Pedagogue Blog

Despite legislative changes that have made schools accessible to everyone, the mindsets of individuals who attend or work in schools have been slower to adapt and change.  Racism, often thought to be eradicated from K-12 classrooms, is still alive and well, even in the most progressive districts. What can teachers do to erase racism once and for all?

I’ve got two useful resources for you—one for teaching younger students and one for assisting older students.

1. For young students: One effective way to address racism when talking to elementary school students is to follow the curriculum of the Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children that was developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  The key here is to begin educating young children so the level of prejudice is significantly diminished as they move through grades beyond preschool or kindergarten.  Children as young as two years old are keenly aware of racial intolerance.  Research has found the following progression:

• Age 2—children are aware of gender differences and the various names for different skin colors around them.
• Ages 3–5—children begin to define themselves and who they are by comparing themselves to those of different gender and skin color.
• Ages 4 or 5—children begin to select friends on the basis of race and begin to recognize and take on the gender roles that society has promoted.

With a conscious effort and use of programs such as the one described above, slowing down or halting the development of biased attitudes and behaviors can curb racism.

2. For older students: Teaching Tolerance is a great tool to address prejudice and intolerance among older children and teens. This program was created after a 1988 attack on an Ethiopian man by a group of teens in Portland, Oregon.  It focuses on racism as a psychological attitude.  Tolerance is defined as “the capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.” The main goal of the program is to ensure the availability of resources and materials that promote and teach an understanding of race and culture between white and non-white groups to all schools.

One of the primary problems facing teachers and educators today when it comes to teaching about racism and tolerance is the psychological impact of such teaching on white students.  With the knowledge of racism and the role played by whites in perpetuating it, white students often experience feelings of guilt and shame. Since these are strong and undesirable emotions, it is far easier for teachers to avoid teaching about racism, rather than deal with feelings that accompany a topic that continues to be difficult to discuss. The key is to help the students produce a positive self-image when it comes to dealing with racism, and to promote feelings of allied relations as whites and blacks or other minorities fight racism together.  This will counter the feelings of guilt that come with the realization of the reality that racism continues to exist.

Educators also face outside influences, including attitudes at home, that can lead to racist attitudes. By putting in place an atmosphere of positivity towards all people, without expressly cutting down those who have racist views, teachers can show students that their attitude will make a difference moving forward, breaking the cycle of racism.

What do you think would be great classroom tools to end racism? I’d appreciate reading your thoughts in the comments.

 

In the US, the concepts of equality and justice are intertwined. The idea of “justice for all” has existed since America’s early days.

But the truth is that the application of this idea has been far from perfect to this very day. Let’s take a quick look at our historical lapses in carrying out the idea and how those affect us today.

1. De jure and de facto segregation. De jure segregation, or legalized segregation of Black and White people, was present in almost every aspect of life in the South during the Jim Crow era: from public transportation to cemeteries, from prisons to health care, from residences to libraries. Under segregation, Black and White people were to be separated, purportedly to minimize violence. De jure segregation, or “Jim Crow,” lasted from the 1880s to 1964. Jim Crow laws were efficient in perpetuating the idea of “White superiority” and “Black inferiority.”

De facto segregation is the direct manifestation of de jure segregation, because the U.S. government could mandate that laws that segregated the races were unconstitutional, but it couldn’t change the hearts and minds of its people. If people didn’t want to be in the presence of another ethnicity or race, they could certainly make this a reality. So, de jure segregation was implemented by law; de facto segregation, by common understanding and personal choice. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many White citizens simply moved to the suburbs to avoid mixing with Black citizens. This “White flight” led to the creation of “chocolate cities” and “vanilla suburbs,” which are still prevalent today.

In relation to education, the legal segregation of the races in Southern schools was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In the United States today, however, Black and Hispanic students tend to be concentrated in schools where they make up almost the entire student body. Also, the percentage of Black students in majority White schools has decreased to a level lower than in any year since 1968.

De facto segregation is a huge problem in the United States as it allows bigotry and discrimination to occur more easily. What happens as a result?  Many schools in mostly Black neighborhoods find themselves unequally funded and seriously neglected.

2. Persistent stratification. The disparities between rights of certain ethnic groups in American culture can easily be identified by the disparity in the number of individuals incarcerated in the nation’s prison systems. African American men are arrested and imprisoned at disproportionately higher rates. Reports indicate that even when similar crimes were committed by White and African American men, the penalty was more severe for the latter. As a result of this socioeconomic stratification, a privileged class exists, with some Americans receiving benefits unavailable to others. For example, data from the U.S. Department of Labor reported higher unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanics across all major age and gender groups in 2009.

The number of children from ethnic minority groups living in poverty continues to increase as well. In 2006, approximately 13 million children were living in poverty. The number of Hispanic children living in poverty has increased by 23% since 2000, and the number of African American children living in poverty increased by 8.4%. A 2006 study showed that social status had a significant influence on mortality rates, as well as “chronic diseases and injuries with well-established risk factors such as alcohol use, tobacco smoking, obesity, elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose.”

We need to be aware of history so that we can understand certain attitudes and problems that exist today, and hopefully repair them as we continue to strive for the ideal of “justice for all.”

