Lesson Plans

The chemistry apparently is right between 13 teachers and their scientist counterparts participating in the Rohm & Haas Co. Project LABS (Learning About Basic Science). In the program, teachers from Bucks and Montgomery Counties work one-on-one with scientists at the Spring House research division of the specialty chemical manufacturer to develop hands-on experiments to perform with students during the school year. The resulting lesson plans, which demonstrate the practical applications of science, will be available to other teachers.

The historical markers along Pennsylvania roads got more than a cursory glance this summer from 15 teachers who were selected to make lesson plans delving into the stories behind the markers. Participants included Page Fahrig Pendse of Blue Bell Elementary School and Jim Kearney of Central Bucks West High School in Doylestown. They attended four-day academies to gather information about Pennsylvania's past. The Explore Pennsylvania History Academies were set up at five sites.

Subprime mortgage loans. Adjustable interest rates. Predatory lending. Some eyes might glaze over while reading those business terms, but 140 teenage students can now clearly explain the concepts after their sessions at Knowledge@Wharton High School. KWHS is a new branch of Knowledge@Wharton , an online business journal of the Wharton business school at the University of Pennsylvania. Launched in March, the high school site offers articles, podcasts, and video to help improve business literacy of teenagers.

Three years ago, when social studies teacher Jana Eaton got access to the Internet on her classroom computer, she knew little about it. But last week, her students were e-mailing the prime minister of France, looking up their homework assignments on her Web page, and researching up-to-the minute changes in global events. "Our textbooks are really out of date compared to this," said Heather Winterbottom, a senior in Eaton's Unionville High School government class, as students read through a government Web page.

Call it the Triple Crown, an unlikely trifecta from a Philadelphia magnet school that's quietly built a reputation for top-notch education. For the third year in a row, Bodine High School for International Affairs has produced the district's top teacher. Eleven finalists were culled from 265 teachers who'd been recommended by their principals. From that group, a panel of district staff chose Bodine technology and business educator Aaron Greberman - described by his principal as "a quintessential renaissance teacher" - for the Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre Teacher of the Year award.

Detlev Tauber, a teacher for 30 years, became a student this summer, too. Safety glasses anchored on the bridge of his nose, Tauber, of East Pikeland, shadowed scientists at Lonza Inc.'s Riverside chemical plant in Upper Merion for a week this month. He is one of about 300 teachers across the five-county Philadelphia region participating in the Educator in the Workplace program, said Michael Pahides, work-force development manager for the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center.

Massachusetts teacher Elizabeth Harvey is desperately seeking Natasha. Natasha, her '85 burgundy Caddy, tag 950-4BE, was stolen from 23rd Street near South on Christmas night. Harvey, 22, must find the car - or at least its contents - and fast. The first-year teacher's lesson plans and her students' test scores, attendance records, papers and science-fair projects were all in the car. Grades are due three weeks from Monday for nearly 100 seventh-graders she teaches at Chestnut Accelerated Middle School in Springfield, Mass.

You must have proof that you're 18 to buy Playboy and Penthouse magazines. But all you need is access to the Internet to read independent counsel Kenneth Starr's report. That means adolescents, many of whom haven't started to go out on dates, will be logging on this weekend to read about the president's sexual affair with former intern Monica Lewinsky. But don't fret, the experts say. At this point in the proceedings, many teens are well-aware of all the sordid details. Besides, the experts add, many kids don't care about Clinton's problems.

With the one month designated for black history ending today, many New Jersey public schools will put away their lesson plans on the subject until next year. How sad. Six years after New Jersey became the first state to mandate year-round teaching of black history, compliance has been spotty at best. The 2002 law says that every school district shall incorporate black history at every grade level. It should not be taught as a "special lesson" during February, but seamlessly woven into the curriculum.

Subprime mortgage loans. Adjustable interest rates. Predatory lending. Some eyes might glaze over while reading those business terms, but 140 teenage students can now clearly explain the concepts after their sessions at Knowledge@Wharton High School. KWHS is a new branch of Knowledge@Wharton , an online business journal of the Wharton business school at the University of Pennsylvania. Launched in March, the high school site offers articles, podcasts, and video to help improve business literacy of teenagers.

