In the video, Shopping in 1999 (1967), the future Internet/World Wide Web is imagined and somehow feels oddly/relatively congruous compared to our current series of crude, interconnected tubes. Imagine owning an "electronic correspondence machine" or " a home post office." A rich piece to deconstruct with friends or colleagues; gender stereotyping throughout.
Here are twovideos (each less than a minute long) from the Ad Council designed to bring attention to the effects of cyberbullying. I apologize if these are reposts.
What I like about these ads is their directness: the script and images are designed to make an impact on the audience quickly and the message is clear: words can be powerful and hurtful-- bullying hurts -- think about the impact it can have on others.
The ads don't tell you to do anything but to think for a moment how a certain behavior can cause a pain for others. The message is about prevention and not locking up computers or banning children from participating in online social networks.
Other cyberbullying resources
While on the subject, I've compiled a few links to online cyberbullying resources. Again, the relationship between our understanding of the potential of Read/Write technologies and how we educate parents and students will ultimately impact how computers will be used and funded in schools. We as educators need to be sure we know how to handle bullying situations and how to show parents and administrators how we are handling them.
Cyberbully401 -- What is Cyberbullying? and Other Resources
Found this video recently that you might find helpful. It is always good to remind ourselves of why we're here. You might recognize the animation style from here.
In a recent Time magazine article, John Cloud reports on an issue that often falls to the side of educational debates: "our education system has little idea how to cultivate its most promising students."
Cloud argues that "What's needed is a new model for gifted education, an urgent sense that prodigious intellectual talents are a threatened resource" -- a bold statement from a news reporter -- one you would think might be uttered from a political candidate if he or she were paying closer attention to the issue of educating our youth.
Cloud argues that the No Child Left Behind conception of public education, where the goal is to raise all learners to a minimum standard, squanders our best young minds. He earnestly quips: "Has the drive to ensure equity over excellence gone too far? If so, is the answer to segregate the brightest kids?"
The article focuses at length on the Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada, founded by a wealthy couple who made their fortune in educational software. The Academy, (a chartered, tuition-free school) was designed to serve those children whose academic abilities supersede those of their peers by several standard deviations. The academy begins its second year in August hosting 45 of the nation's smartest children aged 11 to 16, who are taking classes "at least three years beyond their grade level."
At the Academy, there are no grade levels, only three tracks ("core," "college prep" and "college prep with research"). "The curriculums are individualized and fluid--some students take college-prep English but core-level math." Cloud reports sitting in on the Algebra II class one day: "it wasn't so much a traditional class as a study session guided by the teacher, Darren Ripley. Kids worked from different parts of the textbook. (One 11-year-old was already halfway through; most Americans who take Algebra II do so at 15 or 16.) Occasionally Ripley would show a small group how to solve a problem on the whiteboard, but there was no lecture."
Hmmm. No lectures. Individual and group work. Differentiated instruction. Sounds somewhat appealing, no? Could this same pedagogical technique work in conventional school settings for all types of students?
While I applaud the efforts of individuals and districts to aide and cultivate our geniuses, it has always struck me as odd that we do not treat all kids as if they were autodidacts. Like our muscles, intelligence cannot be built if it is not exercised.
Measuring genius, or in this case, academic giftedness, is a complex and controversial subject where intelligent quotient (IQ) testing is still used to separate the wheat from the chaff. Schools across the globe house kids whose academic abilities far exceed those of their peers, yet is such talent truly being squandered? Cloud plays a wonderful "what if" game that posits if only nourished, these powerful young minds might find a cure for cancer, stop global warming, or become the next James Joyce -- "or at least J. K. Rowling" (snip!). Of course, such thinking aloud is a wonderful rhetorical exercise that stirs readers juices as opposed to offering any real or credible solution.
NCLB has indeed made an impact on gifted education in the United States. As Cloud points out,
"It [NCLB] has forced schools to deeply subsidize the education of the least gifted, and gifted programs have suffered. The year after the President signed the law in 2002, Illinois cut $16 million from gifted education; Michigan cut funding from $5 million to $500,000. Federal spending declined from $11.3 million in 2002 to $7.6 million this year."
So what are we to do with our best young minds in school systems designed to support and teach to minimum standards? From his position, as an observant bystander, Cloud suggests the answer may lie in allowing the super-bright to skip grade levels or dual enroll in community colleges or universities. This is an answer I would expect from some one standing on the outside looking in, after all, this is already what is currently happening all across the U.S.
What strikes me as most disappointing is, as a member of the academy where teachers and administrators are educated and trained, there is no serious discussion about changing the system that keeps kids quarantined in academic circles based on age rather than ability. Many within the academy see the problem as being far beyond their means of control and choose instead to keep the current system propped up, turning a blind eye to the troubles we face in public education.
