Hasta La Gadget!

By Marisol Castillo

During my first year as a teacher, when every day left me feeling spent, a veteran educator described overcoming challenges in teaching as concentric circles. As soon as you master one circle, another one requiring mastery presents itself. While his comment did not make me feel better in that moment (I was more preoccupied with keeping students in their chairs and managing without a copy machine that had stopped working), ten years later I could not agree more. Each year has brought with it new challenges and learning experiences. As a veteran teacher, I may have mastered keeping students relatively engaged. Instead, I now struggle with helping English language learners effectively learn vocabulary or adapt reading strategies to access the assigned text. Ten years in, my ability to foresee challenges and deal with them has improved significantly. Yet experience is not the only reason I am more successful now. The necessary foundation came from my teacher preparation program.

In that program I, a naïve student teacher, was paired with a twenty-five-year veteran who exemplified what it means to constantly learn and grow as an educator. This man was the epitome of a successful teacher – he had his National Board certification, had helped start a school, worked with the who’s who in the educational field in the Bay Area, and consistently motivated students, especially the most challenging. Yet, he approached having a student teacher as a resource. He wanted to know what new strategies we were learning. He provided me with invaluable guidance, but also took on new techniques in the classroom at my suggestion. As a result, I graduated understanding that becoming a master teacher would be a career-long endeavor.

The other important lesson my program taught me was not to take lightly what it means to be a teacher. I learned this by working with an exceptional mentor teacher, but also through my required coursework. In our classes, we had to consider the impact of our identity on our teaching, analyze the impact of our educational institutions on our most challenging students, and create units and plans approved by both professors and mentor teachers. Most importantly, we had to reflect continuously. Reflect on whether a lesson went well or not. Reflect on conversations we had with students. Reflect on the results of assessments. We always had to be thinking, which helped us understand the complexity behind the profession we chose.

While I still struggled learning the ropes those first few years of teaching, I felt confident after graduating from my program that I was on the path toward being a successful educator. Every year, a handful of eager young people complete their student teaching requirement at my school. When I was assigned my own student teacher, I took it as an opportunity to put some of the lessons taught to me into practice. With the help of the other four mentor teachers at my school, we created a version of training meant to mirror my own experience. Our hope is that by completing assignments and readings based on my coursework and with our guidance as mentors, we could supplement the curriculum the new teachers are receiving through their own program and create reflective educators who will stay in the classroom for the long haul.

I credit my desire to stay in the classroom and seek out new learning experiences to make me a stronger educator to my preparation. If we truly want to prepare future educators, it is imperative that they are able to engage in strong clinical practice and are taught by people who understand the complexities of teaching. A strong educator needs to know how to deliver a lesson, build curriculum, support all learners, connect with students, reflect and analyze his/her own practice, and collaborate effectively with colleagues. The foundation begins with training.

Marisol Castillo is a 9th grade English and world literature teacher at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, DC, and an alumna of the Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellowship. A National Board Certified teacher, she previously taught at East Palo Alto Academy in the San Francisco Bay Area and at Bronx Academy of Letters in New York City.

Congratulations! You’ve discovered a valuable solution, developed a mission with purpose, implemented a business plan, and now you are running a successful startup. This is no small feat considering the failure rate of most new endeavors, but another daunting statistic is the crash of established companies. In order to keep your company afloat, as well as grow and flourish, below are a few key tips to keep in mind, which I’ve discovered working for the startup, Consero Group.

1. Don’t Get Lazy.

You’ve tasted sweet success, but it is certainly not time to get comfortable. New ideas and projects are extremely necessary to help the business grow, as well as to keep your work force engaged and excited. The moment you get comfortable is the moment you get lazy.

Keep in mind your employees will only work as hard as you do. As the person in charge, the task to set the right tone in your office falls to you. Consistently being the first one working in the morning and the last to stop is a good start. As your company grows and expands, the work grows with it. Don’t expect to be able to take it easy after you reach a certain goal.

2. Always Stay Humble.

If it’s starting to get hard to fit your head in the makeshift garage, closet and basement office where your company began, then that’s probably a sign you’re close to getting cocky, or worse, you’re there. Being brash is dangerous and opens the door for mistakes or oversights. On the contrary, being grounded is a great quality, especially if you have a team that you want to respect and follow you. In a small company, trust and respect are vital for things to run smoothly. Don’t get caught up thinking that you are above certain tasks and always be quick to acknowledge your employees’ successes by giving credit where it’s due.

3. Don’t Lose Focus.

You must never lose sight of the mission and the dream. It can be easy to get wrapped up in early successes, but it is very important to use small wins as motivation to work harder instead of relax. You will be thrown curveballs, and you have to take them in stride and keep your company on course. As you start to make more money, remember why you started the company. Are you still solving a problem with your company, or are you only doing what’s necessary to make a little more money?

