Inside this issue:

2

3

Teachers and Tech-

nology Con’t from

page 1

4

DoDDS-E/OFT

Joint Training

Con’t/Reading

Streets Data Forms

5

Results of OFT Sur-

vey Shows Improve-

ment…/GIFT Tech-

nology Tools Class

at Vicenza

6

Letter from Af-

ghanistan

7

Rota News

8

The last issue of The Overseas Teacher carried an article on “Professional Boundaries.” Here is more information on the same sub-ject, specifically with regard to tech-nology and social networking, a field ripe for misunderstanding, mis-information, and misinterpretation of intent. There’s a simple rule-of-thumb you can use. Before the current explosion of technology and social networking, we communi-cated by telephone much more than we do now. When in doubt about the appropriateness of a message, ask yourself, “If current technology and social networking did not exist, would I say this to a student on the telephone?” If the

answer is NO, don’t write it either! Using good judgment and common sense will enable you to reduce the risk of problems. The informa-tion below is taken right from the AFT website: www.af t.org/y o u r w o r k / t o o l s 4 t e a c h e r s /t ea c h 2 t e ac h / t ec h r i s k s . c f m . There’s more too. Check it out.

Be aware.

Remember that federal law

requires schools to monitor and

archive any and all e-mails that are

sent to and from employee ac-

counts.

Teachers are legally responsi-

ble for whatever they post online

(pictures, text, video, etc.).

“Anonymous” is rarely actually

anonymous. Your identity is al-

most always accessible online.

Law allows schools to monitor

key strokes and personal e-mail on

school computers.

Know what’s out there

Google yourself! Type your

name into the Google search in

quotation marks, e.g., “Sally

Smith.” This will list all sites that

mention you or anyone who

C o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 4

Teachers and Technology… especially Social

Networking. Rights and Responsibilities and

Good Old Common Sense By Marie Sainz-Funaro, President OFT

December 2010 Volume 46 Number 1

Dr. Marie Sainz-Funaro

New Executive

Committee Meets

DoDDS-E/OFT

Joint Training

New Executive Committee Meets

Pam Cleaverley, Editor

December 2010 Page 2

Last year three members of the Executive Committee left. Robert Kunis decided not to run for office, Pam Cleaverley retired, and Vera Morgan accepted a po-sition with DDESS. When the committee met on October 19, it was pleased to welcome three new members: Dr. Thomas Birch, Rota HS, Virginia Parkinson, Rota ES, and Tina Lake, Aviano HS. OFT expresses thanks for their service to the departing members and congratulations and best wishes to the new members. Tom has been in the Mediter-ranean district and a member of OFT since 1989, working in Izmir, Bahrein, Lajes, and now Rota. The Birches are truly an OFT fam-ily; Tom’s wife, Anne, works hard to make local OFT social and fundraising events a success, and their son, Tom, is a first-year member in Lajes. Despite a heavy teaching schedule, includ-ing running AVID, and coaching soccer, Tom has always found time to support OFT. He was president of the Rota schools’ local and is now the high school LUR. As a member of the Execu-tive Committee, he is looking for-ward to seeing the impact of our union on schooling in the district. Virginia has been in DoDDS since 1982. After four years teaching in Lake Jackson, Texas, she decided to have a five-year

adventure living and working overseas, and has been with DoDDS ever since! Until recently, she was a special educator, start-ing in Okinawa and continuing in Madrid until the base at Torrejon closed. Since then, except for a two-year educational break, she has been fortunate enough to be based at Rota Elementary School

in Spain, where she is now a Lit-eracy Support Specialist. In addi-tion to her “paying job,” Virginia has served in a leadership role for school improvement since 1997 and has taught several graduate level courses in Rota. Through-out most of her time in the Med District, Virginia has been an ac-tive member of OFT. She served as LUR for two years at Royal Oaks Elementary School in Ma-drid and has been LUR at Rota Elementary for the past five years. She has represented OFT on sev-eral groups, most recently on the Assessment Task Group, Profes-sional Development Steering Committee, and the K-3 Reading Assessment Technical Evaluation Board. She is looking forward to the new challenges and opportu-nities that come with being a Member-at-Large on the OFT Ex-ecutive Committee. Tina, the newest member of the committee, is the Information Specialist and Virtual School fa-cilitator at Aviano High School,

