Reaching and Teaching Native and Tribal Youth

How does the Culture of Hope apply to creating learning environments that meet the needs of native and tribal youth?   Recently, I had the great fortune to attend the National Forum on Dropout Prevention for Native andTribal Communities in Prior Lake, Minnesota (see PowerPoint presentation here: —http://tinyurl.com/pc7bokb).  Students who come from native and tribal communities are some of our most vulnerable youth, most at-risk for failure in our nation's schools.  While the avalanche of research on high-poverty youth applies to the majority of native and tribal communities, there are some additional facts which are devastating...

Manufacturing Failure.  To start with, 40% of all native and tribal youth attend failure factories. Failure factories are those schools where students have less than a 60% probability of graduation.  Native and tribal youth have the highest dropout rate of any other ethnic/racial group, a rate that is 2-times the national average, with 3 out of every 10 native and tribal students dropping out before graduation.

Schools serve to manufacture this failure for indigenous peoples in the United States. Inappropriate curriculum, inappropriate pedagogy, lack of cultural sensitivity and knowledge, institutional invisibility, and disproportionate identification as special education all serve to push native and tribal youth out of schools.  The impact of NCLB on native students is well documented, as is the cultural clash between middle class, white school culture and native/tribal cultures.

Inappropriate curriculum, which ignores the collective history of the United States, treats indigenous peoples as an afterthought, a post-script to European settlers.   Inappropriate curriculum fails to include content relevant to all people.  Including information about indigenous peoples serves all students, not just native and tribal youth.Everyone benefits when everyone is viewed as valuable.

Inappropriate pedagogy ignores the needs of all learners and fails to present information and skills in ways which connect with all learners.  Despite decades of research to the contrary, classrooms remain primarily places where memorization, solitary work, and on-the-spot assessments take priority.  All learners benefit from pedagogy which emphasizes group work, understanding, conceptualization of concepts, and time for thinking.

Staff lacking cultural sensitivity and knowledge.  Any teacher or principal working in a school that serves native and tribal youth MUST have sensitivity and understanding. It is easy to unwittingly do something which sends a message of unwelcome.    However, our schools should be inclusive places, no matter who attends them. Only addressing the curriculum and pedagogy needs of native and tribal youth if they are present on campus serves to diminish the importance of cultural sensitivity and knowledge.  All students must be aware of their own prejudices and perceptions, and all schools have the opportunity to act in ways which either teach inclusiveness or teach "otherness."

Institutional invisibility, which exists for many groups in U.S. schools, is exponentially so for native and tribal populations. Because native student populations are often quite small, their statistics fail to capture the attention of the media and educators.  When less that 1% of the student population is struggling, and  a different 25% of the population is struggling, the 25% gets more attention.   When looked at through the lens of families, that tiny percentage equals thousands of lives disrupted, communities left without the resources of youth and energy to continue growing.  Every child matters.

Disproportionate Percentage of Special Education. A higher percentage of native and tribal youth are enrolled in special education.  Nationwide, 7% of freshman girls and 13% of freshman boys are identified as special education.  Compare this to 19% of native/tribal freshman girls, and 27% of native/tribal freshman boys.  A whopping 1/5 of all tribal girls, and over 1/4 of all tribal boys are identified as special education!    This represents not a failure of tribal youth to learn, but a failure of schools to provide appropriate instruction and content.

Impact of NCLB.    NCLB policies were especially tragic for native and tribal youth. In the first six years of NCLB, native & tribal youth stagnated or lost ground in reading and mathematics.  They are the only sub-population demonstrating virtually NO improvement on the NAEP tests.  Additionally, American Indian and Alaskan native students are the least likely to attend schools that provide AP courses, let alone enroll in AP courses.  According to the NIEA's 2005 report on NCLB, “Our children see and order their world very differently from most other children, and, as a result, demonstrate their knowledge in deepening and unique ways….the No Child Left Behind law [rejected] the need to provide culturally competent instruction” (NIEA Preliminary Report on No Child Left Behind in Indian Country, p. 17).

Cultural Conflict in School. The factors of cultural conflict in educational institutions is magnified for native and tribal youth.    Their status as an ethnic minority, often high-poverty, with different learning styles, puts them at risk for learned helplessness and prejudiced treatment by teachers and staff.  Academically capable students dropout because their needs are not being met. Many more are pushed out when they legitimately protest their treatment in schools.   With few advocates to mediate conflicts, students may not see a pathway around these conflicts, and eventually leave their schools. 

As with the educational strategies that best serve students learning English as a second language, when we create schools that support and nurture native and tribal youth, we create schools where all students thrive.  Meeting the needs of learners most at-risk of failure provides success for every learner, no matter their background.

