NJ TOY Travels

Shanghai

2011-12-31T10:50:00.004-04:00

I am Shanghai and my buildings are budding, reaching beyond steel to their organic counterparts.

I am a building that flowers at the top. I am shooting glass, reaching upwards 1,555 feet, giving visitors who climb my 101 stories astounding views of the city far below

I am Shanghai and business happens here. Men in white shirts, tucked in with no jackets or ties, look busy. Women travel through my streets in designer dresses sporting angular haircuts that dip and point to accentuate delicate features.

Visit The Bund, a riverside neighborhood that combines the pulse of the city and a wider expanse of river and sky.

At night, my trees drip with lights and my people come out to stroll or dine.

I am modern China in motion. I reach into the past to remember harmony and the earth. I reflect the light and water. I watch and learn everything the world will teach me. I am a fast learner and my history runs deep.

By remembering who I am and by embracing everything science and nature offers, I reinvent myself on the world’s stage. I cannot be ignored.

The Great Wall of China

2011-12-12T20:08:00.013-04:00

We are in Mutianyu and we are climbing above the treetops. I see the curving stones in the distance and Simon, our guide, tells us we will soon arrive at the Great Wall of China.

Being here in China makes me feel like a flake, blowing against history, small and fragile, yet lucky enough to be aware of the journey. The part of the wall we are visiting was built in the 3rd Century B.C., for the purpose of fortification. Thousands died in the process and their stories form a part of the wall; the tears of their children and parents cradled by the dome of heaven above.

We get to the wall and some of our group immediately takes the athletic route, bounding over the stones to a place where a slide will allow them to soar down the side of the mountain.

Mary from Delaware and Debbie from New York and I decide to take it slower. We take our time climbing up through an area that leads to a small turret and enclosure. We pose for pictures and voice our amazement about being here. A few clusters of teachers are also near and doing a similarly slow and meditative exploration. We feel the heat on our shoulders and marvel at the Chinese women who are teetering on heels while carrying fancy silk parasols.

The sky is almost crystal clear with a few puffs of clouds and you can see in every direction for miles. The sun is hot and our digital picture captures the intense light that bleaches my skin.

I’m not in the kind of shape I wish I were. I’d like to be scooting over these walls like some of my more fit colleagues, but since this thing goes for 3,000 miles, I will only get to examine a piece of it no matter how much I take on. I’m happy to have Mary and Debbie’s good company and humor and that of the other roving bands of educators who run their fingertips along these stones.

It’s one thing to read about this and yet another to touch it.

The wall winds through the countryside, cutting a path through the trees, dividing identical land on one side and another.

Makes me think about borders and how much effort we put into them. This is “you” and that is “me.” You are “my people” on this side and those people on the other side are not.

Imagine spending so much time, energy and lives to create a division!

We protect what is “ours” when we divide something that we imagine will be violated by some kind of “otherness” that we don’t want.

We want “us” and not “them.”

What’s funny in history is that those we consider family and those we do not consider family varies by the chances and fortunes of history, the political decisions, the greed or generosity of leaders and the power of natural disasters or bounty.

Do you speak my language?
Does your face look like mine?
Would I marry your son?

Walls. Here stands a great one that makes me think about the power and majesty of human enterprise, the futility of dreams that live in silos and our need to figure out ways to leap across colossal barriers.

Reflections on China

2011-12-10T14:55:00.009-04:00

Some things are out of our reach because they happened long ago and we just don’t know the story. What is this stone? What child, hundreds of years ago, kicked it down the path or tossed it in a stream?

Other things are forbidden to us. The access may be blocked because we live in a racist society, which keeps people sorted by skin color or because there are walls, keypads, and barriers. We have the code or we don’t. We gain access or we don’t.

The barriers we get used to are invisible to us. We don’t see them yet we breathe them in like air. We walk between lines painted on pavement because we “are supposed to” and years ago, in an wretched moment in our history, many believed that we were “supposed” to keep races apart in separate schools, bathrooms and lives.

For me, China was an exotic, forbidden place with palaces guarded by fire breathing dragons and inscrutable people.

Years ago, people would actually say that out loud, when referring to Asian people- “inscrutable” - and then, others would nod, “yes, yes and so they are.” How do we move from a cartoonesque image of a people to finding out who they are? We have to strip ourselves of imposed images and inherited words. It takes work. What is my work here in China? What will this place and its people teach me?

Tiananmen Square

Our tour bus pulled up at Tiananmen Square. It was a vast space flanked by massive sculptures on one side – I saw the sculpted images of glorious workers building a country – a strong woman, solid men.

In the Square, the people strolled freely. Debbie snapped a picture of Mary, Tom, and I. The sky was grey and it hung a quiet feeling over the place.

But I felt like something was supposed to happen. A siren? An unfriendly look? Nothing. Just our guide, Simon, pointing out the features of the place over the audio device we hung from our necks. Mao’s giant picture over there, red Communist flags flapping on the top of the wall. It’s was the 50th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist party. People were happy to be enjoying some free time with their kids and friends.

The Summer Palace

We climbed on the bus and drove to the Summer Palace. Tour buses of Chinese tourists were already congregating outside of the entrance and they were staring at us, as we exited the bus, but not in a mean way. They looked at us to learn us – to study our faces, to take in our height or unusual hair, our gait – the way we stood and spoke.

Alex, our Tour director explained, “This is probably the first time these people have seen Westerners.” I stared back at the Chinese tourists and didn’t look away, my eyes wide open.

There was a lily pond just below, where we’ve pulled up, foliage floating in clustered packs, buds rising up.

Turns out that the Palace was only a fraction of the place it once was. Intricate painted ceilings, water everywhere, a dragon boat that moved through lily pond water. The Chinese walked around eating ears of corn as if they were ice cream cones. Vendors squatted down near enormous buckets and Chinese dads scooped up an armful of ears of corn for everyone. It was a special day. Small children wore jumpsuits with a slit from front to back so that they could be held over earth to relieve themselves when their parents or grandparents felt that their body was preparing to evacuate. Tender.

Forbidden City

I always wanted to go here. There’s a lot in a name. Forbidden! Who says? You can’t say that to me, I thought.

This place was once a massive city, more than just a single palace, built according to the principals of Feng Shue for the Emperor and his servants, his many wives, his palace officials. Incense was burnt here, with offerings lifting to heaven. Gongs were rung. Young and beautiful women were offered to the Emperor as young concubines, who lived in tiny apartments, hung with silk.

We walked through large spaces leading to palaces and then that palace would lead to another space or square. I was trying to imagine it all filled up with people, soldiers, and children. I saw some women with elegant parasols who managed to walk on the stone slabs with heels on. Years before, Chinese women had bound feet. Would they have been carried with their delicate feet over the enormous space till they were safely installed in their rooms?

Welcome to Beijing! Day One

2011-09-25T15:04:00.020-03:00

Here's Simon, our Tour Director

On June 23rd, 2011, we arrive in Beijing, surprisingly hardy after a 15 hour flight. We are the NEA Foundation, Awards of Teaching Excellence winners and we come from all over the United States to meet here in China. Simon, our Chinese Tour Director, is waiting for us at the airport.

We gather in a big circle, once we get our bags. Simon's easy and open way of relating is immediately clear to all of us.

I half listen to Simon while also thinking, "Ah, I need money - now what is the currency here? Oh, yeah, it's Yuan....hmmm...I remember that 6 and a half Yuan are a dollar."

I scoot over to an ATM just behind the group. My legs have a way of running while my arms hang stiff at my side. I get to the ATM and see Chinese symbols written all over the machine, but something is wrong. Oh, no! This isn't an ATM, it's fresh drinking water. English is written on the machine too and there is a clear line drawing of a cup.

But nearby I see an ATM and I successfully manage to get some Yuan. Yahoo! Bill after bill pops out with Mao's picture.

Simon follows up by explaining the currency to us, on the bus.

"Here we have a five Yuan note and you can see Mao's picture. Here is a 20 Yuan note and guess what? Mao's picture. Actually, every Yuan note has Mao's picture. He's an important guy."

That's Simon. He lays out the facts with passion and humor. His English is really good and it's clear that his tourism gig has the focus of a great teacher.

We get into our hotel and shower off the dust of the day. Some folks get money and others venture right out, for coffee, tea, whatever.

Debbie Calvino, the Awards of Teaching Excellence winner from New York (also the New York State Teacher of the Year for 2010) is my roommate for this trip. I appreciate having a smart New York roomie with a sense of humor for this trip.

Debbie and I are both pretty tired, but we settle into our room and quickly change clothes to get ready for dinner with the group. I'm not too hungry, but we are breaking out into real China by going to an actual Chinese restaurant. What will that be like? Will my favorite local Chinese restaurant - Bo Bo kitchen in Teaneck - have compared to real Chinese food?

A while later, we leave the hotel and walk to the restaurant, feeling better for the change of clothes and a quick splash of water. Once inside, we notice that every table has a gigantic Lazy Susan - a kind of rotating glass center portion of the table which spins, giving each person at the table a chance at the food offerings.

Soon, I see why this is necessary.

Dish after dish arrives along with a couple of liter bottles of beer and pitchers of soda. There are noodles, swimming in sauce, a tureen of vegetable soup, fish with their heads in thick soy, tiny chunks of chicken and veggies, strips of beef, fried rice, white rice, something that looks like translucent noodles, sprinkled with greens, a large bowl of thick chopped cabbage and carrots, cut on a diagonal.

We spin and grab - some of us struggling with getting slippery food from the bowls with chop sticks. Some teachers dive in and try over and over again to do it with the chop sticks and others just reach for the big spoon.

Once we're sitting down, we feel the energy starting to drain from our bodies, but the hot food in this local restaurant still feels good and welcoming to eat.

I look around and I see that almost all the tables are filled with Chinese people. They are indeed looking at us, but in a very friendly, open way - the way a mother looks at a child who has just tasted a favorite desert, which took her hours sweating in the kitchen to prepare. The Chinese diners are smiling in an encouraging way, and I think they seem relieved to see us dig into the food.

Not every teacher is happy with the food, but most are at least good sports. Traveling to a new country is challenging to one's cultural norms, especially if one's culinary experience is locally limited and unchallenged.

So this food thing is hard for a couple of us from day one.

"Oh, I'll have some white rice," says one tall and friendly looking teacher, with crystal blue eyes. "And some noodles."

I withhold judgment. I have a lot of advice about how you have to just throw yourself into a new culture, starting with food, but food limitations are tricky for people. It's hard to push out of one's comfort zone and personal experience to break through certain, previously invisible barriers.

Still, everyone's challenge is different. I am food open, for example, and like to taste my way through culture, but that doesn't mean that everything is easy for me on my cultural road.

I feel, for example, sad that I cannot speak Chinese right now. I would like to chat to the waitress about the food or ask questions about the ingredients, tell her that it's good to be here, in CHINA, on our first day - all about my flight and about how I did some toe touches in the back of the plane and mini leaps in a space between the last seat and the bathroom, so that I could keep the blood flowing.

Not that this polite waitress would care about my prattle, but I like to chat with people who cross my path about matters, both profound and mundane. I've learned too that the homeliest of topics can produce great insight for those conversing. But it's not happening today.

Instead, I say, "Sheah, sheah" which means "thank you" and waitress nods, looking at me with a tiny smile.

OK, that's something.

Catching up

2011-09-19T23:56:00.007-03:00

Where do I begin?

It's been five months since I've on this blog! Over the past months, I have been reorganizing my life and moving to D.C.

In the meantime, I went to China and Spain. It's a pretty long story, but I'm going to tell it in the order that it all happened, skipping parts of my life whenever I feel like it.

I couldn't write much about China before now. China was working on me and I needed to process that before writing any kind of story about it.

China!!!!

As a Horace Mann Teaching Excellence Winner for the NEA Foundation, I was invited to visit China with a group of 31 of my peers. We visited China in June, traveling from Beijing to Shanghai to Hong Kong.

China is very far away - not just because it's literally around the world and you have to hop over the planet to get there, but because my life had developed no cozy feeling about this nation or its people. Going to China changed my life because it broke down barriers that I didn't know were there - my own internal Great Wall.

Note to self: there are more in there, waiting to be uncovered. Do I dare find them? Can I keep up the bravery required of searching out inner rigidities?

Today, it helped me to share my experience of the trip with five fellow travelers at the NEA Executive Board meeting. We passionately told our stories the best way we could and I am sure that the group was moved and felt like they had also traveled some of the distance with us.

By telling the story, in the way we did, the story came back to me. I could see those colors, smell the scent in the streets, feel the people near me as they walked down busy streets. The world un-flattened itself and China, its schools, street vendors, skyscrapers and rickshaws came back to me with all of the force of a dream, remembered.

Yes, I went to China and now, I'll try to tell you the story of where I traveled and why this matters to me.

I've been in a classroom for 33 years and now, I've come to Washington D.C. to work as a Fellow in the Department of Education for one year. Every day, in the Department of Education, we do serious work in our cubicles and conference rooms as we discuss outcomes and project success. We talk to many people, both inside and outside of the solid buildings with their W, C and E conference rooms on every floor. It's good and important work.

But for now, I want to remember what it was like to be somewhere I never had dreamed of going before - a place that tested my limits and stretched my comfort zones - China, a land I fell in love with and a people who had me at Ni How.

The way this will go is that I'll share some of my pictures and I'll intersperse them with words. I'll do my best to help you see what I saw and feel what I felt. There are people who know more facts about China then I ever will and others who will take photographs so vibrant that you could step into a landscape.

But what I know how to do is to be honest about what it is I think I saw and what it meant to me, a lifelong teacher. I hope that doing this will matter to someone who might have been hesitant to venture forth on any kind of adventure to a new land. It's not easy crossing the Great Wall we build within.

Philosophy in Spanish

2011-04-04T23:09:00.002-03:00

The following is taken directly from the Dwight Englewood School website (www.d-e.org)

Students Chosen as US Delegation to Int'l. Philosophy Olympiad

3/31/2011
Dwight-Englewood School (D-E) proudly announces that two Upper School seniors will represent the U.S. at the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO), scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, May 26-29, 2011.

Joseph Murphy, Chair of the D-E Ethics Department, confirmed recently that Kelly Greiss ’11 and Andrew Loeshelle ’11 have been accepted to participate in the 2011 IPO, through the Olympiad’s sponsoring organizations, the American Philosophical Association (APA), and the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP).

The IPO was founded in 1993 and is associated with the international organization UNESCO, receiving funding in part by corporate sponsors such as Coca Cola and Generali. Open to all high school students globally who study philosophy, the IPO entails a competition in which students must compose an essay on one of 4 topics given to them at the competition. The main theme of the 2011 Olympiad is “The Power and Powerlessness of Philosophy.” The topics are submitted by philosophy teachers and professors worldwide. Students are required to write their essays in a language that is not the primary language of their country or their own mother tongue; English, French, German and Spanish are the languages allowed for the essay writing.

Students Greiss and Loeshelle were chosen to participate in the contest due to their dedicated study of philosophy at Dwight-Englewood, their approaching fluency in Spanish and for having participated in the School’s “D-E in Spain” summer language immersion program at the Universidad de Salamanca.

In addition to the essay writing competition, the IPO entails multiple collaborative discussions and ‘philosophical walks’ between students, teachers, and professors. All participants will also attend a Mayor’s reception hosted in their honor at the Vienna Town Hall, and a closing ceremony at the University of Vienna.

Murphy noted, “Hundreds of students compete in the IPO; and dozens of countries participate. Many countries have philosophy as a required aspect of their curriculum, so this is a very prestigious and highly competitive event. Our students are the very first team from the US to participate in the IPO using Spanish, which is an incredible honor for our School. Right now we are in training to prepare for the competition. We are finishing a reading of Brian David Mogck’s Writing to Reason and Historia de la Filosofia by Fernando Savater. In April and May we will be writing practice essays every week."

Murphy continues: “In a time when critical thinking is profoundly needed in our society, beyond our school, and where communications and collaboration are essential, where reflection and deep thinking are imperative, I hope that our School’s standing as the US Delegation to the IPO will inspire more students to think more deeply, philosophically, creatively, and reflectively. This can inform everything else they do, in ways that they cannot imagine yet. Suffice to say, we are quite thrilled to have this opportunity to participate in this unique international academic event.”

Blogging with students

2011-03-23T23:49:00.012-03:00

I've started to blog with my students. I'm just jumping in. I'm not perfect at any of it, but since a classroom happens in "real time" with lots of action and responsibilities, it's important to collaboratively explore new technology with students.

I'm calling it "Mundo Maestra" (http://woodsmurphy.edublogs.org/) which means "Teacher world." Students from all of my classes are responding to prompts that relate to our readings or classroom discussion. This way they can connect with each other online and I am able to extend the reach of my classroom. Even though they make grammatical errors typical of learners of their age, they learn by engaging in conversations with each other.

Isn't that what we do when we speak? Practice our vocabulary, forms of expression and discourse - in the moment.

So too, they are writing and sharing in "real time." I post their comments. I need to "approve" them, but I don't correct what they write. Some might fault this because what is "published" should be edited and impressive. I'm using the blog in a different way, which attempts to take away the fear of expressing oneself in a second language and also to give students experience with an online classroom structure.

Many college classes have online components nowadays and kids who come from high school are not used to having to jump into online chats and formalized postings. I'd rather have them work on these skills before they leave high school so I am incorporating these sorts of lessons into my Spanish class.

I want the kids to be writing and thinking in Spanish. I am thrilled with their progress. An added dividend that I hadn't even predicted is that students from different classes and ages can see each other's work online. This way, all classes can potentially connect - older students with younger, students in other classrooms, schools, nations. Is there a limit? I don't think so!

Teachers

2011-02-26T01:05:00.005-04:00

This is a link to a story that aired on CBS, on Thursday's Evening News, February 24th. In it, you see how my family responds to their teaching jobs in the middle of a critical time for educators everywhere!

Coming soon: The making of a news piece!

Governor Christie's budget address

2011-02-23T01:33:00.008-04:00

Governor Christie made his budget address today - a long awaited moment!

He said that he cared deeply about public education and will restore 250 million to the schools. Good!

But what happened to the 1.3 billion cut last year - that's five times what we are getting back!

What about the 10,000 state education workers cut?

What about larger class sizes and the programs lost? We are all feeling it!

The governor says that it's not about blue and red, it's about the "black and white" of fiscal difficulty and our need to rectify issues in our state budget.

He says that New Jersey has had enough and that the state workers can't enjoy "rich benefits" paid for by the rest of the state.

And he says that our schools need "fixing."

First of all, state workers are contributing to their benefits and have worked out ways to share fiscal responsibilities with the state. These efforts need to be applauded and highlighted to the public so that the public realizes how collaborative state workers are.

In its fiscal planning, the state of New Jersey needs to restore ALL of the education cuts, to maintain the high level of education we have enjoyed. The governor believes that cutting the taxes of the rich, and taxing teachers is the way to balance our budget, but state workers are not the problem! Governor Christie's priorities are all wrong and the damage will be done to our children!

If we want our state to be on the cutting edge, to increase the use of 21st Century tools, to improve an already excellent state education, we need to fund it, at least at the level we were funding it prior to our fiscal crisis!

Austerity cannot be applied to our children. Without the clear and focused support of our students, we cannot create a future that will sustain this state.

State workers deferred their compensation and accepted benefit packages in lieu of increased wages. Now, they are being asked to contribute 30% to these benefits which would increase a teacher's contribution to 15% of their salary. Teachers are modestly paid, state workers entrusted with the immensely important job of educating our state's children. When we cut their compensation, we cut their ability to teach the children - teachers are laid off, resources cut, programs eviscerated or lost. The quality of education, overall, plummets.

We cannot fund tax cuts on the backs of teachers, fire fighters and other public workers.

Governor Christie's budget pits middle class New Jersians against the very workers who support their towns and the education of their children. While speaking words of "A day of reckoning" and "a new normal," the Governor proposes a state which under funds its public employees, cuts taxes for the rich and decimates public education as we know it, in favor of privatization, division and distress.

I'm glad that we will get some money back for education in New Jersey. I look forward to a day when the Governor sits down at the table with the representatives of our teachers to map out a plan for a future of success and triumph for all New Jersey citizens!

Wisconsin, we are with you!

2011-02-20T17:21:00.008-04:00

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on ;Vimeo.

This video shows the energy and seriousness of the gathered Wisconsin protesters, who will not sit by as their state's education and services are demolished. They rise up to speak, to protest peacefully and to exercise their democratic rights.

The "blindsided attack" on public workers, that we see Governor Walker engaging in, is a rising tide across this country, built on pitting the public against public employees. This is a distraction technique designed to find a scapegoat for our fiscal woes. What's more, Governor Walker is trying to set a tone for the rest of the nation. He must not be permitted to dismantle the hard-won educational strides in his state, to devalue teacher and public voices.

What is happening in Wisconsin is vitally important to all of us! We must support these public workers by standing up, each in our own way, learning about the sacrifices that they have already made and by speaking reasonably in the context of public misinformation about the facts of our time.

Being practical means supporting our children. If we want to attract and retain highly qualified teachers, we must create states which value their voices, the voices of their representatives and which engage them in conversations about the future of our states.

This harsh and unfair treatment of public employees who teach, protect, inform and transport our nation's people is an inexcusable manifestation of misguided priorities.

What's more, we are irresponsibly jeopardizing the public good.

We, the people of these United States, do believe that this democracy is organized in a fashion where all our young must be educated, where the teachers who guide them, must be supported and the public workers must not be used as a convenient source of funds to make up for misused state monies.

My fellow Teacher of the Year, Leah Luke, from Wisconsin is a leader among leaders, an articulate voice for and with her peers. She is a dedicated, responsible, intelligent teacher who will not stand down when her state is in trouble. We need to stand by Leah and stand up to the misguided practices in Wisconsin, Florida and my own state of New Jersey.

If State Teachers of the Year are standing up, in this climate, the public should know that something is very wrong. State Teachers have all been selected based on their classroom and academic abilities, but most of all - for their dedication to the students they teach.

The STOYS, as we call ourselves, have diverse viewpoints and are all across the political spectrum. Not one state teacher, however, would tolerate an attack on education. Listen especially carefully to Leah in Wisconsin and Megan Allen, who is working hard in Florida and my other colleagues among the STOYS, who offer clear and informed perspectives which should be considered.

Soundbites which bash teachers and aim to pit the public against them are bad for our students and ultimately, bad for the economy and our country.

I salute you, Wisconsin, from my home in New Jersey! You must keep fighting for your rights and to find a point where collaboration ensures the audacious belief that all children deserve a fine public education. Follow justice and your voices will prevail!

Post-Gala Joy!

2011-02-14T01:12:00.019-04:00

The above photo shows The Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence Awardees joined by (L to R) NEA Executive Director, John Wilson; Elizabeth Oliver-Farrow, Chair of the NEA Foundation Board of Directors; Harriet Sanford, President and CEO of the NEA Foundation; and NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel.

Here, we have the The Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence Awardees joined by Harriet Sanford, President and CEO of the NEA Foundation (far left) and CEO of Horace Mann Companies, Peter Heckman (far right).

The picture above is a nice one of me alone. Here below, you can see me walking across the stage, announcing myself as the representative from New Jersey.

(All three photos, are courtesy of the NEA Foundation taken by FotoBriceno)

Suday was a great day! Joe and I stayed in D.C. for an extra night to just relax. Things had been hectic getting ready for the Gala so we needed to gather ourselves and just be together a little.

The ride home to New Jersey was uneventful in terms of delays and traffic and we stopped by our daughter, son-in-law's and granddaughter's house.

"HOLA!" said Olyvia in a booming voice, when she saw us.

She scampered over. She and her mom and dad are newly in their place. Olyvia ran from item to item touching things and giggling, as if to say, "you didn't see this one!"

We came home and saw the Grammys and I felt strangely familiar with the process of going for a big thing!

My friends posted picture after picture, on face book, and I can see just how thrilled I was at every juncture of the Gala. Wow!!!! What a time it was. I especially enjoyed seeing my students' video on the giant screen!

