Everything we want is on the other side of fear. - Farrah Gray
Who is Farrah Gray, you ask? Well, Farrah is an African-American male from the south side of Chicago. (Ever been to the south side? It houses some seriously dangerous neighborhoods juxtapositioned with the University of Chicago, from where more Nobel Laureates have graduated than any other institution of higher learning in the world. Interesting place. I lived there - even as a Cubs fan. That's like being a Packers fan in the Vikings fan sea.) When Farrah was six, he was selling body lotion door to door for $1.50. At age 7, he was carrying around a business card that read, "21st Century CEO". (I think that's awesome!) Well, he wasn't a CEO by 2000, which was the beginning of the 21st century.
He was a millionaire at the age of 14, in 1998.
For the last 40 years, America has spent THREE TRILLION DOLLARS (yes, that's "trillion" with a "t") on remedial education and school improvement models. And here we are, with the gifted education world BEGGING to have its SEVEN MILLION dollar Javits grant back. That equates to .00175 of the money we have spent on "reform". By the time students in India and China finish high school, they are four years ahead of American students in their education. To translate that, American students would have to finish college just to be on equal pace with Indian and Chinese high school graduates.
Here's a thought (and one that I like very much, thank you): let's balance the score card. Let's put the same emphasis on rigor as we do on adequacy. I doubt any Packer fan or any Viking fan would want the coach and the team to focus on "average". Why is it that we have such high expectations for our athletes and not for our academics? Every single child, no matter the gift or talent, deserves rigor. What do I mean by "rigor"?
1. A construction of knowledge. These are very important words, carefully crafted. It's the construction of knowledge, not a simple regurgitation of facts.
2. Sustained inquiry into important concepts. Again, carefully crafted words. Sustained, so not a one-shot deal (for students or staff, frankly). Inquiry - so we are focusing on essential learnings and higher-order thinking. Concepts - those overarching themes that can transcend content, such as "change".
3. Meaningful connections to students' lives outside of the classroom. School should not be separate from life - especially since we are requiring our students to spend so much time there. School, and the learning that takes place in school, should be relevant. Students should understand the importance of education and its direct relationship to their everyday lives. And frankly, if we made school a place where meaningful connections were made (yes, they can be made in American History, in World History, in Language Arts, in math, in science, in economics, music, art, pick it - I could go on and on. And while I'm at it, economics could relate to American History, to World History, to language arts, to math, to science... see where I"m going here?), it would be more fun to teach and more fun to learn. Students and teachers alike would share a reciprocity - each would in turn be a learner and a teacher.
So... we should focus on passion, and focus on the prize. But it's scary to go out of our comfort zone. And frankly, American education is sitting in the middle of an extended comfort zone. We've been doing things largely the same since agrarian times (summers off), and then our current system (age level learning, i.e. grade levels) was borne out of the industrial age of assembly lines and sameness. So it's scary to leave all of that which we know behind and embrace a new way of doing things.
I don't know of a parent who would say, "I just want a so-so education for my child." Or "it doesn't matter if my child really learns much or not."
Everything we want is on the other side of fear. Homer Simpson once said, "Trying is the first step toward failure." Thanks, Homer, for that inspirational quote. We may fail. I have failed many times as an educator. (Boy, I remember some of my lessons that I thought were going to be just great and turned out to be, well, good learning experiences... for ME!) What's wrong with failing sometimes? We all can't be perfect out of the gate. But by giving in to fear and NOT trying, we are sending a LOUD message to our children - that they should not try if they can't get it right the first time.
I for one won't give my students that message. That's why I'm in the job I'm in right now, and trying to effect change. Farrah Gray is right. What I want is right on the other side.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Integration: A Multi-Faceted Word. A multi-facted Path. A multi-faceted Responsibility
I have always told my students that in order to define a word, they could not use a form of the word in the definition. So, how would one go about defining "integration" without using "integral", "integrating", etc.? One definition says that integration is behavior that is in harmony with the environment. (hmmm. Interesting [and cerebral] definition here.) Another definition is the "act or instance of combining into an integral whole". Substituting "co-existent" maybe, for "integral" would help that definition. A couple of definitions define integration by using the verb "integrating". Yeah, like that helps.
So I'm taking some words from an article I read in Educational Leadership (Integrated Schools: Finding a New Path, Nov 2010), where it talks about schools remaining a powerful tool for shoring up individual opportunity and attaining a thriving, multiracial democratic society. I would definitely say that is an overarching charge of public education today.
But what do they mean by "integrated schools"? When one uses that term, are they referring only to race and ethnicity? Socio-economic status? Are they referring to heterogeneous classrooms of mixed ability? Are they referring to schools which not only embrace but seek out ways to connect curriculum - to each other and to make it relevant to the world around our students? Of course, I think of the Supreme Court when I think of the use for "integration" - specifically Plessy v. Ferguson (integrated train cars), and 1954's Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas (did you know it was Topeka? Good Jeopardy question.), and those cases both had everything to do with race and ethnicity. Once Brown v. Board was decided, districts, states, the federal government began using "integration", "desegregation" and "segregation" much more frequently, and strongly. And as well, people's viewpoints on "integration", "desegregation" and "segregation" were (and are) just as strong.
