The Educational Triage Podcast: Recent Episodes
educationaltriage
This Podcast is for Educators, especially Alternative Education Teachers, by alternative educators, to discuss issues and ideas surrounding us in the educational field.#AltEd, #AlternativeEducation,#AltEdTeachers
What Have We Learned?
Over the years of experience we share, we both believe we—nor anyone else—who teaches are never truly experts in the teaching arts. For anyone to be honest and forthright in this vocation (used rather than occupation—there is a HUGE difference), they must admit there is always more to learn, even if it is more nuanced than overt in various areas.
Over the past three years, we've had the privilege of reflecting, pausing, and learning from each other and from the insightful interviews we’ve conducted with our generous guests. This learning journey has been shared, and we're grateful for your part in it, our valued audience.
As we take a break for the summer months, we will reflect on and consider how we will proceed.
Do you have any suggestions? We would love to hear from you! Let us know your thoughts and ideas!
educationaltriage@gmail.com
EducationalPodcast #TeacherTraining #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #TeachingandLearning #WhatHaveWeLearned #TeachingPodcast
Dr. Lincoln Stoller: Are Schools Relevant?
A PhD in Quantum Physics, a Teacher, Mountaineer, Hypnotherapist, and EEG Neurofeedback Therapist - Lincoln Stoller has an incredible background. He has a Ph.D. in quantum physics, is a teacher, mountaineer, hypnotherapist, and EEG neurofeedback therapist, and was mentored by the late John Taylor Gatto, who influenced many of his views.
Today, we have the unique opportunity to tap into Dr. Stoller's wealth of knowledge and experience. He serves as a mentor, guiding us to consider alternative perspectives on education. Are we on the right path? Should there be only one path or many? What are the system's strengths and weaknesses? Or should we start from scratch?
Dr. Stoller has written several books and a blog and has a great deal to say on the subject and others. You can find more about him, as well as his contact information at:
Dr. Stoller’s Substack: https://mindstrengthbalance.substack.com/
Dr. Stoller’s Webpage: https://www.mindstrengthbalance.com/
The Learning Project: Rites of Passage (free copy) as a gift from Dr. Stoller to you.
He lives in Victoria, BC, where he continues to practice.
DefiningEducation #ProblemsinEducation #PlayasEducation #NatureBasedEducation #LackofCreativityinEducation #TeachingCreativityinEducation #IntrinsicMotivationinEducation
lackofintrinsicmotivationineducation #PersonalMeaninginLearning #CulturalContextinEducation #TedRobinson #LincolnStoller #SudburySchools #ChestertonsFence #SearchforMeaning #ProblemswithCompulsoryEducation #EducationasAbuse #AlternativeEducation #TeacherasMentor #ArgumentsAgainstEducation #EducationalPodcast #TeacherTraining #AltEdPodcast
The Growing Problem of Absenteeism in Schools
Understanding the reasons behind the growing issue of school absenteeism is crucial. It's a problem causing concern in schools, states, and communities. Chronic absenteeism rates are increasing, and it's essential to know why. According to the New York Times, there are various reasons—from family vacations (should kids be able to finish their work remotely?) to the need for extra income at home, illness, and other excuses.
If you’re curious about checking out your local district, click here. In the article, you'll see how your district is doing.
Statistics indicate that attendance is crucial to a student's future success. It's not just about showing up but about active engagement and participation in the school process. This is a stark reminder of the urgency of tackling the issue of absenteeism in schools.
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/04/02/oregon-school-districts-chronic-absenteeism-rate/
We were pretty shocked at our findings, and still, even after recording, there is more smacking us in the face!
What’s going on?
ChronicAbsenteeism #AbsenteeisminAmerica #Nonattendanceinschools #ImpactofAbsencesinEducation #SchoolsinCrisis #StudentEngagement #StudentInvolvement #WhyStudentsAttend #ImpactofSchoolLeaders #ImpactofTeachers #ImpactofPrincipals #StudentAchievement #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationalPodcast #EducationalIssues #ImpactofAbsenteeismonSchoolFinance #TeacherTraining
Coach Gloria Peek
What does boxing have to do with education, let alone alternative education? Fundamentally, they have a great deal in common.
Boxers, like all athletes and students, need to be disciplined. They also need feedback. Boxers need to set and execute their goals, like students. They also need to think quickly on their feet and learn how to move. Students also need to consider and progress. It all comes down to the fact that students and boxers need coaches/mentors/teachers who care about them and their goals as much as the students should and do. This is done through rigor, discipline, no excuses, and facing failures as learning exercises.
So, who is better to tell it like this than Coach Gloria Peek, the first female Olympic boxing coach (2012)? She works with champions in the spotlight and those students who need to hear what she says and practices most.
She developed an after-school program for students who demanded excellence. She is a tough woman with a heart of gold, though, and this week, we chat with her about her history, dreams, experiences, and “why” with students. You’ll be surprised by her ability to win everyone over with her candor and philosophy! Join us!
Coach Gloria’s Information:
Email: info@coachgloriapeek.com
Facebook@coachpeek
Instagram@coachpeek
(804)363-9827
educationaltriage@gmail.com
CoachGloriaPeek #GloriaPeek #CoachPeek #BoxingandEducation #Studentsasboxers #boxingstudents #coachingboxers #BoxingandAlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationalPodcast #AltEd #TeacherTraining #CoachingSuccess #OlympicStruggle #OlympicLessonsforstudents
educationaltriage@gmail.com
Falling Math & Reading Scores - Are Schools Really to Blame?
Beginning more than two decades ago, fingers have been pointed at our learning institutions, accusing them of ineffective teaching practices and not teaching our children reading, writing, and math effectively. Parents have thrown their hands up in surrender, trying to fathom the new maths articulated by the schools, and we’ve also been plagued by the beautiful gadgets and toys developed through the latest technologies that render attention spans useless. And, while schools, teachers, districts, and educational companies have worked hard and tried to develop methodologies that would enhance the student's learning experiences, they are still met with lagging scores on the assessments and rather dull and listless progress overall. So, despite all efforts (and realizing schools tend to be government programs, which are also plagued with inefficiencies) to stem the “learning loss,” the number of students unable to pass their benchmarks grows. Can we still say that it is the schools that are at fault? Or are there others, such as parents and community members, who also play a significant role in this drama?
lackofaccountability #studentaccountability #parentalaccountability #teacheraccountability #Communityaccountability #parentsandlearning #Communityandlearning #fallingmathscores #fallingreadingscores #learningloss #learningaccountability #alternativeeducation #studentbenchmarks #lowexpectations #Teaching #AlternativeTeaching #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #TeachingandLearning #AltEdPodcast #TeacherTraining #EducationalAccountability #StudentAssessment #Studentengagement
Changing Graduation Requirements
When our students proudly cross the stage, diploma in hand, what have they accomplished? Is it a mere testament to their 12-year attendance, or have they truly absorbed knowledge? Will they thrive beyond academia, or will they seek further enlightenment elsewhere? What, indeed, have they learned? And how can we be certain of their learning without effective assessment?
In the past, states required educators to administer tests that assessed students’ abilities and knowledge skills in core subjects at certain levels. This would allow enough time for the students and the system to catch students up, shore up their skills, and push other students further toward their goals of graduation and success in the world. But now, states are changing their platforms for determining such skills, abilities, and knowledge. In Oregon, it was decided they would not be using the assessments to determine graduation readiness during the pandemic due to learning loss and lack of access to education for many students. But leaving nothing creates a vacuum that states it’s all rather pointless. However, they brought in other systems that would make what they would determine more equitable and succinct methods of assessing those skills. Other states were doing much the same. New York brought in portfolios, among other assessments, rather than the Regent’s exams.
What was first seen as “soft racism” could genuinely be something that brings about success and evidence of learning for all students, especially at-risk students. What are your thoughts on this? And how can we adapt our education for these times?
Let us know: educationaltriage@gmail.com
GraduationRequirements #ChangingGraduationRequirements #StudentAssessment #EffectiveAssessment #EquitableAssessment #ChangingAssessments #StudentSuccess
EducationalPodcast #IssuesinTeaching #IssuesinEducation #AlternativeEducation #SuccessinAlternativeEducation #AltEd #StudentSuccess #TeachingPodcast #TeacherTraining #AlternativeEducationPodcast
Is Education a Cesspool of Hypocrisy?
Certain aspects of education can be quite unsettling, whether you're a teacher, parent, or student. Could it be that we're all just victims of a pervasive form of gaslighting—a term that seems to apply to almost everything these days?
This week, Philip and Tony examine the situation in which Education states it wants one thing but actually slaps it down and pushes for the opposite. Educators claim inclusion while they exclude many students who “don’t fit the mold.”
We’re also curious - what aspects do you believe are hypocritical in Education? Let us know!
educationaltriage@gmail.com
EducationHypocrisies #IsEducationHypocritical #EducationalLies #EducationalGaslighting #Teachers #TeacherTraining #EducationalPodcast #EducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcsat #AltEdPodcast #TeacherPodcast
Before the Application with Geary Woolfolk
This week, we meet with Geary Woolfolk, the founder and passionate leader of Woolfolk Works in Atlanta, Georgia. Geary is a full-time IT Engineer at Travel Port, but he sets aside time outside the workplace to mentor and support youth and families pursuing post-secondary education.
Geary knows how expensive colleges, universities, and other training institutions can be. That's why he wrote the book Before the Application: How to Become the Ideal College Candidate.
We are honored to host him this week, and we talk about engaging our students, families, and teachers, in participating and working towards the goal of a free post-secondary education so they can graduate free from debt, and also be the best they can be to charge into the world as well-trained adults!
Geary Woolfolk has held a 31-year-long career as a computer engineer at Delta Airlines and Travelport, as well as being the proud father of three sons who all received full-ride academic scholarships to their respective colleges.
When he and his wife, Dedra, saw the state of the costs associated with going to college, they worked as a team and were determined to lead their sons down a path that would allow them to not pay a penny for their post-secondary education. This led to a passionate determination to help other families do the same.
He founded Woolfolk Works, where he works with students and families to follow this mission. He also works with other groups to help them work toward the same goals.
His goal is to use his mentorship and leadership experience to assist as many young people as possible towards also reaching their college admissions dreams!
His book: Before the Application: How to Become the Ideal College Candidate.
Woolfolk Works: https://www.woolfolkworks.com/#/
Email: Geary@woolfolkworks.com
Education #GearyWoolfolk #WoolfolkWorks #BeforetheApplicationBook #StudentGoals #StudentDebt #AvoidingStudentDebt #StudentAgency #CollegeChoice #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #PostSecondaryPreparation #FamiliesandStudents #HowToBecomeASuccessfulStudent #TeacherTraining #HighSchoolCounselorTraining #Scholarship #StudentGrants #PostSecondaryTraining #EducationalPodcast #EducationPodcast #TeacherPodcast #AlterantiveEducationPodcast
Is Education Killing the American Dream?
There are so many thoughts about this topic. Defining the American Dream became the tipping point. How does the current system of academics help/deny the dream to those involved both in the instructional and learning sectors? This week, we explored, but we found more hills on top of the mountain in this adventure.
What are your thoughts? Tell us! EducationalTriage@gmail.com
- What is the American Dream? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream
- What is the purpose of secondary education? The purpose of secondary education is to provide students with a well-rounded education that prepares them for higher education or the workforce. It aims to develop their intellectual, social, and emotional skills, while also fostering critical thinking, creativity, and independence.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_education
- How honest is the roll out of secondary education today? Is it fulfilling its mission?
- Student Debt – What is the history of? history of student debt - Market Watch
- When did College Tuition Become Unaffordable?
- College Cost HIstory
To calculate how much more college costs for the average student in public and private schools than it did in 1978, adjusted for inflation, we need to consider the percentage increase in tuition and fees from 1978 to 2020 and then adjust for inflation.
According to the College Board, the average published tuition, and fees (in constant 2020 dollars) for the 1978-1979 academic year were approximately:
Public four-year institutions: $3,190
Private nonprofit four-year institutions: $12,680
For the 2019-2020 academic year:
Public four-year institutions: $10,560
Private nonprofit four-year institutions: $37,650
Using these figures, we can calculate the percentage increase in tuition and fees for each sector and then adjust for inflation. Let us use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to adjust for inflation.
First, we will calculate the percentage increase:
For public four-year institutions: Percentage increase=10,560−3,1903,190×100≈231.97%Percentage increase=3,19010,560−3,190×100≈231.97%
For private nonprofit four-year institutions: Percentage increase=37,650−12,68012,680×100≈196.54%Percentage increase=12,68037,650−12,680×100≈196.54%
Now, we will adjust these percentages for inflation using the CPI.
Let us assume the CPI in 1978 was 65.2 and in 2020 was 258.811 (these are approximate values).
Adjusted increase for public four-year institutions: Adjusted increase=231.97%×258.81165.2≈920.26%Adjusted increase=231.97%×65.2258.811≈920.26%
Adjusted increase for private nonprofit four-year institutions: Adjusted increase=196.54%×258.81165.2≈783.33%Adjusted increase=196.54%×65.2258.811≈783.33%
Now, we will apply these adjusted increases to the 1978 tuition costs to find out how much more college costs for the average student in public and private schools compared to 1978, adjusted for inflation.
For public four-year institutions: Adjusted cost=3,190× (1+9.2026) ≈$29,355Adjusted cost=3,190× (1+9.2026) ≈$29,355
For private nonprofit four-year institutions: Adjusted cost=12,680× (1+7.8333) ≈$111,062Adjusted cost=12,680× (1+7.8333) ≈$111,062
So, adjusted for inflation, the average college costs for the average student in public four-year institutions increased by approximately $26,165, and for private nonprofit four-year institutions, it increased by approximately $98,382 compared to 1978.
- Are students earning enough to pay off their debt? or are we leading the lambs to slaughter in secondary education? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-canceling-student-debt-the-secrets-to-happiness-and-reaching-summits.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/04/25/605092520/high-paying-trade-jobs-sit-empty-while-high-school-grads-line-up-for-university
Education #TheAmericanDream #WhatistheAmericanDream #EducationandTheAmericanDream #StudentDebt #LackofStudentAgency #ParentsandEducation #Teaching #TeachersandtheAmericanDream #TeachingtoCollege #Teachingtowhatend #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #TeacherTraining #EducationalPodcast #TeachersDiscussingTeachingIssues #TeachingPodcast #TeacherPodcast #TeachingThoughts
Buses and Alternative Education
People have discussed the apparent link between school buses and school schedules for years. Why are the schools beginning at a particular time? Why do they end at that time? Questions parents, students, teachers, and other folks in the community pose quite often.
Well, there is a link. Students need transportation to school, but is it beneficial? Does riding the bus hinder the child’s education?
We were surprised at what we discovered!
Sage Journals, Who Takes the Bus?
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03611981231164388
Brown University/Annenberg, Do Long Bus Rides Drive Down Academic Outcomes?
Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED616857.pdf
ODOT statistics and rules concerning school buses.
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.oregon.gov/ode/schools-and-districts/ptf/Documents/OPTM%202018%20Draft%20Final.pdf#:~:text=Every%20day%
20of%20the%20school%20year%20some,these%20buses%20need%20to%20be%20c
apable%20of.
Ed stats for 20th-century
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93442.pdf
National Statistics on School Transportation
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.saferoutespartnership.org/sit
es/default/files/pdf/school_bus_cuts_national_stats_FINAL.pdf
The University of Michigan -Could riding older school buses hinder student performance?
https://news.umich.edu/could-riding-older-school-buses-hinder-student-performance/
History of school buses.
https://www.transfinder.com/resources/School-Bus-Routing-History-of-the-School-Bus
Education #Teaching #AlternativeEducation #Students #TeachingandLearning #SchoolSchedules #Busing #SchoolBuses #SchoolsandBusSchedules #StudentTransportation #IsStudentTransportBeneficial #DoBusesHelpinEducation #DoBusesDetermineSchoolSchedules #AlternativeEducationIssues #StudentLearning #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationalPodcast #TeachingPodcast
Sports and Alternative Education
Contrary to popular belief, students in Alternative Education programs/schools have the potential to excel in school sports. However, this potential often goes untapped due to the lack of sports facilities and coaching staff unless they are part of a school or district that values their participation. Whether or not the district or the community makes these determinations, they are impactful for several reasons.
This week, we discuss how students can participate in school sports and club sports - or other venues that offer them a chance to participate and enjoy the experience, if not to shine. What are the options? What are the effects? What are the obstacles, and how can they be overcome?
Some Resources:
NCAA.org Players from high school to NCAA sports
https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/3/2/estimated-probability-of-competing-in-college-
Athletics.aspx
Scholarship Satatistics-
https://scholarshipstats.com/varsityodds
Alternative Education League
https://www.aelsports.org/
Oregon student access to extracurricular activities:
https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-
resources/assessment/Documents/SEED_ExtracurricularParticipationAndBarriers.pdf
Under represented in HS sports-Multnomah Athletic Foundation
https://www.multnomahathleticfoundation.com/2023/07/07/the-underrepresented-in-high-school-
sports/
SEED Survey-
https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-
resources/assessment/Documents/SEED_ExtracurricularParticipationAndBarriers.pdf
Oregon Child Integrated data set-Students Enrolled in Oregon’s Public Alternative Education
Schools
https://www.ocid-cebp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/OCID-Policy-Brief_Alt-Ed-
Schools_2021-004.p
Education #Teaching #Coaching #AlternativeEducationOpportunities #StudentOpportunitiesinAlternativeEducation #SchoolsandAlternativeStudentAccess
SchoolsandSports #StudentsandSports #ScholarAthletes #ParentalInvolvement #AccesstoSportsinSchools #AlternativeEducation #EducationalPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #TeachingPodcast #IssuesinEducation #IssuesinSchoolSports
Are Teachers the New Therapists?
Even before the pandemic, teachers were asked to check on students’ mental health, which was a realistic request. However, since then, schools, districts, and communities have demanded that more be done in the classroom under the guidance of the classroom teachers to ensure the students are “doing well mentally.”
Teachers' roles have been demanding for years, if not decades. With faculty inclusion, there are fewer supports for them and more for the students. Administrators fail to support teachers as they continue to pile more responsibilities upon them while taking away what was thought to be reasonable respite (planning time, personal time, etc.).
So, what gives? This week we explore this unfathomable conundrum.
Resources:
Edutopia-“What’s the role of the teacher in supporting student mental health”
https://www.edutopia.org/article/the-doctor-is-in-your-classroom/
KFF-“The Landscape of School Based Mental Health Services”
https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/the-landscape-of-school-based-mental-health-
services/
Very Well Mind
https://www.verywellmind.com/mental-health-in-the-classroom-survey-7569880
Edsource 1/4/22 “Teachers are not Therapists”
https://edsource.org/2022/teachers-are-not-therapists/665250
Edsource 11/14/21 “I’m a Teacher and I Can’t Live like This”
https://edsource.org/2022/teachers-are-not-therapists/665250
Edsurge Popdcast 4/23/23 “Why All Teachers Need Training in Mental Health and Social Work”
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-04-25-why-all-teachers-need-training-in-mental-health-
and-social-work
US Derpartment of Education , “U.S. Department of Education Announces More Than $188
Million from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to Support Mental Health and Student
Wellness”
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-more-188-
million-bipartisan-safer-communities-act-support-mental-health-and-student-wellness
EducationalDilemna #Teaching #TeacherasTherapist #TeachingandMentalHealth #EducationalPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #EducationalIssues #IssuesinEducation #IssuesinAlternativeEducation #TeacherTraining #MentalHealthCrisisinSchools #MentalHealthCrisisinTeaching
Peer Pressure
What is Peer Pressure, and how does it work? What’s interesting about this topic is that we are all privy to its guiles and effects, but few truly understand it and how it works. The biggest question of the week is: How Can We Use Peer Pressure in Teaching? Or can we?
We discuss the implications of peer pressure, studies demonstrating its power, and how it manifests itself in classrooms and other venues—wherever people are present. Are there factors that would help students work harder? Improve achievement? Become more accountable?
What factors can we use to improve student achievement and our learning and instruction?
Venture into this territory this week as we explore.
Links:
Robbers Cave Experiment
The effects of observation in video games: how remote observation influences player experience, motivation, and behaviour
Solomon Asch Conformity Line Experiment Study
The Primal Teen
The Social Dilemna (full movie)
Stanford Prison Project
SolomonAschConformityLineStudy #AschConformityStudy #LordoftheFlies #PeerPressure #PeerConformity #StanfordPrisonProject #BoboDollExperiment #RobbersCaveExperiment #Impactofpeersobservingperformance #videogamesandthebrain #primalteen #teenagebrain #keepingupwiththejonesesandeducation #peerpressureandlearning #peerpressureineducation #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #TeachingandLearning #Learning #Teaching #TeachingConsiderations #Education #EducationalPodcast #TeachingPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #SocialSystemsinEducation #SocialRankingsandeffectsonlearning #EffectsofPeersonlearning #EffectsofPeersonSuccess
Lessons in Langauge Learning with Alexis Buschert
This week, we have the luxury of hosting Alexis Buschert, a World Languages Trainer, who indulges us with insights on language learning - both from the perspectives of teachers who work with students struggling to learn English in their classrooms and as students of another World Language. What prevents us from learning more rapidly? How can we create an environment that allows for language access?
Join us for this wonderful conversation as we learn much about ourselves, our students, and our world.
Let us know your thoughts at: educationaltriage@gmail.com
If you’d like to contact Alexis, you can find her at @travelthenteach (Instagram)
@srtabuschert (X - formerly Twitter)
LanguageLearning #affectivefilter #langaugeHesitancy #LangaugeDifferences #LanguageAcquisition #LanguageAcquisitionversusLearning #LangaugeImmersion #NewLanguageSupports #TeachingSupports #AcademicLanguageLearning #EnglishLanguageLearning #SupportingLanguageLearning #FamilySupports #OutsideSupportsforLanguageLearning #RelevantLangaugeLearning #TeachingLanguage #Teaching #TeacherTraining #TeacherAwareness #TeacherSupports #LangaugeSupports #AlternativeEducation #NewcomerSupports #AltEd #EducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AlexisBuschert #WorldLangaugeTraining
The Parent Dilemma
Every day, there are posts about entitlements coming from parents and students. Absurd requests or demands, and apparently, these are backed by the administrators. What is a teacher to do? OR are these the exceptions to the rule? What do parents genuinely want - the vast majority and not those snarky few?
This week, we delve into parents' intentions: wants, needs, and hopes. What is it they truly want from us as teachers and educators? And is it really out of the ballpark to provide those?
As parenting styles change (attachment parenting, gentle parenting, etc), the core intent remains the same.