On Monday, Valentine's Day, I went back to Northern Highlands to teach a day of five classes. My students were thrilled with the photos and stories. They even broke into applause at times during the telling of the tale. It is so grounding to be with them and to share stories once again.

The road circles back to them, time and time again!

The NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education Gala

2011-02-12T21:49:00.031-04:00

The Gala was a magnificent affair which celebrated teaching and learning. My family and friends were all dressed up to the nines, ready to enjoy a lovely evening.

Debbie Calvino the ATE winner from New York, Tom Mead, from South Dakota, Mary Pinkerston, from Delaware and I posed for a special picture in our finery.

The room was awash in golden lights, the double columns brought our eyes upward and tables were arranged around a pool which spouted a fountain of water, in the early part of the evening. The NJEA were gathered at several tables and I had the honor of sitting next to our NJEA President, Barbara Keshisian.

We were entertained with student talent - songs, a violin performance and poetry. Each state ATE winner walked across the stage to bring greetings from their state affiliate.

Clearly, for me, the most exciting moment in the evening came when my students' video was aired. Last October, my students created a video about my teaching. Pearson Education offered a whole week of digital arts training for the kids. During that time, they took over the classroom and told me where to go and how to be. From that, they captured my teaching style in a video which I will treasure throughout my entire life!

When the time came to air my video, I was backstage where I could see the movie on a monitor. I sat next to Barbara Keshisian and felt so very proud - the movie was just perfect!

The students' spoke from the heart and what they said was moving! After the airing, I took the stage with Barbara Keshisian to a round of applause to receive my Horace Mann award. What an exciting personal moment!!

Then, I walked to my table where my family and NJEA friends cheered me on!

Finally, the biggest moment of the night was ready to happen! The name of the NEA Member Benefits Awardee would be announced.

At this point, each one of the finalists was sitting on pins and needles, hoping against hope that her name would be called. Our families were holding their breath. My husband was shifting in his seat, next to me. My state affiliates were dreaming and hoping that my name would be the one called.

As I waited, I could scarcely breath. A chocolate cheese tart had come to my table, but it sat untouched on my place as my stomach was taut and tense. I couldn't even turn around to make eye contact with my family and friends. I was sitting straight as a board.

Which one of us would it be? Nobody knew! Each teacher - Teresa, Terry, Kathy and Karen - was impressive, each in her own way. Each brought passion and excellence to the table.

What about me? It's hard to assess oneself in such a context - I never tried to teach well in order to win an award or be recognized in any kind of special way. I spent 32 years in a classroom without anyone, but my students and their families, noticing what I was doing.

What was I doing? I was seeking connection with these students and with their learning. I was trying to help them see each other in new and open ways, as they broke down the barriers of stereotypes and hidden bias. I wanted to help them yearn to speak Spanish so that increasing fluency would be a life-long joy and pursuit. Nothing would thrill me more than when students came back to tell me the stories of their adventures in Spanish-speaking countries and of their success in college and life!

My own family knew that each one of my "kids" was beautiful to me, but when I first started to gain recognition for what was a natural part of my heart and profession, I was shocked.

The fact that I was even in this magnificent room, sitting amid golden columns, with my family, seemed surreal. How did this even happen? What journey has led me to this place?

I imagined that I had been chosen as a finalist, in the first place, because of my passion for education and for my colleagues. I've learned that I am an advocate for the profession and that I feel this calling in my bones.

The other candidates all came to their position with stories of excellence. It was up to the NEA Foundation panel to pick the best representative of teaching and learning for the whole nation.

Before I went to Washington, I had told myself not to even think about the big award and to focus on my colleagues and the awesome opportunity that I had to go to China as an ATE winner! I loved the week of professional development and I felt immensely grateful to the organizations that sponsored the Gala and the activities leading up to it!

Still, it was impossible to remain unattached to the big win when the envelope with only one name arrived on the stage to a drum roll and was slowly opened. To add excitement and tension, each of the finalists names was flashed on the screen with the name of their state educational association president.

Finally, the moment had arrived for the envelope to be opened and the name was spoken:

Kathy Steinhoff!

Kathy's family and state affiliates sprang to their feet, in glee, and my area (filled with my supporters) briefly seemed to sink down - for just a moment - before rousing our collegiality and steadily applauding for Kathy, with all of our might.

Kathy Steinhoff was clearly moved and she looked stunning as she rose to the stage to take the microphone. Undaunted by the high emotion of the moment, she offered words of thanks to her family, to the ATE winners in the room and congratulations to the four other finalists. She was poised, grateful and clearly accomplished.

She did the NEA Foundation proud and made each one of us happy for her and her success. I am sure she will be a fabulous representative of the profession and that this award will mean so much to her and to her entire community.

What's more, it will mean a great deal for national education, because when we lift up one teacher, we lift them all up - we honor the profession and ourselves.

As soon as I could, I went to congratulate Kathy and her beaming family. Her mom was kind enough to snap this picture!

I offer my warmest congratulations to Kathy Steinhoff, this year's NEA Member Benefits Awardee, and to all of the worthy ATE winners! Each one of us represents our states and all of its hard working educators, who get up every day to help kids find the skills to make their dreams come true.

The NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education Gala was a major success. Thanks to the hard work of many partners, but most especially, Susan Burk and Harriet Sanford, the event was once again, a glittering tribute to educators!

Teaching Excellence will lead us to China!!!

2011-02-11T13:59:00.015-04:00

We spent the morning learning more about China. We learned about the economy, the food, haggling and luggage. We found out how to make phone calls and use unique bathrooms and be flexible.

As if we weren't excited enough, we saw a movie showing teachers visiting China last year. My eyes teared up!

I AM GOING TO CHINA!!!!!! We are so excited!!!!!

Thank you, NEA Foundation for dotting every "i" and crossing every "t". Thanks to Betty and Ariana, from the NEA Foundation, who pulled all of the partners together to create one happy, excited family (EF, The Pearson Foundation)!!! By the end of today, we all felt like we were familia.

I looked around the room and knew that the teachers and educational partners I could see were starting to become friends. In China, we'll deepen our bond and go on the adventure of a lifetime.

And tonight, The Gala!!!! I have to get myself organized!

In 45 minutes, I have to be at the NEA headquarters for a video interview and then back here to make myself glamerous, making the deft transition from "business casual" to evening gown. Will I survive this transformation?

I have so much energy from this morning that anything is possible!

See the dynamic Betty Paugh Ortiz (NEA Foundation) giving us some great facts about China!

Alex, from E.F, will faciliate our trip with humor and knowledge!

I am grinning ear to ear!!!

Day I - ATE group learns all about China!

2011-02-10T17:37:00.024-04:00

Twenty-six teachers - all ATE winners - made our way to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and crossed over, through the biting morning wind, to the Art Lab.

There, we were greeted by Harriet Sanford, the President and CEO of the NEA Foundation, along with some nice, warm coffee. As we sipped the welcome morning beverage, Harriet reminded us that we needed to celebrate what we do as educators and she got us even more excited, than we already were, for the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala tomorrow night! She told us that the Gala will be at the National Building Museum - "one of the best spaces in Washington - and tomorrow, it's all for educators!"

Next, Sandra Reed, a witty and informative Pearson Foundation presenter, told us a story about why we could just call her Sandra instead of Dr. Reed.

Newly in her former job as a building principal, she heard two students talking, one referring to her as Dr. Reed.

Another boy who was in the office, commented:

"She ain't no doctor!"
"Yeah, she is. She's just not the kinda doctor that helps nobody!"

Sandra went on to give us an overview of the day and an introduction to the team that made the professional development happen.

George Stewart, from Education First, inspired us about the value of international travel.

The experience, he said, challenges us "at a skin level."

"Who am I? How am I like or unlike people? Do I run away or discover new ways of learning? Does it frighten me not to understand or be understood?"

We all grow when we are confronted with the sometimes daunting challenges of a totally new cultural experience. We don't have the keys of communication, don't understand the infrastructure and things seem to bother us more than necessary.

We walk around with a "fix it" mentality, wondering why people from different cultures don't seem to "get it" the way we do. For goodness sake, we don't even know what it means to be polite!

Next Sandra Reed came back and taught us all about how we can inspire our students with mobile devices. We wasted no time before we had a task.

"OK, get out your cell phones and text. Now, get to work."

Once we connected, what we saw was an image which we had to duplicate with a variety of items found in an envelope on our table. We were working against the clock, trying to "beat" the other tables to exactly duplicate the image on the cell phone screen. We collaborated and quickly accomplished the task.

"We won!" said my table, all in one voice.

"No," said another ATE winner, "your sweet and low packet is not in the right direction." This teacher was clearly a detail-minded person!

Sandra went to their table and theirs was right. Oh, no! We were NOT the first to complete the task!

Still, we all got candy for our efforts!

Next, Professor Ken Hammond, spoke to us about "The Return of the Repressed, Revivals of Traditional Culture in Contemporary China."

Ken and his wife are both China Scholars who have spent their lives breathing the rich and complex history of this land, at once ancient and modern.

Ten things I learned about China today, in no particular order:

1. Family is first. China's tradition of "ancestor worship" is not worship, but reverence.

2. China has 1.3 billion people

3. China has 5,000 years of history

4. "Encountering China is something that changes people's lives"

5. There is a great deal of linguistic complexity in China, but even though dialects are different, the writing is the same. Sometimes people who cannot understand each other from different regions will write what they are trying to say down.

6. Calligraphy is also a great aesthetic practice. The way people write, reveals things about the writer. One can express aspects of one's personality through the style and stroke work.

7. Imperial China had an exam system with a three-year cycle to win a spot as one of 300 administrators. 300,000 young men would take an exam and 90% would fail. Next, 30,000 would take the exam and 90% would fail, until finally, you'd test down to 300 winners of administrative posts. The "losers" still retained high status and the winners names were engraved in stone which still stands today.

8. Traditional Chinese society was patriarchal, though women retained spheres of influence in household management and through tutoring the young.

9. The 20th Century, saw China reject many ancient traditions which it felt were dysfunctional. During this time, many Western Traditions were embraced.

10. The 21st Century is a mixture of a fast-paced, modern culture that is also looking back to traditional forms. How will a new world learn to include old world traditions without losing such modern gains as gender equality?

I was really excited to discover that today was not the end of learning about China. We'll be accessing an online course by "Primary Source" via EF. This will help us create meaningful projects which will help our students learn more about China too!

We go to China at the end of June and we'll be bringing film people from Pearson and a videographer from E.F. There will be backpacks with flip videos and the chance to interview each other on site. We'll be documenting and sharing everything we do!

After our day, we went to a special dinner at Acadiana on New York Avenue. Get a look at my wonderful desert!

Some of the ATE winners are also State Teachers of the Year. Here you have a group of us: Tom Mead, Mary Pinkerston, Maryann Woods-Murphy & Stephanie Day!

Here's a terrific shot of Tom and Mary at lunch! What a background!

Tomorrow, we will learn more all day and at night - the Gala!!!

Arrival in D.C.!

2011-02-09T20:28:00.016-04:00

I just got to Washington, D.C. for the NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education. The Doubletree hotel is really nice, but what's even nicer are the thoughtful gifts I received when I got here.

I tried to snap an artful picture of them arranged neatly on the hotel room table. To the left is a letter from Harriet Sanford, the President and CEO of the NEA Foundation. Then, you'll see a lovely NEA pen, a chocolate replica of the capital dome, edged in gold candy and a calculator (sorry, the calculator is somehow blended in with the table color! It's a nice calculator, but you can't see it)!

There is a complete packet of information for me which outlines the exciting week all the ATE winners will be having, which starts at 8:30, in the morning, at the Hishorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

We have a packed-full day which will outline the Value of International Travel, how to use 21st Century skills to document the China experience this June, a presentation about Chinese cultural history and information about an online course on China.

The Pearson Foundation will discuss our video projects and we'll finish the day with dinner, sponsored by the Pearson Foundation (Thank you!)

The folder thoughtfully contains a personal notebook and a magnificent book produced by E.F. called "Breaking down barriers." E.F. is one of our China trip sponsors.

I just had another cultural experience as my toes nearly became frostbitten as I walked with newly manicured nails down Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. I was able to get a late appointment at the Blu Nail Salon (Folks - I will need this for the Gala - I will have exposed toes!), but since the place closed at 7:00 p.m., they sent me packing with bare feet in a gift of bright green beach sandals.

What a sight I was flip flopping down the street, as it started to lightly snow.

"Don't touch anything, not for one hour!" said the owner as he gently, but firmly closed the door.

Surely he cannot be referring to a keyboard! :) I have to do that!

I just looked down to check out the manicurist's work. She assured me that short nails are all the rage, but I cannot help but think that I am sporting crimson stubs.

Such is life and I have more important matters to attend to!

The hotel is filled with ATE winners from all around the country and I can't wait to meet them. I got into an elevator conversation about my toes with a very pleasant woman and only saw her NEA Foundation folder as the door was closing!

I'm sure we'll recognize each other tomorrow, though I will be cleaned up in business casual attire!

Phew! I'm happy to have arrived, to have gotten a flight which was uneventful and am delighted to be here in my hotel room surrounded by these informative and thoughtfully selected items!

I taught all of my classes today with my suitcase in the front of the room last period. We had full instruction, but the kids could tell that I was excited and nervous about the experience.

A couple of classes asked to see my dress so I popped opened my suitcase and showed it to them, amid a chorus of "ouuuusss" and "ahhhhs." I want to involve my students as much as possible because they are the reason I am here!

"Estoy nerviosa," I told them. I am nervous, but in the way you get before a really big thing in your life.

I am so incredibly honored to be here. I am fully aware that there are thousands upon thousands of teachers across this great nation who could be here.

Life has put me in this position of representation and I never forget my colleagues out there in classrooms all around the country, working for the good of children. I want to shout out their names, one by one and celebrate each lesson, each project that emerges from the creativity of a professional who cares about kids.

I'm particularly thinking of my friends at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey. You are the ones who first selected me as the Teacher of the Year from our building. Being chosen by one's peers is the highest honor imaginable. So many of my colleagues have told me that they are happy that all of this is happening to me because I am a "real teacher." Thank you!

So here's a shout out from Washington, D.C.! I'm thinking of you!

Adora Svitak urges us to remember the lessons of childhood!

2011-02-07T23:08:00.017-04:00

Meet Adora Svitak. Adora is a writer, teacher and global activist.

Adora will be honored at the NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education Gala on February 11th.

I can't wait to hear her wisdom!

So, what's her passion?

Adora has the gift of instilling a love of learning in others. She teaches classes at schools, writes books and inspires large groups with her speeches.

The causes she holds most dear are literacy, learning, youth leadership and world hunger.

This sounds like a successful adult who is doing the "talk circuit," but Adora Svitak is 13 years old! She has been publishing since she was seven.

When she teaches, she activates creativity, a love of reading and the use of imagination.

Adora will adress over 800 guests at the NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence Gala and I'll be one of them.

What will she teach us all?

(For more information about Adora and her upcoming award, see http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/gala/)

We play, we learn!

2011-02-07T11:07:00.017-04:00

(photo, courtesy of Lisa Galley, NJEA)

NPR just did a great story on lessons we can learn from the education system in Finland.

Samuel E. Abrams, an educational scholar, observed students in Finland at recess in the freezing weather.

"The children must play," was the principal's response when Abrams wondered if it was a bit too nippy. "The children can't learn if they don't play." (NPR.org)

Let's stop and think about what happens in play for a moment.

In play, we are engaged. We may sweat when we run around or concentrate when we create different "play" worlds to roam in.

We collaborate with others - "You are the Mom and you are the Aunt. You're angry right now because I won't eat my cereal."

We act out "what if?" scenarios. We visualize our future and dare to articulate our dreams.

"Hey, everyone, I'm the king of the mountain and nobody can beat me!"

We test out being in love.

"We are married and you love me a whole lot!"

Play's lessons run deep and we miss them when we've stopped playing. We believe that the loss of play is as natural and expected as Peter Pan's passage to adulthood.

But the Finns provide their students with a balanced curricuum with "far more recess than their U.S. counterparts - 75 minutes a day." (NPR.org)

75 minutes a day!

Here, we frequently search for lots of ways to minimize recreational time for our students. We structure them so much and then wonder why we can't easily climb up Bloom's Taxonomy with them, to the creative and abstract thinking zone.

The Finns "mandate lots of arts and crafts, more learn by doing, rigoruos standards for teacher certification, higher teacher pay and attractive working conditions." (NPR.org)

Teachers have to succeed at getting Masters degrees and lots of people aren't accepted to these rigorous educational programs. People want to be teachers because their work is valued, meaningful and achieves results. Teachers are well paid, school administrators are cultivated from teacher talent and class sizes are capped.

This way students can spend more time on their labs and hands-on activities in an meaningful way.

For me, the best thing about what these tests show us is that an approach, which we seem to be drasticly veering away from, turns out to work the best. We are trying to more tightly manage schools, micromanage administrators and teachers and work out every second of a students' day!

Shouldn't we be looking at how the opposite might help people perform at a higher and deeper level? Perhaps giving students more enriched freedom (guided and filled with resources) would increase achievement.

The Finns have not embraced standardized testing because they say it takes away too much time from the work they are doing in the classroom and causes too much stress. Teachers create their own lessons, using the national curriculum as a guide.

Some people discard these findings and say that Finland's success comes from its homogeneity. How could we in the U.S.A., with our open, public education system, ever hope for similar results?

Abrams points us to Norway, whose results are similar to the USA's. Norway is also homogeneous, but Norway's educational reform involved lots of standardization, larger class sizes and resultant trouble keeping teachers in the classroom.

Sound familiar?

Maybe we need to take a breath and look around at what we have always instinctively known about children and learning. We might also want to think about whether we would want to be part of the classrooms we are envisioning for our children.

And maybe, we might all need to think more about play and its role in our students' lives.

(http://www.npr.org/2011/01/28/133301331/the-new-republic-the-u-s-could-learn-from-finland)

Organizations supporting educators

2011-02-04T14:02:00.030-04:00

I confess that a few months ago, I really didn’t understand the difference between the NEA, The NEA Foundation and the NEA Member Benefits! I didn’t know the important difference between Pearson and the Pearson Foundation or really who the Horace Mann Companies were.

So why do I care now?

Well, the Salute to Excellence in Education is jointly organized by the NEA Foundation and the NEA with support from NEA Member Benefits, the Horace Mann Companies and the Pearson Foundation.

I wanted to learn how these organizations help education and how teachers like me could access their support, information and resources. I thought that blogging it for my readers would also help at least one teacher connect to a resource or program of interest. So here goes….

You can go straight to the websites to become a quick expert!

The NEA Foundation

Site: http://www.neafoundation.org/

The NEA Foundation is not for profit, but is "definitely for the advancement of both educators and their students."

Check out the NEA Foundation site to connect with powerful initiatives that help teachers learn and innovate, gain knowledge, grants and resources to inspire excellence in the classroom. The Foundation has a blog and many opportunities to receive funding for exciting initiatives. Make sure to visit the site!

The NEA

Want a lesson plan, clarification on policy or maybe even apply for a grant? Here’s the site for you. (http://www.nea.org/home/2580.htm)

The NEA has 3.2 million members who believe that “every student in America, regardless of family income or place of residence, deserves a quality education.” Members include teachers, educational support professionals, higher education faculty, and retired educators and students members.

The NEA site contains information about how the NEA leadership represents teachers’ collective voice, how educators share ideas and thoughts in the EdVoices blog, information on classroom management, educational policy, technology and more. Go to this site every day for ideas and inspiration!

The NEA Member Benefits

Site: (http://www.neamb.com/home/ns/788.htm)

There are 3.2 million members of the NEA who have this organization to thank for finding them the best services available. Here’s a synopsis for the website:

“We strive to help all members increase their economic security through financial services, insurance programs and investment advice. We want to maximize members’ hard-earned dollars through consumer discounts and special travel and leisure offers. We also offer resources designed to help educators in the classroom—from professional development services to discounts on instructional materials.”

In short: this is a great site for you to go to look for all kinds of personal and financial information. Sort of a “one-stop-shop” for benefits. Check it out!

The Horace Mann Companies

Site: (http://www.horacemann.com/teacher-lounge)

The Horace Mann Companies offer insurance, annuities, mutual funds and college savings with special benefits for teachers. The site listed above directs you the “Teachers Lounge” where teachers can find out how to partner with Horace Mann to implement their dream projects by connecting with donors, how to apply for fellowships and more! There are even lesson plans and project ideas from the company’s “Reach every child” initiative!

The Pearson Foundation:

Site: (http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/our-business-and-society/index.html).

This site is chock full of information about exciting initiatives related to literacy, teacher quality and youth engagement. Check out the site to learn about The Pearson Prize, The Peace Jam, Pennies for Peace and You Media. The site is rich in videos and information.

The Pearson Foundation is the organization that sent their digital arts trainers to my classroom to make a video about teaching and to present my colleagues at Northern Highlands with a mobile device training experience. The Pearson Foundation is the nonprofit division of Pearson, which is an international media company “with 37,000 employees in more than 60 countries.”

There! Hope this review helps one of you access some of the wonderful information and resources out there. If you are not a teacher, maybe you might know one who could use this information to support their work and dreams.

Snow and China!

2011-02-03T00:25:00.027-04:00

(photo by Scott Meltzer, winter in Beijing)

My house is covered in snow. The trees in the backyard are hanging heavy with ice and my husband Joe worked like crazy throughout the day, literally chopping it up, so we could walk down the path in the morning.

Tomorrow, it's a delayed opening at school because there are sheets of black ice there too. Our administration is worried about us falling and even recommended that we wear sneakers or safe footwear. I thought that that was really thoughtful!

But in the middle of all of this weather, I find myself thinking about China!

As part of my 2011 ATE Award, I've been invited by the NEA Foundation, the Pearson Foundation and EF to participate in a fabulous trip to the other side of the world.

All of the Teaching Excellence winners in each state were invited and next Wednesday, we'll all be gathering in Washington D.C. to learn about China's education and economic system, explore cultural norms and to discuss logistics!

China! I'm going to China! I've got the color copy of the first page of my passport all ready!

It doesn't seem possible that things I have only seen in small textbook pictures will be right in front of my eyes.

All of a sudden, I will be in the middle of thousands of Chinese people and I will be the one who doesn't understand the language, the cultural norms or deep history!

I speak Spanish fluently, so I have this knee-jerk reaction to start speaking Spanish if I am in a different country. I did that in Germany when we visited my nephew and his family in Cologne.

"Por favor, un cafe con leche," I said to the friendly blond waiter.

I caught myself, giggled and pulled out a few handy German phrases to smooth things over and be a more culturally open American.

Confession: I don't speak any Chinese. O.K. - I know how to say "hello" but that's it.

I am going to learn so much on this trip! It's a once-in-a=lifetime opportunity!

We're going at the end of June. I know three of the awardees, because they are State Affiliate teachers as well as State Teachers of the Year - Mary Pinkerston (DE), Debbie Calvino (NY) and Tom Mead (SD). Great people who will make the experience that much more wonderful for everyone!

I can't wait to meet the other winners as well. The group will represent teachers across the country. We'll be certainly transformed by the trip and in turn, we'll transform our students. We'll be living Global Education!

In my school, I've run trips abroad and have been traveling to Spain with students for many years. I've also gone to Latin America and other sites in Europe.

This will be my first time in an Asian country.

Socrates told his followers that it is a good thing to know that you don't know.

Well, I don't know. Are you listening Socrates?

What is Teaching Excellence?

2011-01-31T23:35:00.006-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not perfect.

I'm so happy to be one of the five teachers in the nation up for the NEA Foundation Teaching Excellence Award. I'm currently a Horace Mann Teaching Excellence winner and one of us will receive the NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence at the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala, held on February 11th in Washington, D.C.

Guess what? The other four Horace Mann Teaching Excellence Winners - Karen, Teresa, Kathy and Terri - are probably not perfect either. In fact, that's what's so good about excellence, anyway.