What’s Next?

You’ve got something great going. How well you nurture the business relies heavily on maintaining good habits and keeping yourself grounded. Don’t expect to be able to take it easy after you reach a certain goal, don’t get caught up thinking that you are above certain tasks, and you must never lose sight of the mission and the dream. Congratulations again and carry on, entrepreneurs.

It’s that time of year again that has every major-league baseball player and executive salivating.

Nah, we’re not talking about pennant races.

We’re talking about fantasy football.

The fantasy football craze has reached such an extreme that managers actually impose rules that players are not permitted to run into their clubhouses on Sunday during their games to sneak peeks of their fantasy football scores.

Yet, while the fantasy football leagues are mostly all about bragging rights, there is money involved, and Texas Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine and his college buddy, John Ellis, came up with a brilliant brainstorm.

When your grandchildren go out to lunch many years from now, they’ll probably still be able to order fast-food burgers and fries, but the meal — and the people serving it — will likely be very different.

Decades ago, McDonald’s was the quintessential American restaurant. Now, as the “golden arches” fall out of favor — the chain’s U.S. eateries have suffered from months of flat or negative same-store sales, an important metric of a retailer’s health — a new type of burger joint is taking its place.

These “better burger” restaurants, a category that includes Shake Shack, Smashburger and Five Guys, are known more for their quality offerings, trendy aesthetic and exclusive air than for low prices. The group makes up just 4 to 5 percent of the burger segment, but its sales are growing at a rate of about 16 percent, according to Darren Tristano, an executive vice president at food research firm Technomic. At the same time, the burger industry overall is contracting by about 0.8 percent, adjusting for inflation.

As Shake Shack reportedly prepares to ride that wave of popularity into a successful initial public offering, the question remains whether the company can maintain another one of its signature initiatives: treating its employees well.

In the service industry, private companies are more likely to offer meaningful jobs that pay well than their public counterparts are, according to Zeynep Ton, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management who does research on low-wage jobs.

Public companies “have more short-term pressure from their investors,” said Ton, the author of The Good Jobs Strategy.

Indeed, John Pepper, the co-founder of burrito chain Boloco, told The New York Times last month that when he raised wages at his restaurants to $8 an hour from $5.15 several years ago, he didn’t have to worry as much as his public competitors about maximizing profits immediately. The NYT story, which highlighted restaurant chains that pay their employees above average, also featured Shake Shack, where workers reportedly earn at least $9.50 an hour and the median pay is $10.70.

Despite public companies’ focus on maximizing profits, it’s not unheard of for them to pay well, Ton said. She cited Costco and its co-founder, Jim Sinegal, who was known for standing up to investor pressure for lower wages.

Ton argues that companies that treat their employees well, such as Shake Shack and Costco, actually gain an edge over competitors. Her research shows that training workers and paying them a decent wage means they’re more likely to be knowledgeable about products, answer customers’ questions and ultimately drive sales.

“Investment in people could be a huge success driver,” Ton said.

For Shake Shack, there’s an added incentive to keep treating workers well: It’s one of the reasons customers flock to the restaurant. Tristano of Technomic said by paying more, Shake Shack attracts better and more experienced workers who add another element of quality to the eatery besides just the food. That helps to differentiate the company from more traditional fast-food chains, which have been criticized in recent months for their low wages as well as their cheap and unhealthy food.

The Shake Shack experience is “far more memorable,” Tristano said. “When you’re charging more and you’re certainly paying more rent because you’re in great locations, you have to treat your employees with the same respect. You have to have the service level that brings the whole thing up full circle.”

Indeed, Shake Shack’s reputation for quality lured customers from as far away as France to its half-hour-long line on a recent afternoon. Those asked all agreed they would never wait for food at a traditional fast-food eatery such as McDonald’s.

Robby Wecksler, a 21-year-old Cornell University student waiting in line with his friends, cited the quality of the staff specifically as one of the big reasons he comes to Shake Shack, adding that it always seems clean and “well managed.”

“The focus on the customer service is definitely noticeable,” he said.

In addition to attracting customers, paying workers well helps to create a positive buzz around the company, which could help it make money and deliver good returns to shareholders. Estimates currently put Shake Shack’s revenue around $100 million a year. A Shake Shack spokesman decline to comment on “any rumors or speculation around going public.”

The eatery’s public relations approach has successfully attracted so-called earned media attention (like that New York Times story), which puts less pressure on the company to pay for advertising, according to Aaron Allen, the founder of Aaron Allen and Associates, a restaurant consultancy group.