Now I want to hear from you: what are some factors that prevent us Americans from fulfilling this admirable ideal? Share your thoughts in the comments.

 

The United States entered the 21st century as the world’s sole superpower. Our diplomatic strength, military might, financial resources, and technological innovation were, and continue to be, the envy of the world.

However, in the crucial area of education, the U.S. lags behind many other developed countries. Although the U.S. spends more per student than almost any other country in the world, international exams have demonstrated that we consistently perform well behind countries such as South Korea, China, Japan, and Finland in the areas of reading and math.

Why is it happening and what do we, as Americans, need to do to rise to the top again? Here are a few thoughts on that.

1. Consider what’s really important: more respect for education and teachers. China, Japan, and South Korea understand that well-educated workers are crucial for survival in the competitive global economy.

Thus, they place enormous emphasis on education, ensuring that their students are given not only foundational reading and math skills, but also that they are able to think creatively and solve problems. Their youth are poised to take on and conquer the world. Educating, hiring, and retaining high-quality teachers are key to lasting reform.

On the other hand, the teaching profession in America is undervalued, certainly in comparison with countries like Finland and South Korea.

2. Recognize that money doesn’t solve everything. School systems are using more money but have less to show for it. Test results, especially among the children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, are dismal. America has extraordinary natural resources, a solid, functioning democracy, and an excellent infrastructure, but unless we can reform our educational system to produce students who are able to take advantage of new technologies and compete in the global economy, we will cede our position as world leader.
3. Weigh the various factors that make or break a student’s education, especially community involvement. The educational system involves seven major players: the federal government, district authorities, the community, parents and family, the school administration, teachers, and the students themselves. In order to reform our schools, we must look at each of these players, investigating the interactions among them, and offering suggestions for bolstering involvement and efficacy between them.

In areas where schools are successful, community involvement is a critical element. In low socioeconomic communities, there is often a sense that schools are separate entities, run by elite elements that have little connection to the community. Perhaps the starkest difference between students from low socioeconomic environments and those from wealthier environments is the amount of parental involvement in students’ education.

4. Consider that it’s not just about the tests. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), while admirable, has also proven fundamentally flawed. It is not producing the anticipated results, and has had the effect of forcing schools to teach to the exam, rather than fostering a love of learning among students.
5. Use authority wisely. There is mounting evidence that the U. S. education system is failing our students. Appropriate engagement and direction by district authorities is crucial to creating a quality learning environment. Too often, cronyism, corruption, and misuse of resources diminish the influence of the district-level administration.

Society in general needs to understand that the lack of quality teachers, effective administration, and parental involvement are all factors that contribute to the current state of our educational system. The country must unite and work together to carry the responsibility of enriching and continuing America’s future via educational excellence. We must become supermen and superwomen.

What are your thoughts on how the American education system can reach elite status globally? Please leave a comment below.

 

A report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) shines a spotlight on how far funding for higher education has fallen since the start of the recession. Particularly for states in the south, funding “is down by more than 35 percent since the start of the recession.”

Overall tuition at public four-year colleges is up almost 30 percent since 2007. Even worse for students who attend schools in the south– like Florida and Georgia–the report states that tuition skyrocketed 60 percent.

Considering the government has cut Pell Grants and wage growth has been stagnant, such a steep rise in tuition has likely priced many students out of attending college.

Louisiana is no exception to the Southern states whose policy has once included serious budget cuts for higher education. But, believe it or not, even Louisiana, one of the most severely cost-cutting states, has had a turnaround when it comes to higher education. Here are five steps in the journey to keep Louisiana’s colleges safe from loss of funds.

1. Governor Bobby Jindal suggested cuts to higher education—as high as $600 million. Louisiana State University (LSU) went so far as to draw paperwork to file for academic bankruptcy just in case the state decided to go through with the decreases.
2. Louisiana legislators approved a “spending plan that favors higher education.” The plan included $615 million in new revenue that would save the state’s colleges and universities, including LSU, from having to lay off employees and cut programs and services due to the budget shortfall.

According to NOLA.com, the original plan had the House Appropriations Committee raising close to $1 billion. Because that plan didn’t go through, the House still had to make cuts. Fortunately for higher education, those reductions were redirected elsewhere.

Healthcare funding will “fall $180 million short” and the new University Medical Center in New Orleans is missing close to $90 million due to the lack of state revenue.

On one hand, it’s great that the future of the state’s college students will not be compromised due to a budget shortfall, but Louisiana’s most vulnerable may be in peril because of bad money decisions by the state’s leaders.

3. The state’s scholarship program called TOPS would see funding limitations as a result of the budget shortfall. This will require families in the state to assume more responsibility “for coverage more of their tuition bills moving forward.”
4. Louisiana education leaders are asking for “twice as much money next year” after the state’s budget crisis this past year.

Currently state schools receive nearly $770 million in funding, but due to the shortfall and other needs, leaders are requesting $1.4 billion in funding for 2016-2017.

But the request is steeped in good news. While Louisiana may have budget issues, the additional money is needed to keep up with a growing workforce in the state.

“Higher education needs to add slots and expand programs at both two-year and four-year colleges to meet these needs, but doesn’t have resources to do so currently,” officials said.

According to NOLA.com, the state’s job market demands cannot be met if new money isn’t approved.