It's a goal for real people doing the messy work of education.

Perfection for me is something stilted, reserved for a Grecian urn or Pythagorean universe.

Excellence is that shining golden ring we keep striving for on this fabulous carousel of life.

We rise up and we reach. We get the ring. It's in our hands. Oops, now, we drop it. There it is again! Still we rise and reach. Excellence is a personal process, which involves striving for goals, rethinking practice and committing to life-long learning.

Perfection belongs to an idealized past. Nobody wears it well.

Teaching excellence describes the belief that we educators share in the audacious possibilities of our students. Together, we see the "messy" striving of youth before us and we too participate in this learning. We see hope in motion and in seeking new ways for us all to shine.

So when people talk about my excellence or anyone else's, that's what they mean. My students know that I won't give up on them and so far; they haven't given up on me! We’re in this together!

Excellence is an opportunity to boldly seek a better way to understand this planet and our place in it. It's a dream that we all share.

When people talk about my "excellence," they are talking about the magic that we teachers make happen in our classrooms all across this nation.

It’s a spark that goes from you to me and me to you. I see it in my colleagues’ classrooms as I walk down the hallway to go to the mail room. I watch the sparks fly when the kids help each other with a math problem in the cafeteria. I see it on the sport’s fields when coaches create that perfect harmony needed to win a game.

Excellence: go into a school nearby and you’ll see it in action. Awards like the one I’m up for are there to remind everybody to keep looking for it, right in your own communities.

MLK Celebration! Emily Goddard Wins a Scholarship!

2011-01-29T18:57:00.006-04:00

January 17th was Martin Luther King's Birthday Celebration. It's a National Day of Service and a chance for all of us to remember where we've come from and where we need to go.

In my town, Teaneck, New Jersey, there is an MLK Day Birthday Celebration Committee which organizes a inter-religious and community event to honor Martin.

Theadora Lacey, the founder and organizer of the event, knew Martin personally. When she was a young woman, a new minister came to The Baxter Avenue Church, where Theadora's father was the President. That minister, so full of hope and fire, was Martin Luther King.

I'm happy to say that Theadora is my friend and a trusted community member. She has done so much to right racial injustice and to spread the message of hope in her classroom, during a lifetime of service.

This year, I was happy that a wonderful student from my high school - Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, NJ - was nominated as a student merit winner for her service to the community.

Emily Goddard has worked as a leader of the Multicultural Task Force and was an organizer of the MLK Day of Service at our school. What's great about Emily is that she cares deeply and she's going about searching for a better world, right in her school community.

There were 24 young people nominated as merit winners and only two chosen for a college scholarship, based on their resume of service and an essay.

In that essay, Emily said that she realizes that the extraordinary things people do in the world are done by ordinary people. Well said, Emily!

I'm pictured here with Emily, proud as a peacock. Nothing makes me happier than seeing our young people take on the work of the world with passion, energy and commitment.

Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn't there to see Emily and the other fabulous young people get their awards, but his friend Theadora's eyes were shining!

2011-01-29T14:05:00.004-04:00

In the days before the Salute to Excellence in Education, I thought that I'd highlight some of the reasons that people gather to celebrate education in such an event along with the organizations that put the event together.

The NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence Gala is held in Washington, D.C. in a building called the Building Museum. It's magnificent and imposing.

When you enter the room, you are at once struck with the awesome and uplifting reach of the columns and the ceiling. Your eye travels up, searching, perhaps, for limits. You feel happy that your eyes are free to soar in an an enclosed space.

You can find out more information about the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala on the NEA Foundation website, along with an archive of fabulous pictures from other years, which I have just about memorized :)

Last year, Dora the Explorer was in attendance!!! Well, Dora was there, along with a few other dignitaries. I won't tell you more, but will try to entice you to take a look yourself!

http://www.neafoundation.org/

The "take away" from the Gala should be the core values of the NEA Foundation itself. What I would most like to highlight below is the statement that the NEA foundation is "driven by the simple yet seemingly audacious idea that every student, no matter how rich or poor, no matter how advantaged or disadvantaged, deserves a chance to thrive."

It's important to remember that this is what teachers and their representatives want most of all - that students thrive. They want students to reach their gaze up, in the enclosed spaces of educational settings, to see just where their limits might be. Once they do, they will find that these limits are much more expansive than they ever dreamed before.

So what is the NEA Foundation? Here you go, in the organization's own words...

I AM THE NEA FOUNDATION.

I am not for profit, but I am most definitely for the advancement of both educators and their students.

I am the source of grant funding, illuminating programs, and perhaps most important, empowerment.

I am a trusted partner to and unwavering supporter of public school educators throughout the country.

I am always looking for opportunities to support innovation, inspiration and improvement in teaching.

I am driven by the simple yet seemingly audacious idea that every student, no matter how rich or poor, no matter how advantaged or disadvantaged, deserves a chance to thrive.

I am the NEA Foundation.

And I am dedicated to lifting student achievement.

NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education Gala

2011-01-28T00:42:00.017-04:00

On February 9th, I'll be on a flight heading to Washington, D.C.

I'm one of five educators who has won the Horace Mann Teaching Excellence Award! The other four Horace Mann Award winners and 26 other state Teaching Excellence winners will gather in our nation's capital to learn about our upcoming trip to China this June.

We'll be packing evening gowns along with our notebooks because the fabulous National Education Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education will happen on Friday, February 11th.

Last year, I attended the Salute to Excellence in Education as the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year and was impressed with the massive columns in the National Building Museum, the sparkling people celebrating education and the young people who brought their amazing talents to the stage to entertain us.

This year, as a national finalist for the $25,000 NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence, I'm on pins and needles!

In December, my students created a movie about me, with the expert help of the Pearson Foundation digital arts trainers. and I'm anxious to see the finished product displayed for more than 800 educators! Northern Highlands Regional High School students will be there with me because it is their film that will be shone to everyone. I'm so proud of these kids! They did such a terrific job!

I'm in emergency gown mode right now and have narrowed it down to two choices - one plum colored and the other blue. Wearing such attire is not an everyday thing so I will have to choose carefully. I'm tending towards "plum." My husband's life is easy as he will wear a tuxedo. He happens to own one because he sings in a chorus so he's good to go. I don't think he's stressing about his shoes!

But whatever I select, will be just fine.

The people attending this NEA Foundation event won't be focused on what I am wearing! They are coming together to remember and be inspired by the excellence that all educators share. I'm just a reflection of that light, the daily work of these teachers, the incremental sparks of everyday excellence they produce in their classrooms.

I am honored to catch their light!

2011-01-26T14:36:00.014-04:00

Dear Mr. President,

Did you hear the applause coming from my house?

My family is filled with teachers representing elementary school through high school. Every day, our alarms ring early and we get up to push the ice off our cars to get to schools where the kids are waiting for us.

We want innovation. We go to work with a mission - our country needs jobs and our students need to connect, engage and transform their lives.

We want success for all children and to level the playing field to create opportunities. We know that every single kid we teach has a gift. It's our pleasure to help them hone their abilities, face the tough tasks of the day and turn themselves into exemplary young adults.

You scored a goal for education last night, Mr. President!

When a point is scored in sports, it creates energy on the field or court. Spectators can see how the players suddenly seem quicker and more focused. Sparks fly.

You did that for teachers last night.

“In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living.”

We foster talent in our classrooms by engaging our students in real-world connections and activities. We knock down barriers between race and creed when we teach character education and reflective learning.

Mr. President – we teachers want to reduce barriers to the growth and investment in our young people. Because of this, we need the support of our states and the utmost respect and cooperation of the American people.

Just like you said, we can’t make the plane fly without an engine. That plane might seem lighter in the beginning, but disaster would follow with no motor.

Without educators to fuel this innovation and to build this nation, we will not be able to win the future. Your words helped remind our nation that teachers are fighting on the front lines of excellence. We fight ignorance and build hope.

We do big things in our classrooms, Mr. President, and I can tell you that in my house and all around the country I call home – you made a lot of teachers happy.

This morning, in every state in our nation, children woke up to a dream about building a new tomorrow. We the teachers of these United States, stand ready to foster a more perfect union with parents, students and the public. Come on into our classrooms and share our vision.

Together, we will win the future for our children!

USA - Land of innovation and talent!

2011-01-21T00:11:00.003-04:00

I heard on National Public Radio yesterday that the U.S.A. exceeds the world in the patents we submit for new inventions.

Our Chinese neighbors are here visiting and looking for how we develop talent and innovation! How do Americans keep thinking "out of the box?" How do we develop the sort of critical thinking, in a democracy, that creates a healthy distrust for monolithic forms of thought?

It's good stuff and it leads people to create inventions which grow commerce and wealth. It's our national product - what we are known for world wide. We aren't known for lock-step thinking or stepping in line - we are appreciated for our fierce independence, our sincere optimism and can-do attitude.

We don't have a melting pot or a salad, we have a garden! It is young and alive with rebellious sprouts. We believe in the fact that with the right soil, air and water, we can keep growing a nation. What we have is wonderful raw material and the tendency to keep growing and nurturing the democratic roots that sustain us.

Even our fractious debate between our political parties is dynamic. We keep swinging that pendulum from right to left and back again. All part of growing.

We Americans love our individualism and our right to keep it, but we want to be judged by the same measures that test people who are vastly different in their core values and stategies.

In public schools, we educate all of our children and we take their test scores and share them with the world. Then, we're compared with other nations who carefully sift out their bad test takers early in life and route them to technical or vocational work.

It's important to own who we are and stand up proud and shout it. Far from being the "ugly American" who arrogantly struts into the world and declares what the world should do, I say that we accept who we are and get more comfortable in our own skin.

Of course, we have hard work to do. The achievement gap must be eliminated. We need to prepare our students for the century we live in, not the one we left behind. We need to reinvent our schools to adapt to a new age with new needs.

But this is happy work. It's work that teachers, students and parents can roll up our sleeves to do. It's our educational barn raising. We put up our beams and we lift them up into a structure which shelters our children, fosters their creativity and innovation and invites the community in to share.

It's quintessentially American work and the way we do it can and should be informed by the educational models we see in the world, but this effort must uniquely suit our people and our needs. No apologies required.

Let's be proud of what we've made in our fine public schools across this nation. Like Lady Liberty says, "give me your tired, weary, yearning to breath free."

Our schools fling open their doors to all who enter here. They are free, public places which form a rock of scholarship and a window of opportunity for all who enter. For generations, they have held the dreams of immigrants and have given the keys to the city to all who open the books treasured herein.

We create a unique recipe which combines dreams for a new tomorrow, uncertainty, a spirit of independence and a belief in the power of hard work. This is American education. It produces a world-wide treasure and I am proud to be a part of it.

Wagzie at the Spirit Animal Sanctuary

2011-01-11T07:08:00.009-04:00

When my daughter, Melynda, was in college, she worked at an animal shelter for a time. When she was there, she fell madly in love with a dog whom we later called Wagzie.

Now, my husband Joe and I didn't want a dog. Not one bit. We had already shared our lives with a lovely Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named "Vincent" who had passed away, but when Melynda met Wagzie, she told her brother Joe about this wonderful, intelligent dog she had fallen in love with and thus the "Adopt Wagzie" campaign began.

Wagzie, you see, was not being adopted by anyone. She was a mix of Rot and German Shepherd and the people who came to the Bergen County Shelter favored little dogs. Even though the shelter was a "no kill" environment, Wagzie had been there for over six months, living in a small caged space with a concrete floor and no toys, pillows or regular walks. The only fun these dogs would have was dependent on the generosity of the shelter volunteers.

The shelter was meant to be a temporary solution designed to move a dog towards adoption, but with a dog like Wagzie, it wasn't so easy. Besides being big, she had separation anxiety, a love for foraging in gooey garbage cans and an urge to hop over tall fences to meet neighborhood pets.

These feisty qualities, along with her size and rather large teeth, made her difficult, if not impossible to place. She had already been adopted and returned to the shelter because she would get into trouble with the blinds and curtains when her owners would go off to work.

Wagzie's days were numbered at the shelter. It was a "quality of life issue," as they called it and if someone didn't come to the rescue soon, the dog would be put down!

My daughter's love and passion to save Wagzie quickly found an ally in her brother Joe who sat with her to create financial spread sheets and other presentational tools to convince us to bring her home.

The last straw came one morning when my husband Joe and I found a "Dog Contract" hanging from the ceiling signed by our children with spaces for us to add our signatures. This contract listed the responsibilities associated with dog ownership and laid out how they would be handled.

We folded.

That was seven years ago and Wagzie lived with us happily for all of these years, after an initial period of adjustment.

Melynda grew up, married and had a baby. When my granddaughter started toddling, Wagzie suddenly felt threatened and started to get nervous and walk away. Next she began growling and finally, one sad day, she had to be held back because she was going for the baby's face.

We looked into this behavior and found out, from my cousin Barbara Long, who is a dog trainer, that this can happen and the solution requires training - a whole family approach - along with time. Even with this human-canine therapy committment, there is no guarantee of success.

We became terrified about the possibilities of harm and sought other options. Even if it were possible to bring Wagzie to a shelter and have her placed with a different family, this new behavior made her a risk to them. We couldn't live with that, but we didn't want to destroy an animal who had become part of our family.

What we needed was a farm. We dreamed of a place where Wagzie could run free with other animals, under the care and supervision of kind caretakers. But where could we find such a place?

I began searching for things like "dog retirement" on Google and finally - thankfully - I found the Spirit Animal Sanctuary (www.spiritanimal.org) in New York State, where we agreed to leave Wagzie.

At Spirit Animal (www.spiritanimal.org) , Alan Papzycki, a third generation dog trainer, is the leader of the pack for over seventy dogs who have found a home with him. They live happily in a true sanctuary with interlocking fields, human contact, canine companionship and love.

Each dog is a story. Some have come to him from loving homes with stories similar to Wagzie and others have found refuge from terrible abuse or abandonment. They all live together at Sprit Animal as one, happy, canine family.

What you see here is a video of Wagzie as she frolics with another dog named Bella, in the snow. We are so happy that she has found her home at Spirit Animal and that Alan has taken on the mission of letting these dogs live free, as they were meant to be.

People angry at public workers

2011-01-02T16:32:00.019-04:00

Marie Cornfield (photo from NY Times, January 2, 2011)

Today's New York Times talks about the rising resentment about the salaries and benefits of public workers. A teacher, Marie Cornfield, in Flemington, confronted Gov. Christie at a Town Hall meeting. The Times quotes her:

“People I don’t even know are calling me horrible names,” said Ms. Corfield, an art teacher who had pleaded the case of struggling teachers. “The mantra is that the problem is the unions, the unions, the unions.”

I think the time has come for some sorting out.

Our economy is bad and people are hurting - a lot. Folks are losing their homes and jobs, limiting their experiences and curtailing their dreams.

In such economic times, those with steady, public jobs are held up to public inspection. What seemed like a modest salary in better times, all of a sudden looks pretty good.

When I was young and thinking about teaching, some people thought I should choose law or business because they saw me as a talented student. I was called to public service, however, and I haven't regretted it ever since. In 32 years of teaching, I have learned so much from my talented colleagues in all disciplines and like to think that I've touched quite a few of my students' lives.

But that's not what this is about - it's about money.

The Times says that even with benefits calculated in, school teachers make the same or slightly less than private sector employees with similar educational levels.

The difference is that the public workers have more secure jobs.

So all of a sudden, there is a focus on the worst educators and why, in this terrible time of economic difficulty, the lowest performing members of my profession have a job when the public feels they shouldn't. To respond, the New Jersey Education Association has proposed changes to the process of tenure to ensure that failing educators can be more easily separated from a district. Tenure is not a "job for life," but the right to due process. Well, it just got easier to remove an educator from his/her position when the job isn't being done properly. This is in everyone's best interest.

But, in the end, I believe that it's not about tenure or other educational or public service issues, it's about money.

During hard times, people get angry and right now, they are angry at teachers, cops and firefighters.

But think again.

Does a person who has somehow survived a career of running into burning houses deserve a secure old age?
Does the police officer who has stood between you and crime in a torrent of bullets deserve the support of the public sector?
Have teachers, who have spent a career nurturing the minds of our community's children, earned a modest pension?

I would say they have. These are public workers whose employee is the state and the towns where they work. They have been doing a good job serving the public and they went into these jobs with the expectations that the rules wouldn't dramatically change once they reached mid career.

True, the financial picture is one that nobody had predicted and new decisions have to be made, with all stake holders sitting together.

Do we value the continuity of our children's' education?
Do we cherish our safety, security from crime, fire or ignorance enough to step up and honor our agreements?
Do we recognize that the anger the public is feeling is due to the feelings of loss and fear in this economic climate and not due to a true dissatisfaction with the service public workers have and will provide?

In the attempt to cut budgets, public workers are being vilified, not because they have failed to serve nobly, but because revenue is sought.

I find it curious that the public is angry at modest wage earners instead of the fabulously wealthy among us. I do not question anyone's right to hard-earned money, but there are notable cases of wealth that is ill gained.

Perhaps, we might look at why we are having these economic difficulties and what we might do in the future to prevent them. Easy money is not what public servants get. Quick bucks and shaky investments that have gone bad have brought us to this place.

Now, we are all trying to dig ourselves out. We must remember that we are all citizens trying to run communities and our public workers keep us safe and smart. They have earned our support, respect and collaboration.

The Ed Show Tonight! MSNBC

2010-12-21T00:11:00.015-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I got an email near the end of the day from Washington D.C. to see if I wanted to be on the Ed Show. Ed Schultz is horrified at the way that our New Jersey Governor is attacking public employees and I am too.

I'm a full-time teacher. Last year I won the New Jersey Teacher of the Year title and now I am in the running for the National Education Foundation Teaching Excellence Award. I'm very excited about all of the acclaim and honor that I have received. There are many good things about being recognized, but one of the best is having a bigger microphone to share the excellence of my colleagues.

Tonight, the taxi was waiting for me at 4:15 in front of my house when I pulled up from school so I ran in to get dressed in a flash. We hit the traffic on the G.W. Bridge and then got into midtown without a whole lot of fuss.

Before speaking on the Ed Show, I thought a lot about the way our Governor said that people shouldn't have pensions and about how he wanted to expose the unions and tell the truth.

I feel that what Governor Christie is doing is creating a giant myth about what is happening in our classrooms and is somehow engaged in an anti government worker public relations campaign. How is that possible for the leader of my state?

In order to attract the caliber of professional that we want to be teaching our children, we need to offer a reasonable package to them. I just read an article that the number of people in California who are seeking to get certified as teachers is down 40%!

We are at a time when we need to recruit and retain these talented young people, not attack their salaries, dishonor their work and call their professional leaders "bosses!"

Tonight, I felt so upset with Governor Christie and frankly baffled about why he would launch such an attack on his own public employees!

Tonight on the show, I felt that I was able to say much of what I wanted to say, yet I could have gone on.

Maybe Ed will invite me back some time.

Governor Christie needs to understand that teachers and public workers are an important part of the excellence of our state. If not, he seriously threatens to shortchange the future of our children and that would be inexcusable!

Thumbs up to film making!

2010-12-08T11:38:00.034-04:00

Here I am with my wonderful digital arts trainers - Ben and Caitlyn - from the Pearson Foundation.

I snapped this picture as they were rolling out the laptops and cameras that the students used to make movies all week. We bid our farewells and I thanked them and the NEA Foundation for making this all happen for me and my students.

We made the films in my two senior classes - about 50 students combined. The students made more than 20 different 2 minute and 30 second movies about our Spanish class and me. I was the topic, but the tools and instruction will be useful to them in other contexts of their lives.

On Monday, we debriefed to see how they had enjoyed the experience. Everyone had positive things to say which included things like...

I liked having the creative freedom to make something I am thinking!
I liked having the chance to say what I feel about you! (awwww!)
It was fun to switch things up and have a totally different kind of learning!
This was a great group experience!
I can't wait to see the movies - when can we see them?

Ben and Caitlyn uploaded the student films and took them back to use for the final movie. One of my students - Fred - is really into film making so he spent a lot of extra time putting together a polished film. Other students also made use of extra periods to get editing done and to brainstorm ideas. It was a terrific work environment.

I loved seeing how the students connected with the project, the work and with each other. I am inspired to keep doing video projects like this in class - now, where can I get about 10 flip videos??? Hmmm.......I'll have to work on that!

The Ed Show

2010-12-08T00:43:00.010-04:00

I got a call in study hall yesterday from MSNBC to see if I would want to be on the Ed Show last night. The situation was that our Governor Christie treated a teacher poorly at a Republican Town Hall meeting last Friday when the fellow was only asking a question! Ed Schultz was interested in my response.

I had seen the film of the teacher and read some articles about the Town Hall meeting and was horrified to see how the Governor ordered this elementary school teacher off the stage and asked a state trooper to accompany him! Incredible!

I really don't understand why this happened! The teacher was asking about the municiple cuts that are affecting our classrooms, our staffing and what we can provide for our children and the Governor just wouldn't hear it!

Why not? I see that he was blocking dialog and was unwilling to respond to the questions he was asked.

I wouldn't allow such behavior in my classroom!!!

Under the lights, when you are asked questions on live television, you respond the best you can, but I have found that some really great answers come up just after you are off the air!

Here's the clip of what I said - just copy and paste it into your brouser to view!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40541497#40541497

Besides that, I would have added that the Governor must come to the table to engage in dialog with his state's teachers. The NJEA is working hard to be a proactive partner for educational reform and we need to all put our heads together to come up with the best solutions for the children.

We cannot afford this name calling and poor treatment. It is intolerable and inappropriate. We cannot permit our elected officials to belittle, demean and disregard teachers! Those days must be over and done. They should never have happened, but since they have, it's time to see this as a bad time which we must dig ourselves out of to start anew.

We must look forward to a new day of collaboration in which we come to terms with the issues that we face in the 21st Century, in our classrooms and in our profession. This is what is right. This is what we need to be doing.

No more blocking dialog. No more grand standing. No more, Governor Christie - please!

Cell phones in class, anyone?

2010-12-04T17:36:00.030-04:00

On Wednesday, December 1st, Northern Highlands Regional High School was the recipient of a wonderful Professional Development program. Angie and Sandra, from the Pearson Foundation, flew out to New Jersey to introduce our staff to the use of mobile devices as educational tools. The training was part of the NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence!

We were all very excited to get this training. Thirty staffers volunteered to attend the after-school session, including our school's Superintendent, Mr. John Keenan and our Principal, Mr. Joe Occhino. I was also thrilled to have our Technology Director, Mike Rightmeyer, present and actively engaged in our shared discovery.

Staff from every department participated in our exploration of the use of 21st Century tools. Julie Goldberg, our school librarian and PD coordinator even canceled a previously scheduled meeting to attend and to allow others to get involved.

This is the way great communities work - we all come together to learn and to support each other. I was particularly impressed with such participation because it was the Wednesday after Thanksgiving and everyone has so much on their personal and professional plates!

In our workshop, we looked at the best and worst-case scenarios of mobile phone use. Mobile phones have more power than a room could house, when computers first came out years ago, and our students love using them.

How do we direct this use?
How can we empower our students to engage in meaningful work with their own electronic devices?
What do you do if some students do not possess this equipment?
How do teachers balance individualized electronic engagement with teacher directed activity?

We talked about all of this and watched some serious and humorous video clips to inform us and to prompt discussion.

Then, we went right to texting, polling and connecting with the use of these mini computers!

Most folks came away thinking that they just might give this a try at some point in the future. We grew and enjoyed the shared learning!

I was so happy that the NEA Teaching Excellence Award included this staff development from the Pearson Foundation! It's the first prize that I have ever received which included a gift for my colleagues.

The student newspaper was really interested in what we were learning and I got an inquiry from a student reporter.

In the end, this staff development encouraged teachers, students and administrators to put their heads together around how we might consider inviting these powerful new technologies into our classrooms. That's a fantastic outcome!

Day 4 - we are editing!

