Let Us Join Together!

by Yvonne Yates, Director of School Services
yyates@klrn.org

Nothing says community like an event that gathers people from all over our city for a common goal. This year, September is full of community involvement happenings, from the 9/11 10th anniversary memorial events to KLRN’s Not in Our Town Week of Action September 18-24. San Antonio is a community that has come together many times to celebrate our diversity and culture. We each have a role to play in strengthening our community and it is the job of all educators, parents, and teachers to lead by example.

We teach our students from a young age to share and be kind and as they get older they continue to share their lunches with friends and are kind to the elderly gentlemen at the grocery store. However, how many of us take those early lessons and apply them to service in the community? Are we showing students that community service isn’t about padding one’s resume, but about realizing that by helping others we gain an understanding of each other and a sense of human compassion? We as teachers have a responsibility to show our students that it is our civic duty to provide support for one another.

Our mission at KLRN is to enrich our viewers with quality educational programing and events. One such event is KLRN’s Not in Our Town Week of Action (September 18-24), during which we’ll be having a FREE public screening of the film on Tues., Sept. 20 at 6:00 PM at the P.E.A.C.E Initiative Offices at the San Antonio Mennonite Church (1443 South St. Mary’s Street). This film documents the effects that hate can have on a community. Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion. We want our community to be informed in order to prevent this from happening in our fair city.

This is just one event that is happening in our city that can inspire your students to take action and make a difference. There are so many opportunities to work with your students to strengthen our community by engaging them in service. Plant a community garden, collect can foods for the San Antonio Food Bank or maybe just help by picking up the trash around your campus. Every little bit helps

So my question to you this month is: What are your students doing to help in their community?

Back to School

by Yvonne Yates
yyates@klrn.org
Director of School Services, KLRN

As the number of summer vacation days diminishes and the smell of brand new school supplies fills the air, this is a great time to add a few new things to your teacher toolbox.


KLRN Connect has undergone a facelift this summer. We are still working on the final touches of the website to ensure that it looks its best. It is our hope that we will be ready to go by the time the kids are in your classrooms. Be on the lookout next month for the new site.


The new site will include PBS’s brand new media resource. In late June, PBS launched PBS LearningMedia at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2011 in Philadelphia. PBS LearningMedia offers the best of public media content produced specifically for PreK-16 teachers. With free access to over 14,000-plus high-quality resources, teachers can download, save and share exactly what they need for an inspired classroom experience.


With PBS working hard to make sure that you have quality videos for your classroom, we at KLRN are always on the lookout for local events and resources. In its inaugural year, TechCon2011 is a place where teachers and students can go to get inspired to continue looking towards careers in Science, Technology and Mathematics. This event will feature the latest cutting edge technology that makes San Antonio and Texas a leader in innovation. Teachers and students will see examples of the advancements in energy technology, the latest consumer and medical electronics, education and automobiles. Mayor Julian Castro will make opening remarks discussing San Antonio's role as a leader in innovation and STEM education. In attendance will also be a number of exhibitors, including KLRN, that will be showcasing information and activities for students and teacher.


Join KLRN August 30-September 1 at San Antonio Shrine Auditorium. Check out our freebie this month for more information.

How do you use technology in the classroom?

Loving the blossoms!

by Yvonne Yates
yyates@klrn.org
Director of School Services, KLRN

I traveled to Washington DC a few weeks ago and missed the beautiful cherry blossoms by two weeks. The only indication of their presence were the fallen petals on the ground. It was these fallen petals that sparked my idea for this month’s newsletter. Although they were no longer part of the beautiful tree, they were evidence that they had grown as part of the tree.

I have had the pleasure of working with many schools this year and have grown as a person because of the special teachers, faculty and students that have taken on KLRN’s educational projects. Students like Ms. Stacy Hodges’ Sophomore World History Classes at Travis Early College High School who took on a public affairs project and produced amazing results in just three weeks. And Ms. Marie Bonar-Ruiz' Sophomore AVID students at Brackenridge High School who began working on the RoadTrip Nation Curriculum in October and are going to have their own film festival in a few weeks to showcase all their hard work. These are just two examples of the amazing work that students in our community are doing. I walk into classrooms every month and see how teachers are helping these students grow. Teacher Appreciation week is May 2-6, and I want you to know that we at KLRN not only appreciate everything you do but look for ways to showcase how your students grow from week to week and year to year.

