Meeting Discussion Forum

Welcome WaldenPDK colleagues!

Sorry I've been slow to get this business page ready for the meeting, and it's still not quite ready... (I will be adding some photos of the officers with their reports later this week).

Post your thoughts/questions on the topics Barb has outlined for us in her opening message. Also, nominate a school for the Literacy Project book award by using the link to the nomination form in the sidebar. And review the budget; at the bottom of the budget page is a discussion board for posting comments/questions about that.

Hello colleagues,

Have you noticed that the news seems to get stranger and stranger each day. Living in Europe and observing the news from all over the world there are tensions, violence, child abuse, fighting within countries to gain democracy and no news about educational issues. As a chapter we can extend our voice by supporting one of the NGO's listed in the President's message, and or enlarging our ability to pesent scholarships and recognition to educators. In this way democracy and a better way of life for our world will be moved one step closer. The point is to get involved, out of the classroom and think global.

As a chapter what goals or accomplishments would you like us to set? More importantly what can you do to contribute to expand Walden University PDK Cyberspace chapter create a larger footprint in the world of education, locally and internationally?

I look forward to a productive Spring meeting.

Cheers,
David
David Kenneth Waldman

Good Day All,

Yes, I agree with you, David, life becomes stranger on a daily basis and it's up to us to filter the odd and make some sense of it somehow. Key word: "Somehow."

In my local area (Arizona) "somehow" means tolerance as border issues grow, people are being profiled to see if they are "illegal" and we have a 4-hour per day English language immersion requirement about to go into effect in schools without the funding or program support. Whilst there are some international implications to all this, the backlash and repercussions are ugly.

It's late, and I hope I've made some sense. I'll get back later this week to add some more.

Looking Forward...

~~~LisaRose

Hello LisaRose,

I think you have touched on an important theme. The lack of tolerance in our society. I think there should be mandatory courses for K-12 in ethics, tolerance, international relations/world geography/history talk in one course age and developmentally appropriate. I also think that a second language be required before you can graduate from High School. IF you start teaching sign language in infant to toddlers in child care centers and add learning a language in Kindergarten, by the time a high school student graduates they will have been exposed to language for 12 or more years.

Where I am living in Europe people routinely speak two or more languages and as many as five or more is not uncommon. If you live in Switzerland you will need German, English, Italian depending on where in the country you live. This fosters tolerance as you increase the ability to communicate in the language and culture of other people.

If people were bilingual in Arizona and spoke spanish as a second language that would not mean that english should not be the primray language nor the American culture not be dominant. It is called being educated. I have missed out by not immersing myself in a second language and with all the international travel I have done my entire life and working and living in Germany I am handicapped for sure.
Your thoughts are welcome and welcome to our Spring meeting.

Regards
David

Welcome to all! It's good to have a chance to 'visit' again! I'm very interested in LisaRose's example of teaching in AZ. Is this English immersion program mandatory at lower grades or all through high school? As high school must have certain credits to graduate, I don't see how anybody can get through all required credits in 4 years with half a day of English. Do all students have half a day of English, or are they placed into that situation after an English competency test? This is quite a unique situation.

I'd also like to remind students that with only 130 members in our chapter, and considering that some of these members have already graduated, the chances are quite high that if you turn in a scholarship form, you may very well get one! The Simon Scholarship is worth about $1000.00 and the Poppenhagen is $500.00 - every bit helps. Please get the scholarship forms online and enter!

Last year I made the jump from classroom to Arizona Department of Education (ADE), a double-edged sword to be sure. As an Assessment Specialist for the ADE, my role has evolved into one where I train teachers, enabling me to effect large-scale change for students once I gain the teachers' trust. That takes time, diligence and lots of doughnuts, but it's worth it. However, every new mandate brings with it new animosity, and because I am the face of the state, I am also the dartboard. Our new English requirement, which has nothing to do with my unit (it is government after all, right hand does not know left hand exists) is all the rage on many levels.

Regardless of grade level, all students who are not native English speakers must pass the AZ English Language Exam (AZELLA). Students unable to pass must be pulled from regular classroom instruction and be "immersed" in 4 hours of daily English language instruction to include reading, writing, oral language practice and vocabulary acquisition. These same students are required to be English language proficient in ONE year. Yup, ONE. This stems from a lawsuit brought by a parent in the 1980's. The kid who was the focus of that lawsuit is no longer in AZ schools but the lawsuit lives on. AZ was out of compliance with the terms of the suit (it in the appeals stage) and the courts fined the state $1 million a day for every day law makers remained out of compliance. Legislation was drafted (never mind who's going to pay for it and where we're going to find teacher qualified to teach the kiddos), voted on, haggled over, stalled, bandied about, etc. The state racked up over $37 million in fines before a temporary injunction halted that. So the legislators decided to drop the issue.

This led to a second lawsuit by another parent about substandard ELL education. More of the same nonsense with depositions, fines, etc., but this time no injunctions. And the legislation was passed. Combine that with the voter mandate that this is an English-language state and all instruction by teachers in schools must be done in English and you can guess how ugly things can get. In at least one high school district I know of, there are checks done on campuses for resident status for teachers and students. All must have their paperwork. I wouldn't have believed it except I was there on status check day.

How this will translate into graduation rates no one knows. We're making this up as we go along. There is no support in place for this. There are no true resources. The state budget is being cut more and more so there is no money to train teachers in best practices. Not that classroom teachers have much of an opportunity to use them. And here's the rub. Several years ago, a state department mandate required that all AZ educators receive 60 hours of Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) training in two phases ~ a 15 hour course and a 45 hour course. The well~intentioned thought was all teachers would use the inclusion model with the high number of ELL's in the classes. This was prior to the court mandates, stemming from the lawsuits, requiring the pullouts. However, the 60 hours are still required for recertification. Does it get any more convoluted? Sure. I've only given the highlights.

I begin my 45 hour course in 3 weeks. Woo hoo!

Looking forward...

