Bruce Baker here tells the story of New Jersey’s most awesome charter school. This is the one that beats the odds. This is the one where everyone passes the tests. This school is driven by data, and the teachers teach like champions. This is the one with a 100% graduation rate.
The school–North Star Academy–is so awesome that it will soon open its own teacher training institution, to create more awesome teachers.
He writes:
Built on the foundation of awesomeness established by THE North Star Academy, since teachers are the undisputed most important in school factor determining student outcomes, the awesomeness of North Star could be attributed primarily to the quality of the teachers and innovative practices they used in their data driven classrooms!
Thus, by extension, we must establish new institutions of teacher preparation whereby these truly exceptional teachers (of 3 to 5 years experience) not only are provided the opportunity to share their expertise on a personal collaborative level with their own colleagues, but rather, we should let these teachers be the instructors in a new graduate school of education (regardless of academic qualifications) and we should actually let them grant graduate degrees in education to their own colleagues.
This new approach of letting teachers in a school grant graduate degrees to their own work colleagues (and those in other network schools) could lead to rapid diffusion of excellence and would most certainly negate the corrupt perverse incentives pervasive throughout the current, adult oriented self-interested American higher education system! Disruptive innovation indeed!
This is happening in other states as well, where Match Academy and Relay Graduate School of Education are creating teacher training institutions to replicate their excellence without involving scholars or others with advanced degrees who have any knowledge of cognition or pedagogy. If the scores are there, what else is needed!
But Baker finds the underside of the miracle story. North Star has few children with disabilities, and almost none with serious disabilities. More important, North Star has a staggeringly large attrition rate: Year after year, only about half the fifth graders made it to the end of senior year.
He writes:
Could a school really be awesome if only the fewer than half who remain (or 20% of black boys who remain) pass the test? Might it matter at least equally as much what happened to the the other half who left?
Was it perhaps possible that the “no excuses” strategies endorsed as best practices both in their school andin their training of each other really weren’t working so well…and weren’t the strategies of true teaching champions… but rather created a hostile and oppressive environment causing their high attrition rate? Well… one really can say this one way or the other…
Regardless of the cause, what possibly could such a school share with those traditional supposedly failing public schools who lacked similar ability to send the majority of their children packing? Further, what possibly could the rather novice teachers in this school charged with granting their own co-workers graduate credentials share with experienced researchers and university faculty training the larger public school teacher workforce?
So is this the secret of success? Suspend the difficult kids, kick out those who have low scores, and claim credit for those who survive the regimen? Some miracle.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Silly Pups are trying to re-invent tradition. Inventing tradition is as follows:
“by RODOLFO ACUÑA
British historian EJ Hobsbawm died just over a year ago. His works had a tremendous impact on my generation of progressive historians. He would take a theme and deconstruct it by using meticulous logic and documentation. Hobsbawm never suffocated his narrative with obtuse theory or meta-language.
One of my favorites was a thin anthology that he co-edited with Terence Ranger titled The Invention of Tradition. In his introductory essay, Hobsbawm defined the invention of tradition as “a set of practices … of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past.” The invented traditions had a purpose, and gave a continuity of varied accuracy that formed a largely fictitious history.
Other historians have tied this invention of tradition to state building endeavors. William H. Beezley in Mexican National Identity: Memory, Innuendo, and Popular Culture sees identity as fashioned “in the streets”; however, there are others who say that very few holidays come from the people, tying the process to state building.
Essentially, the state builds a historical narrative that gives its citizens a sense of unity. Holidays are designed to give legitimacy to the accepted version of history that not does always conform to the Truth. It is a process that builds a “national culture.”
Deviation from this narrative disturbs people and even offends them. My sister would not invite me to social gatherings during the Vietnam War because I would bring up topics such as racism, police brutality and the Vietnam War. I was told that I was a party pooper, and would lay intellectual pedos (farts)—forcing people to move away.
Hobsbawm was like Rene Descartes who in the 17th century began his journey by questioning scholasticism, and paved the way for historical materialism. It was and is not easy to correct traditional narratives. Like toddlers people want to hear stories told the way they first learned them. There are people who still cling to the story of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree, for instance.
The months of October and November are replete with fictitious versions of history. During these to months, the state allocates holidays for Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. These official narratives become the Truth. Teachers teach students fictitious narratives, and in turn the public is grateful for the gift of a holiday.
By far the “the king of the holidays” is Thanksgiving. The narrative has been burned into our consciousness to the point that few Americans question the facts because no one wants to lay the proverbial intellectual pedo.
