May
25, 2006
'What's the
Story?' contest has non-author-friendly rule
TAA warns authors
about the following non-author-friendly rule in SRA/McGraw-Hill's national
writing contest for teachers, "What's the Story?" (http://stories.sraonline.com/splash.html):
"All entries, including supporting materials, and any copyrights therein,
become the sole property of McGraw-Hill and will not be returned." In
a letter to McGraw-Hill, TAA Executive Director Richard Hull said that
"neither the interests of entrants, nor of the public, are served by
such a clause," and asked the company to change the policy so that it
read instead: "that McGraw-Hill assumes no responsibility for returning
an entry, but does not require assignment of copyright except in the
case of a winning entry that is to be published." Hull's full letter
to McGraw-Hill follows.
Hull's Letter
to SRA/McGraw-Hill:
Mr. Livingston:
Your "What's the
Story?" contest contains the following rule:
All entries, including
supporting materials, and any copyrights therein, become the sole property
of McGraw-Hill and will not be returned.
TAA members are
wondering whether this was a mistake. Why should copyright be granted
to McGraw-Hill for entries that do not win prizes and are not selected
for publication?
Neither the interests
of entrants, nor of the public, are served by such a clause.
In hopes that this
was an inadvertent error, we ask that this policy be changed, so that
McGraw-Hill assumes no responsibility for returning an entry, but does
not require assignment of copyright except in the case of a winning
entry that is to be published.
Please respond to
our request so that we may inform members of your decision.
Yours truly,
Richard T. Hull,
Executive Director
Text and Academic Authors Association
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SRA/Mc-Graw-Hill
looking for teacher story writers
SRA/McGraw-Hill
is seeking creative, original, and imaginative stories and poems (fiction
and nonfiction) from teachers for its national writing contest "What's
the Story?". The stories must be written for students in Grades Pre-K-6.
Winners' stories will be published as part of an SRA reading program.
Story winners will receive a cash prize of $1,000. Poem winners will
receive a cash prize of $500. To learn more about the contest, click
here.
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Wakefield's
visit to Santiago featured in local newspaper, 'El Sur'
TAA President John
Wakefield participated in the International Seminar on Textbooks in
Santiago, Chile April 19 to 21. "EL Sur", the newspaper in Concepcion,
Chile (1.5 million people), ran an article about his visit. They have
given TAA permission to post the article on its website. Dan Moody,
from Southwestern College, with help from Mariana Gomez and Clara Davis,
translated the article from Spanish to English.
John
Wakefield, Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA), President:
"We need to
look at our students' feet."
- If my students
get bad grades, am I a good teacher? What and how should I teach?
What will I teach tomorrow? These and other questions were answered
by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Northern
Alabama, during his visit to Concepción.
- With more than
25 years of experience in the field of education, he has more than
enough formal education and experience to give good advice.
by Bernardita Neira
(Translated by
Dan Moody, Southwestern College, with help from Mariana Gomez and Clara
Davis. Professor Moody takes full responsibility for any errors in translation.)
............................
"What does Carthaginian
mean?" asks eight-year-old Nicolas. His mother looks at the geography
book, and, alarmed, is certain that on this page there are more than
three words that her son will not be able to understand.
The mom will take
the dictionary and look up each word. The result? Ten minutes lost,
and a loss of concentration on the reading.
To analyze the
correct method of designing textbooks, the importance of the teacher,
and new techniques to develop critical thinking skills, John Wakefield,
president of the Text and Academic Authors, came to Chile from the United
States to meet with professors from the Universidad de Concepción,
Universidad San Sebastián, and the Universidad del Desarollo,
and to participate in the International Conference of Textbooks 2006
from April 19-21 in Santiago.
Amazed by Wednesday's
intense rain--frozen, according to him--and without understanding a
single word of Spanish, the recipient of a doctorate in education from
the University of Illinois gave his presentation with humor and empathy
at the College of Education of the Universidad de Concepción.
............................
- What are the
characteristics of a good textbook?
-- The text should
have structure. So, if you are teaching history, you will present it
in chronological order. If you teach the geography of Chile, the logical
order is from North to South. This allows students to organize the information
in their brains. Another point is the concept of "the considerate textbook,"
i.e., one that is familiar, coherent, and interesting.
