The Scoop on: Finding Forrester

This past week my class watched the film, Finding Forrester.  This movie from 2000, tells the story of a young black male, Jamal, played by Rob Brown, and his relationship with a presently withdrawn Pulitzer-Prize winning author William Forrester, played by Sean Connery.  The strange and unlikely relationship between this 16 year-old student and famous author begins when Forrester discovers Jamal has secretly sneaked into his Bronx apartment as a joke with the neighborhood kids.  Jamal, a talented athlete and student, leaves his backpack full of writings behind in the apartment by mistake.  The two meet when Jamal is in need of getting his belongings back and a relationship forms between the two.  Jamal and Forrester are an unlikely pair based on age, race, and socioeconomic status.  However, Forrester soon becomes Jamal's biggest fan and mentor as he is recruited to one of New York's most prestigious private schools after his academic giftedness is discovered through national testing at his high school.  Jamal, on the other hand, becomes Forrester's motivation and inspiration in leaving his private, secluded life to which he created after experiencing loss and also criticism from the public.  Both characters are writers but in different stages of life. While Forrester encourages Jamal to write, Jamal encourages Forrester to trust and "let go".

Throughout the story, we see many examples of challenges in society relating to race, socioeconomic standing, and giftedness.  Jamal, not only an excellent student, is also a talented basketball player.  With many attributes in his life in his favor, he had many other things going against him as he fought to be accepted.  Here are a few examples of the struggles the character Jamal faced:

• Talented basketball player vs. He did not want to be stereo-typed for being black and good at basketball.
• High achieving student vs. He struggled to fit in with the other athletes who were in less challenging classes.
• Was recruited an accepted to prestigious school vs. was reminded of "where he comes from"/neighborhood in the Bronx while there.
• Was a talented writer vs. was accused of plagiarism I.e. his talent and integrity were questioned.
• Befriended a white girl (Claire) vs. skepticism about inter-racial relationship, especially with a faculty member's daughter.
• Jamal experienced a teacher wanting to help vs. a teacher wanting to hinder.

In taking this movie and relating it back to my classroom, it made me think of those students who struggle with trying to fit in, lay low, and be under the radar.  For some kids who are far above their classmates, it may be easier to take this route, so they do not have to experience the awkwardness of giftedness.  This awkwardness could lead to advanced classes away from friends, a change in comfort zone, and new opportunities that are scary to some students.  What we can do for our students is to pay attention and connect with our students so we can see their talents, skills, and giftedness in areas at school.  Some may be obvious, but some talents may be hidden by acting out, laziness/boredom, etc.  In this film, Jamal's teacher was invested in the success of her student that she immediately made contact with the parent and her principal about Jamal.  He went on to experience an educational environment that challenged his true capabilities, and he attended classes that pushed him further than he would have on his own.

I think the best thing we can do as educators is to be fully present in our classrooms to understand and connect with our students.  In inspiring them to be the best that they can be both academically and as people in society, we should reward and nurture their giftedness with positive reinforcement, avoiding assigning tasks as busy work.  By channeling what areas they both excel and lack in, we can boost skills that need boosting, while challenging them in other areas.  We can avoid situations where we have boredom with our gifted students, by actively seeking out resources, tools, and activities so that our high-achieving students do not get overlooked, or worst case, feel punished by their giftedness. 

How do you avoid boredom with your gifted students?  I'd love to know how you avoid boredom and positively keep gifted students engaged.

Reference:

[Finding Forrester image]. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from: http://www.daleelak.tv/uploads/photos/14/Finding_Forrester1.jpg

The Scoop on: Girl Rising

"250 million adolescent girls live in poverty.  They are the most powerful force for change on the planet" Girl Effect 2014.

