HOW TO CREATE SAFE, SUPPORTIVE, AND TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE SCHOOLS

On February 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, located in Parkland, Florida, experienced one of the deadliest days of school violence ever recorded in the United States. A lone gunman entered the school and went on a rampage that took the lives of 17 people, with 17 more people injured because of gunshot wounds.

After the massacre, pundits scurried to the front of cameras to offer the same tired solutions for a problem that has morphed into a national crisis.

#Guns.

Pharmaceutical drugs.

Law enforcement negligence.

The list of whom and what to blame for the rapidly increasing number of school violence events neglects to answer one question: How to create safe, supportive, and trauma-responsive schools.

The Numbers Do Not Lie
Between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014, a combination of 48 students, educators, and visitors lost their lives on school property in the United States. The 48 deaths included 28 homicides, 20 suicides, one death caused by legal intervention, and one death not determined by law enforcement. About two-thirds of public schools reported at least one violent incident during the 2013-14 school year.
The Center for Disease Control released a report stating almost 10% of students participated in a physical fight during the school year. Six percent of students fail to attend school because of what they perceived to be an unsafe learning environment.

It is not just about violence. Students also face the growing menace called bullying. With social media sites presenting the convenient opportunity for bullies to unleash intimidation, we should not be surprised that incidents of bullying have increased in the United States public education system. During the 2015-16 school year, nearly 15% of fourth graders and seven percent of eighth graders reported being victims of bullying at least one time over the span of 30 days.

The question is since we all can agree that violence and intimidation exist in the United States public school system, but what are we going to do to stop the violence and intimidation?

Supportive Strategies to Keep Students and #Educators Safe
Academics wring their hands, as well as toss and turn at night trying to come up with the most effective solutions for creating supportive learning environments. A seminal book released in 2009 still has relevance today. Five co-authors argue for a few common sense approaches to creating supportive learning environments.

Perhaps the most critical strategy involves connecting with parents and community leaders to foster a more open and welcoming learning environment. Parents take the lead at home by extending the classroom learning environment, and community leaders develop programs that encourage children and adolescents to learn year round. Another recommendation is to sustain strong instructional that includes more collaboration among students. The book goes on to emphasize the importance of cohesive school leadership that concentrates more on teaching and less on disciplining students who make mistakes.

#Trauma Response Must Improve
We cannot expect all the sound school safety first practices to expunge school violence and intimidation. However, we can do a better job of responding to the trauma caused by life-changing events that occur in our public schools.

Trauma represents an event or several events when students and educators experience physical and emotional harm that lingers for years. Research indicates the majority of students in the American public education system have gone through at least one traumatic event. More than 60% of students experience a traumatic event at school by the time they turn 16 years old. About two-thirds of students have witnessed or been a victim of violence, with more than half of the victims experiencing more than one violent incident.

The Consequences of Trauma
Students who go through a traumatic event develop learning disabilities, such as having problems staying focused or forgetting important parts of classroom lectures. Victimized students also find it hard to maintain stable social relationships with both peers and educators. The consequences of trauma include lower standardized test scores and a higher incidence of suspensions and expulsions.

Effective Trauma Response Matters
Schools that implement effective trauma response programs ensure students and educators build caring relationships, as well as pay close attention to their physical and emotional health. Students thrive in the classroom and educators deliver a compelling curriculum that helps students grow personally and academically. Trauma responsive schools create a comprehensive strategy that starts with working with local law enforcement to create a game plan for how to respond to traumatic events. The response can include knowing where to go during a traumatic event and how to seek counseling after a traumatic event is over.

Here are some other ways to improve trauma response in our nation’s public schools:
·     Create an educational program that discusses the meaning of trauma
·     Emphasize that feeling vulnerable after a traumatic event is not a weakness
·     Educate parents about how trauma negatively influences the learning process
·     Promote safe learning environments in classrooms, hallways, and playgrounds
·     Identify barriers to healing after a traumatic event
·     Train educators to detect student mood changes
·     Encourage confidential discussions between students and school mental health professionals
·     Make sure an emotional support staff is always there for students and educators

The national debate about how to prevent and handle #school-based trauma often misses the point. Instead of debating whether to arm teachers or build schools that resemble prisons, the discussion about school #safety should be more about finding ways to offer support to the people who need it the most.

