From Teamwork to Excellence

Dr. Sid T. Womack, Professor of Secondary Education at Arkansas Tech University, has worked at all levels of education. He teaches courses in diversity, research, assessment, and school law at ATU. Dr. Shellie Hanna is an Assistant Professor at Arkansas Tech University where she teaches education courses. Her teaching experience includes high school and Health/PE and secondary education courses on the college level.Dr. Stephanie Pepper is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood at Arkansas Tech University where she teaches courses in Classroom Management, Curriculum and Children’s Literature. She previously taught in the PK-12 environment for 26 years.Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim is an Assistant Professor at Arkansas Tech University where he teaches courses in Educational Technology. His teaching and work experience in the field of technology has been in Yemen, Egypt, Germany and the United States.Dr. Peggy Woodall is an Assistant Professor at Henderson State University where she teaches courses in Special Education and Educational Leadership. She has taught in several states in the PK-12 environment and has served as a principal and Director of Special Education Programs in several districts.

From Teamwork to Excellence: Labor and Economic Factors Affecting Educators is written by a team of teacher educators for whom teaching, teachers’ lives, and factors affecting teachers are always at the heart of their work. In this book, they report results of the Arkansas School Study, which has been administered three times over the past twenty years – the most recently in 2011-2012. In addition, practical, reflective chapters are included to guide the reader through information intended for school teachers, administrators, counselors, and librarians.The book is organized into the initial section of five chapters, written by Womack, who explains the Arkansas School Studies and how the results of the study may be interpreted practically by teachers and administrators. [In Part II,] ten chapters offer reflections by teacher and administration educators….Authors respond to a specific finding from the study and how that finding, such as teacher frustration over non-instructional and time consuming aspects of a “typical” school day, might be addressed. For example, in her chapter, “How Can Elementary Teachers Redeem Their Time?”, Pepper addresses time that is typically spent in classroom [on] behavior management activities and how teachers may “regain” that time by preparing for classroom instruction and student individualities in organized ways. Ibrahim offers an excellent overview of technology use in Arkansas schools, which should inform educational leaders and guide them on technology-based choices and expenditures in the future. Hanna and Womack’s chapter on time management provides user-friendly advice. The book provides an interesting overview of dilemmas faced by teachers and the authors’ reflections on the dilemmas, followed by discussion questions. I would use the book to guide discussion in a university methods class, as a literature circle selection during professional development, or in mentoring partnerships.

• PrefaceIntroductionPart I: DemographicsChapter 1 How is teaching the noblest, yet most misunderstood profession? Chapter 2 What was the background and methodology for this study? Chapter 3 Do educators really do anything? Chapter 4 How much money do Arkansas educators contribute to schools each year? Part II: ApplicationsChapter 5 What are the biggest time wasters that educators of all types put up with?Chapter 6 Setting priorities and defending them like they were BastogneChapter 7 How can elementary teachers most effectively use their time? Chapter 8 How can secondary teachers use their time most effectively? Chapter 9 How can special education teachers navigate the documentation quagmire? Chapter 10 How can administrators direct their time usage and prevent others from misappropriating their time? Chapter 11 How are Arkansas educators currently using technology? Chapter 12 Ways educators could use technology effectively Chapter 13 What can counselors do to be pro-active rather than reactive? Chapter 14 More than book checkers and “shush” ladies Chapter 15 The effective use of the higher educator’s time ReferencesAppendicesAbout the Authors