Here in the Unites States, we do not value education as the true privilege that it is to much of the developing world.  Although the girls in our classrooms do not face hardships in their communities and lives such as punishment for education or exclusion from obtaining an education, education-no matter where it is being offered-has an immense impact on poverty.  Success in school leads to a lower drop-out rate, delayed pregnancies and marriage, and better opportunities for employment i.e. income and advancement in our society.  In my classroom for example, every student comes from a two-parent household where both parents work.  Education is valued and expected in my school community.  Child-bearing did not begin for the families at my school until after college, thus by the time students are in first grade, parents are past the age of thirty.  The expectations for girls in my classroom are high.  Their families expect them to be both academically successfully as well as successful in the arts and in sports, creating well-rounded personalities. These ideals are very different to the lives of a handful of young girls around the world whom my graduate class was introduced to through the film Girl Rising.  Recognizing these values in my school community helps me to see that communities like  mine would truly be ideal places to spread awareness of campaigns such as Girl Rising and organizations like it. 

Recently, my Diversity in Education class viewed the film, Girl Rising on our school campus.  This film focused on the quest for an education for girls around the world.  Through storytelling, the audience meets young girls in their homes, neighborhoods, and cities to learn the true struggles they face in their cultures and the obstacles that keep them from attending school.  Two-thirds of the world's uneducated children are girls, and two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women (Educating Girls Matters 2014).  The Girl Rising campaign focuses on the simple fact that educating girls around the world can break the cycles of poverty.  As the audience meets these young girls in various countries, they are prompted to help support this campaign as millions of girls face barriers to education that boys do not. 

But how in 2014 are adolescent girls still missing out on basic educational opportunities?  Why do girls, specifically, need our time, energy, and money? The Girl Effect organization answers these questions in three solid points: Girls are agents of change, people assume girls are being reached, and the cost of girls is high.  By delaying child marriage and teen pregnancy, issues such HIV and AIDS are avoided.  In addition, programs out there currently focus on children aged 0-5 years old or focus on women, missing this crucial age range in a girl's life.  Lastly, the numbers do not lie.  Check out these facts from the Girl Effect's website: "In India, adolescent pregnancy results in nearly $10billion in lost potential income. In Uganda, 85 per cent of girls leave school early, resulting in $10billion in lost potential earnings. By delaying child marriage and early birth for one million girls, Bangladesh could potentially add $69billion to the national income over these girls' lifetimes (2014)".

There are even more reasons to invest in girls educations world-wide.  According to Educating Girls Matters, educating girls has astounding impacts on developing stable economies around the world:

 

• Reduction of child and maternal mortality
• Improvement of child nutrition and health
• Lower birth rates
• Enhancement of women's domestic role and their political participation
• Improvement of the economic productivity and growth

Although Girl Rising has become the most recognizable campaign project thanks to their partnership with college campuses, businesses, and community outreaches, other organizations are fighting for the same rights for girls in developing countries.  UNICEF, Educating Girls Matters, the Girl Effect, and TARA all work towards changing the world through educating its girls through: spreading awareness, providing scholarships, providing camps, sponsoring children, and collecting donations. The video below from the TARA project is a great example of how little [financially] it takes to provide an education to a girl an how large an impact it creates-not just on the child and local community, but on the global economy.

 

Currently, the Girl Rising campaign has received more than $2.1 million in donations.  By partnering with educators and campuses around the Unites States, the awareness of the affect of poverty has on a girl's education is rising through their efforts.  I invite you to view their Blog to learn more about success stories happening now around the world as they post on the Girl Rising Blog. Every child has a right to attend school and the right to an education, and these stories are just as inspiring as the film itself!

 

 

 

References:

[Child image]. Retrieved March 23, 2014 from: http://www.techsangam.com/wp33/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/rte_girl_pic_facenfacts_com.jpeg

Educating Girls Matters. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.educatinggirlsmatters.org/

Girl Effect. (2014).  Retrieved from: www.girleffect.org

Ten Times Ten LLC and Vulcan Productions, Inc. (2014). Girl Rising. Retrieved from: http://girlrising.com/about-us/

[The Power of One Video]. Retrieved March 23, 2014 from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddb9W43_07Q

 

The Scoop On: Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind

Engaging students with poverty in mind is an overwhelming task. Poverty is not only a financial struggle but also includes other attributes-both mentally and emotionally-that are sometimes overlooked by outsiders. Nutrition, stress, and cognitive capacity all affect a student's performance. As educators, it is our goal to ensure we can assess the needs of our students and provide the support they need to become successful people in our society.

