In a profession where there is a 50% attrition rate within the first 5 years, it is hard to find a teacher a good mentor and resources to help them make their classes the best they can be, especially for those instructional areas for STEM.
The article "State Business and Education Leaders to Create New Tool for Teachers" by Liz Bowie recounts how the Maryland State Department of Education and the Maryland Business Roundtable on Education are collaborating on using Race to the Top funds and over $300,000 from major business contributors to design an online Internet resources for teachers teaching in the STEM curriculums.
What I found most interesting in the article, they actually asked the experts what would help them most. They brought in 30 teachers to ask them to think of an "online network that would help them become better teachers." (Bowie, 2010) It seems like a simplistic enough idea, however, too often we see grants and funds used to implement to improve instruction, but teachers (the end-user) are not included and often are left out of the planning stages.
Applause to the Maryland State Department of Education and the Maryland Business Rountable on Education for recognizing that teachers should be consulted on the design and implementation of such a valuable resource.
State Business and Education Leaders to Create New Tool for Teachers. Liz Bowie. The Baltimore Sun (MCT), Teacher Magazine. Published Online: 11/11/10. Retreived: 11/11/10.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if they actually used the suggestions from the teachers and not just did whatever they (Dept of Ed) wanted to do in the first place?! Sorry, my sarcasm is showing! Let's hope for improvements in Maryland education.
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