It will be tough sledding as education leaders had to fight just to get the current level of funding. In order to meet budget needs, many states–including Louisiana–will cut higher education funding to stay afloat.

NOLA.com reports that “[s]ince 2008, more than $700 million has been removed from Louisiana’s colleges and universities’ budgets — a larger cut than any other state higher education system in the country has had to endure.”

It’s why leaders are concerned that filling critical positions in the state’s workforce will be compromised if the new money isn’t approved.

A decision on when, or if, the request will be approved will not come until the state legislature meets for its next session in 2016.

5. Bobby Jindal wanted more education cuts in Louisiana. Governor Bobby Jindal reportedly wanted to cut over $600 million from higher education, but was rebuffed by leaders in the state legislature.

In speaking with the press in late 2015, Jindal notes that he was upset that lawmakers didn’t cut from the state’s higher education fund.

To close the state’s budget shortfall, lawmakers used money from the rainy day fund. Despite Jindal’s opposition, the fact that higher education funds weren’t slashed even further is good for just about everyone else.

Nola.com notes that the move saved many schools from being reorganized.

“The Louisiana Legislature voted overwhelmingly last week to draw down around $28 million from the rainy day fund to cope with a midyear budget shortfall. The move allowed public colleges and universities to avoid reductions in the current budget cycle — though the outgoing governor said he would have preferred more reductions.”

Governor-Elect John Bel Edwards says that he wants to increase the budget for higher education, which will undoubtedly appease education leaders in the state.

Louisiana changed their course, but many other states are not so lucky. Students are being priced out of attending post-secondary institutions, the quality of higher education has been compromised, and we’re still grappling with how to properly keep many colleges afloat.

That, unfortunately, is the price we pay for bad policy.

Thoughts on the trend of higher education cuts? Did Louisiana make the right decision in bucking this trend? Please share your thoughts.

 

Higher education cuts on the state level continue—despite mounting evidence that cutting money from colleges and universities doesn’t bode well for the future.

Let’s talk about two states that decided to slash their education budget in 2015—and some of the resulting effects of these cuts.

1. Oklahoma: According to KTUL.com, state lawmakers are grappling with how to fill a budget hole of nearly $1 billion next year.

First on the chopping block is higher education, of course.

KTUL reports that:

“Higher education received 14.4 percent of total state appropriations this fiscal year. Those funds account for 35 percent of the higher education budget – compared with 50 percent less than 10 years ago.”

In an effort to keep costs down and brace for the potential cuts, officials at the state’s colleges are planning to share resources and will implement joint-degree programs to save money.

Instead of filling vacant positions at some schools, they will be left as is. While campus closure isn’t on the list yet, some offices and programs are already being closed.

If none of that works – the office closings, joint degrees, and vacant positions — then we’re likely to see a hike in tuition in Oklahoma.

2. Wisconsin: Wisconsin lawmakers have grappled with the idea of slashing upwards of $150 million from higher education in 2015.

According to insidehighered.com, the Wisconsin Legislature would put into place a mandatory tuition freeze and “a 13 percent reduction in the higher education budget.”

The article continues by stating just how dire the situation would be for the University of Wisconsin system. With no tuition increases, little leftover revenue due to tax cuts, funding contractions that will total $300 million, the university’s chancellor said that there may be 430 layoffs.

“I particularly regret the impact these cuts will have on our employees and their families.”

Delving deeper into the problem that these cuts will have on jobs, insidehighered.com details that the University of Wisconsin system will offer “early retirement of more than 1,000 employees…and leave more than 90 vacant positions open.”

Walker’s decision to cut higher education funding so severely performs an undue injustice to students attending schools within the University of Wisconsin system.

As mentioned earlier, the system hasn’t been allowed to approve tuition increases because that decision sits with state lawmakers. With employment reductions and cuts totaling $300 million, this will greatly reduce the quality of education that students will receive if these cuts are allowed to stand.

Unfortunately, cutting higher education funding has negative implications that stretch beyond the current financial crisis. When students can’t afford to earn a degree or certificate, resources are stripped down, or university employees lose their jobs, it will affect the economy of the state.

It seems that P-20 education should be protected from cuts like these, yet they always seem to be the first to be pared down.

Let’s hear from you: what do you think of the trend of higher education cuts?

Are you interested in reforming a school or a district? Let’s go back to basics.

The first step to positive K-12 reform within a school or a district is to find a starting point. Often, data sets are used to determine this. This is great, but what if I told you there was another way? One that could capture the whole picture just a little bit better than data alone?

Here’s how successful school districts can improve with both data and common sense observations:

1. Develop an evaluation plan. This is to measure how effective a reform effort is.
Create performance goals. These goals will come in handy once it’s time to see how well your school or district is doing with the new changes.

2. Evaluate the pros and cons of instructional programs. School reformers need to do this regularly. You also need to realize that standardized tests should only make up a piece of the assessment puzzle, not the entirety. Continuously monitoring the progress the school’s student body makes will allow your task force to make changes to the reform plan when it’s necessary.

3. Put in some checks and balances. Make sure a variety of reformers are making the important decisions.
For instance, superintendents are responsible for making sure that creating and sustaining improvements is done in a way that meets students’ needs. The team leader’s job is to ensure teachers have all of the tools needed to help their students excel in class.