However, when I think of "integrated schools", my curriculum brain starts churning and I think of ways that the "meat of the school" - the "stuff" that students learn - could be integrated. And by integrated, I mean to each other (math and social studies, Language Arts and science), and integrated into real life. In that respect, I believe that is the truest, and most challenging, aspect of integration befalling public schools. If we truly wish to integrate, we need to get to know our students. Their learning modalities, their lives outside of school, what gets them excited and what they already know. We search, and re-search (yes, re-search, as in "search again and again and again... don't be complacent here!) ways to make learning come alive to our students at every step of their developmental and academic journey. Sometimes we are lucky. I stumbled upon a website today that truly got me excited about teaching - it's called Let Freedom Swing, and it integrates the teaching of American Jazz and the concept of democracy. Talk about tapping into different modalities! And talk about integration! Music and social studies. Just AWESOME! (check it out: http://www.letfreedomswing.org - it's a collaboration between Rockefeller Center and Teachers College at Columbia University!) Take it one step further, and one could connect jazz to today's rap and hip hop. And then we could connect music to poetry. And poetry to the First Amendment. And the First Amendment to new discoveries in science. And so on and so on.
And if we did this - if we (and I am using "we" collectively here, as in communities of which public schools are a cornerstone) took the time to integrate what students learn with how students live, we would "shore up individual opportunity and attain a thriving, multiracial democratic society", to use the words in the Ed Leadership article. We would be nurturing a generation of critical thinkers and active citizens who proactively thought about their futures, their learning, their communities.
Integration is not just color, although race and ethnicity do matter, greatly. It's not just about equality (maybe there's a word for a future blog post - because can we truly be equal? Or should we?). It's about providing challenging coursework that is relevant to today and to the future. In other words, integrating school with society. Integrating a deeper understanding of ourselves and others in order to create and thrive in that challenging environment. Integrating pedagogy with sociology and psychology to give students the opportunity to become active, critical thinkers.
It's taking that multi-faceted responsibility and running with it.
So I'm taking some words from an article I read in Educational Leadership (Integrated Schools: Finding a New Path, Nov 2010), where it talks about schools remaining a powerful tool for shoring up individual opportunity and attaining a thriving, multiracial democratic society. I would definitely say that is an overarching charge of public education today.
But what do they mean by "integrated schools"? When one uses that term, are they referring only to race and ethnicity? Socio-economic status? Are they referring to heterogeneous classrooms of mixed ability? Are they referring to schools which not only embrace but seek out ways to connect curriculum - to each other and to make it relevant to the world around our students? Of course, I think of the Supreme Court when I think of the use for "integration" - specifically Plessy v. Ferguson (integrated train cars), and 1954's Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas (did you know it was Topeka? Good Jeopardy question.), and those cases both had everything to do with race and ethnicity. Once Brown v. Board was decided, districts, states, the federal government began using "integration", "desegregation" and "segregation" much more frequently, and strongly. And as well, people's viewpoints on "integration", "desegregation" and "segregation" were (and are) just as strong.
However, when I think of "integrated schools", my curriculum brain starts churning and I think of ways that the "meat of the school" - the "stuff" that students learn - could be integrated. And by integrated, I mean to each other (math and social studies, Language Arts and science), and integrated into real life. In that respect, I believe that is the truest, and most challenging, aspect of integration befalling public schools. If we truly wish to integrate, we need to get to know our students. Their learning modalities, their lives outside of school, what gets them excited and what they already know. We search, and re-search (yes, re-search, as in "search again and again and again... don't be complacent here!) ways to make learning come alive to our students at every step of their developmental and academic journey. Sometimes we are lucky. I stumbled upon a website today that truly got me excited about teaching - it's called Let Freedom Swing, and it integrates the teaching of American Jazz and the concept of democracy. Talk about tapping into different modalities! And talk about integration! Music and social studies. Just AWESOME! (check it out: http://www.letfreedomswing.org - it's a collaboration between Rockefeller Center and Teachers College at Columbia University!) Take it one step further, and one could connect jazz to today's rap and hip hop. And then we could connect music to poetry. And poetry to the First Amendment. And the First Amendment to new discoveries in science. And so on and so on.
And if we did this - if we (and I am using "we" collectively here, as in communities of which public schools are a cornerstone) took the time to integrate what students learn with how students live, we would "shore up individual opportunity and attain a thriving, multiracial democratic society", to use the words in the Ed Leadership article. We would be nurturing a generation of critical thinkers and active citizens who proactively thought about their futures, their learning, their communities.
Integration is not just color, although race and ethnicity do matter, greatly. It's not just about equality (maybe there's a word for a future blog post - because can we truly be equal? Or should we?). It's about providing challenging coursework that is relevant to today and to the future. In other words, integrating school with society. Integrating a deeper understanding of ourselves and others in order to create and thrive in that challenging environment. Integrating pedagogy with sociology and psychology to give students the opportunity to become active, critical thinkers.
