In San Francisco, there is a new promise for middle school students, "Qualify for college and you'll have a reserved seat as well as financial aid when you get there."
Despite the current economic crises, three middle schools are promising students who "sign the 'Save Me a Spot in College' pledge - and later meet entrance and eligibility requirements - will receive a fee waiver for two or more years at a California community college, as long as the student continues to show financial need."
Students who qualify for financial aid would be able to receive college funding anyway, but San Francisco sees it as an opportunity to provide "motivation as well as increased college-preparatory support through high school."
Right now colleges are cutting back on offered courses and admitting fewer students due to cash-strapped institutions. However, as they look forward, they are hoping to create the even bigger problem of having so many students qualifying for college that they will be forced to fix that problem.
I think anything that promises and guarantees a future in education is great. It's not a charitable act. The students would have to qualify (which can be a big task...and which is why I would hope the school system is stepping up to that plate). By providing the offer in junior high, kids have an opportunity to begin working toward their goals, not having to worry about finding the funding and figuring out the system....a daunting task for kids and parents who have no experience with the massive amounts of paperwork and small print it takes to get into college.
Wouldn't it be nice to offer that guarantee to all kids?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Encouraging fighting to solve problems
As I read the report about South Oak Cliff (SOC) high school using cage fighting to solve problems, I was troubled for more than the obvious reasons.
Evidently, "documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News show that troubled students were sent to duke it out – with bare fists and no head protection – in a steel utility cage in an athletic locker room. "...while..."students stood around clapping and screaming while watching the fight, as if they were in an arena."
Yes, our urban areas and urban schools can be violent places to be, unfortunately. But is perpetuating that violence really the way to go?
Though the principal at the time denies that he allowed it to go on or knew about it, I wonder if he bought into the belief that in inner city communities people have to be dealt with violently in order to make change. Respond with violence. That's the only thing they'll understand, right?
I've heard that sentiment from other people as well. I don't buy it.
In different parenting classes, I've often heard that we shouldn't spank kids because it teaches them to hit. I don't subscribe to that fully, but there is an underlying point there. If we yell at people, they often yell back. If we hit people, they will hit back. But if we don't feel like we can hurt the person who hurt us, the hurt and anger that is left behind is often taken out on the next person that comes along.
Treating people like animals in a cage creates the "zoo effect" that incenses me. It allows people to observe barbaric behavior at the expense of the people in that environment. How can we think that treating people like animals creates a setting where people feel dignified and respected in a way that behavior will change toward the better?
From the reports I've read, I would agree that SOC is a very challenging environment. Under the same principal who allowed the cage fighting, grades were adjusted so that certain players could play in the state basketball tournament. Creating an environment where high expectations are the norm and students are acknowledged and valued is not easy, but it is possible...and necessary.
We have to do better...for our kids...our communities. Our response affects everyone's future.
Evidently, "documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News show that troubled students were sent to duke it out – with bare fists and no head protection – in a steel utility cage in an athletic locker room. "...while..."students stood around clapping and screaming while watching the fight, as if they were in an arena."
Yes, our urban areas and urban schools can be violent places to be, unfortunately. But is perpetuating that violence really the way to go?
Though the principal at the time denies that he allowed it to go on or knew about it, I wonder if he bought into the belief that in inner city communities people have to be dealt with violently in order to make change. Respond with violence. That's the only thing they'll understand, right?
I've heard that sentiment from other people as well. I don't buy it.
In different parenting classes, I've often heard that we shouldn't spank kids because it teaches them to hit. I don't subscribe to that fully, but there is an underlying point there. If we yell at people, they often yell back. If we hit people, they will hit back. But if we don't feel like we can hurt the person who hurt us, the hurt and anger that is left behind is often taken out on the next person that comes along.
Treating people like animals in a cage creates the "zoo effect" that incenses me. It allows people to observe barbaric behavior at the expense of the people in that environment. How can we think that treating people like animals creates a setting where people feel dignified and respected in a way that behavior will change toward the better?
From the reports I've read, I would agree that SOC is a very challenging environment. Under the same principal who allowed the cage fighting, grades were adjusted so that certain players could play in the state basketball tournament. Creating an environment where high expectations are the norm and students are acknowledged and valued is not easy, but it is possible...and necessary.
We have to do better...for our kids...our communities. Our response affects everyone's future.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Public schools and successful students
Several years ago I had an 11th grade student proudly bring his research paper to me with 100/100/100/80 written across the title page. There were no other marks on his entire paper.
As I looked at the 5-page research paper (including the title page), I saw incomplete sentences, capitalized words in the middle of sentences, and numerous grammatical errors. There was no explanation for the teacher's grading. In the student's mind, he was proud of the straight A's that he had received.
My review of the paper told me it was *maybe* third grade work.