2010-12-02T10:34:00.021-04:00

Today's job is to take disparate visual records and make them all into a story.It's fascinating to see what the kids want to film!

The students receive some direct instruction about how to blend the different layers of a film (music, visuals, speed). It's amazing to see how we can create a perspective by choosing this image or film clip rather than that. Good thing I like the choices the students are making!

Tomorrow - the film must be completed. What an awesome, community building experience this has been. Only one day left!

Day 3 - the movies come together

2010-12-01T12:43:00.039-04:00

Here are Ben and Caitlyn teaching my students the use of camera phones.

It's Day Three and the students are in constant motion. They are taking "B" footage of the building and all around. I learned that this means "background" footage. Then, there are these action shots. Maestra throws the ball. Maestra discusses healthy foods in Spanish. Maestra is flying across the room with a red cape to help a student with the imperfect and the preterit. "Super Maestra!", as they called me, is at it again! It's hysterical to see what kids of ideas the kids come up with.

Today, they were still filming, but they ended the session learning the basics of video editing. Tomorrow and Friday, we wrap it all up.

In the end, there will be many movies that are 2 minutes and 30 seconds long and then there will be one which will be shown at the NEA Foundation's Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Gala in February.

I would love to have all of the movies, to treasure each shot and angle. How cool is it to have students make a movie about what THEY think is important about you and the class?

Maybe we should all have such an opportunity. It's Reflection with a capital "R" because we get to see how what we do every single day reflects back on us from a student perspective. Maybe I will make up a project that is similar and do it every year.

I would ask the kids questions like:

"What do I do that you like?"
"What learning engages you?"
"What types of things that we do are fun?"
"What would you rather I skip?"
"What do you remember from a month ago?"
"What do you think you will always remember?"

Those are MY questions, but I'm not the one who gets to fashion the questions for this student-driven video. I won't even know what the finished product looks like until it's all done - it's in their hands.

Here are a few photographic highlights from Day 3. Enjoy!

Here, the kids are filming students as they talk about what it's like to be my student!

"O.K., we have these story boards, footage and notes. How can we bring this together to make a film?"

"Let's take a breather for a moment and smile."

This group is happy about their work!

Lights! Cameras! Action!!! Films are being created in room 115!

2010-11-30T16:47:00.026-04:00

Today, Ben and Caitlin are helping my students really start making our Pearson/NEA Foundation videos! Yesterday, we started with a few ideas, but today was very exciting!

First, all the students had to brainstorm. What IS it about my teacher that I like and that makes our class special? I was blushing at my desk and added that the movie could be all about how learning language and culture is so special!!!

We decided that it would be great to make a funny movie with a point. Sure, I'm a nice lady, but what is it about learning language and culture that makes us sing with joy???

Every student has access to video cameras which are palm-sized and numbered. This way, we can see what movies were made by whom. One of my students - Fred - has a camera of his own so he can upload the student footage to a hard drive and create from there.

Every pair or triad is making a movie and shooting footage and then there will be one coordinated movie which combines it all into an artistic whole. I could feel the air fill with excitement as students engaged in this process. I think that what they liked best was ordering me around!

"Hey, Maestra - walk there! No - this is the background, a little to the right!"

It's hysterical! They are up out of their seats and walking around, finding things to shoot and scenes to make.

Tomorrow, we have two senior classes and a free period which will help us get a lot done. The kids are in charge! I know that they can do it with the help of the Pearson team!

NEA Foundation’s Awards for Teaching Excellence - Making movies!

2010-11-29T22:19:00.041-04:00

Ben and Caitlyn, from the Pearson Foundation, came to my classroom today! They are a teaching film crew sent as part of my NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. Pearson and the NEA Foundation partner on this part of the award.

My students will learn digital arts so they can learn an important tool while making a movie about me. We have four days to make this happen!

This wonderful award is sponsored by the NEA Foundation with support from the Horace Mann Companies, NEA Member Benefits, the NEA, and the Pearson Foundation.

The award program is called “The NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence" which is what all state winners receive. The next level up are “The Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence” which I received along with four other teachers in the country! In February, we'll all find out who has received “The NEA Member Benefits Award for Teaching Excellence”. This is the national award which will be given to only one of the Horace Mann recipients.

This is the reason that my students are getting digital arts training and my colleagues will have professional development later in the week.

I have every confidence in my students. I've left it in the hands of my trusty seniors who have taken on this challenge with great gusto. Today, period 2 walked into class after a four-day weekend and looked a bit worse for the wear. Hoodies were up and a few looked bleary eyed!! Oh, no!

Luckily, they picked up steam as the project got underway. Ben and Caitlyn explained how the job was to be done and the students got interested and excited about the digital learning. I'm so happy that an award I've won will help my students learn.

I have a cold today so I wasn't in my best stride. Still - it was thrilling to have these guys visit and take over the classroom. What an interesting and privileged experience!

The first thing they did was have the kids brainstorm exactly what sort of movie they would like to make about me. I admit that I felt a bit shy as Ben and Caitlyn told the students what an honor I had achieved. My only hope is that my students - who so well know me as a real-life person they see every day, will see that achievement is in their hands. Maybe they will get inspired to reach for some dream that they wouldn't have without having lived this ride with me.

The other thing that the Pearson folks said was that they want the movie to be made up of largely student faces. In years past, there have been many administrators and staff talking about the teacher, but this year - they want it to be youth voices that speak loudest and clearest. I am interested in seeing how we pull this together in a few days. I am planning on making a movie of the movie with my flip video. This would give me a reflective experience which could document what we are doing! Maybe it will help other teachers who are creating a video project in their classrooms. I hope so!

Tomorrow is day two! I'll keep posting about this on the blog as we go.

ACTFL - a gathering of language professionals!

2010-11-20T17:18:00.018-04:00

I am in Boston at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Conference! There are 7,500 people here learning about how to teach languages better. They are meeting, talking, presenting! All though the hallways of the Sheraton and the Hynes Convention Center, you hear the sounds of many languages. People come here from all over the world and create connections. The place is hopping!

I came here and was given the ACTFL Northeast Regional Conference Teacher of the Year Award. Clarissa Adams Fletcher is the ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year as well as the Southern Conference on Language Teaching, Teacher of the Year! (Clarissa is in the middle of the above picture). Martha Pero is the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language, Teacher of the Year. Amy Velasquez represents the Pacific Northwest Council for Languages and Stephen Van Orden is the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching TOY.

We TOYS got to know each other really well over the past few days. To apply for the award, each of us, had to create a 50 page portfolio, replete with recommendations from colleagues, students and supervisors, samples of student work as well as a 30 minute film clip of our teaching.

Once we got to Boston, we had to individually meet with a panel who asked us questions about language and culture. The hardest bit was when we had to give a "mock press conference" to talk about issues of importance in language. We couldn't have notes at all and had to just launch into it.

I prepared by writing out my thoughts the day before and then, just before going to the interview, finding the seven words that would help me remember my sequence of ideas. I then looked for silly pictures to connect with those words to further assist my mind in retrieving information and thought. It worked! I am a visual learner and the pictures brought the ideas right into my head.

Yesterday morning, all of us were gathered on the stage in front of an audience of 3,500 people! The atmosphere was electric as each one of us walked across the stage, our pictures flashing on two giant screens. We didn't know who was going to win so each of us had thought about what we would say to the audience if chosen.

Our ACTFL staffers said that it would be a good idea to write a few words down, but where to put these words? I was wearing a fancy suit with no pockets at all. My solution was to stuff a piece of paper with my speech up my left sleeve and to hold my eyeglasses in my right hand, sort of stuffed up my right sleeve.

My great fear was that it would all drop out of my hands and sleeve onto the stage - crack, step, slip! In the end, it worked out and it turns out that I didn't need to say anything anyway! Clarissa kept her words to the audience simple, but sincere so she didn't have any Magna Carta in danger of slipping out of her clothing. Good for her and a lesson learned for me!

If I am in such a situation again, I will say something nice with no paper, look at the people, smile, pause and never try to stuff papers or glasses up any sleeves! Eeee gads!!

You learn something every day, even little things that make you laugh at yourself in moments of apparent glory!

2010-11-12T16:10:00.014-04:00

It’s a Friday and I’m done my work, but am just sitting here for a bit. Grades are out and another chapter begins. I hear the kids cheering on the field outside and my colleagues clicking down the hallway to go home. After a while, you know which clicks belong to which person. People all have a particular beat.

The end of a marking period often seems exhausting for everyone - it can like an interruption of our regularly scheduled program, rather than something that joyfully demonstrates progress. When it goes well, it’s an opportunity for meaningful feedback. It should help a student find his direction, determine her strengths and weaknesses, plan for future growth.

Well, for some students it does, but others are saddened by that missing half a point. I want to tell them that this half a point will not define them.

They will be defined by whom they love and who loves them back, by finding their favorite foods and work in the world. They will be defined by thousands of actions seen and unseen. Some of what they do will make them feel proud of themselves and some things will later enter the realm of the regrettable.

Things like…

the white lie to a parent about something trivial, that - when remembered, burns their lips,
the party they should have left earlier,
the friend who betrayed them,
the friend they betrayed,
the child they didn't have time for,
the batch of cookies they ate by themselves,
the invisible kid they didn't befriend,
the teasing they watched, silently,
the words they wished they had the courage to say,
the words they wished they had only thought,
the lesson they ignored and now need,
the story from a grandparent they brushed off and now crave,
the story they were afraid to write…

So many things that will define them and none of them include the half point. The half point is a snapshot and there will be so many more such markers which will become part of the flow of their well-lived lives.

They will look back and savor…

the taste of ice cream with friends,
the win on the soccer field,
the way the bat felt in their hands,
the first time a girl or boy liked them in that way,
the Eagle Scout award,
the first time they took an unpopular stand they believed in,
the time they wanted to cheat, but didn't,
Thanksgiving Dinner, with all of their relatives,
loading their favorite songs onto an ipod and sitting back and listening,
leading a school activity that people came to,
realizing that their parents were once kids too,
making mud pies with their little sister,
the taste of pizza at lunch, after starving all morning,
the feel of the steering wheel when they got their license,
a first kiss
becoming student of the week,
running down the street with soaking wet hair, in a summer rain,
the smell of apple muffins,
earning their first dollar,
helping someone learn to read,
ladling out soup in the shelter,
sleeping on fresh sheets under a soft comforter..

I look outside and see that the sun is still shining on a triad of orange, crimson and yellow mums. Time to go.

Moments of grace

2010-11-09T22:50:00.019-04:00

Time doesn't move at an even pace. Sometimes it seems to halt a bit, allowing us to watch what's happening more closely.

In one of my Spanish classes, students are reading a story called, "El vendedor de globos." They need to work together to create a picture sequence of the story's main events.

Our rule in class is "no English" so it's fun to see how the kids negotiate meaning to get the job done.

I typically bounce from group to group to offer encouragement and information, but today, I see that they are fine on their own for a while so I sit down and watch them interact.

Everyone is speaking in Spanish: The comment about the state soccer game after school, the question about information from page four, paragraph two, the request for a pencil - all in Spanish.

"Globos, muchos globos de muchos colores!" "Lots of colorful balloons," says one girl, grabbing a bunch of markers. "I'll do it!"

They are busy. The girl in the Highlands t-shirt is checking meaning and the boy wearing shorts in November is at the dictionary. "Good," I think, "use the tools we have in the room."

They forget I am here when they get involved in the task.

"Did the man die in the end?" says a lanky kid with a mop of blond curls to his partner. "I think he dies because the white balloon floats up. It's like his spirit floating up." The other kid shrugs and nods while sketching what he is saying. He is translating the Spanish words into pictures.

Good stuff.

But that's not the best part. What I like about today is watching my students interact. They don't fully know how wonderful they are. They are living in this classroom, on the sports field or stage. They write poems or make movies, participate in clubs, dance, work a part time job. They go home to a nice dinner in the evening. Their lives are busy, but they have big dreams. Everything is possible and the future is a vast expanse.

And I have a ringside seat.

I watch a new language bloom in their lives. I get the first surprised look when they understand something in Spanish that they once thought was impossible. I see them become super heroes of culture, masters of communication, intrepid ambassadors who understand how connecting communities is our most important modern work.

Next to watching your own child take its first steps, there isn't a more privileged job to have.

It takes a lot of trust in both directions. I know that they will learn. What they don't get today, will come tomorrow as long as we keep giving them tools, enrichment and strategies. It will definitely happen.

They trust me to know how to lead them to knowledge, culture and new words to speak their feelings and thoughts in Spanish.

The class leaves and I stay a while after school, to read journals. Grades are due in a couple of days so we are down to the wire.

I read about six journals when I get to Carla's: "I like learning so peacefully and being happy in this class."

Sounds like a good place for me to end my day. I close the black and white composition notebook and run my fingers over the marble design before I put it in the bin.

I shut the door to my classroom and go to my car, parked at the far end of the lot. It's already dark outside and the parking lot lights are on. I hear the leaves rustle under my feet.

Time starts to speed up as I think about sizzling some salmon and tossing a salad at home for my family. Switching gears.

Words at the monument to enslaved Africans

2010-10-15T00:23:00.010-03:00

I stand here before you today with great humility.

I am grateful to be invited to give voice to my thoughts and to honor the memory of the enslaved Africans whose lives touched our state and whose unspoken stories sing in the air around us and invite us to remember.

Gathering here makes this monument to enslaved Africans hallowed ground.

We join to remember these African American men and women, who toiled in New Jersey and Bergen County.

We cannot see their faces. We cannot hear their voices and the sounds of their children. We don’t know the names of their ancestors’ villages or what words from diverse languages and traditions were lost during their cruel passage.

How many tears were shed when they didn’t believe that they could go forward? How much pain did they feel in the putrid mess of a ship where human beings moaned and struggled until their cries quieted down, useless in an impossible situation?

We know that they came to this area in chains. We know that men, women and children were sold like livestock, their yearnings, dismissed, their individual freedom, scorned.

Physical shackles tried to kill their spirit. The stripping of their names and traditions tried to kill their culture. The separation of mother and father from children, spouses from their beloved – forever - created a legacy of hatred and oppression whose cries we still hear to this day.

If we are very quiet, perhaps we can hear them now. We can imagine the buzz of work; of vegetables purchased and hauled home, the fields tended, the animals brushed, the smell of fresh laundry and sheets flapping in the sweet afternoon sun.

We can seek to know the fire of youth and the quieting of that fire by those who had to survive in order to cling to the only possibilities offered – a recognition for jobs done in the kind of obedience that enforced labor and slavery created - bonds between masters and owners in an enforced relationship.

We remember the intimacy thrust upon these Africans who nursed white babies, bore children and kept quiet when those very children and families were flesh and blood of their slave masters.

They kept quiet when these powerful men would use and dehumanize them into submission. They were forced to provide the semblance of loving comfort when they had no options to flee, to self determine or to reject the unwelcome advances of power.

And what about the African American men, who loved these women? What about the pain and helplessness they felt when they could do nothing to protect their wives and sisters?

As I stand here, I think of these men and women. I look back in horror at what those who shared my skin color have done to dehumanize and control my brothers and sisters. I think about the blindness that can allow us to believe that our brothers and sisters of other races, religions and ways are our enemies.

Remembering them is not enough. We must dig deep.

What shackles bind us? What is the legacy of these dark years? What wounds still ache and how can love help us to create a world free of such abuse and blindness? What can we do to create a future where truly, we will judge each other “not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character,” as Martin once dreamed?

As a teacher, I see the lines of demarcation all around me, but especially in school cafeterias. Brown children group together, football players, theater kids, Asian students and cheer leaders all find their “comfort zone,” which is frequently color coded.

A decade ago, Theadora Lacey and Rori Kantor, leaders in the town of Teaneck, NJ, looked around too and saw that though we had civil rights and integrated schools, we did not have the habit of social connection the way that the law said we could.

They created the idea for “Teens Talk About Racism” and spent a year meeting with houses of worship and youth to organize an event where students could create a safe zone to discuss stereotyping and to find ways that we could knock down the walls that still divide us in every organization and school today.

The first year, about 15 students gathered at the Central Unitarian Church in Paramus, to dialog and share their ideas and to find strategies to create a better world.

The next year, about April, Rory reached out to me at a quick lunch meeting at a diner in the middle of my busy school day. She asked me if I had any ideas to mobilize the youth.

I said two key things, “have the conference during the day” and “let’s partner with a university to create a conference with the kind of dignity that an adult conference might have.”

Two months later, we welcomed over 100 students to Fairleigh Dickinson University and since then, we’ve hosted almost 200 students per year, in the month of May, to lead and facilitate discussions designed to bust stereotypes and empower social action.

At “Teens talk” we discuss interracial dating, racial profiling, differentiated treatment based on race in school settings, the lack of students of color in AP classes, mentoring, connecting students in a multitude of schools via social networking tools, immigration reform.

The best part is that the conversation is totally youth led. The teachers leave the ten rooms where discussion is happening to youth facilitators who organize icebreakers, theater and art activities and to talk around issues that matter.

Each year, they change the world in significant ways by creating a safe space to talk about the stereotypes we bring to the table and why these stereotypes have no place in our shared world.

We bring the discussion to the heart of matters because if we don’t confront the beliefs we carry in our hearts and minds as a legacy of an enslaved past, we are doomed to allow them to format our minds, contaminate our actions and create instant responses to situations that are racist, limited and sad.

At the end of the conference, the students sing “Lean on me” and they really mean it. They stand up and hug each other – white and brown children locked in embrace, ready to connect to create a better world for themselves and their families to come.

And they don’t do this to “be good.” They do this because the “ah ha” moment they’ve shared at “Teens Talk” is what we all need to share as adults - we need each other.

Without the stories and perspectives of my African American brothers and sisters, I am less. The world is less clear, less warm, less connected.

Without my friendship, my African American friends would not understand the unique sort of blindness that living in racial privilege creates. They would not hear my stories, my dreams and hopes for a shared tomorrow.

We fumble together through this conversation because we must rebuild the future by re-scripting a story of racial togetherness and understanding.

We can laugh about our short sightedness and our limitations. We can bring our ignorance out to the public eye, in a safe zone we designate for such hard talk, only when we recognize that our limitations have been caused by the lack of experience that enforced and inherited segregation has caused.

We see the poison and then, together, we destroy it with the antidote that only love can give us.

We must accept that nobody is “color blind” and that what we believe about race must be dismantled in a conscious and often painful journey of self-awareness that will take us a lifetime.

And so, in closing, I invite us all on such a journey. In honor of these enslaved Africans, I rededicate myself to a path towards a greater openness in thinking. I commit myself to continue to help create the kinds of dialogs that are so sorely needed and apparently so difficult for us to begin.

Barack Obama had a good idea when he invited Professor Henry Louis Gates
and Sgt. James Crowley, the Massachusetts police officer who mistook him for an intruder, to the white house for a beer. His great insight was to join together two apparent opponents, both mad as a hornet, to just talk and share their perspectives and stories and to say:

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know who you were. Can we begin once again?”

Maryann Woods-Murphy
Hackensack, New Jersey
October 9th, 2010

Click the words below "Teaching, learning, living" for a slide show of my year!

2010-10-06T01:06:00.004-03:00

Teaching, learning, living

September musings...

2010-09-12T21:09:00.007-03:00

Everyone is talking about teachers and accountability. A woman asked me at church today, "why don't teachers want to be held accountable?" and that started a whole conversation about how I believe we are very much held accountable and why.

It's good that we are talking about assessments and ways to help students learn in the school day. The achievement gap is something real, with success in school often tied to economic level and parental ability to support their child's learning.

Despite all economic differences between students, though, teachers can and do make a world of difference to students. Effective teachers matter because we open doors in the mind.

My students come charging into my class on the first day. It is as hot as a sauna in my room and I try to keep cool while jumping around with our warm-up activities. I look around - every kid is somebody's baby and some of them have had siblings in my class.

"You had Andrew in your class, Maestra," said a perky girl with a very familiar face. "Yeah, and you had my cousin Joe!" said another.

On parents' night, I see their moms and dads take their childrens' seats. They have expectant faces with bright eyes.

I wear the same suit to meet the parents that I wore to meet the president even though I am roasting in long sleeves and my face is bright crimson by the end of the night.

"Aren't you awfully hot?" says a worried mother.
"Hey, if I wore this to the White House, I should wear it for you!" I answer.

Everyone laughs.

Even though the news often seems to paint teachers as public enemy number one, the atmosphere in room 115 and all over the school is jubilant.

And just like us, all the other neighborhood schools have shining floors and lesson plans ready to launch.

September is like this.

The secret is that teachers look forward to the start of the school year. We like to meet our new students to try out the latest and greatest strategies. We want to get better at what we do and we know that our students' success, is the greatest accountability ever.

I got an email the first week of school.

"Hey, Maestra," it read, "College is going really well. I wanted you to know that I placed into the highest level of Spanish and I got an "A."

It sometimes takes a few years to know whether what you are teaching has sunk in and sometimes it takes the student himself a while to realize it.

Learning is gradual and at some point, the light goes on.

As a teacher, sometimes you get to see it, up front and personal, and sometimes you are lucky enough to hear about it years later.

Now that's accountability!

The first day of school

2010-08-31T16:33:00.010-03:00

I'm in room 115 and am attempting to make this room ready for my students.Today is the last day before they come in.

Why does it always seem, at this time of year, like I've never taught? Will it be o.k.?

My husband, Joe, says, "It's like getting on a bike. You'll know what to do. Once you see the kids, it'll be fine."

And I know he's dead right. It happens every year and it's a great thing about this profession. We get to see those fresh young faces coming into our rooms, ready to make learning happen. A new community will be formed. The students will learn Spanish and I'll have the opportunity to get to know and learn from them.

The kids will assess my success and will certainly let me know when I am striking out.

"Awwwwwwwwwww..............no, not that!" "Ay, Maestra, no vamos a hacer eso..."

I've been touring the state for 8 months and now, that part of my Teacher of the Year job is over. I still have responsibilities and conferences in Princeton and New York and I won't pass my "crown" till October 6th, but coming back into the classroom is a dramatic change.

My colleagues were fabulously welcoming and the administrators did a great job of sharing the fruits of their summer of preparation. We ate some donated sandwiches and shared summer stories.

I resisted the chocolate chip cookies, but now I'm sorry. Wish I had one right now.

I'm excited about my classroom and students. It's waiting for them and for that magic chemistry to happen once again. Who will they be? How will I change as a result of knowing them?

NEA Teaching Excellence Award!

2010-08-27T00:49:00.002-03:00

Here's the official link to the NEA Teaching Excellence Award! What an honor!

http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/teaching-excellence-awards/

Finding my shadow

2010-08-20T02:43:00.008-03:00

Dr. John Medina

I'm writing from Portland, Oregon from the Education Commission of the States, National Policy Forum. A lot of national education policy is decided here and it's only the 4th year that the Teachers of the Year cohort has been included in the discussion.

The National Education Association sponsored our visit to include teacher voices in this event. This past year has exposed all of us to a great deal of educational policy and information and it's a chance for us to weigh in, from the educators'perspective.

One of the highlights of the conference was meeting and hearing Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules. Dr. Medina is a firecracker of a speaker who has seen how we need to exercise, solve problems and explore to be as smart as we can be and live long. He suggests that it would be a good plan for brain researchers and educational policy makers to get together so that what is learned in the lab can help inform our practice.

John Medina says that our brain was developed to work best when we are moving and solving problems outside. If you wanted to design an environment which would be as different as possible from what the brain needs, create a classroom or a cubicle in an office.

People need challenges, questions with no answers and the time to solve problems. We take ten years to solidify information and need to hear it over and over again for the connections to become permanent.

Besides, John Medina, there was a lot of talk about the "Common Core Standards" with much excitement and some disagreement. Each state brings what they call "Commissioners" which are what I understand as official delegates who participate in the votes and conversations about national policy. In New Jersey, our former Governor, Corzine, appointed our current "Commissioners."

The Teachers of the Year don't have a formal role so we have to just try to jump in and make our comments when we can.

