What kind of schools do you have there, Olga?
I have to do an "issues paper" on comparing international standardized testing scores - we hear a lot about the US students not measuring up to international students, but not a lot on what the theory is based on. i'LL PROBABLY END UP MAKING A THREAD FOR THAT ONE TOO.... (oops, sorry about the caps).
OK, I think this is going to have to be the final draft. I have to mail it tomorrow morning.
"Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time." - Winston Churchill, 1947
Deborah Meier believed in using the progressive theory to start a system wide school reform based on the democratic process to help produce effective citizens. In the schools she founded, Central Park East and Central Park East Secondary School, she wanted to get away from the idealist philosophies of the massive public schools of mainstream New York city. These large public schools were leaning heavily on idealistic philosophies that lent themselves to rote memorization and classical subject matter. In moving away from this idealism, she built a show place for democracy in action.
Though often rambling and repetitive, Meier writes about her success in her endeavor to create progressive schools which instill strong democratic skills and independent thinking. CPE may not be the best school, but it's better than many others which have been tried from time to time. This paper will look at how the smallness of CPE and CPESS makes for a manageable progressive democratic school, how mutual respect facilitates the democratic process, and how the public school system allows for democracy through equal accessibility.
Small Schools
"...smallness makes democracy feasible in schools, and without democracy we won't be able to create the kind of profound rethinking the times demand"(110). Communal decision making, an important factor in any healthy democracy, is easier to achieve with small numbers of people. When a crisis occurs, the whole school can meet to discuss the issue at hand as they did after the Rodney King beating and ensuing riots in Los Angeles (62). The small school format is one that works well for students of all ages. Many school systems adopt this approach in times of wealth and plenty, but Meier took this tact even in the midst of a 1974 crisis in the New York City public school system.
Smallness makes for an agile system in which changes can be easily implemented. If a part of curriculum isn't working, it doesn't take an administrative committee 6 months to work out a new curriculum, it just takes setting aside a few hours for teachers to discuss the problem and fix it, applying the new curriculum the next day (110). This is a necessity for experimental schools where students' futures depend on what they are taught today and tomorrow.
Progressive theory depends, in part, on a connection between children's lives at school and at home. In a small school, home life can be incorporated into curriculum through biographical projects and guest speakers from the community. This approach helps the student feel safe with these teacher-adults so that they can focus on learning. Parents feel they can access their kids and community leaders feel like they have a view into the school.
In the small classroom, low teacher-student ratios allow teachers to know their students. This more intimate knowledge would allow teachers to apply individual guidance and to assess students' progress without needing to rely heavily on standard testing techniques. Meier didn't discuss classroom management in much detail in her book, but one would think that smaller numbers of students would make classroom management easier. Small class size is imperative when using progressive teaching methods due to it's permissive and flexible approach.
Mutual Respect
"Maybe mutual Respect is what we're all looking for?-which means feeling sure the other person acknowledges us, sees us for who we are?-as their equal in value and importance"(120). Mutual respect is what makes democracies work. If you don't respect your fellow citizens debatable issues turn into insurmountable differences with neither side inspired to consider the opposition's stance. The dress code debate (110) demonstrates how mutual respect facilitates a democratic decision process. Hats are now allowed in CPE and CPESS because the evidence the dress code opponents brought before the group of teachers and students was most convincing to the majority of voters on the subject.
In a school, there must be respect between student and teacher, teacher and principle, parents and teachers and among members within each of these groups. It makes sense that students who are allowed to watch adults respectfully communicate will learn to practice this technique themselves. That students are invited to partake in the running of their school must give them a sense of pride and respect for the school itself.
Founding schools on the tenets of democracy works wonderfully. But questions arise about Meier's assumption that mutual respect is the bedrock foundation of a healthy democracy (135). Perhaps we have never seen a healthy democracy, but it seems that there has always been a great deal of disrespect among elected officials and citizens and between those two groups. However, what we have had, all along, is a Weberian respect for the democratic system. And, that respect for the system is apparent among those involved with the CPE schools.
Public Schools
"....Every citizen is capable of the kind of intellectual competence previously attained by only a small minority"(4). Meier knew her creations had to be public schools so that they could be available to all students in their community, equally. These kids attending CPE and CPESS learn to see their differences and deal with the challenges that diversity brings. All children need to have an equal chance to succeed in school, and beyond it, and public schools should provide for that. Because private schools run on a capitalistic admissions policies, they exclude undesirable students. Desirability is defined by administrators who want to see their schools excel. It's in the private schools' best interest to be selective. Surely this doesn't represent a democratic system based on the equality of all men (or students). But, still, her faith in public schools may be under thought.
