1st BTSA Meeting

BTSA October Meeting

October 23rd, 2012

Went to my first official BTSA monthly meeting (orientation didn't really count). There were introductions and presentations on expectations about professionalism and meeting logistics. Also, there was talk about the benefits of BTSA (units and professional development opportunities). They also were able to explain Module A and Module B, both having to be completed by the first review session. The last half of the meeting was for collaboration. My fellow coworkers as well as our wonderful support providers make an excellent team together; we all work well with one another and are able to support each other out. Let's make the best out of this and get this over with! Yatta!

Paraprofessional Training - Foundations of Best Practices

The Irvine Unified School District offers training for paraprofessionals (aka instructional assistants) on all of the following subjects:

• Foundations of Best Practices
• Classroom/Time Management and Instructional Content and Practices
• Autism and Social Skills
• Challenging Behavior and Positive Behavior Supports
• Effective Reading and Math Instruction
• Cultural Proficiency / Competency and ELL Students
• Data Collection and Health Care

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Paraprofessional Training

Module B: Foundations of Best Practices

Friday, October 19th, 2012

Notes / Information taken from the training:

What is a paraprofessional?

A special education worker who is not licensed to teach, but performs many duties both individually with students and in the classroom (Terri Mauro, About.com Guide)

The Role and Responsibility of the Paraprofessional:

- To assist the teacher and students in achieving individualized IEP goals and objectives that are set up through the IEP team.

- Observe the students to give input.

- Assist in maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment.

- Provide input to during an IEP when appropriate.

Role and Responsibility of the Supervising Teacher:

- To assure that the students are moving toward achievement of individualized IEP goals and objectives.

- Plan and prescribe the learning environment and instruction for the student.

- Train paraprofessionals in the specifics of the instruction.

- Evaluate student progress and monitor the effectiveness of the paraprofessional's implementation of the instructional strategies.

- Provide input to administrator regarding paraprofessional evaluations.

Categories of Disabilities:

- Autism (AUT)

- Deaf- Blindness (DB)

- Deafness (DEAF)

- Hard of Hearing (HH)

- Intellectual Disability (ID)

- Multiple Disabilities (MD)

- Orthopedic Impairment (OI)

- Other Health Impairment (OHI)

- Emotional Disturbance (ED)

- Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

- Speech or Language Impairment (SLI)

- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

- Visual Impairment (VI)

- Established Medical Disability (EMD)

Movie: Won't Back Down

So, on October 5th, 2012, I went to watch the movie, Won't Back Down, by myself (well, there was one more person in there with me). According to IMDB.com, the movie is about "[two] determined mothers­, one a teacher, look to transform their children's failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children."

The movie started out with one of my biggest pet peeves within the American education system, a teacher who has lost her passion for teaching just because she was tenured, a teacher who reeks of apathy. Not only that, she made exceptionally more money than the other teachers within her school, those who were passionate and those who do a better job educating than she does.

Other than that, there were moments throughout the film where I got emotional and teared up.

Overall, I do wish the movie was a little better developed. It did a great job of presenting the flaws in our education system nowadays, but the message it portrays is that if we want to change our system for the better, it is going to be easier said than done. It takes the actions of not only the parents, but the school/teachers, and the community as well. But in the end, it could be done.

Let us hope for a better future for our students.

Common Core State Standards Symposium

Common Core State Standards Symposium

Offered by UCLA Center X: Transforming Public Schools

Saturday, September 29th, 2012

8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Session 1 Workshop: What Can I Do About the Common Core in History? (K-12)
Information taken from Lisa Hutton's PowerPoint:

• "The standards establish a 'staircase' of increasing complexity in what students must be able to read so that all students are ready for the demands of college- and career- level reading no later than the end of high school."
• Major Instructional Shifts in ELA: 1.) Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction, 2.) Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text (evidence, close analytic reading, and text dependent questions), and 3.) Regular practice with complex text and its academic language.
• How is it related to History-Social Science: connect with History-Social Science analysis skills (historical thinking); staying focused on reading, talking, and writing using evidence from texts (add more text-based tasks); reading multiple sources or texts including primary and secondary sources
• Goal is to "Read like a historian..."
• History-Social Science lessons: Standards --> Big Idea/Concept --> Inquiry Question --> Text/Source #1 --> Text/Source #2 --> Text/Source #3 --> Culminating Task --> Evaluation.

