“Repeating the same thing slowly and loudly is not a kind of differentiated teaching method that works for kids that struggle more than others. We need to stop teaching the way we want to and start teaching the way our students learn.”
- Dr. Pedro Noguera, paraphrased from his Keynote Address, Our Promise for the Future: Meeting the Challenge, at the Governer’s Summit on Student Engagement and Dropout Prevention at Nazareth College, Rochester, Oct. 10. 2008. Dr. Noguera is a Professor at Steinhardt School of Education at New York University, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education Co-Director of the Institute for the Study of Globalization and Education in Metropolitan Settings.
Today, in all my free time (HA!) I watched the (NYS) Governer’s Summit on Student Engagement and Dropout Prevention on my local PBS channel here in Buffalo. What an intellectual feast for this weary mind! I LOVE PBS! I happened upon it by accident because PBS is the only channel I let Lucy watch shows on if the TV is on during the day. I watched the entire thing (3 hrs.) while nursing, chasing kids around and doing endless puzzles and reading with Lucy. I even took the baby monitor into the bathroom with me while I took a shower and left the TV on while the twins were napping so I could hear the program!
Since I became a parent, I am hungrier than ever to see complete change in the giant bungled system that is public education in this country. As a teacher I say that with more love than most would know. The fact that my kids are going to be headed off to school in a few short years has upped the ante for me I guess. I LOVE teaching, school, kids, science, etc. but there are some serious things we ALL need to tackle. It was nice to see that public officials are finally realizing that education must be taken on by everyone inside and outside schools and that we are all stakeholders even if we don’t have kids in the system or are teachers. How kids fare in the system affects our entire country on many levels and we are all responsible- not just those of us in the school every day. As we move forward, schools must include more access to outside resources and support for kids, parents and families such as health care, mental health care, child care, public resources, etc. Schools are going to have to be the seamless link between families and their needs. What a huge opportunity as well as challenge. It has to be a “village” approach. It was timely that Jason and I were just talking about this the day before over dinner….
The main message of the summit was to have NYS focus on these 5 promises from the America’s Promise Alliance (turning out to be a very interesting organization). I was very, very happy that service to others was a priority-this is kind of my soap box. I am curious how this will materialize and to what emphasis this will trickle down. By the way, Geoffrey Canada, CEO and President of Harlem Children’s ZONE, featured in the NPR program, This American Life, Jason posted about earlier is one of the Board of Directors.
Just about every word of what Dr. Noguera said in his address hit home with me. I came away from his speech in particular feeling energized. He had so many great examples of the ways schools are failing our kids that we teachers see every single day! I was like YES! YES! He was also very supportive of teachers and effective practices with a very down to earth, no nonsense tone. At one point he said, “Here’s a new initiative: Start doing more of what is working and less of what’s not!” He was very pro listen to the kids and teachers and create an inspiring place where kids want to learn relevant things in the ways they learn best. The part that was broadcast finished up with a panel of students from across the state that had had their own school struggles to not drop out and voiced their opinions on what would make schools better. Such a big reminder that we need to listen to our kids first! It was so refreshing! With all this talk sounding great, I am hoping, hoping, hoping this gains some real ground.
And If I wasn’t extremely tired I would take the time to add some of the apalling statistics regarding drop out rates in NYS and nationwide they reported at the summit (which I’m sure your friend Google can help you with) but my mind is starting to go places no minds have gone before! I know my limits….