Our regular reader and contributor Laura H. Chapman researched No Nonsense Nurturing pedagogy and shares what she found:
“Here are some noteworthy facts about the Lawrence MA school district as of the 2014-2015 school year, where the No-Nonsense-Nurture program and methodology from the Center for Transformative Teacher Training is being used to control teacher and student performance in the service of raising test scores and graduation rates.
“LPS serves roughly 13,900 students and their families. The demographic breakdown is as follows:
“Race/Ethnicity:
1.5% African American
1.6% Asian
91.3% Hispanic
5.2% White
0.4% Multi-racial, Non-Hispanic
“English Language Learners:
70.0% First language not English
29.9% English Language Learners (ELLs)
“Special Education:
16.9% Students with Disabilities
“Low Income:
88.9% Qualify for free lunch
3.5% Qualify for reduced-price lunch
91.3% Total low-income
“So in Lawrence, MA this is a program of choice for poor Hispanic kids, many still learning English.
“The current marketers of NNN is CTTT or C3T short for the Center for Transformative Teacher Training. The website lists as CLIENTS a curious list of large metro school districts, many charter franchise schools, TFA and really weird—the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as a CLIENT. Here is the sales pitch information:
“Our work has had a transformative impact on educators from a wide range of school districts, CMO’s, and educational organizations, including:
Achievement First Achievement School District
Alain Locke Project
Apple Academy Public Charter Schools
Aspire Public Schools
Academy for Urban School Leadership- Chicago
Beecher Community School District
Center City Public Charter Schools
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Chicago International Charters Cleveland Metropolitan School District
DC Bilingual Charter School
Denver Public Schools
Alice Deal Middle School
Friendship Public Schools
KIPP Schools
Leadership Public Schools
Lighthouse Potomac Charter School
MATCH Schools
Mastery Schools
NewSchools Venture Fund
New Schools for New Orleans
New Teacher Center
Princeton City Schools
Rocketship Public Schools
Roosevelt School District San Francisco Unified School District
St. Hope Leadership Academy
Success Academy Charter Schools
Syracuse City Schools
Teach for America
Uncommon Schools
Urban Teacher Center
Winton Woods Schools
“Also listed as clients with logos attached are :The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Selby County Schools, District of Columbia Public Schools
“So, Bill and Melinda Gates are CLIENTS?
“I snooped around on the Internet. The general method of Assertive Discipline has been around since 1976 marketed by Lee Canter and Associates (Lee is one of the originators). That work was purchased by Sylvan in 1998 and resurrected in 2009 as CTT with NNN as one of the products. The co-founders, include Lee Canter and Kristyn Klei Borrero, who completed an ED.D in 2008 (educational administration). Prior to that Kristyn was CEO of Aspire charter schools, and key leader in developing the Reading Partner’s program with community volunteers paired with students. Her bio says she received a $60 million grant from the Gates Foundation but what that was for is not clear.
“The website has a brief on “research.” It cites one study of NNN arranged by New Schools Venture Fund. The claim is that NNN was implemented in grades 3-12, with “urban students, 99.1% African Americans, 83% qualified for free/reduce priced lunches.
“Result: “reduced off task behavior up to 55%.” This not a peer reviewed study. I have requested a copy of the study per the website invitation.
“I have concluded that the promoters of this program think that “urban” schools should function as boot camps where strict compliance with rules is job one, along with on-task and on-time compliance with assigned tasks. The school has one major purpose–transmitting text-based knowledge with teachers functioning as task-masters.
“The program assumes that teachers are incompetent, even if well-intentioned. Precisely because teachers are most likely to be white, female, from suburban and privileged backgrounds, they need to learn how to treat students who attend schools in urban settings where self-discipline is in short supply, and students must be told what to do, when, how, and so on.
“The stereotyping is thick and deep. The “nurture” in this program is designed to make critical and independent thinking unlikely. It is perfect prep for troop training. The teacher training program is bizarre but attractive to TFA amateurs.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
After reading this, I can’t help but ask, “Is this not racism?” It seems that a number of programs dehumanize minority children. http://badassteachers.blogspot.com/2015/07/washington-tribal-leaders-speak-out-on_27.html
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Add this to the conversation. http://theeducatorsroom.com/2015/07/white-educators-recognize-state-trooper-encinia/
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In my view, it is definitely racism. “Urban student”? That’s just a way to hide the real motivations. I can’t imagine that this sort of training will prepare the students for college.
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If such massively controlling programs did prepare students for college, then the Success Academy students who’ve been scoring high on standardized tests probably would not have been rejected by NYC’s selective enrollment high schools. The indicators are that this kind of program is much more likely to prepare students to become compliant, exploited, low-wage workers.
