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This was a high-profile
school with an excellent faculty. Even with an elaborate advisory system and a
school day that promoted interaction and novelty with a plethora of
interesting assemblies and overnight
retreats, the underlying motivator in the high school was gaining
entrance into a select college, and with it, grades and standardized test
scores. I was part of that system of academic rigor because I
taught an AP class, and like the
other AP teachers wanted my
students to excel. The school was a well-tuned machine for producing high
standardized test scores in every area
embracing SAT, ACT, and AP exams.
Given the fact that the school was situated in
a demographic that included four of the state's best public high schools, the
mission statement emphasized exceptional content area instruction along with
student validation and empowerment in
classroom instruction and extracurricular activities. It produced the highest
SAT, ACT, AP scores, and National Merit Scholars in the state. Up to twenty
percent were in sports all year and a significant percent had both athletic and
other commitments such as yearbook, newspaper, community service, debate,
science projects, and more. The high school gathered for assemblies three to
five times per week.
Nevertheless, even with the highly visible
validation environment, parents
demanded numbers, and the students were part of an unusually competitive
atmosphere that included a battery of after-school and weekend tutoring for
national exams. The admissions office printed SAT and AP scores for each of
the disciplines on their brochures. Collectively these elements generated an
intensity level that made the school a high stakes game, and parents and
obliging administration were building a
resume for their children that encompassed course grades, standardized test scores,
extracurricular activities, and any
eye-catching participation that would embellish a college entrance portfolio.
As a professional, you
walked a fine line between friend and objective evaluator. Compounding the
stress, the administration required the
students fill out teacher evaluations at the end of the year and not only
scrutinized the circled numbers and statements but listened to any gossip that
came within earshot. Salaries were affected as well as retention. I worked with
a capable and diverse group of patient and doting teachers that validated our charges often,
and for the most part, the well-articulated student-centered program and its
faculty were held in high regard. It was a terrific place to teach but you were
under a microscope, (particularly me at that Back to School event).
American
education in the global economy
How is education sizing
up in the United States? It depends on who you ask but newspapers print statistics
from both state and national organizations suggesting we are not doing well.
For instance, the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a
congressionally mandated project, found that sixty-six percent of all United
States fourth graders scored "below proficient" on their reading
test, and among students from low-income backgrounds, eighty percent scored
below grade level in reading.1
Globally, in a 2012
analysis of student performance of 15-year-olds on the Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA), the U.S. placed twenty-seventh out of thirty-four
countries in math and twentieth in science.2
While not every
American child desires a college education we nevertheless must contend with
the fact that more than twenty-five percent of American students do not
graduate high school, and university readiness exams indicate that only
twenty-five percent of those that graduate are adequately prepared to handle
college-level civics subjects.3 That is peculiar because a huge
sample of high school graduates from 'prep' schools are therefore not equipped
with the skills needed to perform in the college classroom. Taxpayers support
public education in their districts with the expectation that a sizeable
portion of the graduating classes will be functional in the university setting.
The achievement gap, too, between poor and higher-income students has grown
significantly in the last decade.4
What is unusual is that
this abysmal record is occurring in the world's most prosperous nation. There
are many schools doing an excellent job preparing students for the literacy
needed to be successful in this global century but the overall productivity in
American schools is not encouraging.
There are consequences.
The Council on Foreign Relations reports that the mediocre standing in the
international community is putting the nation's economic prosperity, global
position, as well as physical safety at risk. Furthermore, the lack of academic
readiness reduces the employability of young people in the high-skilled global
economy. Many are in fact unable to join the military because they have
criminal records, are physically unfit and have poor academic backgrounds. The report adds:
Human
capital will determine power in the current century, and the failure to produce
that capital will undermine America's security. Large, undereducated swaths of
the population damage the ability of the United States to physically defend
itself, protect its secure information, conduct diplomacy, and grow its
economy.3
Teaching to
the test minimizes the importance of content areas
In his book Catching Up or Leading the Way, Yong
Zhao, a native of China, and now Director of the Institute for Global and Online
Education in the College of Education at the University of Oregon, explains how
American schools are approximating the intense need to achieve high
standardized test scores that China
emphasized for many years.
