California Casualty not only has a family friendly atmosphere but also gives back to local communities. Year-round our employees participate in multiple philanthropic events across the company. We recognize those who serve our communities and support our home towns in many ways.
Recently, our Kansas office engaged with a local charity that focuses on giving supplies to local foster children who may not have back-to-school essentials. Our employees were able to fill 15 backpacks full of school supplies that included notebooks, folders, pencils, pens, highlighters and more through donations.
California Casualty is proud to join the NEA Foundation in congratulating the recipients of one of public education’s most prestigious awards: the 2018 California Casualty Awards for Teaching Excellence.
The 38 awardees represent the best of their profession and will be honored at the NEA Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Gala next February in Washington, D. C.
The California Casualty Awards for Teaching Excellence are unique: in addition to exhibiting excellence in instructional and professional practice, awardees are nominated by their peers – their NEA state affiliate – for their dedication to the profession, community engagement, professional development, attention to diversity, and advocacy for fellow educators.
Their passion is reflected by their teaching philosophies. “Teaching makes all other professions possible. We are molding the next generation that will lead us through change and navigate the complexities of modern life,” said one.
“Every student in my classroom is encouraged to be comfortable in the skin he or she is in, which helps to create an environment that is conducive to learning,” said another.
And one instructor remarked, “Students who are going through any sort of issue know that they can come to my room for a break. I do not force them to talk to me, but I do make it known that I am there to listen and help if needed.”
Each year, the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala draws almost 1,000 supporters of public education, and thousands more online, to applaud these awardees. At the gala, the educators are truly the stars, celebrated throughout the night with music, performances, videos, and more. The evening gives educators well-deserved recognition for their hard work, personal dedication, and profound influence.
“These outstanding educators put heart and soul into supporting students and improving the profession,” said Harriet Sanford, NEA Foundation President and CEO. “We deeply appreciate California Casualty’s partnership in recognizing educators across the country.”
“We are glad to have the chance to show our respect and appreciation for the work of public school educators each year,” said Beau Brown, California Casualty CEO. “We applaud the great work of the California Casualty awardees.”
Each California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence awardee’s school will receive a $650 award. California Casualty provides financial support for the awards and Field Marketing Managers will help make local presentations in August, September and October.
During the NEA Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Gala on February 9, 2018 in Washington, D.C., the nation’s top educator will be revealed. The gala will be livestreamed at www.neafoundation.org.
The NEA Foundation and the National Education Association jointly present the awards.
The NEA Foundation is a public charity founded by educators for educators to improve public education for all students. Since our beginning in 1969, the Foundation has served as a laboratory of learning, offering funding and other resources to public school educators, their schools, and districts to solve complex teaching and learning challenges. We elevate and share educator solutions to ensure greater reach and impact on student learning. We believe that when educators unleash their own power, ideas, and voices, communities, schools, and students all benefit. Visit neafoundation.org for more information.
Life as a firefighter, police officer, or paramedic can be stressful and dangerous. Not to mention the long hours and hectic duties, so how do you have time to take care of yourself? Here are five easy ways to make time for self-care and focus on you.
Get enough sleep. First responders are more likely to suffer from sleep disorders. Getting enough hours of sleep helps your body recover and keeps you mentally focused.
Exercise regularly. Even though the job includes a lot of moving, lifting, and fast paced action, try to set aside a regular time every day. Find a strength and cardio workout that works best for you.
Drink plenty of water. Enough water intake isn’t only going to give you energy for the day, but help with your cognitive function.
Keep a balanced diet. The key to staying healthy is keeping a balanced diet. Switch out processed foods for fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Stop smoking. Continued smoking takes a toll on your cardiovascular health, and it will keep you from performing at your best.
Start making a change to better your lifestyle, improve job performance, and most importantly your physical and mental health.
Are your students truly engaged during your instruction? Getting, and keeping, students academically engaged may be one of the most difficult aspects of teaching. Classroom technology can help.
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) says the number one way to increase student engagement is to reach them through technology. “By integrating technology in the classroom, educators can take learning experiences to the next level and significantly improve student performance.”