Come along for the discussion, and let us know your thoughts! educationaltriage@gamil.com
ParentsandEducation #ParentalNeedsinEducation #ParentalWantsinEducation #EducationandParents #SchoolsandParents #WhatDoParentsWant #ParentingStyles #StudentSafety #ParentalSafety #ParentalInsecurities #ParentalDemands #RelationshipBetweenSchoolsandParents
GenerationAlpha #GenAlpha #TechnologyinEducation #GenerationalEvolution #EffectsofParenting #ParentingPracticises #OversupervisionofChildren #ImpactofMediaIntrusion #FocusonFamily #ImpactofOrganizedPlay #ImpactofDisorganizedPlay #PsychologicalImpactsonLearning #EnvironmentalFactorsofGenAlpha #RaisingGenAlpha #BehaviorinEducation #ImpactofTechonSociety #HelicopterParenting #AttachmentParentingImpacts #GenerationalPreferences #StrongBondWithParents #Inclusivity #TechnologyasLifestyle #Teaching #TeacherTraining #Education #AlternativeEducation #EducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast
Who Is Generation Alpha
This week, we undergo an examination of Generation Alpha - those who were born in 2010 and beyond (thus far). These students are entering the hallowed hallways of the secondary schools, but they’ve already impacted the elementary and middle schools.
What makes them different from other generations? Well, they are the first generation to have technology always available, and for them, it’s a “light switch” moment. They have never known life without it - so it’s a given. How does that impact teaching? How does that impact learning? We delve into their relationships with parents and strive to understand what may be some exciting learning styles. So, listen in and give us your ear!
GenerationAlpha #GenAlpha #TechnologyinEducation #GenerationalEvolution #EffectsofParenting #ParentingPracticises #OversupervisionofChildren #ImpactofMediaIntrusion #FocusonFamily #ImpactofOrganizedPlay #ImpactofDisorganizedPlay #PsychologicalImpactsonLearning #EnvironmentalFactorsofGenAlpha #RaisingGenAlpha #BehaviorinEducation #ImpactofTechonSociety #HelicopterParenting #AttachmentParentingImpacts #GenerationalPreferences #StrongBondWithParents #Inclusivity #TechnologyasLifestyle #Teaching #TeacherTraining #Education #AlternativeEducation #EducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast
Blurred Lines Part Two: Teaching Critical Thinking v To the Test
In this week's episode, we dive into this meaty topic. Are our children being taught to excel on a test without the necessary tools of Critical Thinking? What are the differences? What are the consequences? While rote learning may be beneficial as a foundation, why are students being drilled on topics without more consequential deeper learning or thinking skills?
Questions of the week:
Are Parents Becoming Too Permissive?
What Needs to Happen To Bring Back Natural Consequences in Schools?
Resources for Critical Thinking:
EdX: Courses in Critical Thinking Skills to Incorporate into Teaching
Coursera: Courses in Critical Thinking for both Students and Teachers
Khan Academy: Provides Materials on Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English)
NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics)
Education Week
Journal of Educational Psychology
Edutopia
Teachers Pay Teachers
Foundation for Critical Thinking
Brookings Institution
US Department of Education
National Education Association
CriticalThinking #TeachingCriticalThinking #TeachingSkills #Teaching #TeachingtotheTest #NuancesinTeaching #STudentsversusCriticalThinking #SocialMediaversusCriticalThinking #EffectsofSocialMedia #LiteralversusFigurativethinking #ParentalResponsibility #DigitalAddiction #TrainingZombies #EchoChamberTeaching #TEachingDiversethinking #ImpactsofSocialMedia #Impactsoflinearteaching #ImpactsofConfirmationbias #Impactsoflacofmovement #Brainprocessingan movement #Teachingtotakebreaks #Teachingaboutlimitationsinprocessing #hypocrisyintheclassroom #memorizaitonversusinternalizaiton #ImmediateSkills #LifelonglearningversusShortTermLearning #AnalyticalSkillsversusRoteLearning #TeachingAccountability #ObstaclestoCriticalThinking #DisinformationversusMisinformation SelfAwarenessinEducation #TeachingtoQuestion #EducationalDenial #AcceptanceversusCuriosity #ProblemExamination #ActiveLearningversusPassiveLearning #ActiveLearning #PassiveLearning #ActiveLearningExamples #PassiveLearningExamples #LuxuryofBeingWrong #ArroganceAgainstEducation #EngagementandDiscussion #RoteLearning #StandardizedTesting #TeachingDeeperLearning #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #Teaching #Learning #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationPodcast #TeachingPodcast
Blurred Lines: What is Going On in Education?
This week, we delve into where many boundaries and lines have been blurred in education.
Let’s look at some facts. Who Are Paraprofessionals Digest of Education Statistics
We talk about hiring practices, qualifications, expectations, administration, learning, red flags, and othering of students. Take your pick. It’s a potpourri of issues.
ParaProfessionals #Teachers #Administrators #Education #GrowthinParaProfessionalHiring #GrowthinEducationalAdministrators #ParaprofessionalsandTeaching #BoundariesinTeaching #ParaprofessionalsTeaching #AreParaProfessionalsTeachers #GrowthinOnlineLearning #ReductioninTeachers #TeacherRetention #BloatedEducationalAdministration #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #EducaitonPodcast #TeachingPodcast #LoweredTeachingExpectations #Whatareteachingqualifications #OtheringAlternativeStudents
BloatingEducationAdministration #AdministrativeQualifications #SchoolBoardQualifications #ComplianceinEducation #EducationalMonies #LeadershipinEducation #DoesEducationServeStudents #DoestheEducationalSystemTeachSubjects #WhatMakesaSuccessfulEducationalSystem #WhatMakesaSuccessfulSchool #Howdoweteachfailure #cellphones #Modeling #hypocrisyintheclassroom #honestteaching
The Intertwining of VocEd, Career & Technical Ed, and Project-Based Learning
During our discussions of Project-Based Learning (PBL), Career and Technical Learning (CTE), and Vocational Education (VocEd), it became pretty evident that one cannot honestly exist without the others - or the allusion to the others.
This week, we discuss using our brains as the whiteboard where we create our own concept of a Venn Diagram and how these three aspects of education honor one another while remaining separate. The entanglements are real!
And we also want to know your thoughts on the following subjects:
- Are you seeing an increase in administrative recruitment in your schools? What do you believe is happening?
- Should learning a second language be a requirement for students?
Let us know your thoughts! EducationalTriage@Gmail.com
PBL #ProjectBasedLearning #CareerandTechnicalLearning #CTE #VocEd #VocationalEducation #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #EducadtionalPodcast #TeachingandLearning #Teaching #Education #StudentSuccess #StudentCareers #StudentLearning #StudentChoice #StudentCareerPath #TechnicalEducation #TradeSchools #CollegeChoice #Workforcefutur
Bias in Grading and Assessment
This week, Philip and Tony delve into biases affecting grading and assessment outcomes. Are there any assessments or grading systems that are without fault? Are there any of us who are without our own prejudgements when we score work? How do we begin to mend those systems, and ourselves? Can we? Should we?
ReducingBiasinEducation #StudentEmpowerment #DifferentiationandIndividualizationinEducation #ImpactofDifferentiationinEducation #ImpactofIndividualizationinEducation #ContinuousImprovementinEducation #FairnessinEducationalAssessments #BiasinEducationalAssessmentandGrading #SocioEconomicBias #LinguisticBiasinEducation #GenderBiasinEducation #StereotypeGenderBiasinEducation
ImplicitBiasinEducation #TestTakingBiasinEducation
AccessBiasinEducation #StandardizedTesting #ObjectiveTesting #PerformancebasedAssessmes #Project-basedAssessments #AnonymousGrading #BlindAssessments #Portfolios #Rubrics
Assessment & Grading
This week, Philip Summers takes us through the labyrinth that holds types of assessments and grading processes - those we use too much and many we underuse. We attempt to address the questions: “What are the most effective means to assess in various situations?” and “What methods fail to accomplish what we’re after?”
To be honest, we had to give in on some - just for a practical stance, but that doesn’t mean one way is the only way there is much to consider!
Here are some of the resources you might use to do some exploration of your own (in no particular order):
Reeves, Douglas. Elements of Grading: A guide to effective practice. Bloomington. 2011.
Stevens, Dannelle D., and Levi, Antonia J. Introduction to Rubrics: An assessment tool to save
grading time, convey effective feedback and promote student learning. Sterling. 2005.
Feldman, Joe. Grading for Equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools
and classrooms. Thousand Oaks. 2019.
Marzano, Robert J. Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading. Bloomington. 2010.
Butler, Susan M., and McMunn, Nancy D. A Teacher’s Guide to Classroom Assessment:
Understanding and using assessment to improve student learning. Greensboro. 2006.
O’Connor, Ken. A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 fixes for broken grades. 2nd ed. Boston. 2011
EducationalAssessment #EducationalGrading #ProjectBasedLearning #EffectiveStudentAssessment #EffectiveStudentLearning #AlternativeEducation #AltEdClassroom #TeachingandLearning #CurriculumDevelopment #EducationalPodcast #EducationalTraining #TeacherTraining #EffectiveTeachingTools #EffectiveTeacherTraining
EducationalInsights #EdcuationalPodcast #TeachingPodcast #CurriculumDevelopmentandAssessment #AlternativeEducationPodcast #TeacherInput #StudentEmpowermentinAssessemtn #Rubrics #StandardizedTesting #AlternativeTestingMethodsinEducation
This week, we begin to explore Project-Based Learning. We look at the reasons to pursue this learning mode and the pitfalls. We learn more about what it isn't, as well.
Why should you consider PBL? What are the benefits? What are the expectations? How much work do you need to put in before the first lesson? These and many more questions are posed and possibly answered!
Resources:
- Buck Institute for Ed
- ucation (BIE) - PBLWorks:Website: PBLWorksDescription: BIE is a leading organization in the field of PBL. Their website offers a wealth of resources, including project ideas, research articles, and professional development opportunities. They provide guidance on implementing PBL in various settings, including alternative environments.
- Edutopia - Project-Based Learning:
- Website: Edutopia - Project-Based Learning
- Description: Edutopia's PBL section includes articles, videos, and guides on implementing project-based learning. The resources cover a range of topics, including designing projects, assessment strategies, and success stories from different educational settings.
- New Tech Network:
- Website: New Tech Network
- Description: New Tech Network is known for its innovative approach to teaching and learning. Their website provides resources and insights into project-based learning, particularly in the context of alternative school models. They offer project templates, professional development resources, and case studies.
- Institute for Personalized Learning:
- Website: Institute for Personalized Learning
- Description: This institute focuses on personalized learning, which often aligns with alternative education models. While not exclusively about PBL, their resources explore student-centered approaches and can provide insights into adapting PBL for alternative environments.
- The Learning Accelerator - Project-Based Learning Toolkit:
- Website: Project-Based Learning Toolkit
- Description: The Learning Accelerator offers a comprehensive toolkit for implementing project-based learning. While not specifically tailored to alternative environments, the toolkit provides valuable insights and resources for designing and implementing PBL.
- BIE's Project Search:
- Website: BIE Project Search
- Description: BIE's Project Search is a collection of exemplary projects designed for PBL. Educators can explore a variety of projects, adapt them to their needs, and find inspiration for creating projects in alternative settings.
- National Education Association (NEA) - Project-Based Learning:
- Website: NEA - Project-Based Learning
- Description: NEA provides resources on project-based learning, including articles, videos, and lesson plans. Educators can find information on incorporating PBL in diverse educational environments, including alternative settings.
- High Tech High:
- Website: High Tech High
- Description: High Tech High is a network of schools known for its project-based approach. While their focus is on project-based and personalized learning, their resources and case studies can offer insights into implementing PBL in alternative educational environments.
- Envision Schools - Deeper Learning Framework:
- Website: Envision Schools Deeper Learning Framework
- Description: Envision Schools provides a Deeper Learning Framework, which includes elements of project-based learning. The framework can be valuable for educators seeking to understand how project-based approaches align with deeper learning goals in alternative settings.
- Asia Society - Center for Global Education:
- Website: Asia Society - PBL Resources
- Description: Asia Society offers resources on project-based learning, with a focus on global education. The resources can be adapted for alternative settings, providing insights into designing projects that foster global awareness and collaboration.
EducatationalPodcast #AlternativeEducation #AlternativeModesofLearning #Teaching #EffectiveTeaching #EffectiveLearning #RelevantLearning #RelevantTeaching #StudentEngagement #AlternativeEducationPodcast
We talk a great deal about how students can/cannot read or do math, and we continue to focus on the skills. But are we focused on what makes a student successful outside of school? Remember, according to the SAS report of 2014 schools account for only 1-14% of academic outcomes. Maybe you don't like that number, but it's a bitter pill we need to swallow.
So, what are you teaching students? What are you modeling? What is the district, the community, the Educational Industrial Complex saying? Is it what's really best for the child? or best for their pocketbook and their image?
StudentSuccess #HowDoWeMeasureStudentSuccess #EducationalAccountability #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #EducationalPodcast #Teaching
Happy New Years!
A quick, yet simple challenge for all this new year.
Consider yourself already working on resolutions - but are you modifying and adjusting?
How are you taking care of yourself?
Tweak your #ConfirmationBias to your win!
The differences between alternative education and mainstream education are beginning to become wider. More students are falling behind in Maths, Reading, Writing, and Sciences. The system demands that teachers do better, but then they add more layers to the equation - they demand teachers also include lessons in Social Emotional Learning and demonstrate equitable lessons and grading systems. They believe teachers should be social workers, parental figures, and more. They demand a teacher-first approach, and if students fall behind, they try to figure out how to handle the dross. Most times, they look to alternative programs - but not without contempt. Alternative programs are successful where mainstream programs aren’t, and for that, the system is disdainful. However, the programs take those students and make them successful, so why aren’t schools thrilled?
AlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #Education #EducationPodcast #Teaching #TeachingforSuccess #InterviewingforEducationalPosition #HowtoInterviewinEducation #HiringTipsInEducation #QuestionsforTeachers #QuestionsforEducationalAdministrators #DefiningEducation #DefiningAlternativeEducation #EducationalAccountability #InvestigatingStudentAgency #InvestigatingSchools #UnderstandingAlternativeEducation
The differences between alternative education and mainstream education are beginning to become wider. More students are falling behind in Maths, Reading, Writing, and Sciences. The system demands that teachers do better, but then they add more layers to the equation - they demand teachers also include lessons in Social Emotional Learning and demonstrate equitable lessons and grading systems. They believe teachers should be social workers, parental figures, and more. They demand a teacher-first approach, and if students fall behind, they try to figure out how to handle the dross. Most times, they look to alternative programs - but not without contempt. Alternative programs are successful where mainstream programs aren’t, and for that, the system is disdainful. However, the programs take those students and make them successful, so why aren’t schools thrilled?
While this is hardly new for us, it is highly nuanced. This week, we delve deeper and look for what is happening in the “Corporate” education venue instead of what might be considered the “Independent” venue.
AlternativeEducation #Education #EducationalPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationasIndependentStructure #MainstreamEdasCorporation #Teaching #Learning #EducationalIssues
Why hasn’t Education Evolved for the 21st Century?
Let’s examine what the present looks like in education and ask the question, given the furious pace of advancements in technology, why does it look like it did in the 1950’s? Maybe a better question would be why is the same model used since the early 1800’s still in use and considered effective? Subconsciously proclaiming the inability to meet with cries of, “Zero and ones and AI, oh my!” are received by an audience who indulges the confusion instead of recognizing it. School systems today are ill-suited for learning in the 21st century. They are rooted in a culture that moved on long ago.
Blog Post: https://www.educationtriage.net/the-blog
EducationEvolution #ChangingCurriculum #KeepingUpinEducation #AlternativeEducation #Education #StudentInvolvmentinEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationPodcast #AltEd #RethinkingEducation #EffectiveEducation
Why Do You Think That? Common Misperceptions of Alternative Education
“The only issue with Alternative Education is that those in the mainstream tend to dismiss it as an [illegitimate] mode of education. That is what Alt Ed really needs to work on, itself. Most have fantastic programs that tailor to the needs of the students, and they work with the families, as well – they tend to be comprehensive in that sense. That is what really helps – building trust between the community and the school/program. But if the rest of the educational community sees it as a place for “Those Kids” and as “Easy Education” the mindset will not change. “ (Current Educator)
Throughout the years I have discovered that many people go into Alternative Education as a mission to change the world. They burn out quickly. I have also discovered many who believe it to be an easy day. They don’t last long, either. Those who last in successful Alternative Education programs/Schools are those who understand that learning is a process – a lifelong process – that never ceases, and they are up to learning and exploring with the students. This is why computerized learning and using those platforms, rather than 1:1 learning, and even packets with the right kind of teacher, is far more efficacious and successful for deeper and longer learning.
If mainstream education is about compliance, rote-learning, and taking tests, then Alternative Education is about casting off those shackles and exploring the world of learning together. Every student has their own story, and we treat them as individuals – not as a herd of sheep that need training; any dullard can figure out how to train or herd. This is why we need and should require well-trained teachers who are empathetic and love teaching for the learning. Then Alternative Education will find itself legitimized.
AlternativeEducation #PerceptionsofAlternativeEducation #PerceptionsofAltEd #ChangingEducation #FalseImpressionsinEducation #StudentVoicesinAltEd #ParentVoicesinAltEd #TeacherVoicesinAltEd #UnderstandingAlternativeEducation #UnderstandingEducation #EducationalAlternatives #SuccessesinEducationalAlternatives
Changing Perceptions #StudentRigor #EducationRevolution
The world of standardized testing is not objective. Comparing students under uniform conditions to get an “accurate” measure of similar status in inherently subjective. Equal treatment of unequal’s is inequality. Standardized tests discount, and even overlook, a person as an individual unto themselves with unique abilities by placing artificial criterion on the outcomes. Comparison of individuals through testing produces false results: they find what they are looking for subconsciously.
AlternativeEducation #Education #AltEdPodcat #Teaching #TeachingtotheTest #WhatAreTests #Whatistestingfor #TestingversusAsessing #TestingversusEvaluating #WhyDoWeTest #WhatDoWeLearnFromTests #EducationalPodcast #Learning #EducationalProcessing #Conformity #QuantifyingLearning #DoTestsMeasureLearningorMemorization #TestsversusDeepLearning #TeachingPodcast
How does the educational system impact the culture and the ecosystem of the community? Does it enhance the economy? Does it provide more opportunities for growth and participation? What does it do, exactly? If the system dictates the same rules/factors for everyone then where is equity for those communities that find it difficult to apply or even engage in those?
The Blog:
https://www.educationtriage.net/the-blog
EducationandCommunity #CommunityandEducation #HowDoesEducationServeCommunity #DoesCommunityServeEducationalInstitutions #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationPodcast #CommunityInvolvement #ImpactofEducationonCommunity #RelationshipofEducationandCommunity
Dunbar’s Number
This week Philip takes us through Robin Dunbar’s anthropological proposition that humans can maintain effective and deep relationships with only a finite number of people. Is his number reliable? What are the implications? How feasible would it be to reset education using this number?
We discuss these issues in education as well as others as they apply to the question of Dunbar’s Number.
LINKS
Medium.com
https://medium.com/@social_archi/dunbars-number-1a8d75b94576#:~:text=It%20is%20attributed%20to%20British
The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/05/robin-dunbar-explains-circles-friendship-dunbars-number/618931/
Dunbar’s Number Explained-YouTube
https://youtu.be/zZF6vXMGBOw
Big Think article against:
https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/dunbars-number/#:~:text=Since%201992%2C%20people%20have%20been,both%20professional%20and%20popular%20culture.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education
Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching
AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport
#EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationasContainment #ContainmentversusAttainmentinEducation
EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation
NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement
Educationalissues #RobinDunbar #DunbarsNumber #DunbarsNumberandEducation #ClassSize
EffectofSchoolSizeandEducation #EffectofClassSizeandLearning
This episode was originally published on August 7, 2022.
We hope you enjoy it while we are on hiatus - planning for even better content for all of you!
Teaching Growth Mindset in the Alternative Schools
We … need to remember that effort is a means to an end to the goal of learning and improving. Too often nowadays, praise is given to students who are putting forth effort, but not learning, in order to make them feel good in the moment: “Great effort! You tried your best!” It’s good that the students tried, but it’s not good that they’re not learning. The growth-mindset approach helps children feel good in the short and long terms, by helping them thrive on challenges and setbacks on their way to learning. When they’re stuck, teachers can appreciate their work so far, but add: “Let’s talk about what you’ve tried, and what you can try next.”
Around 2006 Dr. Carol Dweck from Stanford University discovered something. It was magical and profound. She and her colleagues began realizing that the brain is malleable and ever-changing - that it isn’t always in a static state, and that it can grow - and be taught to grow.
This was wonderful news. But there are those who guffaw at such research - they point out the flaws, rather than the actual findings. This means that we must fail and celebrate those fails - because we learn with each one and we grow with the renewed opportunity that these failed, these experiences provide.
So, how do we parlay that into the classroom? How can we build this system into our students? How can we take these students who have built walls around themselves both in the Alternative and Mainstream buildings, and plant those seeds that will germinate and award them with successes in their futures?
What is Growth MIndset? 8 steps to develop one
What is Growth Mindset
Growth MIndset for Kids
Growth Mindset - Hammersmith Academy
Growth Minset - INfinity
What having a "Growth MIndset" Actually Means
How to Teach Growth Mindset to Kids
EdWeek: Carol Dweck Revisits the Growth Mindset
EdWeek: Carol Dweck on Nurturing Students Growth Mindsets Through Protest and Pandemic
This episode was originally published on March 20, 2022.
We hope you enjoy it while we are on hiatus - planning for even better content for all of you!
Credit Recovery is popular these days after the pandemic. Districts and schools are working hard to help students recover their credits lost during that time.
The question is how should we have credit recovery in the schools? What works best? Online, Hybrid? Face-to-Face? Many options are there, but districts are going for the most efficient and worrying about any consequences later - after the damage is done.
Are students truly learning from these programs? OR are they worse off, lacking the actual skills they should have learned? And falling further behind?
Are students placed in these programs because they lack the skills to have been placed in the classes in the first place? And falling further behind?
Join us as we try to figure this out.
Some reading:
Issue Brief: Credit Recovery
Getting Back on Track Comparing the Effects of Online and Face-to-Face Credit Recovery in Algebra I
Credit Recovery: Are Face-to-Face Classes Better Than Online?Comparative effectiveness and student choice for online and face-to-face classwork
Online Learning as a Remedy for Course Failure: An Assessment of Credit Recovery as an Intervention to Earn Credits and Graduate from High School
Online Credit Recovery: Benefits and Challenges
Becoming the Mentor/Guide/Facilitator Teacher
This week we delve into changing the landscape that many teachers and community members believe is the “proper way” to teach. The field has been changing for years, but some still proffer the information in the same manner and expect great results, despite having a completely different audience.
