Fourth-grade teacher Justine Hitchcock has witnessed students treating their iPads as if the devices were “an extension of their own arms.”
“They seem lost without their devices next to them,” Hitchcock writes for The Educator’s Room. “When it’s there, they can’t help but open it and begin to aimlessly scroll through apps, pages and photos, flitting from diversion to diversion.”…
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According to brain scientists, students are in the best place to take in information “if they work in what’s known as the flow state,” writes Hank Pellissier for The 74.
“This mindset is reached when their consciousness is fully ‘in the zone,’ entirely focused on activities they find so pleasurable that time flies and all distractions disappear,” Pellissier adds.…
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The Brookdale Adjunct Faculty Chapter of AFT Local 2222 gathered April 26 near Brookdale Community College’s Bankier Library to engage with students and ask them to support the school’s adjunct professors in their quest for a first contract.
BAFC Acting President Joan Carroll and Negotiations Chair Jim Schmitt were joined by AFTNJ President Donna M.…
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By Donna M. Chiera / AFTNJ President
On Nov. 3, 2020, New Jersey residents voted to legalize marijuana, and it took until April 21, 2022, for the first recreational dispensaries to open in the state.
So much has happened during the 17 months in between, notably the heated debates about tax rates, governing boards and certifying licenses.…
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To support the best use of federal funds for school infrastructure needs, the White House recently issued a tool kit that reviews the resources available to local and state agencies.
The guide’s section on key tools and resources has information related to indoor air quality, energy efficiency, lead removal and more.
To download the guide, click here.…
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On April 21, about 70 members of Middlesex College’s full-time faculty, along with some current students, attended the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners meeting in New Brunswick to support Local 1940 AFT as it continues its efforts for a new contract.
Sheema Majiduddin, a counselor at Middlesex College, was the first in a long line of speakers, and she addressed the overall atmosphere at the school. “The…
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In the latest issue of AFT Health Care, Rutgers AAUP-AFT President Rebecca K. Givan writes about improving patients’ care and workers’ conditions.
To download the issue, click here.…
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While acknowledging that the collective effort to address educational disparities throughout the pandemic “has been nothing short of inspiring,” U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel A. Cardona realizes more work needs to done and that “this next chapter in our country’s education history must dwarf those efforts.”
In a recent column for EdSurge, Dr. Cardona takes what he calls “a deeper dive” into the values and priorities of the U.S.…
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The Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government will present “A Safe Place to Learn: A Virtual Conference Series on School Safety” from April 22 through June 3.
“As students have returned to in-person learning following the COVID-19 pandemic, school staff are now reporting dramatic spikes in physical assaults and mental health issues,” Harvard Kennedy School writes online.…
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All K-12 education professionals employed by an accredited U.S. public school are eligible to apply online for the Voya Unsung Heroes awards program.
According to sponsor Voya Financial, each of the 50 finalists will receive an award of $2,000, which “must be used to further the projects within the school or school system.” (Previous Voya Unsung Heroes award recipients are not eligible to apply for another reward.)…
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Over the course of the pandemic, educators’ comfort level in teaching with technology “got a little bit better,” says Jennifer Hall, an educational technology specialist for Atlanta Public Schools, in a story by EdTech’s Erin Brereton.
At the same time, the ways in which students learned about new concepts has expanded, says Monica Burns, an educational technology and curriculum consultant, in Brereton’s story.…
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Zoom recently introduced a handful of features in response to feedback from educators.
Virtual background and blur are now available for Chromebook users, and content with audio can be shared in Zoom Breakout Rooms.
For more on these and other new Zoom features, click here.…
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Responding to the recent surge in book bans in public schools, the New York-headquartered PEN America has collated an Index of School Book Bans.
According to PEN America’s website, this index reflects the decisions to ban books in classrooms and school libraries across the country from July 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022.
In an accompanying report titled “Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students’ First Amendment Rights,” PEN America wrote the following in a section called Alarming Trends:
Donna M. Chiera on April 9 was reelected as AFTNJ president at the AFTNJ 2022 Convention in East Brunswick.
As for the other AFTNJ executive officers: Dr. Susanna Tardi was reelected as executive vice president/higher education, Pat Paradiso was elected executive vice president/prekindergarten to 12, Leigh-Anne Cobb was elected as secretary, and Jennifer S. Higgins was reelected as treasurer.…
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