where she has worked for the past six years. She was vice-president of the local and is now HS LUR. Tina sees her ability to develop positive relationships between teachers and students as an im-portant aspect of her job. Being on the Executive Committee gives her the opportunity to see the “big pic-ture” and ways in which OFT can influence positive change within the schools. Tina is ready to work with management to solve prob-lems and sees herself as solution-oriented rather that confrontational. Her mantra is, “Let’s get the job done.” The other members of the com-

mittee are Marie, Linda, Margie

Lally, Colette Grillo, Serra Coruh,

and Eileen Kless. Unfortunately,

Colette was unable to attend the

October meeting because of an

automobile accident. Luckily, she

is doing much better than her car!

Virginia Parkinson, Tom Birch, and Tina Lake

Nancy Bresell, Director DoDDS-E, Marie, and Linda

Amy Ney, alt. LUR Vicenza HS,

Elizabeth McLean, LUR Vicenza

MS, Philip Andre, LUR Signonella

HS, Harry Atkinson, LUR Sig. ES

Marie and Elizabeth Walker, Med District Superintendent

Page 3 December 2010

DoDDS-E/OFT Joint Training

Pam Cleaverley, Editor

Nancy Bresell and Marie Sainz-Funaro opened the day with their usual sense of humor. Nancy joked that her anxiety level is sometimes raised when Marie gets emotional but that she un-derstands that she is only ex-pressing the teachers’ sense of urgency. Marie agreed that they work together to find a position that both sides can accept. She also added that she and Linda would use UDDI to do the day’s training and that they would model differentiating content, process, and product. Before the training, however, teachers and administrators were treated to two high-ranking guest speakers. The first was Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4 million-member American Fed-eration of Teachers, our parent organization. Randi was elected in July, 2008, after eleven years as vice-president. As soon as she took office, she courageously made educational reform and in-novation priorities on the nation’s agenda. Her efforts led to the creation of the AFT Innovation Fund, an initiative to support sus-tainable, innovative, and collabo-rative reform projects developed by members and their unions to

strengthen the public schools. Randi is also devoted to making sure that teachers are treated with respect and dignity, have a voice in education, and are given the support and re-sources they need to succeed. Randi thanked teachers “for what you do and for doing it right.” She then launched into an examination of the current situation in the U.S., which is suffering the worst recession since the Great Depression and where many feel that the Social Contract has failed them. Forty-four million are living in poverty, including one in seven children nationally and one in three in Washington, D.C. As many as eight states are basi-cally broke. There is a feeling that the best days have gone, and an anxious, fearful feeling pervades the country. Some of this is fueling the current at-tacks on schools and espe-cially, teacher unions. Randi agrees that the old industrial model no longer works and that schools have to change. How-ever, she disagrees that all that is needed is to “shake people up.” She sees a model based on the diagnosis and solution of problems rather than on punish-ment and a rush to charter schools. Schools have to teach 21st century skills rather than test preparation so that all stu-dents can participate in the American Dream. This is no easy task; it will take collabora-tion, a focus on teaching and learning, common standards, sufficient resources, and a teacher evaluation system that focuses on continuous improve-

ment. Above all, we have to con-centrate on seeing each other as responsible partners, who are solving problems rather than win-ning arguments. Many of Randi’s remarks were echoed by the second guest speaker, Marilee Fitzgerald, act-ing director of DODEA. She views herself as a collaborative manager, making decisions with input from the field and seeing no room for argument in the class-room or between labor and man-agement. The center of gravity is moving to the school level with the analogy being that of a star-fish rather than a ladder. Our military members make sacrifices every day, but they should never have to sacrifice their children’s education. Our school system also has to reform and technol-ogy offers the potential for cus-tomized learning rather than the industrial model. Schools have

to advocate for their programs and staffing. One size does not fit all. Marilee addressed the mixed group and, as promised, the LURs alone, on a variety of top-ics. She understands the frustration with the cumbersome C o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 5

Randi Weingarten, President AFT

Marilee Fitzgerald, Acting Director DoDEA

December 2010 Page 4

Teachers and Technology…especially Social Network-

ing. Continued from Page 1

shares your name. If any misin-

formation exists, contact the

website owners immediately.

