Great Educator

Tozer’s School and Society textbook (453), which elaborates tremendously on social and political trends and issues, says that “although this book documents such inequities (cultural and democratic inequities), it does so not to show that teachers can transform society, but rather to show that despite such social evils, teachers can succeed in helping students realize their full potential as learners and as persons.  That in itself is a significant social change.”  Beyond social change, it is also an example of a great educator.  A great educator creates success in student achievement whether the external or internal issues surrounding that student tries to distract the progress or not.  A great educator may fight the issues but the focus is on student achievement. 

Dewey’s philosophy that social influences are the great educator of students, or, as I rephrase it, the greatest influence on student behavior, is most likely true.  Social influences are not textbook lessons, standard classroom curriculum, or standard assessment based.  Social influences come in the guise of culture, habits, and experiences.  Social Influences sneak in a student’s life as easily as a student learns content in progress schools.  The influence is fun, different, consistent, purposeful, and reinforced by family, friends, and community.  Social influence is easily absorbed by the student because of these factors. 

If a teacher is to become the great educator of influence, then the process will need to be taught in classes like lessons, be contained in the curriculum, and usually assessed in standardized forms because the influence will have to be in a different form than the social influence usually is shaped.  Social influence is more powerful in its form than what a teacher’s influence.  For a teacher to be dominant in influence, he or she will need to establish a relationship with the student, meet needs of students to add trust to the relationship and, finally, encourage students to change behaviors that would prohibit achievement.  The encouragement would come in the form of verbal prompts, teacher modeling, and education on the issues that prohibit success beyond social issues. 

A social issue that is present in our society is sagging.  Family and friends are encouraged to participate in the practice through societal pressures or fashion trends.  Educators try to change the practice by educating the students in best practices for dress, classroom lessons, rules, and modeling correct dress practices.  To be more effective influencing students, the teacher should have already built a positive relationship with the students, met the needs of the students so they will trust that the teacher truly cares, and encourage the students to participate in a more successful dress practice.  This is how the teacher becomes the great educator of influence. 

School Culture

         When reading the Chapter in Tozer’s School and Society on Cultural Hegemony and Hidden Curriculum, I am reminded of George Washington Carver’s advice for African Americans regarding their participation in the period just after being granted freedom from slavery.  The Northern Army occupied the Southern States and ensured a few rights to the African Americans that they had not participated in because of slavery.  In short, George Washington Carver advocated taking advantage of what was given to the African American people and do not question or speak out about inequalities.  It was a more passive stance toward the injustices toward African Americans as opposed to W.E.B. Dubois’s practice of speaking out against those injustices.  Cultural Hegemony and the Hidden Curriculum exists in much like the passive atmosphere that Carver used to advocate for those he was able to influence.  Students go to school, parents support education, teachers teach school, and campus administrators supervise school, as it exists.  There are no challenges to the cultural practices or unwritten expectations.  Students, parents, teachers, and administrators exist in patterns preset by history, tradition, rules, and policies. 

            In Cultural Hegemony, the structure for authority is assumed to be the norm in the school setting.  The students obey teachers, teachers obey administrators, and campus administrators obey the district and state policies and rules.  The classroom structure is based on work and the quality of that work assessed with grades.  The classroom is students grouped according to their ability to do that work.  High achieving students have their structure, as well as medium and low performing have their structures.  These structures are uncontested as normal.  Students, parents, teachers, and campus administrators occupy the space appointed by culture and all operate within those parameters without contestation. 

            Hidden Curriculum is the underlying intent of the education system.  Whether it is established by culture, selfish purposes, or political positioning, it guides our youth beyond the surface intent of learning reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.  The undercurrents of hidden curriculum in education give way to directions of who should be educated and how much they should be educated, established by the powerful, privileged, and influential.  Using conventional means creates marginal results limiting student achievement.  Students, parents, teachers, and campus administrators are operating in a system that reaches mediocrity.  Until the system is challenged, students will be placed in the system accordingly and habitual practice will trifle real education. 

            Trifling education includes devaluing cultures to impose the dominant culture aspects in education.  Assimilation was the main goal of European Americans in the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th centuries.  The classroom was appointed the place to initiate the cultural delimiting.  Stripped of their own cultural values, Native Americans, African Americans, and other dominated cultures were expected to be reprogrammed into the ‘better’ ways of life.  Pluralism was not considered a valid option because the European Americans wanted to lose all other culture traits to unite everyone in the new American way.  Everyone was expected to learn the dominant language, traditions, religions, and practices.  There was no room for diversity or cultural awareness back then. 

