teaching is your occupation, and you are teaching Middle School, I hope you are ready to teach teenagers and not beat yourself up about teaching Math, Science, English, Literature, or Social Studies. I get very up set when I ask a fellow teacher what they are going to teach and they tell me they are going to teach Math. This brings me to the first of the ten tips I plan to share with you as you begin a new year teaching Middle School Students.

Ten tips:

1. Never forget that you are teaching teens. If someone asks you what you teach, you tell them that you teach an awesome group of over achievers known as teens.

2. Do not try to be their friend. Many moms’ and dads’ have tried this. It did not work for them and it will not work for you.

3. Do not make over three class-room rules.

4. Find out what each of your students enjoys doing. Get to know what they are interested in. When you see them in the hall speak to them about things that they enjoy.

5. Seldom raise your voice. If they are out of control and you are yelling, then we really have a problem. The louder you get the louder they will get. Yelling is irrational behavior.

6. Start teaching immediately. It is a good idea to have a sponge on the board so that they will begin work as soon as they come in to class. Many problems are a result of not knowing what they are suppose to be doing.

7. It is a proven fact that students learn the most in the first ten minutes and last ten minutes of teaching. Do not waste that time. Teach the most important concepts of your lesson during this time.

8. If you find that a student has trouble behaving… do not put him or her in the front row. This enables every student to be entertained by them.

9. If you must reprimand a student do it in private. No one likes to be reprimanded in front of the whole class. I promise you it will cause you problems if you reprimand in front of everyone.

10. Do not sweat the small stuff and quit looking for what the student is doing wrong. You are not a policeman. It seems like some teachers think their only job is telling students what they can not do.

I could give you thousands of other tips and I will add to this list at a later date. I would like to close with one last thought that should make you think. What do we do when little Johnny can not read? We teach him to read. What do we do when he can not do math? We teach him how to do math. When he can not do science or social studies…. we teach. So the big question is: WHAT DO WE DO WHEN HE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE? If you have told the truth, you said that you discipline him. I say we need to do what we do when he does not know how to read or write. When he does not know how to behave we need to teach him!

Hopefully these ten tips will help you as you prepare for the best year of teaching teens that you have ever had. Keep in mind, you are a teacher. You are not a policeman and you are not a friend. You must truly care about increasing their knowledge and enabling them to be the person they are meant to be.

Bob Roach Father of one and middle school teacher of literally thousands over the past thirty years. To find out more parenting tipswrite me at: mailto:rproach@yahoo.com rproach@yahoo.com

Alternative Medicine University – Creating Healthful Practitioners

Find Alternative Medicine University in the United States and Canada. Today’s alternative medicine university is on the rise; partly due to the increased interest in alternative and holistic medicine. Now students have ample opportunities to gain comprehensive education in a variety of healing arts that lead to professional careers; such as natural health practitioners, naturopathic doctors, chiropractors and many others.

The diverse nature of academic and practical training that is afforded through an alternative medicine university is quite stunning. Students enrolled in an alternative medicine university will quickly discover the multitude of possibilities that exist in this ever-growing healthcare industry. For example, homeopathy courses offered through an alternative medicine university will provide candidates with in-depth studies in phytotherapy, aromatherapy and other related botanical medicine. This goes without saying that an alternative medicine university may also extend comprehensive coursework in herbal medicine, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, reflexology, reiki and a vast assortment of innumerable natural health and alternative medicine fields.

An alternative medicine university frequently offers certificate and diploma programs, but also provides degree programs in a variety of alternative medicine practices. Degree programs extended through an alternative medicine university may include elaborate academic programs that have been specifically designed for the future practitioner in mind. Some of these (courses) may include career training opportunities to become licensed acupuncturists, doctors of chiropractic and the like.

An alternative medicine university helps to develop healthful and natural caregivers who are, upon successful completion, able to provide essential mind, body and spirit healthcare services to patients. Because complementary and integrative medicine are truly making a strong impact on conventional medicine, an alternative medicine university regularly provides prospective students with training options that will lead to personally and professional rewarding careers as massage therapists, Oriental medicine doctors, hypnotherapists, holistic practitioners and nurses, Osteopathic practitioners, herbal medicine specialists and a wide array of other related professions.

If you (or someone you know) are interested in finding an appropriate alternative medicine university to help attain your dream job, let education within fast-growing industries like massage therapy, cosmetology, acupuncture, oriental medicine, Reiki, and others get you started! school.holisticjunction.com/clickcount.php?id=6634739&goto= holisticjunction.com/search.cfm Explore career school programs near you.

Alternative Medicine University: Creating Healthful Practitioners
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Resource Box: CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd – Freelance Writer and Web Consultant for HolisticJunction.com, in association with CollegeSurfing.com – Educational Resources for holisticjunction.com/categories/HAD/natural-healing-schools.html Natural Healing Schools, holisticjunction.com/categories/HAD/alternative-medicine.html Alternative Medicine Schools, and other Alternative Healing Schools.