(For a good place to start in building awareness of the needs of native and tribal learners, in 2010, NIEA published Native Education 101: Basic Facts About American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian Education.)

Increasing Parent Involvement

Talking with a group of educators recently, the question of how to increase parent involvement came up. Our discussion hit on a number of issues that seemed to be relevant for teachers, administrators, and parents alike.   

Open and Inviting
Some school campuses are not friendly to outsiders, and even cause family members to feel like outsiders.  In these schools, staff and students can take action to increase the friendliness and accessibility of the campus to families and volunteers.  The Seeds of Optimism and Belonging can help with this.  Is the entrance to the school inviting?  Does someone meet and greet visitors in a welcoming way?  Do the different sub-populations of the student body see themselves in the halls and walls, with artwork, language, and images reflecting them?  Are there school activities, potlucks, celebrations, which include everyone?  Does every child receive recognition at least once a year?    

Frequent, Repeated Invitations
Schools that wish to increase their parent involvement must reach out to families frequently, in many ways, with multiple avenues for families to participate.  One flyer at the beginning of the year to invite participants to the school site council or parent-teacher organization is not enough. One invitation to volunteer or one reminder note about parent-teacher conferences is not enough.  

Administrators View Families Positively
Unfortunately, in this discussion, we heard about some administrators who actively inhibited  involvement from outsiders.  They only opened their campus and encouraged visitors for Back to School night, Open House, and parent-teacher conferences  While this was unfathomable to me, other educators who worked with many schools nodded their heads.  Knowing how crucial family involvement is to increasing student achievement, we brainstormed ways to push these administrators to change their ways.  All required groups with less power to challenge the status quo and make things uncomfortable, such as speaking to the School board, having a group of parents and teachers meet with the administrator, speaking with the superintendent, and meeting with the PTA or PTO.    

Include All, Not Just "Smart" Parents
Family members often do not feel they belong at school, for a number of reasons.  Their own experiences in schools may have been difficult. They may not have finished high school, and feel that their skills are inadequate and they would be more trouble that help.  Being on school campus serves to make them feel stupid all over again. For these families, schools must be creative about the types of things parents can do to support their school.  When teachers brainstorm strategies for including families, a wish list can be made of things that need doing, from painting the old peeling benches to putting new material in the playground, from cleaning the mildewed awnings to painting stripes on the flag pole, from cutting and stapling blank books for writing workshop to preparing math tool-kits for the math night.  

Wish List Board
If it needs to be done and teachers or staff do not have the time to do it, there is bound to be someone who would gladly do the task if they only knew.  Creating a “wish list” bulletin board in the front of the school where parents can read about needs and find contact info is a first step.    Having a school-wide expectation that every family will contribute to the school in some way, each year, can encourage such a bulletin board to continue growing.  Every classroom has students who need extra practice reading, and need someone to listen to them.  A workshop for volunteers that gives them basic tools for being a listener for readers can create an army of volunteers who can support kids.

Professional Development for Teachers: How to Utilize Adults in the Classroom
For some teachers, they are not sure of how to utilize family members who do volunteer. Especially family members who come from a different background, poverty, language, etc.  It may seem more of a bother than it is worth, to train parents to do what is needed.  However, having a diverse group of volunteers in our schools sends a very, very important message to our students:  everyone has value, and everyone has something to contribute.   If we only value those who are already part of the system, those who have already jumped through the hoops of education successfully, what does that imply?  How do children from different backgrounds internalize a sense of worth, a sense of optimism, a sense of belonging, if those who look, speak, and act like them do not belong?   Teachers and administrators have a special role in students lives: they can accept and value that which is different, and provide a venue for hope and purpose.  It is about opening doors, instead of keeping the same old doors firmly locked.     

As with other aspects of a Culture of Hope, if the school community decides it is important and acts on it, things will improve.  Like the school in Boise that has over 90% attendance for parent conferences, if you measure it, pay attention to it, talk about it, and plan to improve it, that which seems immoveable will move.      What does your school really want to change?  Go make it happen....

What Can Administrators and School Board Members Do?

As high-level leaders in education, school board members and school administrators have an important leadership role in establishing cultures of hope in our schools and classrooms.     In our recent presentations with administrators and school boards, Dr. Barr and Dr. Gibson formalized our perspective on how leaders can contribute to transforming school cultures.     

What Can School Administrators and School Boards Do To Build a Culture of Hope?

