Should the United States move towards national standards? A few weeks ago the NY Times reported that nearly every state in the nation had declared intentions to participate in the crafting and adoption of national standards, and many voices, from Arne Duncan to Randi Wiengarten, have expressed their support for the move. While some supporters qualify their support, including the aforementioned union leader (Wiengarten), over the past several years playmakers from all different dimensions of education have come to acknowledge the sense the US developing and adopting national standards. If the Europeans and Japanese do it, and they get better test scores, shouldn't we?
I support the development and adoption of national standards for most of the reasons commonly cited: uniform measures of accountability for students, teachers, and schools across the country; coherence of basic core skills and knowledge for all Americans; "economies of scale" in terms of developing instructional materials and curricula that can be transferable across state-lines; and feasibility of teachers to move without their experience loosing a its value due to considerable changes in content.
And then, the other shoe drops, the long expected "but." In our conversations about national standards, I sometimes hear opponents mention the loss of autonomy for schools and teachers (and states), and the related limitations national standards might place on local communities as they try to accommodate local challenges. These are valid concerns, and actually point to a larger issue, which could be converted to an opportunity: as we move toward national standards, we ought have a national conversation. If we as a nation are to adopt national standards, now is the time for people at all levels of society to speak up about what is important for the next generation to learn. How should schools look in the 21st century? What are the challenges that the next generation will have to solve? How can we impart them with the skills and knowledge to face these challenges and prevail?
I'm not hearing this conversation, and the fault for that is widespread. We should adopt national standards, but that should occur as we as a nation come to some kind of agreement about the manner and priorities our education system should embody. Inevitably, Americans will agree that some level of autonomy for schools and teachers should be maintained. Where we draw this line, however, (as well as many others), should emerge out of a vigor debate. So far, I'm still waiting to hear.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
East Africa and the News
African history, politics and economics has had a long, slow introduction into the core curriculum of American education, and it couldn't be too soon. As our world increasingly globalizes, the significance of Africa's problems and successes will have ever closer links to our lives, and the next generation will need to be prepared to face the realities coming out of Africa head on.
But herein lies the problem: too often all we do is talk about "Africa," as if everything there is the same. Our modern understanding of Africa is a mosaic of images and headlines, from famine in Ethiopia, genocide in Rwanda, and the the World Cup in South Africa, yet somehow Americans still confuse Africa for a single country. Therefore, when the headline "The threat from East Africa" crop ups in the Washington Post last week, the reader needs to have some prior knowledge to digest the treatment of terrorist threats in Uganda and Somalia. How do we insure that that young people in middle school or high school today are getting the education necessary to fend off threats in the coming decades?
To understand foreign cultures, polities, and economies that shape our world, students need a rigorous education at the secondary level. When it comes to Africa, for instance, students need to know the regional differences between East, West, Sub-saharan and North Africa. They would need to know about the distribution of natural resources, about the patterns of religion and language, about the formations of collective security and pockets of anarchy. Currently, students will only get exposure to these ideas as a unit or part of a unit in a world history class, and maybe will read a book like Things Fall Apart. I think few people would argue that these treatments of Africa are sufficient; the same could be said of our average urban school's current curriculum offerings regarding the Middle East, China, and India; finance; linguistics; health; hands on skills and the arts.
As we open the "paper" each day, let us run a test in our minds to see what skills and knowledge someone would need to understand a headline article, and more importantly, respond to it. Then, let us reflect on how effectively we build our school curriculums to guarantee that students gain these skills.
But herein lies the problem: too often all we do is talk about "Africa," as if everything there is the same. Our modern understanding of Africa is a mosaic of images and headlines, from famine in Ethiopia, genocide in Rwanda, and the the World Cup in South Africa, yet somehow Americans still confuse Africa for a single country. Therefore, when the headline "The threat from East Africa" crop ups in the Washington Post last week, the reader needs to have some prior knowledge to digest the treatment of terrorist threats in Uganda and Somalia. How do we insure that that young people in middle school or high school today are getting the education necessary to fend off threats in the coming decades?