…what
China wants is what America is eager to throw away –
an education that respects individual talents, supports divergent thinking,
tolerates deviation, and encourages creativity: a system in which the government does
not dictate what students learn or how teachers teach; a culture that does not
rank or judge the success of a school, a teacher, or a child based on only test
scores in a few subjects determined by the government.5(p. vi)
I found the state and
national syllabi established for my courses in the early part of my career
helpful. Zhao, however, views it differently perplexed that a nation
that holds individual rights and liberties in highest regard would allow a
central government body to mandate what children should learn and how they are
to be evaluated. He argues that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) agenda did
not meet that challenge but has instead placed greater focus on scores from a
few disciplines. President George W. Bush proclaimed at its
inception (Jan. 8, 2002):
And
today begins a new era, a new time in public education in our country. As of this hour, America’s schools will be on
a new path of reform, and a new path of results. Parents will have more
information about the schools, and more say in how their children are
educated. From this day forward, all
students will have a better chance to learn, to excel, and to live out their
dreams.6
Zhao feels this did not
come to fruition in the way described by the president and cites several
educational experts in his book that concur. To remain an elite economic and
entrepreneurial force, America needs to reduce the ever-growing emphasis on
tests as a criterion for success and allow individual school districts to
decide how to produce creative, passionate, and collaborative individuals.
Instead, NCLB and under the Obama Administration, Common Core have served to push
schools (and their faculty) in the direction of making compliant and uniform
test takers.
Many of the articles in
our newspapers focus on the comparative results of standardized exams between
central-city and suburban schools, as well as other cities and states. The
advent of these ambitious programs has served to narrow curriculum to
approximate test material, which Zhao feels has led to
demoralization of faculty, some teacher-inspired cheating, and a deprivation of
a meaningful education for poverty-stricken children. The ones that benefit
from these national plans are the publication firms and tutoring services that
have accrued more orders. He urges schools to devote energy helping students to
"experience and experiment with different options in life" to
discover their passions and strengths. He adds:
There
will be a high demand for global competencies such as foreign languages, global
awareness, and multicultural literacy as essential skills and knowledge to cope
with the global world and digital or technology literacy for the virtual world.5
(p.151)
What are the fastest
growing industries? Web search portals and interpreters and translators to cope
with increased immigration, national security concerns, and broadening
international ties. To be successful you do not have to fill out a resume,
climb up the system of corporate ladders, or for that matter take a school
curriculum, but rather find your talent or acquire the knowledge needed to
operate a business.
"Writers do not
necessarily have to use a publisher to sell their books. Musicians do not have
to have a record company. Independent photographers (including amateurs) can
sell their services to Flickr.com. Web designers can independently sell their
services online."5 (p. 143)
By tilting in the
direction of stressing standardized test performance, schools
are not likely to set aside time for self-discovery outlets in favor of
industrious desk instruction to learn facts. Zhao stresses developing
a global mindset that embraces multiple perspectives, appreciation of different
talents, and respect for diversity.
The American classroom is boring for a sizable
percentage of students
There are any number of
reasons for the poor showing in American schools but as the
High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE) discovered, a
considerable number of students are not engaged. Project director Ethan Yazzie-Mintz, points out that the 2009 statistical report compiled from 42,000 students
covering one hundred and three high schools reveals that they are bored or
essentially not connected to school.7,8 Translated this way:
two-thirds do not appreciate school, the significance of well-articulated
content areas, and their relevance
in well-endowed educational programs, tailor-made to their talents and literacy
development. Moreover, schools are not fostering respect for learning subject
areas, and I find that disconcerting.
What motivates
students, therefore? The survey showed that they enjoy classes with creative
group projects as well as discussion and debate opportunities. Yazzie-Mintz
feels that students want to be intellectually challenged and that projects,
particularly in the areas of technology, art, and drama, are rated high. He
also feels that boredom can be counteracted if lessons encourage interaction
between teachers and peers. It boils down to this:
Students want to be empowered as engaged
agents in the classroom, validated as capable thinkers, and relevant amidst
their peers. Yazzie-Mintz is telling
us that this is not transpiring with two-thirds of American students.
