Achievement First prides itself on its high test scores, but recent stories report that these charters are also distinguished for startlingly high suspension rates. Half the 5-year-olds were suspended last year.
Dacia Toll, the Ivy League-educated leader of the charter chain, promised to cut the suspension rate in half. Instead of suspending the kids, apparently they will get even tougher on them in school.
I have always wondered how privileged white college graduates learned to be so hard on impoverished black children. It is highly unlikely that what they do in these boot camps reflects their own home life or schooling.
Here is the drill in the AF charters that gets higher test scores:
“There is an urgency in the tenor of the classrooms at Achievement First schools; a sense that every second must be used for learning. Even on the last day of school at the Hartford middle school, a history teacher has a tightly structured lesson that students are clearly enjoying. She uses a timer to ensure that small tasks — like moving the desks into a U-shape for discussion — don’t take longer then necessary.
“The schools also have a language of their own that expedites communication and students, for the most part, respond like a precision team. A teacher at Bridgeport elementary schools tells her students to: “SLANT, fold your hands and make a bubble.” Translation: Sit up straight, listen, ask and answer questions, nod to signal engagement and track the teacher with your eyes. And the bubble? Purse your lips and fill your cheeks with air — a move that ensures quiet.
“For years, the Achievement First students in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport, have outperformed their peers on state tests in almost all grades and subjects. On a recent visit to Achievement First’s middle school in Hartford, a strict disciplinary code was evident.
“In a large lecture hall with stadium seating — the “reflection room” — two or three students who had been removed from class for behavioral reasons sit quietly under the supervision of a staff member.
“At the front of the room, the consequences of breaking the rules and the rewards of not doing so are spelled out on large posters that proclaim, “You’re not a born winner, you’re not a born loser. You’re a born chooser. Make the Right Choice!”
“And in most classrooms, two or three students wear a white shirt over their blue school uniform, signaling that they are in “re-orientation” — a disciplinary measure that permits them to stay in academic classes but forbids interaction with peers and removes them from special classes like music or physical education.”
There is something Orwellian about that “Reflection Room.” I wouldn’t let my children or grandchildren go to such a school. Would you?
A comment posted on the article by Carol Burris, the principal of South Side High School in New York:
“As a public school principal, if I engaged in such practices, I would be fired. No middle class suburban parent would put up with the systematic humiliation of their children. The “culture” is more aligned with a communist nation than our nation.
“As for the “reflection room”–that is in-school suspension and for state accounting purposes, it should be counted as such. These practices may develop compliant children controlled by fear, but they will not develop leaders who have learned self-control.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
No excuses — that was the message we principals got when our schools’ test scores arrived. Yet, when Achievement First is cited for its abusive disciplinary practices, Jeff House, principal of Hartford’s Achievement First middle school, offered this excuse: “There is a direct connection between dramatically higher achievement and the dramatically higher expectations for behavior at our school” [July 6, Page 1, “Better Behavior”].
Mr. House is wrong on two counts. First, there is no excuse for the abusive disciplinary measures. Second, Achievement First’s claims to greater achievement are flawed.
In order to compare groups of students to determine which system is doing a better job of educating students, the groups would have to be comparable. This is not he case. Using eligibility for free/reduced price lunch as a measure of poverty, there is greater poverty in Hartford Public Schools (93 percent) than in the Achievement First middle school in Hartford (68 percent). Comparisons of the numbers of second language learners, special education students, attendance and parent involvement, all correlates of achievement, show similar discrepancies.
Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor, a cofounder of Achievement First, is a Yale graduate. He and his acolytes are not stupid people. However, either they are ignorant of educational research or they are purposefully misrepresenting their achievements. Either should be unacceptable.
Margaret Rick, West Hartford
The writer is a retired elementary school teacher.
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/letters/hcrs-15667–20130708,0,4479353.story
As a retired educator with 37 years in public schools, I feel compelled to respond to “Achievement First Charter Schools: Better Behavior” [July 6, Page 1]. For six years as a volunteer reading tutor in Meriden public schools, I have noted that students are well-behaved, respectful, attentive and engaged in learning in response to the Positive Behavior Support approach. School rules or expectations are posted. Rewards are given for positive behaviors.