To understand foreign cultures, polities, and economies that shape our world, students need a rigorous education at the secondary level. When it comes to Africa, for instance, students need to know the regional differences between East, West, Sub-saharan and North Africa. They would need to know about the distribution of natural resources, about the patterns of religion and language, about the formations of collective security and pockets of anarchy. Currently, students will only get exposure to these ideas as a unit or part of a unit in a world history class, and maybe will read a book like Things Fall Apart. I think few people would argue that these treatments of Africa are sufficient; the same could be said of our average urban school's current curriculum offerings regarding the Middle East, China, and India; finance; linguistics; health; hands on skills and the arts.
As we open the "paper" each day, let us run a test in our minds to see what skills and knowledge someone would need to understand a headline article, and more importantly, respond to it. Then, let us reflect on how effectively we build our school curriculums to guarantee that students gain these skills.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
New York's Planning in Light of Higher Standards
New York State raised the bar this year on their state tests and the results are discussed last week here in the NYTimes. In schools across the state, test scores dropped dramatically, and the reality that half or more of New York's students are below proficient has been exposed.
In light of these results, little has yet been said about what kind of changes will need to take place so that we can actually see the various achievement gaps close: the absolute gaps between the standards and our kids' performance, and the racial and socio-economic gaps in performance between over and under-privileged kids.
What will we do? New York City has put 27,000 kids who scored lowest on their tests into summer school. However, summer school is usually Monday-Thursday, 8AM-1PM, runs only 4-6 weeks, and is usually taught identically (only faster) than the way subjects are taught in the school year. We are going to need to implement much more change for the gap to close.
Education reform has introduced all kinds of new changes in the past decade, from charter schools to merit pay. At last the most successful movement of "accountability" and testing are forcing to the surface information about our students' true lack of achievement. It is now time to look at some more substantive changes to our system's curriculum and pedagogy. Reforms that focus on interdisciplinary, problem-based learning would be one important area to focus on; providing more support for systematic differentiated instruction (ie, diverse course offerings) would be another.
In light of these results, little has yet been said about what kind of changes will need to take place so that we can actually see the various achievement gaps close: the absolute gaps between the standards and our kids' performance, and the racial and socio-economic gaps in performance between over and under-privileged kids.
What will we do? New York City has put 27,000 kids who scored lowest on their tests into summer school. However, summer school is usually Monday-Thursday, 8AM-1PM, runs only 4-6 weeks, and is usually taught identically (only faster) than the way subjects are taught in the school year. We are going to need to implement much more change for the gap to close.
Education reform has introduced all kinds of new changes in the past decade, from charter schools to merit pay. At last the most successful movement of "accountability" and testing are forcing to the surface information about our students' true lack of achievement. It is now time to look at some more substantive changes to our system's curriculum and pedagogy. Reforms that focus on interdisciplinary, problem-based learning would be one important area to focus on; providing more support for systematic differentiated instruction (ie, diverse course offerings) would be another.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Be cool, stay in school
As we are now living through the hottest year on record, I wonder how teachers and education leaders across the country are (or aren't) reflecting on what lessons they need to incorporate into their classes. It's all too easy, especially if you don't see the school's electric bill, to just crank on the A/C (assuming you have that option) and just forget about the huge amount of coal burning it requires to power these energy intensive machines.
Stan Cox's recent book Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World confronts the fact that the US now spends more money cooling our homes than heating them. I observe this trend of individual acclimatization to cooler indoor temperatures with dismay it seems many people I know can hardly tolerate sitting in a room during summer time that is warmer that 75%; nary a business would fathom turning up the thermostat above 68%; and public transportation, if the devices are working, blast the A/C so high that my sweat from outside evaporates into a chill.
I'd like to see schools take this issue on, as an opportunity to accomplish a number of goals: keep classrooms cooler without A/C, and explicitly teaching students how it is done; reduce energy costs and thus save money; use energy use within the classroom as a teachable moment that connects the earth science, engineering, economics, and ethics.
How do we do this? Well for starters, I'll share an excerpt from an email I got from a company called "Vivaterra" that I once bought a bamboo floor mat from. It's a great list to help with summer living and who knows? Maybe for lesson planning?
"Chill Outside
- Freeze grapes, blueberries or chunks of juicy watermelon and set them out in a bowl for cooling nibbles.
- Drink lots of chilled beverages like lemonade or sun tea.
- Avoid using the oven or stove: think salads, cold soups, or snack food that can be eaten room temperature.
- Dine alfresco or picnic in the backyard for every meal including breakfast—it feels festive, too.
