Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/108811
> OPINIONS & LETTERS COMMENTS or FUN, if you will. Then there���s Developing Problems Using Nuggets (PUN) that will draw students into the process. Some teachers complain about the FUN part of the lesson because they are developing elaborate teaching devices that will work outside the classroom, but for me the PUN is the most dif���cult part. How do I bring the sizzle, the ���wow!��� factor, the rich personal insights into the classroom for my students? Another dif���culty is assessment. Differentiation can be more dif���cult when the classroom activity is applied. What if a student does not do the FUN work and just attaches to another student? How do I fairly assess performance? How is that directly tied to transferable knowledge that can make students successful on those dreadful high-stakes tests? Perhaps the greatest challenge is shifting the culture of the school community to make this learning happen throughout the school day. Certainly easier in a small school, but at my high school, if rigorous instruction is not the norm throughout the day, my students can ���hold their breath��� for 56 minutes and just decide they are no good at science. That harms them, limits feeder students to upper division courses, and is, perhaps, a subtle form of tracking that belies the belief that all students can achieve. J. Barber-Doyle Montebello Teachers Association REALLY? My husband is a teacher and union member. We often enjoy the articles in the California Educator magazines he receives as part of his membership. For example, the article on instructional ���ipping discussed a strategy he has been interested in implementing in his classroom, and provided some resources to help. However, the article about the wackiest gifts teachers received was highly inappropriate [December/January Educator]. What teaching magazine 8 California Educator February 2013 uses words like ���condom��� (unless in a speci���c case of HIV or teen pregnancy prevention) and ���vibrator���? My 10-year-old picked up the magazine because the title of the article looked entertaining, so he read it. What were you thinking? Rebecca Klempner Los Angeles Editor���s Note: Comments in the ���Gifts��� article were chosen from interactive conversations on CTA���s Facebook page. While we regret any offense, the many positive responses thanked us for ���real life��� examples of humor. RECYCLING GIFTS Loved the list of unusual gifts. Mine was a Target gift card that had no amount left on it and a book her teacher last year had given her for Christmas. We are learning about recycling in science! Jennifer Scoyni Bakers���eld Elementary Teachers Association FREEDOM OF SPEECH The article ���Your freedom of speech in the classroom��� in the December/January Educator said teachers ���can have a robust conversation on religious topics.��� Thank you for that. It is a sad day when teachers are afraid to talk about anything religious. I appreciate this advice given by CTA���s General Counsel Emma Leheny: ���Be sensitive to students��� personal beliefs as you construct lesson plans.��� Yes, this is so important. We as teachers need to be sensitive to our student���s beliefs, whether it���s a belief in the tooth fairy or a belief in God. We as public educators have no right to change a child���s beliefs. Jennifer Warman Keppel Union Teachers Association GRATEFUL FOR THE MLK SCHOLARSHIP! Build character. Teach young minds to think and how to think. I���ve attempted to do this as a ���fth-grade teacher for 12 years. However, being in the UCLA Educational Leadership Program has challenged my thinking and ignited in me a new level of servitude for children. Even in the little things��� Classes love their pizza parties. We decided to have a ���Giving Party��� where we researched and gave to charities. The kids asked, ���Do we still get pizza?��� ���No,��� I replied. ���Our pizza will be the joy of serving others!��� I wasn���t sure how they would respond, but the kids gave three times the amount they would have brought for pizza. This is signi���cant since I teach in a Title I school and many of my students are from lower-income families. I was so proud to see our class provide propane for families residing on an Indian reservation, funds for Hurricane Sandy relief, and funds for the community of Sandy Hook Elementary. I spearhead a parent outreach effort we call Academic Empowerment Group to network with parents to help their children be more academically successful. Now, CTA���s ���nancial generosity is helping me navigate my doctorate in education. My work is in African American college matriculation. As it is, all my students have college aspirations. I hope my work will help students move from aspiration to attainment by high school graduation. Comments by Lovell Devon Smith, a 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship recipient, expressing his appreciation at the January State Council meeting. A Santa MonicaMalibu TA member, he teaches at Will Rogers Learning Community.