Creative
dreaming and multiple intelligences
There is a paradox in
all this because while standardized test scores reveal gaps
due to demographic strata, the United States nevertheless ranked number one on
the 2007-2008 Global Competitiveness Index out of one hundred
thirty-one countries in its ability to provide high levels of prosperity to
their citizens (but has dropped the third out of one hundred forty behind
Switzerland and Singapore in the 2015-2016 rating). The US also leads the world
in science and technology, patents, Nobel Prizes, and percentage of the world's
top universities. Standardized testing has been a mainstay in our school
systems for many years and useful information about strength of curriculum can
be derived from the IOWA Basic Skills, SAT, ACT, and AP exams. However, in
recent years the NCLB and Common Core initiatives have
revved up evaluation with success being dictated by introspection of test
results in some districts at almost every grade level without considering the
benefits of group project work and other
creative pursuits, particularly in drama, music, and art.
In his book, Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in
Practice, Howard Gardner identifies six. They
are visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal,
linguistic, and logical-mathematical. We possess all of them but to different
degrees with the sum comprising our talent profile. He proclaims therefore that
we learn in diverse ways because we have distinct minds. Gardner wants the school
districts to appreciate this variation in children, and that uniform modes in
teaching methodology as well as testing measures do not serve the population of
students well. Children would be best served if subjects were presented and
assessed in a diversified manner to accommodate everyone.9
Robert Sylwester, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of
Oregon, contends that true engagement in children occurs outside of class time
where they have more opportunities to explore hobbies. In fact, that engagement
is manifested in the "countless attentive hours of independent reflective
time pursuing their new interest".12 (p. 38)
In his book A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink characterizes the
skills needed for a successful work culture in the 21st century as right-brain
centric or “R-directed thinking.” Left brain or L-brain directed is sequential,
literal, functional, textual, and analytic, like subjects in school,
particularly math, science, and language arts. That was the desired emphasis
for a good part of the previous century. He contends that successful education
should be more R-brain centric, that is, more simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic,
contextual, and synthetic like that pursued in music, visual/spatial, and
interpersonal avenues at school.13
Pink labels the current
Information Age as transitioning to
the Conceptual Age, a perspective targeted in this book related to empowerment. I draw the analogy that the work culture needs to change
the paradigm from a control orientation to inspire:
…self-direction [that is], looking for ways to increase the
amount of autonomy people have over their task, time, team, and technique.14
Are
we adequately preparing children for the complexity of their future vocation?
Margaret Andrews, instructor at Harvard University's Division of Continuing
Education, comments that the keys to lifelong career success are leadership, the ability to work
well on a team, and communication skills.15 Bloomberg surveyed one
thousand three hundred and twenty recruiters from six hundred companies and
found that the most desired applicant qualities of recent MBA's are
communication, leadership, problem-solving, and
strategic thinking skills.16 In fact, economist Richard Florida
feels that: "Human creativity is the ultimate source of economic resource.
The ability to come up with new ideas and better ways to do things is
ultimately what raises productivity and thus living standards"(p. xiii)17.
People successful in this arena likely experienced validation by parents,
teachers, or peers, and were empowered in leadership roles.
Grit
Angela Duckworth, Distinguished Professor
of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and recipient of the MacArthur
Genius Fellowship, has interviewed high achievers across the globe in sports,
business, and writing, detailing their perseverance and passion in what she
calls 'grit' in her book by the same name.
She cites noted Harvard psychologist William
James's claim that we are not living up to our potentials in his Science publication in 1907 titled:
"The Energies of Men":
Compared to
what we ought to be, we are only half awake… we are making use of only a small
part of our physical and mental resources… the human individual lives far
within his limits. He possesses power of various sorts which he habitually
fails to use.18
Her twelve-item survey has been administered
extensively and found to be an excellent predictor of individual success in
future endeavors. When applied to entering West Point enrollees, for example,
grittier scoring cadets were more likely to get through the arduous boot camp
summer. Similarly, novice teachers that scored high on the grit test stayed in
teaching and became effective educators.