What would it take for you to be a mentor-teacher? A guiding teacher? A teacher who facilitates learning? Can you be all in the same package?
How do you create autonomy with your students? How do you create a cycle of collaboration? Where is the circle of learning and teaching? Do you allow them to collaborate with the information? This is such a wide-open area of training and development that it takes us a wee longer than usual…however, you may be glued to your listening devices!
Breathingwhileteaching #Mentorteaching #TeacherasGuide ##Lightingthefireofknowledge #Studentascollaborator #Studentengagement #teachingfordeeperlearning #shiftingfromdirectinstruction #teachingforinclusion #ActiveLearning #Collaborationwithinformation #teachingselfadocacy #breatkingtheteachingmodle #teacherasactivelistener #recognizingboundariesinteaching #teachingselfawareness #sympathyversusempathy #cohabitatingwithlearning #reflectiveteaching #Shiftingyourmindset #teachinggrowthmindset #growthmindset #Teacherandstudentrelationship #Classroomasfertilesoilforlearning
Student-Centered Learning and Why It Is Vital in Education
A Student-Centered Classroom is an educational environment where the learning experiences and activities are primarily designed to cater to the student's individual needs, interests, and abilities. In a student-centered classroom, the teacher is a facilitator or guide rather than a sole disseminator of information. The focus shifts from traditional teacher-directed instruction to a more interactive and collaborative approach where students actively participate in their own learning process.
IndividualizedLearning #ActiveLearningCollaboration #StudentChoice #FlexibleAssessment #FeedbackandReflection #TeacherasGuide #InquiryBasedLearning #StudentWellBeing #IntegrationofTechnology #EducationalPodcast #AlternativeEducation #AltEdPodcast #TeachinginAlternativeEducation #BestPracticesinTeaching #TeacherasLearner #Teacherisbiggestlearner #TeachingStrategies #Approachestoteaching #EvolutionaryPlayintheClassroom #StructuredPlayversusFreePlay #ProblemswithStructuredPlay #NeedsforSocializationforchildren #ImportanceofFreePlay #Lookingforvarietyinteaching #StudentEngagement #TeacherEngagement #FreePlay
Juvenile incarceration is problematic; especially when the prisons are teeming with one demographic. So, this week we turn to an expert - Dr. Rosemarie Allen from the Metropolitan University of Denver. Dr. Allen teaches Early Childhood Education and addresses issues of equity. We are led on a journey where she teaches us about post-Civil War era practices to the Compromise of 1877 and Jim Crowe. We look at the Perry Preschool Project, Abecedera Project, Head Start, and bias in the early years' classrooms which begins the struggle for many students and families in education and their communities. There is so much taught today, and so much learning. Please join us as we venture down a path of humility and growth. If you listen you'll see what I am telling you.
PerryPreschoolProject #OperationHeadStart #addressinggenerationalpoverty #EffectsofJimCrowonEducation #EffectsofExclusionaryBenefitsonEducation #EffectsofRedliningonEducation #AlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationalPodcast #Dr.RosemarieAllen #EarlyChildhoodEducationandEquity #AbecedarianProject #InherentbiasinEducation #InherentBiasintheClassroom #CommunityBasedApproachesinEducation
Several weeks ago Tara Garcia Mathewson said something about having a national board of education. It made sense concerning the circumstances we were discussing, but then we dove deeper into the issue. What would it entail? How would it really benefit the students? The community? The teachers? The schools? Or is it about dominion?
Nationalizing the board certification of teachers so we have wonderful teachers sounds wonderful - but it is a great deal of work - and with the expense of needing at least one full year of non-employment for student teaching, is it really reasonable? Rationale? Feasible? Who has that sort of time and money? Will the pay begin to reflect the professional level of the staff?
How about equity in the classroom? How about who is hired and where? Teaching salaries? Are the laws lateral?
So many questions - think of yourself living in a particular state - your community is a culture in itself - can the federal government really understand the needs of the community and the students? Or is this a one-size-fits-all?
Our heads spin!
Join us!
AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationIssues #AltEdIssues #AlternativeEducationPocast #EducationalPodcast #StatesRights #RightsinEducation #EducationalIssues #NationalBoardofEducation #Equity #StudentEquity #CommunityEquityinEducation #CommunitiesandEducation #LocalControlofEducation #FederalControlofEducation #StudentRights #NationalTeacherCertification #NationalCurriculum #NationalStandards #NationalTeacherSalaryScale #EquityinTeachingonaNationalLevel #WhoisServedinNationalEducation #EducationRights
Equity and Online Learning - oh the irony!
More and more districts, programs, and communities are turning to online learning platforms, such as Odysseyware, GradPoint, Edgenuity, and others to fill a need. The need is for teachers who are qualified in whatever area since retention seems to be an issue of late. But are these platforms viable and good enough to replace educators, classrooms, and the school experience? Will the students engaged in these systems be able to outperform their peers? Districts and others believe they will engage the students and have them do as well as their peers in the classrooms they’re banking on it.
This week we look at the rationalizations, purposes, advantages, disadvantages, and outcomes from the teacher and student perspective. We know that educating children goes above and beyond the checkbook, but as most students in alternative education are from communities in need of resources - are we throwing them in and demanding they comply and do what we want as we want? Or are we working with them to guide them and help them with whatever remediation they require, while also enhancing their school/community experience? Are we helping them create a better future? Or are we happy creating levels of frustration, failure, and loss of hope?
Join us.
AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #EducationalPodcast #TeachingPodcast #IssuesinEducation #IssuesinAlternativeEducation #EquityinEducation #EquityinAlternativeEducation #OnlinePlatformsandEquity #OnlinePlatformsinEducation #TeacherReplacements #TeachingwithEquity #TeacherControl #StudentControl #PunitiveEducationalPractices #ForceFedEducation #QualityofEducation #QualityofTeaching #StudentEngagement #ActiveStudentEngagement #StudentNeeds #TeachersasGuides #ConnectingwithStudents #NuancedCurriculum #Teaching
This week I have the opportunity to meet Curt Richards (curtrichards202@gmail.com), the author of 30 Insights for New Teachers to Thrive. The book is available on GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers. It’s available in e-book, hardback, and paperback.
This is a wonderful discussion because it rejuvenates what I had allowed to collect dust in a corner - the Why and How of teaching. It is universal. Not only is this a great listen for newer teachers, or those working their way into the profession, but for veterans, administrators, and parents, as well.
I would even suggest those who buy this use it as a starting point for the week or day, and work on the insights as an exercise to better hone your practice - for none of us is perfect - and if we determine we’ve reached the end of our learning - well, then, we should just go ahead and retire.
I cannot tell you how refreshing this was. Curt is down-home honest and eager - even at 40 years in the field.
Join us.
AltEd #EducationalPodcast #alternativeeducationpodcast #30waysfornewteacherstothrive #CurtRichards #NoviceTeachers #TeachingInsights #Teacherlearning #Studentteacherrelationships #TeacherPlanning #CounteringTeacherBurnout
Teacheretoughts #foradaministrators #BetterTeaching #BetterLearning #TeacherExercise #TeacherMeditation
Integrating Alternative Education Principles and Practices into Teacher Training Programs
Fresh-faced, idealistic, eager, and gung-ho, fresh bodies enter into the #schoolyear as #teachers - some for the first time, and others making the transition. What have they brought with them that will help them long-term in their quest to educate the young minds that will scamper into their learning zones?
Sure, they may have learned about social justice, about discipline and classroom management, and what standards are, but how well did they connect with their pupils? How well WILL they connect with their pupils? Do they have the facility to operate on different levels with different structures for different learning styles all at once?
What did THEY learn in school before they began their vocational fulfillment as teachers?
This week we delve into why learning more in terms of #alternativeeducation techniques, pedagogies, practices, and curricula that will help teachers - even those dodgy old ones - to connect and succeed with students and begin to alleviate the #learninggaps.
AlternativeEducation #Education #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherTraining #AlternativeEducationTeacherTraining #AlternativeEducationPedagogies #AlternativeEducationTeacher #AlternativeEducationStyles #AlternativeEducationPhilosophies #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationPodcast
The Role of Institutions, Policymakers, and Educational Systems in Alternative Education Teacher Preparation
This week, we examine the role of educational institutions, policymakers, and educational systems in preparing teachers for working in Alternative Education. This would include looking at:
- Curriculum Development
- Accreditation and Recognition
- Partnerships and Collaboration
- Providing Professional Development Opportunities
- Supportive Policies and Funding
- Research and Evidence-Based Practices
- Professional Standards and Certification
- Support and Mentorship Programs
All of these would include improvement of student outcomes, providing funding and resources, the efficacy of the delivery systems, time, support, as well as many other factors we discuss herein.
This is a very loaded topic, and the need to keep our time allotment was really tough - however, it does give a jiggle to the brain and heads us off into the right directions!
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #EducationPodcast #CurriculumDevelopment #CurriculumDevelopmentforAlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationAccredidationandRecognition #AlternativeEducationRecognition #AlternativeEducationPartnerships #PartnershipsinAltEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentinAlternativeEducation #SupportivePoliciesinAlternativeEducation #FundinginAlternativeEducation #ResearchinAlterantiveEducation #EvidenceBasedAtlernatiaveEducationStrategies #AlternativeEducationProfessionalStandards #ProfessionalStandardsinAlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationCertification #CertificationofAlternativeEducationTeachers #SupportforAlternativeEducationTeachers #SupportforAltearnativeEducation #MentorshipforAlternativeEducationTeachers #Mentoring AlternativeEducationTeachers #RoleofSchoolBoardsinAlterantiveEducation #RoleofAdministrationinAlternativeEducation
Strategies and Resources to Prep Teachers in Alt Ed
We continue our series for those teachers in Alternative Education who crave some form of training, insight, or structure to help them succeed and thrive in this faction of the Educational World. While much of what we say may seem common sense it is also those ideas we put to the side and give not much thought to - when, indeed, we really should have them wrapped around ourselves constantly.
How to use peer interactions, and mentorships. what are the resources available? Conferences? Relationships? Reflections? Discipline? Oh My!
Come on and join us.
If you find things are not complete, or you’d like to add to what we are doing, please contact us, and let’s chat!
educationaltriage@gmail.com
AlternativeEducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationTeacherTraining #Alternative TeacherResources #AlternativeEducationInsights #Teacher Reflections #TeachertoTeacherMentorships #SupportiveLeadershipinAlternativeEducation #ComprehensivetrainingforAlternativeEdTeachers #ApprenticeshipsforAltEdTeachers #ProfessionalLearningCommunities #NetworkingOpportunitiesinAltEd #ObservationandExperientialLearninginTeaching #CollaborativePartnershipsinAltEd #OnGoingProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducation #PeerFeedbackinAltEd
GrowthforAlternativeEducationTeachers
One could, I suppose, just jump into an alternative setting and begin teaching in a similar style as they did in a traditional setting. After all - it's worked for THEM in the past. But this isn't about the teacher - it's about the students. You know. The students who are left behind. The students who may not have caught on because they had another life outside of school that didn't fall into the middle-class norms placed on nearly every child in every school.
Alternative Ed is about rethinking styles, pedagogies, delivery systems, professional development, and assessments. It's about how to lift those children - students to another level and granting them the ability to prosper and learn. Traditional education doesn't work for them - so let's see what they have. Better yet, let's show them how they can each find a path to success and a future that will allow everyone around them to prosper, as well.
AlternativeTraining #AlternativeTeacherTraining #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeTeaching #AlternativeProfessionalDevelopment #AlternativeEducationConferences #AlternativeEducationRecognition #AlternativeEducationAccredidation #AlternativeEducationOrganizations #AlternativeEducationPeerGroups #AlternativeEducationLackofTrainingPrograms #AlternativeEducationStandardization ##AlternativeEducationOngoingProfessionalDevelopment #AlternativeEducationBigotryfromTraditionalEducation #AlternativeEducationIntegrationwithTraditionalSystems #AlternativeEducationFinancialConstraintsinTraining #AlternativeEducationEvaluations #AlternativeEducationAssessments #AlternativeEducationTeachingChallenges #AlternativeEducationProfessionalChallenges #AlternativeEducationPodcast
Alternative Education Teacher Training - Part One - Foundations of Alternative Education
This week we undertake the beginning of a journey that will, we hope, inspire and help people who aren’t quite sure of what they are doing in their alternative classrooms/programs/schools. In fact, most of those working in Alt Ed have minimal idea of what they’re doing - they’re just holding on to the hope they’re doing it correctly.
There are many who are determined to uphold the idea that students need to be babysat and watched as if they were inmates when nothing could be further from the truth. The alternative education classroom, school, and program should be a thriving, living, vital, and energetic learning center where students come to throw off their mantles of failure in order to grow, learn, and understand how to learn so they might go forward from our doors to the rest of the world and conquer and succeed.
In fact, those who believe they hold dominion over students or others should be either trained or replaced as soon as possible.
That being said, we begin this week on a journey that opens our minds and yours to what much of the foundation of Alt Ed is, as well as how it differs from traditional schooling. There is so much to chew on that we had to break it into parts.
Feel free to join the conversation by contacting us at: educationaltriage@gmail.com - and let’s keep the conversation going.
AltEd #AlternativeEducation #EducationalPodcast #TeacherTraining #AlternativeTeacherTraining #AltEdTraining #ChildCenteredLearning #HolisticLearning #IndividualizedInstrustion #IndividualDevelopment #HandsonLearning #RespectforChildsPace #StudentPace #DefiningAlternativeEducation #AlternativeAssessment #NontraditionalAssessment #ExperientialLearning #HolisticDevelopment #DemocraticPrinciplesinEducation #SocialJusticeandEquityinEducation #TraditionalLearningvAlternativeLearning #FlexibleCurriculum #FlexiblelPacingofLearning
TransitionalChallenges
Digital Dementia - Are We Encouraging It?
What is this thing being called, DIGITAL DEMENTIA? Is it truly something real? Can it be reversed? What are the symptoms? What are the traits? What should you be worried about? Believe it or not, Gen Z and Millenials are most at risk with projections of dementia cases growing four to six-fold by 2050. Think on that.
Use of the smartphone, and fusing our brainpower with it (how much does it truly do for you?) can decrease brain cells and matter. It’s very concerning - if you’re a parent, or even if you’re one of that population!
How much time do your children, toddlers, teenagers, spouses, colleagues, parents, or whomever, spend on smartphones, computers, tablets? Sure it sounds a bit much, but just decreasing your time can mean so much more.
So much to learn today!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8424060/
https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/the-effects-of-smartphone-usage-on-the-brain/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35164464/
https://www.ocs.help/blog/digital-dementia
https://www.ruanliving.com/blog/are-you-experiencing-digital-dementia
https://www.imrpress.com/journal/JIN/21/1/10.31083/j.jin2101028/htm?fbclid=IwAR1PldZl8TNPuSIzunlNrIZMjl0XUfu8t1_W5mgH9LUEG73dSLqPUN9oEf0&utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Journal_of_Integrative_Neuroscience_TrendMD_1
https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/707214/3/Pardhan_et_al_2021.pdf
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(21)00293-4/fulltext
AltEd #AlternativeEducation #DigitalDementia #DigitalDementiaPodcast #DementiaPodcast #EducationalPodcast #SmartphoneUsageandAffects #EffectsofTechnology #ImpactofTechontheBrain #BrainandTech #TechandMentalHealth #TechandSleep #DigitalReliance #EffectsofSmartphoneuse #Studentsandtech #TechandLearningDisorders #TechandBehaviorDisorders #TechandDepression #TechandSocialDistancing #TechandConformity #FlynnsLaw #TechandMyopia #Techandearlyonsetdementia #Techandbrainloss
Learning Behind Bars
How odd to find there is so little information from 2019 on - about incarcerated students. Whether they be in boot camps, residential treatment, maximum security, minimum security or whatever type of facility they are given over to for their offenses.
What is also interesting is there is not much information about how they’re taught.
This week we begin to dive in with some data and information that helps us understand who the population is comprised. What can we, as teachers, educators, facilitators, community members, parents and others, can do to begin to understand and begin to prevent behaviors that lead to such a future for our children.
Alternative Education #AltEd #Education #Students #YouthOffenders #EducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #PreventionofOffenders #StudentsBehindBars #SchoolsinPrison #EducationPrevention #OffenderPrevention #SchooltoPrisonPipeline
Why Does Mainstream Ed, Inc Disrespect Alt Ed?
We’ve all felt it and seen it. The looks, sneers, the general snort of unrest when Alternative Educators enter the room with the mainstream. Is there some reason they see the tenets, the students, the curriculum as less than what they believe the students should be working on? What’s the deal?
OR, are the programs that seemingly work despite their efforts a means to another end? What is up with that? Seriously.
This week, Philip and Tony look into ways that the mainstream seems to try to demean, dismiss, and dismantle alternative ed through misinformation, misunderstanding, and general ignorance.
Join us.
AlternativeEducaiton #AltEd #Education #AltEdPodcast #EducationalPodcast #DifferencesBetweenAlternativeEducationandMainstreamEducation #AltEdvsMainstreamEd #AltEdCurriculum #MainstreamEdAttitudes #MainstreamEdIgnorance #FixingMainstreamEd #WhatistherelationshipbetweenAltEdandSchools
To Be a Phoenix in Education
Year after year teachers finish up and then walk out the doors - sometimes not long after the last student has left, and sometimes a week or even a month after the students leave. Teachers, nonetheless, are exhausted and ready for the rejuvenator splendors of what vacation they can muster - lest they need to return for Summer School, begin tutoring, take on other jobs to help make ends meet, or make family commitments; it all varies. However, there must be something they might do in order to help eliminate some of the stress created upon their return in the Fall - not necessarily adding to their plates, but prepping plates so filling them is simpler and less energy-consuming.
That’s what this week is about. Perhaps it’s not on your radar, but it might be something to consider.
TeacherPrep #TeacherReadiness #TeacherEndofSchoolPlans #TeacherStress #TeacherStressRelief #TeacherPlanning #AlternativeApproaches #AlternativePodcast #AltEdPodcat #EducationPodcast #EndofYear #SummerReadiness #VacationReadiness #TeacherStudentRelationships #StudentMapping #WhatWorkedThisYear #TeacherImprovement
Calming Young Minds Show notes
This week we meet up with Joe McQueen, an administrator from Galesburg, Illinois, who has over 25 years of experience working with students. He is currently the director of alternative programming for the regional office of Education in Galesburg, where he oversees two campuses of alternative education students who attend for various reasons, from expulsion, severe acting out behavior, and anxiety or truancy.
Joe wrote the book, Calming Young Minds is a culmination of years of work and love. This book offers a unique perspective on understanding mental health, de-escalation, trauama, and restorative practices in teens. This is also a research-based approach to understanding and working with kids who struggle with social-emotional issues.
The book is available on Amazon.com, and Joe can be contacted via his website:
https://www.theraputicperspectives.com/
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalmMinds2023
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalmingYoungMindsBook
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TherapeuticPerspectives/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebookcalmingyoungminds/
And LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-mcqueen-360729240/
Honestly, this is a must-read! It is inspiring, and answers many questions, while giving insight and perspective whether you’re an administrator or teacher - even a parent, for that matter.
Joe is available for consulting - just reach out and contact him!
AltEd #AlterantiveEducation #TeacherTraining #AlternativeEducaitonStudents #AlternativeEducationTraining #AlternativeEducationTraining #StudentDiscipline #RestorativeJustice #PositivePeerCulture #TheraputicPerspectives #AuthorityversusAuthoritarian #HealthyRelationshipswithStudents #StudentRegulation #TeacherRegulation #SocialEmotionalLearning #SEL #BuildingRelationshipsinSchools #ValuingEveryChild #Podcast #EducationalPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #RespectintheClassroom
Equity and School Discipline with Tara Garcia Mathewson
Music by Joseph Dade McDowell - “Sundown”
This week we are honored to have Tara Garcia Mathewson, Investigative Reporter for the Hechinger (Heck-in-jur) Report, which covers so many issues in Education. Tara has been investigating student discipline and shares her knowledge with us!
Topics this week include:
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- Pre-K as a breeding ground for School-to-Prison Pipeline
- Confirmation Bias
- Corporal Punishment in Schools
- Hidden Expulsions
- School Suspensions
- And Dealing with Student Behaviors since re-opening.
- Bill S2029
- At Liberty Podcast - on Pre-K expulsions
Here are some of the links we mention, as well as links to her newsletter from Hechinger:
The Hechinger Report (Homepage)
Innovations in School Discipline - Newsletter
Exemplary Practises in Alternative Education (National Alternative Education Association)
StudentBehavior #StudentDiscipline #StudentConsequences #ParentalInvolvement #CorporalPunishment #StudentTransfers #StudentSuspensions #LearningAccountability #QuestioningDisciplineSystems #SchoolToPrisonPipleline #PreKDiscipline #PreKSuspensions PreKExpulsions #ConfirmationBiasinSchools #ConfirmationBiasinEducation #ConfirmationBiasinDiscipline #HechingerReportInvestigations #TaraGarciaMathewson #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #DisciplineInvestigationData #EducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcst #EdPodcast #AltEdPodcast #CivilRights #EquityinDiscipline #OutDatedMethodsofDiscipline #InnovationinDiscipline #TeachingStudentSelfRegulation
Dr. Maria Cristina Sheehan
This week we look at life hacks to increase your joy, life, and vitality. We know that teaching is stressful - as are many other walks of life - especially now! So, Dr. Maria Cristina Sheehan has graciously agreed to come on to the podcast to coach us on how to alleviate stress, anxiety, and figure out methods to make our lives simpler and far more positive.
Vana Hari - Feeding You Lies: How to Unravel the Food Industry’s Playbook and Reclaim Your Health
The Positive Mindset Podcast
Healthspan #Lifespan #Stressalleviation #anxietyalleviation #RemovalofStress #DietHacks
Fitness #Growthmindsetinlearning #teacherhealth #fitforlife #Healthhacksthatwork #Teacherstress #TeacherAnxiety #workplacestress #workplaceanxiety #Teacherhacks
AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #EducationPodcast #EducationalPodcast
What Critical Race Theory is NOT
One common misconception about Critical Race Theory (CRT) is that it is a divisive, anti-white ideology that seeks to promote "reverse racism" or "white guilt." In reality, CRT is an analytical framework that aims to identify and challenge systemic racism and its intersections with other forms of oppression, such as sexism, homophobia, and ableism.
Another common misunderstanding is that CRT promotes the idea that all white people are inherently racist or privileged. However, CRT recognizes that racism is a social construct that is perpetuated by systemic power structures, and that individuals of all races can be complicit in upholding these structures. CRT also acknowledges that individuals may experience both privilege and oppression across different aspects of their identity, such as race, gender, class, and sexuality.
