Restoring Our Humanity

Recently I've had the pleasure of talking with a number of people involved with public education in different capacities. There have been some interesting convergences in those conversations and in my thinking about education, the range of issues our schools face, how we treat each other, and the political climate in which we are currently living. At this time the government is shut down and we have a humanitarian crisis at our southern border. I shared my feelings on that issue in this blog post. Closer to home, children in area schools are homeless. The fact that they even get to school when their families are living in chaos is a miracle. And once they are there, what is their experience (and how are the students and teachers around them impacted) when they bring that chaos with them? I believe that the most crucial component of education is relationships, a topic we've written quite a bit about on this blog. How do we create positive relationships and strong communities when faced with such difficult realities?

What if we framed our expectations about school, and about our shared humanity, in the following way:

• Everyone in the community is valued
• We are all connected
• We all have talents and gifts that we bring to the community
• It takes time, habits, and support to build and maintain positive relationships

The above points describe Restorative Practices taking place in twelve St. Paul Public Schools. Last week I had the pleasure of learning more from Becky McCammon, the district's Restorative Practices Program Coordinator. After our conversation, I happened to talk with a friend who volunteers in a pre-K classroom at one of those schools. The story she shared with me illustrates how powerfully this framework can address the needs of children and adults in a school and in our wider shared communities. Here is the story that was shared with me, as I understand it. The children's names have been changed for privacy:

Sam is a four-year-old child who is larger than other children his age. His interactions with other students can be physical and seem aggressive. On the day my friend was volunteering, Sam pushed Joe out of his way because Joe had approached and touched him with wet hands. Joe began to cry. A classroom aide saw the incident and asked Sam, who was watching Joe, if there was anything he wanted to say. Sam thought a moment and then said, "I'm sorry I hurt you. I don't like being wet. Will you please go dry your hands?" Joe accepted the apology, dried his hands, and the children were both satisfied and went on with their day.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Joe's feelings were hurt but he accepted Sam's apology. In another time and place four-year-old Sam could become the one who spends more time in the principal's office than the classroom. He could be the one other kids avoid, the one whose interactions with others become more negative over time, the one whose experiences in school (and in life) become punitive rather than transformative. Instead, Sam's school community has decided to do the hard work that comes with recognizing and repairing harm in ways that teach children to take responsibility, and to support them through nurturing relationships. When children "misbehave" our instinct may be to punish, to give time-outs, to remove them from the situation. But that's when they need us the most. As teachers, as parents, our job is to give them the tools to contribute in positive ways to their community, not remove them from it.

Learning about Restorative Practices gives me hope that even when we are confronted with incredibly difficult issues in our schools, we have the tools to make profound changes for children, to set them on a trajectory for success in their lives. Considering how interconnected we all are and how we truly have the same basics needs, the principles behind this framework may just be what we need to begin seeing each other as not so different and treating each other accordingly.

-Dani

I wrote this piece about drills happening at local schools... Active Shooter Drills, called "Code Red" at my daughter's school. I didn't know what to do with these feelings so I'm putting them here. -Dani

Code Red Drill

The Teacher tells the Children

pretend that Someone is in the building, Someone

got past the security system, perhaps slipped by when

someone else was buzzed in.

But this Someone has a weapon, and the Children

only half-listen as they posture for selfies,

worry about wearing the right clothes or
saying the right words or

having the right friends.

They doodle and fidget and tease and laugh.

The Teacher tells them

I won’t make the choice for you if Someone gets in.

We will lock our door and hide and be silent.

But if Someone gets in, You decide to

Hide or

Defend or

Flee.

The Teacher has to teach the Children to fight

for their lives because We have failed them.

Code Red startles me with its simple integration into any school day.

Code Red worries me from sleep.

Code Red enrages me to scream, to plead, to cry, to vote.

Code Red isn’t practice or preparedness

or strategy or curriculum or law.

Code Red is the pathetic result of an apathetic citizenry

gone too far from the sacred when we tell the Children,

My Children, Your Children, OUR CHILDREN to

Hide or

Defend or

Flee.

Fuck Code Red.

