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A LOST ART: INSTILLING RESPECT
There's been a fundamental change in family life, and it has played
out over the years in Patricia Dalton’s office. Teachers,
pediatricians and therapists like her are seeing children of all
ages who are not afraid of their parents. Not one bit. Not of their
power, not of their position, not of their ability to apply
standards and enforce consequences. In the Washington Post, Dalton
describes how she has seen small children call their parents names
and tell them they are stupid. She has heard adolescents use strings
of expletives toward their parents. Her assessment: Not only are the
kids unafraid of their parents, parents are afraid of their kids!
Many parents these days don't expect their children to contribute
much around the house, although they do expect them to achieve
outside the house. They have strong beliefs about what makes
children successful and happy-ever-after, and underpinning those
beliefs is the concept that they -- the parents -- are all-important
in this quest. Such parents believe that self-esteem is the key to
lifetime success, and to this end they compliment their children a
lot. They are egalitarian, and they believe families should be
democracies. Needless to say, they don't give orders. They believe
that children will do things when they are ready to do so. They ask
their child politely if he or she will do something and are
surprised and dismayed when the response is "no." It's as if parents
have rewritten the Fourth Commandment to read, "Honor thy children."
And, boy, are they paying for it. When a teacher, pediatrician or
therapist suggests that perhaps these "parenting" behaviors are not
helping but in fact causing harm, such earnest parents can be hard
to convince. They don't want to have to hear that their New Age
concepts for raising kids not only do not work, but actually are
prescriptions for disaster.
WHAT AMERICANS REALLY THINK ABOUT
EDUCATION
It may come as a surprise to some, but the majority of people who
took part in a nationally representative sample of 2,000 Americans
over the age of 18 want the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act
re-authorized. They also would prefer that the act’s renewal include
as few changes as possible. Not so surprising is the fact that when
the poll participants were asked to grade public schools, most gave
the nation’s schools a "C." Still, the respondents were willing to
give more funding to schools and believe additional dollars would
improve student learning. The national survey, conducted at Harvard
University’s Kennedy School of Governance, also finds that reform
efforts long seen as radical -- high-stakes student accountability,
merit pay for teachers, and others -- are becoming more accepted. In
that same vein, the survey found growing support for national
proficiency standards (almost 75 percent of respondents) and polices
requiring students to pass end-of-course exams to proceed to the
next grade (81 percent of respondents). However, Americans will not
write a blank check to fix schools, as substantial percentages
remain undecided on issues such as charter schools and increasing
pay for teachers who work in hard-to-staff fields, like science and
math. "If the public is given the option of supporting the law with
minor changes, rather than simply being asked whether it should be
renewed ... the level of support jumps significantly," said Paul
Peterson, the poll’s director.
SCHOOL OF SHOCK
Eight states are sending autistic, mentally retarded, and
emotionally troubled kids to a facility that punishes them with
painful electric shocks. How many times do you have to zap a child
before it's torture? In this eye-opening article in Mother Jones,
Jennifer Gonnerman details a year-long investigation of the Judge
Rotenberg Educational Center, located in Canton, Mass., 20 miles
outside Boston. The facility, which calls itself a "special needs
school," takes in all kinds of troubled kids -- severely autistic,
mentally retarded, schizophrenic, bipolar, emotionally disturbed --
and attempts to change their behavior with a complex system of
rewards and punishments, including painful electric shocks to the
torso and limbs. Of the 234 current residents, about half are wired
to receive shocks, including some as young as nine or ten. Nearly 60
percent come from New York, a quarter from Massachusetts, the rest
from six other states and Washington, D.C. The Rotenberg Center,
which has 900 employees and annual revenues exceeding $56 million,
charges $220,000 a year for each student. States and school
districts pick up the tab. The Rotenberg Center is the only facility
in the country that disciplines students by shocking them, a form of
punishment not inflicted on serial killers or child molesters or any
of the 2.2 million inmates now incarcerated in U.S. jails and
prisons. Over its 36-year history, six children have died in its
care, prompting numerous lawsuits and government investigations.
Last year, New York state investigators filed a blistering report
that made the place sound like a high school version of Abu Ghraib.
Yet the program continues to thrive -- in large part because no one
except desperate parents, and a few state legislators, seems to care
about what happens to the hundreds of kids who pass through its
gates.
