September 2011 Archives

Today's guest blog is written By Michael Albertson. Michael is a music teacher in large high school in New York City

Educators in urban settings deal with unique challenges not necessarily faced by their colleagues in less-populated areas. This is not to say that working in a city school is more "noble"; all teachers face difficult situations and work to provide their students with the best possible education. However, it is likely that teachers in urban areas will have large classes comprised of a diverse group of students. It is the responsibility of these educators to create classrooms that allow every child to succeed despite differences in language or formal education.

Overcrowded and Underfunded
The effects of the current economic conditions this country faces are all too evident in our schools. For example, a recent survey by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City found that there are currently 2,443 less classroom teachers than there were last year (Callici). According to the same study, the result has been approximately 7,000 overcrowded classrooms city-wide, affecting nearly 256,000 students. This is unacceptable; our students deserve much better.

Teachers, counselors and administrators also face unfair burdens and are trying to make the most of these less-than-ideal conditions. One major problem that is often overlooked is the task of trying to program (high school) students for the classes that they need to graduate. It is not unlike assembling a very large jigsaw puzzle: how does one get 3,000 pieces (students) into all of the correct classes in an over-crowded space, while adhering to the union contract as well as accommodating the requests of concerned parents? Solving this problem involves juggling student schedules many times--it is not unusual for the changes to continue through October!

Working with Diverse Learners
Being exposed to a wide variety of cultures is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching in a city; however, there are also inherent challenges. Elizabeth Ann McAnally (2006) wisely points out, "Teachers in urban classrooms should not ever assume that students know what behavior is expected of them. Urban students come from very diverse backgrounds, with diverse levels of educational experiences" (104). Keeping this in mind, how do urban educators create an emotionally and intellectually safe space for students amidst the chaos of schedule changes?

I have found that, more than anything, my students expect me to be consistent and fair. I have witnessed students who completely shut down if I acted in a manner that they perceived as being unfair. In the same vein, it is important to be authentic--students can tell a phony from a mile away, and they will not be afraid to "call you out" in front of the class. The latter point is especially important to me as a high school music teacher. Due to lack of funding and student relocation resulting from school choice , many of my students arrive as ninth graders having never played a musical instrument.

I enjoy having the opportunity to expose my students to this new experience, but most of the literature for beginning instrumentalists is aimed at young children (I hope the problem of authenticity is apparent to the reader.) In response I have created many materials and found songs that allow my students to develop as beginning instrumentalists without insulting their intelligence. The students are appreciative; they are playing music that is enjoyable at an age-appropriate level. Once trust is established, a teacher can take the class in any direction.

Another significant challenge in an urban setting is working in a multi-lingual classroom. My school is located in Queens County--we have students from any country you can think of, and seemingly as many languages to compliment. This is a unique challenge in that literally every activity and set of directions needs to be carefully constructed with English Language Learners (ELLs) in mind. While these students are constantly working towards expanding their vocabularies, it is easy for teachers to forget that colloquialisms and catch-phrases can be great sources of confusion. In addition to reinforcing writing and reading skills, it is important for teachers to provide a variety of activities that allow students to demonstrate the knowledge they have acquired. A student who struggles with writing may be able to verbally communicate an answer when given the chance, or perform a song on piano with great ease, in the case of a music class.

Moving Forward: Shared Responsibility
In her case study examining the experiences of six New York City urban educators, Janice Smith (2006) notes that, "It may surprise those who view urban students as difficult to work with that it is the students who motivate these teachers to keep working in urban schools" (59). I believe that many of my colleagues would concur. However, when faced with the daily stresses of these challenging conditions, it may be easy for educators to blame students for academic unpreparedness or unawareness of school-appropriate behavior.

I submit that most academic or behavioral underperformance by students is merely a symptom of other problems--the students themselves are not the problem. Overcrowded classrooms are one of the most common qualities of urban schools. With so many students under their care, teachers cannot dedicate the individual attention to each student that they deserve. In older grades this contributes to struggling students "slipping through the cracks": sitting unnoticed in class, becoming apathetic to school work, roaming the halls, or dropping out altogether. It is the professional and moral responsibility of all adults involved--teachers, aides, parents, administrators and politicians--to provide students with an environment that is conducive to learning.

Teacher training programs, too, are responsible, but often go unmentioned in the public discourse on education reform. Are colleges preparing students for possible careers in urban schools, or are these future educators being encouraged to work in high-performing, high-paying districts? These institutions may consider service hours for students in both urban and rural/suburban districts as well as requiring a longer sequence in foreign language (DeWitt). All students deserve great teachers--especially students in urban areas who often face enormous personal and educational challenges that are out of their control. It is urgent for our country--educationally and ethically--that teacher preparation programs reflect on these issues.

Click here to read Mike Albertson's blog entitled Urban Education and Beyond.

Callici, Dorothy. UFT Survey Finds Nearly 7,000 Oversize Classes as School Year
Opens. United Federation of Teachers, 23 September 2011. 29 September
2011.

Smith, Janice. "The Challenges of Urban Teaching: Young Music Educators at Work."
Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom. Ed. Carol Frierson-Campbell. Lanham,
Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 57-74.

Posted by Peter DeWitt at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It doesn't matter whether you teach in a suburban, urban, or rural school setting, we are seeing many students enter school with diverse academic, social, and economic needs. Perhaps they have a vocabulary or language deficit that puts them behind their peers, or they lack the maturity that allows them to fit in socially; schools have been playing the role of caregiver and educator in the lives of children for decades.

Given all of the student needs that schools are seeing, in addition to all of the new mandates with the common core standards, evaluation and high-stakes testing, are colleges preparing pre-service teachers to become high-quality teachers who can handle our rapidly changing needs? Is it fair to believe that teachers without any experience are prepared to educate our student population?

We all understand that we gain a great deal of knowledge through experience. Our students gain a better understanding of the world around them through experiences. Whether that means going on field trips, being exposed to music, art, or literature that they have never seen before, or engaged through the lessons of an outstanding teacher, experience is what sets students apart from one another.

Philosophy vs. Practical Knowledge
It is very important for colleges to expose undergraduate or graduate-level students to important philosophy. College education programs offer students the necessary philosophical information needed to learn about a child's developmental level.

In addition, schools offer the philosophies of educational experts like Howard Gardner, Carol Ann Tomlinson, Charlotte Danielson, and others who provide great practical advice. They need to learn the best instructional practices and understand child psychology in order to meet the needs of our diverse student populations. In order to teach students, you must understand what is age-appropriate and how to best meet their needs and bring them up to another achievement level.

However, in order to truly meet their needs, you must have exposure to as many real-life situations as possible, which means that our pre-service teachers must get into the classroom. Getting into the classroom to observe a teacher in action is an important part of a pre-service teacher's development. However, pre-service teachers should also ask classroom teachers if they can teach a few lessons. In my experience, I have seen many pre-service teachers sitting at the back of the table watching veteran teachers interact with their students.

Colleges should consider the following:

• Make sure competent pre-service teachers are being sent into the classroom


• A series of bad student teaching experiences have the potential to hurt relationships between the school system and the college


• Pre-service teachers need to be exposed to philosophy and practical educational practices


• Communication between colleges and the school system is a key component in an effective student-teaching program


• Students completing observation hours need to be exposed to urban, suburban, and rural school settings

Schools Systems Can Be a Valuable Part of the Process
If we want to hire the best teachers to put with our students, then we must work to establish important relationships with our pre-service teachers and the colleges they come from. Too often, we agree to take in student-teachers, but we move on to another task and leave the classroom teacher to work alone with the student-teacher. Administrators could take a couple of simple steps to help out in the process.

• Very often students have to do observation hours, but all they do is observe. Allowing pre-service teachers to teach a lesson or two would help them gain experience.
• Student-teachers are often apprehensive about talking with principals. If principals have the time, they should introduce themselves to student-teachers.
• Constructive feedback is an important part of teaching; principals should reach out and offer to do an informal observation of the visiting student-teacher.
• Principals could offer an exit interview to student-teachers to talk about the interviewing process or answer questions about how school systems work.
• As a principal, I have offered to do exit interviews with our student-teachers, but many have not taken me up on the offer. Student-teaching is an opportunity for pre-service teachers to establish professional relationships with staff so it is a mistake for them to ignore the offer by a principal.