For several decades, educators have moved from negative responses to modifying behavior and attention in positive ways. Wearing the white shirt of re-orientation, being separated and ostracized from peers would not seem to promote positive behaviors. Having to be voted back into the peer group conjures up images of insecure feelings and possible lack of acceptance.
Punishment should not include removal from special areas: art, music and physical education, where students might excel and have a necessary opportunity to move. Timed tasks place an undue burden on students with attention difficulties.
I would be interested in the educational backgrounds of administrators and teachers at Achievement First Charter Schools. “Certified” means qualified in Connecticut’s public schools. Are they certified by accredited institutions?
Karen J. Ostby, Meriden
The writer is a retired speech/language pathologist for the Middlefield-Durham public schools.
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/letters/hcrs-15644–20130706,0,612722.story
I took a break from re-sorting the books I’m going to use this coming school year with my pre-k students to read this blog.
I became sick to my stomach thinking of the abuse these children are suffering in the name of education.
As I was looking at each book I was thinking of how I can engage my children in meaningful and authentic experiences-I was thinking about to develop and expand their inner talents and creativity.
I am thinking that the theme of my room this year will be either Metamorphoses or Evolution because I want my small students to develop an understanding that we are all a giant eco-system and we are always evolving, hopeful in better ways, and we are thinking all the time how to improve and expand ourselves.
This, to me, is such a contrast in what I read about what Achievement First is teaching. I am guessing that in a few years when many of these children become adults and someone researches what is going on with them now, we will discover that their parents were sold fool’s gold and it is probably too late to fix it.
Do we really want everyone in this country to be in lockstep with those who control the narrative?
I keep waiting for this 3rd act of the Salem witch hunts (the 2nd were the McCarthy days) to end.
I don’t know what it’s going to take short of a major revolution among teachers, parents and evolved administrators and politicians to wrench education away from a small but powerful group who would create a compliant and obedient population to work at minimum wage in their factories and businesses.
Here’s the kicker….this was the pr piece meant to REPAIR their image. They have a high attrition rate among their teachers…many TFA types….constant churn. It is a business.
Linda,
They have tunnel vision. They are living in a very insulated community and my guess is that they don’t truly understand why anyone would be upset with their policies. Once again, it’s other people’s children. I’m not sure if it’s a conscious thought but I truly believe that they don’t see children in poverty, children of color, children who do not meet their personal standards as being in the same species. I am sure on some level they see them as needing training and compliance and obedience the way one would possibility treat a house pet..well, not mine..he’s in charge. Of course their own children do not receive the same educational policies-they are special and require a different approach.
I do not have young children of my own but the children I teach are my children – they deserve better than what is being offered
Diane,
To be fair, it’s possible that children of poverty need an entirely different discipline regime than kids of more educated and middle class backgrounds. Studies of student behaviors at homes and schools point to significant (possibly crucial) differences in behaviors that lead to learning. Some social-cultural engineering is necessary. This has little to do with the takeover of public schools or the exaggerated nonsense about charter school success – the larger issues this blog space dedicates much of its energy to. Effective teachers transform their students behaviors, set up rules and systems that regulate children’s behavior, and that are easy for kids to follow, so learning can take place. That charters school have given some of these approaches funny names I think is just a way of codifying what they think works. My children go to public schools (bogus GT programs – I mention this to point that public schools also have their own nonsense going on;) ), I’ve shared a building with a KIPP school, done consulting work with charter schools, and some research on their STEM practices. I agree much of what is discussed in your blog about Charters, but there are some things we can learn from charters experiments with classroom management. I think it’s good charters are experimenting along the edges – now we need more studies, before we judge, to test their effectiveness. Maybe they do work better than the alternatives.
Dr. Maldonado,
With all due respect, I agree that children, all children need different approaches to maximize their learning capabilities. However, I don’t like the concept of what you call “social-cultural” engineering.
I have been teaching in a Title One school where almost 100% of the population is eligible for free or reduced price lunch and I can tell you that if my students were afforded some of the programs that I see in other schools, there would be fewer behavior issues. Children act out when the curriculum is not relevant to their lives and/or their understanding. Behavior problems exist in all schools; poverty and affluent. The affluent schools often have more resources to support those children.
Children are being told “this is the only way” They are learning to be obedient and most likely consumers rather than innovators.