WHY THE NUMBER OF MEN TEACHING IN
SCHOOLS IS AT A 40-YEAR LOW
According to the National Education Association (NEA)-, the number
of male schoolteachers is hovering at a 40-year low. Only one
quarter of our three million teachers are men. In elementary
schools, the problem is more acute -- just 9 percent are men, down
from 18 percent in 1981. "If kids do not see males in the classroom,
they begin to believe teaching is only for females," says Reg
Weaver, president of the NEA. Unless more men become teachers, says
Weaver, the shortage will continue to be a self-perpetuating
problem. Although the feminization of the teaching profession has
been underway since the 1890s, school administrators say it's
becoming a more salient issue as boys fall behind girls in
graduation rates and demonstrate more difficulties with reading and
writing. There are several reasons many men find it difficult to
enter, and stay in, the teaching profession: the starting salary for
teachers is about $30,000, and less in early education. Another
reason men fail to consider teaching is a widely held belief that
they lack nurturing skills. Conversely, if a man expresses
tenderness or too many traits associated with being female, some
parents assume the male teacher is gay. Another problem is that
grown men who express physical affection for small children can be
accused of being pedophiles, reports Julie Scelfo in Newsweek.
LITTLE GREEN SCHOOLHOUSES
High-performance schools -- those that integrate the best in today’s
design strategies and building technologies -- and can also referred
to as "green" or "sustainable" -- can help us make the most of the
opportunity presented by today’s massive school construction
programs. What is a high-performance school? While there are many
variations, in general, high-performance schools are healthy,
productive, and comfortable environments for students and teachers
that provide high levels of acoustic, thermal and visual comfort.
Their windows and skylights admit generous amounts of daylight, and
the buildings are safe and secure. There are other advantages,
writes Deane Evans in Architectural Record. They are cost-effective
to own and operate because they use durable products and systems.
Their systems and materials are chosen using life-cycle cost
analysis, rather than the cheapest first-cost. During design, energy
analysis tools are used to optimize the building’s performance, and
after construction its equipment is "commissioned" -- fine-tuned so
it operates correctly. High-performance schools are available for
use by non-students during hours when the school is not in
operation, and community participation during design is encouraged.
Every school building is a critical component of a quality
education, lasting longer and affecting more students than will any
book, computer or white board. A huge amount of new knowledge that
has developed over the last decade gives us the ability to make
these buildings, that are so important to the education of our
children, into truly outstanding, high performance facilities --
even on limited budgets.
EDUCATION INVESTMENTS LOWER RATES OF
VIOLENT CRIME & INCARCERATION
The Justice Policy Institute led off their four-part research brief
series with a bang, announcing that states which invest more money
in both their K-12 and higher education systems have lower rates of
violent crimes and incarceration, and likewise save billions in
crime-related expenses. The brief notes that increased graduation
rates have a significant impact on public safety, as a five percent
increase in males graduating from high school produces almost $5
billion dollars in savings on crime-related expenses. Additionally,
states that are able to get students farther along the educational
pipeline had lower crime rates than the national average. Similarly,
states with higher college enrollment rates experienced less violent
crimes, and those states with the biggest increased expenditures on
higher education saw decreases in violent crimes. Across the
country, the difference between white and minority students’
educational opportunities are stark. Consequently, minority students
are more likely to be incarcerated but also more likely to face
violent crimes in their daily lives. The next three research briefs
will focus on the effect housing, employment, and drug treatment
have on public safety and crime.
WHAT? CHILDREN'S HEALTH HAS SOMETHING
TO DO WITH ACADEMIC SUCCESS? YOU'RE KIDDING!
The connection between good student health and academic success is
no news for teachers, who see its critical importance everyday in
their classrooms, or to researchers who have studied it.
Self-reported physical health problems are associated with school
failure, mostly because health problems contribute to school
absenteeism, trouble with homework, and student-teacher bonding,
writes educational psychologist Gerald Coles in a blog entry on the
District Administration website. Asthmatic children in the United
States miss approximately 14 million days of school, but the rate of
school absenteeism is twice as high among poor and minority
asthmatic children living in urban areas. Health insurance makes a
difference! A California study showed that after obtaining health
care, children who had been in poor health improved their school
attendance, attention in class, and the extent to which they kept up
with school activities. Of course these changes contributed to
improved academic performance. A University of Missouri study found
that children who enrolled in the state's health insurance program
had 39 percent school absences. Uninsured children with asthma miss
more school days. Right now educators can make a difference in
taking one important step to help poor children's health and
education. Go to the Campaign for Health Care at http://www.childrenshealthcampaign.org.
