Comment on this chapter using the following format:
1.a salient sentence or passage, and why it stood out for you
2. a question you would like to ask the author
3. one or two key ideas you got from this reading, and why you believe it/they are important
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Quote: (pg 48) Fun and happiness are two of the most important factors in a good school and, in fact, any organization. This is hands down the single most important part of the book I think. How can you hope anyone to work together to achieve ANYTHING if they are not content or having fun (which obviously, will not happen if they are not content- see Maslow). Even businesses are starting to learn this point- large companies such as Google and other dotcoms strive to keep their employees in a "fun" environment to keep them happy- even so far as to give them more vacation time. They are starting to realize that content people are more likely to produce better quality work.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Is there any reason-any at all- that a big school might benefit over a small school? The author refuted a couple of points indirectly but really just brushed them off. Need more info.
Key points: Small school: better school. In all seriousness, the community involvement and feeling of belonging are paramount to a child's happiness. It isn't the only factor that determines a child's ability to succeed, but it plays a large one. Also, giving a student charge of their own life is part of the learning process- it lets them take situations and apply what they have learned, and grant a fairly safe place to make mistakes (as opposed to in the outside world). I think this chapter including the word "atmosphere" can be summed up in one word: Love.
A personally significant sentence or passage, and why it stood out for you:
ReplyDelete“Relationships are the foundation of a good, personalized school, and you cannot build relationships without first cultivating a culture of trust and respect” (55). I think the idea of centering a school on relationships is the most brilliantly radical idea I've heard yet. Working to build trust and respect between students and teachers is virtually unheard of. In most high schools today teachers express a mentality of superiority and low expectations, despite the outward “pep rally” talk of student potential. The problem is that we never seem to see that the teacher plays a huge role in bringing that potential into reality. We tend to put all of the responsibility onto the student and the parents without fully realizing what a powerful role we have in the process. We have perhaps underestimated our own abilities as teachers to really make a difference, or become so distracted by all of the things we can't change that we have lost sight of what we can. I'm speaking very generally, of course, because there are those who are making a difference everyday. I just wonder how things would change if teachers really began to look at schooling as a team that included the students as a part of the team.
A question you would like to ask the author: How long does it generally take to cultivate this culture of trust and respect with new students?
One or two key ideas you got from this reading, and why you believe it/they are important:
Atmosphere is everything. This includes the aesthetic view as well as the “feelings” of the school. The first comments I heard last semester when I told people I would be teaching at Paris High were related to the violence, racism, and people apologized to me for having to teach there. I had never been in the high school. My first impression, based on atmosphere, was that this is where I want to be. It “felt good” in the hallways. The school isn't anything like I would like it to be in so many other ways, but there is a sense of community there that is appealing. I think this is the more important part of atmosphere.
QUOTE:
ReplyDeletePage 57, “All the things we adults want to say are so much more powerful when other kids are saying them.” This is pretty much an age-old adage isn’t it? I mean, it seemed to me like it was kind of a standard practice to create a situation that would induce “positive peer pressure” on a misbehaving student in high school. I remember one time, they couldn’t catch a kid who was vandalizing a school bus, so the forced the whole bus to sit in assigned seats. Of course everyone hated it and it wasn’t even so they could then catch whoever had vandalized the bus (of course the kid wasn’t stupid enough to do it when they knew where he was sitting, DUH!) But, the only way the would allow us to go back to sitting like we wanted to was if the kid “turned himself in.” It took about 2 days before the kid began to fear for his life (read the over-dramatization in the statement) enough the he owned up to vandalism and we all went on about our merry ways.
Of course, I recognize that this isn’t the most positive of circumstances, but my point is that over and over again, I feel like I’m reading Dennis’ thoughts and ideas for the BP schools and thinking, “Hello, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out!” But, apparently it did, because his model is working. The one we’re used to isn’t! It’s not all about what or how we THINK it should be done. It’s about how we actually DO it!
