Closing the Discipline-to-Dropout Pipeline

 
How do discipline practices correlate with the number of students who drop out?

A somewhat recent report from the Rennie Center (Act Out, Get Out?) uses evidence from Massachusetts to make the case for reforming excessive discipline referrals for nonviolent offenses like truancy and tardiness. Last year (2009), 8,600 high school students dropped out of Massachusetts public schools. The report notes that fully understanding the role of discipline is an essential step in tackling the problem of why some Massachusetts students are not staying in school. 
 
The Rennie Center report provides evidence that disciplinary policies can exacerbate equity gaps; ASCD author Rick Curwin's work addresses both behavior and motivation and gives teachers the tools to get in front of potential discipline problems. 

Here's Curwin's response to the Act Out, Get Out? report:

Many practitioners define discipline as punishing bad behavior, rewarding good behavior, and deterring future unacceptable choices. This comprehensive report rebukes that simplistic definition and the strategies associated with it. I define discipline as teaching students how to behave responsibly, make good choices, and be decent human beings. It is as important and part of the job as any content or curriculum.

The key to effective discipline is not directly stated in the report, but it is strongly implied and easily be drawn from the conclusions: All students, regardless of their behavior, need to feel welcomed and a sense of belonging within the school. We cannot influence students who are not there, we cannot influence students who don't care, and we must be more stubborn at not giving up than they are at making us want to give up.

It is not a coincidence that punishments work best on the students who need them the least. Good students (those that follow rules) rarely receive them, have learned social skills at home, and feel highly regarded in school. It is tragic, however, to think that punishment creates good kids. It simply harms "good kids" less. If one of these top students receives enough punishment, they too will face the consequences pointed out in the Rennie Center report.

I firmly believe that all policy decision makers and teachers should base discipline policy and practice on the information gleaned from reports like this, and they should make school a place that helps the worst-behaving students as well as the best. They need us, and we need to reach them, as a moral and social imperative.

Who Said Teachers Shouldn’t Have Fun?

In his new ASCD book The Well-Balanced Teacher: How to Work Smarter and Stay Sane Inside the Classroom and Out, author Mike Anderson says too many teachers “assume you can’t play.” Anderson makes the point that deep engagement with students will always come easier when the teacher is passionate about the curriculum.

Anderson doesn’t mince words about how standards or stringent curriculum could affect the actual teaching in a classroom. “Teaching should be fun! This idea should not be revolutionary, but I worry that in today’s age of schoolhouse pressure cookers and standardized curricula, it may sound that way,” writes Anderson.

Although a teacher must balance his or her personal interests with the students’ needs, Anderson asks teachers to think of the opportunities for “collateral learning” in the curriculum. If the lesson is covering river systems and there is a picture of whitewater rafting—is there an opening for a student to tell a story or ask questions about geography? How can teachers use what they must teach to express not only the unplanned aspects of teaching, but also the love of learning? Isn’t that what teaching is all about?

If schools hope to keep good teachers, they must be willing to support them and help them remain passionate about their jobs. Educators love to learn, and Anderson asserts that all teachers should have opportunity and the right to pursue professional development as a way to relight fires and increase productivity. As profession combating such a high burnout rate, fun should be part of the curriculum.

Learn more about Mike and the book during ASCD’s free webinar today at 3 p.m. or leave a comment to explain how you incorporate an element of fun into your every day teaching.

Amid Budget Cutbacks, How Can We Maintain Staff Morale?

In this economy, we've had to find more and more ways to save money and extend our resources. Unfortunately, the most effective and immediate ways to save are to reduce staff positions, slash budgets, increase teacher responsibilities, and increase class sizes.

Many of our staff members have volunteered to take on extra responsibilities and assignments. Because they are grateful to simply have a job, they have been as positive as one can imagine. However, the reality of their upcoming responsibilities and challenges is setting in, and many are feeling overwhelmed. The end result--staff morale is down in the dumps.

What can we as a school and district do to improve staff  morale?

--Dan Weckstein, Principal, Oakwood Junior High School, Dayton, Ohio 

ASCD Scholars Call for Discussion Topics

Last year, ASCD launched a group discussion series led by a cohort of educators from around the world and with varying job titles. We're excited to announce that the ASCD Conference Scholars are back, with a new group of educators joining last year's team.

We're looking forward to another year of deep, and likely disquieting, dialogue. To get the ball rolling, the request lines are open:

What topics do you think would really push a dialogue about leadership and growth? 