Some critics of CRT have also claimed that it promotes the idea of "racial essentialism," or the notion that race is a fixed and unchangeable aspect of an individual's identity. However, CRT actually emphasizes the socially constructed nature of race and the ways in which it is used to justify and reinforce power imbalances in society.
Finally, some people have suggested that CRT is being taught in K-12 schools, leading to concerns about "indoctrination" and "political correctness." While CRT is primarily a legal and academic framework, some educators have used its principles to inform their teaching practices and curriculum development. However, it is important to note that CRT is not a prescribed set of beliefs or teachings, but rather a tool for analyzing and understanding the ways in which racism operates in our society.
How to Manufacture a Moral Panic
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #A lternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #CRT #CriticalRaceTheory #CRTinSchools #CriticalRaceTheoryinSchools #MarxismandCRT #MarxismandCriticalRaceTheoryinSchools #IsCRTMarxism #IsCritialRaceTheoryMarxism #CRTExplained #CriticalRaceTheoryExplained #WhatisConflictTheory #Misinformation #Disinformation #BoogeymaninEducation #Racial Essentialism #ArestudentsbeingindoctrinatedinCRT #WhatisPoliticalCorrectness #EchoChambersforselfinterest #QuestioningAssumptions
What is Critical Race Theory, Anyhow?
Much has been said and assigned to CRT or Critical Race Theory. There are accusations that it is being taught in our schools. Some point to CRT as the cause for many issues affecting different communities - including “indoctrination of our children”. How true is all this?
Philip Summers, who holds degrees in Black History and African Studies leads us through this exercise in Sociology so we can understand the basics of CRT. What you learn may surprise you, as well as question so much!
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #CRT #CriticalRaceTheory #CRTinSchools #CriticalRaceTheoryinSchools #MarxismandCRT #MarxismandCriticalRaceTheoryinSchools #IsCRTMarxism #IsCritialRaceTheoryMarxism #CRTExplained #CriticalRaceTheoryExplained #WhatisConflictTheory
Hidden Expulsions
Hidden expulsions? Schools kick students out but call it a ‘transfer’ This is the one that got me thinking about this (LA Times Article)
- 2012 Civil Rights Data Collection:
- The 2012 Civil Rights Data Collection found that Black students were three times more likely to be expelled from school than white students. This disparity was even greater for students with disabilities, with Black students with disabilities being six times more likely to be expelled than white students with disabilities
- In response to these findings, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter in 2014 urging schools to take steps to reduce the number of expulsions for students of color. The letter noted that "disproportionate discipline is a serious problem that can have a negative impact on student's educational opportunities and life outcomes."
- The letter also provided guidance on how schools could reduce the number of expulsions for students of color. This guidance included recommendations for:
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- Developing clear and consistent discipline policies that are applied fairly to all students.
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- Providing training to staff on how to implement discipline policies in a fair and equitable manner.
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- Creating a positive school climate that supports all students.
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- Providing support to students who are struggling academically or behaviorally.
- The Dear Colleague Letter was a significant step in the fight against disproportionate discipline. However, more work is needed to ensure that all students, regardless of their race or ethnicity, have the opportunity to succeed in school.
The Following Are Resources used to delve into this podcast:
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-students-get-banished-to-alternative-schools
https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/Alternative_School_Discipline_Strategies.pdf
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-373
https://www.esc20.net/apps/pages/alternative-education-programs-behavior-discipline#:~:text=Disciplinary%20Alternative%20Education%20Program%20(DAEP)%20is%20an%20alternative%20education%20program,as%20a%20felony%20offense%3B%20and
https://www.idra.org/resource-center/why-disciplinary-alternative-education-programs-do-more-harm-than-good/
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/226234.pdf
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1118&context=educationpubs
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title22.1/chapter14/article3/
https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr23/yr23rel12.asp
ACLU
https://ocrdata.ed.gov/specialreports/educationalequityreport
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #STudentaccountability #TeacherAccountability #PoliticalAccountabilityinEducation #DistrictAccountability #StateEducationAccountability #StudentExpulsions #StudentDiscipline #StudentCivilRights #CivilRightsinEducation #CivilRightsLoopholes #HiddenExpulsions #LackofEquity
What is Educational Policy? And Who Makes It??
Eye-opening for us! Certainly. We go through the facts as to who makes the decisions that trickle down to the classrooms, and who are the parties responsible for what the kids are learning and the teachers are teaching. They must be educators - right?! Right?!
Here are some of the best books on educational policy:
- The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch
- The Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein
- Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol
- The Testing Charade by Daniel Koretz
- The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley
- The Case Against Education by E.D. Hirsch
- How Children Succeed by Paul Tough
- Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
- The Schools We Need by Pedro Noguera
- The New Teacher Project by Diane Ravitch
Here are some websites that may be of use:
- The Education Week Blog: This blog provides daily news and analysis on educational policy from a variety of perspectives.
- The Hechinger Report: This non-profit news organization focuses on inequality and innovation in education.
- The Brookings Institution: This think tank publishes research and analysis on a variety of policy issues, including education.
- The Center for American Progress: This think tank also publishes research and analysis on a variety of policy issues, including education.
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The National Education Policy Center: This research center at the University of Colorado Boulder conducts research on education policy and provides resources for policymakers, educators, and the public.
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Government websites. The websites of government agencies that are responsible for education, such as the U.S. Department of Education, often provide information about the development of educational policy.
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Academic journals. Academic journals that focus on education policy, such as Education Policy Analysis Archives, often publish articles that provide insights into the policymaking process.
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Books on education policy. Books on education policy, such as The Education Gospel by Diane Ravitch, can provide a comprehensive overview of the development of educational policy.
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News articles. News articles about education policy, such as those published by Education Week, can provide up-to-date information about current policy debates.
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Reports from think tanks and advocacy groups. Think tanks and advocacy groups, such as the Center on Education Policy and the National Education Association, often publish reports that analyze educational policy.
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Blogs about education policy. Blogs about education policy, such as The Answer Sheet and Eduwonk, can provide commentary and analysis on current policy issues.
educationalpolicy #edpolicy #educationreform #schoolreform #teachervoice #studentvoice #parentvoice #equity #diversity #inclusion #accountability #standards #testing #curriculum #instruction #leadership #schoolfunding #teacherquality #parentengagement #community #futureofeducation #EducationalPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #whatiseducationalpolicy #whomakeseducationalpolicy #whofundseducationalpolicy educationalpolicyfunding #educationalpolicyideologies #educationalpolicydemagoguery #iseducationalpolicyalignedwithteaching
Are We Still a Nation at Risk?
The 1983 report "A Nation at Risk" warned of a rising tide of mediocrity in US schools. 40 years later, have things changed?
The stimulus for this weeks conversation comes from The Conversation, a news publication that provides intelligent and well-rounded insights into issues - the article this week is from:
40 years ago ‘A Nation at Risk’ warned of a ‘rising tide of mediocrity’ in US schools – has anything changed?
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals
LearningLoss #Testing #ANationAtRisk #AchievementGap #NoChildLeftBehind #NCLB
RaceToTheTop #TestScores #ParentsRights #ParentalInvolvement #PoliticsinEducation #EducationFunding #PoliticalFootball #ConemptwithoutPriorInvestigation #CareerTechnicalEducation #CTE #CareerReadiness #CyclesofEducation
How Do You Rate Your Schools/District - Part Two
When people ask “How is that school?” “What can you tell me about that district?” or anything similar, what goes through your mind? Are you considering Academics? Teachers? Pedagogies? Funding? Sports? Or what?
This week we begin by looking at some of the most significant pieces of education that should be in the crosshairs of Parents, Politicians, Administrators, Students, and Teachers. This also means these groups may need some answers for the others, as well - perhaps not so much the teachers and students, but - -
Let’s talk about #SchoolLeadership #Resources #CommunityResources #ParentalInvolvement #CommunityInvolvement and all that comes with that territory, as well as many more headings. We begin to dive, but there is much more to discuss than we have time for - that’s why there are two episodes, and even that isn’t enough. So, join in, send us your thoughts and comments to educationaltriage@gmail.com, and let's have a go!
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals #TeachersasParaprofessionals #Teachersasworkhorses #TeachersasPawns #TeacherRespect #TeacherDisrespect #TeachersinCrisis #TeachingProfessionOutlook #TeachinginReality #RealityofTeaching #RealityoftheClassroom #TeacherSalaries #TeachersLeaving #SchoolFunding #EducationFunding #EquitableEducationFunding #Fullyfundingourschools #ArePoliticiansfullyfundingourstudents #Howyourstatefundsyourschools #TeachinginAltEd #Hiringteachers #Howtohiregoodteachers #StudentVoice #Curriculum #HonestCurriculumforlearning #SchoolInfrastructure #EquitableInfrastructureinschools #schoolfundraising #HowPreparedarestudents #STudentaccountability #TeacherAccountability #PoliticalAccountabilityinEducation #DistrictAccountability #StateEducationAccountability #StudentAssessment #TeacherAssessment #BuildingAssessment #AdministratorAssessment
CommunityVoiceinEducation #AdministratorAccountability #EffectiveSchoolLeaders #AdministrativeBullying #BullyingTeachers #CommunityResources #SchoolResources #Curriculum #TeachingwithDignity #SchoolClimate
How Should We Rate Our Schools? Pt One
When people ask “How is that school?” “What can you tell me about that district?” or anything similar, what goes through your mind? Are you considering Academics? Teachers? Pedagogies? Funding? Sports? Or what?
This week we begin by looking at some of the most significant pieces of education that should be in the crosshairs of Parents, Politicians, Administrators, Students, and Teachers. This also means these groups may need some answers for the others, as well - perhaps not so much the teachers and students, but - - .
Let’s talk about Funding, Infrastructure, Teachers, and all that comes with that territory, as well as many more headings. We begin to dive, but there really is much more to discuss than we have time for - that’s why there are two episodes, and even that isn’t enough. So, join in, send us your thoughts and comments to educationaltriage@gmail.com, and let's have a go!
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals #TeachersasParaprofessionals #Teachersasworkhorses #TeachersasPawns #TeacherRespect #TeacherDisrespect #TeachersinCrisis #TeachingProfessionOutlook #TeachinginReality #RealityofTeaching #RealityoftheClassroom #TeacherSalaries #TeachersLeaving #SchoolFunding #EducationFunding #EquitableEducationFunding #Fullyfundingourschools #ArePoliticiansfullyfundingourstudents #Howyourstatefundsyourschools #TeachinginAltEd #Hiringteachers #Howtohiregoodteachers #StudentVoice #Curriculum #HonestCurriculumforlearning #SchoolInfrastructure #EquitableInfrastructureinschools #schoolfundraising #HowPreparedarestudents #STudentaccountability #TeacherAccountability #PoliticalAccountabilityinEducation #DistrictAccountability #StateEducationAccountability #StudentAssessment #TeacherAssessment #BuildingAssessment #AdministratorAssessment
CommunityVoiceinEducation
Vocational Education - How and Where It Works
Resources:
CareerSchoolsNow.org
Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts’s National Model Vocational Training Schools. Sinacola, Chris and Ferreira, David J. editors. Pioneer Institute. Boston. 2022.
Vocational education provides skills needed for long-term, meaningful work. Peter J. Taylor. 01/26/2017 (Opinion)
k12 Academics.com
Hirsch, E.D, Jr Cultural Literacy: what every American needs to know;
Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Struggle for Racial Uplift (The African American Experience Series) Moore, Jacqueline M and Mjagkij, Nina.
Education Next, vol. 19, no. 4, fall 2019, pp. 76+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A600918591/AONE?u=oregon_oweb&sid=googleScholar&xid=12d2f7a4.
Long before modern technology became a “thing” and took us into the “future”, communities taught young people about work – the skills, the practices, the ideas. This gave them the understanding they could have a future once they finished their studies, whether that be after elementary or high school (remember things in those days were much harder for the populace). Only the privileged were able to look toward university and college, or even finishing school, in order to pursue other endeavors. Students in those days were able to apprentice and discover/learn how to participate in whatever activity they were entrusted to do. And then time progressed as did education and expectations.
Today, we have students working toward university – the bygone days of the future as apprentices, joining the guild, working the farm, are gone; or are they? Lately, industries and communities are discovering the lack of skilled labor has put them in a bind. So passionate are the schools to send students to college for a better life, they have forgotten the infrastructure of our very society – and that infrastructure, in jobs, can pay (many times) much better if not equal to that of those with university education.
Schools began to take away the industrial arts classes in schools in the 1980s due to budget cuts and “A Nation at Risk”, which discusses the need to go back to basics and rigor in education, lest we find ourselves in a desert lacking intellectual abilities. And so the pendulum swung.
This week we have a look into the systems that have been set up in Massachusetts, and use those as a template. We can venture only so deep, but we are able to discuss what we find. We also discuss the beginnings of Vocational Education with W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. Who knew what they brought to the educational system for us all?
Join us as we begin the dive and learn more.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals #TeachersasParaprofessionals #Teachersasworkhorses #TeachersasPawns #TeacherRespect #TeacherDisrespect #TeachersinCrisis #TeachingProfessionOutlook #TeachinginReality #RealityofTeaching #RealityoftheClassroom #TeacherSalaries #TeachersLeaving #Metacognition #JohnFlavel #Whatislearning #Howdowelearn #Pickingupknowledge MetacognitionDevelopment #StudentOpportunitiesforLearning #Earlychildhoodlearning #insidestudentsheads #factorsthatimpactcognitivedevelopment #Traumaimpactoncognition #traumaimpactonmetacognition #impactoftechnologyondecisionmaking #impactoftechnologyonearlychildhoodlearning #impactoftechnologyonchildhooddecisionmaking #passivelearning #activelearning #studentcomplianceversusengagement #impactofoutsideexperience #impactofteachingstyle #unnaturallearning #engagingcuriosity #safelearningenvironment #safelearning #collaborativelearningsafely #usingpositivefeedbackinteaching #usingemotionallysafestrategiesinteachingfortrauma #communitylearning #PeterGrayBostonCollege #Modelingmetacogntion #metacognitionandselfregulation #studentdecisionmaking #metacognitionandbehavior #metacognitionimpactonattendance #metacognitionandstudentengagement #EngagingCuriosity #metacognitionandexecutivefunctiondisorders #HowtoLearn #HowtoThink #Howtothinkforyourself #teachingmetacognition #teachingoutsidethebox #Individualteaching #individuallearning #powerofthepivot #powerofthepivotinteaching #powerofthepivotinlearning #importanceofplayinlearning #importanceofplay #importanceofcreativity #brainbreaks #evolutionarylearning #GrowthmindsetvFixedmindset #Growthmindsetinlearning #Fixedmindsetineducation #playinlearning #howthebrainlearns #studentconfidence #buildingstudentconfidence #enhancingstudentconfidence #PositiveModelinginEducation #PositiveModelinginlearning #PositiveModelinginFailing #PositiveModelinginregulation #Useofbrainbreaks #hippocampusandlearning #regulatedlearning #subconsciouislearning #subconsciousthinking #denyinglimitationsinlearning #Studentsandchallenge #facingchallenges #sittingindiscomfortinlearning #howtomakemistakes #howtoacceptmistakes #importanceofmistakes #Acceptingnewknowledge #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues
StudentVoiceinEducation #StudentVoiceinSchools #Studentsasdecisionmakers #StudentAgency #Studentscheduling #SEL #SocialEmotionalLearning #SocialEmotionalLearningforstudents #StudentRespect #StudentAgency #TeacherAgency #StudentOutcomes #EducationalRelationships #SchedulingforLearning #Scheduletothestudent #FluidScheduling #AlternativeDiplomas #AlternativeDiplomasvRegularDiplomas #AlternativevAlternateDiplomas #AlternativenotSpecialEdDiplomas #AlternativeDiplomasasEnhanced #GivingStudentsAgency #LearnerAgency #IntegratedProjects #IntergratedLearning #Teachingforthestudent #Outsidetheboxschools #Outsidetheboxteaching #outsidetheboxeducationconcepts #HighSchoolGraduationMyths #WhatDoesaDiplomaSignify #WhatCanYouDoWithAHighSchoolDiploma #CertificateofCompletion #CertificateofAttendance #GED #TestingCompliance #TestingversusStudentNeed #TestingversusLifeOutcomes #DiplomaandEquity #TrainingforLIfeinHighSchool #HighSchoolasTrainingFacility #HIghSchoolOptions #VocationalEducation #WEBDuBoisandBookerTWashington #WEBDuBoisandEducation #ClassicalEducationversusVocationalEducation #BookerTWashington #BookerTWashingtonandVocationalEducation #WEBDuBoisversusVocationaleducation #TuskeegeeInstitute #TheTalentedTenth #MassachusettsDepartmentofEducation #MassachusettsandVocationalEducation
MassachusettsandVocEdModels #VocationalEducationandDropOutRates #VocationalEducationandStudentRetention #VocationalEducadtionandStudentEngagement
StudentRetention #StudentEngagement #LowerDropOutRates #EducationalInnovation #CommunityInvolvementinEducation #EducationalPartnerships #StudentApprenticeships #IndustryandEducation #PerkinsGrants #WorkforceInnovation
Is the High School Diploma Outdated?
What is the purpose of the #HighSchoolDiploma? We celebrate graduations, and the tradition of making our way through the ceremony is a rite of passage that we share with those around us. Our schools and our classmates define our tribes, so to speak - of course, many we never have contact with again, but there is still that developed consciousness that we have as a collective. But the need for the piece of paper and the actual deed of graduating because we may have enough credits - is it still a viable reason to go to school?
What are the other options? A #GED may suffice for many - depending on what their needs are, their skills, and their circumstances. A certificate of completion or attendance may be necessary for those in Special Ed, or who have severe health impairments. Other factors may be involved, as well, but receiving the diploma from your secondary school doesn’t mean you’re actually prepared for the outside world - does it? You may have the skills (or something hovering close to those skills) to communicate and do functional work, but what does it mean?
Giving the diploma meaning and weight may be in the future so students may access more resources - such as good jobs, training, learning at another institution, and being prepared for what life tosses them. But are we doing that currently? With all the testing and the need to prove students can graduate in our systems doesn’t really mean they’re prepared - so how does that piece of paper translate?
This week we are exploring the possibilities for students, parents, partners, industry, teachers, and institutions to begin rethinking how we teach and what results we are necessitating - as opposed to what results actually mean something for the student, the family, the community, and the rest of the world.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals #TeachersasParaprofessionals #Teachersasworkhorses #TeachersasPawns #TeacherRespect #TeacherDisrespect #TeachersinCrisis #TeachingProfessionOutlook #TeachinginReality #RealityofTeaching #RealityoftheClassroom #TeacherSalaries #TeachersLeaving #Metacognition #JohnFlavel #Whatislearning #Howdowelearn #Pickingupknowledge MetacognitionDevelopment #StudentOpportunitiesforLearning #Earlychildhoodlearning #insidestudentsheads #factorsthatimpactcognitivedevelopment #Traumaimpactoncognition #traumaimpactonmetacognition #impactoftechnologyondecisionmaking #impactoftechnologyonearlychildhoodlearning #impactoftechnologyonchildhooddecisionmaking #passivelearning #activelearning #studentcomplianceversusengagement #impactofoutsideexperience #impactofteachingstyle #unnaturallearning #engagingcuriosity #safelearningenvironment #safelearning #collaborativelearningsafely #usingpositivefeedbackinteaching #usingemotionallysafestrategiesinteachingfortrauma #communitylearning #PeterGrayBostonCollege #Modelingmetacogntion #metacognitionandselfregulation #studentdecisionmaking #metacognitionandbehavior #metacognitionimpactonattendance #metacognitionandstudentengagement #EngagingCuriosity #metacognitionandexecutivefunctiondisorders #HowtoLearn #HowtoThink #Howtothinkforyourself #teachingmetacognition #teachingoutsidethebox #Individualteaching #individuallearning #powerofthepivot #powerofthepivotinteaching #powerofthepivotinlearning #importanceofplayinlearning #importanceofplay #importanceofcreativity #brainbreaks #evolutionarylearning #GrowthmindsetvFixedmindset #Growthmindsetinlearning #Fixedmindsetineducation #playinlearning #howthebrainlearns #studentconfidence #buildingstudentconfidence #enhancingstudentconfidence #PositiveModelinginEducation #PositiveModelinginlearning #PositiveModelinginFailing #PositiveModelinginregulation #Useofbrainbreaks #hippocampusandlearning #regulatedlearning #subconsciouislearning #subconsciousthinking #denyinglimitationsinlearning #Studentsandchallenge #facingchallenges #sittingindiscomfortinlearning #howtomakemistakes #howtoacceptmistakes #importanceofmistakes #Acceptingnewknowledge #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues
StudentVoiceinEducation #StudentVoiceinSchools #Studentsasdecisionmakers #StudentAgency #Studentscheduling #SEL #SocialEmotionalLearning #SocialEmotionalLearningforstudents #StudentRespect #StudentAgency #TeacherAgency #StudentOutcomes #EducationalRelationships #SchedulingforLearning #Scheduletothestudent #FluidScheduling #AlternativeDiplomas #AlternativeDiplomasvRegularDiplomas #AlternativevAlternateDiplomas #AlternativenotSpecialEdDiplomas #AlternativeDiplomasasEnhanced #GivingStudentsAgency #LearnerAgency #IntegratedProjects #IntergratedLearning #Teachingforthestudent #Outsidetheboxschools #Outsidetheboxteaching #outsidetheboxeducationconcepts #HighSchoolGraduationMyths #WhatDoesaDiplomaSignify #WhatCanYouDoWithAHighSchoolDiploma #CertificateofCompletion #CertificateofAttendance #GED #TestingCompliance #TestingversusStudentNeed #TestingversusLifeOutcomes #DiplomaandEquity #TrainingforLIfeinHighSchool #HighSchoolasTrainingFacility #HIghSchoolOptions
Flexible Scheduling/Alt Ed Diplomas
How are students working in their current environment? How much time do they have/need in order to create a quality product? How involved are they in working toward a goal to enhance their learning and understanding of the concepts they are undertaking? And, how does their current academic schedule allow them to succeed - or does it just exist and wave away their rights to understand better; is it in the way of their success or does it breed failure?
Looking for ways that work for the students to be better prepared and understand what they are learning shouldn’t be grounded in a lockstep schedule, but rather in a more fluid mode wherein they can find the best environment to access those concepts, materials, peers, and instructors, which will propel them further down the line.
Does this also mean that if they are given these tools they should be given some other form of diploma? Indeed, not being in the same groove as the other students in the mainstream must mean something is amiss with their learning, relevance, and capabilities - or does it demonstrate they are ready for the lessons life has once they graduate?