There are a number of good ideas in Gov. Christie's education reform agenda, but at some point he needs to realize that enlisting teachers in his effort would be more fruitful than continuing to antagonize them. In his first State of the State speech this week, Christie continued his assault on public education. He has made a good case for abolishing teacher tenure and instituting merit pay for exemplary educators. Across the country, tenure has made it difficult and costly for districts to remove bad teachers from the classroom.

Call it the Triple Crown, an unlikely trifecta from a Philadelphia magnet school that's quietly built a reputation for top-notch education. For the third year in a row, Bodine High School for International Affairs has produced the district's top teacher. Eleven finalists were culled from 265 teachers who'd been recommended by their principals. From that group, a panel of district staff chose Bodine technology and business educator Aaron Greberman - described by his principal as "a quintessential renaissance teacher" - for the Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre Teacher of the Year award.

Looking back, my academic career could kindly be described as turbulent. More accurately, it could be called a calamity, which is more or less how my parents characterized it come report-card time. I attended parochial schools in the '50s and '60s, back when their educational philosophy was simple: our way or the highway. I was always looking for the highway. Today, such a kid might be considered a late bloomer - still finding his way. But the labels applied in my parents' meetings with school authorities back then were far more ominous: I was a problem child, a troublemaker, and - the term that still rings loudest in my ears - a demon . In high school, when it was my turn to discuss college options, the guidance counselor wrote a single word on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk to me: Military . Those who knew me then might find it ironic that I now spend my time urging school-age kids to think about their futures.

On my last day in Italy, I wanted to buy a gelato before the cafes closed for afternoon break, but I was too busy signing autographs. I didn't go to Carovigno, a slightly scruffy, working-class town of 15,000 in the heel of Italy's boot, for my 15 minutes of fame. The autograph-signing was an unexpected by-product of a desire to travel with my 13-year-old son, Austin. He and I spent a week there teaching English with Global Volunteers. This volunteer vacation organization gets lots of young people on its trips to places such as Costa Rica, Tanzania and India, to build community centers, renovate houses and cuddle orphans.

This is the latest in a series titled "Off Campus," featuring opinion pieces by writers from local colleges and universities. 'I touch the future. I teach.' Those are the words of Christa McAuliffe, educator and astronaut. The weight of these words, and the weight of their truth, are self-evident to teachers across the educational spectrum, from grammar school to grad school. Whether we are still docile students or seasoned adults in the "real" world, we can all recall a teacher who has left an indelible impression on our lives, be it good or bad, and who has shaped who we are today.

With the one month designated for black history ending today, many New Jersey public schools will put away their lesson plans on the subject until next year. How sad. Six years after New Jersey became the first state to mandate year-round teaching of black history, compliance has been spotty at best. The 2002 law says that every school district shall incorporate black history at every grade level. It should not be taught as a "special lesson" during February, but seamlessly woven into the curriculum.

AS A longtime Philadelphia resident, parent of a public-school graduate and Philadelphia teacher, I applaud State Reps. Evans and Roebuck, along with CEO Paul Vallas, for wanting to recruit and retain teachers in urban (as well as rural) districts. But no amount of money, incentives or fancy advertising will attract and retain teachers in Philadelphia without: 1) Talking to teachers. Ask them why they're leaving and what would make them stay. 2) Encouraging and supporting teachers to be creative in their classrooms as they learn about their students' interests and needs.

AS A LANCASTER public-school graduate, I'm aware of the effects on education of not having adequate funding. At my school, teachers spending their own money for supplies was routine and so were the letters home pleading with parents to send in used paper so we could use the blank side. In February, President Bush unveiled his budget for fiscal 2007 and announced his plan to cut the federal education budget by more than $3 billion. Coming from a school district with a 69 percent poverty rate and more than 900 homeless students, according to the school district Web site, I am passionate about equality.