Step One: Bring Hope and Optimism to Campuses

• Provide school/community vision of hope and optimism
• Create a welcoming atmosphere for  poor, minority, and ESL families and students
• Eliminate destructive practices

Step Two: Lay Foundation for Safety, Belonging, and Self-Esteem

•  Ensure each school is safe and free from prejudice and bullying
•  Hold district-wide high expectations for all students
•  Establish Professional Learning Communities at each school

Step Three: Invest Deeply in Professional Development

•  Encourage the Power of We among teachers and administrators
•  Seek and support teacher leadership
•  Schedule time for teachers and administrators to work together
•  Provide professional staff development:
•  Effects of poverty on learners
• Importance of optimistic school cultures

Recognition of Excellence

This month, Learning® magazine announced its Teachers' Choice Award winners for 2015...  Solution Tree's book, Building a Culture of Hope was recognized as one of  the best classroom-tested, teacher-recommended Professional Development products available today, according to the expert educator-judges at Learning® magazine.

For 20 years, Learning® magazine has sponsored the  Teachers' Choice Awards to recognize excellent classroom products, children's books, educational products for at-home use, and professional development.  (In 2014, the Professional Development award category was added to highlight excellent products teachers and administrators can use to improve instruction and learning.  Prior to 2014, professional development products were included in other categories.)  

Once nominated, a nationwide panel of experienced educator-evaluators use each product in their classrooms and homes, seeking to uncover the best resources for teachers and parents.  Items are evaluated on quality, instructional value, ease of use, and innovation.  After two rounds of rigorous judging, top-scoring products are selected to win.

Learning® magazine, a periodical published by the Education Center, specializes in supplemental curriculum resources for preK-8 teachers and students.  The Teachers' Choice Awards are recognized as a prestigious award for education materials, in part due to the awards' basis on classroom testing and teacher recommendations. 

What does this award actually mean for Building a Culture of Hope?  Many more educators will learn about the Culture of Hope when the book is highlighted in the April 2015 issue of Learning® magazine (with a circulation of over 150,000 teachers!).  All year long, anyone who logs on to the Learning® website or facebook page will see the book highlighted in editorial coverage.  When people see the book in catalogs, websites, or even bookstores, there will be a Teachers' Choice Award sticker announcing the award. 

Oh, and we received beautiful plaques.....

Dr. Robert D. Barr, posing with the Teachers' Choice Professional Development Award!!!

And Dr. Emily Gibson posing with the award.   (See the art print of the cover hanging on the wall?) 

Bob and Emily couldn't be prouder of this little book that sows seeds of Hope every time someone cracks the cover and starts reading.  Our mission is to share our book, share this culture of hope, with every educator and administrator who needs it.  Thank you Solution Tree for publishing and promoting our book.  Thank you Learning® magazine teachers!!!  This award tremendously helps to forward our mission of Hope.

The Teachers’ Choice Awards honor products of exceptional quality and outstanding performance in the classroom and at home! Our panel of teacher evaluators use each product in their classrooms and homes to find the best products for teachers and parents. - See more at: http://tec.theeducationcenter.com/learning/teachers-choice-awards/go.do?tcid=-23625&ccid=-23625#sthash.HqcbDBIv.dpuf

The Teachers’ Choice Awards honor products of exceptional quality and outstanding performance in the classroom and at home! Our panel of teacher evaluators use each product in their classrooms and homes to find the best products for teachers and parents - See more at: http://tec.theeducationcenter.com/learning/teachers-choice-awards/go.do?tcid=-23625&ccid=-23625#sthash.HqcbDBIv.dpuf

The Teachers’ Choice Awards honor products of exceptional quality and outstanding performance in the classroom and at home! Our panel of teacher evaluators use each product in their classrooms and homes to find the best products for teachers and parents - See more at: http://tec.theeducationcenter.com/learning/teachers-choice-awards/go.do?tcid=-23625&ccid=-23625#sthash.HqcbDBIv.dpuf

The Teachers’ Choice Awards honor products of exceptional quality and outstanding performance in the classroom and at home! Our panel of teacher evaluators use each product in their classrooms and homes to find the best products for teachers and parents - See more at: http://tec.theeducationcenter.com/learning/teachers-choice-awards/go.do?tcid=-23625&ccid=-23625#sthash.HqcbDBIv.dpuf

Never Stop Trying

Sitting in the theater, waiting for the show to start, I watched as a woman led a trio of young boys to a row of seats in front of us.  Two of the boys looked so familiar.  One locked eyes with me, gave a little wave, and turned back to his family.   Several more times he and I looked at each other, smiling with recognition.   For the first half of the show, I tried to figure out who he was. And then his name came to me, as did the name of his brother.   

