THE APPLECORE, April, 2003Elections Congratulations to delegates Clarence Rowland, Ro Carson, Charles Whitting, Catherine Muhammad, Anne Pass, Pete Peterson, Dom Pendino, Arlene Flicker and alternates JoAnn Newson, Linda Morelli, and Steve McCarter for being elected to represent the LMEA at the NEA Representative Assembly this summer in New Orleans. Also, nominations for the upcoming LMEA elections have been posted in your building/unit. There are still openings. If interested, please contact Elaine Brophy at Merion. LMEA Unit /Officers Meetings Throughout the year, unit meetings will be held prior to officers meetings at all buildings. May’s meeting will be held Wednesday, May 7 at 3:35PM at Penn Wynne. Meetings for other buildings will be announced in the monthly AppleCore and posted in your building. Unit meetings give you the chance to make suggestions and voice concerns with your LMEA officers. LMEA Event – May 27, 7:30PM, LMHS-Alfie Kohn- Standardized Tests & ESEA The LMEA in conjunction with the MER-PSEA, CAPS, and TOPS will host renowned speaker, ALFIE KOHN. The main effect "of the drive for so-called higher standards in schools is that the children are too busy to think" said John Holt in 1959. Today, an ill-informed version of school reform has been embraced by politicians, corporate executives, and journalists, all demanding "accountability," which turns out to be a euphemism for more control over what happens in classrooms by people who are not in classrooms. The results: superb educators get tired or fired, and the intellectual life is squeezed out of schools as they are turned into giant test-prep centers. Alfie Kohn, author of THE SCHOOLS OUR CHILDREN DESERVE, explains the difference between authentic challenge and a mindless "harder is better" mentality, as well as the difference between standards as guidelines for better teaching and standards as rigid (and often ridiculous) lists of facts students must know. The latter is described in this session not as a reality to be coped with but as a political movement that can be opposed - by people who understand how children actually learn. Alfie Kohn was recently described by Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores." He is the author of eight books on education and human behavior, including PUNISHED BY REWARDS and THE SCHOOLS OUR CHILDREN DESERVE: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and "Tougher Standards." He has written for most of the leading education periodicals and has appeared twice on "Oprah." A former teacher, he now works with educators across the country and speaks regularly at national conferences. Kohn lives (actually) in Belmont, Mass. and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org. Please plan to attend this interesting, enlightening, and important event. Open Enrollment This year, the open enrollment period will be May 19 to June 6. Contact Barbara Pollack in Human Resources via email for information or intent to change regarding health insurance, dental insurance, opt out, and flex plan (125). Also, please notify Human Resources if you undergo a life change event. Life change events are divorce, birth of a child, death, and marriage. Forms can be downloaded from the District web-site. First Annual LMEA/LMSD Run/Walk – Sunday May 18 LMEA is gearing up for the first annual 5K "Scholarship Fund Run" on Sunday, May 18th at Lower Merion High School. Building Reps will be receiving entry forms for this event. Please contact your rep to obtain an entry form. We also need volunteers to help run the event on Sunday morning, including race marshals to direct runners at certain intersections, water distributors at waterstops along the course, and volunteers to handle runner registration and t-shirt distribution. All LMEA volunteers will receive a free t-shirt. Contact Pete Dawson at dawsonp@lmsd.org to volunteer. Upcoming Events April 28 25 Year LMEA/LMSD Tribute Executive Council meetings are held the second Monday of the month in the LMEA office at 4:00PM except the months of November and April: November 18 and April 7. If you have any issues or concerns that you need addressed, please contact your building representative. |