Shaming, ostracizing and humiliating children isn’t an effective strategy no matter how little money their parents have, what language they speak and no matter what color their skin is. They are human beings.
AF knows no better because they are not educators nor do they understand child development.
It is a business first and foremost.
I wholeheartedly agree with Linda. Shaming and punitive measures only creates resentment and fear. It doesn’t lead to character traits that we want to develop in students. They will only come to hate school and learning.
Here’s is my story:
http://phameducation.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-power-of-caring.html
I didn’t know a person could get a doctorate in Closet Bigotry. Which university awards degrees in that program?
“Some social-cultural engineering is necessary.”
Wow! I hope you’re not affiliated with any public school system.
“Re-orientation” shirts and “reflection rooms” smack of the “re-education” camps of communist China and other totalitarian regimes, which were used to punish and destroy any challenge to government authority.
While clearly not as brutal, methods that force kids to suppress their impulses in favor of prefabricated behavioral responses teach them nothing but obedience to authority and/or group-think.
I truly don’t understand how anyone interested in educating and fostering intellectual, social, and emotional learning could promote or engage in such practices.
“Re-orientation” shirts and “reflection rooms” smack of the “re-education” camps of communist China and other totalitarian regimes, which were used to punish and destroy any challenge to government authority.
While clearly not as brutal, methods that force kids to suppress their impulses in favor of prefabricated behavioral responses teach them nothing but obedience to authority and/or group-think.
I truly don’t understand how anyone interested in educating and fostering intellectual, social, and emotional learning could promote or engage in such practices.
Jessica King
Writer/Filmmaker/Educator
Here is what I commented on the Courant article:
What stands out the most to me as a teacher, is that there are extra adults in the classroom. The teacher doesn’t stop her lesson when there are distractions, because there is someone else there to figure out what is going on and help the disruptive students–clearly in this case, not kids being “bad,” but kids needing attention. One teacher is even able to leave the room with just one student to help him calm down.
I have taught in classes where I was on my own, and where I had an aide (or was an aide), and I have seen classes co-taught by a content teacher and a special ed teacher. Having more than one adult in the room is the way to go if you want safe, productive classrooms where children’s needs are met and the focus stays on learning. But as each year brings a new budget cut for many school systems, this is often one of the first “luxuries” to go. Instead teachers are asked to preside over larger classes, where students have increasing mental health and emotional needs, with rare availability of aides and co-teachers. And if you are lucky enough to have access to behavior specialists or mental health support, they are almost definitely dividing their time among several schools in the region.
Originally charter schools were going to try new things so that public schools could use the methods that worked. But now it seems like charter schools’ best ideas are the same methods public schools would use if they had the personnel (oh, and also mind-boggling suspension rates and bizarre exclusion/redemption rituals, which the charters can keep, thanks).
One of the children profiled in the linked article was punished for reading his own book after finishing assigned work. Shouldn’t a student be praised for choosing to read in free time? Was he just supposed to sit at his desk and do nothing? The above commenters are right, these children are being treated as if they are not fully human. I can’t believe any person would treat a child this way. It is criminal that this nonsense is being paid for with our tax dollars.
I know right? Talk about an authoritarian school culture that suppresses creativity, innovation, and independent thought in students. They seek to create perfect little robots.
Who was it that said creativity is always messy?
OMG! Repressive, fascist, and plain mean! How can parents put their children in this kind of environment is beyond me.
Children are not Pavlov’s dog.
Yvonne,
The parents are not heartless. They want the best for their children. AF has very slick brochures and a great sales pitch. Some of the parents are unsophisticated and some have had similar educations in other countries. They fall for the hype. It’s very sad.
This is not just unethical, it is immoral. I wonder how many suspensions take place just before the test. And when will they ever realize that the test is not an indicator of academic achievement. Real learning takes a completely different mind set than winning on a test.
As per Bob Dillon, “When will they ever learn”
I’d say this goes beyond “socio-cultural” engineering.
This is practically legalized child abuse. As a public school teacher, if I said a harsh word to a student, I’d be verbally abusing that child.
We may not use harsh language in this case, but, the end result is the same. The intent is to break down the child’s worth so that they will cave to the demands of adults who will direct them how to learn what it is they teach rather than exploring different avenues of engagement.