Making the Most of Your Summer

At last, summer is here! After a school year full of hard work, you can
finally put away your books, break out your bikinis, and soak up the
sunshine. This is not only what you deserve but in fact what you need: If
you have been working to your maximum level during the school year,
you owe your body about two weeks off during the summer for a real
break. Go ahead and pursue your favorite pastime, relax, sleep, and
reflect on the past year and the year to come. Do not, however, get too
used to your life of leisure! From a college admissions standpoint, it’s
important to be productive during your summer months. Working is
looked upon favorably by the more selective colleges; working on your
tan is not.

It is important to understand that when it comes time to apply to schools
in the fall, you will be competing for admission against a wealth of other
students who made the most of their summers by strengthening their
talents and skills and/or making up in some way for their weaknesses.
Ideally, you have already found something to do for the summer, but if
not, here are some summer suggestions.

For the summer after ninth grade, summer school can be a great idea,
particularly if you want to get ahead in your curriculum. For example,
rising sophomores in the past have used their summers to skip ahead in
their math track, some by taking a class that prepares them for an
honors or advanced level course, others by taking an intensive math
course that spans at least six weeks of the summer. Other students
have chosen to use their summers to take composition or creative
writing courses to strengthen their writing skills.

For the summer after tenth grade, you might want to try participating in a
program designed to strengthen one of your main talents. For example,
if you’re interested in engineering, you could try a program that teaches
students to design their own autonomous robots, such as Carnegie
Mellon West’s seven-week RoboCamp. Students who are artistically
inclined may want to try Northwestern’s National High School Institutes
(colloquially known as “Cherubs”), during which students who excel in
music, theater, journalism, film, debate and/or forensics hone their
talents through intensive workshops in their areas of interest. Another
great opportunity for prospective film students is through University of
Southern California’s Summer Seminars, where students can study
either screenwriting, the business and technology of film, or basic
animation techniques.

The summer after tenth grade also might be used to go away on a
program abroad. Two great resources for finding abroad programs are
www.goabroad.com and www.studyabroad.com, where you can punch
in specific countries and interests and find hundreds of excellent
programs that are off the beaten track. I recommend committing to a
program of at least six weeks: A true cultural immersion will usually take
more than a month, and it will take two weeks just to get over your jet
lag! Also, try to travel to a country where the residents speak the foreign
language you’re taking in school. In order to make the most of your
experience, try and stay away from programs with too many other
Americans, and try to devote yourself to one place for the entire stay.
For example, if you’re taking Spanish in school, it’s best to go to Mexico
or a Central or Latin American country rather than Spain, which is often
teeming with Americans. Also, in cities such as Barcelona, the
language of choice is Catalan as opposed to Spanish.

The summer after eleventh grade is a good time to try and find an
internship or other type of employment experience in one of your fields
of interest. If you’re interested in a sports-related career, let’s say, this is
an excellent summer to work for a sports agency or a sports channel
such as ESPN. To see the sports world from a different angle, you might
even want to try working in a law firm that has a history of representing
athletes. Not only would you gain valuable experience that would give
you a leg up on even the average college student, you might find a new
translation of your passion for sports.

Remember, nepotism is not looked upon favorably, so make sure your
work experience is aligned with your interests and not with your parents’
careers. After all, you are not just spending the summer in Dad’s office;
this should be made clear to the colleges. Likewise, if you’re holding
down a job or internship, the ideal amount of time to do this is for about
eight weeks. Given that the typical summer is twelve weeks long, you’ll
still have several weeks for relaxation and, of course, working on
college applications. IvyWise students in the past have interned in the
office of Senator Hillary Clinton, conducted original cancer research at
hospitals alongside professors, reported for major and local
newspapers, and interned at a variety of companies ranging from law
firms to Goldman Sachs.

If you’re a serious athlete with the chance of being recruited for your
sport in college, you will likely be spending the majority of your summers
on the field or in the gym, where coaches will get a chance to watch you
play. Sports camps and workshops are great for serious student
athletes; this is the path you must pursue to achieve entry into college-
level athletics.

Before you leave for summer break, I also recommend asking your
school for next year’s reading list for English and history. Beginning
your reading early is a great way to get a jump start on next year’s
homework. Also, starting your reading list during the summer will help
you gain a deeper understanding of the assigned material: When you
revisit your summer reading during the school year, you will be familiar
with the basic story and will therefore be equipped to conduct a better
analysis of the text. Also, if you choose to remain in your hometown
during the summer, colleges will love to see you continuing your school
year community service activities through the summer months.