 

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In Case You Missed It

Last week is looong gone, but these ASCD activities still have us talking:

• Student teacher Patrick Riley is experimenting with incentive-based classroom management, where students work toward behavior goals as a team. Go to this ASCD EDge post to let Riley know what you like about this approach or what you would adjust.

• In Is Anybody Asking the Kids?, Michael Fisher notes that student voices are sorely lacking from education debates. He sets up a few questions for kids and a Google Docs spreadsheet for you to add your students' voices to.

• Our latest book is online! Check out The Well-Balanced Teacher: How to Work Smarter and Stay Sane Inside the Classroom and Out by Mike Anderson. Members can view the whole book online, nonmembers can view excerpts, all of Chapter 1 ("The Importance of Managing Stress"), and the Study Guide for free.

• How often do you get to reflect on the curriculum you teach? Steven Weber poses eight questions educators should ask about curriculum that you can discuss in large groups or with your grade- or subject-level team. 

• High schools have the unique challenge of dual benchmarks: bridging gaps for students who will struggle to graduate while simultaneously ensuring college- and career-readiness. In another ASCD EDge post, Weber aks some essential questions about college readiness.

• Does education need a major overhaul or only adjustments to the existing system? That's the heart of ASCD EDge post Paradigm Dip or Paradigm Shift?

• Unions are bad, charters are the silver bullet, testing makes you smarter, and performance pay nets better teachers. Jason Flom challenges these broad strokes from education reform debates in Superman Snubs the Justice League, Lex Laughs to the Bank.

• ASCD Executive Director Gene R. Carter wrote an open letter to Oprah Winfrey in response to her September 20 show on the movie Waiting for "Superman," which echoed generic, teacher-bashing talking points, while gathering little to no input from actual teachers. Friday's follow-up Oprah fared a little better, and Dr. Carter hit the highlights in another response statement.

Add your own highlights in the comments and check this spot for our regular weekly digest of ASCD activities.

What Texas's Top Charters Do

According to 2010 TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) data (PDF), Texas charter schools are more likely to receive the very highest or very lowest academic ratings, as compared to traditional public schools in the state.

Charters vary widely in their missions and student populations as compared to traditional public schools. Last week's most-clicked ASCD Smartbrief article discussed the one common denominator among high-achieving charters: they demand more (i.e., time, commitment) from their students, parents, and teachers.

Although high expectations and accountability for the entire school community yielded better academic returns in the high-achieving charters discussed in the article, it also meant higher rates of attrition in well-regarded charters (40 percent or higher in top schools).

Stated another way, the common ingredient in top charters is that they are not for everyone.

Poverty, Diversity, and Schooling

More schools are turning to socioeconomic status, typically based on a household's income, education, and occupation rather than on race, as a factor to help diversify school populations. Some education experts say that evidence shows that mixing children from families with diverse socioeconomic status helps the achievement of low-income students. This issue will look at district- or school-level efforts to diversify student enrollment and how schools overcome the challenges arising from having a diverse population. Do outcomes show that bringing together students from various walks of life can be a powerful tool for increasing achievement? How do schools level the playing field, especially when low-income students may not have the same family resources as high-income households? What role do public charters play in creating or preventing environments with students of mixed or balanced socioeconomic status?
Submissions Due: October 8, 2010

ASCD Express is looking for short, 600 to 1,000-word essays on the theme "Poverty, Diversity, and Schooling." Guidelines for submissions are here. Please send us your submissions by October 8, 2010.

My Dinner(s) with Superman

Waiting for Superman is getting a blitz of media attention, which is good in the sense that people are talking about education but problematic in the sense that the movie claims a narrow perspective on the conditions of education as universally true. On Monday (9/20), Oprah Winfrey dedicated an entire show to discussing the film with its creators and high-profile guests.