The strategy mirrors that of other successful restaurant chains such as Chipotle and Starbucks, which try to highlight their ethical streaks by emphasizing things like employee benefits and a commitment to quality ingredients.

Neither have had trouble living up to shareholders’ needs. Sales at stores that were open at least a year — a closely watched measure of retailer health — grew 6 percent at Starbucks and 17.3 percent at Chipotle last quarter.

“This is a testament to the value of modern-day public relations,” Allen said.

Based on Lois Lowry’s book, this highly anticipated film tells the story of a perfect world where everyone is happy. When Jonas is 12 years old, he’s chosen to be the community’s Receiver of Memories where he learns about pain, sadness, war and all the unhappy truths of the “real” world. He quickly realizes that his community is fake and faces difficult choices about his own life and his future. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Willie J comments, “This film is really quite an achievement. To bring such a loved and popular book, with tons of deep ideas and themes, and execute as wonderfully as Director Philip Noyce and company do, is great.” Samantha A adds, “This movie is very captivating. I had my eyes glued to the screen the whole time, not wanting to miss a second of the story.”

The Giver
Willie J., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 15

Full of pretense, theories on life and enough ideas to cause you to rethink your own ideas, The Giver is an intense film about the effects of accepting the good and bad memories of life.

Being a huge Meryl Streep fan (Chief Elder), I was very excited to see her performance and, I was not disappointed. Jeff Bridges’ (The Giver) performance gives this film a veteran presence that adds to the wisdom their characters possess. As for Brenton Thwaites (Jonas) and Odeya Rush (Fiona), their performances show great promise for their careers. Their youth and lack of experience add a sense of naïveté to their characters that beautifully contradicts with the characters played by both Streep and Bridges.

I find the script a bit pretentious but necessarily so. The premise itself is very complex but suitable for the subject matter. What could have 90 minutes of melodrama turns into brilliant and intelligent conversations thanks to the skills of the ensemble. I give an Oscar nod for both Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges.

There is a scene towards the end of the film where The Giver and Chief Elder debate on the pros and cons of memories and allowing people to make decisions. That is one of the very best acted scenes I’ve seen this year. The dialogue is so poetic that we’re drawn into the fantasy instead of repulsed by its theatrical nature.

My favorite part of the film, second to Meryl’s performance, is the beautiful cinematography by Ross Emery. Mr. Emery and Editor Barry Alexander Brown really come together wonderfully to create awesome moments of visual storytelling. The mixture of black and white with color, and the short shots of real life events give this film a certain vivacity the book is unable to give.

This film is really quite an achievement. To bring such a loved and popular book, with tons of deep ideas and themes, and execute as wonderfully as Director Philip Noyce and company do, is great. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and really hope you see it. It opens theatrically on August 15. Due to the mature themes and ideas, I recommend this film for ages 14 to 18.

The Giver
By Samantha A., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 11

The Giver is based the book by Louis Lowry. It tells the story of what seems like a perfect community where there is no pain or suffering – a simple, secluded world where there are no differences and no choices. A young boy named Jonas is selected to become the receiver of memories and he learns from an elderly man about the pain and suffrage, from the outside world, that has been kept from everyone. Jonas soon figures out that his whole life has been a lie and tries to change the way his secluded community is governed.

This movie is very captivating. I had my eyes glued to the screen the whole time, not wanting to miss a second of the story. I was so excited to see this movie because The Giver is one of my favorite books and I think the movie is just as good, although a bit different.

Like most movies that are based on books, there are some big parts of the storyline that the movie misses that I feel would have helped people who hadn’t read the book understand the story better. Although at certain points in the movie it doesn’t matter that parts are missed, because the missed parts are replaced with something equally as great. Then sometimes, the missed parts aren’t replaced and it takes the movie in a whole other direction. That’s why even if you read the book some parts in the movie will be a total surprise. I enjoyed watching the movie and seeing which parts of the book are included and what surprises are added by the movie’s producers.

The actors and actresses in this film are fantastic. Brenton Twaites (Jonas) was born for this role. I really like how bold and brave his character is throughout the whole movie. Meryl Streep fits the role of the chief elder perfectly. Odeya Rush is great as Fiona. I love the fact that she stands with Jonas through thick and thin. Lastly is Jeff Bridges who plays the role of The Giver, he is phenomenal. His character isn’t very outspoken but has a strong on-screen presence and he says a lot just using body language and facial expressions. He has true acting talent.

I rate this movie 5 out of 5 stars because of its great acting, a great story line and definitely worth seeing in theaters with a best friend. I recommend it for 10 to 13-year-olds because the story line is a bit mature and I don’t think kids under age 10 would understand the story.