My brain bubbled with curiosity, and my heart swelled with gratitude.  These boys made it out.  How, I do not know.   I figure the countless teachers, Healthy Start coordinators, and other school staff members who had confronted the family, filed Child Protective Services complaints, surrounded these boys with love, and tried to provide some of their basic needs all played a roll.    They never stopped trying, even when it seemed nothing was ever going to change for these kids.

As I watched them interact with such love and connection with the woman they sat with, I thought about where I knew them from...  I remembered their sunken cheeks, sallow complexion, dry stiff hair.  I remember them wearing shoes too big and shirts too small, freezing in the cold rainy weather.  Shaved heads from lice, and rotten teeth from lack of dental care. How they would ask for food and look hungrily at anything you were eating.  How they struggled with learning, and were battling twin barriers of environmental deficits and learning difficulties. 

But mostly I remember the effects of their emotional neglect.  They were starved for attention of any kind, and were traveling down the path of accepting negative attention as the easiest and quickest attention to get. They were often confused about expectations.  They were distractable, could not sit still, and seemed to move like whirling dervishes through their day.  Some adults mentioned ADHD.  They both had behavior support plans. Both repeated Kindergarten.

These boys, and their two siblings, lived in deep poverty. Lives fraught with homelessness,  mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, lack of food, fractured families, frequent moving, inconsistent or non-existent adults, and extreme lack of resources.   They lived with step uncles, ex-grandmas, fathers, mothers, grandmothers, sisters of step-fathers, etc.  They lived in a shack with no running water or kitchen or bathroom or even beds. They slept in heaps of clothes and bedding with dogs. They lived in a broken down trailer out behind another house. They lived behind the wall of a compound, with angry dogs and angrier men.  Occasionally an adult would get it together (threatened by CPS or the school), and these boys would come to school with clean clothes and scrubbed faces. For a week or so. But when the adult fell back into the chaos of addictions, the boys were dropped back into the desolation of neglect and abuse.

Their teachers and the staff members of their school cared and fought for them. They held student study meetings and IEP meetings. They filed CPS reports, had special conferences with whatever family members they could contact.  They fed them, clothed them, gave them books, kept them in at lunch and recess so they could be warm and get extra attention.   

I remember packing extra food for lunch, so I could give them a snack.   I remember they would come to my office at recess and hang out, wandering around looking for things I might give them (food, notebooks, pencils, toys). For Christmas, I bought them hats and gloves because they were so very cold waiting for the bus.  The hat and gloves disappeared into the rubbish of their house, never to be seen again. But oh they were so proud of those warm things for the day or so they had them at school.  I would go into their classrooms to give them extra help in class, and pull them to my room for extra help with homework and reading. The Americorp worker I supervised did the same. 

If a school could have adopted a group of kids, our school would have.  Often, the belonging, optimism, pride, purpose, and place provided by a school is enough to make the difference in a kid's life.  But sometimes it isn't enough. Sometimes the only way a kid is going to survive is to get out.  If they don't get out, their chance of carving out any bit of a good life is about zero.

Oh wonderful day!  These two boys, they made it out.  They made it out into a home filled with love and light.  They have a chance. They have hope.  To see them interacting so happily, with round cheeks, glowing eyes, shiny hair, and clean well fitting clothes just took my breath away.   I spoke with them and their new mom. She explained how much progress they had made in a short time. It was so obvious they were in a good place.  The one boy talked about remembering me, and about our interaction at school.  He remembered I was "Dr. Gibson" and seemed really happy to see me.  The other boy would not recognize me, or could not.   It doesn't surprise me. He had suffered so terribly, more than his brother had, because he was more sensitive to it all.  I don't doubt he's blocked the whole thing out, though I had actually spent the most time with him, and invested the most interventions with him, not his brother who remembered me.

Sometimes, all the things we do which don't seem to get anywhere... sometimes the effort pays off and life does get better for a kid.  It's that starfish parable.  For all the kids that don't make it, we feel sad. But we keep trying because for that one kid who makes it, it matters more than anything.

Never Stop Trying.

Kentucky Knows About Hope

"Wow!  The research shows that what feels like 'the right thing to do' actually IS the right thing to do!"

After spending the day in Corbin, Kentucky working with teachers, administrators, and counselors in the Southeast/South-Central Educational Cooperative, I know a little more about why Kentucky regularly makes the news for education improvements.  I walked away from this day with a deep respect and admiration for educators in general, and the members of this education cooperative most of all.   What especially impressed me about the educators we worked with is how they truly understand the importance of hope, and of the social and emotional aspects of learning.   In communities with high levels of poverty, schools provide one of the only pathways out of poverty. But those who work in schools must address the culture of poverty and help students feel they belong in school by providing optimism, hope, and a welcoming atmosphere.  Only then can we provide opportunities for students to develop personal pride and find purpose for their schooling and lives.    

