Will Schools Ever Get It Right?

On the book…

I must say that I am really enjoying this book and finding it extremely interesting.

As I was reading this week, I was surprised by the realization that debates in public education have been going on since it started. Some of the debates that I thought were relatively new have been going on for some time such as college prep vs. vocational training, whole language vs. phonics and teaching the whole child not just filling heads with information.  The realization was sort of freeing to me because I have a tendency to take criticism of public schools too personally.  I realized that we will never get it right! No matter what we do, there will be a group of people opposed to it, and public schools will forever be the scape goats. 

What matters, though, is that whichever  way the pendulum swings, there always have been and always will be many excellent teachers in the trenches who do the best they can every day to provide what students need academically, socially, and emotionally.

I was also moved by the fact that minorities were willing to sacrifice their lives and endanger their children to make things better for themselves and for future generations.  It must have been terrifying for a child to see the National Guard waiting to keep you out of school, and then have the army show up to get you in.  It took courage to say the least.

I loved the story of Julian Nava and his brother who wouldn’t take no for an answer, and look where it got him!  He showed that he was intelligent and capable of earning a doctorate degree from Harvard.

It’s interesting to me that conservatives call integration a “tragic failure.”  In my opinion the sacrifices that were made by minorities have made a tremendous difference, but there’s still work to be done.   Public education still isn’t equal for minorities in many areas.  Urban schools, which consist primarily of minority students are underfunded, run down, and don’t have quality teachers in many cases.

On contemplative pedagogy…

I love starting class with contemplation!   It helps me to de-stress, consciously focus on what I read (getting rid of the 10,000 other things I’m thinking about) and formulate my thoughts before I write.  In my classroom, when I give a writing assignment, I often have kids sit silently for a few minutes and think about what they want to write before they actually start writing.  It has cut down on the kids who say they have nothing to write about.  I like the idea of having them sit and contemplate what they read before a reading response, though, and think I will try that in the fall. 

I know that my mini-research project from the fall, the Take 5 activity (mindfulness), that I did with my class made a big difference in improving their self-control and attention spans.  The kids could see a difference as well.  Unfortunately as the year went on, I stopped making time for it and only did it sporadically because kids would ask to do it. I plan to try again in the fall with my new class.