We're getting a jump on the Friday follow-up show and pulling together several voices in education  pushing back, or adding subtitles, to this film's thesis: 

• Alistair Bomphray at Teacher, Revised: Movie Review: Waiting for Superman: Or just another Clark Kent playing dress-up? ("Guggenheim offers no real solutions. He presents a few well-known successful models, but doesn't inquire into the specifics in any useful kind of way.")
• Jason Flom on ASCD EDge: Superman Snubs the Justice League, Lex Laughs to the Bank ("We seem to hope that by testing the kryptonite out of students Superman will arrive.")
• John Merrow at Taking Note: A Review of Waiting for Superman ("I'd like to see public support for films about education, even if my own title for this particular movie would be Waiting for Superficial Man, or something like that.")
• Stephanie Sandifer at Change Agency: Dear Ms. Winfrey ("When we fail to hold everyone accountable then we should not profess to have solutions for all schools, all teachers, or all students.")
• ASCD Executive Director Gene Carter: An open letter to Oprah ("Our most effective teachers are the ones who pursue professional development not only to sustain student achievement, but also to help teach other educators.")
• EL Editor-in-Chief Marge Scherer notes the many ways classroom practitioners are Not Waiting for Superman ("We have met the superman and he is us.")
• Molly McCloskey at the Whole Child blog: On Superman, Oprah, and Dinner (Picks apart the talking points and major points of contention with Waiting for Superman as covered on Oprah.)

All told, there's a lot here to talk about—far more than gets actual screen time in the film. Read Molly's post in full after the jump.

Making Education Personal

Much of the recent conversation about education centers on effective teaching, and I’ve noticed a tendency to oversimplify the issue and assume that teachers fall into one of two buckets: either they’re  good teachers, or they’re bad ones. There’s not been enough acknowledgement of the fact that teaching is a complex profession, and like other challenging professions, ongoing education and support are necessary for success.

Take, for example, the concept of personalizing learning for students. Most people would agree that good teachers tap into each student’s interests and needs so that learning becomes relevant and engaging. But, in this month’s Is It Good for the Kids? editorial, ASCD Executive Director Gene Carter makes the point that personalizing learning for 28 individuals is far from easy, and all too often we don’t provide teachers with any meaningful support to help them reach this goal. He also contends that our predominant one-size-fits-all construct of schooling with its standardized tests, Carnegie units, and inflexible school days makes it even more difficult for teachers to significantly personalize learning.

Carter’s column highlights the importance of personalized learning and emphasizes the need to provide educators with intentional and high-quality preparation and ongoing professional development that arms them with the necessary knowledge and skills to fully maximize personalized learning for each student.

Is your school stuck in the one-size-fits-all model of education? Do you receive meaningful training and support to help you personalize learning?

Bookmark This!: U Penn's Ed School Podcasts

University of Pennsylvania's EdCasts is a periodic podcast series from the Graduate School of Education, featuring short (5-10 minutes) discussions on topics intersecting education and social science. Previous EdCasts mull questions like

What kind of learning takes place when kids play in virtual worlds or design video games?

What reduces anxiety associated with being a new teacher in a city school?

How perception of young black males feeds a cycle of anger and aggression, and what it means for the classroom.

The most recent EdCast looks at Professor Lawrence Sipe's research on how young children develop literary understanding. To listen, click http://www.gse.upenn.edu/edcast or go to the iTunes store and search "Penn GSE" to subscribe.  

Improving How Much Students Learn from Studying

Cognitive science teaches that, for those who are motivated, a few simple techniques will improve how much a student learns from studying, writes Benedict Carey in a recent New York Times article ("Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits"). Those strategies are

Location rotation: Studying in different locations forces the brain to make multiple associations with the same material and may, in effect, give that information more neural scaffolding and "slow down forgetting."

Cross-train: Athletes and musicians have been doing this for years. Instead of focusing on one skill for the duration of a study period, try out mixed problem sets or practice a foreign language by reading, writing, and rehearsing vocabulary, for example.

Doug Rohrer tells NYT that with mixed practice "each problem is different from the last one, which means kids must learn how to choose the appropriate procedure—just like they had to do on the test."

Speaking of tests—those are good practice, too. According to the NYT, "The process of retrieving an idea is not like pulling a book from a shelf; it seems to fundamentally alter the way the information is subsequently stored, making it far more accessible in the future."

In short: The motivated, learning brain can be lulled by homogenous materials and settings but sparked by diversity. Spacing out study sessions aids retention because there is some amount of relearning required with each session. There are learning benefits to giving students opportunities to practice their retrieval skills on low- or no-stakes tests and quizzes.

Cooperative Catalyst

We covered Aaron Eyler's thought-provoking Synthesizing Education in a previous installment of Blog Watch, so our interest was piqued when we found him popping up again as a contributing author on a new, collaborative blog, Cooperative Catalyst. Here, Eyler shares the table with a wide assortment of educators, including ASCD Emerging Leader Jason Flom and author Kirstin Olson, as the group tackles the big issues facing schools today.