4. Keep everyone accountable. This is something that districts all over the country acknowledge as the key to improving schools. Everyone is expected to perform. To make sure this happens, the school district needs to provide staff and faculty members with high-quality professional development.

5. Keep an eye on your restructuring efforts. Your team should have useful data meant to track progress toward the goals set in step 1. Now it’s time to decide who will collect, analyze, and interpret that data. The best way to avoid bias is to hire an outside consultant—your team will receive more objective feedback about your reform efforts.

On a limited budget? Don’t worry—evaluating the results in-house is still a highly desirable option.

After analyzing the data, your team can then use the results to determine how effective the reform was.

What happens if the reform fails? Don’t worry. School restructuring is a long-term process. Simply build upon the small successes and learn from mistakes. Your team can then come up with new solutions, or fix the old solution to better suit the school’s needs.

If you want permanent improvement, reform has to occur continuously. Even the best schools need to continue to work on their restructuring process.

Is a long-lasting school reform that changes the lifeblood of the school possible? Yes, of course. It may not be easy, but with a tremendous effort, the proper use of resources, and the expertise of professionals, school reform can be wildly successful.

You may have noticed that I do not focus on data in this article. Does that mean it’s not important? No, of course it doesn’t! However, there is a lot more that goes into the bigger picture of smart school reform. Districts should recognize that and work towards solutions that not only make sense on paper, but also in real life.

Is data important? What role do you think it plays in school reform efforts? Don’t forget to leave a comment.

In the age of globalization, education has become critical. It’s one of the major tools America needs so that it can hold its own on the world stage.
Teachers will play a huge role in this revolution. Here’s why:

1. Americans are convinced that mathematics and science skills are important for the future. An overwhelming majority of us believe that more jobs and college opportunities will be available for students with those skills.

2. A growing body of research suggests Americans are falling behind in mathematics and science education when compared to students of other countries. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranked American students 21st in the world in science skills and 25th in mathematics. According to the 2011 ACT College Readiness Report, Only 43% of American students graduating from high school are “ready” for U.S. college-level math and a mere 27% are “ready” for U.S. college-level science.

This means that, likely, more than half of college freshman arrive on campus feeling unprepared for their math or science courses! Forget about feeling excited to pursue a STEM major in college.

That’s mind-blowing. And of course, unfortunate.

3. What does this mean for teachers? It means higher standards for them. Teachers are in high demand—but they will be expected to be highly qualified and able to motivate, support, inspire, and guide their students.

The public continues to have a great deal of trust and belief in teachers. In a survey asking which people were most trustworthy regarding public issues, teachers were rated the highest, above members of the armed forces, national experts, and community activists, according to the National Credibility Index. The public is also aware of the direct relationship between a highly qualified teacher and student learning. When asked to rate factors that have the greatest impact on student learning, 44% chose the qualifications of the teacher over other factors, such as class size or socioeconomic conditions of the student and school.

As a teacher, you have a unique opportunity to influence America’s position on the world stage. Don’t take this responsibility lightly.
Did any of the stats surprise you? Feel free to share your thoughts here in the comments.

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish this guest post about creative limits as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A column by Rick Osbourne

I once began a 2^nd grade Physical Education class by informing students that we were going to play a unique game of kickball. It would be unique because it would have NO RULES. The kids would be FREE to do anything they wanted to do without limitations or consequences.

Their immediate reaction was a collective silence. They had puzzled looks on their faces. It was as if they were wondering if the old Coach had just gone off the deep end.

Then one hand slowly went up. “How will we know if somebody is safe or out if there are no rules?” he asked. Another student chimed in with “How will we know if somebody’s cheating, or who’s winning and who’s losing?” Another little voice added “That’s going to be confusing.”

I allowed the buzz to continue for about 30 seconds before confirming that all the kids wanted the rules to be restored in order for them to play a meaningful game of kickball. They agreed unanimously and with the help of the rules they played a successful game of kickball.

 Man’s Deep Seeded Need to Understand Himself

The point here is that we human beings (individually and collectively) have a deep-seeded need to know and understand ourselves and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We also have a deep-seeded aversion to the possibility of failing to understand ourselves, of being disorientated, lost in space, without context, meaning, direction, or purpose.

And this deep seeded need/aversion drives humanity to rectify this problem by creating and participating in activities that are understandable BECAUSE of their limitations, their rules, what they encourage and what they discourage.

In the example above, even 2^nd graders knew intuitively that the lack of rules and the resulting freedom to do anything makes a game of kickball meaningless. Freedom to do anything, without consequence invites chaos, disorientation, confusion, and meaninglessness. That is to say, without a creative set of rules, regulations, limitations, and restrictions within which to play, the game of kickball, as well as the game of life, quickly deteriorates into absurdity. *

Therefore, in order for it to make sense, for it to have context and meaning, human existence requires a creative set of rules, regulations, limitations, and restrictions within which human beings can take meaningful action. With those limitations in hand, human existence gains a context, an orientation within which man’s actions, choices, and experiences have the potential to become understandable and meaningful. These creative limitations and restrictions help to give human existence purpose, direction, and meaning that is impossible without them.