"It's about relationships!"

At one point, Bob asked the group, "Students are doing well in elementary and middle school, and then they reach the high school and start faltering, failing, and even dropping out. What is happening?    What happens to the progress?"    A gentleman called out, "Relationships.  There are too many kids in the big high schools, and they get lost. There isn't anyone they connect with.  It's about relationships."  

Bob gave this administrator the microphone, and we listened as he explained more about students' need for connection and belonging, talked about how his staff worked to provide that belonging and connection.  Counseling, time for teachers to meet with students, and freshmen support courses were among the many interventions his staff employed.   When I spoke with him later, he shared the long list of questions he had for his staff to consider. I asked what he'd taken away from today, since he obviously understood the importance of  the Culture of Hope.  "I take away more support for what I'm always preaching about at school.   I have new phrases, new language to explain how important relationships are for our kids."   He then told me his story of how he ended up in education.  Took my breath away....

"I was a good student.   But it changed in 4th grade, when I went for a drink of water. When I came back to class, my teacher asked where I had gone, and when I replied, 'I went for a drink,' she slapped me.  From that moment, my grades plummeted and I hated school.  I became that kid no teacher wants in their class. I figured, if teachers can disrespect students that way, why should I respect them?  I became that rebellious, belligerent student, I "passed" Geometry with a D-, because the teacher didn't want to see me again.  Eventually, I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference, and help ensure what happened to me didn't happen to other kids.  As an administrator, I push my teachers to look beyond students' prickly presentation to see the pain, disconnection, and issues which may be behind the negative behavior. Those students who are pushing us away are the ones who need us the most."   

"The students who push us away the most are the ones we need to connect with the most..."

Every table shared stories of students, teachers, and situations that filled my heart to bursting.   At this table, educators struggled with how to challenge inequities that were perpetuated by administrators and school boards.  At another table, an administrator planned with his team of teachers and counselors how to build consensus with his school that All Students could learn and be held to high standards.   Over at that table, a lone principal sat, reflecting.   He said, "I can't begin to put plans on paper. I need to think about all we've been given today."   One superintendent pushed her team to consider scheduling and the benefits of semester vs. trimester schedules. She explained, "There are benefits to both, but we need buy-in of the whole team, and we're divided as a district."    Another team leader was trying to decide where to start, given the high turnover of staff in the last two years, and she talked through the issues, finally determining that optimism was the best place to start because everybody can contribute to optimism. It is a failure-free concept.

"Optimism is a failure-free concept. Everyone can contribute to optimism, regardless of their skill set or role in the school."

At one table, a principal worked with his team, looking like a general leading a war-room conference, except they were smiling and eagerly planning their next steps.  As I knelt down to listen in on their conversation, I learned this school had gone from bottom of their district (in the 300's for ranking in the state), to top 10 in the state in a period of 5 years.  How did they accomplish this amazing transformation?  Relationships, high expectations, optimism. And a lot of collaboration and community building. The Culture of Hope resonated with this group, and the principal indicated he'd read our book and found it to be one of the best books on educating students living in poverty.  (Wow!)   

To see what this school had done, the enthusiasm that poured off of each person at the table....   The vice-principal, when asked what they saw as next steps, said, "We're always looking for what's next.  We know we're never done, and there's always something we can do to increase the impact we have on every student."  One teacher at this table said that he benefited from the new language for things they were already doing. Another way to understand the why behind their actions.

"Our families are so poor, they can't even begin to think about education for their kids. They know it's important, but they just don't have the bandwidth to get involved.  We take care of the education piece, and help them access resources for the rest..."

When Bob presented information about the crushing nature of poverty, and the disconnect between poor families and the middle class institution of schooling, a principal stood up: "Our school serves a student population with over 85% poverty. Parents know how important education is, and they want education for their children. They just don't know how. It isn't that they don't care, it's that they can't muster the resources to do much. So we take responsibility for the education and we provide resources and support for the rest.  Our families are real pleased with what we are doing, and that keeps the kids in our school instead of moving every six months." 