Helpful websites:
http://sheg.stanford.edu/
http://http://beyondthebubble.stanford.edu/
http://www.achievethecore.org

Session 2 Workshop: Text, Prompt, Student Writing: Models for Teaching and College-Ready Learning (9-12)
Given by Faye Peitzman (UCLA)
UCLA Writing Project: http://centerx.gseis.ucla.edu/writing-project

• "What does 'college-ready' look like? The UC's Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE) provides useful models of texts that are complex, but rich and well-written; writing prompts that demand analysis, but offer respectable leeway for crafting responses."
• Analytical Writing: "Analytical writing ... is not a different scheme for writing at all; it is writing with a particular purpose and attitude. That purpose is not simply to describe experience or arrange information in various configurations, but to explain the significance which that experience or information has for the writer and to propose that it should for the reader. Analytical writing extends the gathering and transmitting of information into the dimension of drawing inferences, values, and applications from it. That is why the ability -- and willingness -- to think and write analytically is a prerequisite for all university work." -- From Teaching Analytical Writing, p. xviii

Session 3 Workshop: Evaluating Sources: Common Core and Non-Fiction Texts (6-12)
Given by Daniel Buccieri, NBCT/UCLA Writing Project Fellow

Best workshop of the day for me!!! Used "The Boston Massacre" as a sample lesson.

Common Core Reading Standards:

• Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
• Identify aspects of a text that reveal author's point of view or purpose.
• Analyze the relationship between a primary source and secondary source on the same topic.

Common Core Writing Standards:

• Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
• Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events...
• Write narratives to develop real experiences using effective technique, relative descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

August 6-10, 2012: Holocaust Workshop for Teachers

Teacher Training Endowed Workshop on the Holocaust

[thanks to Eva and Eugene Schlesinger]

August 6-10, 2012

California State University, Long Beach

 

So it was my second time to attend a Holocaust workshop (this one was hosted by the UC-CSU California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP) and every material given during the workshop (for FREE as well as a stipend and credits) was thanks to the people who made it all happen--Eva and Eugene Schlesinger. Thank you!!!

This year's emphasis concentrated on the many different people involved during the Holocaust: Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders, and Deniers. When we think of the Holocaust, we usually just think of the perpetrators and the victims. We rarely think about the bystanders (were they guilty as well?) and the deniers, which was what made this workshop very informative for me because I never really took those two latter groups into consideration. 

Not only did this workshop offer a lot of subject matter competency, but they also gave ideas on how to teach it appropriately to students. There were intense discussions for every topic, book readings (we had homework if we wanted credit), and lecture given. There were actual Holocaust survivor speakers--Gerda Krebs-Seifer and Sol Berger). 

Monday, August 6th - Introduction

Dr. Jeff Blutinger, "The Holocaust: A History" [lecture]

Stacy Jackson, Presentation of ADL Echoes and Reflections [material/curriculum walkthrough]

Dr. Jeff Blutinger, Introduction to Hillberg's Perpetrators, Victims, and Bystanders [lecture and discussion]

Tuesday, August 7th - Perpetrators

Bill Younglove, discussion of selections from Hillberg's Perpetrators, Victims, and Bystanders

Dr. Michael Berenbaum, "Perpetrators" [lecture]

Dave Neumann, debrief of Dr. Berenbaum's presentation

Bill Younglove, presentation on Teaching the History of the Holocaust

Review materials on United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) website

Wednesday, August 8th - Victims

We met up at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

Bill Younglove, discussion of selections from Hillberg's Perpetrators, Victims, and Bystanders

Dr. Wolf Gruner, "Victims of the Holocaust" [lecture]

LA Holocaust Museum tour, including talk by survivor Sol Berger

Thursday, August 9th - Bystanders

Bill Younglove, discussion of selections from Hillberg's Perpetrators, Victims, and Bystanders

Dr. Jeff Blutinger, "Bystanders" [lecture]

