Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h3FBIuU20418; Tue, 15 Apr 2003 07:19:00 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2003 07:19:00 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <000901c30340$1b883f10$35881a0a@famlit.net> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Jon Lee" <jlee@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:1493] Clips and Cross Posts X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4510 Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 3538 Lines: 69 Hello all! Sorry to be away for so long... Our good friend Becky King thought this was a good one, and I agree! From: PEN Weekly NewsBlast for April 11, 2003 ALTERING THE STRUCTURE & CULTURE OF AMERICA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS Every urban school district in America, it seems, is struggling to improve student achievement, and every politician, it seems, has a solution. Improving teacher training, reducing class size, lengthening school days, testing students, and tying teachers' salaries to test scores are just a few proposals. While some of these politically driven reforms may help, most will fail to have any impact in the classroom. Why? Because, according to Wellford W. Wilms, they are little more than symbolic political gestures designed to win the confidence of voters. Most have little to do with the problem of how to improve the quality of teaching and children's learning. To make matters worse, most reforms are mandated by distant legislatures and school boards without consulting teachers and administrators, those closest to the scene of the action. Not surprisingly, teachers and administrators either ignore the mandates or comply minimally, safe in the knowledge that, in time, the reforms will "blow over." The result? Teachers continue to work in isolation from one another, and administrators remain disconnected from what goes on in the classroom. In addition, adversarial relationships between teacher unions and administrators continue to thwart most serious attempts to improve what goes on in schools. What is to be done? Mr. Wilms points out four key principles of "lesson study," an innovation that he believes holds great promise for improving the public schools. http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0304wil.htm From: the Texas Family Literacy Listserve Read this new ERIC document online at http://www.ericacve.org/docgen.asp?tbl=pab&ID=116 . Or to request a free hard copy (5 pages) by mail, send a NEW email message to tcall@coe.tamu.edu or call 800-441-READ. Volunteer Development: ERIC Practice Application Brief No. 24 Kerka, Sandra (2003). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. In many organizations, the work of volunteers plays an essential role in effective organizational performance, and thus their training and development are as important as that of paid staff. People volunteer and quit volunteering for a variety of reasons, but studies show that volunteer management and development play an important role. In a UPS Foundation (1999) survey, 40% of volunteers cited poor management practices as a reason for quitting. In a Canadian study (Phillips, Little, and Goodine 2002), the top three ways in which volunteers felt supported were organizational infrastructure, appreciation, and training; personal development ranked only slightly behind appreciation as the most important retention factor. Organizations such as 4-H, the Red Cross, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters have a comprehensive infrastructure and procedures for volunteer development. In smaller organizations, development of both paid and unpaid staff is a challenge. This Brief describes successful practices in volunteer development to help organizations make the best use of their volunteers. Take care! Jon Lee Senior Training Specialist Project Manager for Design and Development NIFL-Family Listserve moderator National Center for Family Literacy 325 West Main St, Suite 300 Louisville, KY 40202-4237 Phone: 502.584.1133 x175 Fax: 502.584.0172 jlee@famlit.org http://www.famlit.org
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