~~~LisaRose

Hello everyone,

I am hailing from Georgia right now. I came into the education field right on the tail of NCLB so the teaching program I went through at Pepperdine University thankfully was in alignment with the requirements of that initiative. I still felt as though I was not an effective teacher in reference to the growing and diverse multicultural population within the school system. So I decided to take an additional certification called an MCLAD that exposed to those added skills. I have found that unless each educator pays very close attention to ensuring that diversity is addressed in the classroom within the curriculum, it is not. There are very few curricula available that connect both learning styles and diversity themes throughout the year. I have personally modified (OK let me be honest completely changed) the curriculum given for my class into an academic service learning focus that not only addresses multiple learning styles but diversity in the classroom. Does anyone find that this has been an issue within their classroom or school system as well?

Blessings Always,

Karine

When does the meeting close?

~~~LisaRose

Due to some time problems, we are running a bit behind. Andre Elliot will soon be presenting a power point program for us, and we will need to vote on several items. When all is online, you will be notified by email and sent a link to the program and the voting. we need to vote on the Literacy Project, the service project, the budget, and on any openings for officers. Right now we could use some more school nominatiosn to receive the books. Officer openings are for Program Director, Web Master, and Communications Director. Anybody is welcome to toss their hat into the ring. If interested, email officers@waldenpdk.org .

I would like to wish all our members who are mothers a wonderful Mother's day.

I do believe that the United States is ready and open for social change. Education, which has been the greatest vehicle of social change, is getting more attention. NCLB is being re-evaluated, solutions to lessen the burden of student loans are being discussed, attaining true equal access is being sought, and virtual schools at all levels of education are on the rise. Being a part of the premier virtual graduate school, and the most outstanding educational organization on the planet (PDK), whose missions are positive social change, places us in a unique and excellent position to help lead the movement.

David,

I'm asking.

Looking forward...