I had the chance to chat informally with representatives from the NEA, the People to People organization, New Jersey Principals and Supervisor's Association and Educational Testing Service. Bringing people together from 46 states in the country to talk about education is quite a feat.

Most Educational Forum participants welcome the Teachers of the Year, but I look forward to the day when teachers have a more active role in the panels and discussions. One of our colleagues - Our Louisiana Teacher of the Year, Holly Broffy - is on a teacher effectiveness panel tomorrow. She's the only one of us who has been given a formal role in the event. She'll represent us well, but how strange a world it is when the people involved in education, at the grass roots, don't have a natural role in the formation of the policies that govern this work.

It doesn't make sense.

Still, it's great to be here to have elevator conversations with legislators from around the country, to grab the mike when we can and to promote the best practices we care about.

For the last eight months, I've been flying around the state of New Jersey and the country talking with a wide variety of stakeholders about education. I've been learning a great deal about how decisions are made, who the players are and how I can best advocate for my profession and make a difference in my field.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be back in my classroom, teaching high school juniors and seniors Spanish.

I keep thinking about Peter Pan and his shadow. Maybe you remember that Peter lost his shadow and then, later, he found it.

Maybe that shadow is what connected Peter to reality and what showed the impact of his flight on the people and things of his world.

When I was walking on the South West 5th Avenue in Portland today, I suddenly saw my shadow appear. It's coming into focus and I'll do my best to let it connect me to my family, my students and my colleagues.

This year has shown me that I'm part of the world of the real teachers who are working with everyday kids. What I do happens in time and space and it matters to the people I interact with. Any high flying ideas I might have, must win success in my classroom.

If not, the kids will let me know.

The Teacher of the Year Recognition year is coming to a close. On August 26th, we choose our new state teacher and then, there is "Next Steps Beyond" conference in New York. At that conference, we'll bring all the teachers of the year, from every state in the nation, together to talk about how what they have learned this year will influence their teaching. What will each of our roles be?

That's where I'll sew my shadow back on, for good.

International Space Camp 2010 - Parade of Nations

2010-08-01T21:48:00.001-03:00

This was the "Parade of nations" from International Space Camp." I am wearing an old time bathing beauty costume with striped stockings, a bathing bonnet, bloomers and a bathing dress! I am highlighting the New Jersey Shore for my costume!

Space Camp!!!!

2010-07-31T17:15:00.013-03:00

Cutting out tissue paper to make a hot air balloon!

My group, "Harmony" before our mission in space!

I have just returned from Space Camp where the the teachers of every state and many nations gathered to learn science and bond together across national and international lines! And so we did!

When you arrive in Huntsville, Alabama, space is written on the landscape. Posters, ads, space t-shirts.

Why? After WWII, 118 German scientists surrendered to one American Soldier. They came to Huntsville with vision and the dream of space. First, they were put to the task of making missiles, but then, space exploration began. Kennedy wanted to put a man on the moon and every heart in Huntsville beat a little faster to get the nation on that track.

Space Camp is a place where children and adults come to learn about dreams. How can I fly? What is the proper balance of my machine and my body? What does it mean to work in a team and what is my role? What can and should I expect of myself?

You are up early and go to bed late. You do missions that feel real and in between, you make hot air balloons, rockets and do Martian math. You see why your design for thermal protection was the best or the worse. You learn to appreciate different kinds of minds.

One day, Christa McCauliff's mother comes to visit and each teacher cries for Christa, that teacher who won the "Teachers in Space" competition, trained at NASA to become an astronaut and perished upon take off, along with her crew. Turns out that Christa wrote letters of recommendation the day before she went up in the Challenger when NASA had her in quarantine. Figures. Teachers do things like that.

Christa wanted to bring ordinary people to space with her. She was a history teacher and she figured she could make it easier for people to understand what kinds of things she was seeing.

You go girl! Your message lives on in each one of us.

You also learn that astronauts are funny people who horse around in space. You learn about the challenges of a space toilet and the kinds of food people eat that gives them the necessary high calorie meals each day.

Space camp. A place where everyone is a scientist, if only for a week.

When I returned home to Newark Airport, the faces and words of my Teacher of the Year friends and International teachers were still with me. A family for a week.

A plane roared overhead. I admired its slick tubular body and the fins that kept it gliding through the open sky. I wondered about its balance, weight, materials and fuel.

Once you touch space, you are never the same again!

World Cup, DC and life

2010-07-19T01:28:00.011-03:00

I am in Washington D.C. right now. I am a semi-finalist in the NEA Teaching Excellence Awards so I have flown in from Spain to give a sample lesson and have a conversation with some very prominent panelists. All I know is that I will do my best.

Spain was something else. To be in a country thrilled with World Cup fever. I spent time with friends, had some choice wine and strolled with my husband, daughter and granddaughter on the magnificent streets of Salamanca.

These are the days that you think about when times get tough. Olyvia at one year old wandering down the cobblestone streets. Thinking about how my husband Joe's face lit up with joy when I came out of the gate at Barajas airport. My daughter Melynda's ideas on how to help the students in my husband's program better adapt to Spanish culture. Little bits of treasure.

You've got to savor it all.

Last night, I had a fabulous dinner with my former student, Adam Nathan, who is working hard to help the world through important policy work about education and business. I was so proud of the things he was telling me about - socially conscious investing, the creation of a non-profit, the high cost of poverty. It was so great to learn from a former student - wonderful to be in a totally different city - DC - and get together with Adam, five years after his graduation. I felt happy that he wanted to. I know I did.

Tomorrow, I'll give a lesson to the good people of the National Education Association and will teach them a bit of Spanish and talk about what I believe is important in education.

Wish me luck! I'll do my best to represent New Jersey's finest teachers. Send me a bit of your strength and knowledge. I know that I'll need it!

Spain wins the World Cup!

2010-07-12T04:53:00.003-03:00

I am in Salamanca, Spain, visiting for a week and I happened to be here when Spain won the World Cup!!

What happiness is in the streets. I have never seen such multigenerational jubilation here in my life.

To think that this country once had a terrible Civil War (1936-1939) and that the Spanish flag, for many, became associated with Dictator Francisco Franco's band and that now, this same flag belongs to all Spaniards, shows that countries can prosper, heal and redefine themselves!

Ole, La seleccion espanola y Ole SPAIN!!!!

The Philadelphia July 4th Parade!

2010-07-06T01:31:00.017-03:00

Back in February, a parade producer contacted me to ask if I wanted to be in the July 4th parade in Philly! I immediately accepted and later found out that Mary, the Delaware Teacher of the Year and Michele, the PA Teacher of the Year, would be in the parade as well. We all had our own drivers and classic cars to ride through the streets!

I sat on the back of a red 1966 Ford Classic Convertible, the guest of a car collecting family who had volunteered to do something nice for teachers. I was propped up on a rim lined with towels - for my comfort - and had the double task of waving my hand to the crowd while swooshing the flag back and forth.

We pulled out to get into the parade line up at half past eleven. Next to me, were over a hundred Chinese Americans in red shirts, large Styrofoam top hats with flags stamped across the paper bands and a collection of dancing dragons. A local high school steel band was edging up next to me on a float. We were all lined up like planes on a runway poised to enter parade world.

I positioned my feet on the back seat of the slow moving convertible to keep my balance. I just dug them in when we would start and stop.

Soon, we drove in front of the parade president and dignitaries who started announcing my arrival with a full bio. Names of my family were intermingled with events and deeds from my history - all on loud speakers. One car length ahead were a pair of volunteers who were carrying a six foot banner with my name and "New Jersey Teacher of the Year" across it.

"Way to go, Maryann! Good Job!" A woman called out and started a thunderous applause.

In fact, the whole street was waving and shouting my name and giving me the thumbs up for teachers. Small children eating cotton candy waved and were so excited when I waved back, specifically at them.

"Nice hat," I said to a little boy. His fingertips moved up to touch the glittery plastic and he smiled.

Each segment of street brought a new wave of applause. It was as magical as being 5 years old and dreaming of riding in Cinderella's pumpkin carriage.

Impossible dreams are sometimes possible.

"Hey, New Jersey!" I looked over and there was Joanna, my good friend from work!

She was snapping pictures like a paparazzi and laughing, while running along the road. It was so great to have someone from my life see what was happening. Half my family is in Spain, running a trip and the other half had other obligations.

Having her there made me believe that what was happening was real!

The car inched along. The streets were lined with cheery Philadelphians eating water ice, melting fast in the hot sun. I saw grinning people in wheel chairs clutching three inch flags. Cops smiled back when I waved.

In 1776, a brave message resounded in these streets - one that the signers of the Declaration of Independence would not have even been able to fully grasp or predict

Americans watching the Philly parade, on July 4th, 2010, came in many races and religions, all equal and all with the right to the pursuit of happiness and equality.

Just a couple of blocks away, the liberty bell herself was soaking up sun through panes of glass. She had seen slavery, women without the right to vote and a time when you had to be white to be an American citizen.

Somehow, through all of those past and current trials and challenges, we are reminded of our core values when we celebrate July 4th.

And today, Philadelphia was indeed "the city of brotherly love."

Sam Lee, guest blogger

2010-07-02T22:11:00.008-03:00

Here is Northern Highlands Regional High School graduate, Sam Lee & his proud family posing for a picture. Sam's peers selected his speech for presentation at our school's graduation. I found his words inspirational and invited him to share them on my site as a guest blogger.

"Fellow graduates, parents, faculty, and staff, you are staring at the next American Idol. Ok, perhaps not, but it sounds nice, doesn’t it?

According to Winston Churchill, we should “never give in (to defeat). Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small”. But the fact still remains. I can’t sing. I’ve had my try at singing- in the showers, in class, in front of the mirror and in the presence of my friends. And to be honest, I’m not the next Kelly Clarkson!

So then, what makes each of us unique? Why is our graduating class the best class in NJ, in the United States, in the world even? Why is Highlands so special? Is it because we’re DECA weapons, because we know how and when to get the best cookies in the cafeteria, or is it because we know that UIB stands for “User is blocked”?

Take a look at the person next to you. Do you see an actor, a doctor, or an NFL superstar? As for me, when I look at the Class of 2010, I don’t see “the future” or “this great beginning” that will end in all of us being movie stars and CEOs and supermodel divas.

I won’t use the tedious one-liners like “we are the next generation” or “follow your dreams and win big” and say that all 314 of us- just us, of course- will go out and change the world. But there’s always potential, always.

So then what about the short and stubby third grader who says he’ll be the next Yao Ming? Isn’t it ok to joke about that and say “it’ll never happen”? How about the shy brace face that says she’ll be the next Lady Gaga, and the class bully that wants to become a teacher?

It’s easy to laugh and joke or cast aside goals that seem “impossible”, and it’s all too familiar when we’re discouraged by adversity. But often, we find ourselves in a trap where it’s not others who discourage us or the size of our obstacles. Too often, it’s our own self defeating thoughts, our fears and worries.

Sometimes, all we need to do is stop thinking for a moment, and forget our anxieties about how silly we look or how incapable we are. If you want to “Dance with the Stars”, dance. If you want to be a singer, then sing. Let’s step out of our comfort zones and take a chance. When the Soulja Boy music is blasting on the dance floor, grab a friend and start the “crank”. Pull out the chicken wing or the chest pop if you have to. Just do it!

Congratulations Class of 2010. And, when the music fades, and we see that microphone on the open stage, let’s grab it, and whether we squeak or squeal or screech out of tune, let’s sing our hearts out."

The Teacher Leadership Community

2010-06-30T14:04:00.032-03:00

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote at a wonderful two-day event held at Rider University - The Teacher Leadership Community Summer Forum. Suzanne Carbonaro and the teacher leader team that put this together are tireless and enthusiastic about what teachers can offer each other and how they can fruitfully collaborate.

Suzanne has created a Ning called Teacher Learning Community For Ed (http://tlc4ed.ning.com) which you might like to join. It is chock full of great ideas, connections and real contact with educators who are making a difference every day.

The summer forum was held in the Daley Dining Hall of Rider University. I think there must have been about 100 educators gathered who were ready to share and learn. Chris Campisano, from the State Department of Higher Education, had asked me to speak. Chris is moving on to work as the head of the teacher prep program at Princeton University. Meeting Chris has been one of the highlights I've had this year.

Chris spoke first and then Emilio Piaolo, an award winning student teacher, followed him giving the group a moving speech - the story of her student teaching experience.

Emily compared images of her favorite activity - going to the beach - to her internship experience. She talked about waves of learning, our need to sometimes tread water or survive in rough educational winds. Her words were well crafted and beautiful, leaving the audience gasping at various times. I think her words could become an important essay for teachers and student teachers everywhere to share!

I spoke after Emily to tell my stories of collaboration across the barriers of age and position in my life. Here's a part of what I said. A lot of time, during my speech, I was off the page, improvising, as the spirit would move me. This has been happening more and more as I go on the road, but I still like to have that speech in front of me as a good back up! Here is a shortened version of what I said:

"What a year it’s been! But how did I get here and how did collaboration give me the skills I’ve needed in my career of 31 years?

In 1978, I got married to Joe Murphy. Joe told me that I would be able to learn Spanish very well, if we made a pact to speak no English to each other. At the age of 22, I was so in love that volunteering to give up my native language for a year seemed like a good plan.

Joe and I went to Spain and moved into a Pension – which is a kind of family-run Inn. The Inn keepers were Marisol and Pepe – a young couple in their 20’s. They had two small children, Jose and Susana. Jose was four years old and he became my secret teacher. I spoke only a couple of words of Spanish, so I really needed help!

“Pss, Jose, Que es esto?” I would ask about every object in the room.

Jose would fall to the floor in hysterical laughter and would finally give me the word I would need again and again. My learning became a game for him. To this day, when I go to Spain and see Jose, now in his 40s, I still talk about him being my very first Spanish teacher.

In college, I had studied philosophy. As a philosophy student, I needed to care about words and use them in a precise way. Going to Spain and leaving all of those hard-won words behind to break into a new language, was indeed a challenge to me. I had to learn to be humble, flexible and finally, to see myself with humor.

But most of all, I had to get help from others.

I had to ask questions and I had to let a person with greater skills assist me – in my case, it was a four-year old, but the age difference also allowed me to let down my guard. In fact, it was a perfect language learning situation.

Fast forward a decade and you find me working at a new school for science and technology. The place was gleaming and stocked with all of the latest computers, cutting edge in 1993.

We have to remember where technology was in those days. As recently as 1981, it would take two hours to download a copy of the local newspaper at an hourly download charge of $5. Experts in those days said that even though computers might be interesting and fun, they probably wouldn't have widespread use and certainly wouldn’t make people any money!

It would have been hard to envision the internet, online shopping, workflow software and our need for the instant gratification of text messaging!

Well, there I was in 1993 in my new classroom when a very serious man walked in, in a fancy suit. We had a technology meeting at a time that I barely knew what the word might mean.

The man said: “You are now a lab manager!”

“I am?”

“Yes, do you have any questions?”

“Yes, is there, uh, training?”

“Well,” he said, "there isn’t any money for professional development.”

“Oh, uh, oh.... I seeeeeee!”

I sadly flipped through the manual. I was in “tech shock” with a useless piece of chalk poised in my hand, somewhere between tears and paralysis.

Thank goodness, a student walked into the room. His name was Mark Lois and he played an important part of my personal history.

“Como estas?” I said, trying to sound chipper.

Mark was a sensitive kid and he instantly noticed something wrong on my face, though he had only met me a few days before.

“Que pasa, Maestra?” His kind face and question helped the walls come tumbling down.

“Mark, I don’t know anything about computers. Can you please help me??”

Without flinching or making me feel foolish, Mark began my instruction.

“Do you know anything?

“No, nothing.”

“O.K., This is a desktop, this is a mouse. You move it like this, no – not up in the air, but side to side.”

I immediately felt comfortable and I let Mark teach me. Soon, I would notice kids pulling out cords, playing with computer programs and applications with an irreverent and fearless approach to technology.

When they would go too fast, I would say, “Slow down” just like I did when I was learning Spanish. Their attitude empowered me to adapt to an entirely new culture of technology, just like I had done years before with Joe in Spain when we made a pact to speak no English. The world was changing and, by golly, I was changing with it! My students taught me that I could use their matter-of-fact, playful, irreverent approach to new learning to my advantage.

Because of them, my mind was beginning to explode with a new excitement and a hopeful attitude about technology. I didn’t need to be a math genius to work with it or understand everything. I just had to be comfortable with a little momentary confusion and to develop a willingness to try different strategies, one at a time. The machine wasn’t out to get me. With a little gentle coaxing, technology and I became good friends!

Fast forward some more and bring me to last year.

I had agreed to become the cooperating teacher for Tim Riley, an outstanding student from Ramapo College. After all of my years in the classroom, I figured it was my obligation to encourage a younger colleague to find his educational dreams. Little did I know that the relationship would be so mutually constructive and personally rewarding!

I had met Tim during our interview a month before. Because I teach upper-level Spanish, I wanted to make sure his proficiency was up to speed. It was and I approved his application.

The day he was scheduled to arrive was the last day of the marking period. The night before, I had taken home two cloth shopping bags, buldging with journals to read and assess. They were heavy. I pulled up my car, dropped them off at the door, just near my classroom for only a half a minute so I could park my car. When I returned, however, the journals were gone!

What was I going to do? They weren’t behind the bushes! They weren’t tucked against the wall! They were nowhere. How foolish I was to have left such precious cargo unattended, even for a moment, but it was early and I didn’t imagine anyone would want a sack of notebooks. I was, as you might imagine, in an absolute panic.

Seconds after the discovery of my dilemma, my supervisor, Dr. Dianne Bono, walked out with Mr. Tim Riley, my new intern.

“Oh,” I said, mustering a smaller than average smile. “How are you?” My supervisor left, depositing my new charge with me.

“Fine,” he said, “you look worried. Is everything all right?”

“Well, to tell you the truth, it isn’t.”

I quickly told Tim my plight. We immediately started brainstorming. What could have happened? Where could the journals be?

I learned that Tim’s wiry frame is fast – he was a prize-winning runner – and he could make it up and down a hallway in a nanosecond.

But no matter where we looked, we couldn't find the journals. It was a total mystery. The journals went missing for three hours. In the meantime, I showed Tim the cafeteria, got myself a gulp of coffee and settled into teach the best I could. Ha! Now, I was supposed to teach well – what a challenge - but the show must go on! I didn’t share the situation with my students, hoping the journals would turn up.

Finally, at long last, an email came from a colleague who had picked them up on his way into his office and then had forgotten to contact me. He knew it was me because my name was on every student’s journal. He was sorry that what had started out as a favor had caused me so much worry. At last, the problem was solved and, by the end of the day, Tim and I had truly bonded.

The next day, I let Tim jump in right away. During our first week, when he was just supposed to observe, he offered to type and project student oral responses, so we could see them on a big screen. This way, he said, they could visualize the corrections I was making. I was impressed that Tim could type as fast as he could run. In the middle of class, Tim would dash to the computer and would interact with the words, find an Internet clip reinforcement of a point I was making or provide other suggestions.

Sometimes I would look up and there would be a funny comment in Spanish! The kids just loved it and in a matter of days, I was teaching better and we were all learning.

Soon, the time came for Tim to actually take over the class. I was nervous, but not as nervous as he was. We had developed this team style and I needed to give him more time to fly solo. He needed to learn ways to position his body to take over the room and project his voice. How much intervention should he provide on an assignment? How can you help one student when the whole class needs you?

He’d get so focused on helping a few kids that the others needed attention. During these early weeks, I took careful notes that I shared with him after class for a debriefing. Soon, his confidence grew and he knew just what to do. Quickly, we had a routine and he was managing the class on his own. I would even jump to the keyboard and type student’s responses like he did for me, though not as quickly or as well.

During our time together, Tim and I shared stories of life, lesson plans and our areas of expertise. I learned about geocaching, a sport where you bury items in far-flung places and then post their longitudes and latitudes for people to find them. There is a world of people who do this for fun! Who knew?

We put together wonderful formative assessments and brainstormed everything. I would start one sentence and he would finish it. I would anticipate his needs by an expression on his face.

Finally, our time was drawing to a close. Tim needed to go on interviews, but he didn’t own a tie.

“Do I really need one?” he asked, “isn’t a polo shirt ok?”

The next day there was a carefully wrapped box with two ties: one a blue silk tie and another red one. I just saw a picture of him wearing the red one on his facebook page.

“Nice tie!” I commented.

“I wonder why you like it?” he replied.

When Tim left, the classroom seemed oddly silent. All these years, I had taught in it alone, but now, the sound of his voice and his thoughts were part of the fabric of my day.

The students groaned when they entered the room.

“Oh, no – no Mr. Riley,” they wailed. I didn’t feel bad when they said it because I felt the same. “What are we going to do without him?”

Mark Lois, the student who taught me technology and Tim Riley, my outstanding student teacher, all became my teachers. As a veteran teacher, I realized that I cannot have all of the answers. By teaching others and being open to their gifts, I can learn too. By maintaining humility, humor and a spirit of constant collaboration, I can grow.

When I was in the final stages of the Teacher of the Year competition, I needed to create a movie to showcase my teaching. I was told to enlist the help of my school’s tech team to produce a highly polished, though unedited video. The only one available at all was my student, Alfonso Carrion, a senior.

“I’ve got this, Maestra,” he said, to respond to my worried face.

Though he was involved in closing out his own year and getting ready for the prom, Alfonso worked with me on filming the video. He added English subtitles over the weekend so that the committee could know what I was saying in Spanish. Only a year later did I discover that Alfonso had given up his prom weekend afterparties to work on this project!

Later, Alfonso told me that he was most impressed with the role reversal we had experienced together, that broke through the barriers of age and position.

"Helping you is what I wanted to be doing," he said, when he visited me after his first year of college.

Years ago, when I was living in Spain, it was necessary for me to approach the task of learning a language with a beginner’s mind. Jose, the four year old, taught me my first words. Later, there was Mark, to teach me technology and Tim and Alfonso, but I could have just as easily have told you the story of Rebecca, who collaborated with me on an all-freshmen diversity program, Na Eun Kim or Adam, whose tireless efforts during Mix- it-Up-at-lunch made the day a tremendous success or Anne Sullivan, whose cheery face popping into my room, at just the right moment - days after the death of my father - reinvigorated me, both professionally and personally.

Recent research shows that the mentoring relationship works best if it is non-threatening and supportive. I think my mentoring relationships have worked in the past because I have involved my protégé in my real needs – the need to learn a language, the need to find those journals, the need to make a video.

Each time, the mentee was able to immediately help me, the mentor, at a time when I really needed it. Because they could help me, I could offer my help in a way that was totally nonthreatening. We were a real team.

In an average 5-year period, 2.2 million of 3.1 million teachers will leave the profession. Part of our mission as educators is to prepare the next generation to be our replacements, to add our story to theirs and theirs to ours.

This way, when our last day of work has come and we turn in our last set of keys, we need to know that there are other educators whom we’ve empowered to lead. And when this day comes, I am sure that the lessons they have taught us will stay with us forever!"

The last day of school

2010-06-29T20:35:00.004-03:00

This teacher of the year journey has been incredible - speeches, presentations, meetings, being part of the big conversation. One thing has been missing - my students at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey.

I had to go back before the seniors left to graduate.

My chance came on Thursday. I hadn't wanted to come in during the year since my hard-working substitute teacher, Betty, was trying to get the day-to-day work of class done. I didn't want to come in and disrupt her, but now, the time was quickly approaching for all of my seniors to graduate. I didn't have much time.

Luckily, when I left. my classes were divided between two teachers. The teacher of the seniors, Dr. Dianne Bono, was on an educational trip to China, so it would be perfect for me to come in for those classes.

I walked into my old classroom and a couple of kids burst into joyful applause. "I was dreaming you'd come and you did," one girl said.

Another boy seemed sullen. He didn't look up. Later, he told me why.

"I was mad at you - you left us!"

"And now, do you forgive me?"

"Yeah, we're cool."