While Meier focuses on her own schools, she fails to take advantage of addressing the greater issue of unequal support of different public school systems. Public schools do accept students regardless of their race, religion, capacity to learn, it's true. But, the funding disparity between school systems is vast and must be addressed before Meier's greater goal of a stronger democracy can be realized. It is a tragedy that our public schools are funded based on their local property tax. No matter how good a teacher is and how well a school is run, a destitute community simply can not keep up with the achievements of a richer community while running on a fraction of the funding. If each public school student received the same per capacity funding for education, public schools would truly be vehicles of democracy.
In The Power of Their Ideas, Deborah Meier describes the goals, methods and achievements of her Central Park East schools. The book is sometimes disjointed, but the success of her schools is apparent. She and a dedicated staff guide k-12 students through educational experiences in classrooms full of items which challenge and inspire creative thinking. Meier herself said that her students didn't score well on their SATs. But, they go on, in large numbers, to graduate from college and do well there. Questions about standardized testing like the SATs arise. To what end does public education work toward? Are we trying to produce generations of people with identical educations or are we trying to produce people who can think for themselves? Who do we want to lead our country? It seems that our leadership should have a thirst for knowledge, the ability to problem solve creatively, and the capacity to hold a contructive debate. If so, then the CPE schools are doing exactly what they should be doing, thanks in large part to Deborah Meier.
the critique shines through way better. the Public Schools section is especially strong. I think that's a one fine book review! it shows you've given the ideas considerable thought and can bring it one step further yourself. I give it an A.
It reads well, k.
Interesting, too!
One wee spelling mistake. (that is
if you spell "principal" - meaning head of a school - the same way we do on Oz. You've spelt it "principle", the
other meaning of the word.
In the paragraph beginning:
In a school, there must be respect between student and teacher, teacher and principle, parents and teachers and among members within each of these groups.. ..............
See, that's why spellcheck sucks!
Thanks All!
There's a good way to remember which way to spell principal. The principal of your school is your "pal."
Great paper, littlek. I smell "A" too!
"pal" - according to whom, exactly?
New book review:
"One of the reasons schools are reluctant to tackle racism and discrimination is that these are disturbing topics for those who have traditionally benefited by their race, gender, and social class, among other differences"(34).
Sonia Nieto's Language, Culture and Teaching: Critical Perspectives for a New Century is a well constructed book devoted to exploring the issues of changing minority populations and inequality in America and American school systems. Multiculturalism, diversity, and sociopolitical inequality are viewed through her personal experiences as a Puerto Rican living in America and as a teacher devoted to understanding the issues minority groups face in this country. Multicultural education, bilingual education and critical theory are major themes in this work.
Nieto believes that, when it comes to education, the only way forward is to incorporate minority language speakers into the educational system not by assimilation and immersion, but through multicultural and bilingual programs that pervade the entire school system. Only in that way, she writes, can we have a socially just, equilateral, respectful citizenry to critique and strengthen our democracy.
While there is much to be said about school reform of a multicultural nature, Nieto uses some pretty aggressive language which may cause back lash in more essentialist thinking educators. Like the reactions she garners from graduate students in a multicultural education course she taught in 1975 (234), readers of this book, especially European-Americans, might find her radicalism off-putting.
Beyond the use of personal stories, both of hers and her students, Nieto references many studies set in America and abroad about the way in which people learn best. Often cited is Paolo Freire, the father of critical theory. Critical theory demands a reform based on deconstructing European-American based educational systems and rethinking the relationships between the dominant culture and the dominated minority groups. Once this is accomplished, educators can build a new curriculum based on a fair representation of diversity on a multitude of levels: socioeconomic class, culture, language, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc. Nieto delivers the means and methods of achieving a critical theorists goal.
The American cultural landscape and reaction to that landscape is one that has been ever changing since this country's conception. Even now, there is fresh debate on immigration and a fierce pulling away from bilingual education. Nieto's book gives educators tools for making a smooth transition. She starts with learning to understand the minority groups she is a part of in chapters four and five where she studies self-identification and achievement. Of the students in her study on becoming American, she said, "Some of them, although feeling quite proud of their culture, of their ability to function effectively in at least two worlds, and of their bilingualism, also learned to feel ashamed of their culture and of those who represented it"(109).. Ultimately she proposes her vision for a fully integrated, in-depth multicultural education system involving two-way bilingual education, community interchange and critical pedagogy.
Because of our ever-increasing minority language populations, this move to a fully multicultural educational system, will be an inevitable transition. If foreign born citizens and their children are more fiercely attached to their mother tongue, as Nieto suggests in her writings, and if it is easier for children to learn in their native tongue in early childhood, than we should accommodate those students in our school systems. Her vision doesn't seem so hard to realize financially or physically. But, there will be (and has been) a power struggle between the dominant society and the dominated society before we can see the transition happen.