And, when they do graduate, what does that piece of paper they hold onto after 12 years of their lives (or 2/3 of their entire being)?
Let’s see how that discussion evolves this week!
Scheduling for Learning not Convenience
The Pros and Cons of Alternative Diplomas
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals #TeachersasParaprofessionals #Teachersasworkhorses #TeachersasPawns #TeacherRespect #TeacherDisrespect #TeachersinCrisis #TeachingProfessionOutlook #TeachinginReality #RealityofTeaching #RealityoftheClassroom #TeacherSalaries #TeachersLeaving #Metacognition #JohnFlavel #Whatislearning #Howdowelearn #Pickingupknowledge MetacognitionDevelopment #StudentOpportunitiesforLearning #Earlychildhoodlearning #insidestudentsheads #factorsthatimpactcognitivedevelopment #Traumaimpactoncognition #traumaimpactonmetacognition #impactoftechnologyondecisionmaking #impactoftechnologyonearlychildhoodlearning #impactoftechnologyonchildhooddecisionmaking #passivelearning #activelearning #studentcomplianceversusengagement #impactofoutsideexperience #impactofteachingstyle #unnaturallearning #engagingcuriosity #safelearningenvironment #safelearning #collaborativelearningsafely #usingpositivefeedbackinteaching #usingemotionallysafestrategiesinteachingfortrauma #communitylearning #PeterGrayBostonCollege #Modelingmetacogntion #metacognitionandselfregulation #studentdecisionmaking #metacognitionandbehavior #metacognitionimpactonattendance #metacognitionandstudentengagement #EngagingCuriosity #metacognitionandexecutivefunctiondisorders #HowtoLearn #HowtoThink #Howtothinkforyourself #teachingmetacognition #teachingoutsidethebox #Individualteaching #individuallearning #powerofthepivot #powerofthepivotinteaching #powerofthepivotinlearning #importanceofplayinlearning #importanceofplay #importanceofcreativity #brainbreaks #evolutionarylearning #GrowthmindsetvFixedmindset #Growthmindsetinlearning #Fixedmindsetineducation #playinlearning #howthebrainlearns #studentconfidence #buildingstudentconfidence #enhancingstudentconfidence #PositiveModelinginEducation #PositiveModelinginlearning #PositiveModelinginFailing #PositiveModelinginregulation #Useofbrainbreaks #hippocampusandlearning #regulatedlearning #subconsciouislearning #subconsciousthinking #denyinglimitationsinlearning #Studentsandchallenge #facingchallenges #sittingindiscomfortinlearning #howtomakemistakes #howtoacceptmistakes #importanceofmistakes #Acceptingnewknowledge #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues
StudentVoiceinEducation #StudentVoiceinSchools #Studentsasdecisionmakers #StudentAgency #Studentscheduling #SEL #SocialEmotionalLearning #SocialEmotionalLearningforstudents #StudentRespect #StudentAgency #TeacherAgency #StudentOutcomes #EducationalRelationships #SchedulingforLearning #Scheduletothestudent #FluidScheduling #AlternativeDiplomas #AlternativeDiplomasvRegularDiplomas #AlternativevAlternateDiplomas #AlternativenotSpecialEdDiplomas #AlternativeDiplomasasEnhanced #GivingStudentsAgency #LearnerAgency #IntegratedProjects #IntergratedLearning #Teachingforthestudent #Outsidetheboxschools #Outsidetheboxteaching #outsidetheboxeducationconcepts
Student Voice/Disrespect
Consider how you’d like your students to think of their school - a prison. A factory? A Containment? A Community? A place of learning and exploration for their future? So many options, but so many are pessimistic. How do you begin to erase or dissolve those negatives and begin fostering agency, appreciation, accountability, and positive relationships? How about bringing in students to have a say in what is going on in the system that affects them directly?
Schools are not supposed to be organizations of domination, are they? I’ve known and worked with too many who do consider exactly this premise for schools - and those people tend to be rather mediocre and insecure in their relationships. Rather, if we foster a culture of community and involvement, where students have the agency to have their voices heard, we begin an evolution into how our systems can change for the better.
Without the buy-in of students, and the community, we begin to foster an “Us versus Them” mentality which is antithetical to our mission, is it not? If we bring in and listen to all student voices, then, perhaps this will bleed outside the walls and begin some of the healing that needs to occur for families and others in the community.
Having students take control and power (not complete, but they have the investment - be it through peers or themselves) can create a strong bond and relationship with the school, teachers, and others - so these growing concerns of disrespect in the classroom, the hallways, the building, the community can begin to dissipate. It can happen only if we work together.
Remember, too, schools have a 1-14% effect on student outcomes - so by bringing in the community and allowing them to be heard in a safe and respectful way, we are helping the other 86-99% of their lives indirectly.
Think about it.
Why Student Voice Matters
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals #TeachersasParaprofessionals #Teachersasworkhorses #TeachersasPawns #TeacherRespect #TeacherDisrespect #TeachersinCrisis #TeachingProfessionOutlook #TeachinginReality #RealityofTeaching #RealityoftheClassroom #TeacherSalaries #TeachersLeaving #Metacognition #JohnFlavel #Whatislearning #Howdowelearn #Pickingupknowledge MetacognitionDevelopment #StudentOpportunitiesforLearning #Earlychildhoodlearning #insidestudentsheads #factorsthatimpactcognitivedevelopment #Traumaimpactoncognition #traumaimpactonmetacognition #impactoftechnologyondecisionmaking #impactoftechnologyonearlychildhoodlearning #impactoftechnologyonchildhooddecisionmaking #passivelearning #activelearning #studentcomplianceversusengagement #impactofoutsideexperience #impactofteachingstyle #unnaturallearning #engagingcuriosity #safelearningenvironment #safelearning #collaborativelearningsafely #usingpositivefeedbackinteaching #usingemotionallysafestrategiesinteachingfortrauma #communitylearning #PeterGrayBostonCollege #Modelingmetacogntion #metacognitionandselfregulation #studentdecisionmaking #metacognitionandbehavior #metacognitionimpactonattendance #metacognitionandstudentengagement #EngagingCuriosity #metacognitionandexecutivefunctiondisorders #HowtoLearn #HowtoThink #Howtothinkforyourself #teachingmetacognition #teachingoutsidethebox #Individualteaching #individuallearning #powerofthepivot #powerofthepivotinteaching #powerofthepivotinlearning #importanceofplayinlearning #importanceofplay #importanceofcreativity #brainbreaks #evolutionarylearning #GrowthmindsetvFixedmindset #Growthmindsetinlearning #Fixedmindsetineducation #playinlearning #howthebrainlearns #studentconfidence #buildingstudentconfidence #enhancingstudentconfidence #PositiveModelinginEducation #PositiveModelinginlearning #PositiveModelinginFailing #PositiveModelinginregulation #Useofbrainbreaks #hippocampusandlearning #regulatedlearning #subconsciouislearning #subconsciousthinking #denyinglimitationsinlearning #Studentsandchallenge #facingchallenges #sittingindiscomfortinlearning #howtomakemistakes #howtoacceptmistakes #importanceofmistakes #Acceptingnewknowledge #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues
StudentVoiceinEducation #StudentVoiceinSchools #Studentsasdecisionmakers #StudentAgency #Studentscheduling #SEL #SocialEmotionalLearning #SocialEmotionalLearningforstudents #StudentRespect #StudentAgency #TeacherAgency #StudentOutcomes #EducationalRelationships
Sleep and Students with M Cramer Borneman MD
This week we are presented with the great knowledge and expertise of Dr. Michel Cramer Bornemann (bio below). We discuss sleep, and its impact on the child and teen, as well as the adult. This is a great opportunity for us to learn more about how important sleep is and how it might determine the efficacy of a student’s learning.
Michel A. Cramer Bornemann, MD grew up in Beaverton, Oregon where he graduated from Jesuit High School. He received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. He received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Twin Cities. His post-medical training included completed specialty training in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, and Sleep Medicine. Most of his career has been involved in academic medicine. Currently, his work is dedicated to Sleep Medicine, particularly on Parasomnias, specifically the forensic implications of violence associated with complex sleepwalking behaviors. He has been the author of over 100 medical textbook and journal
articles. He is often invited to give lectures worldwide and frequently appears in the media
including BBC, National Geographic, and Discover. Outside of Medicine, Dr. Cramer Bornemann is an avid fan of Japanese anime and manga… but is not involved with cosplay.
You may contact Dr. Cramer Bornemann at:
https://sleepforensicmedicine.org/
Or directly at: michel9626@yahoo.com
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues
StudentHealth #StudentSchedule #TeacherHealth #TeacherSchedule #SleepCoach #SleepandLearning #SleepandAdolescents #SleepandAdolesence #SleepandEfficacy #SleepandEfficacyintheClassrom #SleepandTeaching #LackofSleepinEducation #SleepandADHD #SleepandLearningDisorders #SleepandCognition #SleepandAbility #SleepPodcast #SleepHealth
Teachers’ Rights
Lately, we read and observe more that is being done with teachers in mind - instead, we find ourselves expecting more and more of teachers. And, like a frog in a pot, it is reaching the boiling point - there is very little energy left for the teachers - at least those I have spoken with in the past few years. Many teachers I meet after they’ve left and they have no issues telling me the reasons.
This week, we discuss what we find from the Washington Post’s OpEd piece on Teachers’ Rights, and then the two studies she uses as a basis for that article.
Here are the links to the articles:
Washington Post - The Basic Rights Teachers Don’t Have
Weishart’s The Right to Teach
The Rise and Fall of the Teaching Profession: Prestige, Interest, Preparation, and Satisfaction over the Last Half Century#AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #TeachersRights #TeacherPreparation #TeacherLIcesning #TeachersasProfessionals #TeachersasParaprofessionals #Teachersasworkhorses #TeachersasPawns #TeacherRespect #TeacherDisrespect #TeachersinCrisis #TeachingProfessionOutlook #TeachinginReality #RealityofTeaching #RealityoftheClassroom #TeacherSalaries #TeachersLeaving #TeacherRecruitment #IsTeachingGoingAway #ThefutureofTeaching
What goes on Inside a Kid’s Head? Understanding Metacognition and Strategies with Liz Keable
We are pleased and honored to have Liz Keable back, again. This time we dive into aspects of Metacognition, what it means, how to go about developing it, and - of course- practicing it in the classroom. There are many moments when we realize where we are making our own mistakes, and fixing them can be so simple! But how do we handle learning equitably? How do we handle it so all students thrive?
Liz is such an impressive speaker and developer of methodologies in metacognition that I could go on for days learning from her and listening to her.
I have put her links and bio below.
You may contact Liz at:
success@lizkeable.com
Lizkeable.com
And on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizkeable/
Liz is a fully qualified teacher and trainer with many years of experience working with children, young people, and adults to support their learning, in both group and one-to-one situations. As a Biologist with a special interest in the brain, she initially taught Science in High Schools and has always pursued ‘brain-friendly’ ways of teaching. Liz also undertook additional training as a Hamlyn Fellow with the University of the First Age, and then with the British Academy of Advanced Training in order to employ the best teaching and learning methods available.
Specializing in Gifted and Talented Education, Liz trained further with ‘Sapere’ to deliver ‘Philosophy for Children’, and with author, Barbara Bell to deliver the Minimus Primary Latin project. During her time as an Advisory Teacher, Liz developed confidence-building ‘transition’ materials for Primary schools, trained classroom teachers to use the specialist packs provided, and carried out a successful research project to raise attainment in that sector. She has more recently supported the educational needs of vulnerable children in specialist ‘foster care’ placements, developing further ‘Learning Brain’ materials in the process.
As a Master's level trainer of adults, Liz has written and independently delivered numerous bespoke courses within the education, voluntary and business sectors, while also serving as a tutor through other education providers. She has a management qualification from the Institute of Leadership and Management and spent several years as the Development Manager for a local Parenting Strategy. Liz trained further with Parenting UK to become a ‘Trainer of Parent Educators’ and provides specialist material for parents, and the facilitators of parenting programs. Over recent years, Liz has also been supporting schools with their CPD needs for Cover Supervisors, Teaching Assistants, and Teachers.
Liz originally founded Learning Pockets UK to help learners in any situation feel more confident about their ability to succeed and has personally assisted hundreds of young people to achieve more than they or anyone else thought possible. In recognition of the fact that the internal environment of a learner’s mind is the most significant factor for both positive mental health and academic outcomes, Liz now offers; ‘Metacognition in Practice – An Integrated Approach’.
Metacognition #JohnFlavel #Whatislearning #Howdowelearn #Pickingupknowledge MetacognitionDevelopment #StudentOpportunitiesforLearning #Earlychildhoodlearning #insidestudentsheads #factorsthatimpactcognitivedevelopment #Traumaimpactoncognition #traumaimpactonmetacognition #impactoftechnologyondecisionmaking #impactoftechnologyonearlychildhoodlearning #impactoftechnologyonchildhooddecisionmaking #passivelearning #activelearning #studentcomplianceversusengagement #impactofoutsideexperience #impactofteachingstyle #unnaturallearning #engagingcuriosity #safelearningenvironment #safelearning #collaborativelearningsafely #usingpositivefeedbackinteaching #usingemotionallysafestrategiesinteachingfortrauma #communitylearning #PeterGrayBostonCollege #Modelingmetacogntion #metacognitionandselfregulation #studentdecisionmaking #metacognitionandbehavior #metacognitionimpactonattendance #metacognitionandstudentengagement #EngagingCuriosity #metacognitionandexecutivefunctiondisorders #HowtoLearn #HowtoThink #Howtothinkforyourself #teachingmetacognition #teachingoutsidethebox #Individualteaching #individuallearning #powerofthepivot #powerofthepivotinteaching #powerofthepivotinlearning #importanceofplayinlearning #importanceofplay #importanceofcreativity #brainbreaks #evolutionarylearning #GrowthmindsetvFixedmindset #Growthmindsetinlearning #Fixedmindsetineducation #playinlearning #howthebrainlearns #studentconfidence #buildingstudentconfidence #enhancingstudentconfidence #PositiveModelinginEducation #PositiveModelinginlearning #PositiveModelinginFailing #PositiveModelinginregulation #Useofbrainbreaks #hippocampusandlearning #regulatedlearning #subconsciouislearning #subconsciousthinking #denyinglimitationsinlearning #Studentsandchallenge #facingchallenges #sittingindiscomfortinlearning #howtomakemistakes #howtoacceptmistakes #importanceofmistakes #Acceptingnewknowledge #Helpingstudentsthrive #ListeningtoStudentLearning #Engagingstudents #reengagingstudents #Loweringabsenteeism #Raisingexpectationsintheclassroom
Educational Equity and the FCPS “Scandal”
Educational equity:
Educational equity is the concept of fairness in education, which means that all students should have access to the same educational opportunities, regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, or socio-economic status. This includes providing resources and support to ensure that all students have the same chance to succeed in school.
This week we look at whether the intentions of #EducationalEquity are really for the benefit of the students or for the appearance of those actors. Are we walking the talk? Are we considering all students? OR are we working with the assumption that certain groups of students are worthy of sheltering and staying “safe” from the harm caused by others who do well?
The sites discussed:
Fairfax Schools Violated Students’ Civil Rights…
After reports that schools delayed telling students of awards, Va. widens probe#AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues #FairfaxCountyPublicSchools #FailingSuccess #HypocriticalEquity #EquityforAppearances #WhatisEducationalEquityinPractice #Shouldwecelebratesuccess #Keepingstudentsvictimsasequity #isequityaboutvictimhood #Equitywalkvtalk #EquityasVirtueSignal #VirtueSignalasEquity #Usingstudentsasvirtuesignal
Trauma-Aware Strategies in Alternative Education
Wow! What a fantastic time I had with Jennifer Achari (j.achari@hdr.qut.edu.au). There is so much packed into this conversation that we needed to put it into two episodes (Episode 1 aired last week).
We worked from the books: Distressed or Deliberately Defiant and Trauma-Aware Education: essential information and guidance for educators, education sites, and education systems which I’ve linked to Amazon.
There is so much to learn, and Jennifer delightfully engages and teaches. You will find this both insightful and affirming. There are so many strategies I would like to try. Are you with me?
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEducation #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #AltEdProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TrauamAwareEducation #TraumaInformedEducation #TrauamandtheBrain #Traumaandstudents #Traumaandstudentdevelopment #TraumaandLearning #ImpactofTraumaonLearning #ImpactofTraumaoneducation #LearningTrauma #TraumaImpactontheBrain #BrainPlasticity #Brainreslience #TraumaAwarenessintheclassroom #Traumaawareschool #Traumaawareteachers #LearningImpactonBrain #AdolescentTrauma #FormsofTrauma #Alternativeeductionfortraumaawareeducation #AltEdandTraumaInformedEducation #AlternativeEducationpopulationsandtrauma #AltEdpopulationsandtrauma #SafeLearningSpaces #SafeTeachers #SafeTeaching #SafeSchools #TeachingReslience #AltEdandResilience #AlternativeEducationandResilience #GrowthMIndsetandTrauma #WorkingwithtraumaandgrowthMindset #EqualizingLearning #GrowthMIndsetandTraumaAwareClassroom #EngagingTraumatisedstudents #EngagingtheTraumatisedbrain #Fromtraumatogrowthmindset #TraumaInformedStrategies #CommunicationandTrauma #Secondandthirdchancesforstudents #TraumaAwareDiscipline #TraumaInformedDiscipline #TraumaAwareStrategies #TraumaandBurnout #EducatorBurnoutandTrauma #PowerofBeing #StudentsasBeing #TeachersModelBehavior #TeachersModelRegulation #StudentsandEmotionalRegulation #FamiliesandStudentTrauma #AustrailianAlternativePrograms #TraumaInformedPodcast #TraumaAwarePodcast #GrowthMindsetStrategies
This week We Explore ChatGPT - it’s strengths and weaknesses - as well as what it is!
Music by Joseph McDade
Yes, we geek out. Philip cannot contain himself - in fact he’s all over the place with enthusiasm.
The first part of the episode we look at what ChatGPT is. And the second part we examine the uses in the classroom. See if you can keep up!
Websites: ChatGPT Homepage
What is ChatGPT and how are people using it?
ChatGPTZero
There are several ways that ChatGPT, or other language models like it, can be used in the classroom to enhance learning and engagement. Here are a few examples:
- Language Translation: ChatGPT can be used to assist students with language translation, which can be particularly useful for multilingual classrooms.
- Essay Writing Assistance: ChatGPT can be used as a writing assistant to help students generate ideas, organize their thoughts, and improve their writing skills.
- Research Assistance: ChatGPT can be used to help students find information on a variety of topics, and to assist with the formation of research questions and the organization of data.
- Interactive Learning: ChatGPT can be used to create interactive learning activities, such as virtual dialogues or simulations, which can help students to better understand complex concepts.
- Fun activities: ChatGPT can also be used to create fun activities like games, trivia and puzzles to keep students engaged and motivated.
- Provide feedback: ChatGPT can be used to provide feedback to students on their work, such as essays, research papers, and other writing assignments, which can help them to improve their skills over time.
It is important to note that while ChatGPT can be a helpful tool in the classroom, it should not replace the role of the teacher. The teacher should always be present to guide the use of the model and to ensure that the students are gaining the most benefit from the tool.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEducation #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #AltEdProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeachersandTech #TechandTeachers #ChatGPTandEducation #ChatGPTintheClassroom #HowtouseChatGPT #HowtouseChatGPTintheClassroom #TeachingandChatGPT #GPTZero #educationandAdaptingtoTechnology #StudentsandChatGPT #StudentResponsiblity #TechnologyandStudents #LearningAboutChatGPT
Trauma-Aware Strategies in Alternative Education
Wow! What a fantastic time I had with Jennifer Achari (j.achari@hdr.qut.edu.au). There is so much packed into this conversation that we needed to put it into two episodes (Episode 2 will air next week).
We worked from the books: Distressed or Deliberately Defiant and Trauma-Aware Education: essential information and guidance for educators, education sites, and education systems which I’ve linked to Amazon.
There is so much to learn, and Jennifer delightfully engages and teaches. You will find this both insightful and affirming. There are so many strategies I would like to try. Are you with me?
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEducation #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #AltEdProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TrauamAwareEducation #TraumaInformedEducation #TrauamandtheBrain #Traumaandstudents #Traumaandstudentdevelopment #TraumaandLearning #ImpactofTraumaonLearning #ImpactofTraumaoneducation #LearningTrauma #TraumaImpactontheBrain #BrainPlasticity #Brainreslience #TraumaAwarenessintheclassroom #Traumaawareschool #Traumaawareteachers #LearningImpactonBrain #AdolescentTrauma #FormsofTrauma #Alternativeeductionfortraumaawareeducation #AltEdandTraumaInformedEducation #AlternativeEducationpopulationsandtrauma #AltEdpopulationsandtrauma #SafeLearningSpaces #SafeTeachers #SafeTeaching #SafeSchools #TeachingReslience #AltEdandResilience #AlternativeEducationandResilience #GrowthMIndsetandTrauma #WorkingwithtraumaandgrowthMindset #EqualizingLearning #GrowthMIndsetandTraumaAwareClassroom #EngagingTraumatisedstudents #EngagingtheTraumatisedbrain #Fromtraumatogrowthmindset #TraumaInformedStrategies #CommunicationandTrauma #Secondandthirdchancesforstudents #TraumaAwareDiscipline #TraumaInformedDiscipline #TraumaAwareStrategies #TraumaandBurnout #EducatorBurnoutandTrauma #PowerofBeing #StudentsasBeing #TeachersModelBehavior #TeachersModelRegulation #StudentsandEmotionalRegulation #FamiliesandStudentTrauma #AustrailianAlternativePrograms #TraumaInformedPodcast #TraumaAwarePodcast #GrowthMindsetStrategies
Why is Education Failing? A Perspective
News News News
This middle-of-the-week episode is taking us on a discussion of vents, facts, insights, and other interesting twists that come from viewing the video: Why the Education System is Failing America? We discuss Common Core, No Child Left Behind, and Race to the Top, among other vital targets.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #NCLB #NoChildLeftBehind #Racetothetop #CommonCore #TeacherMorale #Educationalissues
Trauma-Aware Education with Jennifer Achari
This week we are privileged to have Jennifer Achari from the Queensland University of Technology join us. She is a treasure, full of information on Trauma Aware Education. She is a Deputy Principal at an Alternative School in Perth, Western Australia, and she is a lecturer at the University as she works toward her doctorate in Truama-Informed Education.
She is the “Protege” of Dr. Judith A. Howard, author of the book Trauma-Aware Education: Essential information and guidance for educators, education sites, and education systems (Australian Education Press, Samford Valley, 2022). Which we use as our platform today.