"Good."

It felt normal being back with the kids. It was like being in my own living room. These kids are my people. We understand each other.

That night, I went to graduation and heard a few of them speak. Sam said that you should use your talents to the max in this life. Jackie outlined the triumphs of the senior class. Melanie pitted herself up against the standard graduation speeches which talk about "the best class" and "the most special people" and sought meaning for herself and her peers. Michael, the Valdictorian, exhorted his peers to keep trying even though life will inevitably throw a few failures their way.

Highlands "Voices" sang beautifully and Joe Occhino, our new principal, poignantly gave voice to a poem he once heard at a graduation. He swore, when he had heard it, that if he ever became a principal of his own school, he would use that poem. We all were there to hear him do it.

That school is my home base right now. In September, when I pass the "crown" to the new New Jersey Teacher of the Year, I'll go back into my Spanish classroom. I'll play some Spanish music and we'll greet each other with enthusiasm. Most of all, we'll be real and the kids will teach me as much as I can teach them.

Eagle Scouts and Scholar Athletes

2010-06-21T22:14:00.028-03:00

On Saturday, I had the double pleasure of seeing my former student, Steven, become an Eagle Scout in the morning at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, N.J. and later, speaking at a News 12/NJEA Scholar Athletes luncheon celebration.

The day started in Allendale, New Jersey, where the Eagle Scouts assembled to celebrate the extensive service projects that these young men do to earn their coveted status. I stopped in to take a peek before heading down my second event in Edison, N.J. The wonderful, Dawn Hiltner, from the NJEA communications division, spearheads this event and was kind enough to invite me to speak.

I pulled into the parking lot of the Pines Manor in Edison and read over my speech in the car. I like to center myself before walking into a new environment. Little by little, I could see the students starting to arrive with their families for the luncheon.

I always enjoy watching the students walking into such an awards ceremony. The kids look all spiffy and the mom and dads, just plain proud. There is a new shirt with a slightly stiff collar. A little brother or sister is in tow and with any luck, there's a beaming grandparent.

I sat at table number 9, which was empty when I came into the banquet hall. Soon, though, I saw some of my friends from the NJEA - Wendell Steinhaur, the Vice President and Dawn Hiltner, from Communications.

Before long, my table started to fill up and I found myself sitting next to Shannon Myers, the goalie for the women's soccer team, Sky Blue. She was to be the keynote presentation and my contribution after her talk was billed as the "words of wisdom." Pressure was on!

Once everyone got there, Channel 12 had organized a presentation of all of these scholar athletes on big screens in the front of the room. These came from a special video segment that had been aired on television.

Reporters from Channel 12 go to the schools and watch the kids at games, at practice and then they talk to them individually. We got to see their real personality. How wonderful to get a chance to meet these fresh faced and optimistic youth. They made us laugh, wipe away a tear and admire their outstanding skills.

We saw one student playing funny songs on his guitar. Another girl, an accomplished gymnast, had joined her school ROTC by mistake. She had intended to sign up for her school chorus, but found herself in a ROTC meeting. She riot is that she stayed and found out that she liked it. "I like commanding!" she said, with a gleaming smile. Another set of twins talked about how they enjoy competing for grades and athletics. "He's got me by a point in the GPA, but I take him in sports."

Shannon, the Sky Blue goalie, took the podium after the student videos and gave a magnificent keynote - right from the heart. She was powerfully spoken and didn't even look down at a written word. So impressive!

She told the students that high school will probably not be the "high point" of their lives. There are many exciting things ahead, she said, if they follow the spark of passion inside. If they follow their inner fire, their wildest dreams just may come true, but if they ignored it, the flame would die out.

Shannon shared with the group that she had majored in communications and later got an M.A. at Syracuse University. This all lead to the corner office she had dreamed of, but something was missing in her life.

One day she read the paper and found a press release about a U.S. women's soccer league that was about to form. She got a couple of credible sources that confirmed this fact and then began the life transformation she needed to become a professional woman athlete. "I'm living my wildest dream each day," she told us. Shannon had so much passion in her voice that every word counted.

I got up next and spoke from words I had prepared. Below is an abridged version of what I said:

"To have the opportunity to address a group of students so worthy of my utmost respect and admiration, is an honor.

You have distinguished yourselves because you have combined the ideals of scholarship and athletics to a high and worthy degree. Your have understood the value of teamwork and leadership. You know what it means to be there when other people are depending on you.

You have found the courage to run down a court with the ball in a special zone of incredible focus or to bravely race as fast as your legs can carry you.

When your body has screamed for you to stop, you know when to listen or when to push on.

It’s not everyone who can do this. You know how to let your coaches show you the way to excellence. You realize that age has something to share and you want to benefit from this knowledge.

We here gathered today know that it’s not easy to shine, to step ahead of the pack, to lead, to forge new territory and to create records that will set you, your team, your school and your family apart.

The trophies and metals that line your walls are society’s way of telling you that you inspire us to remember what your well-spent youth stands for.

When you feel good, you work.
When you feel lazy, you work.
When your friends are flipping channels and going to the mall, you often work.

What’s different about you is that you know how it feels to be in harmony with yourself and to feel the power and beauty of your personal best.

And for you, it doesn’t stop on the field or court. When you hang up your muddy cleats or throw yet another sweaty tee shirt into the laundry or eat an exhausted plate of spaghetti after a quick shower, you keep going.

You do it because there is that paper to write on the Civil War, the art project to finish, the data to tabulate, the video to edit. You promised your classmates that you would create the hand out for the English project and you know that your Spanish teacher is counting on you to present a poem to the class with a perfect accent and emotion.

Everyone is counting on you, but most of all – you are counting on you because you take pride in what you do. Even when the whole house falls asleep or you fall asleep in the middle of a job, you wake up early to put on the finishing touches.

Because for you, doing a shoddy job just isn’t an option. What sets you apart is that you care!

When I was in college, I studied philosophy. Even though my parents didn’t really understand what I was studying, I enjoyed spending a lot of time thinking about big questions. Why am I the way I am? What does it mean to be good? What does it mean to make a commitment?

Besides those questions, I also liked learning about the ancient Greeks who lived about five hundred BC. For the Greeks, sports were an art and exercise was frequently done to beautiful music. For the ancient Greeks, physical strength, grace and movement were vital parts of one’s education.

We can still see Greek images engraved on museum artifacts that show us the strength of their muscles and the sports they played.

In books we treasure, we can even read their conversations in the pages of philosophical dialogs and plays.

I talk to you about the Greeks because I believe that, in an important way, these ancient athletes have passed their torches on to you! You have stepped up to be the keeper of the flame.

So it’s your job to keep it bright and strong until you pass it on to another.

Why you? Because you have chosen yourself through your exemplary actions.

As a scholar athlete, you stand in a fine tradition of excellence which goes back thousands of years and connects you to all that is fine in our history.

So remember those that have come before you with gratitude and forgive them for their imperfections. Be kind to yourself as well and remember that you can only give the world each day’s best job and that sometimes - there is more of a lesson learned in a loss than a win.

Today, you do honor to yourself and to everyone who believes in you. You are a beacon in the state of New Jersey and for everyone who has helped you get here. We do not celebrate you because you are perfect, but because you have excelled, achieved and endured.

It is an honor to meet you. Follow your passion, seek mastery, tend the flame and never give up! Congratulations!"

After my words, Wendell Steinhaur gave a wonderful speech which spoke directly to the students' interests and dreams. He even made sure to include a little humor, which the crowds enjoy.

What I like most about Wendell is his kind and sincere smile and a personal warmth which radiates to the audience. He has been my NJEA liaison for the Teacher of the Year program and has always been there whenever I needed any help at all, within minutes. What a role model!

When the luncheon was over, a representative from Channel 12 came over with the gift of a magnificent pen set with my name engraved and some words of thanks. The set is something I will treasure and admire. Each gift is a reminder of the job I have to do as the representative of my esteemed colleagues. I take it to heart!

On the way out, some parents and students politely stopped to thank me for what I had said. That's always nice because no matter how many times I get up to speak, I can never quite tell how much of what I am saying is resonating with the audience. It's good that some people come up and let me know.

Each talk I give is on somebody's big day. When I speak, I am being scripted onto a life story and I need to rise to the occasion!

Everyone was clearing out of the hall. Waiters were collecting uneaten rolls and half-filled glasses on giant trays. I walked out to my car and enjoyed watching the families exit, stopping to take a picture by the fountain and one more by the brimming flower beds.

Picture with the president

2010-06-16T15:05:00.002-03:00

Here I am in the Oval Office with President Obama!!! Amazing! He was so gracious!

Common Standards and Test Mania

2010-06-15T01:03:00.012-03:00

The country is talking a whole lot about common core standards for our nation's children. The idea is that if you study math as a sophomore in Texas, you should be able to be a junior in New Jersey and be o.k. Your learning should be rather portable, allowing you to feel confident that what you are learning is being learned all around the nation.

It's easier said than done.

But the Common Core Standards Initiative has been working hard to make this happen and this spring, we've seen some major results. "The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort to establish a single set of clear educational standards for English-language arts and mathematics that states can share and voluntarily adopt." Folks want to be able to say what a student knows and is able to do and there needs to be clarity around this from state to state.

"Who is leading the Common Core State Standards Initiative? Parents, teachers, school administrators and experts from across the country together with state leaders, through their membership in the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) are leading the effort to develop a common core of state standards."

For anyone who wants to weigh in on the topic, it's possible to do so on corestandards.org where there is also a great deal of information on the standards.

On my New Jersey Teacher of the Year interview last September, I was asked what academic standards meant to me. I said that they were a beacon for us to follow, a goal to move towards in instruction.

I think it's important to understand that believing in standards does not mean that one is signing up for every high-stakes test out there. It does mean that we have to come to a better shared understanding of what we teach and how best to evaluate progress and proficiency.

Most people I know say that this needs to be done by using a variety of assessment methods. I think of it as casting a wide net to see what knowledge is in there. It certainly doesn't mean that kids should submit to a single multiple-choice test, get a number and have that number be the deciding factor that says a child has reached the stated goal.

The other thing about standards is that they aren't supposed to invade classrooms and take away that teachable moment. "Standards do not tell teachers how to teach, but they do help teachers figure out the knowledge and skills their students should have so that teachers can build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms."

I see the standards movement as a good thing which gets us working together to create more goal focused programs, with a wide range of teaching strategies and experiences in each individual classroom. To think that standards are equal to the very worst in standardized tests is just wrong.

(all quotes taken from http://www.corestandards.org)

Middlesex Vo-Tech School Awards

2010-06-08T22:41:00.020-03:00

Gloria Cook & Maryann Woods-Murphy

Tonight took me to Piscataway, New Jersey. Down the NJ Turnpike I went, against the traffic going North.

I pulled into the parking lot and saw a large, flat, brown-brick structure: Middlesex County Vocational Technical School. I was happy to be meeting Gloria Cook, the history teacher, who had invited me down.

In seconds, I was in the door and could see that the building was much nicer from the inside than its rather simple exterior showed. What the eye couldn't see, curbside, was the unique entry of shafts of light from long windows, interesting public spaces and classrooms clustered around gathering areas. There were shops and students and little brothers and sisters all here to celebrate the achievements of their big brothers and sisters.

Gloria Cook and I had met at the NJEA convention last November. She's an optimist in every way. She came running up to me, when I was first named NJ Teacher of the Year, to tell me about her creation, "A Night of Elegance."

Her dream project is a formal dinner for students with china, flowers and fancy clothes to celebrate those students who had maintained a good grade point average, a nice attendance record and an exemplary attitude. She'd positively beamed when she had told me all about it. "Teachers would even wash the students' china dinner plates," she gushed. Gloria and her colleagues had refused to use paper plates to make it easier. The point of the night, you see, was to make one beautiful evening - a night to remember, when each student would don a collared shirt or a pretty dress and strut out into the room, showing off their pride and accomplishments.

This would have been the 4th year for the "Evening of Elegance."

Gloria had asked me to speak at the event and I was looking forward to it.

A couple of weeks ago, Gloria called to say that there had been some changes. Hit with the budget crisis, there was no money to create this evening for the kids. The school Principal, Dr. Linda Russo, didn't want to let the time pass without celebrating the students so they moved ahead with an awards ceremony for such things as "Best in shop" and "Perfect Attendance." The Awards Ceremony would be an evening to give out certificates, recognition and giant cookies, but would not include a formal dinner or dress. Gloria was, of course, sad but she remained ever cheerful. "The kids appreciate the recognition. I'm just so pleased that you could come tonight!"

I was happy to come and share my thoughts about excellence and dreams with the crowd. I told them the story of how this granddaughter of Irish immigrants became a Spanish speaker and I encouraged them to follow their dreams. I added: "When you look at people, remember that they too have dreams in their heart. Maybe you can help them achieve their dreams while you’re on the way to finding your own. Walk with gratitude, strive for excellence, and forgive yourself when you stumble."

It's a true honor to talk to these hard-working kids and their proud parents. I'm happy that Middlesex County Vocational Technical School found a way to honor their students.

I hope that next year, or the year after, Gloria's dream for "A Night of Elegance" can spring to life again. Hopefully, funds will surface for this sort of thing. Until then, I know that the teachers and administrators at the Piscataway Campus of the Middlesex County Vocational Technical School will do everything they can to honor and celebrate their students.

The Trenton Rally!

2010-06-05T17:13:00.009-03:00

Here I am with Wendell Steinhauer, the NJEA Vice President, at the Trenton Rally!

I have nothing but respect and admiration for the whole NJEA team. The public needs to understand just how tireless these folks are. During my year as the New Jersey Teacher of the Year, it's been a joy and honor to get to know these leaders personally!

Save our schools rally

2010-06-03T22:50:00.010-03:00

(photo, Lule Seltzer)
(photo, Joanna Petritsis)

Hello Everyone. I’ve been in education for 31 years.

Do I look like one of those tired, burnt-out veteran teachers we’ve been hearing about these days?

Lately, I’ve been hearing a whole lot of people talking about education who have never taught. They say that we aren’t doing a good job even though our test scores prove that we are at the top of the nation.

We hear that we need to improve, at the same time as our failed budgets will stuff our classrooms with students, eliminate our programs and lay off our colleagues.

Does that sound like a plan for school improvement?

Well, a whole lot of people seem to think that teachers need improvement. They think that we might do a good job if we get merit pay and get rid of those terrible slackers among us. You know, the ones who hobble home carrying bushels of papers till their eyes are bleary or the teacher I heard about who remembered to pass her grade book to her friend after her car accident and before being loaded into an ambulance.

Slackers. Hum.

So to help teachers be less prone to slacking, these educational “visionaries” say that we should use rewards and punishments.

Problem is, years of studies by people like the Federal Reserve Bank, have shown that the carrot and stick approach doesn’t motivate anyone to do anything but the most rudimentary task. In fact, it makes people perform worse than they would without the reward!!!

What studies have shown is that people are motivated by autonomy, mastery and meaning.

For teachers, I translate this into:

1. Autonomy: Let teachers teach! Stop with the top-down ideas. Teachers care about their work. Listen to them and let them excel!

2. Mastery: Let teachers choose their own professional development, guided by their interests, needs and passions!

3. Meaning: Recognize that as teachers, our voice needs to count. Listen to what we are saying about our jobs. Let us narrate our profession. Move over – we have a whole lot to say!

But most of all and most urgently, we need to fund our excellent public schools!

We need the recognition that our New Jersey Educational Association is not a “special interest” – but is rather the experienced, expert voices of more than 200,000 educators!

We have a proud record of success and our spirit will not be dampened, despite the repeated frontal attacks to our integrity, expertise and motives!

In fact, what I’m seeing all over our great state of New Jersey is the unleashing of the enormous energy we need to fight the good fight.

I know that we are on the right side of history – the side of justice, of public access to education and opportunity. We are on the side of public workers who run our transportation, patrol our streets and put out our fires. We stand up together, in solidarity, because history calls us to do it. We know that there is nothing more important than educating and protecting our children.

We will not be silenced. We will prevail!

Teaneck Educators Supporting Education (Photo, Lule Seltzer)

Valdictorians of Bergen County, June 1st

2010-06-02T13:26:00.010-03:00

To have the opportunity to address a group of students so worthy of my utmost respect and admiration, is an honor.

You have distinguished yourselves because you have reached for the golden ring and now; you hold it in your hand.

But you wouldn’t have gotten it, if you hadn’t dared to reach. There are other students who may be just as smart or creative as you, but unless one dares to exceed normal expectations, one cannot arrive at greatness.

Excellence requires not only talent, but also risk.

It requires heart - for the long days and nights you need to get an assignment just right. It demands self-respect, direction and the willingness to stand alone - to go against the grain.

Nobody in this room is here by accident. Your stories and efforts matter!

I believe you do honor to some long forgotten ancestor, whose blood flows in your veins. In some way, his or her struggle has helped you to achieve your dreams: He came across an ocean. She crossed a desert. He was denied a college degree and she couldn’t vote. Somehow, they survived.

Today, you do honor to your schools and to Bergen County.
This is a day to stand tall and proud.

We do not hold you up today because you are perfect, but because you have excelled, achieved and endured. It is an honor to meet you. Follow your passion, seek mastery and never give up! Congratulations!

The Oval Office to The Rose Garden

2010-05-28T16:32:00.008-03:00

Carolyn Bridge, from Smart Technology, just sent these pictures of my path from the Oval Office to the Rose Garden. I thought I'd share them!

Kean University recognizes their distinguished interns

2010-05-28T02:14:00.006-03:00

There are a whole lot of good things to say about Kean University in Union, New Jersey. For one thing, it has a nice campus. Flowers bloom in well-designed spaces on lawns so green and perfectly groomed that you might as well be in a country club.

Shimmering glass reflects the trees on new structures to house classrooms where students are learning science and the latest technologies.

A brand new Human Rights Center is lined with photographs of those who dare to speak truth to power.

This is a good place so I was more than happy to make a presentation to the distinguished teaching interns that Dr. Martha Mobley and Dr. Susan Polirstok are so proud of. And they should be.

I spoke to this select group of newly formed teachers and I was so impressed with their stories, the dreams in their eyes, their gathered families and the trust that their Kean University professors have placed in their talents and abilities.

One by one, they came forth and we all heard testimony of their magic in the classroom. One transformed an unruly classroom whose teacher had been gone for two long months. In short order, this new teacher brought it all into focus and the children were learning again, safe in her world.

In another class, a student teacher had created so many amazing smart board lessons that she was already presenting to the supervisors who had their notebooks out, ready to learn.

Each intern had made great strides with their students and had won the acclaim of their cooperating teachers and supervisors.

I especially liked looking at the three daughters of one new teacher. As a single mother, she had raised these lively, blond daughters while studying and working. Now, she was standing before us, with tears in her eyes because she was a teacher. She had done it! Everyone was singing her praises. Her daughters saw how mom had succeeded.

On the way out of the auditorium, one of them held the door for me. I took the opportunity to ask how they felt about mom's accomplishments. "Very proud," they gushed, in one voice.

I wish their mom had seen them say that. But then again, that's the sort of world this distinguished intern and mom makes happen.

This is the way a great teacher begins. The world is lucky to have these Kean University teachers. They will spread light and learning wherever they go.

Bergen County Celebrates Teachers

2010-05-28T01:34:00.038-03:00

Dr. Aaron Graham, Bergen County Executive Superintendent & Maryann Woods-Murphy.

Take 400 teachers, administrators and educational support professionals and bring them to the Fiesta Catering Rooms in Wood Ridge, NJ for a fabulous luncheon to celebrate teaching and learning and you have the Bergen County Teacher of the Year Recognition Celebration!

Add to that the music of Northern Highlands Regional High School students with their music teacher, Theodora Sotiropoulos, and you have a perfect atmosphere, in an exquisite venue.

Last year, when I was named my school Teacher of the Year, I sat at one of the linen-covered tables and marveled at the way we were being treated as Teachers of the Year. For a classroom teacher, it was so special to go to lunch and eat on china plates, have attentive waiters serving bread and ice water and listen to warm and smart speeches about the good things that teachers do. All those stories made the food taste better.

Plus, there were no bells ringing to transition us from one part of the event to another!

I remember seeing the 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year, Jeanne Muzi, speak and share her love of art and the importance of our jobs. I dreamed of being in her shoes, but who would ever believe that such a thing might be possible? Could I really become the New Jersey State Teacher?

Today, as I addressed that room of proud teachers and their teams, I understood that only when you have a dream do you have any chance at all of achieving it.

Here I am with the Bergen County Sheriff, Leo McGuire and Freeholder Elizabeth Calabrese. Dr. Aaron Graham, is on the left.

In this candid shot, you can see how happy everyone is to be together to celebrate teachers and support professionals.

I talked about my students and how their stories matter, how very much they have helped me grow and learn and become who I am today. I spoke of poignant moments that we have shared and the connection between us. Every teacher has a personal "hall of fame" of students - kids who have helped us become better teachers and learners. We are so lucky to be teachers - to serve as touchstones for the children as they live and grow. In fact, every student has a key to this hall of fame and to our hearts.

My Northern Highlands Regional High School colleague, John Gornell, an outstanding history teacher and the advisor of the National Honor Society, was honored today as the new 2010 Northern Highlands Teacher of the Year. He came to this celebration with John Keenan, our NHRHS Superintendent, Joe Occhino, our Principal and Dept. Chair, Bob Petrosino. Here I am pictured with John Gornell:

The Bergen County Office of Education staff put together an amazing event today! Congratulations to all of them!

We all walked out with our heads a little higher, our hearts a bit fuller. We carried certificates and chocolates and an engraved pen, but the most important gift of all was the public recognition of our good service.

Ah, somebody sees that what we are doing is part of the important work of the world!

(Please note that all photos on today's blog are courtesy of Steven Pasternak, The Bergen County Supervisor of Child Study and photographer of merit!)

Teens Talk About Racism

2010-05-25T17:44:00.048-03:00

Well, it's 4:44 p.m. on May 25th. I am soaring right now because "Teens Talk About Racism" was such an amazing experience.

TTAR, as we call it, is a safe forum for teens where they can challenge the pervasive stereotypes that we live. What are our identity groups and what benefits and challenges do they offer us? How can we share music, social justice and love?

Nine years ago, community organizer Rori Kanter and life-long social justice worker, Theadora Lacey approached me about organizing a program for teens. They had already spent a year in the process and had, in fact, hosted their first event at the Central Unitarian Church on a Sunday afternoon. Despite much intense preparation, they had about 15 youth participants.

Here's Theadora Lacey

The next year, Rori approached me and asked if I would like to get involved. "Yes!" I said.

Quickly, I involved my students from my school's newly formed "Multicultural Task Force," who provided music, energy and a whole lot of leg work. We partnered with Fairleigh Dickinson University, who offered us wonderful space. That first year, we had over 100 students from area schools participating!

The conference has built over the years and it relies heavily on teachers and counselors in each school who gather the students and prepare them for youth leadership. Students come prepared to sing songs, dance and share in a joyful community experience.

Today was amazing!

As students were entering the Wilson Auditorium, they were greeted by music from the student band, "The Francs."

Noelle Staudt, from St. Anthony School, sang The Star Spangled banner. Next, Eddie Kim, did a monologue he wrote himself called, "A Word About Tolerance." It blew us away!

Next, we were welcomed by Diana Cvitan, the Director of the Office of Global Learning. Diana really cares about this issue a whole lot and has done everything to be as welcoming as possible to our conference and efforts!

Elissa Bonito sang "It doesn’t hurt" with great feeling and energy!

Next, we heard from a youth panel - students who were either in college or graduate school.

Panelists included: Alfonso Carrion, Maya Gunaseharan,Brenda Rubenstein, Adam Walpert. Joe Murphy, the chair of Ethics at Dwight Englewood, moderated. Here are the bios of the participants:

Alfonso Carrion is a student filmmaker studying his craft at Emerson College. He recently won an EVVY for producing an outstanding promotional commercial for Boston's TD Garden Arena. However, he actively participates in several social justice organizations in and out of campus. His trip to feed the poor in a New York City homeless shelter has always been an unforgettable experience for him. He is very excited to be a part of Teens Talk About Racism and thanks everybody who participates in this life-changing event.