As the world gets smaller with inexpensive access to all corners via the Internet and satellite phones, people will resist the urge to relinquish their native culture and assimilate into the culture of their new home country. They will have constant contact with family left behind, continuing to use language and cultural references in real time. Their isolation will be lessened and their need to fit in to their new society will lessen as well. But living in a new culture, the younger generations will absorb the languages and other cultural aspects of their new locations. Be allowed, even encouraged, to encompass both worlds. Nieto uses a bridge metaphor to discuss how teachers can close the gap between language minority students and the European American dominant world they live in. A student's own multiculturalism might also bridge that gap: ".... a bridge connects two places that might otherwise never be able to meet. [sic] You can have two homes, and the bridge can help you cross the difficult and conflict-laden spaces between them"(18).
This book is superbly organized with chapters divided into sub-chapters and divisions within those, and with clear conclusions. Each chapter ends with thought provoking critical questions, activities for classroom and community-based projects, and/or references for further study. And at the end of the book, there is are an author and subject indices. Nieto cites a variety of sources of research. Future teachers can find great examples of teacher journal entries to help them get a handle on what types of note-keeping they should be doing. The writing style is clear. The book is a good guide for understanding why multicultural and bilingual educational systems are needed and how to start thinking of implementing them.
The book is a good resource, but there are also problems with it. It is often repetitive due to its compiled nature - it is a collection of previously published journal articles and book chapters. Nieto's major themes of multiculturalism, bilingualism and critical theory in education are often introduced anew in each chapter. Minor themes of sociopolitical inequality, discrimination, and other power inequalities in U.S. life are also stalely repeated in these chapters. There is also a leaning towards radical language which may under serve the aim of this work.
The students in Nieto's 1975 multicultural education course (234-247) can be seen as representative of a variety of personalities who were more open to the course content as it was an elective. These students were interested in learning about multicultural education and chose to take the course. Even these students, with multicultural leanings, displayed anger, guilt, and resentment over the details of what that multiculturalism really meant. A White student in the class felt that Nieto blamed them as part of the dominant race, and felt that blame was unfair. A Black student felt anger and resentment towards the dominant culture. Nieto's language seems a bit inflammatory, speaking of dominating and dominated groups, intentional oppression from even more culturally liberal people, etc. Hidden curriculum supporting the White status quo was labelled "symbolic violence"(60).
If Nieto's goal of a fully integrated, system-wide, multicultural schooling for all is to be realized, alienation of the dominant group should be kept to a minimum. Yes, this powerful European-American citizenry needs to wake up to the need for Nieto's vision of fair and equal schooling, but if she and her colleagues shock the system too hard, there will likely be a back-lash. Recovery will be imminent due to the necessity for a new method of schooling as the U.S. becomes more diverse and less likely to assimilate it's minority groups as smoothly as it has in the past. But, rather than shocking the system and incurring retributory back-lashes, perhaps finesse is in order. Rather than trying to effect a sytsem-wide change at the outset, perhaps starting at the beginning and taking it one solid step at a time would make for a smoother transition.
Catching up at this end, k.
I've just spent a few nights writing reports (something you are going to become very familiar with! :wink: ) But I must say > >> you're getting very good at this! I like & approve very much the focus of your course & your lecturers! These are very important issues to consider.
(Just one (spelling) error I can see: "system" - third last line.)
How'd you do on the first one, littlek?
Knowing that helps a lot in advising you on future ones. (What the professor/ instructor/ whatever liked, didn't like, etc.)
Thanks MsOlga - I found that one. And more. I've edited the report and printed it - ready to go for tomorrow. Also, I've developed a handout on this subject and on the International Testing issue. I never did read the 5 text book chapters due for this weekend. Oh well.
Soz - I was frustrated to see that I didn't have that first paper back to help fine tune the second paper. Seems kind of crazy.
Oh, that is annoying!
Looks like you're doing great though, hope you get some feedback soon.
I got an A- on the first paper - he handed them back saturday evening. We had the option of handing in our second paper right then, or keeping it to make corrections over-night. I handed mine in with out making corrections.
So, one more paper for this class and then I'm off for two whole weeks!
A-, great job! Especially on your very first paper since you started again, (as in, I'm sure this isn't your first paper ever), it can be really tough to get back in the groove.
Congrats!
(re-reading, I can't tell if it's "A-" or "A", and then a hyphen for an aside about the first paper. either way, cool.)
A minus.
I am happy. I've never been a high-achiever. A's are great, I like'm. But, I wouldn't have freaked over a B. Some were. I think some of the cohort are being refunded and have to maintain a high grade average....?
You did very well, k! Congratulations!
I just read about the A! Good going, littlek! I'm proud of you!
(sending you a kitty hug!)
Are you on your two week break now?
Last class I got an A-, B, A- on my papers. And I probably got an A on class participation.
Right now, I've just finished with the first weekend of the second class: early childhood psychology. Great stuff! I need to write two papers. One is a report on a field-based observation (2 hours in an elem classroom). And, another is a longer paper on some research topic not yet selected. There are readings assigned, but she is reviewing the assigned chapters as she goes and doing so in more depth than the book does.
The weekend format is getting easier and easier to handle.