Almost everyone is grateful for the day off. Merchants love Thanksgiving. It is the perfect opening act for Christmas.
The ritual of sitting down with the family to eat cheap turkey, chucked full of hormones, has been immortalized by Norman Rockwell. It is a day when you eat cheap turkeys and hams and everyone can pig out.
Not much thought is given to the truth of the narrative. Kids just want their four day relief from school, and parents are smug in the belief that the colonist and the Indians lived in peace. The only ones that care about changing the narrative are Native Americans who call it a National Day of Mourning.
I call Thanksgiving “El Día de los Pendejos” (The Day of the Fools). I tell my students to enjoy making graveyards out of their stomachs that they fill with the flesh of turkeys that have been held prisoners in small dirty cages.
Why do I call the Indians fools? Because they should have let the Pilgrims starve.
Few people know that the tradition of Thanksgiving was invented during the Civil war by President Abraham Lincoln in October 1863 when he proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday. Thereafter, the myth of the Pilgrims and the Indians was constructed.
The story is known by almost every American. For twelve years, from K-12, they learn the story of that in the early autumn of 1621 fifty-three surviving Pilgrims celebrated a successful harvest. The natives joined the celebration and instead of attacking the Pilgrims they made peace.
The Indians were thanked: their land was stolen from them, they were massacred, and many lived out their lives in slavery. The consequence is that less than one percent of Americans have Native American blood, contrasted to 90 percent of Mexican Americans with indigenous blood.
It is difficult to change the narrative because most Americans love their myths, and they love their cheap turkey. They want to believe the lie that makes them feel exceptional.
There is little doubt that invented tradition strengthens nationalism. The elites are legitimized by the invented traditions, and in turn they invent other traditions. This phenomenon is not exclusive to the United States where it permeates political views and historical narratives.
No doubt that Thanksgiving happened. However, the narrative is not vetted, and it introduces a new set of dynamics. It affects our decision-making, and often clouds what is true and what is fiction.
When the French peasantry was starving in the 18th century because they could not afford bread, it caused widespread discontent. The myth was born that French Queen Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.” It inflamed the masses – beautiful story but it wasn’t true.
Traditional narratives are good and bad, and are difficult to correct. As Napoleon once said, history is the tale of the victor. Today the narrative belongs to the state and those who control the state.
The truth be told, Thanksgiving hides the reality of the soup kitchens. The corporate owned media show charitable groups passing out free traditional Turkey Dinners to the poor when the reality is that many have been deprived of jobs, food stamps, and their children have been robbed of free nutritious lunches. Greater numbers are homeless. Yet the Thanksgiving narrative shows us as a compassionate people – one big happy family.
The myth of the grateful Pilgrims permeates this narrative. In many ways, we are like the Indians who were robbed and killed after sharing our labor.
The invented tradition of Thanksgiving is so much part of the American narrative that many people go into depression if they cannot celebrate it with family and friends. Psychologists say that it is the worse time of the year to be alone; loneliness causes a social anxiety disorder (SAD).
Thanksgiving is the ultimate example of social control, and the invented reality that Americans like the pilgrims were justified in stealing the land and killing the people.
Our lives become one big Thanksgiving for being an American. The Sierra Club reports “that the average American will drain as many resources as 35 natives of India and consume 53 times more goods and services than someone from China … With less than 5 percent of world population, the U.S. uses one-third of the world’s paper, a quarter of the world’s oil, 23 percent of the coal, 27 percent of the aluminum, and 19 percent of the copper.”
There is a similar gap between the poor and the 1 percent in America. The fictitious history alleviates our guilt, and we forget the reasons why some people are in food lines, and others are eating cheap hormone infected birds, while a few eat organic turkey.
Not knowing, not questioning makes this El Día de los Pendejos. We are fools because we don’t question the narrative. It is why we keep repeating injustices.
So now pass me the gravy.”
RODOLFO ACUÑA, a professor emeritus at California State University Northridge, has published 20 books and over 200 public and scholarly articles.
I suppose you want us to thank the good Professor for setting us straight on traditions? I see traditions bringing joy to a people desperate for a cultural connection, not just with their own families, but with their communities and country.
The details of “The First Thanksgiving” are up for incredible debate philosophically, socially, and most importantly, historically. However the purpose of such a tradition far outshines anyone’s version of the story. Traditions, like publics themselves, morph and change with the needs of the people despite their repetitive nature. Just like no two performances of live music are ever the same, no two Thanksgivings will ever be the same either.