(Here are Alfonso Carrion, Diana Cvitan & Maryann Woods-Murphy)

 Adam Walpert. Northern Highlands class of '05, Columbia University Class of '09 BA in economics, currently employed as a research staff assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia, will be attending medical school this fall. Adam's belief in social equality and cultural awareness have been woven into his life journey. He was one of the founders of the Multicultural Task Force of Northern Highlands Regional High School, which is active to this day.

Brenda Rubenstein is currently a graduate student in New York primarily interested in fighting for socioeconomic equality. As an undergraduate, she was a co-founder of HOPE (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere), an organization that partnered college students with homeless activists to rally for better treatment of the homeless in Rhode Island. As part of the Talent Quest program at her university, she lobbied for admissions equity. She is currently focused on equity for women in science. She got her start here with Ms. Woods-Murphy!

(Here are Adam Walpert & Brenda Rubenstein)

Maya Gunaseharan is a rising junior at Cornell University, in the School of Industrial Labor Relations. She was active in social justice work during her years at Dwight-Englewood and has continued such work since she's been in college. Throughout high school she participated in TTAR and other similar conferences, in an effort to educate herself and others about the prevalence of diversity issues surrounding the youth of America. She is truly pleased to be here today, and wholeheartedly believes that through heart-to-heart dialogues, like the ones we hear at TTAR, change can and will happen.

Music from the Englewood Idols - "We are the world!" transitioned us beautifully to the next part of our conference. Here are the Idols pictured with their teacher, Judy Aronson!

Here the Idols are involving the audience in the song!

We then moved into break-out groups led by students from our participating schools. The point of the break outs was to talk about identities and how they have helped, challenged or enhanced our lives.

After a couple of hours of discussion/lunch, students came back and shared their reflections. One girl said that she had given her hair clip to a new friend and that she hoped that this new friend would keep a part of her forever. She said, "This was a life-changing day. Now that I have shared my stories, I know someone else is listening besides my journal."

One by one, students stood up and shared their testimonies of the day, their reflections and thoughts. They told what hurts, what uplifts them and how they can really be the change they want to see.

We closed the conference the way we always do at TTAR: We all sing "Lean on me" as we dance and sing together.

Lean on me
When you're not strong
I'll help you carry on!

Congratulations to all student leaders, to the teachers and counselors and administrators who made it possible for the students to participate and to all of the planning committee.

Rev. Carlton Eliott Smith, Central Unitarian Church, Mrs. Theadora Lacey,
Billy Bowie, Joanna Petritsis, Melynda Bowie, Ilene Gilbert, Kay Blair, Luis Merlo, Sally Gellert, Joan Whelan (webmaster www.teens-talk-about-racism.org), Joe Murphy, Joe Murphy III, Judy Aronson, Marsha Gundy, Lule Seltzer, Carlos Gonzalez, Iris Koonin, Mark Johnson, Shailja Rastogi, Cover Illustration: Rachel Lesser, Dolores Stasion – Global Learning, FDU

Special thanks to the Social Justice Committee of the Central Unitarian Church, in Paramus, who shopped for, donated and served all of the food at today's conference! We appreciate this focus on youth leadership and justice making! Students ate a nice breakfast and lunch due to these continued efforts!

Thank you to all who gave their time and energy to make the 10th year of TTAR a wonderful success!

(All photographs courtesy of the Office of Global Learning!)

NJTOY in Washington DC

2010-05-24T01:35:00.006-03:00

It's not fair!

2010-05-23T14:26:00.010-03:00

Photo from NJEA.org

I'm still thinking about the rally in Trenton yesterday. So many people gathered to speak their stories - stories that matter. Who is going to educate the children when we fire the teachers? Who will be there to clean the schools and make them a fit place for our young when we lay off the custodians? Who will cook the food, serve it and notice when a child isn't eating when we collectively pink slip the cafeteria workers?

Schools aren't just about jobs, they are about relationships. Relationships form over time, with trust - when people feel safe and connected. I'm really worried about what is going to happen all around the state in September. Shouldn't we be preparing our students to continue to be some of the best performing kids in the nation? Wouldn't it make more sense to be professionally developing our teachers to meet the needs of the 21st Century? What are we doing?

NJ.com had a twitter feed of many users reporting on the rally in Trenton on May 22nd. Here's what someone reported about my participation:

1:50 p.m.: Speaker Mary Ann Woods-Murphy of Teaneck had a question for the crowd.

"Do I look like the problem?" The crowd roared back "No!" at the 2009-2010 New Jersey Teacher of the Year.

Woods-Murphy, who teaches Spanish at Northern Highlands replied: "I think that I look pretty innocent."

She said the Teaneck school district is laying off custodial and other staff. "No es justo, no es justo," she chanted in Spanish. "This is not right."

I am sickened by the tone leveled against teachers and public employees.

I am the granddaughter of Irish immigrants. My grandfathers struggled for the rights of wire lathers in New York City at the turn of the last century. My father was the shop steward at the Hotel Commodore in what is now Grand Central Station. My great uncle, Hugh Halligan, was the Deputy Fire Commissioner of New York City, under Mayor LaGuardia. Hughie also invented the "Halligan tool or bar" which is used to break into burning homes.

I come from working people who stood up and were counted. Because of their work, I have a college education and the right to be heard. I stand on the shoulders of previous generations. Every single thing I know is a gift from someone. Even the time I have spent alone reading and thinking is on the backs of someone who has entrusted me to do the best job that I am humanly capable of.

This urge to contribute, to work and share talents with others is the mentality of our public workers. It might be the toll collector who smiles yet one more time as a car drives through or the hospital worker who offers a word of encouragement to a elderly patient. We all contribute in different ways, but together, we make a difference. Together, what we do matters a whole lot.

35,000 voices unite in Trenton today!

2010-05-22T19:26:00.008-03:00

Christy Kanaby & Maryann Woods-Murphy, May 22nd, Trenton, N.J.

Today, it was my honor to speak for educators at a massive rally in Trenton! The NJEA and all unions in our state united to stand firm against the government cuts to all service areas. Stories of jobs slashed, classrooms bulging and programs dissolved were heart wrenching. Barbara Keshishian, the NJEA president, was inspirational!

The voice of justice was lifted! The cuts to education and services in our state are tragic for so many and solutions that would help fix the problems are overlooked!

Today was a much needed day of joy and optimism. New Jersey is the people who make it work. We are the transportation, the teachers, the communication workers, the firemen, the police. We are all the people who serve and do an honest day's work to help others and contribute to our state's greatness.

Our education system is the best in the nation. Our teachers are devoted. Our professionalism is enviable. Today, our state workers united and spoke with one voice.

Together, we will narrate the story of New Jersey. With one voice, we will prevail even in these difficult times! The tide is changing and the people will control New Jersey's destiny!

What's in your cave? Teen Arts Festival at Bergen Community College

2010-05-21T11:25:00.011-03:00

Some years ago, My artist/Spanish teacher friend, Lule Seltzer, collaborated with me to create a class about art and its therapeutic powers.

The idea of Cave Painting came to us.

What were ancient people trying to to capture as they took materials from the earth to paint images of large animals on the cave walls? Were they trying to capture the spirit of their foes to control their fear?

Lule and I experimented with colors and music while we took our students on an imaginary journey to their own cave - what would their own cave contain? What fears would they project on this space?

Today, I am here at the Bergen Community College Teen Arts Festival in Paramus, New Jersey, now in its 35th year. It's a massive festival of the arts - dance, song, music and writing - everywhere! Students dance on the lawn, soak up sun and scribble away all day long.

I've taken the idea that Lule and I created and have developed a writing workshop for this day. I enjoyed this morning's session a whole lot. Using projections of cave paintings, I framed a space. Later, students drew their own fears on their own caves (sheets of paper) while music played (a group called "Painful leg injuries," no less). Next, we shared our work in guided pair conversations. Finally, pens flew across the page as students wrote. Later, we shared how fears can change into empowering images and passionate words.

Some students stood up to share their work and others held back. To give everyone a chance, I asked them to choose four words or a sentence from their pieces to speak out loud and we wove these words together in a kind of tapestry of fear, a bold statement of power. In the end, we posted the work on the cave wall of the classroom, the white board.

As usual, the students inspire me! I am the creator of the space, a humble recipient of their energy.

Atlantic County Recognition Luncheon

2010-05-18T22:57:00.009-03:00

Douglas Groff, Galloway Township Superintendent, Karen Casselman, Atlantic County, Teacher of the Year, 2009, Maryann Woods-Murphy, NJ TOY 2009-2010, Tina Colombo, Atlantic County, Teacher of the Year, 2010, Thomas J. Dowd, Executive County Superintendent, Atlantic County.

I traveled to Galloway Twsp today to a wonderful celebration of the Atlantic County Teachers and Educational Services Professionals at the Carriage House. The catering hall was a lovely venue which provided us with the space and opportunity to focus on what matters most in education today - the teaching and learning that is making a difference.

Everyone was thrilled to be together to share stories of our favorite teachers and students. Right now, the public is very engaged in a campaign of negativity towards teachers so this morning, which gave us a chance to cherish the success of our educators, was welcome indeed!

At the end of the day, the future of this profession will be narrated by the educators and students most engaged in it.

There are many hot shot educational reformers out there today who boast a high profile degree, a few years in education and a lot of drastic proposals for a quick fix to the most pressing issues of our day. Though these ideas are exciting at times and should be considered, reforms that work will need to come from all stake holders. We will need to respect and cherish the educators who are spending their entire working lives with our children. Doesn't this make sense?

Being with the Atlantic County Teachers of the Year was a shot of optimism in hard times. Looking out from my podium at these dedicated educators was an honor and a privilege.

Marrying Don Quijote

2010-05-18T01:28:00.004-03:00

Today, I spent the day at the Dwight Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey. I had two activities there. The first was a leaders meeting for Teens Talk About Racism next week and the second, was a visit from the pages of fiction by none other than Don Quijote de la Mancha.

Now, I know that Don Quijote is an idealist and some people say that he chases windmills a little too much. They recommend that he pull his head out of the books to face "the real world." They even try to tell Don Quijote that the lovely maiden he is defending is less than maidenly. He won't hear of any such slander for she is, "Dulcinea," his sweet one.

Don Quijote was Cervantes'invention more than four hundred years ago, but the character has taken over.

My husband, Spanish and Ethics teacher, Joe Murphy, brought the real Don Quijote back through the dimensions to visit the fifth grade class of Janet Glass or "La Reina Blanca." Well, Joe Murphy is just the medium because the man I saw in that classroom today was not the man that I have been married to for 31 years. Joe Murphy has magic powers that can pull Don Quijote right off the page to bring him into the hearts and minds of children.

With my own eyes, I saw Don Quijote fighting the monstrous items found in the classroom with a sword. Some may have called those items speakers, statues and light fixtures, but Don Quijote assured the class that he was fighting the terrible dangers of the world - the "cruel monsters," as he put it. He even dubbed a couple of young men as knights, while he was visiting, and he inspired a love of adventure that the students will not forget.

At one key moment, a student asked Don Quijote what music he liked. Don Quijote simply began to sing a romance while he clapped. "I like my music, mi musica, I like it, the romance," he sang in Spanish, while dancing a little jig shuffle. Immediately, all of the children began to sing and clap the spontaneous song with him, swaying in place.

Together, with Don Quijote, we all traveled to a land where justice prevails, where dignity and inner beauty win acclaim and devotion and where fidelity to one's deepest values is more prized than gold.

When Don Quijote and I walked back to my husband, Joe Murphy's office, I asked him if he knew that one day, many years later, there would be a man who would bring him back to life.

Don Quijote looked me square in the eye and sent greetings from the past to this Joe Murphy.

How lucky am I to have married such an emissary. It's as close as any modern woman has ever come to marrying Don Quijote, himself.

Honored Alumnae at Convocation

2010-05-16T00:52:00.001-03:00

Honored Alumnae at Convocation

Anti-ed rhetoric ...don't go there!

2010-05-13T09:04:00.014-03:00

My new Teacher of the Year friends, from every state in our nation, have begun to share our thoughts on what makes an "effective" teacher. The big news is that evaluation methods vary widely in our country - some involving the use of portfolio, self assessment, administrator "walk through" and significant, regular input and conversation.

Clearly, all of the awarded teachers are interested in being part of the conversation about what we think is "great" about teachers who are lifted up as teachers of the year and other such awards, especially during the current anti-teacher public environment.

Just when I needed it most, I read an article in "Education Week" (www.edweek.org)in which Dianne Ravitch and Mike Rose share significant thoughts about what is happening. Both agree on the following, as stated by Mike Rose:

"You and I are both concerned about the predominance of school-bashing rhetoric in the national discussion of public schools." It seems, says Mike Rose, to "provide the ideological foundation to dismiss public education, to seek free-market solutions or structural or technological miracle cures."

That's what I've been hearing "out there" as well. I hear from folks that good teachers like me shouldn't be "defending the education of yesterday."

Diane Ravitch admits that there have always been critics and reformers of public education, but there was one important difference, "the critics wanted to make public schools better. Now, many critics think that the answer to public education is to get rid of it, to replace it with something that is wholly different and not subject to any democratic participation or control."

Wow, there's the rub. We "improve" public education by eliminating it. Ha!

Now, let's think about the current conversation about "teacher quality."

The be all and end all of a good teacher, according to the policy folks, is how kids perform on tests. I mean, as a "good teacher" we all have to be about student progress. All good teachers I know would agree, but the essential difference is how to judge student progress.

Most teachers don't trust the tests as the sole way of judging student progress. We don't trust the tests as the sole way of judging teachers either.

Diane talks about how we can judge effective teachers, anyway. It seems that we are moving in a direction of “deselect(ing) teachers every year whose students did not get gains. If we fire 5-10% of teachers every year, over time the nation will have an excellent corps of teachers."

Oh my! Credentials don't seem to matter, according to reformers, nor do degrees. So, Diane asks, why not have talented high school students do this test prep we are looking for? It may not be as much of a reductio ad absurdum as it at first seems. I mean...

Do you agree with the following?

Good education = Good test prep and results

Bad education = Bad test prep and results

Now, close your eyes and remember that special teacher. Come on, there must be one out there. Everyone talks about this person in every educational speech.

Your favorite teacher - the one who changed your life = your test results that year of school.

I'd bet money that this is not true, that you remember this person because of the way they motivated you to believe in yourself to become a learner.

Being a learner is forever.

Mike Rose says that real, honest-to-goodness professional development is crucial for teachers. Not the one-size-fits-all, half-day blitz we are familiar with, but the sustained, deep, collaboration with experts that really affect teachers and influence learners.

Oh, but I forgot - a teacher doesn't have to be an intellectual leader or social contributor, we just have to turn around test results.

We are "a knowledge-delivery mechanism preparing students for high-stakes tests."

Sounds like a wonderful career. I'll have to use that when I speak to the dewy eyed teachers to be in an upcoming speech.

Are you kidding?

Educational policy is being created and used to hurt the essence of the best of instruction as we know it. There is good and bad in yesterday. I am a huge supporter of technology, but I see it as a tool to create an infinite number of seats at the table. I cannot sit by silently while my profession is reduced to a Chaplanesque view of teacher as factory foreman pumping kids into a place on the assembly line. We know that this sort of one-size-fits-all approach is doomed.

What makes an effective teacher does need to be measured in important ways, but these ways need to include self reflection, personal growth, collaboration and peer involvement, connection with content-area experts, connection to the students'and strategies to help teachers find "tools" to help students overcome significant life obstacles like poverty, an intellectually unenriched home, disease, learning disabilities.

Personally, I'd prefer to eliminate poverty and social inequity, but that's another story.

Diane Ravitch spoke of our president and his wonderful ability as an orator. She'd like to see the tone shift from our guy up top. "instead of speaking about punishing, firing, failing, and closing, speak instead about improving, supporting, developing, encouraging, and inspiring."

That would be music to my ears.

Think hard about what we want. Do we want public schools that work? Or do we want to demolish our public schools and the teachers who would work in them? Do we want whole-minded professionals to take on teaching jobs or narrowly focused technocrats who are good at getting kids those discrete skills to get the numbers to get them the merit pay to get the acclaim.

In such a reality, Mr. Holland never gets his Opus and Mr. Chips, a life-long teacher who got an important movie goodbye from his school, will never appear on the screens of future movie goers. In the current scenario, The elegantly aging Mr. Chips would have been fired by the time he was 40 and Mr. Holland, that music teacher who actually loves music, will be told to focus more on the "real world."

Not on my watch!

Many teams on the same league - the NJ League

2010-05-08T14:45:00.017-03:00

NJEA President, Barbara Keshishian & me at my "Women of Distinction" award

Everywhere I go, I see teachers, administrators, school boards and students with the same worried faces. We are all worried about the future of education in New Jersey. For many years, our state has been able to boast about our excellent progress and success in public education.

But right now, I feel like we are living in a great big disconnect.

On the one hand, we have big dreams for success, for all students, coming to us from Arne Duncan and his team in Washington. There are many parts of ESEA that I do not agree with (merit pay & the turnaround plans' effectiveness, for example), but I see that it sincerely comes from a desire to graduate all students from high school with a full array of skills necessary to build this country.

I mean, we simply cannot have undeserved youth in the USA, whose voices are not heard by the status quo. Everything that happens everywhere in the USA affects the nature of our lives here.

We cannot have bad schools "across the river" and bridges that are not part of us. We cannot have disenfranchised youth who do not belong to us. We cannot allow schools that do not provide up-to-the-minute tools, much less basic literacy, to continue to flounder, anywhere in our nation. We cannot have our last ditch "alternative education" be a massive system of incarceration that confines our failures so that we don't have to see them any more. Our educational system needs to include all children to help them become the intellectual leaders and social contributors they are capable of being.

New Jersey is proud of its education today, but we and the nation have far to go. We cannot take one baby step backwards because each loss in our forward movement represents an untold number of lost youth, lost hope, lost dreams.

As New Jersey residents, we need to look at our public schools and celebrate what works and then we need to fix what doesn't in an atmosphere of absolute transparency and respect, give and take and energy.

We know some things that matter to provide the best experience for our children:

1. Class size
2. Teacher quality
3. Involved parents
4. Supportive communities
5. Positive social & emotional climate
6. 21st Century tools, language, culture, diversity
7. Responsive programs

In the middle of all of these pressing needs to reinvent ourselves, continually, we have the worst budget crisis we can remember. That's the other part of the disconnect. We have mandates for improvement, but the lowest funding ever to make this happen.

We need to pull together and recognize that though we may be on many teams, we are all in the same league - the New Jersey League!

Right now, Governor Christie is saying that he believes in education, yet I am hurt by the hostile comments and measures he is endorsing. The incredible cuts to education have increased class size, cut programs and laid off teachers.

What's more, the negative tone and comments directed at teachers are horrifying to us and disheartening. We're baffled.

My fellow educators say: "When did we become the enemy?" "How did this happen?"

Young teachers in education programs wonder aloud to me if they have made the right choice to study to be teachers.

Veteran teachers, who have spent a lifetime working for the young, for the future, wonder if they should retire right now.

Programs have been cut mercilessly, jobs slashed, classrooms stuffed to the brim.

In a time of economic crisis, we need to support education more than ever. What we do now, will affect the future.

Did you know that jails are built based on the reported third grade reading scores?

We know too much about how much educational failure costs to allow it to happen. The current cuts to education will threaten to put us on a downward spiral. We will lose programs that matter, teachers who care. The price we will pay is literally in human lives.

I'm happy that my New Jersey Education Association has represented teachers all across the state in a tireless and informed way, protecting the rights of teachers and the appropriate flow of funding to our classrooms.

You've seen the talk about "the bosses in Trenton," haven't you?

These so called "bosses" are teacher leaders, all of them. The NJEA folks are educators who have the ability to do advocacy and they have stepped up to the plate to do it. They believe in the children, their colleagues and our shared future. You can take my word for it because I have met them and I can read hearts.

The NJEA leaders are also fighters who will not stop when the going gets rough. They represent us. They are us. We are the NJEA.

We are teachers who want to work with all stakeholders to create a more perfect future for the children of our great state. We are learners who are excited and energized by the new tools and resources we want to learn about and share. We love our job because we get to see the magic of learning happen in our student's faces.

We are a strong, dedicated team.

The people in the Department of Education are also a strong and devoted group.

Our School Boards are composed of tireless volunteers donating hours of professional time to help run schools.

Our school's administrative teams have stepped up to organize and lead efforts to keep our schools great and the best administrators share power well with teachers, parents and students.

Our students - the point of our efforts - are on the front lines, making new knowledge, teaching us, growing into vibrant and important leaders in their own right. Their real world is now - in the classroom - today!

Government officials are the servants of the will of the people. They are in power because this power is bestowed upon them by the voice of the people.

The government is not any individual or group - it is all of us and we have an infinite right and obligation to voice our concerns, expand its possibilities and participate in this great and hard won democracy.

I'll close my entry to you by remembering "The Wizard of Oz."

You'll remember that Dorothy and her friends were going along the yellow brick road to get to the Emerald City.

Oz was a great place, but the best thing about Oz was the Wizard. Great and powerful, was he, and possessed of the unbelievable skill that would help Dorothy go home to Kansas.

Well, we all know how this story ends. Dorothy gets to Oz and pulls aside the curtain and finds a small, elderly man managing the magnificent light show that she sees. It's all a charade and Dorothy finds out that she has had the power, with a click of her red slippers, to go home to Kansas on her own.

Lately, I've been rethinking Oz.

Now, I think that we go along our yellow brick road and we get to Oz, but when we pull aside the curtain, there is a gigantic mirror and we see ourselves. The Wizard is us and has been all along.

During this time of crisis, our individual voices have never been more important. Do not ever believe that teachers are the enemy or that the designated voice of the teachers are bad guys.

Stand up and be counted. Create the future of education, voice by voice. Do not be intimidated by the forces which seek to mute you. Call your representatives. Add your voice. Be the one to make things happen.

You are Oz.

World Language Supervisor's Round Table

2010-05-07T21:06:00.006-03:00

Today I gave a presentation on "Technology as 21st Century Culture" to the recipients of model program status for World Language and Bilingual/ESL in the State of New Jersey.

Folks are well trained in tech at this level so I took a more personal approach. I took us on the journey of technology, what it was like for my parents, for me in my life, for our students today. We are all hearing about 21st Century learning and so many buzz words, but frequently have little time to explore.

I also wanted to focus hard on the notion of student engagement and also on our own engagement. There is so much talk about "digital natives" - our students, that we don't think about our own learning curve as teaching learners. I think it's so important to get in touch with that. My presentations are always stories - I don't know another way to be - so there was time for people to connect to our experience of moving into a flat world and their own relationship to technology.

We shared stories about futuristic childhood dreams such as those we imagined from watching the Jetsen's, 2001 a Space Odyssey and we tried to put our heads together to imagine what the new adventure was that we are in right now. Then, we explored some great web 2.0 tools individually on our lap tops.

We reached out by Skype to my resident tech expert, Tom Welch, who pulled over on his way to a friend's party in Michigan. Tom chatted with us about interconnected learning and how it differentiates like an Aspen Grove- each part somehow sensing the needs of the other. Later, I Skyped my husband's class at Dwight Englewood school so that Joe could explain how he Skyped with his classes and how he recovered from surgery at home, while keeping his classes on track, virtually!

I closed by including the words of Dan Brown, a popular internet spokesperson for the digital generation. Dan sends us out a provocative message which I believe we must heed. I wonder what you think?

NJTOY on the radio! - May 4, 2010

2010-05-04T18:49:00.011-03:00

Here I am at the console - first time ever!

