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July 2, 2009

Educators attend ULM’s Advanced Placement Summer Institute

Nearly 70 educators across the region attended the College Board’s Advanced Placement Summer Institute last week, hosted by the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Through the institute, eight consultants from across the nation shared insights with Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi K-12 teachers who are now trained to deliver AP and pre-AP courses to their students. It was the only such institute in the state occurring this year.

“We were proud to host the ninth annual ULM College Board-endorsed Advanced Placement Summer Institute here on our campus,” said College of Education Dean Sandi Lemoine.

“During the Institute teachers exchanged ideas and information about AP courses and exams while they received training and support from the College Board AP consultants they needed to effectively teach AP and Pre-AP courses,” she said.

Charles Turk, a former Jesuit high school teacher from Rochester, NY, was among the consultants on campus offering his experience with advanced placement courses.

The native Hungarian has 41 years of professional experience in the education field – and a love of the English language and expository writing – which he shared with educators at ULM last week.

“My motivation is to help teachers help their students,” he said. “Some students are so gifted you have to get out of their way … if we give them meaningful work, they will surprise you.”

Turk said the fast pace of technology and societal changes has generated more of a need than ever for people to be able to articulate their concerns and communicate effectively.

“In what I do, students learn to communicate through literature in a very structured format,” he said.

Turk has the distinction of being nominated for Who's Who Among American Teachers in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2007; a rare honor.

Interestingly, Turk landed in America at the age of 21 and at first, faced difficulties in acquiring English so vital for thriving in college.

“I married myself to the idea that I would learn enough to teach,” he said, proudly. “And I did.”

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