Part+3+14-17


 * Meier, Deborah. “As Though They Owned the Place”: Small Schools as Membership Communities. **

(For an alternate perspective from the news, see this [|recent article in the New York Times]: "4,100 Students Prove 'Small is Better' Rule Wrong"

Deanna: This article was about small schools as opposed to larger ones – or schools within schools. The author states that the newest “fad” is larger schools downsizing into smaller ones or having multiple “schools” within the larger one. For instance, maybe within a certain high school there is a vocational school, a challenged school for slower learners and a school for those students who are ahead of the game. Smaller schools can be beneficial because it allows the staff to be more interactive and form more personal and meaningful relationships with each student. There are always going to be tradeoffs, however. For instance, the article states that smaller schools will have to really determine what its students are interested in when it comes to extra curricular activities and may have to cut some that aren’t as important as others. I think there are pros and cons of both schools and that it really depends on the students in the district/area and what they would benefit from more.

Becca: In this essay, Meier discusses how some school districts are moving away from the larger schools to create smaller schools. I think that both larger schools and smaller schools have their advantages and disadvantages. To compare the two types of schools is to have six in one hand and half a dozen in the other. Whatever type of school a district chooses to embrace, they must take the good with the bad. In particular, small schools offer more one-on-one support, focus on the individual student and help students develop confidence and ownership of their school. On the other hand, small schools struggle with things like several different educational opportunities for students, money, and several extra curricular activities for students. Therefore, I don't think that the question is, what type of school is better, the question is what school fits an individual's need best. The article argues that in the long run small schools will be more effective and offer a better educational experience, and the article is right to an extent. For some students a small school fits their needs best, but other students might find that their needs are met better in a larger school.

Dustin: This essay by Deborah Meier discusses the how instead of having many small school districts (and thus schools) that run themselves, schools are consolidating into less districts and schools in order to be run the same way. The author provides readers with a statistic that really caught my attention: the fact that when she was born there were 200,000 school districts in North American and then how there are fewer than 15,000 school districts today serving almost three times as many children. While it's easy to understand why it's desirable to have a more uniform educational curriculum, I feel as if it really takes away from some of the things that make this country so great. First off, there are many different populations at the many public school districts across the United States, and those populations may need to be taught in different ways in order to learn better. There are also many different cultural things that may be taught in one district and not another. I really feel as if schools should go back to holding themselves accountable.

Alex:

This essay essentially discusses the differences between larger and smaller schools, the benefits of a smaller learning environment, the tradeoff of a transfer and tips on how to downsize. The essay seems to be focusing on the idea of breaking larger schools and school districts into smaller schools, only composed of a 6 grades, or having offsets of schools within the same building—vocational, special needs etc. I enjoy this author’s point about benefiting from a smaller learning environment, particularly her points concerning the strengthening of our democracy, instilling the ability to exercise sound judgment based on well established sources and sound reasoning. It seems to me like a smaller environment, one which allows teachers, students, administrators and parents to work together and really get to know each other, one which allows a teacher/student relationship to develop deeply, one that facilitates genuine outcomes and learning opportunities, is what we all dream of. I love the author’s point that “we must keep coming back to the basics. The power of smallness lies in the effectiveness of learning through the company one keeps—the oldest teaching method on earth.” We really want to facilitate learning communities. We really want to mentor and coach students. We want to build personal relationships, model what a successful, capable, caring, influential, “powerful” adult does. This works much better in a small setting. Certainly, the task is daunting, breaking our school into smaller pieces and taking proper advantage of the opportunities this may offer, but it is possible.

Lauren:

Before reading this article, I had never thought of breaking districts into smaller schools and having offset schools for students based on needs/interests. While I like the idea, and I know there are similar methods used abroad with effectiveness, I am confused thinking about how to make that work here. I do think classrooms need to get smaller, especially for the sake of fostering relationships between teacher and student. It becomes increasingly difficult to build and maintain a relationship with someone when there are 30 people in the room. We constantly talk about “knowing” our students, and this is obviously harder when you throw more kids into the mix. I would like to see class sizes go down, so as teachers we can more easily identify our students’ needs and create a safe learning environment for them to thrive in. However, I also read an article recently discussing how small class size is NOT the answer, but what it seems to go back to is teacher and administrative support. I agree with this; I have seen when the administration is supportive of teachers and students alike and everyone is on the same page, the district overall will be much more successful.

