Inevitably, at least one point in our lives, we end up circling back to something we have done, seen, or heard before. We are, after all, creatures of habit, and the world orbits among trends.
Earlier this month, I had written a piece about how Ferguson is connected to education, and now others are drawing this connection even more explicitly. Students cannot be expected to learn if they are reeling from a recent tragedy like this. (They also cannot be expected to learn if they are hungry, anxious, sick, and a whole slew of other feelings, as numerous researchers have also noted.) Teachers cannot be expected to teach if students are unmotivated, angry, and dour. Administrators cannot be expected to administrate if there exists an inherent distrust of "the authority" within a community. And parents cannot be expected to parent when the very lessons they are trying to teach are being undermined by the society at large.
Once again, we see how everything is connected. Schools do not exist within a silo. Therefore the policies that aim to improve them should involve the community at large. Education affects everything, therefore everything should focus, at least to some extent, on education.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
The importance of counselors
Several weeks ago, I wrote about the fact that education policies often do not work because they consider only the school, not the community. In many cases, they even go less deep than that -- they look only at the academics at the school, not at, for example, the extra-curriculars, library supplies, or the counselors. This last aspect I think is incredibly important.
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of studies to back me up (see how this aspect is ignored?), but I can tell you anecdotally why the education policy-makers should spend more time discussing counseling. I went to a small school where we didn't have counselors and I did okay (although I think I would have been much less stressed and better prepared if I did have someone guiding me through the college application process). But what about the students who needed counselors -- students who had mental health issues, scheduling conflicts, and crises with regular teenage things? This last aspect did happen to me -- I was afraid one of my friends at the time was an alcoholic and I didn't want to tell her teachers or her parents. I went to our principal because I trusted him, and I was lucky to be in a school that was small enough where he not only knew my name, but he knew my personality. Most students are not in that situation. Most students don't even know their own counselors well because of the sore lack of them around the country.
Most professionals don't even know what counselors really do. They do SO much more than college planning. That is another issue -- we cannot advocate for them if we don't understand what it is they do. We need to educate policy makers and the rest of the community before we can help educate children. So much is left to be done.
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of studies to back me up (see how this aspect is ignored?), but I can tell you anecdotally why the education policy-makers should spend more time discussing counseling. I went to a small school where we didn't have counselors and I did okay (although I think I would have been much less stressed and better prepared if I did have someone guiding me through the college application process). But what about the students who needed counselors -- students who had mental health issues, scheduling conflicts, and crises with regular teenage things? This last aspect did happen to me -- I was afraid one of my friends at the time was an alcoholic and I didn't want to tell her teachers or her parents. I went to our principal because I trusted him, and I was lucky to be in a school that was small enough where he not only knew my name, but he knew my personality. Most students are not in that situation. Most students don't even know their own counselors well because of the sore lack of them around the country.
Most professionals don't even know what counselors really do. They do SO much more than college planning. That is another issue -- we cannot advocate for them if we don't understand what it is they do. We need to educate policy makers and the rest of the community before we can help educate children. So much is left to be done.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Why Ferguson is an education issue
The big story in the news right now is the shooting of Michael Brown from Ferguson, MO, who was young and black. There are many similarities between this killing and that of Trayvon Martin, as well as the Rodney King riots. But why, you may ask, is an education blogger mentioning this?
To answer that question, it is necessary to first unpack the inherent racial profiling that occurred in all three of the above cases. There can be no question that each of these scenarios might have happened differently if the victims were white. Perhaps they still would have been killed, but the backlash about race would not have been so powerful. Many people have recently alluded to the white privilege that white people don't often realize they have. In the latter article, the writer mentions that even though she grew up dirt-poor, she still possesses white privilege simply due to her skin color. Another Huffington Post writer states that the media isn't helping with the perpetuation of stereotypes.
Additionally, in nearly every category that the government gathers statistics of -- people in jail, people in college, people on welfare -- people of color are disadvantaged. Is it because POC are genuinely more driven to commit crimes, not finish school, or not obtain living-wage jobs? Of course not. A great deal of the disadvantages occur because this country perpetuates white privilege, whether the people perpetuating it are aware of this or not. True, there is no longer slavery or legal segregation, but this is a culture dominated by white males, and it therefore can leave those who do not fall into this category feeling like outcasts.