Sadly, there is a disconnection between many colleges and the public school system. Many schools are on a "don't call" list, which means they do not want to be contacted by colleges. Colleges often contact schools, ask for cooperating teachers, and the school systems agree to take the student-teachers in for eight or nine weeks. Both parties do not always take the opportunity to form a bond, which is unfortunate because they lose out on important opportunities.

Some school systems are working with colleges by being "Professional Development" schools. A group of veteran teachers in the same grade levels offer to take a group of pre-service teachers, a college supervisor spends quality time in the school system, and the college offers professional development opportunities to the school staff. This relationship offers many reciprocal benefits to both parties.

We have to meet so many demands in public education, and I understand trying to create a deeper bond with colleges and universities is another thing to add to the list. However, it is highly important to the future of education if administrators and teachers work closely with pre-service teachers and the colleges they are coming from. If we want the best teachers to enter our schools, we need to do our part to help them when they are at the pre-service level.

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Posted by Peter DeWitt at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces" (Terrence Mann AKA James Earl Jones).

There is something special about watching a Saturday afternoon football game. A few weeks ago I happened to turn on the Michigan State University versus Notre Dame football game. For full disclosure, my family and friends will be as surprised as I am that I would focus on football. I never played football but I did attend some games in high school. Cross country and track were my sports of choice, and my coaches left a lasting impression on me and gave advice that still resonates with me as an adult.

Watching the game last Saturday brought back a feeling of nostalgia. Many people watch college football because it's an opportunity to reflect on college days where the only activity on the Saturday "to do" list was to attend a football game. Everyone wearing their school colors, cheering on the team together, brings about a feeling of unity.

As we get older, our Saturday activities have changed. We have to mow the lawn, go grocery shopping or complete numerous other weekend chores around the house. Watching a good college football game brings us back to a time when life was a bit easier, and perhaps less stressful. Although at the time we thought homework and exams were the most stressful activities that we have ever seen.

However, there is one thing better than watching the game and that is being on the field, or in the trails, being surrounded by our teammates playing the game. Athletes feel they are a part of a much bigger picture when they join a team because their individual effort is an important part to the team as a whole. As we get older and further away from our high school and college experiences, we still remember those individuals who were on the team with us. We remember the hours on the bus going to competition, where there were times when the ride lasted longer than the game.

Whether it's football, hockey, lacrosse or cross country, there are many benefits of joining a team. The greatest benefit is having a good coach. Sweeney, Underwood and Mulson were my coaches as I went from cross country to track in high school and college. As much as they cared about winning, they cared more about preparing their athletes for the future, and they were not intimidated to tell the whole team when they thought we were out of line or disrespectful. One particular night we learned not to swear when Underwood called us "sewer mouths," and I remember being embarrassed that he had to have the conversation in the ack of the bus. I never wanted to disappoint him that way again.

Teamwork and Life
Coaches teach life lessons that athletes can bring with them through adulthood. Athletes who play a sport often listen to their coaches as much as (or more than) they will listen to their teachers or even their parents. A good coach is a gift, and many athletes look up to them with respect.

In addition, coaches teach their athletes life skills that they will long remember after they leave high school or college. Teamwork, determination, failure, winning and respect are just a few of the qualities a good team possesses. The following looks at how those qualities affect students.

Teamwork - In these times of high stakes demands in education, there is no better way to negotiate your way through changes than being a part of a team. Win or lose the team works together. High quality teams we can get through anything when they do it together.

Determination - when the chips are down and the other side is ahead, good teams work together to find the determination to get through any hardship. Determination teaches kids to not give up, even when they are losing or after they lost. Determination is what kids need to learn in order to achieve a college education or find a job in a terrible job market.

Failure - Everyone, adults and children, fail at some point in their life. Teaching kids that failing is an opportunity that can be turned into success, is an important part of the experience. Teams lose games; some even lose the whole season but teaching kids to get up every day and work harder day in and day out to overcome those failures is a life lesson. Adults could learn that lesson as well.

Winning - learning how to win is as important as learning how to lose. Good sportsmanship is another life lesson that kids need to learn and it teaches them how to interact with peers who are different than they are. So much of life is about working with people who are different than you. Good sportsmanship can teach students how to be humble.

Respect - We were always taught to be respectful to our elders. Some students, and adults, seem to have missed that lesson. Being a part of a team teaches students to respect the coach and their teammates. Everyone, no matter their income or educational level deserves to be respected. Students who play sports have the opportunity to learn to respect their teammates who are more athletically gifted than them as well as their teammates who are not as gifted.

Time Management - Students who play sports have the opportunity to learn about time management. Parents need to make sure that school work is not set aside for practice. Students need to learn how to manage both.

Struggling Learners - sometimes being a part of a team is the best part of a student's day, especially if that student is a struggling learner. Teams and coaches can help build the self-esteem that gets lost when a student is struggling. In addition, it may help create an incentive for a struggling learner to work harder in the classroom so they can perform out on the field.

Students who join a team have the opportunity to learn many life lessons that can carry them into adulthood. We all know that being young does not last for a long time, although when you're young it feels like it does. Sometimes a good college football game on a Saturday provides us with the opportunity to reflect on those days of being on a team and about the things that we learned from our coaches that helped us get to where we are today.

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Posted by Peter DeWitt at 6:33 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Facebook, as well as Twitter, are great social networking tools for adults and teenagers. It allows for everyone to connect in a variety of ways. Although it can be a useful tool for home and schools, there are advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook and Twitter as well. As we go further through the 21st century, we are all still learning more and more about ourselves and the world around us through the lens that social networking offers us.

It does seem as though the pressure is on to have more and more friends, and many of those that accept our requests, or we accept theirs, are people we have never met or may not have seen in decades. How do we teach students that it's the quality of friends and not the quantity that matters when the adults around them care about collecting more friends as well? Facebook has been a welcomed part of our day (morning, Noon and night) because it gives us an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and stay connected with friends and relatives that we may not be able to see very often.

Facebook and Twitter corner the market in social networking; however Facebook has become a verb in our vocabulary. People "Facebook" each other all of the time. Up until about five years ago, if you are an adult, it would have been considered taboo to be on Facebook, especially if you work in schools. Many school districts and states across the country banned teachers and administrators from being a part of Facebook and other social networking sites.

As the years have passed those policies that controlled educators from joining are being lifted (Associated Press). The shift in thinking changed and there has become a concern that teachers and administrators who are not on Facebook or another social networking site are not open to 21st Century Skills. We now see schools on Facebook asking students to "like" them or "friend" them. Hopefully, all educators who are on Facebook understand the importance of having boundaries where students are concerned so that neither group is put at risk.

There are a variety of other reasons why schools are a part of social networking instead of banning it for their staff. Schools have always been considered behind the times, even though some of the teachers within that school may be progressive. Using social networking and making it socially acceptable is a way to connect with students. It is also a symbolic method of telling students that education is catching up to their needs. In order to properly educate our students we must understand their world and social networking is a major part of their world.

How Young is Too Young for Facebook?
Just like with any other tool that educators use to connect with students, Facebook can have both positive and negative effects on students. There are pressures from peers to have more friends than everyone else. When peers are denied friendships, there are many negative outcomes that can happen. Students who are denied friendships need to deal with rejection, which in reality is a life skill because everyone gets rejected during their life.

In addition, there has been an increase use of Facebook by students as young as seven years old. Some parents believe it is acceptable for their young children to belong to Facebook. Unfortunately, students this young do not know how to use the tool appropriately on their own so they must have adult supervision.

Facebook can also pose issues for our young adult populations in middle school and high school because some students provide too much information in a split-second decision which could make them a target to bullying and abuse. Students, especially those who are self-destructive, do not always understand that when it is out there in cyberspace, it is out there forever. It also sets up the opportunity to bully others. Unlike in past decades, one of the reasons why there is an explosion in the amount of bullying is due to the fact that it is now 24/7. The internet and social networking sites have increased the opportunities for bullies to abuse their victims.

As adults, we probably did many things in our childhood and young adult lives that we are not proud of, and are thankful that social networking was not available to us. Life may have turned out very differently for us if it had been available. Learning from mistakes is a lot harder when that mistake is readily available to thousands of other kids.

Do They Know All of Their Friends?
The reality is that most people who are on Facebook do not know all of their "friends." For full disclosure, I am on Facebook with people whom I have never met or talked to in person or on the phone. As an adult, I do not put anything on my wall that could not go on a billboard. The reality is that we need to have grandma's rule, which is that if we would not want our grandmother to read it, we should not put it up on our wall.