Examples of Creative Limits – Time and Space

Examples of such creative limitations start with an activities temporal and spatial limits. A marathon, for example, begins with the starting gun ends when one crosses the finish line.

Furthermore, a marathon covers precisely 26 miles, 385 yards – no more and no less. A marathon (or a human life) without a beginning, an end, and spatial qualities is meaningless.

Sport

A football game begins with a kickoff and ends when the final seconds click off the game clock. And all relevant activity takes place on the field of play. Activities on the sidelines or in the stands are of no consequence to the game itself. The game also has a set of rules, a level playing field, as well as refs who are expected to judge play and enforce the rules fairly and equitably.*

Marathons and football games depend on their own unique limitations in order to have meaning. Their rules and regulations also define and distinguish these particular activities apart from all other human activities. Thus football is different from basketball, piano playing, or oil painting, each of which have their own rules and regulations that define and distinguish them.

Language

But sport is just one example of an activity that enables human activity to become meaningful. Another prominent phenomenon that features creative limitations is language which is made up of words that have definitions and phrases that have unique rules and regulations and therefore can be combined in ways that give them meaning. Human evolution has depended on men’s ability to communicate with each other and a formal language is unique to humanity.

History

Then there’s history, which serves to inform man of where he’s been and aims to offer some sense of where he is and where might be going in the future? As Hegel, among others pointed out, to know and understand any subject (including human existence) one must know its history. Absolutely everything has a history, including language and sport.

Art

Art has a history, a language of its own, and it addresses the subject of beauty whether in the form of sculpture, painting, music, or dance. Art has been part of the human experience since cavemen began painting on cave walls. This ancient art served as man’s first written form of communication, i.e. language. And with it man not only made his world more beautiful and interesting, but he told the story of where he’d been – his history.

Religion

One of the primary inspirations for artists throughout history has been mythology and religion which aim to inform man with regard to what is and what is not, with a particular emphasis on how he should conduct his life – morality, ethics, good, evil, and justice. Once again religion has its own history, its own language, and it provides creative rules and regulations (i.e. the decalogue), an orientation within which human actions can take on meaning and purpose.

Science

And finally there’s modern empirical science, a field which once again has its own unique history and language, and which aims to distinguish truth from fiction by relying on experiences that are accessible to the senses and thus provable through repeatable experimentation.

All these activities are unique to the human experience and as such they help to define and distinguish human existence apart from other life forms. In the process they also help man to know and understand himself and the circumstances in which he finds himself. All are made up of creative rules and regulations, limitations and restrictions that provide a context and an orientation within which man’s experiences are rendered meaningful and purposeful.**

Dynamic and Evolving

These activities are characterized by the fact that they’re dynamic, evolving, and alive (Hegel) as opposed to static, sterile, and dead (Plato). For example, add a 24 second clock and a 3 point play to the game of basketball and you have a different and arguably a more interesting game. Language, history, art, religion, and science are also constantly growing, evolving, and accommodating new developments and aiming for new heights.

Interactive and Creative

In a similar light, they’re interactive instead of passive. As the result they’re productive and creative (i.e. Godlike) as opposed to impotent and sterile. That is to say the interactive process creates something new whether it’s an idea, an insight, an appreciation for, or something physical such as a work of art, a scientific discovery, or a technological development.

Ends in Themselves

In the highest and best sense these activities are also creative ends in themselves as opposed to being a means to something or someone outside themselves whether it’s the church, the state, and the corporation, or money, power and fame. Done right participation in these activities serves as its own reward, its own motivation. Extrinsic rewards tend to undermine, reduce, demean, if not demolish their virtue, their value, and their meaning.

Conditions Encourage or Discourage…

Such creative endeavors flourish and thrive under the auspices of discretionary time, when man is free to think and to act creatively. In other words the cave man was not painting on cave walls when his belly was empty. When writing Macbeth Shakespeare was not wrestling with how to keep a roof over his head. And Muhammed Ali was not polishing his boxing skills under the whip of necessity. Discretionary time, not necessity, is the true mother of invention.

The Individual and the Collective

By virtue of rendering human activity (individually and collectively) meaningful and purposeful, these endeavors encourage and cultivate the individual but not at the expense of humanity. They also encourage and cultivate humanity but not at the expense of the individual. In so doing they help to define and distinguish human existence apart from other life forms. In the process they help man understand himself and the circumstances in which he finds himself.

*In a sporting contest (and life) breaking the rules in order to gain an unfair advantage (i.e. cheating) renders the game fraudulent, corrupt, and less meaningful. In order to confirm this claim one needs only to refer to the adventures of Lance Armstrong, Pete Rose, Mark McGwire, Shoeless Joe Jackson, or a myriad of other infamous examples in the annals of sport.

**Philosophical anthropologist Ernst Cassirer’s Philosophy of Symbolic Forms gives a much more detailed account of these examples.

_________________________________________

Rick Osbourne is a former physical educator and a pioneer in the field of functional childhood obesity prevention. He currently serves as President of the Pull Your Own Weight Foundation which is an Illinois based, 501c3, not for profit organization whose focus is functional childhood obesity prevention. He’s written and published three books in this field, the latest of which is entitled Beating Childhood Obesity Now: A Simple Solution for Parents and Educators. He’s the Examiner’s national childhood obesity prevention correspondent. He writes an online column for The Edvocate. And you can connect with Rick via Twitter, Linkedin, or Facebook.

