Incarcerated Youths

I keep being drawn to issues that affect one group of the most vulnerable kids...those that are considered 'troubled, ' the ones who could benefit the most from our attention.  With help from the Maya Angelou Academy, the New Beginnings Youth Development Center in Maryland is trying to address the education of these kids by trying to give them the best education possible in the time they spend incarcerated.   This program allows educators to work individually with each student to focus on his individual educational needs in an environment that breaks down the usual shame kids can encounter in school.  One student noted, "The good news is (here) you have teachers who like you and support you, and kids don't make fun of you if you can't read."  

Over the last few decades, we have shifted our perspective on incarceration.  Instead of focusing on rehabilitation to reduce recidivism and give inmates a chance to create a good life, we now focus on incarceration as sheer punishment and think they should have no outlets of any kind while they're locked up (and we wonder why there is so much violence in prison). Since 1 in 10 high school dropouts is incarcerated at some time (compared to 1 in 35 college graduates), it seems that it would be in our best interest to focus on education and behavior management, especially in juvenile facilities.  These kids are often the ones who are at the bottom of the social barrel.  If we could turn incarceration into positive educational time, our society would benefit significantly in the long run.

Keeping Track of Students

I loved the article on the Baltimore S.D.'s attempt to keep track of high school students and help them make it through school.  Basically, they focused on keeping students in school and on track, and they are reaping the benefits of higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates, especially for black male students.  While I'm sure that the logistics of it may be daunting (especially with shrinking budgets), the concept seems simple enough...someone notices if the kids are in school, keeps on the students to come to school and to do their schoolwork, expects them to get through it and believes they can and helps them when needed.  Seems like that is a lesson that can be applied to all of us on so many levels.  We all want to be noticed, believed in and given a little help when we can't figure it out.

Textbook Editing

We have engrained in students the idea that what's in the textbook is absolute truth.  (That's probably why students who don't see themselves in the textbooks can take such a hit to their sense of self...but that's a topic for another rant.)  However, textbooks sometimes serve as political statements rather than educational resources.  For example, in a Virginia social studies textbook, a claim was made that thousands of black troops fought for the Confederacy.  While it is true that some black soldiers did fight for the Confederacy, the claim that thousands fought has not been proven historically.  Statements like that seem pretty deliberate on the part of the writer.  Now, the Virginia ed. department has had to issue a statement of clarification regarding the passage.  Since this passage was noticed and brought up by a parent, I don't know if it is blatant politics or incompetence that allowed for the approval in the first place.

Fundamental Rights

In the Oct. 20 edition of Ed. Week, something small caught my attention.  There was a little article about a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling.  Apparently, there was a brawl at a school.  Two boys were suspended but then denied permission to attend the district's alternative-learning center.  The court ruled that there is no fundamental or statutory right to provide alternative schooling for students who are violent or disruptive.  While I understand that the district has safety concerns, how is this helping those students?  Aren't we just dooming those students to that life?  Instead of trying to help, doesn't this perpetuate an uneducated, potentially violent life?  As a society, we owe it to these students and to ourselves to help them overcome their troubles, or we'll end up paying for their crimes and imprisonment.

Absenteeism

After pausing to make sure I spelled absenteeism correctly (all those vowels together - still doesn't look right), I really appreciate the hard look that some districts are taking regarding absenteeism, especially focusing on the younger grades.  Usually, the eye is aimed at high school students, but by then the pattern has been set.  Historically, the same pattern has been looked at differently depending on which student is in view.  For example, 10 absences of a first grader may be seen as no big deal (with no emphasis put on the student's influence), but 10 absences of a high schooler may be seen as the student not taking school seriously (or a problem for the school).  However, the problem is the same at all levels...students missing instruction time and potentially falling behind.  This is especially important in an environment where we are at our shortest school years in ages.  Just like addressing school preparedness by getting kids into Head Start, absenteeism should be addressed with the same vigilance.  That way students would understand the importance of being in class and would not have to "unlearn" this bad habit.  

