BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
Jackson teachers (l) work together to free themselves from a rope during an exercise on their in-service day. Keynote speaker Tom Sparough (above) juggles to remind teachers they have a lot on their plates. Teachers in the Jackson School District recently learned they are something in addition to being educators – they are also jugglers.
At a recent in-service day for Jackson teachers and other staff held at Jackson Liberty High School, faculty members learned from keynote speaker Tom Sparough that they have a lot to balance and juggle in their lives and in their careers.
“How many of you had to juggle your schedule to be here today?” asked Sparough “How many of you have more than one hat you have to wear for your job and how many of you have ever had to balance your checkbook?”
Sparough said all of these are metaphors for being a juggler and everyone is a juggler.
The educator-entertainer who hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, said everyone is trying to keep up with what is important. As he talks about the role of the teacher and how teachers work, he juggles blocks and balls to illustrate his points.
PHOTOSBYDAVEBENJAMIN “Most of us operate like this to keep the kids in line,” he said. “Line up. Get out of your chair. Take out your pencil. Open your book. Shut your mouth. What we don’t do [enough of] is reaching out to students who are different or who have problems.”
Sparough said part of the job is trying to help connect people. Teachers must reach out by trying to figure out why the children do what they do. This is not just a teacher doing the juggling act by telling them what to do, he said. This is the teacher and student coming together to learn. This is helping the children to succeed.
He advised the teachers to slow down and use their heads and their hearts.
“Be in touch with the things that matter to you and your students, and when you connect with the students you get ideas of what to do next,” he said. “Use both sides of the brain, the logical and the creative, and the product of this is what we see, the connection. This is what education is all about, the connection between a problem and the answer.”
Touchmath instructor Linda Selitto conducts a math workshop for Jackson school district staff members. Sparough covered many topics in his presentation, including expectations, structure, respect and what to do when youngsters are disrespectful. He covered other juggling acts, such as dealing with faculty, students, parents and administrators, which are all part of the school day and the job.
Jackson Board of Education Vice Presi-dent Martin Spielman said this was a marvelous experience for everyone in the school district.
“Our keynote speaker entertained and captivated more than 900 teachers and that is a miracle,” he said. “Our superintendent, Thomas Gialanella, told me this was basically put together by one of our assistant superintendents, Lu Anne Meinders [and a large committee that] has done a magnificent job.”
Gialanella said, “We chose a theme, ‘Celebra-ting Our Differences,’ that we thought [would be appropriate]. We have about 120 different workshops. The theme will last all year because if staff development is to be successful it must be continuous.”
Gialanella said the idea of the in-service day was to start the school year on a positive note with enthusiastic and inspiring presenters and to continue it throughout the year.
Goetz Middle School Principal Faith Lessig, the co-chair of the in-service committee, said the events of the day took a year of planning.
Johnson School Principal Dan Baginski, the co-chair of the committee, said the workshops were being presented by teachers, administrators and people from outside the district. Approximately 120 workshops were offered.
Baginski thanked Jackson Liberty Principal Maureen Butler and Lincoln Mahabir, supervisor of business and education technology, for their assistance in making the event a success.
“I think it’s a really nice way to start the year off because they get a chance to learn some new things, they see their colleagues and they see their colleagues in a different role sharing knowledge,” Baginski said. “We try to get teachers to teach each other. If you can learn something from your colleagues, they’re usually the best teachers.”
In one workshop, “Classroom Survival Guide,” McAuliffe Middle School Principal Kevin DiEugenio discussed preparation, transition and putting instructional theory into practice. New teachers were on hand to find out what works as they discussed methods and techniques with teachers who were more experienced.
Meanwhile, in a hallway, a group of teachers were entangled in a rope as they learned to work together to become untangled.
“What you have to do is talk, communicate, untangle this jumbled mess and secure a working environment or classroom,” said Rick Hoffman, district adventure bound coordinator, who takes groups of students for rock climbing, high ropes course, backpack and bicycle trips. “Every day it’s problem solving and now I’m trying to show how that can be incorporated into the classroom.”
In room B113, Touchmath instructor Linda Selitto was demonstrating how to bridge the gap between experience and abstract concepts; using multi-sensory math materials, reinforcing number values, eliminating guessing and dealing with standardized testing.
Down the hall, presenters Karen Blenner and Colleen Fitzgerald explored African art.
In a workshop, “I Am Talking, Why Aren’t They Listening,” developed by Laura Mitchell and Jacklyn Somodi, teachers learned about the 10 worst listening habits.
“One of the most exciting things about the beginning of the school year is that there are opportunities in the in-service program for professional learning,” said Delores Harvey, president of the Jackson Education Association. “We are always looking for ways to improve what it is that we do. So, opportunities like this provide that mechanism. Many of the workshops that are being presented today are being presented by our fellow colleagues.”
Harvey said teachers have had a variety of experiences and want to share their knowledge.
“I commend them for putting in the extra time during the summer in order for them to be prepared to present [the information] to their colleagues,” said Harvey. “It’s not easy to present to adults, and I commend the district for having professional learning opportunities every year.”
She said teachers must grow and learn in the same way they ask their students to grow and learn.