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Leslie Tyler

“Common Core was such a good idea,” remarked a middle school administrator I recently spoke with. “But then the testing ruined it.”

Educators have been working on the transition to the new Common Core State Standards over the past 4-5 years. But last year’s final implementation step – administering the standardized tests meant to ascertain whether students met the more rigorous standards – has caused enough controversy to undo that work, overturning the standards themselves in some states. To date, at least 10 states have abandoned Common Core or have announced intentions to do so. President Obama concurred with the test critics, saying, “Learning is about so much more than just filling in the right bubble. So we’re going to… make sure that we’re not obsessing about testing.’’

So what went wrong? Besides the wholesale change in the test content and delivery, the primary mistake was placing such a large bet on the outcomes. Results could affect federal funding. Teachers and administrators could be fired and “failing” schools taken over or closed. With these types of penalties, testing changed completely from a vital part of teaching and learning into a ruler to rap knuckles.

The Upside of Tests

Good teachers have been giving tests for centuries to understand what students know and what they still need to learn. Such so-called “formative” tests vary widely in method and definition – from students’ reflecting on their work to a quiz on last night’s reading – but they nevertheless provide essential information to teachers and students about what to cover next. In fact, recent research shows that formative assessment actually helps students retain what they learn.

While it’s a bit Pollyannaish to propose replacing standardized tests with formative ones, we could eliminate the most negative effects by doing more formative assessment. Following are some of the biggest testing pain points and ways to alleviate them through low-stakes, continual assessment:

1. Too much time away from teaching

In a survey of the Edulastic community last summer, we found that educators’ top concern with the new tests was the time required of students: 70% were somewhat or very concerned about it. Unlike formative assessments, which provide immediate data on understanding so that teachers can adjust instruction, educators do not get results from standardized tests until it’s too late to do anything about them. A recent study on testing released by the Council of the Great City Schools found that 39% of school districts had to wait 2-4 months to get test results, often not arriving until after school was out for the year.

2. Increased anxiety for students and teachers

Having just one chance to show what you know, with stiff penalties for failure, increases anxiety for teachers and students. In contrast, formative techniques like pre-tests and post-tests help students focus on and practice the most important concepts. Continual assessment reduces anxiety because it’s designed to reveal what a student has learned and has yet to learn, as opposed to whether the student has succeeded or failed.

3. Lack of reliable data on mastery or progress

Perhaps the most discouraging thing about our current standardized testing scheme is the scarcity of data it produces on student learning. Continual formative assessment produces thousands of time-series data points, allowing educators to say with confidence that a student has mastered a standard or skill. To get this level of confidence from a single, comprehensive test, students would need to answer dozens of questions for each standard, requiring hours of testing (see pain point #1).

Clearing Roadblocks to Change

Historically, standardized tests aimed to easily compare student performance (and by proxy teacher competency). Unfortunately, they are simply inadequate for this task. But how might we answer vital questions like, “How are our schools doing?” and “What do we need to adjust?”

To answer these questions at all levels – from individual students to whole states – we need more formative assessment practice and better data collection systems. Many teachers and schools already make formative and common assessments part of their curriculum. Grade level teachers review results together to figure out what’s working and what needs to be revised or redone. We need more support for this type of professional development, including training on how to assess well and interpret results, time for peer learning in PLCs (professional learning communities), and promotion of best practices in assessment and data analysis.

Second, we need better, more standardized data collection systems. Providing teachers banks of high-quality assessment items to include in their continual assessment mix will yield comparative data on student performance while promoting learning. Aligning teacher-created formative assessments with standards allows for standardized data collection – instead of standardized tests – to exponentially expand the number of data points available on student proficiency.

We’re at an inflection point with our approach to testing and measurement. Educators have better research, technology and data tools available to create a new, more efficient system of comprehensive assessment. If we can’t eliminate standardized tests, we can at least reduce their downside. And spend the time and money saved on assessment practices that promote learning and get us closer to the answer to “How are we doing?”

Leslie Tyler is a Vice President of Marketing at Edulastic, a platform for personalized formative assessment for K-12 students and school districts.

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Rick Osbourne 

According to the experts childhood obesity has increased dramatically over the past three decades, while access to school based physical education has decreased over the same period. And although the jury is still out on the relationship between these two phenomena, some experts are calling for MORE PE as at least part of the solution to the obesity epidemic.

But in the midst of a globalized recession that’s benefitting only a small percentage of people at the top of the economic ladder, and with no legitimate end in sight, the odds of MORE PE actually happening are poor at best. In the real world, public school budgets are being slashed while class sizes are growing, and “luxuries” such as art, music, and physical education are being sacrificed to anything having to do with math or science.

While Resources are Being Reduced
In the real world, schools have less money, teachers have more kids in class, less time per student, and they’re being judged (by the U.S. Department of Education) on academic achievement not on their fitness levels. Under these circumstances, how and where do we fit in MORE PE into the budget and the curriculum?

Operation Pull Your Own Weight
One answer to that question can be found in a strategy known as Operation Pull Your Own Weight (OPYOW) which the American Society of Exercise Physiologists has described as “A simple, easily implemented, easily documented, and affordable solution to childhood obesity.”