In public schools, we’re told to differentiate instruction (not that, that’s in all intellectual honesty the only solution) – but – this effectively says, we will offer a variety of ways to engage, if they don’t meet you, we’ll punish you until you choose one that does and some ways are just completely off limits.
I appreciate behavior plans and monitoring student growth etc. – but – at the end of the day, your solution is to devalue that child’s self worth to get them to comply, it’s abusive regardless if they do not hit or speak a harsh word to that child.
This school’s approach sounds like it creates behavior problems where none exist. It’s one thing to punish (or suspend) a kid for disturbed behaviors, such as physical aggression, maniacal outbursts, or throwing furniture. It’s quite another to penalize wiggling, head-turning, eye rolling, personal reading, or (as my first graders do), spontaneous yoga positions after about 20 minutes on the carpet and sudden outbursts of group singing.
Reading about these so-called no-excuses schools, it really seems the people running them truly don’t know what they do not know. They think real human children can be coerced into total Zen-like self-control. Of course anyone who understands kids, raises kids, or has really worked with them over time knows that any of these types of control methods yield diminishing returns. Of course trying to maintain them would result in a 50% suspension rate!
Large groups of human children are like a roiling, busy, noisy, messy amoeba. The sooner a teacher can accept that simple paradigm, and work within its reality, the sooner s/he can get to the business of learning.
The fact that there is such a huge turnover of new teachers is proof many of them must think they can achieve Borg culture within their students (SES notwithstanding), and then become utterly defeated when they realize it is impossible to maintain such control of human children. Never mind how exhausting it would be to teach/manage minute by minute in such an unyielding manner.
And lest we think it’s only middle-class suburban parents who would object to this form of discipline, it’s apparently working class parents who filed this complaint, forcing this school to amend it’s ways. The school serves a low-income population, but judging by the article, plenty of the parents were not happy with the discipline policies. These disciplinary measures have long been out of favor in the public schools. Why do charter entrepreneurs think they can apply them without consequence?
And is it any wonder that as our political/economic system abandons its inner cities, guts its social contracts, and allows its wealth to concentrate ever upward and away from the great majority, that this type of mind-control schooling would spread?
I have taught in Title I schools for my entire career, going on 16 years now. It took time to learn how to engage students who come to school with deep-seated issues revolving around poverty, hunger, untreated illness and medical problems such as aching teeth or lack of glasses, and mental health issues.
Early in my career I was advised to use the punish and control methodology and, like Michelle Rhee, to “never smile before Christmas”. I was deeply unhappy with the results I got and with the toll it took on my own emotional and mental health. I had many days when I was hoarse from raising my voice, exhausted and frustrated, and often went home and cried in despair. I was not satisfied that I was doing what’s right or best for the children or with the way my classroom was managed. There had to be a better way if I could just find it and learn it.
After spending years searching for an answer (and a small fortune in books, videos, professional development classes, etc.) and trying many different methods, I found a system that worked incredibly well for me.
Conscious Discipline is the work of Dr. Becky Bailey, a former teacher and internationally recognized expert in behavioral psychology:
http://consciousdiscipline.com
Dr. Bailey’s work arises from the latest brain research and is based upon the theory that children who lack self-regulation skills provide parents and teachers an opportunity to teach those children vital life skills rather than focus on the adults own anger, feelings of inadequacy, desire for revenge, punishment, and control, and that results in repetition of the same unacceptable behaviors.
Just a few of Dr. Bailey’s key points that I have found to be solid and helpful:
No one can make you angry without your permission.
We are all in this together.
The moment is as it is.
What we focus on, we get more of.
The only person you can make change is yourself.
See the best in others.
Mistakes are opportunities to learn.
The method is positive, assertive, effective, and teaches children the words and actions they need to use to deal with their feelings and reactions through choice and self-awareness and self-regulation. It is simple to learn, simple to implement, and helps create classrooms that are humming with learning and positive attitudes.
I have used this methodology quite successfully for the last 7 years. My principals have repeatedly asked me to take the “difficult” kids each year because they believe that I work well with them using this method.
Without having been present in the classrooms of the Achievement First schools, I can make educated guesses about the high number of suspensions and punitive punishment because I have seen it and lived it for over 15 years.