There you'll be able to sign a petition to Congress and the
president that calls for health coverage for all children. You'll
also find information on how to call your senators and urge them to
support the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) and how
to recruit family and friends in this effort. Both the House and
Senate bills would provide additional funds to provide health
insurance for millions of poor children. Given the grim realities of
current domestic policy, both bills and the final compromise bill
will be a critical victory for many poor children.
UNDERAGE DRINKING BEGINS YOUNG: BUT
IN FOURTH GRADE?
While the study of alcohol use and abuse by adolescents is prevalent
at national, state and local levels, similar surveys that look at
younger children often go unpublished, according to John Donovan,
Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center. Donovan found that 39 states have
performed research on alcohol abuse that includes children in the
sixth grade or younger over the past 15 years. His study, which
summarizes available national surveys and those conducted by several
states, found that 10 percent of typical fourth graders have had
more than a sip of alcohol, with seven percent having a full drink.
Those percentages will double between fourth and sixth grades,
according a new study appearing on the Science Daily website.
However, the numbers of children who have ever used alcohol have
remarkably decreased since 1990. The decrease in usage is important,
yet even though the current numbers are small, they remain
significant as early alcohol consumption often signals future
alcohol and drug problems in adolescence and young adulthood. The
study suggests that to curb underage drinking programs need to start
before the targeted behavior begins, so as early as elementary
school. The evidence of alcohol use at the fourth, fifth, and sixth
grades shows the necessity of devising meaningful prevention
programs, as those currently in existence exhibit inconsistent
results. "Prior to this review ... we didn't know the extent of the
problem of children’s involvement with alcohol," Donovan said.
HIGH-ACHIEVING STUDENTS FROM
LOWER-INCOME FAMILIES ARE INDEED LEFT BEHIND
With every major movement, there are unintended consequences. The
latest unintended consequence of the accountability movement and the
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is that higher-achieving,
lower-income students have slipped through the cracks. A study
sponsored in part by the Jack Kent Cook Foundation looked at
students who score in the top quartile of nationally normed tests
and also came from low-income households. The study’s researchers
found that these students are far more likely to possess weaker
intellectual abilities, and consequently are less likely to advance
in school than their higher-income peers. At a recent Congressional
hearing on NCLB, the foundation’s Joshua Wyner said a flaw of the
law is that it focuses too much on lower-performing students by not
holding schools accountable for educating higher-achieving students
as well. Students from lower-income families begin their education
careers at a disadvantage as fewer than 30 percent of first graders
who perform well on national tests are from low-income families. As
students move through the education system, lower-income students
are losing ground at a significant rate, as 44 percent fall from the
top quartile in reading by the time they reach the fifth grade. The
report notes that 93 percent of higher-achieving lower-income
students graduate high school. However, when compared to students
from better-off families, those lower-income students are less
likely to go to more selective universities and graduate schools.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS FIND LOOPHOLES IN
NCLB
The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002, is
widely viewed as the most sweeping federal education bill in more
than 40 years. "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" education special
correspondent John Merrow looked into how some teachers and school
districts are handling the federal education law and states'
execution of it in a three-part series: Part I: School Districts
Find Loopholes in No Child Left Behind. Part II: Failing San Diego
Schools Work to Meet Standards. Part III: Teachers Grapple with
Attaining Education Law's Goals. In Part I, Merrow examines how some
schools are dealing with, and trying to avoid, requirements of the
law. No Child Left Behind demands that states raise test scores or
their schools could face firings and eventually be shut down. But as
Merrow details, states have discovered creative ways to win, to make
their schools seem better than they actually are. Some examples of
the accountability shell game played by some states include lowering
standards, and not including the test scores of some minority
students by manipulating the size of subgroups. As No Child Left
Behind ratchets up the pressure on schools, states may have more
incentive to look for shortcuts.
TEACHERS REALLY ARE KEY TO PUPILS’
SUCCESS
The achievement gap between black and white students has continued
to be an incredible problem with little solution in America, while
many educators and community leaders remain confounded as to how to
close the gap. The findings of a two-year study of performance among
black students in Pittsburgh, Pa. may provide some help, as they
reveal that teachers are the best predictors of student success. In
fact, reports Mike Wereschagin in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the
report found that average tests scores varied as much as 59 points
between high-achieving and low-achieving classrooms. Robert Strauss,
professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon
University, who led the study, believes that in Pittsburgh, good
teachers are successful regardless of the ethnicity of the pupil.
However, he is quick to caution against whiplash reactions to the
wide disparities in classroom test scores – "[he] is not saying, to
one of these teachers in the lower quadrant, ‘Off with her head.’"