In addition, grittier high school juniors in Chicago public schools were
more likely to graduate after their senior year.19,20
Duckworth has found the
application of this tool better at predicting success than talent and I.Q. and
claims that anyone can become grittier. Based on the interviews and compiling
thousands of grit surveys in schools and businesses, she found that
"mature paragons of grit" have these qualities:
1. Keen interest in what they do, particularly
their specialized activity.
2. Devotion to " focused,
full-hearted-challenge-exceeding-skill practice that leads to mastery",
overcoming weaknesses, week after week, and if necessary, year after year.
3. The effort has a purpose, especially if it
is going to benefit others, giving it lifetime relevance.
4. Hope, since it is needed in every stage,
particularly since there will likely be demoralizing obstacles along the way
that create doubt and fatigue.19(p. 91)
Duckworth's Grit survey predicts success among high school students to
attend college, too. After administering it to 1,200 students, she found that
sixty-nine percent who scored 6 out of 6 were on track to get a degree in a
two- or four-year college, but for those that scored 0 out of 6, only sixteen
percent were enrolled in college.19,20
Conclusion
I find that Zhao, Gardner, Fox, and Pink's recommendations meaningful, and may lead to higher
levels of engagement in school, particularly Fox's assertion that childhood should include a fair amount of
"creative dreaming". These are lofty ideals and educators might find
them difficult to implement in a lesson plan to invigorate higher levels of
achievement in children. They are suggesting American schools somehow deviate
from their parochial wall to wall content area facilitation to scheduled time
slots in various sectors of the building where students realize their talents
with subsequent discovery of value and relevance in course curriculum.
I do not remember
having creative dreams while in school but experienced them at home while
playing with my train set, board games, reading novels, watching television, and trips to cultural and nature centers in our city or
when I sat back on the couch in our family room. Therefore, parents should
provide scenarios for their children to be in the "creative dream"
mode outside of school hours. I believe journaling falls under the
category of creative dreaming, a way to generate a stream of conscious for
sustained periods, sorting daily events and projecting future goals and
aspirations. That is personal or subjective validation, a means to reflect on moods, talents, as well as assess
and regulate emotional responses to encounters. Text messaging is 'writing' but
does not entail the depth of cognition and perspective as
journaling.
standardized
tests, I disagree a bit with Zhao. Though I taught basic science electives throughout my
career in diversified demographic settings, the challenge of also teaching a
college level curriculum to high schoolers terminating with a national exam was nerve-wracking,
yet it inspired me to find pedagogical avenues that enhanced comprehension and
long-term mastery. There was a balance: curriculum specialists designed the
syllabus, and I structured assignments around the objectives and content to
meet the needs of my students. I was more focused at in-services because the
speakers and seminar leaders provided interesting perspectives that became
successful strategies in my teaching repertoire. However, as I became
experienced facilitating my subject, relationships touched on during my college
years were rediscovered and conveyed to my students. They appreciated the
correlations as well as the historical relevance of the people responsible for
the development of my content area. Though syllabus-driven, I was
nevertheless motivated to provide interesting challenges that empowered
students to think collaboratively and creatively to
solve problems.
It is my opinion that
the advising opportunities mentioned previously enhanced the overall
educational experience for our students and give high marks to the
administrators that scheduled them, enabling the faculty to set the agenda for
this part of the school calendar.
Overnight retreats, college trips, and community service days embellished the
program and allowed the students to rub shoulders with the adults in the school
community. As the director of these events I saw firsthand how incredibly
engaged the students became
during these novel activities because everyone participated, and the classroom
introverts were empowered to be contributors, sustaining a role in the
activities. The school wanted validation and these unique
events (not done in the four public schools in the region) accomplished that
goal.
Like many schools, a
drawback was the high priority given to college counseling coupled with the
significant emphasis on grades and standardized test scores. The people
that administered these departments were well organized and made the
application process efficient. The issue, however, was the anxiety engendered in both
the students and their parents, creating an atmosphere that diminished the
appreciation of subjects for several students. Moreover, they were people whose
professional goals included validating students through grades, SAT scores, and
the components of the application process (letters of recommendation, college
essays, prompt submission of applications, and more).
