Volunteering

Childrens Home Society offers a multitude of services to families in need in Central Florida.  I will be participating in a mentoring program assisting children with one or more parent who is incarcerated.  The program looks to be immensely valuable to families dealing with the mixed emotions that go along with raising children who are trying to understand a situation that is difficult and painful.  The mentoring program begins with a training program involving information, conversations and situational discussions.  Having now passed through that phase of my volunteering experience, I will be interviewed, finger printed and then matched with a child. I am looking forward to the next step.

Revolution or Evolution?

    Discussion this week at school has focused on how brisk our attempts to reform education should be.  On a local scale, change is slow - those of us who support reform are often stuck in the mire of moving so slowly that it feels like there is no change at all. How do we "do reform?"  Articles suggest systemic change, getting all of the stakeholders on board, developing a sense of urgency, etc.  But little deals with how we commit to change as teachers.  Teachers who are entrenched in a system that rewards mediocrity are often the slowest and most resistant to change.  How do you move toward effective education and serving our youth, especially those most battered by the status quo.  I have been reprimanded for being too revolutionary - for wanting change too quickly, for not giving people "space" to evolve.  I think that I am revolutionary.  To me, if you know based on research, data, experience, etc. that certain methodologies do not work, then why continue to use them??? Evolutionary change sounds fair, good and reasonable, but think about the students who are not being served as we wait for teachers to get on board. To me, it's time to revolutionize teaching, otherwise, we will never get to reform.

They just don't get it...

   Never has it been more apparent to me as to the mess we are in, than to listen to the conversation surrounding the movie "Waiting for Superman."  I have not seen the movie yet, but have heard numerous broadcasts interviews, etc. and am aware of the premise of the film. Now, I tend to be quite liberal politically, but even I can see that we are like ostriches with our heads in the sand if we are unable to recognize many of the underlying truths of this movie. 
    Listening in on a conversation today of teachers (many who I respect as very smart people) and hearing the blind disregard they give to the idea that our urban students are not being served appropriately and fairly is shocking to me.  Blame is everywhere, except where it truly lies - in a society that continuously disregards the suffering of our students who are immersed in poverty and discrimination.  How can we as educators, lay the entire blame for poor schools and academic failures at the door of only the students themselves and their families?  Not until we recognize that we need to change our thinking of "how we do education" will we improve the system.  Certainly, charter schools and destroying public education as we know it is not the answer, nor is it realistic.  But, we must recognize the problems for what they are - that our society is continuing to support a system that rewards the rich and privileged, but ignores those in need. 
     One of the first steps in my opinion, is getting rid of protections for teachers who are not teaching for the right reasons (which the union protects voraciously) and allow our urban schools to attract teachers who want to be there, but at the same time will be paid competitively.  This would, hopefully, encourage more minority teachers into teaching and bring some of our best experienced teachers where they are needed the most.  Just putting the teachers in place is not enough, however.   We must support using specific methodology that will inspire and engage our students and create safe places for them to gain meaningful academic opportunities.
The status quo is unacceptable.  Defending is it inexcusable - let's change the conversation to one that supports what is best for our students, not just our teachers.

Management and Social Skills

   In my readings this week, the focus was on behavior management and social skills instruction in the urban classroom.  According to not only these articles, but teacher conversations, these are the most frustrating to many. It is apparent that the problem lies not just in our students, but in ourselves.  We, as teachers, spend little time treating the cause and most of our energy on the symptoms.  Students want (and are in many cases) used to structure - quite the opposite of what many teachers believe.  I often hear comments from other teachers, like "well, that student has no guidance at home, has no rules, etc."  That may actually be the opposite of what is really going on at home.  Some students are used to very direct and strict rules and they experience the opposite of that in their classrooms.  Often the intentions of good teachers are to give students freedom (hence, make them like us) and yet, what students are used to is knowing what is expected of them and having very specific instruction.
    Now, don't get me wrong - the constructivist approach to teaching is not at odds with this.  In order to be engaged and motivated, our students do need to have input  and take responsibility for their own learning.  However, when it comes to the structure of the classroom, students need to know the limits and boundaries.  This cannot be left up to them - they crave these in order to feel secure.  Once secure, then students can direct their energy to their learning and not to wondering what the expected behavior is and how to negotiate the procedures of the classroom.

Are We Doing What is Right?

  With so much talk about education in the news this week, it seems that everyone is pointing fingers, looking for the causes of our slipping behind other countries in our educational stride.  It is easy to see the problems. As educators we need to look at what we are doing right.  It certainly seems that what is right is not happening on a multi-school level.  Instead it is happening in classrooms in which students are being engaged in work that is meaningful and relevant.  We can give lip service to the idea of embracing cultural diversity in the classroom, but what that really looks like is giving our students care and attention and suppporting  what is important to them.  Teachers must perform a balancing act of sorts to create a learning environment in which students are respected, nurtured and challenged.  These challenges will need to include developing in our students an understanding of how we got where we are - and then how to reconstruct the way we will be in the future.  That will be the future they will live in.  They need to be a part of creating it.

Friday Reflections

     I work in a suburban school. Does that mean that it is "beneath urban?"   I would prefer to think that suburban means that it is in that fuzzy area between city and country. These are assuredly,  kids who reflect much of society today.  They live in between. These are not city kids, but neither are they kids who run around barefoot in fields of green.  They do not take city busses, yet many do not ride school busses, either.  These are students who ride bikes, walk, get dropped off and some do catch the school bus. When they arrive at school, they become part of a melange of young teens.  As I read about urban learners, I consistently see my students in these stories.  Although, many do not live in the same circumstances as some of the students in these articles, many are victims of the same stereotypes and perceptions as those that live in the corridors of the cities. 
     In suburban schools, minority students are still disproportionately labeled as being learning disabled.  These same students have higher rates of discipline referals.  The same conversations about race that are taking place in urban venues need to be taking place in suburban schools as well.  I see students in my school who feel disconnected to the mainstream; there are those who feel they are "selling out" if they yearn to be high-achieving.  Unlike the small school programs that seem to work well for urban youth, in a suburban school like mine, there is little peer pressure to achieve for many suburban minority students and few male role models.  It occured to me that suburban minority youth may sometimes feel more disconnected than some of their urban counterparts because they are not part of the cultural mainstream of the school. As teachers in suburban schools, how do we create learning environments that embrace these students without seeming to single them out?  Building confidence in our students, whatever their cultural background is critical. Whether urban or suburban, all students need to know that they can become engaged in their learning.  These are the challenges facing us.  We can learn much from urban teachers - and perhaps they can also learn from us.

Starting a Collaborative Journey

  This is my first post for my Urban Education journey.  I have titled this blog Urban Collaborative Journey because I will be focusing on how collaboration impacts the education of our students.  As we begin the 21st century in our highly intertwined, connected and complex global neighborhood, working together is crucial to our success as teachers and the future success of our students. 
  In this blog, I will be posting ideas, interests, concerns and insights into how collaboration among teachers and students can create effective and engaging learning environments for our students.  As we utilize and model the dynamic of working together and engaging one another in relevant conversations about learning, I hope that our students will develop a deep respect for dialogue and discussion as they make their way into the world.