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Patrick S. De Walt, M.B.A., Ph.D.

~ Communal Conversations for the Promotion of Active Critical Engagement

Patrick S. De Walt, M.B.A., Ph.D.

Category Archives: Educational Trenches

The Perils of Educational Patience

08 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches, PSDW Reflective Journal

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Education, Educational Patience, expression, Higher Education, K-12, pedagogy, Public Education, Self-reflection, social critique, Student Behavior, student centered approaches, Student influences on teachers, Teacher Education, Teacher influence, underrepresented groups

Classic denial of exceptional promise: Origins of the journey

Over the years that I have taught and learned, I have always struggled with or been the cause of struggle for others when it came to the notion of patience. Whether this was as a fifth grader who was gifted but was easily influenced by his peers to deny his gifts. Or when I was a high schooler who made all types of wrong decisions related to learning and my giftedness. I did not understand what or why I was doing what I was doing beyond the limited vision that I had with the coinciding age. Yet, those who were  charged with educating me both as a student and young man of African descent knew better. They, in retrospect, exhibited what I’m now calling “educational patience”. They hung in there with me by calling my parents, with mainly my mom visiting, to hear the latest development in my misguided decisions. They always talked in terms of my potential and promise with her which made their disappointment with me during those mishaps even more striking and pertinent to this post.

I can so clearly see their faces and recall their names as if I were still in their respective classes doing whatever I was doing as I exemplified denial or the outcomes of stereotype threat, which I would learn about during my graduate experience. I can remember how their demeanors changed or were influenced by the things that I did that were not of their approval. My justifiable excuse, if those are truly possible, is that I was a young person who really did not understand what he was gifted with in terms of intellect, creativity, and character. As a result, I saw those qualities as deficits to who I thought I should be in order to be viewed as one of the “cool kids”. In every case and interaction, my teachers were exuding to the highest degree, educational patience.  And with each enactment, they paid an internal price that I would not myself understand until I shared the role of teacher educator.

Roles reversed: Claiming the Mantle for Educational Patience

Years later, my first encounter with educational patience met me in Houston, Texas while teaching the first grade. I inherited a group of children who I grew to love for so many reasons. They were students who, like me, developed reputations that did not always mirror who they really were. Working through personality conflicts and the normal activities of 6 year olds should not be thought of lightly, and I know any parents of this age group can attest to this statement easily. The energy that they expended through questioning and the need of repetition of educational tasks was something, as a new teacher, that I was not prepared for. Fortunately for me, I was a young tall man with a powerful voice and stern demeanor, I truly thank my father for modeling facial expressions that set definitive tones (I say that kindly, LMBO). Yet, to help my students develop, I often had to forget about where I wanted them to be in order to understand and support where they actually were. As many teachers often remind me, even now at the university level, that we often plant the seeds in students that we very rarely get to see grow.

As a first grade teacher, watching my students grow or at least seeing their seeds take root was the greatest experience for me outside of seeing them physically change and grow. I must admit that I was always moved when my students lost their first tooth then proceeded to give me that open door smile, LMBO. Educational patience always took its toll on me, like my own teachers, yet in its own way. It hurt to see some of the situations and circumstances that my students were in. It hurt to see that sometimes I was one of the only adults who was invested in them. Sometimes my enactments of educational patience, resulted in additional roles beyond the one I was hired for as a self-contained teacher. Sacrifice is the name of the game when it comes to teaching students who may not have all of the world at their finger tips. Sacrifice can amount to spending your lunch break working on additional activities for students later that afternoon. Sacrifice could mean earlier morning check-ins in your classroom or late evening check-outs right before the janitorial staff/or principal makes the last call to go home for the day. Let us not forget the many weekends that are logged to complete grading and course development.

Upholding the mantle in a different space: A university setting in Florida

Much of what my experiences as an elementary teacher taught me about education still reside in me as I now work with university students. Just as I did then, I struggled. I struggled with adjusting to the new context, the different students, and, more importantly, who I wanted to now be at this stage of my life. As a semi-newly minted PhD who had all of these aspirations and knowledge, at least in my mind, to achieve great things within the field of education.  I was both so wrong and so right. I was wrong in that I made some mistakes that ultimately resulted from my unwillingness to be authentic with my students. I did not fully commit to being present with my students as I now know that I must always do. I must make myself both vulnerable and human in the eyes of my students. Not in a way that is forced but in ways that simply mean just being me. I was right in my belief that my students deserve and require so much from us as well as the requirement that they are also to bring all that they have to the task. I was right to believe that my students are knowledge holders and able constructors who have every right to be at this educational table with me. I was right in my belief that enabling learning is a harmful thing if you don’t provide them with the means and opportunities to develop independence and self-efficacy. I was right in my belief that their futures and the futures of the students who they will one day teacher are the most important outcomes in my role as an educator. I was right in my belief that I am a more than capable and passionate educator who wishes to impact the lives of those who I meet as I continue my journey.