To grow means to increase by natural development. The school year is quickly coming to an end and teachers have seen first-hand the growth of their students. Some have grown naturally without any extra help where as others have needed a little extra TLC to make that growth happen.

There was a bitter sweet feeling that would come to me this time of year. The sweet feeling of seeing how my students had learned and matured as the year progressed and yet bitter because I would no longer enjoy them as students in my classroom. My farewell hope for the 2010-2011 school year is that it has taken you and your students on an unforgettable journey.

KLRN will be growing this summer, too. Be on the lookout for a new KLRN Connect. Until August, I wish you all a wonderful summer.

What are YOU going to cook on Sunday?

You may be wondering what to serve Mom on Sunday. Let us help...or at least let us turn to one of our fabulous programs for help. Here are some ideas for you from America's Test Kitchen. We hope you have a wonderful Sunday with the Moms in your life.

- Breakfast Buttercups
- Short Order Home Fries
- Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
- Fruit Salad

Viva San Antonio!

by Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN

I have lived in San Antonio for over ten years, and I am just now beginning to feel like I truly live here. Since starting at KLRN, I have had the opportunity to visit parts of the city I had never been to before. Like many students in your classrooms, I had not gone outside of my own neighborhood often to see what this city had to offer. I have only been to one Fiesta event and that is only because it is held at the university where I went to school.

Every April, the city of San Antonio starts buzzing with all the fun of Fiesta. This eleven day event takes our fair city by storm with numerous events that can be enjoyed by all. Students will come into your classroom talking about the carnival, the parades and the delicious foods (can you say Chicken-on-a-Stick) that they will enjoy during this time. However, many students do not know the origins of this city-wide celebration. Here is a brief history lesson.

In 1891 a group of San Antonians decided to pay homage to the heroes of the Battle of San Jacinto and the Alamo. The first parade consisted of horse-drawn carriages decorated with fresh flowers, and the people watching would throw flowers at the floats to symbolize a battle. This parade was such a success that within in a few years more events and a royal court were added to the celebration.

Fiesta San Antonio is a wonderful time not only to celebrate our city’s heroes, but also our fair community. There are many things to do and explore in San Antonio beyond the Alamo--there are four other missions to discover: San Jose, San Juan, Concepcion, and Espada. Challenge your students to explore the history and sights of San Antonio.

If your students have Fiesta plans, there is little you can do to keep their attention as their minds wander to the fun that will be had. So why not take a few moments from all the hustle and bustle of TAKS and district assessments/benchmarks this month and include Fiesta San Antonio into your daily routine for those eleven days? Have your students write about their favorite Fiesta event before the festivities begin. Or, begin your day with a Fiesta Fun Fact to teach them about the history of Fiesta.

This April, I will be going out and exploring the new San Antonio River Walk expansion as well as some of our city’s parks. Take time to enjoy the lovely spring weather and all that San Antonio has to offer. Ask your students to do the same and allow them to see why we are one of the favorite destinations for visitors from around the United States. Let us all take time this month to celebrate our community.

How will you incorporate Fiesta San Antonio in your classroom?

Women Make History

by Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN

Mae Jemison once said that you should never limit yourself because of others’ limited imaginations and never limit others because of your own limited imagination. She broke frontiers in 1992 by becoming the first African American woman to travel to space while on board the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Women’s History Month encourages the celebration of women in history as a way to promote equality among the sexes in the classroom. Writing this reminded me of a time when I was at recess with my students and I heard one of the young men in my class tell the young ladies that they could not play football because it was a “boy’s game.” I smiled at the girls and told the boys that if the girls wanted to play that they could. The exact same day, we were making ice cream in science and one of the girls told her partner that she needed to do the mixing of the ingredients because she was the girl. After these two instances, I decided that I would take some time at the end of our day to have a class meeting to discuss gender roles.

I started the conversation talking about their parents and asking with they did for a living. Many of my students had parents in the military, and we discussed their role in their particular job. I asked my students if a person of the opposite sex could do the job that their mother or father does. “Yes, Ms. Yates of course.” I continued to talk to them and said that although some career and activities are predominantly one gender, this did not limit the other gender to participate. We made a list of all the activities that mostly only men do and another list of activities that mostly only women do. One side had basketball player and race car driver and the other had cook and teacher. We discussed the WNBA and shows such as Top Chef.