For me, the real issue is: how do we break the mold that currently forms our current, inflexible system? I want to say the answer is not evolution--it's revolution. I want to see teachers walking out of their classrooms and saying -- "This is bullshit. We all deserve better and can do better." I know from experience that this is unlikely to happen. I also am aware of many educators around the globe who feel the same and are taking concrete steps to revolutionize teaching and learning opportunities.
As a parent and educator, I know the responsibility of educating my children is not the school's alone. Perhaps this is where the revolution starts. Parents (i.e., taxpayers/business owners/voters) are a powerful educational lobby that, if organized, could have a major impact on the future of education.
Perhaps the question is: how do we involve parents more? How do you, as an educator, involve parents in your classroom? Parents are often an overlooked and underutilized resource that teachers and schools haven't quite figured out what to do with. Perhaps, colleges of education should offer courses in how to involve parents more than as chaperones and suppliers of Kleenex.
The issue of educating all children, bright, dull, gifted, average, is a complex issue that requires complex thinking. For the most part, schools are designed to teach masses not individuals. How are colleges of education addressing this complexity, you might ask? In most cases, the same way -- en masse. Differentiated instruction courses are often offered in one semester, if they are offered at all. Young teachers are mostly taught how to survive and, if they stick with the profession, can learn over time and through experience how to individualize instruction, if we're lucky.
Fixing public education requires more than luck. So I ask you, who are we really failing in our school systems?
eSchool News Online recently reported on a survey that shows 96 percent of teens and tweens between the ages of 9 and 17 with Internet access in the U.S. are using social networking technologies such as chat, text-messaging, blogging, or visiting online communities such as Facebook and MySpace.
The study, titled Creating & connecting: Research and guidelines on online social and educational networking (pdf), was released by the National School Boards Association and Grunwald Associates LLC on August 14 of this year. The study is comprised of three surveys: an online survey of 1,277 nine- to 17 year old students, an online survey of 1,039 parents and telephone interviews with 250 school district leaders who make policy decisions on Internet usage. The final report did not include a copy of the survey instruments or questions asked of school district representatives. The study was carried out with support from Microsoft, News Corp. (which owns MySpace), and Verizon (hmmm... a little market exploration and needs assessment?)
The report reveals that participants' time on the Internet rivals the television for their time and attention. Here's a break down of some of numbers:
Who's on first?
81% students report visiting a social networking site within the past three months.
71% report using social networking tools weekly.
59% report talk about "education" in their online social networks.
50% report talking specifically about schoolwork.
Posting messages
21% students post comments on message boards every day.
41% post comments on message boards once a week.
Sharing music
32% students report download music or audio that other users uploaded at least once a week.
29% upload third-party music or audio themselves once a week.
12% upload podcasts of their own creation at least weekly.
Sharing videos
30% students download and view videos uploaded by others once a week.
9% upload videos of their own creation at least weekly.
22% report uploading videos they have created at some point.
Sharing photos
24% students post photos or artwork created by others once a week.
22% post photos or artwork created by themselves once a week.
49% report uploading photos or artwork at some point.
Site building
12% students report updating their website or online profiles every day.
25% report updating their website or online profiles weekly.
Blogging
30% students report having a blog.
17% report adding content to their blogs at least weekly.
Creating content
16% students report using online tools to create and share compositions and virtual objects (puzzles, games, clothing and houses (?)).
14% create new characters at least weekly.
10% start or contribute to online collaborative projects weekly or more frequently.
10% send suggestions or ideas to Web sites at least once a week.
9% submit articles to sites, create polls, quizzes or surveys at least weekly.
Against Me! School rules
92% school districts require parents and/or students to sign an Internet use policy.
98% districts surveyed use software to block access to "inappropriate" sites.
84% districts have rules against online chatting.
81% districts have rules against instant messaging.
62% districts have rules against participating on bulletin boards or blogs.
60% districts have rules against sending and receiving email in school.
52% districts prohibit use of social networking sites.
For me!
49% districts report schools participating in collaborative projects with other schools.
46% districts report students participating in international pen pal projects.
35% districts say their schools and/or students run blogs.
22% districts report classroom use of wikis or sites that allow users to edit/remove content.
27% districts support online professional development communities for teachers/principals.
71% districts report active/influential parental involvement in decision making and social networking.
Required Access
96% districts report some teachers assigning homework requiring Internet access.
35% districts report more than half their teachers assign homework requiring Internet access.
94% districts of low socioeconomic status report some teachers assigning homework requiring Internet access.
27% districts of low socioeconomic status report more than half their teachers assign homework requiring Internet access.
95% districts report that at least some of their teachers use Web pages to communicate assignments, curriculum content, and other information.
88% districts subscribe to to online educational services or use learning management systems, or both.
Indecent proposals
20% students report seeing "inappropriate" pictures on social networking sites in the past three months.
