A friend posted this 3 minute video on Facebook and I just HAD to share it. It speaks volumes in this short amount of time – and even suggests a workable solution!
www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10151427187507658
I would love to find something like that speaks to the needs of the birth-to-middle-school youths. Anybody know of anything out there?
Very cool!
Here is an overview from recent Standard & Poor’s economic research describing the importance of education to our country’s well-being:
You can read the whole, lengthy article here.
In talking about the education challenges in Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and New Mexico, you and I like to say, “We are all in this together.”
But, just who is the “we” we talking about?
Answer: It often depends on who you are. Yes … YOU.
Now … imagine what it feels like, just for a moment or two, to let all those definitions and conditions… just … drop … away …
My guess is you would begin to notice that it’s just you. Yourself. Standing there. Pondering.
And then – maybe – you could imagine some of the “others” you can both see and can’t see, but know are there.
And notice that, son-of-a-gun, they are very much just like you – and you are very much just like them:
And now notice … has your definition, understanding, experience of “we” just expanded a little bit?
Good.
Now let’s go out and do this thing called community … together.
This from Franklin Schargel, one of my favorite authors, motivational speakers, trainers and lifelong educators.
It is time to end the charade of the concern of politicians and conservatives about the future of America. The United States supports the building of schools in and around the world because we know that education is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to build a country. Go into a room of highly successful people anywhere in the room and you will find one commonality. Most people sitting in that room were able to achieve their success by succeeding in their educational systems. Education should be the one budget item that is protected at all costs. In the 21st century, great countries will have great schools. So it is strange that we engage in nation building in foreign countries and scrimp at home. How is it that we can afford to increase our military budget, and cannot afford to invest in America’s children’s future? It would appear to me that this is a great way for our country to compete with other countries in the future. If we look at China and India, they were able to leapfrog much of the rest of the world by laser-like focusing on education.
We keep on hearing that education is expensive. It isn’t! Ignorance is. We either will pay for education up-stream or the lack of education downstream. Over 70% of our nation’s prisoners are school dropouts. We were told that the reason we couldn’t limit executive pay on Wall Street was because we needed the best and brightest to run these companies, yet the same people who told us that are now saying we need to limit teacher pay to save money.
Good schools benefit everyone. Poor children who get a good education become successful adults who contribute rather than drain the system. Tax dollars are going to them one way or the other. We need to find a more equitable way to pay for schools other than property tax, especially as our population grows older. It creates a huge burden on property owners and massive inequities. America was built by having free, public education for all. Yet, we are abandoning our goal of a good education for all. Budget cuts are undermining our long-term prospects for a prosperous society, by shortchanging our youth of the skills that they need to contribute. We’re eating America’s seed corn!
Thank you Franklin!
Some students at Medea Creek Middle School in southern California, have a very clear understanding of what’s broken about our economic and governance systems. Probably a much clearer idea than most Americans.
Here is a brief article including the less-than-9-minute video they made to explain it to the rest of us:
ularresistance.org/young-students-solution-to-corporate-rule/
In the first paragraph there is a link to the school’s website if you’re interested; it’s a pretty cool website.
Kudos and thanks to these young thinkers and voices.
What might Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and New Mexico middle schoolers be capable of that we’re not taking advantage of?
Please feel free to share this widely..
Tom
Worth a read and a thought.
How Charter Schools and Testing Regimes Have Helped Re-Segregate Our Schools – The Daily Beast
Sure, it’s mostly the courts, but as we approach the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, charter schools and testing regimes are reinforcing segregation.
Tom
Thanks to Franklin Schargel for pointing out this new Carnegie Foundation study.
BY SUSAN HEADDEN – Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching 2014
This is my attempt to summarize the main points of 28 pages of this important and timely study. Interestingly, much of this tracks very closely with M. Night Shyamalan Foundation’s studies and book: I Got Schooled, which I summarized earlier in my blog.
Talent Drain – turnover and departures are lowering the average classroom experience level
Why They Leave – mainly because of poor/lacking administrative and professional support
New Generation, New Attitudes – impatience with dysfunctional structures, older teachers didn’t have to put up with all the testing and curriculum changes
Myths About Money – again, solid administrative support seems more important than money, pension back-loading is hard to swallow
The Toll of Teacher Turnover – turnover is very expensive, student relationships suffer, support from veteran teachers is rapidly vanishing
How Much Turnover is Too Much – it turns out that number/quality/costs of turnover is very poorly tracked, principles aren’t getting good teachers to stay and aren’t good at getting bad ones to leave, there are no good ideas what effective turnover targets should be
Supporting a Teacher’s First Years – careful hiring is important, new teachers are not prepared for realities of classroom, there is too little summer training, there is too much late hiring, there is lack of comprehensive induction (useful discussion of benefits of comprehensive induction and various approaches)
Houston Boot Camp – a mentoring program in the face of daunting statistics and politics
Roving Mentors in Iowa – mentors working outside of their normal grade levels and subject areas have much to offer to the new teacher, a lot of work gathering data on what was working
Teacher Residencies: Working Into The Job – pre-service apprenticing for up to a full year is producing desirable results in effectiveness and retention
A Matter of Match – problems arise from weak interviewing, little interaction with school personnel, hiring late in the process and after school year starts. turnover destroys continuity and trust for teachers and students
Returns On Investment – high quality induction produces lower turnover and higher retention, poor hiring practices leaks good teachers
Anamosa, Iowa –a detailed example of mentoring support
To read the whole study, click here.