Educational Patience: Bearing its fruits

Ironically, as I confess to all of those who have taken the interest and time to read my thoughts reflected within these words, I am forever grateful to all of those who evoked educational patience at their own peril. That young 5th grader and high schooler has embarked on a lifelong quest to better himself and hopefully others through the valuable lessons that were afforded to him by each and every one of you. That first grade teacher who was the inheritor of such wonderful and promising young people is now a developing scholar and intellectual who cherishes the bonds that were forged so long ago. So I hope to be a testament to other educators who are also demonstrating educational patience. There are many more like me who are forever thankful for all that you have done. Please know that we attempt to pay it forward in our own unique ways with your influence in mind.

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Tangible Rewards of Teaching

30 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches, Live In The Discomfort

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Education, expression, Higher Education, pedagogy, Public Education, Reflective Practice, Streams of consciousness, student centered approaches, Student influences on teachers, Student success, Students as teachers, Teacher Education, Teacher influence, w

As I continue to talk about what I find the PROFESSION of teaching requires–living in the discomfort–I had the pleasure of having a conversation with a former student that has led me to this current entry.
Some back story…

My evolution as a teacher continues to occur in which I honestly have to say has been shaped by many of my former students’ impacts on me and my thinking over the years. They have challenged me in ways that I never thought that they would or even could. One of those areas is being more patient with them and their development and/or perceived needs. I must be the first to admit that while I love teaching and learning, I have noticed that I have more patience with learners in the primary grades. My expectations of my adult students and what they brought with them to the learning space was constantly at odds with most of what they actively would show. Sometimes what I thought that they should or would know, as undergraduates, was not always the case. Sometimes the amount of effort or passion that I assumed them to have was not the case either.

Now as I say that, there were plenty of students who were amazing and demonstrated vast amounts of intelligence, creativity, dedication, motivation, and the like. As a teacher, we sometimes take those students for granted and expect them to grace our classrooms with all of their potential and abilities. But when those gifted students’ gifts don’t appear as I expect them to, I now realize that those situations were my greatest challenges. This disconnect was painful for me to realize and accept: Why can’t they _______? Why won’t they _________? Why haven’t they ______? These are questions that I found myself reflecting on and asking my mentors periodically. I kept thinking that my students could do this or that. I never saw them as having deficits, but instead I saw that as not reaching or maximizing their potentials. What I failed to realize in that line of thinking was that while they had the potential, I often didn’t scaffold to the degree in which they may have needed. This realization meant that I had to relearn the level of variance within them regarding things that I considered to be foundational to undergraduate students (i.e., writing and critical thinking).

Now back to the conversation with my student…

In talking with my former student, I was pleasantly reminded of the student’s ability to actualize success. What I mean by that is even though I sought and often demanded a great deal from my students, their respective paths to success are as infinite as their minds, the context they’re in, and the varied supportive mechanisms afforded to them. As a result, I am now more aware of this part of my teaching identity–the critical idealist. And my former student’s current successes and the fond memories that I have during our time in the course have become even more powerful for me. For this was a student who I felt challenged my teaching in ways that made it better. The student’s persistence, creativity, and thoughtfulness during class assignments and discussions still appear in what my student is currently achieving. While, I speak of my student with some attempt of maintaining anonymity, if that student is currently reading; I would like to say I’m very proud of you. And more importantly, thank you!

As I have found to be true within the field of education, many times our students can be our best teachers when we’re willing to listen…

Until next time.

