Why our Educational System is Hurting Some Children
I cannot understand why our school system consistenly fails our African-American students and families. I know this is a complex issue and not one that will be answered with a simplistic approach. Like the field of medicine, there are problems in education that will take research. I want to be part of this community.
I lived through a reverse situation. As a 3rd grade student in Long Beach, California the system failed me. Hudson Elementary School left me behind. As a minority there I was dealing with all sorts of pressures and emotions. It was only the wisdom of my mother and a small, poor private school that saved my educational life. First Baptist Christian School had a lot of weird and legalistic systems that I would never recommend to another school but it had something that no other school had. It had a self-paced system. This system plus the love of a teacher pushed me to catch up.
The difference? Environment A was killing me, Environment B inspired me. I was the salt water fish in that fresh water tank.
Now I believe there are populations like me out there dying in our educational systems. If we don't develop more sophisticated designs for schools we will see generations of potential leaders fail.
Joseph Renzulli at the University of Connecticut says the answer is engagement. Geoffrey Canada's work in Harlem is an example of how the achievement gap can be closed through school design, through high expectations, and through a strong community.
I believe achievement is not dependent on curriculum. There are numerous examples of students who perform well and they experienced a variety of curricula. I believe it comes down to engagement.
An old proverb says, "Son if you encline thine ear... if you turn your head to listen- then you will gain wisdom." It is a teacher placing the ownership of learning on their students. They have to be engaged- they have to choose to want to learn- to be hungry.
Peter Senge writes about Personal Mastery. It is the quest to grow, to learn, to improve oneself. He also writes about Mental Models. This is one's picture of something- why does it exist- what is my place in it.
Stephen Covey writes about Seeking First to Understand.
Pull all that together and you get some answers to our achievement gap. We need to seek to understand the mental models of our student populations that are failing in our schools. Here are some questions:
What inspires them?
When do they feel successful?
How does this generation/individual like to learn?
What do they think of schools and why they exist
Where do they see themselves within this system?
I am not quite sure how to turn this into a dissertation yet. However I really want to help eliminate this achievement gap by creating sophisticated schools that will close our "Engagement Gap".
1-5-10
Data notebooks: Can they help close the achievement gap? Can they increase student engagement?
I was thinking about my experience as a third grader in the self-paced school. The structure was set up so I had my space, I had a daily goal chart, I had a yearly performance chart. These pieces helped me clue into what school was about. I took responsibility for my work.
Then I was part of a school in North Carolina that used the Baldrige system. Classrooms had dashboards and we made action plans together. We also designed student data notebooks where the students were able to set goals and monitor their progress. Some students achieved more than they ever had because of these.
What if I could research what effect these data notebooks could have on students? What if these notebooks are a practical tool that educators can use to increase student engagement and enthusiasm.
There is so much involved in getting students to think differently about school- but for the dissertation perhaps we might need to focus on one thing... then build the other pieces.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Education Reform- From the Factory Model to the Medical Model
What schools can learn from hospitals...
Our educational system was based on the assembly line model we encountered in the Industrial Revolution. It is not sophisticated, individualized, nor even warm and caring. In the medical model there are key differences that we can learn from as educators.
As I see it we are told all the time to collaborate, to learn from each other. It is ironic that the very institutions that preach this to us have separate leadership programs in their business school, their law school, and their educational leadership school. But this separation has diminished our capacity to grow and improve. What could happen if educators went and learned from other systems? Zoos, farms, hospitals, and even athletic programs might be able to contribute insights and wisdom to our profession.
Isn't there a need for improvement? Isn't that why the charter school and home school practices are multiplying exponentially?
So what the medical model looks like to me (please add comments to strengthen this point):
A patient enters a hospital and immediately there is data collection (both story (qualitative) and facts (quantitative). The professional then analyzes this and designs a program for the individual (specialized equipment and rooms). The next phase is to monitor progress and make any adjustments as necessary. The care plan will change over time. Once the patient is healthy or strong enough they are educated on next steps and exited. They then have a follow up.
If hospitals were run like schools there would be about 15 rooms in the hospital. 30 patients in each (sorted be arrival time). The doctor would look out over the group and tell them to all take two pills.
Our classrooms are filled with invisible diffferences as big as a dislocated toe is different than a toothache. We need a more sophisticated data collection process both qualitative and quantitative. What motivates this student? What angers them? What topics do they like? What is their educational history? Do they like quiet rooms or noisy ones? Do they like lots of color, light, and things to look at or do they need simple, organized, and dim environments? Do they like to work at their own pace or be in a group setting?
How are we measuring progress? What is a proper time frame between measures? Annual? Weekly?
Are we giving teachers time to analyze their "patients"? Do they have the capacity to handle such diverse challenges- and if not how have we supported them? What collaboration structures do we have in place when they face difficult circumstances?
