Fleischer offers lecture and workshop for public school teachers
Feb. 11, 2004
KALAMAZOO--A lecture and workshop at Western Michigan University will focus on the ways teachers can represent themselves in a public education climate where the question of "who counts" is beginning to leave out more and more students.
Dr. Cathy Fleischer, professor of English language and literature at Eastern Michigan University, will present "Entering the Public Conversation: Teacher Voices for a Democracy of Many," at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 19, on the 10th Floor of Sprau Tower. Her workshop "Teacher Research in Critical Times" is scheduled for the following morning at 10 a.m. in the same location.
"The public representations of schools these days strain the vision many of us hold for a true democracy," says Fleischer. "As rhetoric, legislation, and standardized testing push us toward increasingly narrow images of students, teachers and classrooms, our charge in public schools remains the same: to educate every child who comes through the door."
The workshop will address how teacher research can be used to combat some of the perceptions that have been created by legislation like the No Child Left Behind Act.
Fleischer is the author of three books dealing with teacher research and is currently involved with looking at ways teachers can work with networks of parents and other community members to help them understand effective classroom practices. She also serves as co-editor of "English Education," a quarterly journal published by the National Council of Teachers of English, and is the research director for COLEARN, an NCTE professional development and teacher project in schools throughout the country.
The presentation and workshop are sponsored by the WMU Department of English in conjunction with the College of Education. For more information, call (269) 387-2605.
Media contact: Matt Gerard, 269 387-8400, matthew.gerard@wmich.edu