PSDW~

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The Struggles of Teaching

29 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches, Live In The Discomfort, Uncategorized

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Education, Educational Debate, expression, High Stakes Testing, Inequity, K-12, pedagogy, Public Education, Reflective Practice, social critique, Streams of consciousness, student centered approaches, Teacher Education, Teacher influence, Test Anxiety, Testing

The beauty found within teaching for me is something that has little to compare with. You see the growth, determination, creative, among other things of your students as they pursue their educational goals and dreams. These things are, at least for me, the most important aspects for why I do what I do. Seeing diamonds in the rough take shape and form all that you hope and more is so rewarding. I have had the privilege of seeing 6 years olds blossom into amazing teens, college undergraduates harness their abilities in ways that I wonder if they would have dared attempt during previous opportunities, and graduate students traverse the challenges of reclaiming their sense of direction within their educational journeys. All of this matters to me as an educator. There is nothing like it for me, even when many of my contemporaries deny our students the opportunities to flourish. The field of education requires remarkable women and men to serve as educational stewards for future generations of community members. No matter the background we have to safeguard ourselves from our own tendencies to undermine our expectations for and of the potentials of future generations. When I think of all of the students who I have taught, I find pride in the fact that, whether they realize it or not, I imparted at least a little wisdom and knowledge to them. 

The educational conundrum is one that most public educators have some level of familiarity with. Whether you were an elementary teacher, as I was, or a middle school/high school teacher, seeing your students become more of they were and are has to touch your heart. Why else would you become a teacher? 

Yet with all of this hope and promise, we find our schools and schools systems failing our kids in some form or fashion. The lack of support for our public schools, in certain areas of course, allows for others, who usually aren’t educational professionals to make decisions that are often uninformed yet have dramatic effects of the lives of young learners. Standardized tests have become the archenemies of most educators who have experienced third person test anxiety—witnessing your students get scared while taking the test. 

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Onward to the Next Chapter

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Blog, Educational Trenches, PSDW Reflective Journal

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Culture, differentiated instruction, Diversity, Education, expression, Florida, Higher Education, pedagogy, Public Education, Reflective Practice, Streams of consciousness, student centered approaches, Teacher Education

Hello everyone,

Today marks the start of a new and exciting semester (10 weeks). As I have taught over the years, I am reminded of all that makes teaching and learning so important to me. I see it in the responses that I get when I post here on the blog as well as through other social media sites https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patrick-S-De-Walt-MBA-PhD. As I became more aware of the ways in which my beliefs and passion for teaching was shared by others, I found that I was more concerned about everything that I was saying. I don’t take this privilege and honor lightly by any means. I thank each and everyone of you who have taken the time to read anything that I have ever posted online….

The Life of an Educator

It is a very interesting thing to learn from other educators about how they see and experience the life of an educator. Some find the joy in all that they do, others see the responsibilities that are inherent with the position, and others are still trying to figure their way through the process. In many ways, I find that I embody all of these components and feelings each and every time I nervously step in front of my students. While my exterior presents a self assured and somewhat confident person, the interior self is always wondering if he is “doing right by his students.” I find that to be one of the hardest things to come to terms with for me as an educator, I want to always help and prepare my students for all that they will face as they continue their pursuits within the field of education.

The answers that I seek are rarely found within the time that I have my students within my class, but I naively still wish to see any indication that my students get it! As I have discussed about my interactions with Jekyll & Hyde learners in my previous posts, my desires for my students’ success intensifies. I find that I am often fighting them when in comes to my undying belief that they have amazing yet untapped potentials that they seem to not even recognize. I find myself thinking back to my own educational experiences and realizing how fortunate I was to have educators who stayed the course with me even when I didn’t seem to care. From these intense feelings, my teaching philosophy and pedagogy were ultimately born. As a result, I work insane amounts of hours thinking about my lessons and, in the past, grading tons of student assignments.

My growth as an educator has resulted from these educational experiences that consisted of trial and error, long nights of anxiety, and many intense conversations with family, friends, colleagues and mentors. My ideology and integrity are at the center of all that I do and that gives me great pride. Pride in the fact that I am now seeing the seeds that I have helped to plant begin to blossom in multiple contexts as I hope that I have done for my own teachers.

Starting Anew Today

As I write this entry, I am less than an hour away from another exciting and unpredictable semester (Summer 2013). I have so much that I want to achieve with my students and hopefully they will ultimately achieve their own goals as well. I’m teaching my normal class on diversity. I’m also entering into a new area that partially resulted from all that I have done here which has motivated me to explore–a course that merges both student engagement and social media. For now, that’s all I have to say about it but in the coming months I hope that you stay around to see those finished products. So I write to all of the learners and educators out there. Continue to explore your own realities and the beauty found within them while still challenging them for their ultimate enhancement.