I believe we can learn alot systematically from the medical world as educators. School designers can put into place structures that give teachers time to think- to design plans- and to monitor progress.
The RTI process is one step towards this reform- but there needs to be a open look at all that we do in organizing and designing our schools.
Please share some thoughts..
Our educational system was based on the assembly line model we encountered in the Industrial Revolution. It is not sophisticated, individualized, nor even warm and caring. In the medical model there are key differences that we can learn from as educators.
As I see it we are told all the time to collaborate, to learn from each other. It is ironic that the very institutions that preach this to us have separate leadership programs in their business school, their law school, and their educational leadership school. But this separation has diminished our capacity to grow and improve. What could happen if educators went and learned from other systems? Zoos, farms, hospitals, and even athletic programs might be able to contribute insights and wisdom to our profession.
Isn't there a need for improvement? Isn't that why the charter school and home school practices are multiplying exponentially?
So what the medical model looks like to me (please add comments to strengthen this point):
A patient enters a hospital and immediately there is data collection (both story (qualitative) and facts (quantitative). The professional then analyzes this and designs a program for the individual (specialized equipment and rooms). The next phase is to monitor progress and make any adjustments as necessary. The care plan will change over time. Once the patient is healthy or strong enough they are educated on next steps and exited. They then have a follow up.
If hospitals were run like schools there would be about 15 rooms in the hospital. 30 patients in each (sorted be arrival time). The doctor would look out over the group and tell them to all take two pills.
Our classrooms are filled with invisible diffferences as big as a dislocated toe is different than a toothache. We need a more sophisticated data collection process both qualitative and quantitative. What motivates this student? What angers them? What topics do they like? What is their educational history? Do they like quiet rooms or noisy ones? Do they like lots of color, light, and things to look at or do they need simple, organized, and dim environments? Do they like to work at their own pace or be in a group setting?
How are we measuring progress? What is a proper time frame between measures? Annual? Weekly?
Are we giving teachers time to analyze their "patients"? Do they have the capacity to handle such diverse challenges- and if not how have we supported them? What collaboration structures do we have in place when they face difficult circumstances?
I believe we can learn alot systematically from the medical world as educators. School designers can put into place structures that give teachers time to think- to design plans- and to monitor progress.
The RTI process is one step towards this reform- but there needs to be a open look at all that we do in organizing and designing our schools.
Please share some thoughts..
Character Education: Reflections
I recently was asked to design the character education program for a k-8 school. Several months of research and preparation went into this task. Key Questions were:
- what has been in place?
- was it working?
- what were the major behavioral issues on campus?
- how can we create a "sticky message"? (Malcolm Gladwell)
- how can we market this?
- how can we make it more than a flavor of the month?
So I surveyed the faculty. I met with teachers and talked about issues on campus and possible solutions. I read through the parent survey results. I read books on character development. I contacted CEP (character education partnership). I attended the LEADER in ME training. I formed a committee and we began to work.
We came up with a way to simplify the virtues they were focusing on under three main character traits. We embedded these virtues under them. We used morning announcements to start the day off with a story and quote that focused on them. We placed them on our discipline reflection sheet so students who made poor choices were analyzing their choices in light of them.
Our slogan was: Live in 3E and Lead in 3E... We want our graduates to be described as Enthusiastic, 
Empathetic,
and Effecti
ve people.
We designed a leadership recognition system to develop these traits in our student culture.
Our morning announcements consisted of a quote for the week (repeated daily)- and a story of the day (that exemplified the quote).
We placed posters of this quote in classrooms and they showed an image of the person.
We made little cards for students to have so they could practice the quotes and memorize them.
Example: Leonardo Da Vinci once said, "Who sows virtue reaps honor." Each day we unpacked this statement a little. We shared about how hard work will pay off- school can be hard but persist.
Careful attention was placed on the following during the selection process:
- Find scientists and/or leaders that modeled our character traits
- Ensure a diverse selection of heroes
- Find quotes that are easy to remember
- Inspire
Students were voluntarily memorizing these quotes.
I found not all staff members appreciated the announcements- this is an area for my future development. I want to improve my ability to synergize with faculty members.
Future work: I am lining up the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People under the 3E's as well as Arthur Costa's Habits of the Mind. These would be long range pieces to weave into the school culture- perhaps in a leadership development course or something.
This experience has changed my perspective on character education. I used to feel programs that focused on character were fringe items that were good for people but we just did not have the time in this age of accountability. Now I see how success and effectiveness grow out of a heart that is virtuous. When a child is enthusiastic about learning and knows how to get things done (effective) they will grow and achieve. When a child has deep empathy- they will do work that makes a positive contribution to the world around them.
Every school has an opportunity to build up the hearts of the children within it- what a way to leave a legacy!
MY PURPOSE
I love the world of education. I want to join the dialogue around reform because there are children who need us to figure out what isn't working and what will.
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