I would guess that the teachers in these situations give the children little choice in their learning. The children are left with no recourse but to enter into their “fight or flight” mode when confronted with a learning activity that they are unable to understand or complete. They are humiliated, afraid, frustrated, and unable to use their frontal lobe to think through their dilemma because they’ve never learned how to do that, like their middle class peers have. The children are most likely expected to sit and receive information with prescribed ways of responding to that information. The teachers are new and inexperienced and take everything the children say or do personally and tend to overreact and seek revenge and punishment for being “disrespected”. The focus is on control and a very limited range of acceptable responses and reactions. I’m sure that at least some of these conditions contribute to the unacceptably high rate of suspensions at these schools.
My principals and my colleagues are always amazed that after the first month of school my students, the “problem behavior” kids, are able to work independently and quietly while I provide one-on-one or small group instruction. My children take responsibility for what they say and do and accept that they need to make restitution for any wrongs they commit. They become problem solvers and work with me to create a self-regulating classroom community that is fair to all and a pleasant place to learn. Academic achievement is high and motivation is even higher.
None of this comes quickly or easily. It requires weeks of teaching and reteaching at the beginning of the year and reinforcement throughout the year. I work with parents to gain their support and I have many letters of thanks from parents who have begun to implement the method in their own homes.
This only works if you truly believe that all children can learn to self-regulate, that they are responsible for their choices, and that the goal is to help them do always strive to do better. It takes a deep commitment on my part to maintain control of myself and to use the techniques regularly and with fairness. I must teach my students how to self-regulate and we practice, practice, practice until it is second nature to them. My lessons must be interesting, engaging, appropriate, and give the students meaningful choices. In other words I have to show that I care for and respect my students and then hold them accountable for respecting and caring for each other and their learning. They are equally important stakeholders whose voices are listened to, respected, and heard and they have a part in developing the classroom community.
Sorry this is so long but I feel very passionate about positive classroom management and respecting kids. I vehemently disagree that poor children of color need a different form of punitive, controlling discipline in order to learn. I disprove that theory every year I teach. If you are a teacher or a parent who is struggling with discipline and behavioral issues I urge you to check out Dr. Bailey’s program. She has videos on the website that might well change your life. It certainly did mine. I hope that the Achievement First schools will consider a change in their methods as well.
In school suspension is not usually called in school suspension anymore. Schools call it something else so they lower the suspension rates on paper. Regular public schools have been forced to do the same thing.
Nothing is called what it really is these days. Schools need to be bastions of honesty but have unfortunately been degraded by cheap salesmanship and Orwellian junk English.
Our approach to discipline is just one facet of the structure offered by Achievement First’s 25 non-profit, college-preparatory public charter schools. This structure provides students with a consistent, safe and productive environment in which they can reach their full academic potential. Our system of consequences, which include demerits, acts as a deterrent to making poor choices. Each week, students who make good choices—displaying traits that will help them achieve future success—far outnumber their peers who are not making the right decisions.
While the structure we provide may be more robust than that at other public schools, so is the caring, nurturing environment we foster. We consistently recognize and reward good decisions with merits, assemblies, public shout-outs and messages on our bulletin boards. Students who display good citizenship, grit and leadership are frequently celebrated and publicly recognized by their classmates and teachers. High school students who have shown responsibility, maturity and academic excellence earn access to college-ready lounges, rooms that are equipped with games, foosball tables, and televisions.The message is clear: good decisions are rewarded with accolades and opportunity. Our frequent opportunities to celebrate academic and character growth are only possible because of the structure offered at Achievement First, a structure built on both discipline and joy.
Achievement First also recognizes that there were an unacceptable number of suspensions at some of our schools last year and we are working hard to address this important issue. At Achievement First, we are constantly reflecting on and refining our policies in partnership with our parents, and we remain dedicated to a culture of high expectations and a college-preparatory environment as part of our promise to families. Despite reaching an unacceptable level of suspensions, we are proud of the outstanding student achievement that has resulted from our overall approach. On the 2012 fourth-grade Connecticut Mastery Test, AF Hartford Academy Elementary students outperformed their peers in Hartford by 37 percentage points at or above goal in an average of math, reading and writing, and their statewide peers by 5 percentage points at or above goal in an average of math, reading and writing.