I’m not a particularly religious person, but I do see the value of religion to others. The purpose is to give hope when it seems hopeless and to evolve to be a better person. To denounce a tradition because of its origin is to lose the whole purpose of adopting traditions at all.
Yes, the devil is in the details, but among the lessons learned from the message of a holiday like Thanksgiving is one that people need to hear: Hard work, community, and respect for one another are treasures and should be celebrated with reflection. Any embellishments are a personal choice. Why do schools still go with what seems to be a Euro-centric version of the story where everyone is a friend? Perhaps it is because children learn from positive representations of concepts. The politics and history of what happened to our Native North Americans after this apparent snapshot in time is not necessary to get the general message of a cultural Thanksgiving across. Should the true history be taught? Absolutely, but not at a time when other lessons of Thanksgiving can be taught.
See Maslow for an explanation of focus and maturity.
“desperate for a cultural connection”
“Should the true history be taught?” Less than that is where we are today. When choice of action is based upon deception, WHO is served?
False hope is just that.
” ‘Should the true history be taught?’ Less than that is where we are today. When choice of action is based upon deception, WHO is served?”
Is it deceptive to color a story based in some historical significance in order to teach a lesson in humanity? If anything, humility would serve us all. The sins of the past can (and most likely will) be committed again–it is how we evolve as people that determines whether or not we’ve learned anything valuable from these sins in the hopes that things will be different next time.
The “story” of “The First Thanksgiving” teaches a strong, positive message laced with cultural harmony. Whether you believe it to be fact or fiction, it is your responsibility as an educated citizen to take a message such as this from a POV that isn’t just black-and-white. By viewing all sides, you gain an understanding of the human condition. Do we ask ourselves about the laws of humanity among the various Native Americans tribes during this time in history or do we ignore their variations on the spectrum of what some of us deign to call “right and wrong?”
If it troubles you that not every part of that period in the history of present-day America is positive, why ignore the possibility that there were plenty of advocates for the Native Americans throughout history? There are many sides to the issue.
“False hope is just that.”
You can deem hope any way you wish, but you haven’t the right to decide what is truth to others.
LG,
I guess Nobrick has let off an “intellectual pedo” in your area, eh!
“but you haven’t the right to decide what is truth to others.”
EXACTLY! Do you have the right to decide?
Less than truth, to me, is deception. Again, WHO does that serve?
DS, At some dim level, they might sense deception, but as long as they ignore it, they can rationalize their complicity.
Excuse me…
“EXACTLY! Do you have the right to decide?”
With all due respect, at a developmentally appropriate time the student should be presented with as many points-of-view as possible in order to make an informed, personal decision. For any scholar to insinuate that ALL Native Americans were peaceful toward any outsiders (European or Native American) and ALL were taken advantage of by the “white man” throughout the course of American history is irresponsible.
Just so we’re clear about what I’m trying to say, that does not mean that Native Americans did NOT suffer through a multitude of sins at the hands of these outsiders–a fate that no one deserved, it means that not every white settler acted as such upon the natives. Many tribes murdered members of other tribes, summarily destroying their communities. Where in history do we see the condemnation of these acts? Some were more peaceful than others, just as some white settlers also came in peace. One cannot speak in absolutes when speaking toward truth.
There were many truces throughout our American history that show how the settlers worked with the Native Americans and vice-versa. So you can bang a drum about truth all you want. The nature of humanity is to not play nice with those who you deem as not belonging to your circle of trust, but not all relationships in this land were destructive. The sadness that surrounds what happened to the many nations often clouds rational thought process, and I see that here, especially with your reference to “some dim level.” The destruction of these peoples and their communities is devastating to be sure, and no one disputes that. We just have to be very careful about how black-and-white we make the lens from which we view.
The Thanksgiving story exists as a way to promote a concept of community while engaging a culture in a traditional commemoration of these community concepts. What can you say socially about the lessons from the Thanksgiving holiday? These would end up in your lesson plans as enduring understandings. There are far more areas of social learning that surround the holiday than just history. You could tell the story of how birds live on hippos backs for all I care. I agree that all sides need to be represented, and the plight of those Native Americans who suffered injustices needs to be taught in our schools, just not in every lesson.
“I guess Nobrick has let off an “intellectual pedo” in your area, eh!”
Well you know, BS also leaves an odor, señor.
Nobrick, gracias por esto de Acuño.
“It was and is not easy to correct traditional narratives.” Tell that to Zinn!