In this episode we focus on the brain, and how trauma affects the learning processes, as well as how the brain operates - and how brain plasticity works for our students, and, perhaps, ourselves.
Join us as we learn so much this week. And, Jennifer promises she’ll be back next week for another look into teaching strategies in the Trauma-Aware School.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEducation #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #AltEdProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TrauamAwareEducation #TraumaInformedEducation #TrauamandtheBrain #Traumaandstudents #Traumaandstudentdevelopment #TraumaandLearning #ImpactofTraumaonLearning #ImpactofTraumaoneducation #LearningTrauma #TraumaImpactontheBrain #BrainPlasticity #Brainreslience #TraumaAwarenessintheclassroom #Traumaawareschool #Traumaawareteachers #LearningImpactonBrain #AdolescentTrauma #FormsofTrauma #Alternativeeductionfortraumaawareeducation #AltEdandTraumaInformedEducation #AlternativeEducationpopulationsandtrauma #AltEdpopulationsandtrauma #SafeLearningSpaces #SafeTeachers #SafeTeaching #SafeSchools #TeachingReslience #AltEdandResilience #AlternativeEducationandResilience #GrowthMIndsetandTrauma #WorkingwithtraumaandgrowthMindset #EqualizingLearning #GrowthMIndsetandTraumaAwareClassroom #EngagingTraumatisedstudents #EngagingtheTraumatisedbrain #Fromtraumatogrowthmindset
Cell Phones Social Media & Students
What a topic we have chosen for this week!
Let’s talk about Cell phones - why are so many students using them? Are they essential?
Is Social Media breaking down interactions? Is it actually a goodly part of the rationale we need Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?
This week we look into what some have done, and the results, and we discuss the addiction to these platforms and the devices. What are the problems they bring to the learning environment, and what is the enrichment they also bring?
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEducation #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #AltEdProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #Cellphonesinclassroom #Cellphonesandstudents #Cellphonesandparents #cellphonesineducation #cellphonesaseducationaltools #cellphonesasdistractions #cellphonesasweapons #bullyingoncellphones #cellphonesandclassroombullying #Socialmediaandstudents #Socialmediaandschools #Bullyingandsocialmedia #Schoolbulliesandsocialmedia #Studentsandsocialmedia #cellphonesandadoescentrelationships
#cellphonesandpurpose #socialmediaasweapon #Parentsandsocialmedia #cellphonesandparents #Schoolsandcellphones #Schoolsandsocialmedia #Learningandsocialmedia #Howsocialmediadisruptsrelationships #Howcellphonesdisruptcommunication #SELandSocialMedia #SELandCellphones #SocailEmotionalLearningandCellphones #SocialEmotionalLearningandSocialMedia #CellphoneImpactonChildren #SocialMediaImpactonChildren #CellphoneImpactonLearning #SocialMediaImpactonLearning #CellphoneBanImpactonRelationships #CellphoneBanImpactonLearning
Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning is happening across the country, whether or not you agree or not. But what is it?
It is actually something we’ve been doing for years - but now it’s more engrained, at least artificially, as schools and districts are determined to grant 30-40 minutes a week to doing SEL lessons for their students - as if this would alleviate the angst, anxiety, learning loss, and problems with relationships students are experiencing.
This week we discuss the SEL Standards, the need, and how we are already dealing with these issues in Alternative Education - and, many in the mainstream (although with greater difficulty).
Social Emotional Learning History
Social Emotional Learning Standards
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEducation #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #AltEdProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining
SocialEmotionalLearning #SELinSchools #SocialEmotionalLearninginSchools #SocialEmotionalLearningDefinitions #SocialEmotionalLearningintheClassroom #SELLearning #SELintheClassroom #SELCurriculum #SocialEmotionalLearningCurriculum #SafeClassrooms #BuildingCommunityinSchools #BuildingCommunityintheClassroom #BuildingTrustinSchools #SELIssues #SELRollout #SELStandards #SocialEmotionalLearningStandards #ImpactofSEL #ImpactofSocialEmotionalLearning #CASEL #CollaborativeforAcademicSocialEmotionalLearning
Is Education Becoming Too Corporate?
A rather not so long ago, there was an institution called Education. This was funded by the tax dollars of the citizens in the communities. Yet, as the world and communities progressed businesses found ways to enter into agreements with the educational systems that would be profitable for not only them, but for the schools themselves - or is it really a two-way street?
This week we delve into the multi-trillion dollar structures that have invaded our schools - not benefiting the students (isn’t that what education is supposedly about?) but those at the top of the structure as well as the businesses. Who are these businesses? And how have they infiltrated? What’s going on? And What are the outcomes?
You’ll find out!
The Seven Largest For-Profit Education Companies in the World
K-12 Testing and Assessment Market by Product, Method, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027
Sales of K-12 Instructional Materials Soaring, New Industry Estimates Show
The Changing Textbook Industry
23 Textbook Industry Statistics, Trends and Analysis
US Industry Market - Global Analysis
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement #BusinessProfitsinEducation #CorporateTakeoverofEducation #EducationforProfit #EducationandBusiness #DemiseofEducation #FortheStudents #FacistEducation #EducationasOpiate #EducationalNormsbyBusiness
All teachers are required to participate and enjoy the “benefits” of PD, or Professional Development. Required because of licensure, and moreover because of employment requirements, as well. But what IS professional development and what SHOULD it be?
This week we look at all the angles of what possibilities PD offers - both on campus and off.
Why aren’t teachers going to more conferences? Why are conferences more biased toward administrators and policy-makers rather than teachers who actually are doing the work and could use the respite, the shoring up of skills, and the coordination of networking with others in order to create a more vibrant and innovative educational structure?
How might we improve the structure? What would your input be? Tell us!
EducationalTriage@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/educationaltriage/home
Oregon Alternative Education Conference - Monday, April 24, 2023, Salem Oregon.
Join Us!
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #Education #Teaching #Teachers #AlternativeEducationTeachers #AltEdTeachers #AltEdTeaching #AlternativeEducationTeaching #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEducation #ProfessionalDevelopmentinEd #AlternativeEducationProfessionalDevelopment #AltEdProfessionalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopmentforEducators #ProfessionalDevelopmentforAlternativeEducators #AlternativeEducationTraining #TeacherSupport #TeacherMorale #TeachersinCrisis #EducationasHierarchy #EducationalHierarchy #EducationalSupport #EducationalTraining #EducationalInnovation #TeacherInnovation #NetworkinginEducation #CareerinEducation #EducationalAdvancement
How to Build a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Program Assessment
pt 2
The National Alternative Education Association Exemplary Practises
The-NAEA.ORG
This week we continue our discussion on Evaluations of our schools and programs. It’s surprising what we have learned through the years, but also what we find we could do better!
We can all improve, but can you find others willing to do this with you?
AlternativeEducation #AltEd AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #DiscussingAlternativeEducation #DiscussingAltEd#AlternativeEducationEvaluation #AlternativeEducationAssessment #ProgramAssessment #SchoolAssesssment #LeadershipAssessment #NAEA #NationalAlternativeEducationAssociation #NAEAExemplaryPractices #ExemplaryPracticesinAlternativeEducation #ParentalInvolvementinAlternativeEducation #AssessingParentalInvolvement #EvaluatingParentalInvolvementinAltEd #GuardianInvolvementinAlternativeEducationinAlternativeEducation #AssessingGuardianInvolvementinAltEd #EvaluatingGuardianInvolvementinAltEd
AssesseingParentandGuardianInvolvementinEducation #CollaborationinAlternativeEducation #CollaboratinginAltEd #AssesseingCollaborationinAltEd #AssessingCollaborationinAlternativeEducation #EvaluatingCollaborationinAltEd #EvaluatingCollaborationinAltEd #EvaluatingCollaborationinEducation #EvaluatingCollaborationinSchools #ProgramEvaluationinAlternativeEducation #AssesseingProgramEvaluationinAltEd #EvaluatingProgramEvaluationsinAlternativeEducation
AssessingSchoolCounseling #AssesseingSchoolCounselinginAltEd #EvaluatingSchoolCounselinginAlternativeEducation #SocialWorkAssessmentsinAlternativeEducation #AssessingSocialWorkinAlternativeEducation #EvaluatingSocialWorkinAltEd #EvaluatingSocialWorkinAlternativeEducation
How to Build a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Program Assessment and Evaluation pt 1
The National Alternative Education Association Exemplary Practises
The-NAEA.ORG
How do YOU do program/school assessment? What elements are you focusing on? Can you find areas where you excel? Areas where you are surprised?
This week Philip and I talk through each of the practices and make some realizations and find understanding. We can all improve, but can you find others willing to do this with you?
AlternativeEducation #AltEd AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEdPodcast #DiscussingAlternativeEducation #DiscussingAltEd#AlternativeEducationEvaluation #AlternativeEducationAssessment #ProgramAssessment #SchoolAssesssment #LeadershipAssessment #NAEA #NationalAlternativeEducationAssociation #NAEAExemplaryPractices #ExemplaryPracticesinAlternativeEducation
Building a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Funding
This week we learn about funding, formulas, sources, and methods of how to procure monies for your program or your school. So, we have some sources for you to investigate below.
Another great source for setting things up and keeping everything in-line is the book, Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids: A Step-by-Step Process that Empowers Frustrated Parents to Innovate Education by Dr. Maureen O’Shaugnessy. She provides insights on doing all the setups and staying on track. Truly a book to keep by your side!
Funding seems to be that gigantic ogre which challenges us to think outside the boxes. This week Philip and I brainstorm ideas, as well as give ideas to some sources - be they industry, corporate, government, regional, or community-specific (meaning type of student(s) served. WE hope the resources below help you, or someone you know, to begin sourcing the monies for your program or school, or help in your endeavors to begin planning such a creature!
We also hit upon some other facets of teaching, curriculum, and our experiences in the classroom - not boring in the least! Join Us!
Kansas K-12 funding debate ends for 2022. But public school advocates ask — at what cost? HIDDEN ISSUES IN EDUCATIONAL FUNDING: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTROVERSY OF ETHNICITY AND INEQUALITY IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS Philanthropy Roundtable K-12 Chief on Funders’ Response to Coronavirus School Funding Issues: How Decreasing Budgets Are Impacting Student Learning and Achievement COVID-19 and education: The lingering effects of unfinished learning
State Constitutions, School Finance Litigation, and the "Third Wave": From Equity to Adequacy
Concepts of School Finance Equity:
1970 to the Present
Alternative Education Models and Funding Mechanisms
What Are Alternative Schools and How Does the State Fund Them?
Funding Ideas for Educators
State of Washington Policy and Funding
Office of the State Superintendent of Education: Alternative Program Designation Guidance
State New Jersey Category Alternative Education for Expelled Students
Funding Guidelines and Methods State Board of Louisiana
Texas Education Association - Alternative Education
Home Illinois School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Alternative placements
This is a great guideline - https://choosetwine.com/starting-a-private-school/legal-operating-requirements/#state
AltEd #AlternativeEducation #AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #BuildingAltEdPrograms #CreatingAlternativeEducationSchools #CreatingAlternativeLearning #AlternativeLearningSpaces #LearningGoals #LearningBenchmarks #MeetingLearningBenchmarks #StudentCenteredLearning
StudentNeeds #FulfillingStudentNeeds #StudentProgramRelationships #ProgramIntegrity #MeetingStudentNeeds #MeetingWhoandWhyConnectionsinEducation #EducationalProgramStructure #StudentScheduling #StudentEquity #FundingEquity #HowtoFundAlternativeEducation
FundingStudentNeeds #IdeasforSchoolFunding #WheretofindAlternativeEducationFunding #SchoolFundingPodcast #AlternativeSchoolFundingPodcast #ExploringAlternativeRabbitHoles
Remember to subscribe, share and give us a review.
You can also contact us at: EducationalTriage@gmail.com
Building a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Curriculum part two
This week we discuss varying modes of Alternative Education Curriculum and how they worked in the classroom - as well as the “Whys” the “Hows”.
Project-Based Learning works, but not always - you cannot always expect what works for one to work for another.
Problem Solving - This, too can be effective, and there are many ways you can integrate this with project-based, writing, math, science.
How are you creating an atmosphere and environment in which students have control, interest, find relevance, and access enough to build on their skills (and improve them) for each and every student - without leaving them in the cold? This is where you need to understand your resources, and take on input from the students - they are a wealth of experience and information!
Are you doing work? Are you facilitating? Are you planning with each student in mind? What are YOU LEARNING??
Some Reading to mull over.....
Low Performing Students - Why They Fall Behind & How to Help Them Succeed
Building a Successful Alternative High School Program Through Love, High Expectations, and Restorative Education
Alternative Curriculum
Learning differences: Is an alternative curriculum for my student?
Reimagining Alternative Education Alternative education should be framed not as a last resort for ‘bad’ students but as a way to provide positive, intentional supports.
Alternative Education: Making a Difference
AltEd #AlternativeEducation #AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #BuildingAltEdPrograms #CreatingAlternativeEducationSchools #CreatingAlternativeLearning #AlternativeLearningSpaces #LearningGoals #LearningBenchmarks #MeetingLearningBenchmarks #StudentCenteredLearning
StudentNeeds #FulfillingStudentNeeds #StudentProgramRelationships #ProgramIntegrity #MeetingStudentNeeds #MeetingWhoandWhyConnectionsinEducation #EducationalProgramStructure #StudentScheduling #StudentEquity #AlternativeCurriculum #StudentCurriculum #CreatingCurriculum #ProjectBasedCurriculum #StudentCenteredCurriculum #UniversalDesignforLearninginCurriculum #MultipleIntelligences #StudentLedCurriculum #IndependentCurriculum #TeachersPayTeachers #CurriculumDevelopment #CurriculumDesign #AlternativeDesignCurriculum #CurriculumMapping #DrPeterGray #StudentAccountability #Projectbasedlearning #ProblemBasedLearning #StudentLedLearning #StudentAutonomy #TeacherAsParticipant #TeacherLearning #StudentInput #StudentLeaders #CommunityInvolvement #StudentLedOpenHouse #StudentLeadershipinAlternativeEducation #StudentPride #StudentPrideinOwnership
StudentReflection #CurriculumAssessment #StudentLedBookGroups #StudentLedWritingGroups #SocialMediainLearning
Building a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Curriculum part one
Textbooks are wonderful for those who don’t have time to create a curriculum for themselves - despite the conundrum that they don’t really engage all students at all levels. Textbooks, in themselves, are there to serve a purpose - to have a canned curriculum that helps the conformity of the students and has them learning the same “facts and figures” as others using the same. It keeps teachers from needing extra time to develop resources and sources of information and allows for simple planning. However, Alt Ed students don’t really conform like most other students.
No, they tend to be less engaged with such texts and curricula. They need to have a purpose and a focus that engages them - so how do you create something like that? Each and every one of you has a creator inside that can be released in such a landscape. But, beginning small, and mapping things out is the wisest and best method you could use. This way you are working your way to help student engagement, success, and meeting benchmarks.
Remember, in the Alt Ed environment, if it is genuinely Alt Ed, and not a subcategory of the mainstream with the moniker - making you and the students slaves to conformity and the corporate classroom - you are the captain of the ship, and you can help steer the students to the destination of their desires - what tools they need to conquer and find their end results are all part of the journey. That’s what we have this week!
In the conversation, I bring up the following book:
The Curriculum Mapping Planner by Heidi Hayes Jacobs and Ann Johnson
I also mention these tools to help you:
Inspiration software
LucidCharts
You should probably also exploreTeachers Pay Teachers as there are materials designed and written by teachers for teachers. Many are pure magic.
Next week Philip and I discuss Curriculum and types of designs. We hope you join us then.
Remember to subscribe, share and give us a review.
You can also contact us at: EducationalTriage@gmail.com
AltEd #AlternativeEducation #AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #BuildingAltEdPrograms #CreatingAlternativeEducationSchools #CreatingAlternativeLearning #AlternativeLearningSpaces #LearningGoals #LearningBenchmarks #MeetingLearningBenchmarks #StudentCenteredLearning
StudentNeeds #FulfillingStudentNeeds #StudentProgramRelationships #ProgramIntegrity #MeetingStudentNeeds #MeetingWhoandWhyConnectionsinEducation #EducationalProgramStructure #StudentScheduling #StudentEquity #AlternativeCurriculum #StudentCurriculum #CreatingCurriculum #ProjectBasedCurriculum #StudentCenteredCurriculum #UniversalDesignforLearninginCurriculum #MultipleIntelligences #StudentLedCurriculum #IndependentCurriculum #TeachersPayTeachers #CurriculumDevelopment #CurriculumDesign #AlternativeDesignCurriculum #CurriculumMapping
Building a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Delivery, Populations, and Benchmarks
When creating your program, or refashioning the schedule, goals, or what have you, here are some questions you might keep in mind:
- What is your purpose and how is that aligning with the student's needs?
- How are you achieving the school/program goals?
- How are the students central to your objectives?
- How do you establish the relationship between the staff and the students, as well as the program?
- How do you ensure program integrity?
- What are your Who and Why Connections?
- How does your schedule work with the student's needs?
- Are you a Seminar? Lecture? Workshop? Exploratory?
- How are you structured?
- What are your benchmarks?
- How do students work on those benchmark goals and pass them to progress?
AltEd #AlternativeEducation #AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #BuildingAltEdPrograms #CreatingAlternativeEducationSchools #CreatingAlternativeLearning #AlternativeLearningSpaces #LearningGoals #LearningBenchmarks #MeetingLearningBenchmarks #StudentCenteredLearning
StudentNeeds #FulfillingStudentNeeds #StudentProgramRelationships #ProgramIntegrity #MeetingStudentNeeds #MeetingWhoandWhyConnectionsinEducation #EducationalProgramStructure #StudentScheduling #StudentEquity
Building a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Community Involvement
We sometimes forget that a part of our mission is not only inclusion on the part of the students, but also their families, the businesses, and all those who participate in the community around our school and program. Who better to advocate than those who are also participating in the mix! And, there are also added benefits to having everyone participate - there is more trust, transparency, and involvement to the betterment, overall, of the students, learning, and of the community. It’s not just sports, anymore.
Were we to figure out the best blueprint in closing the achievement gap(s), then bringing in everyone and having services that are beneficial to them in the central location, recreates the village square. And, hasn’t it been said that “It takes a village”?
This week we explore this aspect of creating a vibrant, growing, and thriving educational community.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationalPodcast #EducationandtheCommunity #ItTakesAVillage #ClosingtheAchievmentGap #VibrantCommunity #CommunityInvolvement #InclusionaryEducation #ParentEducation #ParentInvolvement #BusinessSchoolPartnership #EducationalPartnerships #FamilyTutoring #StudentSuccess #ParentalSuccess #CommunitySuccess #SuccessfulSchools #SuccessfulEducation
Building a Great Alt Ed Program/School - Part 2 - Leadership
Having the right leader is imperative to building and maintaining the optimal program(s). This does not mean they are all cut from the same cloth - rather they know their weaknesses and strengths, and this self-awareness makes them genuine and ready for the good fight. These are the ones who will champion the students, the teachers, and staff. These are the ones who are open to critical feedback and know how to use it to further the goals of the school/program. This does not mean they are all superbeings. They are human. They empathize not sympathize. It’s all about the same shared goals and struggles.
There are many facets to being a good leader, though, and this week Philip and I discuss through those - from the Norwich University online - we try to assemble the traits that should be sought in order to help build your program/school.
Philip also brings up Simon Sinek and his book, Leaders Eat Last.
AlteranativeEducation #AltEd #AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #BuildinganAlternativeEducationProgram #AlternativeEducationLeadership #AltEdLeadership #LeadershipinAltEd #LeadershipinAlternativeEducation #AltEdLeaders #AlternativeEducationLeaders #BuildingStaffinAlternativeEducation #CreatingAltEdPrograms
SuccessfulAltEdPrograms #CreatingSuccessfulAlternativeEducationPrograms #AltEdEquity #FundingEquityinAlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #ContractSchools #EducationalFundingSources #FundingSourcesinEducation #GrowthMindsetandEducationalFunding #UsingGrowthMindsetinAlternativeEducation
Let’s say you’re on the fence about reworking, starting, or regenerating your program or school. What are the steps you should take in order to put things into perspective? Whenever we work to calibrate our work, environment, and program, we constantly evaluate where we are in these steps - are we focused on what’s best for every student? Are we making headway with our goals? What will you need to figure out to make your program or school the best place for student learning, growth, and success?
This week we look at setting the goals, as well as the ultimate goal of your school or program, creating the mission statement, looking at the use of pedagogies, and whether or not you stick to one or keep yourselves open and fluid. And, then there’s the staffing - are you working with people who put ego and appearances over the students? Or are you working with those who are committed to helping those students realize their potential and grow to become the best they can be?
These are just the beginning steps in our series that we engage in to help you and ourselves remember and evaluate where we stand in our engagements and think about always being better.
AlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AltEd #AltEdPodcast #AltEdGoals #GoalsinAlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationProgramPlanning #AlternativeEducationMission #AlternativeEducationEvaluation #AltEdMIssion #AltEdProgramPlanning #Student-CenteredEducation #AlternativeEducationEvaluation #AltEdAssessment #AltEdStaffing #AlternativeEducationStaffing #StaffinganAlternativeEducationProgram
Funding Equity in Alternative Programs and Schools
This week I am joined by Roxanne Wilson from the 5 Corners program in rural Oregon. We began having a chat on this issue because her program was refused COVID Relief funds because she received public funding, but it is a private program; yet she was refused the private funds because she receives public funds - a true Catch-22. So, herein we ask the questions.
Are alternative programs indeed receiving the funding required to adequately serve their population(s)? Is it political football? Why shouldn’t they receive at least as much if not more as most of these programs, as defined by the majority of states would expend far more on resources than the typical school programs?
Roxanne takes us through her dilemma and her adventures in attempting to figure out how to best serve her families and population despite the obstacles because of the funding challenges.
Here are some funding programs that we discuss:
Delinquent and Neglected Youth Act
McKinney-Vento Act
Migrant Education Program
If you’d like to reach out to Roxanne you can find her at: roxanne@5ca.org
Funding Equity in Alternative Programs and Schools
This week I am joined by Roxanne Wilson from the 5 Corners program in rural Oregon. We began having a chat on this issue because her program was refused COVID Relief funds because she received public funding, but it is a private program; yet she was refused the private funds because she receives public funds - a true Catch-22. So, herein we ask the questions.
Are alternative programs indeed receiving the funding required to adequately serve their population(s)? Is it political football? Why shouldn’t they receive at least as much if not more as most of these programs, as defined by the majority of states would expend far more on resources than the typical school programs?
Roxanne takes us through her dilemma and her adventures in attempting to figure out how to best serve her families and population despite the obstacles because of the funding challenges.