My excitement and anticipation have again returned to my core preparing me for a new group of learners who have all the potential in the world to achieve greatness. I just hope to be a small part of their journey as they continue to be a huge part of my own….

Until next time.

PSDW~

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Beautiful Liars and Bully Beatdowns

04 Saturday May 2013

Posted by Life With A Sense Of Humor in Blog, Educational Trenches, Guest Features

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bullying, Education, Educational Debate, expression, Higher Education, Inequity, K-12, Public Education, social critique, Streams of consciousness, Teacher Education

This weekend I am supposed to be speaking on a radio show in Dubai about the phenomenon of bullying. Of course, I’m nervous. I’m always nervous when it comes to these things. Bullying has been on my mind quite a bit this week as I prepare for my appearance. Although some may feel it is a great thing that bullying has become the fad of the moment, it actually makes me quite sad. It’s kind of like when the kid that no one likes all of a sudden becomes the popular kid of the moment. Everyone knows it won’t last and when it is over, the poor kid is left in an even worse place than before. Bullying has become a buzz word. It has infiltrated pop culture. Real Housewives are claiming that they are a victim, talk shows, commercials, plots in cartoons, etc are all focused on the topic of bullying. Unfortunately, there have been several important things that are always left for the viewer to figure out. What exactly is bullying? What would be considered bullying and what is not? Oh yea, and now that I have been told not to be a bystander, stand up, be brave, etc, etc, how exactly do I do that. This movement is under the misconception that schools, parents, school counselors, and teachers are gong to pick up the slack and fill in the blanks. Sadly, this is not happening. This campaign feels dangerously similar to the D.A.R.E campaign that research has indicated failed at accomplishing its goal of keeping kids off of drugs. Campaigns such as these will cause tons of people to rush into the field of bullying prevention bombarding our schools with here-for-the-minute interventions. Research has demonstrated that after these ‘momentary’ interventions leave, most often bullying spikes. There are many of us that have been working in the world of bullying prevention for some time. Researching it, working toward a way to prevent it, reduce it, and bring awareness. It feels as if pop culture has pushed its way into the conversation, will stomp around a bit, and leave us to pick up the pieces. For those of us that consider bullying prevention to be a life-long mission, I hope that bullying does not fall victim to the ‘fad of the moment’ syndrome by quickly rising to the peak of everyone’s attention and then quickly falling into obscurity. I fear all of this hype may leave the poor child trapped in the locker room being beat up for the umpteenth time without a word to use to describe his ordeal. I hope that saying the phrase ‘I’m being bullied’ does not become synonymous with the boy who cried wolf.

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The Unheralded Rewards of Teaching

19 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Blog, Educational Trenches, PSDW Reflective Journal

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Education, expression, Higher Education, K-12, pedagogy, Performance, Reflective Practice, Streams of consciousness, Student leadership, Teacher Education, Teacher influence, unheralded rewards of teaching

I have spent so much of my time lately on my blog devoting it to my poetic side. I have enjoyed sharing that part of me with those of you who have honored me by continuing to follow my blog. I really appreciate this, but I must admit that I have denied a bigger part of who I am in the process–me the teacher.

Recently, I have been reminded that the vocation of teaching is a profession that has been neglected on so many levels for all sorts of reasons. I originally wanted to talk with other educators who, I had coined were “in the educational trenches,” which essentially is the title of this part of my blog. But I have been reminded recently that by stating this, I am guilty of forgetting what I had hoped to impart with my students– that the language that we use shapes our reality as well as the realities of those who we engage. This reminder makes me rethink what I currently have described regarding this aspect of my thought.

As a result, I am brought to this moment when I am touched by those who I work tirelessly to reach, motivate, inspire, encourage, protect, and empower in order for them to become the women and men that I so passionately believe that can be. I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to my belief that my students are the most precious responsibilities I have beyond my own family. They make me work harder, think more critically, and endure let down after let down with the hopes that one day that the educational opportunities that I know they deserve will be the educational opportunities that they actually experience.

All of these thoughts have streamed through my mind as I have just completed my last class for the semester, here at the university. I have come in contact with students who inspire me by their sheer energy and passion for their respective beliefs when it comes to education and other aspects of the world. They may never know how much they truly mean to me beyond the hard lessons that I have them endure during my class in hopes that they’re better prepared for when those situations present themselves down the road. They are our future leaders and many are currently honing their skills to step into their important roles.