**Kohn, Alfie. Safety from the Inside Out: Rethinking Traditional Approaches.**

Deanna: This article was my favorite because it talked about the need for students to feel safe but bringing up the point that making the school prison-like was not the way to do it. I liked the line when the author compared schools to prisons and made the point that prisons are not safe places so we should not make our schools like prisons. This is a great point and one that many schools do not recognize. Having metal detectors and a ton of security does not make a place safe because there are ways around these things. And if I were a student at a school like this I would not feel safe when I walked through the door because I would think well why do we need all these things? Is something going to happen today? Instead, the author states, “What we need to work for is the creation of schools that are //peaceable// – that is, committed to the value of peace and helping students feel safe, in all senses of that word.” When students feel safe that is when their optimal learning can occur and therefore, as teachers, we need to do everything in our power to make students feel physical, mentally and emotional safe while they are in school

Becca: I really enjoyed this article's focus on the need to create safe and peaceful learning environments for students. The reality remains, that if students are going to learn and be successful in school, then they must feel safe at school. How can we expect a student to learn if he/she fears the environment that he/she is in? Too many of our students come from unsafe homes and neighborhoods. Schools need to be a safe haven for these students and a place where they can go to escape the fears of their life outside of school. Therefore, schools need to reconsider the way they deal with safety. The article points out that this safety is not just physical but also mental and emotional. Therefore, the existence of metal detectors and process of making our school like a prison to "ensure" physical safety doesn't always work. Instead, the article was right on when it said that students need to feel like they belong to a caring community that has their physical and emotional well being in mind. To be part of a community that cares and questions is to feel safe and protected.

Dustin: This article by Alfie Kohn really hit hard on some of the traditional ideas of how to make schools safe. I particularly enjoyed how the article challenged the common line of thinking when it comes to safety in schools. This included how the article stated that most homicides where the children are the victims actually occur outside of the schools. The article also discussed at length as to why relationships and an understanding of adolescents are more important to invest time and money in than surveillance cameras or armed guards. As the author also argues, schools should be safe and friendly environments that are welcoming to students instead of cold environments. This point is hit again when the author writes about "The finding that schools become less safe as a result of adopting zero-tolerance policies..." Clearly, making sure that students are simply obedient citizens is not the answer to making schools safer, instead the key is to building the positive relationships that can really nurture kids.

Alex:

When I first began reading this essay, I saw the statement that talk of “safety” in an educational context typically brings to mind the school shootings of the past, physical safety etc., and thought that they may address the issue of emotional, intellectual and other types of safety as well. Then the essay continued to discuss the pitiful results of a behavioral approach to violence prevention, the damage that authoritarian, robotic, unfeeling, rigid approaches can have on a learning environment, and how administrators and legislators are addressing the issues without looking at the underlying causes. It also mentions, quite profoundly, at the beginning how there seems to be a massive misrepresentation of the issue in the media, which leads to misconceptions in the public sphere of how serious these issues of school violence really are. There are, indeed, far fewer deaths/homicides that occur in schools than there are in the home. The point is also made that teenagers often take the blame for large rates of violence that are not accurate because of the media’s representation of such things. The real issue is not about the violence occurring in schools, but more the violence and death amongst young people in general. To return to my point, when I began reading this article I was becoming convinced that they were not going to address the issue I have been ruminating on lately—the issue of emotional safety, bullying, and intellectual safety. I feel that these things, while they may take a backseat to issues of physical safety in schools, are also highly important. The article did go on to talk about these things and I was relieved. Kohn makes the point that creating a learning environment of emotional safety is not only important for learning, but also for the physical safety of students. We want to create healthy communities in our schools—communities in which students feel safe to take intellectual risks, express themselves freely, try their best and develop their skills no matter what level they are at, without constant comparison to other students and their ability levels. Students should not be shamed, made fun of, made to feel stupid or inferior in anyway (intellectually, socially, economically), be embarrassed, or be discriminated against. These things fuel physical violence; they also massacre learning. We must work to “creat[e] a different kind of educational culture”—one where people respect each other.