I hated to burst his bubble, but felt that he deserved to know that he had not achieved perfection to the point that he had nothing left to learn. Instead, he was way behind his counterparts in other areas of the city. He needed to know what he was up against.
After seeing that paper, I felt a responsibility to address the school--not just for this particular child, but for him and every other student that was taking classes at that school and with that teacher.
I was told I needed to meet with the curriculum instructor because the principal wasn't available to meet with me (though during the meeting, the principal walked through several times). The teacher did not show up at the meeting, though I was told that he would be there. I was never informed as to anything that happened to the teacher or their curriculum as a result of that meeting.
My point was then, and still is now, that we are doing a disservice to our kids by trying to inflate their grades and convince them that they are doing well when they aren't. Educators and administrators do parents a disservice by trying to convince them that their school is "recognized" when their child isn't performing well.
My experience with parents is that they want their children to be able to achieve. They are concerned that their children will be like other people they know who have graduated from high school and still can't read well (I know several people like this myself).
I know teachers and administrators want to keep their jobs...and I know right now is a tenuous time. But convincing people how great they are and being defensive about their shortcomings is not the way to go. It may help them keep their job, but creates a distrust from parents who think their child is on track and then finds out later he/she isn't. It creates a society of children who think they are doing better than they really are. It creates groups of students who want to go to college and think they are prepared for it, then realize they have to be enrolled for a year or more in developmental classes and then find out they can't meet the expectations of college work.
I know that teachers and administrators want to keep their jobs...but their job and first commitment is supposed to be to our children...our future leaders. Is there a way to do both?
As I looked at the 5-page research paper (including the title page), I saw incomplete sentences, capitalized words in the middle of sentences, and numerous grammatical errors. There was no explanation for the teacher's grading. In the student's mind, he was proud of the straight A's that he had received.
My review of the paper told me it was *maybe* third grade work.
I hated to burst his bubble, but felt that he deserved to know that he had not achieved perfection to the point that he had nothing left to learn. Instead, he was way behind his counterparts in other areas of the city. He needed to know what he was up against.
After seeing that paper, I felt a responsibility to address the school--not just for this particular child, but for him and every other student that was taking classes at that school and with that teacher.
I was told I needed to meet with the curriculum instructor because the principal wasn't available to meet with me (though during the meeting, the principal walked through several times). The teacher did not show up at the meeting, though I was told that he would be there. I was never informed as to anything that happened to the teacher or their curriculum as a result of that meeting.
My point was then, and still is now, that we are doing a disservice to our kids by trying to inflate their grades and convince them that they are doing well when they aren't. Educators and administrators do parents a disservice by trying to convince them that their school is "recognized" when their child isn't performing well.
My experience with parents is that they want their children to be able to achieve. They are concerned that their children will be like other people they know who have graduated from high school and still can't read well (I know several people like this myself).
I know teachers and administrators want to keep their jobs...and I know right now is a tenuous time. But convincing people how great they are and being defensive about their shortcomings is not the way to go. It may help them keep their job, but creates a distrust from parents who think their child is on track and then finds out later he/she isn't. It creates a society of children who think they are doing better than they really are. It creates groups of students who want to go to college and think they are prepared for it, then realize they have to be enrolled for a year or more in developmental classes and then find out they can't meet the expectations of college work.
I know that teachers and administrators want to keep their jobs...but their job and first commitment is supposed to be to our children...our future leaders. Is there a way to do both?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Maybe it's better not to know...
My friend, Karen Shafer, has a very intimate knowledge of what goes on with the homeless population in Dallas. Some people tell me they have a passion for a certain issue. Karen is so much more than that. She knows people who are homeless and she speaks out about unjust issues they are facing.
Just the other day she wrote an extremely powerful piece that talks about something we never seem to hear about...the homeless "camps" that exist and how the city goes in periodically and bulldozes peoples' homes. Her post is definitely worth a read:
The Bible and the birth certificate
Just the other day she wrote an extremely powerful piece that talks about something we never seem to hear about...the homeless "camps" that exist and how the city goes in periodically and bulldozes peoples' homes. Her post is definitely worth a read:
The Bible and the birth certificate
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
So goes the nation
I saw this on the news:
I know things are getting bad. Every day I hear about more people losing jobs and homes, but I guess so far I am in a safe middle area and haven't been directly affected. Watching this was a sobering reality.
Unfortunately, many people still don't see how we are all connected. People still want to distance themselves from the homeless.
In the not-so-distant past, it has been easy to overlook the homeless and blame them for their own problems. It has been easy to distance ourselves from the poor.
It is no longer easy.
Very rapidly, no matter how much we try to distance ourselves, the poor and homeless are creeping into our lives. How long will it take us to figure out that we are all connected?
