Contract for grade will follow.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

Answers

Contract for grade of B will consist of mentoring student teacher during months of November - February in my classroom at Ordean instructing world geography. To meet requirement for program 2 - 3 page summary of mentoring experience will be included in professional portfolio.

Contract for grade of A will consist of political activities with regard to current involvement on communications committee which provides information to Duluth Federation of Teachers union membership as to the proposed labor action of Nov. 1998. To meet program requirements a 2-3 page summary of experiences will be included in professional portfolio.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 1998

M.Ed Partnership Cohort III Winter 98 - 99

Contract for A Grade Glenn Tracey

"Contract for grade of A will consist of political activities with regard to current involvement on communications committee which provides information to Duluth Federation of Teachers union membership as to the proposed labor action of Nov. 1998. To meet program requirements a 2-3 page summary of experiences will be included in professional portfolio."

Thank goodness I can write this with the knowledge that the work I did was not necessary. At the time this contract wasestablished the potential need for a well organized communications committee providing information to members of the Duluth Federation of Teachers regarding the labor action was very real. The settlement agreed to averting a strike was welcomed personally, even though it meant my contract for grade would not have the opportunity to be fully realized, but I feel the role I played was worthwhile professionally and should be noted. After declining the opportunity to become building representative at Ordean Middle School the first two years I worked there on a full time basis I realized the inevitable responsibility had to be accepted with the knowledge that the then steward would continue to provide assistance. The vote was unanimous as there was no opposition and my initial reaction was somewhat mixed. The role of leader is one that I would prefer to avoid when possible, but my desire to assume professional responsibility for developing a positive working environment compelled me to accept. The first few weeks were a chance to learn what issues faced us, and the role I would play in them. At the general membership meeting held in September to update the members on the contract negotiations there were sign up sheets for committees and as my desire to was have accurate information to share at Ordean I placed my name at the top of the communications committee list. In the following months I began to wonder if the choice would prove fruitless as the negotiations dragged on and the trickle of information was confined to what we all read on the DFT Golden Rod. The questions filled with bits of 'disinformation' were frustrating because the committee had not contacted me leaving little to say to staff other than "I don't know." As rumors continued to circulate about a strike my need for the information grew until finally, I was contacted by Sally Close asking if I could attend a meeting of the committee on the 18th of November. At last I could find out what was going on with negotiations and the role we would play in what seemed a certain strike. The meeting was held at the DFT office and the place seemed swarming with activity when I arrived. The representatives from Education Minnesota were helping Jerry Brown, DFT Secretary, organize the forces, and our group consisted of five other teachers beside myself, which meant the room was filled with energetic chatter. Sally Close was chairperson so I hoped she could fill us in on what action we would take as a committee. The discussion was initially concerned with sharing information in the event we would be picketing at our various sites, as well as providing members with the answers to questions concerning loans, insurance, and how we would be paid by the district if we refused to report to work, or what we could expect on the picket line. We soon realized our role was to be much more involved in respect to the public awareness not only of our members, but also the community that could be affected by our contract negotiations. As we were talking Gary Westorff and Diane O'Brien were educating us to the assistance provided by Education Minnesota that would allow us to purchase advertising in order to share the honest desire of the teachers for a fair settlement of our contract. The half truths found in the local news media, along with deceptively crafted ISD 709 press releases justified a response to the community about our professional attempts to reach what we would consider a fair agreement. It was about this in particular that I felt quite strongly, I may have gotten carried away in expressing my views because in no time at all the others were listening intently when Sally Close suddenly suggested that she was uncomfortable with chairing the committee, but confident that I would be willing to assume the position. UH oh! We continued to discuss this new development until I agreed after which we started planning for the roles we would play, deciding on newsletters for members, yard signs for community supporters, radio commercials directed to the general public, and a DFT Website to share general information. Gary Westorff had already contacted the sign company and radio station for prices and time frames, while Diane was schooling us in the things a communication committee should be doing such as establishing a center staffed by knowledgeable volunteers or providing for a coordinator of communication at each picket site. Things were fine until the phone call of a family death came requiring Gary to leave immediately and Diane's announcement that she would also be returning to the Twin Cities for the next four days. Suddenly the responsibility became mine to make sure we proceeded appropriately in coordination with the negotiation developments. We planned a meeting, shared phone numbers, did all the things necessary to follow up on our plans, and went back to the schools with something to tell our colleagues. The following days were filled with more trips to the DFT office, phone conversations arranging advertising, coordinating picket assignments at Ordean, providing information on strike benefits, and then suddenly putting it all on hold when the news of a potential contract offer became public. The establishment of Ordean as a site for voting on the contract would follow this whirlwind of activity which I found out, was the responsibility of guess whom. I arranged for this with the help of my friends at Ordean and had the honor of delivering the ballots to the DFT office on First Street under the vigilant eyes of the local television crews. The New Year has brought talk of a new round of negotiations. We have seen the last meetings at the old office with the promise of a better environment to offer the members of the Duluth Federation of Teachers in the coming millenium. Change is a constant in our world and I hope to be a participant in adapting our schools for the challenges the future presents. I am sure the communications committee will continue to be a part of my near future as recent editorials in the local press once again slant the public opinion.