The findings at least appear to provide a baseline for Pittsburgh
Public Schools to begin addressing their achievement gap, which has
grown since the mid-1990s. Randall Taylor, school board member,
proposed continuing the study in the hope of defining the tactics
teachers in high-achieving classrooms were using to capture success.
MERIT PAY FOR TEACHERS REVEALS SWAY
OF AFFLUENCE
Usually teachers at affluent schools receive better pay with greater
access to high quality tools than their colleagues at low-income
schools. Now it appears, at least in the Orange County Public School
District (Fla.), that those teachers also have an advantage when it
comes to merit-pay plans. At Palm Lake Elementary, a school with a
predominantly white student body located in an upper class area, two
out of every three teachers earned a bonus through the school
district’s merit-pay plan. At Richmond Heights, a predominantly
black school in an incredibly poor part of Orlando, no teachers
received a bonus. These two schools illustrate the disproportionate
distribution of merit bonuses -- teachers at predominantly white and
affluent schools were twice as likely to earn bonuses as their
colleagues at predominantly black and poor schools. The plan was
supposedly designed so that the best teachers would win bonuses
regardless of their school or subject, as the program focused on
student learning gains. Superintendent Ronald Blocker found the
results discouraging, reports Erika Hobbs in the Orlando Sentinel,
but added that privileged schools do better on the Florida
Comprehensive Assessment Test, which is used to measure student
learning growth for merit-pay. In addition, at schools like Richmond
Heights, teachers operate at campuses without necessary equipment,
and sometimes are presented with more pressing needs than education,
such as students so poor they don't eat breakfast. While a lack of
recognition for diligent work can be frustrating, most teachers say
they are not discouraged from the bonus payout, as Carletta
Davis-Wilson, a math and science coach said, "I didn't come [to
Richmond Heights] for the bonus…I came to make a difference." For
his part, Blocker hopes that teachers at schools facing more
difficult challenges receive special consideration for merit-pay
bonuses.
EDUCATION & INDOCTRINATION: THERE IS
A DIFFERENCE
In Brooklyn, N.Y., a new school opened amidst controversy: The
Khalil Gibran International Academy. This first-of-its-kind
bilingual public school will conduct studies in both Arabic and
English. Standard curricula includes all the "Rs" plus sciences,
physical education, the arts and more. Concomitant with language
study comes Arab culture study: the Alhambra (Granada, Spain), the
House of Wisdom (Baghdad’s great library and learning center
destroyed by the Mongols in 1258), the development of algebra,
astronomy, and medical sciences. In Hollywood, Fla., the Ben Gamla
Charter School is now open. There, Hebrew language and Jewish
culture will be emphasized: for example, the teachings of
Maimonides, the great 12th century philosopher who flourished in
Cairo as chief rabbi and physician to the sultan and author of "The
Guide to the Perplexed." Some observers are not in favor of these
lessons being taught to public or charter school students. There is
a place for the study of religion in our public schools, writes
Anisa Mehdi for The American Muslim. Education is not the same as
indoctrination. When we study art history, we see works from
churches and mosques. When we study music history, we hear great
masses and requiems. When we study literature, we need to know Bible
and Qur’anic stories as well as other mythologies in order to
understand themes and references. The study of religion is essential
for a well-rounded and well-grounded civilization, says Mehdi.
NEW ORLEANS SCHOOL BANDS STRUTTING
ONCE MORE
Hurricane Katrina destroyed people’s homes and personal property and
interrupted lives. However, despite the storm’s ferocity, it could
never waylay the spirit and tradition of New Orleans’ marching bands
and music education. An impromptu battle of the bands recently
erupted outside Tipitina’s, a music club with incredible history,
between the St. Augustine High School Marching 100 and the O. Perry
Walker High School band. Tipitina’s was the host, as their
foundation had raised nearly $1 million in the hurricane’s wake to
provide hundreds of school musicians with instruments -- as the
Walker band director said "we would have nothing to play without
their help." In most New Orleans public schools, rebuilding the
infrastructure has rightly taken priority, leaving rebuilding bands
the responsibility of individuals, foundations and other outside
organizations. Thanks to these organizations, the Marching 100 was
able to open the show before making way for the Walker band. After
Walker finished its performance, writes Lesli A. Maxwell in
Education Week, the Marching 100 replied with a brassy challenge.
Walker’s musicians quickly fired their own brassy response, and with
that a battle of the bands began in the heart of the city, causing
traffic to stop, and people to fill the streets in true New Orleans
fashion.
WHO SAYS KIDS DON'T WANT TO CUT THEIR
HAIR?
