Thoughts on Education

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

re: Extended School Day

Any interesting piece from the NYTimes about France's longer school day and archaic policy of no school on Wednesday

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

Rhee etc

I went to go see Michelle Rhee speak recently, out of not much more than morbid curiosity.  I always try to make myself approach issues from multiple angles, and when possible try to hear out the other side. I actually thought that this post by G.F Brandenburg summed up succinctly alot of my feelings leaving the talk. The one that more than anything struck a chord was how she managed to avoid straight answers the entire time, instead reverting back to the mantra that "we all want what is best for our kids". That's a no brainer. We all want whats best for children....but repeating that is not a means to back up your policy standpoints or explain the long term benefit of what you and Student's First are pushing. If I could snap my fingers and have every child walk into a perfect school on Monday, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But rash decisions usually do not yield fruitful results. Working to better our education system and equalize the injustice that currently plagues it will not happen in a heartbeat. It will take many and it will take time to see the full spectrum of results. Urgency does not have to become thoughtlessness and if we indeed do want whats best for the children....it never should.

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

NYT Editorial and a brief bit about charter regulation

I really enjoyed this thoughtful editorial from the Times last week. Led me to a study from Standford's CREDO regarding the weak nature of charter regulations.

More to come on my thoughts....but for now worth a read!

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

Extended School Day v. After School

This post on edushyster forced me to return to the increasingly important discussion of how time after school is scheduled. As studies have shown, merely having students in the classroom longer does not drastically alter what is learned or how it is learned (as noted by the “fringing chaos” in the edushyster piece). A number of studies brought this to light, noting that more hours can be beneficial, but this depends drastically on how these hours are used (See this study by Elena Silva and this by the Harvard Family Research Project).

This boils down to the debate between extended school day and after school programming. The difference, in my mind, is as follows. Extended day implies similar programming to the school day, ie. another class or study hall etc. After school programming implies a separate but related entity. This could encompass academic needs such as tutoring, homework help or a special elective (many science electives are popular as after school programs, as are arts, sports or character development).  After school should provide an opportunity for choice and flexibility from the regular school day.  Just as an interesting point of reference, please see this piece by Mark Phillips on time in school and this piece from the Christian Science Monitor comparing time spent in US schools to various other countries. .

The difference between extended day and after school is well stated in a conversation on the Washington Post blog, the answer sheet, between Jodi Grant and Jennifer Davis.  Grant makes an important point that, “History has demonstrated very clearly that schools alone cannot shoulder the burden of preparing all our students to succeed.  That’s why afterschool programs are so important. They have a proven track record of leveraging the best of a community’s resources — colleges, museums, arts groups, volunteers, community- and faith-based organizations, sports leagues, health care providers, businesses and others — to offer students hands-on activities that complement, but do not replicate, the school day.” After school opens up learning to the whole community, which is important to all involved (it takes a village as they say…).

It is well known that the hours between 3 and 6 can be some of the most dangerous for children (US Justice Department, 1999). As noted by Julie Cain of Seattle SCORES, “children have a four times greater chance of being the victim of violent crime during after-school hours; juvenile crime triples when the school bell rings at the end of the day; children left unsupervised for 11 or more hours per week have twice the risk of substance abuse than those under some adult supervision, unsupervised children are three times more likely to become teen parents….Lets give our kids choice, expand opportunity for community engagement and not just spend money tacking another few hours onto the day….”

Afterschool programming gives our kids choice, works to keep them safe and engages the community. There is ample research out there and much of it is worth a read, what is important is to think twice about the “logic” of an extended school day.

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

Progressive: lets go back to its roots

Two quick posts from the times (and a few lengthy posts coming soon).

NYTimes overview of Obama's second inaugural address

With  what has been lauded as one of the more progressive inaugurals in recent history, lets hope for more progressive education policies in the next four years. Fingers crossed for careful attention to the common core's efficacy in the coming years, respect teachers as professionals (better advanced training and compensation) and, drive as a nation to provide ALL children with schools to meet their needs. Let's hope that as a nation we can begin to focus on child centered progressive education (the true sense of "progressive education") and begin to revere childhood for all that it can give to ourselves and our youth.

On that...a brief but nice rebuttal to extended day policies in NY. This leads into a piece I plan to post in the next few days about this issue.

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

A Call for More Effective Prevention of Violence

http://curry.virginia.edu/articles/sandyhookshooting

This is well worth a read as a balanced and intelligent response to the culture of violence we as a country face, how to best handle policy regarding safety in schools and communities and, how to address the root of the problem of multi- casualty shootings which occur far too often. I will copy portions of the statement I view as particularly important below.