Summer don’ts:

#1: CAMP. Unless you are a focused athlete and you are attending a
sports camp, sleepaway camp and camping trips should end before the
summer before ninth grade. The only exception to this rule is if a
student has the opportunity to take on a leadership role such as a CIT,
and even then, the summer before ninth grade should be the last year at
camp. Colleges are not looking for experts in the arts of s’more-making
and Spin the Bottle!

#2: TEEN TOURS. It may sound great to travel around the country with
a busload of other kids in your age group for a couple of weeks, and
while it’s true that you would get to sample the cuisine of many different
McDonald’s locations across the country, this will not help you get into
college. On a teen tour, students can never get to know one place well,
and it’s likely that they will be with students like themselves and will
therefore not get the opportunity to stretch. Teen tours are so organized
and scheduled that it’s nearly impossible for any one student to make an
impact in his or her community. Students should make sure that
whatever they do over the summer, they are somehow making an
impact, whether it be on an organization, a favorite cause, or a foreign or
local community.

#3: “IMMERSION” TRIPS. Any so-called cultural immersion trip that
lasts three weeks or less, particularly those of the Putney or ASA brand,
is not a wise use of summer time. These trips break up a student’s
summer and take the place of an in-depth program; they are vacations
rather than commitments and are not something to add to a college brag
sheet. Again, students should choose a program off the beaten track
that lasts for a minimum of six weeks so they have the opportunity to
grow and to make an impact.

#4: SUMMER SAT PREP. If you’re a rising junior, the summer is not the
best time to start preparing for your standardized tests. Sure, working on
vocabulary a few hours a week can never hurt, but devoting chunks of
your day to SAT tutoring or a class will only take the place of an activity
that you can put on your brag sheet. Furthermore, you are likely to
forget a lot of what you learn during the summer; you will absorb far
more during the year, when you are in “school mode.”

On a final note, when you are setting aside your personal time, make
sure you allow yourself time to have fun! As high school progresses, the
courses inevitably get harder and your workload will increases—it’s
important to use your summer break to unwind and reflect. While there
are always weekends during the school year, there’s nothing like a
sunny Wednesday on the beach, so please, make the most of your
freedom while you can! Have a great summer, and we’re looking
forward to hearing your stories.

Katherine Cohen is a college counselor at IvyWise, LLC,
ivywise.com ivywise.com

Give the Gift of Education

We’ve all had a special teacher in our lives. Maybe she helped you understand a tricky mathematical concept. Perhaps she inspired you to speak fluent French. Or maybe she just took the time to listen and be a friend, believing you were special enough to merit the attention. Whatever the circumstances, the fact is that this teacher made a difference in your childhood or teenage years. By earning your education degree, you can be that memorable teacher for someone else.

Opportunities
In the United States, there is a need for professionals with education training. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2004, the education services industry was the second largest industry in the economy, providing jobs for about 13 million workers. And, wage and salary employment growth of 17 percent is expected in the education services industry over the 2004-2014 period, higher than the 14 percent increase projected for all industries combined.

Once you have the proper education training (including a bachelor’s degree and a teaching license), numerous teaching opportunities are available. In fact, teachers account for almost half of all workers in the education industry.

Career Options
Become a preschool, kindergarten, or elementary school teacher and help shape the development of children. You’ll be responsible for their formal introduction to math, language, science, and social studies. But don’t stress — at this education level, you can have lots of fun with your lesson plans, using games, art, music, and computers to teach basic skills.

If you prefer to provide more in-depth instruction to older kids, an education degree for middle or high school teaching is your best bet. The fun part about teaching on this level is working in one specific subject in which you excel, rather than providing an overview of all subjects. You can teach anything from English, math, or history, to auto mechanics, business education, or computer repair. You can also supervise extracurricular activities or coach a sports team.

Do you have a heart for students with special needs? Special education might be the way to go. These teachers work with students who have a variety of learning and physical disabilities. With a special education degree, you can work in a traditional school and provide resource room and one-on-one assistance, or you can work in a special education school that serves students with more severe disabilities. With special education training, you’ll learn how to accommodate students’ individual needs, and help students develop the social skills needed to thrive in society.

To find college and career schools near you, surf collegebound.net/clickcount.php?id=6963920&goto= collegesurfing.com/ce/search CollegeSurfing.com.

© Copyright 2007
The CollegeBound Network
All Rights Reserved

Robyn Tellefsen is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about collegesurfing.com finding a school or career that’s right for you!

Kansas City Schools Change Licensing Requirements

The state of Kansas’ Board of Education is expected to make a change to teacher licensure requirements that could help Kansas City Schools get the teachers it needs. According to Martha Gage, director of teacher education and licensure, the Professional Standards Board recommends the improvements.