Lauren:

I made a lot of connections with this article based on my past and the school district I grew up in. While my school isn’t “ghetto” by any means, many people say it is heading in that direction—and quickly. I recall playing certain schools in sports and having 6 cops there and being afraid to go to another school because they had metal detectors at the main entrance. I understand now after reading this article that I didn’t feel any safer walking into the school with metal detectors; instead, I had a heightened sense of fear and anxiety in the school. I can only imagine how unsafe these things make students feel. I agree with everyone that schools need to be a safe learning environment mentally and emotionally, and I can say from experience while metal detectors are sometimes necessary, what they do to a student’s mind can be devastating.

** Chenoweth, Karin. Uncovering Academic Success. **

Deanna: This article was about focusing on student learning and making sure that our expectations, as teachers, are high for all students no matter their racial background, economic status or other factors. It also focused on the need to help support students in need and at risk. The author lists things that teachers can do to accomplish these goals but also what the teachers need from their school and administration to help accomplish these goals. One thing she talked about that stuck out to me was that teachers should not spend a lot of time disciplining students in the sense of punishing them. We had just talked about the need for teachers to focus on student learning and teaching their students as opposed to stopping in the middle to discipline a student. This is harmful for not only the student being reprimanded, but for the other students as well. It disrupts the class and the focus of the rest of the students and throws things off track. Therefore, unless the student is doing something to disrupt the learning of others, let it wait until a time where you can address it without disrupting the lesson and ultimately the rest of the students.

Becca: This articles focus on student learning and the need for teachers to provide the standards and materials for student success is very inspirational. A couple of key ideas that I would like to comment on form the text are holding high expectations, not teaching to the test, and no spending a lot of time on classroom discipline. All three of the ideas are golden. Holding high expectations for students is crucial. Students know what you expect of them and respond accordingly. Therefore, to teach within that zone of proximal development it to challenge students to constantly take that next step with their thinking. The article also talks about not spending a ridiculous amount to time teaching to the test. Sure students need to know what the state test looks like and what it is testing, but teach a fruitful curriculum that ties to the test. Lastly the article states that with a highly engaged curriculum classroom behaviors will not be as common thus a great deal of time won 't be spent disciplining. This makes sense to me and therefore, if behavior issues are occurring the teacher may want to re-think her instruction and material.

Dustin: The focus of this article was on creating an environment in all schools where every student is able to learn the same things. The article talks about how rare it is to find a lower-income school where a minority student from poverty can come to school with the same expectations of learning that a middle-class white student could have. However, the author also says how she found teachers and administration whom were all very motivated, creative, and professional when it came to their students' education. Karin Chenoweth then lists several things that are essential characteristics for the staff of any school. While all of the characteristics seemed spot on to me, I really found the one where schools "provide teachers with the time to meet, observe each other, and do serious professional development," to stand out. In my short time as a teacher assistant, I have already discovered just how important it is to bounce ideas off of other teachers and how much can be learned from simply observing other teachers in action. Being a professional in this day and age means one has to be constantly evolving and growing, and teachers are no different. I can hardly think of a better way to grow as a teacher than to observe and collaborate with other teachers.

Alex:

Poverty and minorities equal low achieving schools, right? No. Is this a stereotype? Yes. How come some schools rise above? How come, despite adverse conditions, some schools are able to meet state standards, to rise above expectations, and facilitate learning in conditions that don’t seem suited for it? In this essay Chenoweth, a writer who has traveled to numerous schools, tries to answer these questions and I think she has some very serious points. Firstly, the teachers in these schools are not fazed by the stereotypes of students who come from poor families, rough areas and dangerous living conditions. They have high expectations for their students and fully believe that, regardless of their economic status, they can achieve and learn just as well, if not better, than any white student living in a privileged area. They collect all kinds of data about their students and make sure that students are prepared for state tests, but they don’t teach to the tests. They teach rich, robust curriculum that happens to cover the things the state cares about in addition to a variety of other content areas. They use their time the best way possible, cherish instruction time, find ways to maximize it, and give struggling students the time and care they need and deserve. They don’t spend time punishing, but disciplining in the way of the root of the word—disciple—they lead students, teach, mentor, coach. They work with students to solve problems, not punish students to instill in them a fear of misbehaving. The teachers and administrators all work together and with each other, borrowing, questioning, and all taking leadership responsibilities. These are the types of things that need to happen for schools to be successful. We must realize that students aren’t limited as much as we think they are. Do economic struggles, inequality and discrimination give minority students, poor students, forgotten students a more difficult row to hoe? Yes. But does this mean they cannot achieve as well as anyone else? Are the not as smart? Of course they are, we just have to tap their potential by giving them the proper environment to unfold. Where there is a will, there is a way. No matter how archaic that sounds, it just might be true.