In addition, the most unnerving aspect to social networking is the idea that some of those "friends" that children accept could be someone who wants to hurt them. Pedophiles and other opportunist people work hard to establish friendships with our young people in order to "groom" them over a few years until the young person feels that they are truly a friend, and then the pedophile or perpetrator offers to meet up with them, which is where problems ensue.

Everything our students do offers a life lesson. Just like the adults that surround them, life is about our successes, failures and learning from our mistakes. Students just have to remember the following:

• Even when you set your wall to private, what you write can be copied and reposted.


• The mistakes you make today could have repercussions for your future. The bigger the mistake, the bigger the repercussion.


• Be aware of how much personal information you give out on your page or to others who e-mail you. It's easy to trust people but they may not always be as honest as you are.


• E-mail is a great tool to use to connect with others but it can also provide a tone that is not necessarily there, which means you can write something innocently and the receiver of the e-mail can take it a totally different way.


• The internet is an awesome tool that can open up your world to things you have never seen. Use it for that reason. It used to be much more difficult to do research and you have everything at your fingertips. Respect that you have been given access to a great tool.

Parent Responsibility: What are your children really doing?
Unfortunately there are times when the internet is used as a babysitting tool in households and children can easily search on sites that are inappropriate. It is less likely to happen in schools because schools are often set up with strict security settings so students cannot veer from the road that the teachers have paved during class time.

In homes, there are not always these strict security settings, and in some cases the children are the ones who know how to turn them off. In order to make sure that children are using the internet properly, parents need to set ground rules with their children. They also need to consistently check to make sure that those ground rules are being followed.

The following are some helpful tips when helping children negotiate their way through the internet:

• Keep the computer in a high-traffic area of your home.


• Establish limits for which online sites children may visit and for how long.


• Remember that Internet technology can be mobile, and make sure to monitor cell phones, gaming devices, and laptops.


• Surf the Internet with your children and let them show you what they like to do online.


• Know who is connecting with your children online and set rules for social networking, instant messaging, e-mailing, online gaming, and using webcams.


• Continually dialogue with your children about online safety (Netsmartz.org)

Parents, teachers and administrators must continue to talk with our children to make sure they understand that these social networking sites can be both a positive and negative tool. It can be positive because they can connect with friends and families, and even learn more information about their favorite author or actor. However, it can be a negative tool if they do not sensor their own behavior on the internet.

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Posted by Peter DeWitt at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"There has been a dramatic increase in marketing to kids in the last 15 or 20 years! Billions of dollars are now spent by corporations to market to the special 'target' group called children." Nancy Carlsson-Paige

There are times as I get older that I think I am becoming less patient with society. As I flip through television stations I am less likely to find something I like to watch. All of the shows seem to be "reality" in nature and those reality shows seem to promote anger, promiscuity, and fighting. They also happen to be on earlier and earlier in the day, which means that children are exposed to them every time they may turn on their flat screen televisions. The only show I seem to watch these days is "House Hunters International."

Perhaps it's due to aging, but I feel like children are being exposed to a great deal more than in previous years. Whether it's the Internet, television, or movies, there is an increase in the amount of violence in children's entertainment. Not only is it violent, it's also graphic in nature and I wonder how well children can process that violence.

As I became increasingly uncomfortable with the media, I began to read books like Kid Stuff: Marketing Sex and Violence to America's Children by Diane Ravitch and Joseph Viteritti and Taking Back Childhood by Nancy Carlsson-Paige. They, too, have concerns that our children are being exposed to too much violence.

Interview
PD: Why do you believe we have to take back our childhood?

NCP: In the last 30 years, we have seen changes in the culture of childhood that are dramatically affecting children's lives today.

One of the factors is an increase in the influence of media in the lives of children. The Kaiser Family Foundation completed a study showing that children spend more time with electronic media than they do in school (www.KKF.org). The fact that they are spending more time looking at screens instead of engaged in robust outdoor play, interacting with other kids, spontaneous negotiating and figuring out problems in the real world with other kids, means they are not learning some of the vital lessons that came naturally to children in the past. Screen time is rapidly changing what children learn and don't learn.

Children are suffering from a disconnection from peers, nature, and from themselves because they are not getting the experiences they need that build connections and relationships. They are becoming disconnected from their soul, heart, and feelings because they are constantly taking in messages that disconnect and desensitize them.

Parents should know that the media is very corporate-driven and it is not as regulated as it should be. There are all sorts of marketing campaigns aimed at kids through the media. Those marketing messages are basically saying, "You have to have this to be happy. You have to have this for your peers to accept you." There are also a lot of messages in the media that promote anti-social behavior—that put people down for being different and use violence in many forms. In addition, there is a lot of sexualized imagery that kids are exposed to. All of that adds up to a harmful influence, one that confuses and desensitizes children.

The economy and the pace of life make it very hard for parents to keep a watchful eye on kids. Many parents don't see the TV programs, video games, electronic messages their kids are getting. Corporations have become another parent, but one that puts the profit margin first and not kids' best interests.

In addition to all of that, you have a changing educational system that has less time to counter the images kids see outside of school because teachers and administrators are now driven by high-stakes tests that have edged out the expansive curriculum children today need.

PD: What role do you believe the Internet plays in the development of a child?

NCP: First and foremost, children are using electronic media at too young an age. Marketers push these devices and programs on young children, even infants, but they are not good. Young children need to be interacting in the real world, with people and objects, for optimal development. There is a lot of research on this, including newer studies from neuroscience.

As children get into the middle elementary grades, the Internet can be a useful tool when used carefully and consciously. A 4th grade child might do an Internet search to find out about the insect she saw on the playground. But then the child would use and represent that information in activities such as drawing, writing, and building.

When children sit at computers for hours and hours and this becomes a replacement for direct experiences and the primary sources of knowledge, it impedes their optimal development.
We cannot "turn kids loose" on the Internet. We have to regulate and teach children how to use computers and the internet in ways that are beneficial to them.

This media/electronic culture of ours came at us so quickly that parents, teachers, and principals haven't had the time to reflect on their influence, do enough research on it, and teach children how to use those tools properly. We need to make sure that we teach kids that electronic media can be a useful a tool when used consciously at the same time that we show them that they have to protect themselves while they are using it.

It's also important to teach kids guidelines for use of electronic media. In families with older children who do use hand-held devices, it can be helpful to agree that you don't take out your smartphones and text with friends when you are together. Children need down time with parents. Time to be together, reflect on the day, talk with one another. With younger children, it's good to follow the guidelines put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics: no screen time before the age of 2, and an hour or less per day after that.

PD: You speak a lot about our power over kids. Could you explain that concept?

NCP: I think that how we use our adult power with kids is one of the most profound questions we must grapple with in our relationships with children. We live in a hierarchical society so it doesn't come easy to people to choose approaches that share our adult power with children rather than using power "over" them. But when we do learn how to work things out "with" kids through dialogue, negotiation, and joint problem-solving, children thrive on our trusting relationships and learn many social skills they desperately need to learn today.

PD: Why does it seem like there has been such an increase in the amount of marketing that has taken place over the past few decades?

NCP: There has been a dramatic increase in marketing to kids in the last 15 or 20 years! Billions of dollars are now spent by corporations to market to the special "target" group called children. In the past, before the mid-1980s, marketing to kids was regulated both through Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Before that time, it was illegal to market products directly linked to TV shows to children. There were no Spiderman lunchboxes and Star Wars underpants and toothbrushes. But under Reagan, the FCC removed these restrictions to the benefit of corporations and the detriment of children. And in 1980, after heavy corporate lobbying, Congress took away the FTC's role to regulate advertising to children.

Immediately after deregulation, there was a rapid increase in commercials and televisions shows that marketed products to children. Presently, that use of marketing so saturates the media that the parents of today cannot imagine a world without all of those images coming at us on an hourly basis.

We not only have the movies or television shows, but there are ads on video games and the Internet, and fast-food chains selling toys linked to the media kids see; there are even ads in many schools. We have now entered an era where children's lives are saturated by, not just the media, but by toys and products linked to the media. This bombardment has affected children's play and social and emotional development.

PD: You have written about the dilemma of children playing "war play" and have said there is in increase. What is the dilemma, and why do you think there has been an increase?