Monitor social networking

sites (Facebook, MySpace,

e t c . ) r e g u l a r l y f o r

“inappropriate” images, posts,

etc. If a friend “tags” you in a

photo, that photo is searchable

and potentially viewable by

anyone. You can remove

the tag from any photo you

have been tagged in. .

Learn how. http://www.aft.org/

yourwork / too ls4teachers/

teach2teach/techrisks.cfm#tag

When communicating with

students via the Internet, use

sites like Blackboard or

Ning.com, and avoid Facebook

and MySpace.

Only use school-provided

equipment to communicate

with students electronically.

REMEMBER: Teachers do not

have privacy when using any

school technology.

Schools can be held liable

for failing to detect “indecent”

material. Therefore, teachers

are not guaranteed privacy

when using any school technol-

ogy.

Federal Rules of Civil Pro-

cedures require all public enti-

ties to archive electronic docu-

ments for legal proceedings. If

they are unable to produce the

documents, juries are permitted

to assume that they contain in-

criminating evidence, which

makes it prudent for schools to

archive ALL e-mails.

Employers are not required

by law to disclose to their em-

ployees that they are being

electronically monitored. The

only places where employees

can expect to be free from sur-

veillance are in bathrooms and

locker rooms.

Electronic Monitoring may

include video surveillance, tele-

phone monitoring, e-mail and

voice mail monitoring, computer

keystroke tracking, Internet

website monitoring, location

tracking in badges, and satellite

tracking of company vehicles.

REMEMBER: Teachers are

held liable for much of what

they post online, but are of-

fered minimal protection in

return.

Nearly every state imposes

a “conduct unbecoming” stan-

dard on teacher behavior both

inside and outside the class-

room.

There is no official definition

for “conduct unbecoming” and

local definitions are rarely con-

sistent. What may be accept-

able in California may not be

acceptable in Alabama, and

what may be acceptable one

year may not be in subsequent

years.

Governments are able to

fire employees if their speech is

deemed to harm the work-

place’s mission and function.

Most states let the local govern-

ing authority determine if harm

was done.

Use Alternatives to Facebook

and MySpace to Communi-

cate with Students.

There are several alternatives

to using Facebook and

MySpace to keep in touch with

students through the Internet.

Two popular options are Black-

board and Ning.com. Black-

board even has a Facebook

Application and mobile phone

application that connects stu-

dents’ Facebook profiles and

mobile devices with their class

information on Blackboard.

Ripped from the Headlines

Dozens of teachers across the

U.S. and Canada have been

reprimanded, suspended and

even fired for legal, personal

activities away from work. Real

stories revolve around the con-

tent of teachers’ Flickr, You-

Tube, Facebook and MySpace

accounts. Each teacher was

confronted with content that

parents, students, or adminis-

trators felt was inappropriate,

and in each case the teacher

was reprimanded, suspended,

or fired. Yes, you can fight

back and maybe even win, but

at what price?

REMEMBER, ask yourself,

would I say this to a student

on the telephone?

Page 5 December 2010

DoDDS-E/OFT Joint Training

Continued from page 3

accordance with Executive Or-der 13522. The latter was led by Cheryl Teare, AFT, and

Quinn Anderson, Labor Spe-cialist, DoDEA. The aim of the order is “to establish a coopera-tive and productive form of la-bor-management relations throughout the executive branch.” This process is recog-nized in an MOU between OFT and DoDEA. Linda, Phil, Marie, and Lenoir Graham, HRO DoDEA, showcased their acting skills in skits illustrating the old confrontational way of bargaining and the new collabo-rative method.