Solving The Problem Of Black Male Achievement – Less Talk, More Action

Solving The Problem Of Black Male Achievement – Less Talk, More Action

Today, we’ve reached a critical point in the Black Male achievement conversation – which means it’s time to stop having a conversation and start taking action. So far, there is no “perfect solution” that can guarantee the success of Black males in the US – the problems of pernicious institutionalized racism, poverty, and a system that’s built to victimize Black males are enormous.

But there is no longer any time to waste. The problems are worse than they’ve ever been before – as of 2014 only about 54% of Black students graduate from high school – and Black males in the twelfth grade have lower average reading test scores than any other ethnic or racial group.

The numbers don’t lie – even as colleges and high schools around the US boast about their exceptional achievements and the bright futures of their students, it is evident we are leaving our Black males behind.

It’s time to stop talking about how we can promote Black male achievement – and time to start taking action. Let’s discuss some novel strategies that could help promote Black male achievement, and have a serious impact on the issue of the “Black Male Achievement Gap.”

Force Schools And Administrators To Recognize The Problem – And Take Action

One of the biggest issues facing Black male achievement is that many schools – especially public schools – fail to acknowledge that Black males are uniquely discriminated against within the system.

Too often, we hear about Black males who are rejected by administrators. They’re written off as “bad seeds,” and sent directly to the “school-to-prison” pipeline. This is not a myth – it’s a fact and needs to be acknowledged as such.

Black males are 4x more likely than white students to be suspended, and over 70% of in-school arrests involve Black or Latino students. Not only that, Black males are 2x as likely to not complete high school – and 68% of all inmates in our federal prison system doesn't have a high school diploma.

We must break down this system of apathy, hate, and institutionalized prejudice. We must recognize that Black males are now more naturally prone to violence or misbehavior than any other group of students – they are products of their circumstances. Poverty, broken families, abuse – these stresses take their psychological toll on our Black youth.

We must force administrators and schools to acknowledge the problem of institutionalized racism – and set aside money for programs and initiatives that are specifically designed to increase the achievement of Black males.

Black male mentorship programs, Rite of Passage programming, and other after-school programs may not be the newest solution around, but they’re proven to work. Males that have participated in such programs have also experienced an increase in academic performance.  These programs are tailored directly to Black youth – and can have a dramatic effect on Black male student outcomes, and help us narrow the achievement gap.

Bring Black Male Students Together, And Present A United Front

Our young Black men in high school often feel targeted, victimized, or alone – and it’s critical that we take steps to solve this issue.

Black males must be taught the skills to navigate and advocate for themselves within the system.  They must take a united stand and say, “no more shall we be pushed to the side and made to feel invisible.”  A radical approach is needed, meaning getting down and understanding the root cause of the problems facing our young men.  Then force change within a system that appears partly invested in solving or improving the educational experience of these youth.  Often, lack of funding, time and capacity are excuses to continue the status quo.  But I ask, where are the education dollars going?  -- Not too many schools in our most economically depressed neighborhoods, not to recruit highly qualified teachers to teach our nations most disenfranchise youth and surely not to create pathways of opportunity for Black males who are facing a high probability of school failure.

We must create an environment that Black males feel welcomed, care for, loved and nurtured.  We must remove the mindset that all Black males are destined for failure.  We must empower our males to be an active participant in their education and make curriculum reflective of their culture and experiences.  I know this is difficult to do in most traditional school settings -- but here’s a thought experiment for you. Why can’t we have more schools that are specifically targeted to [I almost said “at-risk,” but “at-risk” makes it seem like it’s the student's fault] Black males or males of color for that matter?

After-school programs and community organizations can only do so much for our Black males. By implementing a specialized schooling system that focuses on educating and preparing Black males – and not on punishing them – we can arm them with the tools they need to narrow the achievement gap and succeed in life.

There are many of those who believe in the myth of “self-segregation” – and may not approve of this idea. However, the fact of the matter is that the inherent prejudice of the public and private school systems is the primary cause of much of the Black male achievement gap.

Yes, though no education system can be entirely free from failure, a school tailored specifically to youth of color could implement culturally responsive programs and classes that would provide a more engaging learning environment – and provide students with the tools they need to succeed in their life after school.

There Is No “Perfect Solution” – But That Doesn’t Mean We Can’t Act Now!

If we wait around discussing the issue of the Black male achievement gap until we find a perfect solution, we’re leaving our Black students behind. It’s just that simple.

So don’t wait for a perfect solution. If you’re an educator, administrator, or a member of the community, it’s time for action. Even if you can only help one Black male at a time, that’s enough.