AF Hartford Academy Elementary parents are very satisfied with the education their children are receiving. Despite the unacceptable number of suspensions, few AF Hartford Academy Elementary students leave the school for “unacceptable” reasons such as concerns with instruction or culture. In the 2011-12 school year, 3 percent of students left the school for unacceptable reasons. On the 2012 Achievement First Parent Survey, 92 percent of AF Hartford Academy Elementary parents agreed, “I would recommend this school for parents of other students in the city.” Similarly, 99 percent of AF Hartford Academy Elementary parents agreed, “The school has very high academic standards and a rigorous curriculum.”
Is anyone aware of any studies on how these charter students perform AFTER high school? We hear about how much “better” these schools perform, but I believe the true evidence thereof would involve students’ performance in college.
Claiming higher test scores and 90% college acceptance is not enough. What colleges are these students gaining acceptance? Harvard type schools? UCLA/UC Berkeley or University of Michigan level public schools? Lessor known schools with high acceptance rates or community colleges? Of course, going to a college that meets your skill level is great, but if the charters are that much better, then we should expect to see more of their graduates in higher level colleges, right?
How many of those students need remediation in college? How many graduate in four years?
Is it too early in the game to have access to such research, or is something available?
Amistad, a charter high school in CT, also created by Dacia Toll/Stefan Pryor and managed by AF claims 100% of their students get accepted into college, but they don’t tell you that that is a requirement to graduate. And if you don’t get accepted, you repeat the senior year. Also, they also lose 50% of the students back to public school between entry and12th grade.
Any community college will accept any HS grad, so in Dallas the charter kids fill out an enrollment form for the local CCs. Then the charters tout “100% college acceptance.” As if we’re stupid…
And there’s no way a test score indicates college readiness. In fact, because the tests are so unreliable (in Texas the scores required to pass gets lowered in election years), the tests give poor parents and kids a false sense of security about their readiness.
Also in Texas, our top state colleges offer automatic admission to any kid who finishes in the top 8% of his/her class. A huge number of the kids from uncompetitive urban schools who get admitted drop out by Christmas break once in college because they cannot do the work, regardless of how good their state test scores were in high school.
The test scores mean nothing. Being top of the crop in a dysfunctional urban high school where test scores rule means nothing.
I am a parent who had my children in an AF school that destroyed their self esteem. Some asked why would parents put their child in such an institution. Well, I live in a failing school district, our public school choices are dreadful: no science labs, art or music classes and failing test scores so AF gave us hope. They were a new school, the only info I found was a boastful academic track record. At orienation I was greeted by warm instructors that promised College for all students. They spoke of instructors and parents becoming one family and team. So, kindergarten – 2nd grade was great but once my children hit 3rd grade the rules changed. Why? Well this is the time when my children want to voice their own opinions and they were starting more meaningful friendships with their peers but AF desired complete control so they implemented Reset Rms, detention, firmer behavior modification charting, suspensions, exclusion from the arts and resess for simple ‘bad’ choices like picking up your pencil once it dropped on the floor. AF’s goal was and is to break your child to conform to all their rules and standards and if your child is a natural born leader and doesn’t cave in while silently crying then they are targeted DAILY. As I voiced my concerns my children were targeted even more. I was involved with the school PTA, had numerous meetings with the principal, voiced concerns at AF board meetings but no change was made. So, I took my children out and homeschooled but many other parents do not have this option and they stay, but not for long. Once their children complete the 5th grade and are able to choose a junior high school out of their district they flee AF with no regrets, check the retention rates. Jounalist and bloggers please continue to expose the truth…Parents and education reformers need to know what is really going on to OUR children!!!!
As an elementary music specialist, I would be horrified if students were kept out of my classroom because of their behavior in other rooms. Certainly there are always exceptions. (I currently have one student with such violent behavior outbursts that she remains in her self contained class for most of the day… we have tried integrating her and it was not successful, yet.) However, as a general rule, children who act up in academic classes, often find success in music, P.E., or art.
Our education system is currently a deficit based system where we obsess over a child’s weakness and over look the talents hiding beneath the surface. What motivates a child to want to learn is success. If a child is not finding success in math, it is our job to make sure we know where that child can find success, celebrate that success and work to improve the math skills in a way that does not frustrate the child.