Relationships part 2

Relationship building among key people in a school community is the foundation of student achievement. In this blog post we will explore a bit more about how healthy relationships between and among students, teachers, and principals can mean a successful school experience for all.

To begin with, there must be a healthy relationship between principals and teachers. This relationship lays the foundation for the school culture and serves as the model for relationships between teachers and students. The teacher will be most effective when feeling valued, honored, and respected for the person he or she is and the work he or she does. Like any employee/employer relationship, the person in charge holds the most power. That power can take on many forms, including autocratic or collaborative. Studies indicate that collaborative leadership produces the most favorable outcomes. Ask yourself this. Is your school community collaborative?

To begin to answer that question, one must understand how a collaborative school looks and feels. One indicator is that the focus of the school is on the needs of the students. The person who best knows each student and his or her unique needs is the teacher. Every decision that is made must be seen through the perspective of the teacher-student relationship. Whether it is a decision about building, time, recess, homework, or lunchroom behavior for example, these topics must be discussed in the context of what is best for the students and teachers. Another indicator is a principal who creates an environment where collaboration with teachers is not only valued, but made to flourish. That is a collaborative school environment. An autocratic principalship does not work in this type of school.

The best example we have personally experienced was in an authorized International Baccalaureate elementary school where students were at the core of every decision that was made. In this environment, teachers created the standards-based curriculum that best met the needs of their students. The principal ensured that this model was successful in the school by allowing time, resources, and an action plan to make it happen.

Considering all of this, teachers must understand their responsibility in this process, which includes curriculum development, ownership of decisions, and intellectual engagement with their peers. Principals need to let go of some of their power and learn how to become more collaborative and less autocratic.

This is simply a snapshot of what collaboration looks like in a school and we encourage you, if you’re interested, to explore this topic further. Next time we will provide an insight into how district leadership and their relationships with principals and schools can help create a healthy environment.

Invitation to Inquiry

Join us for a roundtable discussion on inquiry in the classroom. Our purpose for this is to gather thoughts and ideas to share in an upcoming blog. If you are interested, please indicate through comment below or email to attheheartofitschools@gmail.com. Depending on the response, we will make a plan. Teachers and principals of any grade level welcome!

Hello out there in cyberland!

One of the reasons we started this blog was to get educators talking. We last posted about relationships and promised a part two. However, at this time we would like to invite our readers to give us some ideas on how to encourage dialogue. Our hope was to create a space where people might feel motivated and comfortable to agree or disagree with ideas we have posted, thereby exploring their own thoughts and considering the ideas of others.

We can see that you are reading our blog posts. Thank you! Now take the next step and  post a response. We need you to help guide our future blog posts.

In the meantime, we are reposting an earlier blog about HOMEWORK for you to consider as you begin a new school year. Tell us what you think.

*******************************************************

Whose homework is it anyway?  Another topic for discussion regarding “at the heart of it” is certainly homework.  It is a topic that has been on our minds for a very long time both as moms and as educators. We’ll each share a story or two.

Judy

The homework thing was never more apparent to me than at  my daughter’s science fair project in elementary school.  As a third or fourth grade student, my daughter was required to turn in a science fair project most of which, if not all, was to be done at home.  I questioned coworkers about this asking for advice and suggestions on what they had done with their kids. I assumed they would suggest some projects my daughter could complete on her own with guidance from me.  Oh no, I soon learned. After discussion and sharing of stories regarding the homework assignment for their children, it became apparent that  the assignment was not for her it was for US.  Forced “parental involvement” I guess.

My colleagues, who were very engaged in the lives of their children, quickly informed me that in order for my child to have the best science fair project, my child and I would have to do the project together.  “Oh my”, said I.

And then I tried to engage myself in engaging my daughter on her project.  It was like engaging her in making her bed or doing the dishes.  Her decisions and product were not always up to my standards and I stressed --out loud.  Seriously.   

So, in order for this science project to be the best science project, certainly up to par with the parents of her friends,  I knew we would  have to abide by my standard---the one I set for myself as an adult.  Let’s be honest here; as an educator I watched many parents who wanted their child to be the best, be the winner, and they would do everything they could do to  make that happen.  I never much appreciated that and now I was doing the same because I was in competition with them!  “So whose project was this anyway,” I asked myself and decided to back off a bit---maybe more than a bit.