We can’t leave our future leaders. If we work together, we can improve conditions for Black youth – and help narrow the opportunity gap for young Black men. The journey will be hard, and the obstacles may seem insurmountable – but our men are worth the investment.

Teacher Education Programs Don't Adequately Prepare Teachers For Urban Schools.

By Anthony L. Hubbard

So, you just graduated from a 4-year college with a teaching degree. You did some student teaching at a local suburban elementary school – but that’s not where your passion is. You’re interested in teaching at an urban school in the most challenging neighborhood.

Why?

Because  you want to make a difference. You want to change lives. You want to teach the kids who are the neediest and help them escape a terrible situation.

Or at least, that’s what you think you want. The truth is, most teacher education programs leave you unprepared to deal with the day-to-day reality of teaching in an urban school. To be completely honest, urban schools are a tough environment – for both teacher and students.

Poverty leaves its mark on every student – and many of them cope by turning away from teachers and authority figures.  They enter your classroom with distrust and guarded.  Many have suffered trauma that has gone untreated, while others don’t see the importance of education. 

So let us take a look at some of the most common things that surprise teachers who attempt to teach in urban schools, and discuss why education programs don’t adequately prepare teachers for this educational environment.

Relationships Are At The Core Of Your Ability To Teach

Here’s the thing about young people in urban schools – they’ve seen it all before. A white, middle-class teacher comes into their classroom, freshly out of college or Graduate school. They’re raring to go – and they want to have their “O Captain, My Captain,” moment with their class, and change their lives.

Then, as the year goes on, the teacher gets frustrated. The kids are cynical, mean, or ignoring them – and don’t seem to have any interest in learning. Teachers become snarky, disengaged and frustrated.  After a year, the teacher is so discouraged that he/she leaves – probably to teach in a charter school or a cushy suburban school.

The leaving of potentially great educators happens over and over again, and the reason is simple – relationships are more important in urban schools than anywhere else. If you want to have an effect on the lives of your students, you must connect to them on a personal level, and genuinely show that you care about them.

This is in contrast to the attitude that many first-time teachers enter with; the idea that their students need “saving,” and that they’re the ones to do it. Students don't need to be saved by you. They need to be empowered. Students in this environment don’t want your pity.  They want to feel normal.  And if you can connect with your students, be honest with them, and create a meaningful relationship, you will get through to them.

Conflict Is Normal – And You Need To Manage It

Poverty and the stress of life associated with it takes a severe mental toll – especially on developing children. Many kids will react by becoming combative and aggressive or withdrawing completely into their shells. These behaviors are especially prevalent in teenagers and pre-teens.

Most teacher programs have a minimal focus on conflict resolution skills. These programs operate in a sort of “bubble” where your classroom is obedient, respectful, and conflict-free – and this is never the case.

You’re going to need good conflict resolution skills. If the conflicts are minor and don’t escalate, it’s best to provide your students with the tools required to solve them on their own and act as a facilitator. Because if you rely on school administrators and school resource officers to solve the conflict, you’re going to alienate yourself from your students.

Some Things Are Out Of Your Control – And That’s Okay

There is no mistake that when you teach in an urban school, within a disenfranchised neighborhood, with students living in constant state of crisis - there will be things that are out of your control. You can’t make sure all of them have a warm bed to sleep in at night, clean clothes, or enough money for lunch. You’re not their savior, and you can’t do everything on your own.

But what you can do is teach. When students are in your classroom, you’re in control, and you really can make a difference if you persist, form great relationships, and connect with your students, you will be able to watch them improve – and that’s the best feeling you can have as a teacher.  Remember, the mission here is to equip your students them with a strong educational foundation that will give them a fighting chance of improving their life outcomes. 

Teaching In Urban Schools Is Hard – But Don’t Be Discouraged

If you’re looking to teach in an urban school, that’s great! I’m glad that you’re thinking about using your talents to reach young people who are disadvantaged, and who may lack a strong mentor or role model.

But it’s important that you understand that this will be difficult. There is a reason that some urban schools have a 3-year turnover rate of over 50% – most teachers are not properly equipped by their education programs to handle the stresses of teaching the nation’s most challenging students.

But if you understand that you’re a teacher – not a savior, that you must build relationships with each one of your students, and that you can encourage learning by facilitating an open, safe environment for your students, you’ll have a much better chance of success.  Make no mistake, there will always be students that latch on to you, and you will become their superhero, the cool teacher, their mentor - but just let it happen naturally. 