When one suffers, we all suffer. (1 Cor. 12:26)
I know things are getting bad. Every day I hear about more people losing jobs and homes, but I guess so far I am in a safe middle area and haven't been directly affected. Watching this was a sobering reality.
Unfortunately, many people still don't see how we are all connected. People still want to distance themselves from the homeless.
In the not-so-distant past, it has been easy to overlook the homeless and blame them for their own problems. It has been easy to distance ourselves from the poor.
It is no longer easy.
Very rapidly, no matter how much we try to distance ourselves, the poor and homeless are creeping into our lives. How long will it take us to figure out that we are all connected?
When one suffers, we all suffer. (1 Cor. 12:26)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Two roads diverged in a wood...
Curiosity and a deep desire to learn, despite the bravado. That's what I see in some of our toughest kids.
"This After-School Academy is stupid!!" is what I heard from one of the kids (I'll call him Donovan) as he tried to refuse to walk in to the African Beading class we had scheduled.
I decided we would all be better off if I didn't push him to conform. The other kids were ignoring his obstinate behavior so I left him alone.
His arms were crossed and he stood with a furrowed brow and clenched teeth behind Ms. Dipo, the instructor. Ms. Dipo started with an African greeting and then began talking to the kids about Africa. One-by-one, she pulled out her beaded jewelry. Chelsea's face lit up as Ms. Dipo placed the head pieces on her to show everyone how they were to be worn.
I kept an eye on Donovan making sure he wasn't going to become disruptive to get attention. Instead, as Ms. Dipo started talking, his body language changed. As she held up a new piece of jewelry I saw him sidle over so he could see around her shoulder, then quickly return to his place by the door.
As we moved in to the classroom to make our own beaded bracelets, Donovan started in again, "This is so stupid! I hate this and I can't put that string through that little hole!" ...and then went on to get started.
Unfortunately, he continued making the snide comments, being disrespectful and causing the others to join in with him, until I finally had to pull him out of the classroom.
As I talked with him, I realized Donovan seems to already have his life plan decided...but these new activities that intrigue him seem to be throwing his plan off. He wants to be an "O.G." (original gangsta)...or so he says. But I have hope these little moments are stimulating his thinking. I have hope that the After-School Academy is a place that augments his mom's efforts to ensure he grows into a productive young man.
As I talked to him, I explained that he has opportunities. It is up to him to take advantage of those opportunities. My hope for Donovan is that he will realize that and that one day he will be able to say...
"...and I --I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference."
"This After-School Academy is stupid!!" is what I heard from one of the kids (I'll call him Donovan) as he tried to refuse to walk in to the African Beading class we had scheduled.
I decided we would all be better off if I didn't push him to conform. The other kids were ignoring his obstinate behavior so I left him alone.
His arms were crossed and he stood with a furrowed brow and clenched teeth behind Ms. Dipo, the instructor. Ms. Dipo started with an African greeting and then began talking to the kids about Africa. One-by-one, she pulled out her beaded jewelry. Chelsea's face lit up as Ms. Dipo placed the head pieces on her to show everyone how they were to be worn.
I kept an eye on Donovan making sure he wasn't going to become disruptive to get attention. Instead, as Ms. Dipo started talking, his body language changed. As she held up a new piece of jewelry I saw him sidle over so he could see around her shoulder, then quickly return to his place by the door.
As we moved in to the classroom to make our own beaded bracelets, Donovan started in again, "This is so stupid! I hate this and I can't put that string through that little hole!" ...and then went on to get started.Unfortunately, he continued making the snide comments, being disrespectful and causing the others to join in with him, until I finally had to pull him out of the classroom.
As I talked with him, I realized Donovan seems to already have his life plan decided...but these new activities that intrigue him seem to be throwing his plan off. He wants to be an "O.G." (original gangsta)...or so he says. But I have hope these little moments are stimulating his thinking. I have hope that the After-School Academy is a place that augments his mom's efforts to ensure he grows into a productive young man.
As I talked to him, I explained that he has opportunities. It is up to him to take advantage of those opportunities. My hope for Donovan is that he will realize that and that one day he will be able to say...
"...and I --I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference."
Friday, March 13, 2009
Obama's message on education
I know I've listened to presidential speeches about education before, but President Obama just seems to "get it." I truly appreciates the way he is looking at our future...and that he is focusing on our future in the midst of the economic crisis. I believe President Obama understands that none of our current crises can be solved in a vacuum. All of the factors--especially education--affects the way our future will turn out. I believe that is why he is juggling every factor instead of focusing solely on one area at a time.
A brief summary of his Education Speech (below)--
Pillar #1: Early childhood programs are asked to create ctting edge plans. Innovative plans will be funded by grants through our government.