I feel as if they are my responsibilities and I can never let that feeling go because if I did, I would feel like a failure to my calling. My calling is not found in a script or set location. It is more likely as eclectic as my imagination allows me to be through the lives that I am fortunate to encounter each and every semester that I work within the academy.

And as long as I’m fortunate to have students who are willing and able to meet me somewhere in the middle, I will do all that I can to help them get wherever their dreams will take them…

I am honored to have been thought of in any significant way by any of my current or former students. I am glad that I have been, even to a small degree, a positive influence on the lives of such amazing young people. While the job is tough and the hours are often long and lonely, every once in a while something special happens and, for me, it happened when the words of a former student spoke of my influence on her as she presented me with the award below…

SAM_0321

While most of the rewards of teaching remain unheralded, I am glad for each and every opportunity that I have to give my best and my all. For all I know, at the time, is that the potentials found within the hearts, minds, and lives of our young people require such sacrifice and patience…

PSDW~

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Outside of All Comfort Zones

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Life With A Sense Of Humor in Educational Trenches, Guest Features

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Culture, Diversity, Education, Higher Education, pedagogy, Politics & Education, Reflective Practice, social critique, Streams of consciousness, Student Behavior, student centered approaches, Student leadership, Teacher Education, World

The most important aspect of being an educator is often overlooked by educators everywhere: the education one receives from one’s students. Nothing can make the importance of THIS type of education more apparent than embarking upon a teaching assignment outside of your home country. I think a key term to reiterate is “home”. I didn’t understand how much I considered the US ‘home’ until I stepped my foot outside of it to work. Vacation is different. When we are on vacation, we can almost always find surroundings that remind us of home. We are not forced to step beyond our ‘comfort zone’. When you are working, however, in a university that is attended only by locals, you find your way of thinking, teaching, responding, reacting, learning, speaking, grading, and living all being forced outside of a box you didn’t even know existed. You find that you are floundering, yes I said floundering. Yes, a person with a degree (a Ph.D.), years of teaching university level students, and grand amounts of knowledge (at least I thought so, lol) was FLOUNDERING! I learned very quickly that all I had learned in my ‘home’ country, worked best (drumroll please) at home!

In order to set some semblance of organization after I arrived, I swooped in set up a syllabus, developed assignments, set up Blackboard, and started to teach. My course schedule had finals set for December. I arrived in October. I was ready to go. One of my students quietly approached me after what I thought to be a FABULOUS class. She quietly told me that although there was a break in December, the semester did not actually end until the final week in January. Also, one of the assignments I created could not be completed by many students because most unmarried, Muslim, girls did not feel comfortable interviewing males, even if they were professional, male, psychologists.

I had to take a step back. A HUGE step back. I felt like a ‘Stranger in Moscow”. I was lucky to have students who were willing to teach me and walk me through the process of getting acclimated. I found myself having to lean on and learn from my students. Of course, the start of a new semester brought sturdier footing, a new sense of self. and a somewhat increased knowledge of culture as it pertains to the psychological field. However, I did not forget the importance and necessity of constantly consulting my students.

Consulting our students, making them a part of the process rather than a mere consumer, and valuing their input are often touted as important parts of the educational process. How many of you actually do this? Most of the time? Some of the time?

How have you been educated by your students?

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01 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches

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charter schools, Education, Educational Debate, Inequity, K-12, Politics & Education, Public Education, School Funding

For those in the trenches, I encourage you to take a look at this and other posts from Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig at http://www.cloakinginequity.com.
PSDW~

Cloaking Inequity

Politicians and others often frame a narrative that charters are on par or better than traditional public schools. I have discussed how charters stack up traditional public schools extensively in posts here on CI on charters. Are there charters that are islands of excellence? Of course, there are some and I discussed this in my invited testimony last week at the Texas Senate. But we must hold charters accountable to data— not just achievement data— because it is becoming clearer and clearer that many charters have high attrition.

Although, the Texas Education Agency doesn’t calculate and disseminate attrition rates, you can basically do it yourself here.  Table 5 is where the information lies.

Below is a table for the central Texas area that an anonymous reader produced and emailed me, not holding graduates against schools, but otherwise looking at attrition rates.