The basic premise of OPYOW is that kids who can physically pull their own weight (do at least one conventional pull up) are ALMOST NEVER OBESE. Furthermore, by using a set of height adjustable pull up straps along with a technique called leg assisted pull ups (jumping and pulling at the same time), most kids (90%) can learn to do pull ups in a predictable amount of time (6 weeks to 6 months). And those who maintain the ability (which requires decent eating and exercise habits) will avoid obesity and the myriad of related problems for life.

Very Little Time, Space, and Money
But here’s the main point for schools to consider. OPYOW requires LESS THAN TWO MINUTES PER WEEK PER STUDENT*, A MINUTE BUDGET, and ALMOST NO SPACE. So even if your school system is short on funds, short on time, and short on space, there are ZERO schools in the USA who are unable to implement OPYOW – IF THEY WANT TO DO IT. That is to say, the only real requirement is that a school’s administrators and staff want to implement this utterly simple strategy.

Four for the Price of One
And those who implement OPYOW will be able to document real progress towards childhood obesity PREVENTION every step of the way. Prevention in turn systematically reduces the need for rehabilitation. As childhood obesity is systematically beaten back, self-esteem is systematically improved, along with related factors including academic performance (upon which schools are judged), school attendance (upon which schools are funded), and social behaviors among students (60% of bulling is obesity related).

If they recognize the possibilities, OPYOW represents one simple solution for creative educational administrators. There’s absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.

*On average kids are in school 360 minutes (60 minutes times 6 hours equals 360 minutes) per day, and 1800 minutes (360 minutes times 5 days equals 1800 minutes) per week. That is to say, any creative administrator who actually wants to defeat childhood obesity, improve self-esteem along with academic performance, school attendance, and social behaviors can find the time and money to implement OPYOW.

**The one downside to OPYOW is that it has no aerobic component. By the same token, helping kids avoid obesity (functionally debilitating excess body weight) helps kids, most of whom naturally love to run and play normally whenever they’re out of school.

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Rick Osbourne is a former physical educator and a pioneer in the field of functional childhood obesity prevention. He currently serves as President of the Pull Your Own Weight Foundation which is an Illinois based, 501c3, not for profit organization whose focus is functional childhood obesity prevention. He’s written and published three books in this field, the latest of which is entitled

When it comes to propositions for educational reform, the suggestion that the U.S. adopt a year-round schooling model is one of the most drastic – at least within the eyes of the American public. Summer vacation has a long, nostalgia-draped history amongst American school children. Still, the idea of year-round schooling isn’t one that came out of nowhere.

In 2005, the National Task Force on Public Education (NTFPE), which included prominent politicians, businesspersons, and education leaders as members, issued a report on the required methodological changes in our education system. The report, Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer: A Progressive Education Agenda for a Stronger Nation, emphasized that the most important resource of the education sector is time. The report discussed how our current system of a short school year with a long summer originated in the 1800s, when children were needed to help work in the fields in the evenings and summer.

Also, our education system began at a time when most students were expected to have primary schooling and then work in the family business or manufacturing, or work in other ways to contribute to the family’s economic well-being. During this time, only about 20% of children were actually being groomed to attend college. Today, however, things are very different. The family is no longer a cohesive economic unit that requires the work of children to help with the family’s income. We have also moved beyond the point where in a majority of homes, one parent (most often the mother) was home to attend to children. The traditional family unit of a working father and stay-at-home mother is no longer the norm. Rather, 32% of children are raised in single-family households where the parent presumably has to work full time. Similarly, over 60% of school-aged children in two-parent families live in a home where both parents work outside the home.

Changes are also apparent in our economy; our information-age society will result in a reduction of jobs requiring minimal levels of educations. Many jobs today require a college education and/or the ability to acquire and adapt skills for high-performance workplaces of the 21st century. We must make changes in our education system to better prepare our children for the jobs of today and the jobs of the future. To increase the reach of and improve the public education system, it is necessary to increase the amount of time used for schooling, as well as to improve the efficiency with which we use the time allotted for educational endeavors.

Proponents of a year-round school year suggest that a shift in the time designated for teaching and learning will help students achieve more by minimizing summer learning loss, allowing for innovation and implementation of creative programs, and providing the time needed to assist children who need extra help. Many school districts around the country are in fact working toward increasing both the hours in each school day and the number of days schools are in session. Many education leaders are open to the idea of increasing the number of days per school year by up to an additional month, and some go so far as to support year-round school programming. Some leaders have suggested an extended school day and/or school year for schools that are failing to perform well. This suggestion seems to have some foundation in research, because data show that certain groups (including students from low socioeconomic backgrounds) seem to be negatively impacted by the traditional summer hiatus. The proponents of year-round schooling claim that with extended time to teach, teachers will be able to help all students attain better performance results.

It’s easy to understand why education reformers put so much emphasis on time spent teaching and learning. Research shows that time may be the most essential resource of the education system. But it’s important to recognize that merely increasing the amount of time students are in school is not a panacea for improving student performance. It’s necessary to use the available time in the best possible manner. If teachers fail to convert the available time to quality teaching and learning time, the increased school hours will not improve student performance.