"Inclinations to intensify security in schools should be reconsidered. We cannot and should not turn our schools into fortresses.  Effective prevention cannot wait until there is a gunman in a school parking lot. We need resources such as mental health supports and threat assessment teams in every school and community so that people can seek assistance when they recognize that someone is troubled and requires help. For communities, this speaks to a need for increased access to well integrated service structures across mental health, law enforcement, and related agencies. We must encourage people to seek help when they see that someone is embroiled in an intense, persistent conflict or is deeply troubled. If we can recognize and ameliorate these kinds of situations, then we will be more able to prevent violence."

"Support is critical for effective prevention. Many students and family members experience life stresses and difficulties. Depression, anxiety, bullying, incivility, and various forms of conflict need to be taken seriously. Every school should create environments where students and adults feel emotionally safe and have the capacity to support one another. Schools must also have the resources to maintain evidence-based programs designed to address bullying and other forms of student conflict. Research-based violence prevention and related comprehensive support programs should be offered, following a three-tier approach, operating at universal (school-wide), targeted (for students who are at risk), and intensive (for students who are at the highest levels of risk and need) levels."

"Nationally, the mental health needs of youth and adults are often shortchanged or neglected. That needs to change. Using much-needed federal and state funding, community-based mental health organizations should work in cooperation with local law enforcement, schools, and other key community stakeholders to create a system of community-based mental health response and threat assessment. These efforts should promote wellness as well as address mental health needs of all community members while simultaneously responding to potential threats to community safety. This initiative should include a large scale public education and awareness campaign, along with newly created channels of communication to help get services to those in need."

Thanks to all who put this out.

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

Creating safe spaces and safe schools

 I had not intended to comment on the NRA drama, but reading articles such as the one about teachers in Utah being trained to carry concealed weapons have left me truly flabbergasted.

Students who  live in areas with increased gun violence should be able to come to a school that is completely gun-free, staff included. On the flip side students NOT living in such areas should not be made to question their safety in school due to the presence of weapons.

If using military rhetoric to describe our schools wasn’t enough * actually arming teachers undoubtedly goes to far.  This should be an issue that falls above the second amendment rights debate. Certain places must be considered safe and sacred, and if schools do not fit this description we as a country need to seriously readjust our priorities.

School officials across the nation (not to mention policy makers but that almost goes without saying) should remember to practice what we preach about making ALL students feel safe in school. Schools should be and often are a place of refuge.  The 1990 Gun Free School Zone Act (see also here) made  it is unlawful to carry a weapon of any kind in an area one has “reasonable cause” to believe is a school zone.  However, the law states that individuals may possess firearms “as part of a program approved by a school in the school zone”. For an entire school staff to fall under this category is an egregious loophole that will hurt children and communities.

I can only hope that this is the straw to break the camels back. The far right needs to return to earth and start thinking about the world they want to raise their own children in.

  * This is a historical analysis I have long been interested in and hope to examine in earnest sooner than later, perhaps with excerpts on this blog. I believe that starting with the War on Poverty and the publication of the Moynihan Report, discussions of education became intertwined with the rhetoric of war and military action. I hope to prove that as the global education reform agenda has moved forward, this rhetoric also only become more deeply entrenched in our discussions of educational issues.

[andreanelson-edu-blog]

Exposure to Violence

“When will Hollywood and the rest of the media recognize their responsibility for the cult of violence?”, Diane Ravitch wrote in her blog on December 14th. There has been much discussion since the massacre at Sandy Hook about gun control, school safety and the state of mental health in this country (see also here). The psychological effects of directly witnessing violence are well known  (see NIH study and article from Child Development, these are just a few examples). The students at Sandy Hook as well as the countless others who witness acts of violence each day require support and counseling and we must ensure our mental health care system is capable of handling this (which unfortunately in many cases it is not).

But it is not just direct exposure to violence which we must worry about.  The inundation of violent images affects children today and has affected people who came of age in my generation as access to realistic violent imagery through video games and media rapidly became the new normal. As this type of exposure is increasingly commonplace,  we must ask ourselves if it is numbing our society and our children to the implications of acts of violence. While I do not think it is realistic to shield ourselves or our children from the reality of violence, I do believe we must provide a developmentally appropriate context to it. Children exposed to violent imagery through media and video games must understand the real implications acts of violence have.

A study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology demonstrates the connection between exposure to violent imagery and the development of an emotional numbness towards violent acts. The authors provide data proving the link between exposure to violent media and acute desensitization to violence based on certain neural indices.  Additionally, a longitudinal study from a group of developmental psychologists from Brock University indicates that sustained exposure to violent video games can lead to increased instances of aggressive behavior in high school students.   Although Hollywood is reacting short term to the Sandy Hook tragedy, we must keep this in mind as discussions and actions move forward about gun control and the safety of our citizens and students. As a society, it is essential that we think about how the “cult” or culture of violence affects all of us, even those who are fortunate enough to not be exposed to violence first hand.

11/11/13-Update. Biden meeting with video game industry about violence in media. We shall see if anything comes from this...