But what does this have to do with education? First, as stated a remarkable piece written by Peggy McIntosh in 1988 (which all educators should familiarize themselves with, by the way), there are (at least) 50 reasons why white people can feel more comfortable in this culture. Because they fit in they may not be able to sympathize with POC in even their simplest struggles (like being followed while shopping). As a result, POC often feel marginalized or unwanted. If you possess these feelings (especially if they are coupled with worrying about whether you can eat today), school is most likely not your first priority.
Secondly, school systems were designed by this white culture. Therefore, there is often a disconnect not only in the curriculum for people of color (i.e. history being written by white men, required books by mostly white authors), but also in everyday scenarios similar to those McIntosh lists. White teachers may not be able to empathize with black students who feel like they can't walk around the school or community wearing jeans and a hoodie. This is why POC (especially black males) are especially vulnerable when it comes to dropping out of school. (Of course it's not the only reason, but if teenagers cannot relate to something or understand how it is relevant to their lives, they will not be invested.)
What's going on now in Ferguson is terrible, of course, but it can also open our eyes to the bigger issues -- there is still segregation in terms of society's perspectives of the races. We cannot hope to reform schools in the so-called inner cities until we reform these attitudes about race. For better or worse, they are intertwined.
To answer that question, it is necessary to first unpack the inherent racial profiling that occurred in all three of the above cases. There can be no question that each of these scenarios might have happened differently if the victims were white. Perhaps they still would have been killed, but the backlash about race would not have been so powerful. Many people have recently alluded to the white privilege that white people don't often realize they have. In the latter article, the writer mentions that even though she grew up dirt-poor, she still possesses white privilege simply due to her skin color. Another Huffington Post writer states that the media isn't helping with the perpetuation of stereotypes.
Additionally, in nearly every category that the government gathers statistics of -- people in jail, people in college, people on welfare -- people of color are disadvantaged. Is it because POC are genuinely more driven to commit crimes, not finish school, or not obtain living-wage jobs? Of course not. A great deal of the disadvantages occur because this country perpetuates white privilege, whether the people perpetuating it are aware of this or not. True, there is no longer slavery or legal segregation, but this is a culture dominated by white males, and it therefore can leave those who do not fall into this category feeling like outcasts.
But what does this have to do with education? First, as stated a remarkable piece written by Peggy McIntosh in 1988 (which all educators should familiarize themselves with, by the way), there are (at least) 50 reasons why white people can feel more comfortable in this culture. Because they fit in they may not be able to sympathize with POC in even their simplest struggles (like being followed while shopping). As a result, POC often feel marginalized or unwanted. If you possess these feelings (especially if they are coupled with worrying about whether you can eat today), school is most likely not your first priority.
Secondly, school systems were designed by this white culture. Therefore, there is often a disconnect not only in the curriculum for people of color (i.e. history being written by white men, required books by mostly white authors), but also in everyday scenarios similar to those McIntosh lists. White teachers may not be able to empathize with black students who feel like they can't walk around the school or community wearing jeans and a hoodie. This is why POC (especially black males) are especially vulnerable when it comes to dropping out of school. (Of course it's not the only reason, but if teenagers cannot relate to something or understand how it is relevant to their lives, they will not be invested.)
What's going on now in Ferguson is terrible, of course, but it can also open our eyes to the bigger issues -- there is still segregation in terms of society's perspectives of the races. We cannot hope to reform schools in the so-called inner cities until we reform these attitudes about race. For better or worse, they are intertwined.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
It takes a village
I'm sure most people have heard the expression "It takes a village to raise a child." This is very true, and this is one reason why modern school reform efforts are not working. These policies look only at the schools, not at other factors that affect a student's education -- i.e., a student's home life and mental health, among others. This is one reason why I think "education policy," "economic policy," "health policy," etc. should all be working together rather than in silos.
The writer of this article outlines five reform efforts that he thinks would affect education for the better, and I agree especially with his points about building community ties (due to the above reasons) and a student-centered learning environment. To this second point: In grad school, I was taught that a student-centered learning environment (in which students take "ownership" of their learning, rather than the teacher lecturing) is sacrosanct. Yet I have only seen it implemented in a handful of classrooms (granted, I have not observed more than probably a dozen, but I have heard enough stories from my own students that school didn't work this way for them; thus they have to be taught how to engage in my own student-centered classroom).