            Now, we have come to a critical place in education that consideration of other cultures and languages would be a positive.  Those in control of education have directions to consider.  The questions that will have to be answered are those that research has indicated belong in an education.  We have dual language schools, multicultural events, diversity awareness, and cultural awareness beginning to appear in schools.  It could be that if people would speak, lost cultures would begin to be valued under the umbrella of American Schools.  Diversity would be a benefit in learning and community schools would start to reflect their real community cultures.  America used to have over 100,000 school districts, as opposed to the 15,000 we have now.  I can imagine the communities running those schools with priority of local culture being a dominant part of the education process. 

School Reform - The David School

School Reform.

            David School was founded on the principle of educational need and student intervention.  It is a private school receiving money from the state to provide educational services for students who cannot function in a conventional classroom.  The students are at risk of dropping out of school in the regular educational setting and even in the intervention services at the David School.  The question is, “Where did the school come from?” 

The students were from poverty-stricken communities who could not afford the tuition for education.  There was a need to finish their education in an alternative setting since the conventional classroom was failing to motivate them to finish high school.  They received money from the state in the form of Social Security check.  Chris stated that his mother needed the check to pay for rent since his dad did not work.  Therefore, Chris was not paying for his education.  In fact, the principal had to verify his attendance in order to get his check.  Chris indicated that the check was a motivator for him to stay in school until graduation.  In the story, Chris could not get a driver’s license at age 16 if he was not enrolled in a high school either.  The state had two ways of motivating Chris to stay in school.  Ultimately, the decision to stay in school remained with Chris and Cody. 

            Cody received money from Social Security also.  I do not know if he received it as a result of his father’s death or as a motivator for him to finish school like Chris.  Either way, it was the state’s way of motivating Cody to stay in school.  Cody did not pay for the private schooling because his checks were sent to his family back home.  The last episode I watched Cody was trying to see how much money he had saved or how much his family had spent.  This showed that he is not responsible for paying his educational bills. 

            Both these two boys were given the responsibility to finish their K-12 education.  With difficulty in the conventional classrooms, they have placed themselves in the David School to graduate.  Education should be a personal goal.  Opportunity is around, the individual should determine the need for their education.  These two believed it was important to graduate.  They placed value on their diploma.  Chris struggled in continuing his education, but, so far, chose to stay in school.  Cody has not questioned his commitment.  He was determined to finish.  Cody also did not have the financial difficulties that Chris had.  That could explain him questioning his goals for graduation. 

            The next biggest influence for both of the boys to continue school came from their families.  Both families agreed that the boys needed to graduate but had not, on film, said that they had to finish.  Chris’s mother communicated the need but Chris stayed home or went as he felt he should.  Cody’s grandmother positioned the educational opportunity by allowing Cody to live with her, but never directly or firmly said that he must finish.  So far, the voice for education came from the boys and the state, which provides financial support while they were in school.  The state supported the material aspect of their education.  The emotional support mainly came from their family. 

            The principal and teachers influenced the students’ behaviors while they were in school but had little control beyond that.  The teachers gave support and expectations for the classwork.  They were very careful not to push the two out of school by doing too much.  Chris received attention because of his lack of motivation in getting his work done.  The teachers rallied Chris to complete his work.  In his eleventh grade year, the teachers were raising expectations and giving deadlines for his work or threatening to fail him.  This year worked better than last for Chris.  Last year Chris took advantage of a project-based grade because of his inability to manage the flexibility needed for the project.  The more structure this year resulted in more work being turned in.  Cody was content to share his opinions in class with little contention as possible. 

            The principal was more active in Chris’ education.  During his sophomore year, she made some home visits to get him to complete that year of school.  She tried to involve Chris’s mother in the decision but she let him have the responsibility of going or not.  The principal was communicating her interest in him continuing school and trying to influence him to graduate by sharing his graduation plan with him.  All those that could have influenced Chris and Cody up to this point were supportive but did not take the responsibility away from them as to make them go to classes. 

            The last voices in the David School were the State and Federal Government.  The State already demonstrated interest in their education by supplying money through the Social Security checks.  I would think that the David School received money from the State to run their ‘at risk’ interventions for students who would have dropped out of the conventional classroom.  The Federal Government usually funded the ‘at risk’ programs.  The results of the David School interventions would determine future funding from the State and Federal Government.  In public schools, the Federal Government would have policy in place for intervention programs to ensure student success.  Since the David School is a private school, the level of Federal Government expectations could be less or more voluntary with financial support.  The State and Federal Government also placed the graduation expectations so the school could schedule the classes required for graduation. 

            Each of the stake holders mentioned have a moral interest in Chris and Cody graduating.  All were working together to create an environment that they could succeed in.  Each had a separate role in their education but the goal was unified – graduation after fulfilling all the requirements.  The school allowed the flexible classroom structure to help the boys meet the graduation requirements.  The parents provided the emotional support for them to continue their education.  However, ultimately it was the boys’ decisions to continue to graduation.   