~~~LisaRose

I received an email from a member asking about the poster design event. Members are encouraged to design a poster the member feels bests epitomizes the goals and mission of our cyberspace chapter. The designs will then be posted on the website so members can vote. I'm looking at a deadline of Jun 15th for submission with voting June 20 - 25. I thought these were good timelines because it allows the webmaster time to post, members ample time to vote, and allows for time for the poster to be enlarged and printed andready for the Summer residency. What do you think?

I think it's a great start. Will it only go on the website? Where else can we do outreach to grow the chapter?

~~~LisaRose

This chapter has the most wonderful web page. Indeed, as the first in cyberspace, I am utterly pleased that our website is conspicuously exemplary.

On another note, I urge our chapter to continue supporting the PDK foundation as we have in the past. Generally, we contributed 5 dollars per member. PDK returns some benefit to our chapter to acknowledge our generosity.

This chapter remains a great source of pride for all of us. It is always pleasing to meet all of you in cyberspace.

Hello LisaRose,

If I understand your question the best place to promote our chapter is word of mouth. That is telling your colleagues and friends that are educators to share PDK with other educators. Using our chapter as an example they will probally be able to select our chapter or if not can always join PDK a chapter of their choice.

That would be the best way to share our work, mission and projects and events. Attending Walden University's residency's with Karine to talk to prospective members is also a fun and productive way to increase memberships. Since we are cyber so sending links to our chapter website and talking about the advantages of belonging to a premier educational professional organization for a educators career is as I say the best way.

I welcome other ideas, all ideas are valid and brainstorming will create lots of new ideas.

Cheers
David

Hey David,

Yup, you understood! (Insert cheesy smile here =)

Attending a residency is not possible since travel is not in my budget currently.

Whilst this could be a mistaken perception on my part, it seems that we have a flurry of activity during the meeting and then lay dormant. We are all busy people, but I'd like to see some sort of discussion conduit remain open. Has that been attempted in the past?

Looking forward...
~~~LisaRose

LisaRose,

Among the officers as in most organizations most members do not get involved there is that flurry of conversation that is ongoing all year long. I see that you have made quite a impact and I would hope you would consider stepping into a leadership role that is available. You have made and will make a lot of impact and in a leadership role I know your intelligence and energy will move the chapter forward in new and exciting ways that grow our mission.

In any case things move along in a organization that is non profit where you can not see the individual efforts that quietly move the chapter forward. By looking at the results and these meetings and reports you then realize that activity takes place in groups and by individuals then back to the group.

Yes people are busy and that is part of this. I have never been part of a professional organizational chapter before so these last two years I have learned that this group of people and others that have retired are exceptional educators and leaders and make wonderful differce for children. The more you see and are involved at the officers level the more you can see this. Perhaps you would be a liasion to the membership and work with me to get more of them involved.

I have accepted a position at Lauraete the parent of Walden University the other day. I have movers coming on the 19th and then I fly to Baltimore to start a new life again after five years living in Germany on the 27th or there abouts. So I may be out of the loop for a few days. Yet I will and do check this post and would encourage you to not become a leader as you are already one. But to let our chapter have the advantage and benefit of your leadership ability and skills and energy. No pressure really and truly, but professionals of your caliber do not grow on trees. I do not speak in isolation other officers have noted your contribution. Adding to a wonderful officer board your input will grow our chapter and it can be shaped with your input.

Exciting times ahead for all of us.

David

LisaRose -
I couldn't agree more! I stated the same thing in email correspondence with Barbara that there needs to be another forum of some type for communication in a threaded discussion type forum. This way, we can openly communicate, the it [communication] is organized, and we can further our socialization just within our chapter. We need something like a wiki or a php board which allows frequent communication, won't dominate bandwidth, and furthers our mission and vision for social change and the invitation of new members.

All -
Additionally, I am also interested in assisting with the PDK booth and informational session at the Minneapolis residency as I am already flying [from Texas] to MN for the residency. I inquired, without response [from Walden], as to the possible itinerary so I could give my availability to Barbara. I know I would be interested as well. If not, I can volunteer to drive to the next Dallas residency as I am only about 4 1/2 hours away. What is the general requirements I may need a refresher in/on in order to be effective?