A Mathematica KIPP study that came out recently…

View original post 353 more words

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25 People Dead, Mostly Children, at Connecticut Elementary School Shooting – ABC News

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches

≈ 1 Comment

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School violence

As a former first grade teacher, this story really hits home in a way that I can describe as unimaginable. When we think of violence, I don’t want to focus on solely gun laws as they have discussed within the media, instead I want to focus on the lives that have been presumably lost and forever changed due to this tragedy.

This tragedy is more evidence that we, as a society, need to rethink our values and beliefs. For the member(s) of our nation who perpetrated this, there is so much that needs to be understand yet cannot be justified. As I write this, I am devastated to think of the children who have been placed in harms way.

This is not a normal blog post for me by any means. I’m horrified by what is being reported… Whatever your religious/spiritual beliefs may be, please enact them for those who are directly and indirectly involved.

Is this our society’s wake-up call? Are we, as a nation, promoting violence based on the everyday ways in which we desensitize ourselves through the media images and messages we consume each and every day…

More to come on this as I gather my thoughts, our schools are under attack figuratively and, more disturbingly, literally as this horrific instance proves.

What are you thoughts?

PSD~

25 People Dead, Mostly Children, at Connecticut Elementary School Shooting – ABC News.

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Moving Beyond the Polarized Debate – Bridging Differences – Education Week

27 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Education, Educational Debate, Inequity, K-12, Law(s), Policy, Politics & Education, Poverty, Public Education, School Funding, Teacher Education

This contribution is by Dr. Pedro Noguera. As you read this entry courtesy of Education Week, please think about its message and the implications it has to you as a student who wishes to become a teacher, pre-service teacher, and/or veteran teacher. All of us who are in the educational trenches are seeking better solutions for enhancing the educational opportunities of future generations of learners. As you read this post, think about what side of the debate you are on. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

PSD~

Moving Beyond the Polarized Debate

Dear Deborah,

While the debate over the direction of education policy continues at national and local levels and the new administration begins to consider what, if any, new initiatives it might take to promote school reform, we know there are educators across the country who are thinking about what schools can do right now to meet the needs of the students they serve. I think it is important for us to weigh in on these matters for the sake of the educators who are on the front lines of school reform and their students.

This is clearly an area where your leadership in developing new ways of thinking about how schools might be organized and about how teaching and learning might be carried out has been so helpful to so many. The schools you have been instrumental in creating and leading—Central Park East in New York City and Mission Hill in Boston—have served as models of possibility for educators who have sought to create learning environments that are thoughtful, creative, and most importantly, humane. Education activist Sam Chaltain is using the experiences of Mission Hill to create a series of videos that will be aired nationally to encourage educators and the public in general to think about how we might educate children differently. This kind of work is essential because we can’t wait until we put the right policies in place or until our society becomes more just and equitable to figure out how to create schools that can succeed in educating all kinds of children.

Certainly, policy and politics matter. As we have seen and discussed, policy is shaping how assessment (i.e. high-stakes testing) is used, and increasingly, assessment is determining what children learn, how they learn it, and how schools and teachers are judged. Moreover, as we’ve pointed out before, the fact that education policy largely ignores the effects of poverty and inequality and the way they influence on child development and the performance of schools is yet another reminder that educators are working under major constraints.

These constraints—the political, the economic, and the social—are real and should never be discounted or minimized; otherwise, we end up sounding hopelessly naïve about possibilities for change. Yet, naming them is not good enough.

A big part of what is wrong with the current debate about reform is that it is dominated by what I think of as naïve optimists and radical pessimists. The naïve optimists are the ones promoting simplistic solutions like: “fire bad teachers,” “lengthen the school day,” “close failing schools,” or radically expand the number of charter schools without any real public accountability. What these so-called reformers have in common is that they seize upon a single idea or set of ideas to promote change and then assume that if we just follow this narrow prescription schools will improve. The record shows that they never do, especially not in the communities that suffer from the greatest economic and social challenges.

The radical pessimists largely offer critiques of policy. They remind us that the obstacles to school change on a mass scale lie in the structure of our society, in, for example, the way wealth is distributed, poverty is concentrated, and race continues to operate as a means to deny access to opportunity. They force us to acknowledge that hard-working teachers and visionary principals are insufficient if these are the only forces we rely upon to overcome the obstacles.

The problem with the radical pessimists is they typically have very little to offer in the way of advice to the hard-working teacher who seeks to use education to inspire and impart tangible skills to students. They are even less helpful to the school leaders who seek to transform struggling schools into safe and caring environments where children can be intellectually challenged and supported in their development.