Gender Equity

Gender Equity

            The challenge was to go to the school and see diversity.  There were no students or teachers.  The hallway was dark and the doors had to be opened with a key.  Looking around the room there were shapes for recognition, letters for the alphabet, numbers for counting, directions for behavior and TEKS of what is being taught.  Missing?  Diversity for the social setting. 

            What was being taught in the classroom was very evident.  What was not being taught in the classroom took a keen awareness.  One might say a deliberate look with anticipation.  Looking around the empty room, the visual that was lacking was the social diversity.  Where are the people?  Where is the ethnicity?  Where are the genders?  John Dewey would have put characters of different ethnicities and races on the wall so students could have learned as they played.  Students would have unconsciously experienced social awareness by the visual stimulation of the diversity around them.  Dewey believed this type of play and learn for young students prepared them with skills they would need later in real experiences with diverse people.  Dewey’s philosophy in education used settings to prepare students for the life experiences in society. 

            Civic Education was a philosophy in the early 1900s.  In part, it brought awareness to one’s own community.  If a young student was not exposed to signs of diversity in the education process, then the experience would be met with unpreparedness in real life situations.  Education played a dominant role for social preparation for genders.  The ground work for the foundation of the training is found in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s writings.   Man was to be strong and active and the woman should be weak and passive.  Gender training took on the characteristics of education philosophy.  To change the education, the philosophy needed to change.  Training for girls consisted of playing with dolls, drawing, writing, counting, and reading.  The schooling prepared women for their role taking care of man and the house. 

            Seneca Falls challenged those beliefs so women like minorities could be free and equal as white men were.  Gender bias and inequalities are still being challenged today.  Education is still carrying the banner of inequality.  But, has there been a different voice?  Judith Kleinfeld goes on record in 1998 in her paper “The Myth That Schools Shortchange Girls”  that girls are not inferior to boys.  As a matter of fact the research has concluded that in the area of testing girls scored a little higher than boys.  In preferential treatment in the classroom, girls get more attention.  The real inequality is that African American boys do not get the needed educational attention because the perceived need for girls is greater.  Don’t see that on the walls of an empty classroom much.

            The David School in Kentucky focused on two low performing white males in a rural town.  The camera spent three years documenting the strategies to keep these young men in school through graduation.  Why did they not feature girls?  There were plenty in the school with the same disposition as the boys.  The David School focused their attention on the boys when the cameras were on.  What little was shown of women, they were mostly housewives struggling in their relationships with their husbands.   The principal and teachers were professionals but still taught conservative roles for boys and girls through the biblical teachings that the school espouses.  Is the tide of equality going to get past traditions and customs?  I do not know.  The traditions and customs are very dominant in our social society.  Could be too dominant.

Rita

How would the David School be different if Rita was the principal?

I am not sure that Rita would have changed the school much.  The reason I say that is because there were project based assignments.  An example would be the newsletter by Chris.  That showed a tendency for differentiated instruction.  Second, the program featured a low income student - also Chris.  I could not tell if there were more students in that subgroup.  Third, the diversity was in the behaviors of Cody.  He might have been connected to money through his grandmother but was blessed with a different sense of reality.  Cody was different.  The David School faculty were patient and supportive which I know Rita would have supported.  There were home visits from the principal to connect Chris' learning with his family.  A good technique.  I believe Rita would have liked this school better than Wilson. 

Rita could have opposed the lack of diversity in race/ethnicity but I think the community was reflected in the school population.  The school tried to create accountability in learning with the newsletter project.  Unfortunately, pressure to follow through on the project brought out Chris' weaknesses instead of strengths. 

Another reason I think that Rita would have supported the school was the interest in the student and achievement.  It would have been easy to judge and discipline Cody for his unusual hairstyles and piercings.  It would have even been possible to have rules and policies in place for those type of potential classroom distractions.  But the David School focused on the student.  They were taking his power of distraction and minimizing it through ignoring.  Cody seemed to respond to that and kept the distractions more a personal thing.  I appreciated that type of thinking. 

Now, Rita could have made more changes as data was disaggregated and exposed some inequities in the school's practices.  It could have brought out financial disparity in school spending, graduation inequities with preferential treatment of certain students, or even the lack of interventions for a particular subgroup.  It was clearly about two boys and their troubles growing up through rough family circumstances.  The type of students Rita was used to as a teacher at Wilson.  The data will have to bring out other reasons why Rita would have changed school operations. 

David School in David, Kentucky.

Founded in 1974, the David School is located in the small community of David, Kentucky, from which it takes its name. The mission of The David School is to provide a comprehensive educational program for Appalachian high school dropouts and at risk youths who have limited financial resources and the potential to succeed in a non-traditional setting. Through individualized attention, we give our students the opportunity to experience success and to serve their community.

I am certain that Rita would have been very happy here.  Click Here:  David School.