Ravani also mentions instructional guidance, which I think is highly lacking when new policies are implemented. We are all expected to attend Professional Development events, because like every other profession, there are changes in the field. Yet these events, though well-intentioned, are often useless, because we are not taught how to implement new teaching methods. This New York Times article details how the "new math" of the Common Core is an incredibly good idea, but teachers are not given adequate time to learn how to teach it. Therein lies the problem.
But back to the village scenario. Ravani's first point is about strong school leadership, and I think we can all agree that strong leadership of any organization is essential for its success. The goal of strong school leaders should be to ensure that all their students are successful, and they can do so by ensuring that all of the school's parts are working together. Larry Cuban explains that there is a difference between complex and complicated tasks, and school reform is the former due to all its moving parts. Hence, we need a village to run a school as well as raise a child. Therefore, why is one entity (the government) in charge of everything? We need to include ALL parts, in this case, students, parents, teachers, and administrators, into the decision making process.
The writer of this article outlines five reform efforts that he thinks would affect education for the better, and I agree especially with his points about building community ties (due to the above reasons) and a student-centered learning environment. To this second point: In grad school, I was taught that a student-centered learning environment (in which students take "ownership" of their learning, rather than the teacher lecturing) is sacrosanct. Yet I have only seen it implemented in a handful of classrooms (granted, I have not observed more than probably a dozen, but I have heard enough stories from my own students that school didn't work this way for them; thus they have to be taught how to engage in my own student-centered classroom).
Ravani also mentions instructional guidance, which I think is highly lacking when new policies are implemented. We are all expected to attend Professional Development events, because like every other profession, there are changes in the field. Yet these events, though well-intentioned, are often useless, because we are not taught how to implement new teaching methods. This New York Times article details how the "new math" of the Common Core is an incredibly good idea, but teachers are not given adequate time to learn how to teach it. Therein lies the problem.
But back to the village scenario. Ravani's first point is about strong school leadership, and I think we can all agree that strong leadership of any organization is essential for its success. The goal of strong school leaders should be to ensure that all their students are successful, and they can do so by ensuring that all of the school's parts are working together. Larry Cuban explains that there is a difference between complex and complicated tasks, and school reform is the former due to all its moving parts. Hence, we need a village to run a school as well as raise a child. Therefore, why is one entity (the government) in charge of everything? We need to include ALL parts, in this case, students, parents, teachers, and administrators, into the decision making process.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
Innovation is not always innovative
How do you define innovation? Does it always have a positive connotation?
Part of the problem with getting money to begin "innovations" is that those who give money want data and evidence, and many innovations are not quantifiable because they are, by definition, something that has not been done before. And certainly not all of them are good ideas. As Arthur Camins points out in this article, many innovations in education policy deal with assessments, which are not necessarily innovative, or even good.
So how do we know which innovations are worth the money? Even The Common Core, which has costs much time and money to implement, is an innovation, and although it has merits, it has garnered much criticism as well. In fact, many states don't want to go anywhere near this so-called innovation.
I believe that part of the problem with both teaching and policy is that you need to experiment to see what works. That's what innovation is. But you also need to be able to step away and say something didn't work. I think that's the part that so many policy makers are afraid of, but they can be models for students and learn from their mistakes. That is probably the most important lesson that students (and teachers) can learn.
Part of the problem with getting money to begin "innovations" is that those who give money want data and evidence, and many innovations are not quantifiable because they are, by definition, something that has not been done before. And certainly not all of them are good ideas. As Arthur Camins points out in this article, many innovations in education policy deal with assessments, which are not necessarily innovative, or even good.
So how do we know which innovations are worth the money? Even The Common Core, which has costs much time and money to implement, is an innovation, and although it has merits, it has garnered much criticism as well. In fact, many states don't want to go anywhere near this so-called innovation.
I believe that part of the problem with both teaching and policy is that you need to experiment to see what works. That's what innovation is. But you also need to be able to step away and say something didn't work. I think that's the part that so many policy makers are afraid of, but they can be models for students and learn from their mistakes. That is probably the most important lesson that students (and teachers) can learn.
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