David~

Humbled and honored I am. Do you remember the grilling you and Gay received before I joined the org? It's all about impact in my world and PDK aligns rather nicely with IMPACT! Congrats on your new position with Laureate ~ Baltimore's a great city, too!

Melanie~

A wiki sounds like a fantastic solution! Simply to reconnect with the folks I met whilst joining (see grilling comment, above) was one of the main reasons I was waiting for this meeting. Sustaining enthusiasm about our projects will, I believe, be easier with a living forum rather than archives. Regardless of the outcome (wiki or wikiless) it's been a pleasure to meet with everyone.

Looking forward...
~~~LisaRose

Hi everyone--a long time ago, yet not in a galaxy far, far away, we communicated daily even multiple times daily using email through the old telnet/pine set up....remember Andre? We were the south group then, prior to becoming a "club" prior to getting all of the permissions to make the group into a chapter.
I think having an on-going message board would be a great idea especially since we no longer meet monthly.

LisaRose, Melanie, and all,

YES, YES, YES, it is time we re-institute an ongoing communication forum! It is going to happen; I'd hoped to have it in place for this meeting, but... well, couldn't get to it. I'll have more time over the summer as I'm not taking a summer teaching job this year, so expect to see that happen!

I am guessing that the post above (with the name field as "communication") is from Doris in Florida--am I right? Doris and other oldtimers would remember our early email communications, which were great initially, but then got SO horribly bogged down with spam (like 10 spam messages to 1 real message)that we had to abandon it. There are better solutions for avoiding junk posts now.

It is wonderful to have some of our new members jumping right in on the discussions! Welcome!

Hello Fellow Kappans

It is time for our Spring Fling to come to a close. We covered a lot of ground. Thank you very much to the members who were able to be an active part of the discussions. Your contribution was invaluable.

1. Literacy Project: I had originally posted that the winner of the Literacy Project would be announced during the Fall 2008 meeting. However, upon further retrospect, why? The winner will be announced now. The winner of the Literacy Project for 2008 is (insert drum roll here) is

FORT SAM HOUSTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Nominated by
Melanie Morgan

In the past, we have had only 3 or 5 nominations. (I originally stated 1 -2 nominations, which was an error on my part.) This year we had 7 nominations! Thank you to all who reached out to the community and all those that voted! Although we could only chose one, we understand that all of the schools nominated have a need. Please remember to enter them again for next year!

2. Service Project: This year’s Service Project recipient is:

H2O FOR LIFE
Nominated by
Karine Clay

The mission of H2O for Life is to provide funds to directly support projects in developing countries, designed to make clean water available and sustainable to schools in these countries which are in need of water, sanitation, and hygiene education (the WASH initiative.) The amount to be awarded is to be determined until after the budget audit.

3. Budget: The budget is currently undergoing an audit. A special budget approval meeting will be conducted in mid-June 2008.

4. The Journal of Educational Practice for Social Change (JEPSC): I cannot encourage members enough to take advantage of presenting their work in the JEPSC. JEPSC is a two-year-old online peer-reviewed international journal with an integrated view of philosophical, historical, and sociological issues in education and the belief that good educational theory should be taken to practice to promote positive social change. Submissions are requested from members of Walden University’s College of Education and alumni of Walden University who have successfully completed their studies and who are current members of PDK – Walden Cyberspace Chapter.

5. Officers: The current positions are vacant and can be filled immediately: Newsletter Editor, Programs Director, and Webmaster. Nominations for the following positions are as follows:

NEWSLETTER EDITOR
LisaRose Blanchette
Melanie Morgan

PROGRAMS DIRECTOR
LisaRose Blanchette
Letty Maxwell
John Craddock

WEBMASTER
(No nominations)