Recent posts include a discussion on parental involvement, a look at education reform in Australia, and a critical exploration of collaboration's merits. In addition to the posts, what really makes this blog shine are the comments sections, where rich discussion abounds. With an emphasis on proposing creative solutions and promoting collaborative discussion, Cooperative Catalyst is open to any enthusiastic educator who wants to join the back-and-forth. If high-minded conversation is your cup of tea, add this to your RSS feed.

Potential and Limits of Computers in Schools (1980)

Computers are so ubiquitous these days, it's easy to forget just how much they've revolutionized teaching and learning. Flashback to the March 1980 issue of Educational Leadership, where professors Lee Joiner, Sidney Miller, and Burton Silverstein reflect on the vast potential—and some limitations—that computers presented to schools when the technology was still in its emerging phases. Their observations on instruction, school administration, and professional development are from another time, but the issues they raise concerning technology's role in education are surprisingly prescient.

Read the article: Potential and Limits of Computers in Schools (PDF)

Can Anyone Teach?

The world's top-performing school systems (Singapore, Finland, and South Korea) recruit, develop, and retain the top third of their college graduates to be educators. In the United States, 23 percent of new teachers come from the top third of their graduating class. In high-poverty schools, that number drops to 14 percent.

If an education system is only as good as its teachers, isn't it time the United States had a talent strategy for staffing teachers, just like every other high-performing country?

Researchers at McKinsey & Company say yes and offer their latest report (Closing the Talent Gap: Attracting and Retaining Top-Third Graduates to Careers in Teaching) as a springboard to piloting a top-third talent strategy in districts or a state and developing a national top-third teacher talent strategy.

What would make teaching more attractive to top-third recruits?

Of 900 top-third students surveyed by McKinsey, 91 percent said they were not considering a career in teaching because they didn't think it would offer the same level of prestige and high-quality collegial collaboration as their chosen profession. And while compensation wasn't the top concern of top-thirders, it was the area of widest difference—between what they'd make as a teacher and what they'd make in their chosen profession.

For the 525 top-third graduates surveyed who did choose teaching, good working conditions and strong school leadership ranked as their top attractors.

In a live webinar accompanying the release of the report, lead researchers and a panel of experts hashed out the significance of the report's findings and recommendations.

High-Poverty Elementary Earns Exemplary Distinction

For the second year, John Haley Elementary, part of the Irving Independent School District in Texas, has earned an Exemplary rating on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).

Typically, schools like Haley Elementary—with 89 percent of students classified as economically disadvantaged and 63 percent limited-English-proficient—are at risk for lower academic achievement. But Haley is bucking this trend with 2010 TAKS passing rates of 91 percent (reading), 98 percent (writing), 97 percent (math), and 99 percent (science).

There's no simple checklist for success like Haley's, but the notable factors at this school include:

• Highly dedicated staff leading small group instruction before, during, and after school hours.
• Enthusiastic, instructional leadership from 15-year veteran principal Robyn Bowling.
• A battery of specialists, including a 5th grade science teacher.
• A parent education program offered in English and Spanish.

Read more about John Haley Elementary's achievement, last week's most-clicked ASCD SmartBrief story.

In Case You Missed It

Did you Miss anything at ASCD this week? Check this out:

• Jeff Bryant wonders why teacher professional development causes such an uproar. He examines the benefits teachers gain from setting aside time for PD.

• While Bryant ponders whether PD is heading in the right direction, the new issue of ASCD Express, "Not Your Grandmother's PD," features ideas from several educators on how effective PD can improve teaching skills. Learn how to have a hands-on, 21st century approach to teacher development in your school.

• Are you an ASCD EDge member? Check out the recently launched "Groups" section that allows even more interaction with educators from around the globe.

• Glenda Horner takes readers on a "Journey Through Differentiated Instruction" on her new, monthly blog. Dive in to her inaugural post that shares her experiences working with ASCD learning coaches as they implement DI in her school district.

• The new ASCD member book, How to Assess Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Your Classroom, is posted on the Web for your reading pleasure. The accompanying study guide is also available.

• Do you enjoy ASCD's SmartBrief? Then sign up for SmartBrief on EdTech which follows the latest in technology and education news.