It will be hard. You may want to quit. But if you persist, you’ll be rewarded – and you’ll truly make a difference in the lives of your students.

Embracing Conversations about Race in Schools.

By Anthony Hubbard

Discourse about race dominates American life

'Race' is the ugly word that dominates American life in a near complete negative manner despite the fact that large portions of the country voted twice to elect an African American president. The term race forces us to confront horrid factors such as institutionalized discrimination, widespread poverty and paranoia, distrust and despair, criminal justice failings, police brutality, and widespread racial discrimination.

In the current scenario, conversations about race extend well beyond the plight of millions of blacks. It covers Latinos, Asians, Muslims, and several persecuted minorities. Open up a prominent national newspaper or switch on cable news, and you'll find several horrific news stories that ensure that racism remains an omnipresent conversational topic and with good reason. At most schools and colleges, we fail to sensitize America's children about race issues at an age when their minds are very vulnerable to internalizing subtle forms of racism. Successful classroom engagement is essential to reducing problems related to race in our society.

Educators must engage in race-related topics objectively

In urban settings, at times, it can feel like America exists as a post-racial society, and this is often the first myth that educators should dispense off with an evidence-based approach. Before engaging the classroom on the topic of race, teachers must gather all the facts that support their argument and methodically incorporate it into their classroom environment. Interracial conversations about race are bound to be dangerous and can go off track very quickly, hence, it is essential to be prepared with as much care as possible.

Engaging in conversations about race in your classroom could impact generations of individuals, as education is the only way we can end the racial differences at the core of our society. Colleagues may not be enamored about an educator's desire to talk about race, and confronting your colleagues about its importance requires a significant degree of courage and education.

Your courage could shape the way students think about race forever

Educators must understand that opening up a dialogue about race is far better than leaving it unsaid or unspoken. Having a direct, objective, and courageous conversation about race could positively impact the life of all your students. At the least, bringing up the topic in the classroom will provide it with legitimacy, and convey the importance of discussing it with students of all races.

It is important to repeat your points in a clear, lucid manner that definitively reiterates the core of your message. Repetition is one of the most important tools in the hands of educators, and it is vital to ensure that students hear what you are saying instead of what they think you may be saying. Clarity and engagement are the best things educators can provide to their students in such discussions. Reinforce factual information without resorting to gross generalizations and statement of biases. Provide students with the platform to air their views and encourage arguments that steer clear of emotional agitation and name-calling. Allow all students, not just minority students, to state what they feel so that you can understand how incorrect opinions can be altered for good.

Expect discomforting discussions and arguments

One factor educators cannot control is a student's previous engagement with racism, picked up from the world around them. Naturally, discussion of such a controversial topic is bound to lead to awkward and discomforting situations. As individuals, we are constantly socialized into differing views on race based on our external environment.  This can lead to excessive degrees of cognitive dissonance when one person's opinions do not align with the opinions of the surrounding others. As an educator, you must allow students to argue with you and each other without 'otherizing' the opposite views or views you may completely disagree with.

Educators may need to set basic standards for decorum before proceeding with a discussion about race. Elucidate to the students the importance of rational conversations based on facts and logic instead of emotional conversations based on inherent stereotypes and biases. Educators must strive to normalize the presence of differing perspectives before clearly imparting the fundamental mistakes behind certain views. When you are trying to explain to a student why, for example, constantly passing jokes about all blacks being thieves, is incorrect, you should not belittle a student, but expose the dangerous statements and very real statistics behind such statements. Make the intellectual appeal and not the emotional appeal.

Speak the truth and encourage students to do the same

Beyond all else, the truth requires absolute courage. Share your experiences with racism and its impact on individuals in your life. Share your truthful opinions even if it may be unpopular with colleagues and students. When educators share their honest opinions, their colleagues and students may be able to point out inherent misconceptions and mistakes.

Conversations about race can be a two-way learning experience and you may become aware of your incorrect beliefs and misconceptions, which may have seemed based on facts. The truth is capable of setting both you and your students free. Addressing honest misconceptions and incorrect opinions are much easier once heartfelt sentiments have been shared.

Accept a lack of closure

Conversations about race will typically provide no conclusion, and at the very least, competent educators can encourage students to think differently about long-held beliefs. As an educator, your primary job is to ensure that students are aware of the severity of the problem at hand and encourage them to empathize with the problems of millions of people around the country.