It's taking that multi-faceted responsibility and running with it.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
My Heart Starts Fluttering Like Butterflies...
...so describes a senior in Hartford Connecticut, one of the poorest cities in one of the richest states in the country. This girl was failing. Years of doing poorly all but extinguished hope for her. She thought about quitting school. But school restructure, providing choice for students, gave a glimmer of hope for her, and she sees the possibilities of a good future now. She's taking PSEO classes at a community college, and states, "When I start seeing those As and Bs, my heart starts fluttering like butterflies."
Could there be any sweeter words spoken from a student in education? I'll speak metaphorically here. The butterfly has always been a symbol of rebirth and new life. The very hungry caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly, even after he ate tons of junk food and got a bellyache. When I think of butterflies, I think of metamorphosis and transformation. The insect is no longer anchored to a tree branch or a set of leaves; rather, it has the sky as the possibility. (If you're an Eastern monarch [like from Minnesota], you get a cool winter home in Mexico!)
What better metaphor for what we're trying to do here at Harriet Bishop, or, for that matter, what better metaphor for education in general? This girl nearly quit school. Now she's getting As and Bs, and her heart flutters like butterflies.
That's what I want for the students in this school and this district. To savor the taste of success; to build on that success and know that the future is as wide as the sky.
I want their hearts to flutter like butterflies.
Could there be any sweeter words spoken from a student in education? I'll speak metaphorically here. The butterfly has always been a symbol of rebirth and new life. The very hungry caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly, even after he ate tons of junk food and got a bellyache. When I think of butterflies, I think of metamorphosis and transformation. The insect is no longer anchored to a tree branch or a set of leaves; rather, it has the sky as the possibility. (If you're an Eastern monarch [like from Minnesota], you get a cool winter home in Mexico!)
What better metaphor for what we're trying to do here at Harriet Bishop, or, for that matter, what better metaphor for education in general? This girl nearly quit school. Now she's getting As and Bs, and her heart flutters like butterflies.
That's what I want for the students in this school and this district. To savor the taste of success; to build on that success and know that the future is as wide as the sky.
I want their hearts to flutter like butterflies.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Continuing the Learning Curve
I wish there were 36 hours in a day. Then maybe I could learn everything I needed to learn in a timely fashion. I'm sure our students think that, too, or maybe they don't. But I need to take a page from my students' playbooks when continuing my technological learning curve!
Today I joined Twitter, because...well, if I'm expecting my teachers and students to learn new things and keep up with the ever-changing world, I need to do the same. I want to keep current and fresh on research and news, and use that information to help me better serve my students, teachers and district. I'm not going to lie: it's a learning curve. In the matter of two weeks, I've jumped into the waters of a smart phone and the life of a Twitter account. It's daunting! But I think of my former students, and when they were asked to read the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (yes, I asked them to read that paper), and I'm sure they felt the same way I am feeling now. The language is different, the flow is different, navigating through that information is different - just like navigating through Twitter and learning the language of a touchpad (does a touchpad have a language? I think so.). And like my students, I will get better and better the more I am immersed in this.
This is the future of education in this country, as it should be. Education cannot continue to be the "sit and git" it was for the last...200+ years (it has changed VERY little since the 1960s - and think about what computers looked like then!). Students need to connect all content areas to their very lives and the lives of those around them (and by that I mean the entire world, because the world is much smaller than it used to be). I stated this morning in a meeting that if students had I-Pads and smart phones in their hands to use as tools for their schoolwork, they'd be more apt to come to school. I mean it. Relevance is critical to all our students; however, some students can seek that relevance and others need to have it placed in front of them.
Where better to continue the learning curve than with the innovative use of technology in schools? With the adults for whom technology is not as second nature as it is to our children?
Today I joined Twitter, because...well, if I'm expecting my teachers and students to learn new things and keep up with the ever-changing world, I need to do the same. I want to keep current and fresh on research and news, and use that information to help me better serve my students, teachers and district. I'm not going to lie: it's a learning curve. In the matter of two weeks, I've jumped into the waters of a smart phone and the life of a Twitter account. It's daunting! But I think of my former students, and when they were asked to read the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (yes, I asked them to read that paper), and I'm sure they felt the same way I am feeling now. The language is different, the flow is different, navigating through that information is different - just like navigating through Twitter and learning the language of a touchpad (does a touchpad have a language? I think so.). And like my students, I will get better and better the more I am immersed in this.
This is the future of education in this country, as it should be. Education cannot continue to be the "sit and git" it was for the last...200+ years (it has changed VERY little since the 1960s - and think about what computers looked like then!). Students need to connect all content areas to their very lives and the lives of those around them (and by that I mean the entire world, because the world is much smaller than it used to be). I stated this morning in a meeting that if students had I-Pads and smart phones in their hands to use as tools for their schoolwork, they'd be more apt to come to school. I mean it. Relevance is critical to all our students; however, some students can seek that relevance and others need to have it placed in front of them.
Where better to continue the learning curve than with the innovative use of technology in schools? With the adults for whom technology is not as second nature as it is to our children?
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