NCP: Children are being exposed to a lot more violent media than ever before. The good ole' days when kids used to play "good guys and bad guys" have changed. I did several research studies where I interviewed teachers from all over the country who reported the same thing: as a result of the marketing of violent media, children's play and social interactions were more violent. Kids were no longer inventing different ways of playing as they did in the past, but now they were imitating the violence that they saw in images on screens and in media-linked products. This meant that the "war play" they used to invent from their own imaginations was now too often shaped by media stories and characters, eroding the deep value of original play for children and promoting violence.

You now see "first person" shooter video games where kids can inflict violence directly. Even young children play these games, as we see from the research. But many of these games are brutally violent—scary and confusing for kids. Children who play them become desensitized to the violence they see, a natural reaction, but not one we want to have in our children.

All of this behavior creates an anti-social climate for many kids. That some studies show a decline in empathy and social skills in our children, that we have a growing bullying problem in our country, is understandable when corporations are free to market to kids without restrictions.

PD: You are an endorser for the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action. How and why did you become involved, and how does that tie in with your work with the development of children?

NCP: As soon as I heard about the march I knew it was something that I wanted to endorse. I have been concerned about education since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). I'm concerned about the constant focus on testing and the high-stakes nature of it and what it has done to education.

Testing has eroded the genuine learning experiences of kids and the love of learning that children need to discover in school. It has created an environment of stress where kids think learning is about getting the right answers. They think it's about knowing facts instead of developing their own thinking and going through the process of constructing their own ideas and solving problems.

We need to engage children in genuine learning experiences where they can develop their ingenuity, original ideas, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. In a testing culture, these qualities that are at the core of real learning are lost as kids focus more and more on rote, superficial learning.

The kind of learning pushed on kids today does not give them a firm foundation of understanding that will support school success because they are not constructing the ideas for themselves through their own process. In addition, we are narrowing the curriculum and kids are no longer getting the experiences they need in the arts, music, and outdoor activities. In the earlier grades, because of the increased focus on academics, play has been disappearing from classrooms. Research shows that play has almost disappeared from kindergartens around the country.

Elementary school needs to be places where children set the foundation for lifelong learning. You simply cannot build higher level academic skills on a weak foundation. That foundation needs to have breadth and depth and must be built gradually in accordance with children's developmental needs and understanding. Yes, children end up understanding concepts and ideas, but they have gone through many years of building this knowledge.

Conclusion

The Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action is a few months behind us but the spirit is still very much alive. There are pockets of support all over the country that are uniting educators and giving them a voice against state and federal mandates that we believe are harmful to children.

Nancy Carlsson-Paige is one of those educators who believes that we need to reflect on the past and get back to some of those practices that will prepare children to become thoughtful, empathetic adults who can question things respectfully. That focus would be a great deal easier if we did not have to shelter children from harmful messages they see through the media. It would also be easier if school could focus less time on testing and devote more time to helping students negotiate their way through those harmful messages so they can find their voice.

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Carlsson-Paige, Nancy (2008). Taking Back Childhood: A Proven Roadmap for Raising Confident, Creative, Compassionate Kids. Hudson Street Press

http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Zero-to-Six-Electronic-Media-in-the-Lives-of-Infants-Toddlers-and-Preschoolers-PDF.pdf

Posted by Peter DeWitt at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"Children have the greatest chance of reaching their potential and becoming positive members of the school community if schools treat parents as partners" (Wood, 2011, p.98).

We all want to help our children be successful at school. No one wants to see their child struggle, because it leads to frustration and anger. Sometimes if a child struggles, it can lead to a sense of failure and negative attitudes about school which leads to disengagement.

During these times of increased mandates due to NCLB and the pressure of high stakes testing, the home-school partnership is more important than ever. Parents and educators must work together to get a better understanding of one another.

Parental involvement is a key element in a child's success in school. There have been many studies on the importance of parental involvement (i.e. Parental Involvement Is as Easy as PIE!, Hopkings 2004, America's Smallest School: The Family, Barton, Coley 1992). Students who have involved parents do better in school.

When parents take time to build vocabulary with their children through conversations, those children enter school with a larger vocabulary than their peers who lacked that experience (Rothstein, 2004). Many educators love seeing parents volunteer in the classroom, help children with homework by checking it to make sure it is correct and attend school events to support their children. That involvement helps to build a stronger school community.

The Home-School Partnership is About Balance
Some parents care so much about their child's success that they can become too involved in the day-to-day routine. Too involved means parents who feel the need to do their child's homework for them. That does not mean completing the last couple of math problems on a worksheet. It means completing a class project without a great deal of child input. When this happens, the child is being set up for failure, not success.

Small children need to have their parents check their book bags when they get home from school, and make sure they are packed correctly before they leave for school in the morning. However, many times educators see students who are in middle and high school not taking responsibility for items left at home. Sometimes parents want so much to be involved in their child's lives that they end up enabling them so they don't learn how to be responsible for themselves.

The home-school connection needs to be about balance. Children need to be allowed to make their own mistakes. Children often learn valuable lessons through those mistakes. It helps build resiliency and provides life lessons that will help them in the future when they enter adulthood. The following are some ways to help children negotiate their way through school:

Helpful Tips
Tips to Help Build Parental Involvement.

Number One: Allow your children to complete tasks on their own.

Children should:

• Pick up their bedroom
• Have chores they need to be responsible for like taking out the garbage or helping with dishes.
• Work out their problems on their own first. If they still need help after that, then intervene.
• Do their homework on their own. If they have homework, make sure they follow through on the responsibility.
• Check their homework after they're done (However, if they are really having a hard time with it, then intervene).
• If they decide not to complete their homework, let them deal with the consequences at school. They may not make the same mistake twice.

Number Two: Praise your children when they show responsibility.

• Statistic: For every one positive comment a child hears ten negative.
• Children can never hear that you love them enough. Let them know it everyday.
• No need to buy them a gift for completing a chore. A nice compliment is enough.

Number Three: Teachable Moments

• When a child neglects a responsibility. It's a perfect time to teach them about responsibility when they make mistakes.
• Help your child find different coping skills for when they make mistakes. Coping skills will help them the next time they run into a problem (i.e. Taking a walk, with supervision, when they are angry, writing a list of pros and cons, talking their feelings out with an adult, etc).

Rule Four: You're the role model.

• No one makes a larger impact on their children than their parents.
• Spend some quality time with your children because that is what they really want from you.

Recognize that there will be times when your child will be frustrated by a difficult task. Resist the temptation to solve the problem yourself. Problem solving skills are a necessary skill for life. Your child will learn and grow from this experience and will emerge with confidence to face the next challenge.

What Parents Want
Parents want to know that the needs of their children are being met. Schools cannot always make changes to accommodate parents but they can take the time to listen to their input, especially when it affects children. In addition, they also want to know that their child is more than just a number (i.e. state exams, etc.).

Schools should consider the following when working with parents:

• Communication is an ever-evolving goal because it can always be improved.
• Schools should use e-mail blasts, school websites, newsletters, PTA meetings and other avenues to build communication with parents.
• Work with parent volunteers on creating events for children (Book fairs, assemblies, weekend events, etc.)
• When parents contact teachers and administrators, no matter the issue, they should receive a response within 24 hours.
• Schools need to understand that, by offering input, parents are not telling them how to do their job, they just want to play an active role in the lives of their children.

Better Understanding

During these times of financial stress, defeated school budgets and major buget cuts, this is an important time for educators and parents to get a better understanding of one another. Both groups share a common goal, which is to educate children, but there are times when educators and parents have different ideas on how that goal can be accomplished.

Communication is the most important element in creating a positive school culture between parents and educators. A successful school community includes students, staff, teachers and parents. All of those stakeholders have the opportunity to form important bonds that can last a lifetime. Just like any relationship, the one between home and school takes time, commitment and trust. However, the benefits of a strong relationship between school and home can outweigh the work it takes to get there.

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Rothstein, R. (2004). Class and Schools. In R. Rothestein, Class and Schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Wood, Chip & Babs Freeman-Loftis (2011). Responsive School Discipline. Northeast Foundation for Children. Turners Falls, MA.

Posted by Peter DeWitt at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

While we are all forced to wait for Superman, we need Walt Disney.

