Maine Teacher Discusses Current Issues in Education
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 English language arts teacher Seth Mitchell |
English language arts teacher Seth Mitchell of Lisbon High School in Lisbon, Maine, was one of eight teachers featured in a new report just released from the College Board and Phi Delta Kappa. Teachers Are the Center of Education: Profiles of Eight Teachers salutes the work and importance of teachers and offers insights on current issues in education from eight outstanding teachers, selected for their dedication to
students, and commitment to their profession and to excellence in education.
The report serves both to confirm what is publically acknowledged — that teachers are at the center of education — and to note the challenges teachers face in today’s schools. Nominated by College Board members and staff, the teachers, who epitomize the profession’s most admirable qualities, represent a diverse set of disciplines, locations, types of schools and student populations.
The words of these eight teachers will help all who hear them to chart a “partial road map for changes in
public policy,” as Arlene Ackerman, superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, wrote in the
report’s foreword.
To teach the power of the pen and how it applies to the real world, Mitchell has embraced the digital world. He combines his innovative teaching methods with fierce commitment to both students and his subject to effectively engage his students and build the bridge between the literary world and the real world. He often uses technology, which he says has helped open their minds, though reading time is still a big part of students’ classroom experience. Classes participate in collaborative online discussions with students from all of Mitchell’s classes, and they work to craft responses on Web pages Mitchell has set up specifically for them. His goal is to provide an environment that gives his students opportunities to solve “real-world problems for authentic purposes.”
“I started incorporating digital storytelling, and I saw changes in my students. I saw that they were thinking in new ways and writing in new ways and enjoying it,” Mitchell said. “That is when it really started to blossom
for me.”
“It’s teachers like Seth, who inspire both their colleagues and their students, who personify what this project is all about,” said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. “It’s good for the public to get a glimpse
of what’s right about public education, and we believe that starts with the most crucial force in learning:
our teachers.”
Ackerman added, “In words that we can all understand, these eight teachers from different backgrounds, teaching different subjects to different kinds of students under different circumstances, provide a human voice and real-life context for the policies we must work to implement.”
To read Teachers Are the Center of Education in its entirety, go to www.collegeboard.com/teacheradvocacy.
A Note from New England Region VP Mike Bartini
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| Mike Bartini |
By the time you read this, I hope you’ll be preparing to travel to Forum 2009 in New York. This event is a terrific opportunity to hear from national experts, learn about specific programs and initiatives within the College Board and meet your colleagues from across the nation to share ideas about the current issues we are facing at every level of education.
We’ve been busy with the delivery of the Fall Counselor Workshops and have had enormous success distributing College Board program updates to the counseling community. Counselors throughout the region were very receptive to the timely content and have provided helpful feedback to our programs and services as we consider future enhancements to better meet their needs. If you missed this year’s series of workshops, please visit our website for the online version.
Remember that the College-Bound Seniors reports are available on our website, and both
K–12 and higher education institutions can contact the regional office to get additional data reports. Institutional Summary Reports provide useful information about your school’s participation in College Board programs. In particular, they can help K–12 institutions inform curriculum decisions and higher education institutions with their future recruitment efforts. As you think about improving the quality of education, remember that the College Board is a provider of data at the national, state and institutional levels, and we are ready to help you as you consider your data needs.
Finally, I want to congratulate Seth Mitchell, an English language arts teacher at Maine’s Lisbon High School, for being chosen as one of only eight teachers nationally to be featured in a new report just released from the College Board and Phi Delta Kappa. I’m sure most of us appreciate the critical role that our teachers play at the very heart of education, but they’re also a great resource for understanding what’s wrong and what’s working in our schools.
Career Opportunities in the College Board’s New England Regional OfficeTo view current job openings in the New England Regional Office, visit theCollege Board’s career page. |
Events & Workshops
Click here to see events and workshops in the New England Region.
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