|
At the meeting, the delegates met in small groups to develop additional resolutions on topics such as implementing 21st century learning skills, retaining and renewing teacher of science, and anchoring science content in the national standards. This process impressed me because everyone in attendance had an equal voice in the discussion of these issues. And our vote from the SDSTA had the same weight as the vote from anywhere in the nation. I also appreciated learning about one of the ways our National Association decides what educational issues to address. I very much enjoyed and learned from attending CAGS and hope our association will be able to continue to send a delegate to this meeting. Another topic I want to mention is grant writing and summer workshops. I believe these two go hand in hand because often times the availability of a workshop is dependent upon grant money. Grant monies support the cost of the workshop, supplies and stipends for attendees. I have spent much time in my life at summer workshops and have had many benefits from doing so. I always feel like when I return to school, I want to be able to tell my students that even though I am getting gray hair, I am still learning and want to continue to learn. Often in the spring, we educators receive mailings about two or three day, week long or two week long workshops that provide housing, reduced tuition, mileage and a stipend. And often we can actually pick and chose what we might like to attend. This had been true for Math and Science workshops for many years. At the time of the writing of this message, I have only heard of three such workshops being offered to South Dakota Science educators. The number of workshops seems to have diminished compared to the recent past. We would like to be able to post
- Continues on Page Seven -
|
|