- Camp in your own backyard for fresh air dreams.
Shady Behavior
- Keep windows & window coverings closed during the day.
- In the evening, create a cross current with open windows and doors to catch the breeze.
- Or, as a more extreme measure, hang wet sheets over your open windows at night to create natural air-conditioning.
- Re-visit the lost art of porch sitting in the evening.
- Plant trees around your house: the shade trees offer reduces the amount of energy needed to cool off your home by as much as 50%.
- Replace incandescent lights with CFLs that emit less heat.
Sweet Siestas
- Take afternoon naps on the weekend and stay up late to enjoy the cooler evening air outdoors.
- Take a cool shower and get into bed on a towel without drying off; the moisture evaporates and cools you down as you drift off to sleep.
- Choose breathable bamboo sheets that wick away moisture and are cool to the touch.
- Mist your bed linens and spritz yourself with a spray bottle filled with soothing lavender water; keep it handy for late night tossing and turning.
Keep Your Inner Cool
- Don’t expend a lot of your personal energy.
- Stay cool when you’re stressed with meditation.
- Keep the peace by avoiding needless “hot air” arguments.
Stan Cox's recent book Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World confronts the fact that the US now spends more money cooling our homes than heating them. I observe this trend of individual acclimatization to cooler indoor temperatures with dismay it seems many people I know can hardly tolerate sitting in a room during summer time that is warmer that 75%; nary a business would fathom turning up the thermostat above 68%; and public transportation, if the devices are working, blast the A/C so high that my sweat from outside evaporates into a chill.
I'd like to see schools take this issue on, as an opportunity to accomplish a number of goals: keep classrooms cooler without A/C, and explicitly teaching students how it is done; reduce energy costs and thus save money; use energy use within the classroom as a teachable moment that connects the earth science, engineering, economics, and ethics.
How do we do this? Well for starters, I'll share an excerpt from an email I got from a company called "Vivaterra" that I once bought a bamboo floor mat from. It's a great list to help with summer living and who knows? Maybe for lesson planning?
"Chill Outside
- Freeze grapes, blueberries or chunks of juicy watermelon and set them out in a bowl for cooling nibbles.
- Drink lots of chilled beverages like lemonade or sun tea.
- Avoid using the oven or stove: think salads, cold soups, or snack food that can be eaten room temperature.
- Dine alfresco or picnic in the backyard for every meal including breakfast—it feels festive, too.
- Camp in your own backyard for fresh air dreams.
Shady Behavior
- Keep windows & window coverings closed during the day.
- In the evening, create a cross current with open windows and doors to catch the breeze.
- Or, as a more extreme measure, hang wet sheets over your open windows at night to create natural air-conditioning.
- Re-visit the lost art of porch sitting in the evening.
- Plant trees around your house: the shade trees offer reduces the amount of energy needed to cool off your home by as much as 50%.
- Replace incandescent lights with CFLs that emit less heat.
Sweet Siestas
- Take afternoon naps on the weekend and stay up late to enjoy the cooler evening air outdoors.
- Take a cool shower and get into bed on a towel without drying off; the moisture evaporates and cools you down as you drift off to sleep.
- Choose breathable bamboo sheets that wick away moisture and are cool to the touch.
- Mist your bed linens and spritz yourself with a spray bottle filled with soothing lavender water; keep it handy for late night tossing and turning.
Keep Your Inner Cool
- Don’t expend a lot of your personal energy.
- Stay cool when you’re stressed with meditation.
- Keep the peace by avoiding needless “hot air” arguments.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Food in Schools
A coworker of mine, Kate Quarfordt, writes a column for the Huffington Post. She just put out a new piece called "The Kids Who Want Kale" and it's worth a read to see how one urban school, in this case, mine, is confronting issues of food, nutrition, health and the environment.
In this age we have to continually look at our food choices and consider their impact on our minds, bodies, and environment. Research, experience, and plain common sense teach us that when one eats well, it has an enormous impact on performance and well-being. Now that our kids are asking for better food, will the adults, who should know better, help them get it?
In this age we have to continually look at our food choices and consider their impact on our minds, bodies, and environment. Research, experience, and plain common sense teach us that when one eats well, it has an enormous impact on performance and well-being. Now that our kids are asking for better food, will the adults, who should know better, help them get it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)