Because the positions of Newsletter Editor and Programs Director are currently vacant, our by-laws indicate that we can hold a special election to have them filled prior to the start of the fiscal year, beginning July 1. In light of this, it is requested the nominees present personal statements to allow the membership to make informed votes. Personal statements should be sent to the Webmaster by June 1. Exact dates of voting will be determined at a later date. An email will be sent in June encouraging all members to read the personal statements and vote.

In the case of the Webmaster position, nominations will continue to be taken until Jun 1. Please send nominations to the President. At that time if there are no interested parties, the issue will be re-addressed at the Fall 2008 meeting.

a. Officers please update your position folders to allow for smooth pass downs and transitions for incoming officers.
b. Though it may seem too soon, it is time to form a nomination committee for elections next spring. Officers interested in being a member of the nomination committee, please email the President. Duties will include collecting self-nominations from the membership. All nominations must be in by the Fall 2008 meeting, to include bios and personal statements to be posted on the website. Elections are slated to be held during the Winter 2008 meeting, and announcements made at the Spring 2009 meeting. Position transitioning will take place during between the Spring 2009 and Fall 2009 meetings. Candidates are encouraged to speak with current position holders for further duty clarification.
c. Elects: Officers choosing to have an elect (train an individual for a board position) be sure to induct them on the website. Remember, elects must also be voted on. Elections can be held during the Fall 2008 meeting.
d. Treasurer’s Report: The treasurer’s report is currently postponed until after the audit.

6. Fundraiser Ideas: Our Melaleuca fundraiser was dropped by the company. If any members have any ideas for ways of raising funds, please write any of the officers at foundation_rep@waldenpdk.org.

7. Walden Summer Residency: I have sent an email to Walden residencies requesting a presence at the Summer Residency in Minneapolis. The request included space for informational sessions, inclusion in the residency itinerary, inclusion in the graduation ceremonies, and space for a membership induction ceremony.

a. There is a call for members to represent Walden PDK Cyberspace Chapter at the informational sessions. Interested individuals please send a self-nomination to president@waldenpdk.org.
b. Poster Design Contest: While there was not a lot of discussion regarding the poster design contest, I would like to open the floor to other ideas for promoting WU PDK.

8. Graduates: Members graduating at the Summer Residency please send your name to president@waldenpdk.org so that medallions can be ordered. They are large, beautiful, bronze PDK medallions on a red, white, and blue ribbon to be worn around your neck will be given as gifts when you graduate to honor you. Deadline for name submission is June 15, 2008. A representative from PDK will present them to you at graduation.

9. Simon-Poppenhagen Scholarship: For those of you who have not yet graduated, the forms to participate in the new scholarships to be awarded will be online so that you can print them, fill them out, and send them to the head of the Scholarship Committee. The Simon-Poppenhagen Scholarship has one scholarship of $1000.00 in the name of Dr. Marilyn Simon, our chapter advisor who has helped us so much along the way-she has been invaluable to us. The Poppenhagen Scholarship honors the former head of the Education Department at Walden, who also helped us in the beginning of the formation of our chapter. That scholarship is $500.00. An email will be sent when the scholarship forms are available.

10. Awards: The Awards Committee requests people you know (or yourself) who are a member of this chapter and have been successful in some way to share it with us so that we can share it with others, and honor them. Thanks so much! Contact any officer at wu_pdk@waldenpdk.org.

If you have been helped by Dr. Simon or Dr. Poppenhagen, or just want to donate to the scholarship fund, please contact Mary Morris at treasurer@waldenpdk.org.

The door prize winner is LisaRose Blanchette. Thank you LisaRose for your participation and contribution to the Spring Fling 2008!

With all that said, I would like to officially adjourn the meeting. Do I hear a second?

~barb

Barbara A. Hopkins-Cox, MS
Doctorate Candidate
President, Walden PDK
Phone: (401) 846-4189
Cell: (401) 862-1244
Emails: barbara.hopkins-cox@waldenu.edu
b2ad@yahoo.com