Walt Disney imagined things that most people did not think were possible. Walt Disney was the Goliath of his generation. Disney was both reflective and creative. He had a sense of the past and could look into the future. His ability to dream was only matched by his ability to articulate his vision to people around him who could help make his dreams come true. Walt Disney's dreams became our reality.

There are millions of people who make the trek to Disney World and Disneyland every year. Children go to experience a place where their imaginations can run wild. Adults go there to experience a second childhood and remember a time that was much simpler and fun. We need not go anywhere else to find the Fountain of Youth because it exists anywhere that Walt Disney touched.

Disney encompassed good leadership by igniting the imagination of all who worked for him. His engineers were called Imagineers, and their job, one might call it a mission, was to create a place where all kids and adults were welcome. They created a place where everyone went back in time, but they were also given a glimpse into the future. Everyone who entered the gates lost the stress of their lives for the hours they spent in the park.

In a world that seems so violent and stressed, Disney's programs focused on family and adventure. Children who were drawn into the plots were sure to go out and play the characters outside or in the woods with their friends. Many tree cabins were built during the time of Disney by parents and children who wanted to escape reality.

Will We See This Creativity Again?
Will we ever have another Walt Disney? Many say he was one of a kind but I wonder if there are others out there. Are there children sitting within our classrooms who could imagine and create as big and as wonderful as Walt Disney did?

It has been said by many that today's generation of children lack imagination because everything is done for them. They have handheld games that are created by technicians with great imaginations, creativity and marketing genius. They have televisions in their rooms, DVD players in their cars, and play organized games where they have to follow directions and rules. Every part of their lives is controlled.

Unlike the games of today that seem to stifle imagination, Disney's inventions inspired imagination. Walt Disney created games and shows that centered on family fun and innocence. Since the mid-1980's with the elimination of many Federal Communication Commission (FCC) regulations that held television shows, games and activities to different standards, this present generation is given insight into a much more adult world. They are surrounded by images and marketing schemes that our parents never had to contend with when we were younger. Even the Disney Channel itself has changed to a much more young adult network.

Most schools have always strongly believed in philosophies that have a focus on imagination. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences has played an important part in schools that want to focus on the whole child. Most school climates foster the use of the imagination. Whether its differentiation or hands-on center based learning, teachers, both classroom and special area, try to expose students to experiences where they can use their imagination. Project-based learning (PBL) is one such instructional tool that we can use to get students to focus on something they can use in the real world. It requires inquiry-based learning and imagination.

Will STEM Schools Provide the Answer
Unfortunately, there are schools that do not focus on the imagination because they are too busy or concerned with providing test prep and "drill and kill" methods of teaching. There are schools where students do not have recess during the day, and do not promote the use of nature in their curriculum. Those schools are potentially ruining the real education that students need to be exposed to.

At home, there are parents that do not allow their children to play outside. Much of the entertainment that these students are exposed to focuses on company-created materials and the kids are lacking exposure to the outside world. Many children who live in poorer cities do not live in safe neighborhoods and recess may be the only time they get an opportunity to go outside and play freely with their peers. What if a child with the potential to be the next Walt Disney lives in these neighborhoods or attend these schools?

STEM schools are cropping up across the country (Robelen). STEM schools offer a focus on science, technology, engineering and math. Will these schools offer the kind of imagination and ingenuity we need in this country? Will the next Walt Disney enter their doors and receive the type of education needed to bring the kind of creativity Walt Disney did? They certainly offer a missing niche that the public school cannot always offer. However, if the public school system received some mandate relief, perhaps they too could offer more STEM curriculum.

Magnet schools and charter schools offer a focus beyond the curriculum public schools provide to students. However, some of those schools do not offer more than a test prep philosophy. With all of the school choice that is being offered to a small population of students who are fortunate enough to win the school lottery, it seems as though some of the escapes from bad schools that are being offered, are more of a case of the lesser of two evils.

What can students who do not live near a STEM or magnet school do to find creativity? Many of us spent our seasons playing outside in the woods or on child-made baseball fields where we played baseball for five or six hours. Our winters were spent sledding down big hills and making snowmen in freezing temperatures and we lived to talk about it as older adults. Sometimes disconnecting from the internet allows us to reconnect with our larger world. It is possible to find creativity within our own thoughts without the distraction of the internet and television.

During these times of financial stress, children need their imaginations more than ever. They need time to imagine a better world where there isn't as much stress. If they find that in a STEM, charter, magnet or public school system, then we will be the better for it. We just need to maintain a balance and realize that one size fits all programs will not educate everyone equally, which is why the public school system is so concerned with high stakes testing and NCLB.

Students need to learn that they have the power to create better experiences for themselves and for others. As much as school systems are at the hands of state and federal mandates, there must be time built in where children can wonder. While we are all forced to wait for Superman, we need Walt Disney.

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Posted by Peter DeWitt at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"While the intersections of social class, race, gender, sexuality, and religion vary for each person, their existence and importance within our culture are, for those who do not share membership in the dominant groups, social facts with social consequences" (Sears, 1991, p. 55).

School codes of conduct and board policies are vitally important to the safety of all students. However, they are only beneficial if staff will follow through on enforcing them. Without proper professional development and training, many staff members do not know how to address issues that they see in school. Administration, teachers and staff need proper resources in order to address controversial issues that happen within their school. One type of issue, which sadly is still considered controversial, is protecting LGBT students.

The Hennepin school district in Anoka, Minnesota is facing criticism for their efforts (or lack there of) in dealing with the never-ending issue of bullying (NY Times). In this particular school district, it was bullying toward LGBT students. In addition to bullying, the district has been dealing with a sad slew of suicides. Although this is not the first school district in the U.S. to have issues with LGBT bullying, it is yet another sign that school districts need to do more with this often abused minority population. Contrary to popular belief, these students do not want to be seen as victims. LGBT students would like to be a part of a nurturing and safe environment where they are not forced to be victims.

In order for this issue to be dealt with properly, there must be administrators who are willing to take it on, and staff and community members who will support the administrator during this endeavor. If an administrator or strong staff member does not step up, LGBT students will continue to face hardships in their schools, which can have detrimental effects to their academic performance and self-esteem.

One such school district that is addressing the needs of LGBT students is the Los Angeles Unified School District (Daily News). LA Unified is taking a progressive role by offering safeguards and curriculum that include LGBT issues. This progressive stance will prepare all students for the real world. Unfortunately, LA Unified is the exception not the rule.

Lack of Understanding

During my childhood and young adulthood, gays and lesbians were invisible in my community. But while they were invisible, they certainly were not absent; their presence was just not acknowledged. The behaviors I observed in the adults I loved and looked up to suggested that gays and lesbians were people one whispered about; spoke of in vague, masked terms; or ridiculed, abused, and violated because of who and what they were. The world that formed me and shaped my values did not honor, afford humanity to, or bestow dignity on those who were gay. I grew up in a world where gay, lesbian, and bisexual people were invisible, isolated, powerless, and voiceless (Roper, 2005, p.81).

Unlike LA Unified, many school districts ignore the bullying of LGBT students for a variety of reasons. Sometimes school staff members do not see the actual bullying so they cannot prove it is actually taking place. Other times staff members do not know how to properly address bullying issues regarding LGBT students. In addition, there are school staff members who feel uncomfortable addressing LGBT issues for personal reasons.

Working with LGBT students is not any different from working with heterosexual students. School staff should address the bullying of LGBT students in the same manner that they addess all bullying, which means that name calling needs to be addressed, and students who verbally or physically harm another student based on sexual orientation need to be disciplined in the same manner as any student who physically harms another student.

School districts often site a lack of resources as a barrier in the process of moving forward to protect and understand this population of students. In addition, teachers and administrators often say that they have lacked exposure to members of the LGBT community and do not know how to deal with this population. Unfortunately this lack of exposure that they site as a barrier prevents them from exposing their students to LGBT issues which creates a vicious cycle. Whether this is an excuse or not, it is an area that needs to be addressed. Resources should be made readily accessible to school districts so they can take the initiative to address LGBT issues.

Bullying of LGBT students is just the "tip of the iceberg" for schools. Schools' systemic issue with LGBT students includes bullying but also includes a lack of safeguards and curriculum that address the needs of LGBT students.

State Interventions
Given the fact that LGBT issues are often ignored, Safeguards and curriculum will not have a place in a school system without help from the individual state education departments. States need to step in and establish laws that force school districts to create school board policies and school codes of conduct that have inclusive language which includes sexual orientation, gender expression, religion and gender.

