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~ UFT United Federation of Teachers A Union of Professionals February 2011 Dear UFf Members, When was the last time you attended a truly fulfilling and inspirational professional development session? When was the last time you attended one alongside 10,000 colleagues in the education world, from all 50 states and beyond? Ifyou've been to the Celebration ofTeaching & Learning, held annually in New York City over the past five years, we hope you've experienced the profound impact that such an experience can have on your role as a professional educator. UFT has been proud to sponsor this conference from the beginning because ofthe value we believe it brings our members, particularly through collaboration. At the Celebration, it's not unusual for a Kindergarten teacher and a chiefstate school officer to be sitting together in a plenary session, or to have a middle school principal and an Advanced Placement physics teacher listening to the same panel discussion. The Celebration is a conference designed to honor the teaching profession and to provide opportunities for renewing passion and creativity. It offers plenty of practical workshops - how to use a SMART board, for example, or a session on math for English Language Learners - but there are also sessions that offer more than the standard fare. How often does a teacher interested in adolescent literacy get to sit in a session not only with the acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers, but with Mr. Myers and the teenager who has just co-authored a new novel with him? What might it mean for a U.S. History teacher to attend a session focused on the new PBS special "Freedom Riders" and hear from people who actually rode those buses into the South 50 years ago? How many World History teaches get to meet Leyrnah Gbowee, the woman who led the revolution that ended the civil war in Liberia. That's being immersed in history not just reading about it. The list goes on and on. The Celebration has more than 100 hands-on workshops and 42 "Featured Speaker" sessions. The line-up for March 18-19,2011 will feature Dr. Mehrnet Oz, Oliver Sacks, and NBC Anchor Brian Williams interviewing Newark Mayor Cory Booker. CNNjournalist and author Soledad O'Brien will moderate this year's student panel, and ABC host Cynthia McFadden will do the honors for a panel that includes Linda Darling-Hammond, Randi Weingarten, Dennis Van Roekel, CCSSO president Gene Wilhoit, and international education expert from Australia, Tony MacKay. The Celebration ofTeaching & Learning has tried to redefme what a great conference can be, and according to the evaluations we get from attendees, we're succeeding. We urge you to visit www.thirteencelebration.org to see what's happened in the past and what we have planned for this year. Once you do, we hope you will considerjoining us either for one day or, better yet, both. However you participate, we think you'll experience why we say the Celebration ofTeaching & Learning, like America's best classrooms, is a place "where knowledge meets inspiration." ~~ Ron Thorpe Michael Mulgrew WNET Vice President and Director of Education UFT President 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 212.777.7500 www.uft.org Officers: Michael Mulgrew President, Michael Mendel Secretary, Mel Aaronson Treasurer, Robert Astrowsky Assistant Secretary, Mona Romain Assistant Treasurer Vice Presidents: Karen Alford, Carmen Alvarez, Lee Casey, Richard Farkas, Aminda Gentile, Sterling Roberson.