Lauren:

I’m torn. I understand the whole “minority students can rise above with caring teachers!” gig, because I believe in it. I do believe when teachers genuinely care about students and are willing to bust their rears to get them engaged, amazing things can happen. Unfortunately, I have to say I see how difficult it is and often question if it’s even possible at times based on my placement at Riverside. These are low-income minority students, and most of them play directly into the stereotypes discussed in this article. I see my CT is a teacher who genuinely cares and shows her compassion to her students every day, but this 7th grade class is awful. In short, they play into every teachers’ nightmare of inner-city teaching. What I do love about this article, something I think is absolutely essential in these schools, is having teachers who are FAMILIAR with these demographics and aren’t PHASED by them at all. I think often teachers get so overwhelmed because they are racially in the minority and feel like they can’t connect with these students. Right off the bat they feel distanced from their students, and then when they achieve low, the teachers want to blame it on their upbringing. Overall it’s important to know that each child, no matter where they grow up, is capable of learning and deserves teachers that will raise the bar and establish high expectations.

Luke:

A water stand! I guess this school is not quite like the other schools I had a problem with where everyone is a winner. I think that this school is an excellent example of the problems with teaching towards the test. When we as educators become so fixed on that magic number, the number that shows improvement and validation to the rest of the country, we turn our learning environment into a joke. Imagine entering a liberal arts college where one had to take all the gen education and extra classes but was being taught only things that directly applied to their major. A regular public school that teaches toward the tests acts like this; the information that is supposed to be taught and learned is wide and varied, but what is important to the teachers is merely teaching information that will be on the state test. What a waste of an opportunity.

I love how the article tells us to use the available data and resources on the school tests, because it is important to understand a little about the test so that the kids do not enter in unprepared. The problem exists when the teachers teach only what is on the test, and not the broad information that is necessary to support answers on tests. State tests are no longer asking students to recall answers, but are asking a wide variety of critical thinking and applying questions. If we teach the knowledge that is good and necessary for student success, than, in theory, we should be teaching enough information to do well on the tests.

** Finders, Margaret and Lewis, Cynthia. Why Some Parents Don’t Come to School. **

Deanna: This article was very eye-opening for me and it brought up a lot of really good points in my opinion. We have all discussed and heard of the lack of parent involvement in some schools. But why is this? The author of this article gave parent answers to the question, “Why don’t you come to your child’s school?” There were many answers given including: diverse school experiences amongst parents, economic and time constraints, and diverse linguistic and cultural practices. What it came down to was that parents were uncomfortable talking with the teachers because they felt inadequate on some level and/or they felt that the teacher was yelling at them for their student’s behavior and/or grades. All of these factors need to play a part in how we, as teachers, deal with parents and students for that matter. We need to be conscious of these differences and do all we can to make parents feel comfortable and welcome in order to increase their involvement in their child’s schooling.

Becca: As I was reading through this article, I became somewhat comfortable discovering some of the reasons that parents don't come to school. I am embarrassed to say that I thought one of the main reasons was because they just don't care. But really, these reasons range from economic issues to language barriers. But more significant is the emotional reasons why parents don't show up. Several parents don't show up to school because they have had a negative experience with school themselves and feel inadequate. The example that the article gave with a father saying "They expect me to go to school to tell me that my kid is stupid or crazy," is very disturbing. If parents think that the only reason they are going to talk to a teacher is to hear how "bad" their kid is, then no wonder they don't show up to school. Kentwood does this cool program called "a note from the teacher" where they write a positive note about a student to bring home to their parents. We as teachers need to make sure that we are sharing the good (like the note from a teacher) along with the bad. Parents should not think that the only time a teacher contacts them is to tell them their kid is "stupid"