As much as state interventions do not always play a positive role in school systems, these laws can be very positive because they give students, parents, staff and administrators who care deeply about this topic, the leverage they need to make changes within their schools.

In New York State, the Dignity for All Students Act was established in 2010 which mandates districts to have school board policies and codes of conduct in place that safeguard students based on religion, sexual orientation and gender expression. School systems must have these safeguards in place by July 1st, 2012.

In addition to New York State, Washington State already has an anti-discrimination law in place which was passed in 2010. As of last month, all school districts in Washington State are required to adopt state policy and procedure that expressly prohibit the bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity.

The Washington State Education Department's School Safety website provides important resources for school districts. Those resources cover safeguards for students who are being bullied, media campaigns such as "It Gets Better", national LGBT organizations and state-wide LGBT parent groups and organizations. In addition to the other resources available, the School Safety website created a webpage for students in crisis called SOS for Youth. That particular webpage provides students with confidential and immediate access to helplines (School Safety website).

Exposure
Many people believe that school districts need to move faster where the exposure to LGBT students is concerned. Other groups believe that school districts are moving too quickly and should not expose students to LGBT issues. Regardless of which side of the LGBT issue people finds themselves on, we can all agree that this student population is at risk and needs the assistance of school districts in order to obtain a quality education.

Follow Peter on Twitter. His book entitled Dignity for All: Safeguarding LGBT Students will be published by Corwin Press in the spring of 2012.

Roper, Larry D. (2005). The Role of Senior Student Affaris Officers in Supporting LGBT Students: Exploring the Landscape of One's Life, New Directions for Student Services no. 111, pp. 81-88.

Sears, J. T. (1991). Helping Students Understand and Accept Sexual Diversity. Educational Leadership , 54-56.

Posted by Peter DeWitt at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Recently there have been a few high profile cheating scandals in Atlanta and Philadelphia. The school systems blamed their behavior on school leaders who created a culture of fear all in an effort to make sure their school system would not remain on a "failing" list. These recent stories about cheating left me conflicted. Conflicted between the idea that high stakes testing means that much that school systems have to cheat in order to look better and the idea that we are teaching our students that cheating can be done when the stakes are high.

As much as each school has an excuse for cheating on high stakes testing, and as sad as it is that they thought that was their only option, there are students and teachers within those schools that are now suffering the consequences. Through these scandals students have lost faith in their schools because they understand that cheating is wrong. The reputations of those schools are tarnished and it will take a long time to get the positive reputation back but they can do it with the right leadership.

Blanket Rules
In an effort to stop school systems from cheating, some state education departments are establishing new rules on cheating on high stakes testing. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is trying to establish new rules that will stop schools from cheating before it starts. Although I am happy to see a state taking the cheating scandal seriously, do blanket rules really need to be created to stop this problem?

Blanket rules are often created in order to stop an issue. However, making a blanket rule for all school systems when only a few are at fault seems like a waste of time. Most schools understand that cheating is wrong and make sure the tests are secure. Most times blanket rules do not work because the schools that were at fault, and those that planned to follow suit with cheating, would most likely not follow those rules in the first place. Do we really need to tell schools that cheating isn't acceptable? Shouldn't they know that already?

In the past few years during the summer, there have been older kids that have come to my school to spray graffiti on the walls when no one was around. Although they were caught on camera, would a sign that states "No Spraying Graffiti" have deterred them from writing vulgar words on the wall? Would they really look at the sign and say, "Oh! I didn't know we couldn't spray those words on the wall!" It doesn't matter how many rules are created, dishonest people will find a way to break them. Until a strong person within the organization blows the whistle on the cheaters, it will not end. Why are schools paying for the cheating of a few? Is this symbolic to show the NYSED is doing their job?

Proctors and Time
One of the changes requires schools to change who proctors the exams in each classroom. Therefore a teacher will not be allowed to proctor the exam that their students are taking. Not only is this offensive to teachers because it treats them like cheaters, it will be impossible for schools to accommodate this request. In the past two years, because of declining budgets and a lack of funding, we have had to lay off teachers. We simply do not have the staff to cover different classrooms that are taking the test at the same exact time over the same exact number of days.

If we are going to treat teachers like cheaters before the exam, then changing staff around so each teacher proctors the exam of one of their colleagues will not be enough. If one teacher was going to cheat, or if the principal creates a culture of fear where cheating is commonplace, will it really matter whether we exchange a few proctors for another?

The reality is that all of these new changes seem to be one more step away from what schools need to do to properly educate their students. High stakes testing is harmful enough but now we have to abide by new rules that seem to tell us that our state education departments are out of touch with what school systems are doing. The hidden message seems to be that our state education departments do not trust us. This all happens at a time when high stakes testing has created a lack of trust toward the state education departments. The divisive issue of high stakes testing seems to be getting worse.

What's the Real Issue?
I believe that the state education departments can play an active and positive role in the lives of students. There are many committees that do great work with schools but too often those committees are few and far between. It would be great if state education departments really listened to the input they always ask for from us.

The real issue seems to be that high stakes testing creates fear among students, teachers and administrators. Those individuals have the potential to go to extreme lengths to make sure that their school is not seen as a failing or sub-par school. Sadly, all of the other great things that they do throughout the year are lost in order to "perform" better on a test.

We seem to be moving in a direction where the next step will be to have state education "representatives" show up to each school to make sure the test is being given properly. As much as some administrators may be creating a culture of fear, it seems that culture of fear is ultimately being set by high stakes testing and state and federal education departments.

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Posted by Peter DeWitt at 5:52 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Schools are working very hard on establishing data points for students to follow their progress during their school years. We research formative and summative assessments and look into what tools other school districts are using so we can try get a better understanding of our students. However, it seems as though searching for good data is a fruitless effort because high stakes testing is the only data that matters.

When the state education departments in the U.S. announce that high stakes testing results are out, local newspapers and media all focus on the results. Newspapers compare schools from across their region, instead of comparing like schools which would be much more valid. Local news stations wait until primetime and use it as one of their leading stories. Both the newspapers and television media provide links to the scores on their websites.

Some national "education" websites add links for parents that say, "See how your kids are doing." Clicking on the link will bring parents to the school's score on high stakes testing. Those links do not announce the percentage of students who receive free/reduced lunch or the amount of per pupil expenditure. That information is most likely ignored for obvious reasons, such as the fact that there is such a discrepancy in the amount schools can afford to spend on their students which is probably tied to the increasing number of students receiving free/reduced lunch.

The hidden message behind this sad reality is that all the other things educators do throughout their day seem not to matter to the public at large. When we progress monitor our students and see that their Lexile score increased by 10 or 20%, newspapers do not print that information. News anchors do not use that as one of their top stories. Yes, I understand that I am being a bit unrealistic when I say that.

Hidden Message
When the only links provided focus on state assessments it adds to the misperception that tests are the only thing that matter. We know there are many others important aspects to a school day that have a much larger impact on our students. Unfortunately, state assessments are categorized under the large umbrella of data, which is giving data a bad name.

Although the state assessments seem to be the most popular for of data (for a number of reasons) there are other forms of data that educators prefer to use. We progress monitor our students with standardized assessments (ex. AIMSWeb) at least three times a year. Some students are assessed more than that to see if they are making progress.

In addition, teachers use formative and summative assessments. Many school districts have been creating curriculum maps over the past few years so that teachers at the same grade level are teaching the same curriculum. Many teachers and administrators have worked collaboratively to create summative and formative assessments that are valid and reliable.

Parent Reaction
What state education departments need to understand is that we hear from many parents over the summer and into the fall. When the results are not in, those of us in the public school system sometimes get accused of hiding the results, when the true reality is that we do not have them.

When we do get the results, our state education departments tell us that they are encumbered, so we really are not allowed to tell parents the score. The encumbered dates used to be about two weeks, which gave schools time to come up with plans for those children who scored a two, when they normally had a better academic performance in the classroom.

However, now the encumbered dates are less than five days, which does not allow time to accurately prepare for drastic changes in the number of students who receive a 2. Considering the state assessments seem to have become more difficult over the past two years, and the cut scores that differentiate a 2 and a 3 got higher, we have seen an increase in the number of students who received a 2.