18% students report seeing inappropriate language on social networking sites (16% parents concur).
7% students report someone asking for personal information.
7% students report experiencing some form of cyberbullying.
4% students report having conversations that made them uncomfortable.
3% students report unwelcome strangers trying repeatedly to communicate with them online.
2% (1 in 50) students report a stranger they met online tried to meet them in person.
.08% students report actually having met a person from an online encounter without their parents permission.
52% districts report students providing personal information online as a "significant problem."
Value of social networking
48% district representatives expect social networking to introduce students to "new and different kinds of students."
43% districts "hope" social networking will help students "learn to express themselves better creatively" and "develop global relationships."
29% districts report believing social networking will improve academic abilities.
36% district reps "hope" social networking will help students learn to work together to solve academic problems.
76% parents report believing social networking will improve academic abilities.
75% parents expect social networking to improve their child's ability to resolve conflicts.
72% parents expect social networking to improve their child's social skills.
Prove it!
87% district leaders say "strong educational value and purpose" will be a requirement for them to permit students to access social networking sites.
Staff communication and professional development "In districts where structured online professional communities exist..."
59% report at least half of their staff members participate.
37% report ninety percent or more participate.
Other Findings Nonconformists 22% report breaking one or more online behavior rules such as using inappropriate language, posting inappropriate pictures, sharing personal information with strangers or pretend to be someone they are not. Nonconformists reportedly communicate regularly with their parents except in person. They possess strong sets of conventional and 21st century skills, yet they are more likely to have lower grades than other students (read: bored!)
Parents and Value(s) The report suggests that district leaders and parents believe that "social networking could play a positive role in students' lives" (p. 1) and both groups believe that there could be opportunities to use them in education. Parents seem to think there is some form of "gold" in them there Internets which oddly seems to fly in the face of the Internet policies that prevent students from accessing such environs.
There are still major questions surrounding the value of social networking, skilled use of social networks to support personal and professional development, informal and formal learning, and equitable access. Reading through the report it feels as if educational use of social networking environments boils down to how do these spaces support academic achievement as opposed to supporting social or cooperative practices. How to assess such networks still needs to be fleshed out.
Literacy There is also a question of media literacy--how is it being taught? Is it being taught? What qualifies someone as being "media literate," etc. Are the blind leading the blind? This also points to a question of how districts are supporting teacher development as well as their own administrative development involving Internet usage and management in schools. Who are administrators listening to? Where are they getting their information?
WWDD--What would Dewey do? In the end, districts and parents want to see some tangible product arise from the use of social networks in and out of schools. The question of democracy and democratic practices seem curiously absent from all discussions within the report. In light of an educational system built on a No Child Left Behind policy perhaps I should expect nothing less.
"They all select their teachers from the top third of their college graduates, whereas the U.S. selects its teachers from the bottom third of graduates. This is one of the big challenges for the U.S. education system: What are you going to do over the next 15 to 20 years to recruit ever better people into teaching?”
In a recent New York Times article, Sir Michael elaborates on the theme of improving schools and teacher quality. He notes that South Korea pays its teachers more than England and America and, as a trade-off, accepts larger class sizes. On the other hand, Finland draws top-tier college graduates to the profession by "fostering exceptionally high public respect for teachers."
While working for the Blair government, Sir Michael reports that Britain attracted "more talented young teaching candidates by offering stipends of £7,000, or about $14,000, for college graduates undergoing a year of teacher training. The government set up a national curriculum to govern such training and started a nationwide public relations campaign aimed at persuading prospective teachers that society would value their work."
“But it’s a lot harder to do education reform in the United States than in the U.K.,” Sir Michael notes. The reason: size. According to the Times article, England’s elementary and secondary educational system has about seven million students and 24,000 schools, which is more similar to the state of California alone (which has about 6.3 million students and 9,500 schools). As a whole, the U.S. has around 50 million students and 90,000 schools.
More importantly, Sir Michael suggests that Britain’s political system gives its prime ministers greater authority to dictate new practices than any equivalent American official enjoys, since underlying education policies in the United States are set by each state and within the 15,000 local school districts.
The Times article also notes that "when it comes to failing schools, Sir Michael expresses impatience. When a public school is failing — not just going through a rough patch, but also systematically failing to educate its students — he says there is only one question the authorities should consider: “How do I get these children a good education as fast as possible?”" Just do it For Sir Michael, if a school is failing to adequately serve its constituents, the government needs to be able to fix it, close it, or move students to a better school. This oversimplification of the issue is easily admonishable and in no way addresses the complexities associated with practical school reform (just ask Chris Lehmann).
The Times reports that Sir Michael also believes that the No Child Left Behind legislation is "outstanding," but not without flaws: “It depends much too often on quite crude tests and one year’s data.” According to Sir Michael, the best school rating systems, including England’s, not only evaluate test results, but also send government inspectors directly into schools "to search for causes of poor performance," including an assessment of the teaching environment and the school leadership.