Here are some funding programs that we discuss:
Delinquent and Neglected Youth Act
McKinney-Vento Act
Migrant Education Program
If you’d like to reach out to Roxanne you can find her at: roxanne@5ca.org
AltEdFunding #FundinginAlternativeEducation #FundingAltEd #EquityinFundingEducation
AltEdEquity #FundingEquityinAlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducation #AltEd #ContractSchools #EducationalFundingSources #FundingSourcesinEducation #GrowthMindsetandEducationalFunding #UsingGrowthMindsetinAlternativeEducation
EducationalPodcast #AltEdPodcast #AlternativeEducationPodcast #AlternativeEducationInterview #EducationalInterview
We talk about Grit this week - Angela Duckworth’s kind of Grit, and how we might implement it in the classroom - or even in school/program. The one constant must be working with perseverance and passion - how to keep it alive and moving? What benchmarks could you use? This week Philip and I chat about what this might look like. Join us!
What’s Grit Got to Do With Learning?
The Role of Grit in Education: A Systemic Review
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverence by Angela Duckworth
What’s Wrong with Grit?
Grit #WhatisGrit #GritinEducation #TeachingGrit #GritandOpenMIndset #GritandAlternativeEducation #GritandAltEd #CanyouteachGrit #IsGritLearned #AlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #EducationalPodcat #PodcastinEducation
TeachingPodcast #PodcastaboutTeaching #PodcastonGrit #AngelaDuckworthinEducation #AngelaDuckworthGritinEducation #PossibilitesinEducaton
in school/program. The one constant must be working with perseverance and passion - how to keep it alive and moving? What benchmarks could you use? This week Philip and I chat about what this might look like. Join us!
Between 2 States - How Alternative Education Easily Varies from State to State
This week Annie Marges from the Oregon Department of Education and Liz Quayle from the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction join me for a chat about how their state defines, funds, audits/evaluates, certifies teachers, and other issues on Alternative Education. There is a lot in this short time, and I learned a great deal! Join us!
Annie Marges is the Alternative Education Options Specialist for the Oregon Department of Education - in this role, she supports alternative education, GED programs, and homeschooling for the State. Prior to her employment with the ODE, Annie was in the classroom for 17 years (mostly high school, some college) as a teacher, career coach, and department leader, and the last 10 of those years were in alternative schools. When she learned that there was a person at ODE who supported the Alt Ed community, she said “that’s my job!” and has been thrilled to be in this role for the last three and a half years.
Educational success came late to Annie - she barely graduated high school, flunked out of college, and took five years off before she returned to higher education, ready to learn. What she discovered was that engaging teachers, those who helped their students see themselves in the work, made all the difference, and she decided she wanted to be that kind of teacher. More than that, she wanted all students to see themselves as learners and experience academic success. Now she is able to advocate for all students through her support of alternative schools and programs for the State of Oregon, precisely where she wants to be.
To contact Annie for any further information she may be contacted at: Annie.Marges@ode.oregon.gov
Liz Quayle has been involved in alternative education in Washington State for over 30 years and is a National Board Certified Teacher. She has taught in alternative secondary schools and was director-teacher (& more!) in an alternative learning experience program for 21 years, where, at one point or another, she taught all subject areas to all grade levels K-12. She especially enjoyed combining content areas and student interests to make learning relevant. Liz also held leadership roles on the board of the Washington Association for Learning Alternatives (WALA) for a period of 10 years.
For the past five years, Liz has been part of the Learning Options department at Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction as Alternative Learning Accountability Manager and Mastery-based Learning Manager. She supports all kinds of learning options around the state, from alternative learning experience programs to dropout reengagement to mastery-based learning.
Liz lives in Port Townsend with her partner Doug in an old 1917 schoolhouse and enjoys commuting to Olympia once or twice a week down the winding road along Hood Canal.
For more information, Liz may be contacted at: Liz.Quayle@k12.wa.us
For more information from or about the National Alternative Education Association and their resources, or conferences, go to: https://www.the-naea.org/ Here you’ll find information about your state organization, resources, and even a degree in Alternative Education! The upcoming conference is October 19 - 21, 2022 in St Louis, MO.
The Aurora Institute Symposium that Liz refers to is virtual! This is October 24-26, 2022.
AlternativeEducation #AltEd #AltEdDefinitions #AlternativeEducationDefinitions #DefinitionsofAlternativeEducation #HowstatesdefineAlternativeEducation #OregondefinitionofAlternativeEducation #WashingtonStateDefinitionofAlternativeEducation #WashingtonOSPIandAlternativeEducation #OregonDepartmentofEducationdefinitionofAlternativeEducation #FundingforAlternativeEducationSchools #FundingforAlternativeEducationPrograms #OregonAltEdFunding #Oregonfundingforalternativeeducation #Washingtonaltedfunding #Washingtonfundingforalternativeeducation #SchoolEvaluation #Washingtonschoolaudits #Washingtonalternativeeducationevaluation #AlternativeEducationevaluationinWashington #AlternativeEducationevaluationinOregon #AlternativeEducationPolicies #StatePoliciesonAltEd #StatePoliciesonAlternativeEducation #OregonAlternativeEducationPolicy #WashingtonAlternativeEducationPolicy #TeacherCertification #RunningStart #StateDifferencesinProgramDefinitions #OptionalLearning #StudentSuccess #FundinginequitiesinAlternativeEducation #StateAlternativeEducationOrganizations #StateResourcesforaltternativeeducation #AlterantiveEducationresources #altedresources #StateAltEdResources #AlternativeEducationConferences #AltEdConferences #AlternativeEducationIdeas #AltEdIdeas #AlternativeEducationCollaboration #EducationalCollaboration #StateCollaborationinEducation #EducationalCollaboration #StateCollaboration
About the Teacher Shortage…..
The teacher shortage is nothing new. There have been articles proclaiming it as a near “crisis” for decades. But, the numbers leaving are growing, and since the pandemic, more teachers are leaving due to burnout among other reasons.
This week I talk about many of the reasons teachers are leaving as well as why there is a declining enrollment in teacher education programs - why would anyone want to be a teacher?
A Great Question!
While there are altruistic reasons there are obstacles in the way that work as great erasers for the satisfaction and desire to work with our students and engulf ourselves in dedication to our work.
As you listen I hope you are able to begin constructing some options or some ideas that you can share with others in order to bring back the dignity, strength, and joy of teaching to the community as well as to your students.
Below are many of the resources I used for this episode.
Take care -
T
What’s Behind the School Staffing Shortages – And What Districts Can Do To Address Them 10 States With Massive Teacher Shortages (August 2022) Here’s How the White House Is Tackling Teacher Shortages Teacher Shortage Is Misunderstood Teacher Shortages: Catastrophe or Opportunity? Teacher Shortage Imperils Reform, New Study Says How Can We Solve the Teacher Staffing Shortage? What’s Behind the School Staffing Shortages – And What Districts Can Do To Address Them Teacher shortage? Depends where you look The most popular solution to teacher shortages? Paying teachers more These 2022 Teacher Shortage Statistics Prove We Need To Fix This Profession What’s Behind the School Staffing Shortages - And What Districts Can Do To Address Them (Video)
How Can We Solve the Teacher Staffing Shortage (Video)
Ongoing teacher shortage continues to impact Central Texas schools | KVUE (Video)
I Never Wanted to Leave | I Had to Resign (Video) The Top 5 Reasons for the Teacher Shortage (Video)
Why are so many teachers quitting the classroom? | 60 Minutes Australia (Video)
TeacherShortage #SolvingtheTeacherShortage #EducatorsinCrisis #EducationSolutions #EducationPodcast #AlternativeEducation #AlternativeEducationPodcast #TeachersLeaving #TeachersQuitting #TeacherAutonomy #TeacherRespect #TeacherPay
Speaking Of | Program | In Depth Look at the Teacher Shortage (Video)
What Are Some Survival Skills Students Should Know By Graduation?
Aside from regular academics, there are many skills that students probably should know in order to help them survive and prosper in the real world. What are they? This week, Philip and I discuss - he thinks academics, I think outside the scholastic world.
Why? Because there is nothing worse than realizing you were never taught some skills that might be seen as pretty basic - and yet, there is nothing worse than discovering you are up a creek without a boat or a paddle!
What could those be? Well, this is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a start! What others would you add?
AlternativeEducation #Teacherplanning #Teacherresources #Educationalpreparation #StudentPreparation #CurriculumPlanning #educationalpodcast #AltEd #teaching #teachers #backtoschool #classroom #teachingideas #whatstudentsshouldknow #essentialstudentskills
essentiallearningskills #studentsuccess #studentfuturesuccess #alternativeeducationpodcast #altEdpodcast #teacherpodcast #podcast #educationalpodcast
Wingspans with Dr. Lindsay Kuhn
So often we are given what feels like a corporate-designed product that helps students figure out their next adventures in life - in other words, careers, educational majors, and other ideas that might pique the interests of those with whom we work. Well, here is another take on that.
Lindsay Kuhn is changing the way a new generation finds their dream career. She is the founder of Wingspans, a platform that uses storytelling to help students find a career that aligns with the market and their needs. While doing a Ph.D. in engineering, she spent a sliver of her time teaching in a local school. It was at this moment she realized the incredible gap and the problems we would face to create the future of work that we all want - one
where enterprises have the labor they need and where people have access to careers that uplift them.
Wingspans uses storytelling for self-discovery, career exploration, and lifelong success. They partner with high schools and community colleges to help their students reimagine their futures and achieve better outcomes.
So, please join us as we learn more, and investigate, and welcome Dr. Kuhn and her endeavors.
Wingspans #CareerEducation #AlternativeEducation
Teaching Growth Mindset in the Alternative Schools
We … need to remember that effort is a means to an end to the goal of learning and improving. Too often nowadays, praise is given to students who are putting forth effort, but not learning, in order to make them feel good in the moment: “Great effort! You tried your best!” It’s good that the students tried, but it’s not good that they’re not learning. The growth-mindset approach helps children feel good in the short and long terms, by helping them thrive on challenges and setbacks on their way to learning. When they’re stuck, teachers can appreciate their work so far, but add: “Let’s talk about what you’ve tried, and what you can try next.”
Around 2006 Dr. Carol Dweck from Stanford University discovered something. It was magical and profound. She and her colleagues began realizing that the brain is malleable and ever-changing - that it isn’t always in a static state, and that it can grow - and be taught to grow.
This was wonderful news. But there are those who guffaw at such research - they point out the flaws, rather than the actual findings. This means that we must fail and celebrate those fails - because we learn with each one and we grow with the renewed opportunity that these failed, these experiences provide.
So, how do we parlay that into the classroom? How can we build this system into our students? How can we take these students who have built walls around themselves both in the Alternative and Mainstream buildings, and plant those seeds that will germinate and award them with successes in their futures?
What is Growth MIndset? 8 steps to develop one
What is Growth Mindset
Growth MIndset for Kids
Growth Mindset - Hammersmith Academy
Growth Minset - INfinity
What having a "Growth MIndset" Actually Means
How to Teach Growth Mindset to Kids
EdWeek: Carol Dweck Revisits the Growth Mindset
EdWeek: Carol Dweck on Nurturing Students Growth Mindsets Through Protest and Pandemic
Community Building
…learning and engagement is about the 4Cs—Curating, Creating, Connecting, and Collaborating. These steps are loud and require a teacher to relinquish control. An engaged classroom is one where students own and express the learning and the teacher facilitates. (https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-building-student-engagement-begins-with-community-relationships/2019/10)
How do we build Community? IN the context of the classroom, the building, and, in general, everywhere? What are the facets we must have aligned in order to precipitate the function of Community?
Let’s begin with the adults:
- Commonalities - what are shared goals, traits, and similarities that can bind the group? How can these people function and have a “buy-in” to the concepts and mission of their community? As educators, what challenges do we face daily, hourly, weekly, and yearly? How can/do we support each other in overcoming those obstacles that can create a successful, growing, and sustainable environment wherein we look to the next challenge - always wanting to better ourselves and each other?
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Embracing the Differences - What are the differences among us that create a vibrant community - who has what talent/skill and at what level? Surely we all believe we can do most things, but there are others who are able to achieve some tasks better than others - how can we work with them and be supportive when we are those people? How do we overcome animosity when egos come into play? How do we use and raise each other on a daily basis in order to support our mission(s), our goals, and our environment? What parts of us are completed with these others?
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Engagement - How do we remain active participants in the conversations/activities that we are having in order to better, not only ourselves, but the group as a whole, and those others who are on the perimeter and in the center of those conversations' actions?
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Decision-Making - Are we making choices based on input from the community/group? Or are we making determinations from our internal selves? Perhaps they come from an outside source from this one community (let’s say our building/program) which doesn’t actually hold any viable cognition as to what the conversation holds? How do we make adjustments, adaptations, and adoptions based on the betterment of our collective group while serving the needs of those we are working with? How do we overcome adversity - not only from the outside of the group but also within?
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Facing Realities - How do we, as a group, keep everything real while also maintaining the sweet smell of success through failing forward? How do account and take into account what we tried - aspects that worked and those that might have deeper meaning at another time or, perhaps, in another place and the world?
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Celebrations - How do we celebrate the misses and the hits? How do we reflect and opine on what has worked, what could be improved, excised, or put to the side?
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Balance - How are we working to balance each other and our lives outside the community so when we rejoin on a daily basis we are all refreshed, or there to offer refreshment (no, not necessarily doughnuts and coffee, but something more spiritual) to each other’s psyches?
Remember, the NAEA 2022 Conference is coming - October 19-22 in St Louis, MO.
Educator Burnout Part 2
And again we address the topic - why? Because it’s pretty broad, actually. There are many reasons teachers are burned out.
We have addressed the mental health of students and families. We haven’t addressed any mental health needs of our staff - teachers, support, administrators - everyone is affected and hurting - the only trouble is everyone is so professional they refuse to display it.
We know bullying is going on - from peers, students, other staff, and admin, but what can we do when you cannot even trust your union reps? What can you do when parents and admin work against you? What can you do when they keep changing the plan in the middle of the last sentence and you’re obliged to carry on?
Teachers were already feeling the stretch before the pandemic. Then, they arose like warriors to carry out their missions for the students and families. Many schools created help networks that kept families fed, clothed, and sheltered, while also working to keep them connected with wifi, cable, and education. Then came the summer where constant updates, and meetings, and the media blasted the latest figures daily. Teachers were on-guard so they knew what to expect in the fall, the winter, the spring. And yet, none saw fit to work with the teachers to bring them back down from that heightened state - they merely “plunked” them back into their rooms and told them to work - and with new rules, and new responsibilities on top of the ones they were already reeling from.
In our episode today, we address these and also bring up some long-needed remedies.
Join us.
Teacher and Student Absenteeism Is Getting Worse
Teachers In Crisis
Education Now- Why teachers leave teaching - and How to support them
Teachers were already leaving the profession due to stress, then Covid-19 hit
Using the MetaVerse in Education - part one
Wow. So the #MetaVerse. What is it, anyhow? We hear Zuckerberg talk about it, others reference it, and some even claim to have visited and used it. But - what are we talking about?
Well, this week we begin investigating what it is - and then we put our heads together as to how we would use it. But, as usual, we find there are even more questions we need to have answered.
Hop along as we find out more information and make some progress as to whether or not this might be a good future model for our students. How can we incorporate the #MetaVerseinEducation?
Even before the pandemic teachers were feeling overwhelmed. Suddenly, there seemed to be more pressure to do more - more with the students, more effective teaching, more work with trauma-informed practices. More kept being placed on our shoulders, but there never seemed to be any time to actually reflect, take notice, and ease into any of it - it was simply supposed to happen.
So, while attempting to satisfy these demands, there was nary any help from the administrative side that would allow for any form of mentorship to guide and aid the teachers and staff through this new territory, but that wasn't the only change. If teachers are compelled to remain because of the guilt, are they just as effective? Is that fair to the children?
Join us as we begin to traverse this minefield of reasons that seem to have exploded all over the profession.
Teachers are leaving at alarming rates, states are disavowing teachers' licenses (should they quite mid-year), and districts are going after teachers, rather than doing any self-reflection as to the "Why?????"
What's going on?
Join us.
Education Burnout - What Can Educators Do?
The Teaching Profession is Crumbling - What School Leaders Can Do to Help
Why Staffing Schools is Harder than Ever
Learning to Prevent Burning Out and Fatigue
Overcoming Burnout and Compassion Fatigue in Schools: A Guide for Counselors ..
Teacher Burnout: Causes and Prevention
Administrator burnout--causes and cures
What is Teacher Burnout?
What is Educator Burnout: What it Is? Why it happens? and What you can do to prevent end-of-year burnout
Addressing Teacher Burnout: Causes, Symptoms, and Strategies
How One Principal Has Dodged the Staffing Shortage
These 2022 Teacher Shortage Statistics Prove We Need To Fix This Profession
Cardona: Americans Shouldn't be Surprised by Teacher Shortage
The Why, How, and Uses of Recess in the Alt Ed and Mainstream Secondary Classroom
EducationPractices #EducationPodcast #Education #AlternativeEducation #SecondaryEducaiton
Who cannot recall the splendors of the bell that alerted us to #recess time? It was superb. How we spent that time was up to us - within reason, of course. It was time to spend with friends, talk to teachers, participate in activities, or play some sort of game/sport, for a reasonable amount of time.
During the elementary years, we had two recesses, plus our lunch that included activity time, whether it was in the gym or on the playground - we were active. Then, in middle school, we had a morning recess, of sorts, and it was a terrific break. Next came lunch. We didn’t have anything after lunch at this point - I suppose there was some logic behind it, and most of us didn't seem to need it, or so it seemed.
High school came and we still have a chunk of morning time to go about, socialize, activate our bodies, and find other things to do. And, we were happy and motivated. It didn’t seem to bother us any longer not having the second recess of the day.
University came and we were able to give ourselves permission to do what we liked, as we liked, and when we liked so recess was part of the culture givens. Many times for many people even class time might be seen as biting into the incredible nature of adult recess time.
Next came the real world, and jobs. Those in most sectors found themselves having a recess in the form of a coffee break, twice a day, as well as a lunch break - maybe an hour, or 30 minutes - it depends on the work environment - but it was still a healthy break. You use this time to decompress.
However, in the schools, especially in the current models for alternative education, there are no coffee breaks, and often the lunch break is overtaken with more responsibilities. How can a teacher skip to the loo in a matter of (truly) seconds and be back to welcome their students, feeling as refreshed as they are? We worry so much about the students, as we should, but we should also be worried about the care, feeding, and mental/physical health of the teachers, as well.
Alternative teachers tend to be with their students throughout the day - unless they are able to put up some firm boundaries - but many times those are lost as the needs of our students tend to be quite strong and need attention. So, how can we attend to ourselves while also attending to the “decompression” needs of our students?
Some resources on the need for recess are below:
Healthy Schools and Recess (CDC)
Older Students Need Recess, Too!
Recess for High School Students
The Importance of Recess
Archivos de Medicina del Deporte (Archives of Sports Medicine) - A study on recess in Catalonia
The Effect of Two Covid-19 Lockdowns on Physical Activity of School-Age Children
Should Teachers Have the Rights of Free Speech in Their Classrooms?
In the past couple of years, teachers have been put through the wringer. There is much angst, turmoil, and the need to vent and sort out thoughts on what is happening in our world. So some have gone so far as to discuss and bring up issues in the classroom as a form of therapy for themselves, or to simply announce to the world their views. Is this something we can do without being disciplined?
Well, it seems as though it’s a pretty good topic.
Caught in the Culture Wars - Washington Post 6/16/2022
Washington State ACLU on Free Speech in the Classroom What are Your Rights and Responsibilities?
Boston Lawyer Blog: Free Speech Protections for Teachers and Limitations
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instruments and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
What is the Purpose of Schools?
Thinking about why we send children to school, why we teach what we teach? and what is the purpose? Is it more than a nanny service? What is the purpose of compulsory education?
This week we take on the purpose of schools. Are we tacking students into placements that might not be a viable future for them? Are we truly presenting as many options within those areas of CTE rather than just the one specific class? How many options are there? Or are we specifically limited?
Do we prepare students for more options that might integrate all their interests? OR do we present limiting options?
We can look to Sir Ken Robinson and Peter Grey for ideas as to how to encourage our students to explore more options and more fields that might actually intrigue them - ideas that might not be within the context of the regular classroom.
What can schools do within the context of the 6 hours we have the students?
That’s part of the discussion! This is a loaded question, for sure!
The School Year In Review 2022
Well, we’re in the throes of the end-of-year transition. Graduations, summer plans, retirements, job changes, etc. This year, I’m retiring from the classroom, doing more backstage work with state organizations and teachers, and keeping up with the podcast. But what about Christy and Philip? It’s interesting to hear their take on various issues and where they are focused.
This week, due to conflicting schedules and having multiple commitments for all of us, I decided to speak with each individual when they were able to chat. And what beautiful chats we had. Unfortunately, Philip’s chat was cut short - due to technical issues, but life goes on.
So, I hope you learn a little more about us, and this engages and helps generate more thought and conversation amongst you and your peers about multiple issues. Perhaps even more than what we discuss!
Let us know! We look forward to hearing from you!
Charter Schools - Are They Alt Ed?
Charter schools seem to be enigmatic. You hear from some that they are the most wonderful place for their children, and others tell you they are monstrous places that do not live up to the expectations and demands of a regular public school.
So why are they still growing in number, and more people entering lotteries to place their children in them?
And, what makes them Alternative Education?
Honestly, Any form of education that is not mainstream education is alternative education. However, this does not mean that the departments of education in every state believe that charter schools should be placed under that category. In many states, Homeschooling is not placed under alternative education, either.
But, the general term for Alternative Education is - - - well, maybe it is except when we begin to make it more political? Or, perhaps it deserves its own category as it has grown exceptionally? Or are the unions doing the talking (another aspect of the argument against charter schools)?
But, let’s define what a charter school is, first.
According to PublicCharters.org:
Charter schools are independently-operated public schools that have the freedom to design classrooms that meet their students’ needs. All charter schools operate under a contract with a charter school authorizer – usually a nonprofit organization, government agency, or university – that holds them accountable to the high standards outlined in their “charter.” It is common to see charter schools led by former teachers who wanted to take the lessons they learned in the classroom and apply those lessons to an entire school.
So, why wouldn’t it be considered Alt Ed? It bears all the hallmarks of Alternative Education…
Well, We’ll figure it out!
Charter Schools are Alt Ed - but they’re not. Here’s why:
- Charter Schools fall under the umbrella of Alternative Education in some states not all, depending on the state’s definition of Alt Ed, and how they view Charter Schools
- Charter Schools are an alternative from mainstream education.
- Charter Schools are designed around a theme, and students are enrolled to engage in that theme.