I gave them as an extra-credit assignment to find pictures or articles of people in careers that they thought were only for men or for women. It opened my students’ eyes to a world where anything is possible and that there are no limits to what you can do--if you let your imagination fly. I never again heard my students limit their classmates to any activities on or off the playground.

Some students might not know of influential women such at Dolley Madison who pushed the envelope of United States politics in the early 1800’s.

What are some of the lessons that you are teaching in your classroom that focus on the role of women in history?

What would your day be like without Public Television?

Federal funds for public broadcasting are in jeopardy. Below, Paula Kerger, President of PBS, addresses the situation. This is very real for KLRN and all public broadcasters across the country. You CAN help. Local information is available here . Thank you for listening.

Watch the full episode. See more PBS Presents.

Shaping History

by Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN

Past events have helped shape our country to be what it is today. Students will often ask you “Why are we learning this?” In regard to the subject of history, the typical answer is “so history will not repeat itself.”

February is “Black History Month,” a time to commemorate African Americans who have shaped history. This celebration began in 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson, of Harvard, initiated “Negro History Week.” Dr. Woodson, who was a historian, chose the second week in February because it included the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. It was extended in 1976 to the entire month of February.

During the month of February, we remember those exceptional African Americans who helped shape our nation. We remember Rosa Parks and her stand against inequality, abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Students, for the most part, are familiar with these individuals. They might not, however, know who Benjamin Banneker and James Van Der Zee were. Teachers need to not only teach students about those well known famous individuals, but also those individuals who have shaped history but might not be in their textbooks.

Carl L. Becker said that history is the memory of things said and done. Every time a teacher recounts the history of our country, students are led down a path of critical thinking. Questions arise in classrooms over our state. How could this have been prevented? Why did this happen?

As cliché as it might be, one thing I always urged my students to remember is that “one person can make a difference.” One such person was Blanche Kelso Bruce, who was the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S Senate. He fought for the rights of minority groups from 1875-1881 while serving as a U.S. Senator. People can shape the history of our country with just one simple act or a few simple words speaking out for equality.

The Power of the Arts

by Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN

When I was four years old, my mother introduced me to the music of the Nutcracker Ballet composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Mesmerized by the wonderful music, from that moment on I wanted only to listen to the beautiful music. A few years later, I was taken to a musical play and again I was entranced. My parents knew that I was the artsy child of their four children and I needed a heavy dose of the arts in my life. Dance classes, museum visits, auditions for plays, and countless theater-going experiences turned a shy little girl into someone who loved the stage. Who knew that years later my favorite stage would be my classroom?

I was the teacher who did voices for every character and would search for music to help with climactic moments in the story. Read-Aloud time was my students’ favorite time of day. I got to act for the most gracious of audiences and they were entertained for a few minutes by the teacher who was all math and reading the whole morning long. It was a win-win for both.

The older our students become, the less we bring music, art, and drama into our lessons. According to a recent study, involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Then why is it that Art programs are being taken out of many schools in our nation? Teachers hope that the Arts teachers or someone in the community will take on the cultural enrichment of our students as we are much too busy teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Is it only the job of the rotation teachers in elementary and the arts teachers in middle in high school to show our students the wonder of music, art, and drama? We worry so much about our students learning what is tested that we forget that we want to have students who are well rounded and ready to take in the world through their own point of view. I challenge you to try to incorporate one of the arts into your lessons at least once a week. You will see your students want to learn with more enthusiasm as they see the world from your cultural point of view and as they develop their own. Write and tell us about how you incorporate art, music, and drama into your everyday lessons.

KLRN Welcomes Rick Casey, Launches TEXAS WEEK

KLRN is proud to provide a (not-so)new home to Rick Casey, in a program launching on January 21...TEXAS WEEK with RICK CASEY. Rick's experience as a journalist, his point-of-view, his insight, and his Irish wit will make this weekly local news and issues program one not to be missed. With contributions and editorial from Texas Tribune's Evan Smith, discussions with local experts, and a "final word from Rick", this program will bring to San Antonio (and South Central Texas) something new, something exciting, and something informative. Welcome Rick! We're glad to have you. Look for TEXAS WEEK with RICK CASEY on Friday nights at 8:30 pm.