No it’s “not easy to correct traditional narratives.” For example, my Quixotic Quest of trying to rid the educational world of educational standards, standardized tests and the “grading” of students (all bestial birds of the same feather). Sets most educators (and most others) hair stand up on their necks. Such blasphemy, impertinence, rudeness, insolence, impoliteness, bad manners, discourtesy, disrespect, incivility, impudence and any other such sentiment.
We have a version of this “awesome” type of charter school in AZ, it’s called BASIS. And yet, parents fight to get their children a spot in these types of schools and then pat themselves on the back for giving their children “the best possible education” all the while looking down their noses at anyone who doesn’t agree. It’s sad really. But also a big part of the problem with public education.
Diane, Have you ever visited a North Star Charter School?
Arne Duncan @arneduncan 10h
Congrats to DC & TN for being the fastest improving states with #NAEP results! Lots of courageous, hard work by committed educators.
Secretary Duncan out on the TFA campaign trail again this morning. Purely political animal.
I read that Obama sometimes spends two hours a week meeting with pundits:
“Brooks, the New York Times columnist, is a frequent guest, as is Joe Klein of Time Magazine. From The Washington Post: E.J. Dionne, Eugene Robinson, Ezra Klein and Fred Hiatt, the editorial page editor. On foreign policy: the Post’s David Ignatius, Bloomberg View’s Jeffrey Goldberg, and the Times’ Thomas Friedman. He also holds the occasional meeting with conservatives. This month, he met with Washington Post columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer, Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot, and other influential representatives from the right.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/president-obama-off-the-record-99180.html#ixzz2k3e0DsCd
I really think this explains a lot about his administration’s focus. The main goal is impressing David Brooks and Joe Klein 🙂
Good God. Can you imagine? Advice from David Brooks and Joe Klein.
No, I can’t!
There is an enlightening article in Educational Researcher that asks people to consider what are the outcomes (think Orwell’s 1984) of choice being a way to teach others to live with oppression and that freedom is bad. Definitely worth the time. http://edr.sagepub.com/content/42/2/89.short
Harold, I could only access the abstract, but that in itself was interesting. I was interested in the idea of a counterbalance to the strict discipline and the danger of the individual not developing their own “moral compass” in an atmosphere where absolute obedience to authority is required.
As a teacher in an adjacent community, I get the North Star “transfers” all the time.
And????
Is anyone actually impressed by what is touted as “innovation” in that classroom? It’s as if “task analysis” is some new concept. They really need to get over themselves.
Management of obedient, and academically typical children should be a piece-of-cake for any teacher. It’s the most effective teacher who can manage a class with a potpourri of developmental, cognitive, and behavioral dispositions.
Once again, a charter “stacks the deck” then brags about “winning the game.” What audacity.
I always said public schools would be totally successful too, if only we could kick out all the problems and low achievers like the private schools and charters do. Comparing public schools to those schools is like comparing your ride on a public bus to your ride in a friend’s Cadillac–ridiculous!
“. . . would be totally successful too. . .” No, they would be failures. Any school that has the goal of “raising student achievement” (as defined these days with standardized test scores) is a failing school.
I’d like to comment on the effusive description of North Star Charter Schools. First, a teacher who has taught 3-5 years is probably not yet awesome. They could be potentially awesome or one their way to awesomeness but I think it takes longer to become “awesome.” This article does not mention how students are recruited for the school. It does not mention what kind of turnover there is in the school. I smell a large attrition rate. And the idea of teachers granting their own graduate degree by the work they do in the classroom is ludicrous. Would we want doctors in training to grant themselves medical degrees?
Judie,
Read Bakers article that is linked. It definitely does talk about attrition rates, especially for “black boys”.
Baker’s not Bakers
Reblogged this on 21st Century Theater.
Come Thanksgiving, not only will I have cake, I will eat it too. 🙂
North Star Academy! Celibrate your awesomeness and eat some cake! Remember to share with your students! 🙂
Celebrate oops…I forgot to eat my morning, awesomeness cake!
Exactly. Have you seen Finnish First, Dan Rather’s documentary on what really works. http://blip.tv/hdnet-news-and-documentaries/dan-rather-reports-finnish-first-6518828
Trust me…it is an eye opener. Don’t miss it
For me, it offered a looking a real learning community where teacher shaw the autonomy, ndit reminded me of the way I taught in the sixties when I was the practitioner and the principal supported me… after fashion, because no school ever provided me with any materials. I always purchased everything I needed for lessons, and was lucky to have chairs, desks and a blackboard… things missing in several schools where it wa my job to educate those children.