Teacher Resources

In your work as educators, you provide knowledge and guidance to our young people. HSTA is committed to providing you with helpful resources for teaching, learning and professional development.

Beginning on March 23, you have the opportunity to teach high school students about something many of us take for granted but not enough of us exercise, our right to vote. Forty years ago, educators and students stood together and fought to lower the voting age to 18. In doing so, they amended the Constitution and empowered millions of American citizens to have a say in our democracy. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the passage of the 26th Amendment, Rock the Vote, in partnership with the National Education Association is announcing the first annual Democracy Day.

Democracy Class http://democracy.com is a 45-minute, non-partisan lesson plan geared towards high school students that teaches them the history of voting rights, walks them through the voter registration process, and engages them in a mock election.

Check out how you can bring Democracy Class http://democracyday.com to your school between now and the end of the academic year and make it a day that students never forget.

To get started:

• Sign up to receive class materials and resources http://democracyday.com
• Visit the Rock the Vote Democracy Class website http://democracyclass.com
• Read: 40 Years Ago, NEA Rocks the Vote http://www.nea.org/home/42731.htm

Rock the Vote is also offering teachers that participate an opportunity to win an iPad and other great prizes. You can sign up at democracyday.com. Feel free to e-mail Rock the Vote at info@democracyday.com with any questions.

Link to NEA Democracy Day Page here »
(post date 03/21/11)

Hui for Excellence in Education (HE'E)

Mission Statement: The HE'E Coalition promotes a child-centered and strength-based public education system in which families, communities and schools are valued and empowered to help every student succeed. HE'E works to bring diverse stakeholders together to harness collective energy, share resources, and identify opportunities for progressive action in education.

Over 30 organizations, including members of community organizations, parent groups, Hawaii Department of Education leaders, organized labor and policy makers, have participated between June and December 2010 in the strategic planning of the coalition. Meetings have been open to any organization who desired to participate and all decisions have been made by consensus. The Learning Coalition has been and continues to be committed to allocating resources to support the development and ongoing maintenance of HE'E by providing professional staff and technical assistance. To learn more about HE'E and how you or your organization can get involved, contact Cheri Nakamura on 808-375-5066 or e-mail at CNakamura@TheLearningCoalition.org

http://www.thelearningcoalition.org/the_back_drop
(post date 03/19/11)

Mythologizing past, present won’t improve public schools
By Dennis Van Roekel President, National Education Association
Click here to read article.

Schoolhouse Talk
SchoolhouseTalk.org - is a one-hour weekly show that will air on Wednesdays at 3:00 pm EDT, beginning this Fall 2009. The website is active and provides information about how you can participate in a series of "preview" broadcasts.

What is Schoolhouse Talk? Read about it here.
Schoolhouse Talk Questions & Answers can be found here.