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Lifelong learning is essential for effective educators and should be modeled for our students. With so many changes occurring in the fields of educational technology, curriculum, pedagogy, and law, it is imperative that educators receive opportunities for growth in their school and beyond. One powerful way to grow is through developing a personal learning network (PLN). PLNs enable educators to learn in accordance with their diverse interests and passions. During a conversation with teacher leaders last year about improving how meaningful professional development is offered, a model from the business world was suggested;Training and other professional growth activities would be embedded within the school day. the light bulb went on for me. I quickly realized that the current school schedule presented the perfect solution to offering meaningful professional development during the day in the form of noninstructional duties, which are otherwise often a waste of time. The plan that my administrative team and I have developed drastically reduces the amount of noninstructional duties the teachers have, such as lunch, hall, or in-school suspension duty. It also reduces the pe

"With a diverse range of resources; including free lesson plans, educational games for classroom use and profiles of inspiring educators; Practical Money Skills hopes to empower educators, enable student learning, and help provide people of all ages with the tools necessary for financial success. "

"The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher. The release of the Douglass Papers, from the Library of Congress's Manuscript Division, contains approximately 7,400 items (38,000 images) relating to Douglass' life as an escaped slave, abolitionist, editor, orator, and public servant. The papers span the years 1841 to 1964, with the bulk of the material from 1862 to 1895. The collection consists of correspondence, speeches and articles by Douglass and his contemporaries, a draft of his autobiography, financial and legal papers, scrapbooks, and miscellaneous items. These papers reveal Douglass' interest in diverse subjects such as politics, emancipation, racial prejudice, women's suffrage, and prison reform. Included is correspondence with many prominent civil rights reformers of his day, including Susan B. Anthony, William Lloyd Garrison, Gerrit Smith, Horace Greeley, and Russell Lant, and political leaders such as Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. Scrapbooks document Douglass' role as minister to Haiti and the controversy surrounding his interracial second marriage. The online release of the Frederick Douglass Papers is made possible through the generous support of the Citigroup Foundation. "

"A book club, also referred to as a reading group, is a collection of readers who participate in the regular discussion of books. Traditionally, a book club consists of several members who meet in person each month to talk about a specific work. A Book Club is also... In addition to discussion-oriented book clubs described here, a book club can also be a place to purchase books. These discount book clubs offer great deals for readers who wish to purchase several books each year. Many of these are available online, where readers can use the book club's website to choose their books. However, the advent of web forums and email has made it possible for book clubs to exist online. While both traditional and online book clubs offer readers the opportunity to participate in spirited discussions, each type has its own set of advantages. Traditional book clubs offer the benefit of having all members in the same room, which makes for a much more personal and intimate experience. Since most traditional book clubs are somewhat small in size, each member typically has more control over what books are selected to read (often members will vote on a list of suggested titles that have been submitted or take turns selecting). At the same time, it is often difficult to organize and maintain a book club that meets regularly. In addition to the challenge of recruiting quality members for a book club, a regular meeting time and place may be difficult to establish, especially if members have busy schedules. Also, the small size of the traditional book club typically limits the diversity of views and perspectives that enter into the discussion. Online book clubs offer several advantages over the traditional reading group model. Due to the vastness of the web and the variety of book clubs available, readers who turn to the Internet to find a book club enjoy a much wider selection of clubs, including many dedicated to a specialized interest or genre. In addition, online book clubs

"The form taken by literature circles varies according to the students' needs, their abilities, and the characteristics of individual classrooms. However, all literature circles share the following three basic elements: diversity, self-choice, and student initiative (Daniels, 2002). Based upon curriculum goals or particular themes students are studying, the teacher selects a set of texts which are either thematically related books of various genres or a body of work by a single author (Brabham & Villaume, 2000; Gilbert, 2000). Learners then are either assigned to a "circle" by their teacher or they may form their own groups, based on students' reading interests or book titles they have selected (Burns, 1998). Within each circle, students are in charge of their own learning and have responsibilities, such as leading discussions and deciding the volume of material to be read for each meeting (Farinacci, 1998; Peralta-Nash & Dutch, 2000). "

"N ew Philadelphia looked like a typical west-central Illinois pioneer town to travelers cresting the hill overlooking the place in the mid-1800s. Imagine villagers filling baskets with a bounty of apples, corn, and wheat, while chickens clucked and pigs rooted in nearby pens. Picture farmers hitching mules and oxen to carts filled with vegetables, fruit, and grain to sell at markets. Listen for loud clanging from the blacksmith's shop as hammers shaped hot metal into shoes for mules and horses. As in other frontier towns, smoke from cooking fires swirled from the dwellings that dotted small plots of land. But New Philadelphia was not a typical pioneer town. It was the first town platted and registered by an African American before the American Civil War. A formerly enslaved man called "Free Frank" McWorter founded New Philadelphia in 1836 as a money-making venture to buy his family out of slavery. Census records and other historical documents tell us that New Philadelphia was a place where black and white villagers lived side by side, but we know that the town's dead lie buried in cemeteries separated by color. By 1885, many villagers had moved away in search of jobs and better economic opportunities. Plows buried any material remains left behind, and grazing livestock and crops covered most of the site. By the 1940s, nothing of the town remained above ground. However, the town's descendants and neighboring communities did not forget New Philadelphia. Descendents continued to live in the area until the 1950s. Grace Matteson wrote "Free Frank" McWorter and the "Ghost Town" of New Philadelphia, Pike County, Illinois. Later, Lorraine Burdick remembered the town in New Philadelphia: Where I Lived. McWorter family descendants were members of the Negro History Movement led by Carter G. Woodson, and through their activities the story of Free Frank was kept alive. Helen McWorter Simpson, great granddaughter of Free Frank McWorter, wrote Makers of History. Juliet E. K. Wa