My daughter brought her project to school and I must say it was in the middle plus range of projects.  She had the purchased poster board and markers for display and plenty of guidance on how and where to do research.  I made lots of suggestions about procedure and what to measure--the scientific process--but I didn’t actually “do” the project.  Looking around the science fair as an educator myself, I was able to determine which parents did the projects, helped with projects and which parents let their kids work on their own.  There was a significant difference between these categories and I was pretty certain about what the old “bell curve” would dictate here.   

Often, knowing that I was an educator, friends and acquaintances would complain to me about how much homework “they” had every night.  They would complain that with their work schedules and responsibilities at home after work, they didn’t have enough time to complete “their” homework and were concerned their kids’ grades would suffer. In many cases, the adults didn’t even understand the directions or how to complete the assignment.  WHAT?

As a school principal, I often received calls from prospective parents asking about the amount of assigned homework, not as an indication of too much homework but as an indication of the quality of the school.  More homework, more scholastic integrity and therefore a “better” school than the one with less homework.  Or, there were the parents who wanted their children to be assigned a lot of homework to keep them busy until the parents got home from work.  

As a teacher, because of district requirements, I often assigned homework that most often   wouldn’t  be completed.  The type of class was not conducive to homework but in order to comply and have a “relevant” class, I assigned it anyway.  What a struggle. I knew that most homework assignments needed parental understanding and support and I also knew that not all parents, for a variety of reasons, were in a position to give that support.  There was no good purpose to this convoluted homework practice and it certainly did not have the student at the center of the decision. And I asked once again, “whose homework is it anyway?”

Yes, there may be some quality homework assignments and these assignments must support  and enhance the classroom work rather than be exercises in repetition or plain busy work.  This assignment must be made with the student in mind supporting significant learning that is relevant and FUN!  

Dani

As a first grade teacher in a large public school district, I was required to follow the district’s homework policy, which was 30 minutes of homework per night, for six-year-olds. I do not believe in worksheets to “keep children busy,” or in homework for a math curriculum that is so obscure parents have a hard time figuring it out, or in collecting and keeping track of meaningless paperwork. I have no disagreement with children reading each night. Appropriate reading for first graders would be looking at picture books, being read to by a family member, or reading on their own, depending on their current reading skills and the materials available to them. Realizing early on that many of my students did not even have books at home so they could not meet this requirement, I allowed them to borrow books from my personal classroom library. They may have been favorite read-alouds that they wanted to share with their families, books they were especially fond of, or just something new to look at. The first time a child asked if he could borrow a book, his face lit up when I said yes. I never really kept track of who borrowed what or worried about losing books. I was just happy that they were excited about reading. I think what really made that powerful was choice. Children could make choices and decisions about things that were relevant and interesting to them.

Things got trickier when I couldn’t just say “read every night” because vocal, competitive parents expected more. I tried a number of strategies. I’d assign math pages from the student math workbook in addition to reading. I’d come up with elaborate projects related to things we were studying in the classroom to make assignments relevant and provoke curiosity. I’d make a weekly homework bingo board and families could pick five assignments for the week. I even tried differentiating homework by dividing students into three “homework groups” based on their reading levels. But then I had to come up with three different things each day and parents wanted to know what their child could do to “move up” a level. It was exhausting! And I still had lessons for each school day to plan and prepare for.

What I really wanted to tell parents was what one of my daughter’s teachers, years after I left the district, told me about homework: “The district has a homework policy. My belief is that after-school time is family time. Go for walks. Have conversations. Read together. Play games. Ride bikes. Do whatever it is your family enjoys doing together.” That teacher is the primary reason we stayed at that particular elementary school. And for middle and high school we chose a charter school that does not assign homework.