This is one of the reasons why the radical pessimists are losing the reform debate and why the naïve optimists are winning. Ideas matter and if we can’t offer practical suggestions about what can be done to improve schools right now we make ourselves marginal to the debate over reform. Of course it helps to have private foundations and hedge fund managers behind you, and the so-called reformers are generally well financed, even when there is little evidence to support their change agenda. Clearly, the naïve optimists really aren’t that naïve. Some are quite clear that their goal is to dismantle teachers’ unions and privatize public education. If they win, you and I both know our entire society will be at risk.

That is why we need to weigh in on this debate. Not merely from the standpoint of making the case that new policies are needed, but also from the standpoint of practice. Let’s use some of our exchanges to assist the educators who are looking for help and guidance right now, as well as the parents and community organizers who know we can’t wait for the right policies to be enacted to create the schools our children deserve.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Pedro

Moving Beyond the Polarized Debate – Bridging Differences – Education Week.

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Race and NCLB Waivers: Moving Around the Chairs?

25 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches

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Tags

Education, NCLB, Policy, POTUS Obama, Race

With high stakes testing further entrenching itself in our educational system, educators are faced with many stressful decisions and responsibilities in this growing age of accountability. With this being said, please take a look at this article and share your thoughts…

PSD~

Cloaking Inequity

In the recent vote for 2012 Educational Policy Turkey of the Year Award, the Florida SBOE race-based test score goals came in a close second to TFA for the prize. In fact, two of my Linkedin connections made the following comments in response the posting:

 I vote for ALL ESEA waivers that systematize the achievement gap in many, many states outside of Texas.

…I wonder if some of the waiver application approaches are bigger “turkeys”???

Their comments inspired this post.

In my Educational Foundations course that I teach each fall at UT-Austin, I have adapted the History of School Reform, one of my favorite graduate courses at SUSE formerly taught by David Tyack (and also Larry Cuban). Back in 2006, as a new professor, I approached Tyack and Cuban and they graciously helped develop my course with their syllabus and input —I am indebted to them. One of the…

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Link

Science Education & Hip Hop

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches

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collaboration, differentiated instruction, Hip Hop, pedagogy, science education, student centered approaches, underrepresented groups

Science Education and Hip Hop

The link posted above is to an article within the New York Times that I think offers very interesting ways to help engage learning around Hip Hop. While most things within this capitalistic society involves the commodification of ideas and people for some type of monetary game, I have to say that if it benefits and promotes learning within our disadvantaged communities we have to take it seriously. How often do our youth feel disenchanted with what is going on in our schools? This is the case not only in K-12 settings but also at the collegiate level.

Please click the embedded link and read the article.  For all of my fellow educators who are in Educational Trenches, what are examples that you have used to promote student learning?  What pedagogical strategies have you used that did or didn’t work? And please tell why you think that happened in terms of your learning objectives? What advice would you have for pre-service teachers around differentiated instruction of various content knowledge?

I would love to read what you think…

PSD~

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Florida School Closures: Why Are High Poverty Schools Under the Gun? – Living in Dialogue – Education Week Teacher

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches

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Florida, Inequity, K-12, Poverty, Public Education, School Funding, Teacher Education

As I think about the state of public education and what our future teachers will face, I find myself both optimistic about their passions and desires for entering the profession but simultaneously, I find myself fearful of what type of educational system that they will inherit. After living and teaching in some form or fashion in three states (Colorado, Florida and Texas) what is so clear is that public education remains under attack. In conversations with educators in states such as the ones I’ve mentioned, I hear harsh realities from those whose hearts are still student centered.

As this blog grows, I hope to hear your stories about what teaching is for you as a profession as well as what it is not. As most educators may attest, we wear an array of hats and use a plethora of skills to get our lessons across to our students. We won’t even discuss the amounts of hours and money we sacrifice for those of whom we have dedicated our academic years  and lives to–our students.

I write all of this to set up the following submission that was originally posted on Education Week Teacher. We are in tough times both economically and morally in terms of what we choose to value in our society–not hear to play the “morality card” but it is what it is. We, as educators, are held responsible for shaping and instilling the values and beliefs of a new generation of citizenry for better or worse. So why do we continue to find the following entry still happening in places that are attempting to make a way out of no way?