One of my favorite comments came from a teacher who said, "I love getting the research that explains why what I've felt was 'the right thing to do' IS the right thing to do.   Nice to know my gut instincts have research to back them up."  This statement resonated with me, because my time with the Southeast/South-Central Educational Cooperative showed me that the Culture of Hope has solid, real-world, practical application.   Every time someone spoke, they brought to life an element of the Seeds of Hope or the Power of We.  While the Culture of Hope was borne of Bob's experiences working with schools for 15 years, my work with the Culture of Hope is from my own experiences as a teacher in high-poverty schools, as well as my research for the book. Witnessing the hope pulsing in the room, backed up by what these educators were doing every day with and for their students, humbled me deeply. 

"Kids don't have real futures in their communities.  If they want something more than minimum wage jobs, if they want a career, they need to leave home.  But they won't learn about the options unless we teach them."

Yes, Kentucky knows about Hope. Kentucky knows about the promise of a better life that is every child's birthright. Thank you, Southeast/South-Central Educational Cooperative. As educators, we have the ability to make a difference every day.  And that is why, when it gets hard and overwhelming and there are too many things that we need to do, we dig in, work with our students and colleagues, and never give up hope.

-Emily Gibson, 2014, Corbin, KY

 (Note:  All quotes are paraphrased from memory, and some stories are condensed from several stories for ease of reading. Thank you to all for sharing your realities and the realities of your students.)

For Dropouts, Education is a Matter of Life or Death

From the field: A Culture of Hope visits Oregon...

In October, while presenting at the Northwest Network of Innovative Schools in Oregon, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel of students from a Job Corps Program, that operates out of Astoria, Oregon. This experience brought me face to face with my own stereotyped, preconceived expectations of “dropouts.” Before meeting the students, I only knew they were former dropouts now living in a residential job corps program, working on their GEDs and trade certificates. Without even thinking about it, I pictured a group of surly, tattooed “losers” who had spent their years in public schools sitting in the back row of classrooms, hoodies up, sleeping with their heads on their desks. Then I met the students and had my terrible misconceptions and unconscious stereotypes pulled right out from under me. 

Had I met any of the students in some Starbucks Coffee house, I would have assumed they were college kids or graduates now successful in some new career. The students were extremely bright and insightful. They were well dressed and well mannered and each and every one was articulate. They quite simply ripped away my misconceptions. For an educational scholar who enjoys a reputation as an authority on poverty and high risk students and who has interviewed hundreds of these students, I found myself way off base.  Far from being a group of losers, I discovered a group of excellent students working hard to find a pathway out of poverty; a group of students with not just dreams, but plans to accomplish their personal goals. Most tragic, each and every one was gaining an education in spite of the public schools that had attempted to serve them. What is important is that these students did not drop out of public school.  No, for one reason or another, they were forced out. They were forced out by policies, lack of specialized services and support or the lack of a single adult who supported them as an advocate. They were forced out by an absence of a Culture of Hope.  I’d like to introduce these students to you…

William: During his high school years William explained that he was eager to learn and highly motivated.  He had developed sophisticated computer skills on his own and he was very interested in learning more. Unfortunately, many of his classmates were loud and disruptive and he found it all but impossible to learn.  He became more and more frustrated and felt that he was just wasting his time. After leaving school, he finally found his way into the Job Corps, quickly finished his GED and is rapidly completing the trade requirements for a career in computer technology. At the conclusion of his time, the Job Corps will help him find a job in computer technology and provide him support for two years. He has definite plans to go on to college.  William needed the Seed of Purpose.

Sara: Sara was attending school and proceeding toward graduation. Unfortunately, she fell ill and had a series of operations that caused her to miss a large number of school days. Unfortunately, the school she attended in her home state of Washington, like schools in so many states, had a required attendance policy that permits student to miss only 11 days per semester. By the time Sara was able to return to school she had already been dropped from the school attendance rolls and informed that she could not return until the next semester. Realizing that she had lost all of her credit for an entire semester and would be far behind when she returned, she left school and got a job at McDonalds. Sara was very fortunate; so many young teenage girls who drop out of school are preyed upon by older men and become pregnant.  When a teenager has a child, it is highly likely that she will have a second child before the age of 21 and be in some type of welfare program for the rest of her life. Somehow Sara escaped that possible fate. Her doctor, who cared for her during her long illness, became concerned about Sara and became her advocate. The doctor recognized what an able student Sara had been and helped her get accepted into the Job Corps. Sara is majoring in Business/Office Skills and is almost finished with her GED. The doctor has promised Sara a job as a receptionist in her office once Sara completes her GED and Vocational Certificate. Sara said, “That doctor believed in me and I could not let her down.”  Sara needed the Seeds of Place and Belonging. 