Sherry Bard, Interactive presentation of USC Shoah Foundation materials

Holocaust survivor speaker - Gerda Seifer, "Living with a Rescuer"

Jewish Studies Program Reception

Friday, August 10th - Deniers

Bill Younglove, discussion of selections from Hillberg's Perpetrators, Victims, and Bystanders

Dr. Don Schwartz, "Deniers" [lecture]

Ron Schmidt, screening of Labyrinth

RESOURCES
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM): http://www.ushmm.org/
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust: http://www.lamoth.org/
USC Shoah Foundation's iWitness (testimonials): http://iwitness.usc.edu/SFI/
Echoes and Reflection (Holocaust curriculum): http://www.echoesandreflections.org/

RESOURCES Recommended by Participants
Books:
Reich, Prisoner of Her Past: The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich
Rosner and Tubah, An Uncommon Friendship
Tec, Dry Tears
Zimbardo, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How good People Turn Evil
Films: 
Amen
Au Revoir, Les Enfants
Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Defiance
Encyclopedia of the Twentieth Century
Europa, Europa
The Grey Zone
Paperclips
Playing for Time
Sarah’s Key
Sophie’s Choice
The Pianist

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As for the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. I highly recommend it if you live in the area. It's right next to The Grove. Admission is absolutely FREE, with a FREE audio tour, and HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SPEAKERS at certain times. There is A LOT of information you can learn from here (I spent around 4 hours here last time with a friend and we still weren't done with everything!). 

When one door closes, another one opens!

Well, actually, when a few door closes....

Hello Diana Nguyen,

We would like to thank you for submitting your application for the History position as advertised on Edjoin for ATAMS High School. We were very fortunate to have various applicants interested in our vacancy. After careful consideration, I am sorry to inform you that you have not been chosen for the position.

We thank you again for your interest with our organization and wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Leandro Otero

Recruitment Coordinator

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

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Hello Diana Nguyen,

We would like to thank you for submitting your application for the US History/Geography position as advertised on Edjoin for Alliance MA #7. We were very fortunate to have various applicants interested in our vacancy. After careful consideration, I am sorry to inform you that you have not been chosen for the position.

We thank you again for your interest with our organization and wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Leandro Otero

Recruitment Coordinator

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

----------------------------------

... another one opens! 

Will have my interview for the Irvine Unified School District for the Instructional Assistant position tomorrow at noon!!!

Wish me luck! I really need this job. 

 

Workshop - Sites of Encounter: Empires in World History

Sites of Encounter: Empires in World History
June 25th, 2012 - June 28th, 2012 at California State University, Long Beach

Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference by Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper
ISBN: 0691152365

Monday, 6/25

Empires in World History Discussion

1. Differences within Empires: Mongol Empire = after you conquer people, you see that they're different and so try to figure a way to rule them that is less conflicting and efficient (i.e. religious tolerance) = "soft power" approach
2. Imperial Intermediaries: Belgians using Tutsis to take over Rwanda (rivalries within Rwanda among tribes); using military groups to train locals; need intermediaries because it's difficult to rule edges of your empire.
3. Imperial Imaginaries: A lot of racial theories come into play; religion was a huge factor  in trying to make imperial rule easier by having the conquered "buy in" to the dominant ideology.
4. Repertoires of Power: Some conquerors decide to rule different area differently; different things, different people, different places, and different times makes concept of empires differ throughout history.

- Models of empires are useful because:

1. Provide framework.
2. Allow cause/effect, compare/contrast.
3. Allows U.S. history students to see different perspectives.
4. Notice patterns throughout history rather than viewing history as separate events (novice v. expert).

Lecture - Tim Keirn: Empire in India

Tuesday, 6/26
Meeting at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA (http://www.bowers.org/)
Lecture - Rachel O'Toole: Empire in the Americas

Wednesday, 6/27
Model Lesson on Manifest Destiny
Lecture - Steve Aron: American Empire
Model Lesson on American Imperialism

Thursday, 6/28
Lecture - Eileen Luhr: End of Empire
Using Film in the Classroom - Mangal Pandey (Sepoy rebellion in India)