QUESTION:
You spend a good deal of time talking about advisories and mention that a student’s advisory is often the first or only “true” family they have. Does your staff receive any additional psychological training to help the students deal with the traumatizing things they probably see in their everyday lives outside of school?
KEY IDEA:
I really loved the advisory program that is in place partly because I’ve been part of a similar program two different times in my life and I know how beneficial this “family” can be!
“What about democracy? I can understand why kids moan about not having any sense of control over their own lives. Most of them have zero say in their school: no voice in how it’s run, the rules, the curriculum, the way they’re treated, where the money is spent, and how they spend their time or who they spend it with. No wonder our citizenry doesn’t feel empowered to bring about change. Most of us spend the 18 years before we cast our first vote with absolutely no say in any decisions that affect the place we spend the majority of our days.” P 51
ReplyDeleteMaybe it’s the political science classes talking, but I get so frustrated every November when the media starts talking about how low voter turn out is. It’s because we learn at such a young age that our opinion doesn’t matter. We feel that when there are 299,999,999 other Americans out there how are we supposed to be heard. Perhaps if we learned that our opinions do matter instead of having decisions made for us when we are younger, we would have the confidence to MAKE our voice heard in our adult life. Instead we sit on the sidelines watching our government do all the work instead of getting involved in it. Of course what we have also learned is if we don’t have a say when everything falls apart it’s not our fault. We learn to place blame instead of trying to fix the problem.
So you’ve talked about this wonderful student culture that the students pass on at The MET. How did you build this culture among the students when the school first opened?
Key Idea: The idea of mutual respect really stuck out in this chapter. If the students do not feel respected by the teachers and administration they will not feel the need to offer their respect. Respect is where the whole idea of comfort and understanding starts. There can not be any level of friendliness and companionship between the students and teachers if there is not respect first.
Quote(s):
ReplyDelete“Nothing in his day was connected to anything else, and nothing gave him (or me) the sense that our presence was valued or that our voices were really heard.” (p. 45)
This quote caught me, because it was an encompassing outlook that we have in general on schools today. The education system treats students as numbers and pushes them through. This is terrible treatment, and needs recognition, so we can change it.
“If we can’t enjoy ourselves while we are working hard, then something is not right. And, to me, even struggling can be fun and can have some greater meaning, so long as we’re struggling together” (p. 48)
I took interest in this passage, because it discusses the opportunity and risk a lot of people do not take because they feel uncomfortable with struggling. But this is part of the joy in education. When we struggle, we learn, and being on the same page with students is important. Teachers need to work with students and critically think about with ways to implement what a district requires of a teacher. Teachers need resilience to work with what they are offered in the bureaucracy of schools.
Question(s):
How difficult do you think it is for our society to accept the fact we need to respect teens? Why do we not advocate this in our culture?
Key Idea(s):
The key ideas I took from this chapter were the importance in creating a comfortable environment, and culture in schools. Teachers do this in their classrooms, but the reward is much greater and effective when it is school-wide. I enjoyed the idea that seniors demonstrate to students what is acceptable and “cool”, because they had influence, and a voice. This culture is crucial for schools to implement and create a comfortable atmosphere.
“How unlike the real world are we trying to make our schools? Passes are disrespectful. Bells are disrespectful. PA systems are disrespectful. Telling kids that their 45 minutes are up and it’s time to stop learning is really disrespectful, and it goes against what we’re trying to do as educators.” p. 45
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting to think about with regard to our own school designs. I had never thought about how the root of the disconnect and discomfort so many kids feel with their education could come from something, now, so obvious.
In the beginning of the MET, what steps did you have to take to start building the foundation of respect seen in the way the school operates today?
The Advisory system is an important idea to me from this chapter. Littky explains his maturing view of all the changes that have to happen in a school on p. 62, advisory being one of them. I see advisory as both the culmination and the building blocks of these changes. Students communicate better in small groups, and they also learn more about communication in a smaller setting where they can be heard. Students receive individual attention from an adult, which helps them be more comfortable when they interact with other adults.