John: John was a good student and progressing successfully toward graduation. During his junior year he was called to the counselor’s office and told that there had been a mistake during his middle school years and that he had failed to take two required courses. This meant that he could not graduate until he had completed the courses. They explained that it appeared to be a bookkeeping mistake in the middle school counselor’s office and that in order to take the courses he would have to pay tuition. He was told the tuition would be $200. He did not know where he would find the money to complete the middle school courses and no one suggested any way he could resolve the problem. He walked into the Counselor’s office a successful student, and he walked out and left school and never returned. Bitter and angry, he had a difficult time adjusting to life outside of school. Unable to find a good job, he finally learned about the Job Corps and was successful in gaining admission to the program. John has completed his GED and is almost finished with his Culinary Arts vocational certificate. He has already been exploring job opportunities and knows that he has an excellent job waiting when he completes the Job Corps program. His goal is to gain employment with a cruise line and work in the tourist industry either on board a cruise ship or a resort. His long term plan is to complete one of the Chef Training programs in Portland, Oregon and someday, maybe have his own restaurant.  John needed the Seeds of Pride and Self-Esteem.

Sam: Sam was an average student who failed a few courses along the way through middle and high school. He finally got so far behind on his graduation credits that he realized that “he would be about 35 years old before he could finish high school”. No one at the school talked to him about the GED Option Program or completing high school as part of a program at the local community college. The state of Oregon has an unusually policy that works well for students like Sam but no one communicated the options to Sam. If a student graduates from high school, the student has to pay tuition to attend the state’s community colleges. However, if a student completes a GED, they can receive state support to attend community college courses tuition free until they achieve a high school diploma. No one bothered to explain this to Sam or to explore any reasonable options for his education.  Frustrated, he simply left school and started working part time jobs. He was admitted to Job Corps and is completing his GED and vocational certification in Construction. Sam needed the Seed of Optimism.

Isaiah: Isaiah had held on and stayed in school in spite of a very difficult home situation. While never going into specifics, he explained that he felt a huge responsibility for his brothers and sisters. As the oldest child, he tried to protect them and provide for them in spite of unfortunate family problems. It finally became too much. No one at school seemed to care about him or his difficult home life or the needs of his brothers and sisters. He kept working part-time and going to school as long as he could, but finally it all became too much. He dropped out of school and went to work. Isaiah knew he was a good student and realized he was on a dead-end pathway. While never describing what happened to his siblings, Isaiah gained admittance to the Job Corps and the residential program proved to provide just the type of support and stability that he needed. He has finished his GED, and is almost finished with his vocational certificate as an electrician. He will move directly into a job and a union training program and his financial future looks very good. He explains that he will then be able to help his brothers and sisters.  Isaiah needed the Seed of Purpose.

The stories of these five students dramatize the failure of public education to provide the support and services that so many students need. Without Optimism, Place, Pride, and Purpose, good students are failed by the system.  These students’ stories also showcase the need for educational options like Job Corps.  Too often school policies hinder rather than help needy students and far too often schools simply do not provided the necessary services to help keep students in school. School counselors work primarily with students going on to college and too often provide little help for struggling students, despite the numerous resources available. Most public schools do not even know when a student drops out of school and given the pressures on schools to report on student assessment scores, too often schools are not terribly concerned when marginal student or students far behind academically leave prior to graduation. 

Public schools too often simply do not assist students in exploring careers or learning about the vast options available in alternative school programs, on line learning, and vocational and community colleges certification programs. 

 Today, almost 25% of all students drop out of school--approximately a million students each year. For poor and minority students, the dropout percentages are more than twice that. For the dropouts who do not find their way back into school, the door of opportunity is slammed shut and most will live out their lives unemployed, underemployed, or tragically unemployable. Sadly, many dropouts fall into drug and alcohol abuse and enter a “pipeline to prison” that all but terminates their potential for a good life. The brutal reality is how so many of these students are academically able, and with even modest support and encouragement they could be successful in school and plot a reasonable pathway to a good life in their community. It rests on our schools to provide the education and the Seeds of Hope necessary, so they can have hope for a decent life.  For the dropout, education is a matter of “life and death.”

--Bob Barr, Oregon, October 2014 

Power of We: The Belize Education Project

In the middle of October, 33 educators (with a few support professionals), traveled to the Cayo district of Belize for a week to work with teachers, administrators, and children in four elementary schools.  This is the Belize Education Project.   I was fortunate to be able to participate in this experience, and see first hand the Power of We, reaching across the miles to educators in Belize...

Belize is a small country (less than 9,000 square miles, or a bit smaller than the state of Massachusetts), located below the Yucatan Peninsula, on the Caribbean Sea.    We were working in schools around San Ignacio, just east of the Guatemala border. 