I go to Philadelphia today to do a Spanish language "Pride in Public Education" public service announcement for the NJEA. I arrive at WDAS-FM in Bala Cynwyd, PA, where I meet George Liles, an Account Executive for Clear Channel, Radio. George brings me to a studio where I meet Doug. Doug is working on sound for a radio program, doing several things at once - or at least, it seems like that to me! Here - once again - I have stepped into yet another world, so familiar to the people who work in it, but new to me.

Doug hard at work in the studio

George Liles

We do two takes, both fine, but the second a bit better. Doug says to watch the explosivity of the letter "p" which is like a little burst of air into the mike. I step back a bit and press my lips together every time a "p" comes out. In Spanish, the letter "p" is supposed to be like that anyway so it is a good awareness check.

I finish up the piece, share some stories about an attendance project that George is working on with area schools and a musical life-learning program that Doug has created. Good people doing good things for the world.

I leave Clear Channel and realize that I am hungry. I never notice this before I have another big thing to do.

There is a Starbucks around the corner. I know that besides coffee, they have great little cheese and fruit plates.

On the way over, I had listened to a radio program that encouraged people to eat about ten fruits and vegetable servings a day to live longer. Plants, the program said, stay in one place so they need to develop defenses against bad things. When we eat the plants, we eat the defense. I think of this as I eat my quarter apple, five grapes, a triangle of Brie.

Alex Tittle receives "Teaching it Forward Scholarship!"

2010-05-02T15:54:00.004-03:00

I'm thrilled to report that Alex Tittle, my nominee for the Teaching it Forward Scholarship is approved to receive it!!! Here's the letter I received from the University of Phoenix!

Maryann,

Thank you again for your dedication to teaching and finding the perfect "Teaching It Forward" recipient.

We are pleased to award Alexander Deane Tittle a full-tuition University of Phoenix scholarship. Thank you for nominating Alexander. We look forward to assisting him as he achieves his goals. We would love to know if Alexander will be awarded during an award event at his school. Also, we would enjoy having copies of any photos of the award ceremony.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Tammie Yong, Director of Scholarships

A New Jersey TOY in Washington D.C.

2010-04-30T01:14:00.052-03:00

We go to the Smithsonian to learn about the wonderful resources (4/26)

A fabulous Gala is held for all of the Teachers of the Year and to announce the 2010 Teacher of the Year, Sarah Brown Wessling (4/28)

Sarah Brown Wesstling, 2010 National Teacher of the Year

Lilly Eskelsen, the NEA Vice President and an AMAZING speaker!

My husband, Joe Murphy, is a great escort!

What a plate of food!

Wisconsin & New Jersey

The Gala was the most elegant and well planned event I have ever experienced. Jon Quam, the National Teacher of the Year coordinator and Andy, outdid themselves. Every detail - the food, the music, the range of speeches, was perfect.

We go home and try to sleep, but all end up talking in the lobby for another hour. Some of us are still wearing our gowns and others have tossed the finery in exchange for jeans. We don't seem to want to let this night go and we need to be together just a little more.

Finally, we all head up to our rooms and go to sleep. Soon, the alarm is ringing without mercy, earlier than we want to hear it.

But, the big day has arrived and we are going to the White House, but first we spend a few hours at the Dept of Education. (4/29)

A bus leaves the hotel at 9:00 a.m. I throw down a few slices of pineapple and yogurt and half of a mug of very good coffee.

To go into the National DOE, we need picture ID. We get checked in, enter a small theater and speak with the framers of the blueprint for education. They present the highlights and we ask questions.

Of course, my question refers to language. I tell them that as a Spanish teacher, I am very concerned about funding for early language programs. In our current fiscal crisis, these are the first to go. For years, I say, we have accumulated studies that say that language needs to be taught early and for many years. I mention that ACTFL has gathered information which we should be looking at.

Everyone agrees. I just wonder where the money will come from and whether the mandates that focus so much on reading and math will squeeze out language, social studies, art and music. We need well rounded children and the blueprint recognizes this, but where will the money come from?

We leave the DOE and rush back to the hotel for a change of clothes and a bus to the White House. We are going to the White House!!

We get on the bus and get to the White House. We get checked in at the gate by a serious looking, muscular guard. We go through metal detectors and walk through the hallways lined with portraits of presidents and first ladies. A hush falls upon us.

The door opens and we see green. It's the Rose Garden. We are told to line up along the Rose Garden Wall, under the portico arches. Bo, the White House dog makes a bee line across the lawn to our line up. We melt. He is black and fuzzy and one of the most polite dogs I have every seen. If our dog Wagzie were here, she'd jump on everyone's suit. This, Bo, is clearly a classy dog. Bo's trainer is right by her side. With quiet confidence he directs the First Dog. Does he use telepathy? I see no outward signs of instruction and no drippy treats. Bo has earned her First Pup status!

These five state Teachers of the Year are all Spanish teachers!

Once inside the White House West Wing, we wait in a narrow hallway for our turn with the president in the Oval Office. Before going in, we have to leave our cameras outside because only the official White House photographer will take the picture. It'll come in a month or two, but it will come. People are working in offices which line the hallway. Someone comes through with a turkey sandwich under a plastic top. Lunchtime.

On line, waiting, I hear my heart pounding. Is this real? Am I going to meet the president? The actual, real president.

Dr. Jill Biden flies up the stairs past us in a lovely two-toned suit, "Hi, Guys," she says, "It's great to see you. I got off school early today just to be here!" Then, she scoots off, accompanied by a secret-service escort.

The line is moving. I can hear a military guard announcing each TOYs name. Wait, is that the president's voice???

I can see the light from the camera flashing and some laughter. Eric Nash, the TOY from New Hampshire, is at the door and now he is in.

I see Barack Obama talking to him. Then, Eric walks to the exit of the Oval Office and Barack is looking at ME. I hear my name announced and Mr. President is reaching his long arms across the room. TO ME!!! I shake hands with him and tell him that my husband's cousin used to be on his secret service staff.

"John Ryan?" he says, "I love that guy! How is he?"
"Great, Mr. President. I was just with him a couple of nights ago."
"Well, thanks for all you do."
"It's wonderful to be here."

And then, I am at the door facing the Rose Garden. Out there, on the lawn are people. I know they were people because they move like people, but I can distinguish no features. It is a blur of color on the lawn.

"Maryann Woods-Murphy, New Jersey"

I hear my name being announced and I walk on the stage, stopping in the middle for a second like they do in graduations! I hear a chuckle. I keep moving. A soldier is waiting to help me onto the grass. I make it to my seat. My legs work. They feel sort of wobbly, but they manage to move me across the stage and to a chair, luckily situated at the end of the row. I fold into it.

One by one, I see my colleague cross the stage. I feel connected in some way to each one of them.

Then, Dr. Biden is announced and then the president. Barack Obama comes out with Sarah, who is looking lovely in her suit and beaming smile. I feel happy for her and am sending good energy her way. We all are. We are hanging on every word. Her tiny children watch from the front row.

The president speaks and is so natural with us. First, though, he must address the oil slick and the work being done. He asks if there are any science teachers among us who might have some good ideas to share with the White House.

Then, Sarah speaks and does a stunning job of celebrating teachers and the student- centered classroom. Back home in her Iowa classroom, her teacher's desk is kept at the back of the classroom as a visual reminder that the student drives the learning. Sarah has her own former teachers in the audience and her three children, who range in age from 4.5 months to six years old. Her husband, Tim, is there, proud and happy.

When she finishes, we all spring to our feet. It's like one TOY cohort standing ovation. "You go girl!" we are saying. "We are right here."

The president walks over to Sarah's family for a couple of minutes and we all mill around a moment on the grass.

Joyce Powell, from the NEA and our former NJEA president comes to offer her words of congratulations to me. I am so happy to see someone from my home state of New Jersey.

My husband, Joe, is next to give me a hug and a kiss. Ah, my anchor.

We see Arne Duncan talking to some people and decide to greet him and snap a picture.

Soon, the secret service is encouraging us to leave to make room for a motorcade, but we keep snapping pictures and walking. The music plays. We want to savor every single moment.

Joe and I just outside of the Rose Garden

We just keep walking and snapping pictures

Another one of Joe and me

We board the bus back to the hotel. My feet are throbbing, but I am incredulous. My fellow TOYs and I just keep shaking our heads. This is on the short list of most wonderful life moments.

Once back in the hotel, I check my email because I am invited to see Senator Menendez at his office. It's a very busy day on Capital Hill, but he wanted to see me and offer me some tours for tomorrow.

I get a call and we head over for a brief visit to the Senate Offices, near the Capital building. Senator Menendez is extraordinarily welcoming. We so appreciate his taking the time.

We stop by Senator Lautenberg's Office and leave my card. The education staffer is gracious and invites me to communicate any concerns or ideas that I would like to to the senator.

We say goodbye and get a quick cab back to the hotel. It's 6:15 and there is a field trip for the TOYs sponsored by Target.

Up to our room to throw off our business attire and throw on some jeans. The target people are blowing whistles and giving out special bags to us. Outside, there are two busses with "National Teachers of the Year 2010" painted on it. These people are filled with energy and very happy to sponsor an activity for us.

We are going to take a spin around D.C. to see the main monuments. Francoise, our tour guide is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We learn, for example, that the capital used to have a canal going up Constitution Avenue and this is how the stones were carried.

I love this picture of all of the state Teachers of the Year!!!

Visiting Lincoln's memorial is moving and reminds me of the best of our country

Here commemorates the spot where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech.

What a fitting way to end the evening. We are moved, humbled and connected to history, this day and a renewed sense of purpose.

The Smithsonian & Bidens' house...

2010-04-26T22:58:00.021-03:00

Wow! Here I am with our Vice President, Mr. Joe Biden!

The Smithsonian Castle

Well, it was no kind of normal day in the neighborhood. Got to DC yesterday and came to the Mariott, where all of the Teachers of the Year are staying. Stopped over for a nice dinner at Joe's cousin, John Ryan, in Baltimore on the way. Home cooked food and good cheer went a long way.

The Marriott is in the middle of town, blocks from the White House. When we checked in, we got a nice bag from target with a big surprise - a flip video! What a great gift!

This morning, we all had a buffet breakfast with the Teachers of the Year and families. Eggs, croissant, jam, fruit - it was festive and great to see everyone. A bus pulled up at the hotel around nine o'clock and took us off to the Smithsonian Castle.

The Smithsonian Castle looked like a reddish royal residence, stuck in the middle of a modern city. Once inside, we entered a long room with round tables and neatly placed glass goblets of orange juice, mugs of coffee & cloth napkins. At our table was a representative from the Smithsonian who told us that our group would visit the "Art of Gamon" exhibit. We were asked to write down three words that came to mind when we thought of "museums."

Our guide took us to the Renwick Gallery where we were immediately struck with a make-shift chair at the entrance, fashioned of rough-hewn wooden planks. We learned that the art in this exhibit had come from the Japanese Americans who were gathered in internment camps in the dusty deserts of our western US during World War II, at the same time as many of their sons were fighting in the war.

These Japanese Americans were given two weeks to dissolve their businesses and gather what they could in a suitcase to live in the inhospitable camps. Lost behind the barbed wire, they found shells or cloth or discarded wood to create delicate birds or baskets or furniture or paintings on the backs of cardboard left behind from packages. Children created baseball teams and women made sandals out of old pieces of wood so they could navigate the mud in the unpaved streets.

We learned about the entire process that is needed to put an exhibit like this together - the lighting people, the many shades of white on the walls, the way the objects are selected to tell the truest story possible. Whole teams of people in the museum do this for two years and then they all get together to look for consensus on how best to create an exhibit which achieves shared goals. Every word, every thread, every ray of light is organized.

The Smithsonian folks bussed us back to the Smithsonian Castle to a nice lunch and they told us how to become Smithsonian Ambassadors. This would mean that we represent the museum to our colleagues in education. The resources are inspiring, but what most impressed me was the way the activities were so carefully designed with real people in mind.

After the museum, we headed over to the Navy base. This is where the Vice President lives with his family. First, we went to an observatory and library where original editions of Kepler, Copernicus and Newton were there to see! Are you kidding???? I was floored. This was the most extensive library of astronomy in the country!

Right away, we boarded the bus and went a little ways to a large white house with a giant porch. This looked like a house that someone really lived in and sure enough, it was the Bidens' home.

Once inside and up the stairs, you enter into a living room with a dining room to the left and a living room to the right. Everything was light and airy with lovely paintings on the walls and lots of homey family pictures clustered together on the mahogany piano: Joe and Jill dancing, The children. In a back room is a plastic enclosed GI Joe from Barack, given to Joe Biden saying he is unbeatable. Great stuff.

There were tea sandwiches and lemonade and the constant in and out of waiters and waitresses refreshing the silver trays. We all clustered around and took pictures of everything.

All of a sudden, Dr. Jill Biden came in and spoke, telling us that this was her favorite event. She took lots of time with each of us to find out what we teach and where we came from.

After a while, people started to really eat the food. Of particular note were the tiny scones and clotted cream with strawberry. They were hot, moist and just sweet enough.

I noticed that everyone was clustering again into the lobby and I heard a familiar voice. It was Joe Biden who told us that Jill especially wanted him to clear his calendar to visit us. He had other state matters to attend to that he was able to put off till tomorrow. He spoke of memorable teachers and ways that we change the world. One by one, he chatted with us and told us anecdotes about his experiences in our states. Joe Biden was sincere, hospitable and charming. He made everyone feel like they had known him all their lives. It was as if he was a trusted neighbor.

Joe Biden suggested that we all go out to the ample porch to chat and take a few more pictures. He laughed out loud with us and seemed sincerely interested in our thoughts. When it was time to go he said,

"I'll walk you out." Joe Biden strolled down the driveway with us and he led us personally to the bus. I climbed into the first bus, but soon realized that it was the wrong bus.

"Oh," he said, "I'll walk you over," Without a moment's hesitation, Mr. Biden, continued his amiable chat while he walked us over to bus number two. He climbed right on the bus with us and thanked us for coming and giving us a little wave. Mary Pinkerston, Teacher of the Year from Delaware jumped up and gave him a hug and he kissed her cheek.

She touched it as we drove away. "I won't wash that," she said.

I cannot remember such a day in my life. Did this really happen?

Picture The TOY around NJ

2010-04-26T01:10:00.013-03:00

Joe and I are dressed up and ready for the Passaic County Ed Association Gala

Sue Clark & The Gloucester County Educational Association showed me hospitality after I spoke at a meeting!

Shirley Santos, Cumberland TOY, invited me to speak at the Legislative Dinner @ Cumberland County

The week ended with a wonderful day at the "One Step Beyond" conference, held at the Mercer Community College Conference Center. This was a cross-agency event which brought together diversity educators from all around the state to share our programs and ideas. Most notable for me was the selection on youth voices where Paul Winkler, head of the Holocaust Commission for NJ, asked selected teens to talk about their experiences in high schools around the area of race, disability, gender and ethnicity. Students shared freely and were able to help educators really experience their perspective in an important and intense way. It was an outstanding day!

A Diversity Day in Warren County, N.J.

2010-04-18T01:26:00.012-03:00

Mrs. Patty Bell and me!!

April 16th, 2010

My visit to the Brass Castle School and the Port Colden School on April 16th were absolutely moving to me.

My niece, Patty Bell, is a third grade teacher in the district. She conferred with her administration who invited me to offer three school assemblies. The night before, I stayed at the Bell's lovely home with Ms. Bell's husband, Hank and their two wonderful children, my great-nephews, Christopher and Ryan.

The next morning, I went to the two schools and I spoke to grades 1st - 6th and did three distinct assemblies and later made two half hour classroom visits.

I must confess that, as a high school teacher, I was a bit nervous about presenting an assembly to very small children.

What would it be like? Would I connect? Would they enjoy my message and learn from the day?

It seemed important to think hard about creating an experience that would engage each of those age groups. Of course, for me, stories are the basis of all learning and so I structured the presentation.

I created a Power Point presentation which wove my story in Spain into a presentation of five statements that relate to diversity.

The students and I went over each point and talked about them. Everyone had a hand up and contributed with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. Ms. Bell had distributed packets on diversity to all of the teachers and many had read stories and done bulletin board art projects to prepare for my arrival! The whole place was buzzing with excitement.

I felt happy after talking to the 4th - 6th graders, but when I got to the 1st - 3rd graders, I wondered how that would be. I saw very small children coming into the gym and sitting on the floor. They all had eager, friendly faces and were ready to learn.

I found that my voice tone naturally changed and went into a story teller's rhythm. Again, students gave everything to the meeting and soon we were old friends.

At the end, I was thrilled that there were so many questions. I thought that we were done, but Ms. Bell said that the children had prepared a surprise.

Sure enough, they came up with posters and all one hundred or so children, broke out into "It's a small world after all!" This was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes.

As if that weren't enough, there was still another surprise. At the doorway, the Port Colden Teacher of the Year was holding an enormous bunch of flowers to give to me. All of the children clapped! Everyone was so excited!!

Later, I visited Ms. Bell's classroom, where the children had prepared cards and a great skit. I visited my nephew Ryan's classroom where I told the children more stories. At the end, they wanted my autograph!

This was truly a day of connections and a celebration of teaching and learning. The teachers and administrators in these schools deeply care about the children and it really shows.

I left the building with my gifts and children called out to me all of the languages they want to learn and the world they would dream of seeing.

"Are you coming back on Monday?" they asked.

I walked through the hallway and admired all of the art that the students had prepared to decorate the hallways as they thought about diversity. What a wonderful way to share a message of joy with the very young.

I clearly got much more from these little ones than I could ever give!

Socrates whispering in my ear

2010-04-18T01:09:00.008-03:00

Here's a speech I delivered to the current Philosphy and Religion majors at Montclair State University, my Alma Mater. This was a career day hosted jointly by the Philosphy/Religion Department and the General Humanities Department. I gave my talk and was proud to take home an armful of lovely flowers and a mug with Descartes image on it! It says, "I think, therefore I am" and when you drink coffee, it changes to "I think not! How cool! Well, here's the talk....

Socrates whispering in my ear: philosophy and work
MSU Philosphy/Religion Career Day Event
By Maryann Woods-Murphy, April 15th, 2010

It’s my honor and privilege to talk to you today. I have long kept up my relationship with the Philosophy and Religion department at Montclair State University, Montclair State College when I attended in 1978.

This place means the world to me. Right now, I am happy to be the New Jersey State teacher of the year as well as the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Teacher of the year.

So how does this relate to my studies of philosophy and how does it relate to my life story? What impact did studying philosophy have on my life and how did it inform my profession?

When I came to Montclair State in 1977, I was 17 years old. I had a friend from high school whose father was the chair of the Philosophy & Religion Department, the late Dr. George Brantl. Mary, his daughter, told me to go find him so he could help me register for classes.

I came from a family where I was the first one on this side of the ocean to get a college degree so the very process of registering for college classes was daunting to me. In those days, we got on long lines to register in the gym after getting approval in department offices.

When I first got to the college, I thought that I might major in communications since I like to communicate, but when I went to the communications department and saw lights and cameras everywhere, I understood that this was a media program, not some kind of program to help us “communicate” better.

Lost and alone on campus, I remembered Mary Brantl’s advice. “Go see my father!”

This is how I entered the philosophy department office to meet Dr. Brantl in his trademark green shirt and effusive gestures.

“Oh, Maryann,” he said, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Really?” I thought, “Mary really told you about me?”

Dr. Brantl sat down at his desk and proceeded to outline my academic program. He told me as well about a new program in General Humanities, “you’ll love it,” he said. “I want you to do a double major: Philosophy and General Humanities.”

“I’m doing a double major?”

“Yes,” said Dr. Brantl, rubbing his cheek, “You’ll have to start early so you can fit in all of your general education classes with your major classes. Maybe you can double up.”

“Oh”

“Then you’ll pick your concentration for your thesis.”

“My thesis?”

“Yeah, your undergraduate thesis.”

My heart was pumping with nervousness, but also with excitement. Here was this fine sounding man taking care of my first semester schedule and all I had to do was learn the names of the classes he signed me up for.

“Contemporary Aesthetics?”

“A wonderful course, Dr. Lipman teaches it, a good start.”

“You wouldn’t recommend an introductory class, Dr. Brantl?”

“Introduction? No, You had philosophy in high school – Mary told me – so we’ll just move you along to the right level for you.”

Gulp. Dr. Brantl passed me the form with narrow lines where he had written my classes down with their corresponding numbers and his approval signatures.

“I’ll be your advisor,” said Dr. Brantl, “this way I can help you register every time.”

That first semester of college, I studied a junior level Contemporary Aesthetics class. I confess that I really didn’t know what such a class would be about and that I went home to quickly look up the word to see if it related to anything more than “good taste.”

In the college bookstore, I bought thick, five-section notebooks, which I filled with notes about readings that I was only beginning to understand. It was rigorous learning and at night, my brain seemed to hurt.

From my Montclair State professors, I literally learned the words that would accompany me throughout my entire intellectual and professional life. I learned to think critically and could see things from a wide variety of perspectives. I understood logical fallacies and was able to sniff them out in reading, media and in conversations. I understood that the mind of the world is developed though a series of conversations that take place in our own heads as we engage in our reading and in conversations with each other.

I learned to write clearly and to make every word count. I understood that different sorts of writing applied to each field, that if I was studying social science, I needed to bathe in the words used in that field to have meaningful conversations with professionals in a language they could hear. My General Humanities major trained me as an interdisciplinary thinking. I have the unique ability to connect themes and topics across fields. My brain can connect the dots.

A study of philosophy gave me the ability to see that how we think is the most important part of the work day and that when we analyze problems and seek solutions with others in collaborative projects, we need to use the skills of intense listening, careful understanding of language, the ability to logically construct our argument and the courage of our hard-won convictions.

This is what I have always done in my classes and, as a teacher; I have been able to affirm my own student’s nascent intellectual moment. I can say, “No, you are not crazy. Great thinkers have been working on this problem that is keeping you up at night for centuries. Here, let me show you a book.”

A study of philosophy has taught me to be intellectually brave. Many a time in my professional life, I have been in a sea of colleagues – all quite intelligent and able in their fields. A presenter is speaking and has said something notably awry. It just doesn’t add up. I have looked around, hoping that someone might differ with the point of view expressed or at least ask a clarifying question. Time and time again, though, I have been the only one to raise my hand, with the utmost respect, to share a concern or thought.

Why me? Because I studied philosophy. Because when you study philosophy, Socrates is always whispering in your ear, telling you that finding answers is hard and that it is our job as humans to do it. We can never become complacent and never let the tendency for “group think” to take over our minds and actions.

This can mean that we are sometimes annoying, but I must say that I have learned to respectfully articulate an opposing view in such a way that the speaker welcomes the point. The words I have learned here at Montclair State University have served me well. Some say that the pen is a sword, but I would add that clear words forged in an open mind are also weapons that we take into our social arenas.

My work in the world is that of a Spanish teacher. How can Philosophy and General Humanities help me there? As a student at Montclair State University, I was engaged in learning by listening and writing, but also by discussing matters of importance with my teachers in and after class.

My students do the same. I am happy when they get that slightly worried look, that edgy discomfort which tells me that we are getting ready for some good discussion. Some call this a teachable moment. I call it the reason we are together. My classroom is shaped like a horseshoe of chairs and desks to encourage such engagement and if things get too quiet, I get the students out of their seats to speak in pairs and small groups so that they can hammer out their thoughts and beliefs.

Because I studied philosophy, I’m not afraid to venture into the realm of diversity work, empowerment and dialogue facilitation. In our increasingly global society, this is a skill that is sorely needed in many fields. Nowadays, in our complex and multidisciplinary world, we need to have these cross-disciplinary abilities to be highly effective.

Studying philosophy was the most practical thing I could ever have done. By learning how to reflect, use language, think clearly, analyze and discuss the most important matters of the our time, I have developed a fearless approach to work and intellectual life which has served me, my students and colleagues well.

Never doubt that it will do the same for you. Your hard-won skills will set you apart. Never apologize for them or feel that you were luxuriating in intellectually frivolous pursuits. The world needs what you have, more and more each day.