Merit Pay

There has been a lot of talk/observation about merit pay in Ed Week in the last few issues, understandably because it's on the minds of so many school 'reformers.'  While it is absolutely appropriate to ask if teachers are doing a good job, but thinking that this 'reform' alone will work is so short-sighted (and exactly what creates the problem).

Those who think this will fix the problems don't seem to want to roll up their sleeves & actually fix the problem.  I doubt if any teacher wants to go into a school and fail. However, telling that teacher to do better isn't helpful.  From my experience with employees failing, it's usually my fault for not giving them the right support.  I don't mean support in a monetary way.  It seems like teachers need support to be successful, and that means...mentor teachers, comprehensive evaluation reports, collaborative groups, teacher development, & humane ways of helping remove those few who just shouldn't be teachers, etc.

The GOP is the group usually associated with wanting merit pay.  I know that they often have to contend with union issues, but for a group that claims to be fiscally conservative, throwing money at a the problem of failing schools seems like confusing policy.  There has to be a way to work it out together - forget the parties & get to work!

Gap Year

I learned a new phrase while reading Ed Week..."gap year."  ("Scholars Suggest Adding 'Gap Year' May Encourage College Completion" by Sarah D. Sparks)  Basically a gap year is a 6 month - 1 year period between high school and college, usually spent traveling or in service learning or experimental programs.  I took one of those to backpack through Oceania, but, when I did it, most people called it "Are you crazy - aren't your parents furious?"

The article indicates that the gap year is catching on in the U.S. (already popular with Australians and Europeans) and may help motivate students to complete college when they return home.  Ms. Sparks referred to a few studies which suggest that students using this "counterintuitive strategy" did better in "adaptive behavior" tasks (i.e. planning, task management, & persistence) upon return.  My first reaction is that this strategy is only "counterintuitive" in the minds of many parents. (Historically, many of whom were taught that if their student doesn't go to college right away then s/he may never go.  I feel fortunate that my gap year was my parents' idea.)   

My experience leads me to believe that it is a very constructive strategy, which combats boredom, gives people the opportunity to find out who they are, affords them the chance to meet other people from many different places, teaches self-reliance and lets kids have some fun without the usual scholastic/social/familial responsibilities.   For me, when I returned home & back to school, most of the usual freshmen drama around me was uninteresting, & I focused much better on my classes and activities.  Many universities encourage gap years, which leads me to believe that they've had a similar experience with those returning students.  I would definitely recommend it to most of my future students.

"Pro-Islamic" Textbooks in Texas

I recently read the online Ed Week article "Before Texas Panel:  'Pro-Islamic' Textbook Bias" by Erik W. Robelen, which made me want to hit my head on the desk.  The overview of the article involves the Texas state board of ed's 7-6 decision on a resolution to warn textbook publishers about "pro-Islamic/anti-Christian distortions" in recent textbooks.  The board claims that it should reject any textbook which favor one religion over another.  However, their examples of recent pro-Islamic bias is one textbook (which was replaced in 2003) that devoted "120 student text lines to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings, but 248 (more than twice as many) to those of Islam" & included information about the 1099 Christian Crusades massacre of Muslims in Jerusalem but left out Muslim massacres.

The notion of judging fairness and adequacy by a text line count and a tit-for-tat historical event count seems like a ludicrous and wildly inaccurate way to measure content.  The question should not be "How many text lines are devoted to each religion?"  Instead, we should be asking if the content is accurate and will it help students develop a deeper/wider understanding of a culture.  In this case, politics seems to be getting in the way of actual content questions.  (The article implied that the board is controlled by conservative GOP members.)

Ironically, most Americans could use more information on all religions, including their own (and I'm not just saying that because my undergrad degree is in comparative religion).  Recently, The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life conducted a brief (15 question) survey of Americans' understanding of some basic world religion information. (To check out the survey: Pew Survey) The groups that self-identified as Atheists, Agnostics, Jews & Mormons scored the best while some of the most evangelical Protestant/Catholic groups scored the worst.  No group scored better than 63%.   That indicates to me that we all have information to learn about our own religions and about others, and that will be the only way we understand and respect each other more.  Luckily, future boards are not held to this particular resolution.