There are parents who tell us that the state assessments do not accurately measure what their children know and they don't want their children labeled as a 1, 2 or 3. Most parents enjoy having their child labeled as a 4. We know that our progress monitoring tools are much more accurate than state assessments. Perhaps it's the fact that they are not as stress-inducing or the idea that we do not have to wait months for the results.

The Whole Child
Fortunately, there are organizations like the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) which focus on the whole child. The whole child initiative looks at the social and emotional well-being of children. ASCD also focuses on how teachers creatively instruct their students. They make strong connections with their students and connect their students to the outside world. However, not enough organizations push for focusing on the whole child.

As we talk about education and hear about it on the news or in the papers, the state assessments are the only data points that we hear about. It's not that educators do not want to share their information about progress monitoring and other forms of data; it just seems that the state assessments are the only data that really matter to everyone other than educators.

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Posted by Peter DeWitt at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Around the Chapel,
Of Old St. Paul,
Blow the dancing leaves
Of the coming Fall.
In the morning breeze
They leap and fly
Beneath the towers
That scrape the sky (The Little Chapel That Stood, 2003).

The summer is a great time to reflect on past, present and future practices as we sit in our empty buildings spending quality time with out secretaries. As administrators, how can we have a bigger impact on our students? How can I get students to want to talk with me instead of having them fear my title? How do I reconnect with the teacher I used to be before I became a principal? The older I get, the more there is a chance I will become disconnected.

It all begins with reading. I was having an issue making it to each classroom to read, so I decided to meet the kids on common ground...in the library. We will have "Story Hour" every week in our school and I am the reader. Deb, our school librarian will provide me with some great books and I'll pick a few of my favorites as well. We also plan on choosing books that have the same curriculum focus as the grade levels I will be reading to.

I orginally planned one session, but quickly added three more sessions to the day. The Little Chapel That Stood was the first book I read to our 2nd through 5th graders. Although I will not always read books that have such a heavy message, it was important for 9/11 to be a part of our conversation. The students have been exposed to the tragic event through the media and conversations at home with their parents so many had some basic knowledge of the event.

As I begin my sixth year as the principal, I have been brainstorming ways to engage our students and get to know them better. I take them off the bus every morning with the assistance of our teacher's aides, stop by their classrooms to say good morning, eat lunch with them and try to learn all of their names (a little over 400 kids!) but I want to do more.

Over the past two years we have seen so many tough times in education that we need to find fun ways to connect with our students, and there is no better way to do that than through good literature. As much as observing classes is a great way to see teachers and students in action, I wanted a way where I could be responsible for providing them with some educational lessons.

Books with a Message
I have to admit that I was apprehensive about reading the book entitled The Little Chapel That Stood to our elementary students last Friday. The story, which was written by A.B. Curtiss and illustrated by Mirto Golino, is about St. Paul's Chapel which is across the street from where the World Trade Centers once stood. The strong little chapel was built in the mid-1700's and still stands today. It has quite the history.

We all remember where we were on 9/11. It was a day that we all felt unsafe, stunned and we were not sure how to move on. That insecure feeling still surfaces as I think about that day because the whole event still seems so raw.

As the centuries passed,
And the city grew
Dense
Its buildings grew higher
And wider,
Immense.
And tallest and grandest,
The city's great pride,
The New York
Twin Towers
Rose up by its side (Curtiss, 2003).

Now that we have approached the tenth anniversary of that tragic day, our school was trying to figure out how to commemorate it and educate our students in a natural way. To avoid the conversation about September 11th with our students would be irresponsible. As a public school system it is our job to discuss events like this with our students. We just need to do it in an age appropriate manner.

We have a tendency to make reading so scientific that sometimes we forget to make it fun. As a principal, I think it is really important that I make it fun because too often I'm the symbol of discipline and order. I want to be the symbol of fun and excitement. It's kind of like a campfire story without the campfire. Our goal is to find ways to bond closer together, which reading definitely does, and The Little Chapel That Stood is definitely a story about an event that bonds us together.

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Curtiss, A.B. & Mirto Golino (2003). The Little Chapel That Stood. Old Castle Publishing. CA.

Posted by Peter DeWitt at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"We have spent so many years kicking the can down the road that the can is kicking back." Unknown

Across the country this year, many public school districts saw their budgets get voted down and they were forced to make more cuts or go into a contingency budget. As we enter the new school year, students, staff and parents are beginning to see the effects of their defeated budgets.

Many people, businesses and institutions have spent years not living within their means, and we are all paying for it in a variety of ways. Given the cuts to state funding we are all seeing, it's time to re-evaluate what we are doing because frankly, we don't have a choice.

There are a variety of reasons why communities vote down budgets. Sometimes the budgets are voted down because there is a huge increase that taxpayers cannot afford (i.e.15 to 20%). Other times it's that communities want schools to stay within a 0% to 2% range and when the school district doesn't do that the community voices their opinion through voting no on the budget. Other times, it's that the community has no confidence in the work that the schools are doing.

Regardless of the reason why a budget gets voted down, students pay the price both directly and indirectly. As much as school districts try to stay away from cuts that will affect students directly, it's impossible to make sure that students go unscathed.

One direct cost to a failed budget is the loss of programs. Typically the arts, music and library are cut; as are valuable staff who have a daily impact on students. School days are shortened and there is a loss of teacher's aides and other "non-essential" positions. Although they are referred to as "non-essential" these people and positions are very essential to student academic needs, especially given the increase in mandates we have seen over the years.

High school students feel the pain because they have to offer fewer electives to students. This means that high school students miss out on taking classes that will help them become well-rounded citizens. A less well-rounded student misses out on building a resume that will help them stand out to the colleges they apply to. It also means that they may miss out on taking a class that helps prepare them to be career and college ready.

As harmful as the direct costs are to students, the indirect costs are equally as damaging. Many elementary schools see an increase in teacher duties, and school days have decreased, which means there isn't time to invest in planning and preparing for those extra events students have become accustomed to like assemblies and morning programs. Field trips are also an indirect cost. Given the rising cost of gas, schools can no longer afford to pay for extra trips so students miss out on exposure to experiences that they may not see with their own families.

In addition, schools are often used by outside organizations because they may be the only buildings in town that accommodate events such as basketball, cheerleading, dance, and Boy Scouts. During tough economic times when budgets go down, districts have to begin asking those outside organizations to pay for building use. Many of those organizations, which include PTA fundraisers during off-school hours, cannot afford to pay that building use fee.

Times have certainly changed for many school districts, whether their budgets were voted down or not. These changing times have an effect on students. As much as community members may say that they went to school where their were 35 students in their class and they turned out "just fine," the reality is that schools back then did not have any of the mandates that they do now. Add in the accountability that so many politicians refer to, and we have an increase mandates and a decrease in the time and money to meet them.

As school systems we have to adapt to the change but also look for opportunities to maintain positive learning environments for our students, whether that is through the use of creative master scheduling, team-teaching or trying to find fun and innovative events that also happen to be inexpensive. Whatever the solution is to our current situations, we know it will be different for all of us.

The other day a news commentator said that, "we have spent so many years kicking the can down the road that the can is kicking back." The reality is that all of those years of overspending and the lack of accountability on the part of those in power are working against us and our students will feel some of the pain.

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Posted by Peter DeWitt at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Officials need not endorse any particular student organization, but federal law requires that they afford all student groups the same opportunities to form, to convene on school grounds, and to have access to the same resources available to other student groups (Duncan, 2011, p.2).*

Some schools can be cold and unfriendly. Perhaps it's because they are unsafe or there is an over-focus on academics and an under-focus on school climate. It has been said that you can tell the climate of a school within the first two minutes you walk in the entrance. Do we have a school that is resistant to change? Staff of a resistant school are set in old ways and not always open-minded to the changing times. Members of an inclusive school, however, work hard to find ways to include all students, parents, and staff. An inclusive school is open to creativity and diversity.

Whether we like it or not, as administrators we are responsible for that. That is not to say that teachers, students, and staff also do not play an important part in school climate; it's just that we set the tone. When we know about issues, it is our job to address them. One of the issues that many schools have is an unfriendly atmosphere, which can have devastating effects on student performance.

When we have a building with an unfriendly atmosphere, a percentage of our students feel that unfriendliness and become disengaged. They say things like, "They don't care about me," or "I can't wait to get out of here." School should not be a place where they just do seat time until they can get out and pursue what they really want to do. When we ignore the percentage of students who do not fit in, we are just perpetuating their insecurities that we do not want them to fit in.