Increase student engagement in your classroom using some of these simple, online engagement tools in your next lesson.
EDPuzzle – the easiest way to engage your students with video. Pick a video, add your magical touch and track your students’ understanding
Flippity – allows users to easily turn a Google Spreadsheet into a set of online flashcards, MadLibs, game show, and other cool stuff.
Kahoot! – a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn – any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!
Safe YouTube – Watch, crop and share safe YouTube videos without comments, ads, or other distractions. Videos can be integrated with Google Classroom or downloaded as an .MP4 file.
QuotesCover– Create beautiful visual quotes as images. Download and share on your favorite social network.
ClipGrab – ClipGrab is a free downloader and converter for YouTube, Vimeo, Metacafe and many other online video sites. Save the video file to your drive and upload to your classroom site to share with students.
Dotstorming – Dotstorming allows users to create a space for people to post digital sticky notes. Those notes can contain text and or images. Dotstorming takes the process of dot voting online to allow groups of people to collaborate on a topic.
Plickers – Plickers is a powerfully simple tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices.
Do you have any web tools you use to enhance student engagement in your classroom? We’d love to hear about them! Please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below.
This article is furnished by California Casualty. We specialize in protecting Education Professionals with auto and home or renters insurance tailored to your life. To learn more about our exclusive benefits and discounted rates, call 1-866-704-8614 or click here.
A recent study conducted by Stanford University “shows a dismaying inability by students to reason about information they see on the Internet.” Plain and simple, our students cannot determine fact from fiction when it comes to online content. When conducting research for assignments and projects, it’s important that students learn to separate what is fabricated from what is credible.
Educators should be at the forefront of this “battle” against false information. We must teach our students to be critical of everything they read online and encourage them to take the time to verify what they find. It’s not as hard as it sounds. The following ideas, tips, and resources may help you teach your students how to be informed, discriminating consumers of online media.
Questions to ask when consuming a piece of media:
Who made this? Did a well-known or common source create it?
Does it make sense?
Does the information match with other reliable sources?
Who wrote it?
When was it written?
Who is the intended audience?
Who paid for it? If you click on it, does someone get paid?
look for unusual URLs or site names, including those that end with “.co” — these are often trying to appear like legitimate news sites, but they aren’t.
Look for signs of low quality, such as words in all caps, headlines with glaring grammatical errors, bold claims with no sources, and sensationalist images (women in bikinis are popular clickbait on fake news sites). These are clues that you should be skeptical of the source.
Check a site’s “About Us” section. Find out who supports the site or who is associated with it. If this information doesn’t exist — and if the site requires that you register before you can learn anything about its backers — you have to wonder why they aren’t being transparent.
Check Snopes, Wikipedia, and Google before trusting or sharing news that seems too good (or bad) to be true.
Consider whether other credible, mainstream news outlets are reporting the same news. If they’re not, it doesn’t mean it’s not true, but it does mean you should dig deeper.
Check your emotions. Clickbait and fake news strive for extreme reactions. If the news you’re reading makes you really angry or super smug, it could be a sign that you’re being played. Check multiple sources before trusting.
Lesson Plans Channel One News – A lesson plan explores the problem of fake news sites, featuring a Channel One News video about the issue.
PBS Newshour – Fake news is making news, and it’s a problem. This lesson gives students media literacy skills they need to navigate the media, including how to spot fake news.
Corwin Connect – Guide students through meaningful discussions on the concepts of truth, media manipulation, falsification, public opinion, and more. (PDF Version)
TED-Ed – Damon Brown gives the inside scoop on how the opinions and facts (and sometimes non-facts) make their way into the news and how the smart reader can tell them apart.
ReadWriteThink – Hoax or No Hoax? Strategies for Online Comprehension and Evaluation.
The Tree Octopus – An internet hoax created in 1998, the website fabricates information about the endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and what you can do to save it. The website is now used to teach students about internet literacy.
All About Explorers – All About Explorers has a series of lessons for elementary age students in which they can learn that just because it is out there for the searching does not mean it is worthwhile.