After a long but productive

day, participants still had the en-

ergy to dance the evening away

on the Venetian pirate ship. As

always, Barbara Ferg-Carter did

a wonderful job of arranging this

extravaganza. We are just sorry

that it ended so badly for her

with a fall and a trip to the hospi-

tal. Get well soon, Barbara!

CSI process and agreed to work cooperatively with the OFT task group. She also understands the problem of lack of time and promised to look at any new ideas, ”even the wacky ones!” Finally, Marilee reminded teach-ers not to lose their passion but to control their anger when fight-ing for their causes. The afternoon session contin-ued with contract training by

Marie, Linda, and Phil Brown, Labor Relations Specialist, DoDDS-E, followed by a session on pre-decisional involvement in

Cheryl Teare, AFT

Ship Ahoy, Maties!

Ann Mitchell, AFT

OFT and Admin Create Reading Streets Data Forms Pam Cleaverley, Editor

OFT and Management demonstrated their ability to work cooperatively when they spent several hours cre-ating standardized data forms for the Elementary Schools’ Reading Streets program.

Serra concentrates on Read-ing Streets

Cooperation in action.

The class format is open lab

with guidance, instructor facilita-

tion and peer interaction. Stu-

dents who have taken this

course in the past may receive

credit under a different title if

desired. The cost for an OFT

member is $185.00 per semes-

ter hour of credit. The cost for a

non-OFT member is $240.00

per semester hour. For more

information contact the instruc-

tor, Terry L. Smith at

tls93908@yahoo.com or the

GIFT director, Marr Shan Cagle

at marr.cagle@eu.dodea.edu >

The OFT’s Graduate Insti-

tute for Teachers’ program is

offering a class at Vicenza, It-

aly. The class, Technology

Tools Computer Course, will be

offered February 19 - 21, 2011.

This course may be taken for 1,

2, or 3 semester hours. Stu-

dents who register for this class

should come with the intention

of working on a self-selected

project that will be of benefit to

their own educational situation.

OFT Survey Shows Improvement Needed in CSI

Process

Linda Hogan, European Director

December 2010 Page 6

A t the Executive Commitee and LUR Assembly, Linda Hogan shared the results of May’s survey, which was completed by 75% of the possible respon-dents. She reminded mem-bers that the results should be considered as trends and indi-cators rather than in terms of absolute percentages. The

questions on atti-tudes to CSI show little improvement over last year. There is a 7% increase in the number of teach-ers who feel that there is enough teacher input, but on the questions of suffi-cient time and train-ing, the increases are very slight. The need

for professional develop-ment is significant. There

is a perception that about a fourth of the administrators are not actively involved in the CSI process; however, there is an increase in administrator in-volvement from last year. Per-haps the most significant find-ing of the survey is that 40% of teachers still believe that CSI has had little or no impact on

GIFT Technology Tools Class at Vicenza Pam Cleaverley, LUR, Rota HS

student learning, with an addi-tional 9% seeing a negative im-pact. Since these results indi-cate a compelling need to im-prove the school improvement process, Marie asked Serra and Virginia to co-chair an OFT task force to study the problem. The survey also addressed

OFT communications, and both

the Update and the JLMC Min-

utes received high marks. It

was decided to experiment with

limiting the Minutes to the elec-

tronic copy this year. The

newspaper will continue in elec-

tronic and printed forms. The

survey was created together

with the specialists at AFT, who

congratulated OFT on the high

marks they received on mem-

bership involvement.