At the end, students should be able to realize that, classroom discussions cannot provide closure for burning issues that are not closed in the real world. At the very least, students must be sensitized to the plight of racial minorities, and as a result of your discussion, they could be encouraged to seek tangible solutions to the multi-faced problems at hand.

How Can Educators Create an Effective Connected Classroom?

A connected classroom is a smart-learning environment that is open to the outside world. With this approach, students get to learn from real-life situations and connect with other learners across the globe. With the widespread use of internet and web 2.0 technologies, creating connected classrooms has become much easier. Before we look at the web tools that you can use to open the classroom doors to a global audience, let us look at some of the academic advantages of adopting such an approach.

Connected classrooms can help students:

• Practice and learn a foreign language with native speakers of the tongue
• Discuss problems with other learners from far off locations
• Invite experts in a particular field to the virtual classroom and learn from them
• Expose themselves to other cultures and develop a more holistic global awareness
• Set up virtual trips to places of interest

Skype and Google Hangout are great tools to create a connected classroom. They stand out for a number of reasons:

• They are completely free to uset is easy to set them up and you do not need any in-depth technical knowledge to operate them
• They are web-based and don’t require software installation
• You can do both video and text chat on them 
• They offer group calling services
• Hangout videos and Skype calls can be recorded and shared with anybody
  Let us take a look at a practical way in which we can use Google Hangout and Skype to create a connected classroom

The Mystery Hangout/Skype

A Mystery Hangout/Skype is an educational classroom game where students from different parts of the country get to meet each other on Skype or through Hangout video and get to ask each other questions about each other's locations. The aim of this game is to help the students guess the location of their peers’ class. In the process, they get to practice a number of academic skills like web searching, speaking, note taking, writing and a lot more.

This activity is suitable for children of any age group and can also be used to teach subjects like geography, history, mathematics, languages and science.  There are various ways in which you can go about selecting the class to partner with. For instance, you can use the Hashtag #mysteryskype or go to this page to find out more about the different classes that are featured there. If you want to organize a Mystery hangout for your class, you can check Google Plus’ Mystery hangout Community. If you find a class that you want to connect with, get in touch with its teacher and set up a meeting. But before you get started with the Mystery Hangout/Skype class, make sure that your students are adequately prepared. Here are a few handy tips to get them ready for their first connected learning experience:

• Make sure that your students fact check the information that they are going to provide in their answers. They can use the internet to look up information on their geographical location, the population of the city they live in, the languages they speak, the historical monuments, their city’s economic mainstay and more. 

• If you want to connect with classes that are in a different time zone, you need to know the time differences between both the locations. You can use the following tools to overcome the problem:

• Online conversion 
• Meeting planner 
• World clock 

If you want your students to make the most of the time they spend connecting with their guest class, make sure that you assign each one of them a specific task to carry out. Some of the roles include – greeters (the students who will greet the guests when they connect), the questioner (students who pose the questions), note takers (students who are entrusted with taking detailed notes) and photographers (students who are entrusted with taking pictures during the call). If you want a more detailed web resource with a list of tasks that you can assign to your students, check out this page.

Why We Need To Move Towards Standards-Based Learning

As of last year, there were an estimated 50 million students in the United States who were attending public elementary and secondary schools. Within the next few years, these children will be having full time jobs and contributing towards the growth of the nation. It is no secret that good education has an effect on progress of a people, which is why it is important to ensure that education systems are constantly evolving. In this spirit, the grading system that is employed by majority of the schools in the USA is observed to give rise to many problems, and it will have to be changed if we want the children of the future to be competent.

The present scenario

The present system makes a student sit through a class for an entire year and allows progression to a higher grade once they prove their proficiency at the end of the year. This kind of a system assumes that students have gained expertise in their subjects before they are made to sit through more advanced classes. But empirical evidence shows that students can progress to higher grades even when they are not competent enough to grasp advanced concepts.

The grading system has, for many years, been the subject of criticism as many people become acutely aware of the effect it has on children. One of the primary issues is that the grading system focuses on achieving marks, instead of learning the concept thoroughly. The intrinsic motivation for students in such a system is to get good grades, and this forces them to take lesser risks in their learning process, instead of exploring topics that lie beyond their current skill set.

The very approach to learning is corrupted when the message given by an educational institution is “grades matter more than learning”. As the students study a book with the intention of memorizing facts, their quality of understanding the essence of the text is diminished, and this effect is magnified as the students progress through higher levels of the education system.