QUOTE:
ReplyDelete“If kids are going to be respectful, they must feel respected. And respecting them means allowing them to make decisions about the things that affect them and, most of all, believing in their potential.” (pg. 55)
The quote is really important for teachers to understand and administrators. IN most typical high schools the teachers and administrators just automatically assume and expect respect from their students without showing their students any respect. Like the old cliché goes you earn respect by showing respect. Maybe if teachers started showing their students respect the students in return would show them respect.
QUESTION:
How exactly did you do away with the bell system at both Shoreman-Wading River and Thayer? I am assuming that there was still the same set schedule and that instead of bells ringing to dismiss the students the teachers the students? Was there a general consensus with all the teachers and staff about the doing away with the bell schedule? How did the teachers and students feel about it?
KEY IDEA:
The culture and atmosphere of a school are vital to students’ overall enjoyment and satisfaction that they get out of school. A school that has a culture that is respectful, compassionate, caring, the students are going to want to be a part of that culture and want to come to school. We tend to overlook the environment factor when interacting with our students. Thee environment is probably one of the most important, if not the most important, factor in a school. Students need to feel that the school is a safe learning environment where they will be treated with respect and compassion and where they can show that same level of respect and compassion for the administration and faculty at their school.
QUOTE:"Educators need to view their role not only as developing skills but also as modeling a way of looking at life."
ReplyDeleteThis is important because if a teacher teaches one way to looking at life, but their own outlook contradicts it, it is hard to believe them. Teachers can have a strong influence on their students and if the teacher is modeling a good outlook on life, then it can rub off onto their students.
QUESTION: What type of ways of looking at life should be modeled by the teachers? How much of an impact can it have on students?
KEY IDEA: I think the atmosphere of the school is an important point in this section. Students need to feel both safe and respected when they come to school. It needs to be a play where they enjoy themselves while they are in it, not a place where they are constantly watching the clock and hoping it is almost over. It is the job of the teachers and administration to make sure that they have a good environment for the students to come into.
Quote:
ReplyDelete"Trust begins with a personal commitment to respect others, to take everyone seriously. Respect demands that we first recognize each others gifts and strengths and interests. Only then can we reach our common and individual potentials. (p. 59)
I agree with Littky's idea that before kids are going to be respected, they must feel respected. Teachers need to understand that each student is different and some will be better at math while others are better at expressing ideas through art. The teacher should embrace these differences and praise each student for his strength. It has been my experience that teachers who respect their students gain so much of an advantage over those who don't. Students who feel respected by their teachers will work twice as hard for them.
Question:
I like the ideas of advisory groups, but do you not fear that a student will be more likely to only associate with those other 14 students instead of making an effort to get to know others? Is this necessarily a bad thing that they have 14 close friends that they can always rely on?
Key Idea:
My first thought to no bells in school was- "Wow, that is crazy. How in the world would that ever work?" But that is my experience in a standardized high school and the more I thought about it the more sense it made to me. What a great idea. We do need to give students more responsibility in high school. What better way to prepare them for the "real world." After all, isn't that part of what education is about?
I also agree with the importance of atmosphere. When students set the tone for how the school should be run and they take the initiative to set examples for the incoming freshman that tells me that someone is doing something right. Students are more likely to listen to their fellow students rather than administrators so letting students be involved in the creation of the atmosphere is critical.
Passage: "A silent school is no school at all. Enforced quiet not only keeps kids from being themselves and keeps teachers from finding out who the kids are, it also kills learning" (53).
ReplyDeleteYou have to give kids the freedom to be themselves to ignite their excitement and make them want to learn. Then you get to know them and are able to connect with them and relate the information to their interests.
Key Idea: Relationships are the foundation of a good, personalized school, and you cannot build relationships without first cultivated a culture of trust and respect. If kids are going to be respectful, they must feel respected.
Kids in secondary schools believe that they are adults, want to be treated as adults, and many of them technically are adults.
Question: With the advisory system, how are the advisors able to stay with the students throughout the day and the students still have choices available in the courses they take?