Linda Hogan, European Director

It’s been two months now that I have been in Kabul teach-ing EFL to young Afghan Air Force officers. This odyssey started last spring when I re-plied to an email to DoDEA teachers asking for volunteers to teach English in Afghanistan. I was one of five teachers who were selected. Following a month of language training at the Defense Language Institute in San Antonio and two weeks of “ground training” in Indiana, I found myself in 150 degree heat in Kuwait waiting for a flight to Afghanistan. Once “in theater” I was as-signed to the ISAF base at the Kabul airport. Our school is lo-cated on an Afghan training base (I can walk to school). Though this is a war zone and there is a lot of hostile action going on in other parts of the country, it has been very quiet here. We are confined to the base and can’t “go out the wire” unless it’s in an armored con-voy. Accommodations are sim-ple but clean. I share a small room with another teacher and communal showers and toilets are down the hall. We have about forty stu-dents and five teachers in our school. We work long hours – twelve-hour days, six days a week. It sounds like a lot, but there is really very little to do here outside of work. I teach from 8:00AM to 2:30PM and then teach another two-hour class in the afternoon. With the benefits that come with working in a war zone, the pay is gener-ous, but then you must take into account the danger, being

far from your family, the isolation, lack of privacy and being con-fined to a very small area.

The bright point is the teach-ing. My students are in their twen-ties and early thirties and hope to go on to advanced aviation train-ing, maybe in the US. They are a joy to work with; extremely friendly, outgoing, enthusiastic learners, with a great sense of humor and an inborn cultural re-spect for their teacher. They are also very grateful that we are here to help them. Thirty years of war have destroyed most of the country’s infrastructure and dev-astated the educational system. They know that education is the key to rebuilding their country and culture. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with them. Despite being in the military, they enjoy benefits that most Af-ghans don’t - a well- paying steady job, free lodging, food, clothing, medical, etc. Many of

Letter from Afghanistan by Steve Osborne

Page 7 December 2010

them come from very poor back-grounds. One student told me that his extended family of twenty plus people lives in four rooms, including the kitchen. Some of those who come from distant provinces have not been home for months or years because as Afghan military, they would be at great risk if they returned. Though I usually avoid discussing religion or politics, one day we were discussing the theme of one chapter in our book which cen-tered on military life. I asked them why they joined the military and to a man they replied, “Because I want to serve my country,” or “I want to help my people.” Most of our students are male, but re-cently five young women in uni-form joined our student body. Kabul is located in a high val-

ley surrounded by arid brown

mountains. So far it’s been

warm, but it’s supposed to get

very cold and snow in the winter.

Not being able to explore this fas-

cinating country is one of the big-

gest drawbacks. There are many

negatives associated with this

assignment, but they are far out-

weighed by the rewards of work-

ing with these wonderful young

people and feeling you are doing

something to help them achieve a

better future.

Steve Osborne, former LUR, Naples High School

Let us know what is hap-

pening in your school.

Send photos (clearly la-

beled) and articles to

Pamela Cleaverley

[pamclag@hotmail.com]

Pam Cleaverley

Editor

PSC 819, Box 63

FPO AE 09645

The Overseas Teacher

The Overseas Teacher is published four times a

year by the Overseas Federation of Teachers, an

affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers,

AFL-CIO.

President Marie Sainz-Funaro

European Director Linda Hogan

Vice-President Margie Lally

Treasurer Colette Grillo

Editors Pam Cleaverley

David Wass

Change of address form. Please cut out and send with

new address to: David Wass, PSC 819, Box 63, FPO

AE 09645 or send to David.Wass@eu.dodea.edu

School News Pam Cleaverley, Editor

Is anyone retiring in your school this year? Do you have any special news to share? Do you have an opinion on an

educational issue? Let us know what is happening in your school. Please send

articles and clearly-labeled photos to pamclag@hotmail.com or

cleaverleylagioia@yahoo.com

OFT Member Kathleen Tierney poses with the top six students and the judges at the first DGF Science Symposium. Con-gratulations to Kathleen and her students for a job well done.

Dr. Nancy Bresell and Dr. Elizabeth Walker prepare to cut the ribbon on the opening of the new DGF High School.

The sun shines brightly as DGF cele-brates the official opening of their new High School. This photo collage by OFT member Linda White shows many as-pects of the morning’s events.

Vicenza ES/MS also has a Grand Opening Ceremony for their new school.