Why improvement would not really help

Many people are of the opinion that an improvement in the education system is a necessity, but they may not be very open to completely doing away with the grading system. Several schools around the country try to augment the grading system by introducing innovative policies, yet these methods do not stand the test of time. The reason that superficial improvements to the grading system do not work is because it is psychologically flawed.

Experts of pedagogy agree that the learning process inherently motivates students, not because they stand to gain good grades, but because the subject matter interests them. The grading system, instead of acknowledging this quality, forces a structure of rewards and punishments in the hopes of spurring young minds to work harder. Studies conducted by educational psychologists reveal that simply focusing on the assessment process can undermine the quality of learning, as the students monitor their performance instead of trying to grasp the nuances of the subject matter.

How to move towards standards-based learning

The process of change towards standards-based learning is arduous and it will require the combined efforts of school administrators and teachers, if a school hopes to use such a system in the long run. To make a gradual move away from the grading system, a school administrator needs to first have extensive discussions with teachers, parents and even students about the effects of the present system. The main rebuttal people have against changing the grading system is that it becomes nearly impossible to collect data about a student's performance. But there are far better methods of assessing mastery which involves gathering information about the capability of students.

Once a considerable number of people are in support of the idea of moving away from the grading system, a school can start to eliminate the traditional system for the youngest students, so that the system can be continued as they progress through their education. Instead of completely eliminating grades, an educational institution may choose to reduce the focus on academic success to show students that learning is more important that scoring well.

Teachers will have a major role to play in the efforts of an educational institution, as they will need to adapt to new methods of assessment. There will also be considerable resistance from parents and students alike, who will argue that excellence needs to be documented with data. When faced with such situations, remember that the goal of a school is not to grade students competitively, but to increase knowledge within each student. With persistence and skill, it is possible to eliminate the grading system and move towards a competency based learning system in the long term.

The Need of the Hour - To Educate Boys and Young Men of Color

A nation is formed by the contribution of every single one of its citizens. It grows, flourishes, progresses alongside its people. In the same measure, it fails to achieve its optimal development when a section of the citizenry is denied the ability to give their best to their homeland. In the U.S., where the fabric of society comprises of many hues and textures, it is indeed surprising, even shocking, that young men of color are yet to receive their due, their fair share of the resources that the country has to give. This is most evident in the skewed educational landscape we witness. The facts about young men of color that are commonly known are:

• Young men of color enrolled in America’s urban schools do not demonstrate the academic excellence that paves way for successful higher education or lucrative career

• A disproportionate number of young men of color have low attendance at school and high dropout rates when compared with their counterparts

The Big Picture that is often Hidden

However, the big picture that emerges when you start exploring why this situation exists is not quite as well known or well publicized:

• Due to a variety of historic, cultural, social reasons, the families of these young men have been kept out of the more upscale, prosperous neighborhood, thus limiting their ability to enroll at the best urban schools in the country.

• Studies reveal that young men of color are far more likely than their peers to attend schools where the quality of teaching is below par, with fewer experienced teachers available and accessible.

• These young men are also far more likely to attend schools where educational resources are heavily limited and restricted, thus restricting their ability to take initiative for their own education in the absence of high quality teaching. These resources include science labs, libraries, athletic programs and so on.

• The schools they attend may also typically have a dearth of qualified, experienced counselors meaning that these young men of color have no one to turn to for guidance and support in making the right career choices. This is especially a huge challenge for first generation school students who come from a family where no one else has had an opportunity to study.

• A host of factors, including these prevent these young men of color from graduating from school with the necessary preparation to take up higher education at a quality institution. This means that the cycle is repeated, restricting the student’s ability to hone his inherent skills into professional qualifications that will get him a job where his full potential is utilized.

Young men of color are denied the chance to give their best to America

The situation is a very unfortunate one because it is not only these young men of color who are at the losing end. It is, in fact, the country that is losing out and quite significantly. Unfortunately, this is one aspect that does not receive the attention it deserves. The reality is that no country can progress as well as it should unless every section of the population is given the opportunity to explore their own talents and skills to the maximum. No country can flourish unless every such section has access to resources that let them discover their inherent skills and develop them. And no country can optimally develop and succeed unless every such section is integrated into its workforce in areas where their skills can be leveraged to the maximum. 