Parents often have a stake in school hours as well. Some parents are already highly concerned with their child’s academic progress. Many parents prefer to employ additional educational services for their children that may offer better afterschool educational opportunities, and others may prefer to spend some of their own time educating their children after school. Those parents, and parents of students from affluent backgrounds, may not support increasing school day hours, and for those students, it may not be necessary. Nonetheless, by increasing high-quality education time, schools can certainly provide help for students who can’t afford learning opportunities outside of school.

Although a longer school day or year has many positives, there are also a number of concerns, including cost. Increasing the number of hours and days in school can prove expensive, making it necessary to put more emphasis on increasing the utility of available school time. Some education leaders suggest that instead of increasing the hours and days in a school calendar year, it would be better to spread out the available number of school days in such a manner that the school services may remain available for the students throughout the year. This might mean offering three short breaks rather than one long summer vacation, or simply offering various classes or tutoring programs during the summer downtime. Either approach would increase costs in facility usage and likely increase staff costs as well.

Despite some perceived negatives and issues, the idea of year-round schools is continuously gaining support in the United States, with a 544% increase in the number of public schools adopting year-round school options between 1990 and 2010. A total of 3,182 schools in 46 states have involved 2.3 million children in this year-round schooling structure. While it might seem crazy, revolutionary ideas are what educational reform needs.

Most American citizens are proud of our “melting pot” status. After all, how many of us refer to ourselves as one ethnicity or another, and not just an “American”? It is a source of familial pride for us. Even African Americans, who do not always have an Ellis Island story in the family true, find collective strength in the stories of their ancestors and what it means for their lives today.

While this blending of cultures can most definitely be a blessing—it can also be a curse. With more diversity than ever, teachers have to adjust methods from one student to the next, and from one year to the next. Multiculturalism is about more than a classroom with varied skin color – it includes careful examination of the neighborhoods, parenting styles and general experiences that shape each and every K-12 student.

In this article, I want to take a look at several ways to encourage a real multicultural education in our schools.

1. Define multiculturalism. Multicultural education is a progressive approach for transforming education based on educational equality and social justice. The components required in educating a multicultural education are content integrations, prejudice reduction, empowering school culture and social culture. These all relate and all require attention as they relate to the efforts of conflict resolution in today’s world. What kids learn in their classroom environments when it comes to interactions with those who are different from them translates into how well they will manage life in the global marketplace.

In the last century, there has been an increase in global mutual acceptance of opposing views and different cultures – though arguably, there is still a long way to go. Specifically when it comes to America, it is crucial that multicultural education exist with the increasing number of students who speak a second language and come from somewhere else. Diversity exists even within mainstream society and students need to have the communication life skills that multicultural education promotes.

2. Observe your students closely, and value your real-life experience of diversity over the textbook version. David Kolb created a four-step model for really understanding the needs of a particular student group. He starts with concrete experience, adds reflective observation and then moves to abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.

In other words, multicultural education cannot be taught in a textbook. It must be developed by each educator based on a particular student group.

3. Learn your students’ learning styles. Teachers can help students discover their academic strengths by helping them discover their own learning style. In this way, students discover what method of comprehension works best for them based on their own backgrounds and personalities. If educators make this learning style quest a class project, an inherent lesson in multiculturalism is taught.
4. Encourage your students to be proud of their heritage. Educators should look for ways to emphasize the differences between students in a positive light. This might mean writing essays on family background or partnering with other students to help each other develop projects that accent the culture of the other. This can include prompts that look back on family history for generations, or could ask students to look at their current family setup.
5. Be aware of your biases. In order to fully understand the significance of multiculturalism in the classroom, educators must first thoroughly examine their own cultural beliefs, values, and biases.  Then prospective educators are ready to begin learning about other cultures–to become familiar with their values, traditions, communication styles, learning preferences, contributions to society, and relationship patterns of their future students.  While some of this education can be achieved by simply reading about cultural diversity, it is difficult to truly substitute for genuine interaction and discourse with members of students’ cultures.

While book knowledge about diverse cultural groups can come in handy to a certain extent when designing lesson plans and educational materials, one of the most important reasons for truly learning about the cognitive patterns of cultural groups is so that the interpersonal attitudes and behaviors of diverse students can be effectively interpreted in terms of the culture that they’re entrenched in.  Traditional teaching environments force students from those and other groups to modify their thought and behavior patterns to fit standard European-American norms or else face academic and behavioral consequences.  In a culturally responsive classroom, the onus is instead placed on the instructor to learn about and adapt to the cultural intricacies of the students that they teach.

6. Create assignments that celebrate multiculturalism. If used cleverly, classroom assignments can provide a primary window into a student’s cultural beliefs.  Writing assignments can play a significant role in gathering information about student thought patterns and tendencies.  Interviews with family members, assignments asking students to write about learning experiences that occur outside of school, and assignments involving family stories and traditions all can play a significant role in unearthing information about a students’ cultural heritage.  Students’ parents can often be solicited as sources of useful personal information and visiting the neighborhoods where diverse students live can help give educators an idea about the level of social support present and the types of challenges that the student might face outside of the classroom.

There are tons of ways that educators can approach multiculturalism in K-12 classrooms but the first step is recognizing its importance.

How do you adjust to and promote multiculturalism in your classrooms?