- What does "familiar"
refer to?
-- Familiarity
is directly related to the previous knowledge of the learner. If a student
doesn't have certain thoughts integrated in his or her head, the teacher
should do a review.
- Is the textbook
really important for learning?
--
It is very, very important, as much for the teacher as for the student.
Studies from the University of Chicago reveal that almost 90% of classroom
activities involve the use of the textbook, when it is a good one. If
the book is just fair, it will be used at least 70% of the time, which
is still a high percentage.
- Who are the studies
on developing critical thinking skills directed toward?
-- The studies focus
on developing critical thinking skills in the teachers so that they
can serve as models for the students. The way the teacher thinks will
guide how the student thinks.
- How should a
teacher develop his or her class?
-- New teachers
should aim at managing the class with the goal of survival. I always
teach my students that survival is the first step, but not the most
important. Getting up in the morning is the first step, but not the
most important--I hope.
- How important
is the amount of experience that a teacher has?
-- Teachers with
more experience begin to see in practice what they have studied in theory,
which is reflected in their actions.
--
If you have been a teacher for years, the day before your class you
begin to worry about what you will teach the next day. If you are "new,"
the stress will probably begin a week ahead of time.
- What are the
specific steps that increase the development of critical thinking
skills in teachers?
--
The cycle begins when we encounter a problem, a tension. For example,
What will I teach tomorrow? and How will I do it? Then, What do I want
the students to do--listen, present a project, or work in groups?
The next step is
to implement a solution. When this occurs, one is teaching and thinking
at the same time.
Attentive
Students
- What signs do
the students show the teacher when a class is interesting?
-- For
years I have looked at my students' feet. If they were moving, it meant
that the class was engaging their interest. Nonverbal communication
sends strong messages, but it is the teacher's job to recognize these
messages so that they can be used to benefit both the teacher and the
students.
- How can a student
know if he or she has a good teacher?
-- Testing
is very important. Sometimes we think that tests and homework assignments
evaluate our students. But if nobody learns, did I really teach? Why,
of the 40 students, did no one pass? We have to evaluate that information
very carefully.
- So how can we
solve this problem?
-- The key is observation.
The teacher must learn to see what the students need. Sometimes we only
need to teach them to raise their hands.
- What advice would
you give to university students in Chile?
-- Don't be afraid
to study what you like best. If you enjoy it, people will recognize
that and most likely there will be a good job waiting for you.
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TAA welcomes
new members
Munish Aguichotri,
Natasha Ali, John Alongi, David Allan, Christine P. Benitez, Genevieve
Buskirk, John Cohan, Yvonne Collins, Eugene Cornacchia, Alejandro Clavier,
Constance Dallas, Lisa Jo Elliott, Yuan Gao, Siui Guo, Emily Guss, Genn
Hurlbert, Cheryl Ingram, Mary F. Jones, Rosamond S. King, Carmen Lilley,
Danny Martin, Daniel J. Marqui, Glenda Morris Burnett, Yalonda Neff,
Bernadette Pruitt, Antonia Randolph, Ann Rivera, Kerry Ann Rockquemore,
Erin Starkey, Greg A. Steinke, David Stovall, Elizabeth Turnstall, Brandon
Valeriano, Kuliva Wilburn, Zhijjan Xue, and Laila Akhu-Zaheya
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Post to TAA weblogs
Join the dialogue
at TAA's new weblogs: a general discussion weblog of textbook and academic
authoring issues open to everyone; an executive director's weblog by
TAA Executive Director Richard Hull; and a Members-Only weblog where
TAA members can network with each other, ask questions of TAA's volunteer
leadership or staff, and/or discuss text and academic authoring issues.
This is a new member benefit! All three weblogs can be accessed through
the TAA home page. If you need any help
accessing the weblogs or posting to them, contact Weblog Moderator Chris
Harris at crharris@mtsu.edu
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Renew your membership
online!
TAA has just launched
a new online member form that will allow members to renew online using
a secure server. The form can also be used by new members. Check it
out in the TAA Member Center here.
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