In an ideal society, every single student is given equal educational opportunities, has access to teachers and learning resources to identify the ways in which they can excel in life. This is a first step that lets students achieve personal success and position themselves as an integral part of society. It also puts a full stop to the vicious cycle of poorly educated adults failing to recognize the need to get their children educated, thus fostering yet another generation of young men of color unable to contribute to society and nation.

Education is Key to Safeguarding the Nation’s Resources

Young men of color face several prejudices, most common among them being that they are aggressive and more likely to engage in criminal activities. The statistics that show the immense number of young men of color engaged in unlawful activities only add fuel to this fire. However, explore the facts with a closer look at the causative factors and a very different picture emerges. If we are able to equip these young men with the education they need to succeed in a constructive career, we can effectively channelize their energies in the right way. These students can become the men who stand first in our line of defense, who build the businesses that will take America to new heights, who come up with innovative ideas that will position the country as a world leader. 

If we ignore that the country is failing these young men who have untapped potential, we also close our eyes to the fact that we are committing to reserve many, many resources to an unproductive cause. This is because the lack of education will force many of these current generation youngsters into the wrong path, prompting them to engage in anti-social activities. In later life, many of these young men may ‘graduate’ into more serious crimes, requiring the investment of state and national resources into identifying them, controlling them and incarcerating them to keep them isolated from society. 

The Great City Schools of America have already recognized that the roots of the problem lie in the formative years of young men of color. The 60 urban school systems have pledged to invest efforts into eliminating the inequities that hamper the growth of these students. It is up to every one of us to accept our share of the responsibility in ensuring that young men of color are given the impetus, the tools to become society’s most respected, most valuable assets instead of forcing on them a life that can only take them and the country, with them,

How To Use Socratic Discussion In Today's Classroom To Promote Student Engagement

The Socratic method is a student-centric teaching method that actively enhances the student’s comprehension and ability to learn. Socrates firmly believed that effective teaching could not be achieved by mere one-sided lecturing. He understood that students have their own individual stores of knowledge as well as learning and when they are encouraged to build upon these, they can learn more efficiently. He also realized that effective teaching happens when the students are engaged deeply in the classroom activities because they can be inspired to analyze the lesson, evaluate, discuss it and develop their own view point upon it.

The Socratic method of teaching is an universally applicable method that can be applied to students of any age, with any subject matter, to achieve the most effective teaching - learning process. To apply the method in your classroom, there are a few key aspects to understand.

The importance of asking the right questions

The Socratic method draws students deeper into the subject matter by encouraging them to take an active part in the learning process. One way in which it is done is by asking questions that prompt them to consider the problem or subject from different perspectives. In effect, questions that require generative answers are important so that the answers become starting points for further discussion or analysis. So a deep understanding of the subject or problem is achieved.

Encouraging collaborative dialogues

The teacher should encourage students to communicate their ideas with each other, collaborate to find answers that satisfy all and to engage in dialogues to reconcile opposing points of view. It is possible only when students are given topics for discussion that require them to revisit their rationale for their arguments and evaluate if their arguments are more sound than that of others.

The process of collaborative dialogue and analysis ensures that all the varying viewpoints upon one topic are brought into the open and all students are exposed to them. It also encourages students to pay heed to varying perspectives, to understand that the view of another may be more logical and more appropriate than their own. The ability to accept other views is very critical for effective learning and growth.

Discussing questions that have more than one correct answer

The Socratic method is heavily reliant on getting the students to share their views upon a specific topic or question. However, in contrast to conventional teaching styles, the questions asked do not have just one simple, direct solution. During the process of getting students to share their views about solutions, the teacher should skillfully highlight the fact that many equally viable solutions exist for the same question.

Further, the students should be asked to justify their responses and demonstrate how and why their solution is appropriate for the question. It enhances the student’s analytical abilities, presentation skills and communication while also ensuring that the classroom is exposed to various answers that are all convincing and true. It promotes their ability to think innovatively about problems and come up with unique solutions rather than remaining limited to traditional ones. 

Making a Difference to Underachievers

Making a Difference to Underachievers Using the Feuerstein Method

 

In today’s educational landscape, it is quite common to see students categorized as ‘intelligent’, ‘average’, ‘unintelligent’, ‘underperformers’ and so on. The view that students have a pre-determined, pre-set ‘level’ of intelligence and ability to learn is quite prevalent and this is a widely accepted view as well. Academicians and educators across the country, even the world, really believe that not all students can achieve the same academic goals because of the differential intelligence levels that they are endowed with. This gives credence to the belief that intellect or intelligence is an inborn ‘skill’, with each person being gifted with a specific limit of it. This also means that there are only a select few who can truly excel even when the best teachers are employed and they are leveraging the most modern, most effective teaching techniques to impart knowledge.