  

One of the schools, morning assembly...

In The Culture of Hope,  Bob and I talk about the Power of We as the support that educators give each other.  The effects of working in high-poverty, high-need schools are real, and it is difficult to surmount the effects without support from colleagues. Especially in a country with very little infrastructure, knowledge, and resources for improving education. The Belize Education Project (BEP) provides that support, in a beautiful way.  For eight years, teachers from Colorado have flown to Belize for a week in October to work with schools, and flown teachers from Belize to Colorado in April.  During those eight years, the classrooms have gone from barren dark rooms to bright, lively, active places.  The teachers who travel to Colorado for professional development return, infused with knowledge and hope, which they share with their peers.

While I have many memories from this week, I want to share stories about two teachers I had the pleasure to meet: Miss A and Mr. W.    

"Miss A" is a young, bright teacher of early primary children. Her students delight in being with her, and clearly respect her.  Miss A reminded me of a sponge.... everything I said or did, she soaked up, thought about, and asked me numerous questions.  I read a story to the class, and after I sat down in a chair and noticed a few students surreptitiously scooting forward to be closer, I said, "Anyone who wants to move closer, please come!"  They clustered around in a cozy pack, and I read on. Miss A, when she saw this, said, "I never would have thought of that.  I often felt they were too far away, and losing focus, when I read to them.  But we didn't have a rug or place to gather together, so I didn't do anything.  But this. We can do this!"

Reading the class book, "The Agouti and the Coyote," for the 4th time....

Working with Miss A reinforced for me the notion that collaboration can have a significant impact when professionals are allowed to discuss real kids, without an agenda.   When I discovered that many students confused the names of English vowels with the names of Spanish vowels (The official language in Belize is English, but about 50% of the students are ESL students who have immigrated from Guatemala), I worked with the class to build a chart with the vowel names in English and Spanish. Then  I made up a quick game with groups of 5 students assigned to the vowels. When I said a word with one vowel, the students assigned to that vowel stood up.  They quickly got the game and enjoyed popping up. When students stood up for the wrong vowel, we could talk about why (Oh!  You were thinking the Spanish letter! What is the English letter?) and they could self-correct.  Miss A thought the game was wonderful, and other BEP folks reported seeing the game in action when they visited her room. Reflecting later, Miss A talked about ways she could use the game for other content.

Miss A and Class

 I felt highly honored by Miss A's trust and desire to collaborate as colleagues.  At the end of the day on Thursday, she said, "I could not sleep last night, I was thinking so much.   I was thinking about what you have been doing and saying, and I realize that we do not expect enough from our children.  We Belize teachers are products of this education system, and we do the same thing we were taught.. It is not enough. They will not do more than we expect, and we expect too little!  I want to expect more, so they will do more."  I wish Miss A all my best as she charges forward into the future.  Her students will shine.

The other Story I wish to share is about Mr. W, a young teacher of early primary students.  He has gone to Colorado to work with BEP teachers for a week, and he is clearly highly motivated and enthusiastic about teaching well. Though I did not get to work in Mr. W's classroom, he was in the group I supported for after school professional development during the week. On the last day, Mr. W pulled me aside with a list of questions he had for me about different resources. Specifically, he wanted help in determining what to teach after doing detailed literacy assessments.  Once he had the information, he wasn't sure what lessons to do or how to create center activities.  We went through a variety of resources, including the Florida Center for Reading Research curriculum, which is designed for centers.  He took my email address, and I hope he will contact me to talk more.  Again, I was impressed with this teacher's eagerness to collaborate and confer. It is a thirstiness, shared by Miss A, Miss E (another teacher I was able to work with, pictured at the end of this post) and the other teachers I met in Belize.  A thirstiness evident in the children, too, so hungry to learn, to belong, to have purpose.

Student with page from "Anansi and the Stone" book.

Student with page from "Anansi and the Stone" book.

 







The Power of We is brought to Belize by this group of concerned and dedicated educators from Colorado. My experience in Belize has opened my eyes to the possibilities of the Power of We, far greater than my original perception of teachers within a school or district supporting each other.  As educators, we have the opportunity to reach across districts, states, and nations to connect with each other.   No act, however small, occurs in isolation, and you can never know who will be impacted down the road.    How can you reach out to help another teacher?  Maybe be an email buddy, or have your class be penpals with a class from a Title I school. Maybe your school wants to adopt a "sister school" in another place (reservation school? inner city school? poor rural school? school in Central America?).  The possibilities are endless, and its a guarantee that you'll get as much if not more from the experience.  

Hope is Contagious. Go infect someone!

Miss E and Students