Dustin: The focus of this article was on how disconnected some parents feel with their children's schools. The article particularly talked about research that shows how minority parents often can't connect with schools. I found the first quoted parent's words particularly troubling. In essence, he said he no longer would have anything to do with his son's school because he was tired of hearing about how bad his son was and remembered his own school experience where the school seemingly never wanted him around and where he dropped out of school nine times. This is just horrible in so many ways. If a student's parents can't feel welcomed by a school, how are the students supposed to feel positive about the school? It also shows problems with the staff of the school if they are unable to make a parent comfortable enough so that the parent does not mind coming to the school to talk about his or her child's education. After all, it doesn't take a professional to realize how important parents are to a child's education. The rest of the article focused on other more basic reasons as to why parents don't show up at school and ways to improve parent involvement.

Lauren:

I must say I find it relieving to know there are less parents who are apathetic about their child’s academic performance as opposed to parents who feel inadequate returning to a school to talk. This is a huge wakeup call for us, and I see how important it is to reach out to parents often when their kids are doing WELL. The Mature/Baby Boomer generations were used to “no news is good news,” and I feel we have stepped back into that mold. I don’t want parents to dread hearing from me because they think “no news is good news.” Instead, I want to have a relationship with parents where they trust what I am saying and take issues with their children seriously—a way to establish this is by communicating with parents frequently and positively. Only calling parents with negative reports makes a parent think the teacher is uptight or has it out for their kid. I think parents would take negative reports more seriously/less personally when they know it was an uncharacteristic move from their child and it isn’t a reflection on their parenting.

Alex:

This issue, the lack of involvement of many parents in their child’s education, can be addressed by a solution that I seem to keep coming across: building relationships. We must not only build relationships with students, help students build relationships with each other etc., we must also build relationships with parents. It is easy for teachers, or any group for that matter, to make assumptions about people they do not know. The parents the essay refers to as “those other parents” are typically assumed to not care, be ignorant or not understand the importance of a good education. What we find though, from talking to these parents, is what we typically find out about people we have judged: we are wrong. It isn’t that these parents don’t care, it isn’t that they don’t understand, and it isn’t that they are too lazy to come to meetings. There are a number of reasons that are often overlooked because many of these parents don’t get the opportunity to speak. Finders and Lewis outline some of the voices they were able to hear and the reasons why many parents aren’t able or don’t participate in their children’s education. Firstly, the parents oftentimes had very different school experiences than their kids, they had bad experiences, or when they do come back to school to meet with teachers, teachers tell them how badly their child is doing. There are also economic constraints that prevent parent involvement, particularly those who live in poverty and have inflexible jobs, work nights, have kids at different schools, have transportation issues etc. It isn’t that they don’t want to come to meetings, but that they simply can’t. One of the main issues I found dynamic and very prominent has to do with culture, linguistics and language barriers. Minority parents, parents who speak a foreign language, and parents from different cultures often have a hard time communicating, fitting in to typical American school communities, helping their children with schoolwork and a number of other cultural discrepancies. Have you ever faced a language barrier when you were the one who couldn’t understand? It wasn’t that you didn’t want to listen and participate—you simply didn’t speak the language. Language barriers are a major issue; linguistic disparities are as well. We must take cultural issues, linguistic differences, language barriers and economic struggles all into account before we judge parents. This all comes back to getting to know people and building healthy relationships with people. When we judge and assume, we stifle our opportunities to do this. Parents feel judged, attacked, and misunderstood when we assume things about their lives and the way the raise their children. We must listen to all voices in order to accommodate everyone.

Luke:

I do find it interesting that the most common phrase I have heard in schools regarding parent involvement is “The ones who come don't need to and the one's who do won't.” The first part of that statement is incorrect because, like the article mentions, it must mean that connecting with parents is only for a disciplinary goal, and that students who do well must not be able to improve even more. The second problem with the statement is that it assumes that the parents who do not show up choose not to show up. This article gives some reasons why parents would choose not to show up to a parent-teacher meeting, but it gives many other reasons why a parent simply cannot show up to the meetings. I think that flexibility to meet with the parent outside of normal times and outside of a school building is needed. I also feel that the parents need to see the teacher around in the community before they can develop a real relationship with them. I imagine those who are uncomfortable and self-conscious in an educational setting would be more relaxed if they see Mr/s. Teacher shopping in the same Aldis Food Market and catching the same buses.