Pillar #2: Spur a race to top by spurring better standards changing the way we educate. Other countries are preparing kids for careers. We are not. Funding will be tied to results. Schools are encouraged to invest in innovation. We will use innovative processes to and data to track a child's progress in order to find out how he/she is doing, what teachers he/she has had and assess that information.
Pillar #3: Recruiting, preparing, and rewarding outstanding teachers.
Pillar #4: Promoting innovation and excellence in the schools. More charter schools. Asking states to reform charter rules and lift caps on charter schools. We need to understand that we no longer live in an agragarian society, yet our schools are still operating that type of a system that was formed many years ago. We have to progress.
Pillar #5: Every American with a quality higher education--college or technical training.
Take the time to listen to President Obama in his own words...
A brief summary of his Education Speech (below)--
Pillar #1: Early childhood programs are asked to create ctting edge plans. Innovative plans will be funded by grants through our government.
Pillar #2: Spur a race to top by spurring better standards changing the way we educate. Other countries are preparing kids for careers. We are not. Funding will be tied to results. Schools are encouraged to invest in innovation. We will use innovative processes to and data to track a child's progress in order to find out how he/she is doing, what teachers he/she has had and assess that information.
Pillar #3: Recruiting, preparing, and rewarding outstanding teachers.
Pillar #4: Promoting innovation and excellence in the schools. More charter schools. Asking states to reform charter rules and lift caps on charter schools. We need to understand that we no longer live in an agragarian society, yet our schools are still operating that type of a system that was formed many years ago. We have to progress.
Pillar #5: Every American with a quality higher education--college or technical training.
Take the time to listen to President Obama in his own words...
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Ant and the Grasshopper
One of the classic Aesop's Fables is the Ant and the Grasshopper. In this fable, the ant worked extremely hard storing up food for the winter while the grasshopper encouraged the ant to slow down and relax with him. By winter, the ant had plenty of food stored and the grasshopper died of starvation.
The moral of the story: "It is best to prepare for the days of necessity."
------------------------------------------------
However, a More Politically Correct Bedtime Stories version seems to be more accurate and more related to our current situation.
Summarized version:
As the Grasshopper went throughout his days, he made a conscious choice to reject the "bourgeois, money-grubbing concept of 'making it.'"
Ant, on the other hand, worked hard to store up grain and stayed irritated at the grasshopper for his lack of responsibility.
By the end of the summer, the ant had had worked so hard he had "developed a peptic ulcer, ...thorax pains, and lost most of the hair on the top of his head. ...and his wife left him." To protect his goods, the ant installed a securty system.
When times got hard, the grasshopper had to humble himself and ask for food. The ant pointed out his laziness and irresponsibility, reminded him of our free market system, and refused to help him.
Unfortunately for the ant, the mantis/auditor came.
All of a sudden, the story began to change. After the audit, contested charges, suit, countersuit, and the ant's attempt to escape to the Caymans, the ant couldn't avoid the charges. After he was sent off to a correctional institution, his wealth was redistributed to community efforts, helping the grasshopper to begin organizing "a program for young area insects eager for cultural interchange..."
The lesson to think about:
Irresponsibility and avoidance of the rat race vs. collecting and hanging on to "things" at any cost...
Which is the worse crime?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The musical road
Innovation...creativity...ingenuity...
That's what I hope we inspire and equip kids to have in the After-School Academy. I hope that is combined with a good education from the school end. Then, one day, it will be a few kids from the After-School Academy getting together to come up with an idea like this:
The thought that went into this amazes me. I think about the skills it took to think about making music on a highway, figure out the spacing between the grooves, and come up with the exact miles per hour one has to drive for it to play the song right. And then, they had to convince the city to "give" them a stretch of highway and work with them to create the grooves.
Evidently, the "music" plays a little too loud. The community around Lancaster, CA isn't as thrilled about the innovation when it wakes them up throughout the night as the "music" plays over and over again. Evidently, the road will be paved over soon, if it hasn't been already.
If you're interested in knowing how they came up with the musical road, watch this:
That's what I hope we inspire and equip kids to have in the After-School Academy. I hope that is combined with a good education from the school end. Then, one day, it will be a few kids from the After-School Academy getting together to come up with an idea like this:
The thought that went into this amazes me. I think about the skills it took to think about making music on a highway, figure out the spacing between the grooves, and come up with the exact miles per hour one has to drive for it to play the song right. And then, they had to convince the city to "give" them a stretch of highway and work with them to create the grooves.
Evidently, the "music" plays a little too loud. The community around Lancaster, CA isn't as thrilled about the innovation when it wakes them up throughout the night as the "music" plays over and over again. Evidently, the road will be paved over soon, if it hasn't been already.
If you're interested in knowing how they came up with the musical road, watch this:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)