One of the greatest things we can do as educators is to relate to our students. If we do not know where they come from, what their home lives are like, or what they encounter on a daily basis, it is difficult to hone in on what they need most.  Eric Jensen states in his book Teaching with Poverty in Mind, "The goal is to manage students' emotional states to make them better receptive to learning as much of the time as possible"(p. 140).   Here are some ways we can show our investment in our students and engage them: 

• Take time at the beginning of the school year to review students' files 


• Add strategies to your lessons and manage student progress each week


• Appreciate and acknowledge every response from students. This small habit will boost confidence in your students and encourage more participation. 


• Despite the assumption that students of poverty have parents that are not involved, continue to reach out to parents. This assumption is not always accurate, and you might be surprised at the response. 


• Call home for both good and bad reports. 


• Be positive and excited when you see them...despite how the day before ended! 


• Be passionate about what you are teaching to gain student by-in.

Once you have established an environment in your classroom that shows concern, empathy, and investment for your students, it will be easier for you to gain their buy-in. Establishing incentives that are fun is one of my favorite things to do! Reward your students for good behavior, asking good questions, and helping fellow students. Rewarding students for these three things prevents teachers from only rewarding the students who consistently get test questions correct or who are quiet in class. Being fair and consistent are two important attributes to an incentive program to keep in mind. By knowing your students' interests, you are also better able to target engaging activities that they will enjoy-a true reward in itself. This will show your students you respect them and their interests and will help them respect you in return.  

In a perfect classroom, a teacher is able to spend time with each student one-on-one or within small groups to more fully understand what core skills are mastered and missing. However, often times this is not possible. The best a teacher can do to still gain this understanding of his/her students is to be fully present with her students.  By being a stable and positive relationship in their lives, students will gain more from us than just the grade-level curriculum.  In addition to the points listed above, here is what I am doing in my classroom to keep my students engaged in learning:

• I eliminate the "lull"!  One thing I have noticed is that if I offer a second of dead time in my classroom, it quickly turns into more time away from my lesson as I try to get everyone back on task.  To avoid this "lull", I keep things moving.  My students quickly pick up on my class' routine, and we get a lot accomplished.  


• I vary my activities!  Every class is a mix of different types of learners, so I create my lesson plans with that fact in mind.  I ensure I target all learning styles in my teaching.  From getting the students out of their seats, to having them add clapping/stopping to their reading, to reading independently, to working in pairs, I want my students to experience learning in different ways.


• I give opportunities to answer!  Sometimes the answer to something is black and white. When it is not, I like to ask my students questions that can have multiple answers, so I have a greater opportunity of hearing from more students. 


• I ensure no one is overlooked!  Every morning when my students come in to my classroom, I check their folders. They bring them to me, and this is our time to check for parents notes, homework is complete, and most importantly, to check in and say 'Good Morning" before the day begins.  I could easily collect all folders, check them, and pass them back out, but I enjoy the time with my students this way.

Nicholas Provenzano's article for Edutopia entitled "Good Time: 4 Ways to Reawaken Student Engagement" is also a great resource for ways to engage your students of all backgrounds.  There he gives four main points to keep present in your daily lessons with the most important being to Have Fun! 

I would love to hear what you do in your classrooms to engage learners of all styles and background.  Not all students come to school ready to learn, so how do you change this when they arrive?

Reference:

Jensen E. (2009). Teaching With Poverty in Mind. ASCD: Alexandria, VA.