Because here’s what is really at the heart of this blog post. Research does not support a correlation between homework and student achievement, particularly in elementary school. For an excellent read on this, see Alfie Kohn’s comments here. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/26/homework-an-unnecessary-evil-surprising-findings-from-new-research/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6df830fac8fa

Harris Cooper, Duke researcher, did a meta-analysis of nearly 200 studies on homework and his findings are here: https://www.salon.com/2016/03/05/homework_is_wrecking_our_kids_the_research_is_clear_lets_ban_elementary_homework/

If we continue to assign homework when the benefits are not proven, we also need to consider what harm we may be doing when we as educators assign work outside of the school day. What are children not doing because they are spending time on homework? Are we creating stress, fatigue, bad feelings toward school, and taking away from precious family time? And we might just be increasing disparities for students and families who do not have the resources or time to successfully complete work at home. We must consider the socio-economic diversity of families as well as the diversity we see in our classrooms.  As educators we are partners with the families of our students and as such, must know and understand their individual differences. Are they  willing and able to support assignments at home?  And if so, we must consider how we assess any work that is done at home.  In addition we may want to think about the student who aces the test but never turns in homework assignments, which is reflected in his grade.  Are we assessing knowledge and understanding of a subject or a study skill?  If homework is assigned to promote student responsibility, discipline, and organization, perhaps a study skills class is in order. 

There are so many things to consider about homework and much has been written in the past couple of years.  Take some time to look at some of the references we posted here and together with the thoughts in our blog, use them to evaluate and maybe even change some of  your ideas about “whose homework is it anyway?”

Relationships Part 1

“No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.”  -Dr. James Comer

Teachers

We doubt ourselves, our professional worth, and societal value because we are constantly being judged by administrators, parents, colleagues, the media, and our students. These judgments make us feel as though what we are doing is always wrong.

Consider this…

A recent post that a teacher wrote about school supplies has been going around Facebook. This teacher shared a story about running into some of the families in his class doing their back to school shopping. His cart was full of supplies for the students in his classroom. A parent confronted him with the supply list and as her children watched, complained about having to buy so many things, oblivious to the fact that his cart was full of these same supplies. As the teacher went through the checkout lane and paid for his supplies, the family in front of him turned around, noticed his purchases and commented that he must be a teacher. This parent, with child watching, thanked the teacher for his important work and handed him a gift card. Reflecting on this later, the teacher realized how differently the children of those two families will think about school and education, based on the interactions their parents had with him. One child may think about the importance of investing in education and supporting the work of teachers. The other may think of school as a chore, as supplies to be crossed off a list, and question the value of teachers and education.

What does the teacher do to overcome the differing attitudes toward education as he or she begins to create the new year’s classroom culture of positive relationships?

Students

It’s a new school year. Each individual student has a different reaction to this annual rite. For some it’s about school supplies, new clothes, and a happy reunion with old friends. For others it’s the beginning of a new charade, when they again work to hide their realities at home (homelessness, poverty, violence) and be someone else at school. Still others come with apathy toward school which can result in conflict at school and at home.

Consider this…

Surprisingly to those who don’t work in schools, each new school year begins in a state of chaos.  Staff is yet to be settled because of enrollment and budget interdependencies; classroom and teacher assignments are potentially in flux until enrollment figures become more stable, which is usually in the second month of school; highly mobile families are yet to settle on which school their child will attend; and as always student transportation and all it entails can be a nightmare. And, most of the students can sense the chaos without an understanding of its source.  

How can we expect all children, with the complexity of their various needs, to successfully start school in a chaotic environment? What can teachers and other adults do to assist in calming the environment?

Parents/Guardians

Just as there are many differences in teachers and students, parents and guardians also represent a multitude of perspectives and attitudes toward schools. There are caregivers with a very narrow focus whose only priority is their own child and his or her success. Others may have a well-balanced perspective of their child as part of a diverse community of learners, within the larger school community. There are also some adults at home who for a variety of reasons are unable to be a support in their child’s education.

Consider this…

In any classroom we have parents who fit into all of these categories. It is not for us to judge, but to accept this reality. With this reality, all of us must band together and work to create equal and rich learning environments for all children. Do we think about parent involvement in a way that all children are represented? To be successful in school, all children must feel like a contributing member of their school community. It is imperative that teachers, students, and caregivers work together toward a goal of inclusivity.  

Relationship building among key people in a school community is what we are talking about.   In our next blog post we will explore a bit more about how healthy relationships between and among these groups of people can mean a successful school experience for all children, staff and families. This is truly the foundation of student achievement.