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News for Teachers: Make Use of the FREE Web Site
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) web site (http://www.ed.gov/free/index.html) makes it easy to find teaching resources on federal government Web sites. The site was developed with the cooperation of more than 35 federal agencies and is updated each week with new materials and highlights.
FREE offers quick access to more than 1,500 resources in the arts, sciences, history and other subjects from the Library of Congress, National Archives, Smithsonian, NASA, the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.
Here's a sample of what you'll find at FREE.
Constitution Resources -- Resources for teaching and learning about the U.S. Constitution. View high-resolution images of the Constitution from the National Archives, read the biographies of the founding fathers and much more (http://www.ed.gov/free/constitution/index.html).
Born in Slavery -- 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery with 500 photos of former slaves (http://memory.locgov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html).
Our Documents -- 100 milestone documents in U.S. history, including speeches, treaties, Supreme Court cases, patent designs and Constitutional amendments (http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/cfapps/free/displaysearch.cfm?searchword=%22our+documents%22).
Nationalatlas.gov -- Make a map of your state or community by selecting features to display: cities, roads, rivers, population, crops or water quality. Find an aerial photo of your neighborhood (http://nationalatlas.gov/).
Explore Themes in American Art -- 10 genres of American art: landscapes, portraits and more (http://www.nga.gov/education/american/aasplash.htm).
Exploring Earth -- 100 animations and images illuminating key concepts in earth science, including coal formation, nuclear fission and hurricanes (http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/visualization.cfm).
Mathematics Across the Curriculum -- Materials for teaching math in art, history, literature and music, as well as science, engineering and other disciplines traditionally associated with math (http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~matc/eBookshelf/index.html).
More information about the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative is available at our web site: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/tools/initiative/about/information
The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) web site (http://www.ed.gov/free/index.html) makes it easy to find teaching resources on federal government Web sites. The site was developed with the cooperation of more than 35 federal agencies and is updated each week with new materials and highlights.
FREE offers quick access to more than 1,500 resources in the arts, sciences, history and other subjects from the Library of Congress, National Archives, Smithsonian, NASA, the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.
A bonanza of ideas, resources, and information for OCAE Members.
Download a copy of the NEA Para-educator Handbook
Reemployed Retired Teachers - Questions & Answers
Know an educator who deserves recognition?
Click here if you are a non-member and wish to join OCAE
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION!!
If You are Accused and Under Pressure! What to do Until Help Arrives
(FOR OCAE MEMBERS ONLY)
If you are accused of child abuse, assault, or any other criminal charge:
- DON'T TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT THE CASE. Tell the principal, parent, police officer, or social services worker that you will be happy to answer questions as soon as you have an attorney present. They must respect your right to have an attorney present during questioning -- EVEN IF THAT MEANS POSTPONING THE MEETING.
- Call the OCAE office immediately. Advise the person who answers that you
- are being accused of a crime and need an attorney. If for any reason you are unable to reach someone at the OCAE office, call NCAE headquarters in Raleigh at 1-800-662-7924 and ask to speak to someone in legal services.
- If you are unable to reach someone at OCAE or NCAE, advise the principal, administrator, or officer that the questioning will have to be rescheduled when you can have an attorney present and that you will advise him/her as soon as you have arranged for representation. He/she can contact your representative by calling NCAE.
- Do not allow yourself to be manipulated into discussing the case without legal counsel. The vast majority of complaints are false, but your response can easily be twisted or misconstrued. Promises like "just answer a few questions and we can close the book on this and go home" or insinuations like "you wouldn't mind talking to us if you were not guilty" are designed to help the investigators and the accusers, not you. Expedience is never a good reason to sacrifice your legal rights.
If you are accused by your supervisor of misconduct, incompetence, insubordination or impropriety:
Advise the supervisor that the charge is one for which you could be reprimanded or suffer other disciplinary action and that you need to have a representative attend any meetings to help discuss the charge.
Contact your building's OCAE Rep or call the OCAE office. The building rep can accompany you to the meeting or we can arrange other representation as the situation requires.
If you are unable to reach the OCAE office, advise your supervisor that you wish to postpone the meeting until you can have a representative present. If the supervisor insists that the meeting proceed, you must attend in order not be insubordinate, but don't discuss the charge. Your best bet is to repeat, "I'll be happy to respond to that when I have a representative present."
Click here if you are a non-member and wish to join OCAE