The key question should be, why are the children having “behavioral issues.” With such strict guidelines, it seems that these children are misbehaving because they are being KIDS! Or, better yet, they are being HUMANS! We are social beings. When was the last time a group of adult learners sat down in a group and sat perfectly quiet, “SLANT” for a prolonged amount of time? Most adults can’t do that… I know most teachers can’t! (You should hear teachers during a professional development presentation!) The reflection room can be a positive behavioral intervention if the facilitator is well trained and really works on helping the child reflect on the situation and problem solve.
Perhaps what needs to change is our expectations for what is and what is not acceptable behavior. I run a very respectful classroom. I have very high expectations for my little musicians. But I also know that my students need to move, need to talk to each other and need to have a chance to discover learning on their own.
I could never teach in an environment that places a dunce cap, I’m sorry a “reorientation t-shirt” on a student who is struggling.
::applause::
Encore! Encore!
Check out the latest edushyster: other people’s children and learn how to slant, a video is included to speed up the learning process.
SLANT
Suburban parents are likely unfamiliar with SLANT, the KIPP-informed mantra that shapes “no excuses” teaching. The behavior management technique instructs students to sit up, listen, ask questions, nod and track the teacher. Younger students, who tend to be naturally disruptive, may also be instructed to fold their hands or “make a bubble,” pursing their lips and filling their cheeks with air so as to keep them from talking.
http://edushyster.com/?p=2907
All of the abuse these kids serves one purpose: getting test scores up so the charter can wave them as their flag of “success.”
The young teachers know no better; they probably honestly believe that a barely passing score on a 5th grade reading test means that they have changed a child’s life. They don’t stay around long enough to see that within 2 years, the child cannot remember any of the facts he/she “learned.”
Meanwhile, the rich and powerful don’t even consider public schools; their kids go to private schools where they play, absorb, experience and grow.
Parents don’t care about test scores, they care about their children. We must do a better job of showing poor parents what kids in private schools are getting; we must do a better job of explaining to parents that their child’s passing score on a state test means nothing in the big scheme of things.
I worked at an AF school. The abuses I saw were heart-wrenching. I stayed to try to turn the system (or at least my school) around, but was ignored. Ultimately, I was so sickened and angry I resigned. Students are abused by policies that don’t recognize their humanity or individuality. The “one-size fits all” discipline policies mean that even a student with ADHD will be suspended for fidgeting. One principal, David Hardy, gave a 30 day out of school suspension to a 5th grader with Tourette’s Syndrome. The child’s misdeed? Calling out of turn. Naturally, this is illegal. A child shouldn’t be punished for behaviors that are symptomatic of his/her diagnosed condition. Of course, this was done because that child didn’t score well on standardized tests; discipline was far more lenient for high scoring children.
Teachers were harassed and abused as well. Most of them were well-intentioned but completely clueless. They were easily brainwashed — especially after working 14-16 hour days and then being guilted into “Saturday Bonding Sessions” with staff. It was cult-like. If you wanted your own life and friends outside of the other staff members, administration tried to demonize you. The school had a real culture of fear and blame. If you disagreed with upper management, you were fired.
I think the root of the problem is that upper management have never really taught for any substantial length of time. They have no idea what real teaching looks like. It doesn’t look like a room of silent robots, like they want to see. Real learning can be noisy, and messy, and veers from a “script”. I actually think they mean well, but are SO insular and close-minded that they never interact with real educators outside the charter/TFA world.
I believe they are more focused on proving that there Charter System works. Rather than admit, it has many social flaws. The children walk around on egg shells, for fear of getting disciplined for a minor infraction, and that creates a type of anxiety that’s not helpful in youth development.
as parents of two black young men educated in the public school system, we spent the majority of the 4 years of high school fighting the disciplinary system at our sons school. students there were put in “in house” suspensions for the smallest of infractions (a forgotten ID). while students served in house suspension sentences, they were removed from the classroom and not able to participate in lessons taught. during one of these times our son was out of the classroom, i contacted the school to have them prepare for me to pick up, class assignments so he could work on them while he was in house suspension. i requested this information twice a day for 3 days, went to the school in person to request it, and the packet was never prepared. so that was 3 days out of class and he missed out on learning. which affected his test scores because he wasnt there to get taught on what he was tested for.
i am in agreement with AF discipline method of the white shirts. at least, the students are still being educated. whats the difference, ostracizing them in the classroom or ostracizing them out of the class by putting them in a whole separate part of the building?