by Michael Manderino I have had the tremendous fortune of being a NIU Social Justice Summer Camp co-counselor since Dr. Joe Flynn invited Dr. James Cohen and me back in 2016, and Dr. Dana Isawi in 2019, to help him build his
Read moreElementary Education alumni selected as Chicago-area Golden Apple finalists
Erin Odle has always loved working with children. Piotr Wojciaczyk drew inspiration from a high school music teacher. Dominique Yackley discovered her ambition from within after she left high school as a sophomore. Connecting the three NIU College of Education alumni, all
Read morePhotos: All-College Meeting, Social
The Spring 2023 edition of the All-College Meeting took place in the Regency Room of the Holmes Student Center, which provided a short walk to the social event in the Huskie Den. Colleagues were able to bowl or shoot pool. On the
Read moreEducate Global takes flight again, delivers same life-changing results
Following two years of COVID cancellations, Educate Global returned this summer. Yet that long and unpreventable absence could not diminish the program’s greatest product: eye-opening, life-changing experiences. NIU students and faculty who traveled with Educate Global Indonesia and Educate Global East Africa,
Read moreUruguayan teachers visit NIU, nearby schools to gather ideas for improvement
After two weeks of visiting schools in DeKalb, Rochelle and the Chicago suburbs, 20 teachers from Uruguay made their way to Rockford. Their destination – Lincoln Middle School, opened in 1927 and located adjacent to the city’s historic Midtown District – provided
Read moreJames Cohen receives new title at NIU: 2021 Outstanding International Educator
James Cohen has told the story again and again. The associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction was 23 and teaching in Sri Lanka during his 30 months of service to the Peace Corps. “I remember lying on my bed
Read moreCongratulations!
Congratulations to these members of the NIU College of Education family! James Cohen, associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, received the Outstanding International Educator award Tuesday from the NIU Division of International Affairs. The award recognizes sustained contributions over
Read moreEducate Global trip will send current, future teachers to Kenya, Tanzania
Fourteen NIU College of Education students will travel to Kenya and Tanzania in 2022 for a personal immersion to understand the challenges of not only learning another language but learning in it. Pending COVID restrictions at the time, the new Educate Global
Read moreBlack, Brown & Bilingüe: Alums launch podcast while leading suburban schools
For Lissette Jacobson and Maurice McDavid, the connection began Day One. Both began working in DeKalb in August of 2011, when they attended an orientation for new teachers – and Jacobson couldn’t help but notice McDavid’s commanding voice in the room: “You’re
Read morePLEDGE program aims to ease shortage of teachers, boost teacher diversity
Illinois schools, like schools nationwide, desperately need more teachers – as well as more teachers who look like their students – to serve in growingly diverse classrooms. According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, nearly 50% of teachers leave
Read moreEnseño en Español: DeKalb, Elgin enrolls teachers in new NIU course on biliteracy
During her years as a Cuban living in rural Galesburg, Ill., Mayra Daniel impressed on her family the need for fluency in her native tongue of Spanish. But that language was rare in this community of 35,000 in Knox County. “Few spoke
Read moreSocial Justice Summer Camp 4.0 turns to podcasts to continue vital momentum
Joe Flynn heard the news without any sense of surprise. “It came out in late April that there was a disproportionate representation of African Americans and Latinos who have been contracting and, most importantly, dying from the virus,” says Flynn, an associate
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