-- Anonymous, February 10, 1999

Cohort III M.Ed Partnership Winter 98 - 99

Contract for B Grade

Glenn Tracey

"Contract for grade of B will consist of mentoring student teacher during months of November - February in classroom at Ordean Middle School, instructing world geography. To meet requirement for program 2 - 3 page summary of mentoring experience will be included in professional portfolio."

In describing the experience of mentoring a student teacher in today's schools it requires that I first provide a brief explanation of what my background in student teacher supervision has consisted of. It is also necessary to provide information regarding the proposed labor action that nearly stopped the process of mentoring before it started. In conclusion I will try to express the current developments in the students' professional experience and summarize the time spent since November in the Duluth schools. World geography and American History at Ordean Middle School seem like fun classes, hoping seventh and eighth graders will come away with a better understanding of the world we live in and the society and culture that created it. For the past two years I've been able to enjoy the luxury of working with Tom Turchi, a long time Duluth teacher with a wealth of experience that he has allowed me to share in. In my initial year as a social studies instructor at Ordean Tom began to mentor me by offering to "share" his student teacher and the opportunity to learn from a professional while possibly having some help with my overload schedule couldn't be passed up. Since that time we have shared two other student teachers, numerous apprentice experiences, and are currently working with a young woman from UMD. She is instructing two sections of geography for seventh grade in my room during fourth and fifth periods, third and seventh periods are spent with Mr. Turchi. During the previous year one of the student teachers formed a rather disappointing view of education and I hoped that a better perspective could be offered Miss A. Unfortunately the situation was rather tense from the beginning as a proposed strike created uncertainty and a new responsibility I had agreed to as union steward for our building snowballed into chairing the communications committee organizing for the impending action. This did not keep the student teacher, Miss A from seeking me out and we made plans to begin with the hope that we would. As it turned out we avoided what seemed likely and started on schedule. Naturally we spent time talking about our professional objectives and perspectives regarding the coming nine weeks, while finding out the other information we needed to know about each other that helped understand our goals for the mentorship. A variety of responsibilities at the local YMCA had exposed Miss A to the school age behavior encountered daily, although the setting and methods of the classroom require additional considerations. In beginning an emphasis was placed on establishing rules which would provide a positive learning environment and planning lessons to reinforce expectations of curriculum in addition to developing basic skills. After observing for a few days Miss A was ready to begin with my cooperative class right before lunch and had no problem gaining confidence in classroom management and instruction skills. She is very well organized and students responded respectfully to her direction, but the following week she started with the fifth period, returning from lunch they are much more challenging, and her methods found her often frustrated to the point of wondering if I needed to sit in to provide support. We agreed that developing strategies for a better environment would be more beneficial and discussed seating arrangements, directed lesson plans, positive rewards, and reinforced behavior expectations. The weeks following the winter break had led to a second observation with the UMD supervisor and both had been with the cooperative class, which continued building confidence in addition to limited success with the after lunch crowd. Teaching in Mr. Turchi's class has commenced over these weeks also, as well as the study hall, advisory duties, meetings, grading and conference planning, not to mention graduation rule profile of learning implementation that a teacher is dealing with daily. Miss A has kept learning while balancing all this with her professional and personal commitments and has maintained a positive attitude. The continuation of mentoring has provided me with another three weeks in which to share ideas and a new colleague who seems anxious to join the ranks of today's teachers. We have found that everyday has another challenge or surprise to deal with that will make us both better in understanding obstacles to providing rewarding education for tomorrow.

-- Anonymous, February 10, 1999