Notes from MC

This blog is posted by Mary Cathryn Ricker, President of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, Local 28, which serves to offer notes and thoughts of interest to the members and friends of SPFT about unions, great public schools and public school teachers. Issues of greater good for all of our students, reflections on teacher leadership, being a teacher, union leader, and community activist will also be included.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Sisu, of course

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On Friday we had a closing round-table panel discussion of the week's observations with Joanne Weiss, Secretary Arne Duncan's chief ...
2 comments:
Thursday, August 23, 2012

Finnish Teacher Training: Masterful and Commanding

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Today I had the opportunity to immerse myself in Finland's teacher training programs (and even teach a little lesson myself!). Our hos...
5 comments:
Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Angry Birds, Happy People

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"Finland is a place where you have angry birds and happy people..." -Pasi Sahlberg,Director General of the Centre for Internation...
Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I like to move it, muuvit.

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It's hard to imagine King Julian of "Madagascar" fame not loving Finland. From the plethora of bike-riders, including bike aft...
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Monday, August 20, 2012

Preschool, quotations and a question

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Today we were immersed in a preschool program in the morning. I had the opportunity to observe, and have lunch at, a Swedish language pres...
1 comment:
Sunday, August 19, 2012

Anything for you, Finland

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Including dusting off my blog. When I first started to read about the system of public education in Finland I never would have dreamed I...
7 comments:
Saturday, July 23, 2011

Save Our Schools--Why I'm Marching

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A few months ago when I decided to support the Save Our Schools March and Call to Action I had a long list of where I thought “education ref...
15 comments:
Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Fighting the status quo since 1918

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Dear SPFT Community: Our union is a powerful force for justice, innovation and democracy. That sentiment often comes out when SPFT leaders...
12 comments:
Monday, May 2, 2011

Teacher Appreciation Day

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May 3, 2011 Dear SPFT Community: Happy Teacher Appreciation Day to all of our educators! I celebrate this Teacher Appreciation Day with...
11 comments:
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Solving the budget and learning deficit, together

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At the November SPFT membership meeting, the members present determined that we should go through a process of gathering input from members ...
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Mary Cathryn
I have been president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, the union representing the teachers and educational assistants of St. Paul Public Schools since 2005. I have taught middle school English for 13 years in St. Cloud, Minnesota; Camas, Washington, Seoul, South Korea; and St. Paul, earning my National Board Certification in Early Adolescent/English-Language Arts in 2004. I grew up in a family of teachers on Minnesota's Iron Range so I recognize the power of labor unions to improve peoples' lives as well as the power of good teaching and strong public schools.
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