Add your own highlights in the comments and check this spot for our regular weekly digest of ASCD activities

Helping Students Understand Learning

Students arrive at school with notions about teaching and learning derived from family; friends; the media; society; and, not least of all, prior school experiences. But how many notions about schooling are outmoded, plain myth, or dangerously counterproductive? For instance, consider commonplace ideas such as "once you fall behind, you can never catch up," or "you can never overcome failure," or "I need to say what the teacher wants, not what I think."

ASCD Express is looking for short, 600 to 1,000-word essays on the theme "Helping Students Understand Learning." Guidelines for submissions are here. Please send us your submissions by October 1, 2010.

We welcome articles that show how educators address student misperceptions about teaching and learning to help their students fully embrace the enterprise of learning—in school and beyond.

What Would Lincoln’s Fantasy PLN Look Like?

If Abraham Lincoln needed a professional learning network (PLN) around education, who would be in it? Frederick Douglass: definitely. Eleanor Roosevelt: maybe? Thurgood Marshall? Jaime Escalante? Greg Mortenson? Steve Jobs and George Lucas?

In Learning from Lincoln: Leadership Practices for School Success, ASCD authors Harvey Alvy and Pam Robbins show how Abraham Lincoln was a man who never stopped learning—a voracious reader who surrounded himself with disparate personalities he could learn from. His ability to draw the best from a group of talented, yet diverse individuals seems to tip to the fact that Lincoln was an original advocate of the PLN.

Alvy and Robbins also note that despite the lack of Twitter or the blogosphere in the 1860s, Lincoln leveraged state-of-the-art technology of his time. Just as the modern-day principal is never without a Blackberry, Lincoln made use of the telegraph to connect with the battlefields, query his network of advisors, and stay in touch with the citizens of the nation. In fact, Lincoln made one of the first presidential press releases via telegraph announcing victory at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Lincoln’s active engagement, visibility, and accessibility with his team of resourceful, gifted leaders and generals may have given him the edge to win the war and attain the status of an iconic American leader.

Who would you pick to be in your fantasy PLN? What tools would you use to connect that network? How could they help you overcome challenges?

Teacher Challenges Lazy Media

Why are mainstream media outlets afraid of the classroom? Last school year Newsweek delivered their professional opinion on improving K-12 education, without actually consulting any K-12 education professionals. Our ASCD Annual Conference Scholars have also taken up this issue, at length ("How Can Educators Take Back the Mic?")

This fall, NBC's Education Nation subjects school communities to another sermon from, primarily, a slate of corporate sponsors and entrepreneurs.

In an open letter to NBC, veteran teacher Brian Crosby challenges what's become a tradition in mainstream coverage of teaching and learning issues: Executives are welcomed on the basis of their credentials alone, whereas real educators must compete for limited, marginalized air time. Here's a clip from Crosby:

Do you see any irony in the fact that none of the “experts” (speakers) are teachers, students or parents? (Much less many of them?) Could that be part of the problem in American education that “sponsors”, corporations, news people, administrators and others have a prominent voice in education, but all the REAL stakeholders are, “thrown a bone” so that they can participate if they are lucky to be chosen based on their “application” so they can talk during a show at noon on Sunday during football and baseball playoff season? Gee thanks.

It might be more challenging to weave together a cohesive story out of the varied experiences of teachers, administrators, students, and parents from communities across the U.S., but aren't they first-hand sources on the condition of education in this country? Are K-12 educators not considered education experts?

We All Begin as Scientists

Speaking at the Brookings Institution this week, Brian Greene, author of the Elegant Universe and the Fabric of the Cosmos. delivered a fervent defense of science. "We all begin as scientists," he said; as children, we throw ourselves wholeheartedly into exploration.

But as we mature, it becomes culturally acceptable to not know about science. Greene noted that if you'd never heard of Shakespeare or Picasso, people would think there was something wrong with you. Then he proceeded to rattle off a list of names that I, for one, didn’t recognize—scientists, I can only assume—which made his point.

It’s really NOT okay to not know about science, he said. We need to get back to the big and wondrous ideas of science. In the hands of a great teacher, the real drama of science unfolds. The true wonder of science, he said, is that "It absolutely transcends everything else--all our differences." In times like these, where "differences" so often degenerate into conflict, that's a reassuring bit of news.

For more of Brian Greene on science, see his article in The New York Times, "Put a Little Science in Your Life."

Submitted by Amy Azzam, Senior Associate Editor, Educational Leadership