Check please! The reality is, truly meaningful reform takes more than a British accent and a sense of humor.
Unfortunately, the Times article does not elaborate on how schools can hire and retain better teachers. Increasing teacher pay might attract some well-qualified applicants to the teaching profession, but it's no guarantee. Retaining teachers also takes more than a fat paycheck. Public respect might make a slight difference, but again, if a teacher is working under the duress of poor leadership or a loathsome work environment, something more is needed.
Perhaps the issue of empowerment might hold more sway. I'm thinking aloud here, but I wonder what impact permitting teachers to decide curriculum goals and accountability standards might have? Is this akin to having industries police themselves, like having coal burning power plants regulate community air quality?
Perhaps I am being too quick to judge. Schools, like power plants, serve communities, therefore communities are the primary stakeholders and have a right to help determine proper accountability standards and benchmarks, no? With the right protocols in place for discussion, debate, and policy making, this might be a workable solution. (I need to do more homework in this area.)
Research is quick to point out that truly successful schools are a product of hard work and dedication from parents, teachers, administrators, students, and members of the community (Darling-Hammond, et al., 2005). Adequate pay is mentioned in the research as a means of retaining and recruiting qualified instructors, but what is "adequate"? (US $50K, US$70K, US$30K?) And while I have never read anything regarding the importance of public respect, there is evidence that points to the importance of parent-teacher collaboration as well as teacher-teacher collaboration (Bransford, et al., 2005). This is where I believe we can draw a connection between earning respecting and talking about it. Observation vs practice It seems each time I run across such an article about educational reform, it tends to offer bite-sized solutions to incredibly complex situations. Perhaps schools of education or school districts could offer press guides to help writers better understand that critical issues often require complicated solutions. Interviewing an educational consultant only paints a small portion of a larger picture. Perhaps news editors feel the public has no stomach for in-depth, well-researched articles with multiple sources and multiple points of view. So I'll put it to you: how do educators help the press better understand teaching and learning issues? Similarly, in what ways do you communicate with parents and community members about your specific needs or concerns?
Your thoughts and criticism are encouraged.
References: Bransford, J., Derry, S., Berliner, D., Hammerness, K., and Beckett, K. L. (2005). Theories of learning and their roles in teaching. In L. Darling-Hammond & J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Darling-Hammond, L., Pacheco, A., Michelli, N., LePage, P., Hammerness, K., & Youngs, P. (2005). Implementing curriculum renewal in teacher education: Managing organizational and policy change. In L. Darling-Hammond & J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
I wanted to take a moment and point you to an article in Mother Jones that you may find a bit disturbing.
While there are at least two sides to every story, I am having trouble relating to the need to use "pain" as a way to control human behavior as depicted in this story. While I enjoy the "pain" of a five mile run and 400 sit-ups, I never learned much from being spanked in school. The article focuses on the use of shock therapy (as opposed to prescripted medications) and other "strategies and tactics" utilized in the treatment of mentally handicapped students at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center.
While the school has a litiguous history associated with mental and physical abuse cases, it has apparently served some students and family well (or so certain family members report).
This article is guaranteed to raise an eyebrow or two and is well worth sharing with colleagues in terms of discussing the management of student and instructor behavior.
Cloud argues that the 
So what are we to do with our best young minds in school systems designed to support and teach to minimum standards? From his position, as an observant bystander, Cloud suggests the answer may lie in allowing the super-bright to skip grade levels or dual enroll in community colleges or universities. This is an answer I would expect from some one standing on the outside looking in, after all, this is already what is currently happening all across the U.S.
The study, titled 
Nonconformists 
In a recent 
For Sir Michael, if a school is failing to adequately serve its constituents, the government needs to be able to fix it, close it, or move students to a better school. This oversimplification of the issue is easily admonishable and in no way addresses the complexities associated with practical school reform (just ask 
Research is quick to point out that truly successful schools are a product of hard work and dedication from parents, teachers, administrators, students, and members of the community (Darling-Hammond, et al., 2005). Adequate pay is mentioned in the research as a means of retaining and recruiting qualified instructors, but what is "adequate"? (US $50K, US$70K, US$30K?) And while I have never read anything regarding the importance of public respect, there is evidence that points to the importance of parent-teacher collaboration as well as teacher-teacher collaboration (Bransford, et al., 2005). This is where I believe we can draw a connection between earning respecting and talking about it.
While there are at least two sides to every story, I am having trouble relating to the need to use "pain" as a way to control human behavior as depicted in this story. While I enjoy the "pain" of a five mile run and 400 sit-ups, I never learned much from being spanked in school. The article focuses on the use of shock therapy (as opposed to prescripted medications) and other "strategies and tactics" utilized in the treatment of mentally handicapped students at the 