If you want to encourage children to be critical thinkers and creative problem solvers, you encourage divergent thinking, but this keeps kids in a box where only conformity is valued and straying outside the box is punished.
It absolutely is racism and they know it. The video previously contained a clip of a young Asian teacher talking about how she learned in the training that strategies with middle income kids won’t work with low income students –and in urban education where this is implemented, poor kids are typically children of color– but they edited her out of the current version of the video…
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One of DC’s best middle schools: Alice Deal!? I find that hard to believe…but I’ll sleuth around.
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It’s a disservice to ELLs to frequently model English using telegraphic speech, where just short commands or brief phrases are used, when we want those students to learn how to speak in complete sentences. They are trying to apply a technique they found effective in controlling poor African American inner city kids (at least those who managed to survive the hell weeks of indoctrination) to poor Hispanic children, but one size never fits all.
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I totally agree, Teacher Ed. I found that Latino students were amenable to a humanistic approach with instruction from a certified ESL teacher. They also benefited from attending an integrated middle class school that was safe, clean and well resourced. They didn’t need to be non-nurtured.
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“Race/Ethnicity:
1.5% African American
1.6% Asian
91.3% Hispanic*
5.2% White
0.4% Multi-racial, Non-Hispanic
*I can already hear the reggaeton tune titled
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“No Nos Niega”
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These data are waaaay off.
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/enrollmentbyracegender.aspx
Scroll down to Lowell.
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It’s for Lawrence
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This is an Indiana bill that is supposedly about reducing school suspensions. Look what they inserted after the first sentence on reducing school suspensions:
” Provides that a consolidated school corporation shall offer to transfer property to the township from which the consolidated school corporation received the property for any purpose if the property is no longer needed by the school corporation. (Current law requires the transferred property to be used for park and recreation purposes.) ”
It’s another charter school expansion bill covered up by promoting it as a effort to reduce student suspensions.
These adults must be monitored every moment. You can’t trust them as far as you can throw them. Every single thing they do boils down to converting public property to private title.
https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/house/1635#digest-heading
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I’m not an educator. I’m a parent. This goes against everything I learned about language acquisition for my own children. Expecting English Language Learners to acquire language by short commands is absolutely nonsensical.
I’m also deeply concerned about these approaches that ignore the interpersonal relationship that develops between teacher and student. I understand that companies can profit if they can reduce learning to plugging in, but that’s just not what goes on in real classrooms.
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Karen- Your instincts is validated by research. According to Jim Cummins, a researcher in second language acquisition, it takes about five to seven years for ELLs to function in English to the point where they can comprehend cognitive academic language. The rules about testing this population are based on politics rather than what is equitable for these students.http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/bics_calp.php
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Sorry= instincts are (using my phone)
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My first reaction from reading the comments that this seems like a way to give commands to a dog, but then I clicked on the link and Ms. Chapman’s right, you don’t even speak to a dog in this manner.
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Don’t know whether this helps, but consider this from a Pre-K/ K foreign-language enrichment teacher:
“Orders” are the beginning level of for-lang teaching, for 2.5 y.o., a la Asher: “Siéntense. Levántense. Anden. Paren. Den la vuelta. Anden. Siéntense. (Sit down. Stand up. Go. Stop. Turn around. Go. Sit down.”)
But at the very same level we are working personal buy-in: not just “¿Cómo te llámas?” (What’s your name) But “¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) — Estoy contento/ triste/ enojado/ emocionado (I’m happy/ sad/ angry/ excited)– y “¿Por qué?” (Why?)
When working with native English speakers, as I am this summer, I find that their parents are a step ahead of me, and often know in advance the Spanish color-words. But it is those with hispano-hablante parents who advance the class. Using a mamá-bebé puzzle-game, I was working the phrase, “quiero el bebé.” (Quiero el bebé– Aquí está el bebé, gracias, etc) [I want the baby, here is the baby, thanks, etc). My half-hispano-hablante student immediately piped up, “¿dónde esfá el bebé?” (Where is the baby?) — and moved the class up a notch.
As always, the teacher must move up, tweak the lesson to keep apace with the students. Regardless of top-down-dictated curriculum.
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Having tried Lee Canter as a teacher new to Los Angeles in1978, I would say it failed me. It gave me a hook on which to hang my hat the first couple of weeks, but after that I developed relationships with my classes. Once you have the respect of the class, you can direct attention.
Knowing the students is key. Treat them as individuals with particular customs and negotiate the relationship. Teachers have to move among multiple ethnic, religious, and cultural groups even when the individuals share a common identity such as African-American.
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Lee Canter’s wife, Marlene, was on the LAUSD school board and never saw a charter she didn’t like. The Canters cashed in big time when LAUSD bought into their classroom management program. They sold their program to Walden (University).
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One of the smoking guns that exposes the true nature of ed. deform.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
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