Parents also feel a positive or negative school climate when they visit the school. A parent who feels unwelcome is less likely to visit and more likely to say negative things about the school. When we have less parental involvement, we have established a culture that seems uncaring. Parents and students can be our best allies during these times when it seems like education is under attack. Instead of being our biggest critics, they can be our biggest cheerleaders, just as we should be for them. The best school systems know how to include parents. They also understand how to engage all students.

The following are some ways that you can build an inclusive school:

• Use inclusive language for all races, gender, and sexual orientation and prevent others from talking about those groups in a derogatory way.
• Participate in GLSEN's No Name Calling Week - www.glsen.org
• Purchase a Safe Space Kit for your school. For more information, go to www.glsen.org
• Include diverse literature in your classroom and library. Diverse means literature that focuses on single-parent, same-sex parent, and adoptive parent households. It also includes family structures with children being raised by an aunt and uncle or grandparents.
• Adopt character education words like respect, acceptance, and honesty. Do not use the word tolerance. People want to be accepted, not tolerated.
• Send staff research-based articles that focus on respectful school cultures. Education Week, Educational Leadership, NAESP, and NASSP are great resources that can offer these articles.
• Send staff opinion pieces about inclusive school cultures. Opinion pieces can provoke thought and debate among your staff.
• Send staff research-based articles that address bullying of LGBT students.
• Discuss the need for an inclusive school culture at faculty meetings. An inclusive school includes acceptance of all students regardless of gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
• Create a Principal's Advisory Council (PAC) or cabinet and focus on school culture as your main priority. Brainstorm ways that you can create a more accepting school system. Don't have numerous goals. Collaborate with the team to establish one goal and then make an action plan.
• If you tell staff that using homophobic or gender-biased language is inappropriate, they will listen. If you are an administrator who believes in gender biases and homophobia, your staff will hear that as well.
• Train staff to address issues they hear and see in the hallway. They cannot ignore those issues. It's easier for staff members to walk away when they hear homophobic language. Teach them how to address it.
• Establish a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) in your school. Instead of waiting for a student to do so, it would be even more powerful if you, as the administrator, established a GSA for your students.

In these times of anonymous blogs and adults who are quick to tell us what they hate about the work we do, instead of offering to suggestions to help, trying to move out of the status quo can be difficult and you will receive pushback from some community members and some staff.

It's hard to make changes because although most people are always supportive, there will always be a few who are not. It is better to be hated for doing the right thing than to be hated for doing the wrong thing. Creating an inclusive school community for all students is the right thing to do because it allows a place in your school for all students, regardless of gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

* Duncan, Arne (2011); Dear Colleague Letter; United States Department of Education; Washington, D.C.

Whitaker, T. (2003). What Great Principals Do Differently. Columbus: Eye on Education.

Posted by Peter DeWitt at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"One of the biggest barriers to improvement in school systems is the presence of punitive accountability. If you fail you will be put on a watch list. We have already seen that punishment (and even its opposite, reward) can never lead to intrinsic motivation to put in effort to solve a problem and to sustain one's interest in solving inevitable future problems" (Fullan, p.79).

Improvement is a word we often hear in education but many of you reading this have probably not seen improvement in quite some time. Most educators are concerned that we are being forced in the opposite direction. We all have seen school closures, low enrollment, budget deficits, high class sizes, defeated school budgets, teacher and administrator lay-offs, and an overemphasis on high stakes testing.

It's hard to focus on improvement in a school building or classroom when so many outside influences are working against us, but these are the times when we have to find a glimmer of hope for our students. We have to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off at the knees, and start moving forward in a positive direction. It doesn't mater whether you are leading a district, building or classroom, we must remain a positive influence for our students. However, as we move forward we must also question our state and federal mandates (i.e. NCLB, RTTT, High Stakes Testing) and it is possible to do both.

One way I try to erase the negativity and focus on the positive is take advice from some of my favorite authors and educational leaders. An author and leader who inspires me to work toward my greatest potential is Michael Fullan. Dr. Fullan is an international leader in educational change and has consulted and engaged in change projects all over the world. He has written numerous books that have been translated into many different languages.

Dr. Fullan's insight into education is based on his own experiences and the work he has done to help schools improve. His philosophy can be used in classrooms, school buildings and districts. After reading his newest book entitled Change Leader (jossey-Bass), I contacted Dr. Fullan to ask him a few questions.

Interview
PD: You believe collaboration between adults can lead to creative solutions. How can we teach students to collaborate effectively?

MF: We have some of the best pedagogical strategies coming through now in our present educational time. For example, embedded informative assessment involves students looking at their own work and working with each other to give positive feedback and constructive criticism within frameworks and standards. Overall, the good news is that pedagogy and teamwork go together.

PD: In a time when it seems that state and federal mandates are taking the creativity out of classrooms, how do we generate energy and passion in our students through action (p.34)?

MF: The new Common Core State Standards have creativity within their framework. Given that they allow for creativity makes the new standards a lot better than what No Child Left Behind generated. However, there is a danger in that the standards strongly emphasize ELA and Math, which means they may be conceived too narrowly by those who have to teach them.

Those of us who are concerned with the wider curriculum, for example Sir Ken Robinson, think that we need to take this opportunity to redefine the curriculum using the Common Core Standards as a leverage point and make sure that the creativity part is included, so I think there is an opening there.

PD: Doesn't the introduction to the Common Core Standards articulate that it should be used as a base and not the end all to be all?

MF: Yes, I think part of the issue is that we do not want educators to become passive implementers of it but to be proactive and use this as an opportunity to redefine the curriculum more broadly.

PD: You wrote a lot about impressive empathy, which is the ability to understand others who disagree with you; how can we educate our students on that concept?

MF: This is really part of our curriculum conversation. If you look at 21st century goals, they have to deal with race and cultural diversity. We have to teach students about understanding diversity and citizenship. We do not have to look at these issues one item at a time. Rather, we need to look at these issues and build empathy as an integrated system and teach students these things in an effort to educate them on how to be a global citizen

PD: There is a lot of research about the impact that poverty has on learning. How do we "stay the course" and create achievable goals for our students when they have so many outside influences working against them at home?

MF: There are two parts to this problem. One part is the living conditions our students go home to. The other part is what the school can do to have an impact.

My own personal view is that we know that the school can make a difference even within those difficult systems. Rick Dafore created the 90/90/90 Framework which basically says you can get ethnic minority students to reach a goal of 90% success.

In addition, we have worked with school systems in the U.S. and Canada and have success with students who come from high poverty backgrounds. As a school system you have to work away at those issues and not use it as an excuse.

However, at the same time we need social policies, which we cannot expect teachers to be in the middle of. We need social policies around employment, job opportunities, and housing. Teachers can't do it all, but they can do their part where poverty and education are concerned.

PD: Do you believe NCLB has an impact on your concept of "learning for all"?

MF: NCLB has had a negative impact on education. It has had minimal value on putting the spotlight on those who are disadvantaged, which we all knew beforehand. It has been helpful to open the door a little on that issue. However, it has been a dysfunctional policy because it is too narrow.

In addition, there has really been no successful strategy to implement it. The standards set by NCLB are all over the place and most of us believe that NCLB has been a failure when you add it all up. Now, in addition to NCLB we have initiatives like Race To The Top (RTTT) and it's time to rectify the failure it has helped create (End of Interview).

Change Leader offers great information and resources that we can use, but only if we allow ourselves to be open to using that information in a positive way. We cannot use present roadblocks to prevent us from educating our students. We must still find opportunities to meet their needs, even during the toughest of times.

In an effort to change our direction and lead our districts, buildings and classrooms in a positive direction we must look within ourselves to find the strength and wisdom to help meet the needs of our students. We need to continue to find creative and innovative ways to engage our students (ex. problem-based learning, inquiry-based teaching methods, etc.). Administrators and teachers need to work as cohesive teams to improve their schools, and collaborate with each other to find solutions to the current educational problems we all face.

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Dr. Michael Fullan is an international leader on educational change. He has developed partnerships to bring about major school improvements and is engaged in training, consulting and evaluation of change projects around the world. Dr. Fullan's newest book is entitled Change Leader. He can be found at www.michaelfullan.ca

Fullan, Michael (2011). Change Leader. Jossey-Bass.

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