The changes will allow teachers in Kansas City Schools, and across the state, to add subjects to their portfolios with greater ease. Why is this important to Kansas City Schools? As a result of the state increase in science department credits required for graduation, the Kansas City Schools cannot fill its need for chemistry and physics teachers. This change would allow a biology teacher to take the competency test in a different science area, like chemistry, and be qualified to teach it.

Opponents voice concerns that this change will not ensure that Kansas City Schools’ teachers are really prepared to teach such in-depth subjects. John Richard Schrock, director of the biology education program at Emporia State University, feels that passing a competency test alone is not enough. These Indianapolis Schools’ teachers might be required to take more courses just in order to pass the difficult tests, but even would that prove sufficient?

But that’s not the only change that will hit Indianapolis Schools if the state’s board of education passes the initiative. The changes are designed to remove cumbersome paperwork and redundant information from the process of becoming a teacher in Kansas. While that should sound good to everyone, the final change involves lowering the grade point average (GPA) required to obtain conditional certification. Currently, a teacher applicant in Kansas City Schools must have a college GPA of at least 2.5. Of course, a veteran teacher from out of state may have a wealth of experience, and be a great teacher, but have done poorly 25 years ago in college. Proponents claim that the GPA is just one indicator of an applicant’s ability to teach. While some argue for maintaining the higher standards, the need for Kansas City Schools to find qualified teachers seems to be winning.

Advocates of both Kansas City Schools and the Kansas National Education Association feel that these changes are a way to fill the teacher gap while still maintaining a reasonable standard for teachers. Standards for both teachers and students have been a hot button topic in Kansas City Schools since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act went into effect in 2002. Its requirement for highly qualified teachers in areas like math and science, combined with the state’s increase in science credits for graduation has put Kansas City Schools in a teacher quandary. Kansas City Schools are not alone. Public schools nationwide have been forced to innovate and adapt in order to succeed in the current educational climate.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit schoolsk-12.com/Missouri/Kansas-City/index.html Kansas City Schools

Packing for College – The 4-Box Challenge

The time has finally arrived for you to leave home and go away to college. What an exciting time!

If you are like most, your bedroom is currently a disaster area with clothes, books, compact disks and miscellaneous items strewn everywhere. You want to take it all and you cannot decide what to take and what to leave behind, and at the moment, this seems like a bigger decision that deciding which college to attend. How many times have you packed, unpacked and then repacked that favorite sweatshirt? Take a break, relax and let me share with you some insights into how to pack for college.

1) Your dorm room is small – if you overstuff it with clothing and personal items, there will be nowhere to sleep or study (which is the reason you are going to college, after all!). Additionally, you might not make the best roommate if you are hogging all the square footage in your shared room.

2) You are not leaving forever> – your parents are not going to rent out your bedroom at home as soon as you leave for college and you are coming back. Think short-term… what do you need for the first few months of college? What is the weather like in your college town in the fall? Pack accordingly and don’t take everything you own.

3) Things are going to change, and fast – Once you get to school, especially if you are going across country or perhaps to another country; you will find that college life is more or less casual than you anticipated. It is a good idea to pack the staples; jeans, sweatshirts, a few clubbing outfits, pajamas
and comfy study sweats and leave the rest at home. Once you have been at school a few weeks, if you find you are missing essentials from home, you can have mom or dad ship them to you or pick them up on your next visit back home.

If you want to succeed in taking what you need and leave the rest behind, try the 4-box challenge. Get four good sized packing boxes (but not appliance size) and line them up along one side of your bed, leaving plenty of free space in front of them. Get a marker and label them ‘clothing 1’, ‘clothing 2’, ‘school stuff’, and ‘personal’.

Now look around your room. One item at a time, place them in front of the box; sweaters and jeans in the clothing boxes, CD’s, toiletries and picture frames in the personal box, textbooks, duo tangs and writing supplies in school stuff. In this challenge, 2 boxes are allotted for clothing. One box should be essentials including your day-to-day clothing and the second box should be for special occasion outfits, your big fluffy bathrobe, shoes and a few purses.

If everything will not fit into the boxes, you must edit what you have selected. This is the toughest part of the challenge but with a little perseverance, you can do it. If you are having a tough time, ask yourself the following questions:

1) How many times have I worn this in the past month?
2) Will I use this item at least once a week for the next few months?
3) Can I live without it?

Keep plugging away until the boxes are full but not overflowing. Once you are done, close the boxes and tape them shut. You are ready to leave for college with your most favorite possessions. Now it’s probably time to clean up the aftermath!

© GradResumes.com – specializes in writing graduate resumes and college admission documents. With dozens of professional resume writers and education specialists, and some of the finest editing staff in the industry, GradResumes.com GradResumes.com has effectively helped thousands of clients launch their post-graduate careers and successfully gain admission to their schools of choice. Any reproduction or reprint of this article must include this information.