Prvenzano, N. (2013 December 13) Good Time: 4 Ways to Reaawaken Student Engagement. Edutopia. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/good-time-reawaken-student-engagement-nicholas-provenzano

[Student photo] Retrieved February 17, 2014 from: http://www.laprogressive.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/urban-school-children.gif

The Scoop on: Poverty and Catholic Education

The Catholic education students at my school receive includes tuition costs that equates to much more than a monthly car payment per child for our families. Although Catholic education is on the lower-end of tuition costs among private and other faith-based schools, for many parents, it is a burden.  Adding to this cost is the expense of specific, mandatory uniforms-both dress and casual, and physical education uniforms.  The list of additional expenses goes on and includes frequent bake sales, book sales, field trips, and activity fees in which to participate.  However, outside of all of this, is the research-based success reports of graduating students both academically and socially, making it worth the cost.  The choice to send their children to a Catholic school is a sacrifice parents make in order to provide their children with a rigorous and spiritual education.

So what does a private school education have to do with poverty?  The opportunities for a better education for students of all income levels (now with federal aid available), allow for even more families to take advantage of a private school education.  The Catholic school education model includes characteristics of: rigorous academic courses, strict discipline, high teacher expectations, a safe and orderly environment, closely monitored attendance, close parent-teacher-student relationships, and a faith-based community of learners.  These characteristics affect student performance on many levels, primarily the overall school environment.  The two sources below show how Catholic education meet and or/support the needs of its students in the fight against the affects poverty has within the classroom.

According to Eric Jensen's Teaching with Poverty in Mind, students have three strong "relational forces that drive school behavior" (p20). These forces include: 1.  Reliable relationships (need for reliable and safe mentors) 2. Peer Socialization (sense of belonging) and 3. Quest for Importance (feel special). Catholic education aims to educate the "whole" child where the child's needs are met in all areas, specifically the three forces mentioned by Jensen that affect behavior.  By meeting these needs and addressing these behavioral drives, students have opportunities to learn necessary societal behaviors that they might not learn at home.  Consistency and stability are strong aspects of a Catholic education which can support children affected by various stress factors at home. 

The document, "The Catholic School Advantage", states that the academic advantage of Catholic schools is greatest for disadvantaged and minority students.  It has also been found that Black and Hispanic students in Catholic schools had greater achievement gains than comparable minority students in public schools and that socioeconomic status had a smaller effect on minority students (Hallinan & Kubitschek).  With the strides of equality (uniforms) and the focus of service, humility, and acceptance of others, it makes sense that children of minority groups are more fully supported in academic achievement because of the strong discipline and parent-teacher-student relationships than in traditional public schools.

Although we do not see poverty in Catholic Education in the traditional sense, we can witness the positive affects a Catholic education can have on children of lower incomes or in minority groups.   This education levels the playing field for all families and students, and incorporates a solid faith community in addition to strong academics. 

The strategies our Catholic schools are implementing serve children from many perspectives in addition to poverty in regards to income levels.  Other ways we can continue to combat the affects of poverty would be to include the following in Catholic education models:

• Implement a breakfast meal program
• Provide more scholarship opportunities
• Hire more teaching assistants to support growing class sizes
• Increase resources for learning disabled students
• Provide more support for ESOL students
• Provide free before and after school care
• More frequent uniform donation drives

Although Catholic schools are limited in resources public schools have, establishing a controlled school environment has shown positive affects in student growth and performance.  I invite you to check out the video below about Catholic Schools 2014!

References:

Hallinan, M. & Kubitschek, W., The Catholic Advantage. (2013). School Sector, School Poverty, and the Catholic School Advantage.  Retrieved February 3, 2014, from:  http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ914866.pdf

Jensen, J. (2009)  Teaching with Poverty in Mind.  Alexandria: ASCD.

[Student Photo] Retrieved February 3, 2014, from: http://www.worcesterdiocese.org/Portals/2/NewSkin/Catholic_Education_PageImage.jpg

[Video] Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTNdFtfJkKE&feature=youtu.be