This view is flawed in more than one way because there is reason to believe that the so called ‘underperforming’ student does not have the same intelligence or ability to grasp complex academic concepts as the so- called ‘intelligent’ student. Further, there is no scientific basis for the assumption that everyone is born with different intelligence levels, which cannot be enhanced or drawn out in any way as they progress through life and through different educational experiences. As Nobel Prize nominee, clinical, developmental and cognitive psychologist Ruevin Feurestein explained, ‘intelligence is not fixed but modifiable’. It is the responsibility of the teacher or academician to devise a teaching system or strategy that helps every student achieve higher levels of intelligence by drawing upon his or her own hidden reserves.

An overview of the Feuerstein Method

After fleeing the Nazi invasion, Feurestein leveraged his psychology degree to teach young survivors of the Holocaust in his new home in Palestine. The needs of these children prompted him to take up a career that would address both psychological and educational needs of refugee children. In the 1950s, Feurestein was involved in working with children from Moroccan, Berber and Jewish families and he found that those who initially scored low on IQ tests showed remarkable improvement when they were given special psychological and academic attention.

This encouraged him to start viewing intelligence as a modifiable characteristics rather than a fixed one, as the traditional view point held. He started researching various ways in which too ‘teach’ intelligence even as he expounded the theory that the students who excelled and who were believed to be intelligent were actually leveraging their ability to learn more effectively than others.

The prevailing means and tools for measuring intelligence were flawed and inadequate, in his view, because they failed to indicate that all students could be elevated to the same level of intelligence provided they were taught how to do it. As a new, more effective and more accurate method of evaluation, Feurestein came up with the dynamic assessment method, as it is known today. His focus was on identifying and evaluating the inherent cognitive flexibility in the child that represents the ability to learn. Once this evaluation is done, teaching methodologies can be tweaked so that these abilities are used optimally.   This view was dramatically different from what was commonly accepted then and it transformed the way people looked at ‘intelligence’ and its impact on academic performance.

Taking his study further, Feurestein began to devise methodologies to help children who were not performing well academically and work on their weaknesses, putting them on track for dramatic improvements. ‘Mediated relationship’, he discovered, lay at the foundation of meaningful teaching strategies. These methodologies have brought a ray of hope into the lives of not just poorly performing children but also children with special needs such as those affected by Down’s Syndrome, palsy, stroke or other conditions. 

The journey from ‘poor performer’ to ‘gifted’ status 

Feuerstien’s methods can be used with amazing success in every academic field to teach and engage urban students most effectively. The success of the methods hinge on our ability to understand and accept that intelligence is limitless. Most urban schools tend to look at students as deficits; they believe that the students can only advance so far. However, this is far from the truth that Feuerstien has proven beyond doubt. In my personal experience, wherever I have implemented Feuerstien’s method, the results have been simply dramatic and uniformly impressive.   I have taught several boys and young men of color with these tools and witnessed the improved academic performance from close quarters.

One important contributing factor for this impressive change is that a growth oriented mindset is essential. A tremendous amount of growth is possible when this correct approach is adopted to take a low performing student and turn them into a “gifted” student. This growth mind set is often lacking in academic environments where ‘underachievement’ is the expected outcome. Sadly, this is true of many schools where children of color are automatically tagged with the ‘underperformer’ label. The teachers may, inadvertently, believe that these students are incapable of improving their academic excellence and thus feel that investing more attention or time on them will not yield results. In reality, it is the opposite that is true.

The teacher has to actively believe that the students can excel and this belief should be evident every single day in the teaching strategy, technique and tools utilized.  This positive mindset, that the underperforming student is no different from their academically proficient peers, is the foundation block on which the students builds their new skills to learn more effectively and efficiently.

Another critical understanding for both teacher and student is that learning and intelligence are not two different aspects. Intelligence is the knowledge of identifying where knowledge can and should be applied, i.e.: a meta knowledge of sorts. This knowledge comes when the learner is actively involved in the learning process- understanding why they are studying something and where they might apply it. When the students make these connections, they can apply the knowledge intelligently to various situations. This is not all- they can also learn more advanced concepts easily because the grounding of knowing why they need it and how to use it is already present in them. This is how the transformation from poor performers to exceptional students takes place with the right teaching methodologies being implemented.