Forget collecting pennies for UNICEF or washing cars to raise money
for hospitals. One of the most popular ways young people are
contributing to charity these days -- everyone from Girl Scouts to
bar mitzvah boys -- is growing their hair long and donating it for
wigs for children and women with serious diseases. At Seton High
School in Cincinnati, reports Elizabeth Hayt in the New York Times,
over 200 students, siblings and friends had eight inches cut off, as
an additional 400 spectators counted down. This "cut-a-thon" was
planned for months, as the girls had been growing their hair out to
give to Pantene Beautiful Lengths -- a charitable program that has
received 18,000 ponytails and distributed 2,000 wigs since June
2006. However, this altruistic act is not limited to teenage girls,
as more and more celebrities and athletes have held public "shearings."
However, charities have been far less successful at using the steady
flow of hair as they have been at seeking donations. At the most
well-known of these charities, Locks of Love, as much as 80 percent
of the donated hair can't be used, as it is gray, wet, moldy, too
short, or too processed. Locks of Love has been able to sell about
2,000 wigs at a much reduced price, since it opened in December
1997, while they receive about 10 full postal bins a day. Of course,
it is the thought that matters.
CAREGIVER WELL-BEING AFFECTS ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT
Annals of research have demonstrated that poverty affects the
academic success of children, without arriving at the particular
aspects of poverty that are causing these effects. According to a
new study from the FPG Child Development Institute, which studied
the living environments of 501 children enrolled in public
pre-kindergarten, parental education, household income, and self
perception of financial status accounted for the disparities across
each academic area. While much previous research has focused
specifically on poverty, this study looked at four specific areas:
socio-demographic, parental well-being, family functioning and
neighborhood quality. Children who grow up with inadequate education
and income unsurprisingly have lower levels of intellectual
functioning and exhibit higher levels of behavioral problems. While
the strains of living in poverty affect all members of a family, it
can affect children more so, as children raised by a depressed
mother have a significantly higher risk of emotional, behavioral and
academic problems. In addition, children growing up in dangerous
neighborhoods often have their experiences restricted for their
safety and consequently miss out on valuable learning opportunities.
BEAVERTON EDUCATORS GET DIVERSITY
LESSON
Rather than just acknowledge the Beaverton (Ore.) School District is
more diverse these days, organizers of a first-ever Diversity Summit
want to give employees tools to accommodate for the changing
demographics. The district's diversity committee hosted the summit
for about 300 teachers, counselors, administrators and other staff.
Topics ranged from examining one's biases and prejudices to
incorporating minority literature in the classroom. The "cutting
edge" training comes at an important time in the district, said Ed
Duenez, a high school counselor and member of the district's
diversity committee. As the district morphs, employees also must
adjust, Duenez said. The district's student population continues to
change. In 1998, the district's student population was 23 percent
minority as compared with 40 percent today. There are 92 languages
spoken among students. "We talk about our new world that we live in
in Beaverton," Duenez said. "It's changing, and we have to change
with it." The sessions focused on development of individuals;
classroom, school and district; plus community and family. Depending
on the feedback, the district may follow with additional sessions.
The goal was to address "isms" such as racism and classism, said
Melissa Sass, the summit's organizer. That cultural competency
training often begins with one person, said Verna Bailey, an
elementary school principal. "Individuals have to get in touch with
their own prejudices, their own biases," Bailey said. "Then you are
able to open up and are able to understand other individuals."
Terrence Brown, a district bus driver trainer, said the training is
important because bus drivers not only teach on the road, they keep
students in harmony. "The bus is actually a rolling extension of the
classroom," Brown said. First-year teacher, Cheryl Brous, added, "We
don't live in a homogenous bubble." The training is, "…one way to
make small changes in our own personal worlds." She said she learned
of ways to incorporate more community-building in the classroom,
including designating time for activities or sharing appreciation
for students and teachers. Presenters didn't just preach theory, but
gave practical tips, reports Melissa Navas in The Oregonian.
REFORMING TEACHER PAY: THE SEARCH FOR
A WORKABLE GOAL-DRIVEN COMPENSATION SYSTEM
This Policy Trends report by Reino Makkonen and Kristin Arnold for
WestEd examines the growing interest in differentiated compensation,
identifying purposes for which it is used and explaining why, among
these purposes, rewarding educators for improving student
achievement remains the most challenging. Drawing from research and
interviews with districts across the country that are implementing
differentiated compensation systems, it outlines some important
considerations for developing this type of system. A list of web
resources on compensation reform efforts is included for further
study. |