I feel that the
philosophies expressed by Zhao, Gardner, Fox, and Pink can be achieved in
schools along with high-level content area mastery. Departments
should meet from time to time to share their insights on how to implement
strategies in their content driven courses. This book reveals how validation and empowerment can
be amplified and includes the science of interactive instruction coupling
structured teacher-led lectures with student-led roles and collaborative work. The brain of a child is geared for a host of
instructional methods that foster engagement, and that happens when students
are extemporaneous participants,
empowered to facilitate the knowledge through questioning and group analysis,
affirmed by their peers. Sustaining that attentiveness through high school is likely to engender the
knowledge and skills required to succeed in the college environment where they
foster an appreciation of content areas
*******
Validate and Empower: Eleanor
Roosevelt and Marie Souvestre
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"The headmistress of the school I
went to in England Marie Souvestre, exerted perhaps
the greatest influence on my girlhood. She shocked one into thinking,
stressing rigorous analysis and independent thinking as well as humanism and
commitment to human justice. She took me traveling throughout Europe and
revealed both the grandeur and the squalor of the nations. I basked in her
generous presence, which did much to form my character, and give me the
confidence to go through some of the trials (totally without fear) that
awaited me when I returned to the United States, stating opinions on
controversial political events clearly and concisely. I kept her portrait on my desk and carried her letters
wherever I traveled."
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, Department of History of The
George Washington University, Allida M. Black, Ph.D.
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References
1. National
Assessment of Educational Progress at Grades 4 and 8, U.S. Department of
Education (2013)
Retrieved from
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/main2013/pdf/2014451.pdf
2. Programme for
International Student Assessment (2012)
Retrieved from
http://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/PISA-2012-results-US.pdf
3. U.S. Education
Reform and National Security. (3 Nov. 2016).
CFR.org. Council on Foreign Relations,
Retrieved from
http://www.cfr.org/united-states/us-education-reform-national-security/p27618
4. Bromberg, M.,
Theokas C., (2013). Breaking the Glass
Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color.
Retrieved from
https://edtrust.org/resource/breaking-the-glass-ceiling-of-achievement-for-low-income-students-and-students-of-color/
5. Zhao, Y.,
(2009). Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of
Globalization, Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
6. White House
Archives.
Retrieved from:
http://georgewbushwhitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/achievement/text/chap12.html
7. Surveys of
Student Engagement, National Association of Independent Schools (2009)
Retrieved from
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news-archive/14593.html
8. Bryner, J., Most
Students Bored at School, Live Science (2007)
Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/1308-students-bored-school.html
9. Gardner, H.,
(1993). Multiple Intelligences: The
Theory In Practice, Basic Books,
10. Retrieved from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenifer-fox/10-tips-for-discovering-y_b_288460.html
11. Fox, J., (2007) Your Child's Strengths: Discover Them,
Develop Them, Use Them, Viking Press.
12. Sylwester, R.,
(2003). A Biological Brain in a Cultural
Classroom, Corwin Press
13. Pink, D., (2006).
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will
Rule the Future, Riverhead Books,
14. 10,000ft
interview with Daniel Pink: the evolving world of work, 10K Blog, October 2013
Retrieved from:
https://www.10000ft.com/blog/daniel-pink-and-the-changing-world-of-work
15. Andrews, M., What
Do Employers Want? (June 30, 2015)
Retrieved from:
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/stratedgy/what-do-employers-want
16. Levy, F., Rodkin,
J., (2015). The Bloomberg Recruiter Report: Job Skills Companies Want But Can’t
Get.
Retrieved from:
http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-job-skills-report/
17. Florida, R.,
(2002). The rise of the creative class:
and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life, Basic
Books
18. James, W.,
(1907), The Energies of Men, Science 25:321-332.
19. Duckworth, A.
(2016) Grit: The Power of Passion and
Perseverance, Scribner
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L., Shulman, E. P., Beale, S. A., & Duckworth, A. L.
(2014). The grit effect: Predicting retention in the military, the
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