To all of my fellow educators across the country, I’m with you in the educational trenches. I hope, in my current role, to help shape those who will walk and teach by your sides in the not so distant future. They are trying and will need your wisdom as well as the space to bring in new ideas for a new generation of student. So be prepared and ready for the new wave of teachers/learners, but in the meanwhile please review the harsh reality as we wait for better circumstances for our schools, communities, children and parents…

Carry on…

PSD~

Actual link to the following comments provided below courtesy of Education Week Teacher

Florida School Closures: Why Are High Poverty Schools Under the Gun? – Living in Dialogue – Education Week Teacher.

Guest post by a Florida teacher.

On Election Day, residents in Brevard County, Florida, rejected a sales tax increase to support schools. According to the Florida Today, the sales tax would have raised about $32 million annually, which the district planned to use to buy new school buses, replace roofs and chillers and purchase new computers to meet a state mandate. Three days after voters shot down the proposed half-cent sales tax, Brevard Public Schools officials recommend closing four schools during the 2013-14 school year. The closures are estimated to save the district about $3 million, a fraction of the shortfall it is facing. Board Chair Barbara Murray stated, “We will rise to the occasion. Our public has sent us a clear message, and we will do whatever it takes to maintain our quality education under the current restrictions.”

It’s simply unfathomable that Superintendent Brian Binggeli considers closing South Lake Elementary School a means to maintain quality education in the district. South Lake Elementary is a school that has found success with students living in poverty while schools all over the nation scramble to find a way to do just the same. According to Florida’s 2010-2011 Rankings, South Lake Elementary was in the top 13% of all the elementary schools in the state and ranked 4th amongst all schools that had a population of students with over 80% classified as being on free/reduced lunch. The Florida Department of Education (DOE) has found the school to be “high performing” for nine consecutive years. Additionally, AllThingsPLC recognizes the school as a National Model of Professional Learning Communities at Work.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the school board voted to close another Title 1 school in the same town as South Lake Elementary just one year ago, and hundreds of students were redistricted. Not just the students from the closed school were affected, but students from 5 other schools as well. A school board vote in favor of the superintendent’s proposal will lead to hundreds of kids attending their third school in as many years. Substantial evidence and studies show that mobility is correlated with lower academic achievement levels; even Florida’s VAM formula recognizes that! It has been found that children who moved 3 or more times had rates of school dropout that were nearly one-third of a standard deviation higher than those who were school stable. Frequent mobility was also associated with significantly lower reading and math achievement.

Where is the logic in the superintendent’s thinking? Some parents at the school, such as Mike Nunez, ask the poignant question, “Does it really all come down to money, class, and/or race?” Nunez notes South Lake Elementary has one of the highest poverty and minority rates of all the nearly 100 schools in the district. He stated that in the history of Brevard County, six schools in the North Area have been closed, with each of them lying in economically depressed areas (never in any areas considered to be “Affluent” neighborhoods). Additionally, Nunez suggests that no written criteria for how schools were chosen for possible closures have been found.

According to the Brevard County’s School Board’s own 2012 Capital Needs Assessment, South Lake is in need of fewer capital improvements than most schools in the district, including some of the schools to which South Lake Elementary students would be relocated. South Lake is 97% utilized while another area school that is both older and in greater need of capital improvements is 91% utilized. For whatever the reason, the School Board is not looking at closing schools in the more densely school populated Central Melbourne area where schools are under-utilized averaging around 80% utilized.

Nunez asks, “Did the school board feel the parents and community would fail to rally behind the school due to economic status?” If that is the case, the school board was woefully wrong. In one week nearly 1,400 people have become part of the effort to save South Lake on Facebook, about 700 have signed this petition, parents and community members came in droves to a rally last week, all the area elementary schools under PTO leadership are united, and politicians from all over the state are supporting the cause, as well as numerous national parent organizations.

Tuesday, November 20, the School Board will vote on whether or not to accept the superintendent’s proposal. Hundreds will be there hoping that the school board will support the case for South Lake and find budget cuts that will not be so detrimental to a population of vulnerable students.

What do you think? Are low income schools more likely to be closed down in your experience?

(The author of this post is a teacher in this District, who asked to remain anonymous.)

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In the Educational Trenches: Conversations Around the State of Education by Educators

15 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Patrick S. De Walt, MBA, PhD in Educational Trenches

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This segment of my blog is dedicated to the voices of teachers/educators who are and/or have been in the educational trenches nationally and globally. Remember the nature of this is to support an honest discussion of the state of education from the perspectives of those who are in the field…

PSD~

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