- Alternative Education programs can be designed thematically, as well, but curriculum is usually designed to meet regular standards and made to be accessible for the students who come in.
- Curriculum at the Charter Schools has thematically designed curriculum and engages the students similarly as alternative classrooms
- Parents and families are usually very engaged in Charter Schools
- Many students in alternative programs come from homes where the parents/families are surviving, doing the best they can, but are not always able to support their student academically.
- Both have a lower teacher to student ratio.
- Both can be contracted with the local school district on a contract.
- While both can be academically rigorous, alternative schools/programs tend to work with students to help fill in their learning gaps, work with the whole student and create student-centred curriculum with which the student finds success.
- Charter School students tend to be more on a college track while alternative students can do this, they may tend to venture more toward blue-collar work.
- Both serve students of color - but Charter Schools are pointed to as being in positions of segregation with more students of color going to these sites rather than remaining in the mainstream - so district leaders fret about losing diversity.
- Charter Schools are more easily conducted as online than a typical alternative program - which tends to be personalized, personable, and there.
- Charter Schools tend to not need social service presence for its students as much as most alternative schools require.
Here are some interesting reads on Charter Schools:
Supreme Court likely to Drop Voucher Bombshell
What the Teachers Unions Don’t Want You to Know About Charter Schools
Charter School Effects on Segregation
Choice without Equity: Charter School: Segregation and the Need for Civil Rights Standards
Can We Stop Fighting About Charter Schools?
Oregon School Choice Roadmap
What is a Charter School?
Charter Schools vs Alternative Schools
Understanding Charter Schools vs Public Schools
The Real Reason Teachers Unions Oppose Charter Schools
Of course, I was wrong that 25% of the students had a 4.0. It is greater than ⅛th. If we looked at that same population (high school) we had 736/1810 students with a 3.5+. Amazing.
So, we can talk grade inflation - or can we, unless we really understand what’s going on with Standardized Testing? Are the students simply not very good at testing? Or are we talking about students whose families demand higher grades - and those squeaky wheels get the premium oil they believe they are entitled to have?
This is truly a catch-22.
I remember when we began all this testing and this was the pitfall educators warned everyone would happen.
So what are the solutions? Do we take it away from testing the core and siloed courses? Do we begin testing on Personal Finance? On Problem Solving? On actual skills that would behoove every student to be knowledgable in?
The book Tony refers to in the episode is:
Unraveling the Assessment Industrial Complex by Michelle Tenam-Zemach (Author), Daniel R. Conn (Author), Paul T. Parkison (Author)
At the same time, here are some questions that we should be asking, discussing, and demanding answers from the powers that be!
- What are we actually measuring?
- What are some causes for testing scores to be going downward?
- Why do we need 112 standardized tests for pre-k - 12th grade students?
- Are these all equitable?
- Are we dealing with the perpetuation of hierarchies?
- Is this all a corporate complex - a multi-billion dollar Assessment Industrial Complex that feeds into the corporate mantra of post-secondary education (the university system)?
- Are schools now expected to teach to the test, rather than actually teach valid content?
- Are schools being complacent and following along? For what reason?
- Is this a case of the tail wagging the dog?
- What if teachers simply taught their material rather than worry about the test scores?
- Are the continually lower testing scores truly indicative of grade inflation?
- What are some solutions we can come up with to solve all this testing madness?
- What if we measured - - - -?
I'm sure this will be a debate into the next century, but it goes to the fundamentals of education and its purpose. If we can answer that then we should be able to confront Standardized Testing head on.
Let’s begin at the beginning with Universal Design for Learning - and then leap forward to the end and shimmy ourselves backward. Why? You’ll see. That’s how we should begin at the beginning/end.
First, we need to figure out what the class is, and what the goal of the unit/lesson is going to be. So, let’s create the outer edges of the section - that’s where we come in.
Let’s take the Civil War. That’s a Large Topic, eh?!
Let’s begin with our goal for this section of the larger unit -
But, better yet, let’s create the anticipatory set -
(we can figure this one out)
Goal: The Student Will be Able to Demonstrate an Understanding of the Causes of the Civil War.
Now, Let’s formulate a Rubric that will give the student an idea of what they need to accomplish to achieve this goal successfully. For help with Rubrics, try Introduction to Rubrics: An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback, and Promote Student Learning 2nd Edition - Dannelle D. Stevens
Give the students some time to figure out what they would need to do in order to find out what the causes of the Civil War were - perhaps in pairs or groups - they can brainstorm ideas of where they might find the information and how to best obtain it for themselves. Then, make a list on the board, overhead, flip board, padlet, whatever method you and the students might engage in - try a variety of them.
Next, ask the students to choose their method of presenting their research and work. It could be:
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- an essay
- a PowerPoint
- a graphic novel
- an ABC book
- a video; a blog (perhaps one that reflects feelings of someone viewing the events as they unfold objectively)
- something with music
- Something with art
- a game with a game board - rules, pieces, and components that teach about the Civil War
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Consider more possibilities - and allow the students to come up with their own
Once they have chosen, take note of what materials you may need to bring in for them. Ask the students what supports they need from you to help them be successful - negotiate.
Look a the final goals? How much time do we need to achieve this? What should each student be accountable for each day? How do we stay on track? What do we need in order to remain on track? How do we break up our time? The goal is for everyone to find success.
Universal Design for Learning - What Is It?
Universal Design for Learning came from the idea of addressing the disabilities of schools rather than those of the students.This was a new approach which they called Universal Design for Learning (UDL). “UDL drew upon neuroscience and education research and leveraged the flexibility of digital technology to design learning environments that from the outset offered options for diverse learner needs.This also allowed for more responsiveness to learner needs. (Meyer, Rose & Gordon. 2014).
So UDL is a framework organized around three principles based on the learning sciences. These principles guide the design and development of curriculum that is effective and inclusive for all learners (Rose & Gravel, 2010 cited in Hall, Meyer and Rose, 2012).
So, UDL is a culmination of research into what makes up learning differences and the design of supportive learning environment - the principles are mapped into three groups of brain networks - recognition, strategic, and affective networks that play a primary role in learning (Hall, Meyer & Rose, 2012).
- To support recognition learning, provide multiple means of representation =- that is, offer flexible ways to present what we teach and learn.
- To support strategic learning, provide multiple means of action and expression =- that is, flexible options of how we learn and express what we know.
- To support affective learning, provide multiple means of engagement - it is flexible options for generating and sustaining motivation, the why of learning.
There are also 3 groups of brain networks:
- Recognition networks are specialized to sense and assign meaning to patterns we see; they enable us to identify and understand information, ideas and concepts. This is the what of learning.
- Strategic networks relate primarily to hte executive functions and are specialized to generate and oversee mental and motor patterns. They enable us to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills. This is the how of learning.
- Affective networks are specialized to evaluate patterns and assign them emotional significance; they enable su to engage with tasks and learning and with the world around us. This is the why of learning.
The authors put this into perspective - take a gift you are going to wrap for a friend. Recognition networks enable you to identify the present, the wrap and the concept of the gift. Strategic networks help you set your goal of wrapping the present and making and making a strategy for accomplishing this; they guide you through the folding and taping, allow you to monitor your progress, and permit you to make small adjustments (such as refolding a corner) until the task is complete. Affective networks motivate you to take on this task as you think about your friend, and they help you persist through the various steps, keeping you on task; wrapping may be hard for you, but you sense how happy it will make your friend and yourself, so you persist. (Hall, Meyer & Rose, 2012).
3 Guidelines of UDL….https://udlguidelines.cast.org/
- Provide multiple means of representation
- Provide multiple means of action and expression
- Provide multiple means of engagement.
Todd Rose - The Myth of Average
When someone says, “I teach at an alternative school/program,” the listener may react with thoughts of safety concerns, knives, guns, criminal behavior, and pretty much the idea that this person teaches in a neo-prison environment. Why is this? Surely, when you walk into many of the schools and programs that exist in the country, you will enter an environment that is safe, respectful, caring, vibrant, and rife with positive activity; for the most part. Of course, there are those that need some help, but overall this is true.
The perceptions of Alternative Education have, nevertheless, been one of “less than” and “stranger than” regular education. Perhaps it’s because we don’t consider our normalization of learning to be that of the middle-class child, well-dressed, clean, well-fed, happy, and compliant. Is that what makes a good student? To listen to lectures, to be on a calendar, to be a number, to be compliant, and disregard the issues faced outside of the school - if not within its boundaries - that may make learning difficult, irrelevant to immediate survival, and therefore not engaging. This is even truer when the student is not finding themselves understanding and left behind in many classes - but forced to remain in a class where they may be speaking some alien dialect that, for them is just gibberish.
Alternative Education works to reduce those feelings of inadequacy and guides students at their own rate of learning to engage and find what it is they were missing. So where is the public disconnect?
IF we were to peruse the definitions of Alternative Education across the states we would be able to find some rationale for this disconnect. For out of 50 states, there are many who define alternative education as placements for those students expelled or suspended or removed for behavioral infractions; nothing to do with actual education but with behavior - which also seems to mean that those students who are not understanding and are potentially at-risk of dropping out or spending even more years of futility trying to succeed in a system that doesn’t really care have no options. 12 states make it clear that the purpose of these programs/schools is to work with, primarily, behavioral issues and are not necessarily open to other students who might benefit from a different structure and form of education.
But if over one-fifth of the states have this as their primary definition, most other states do include such clauses but also allow for the inclusion of academic, and other reasons for students to profit, educationally, from such environments - thereby mixing the two defined populations and forcing many to clutch their pearls without any knowledge about what is going on within.
More Reading:
Alternative Discipline Can Benefit Learning
50 State Comparison for Alternative Education Programs
How students get banished to alternative schools
Lessons from Transfer Schools
Those Kids - You Mean Our Kids!
Who are the students we teach? Who are these bodies who cross the threshold into our learning environment each day? Many seem to be rather obstreperous, some belligerent, others quiet and timid. But they all have more than one thing in common and the biggest commonality is - They’re Children.
Why are they labeled? Does this debase them? Does this allow the rest of the community to keep them at arm's length?
What elements do we need to work on in order to help these students to engage and come in?
This is the first of many discussions on this topic.
Some Thoughts on “Why Are Reading Scores Declining?” for your investigations.
A National Institutes of Health (NIH) study showed that kids who spend more than two hours a day on screen time activities scored lower on language and thinking tests (kids who spent more than seven hours a day on screens showed a thinning of the brain’s cortex, which manages critical thinking and reasoning).
Scientists are still struggling to understand why humans are able to read and write, despite the fact that we have only been doing it for the last five millennia—far too brief a period for any major evolutionary developments to occur. It is now widely believed that our ability to read and understand written symbols is an accidental offshoot of traits that evolved for different reasons, such as the ability to speak.
In other words, our brains do not have to work hard to obtain the information, so we don’t retain it as well either. For example, when you read a book, you generate the images described in the book with your mind.
“That involves making connections between different parts of your brain,” Dr. Kaufer said. But “when you look at a picture that is already there, it’s much more passive. You’re not working [as many] parts of your brain.”
IN this study, it was found that children who spent a large amount of talking on the phone had lower reading proficiency overall. Those that texted for the majority of their communications had better decoding and proficiency skills due to their use of the language, including “textese”. There was no difference between genders or race.
Reading on mobile devices is therefore often associated with an ‘online reading’ strategy in which the reader does not aim to comprehend the complete text but to achieve a particular goal by locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating information (Leu et al., 2011). This requires problem-solving strategies other than comprehension to search for information and evaluate its relevance to the current goal (Coiro & Dobler, 2007; Henry, 2006). These strategies are often associated with ‘browsing patterns’ that are very different to the sequential scanning that characterizes reading of print (see, e.g., Rayner, 2009) and guided by salient hyperlinks (Fitzsimmons, Weal, & Drieghe, 2013).
UNESCO’s study of mobile reading was conducted in seven developing countries, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Drawing on the analysis of over 4,000 surveys and corresponding qualitative interviews, the study found that:
- large numbers of people (one third of study participants) read stories to children from mobile phones;
- females read far more on mobile devices than males (almost six times as much according to the study);
- both men and women read more cumulatively when they start reading on a mobile device;
- many neo- and semi-literate people use their mobile phones to search for text that is appropriate to their reading ability.
The reason for the pandemic’s toll on reading achievement is obvious: It’s hard to learn when schools are closed. But the reason that reading scores fell before the pandemic is less straightforward. Educators and researchers are weighing three theories on what is responsible for the decline: money, instruction or reading itself.
After the 2008 recession, schools across the country cut spending by $600 per student, on average, and laid off thousands of teachers. It took state and local governments seven years to restore their tax bases, muster the political will to approve spending increases and send the money to schools.
https://hechingerreport.org/americas-reading-problem-scores-were-dropping-even-before-the-pandemic/
Researchers are also zeroing in on changes in home reading habits. In student surveys that accompanied the NAEP reading assessments, the percentage of eighth graders who said they read 30 minutes or more a day, excluding homework, declined by 4 percentage points from 2017 to 2019. They were less likely to say they talked about books, went to the library or considered reading one of their favorite activities.
1 "Brain Power: How Screen Time Impacts Kids' Brains - Meet Circle." 13 Apr. 2021, https://meetcircle.com/blogs/stories/brain-power-how-screen-time-impacts-kids-brains. Accessed 17 Apr. 2022.
2 "Brain Power: How Screen Time Impacts Kids' Brains - Meet Circle." 13 Apr. 2021,
https://meetcircle.com/blogs/stories/brain-power-how-screen-time-impacts-kids-brains. Accessed 17 Apr. 2022.
3 "The Effects of Smartphone Usage on the Brain | UNC Health Talk." 16 Sep. 2020, https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/the-effects-of-smartphone-usage-on-the-brain/. Accessed 17 Apr. 2022.
4 "Cell Phone Use and Child and Adolescent Reading Proficiency - PMC." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5036529/. Accessed 17 Apr. 2022.
5 "Is it smart to read on your phone? The impact of reading format and ...." 19 May. 2020, https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-020-01046-0. Accessed 17 Apr. 2022.
6"UNESCO study shows effectiveness of mobile phones in promoting ...." https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-study-shows-effectiveness-mobile-phones-promoting-reading-and-literacy-developing-0. Accessed 17 Apr. 2022.
Why are math scores Declining - Questions for Research
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Since the 1950’s how have maths scores done - what is the change?
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What is the cause for scores to have begun decreasing in the past decade?
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What does this denote?
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How does this demonstrate impact on those with lower SES v higher?
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How does this impact the achievement gap?
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What are some of the obstacles that are blamed for this happening?
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What are some of the solutions?
Success is never final and Failure never fatal. It's courage that counts. —George F. Tilton. In 1961
Some Reading:
https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-education-official-sounds-alarm-bell-about-high-school-classes/?utm_source=The+Hechinger+Report&utm_campaign=bce396b71a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_03_31_03_58&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d3ee4c3e04-bce396b71a-322843605
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/10/14/nations-report-card-scores-falling/
https://marketscale.com/industries/education-technology/as-math-proficiency-scores-decline-nationwide-how-should-curriculum-shift/ (also watch the video)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/02/28/math-scores-high-school-lessons-freakonomics-pisa-algebra-geometry/4835742002/
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w25648/w25648.pdf
https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-10-30/across-the-board-scores-drop-in-math-and-reading-for-us-students
What is Equity and How do we teach it?
Definition: Equity means offering individualized support, to students, that addresses possible barriers, like poverty or limited transportation, other cultural precepts that might affect the learning outcomes, etc.
How do we prepare for and teach equity?
Teachers understand the concept of Equity, but they aren’t really sure how to begin. Many are mired in the concept that Equity has to do with feelings, others believe it has to do with race, some with poverty, and others with other possible barriers. Which is it? Perhaps they are correct - but then again they’re wrong.
Any student with any barrier that causes any struggle to learn is the target of any teaching by equity.
Huh?
Let’s haul our minds back a couple of decades to Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligences. In his work, Gardner displayed information in helping meet the needs for 8 different intelligence types. We would later understand there were far more types of intelligences! Spencer Kagan help workshops, had books, activities, on meeting the needs for many of these students, which paved the way for us to adapt, adopt, and continuing working to help students access the materials and understand the concepts we taught - in their time and in their manner.
Today we have UDL, or Universal Design for Learning. Taking much from Gardner, this, too, begins to weave a tapestry of rich understanding through the complex needs of today’s students. There are many books, videos, and other media that help teachers understand.
But - with the current rash of demands on teachers, this can not only be overwhelming, but anxiety provoking in just thought. Let’s break things down into a simple, yet doable methodology:
- Look at the lesson/Unit/Concept – What and How does the student need to demonstrate in order to achieve the best outcome?
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What are some methods the student can use in order to display/demonstrate this outcome? Can you find more? (don’t think inside the box - ask students, teachers, parents, everyone!!!! for ideas!!!!
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How many examples (and be clear about which types) must a student complete in order to demonstrate mastery and earn a top, middle, or low mark?
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Use your state standards to settle on the Mid-mark - meaning if they meet the standard, then they can receive the equivalent of a ‘C’ grade.
- Can they work on improving their score?
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Be sure there are clear expectations and you have a rubric - perhaps even have the students work with you to create the rubric while using the state standards - using teachable moments to improve learning?
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Be sure to cull from UDL and Gardner in order to continuously create and add to your ideas on lessons. Not all students will grab hold of everything you put out there.
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If students are still reluctant, what needs should have to be met for them to begin feeling motivated enough to do the work?
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How are you scaffolding your work?
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How do you review and encourage review of old skills to keep them fresh?
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How do you encourage diversity of thought and engage everyone to participate while respecting all?
Books on Multiple Intelligences, Cooperative Learning, and Universal Design for Learning:
Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practise Gardner
Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. 4th Ed. Armstrong
Multiple Intelligences: the Complete MI Book Kagan
Equity by Design: Delivering on the Power and Promise of UDL Chardin Novak.
What Really Works? With Universal Design for Learning Murawski & Scott
Universal Design for Learning: theory and practice Meyer, Rose, Gordon.
Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom: practical applications. Hall, Meyer, Rose.
Universal Design in Action: 100 ways to teach all learners Rapp
Rural Alternative Education on the Reservation with Courtney Leer
In this episode, we have the honor to spend some time with Courtney Leer, a teacher on the Yakama Reservation in Central Washington state.
I was fortunate enough to meet her and attend her conference sessions on Neurology in the Classroom and Culturally Responsive Classroom Management. She was incredible! So, I asked if she would be willing to join me on the podcast. She agreed!
In this episode, we have a frank discussion about equity, relationships, classroom management, teaching Alternative Education, cell phone use, and more.
So much to learn from her. Below I’ve put in links to some of the references made during the chat:
- Ruby Payne - Emotional Poverty
- ACEs - Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Dunning Krueger Effect
- Brain Plasticity
- Huberman Lab Podcast
- WALA - Washington Assn for Learning Alternatives
- Paper Tigers - Documentary on Alternative Education in Walla Walla Washington
- Contract Courtney at: courtneyl@wapatoschools.org
To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. —E.E. Cummings
The first task is to mine your life story for common threads and major themes. The point is to identify your core, lifelong strengths, values, and passions—those pursuits that energize you and bring you joy. We use a variety of prompts but have found three to be most effective:
What did you especially love doing when you were a child before the world told you what you should or shouldn’t like or do?
Describe a moment and how it made you feel.
Tell us about two of your most challenging life experiences. How have they shaped you?
What do you enjoy doing in your life now that helps you sing your song?
Purpose - What fulfills us and transcends our own self-interest and to be oriented toward others. Also utilizes an intrinsic curiosity about the field.
For example, teaching can be fulfilling as we strive to work with all types of students, always working hard to ensure they all can comprehend and succeed. We also work hard to keep up with the literature, but we continue to explore new avenues and methods in classes, books, and other forms to satisfy that need to know. - Duckworth
According to Bloom - Purpose is developed through three stages - The Playing Stage - where things are tried out, practiced, dabbled in.
The second is where passion is discovered. Learning to develop and learn every single bit about it.
The third is where there is mastery - the skill becomes uniquely theirs through technique and expression, and they are able to express themselves thusly through it.
How does this apply to Bloom’s Taxonomy?
Questions:
- Define Purpose
- 3 Stages -
- Interest
- Practise
- Purpose
- How to incorporate Gardner/UDL into determining Interest (Play, discovery, investigating, etc)
- How to put into practice - what elements of school might the student use for those interests? How do they interplay?
- How does the purpose fulfill a need, help others?
- How/Where does Passion fit in?
- What about those who lose their passion early?
What’s the purpose of education in the 21st century?
link
By Valerie Strauss
February 12, 2015
Should young people become educated to get prepared to enter the workforce, or should the purpose of education be focused more on social, academic, cultural and intellectual development so that students can grow up to be engaged citizens?
Education should prepare young people for life, work and citizenship.
Knowledge of the natural and engineered environments and how people live in the world is critical to all three purposes of education. Critical thinking, creativity, interpersonal skills and a sense of social responsibility all influence success in life, work and citizenship.
CRITICAL THINKING
The Importance of Purpose in Education Students can discover a sense of purpose in their learning through questions that lead them to think about their interests.
By Matthew Howell
March 29, 2018
Certainly we have to fulfill mandates and meet educational standards, but so often our students leave our schools uncertain about who they are in the world and without a fully formed sense of purpose. Academics without purpose can be an exercise void of substance.
Learners who are authentically true to themselves will explore with abandon. The insights gained from reflective questions can be used by students and teachers to develop links between various subjects and spark interests in multiple curricular areas.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/importance-purpose-education
Credit Recovery is popular these days after the pandemic. Districts and schools are working hard to help students recover their credits lost during that time.
The question is how should we have credit recovery in the schools? What works best? Online, Hybrid? Face-to-Face? Many options are there, but districts are going for the most efficient and worrying about any consequences later - after the damage is done.
Are students truly learning from these programs? OR are they worse off, lacking the actual skills they should have learned? And falling further behind?
Are students placed in these programs because they lack the skills to have been placed in the classes in the first place? And falling further behind?
Join us as we try to figure this out.
Some reading:
Issue Brief: Credit Recovery
Getting Back on Track Comparing the Effects of Online and Face-to-Face Credit Recovery in Algebra I
Credit Recovery: Are Face-to-Face Classes Better Than Online? Comparative effectiveness and student choice for online and face-to-face classwork
Online Learning as a Remedy for Course Failure: An Assessment of Credit Recovery as an Intervention to Earn Credits and Graduate from High School
Online Credit Recovery: Benefits and Challenges
We are proud to be speaking with Marcus LeGrand from Central Oregon. He is a proud father, advocate, board member, and a man of color who represents his whole community.
This is an engaging and thoughtful conversation regarding our communities, our schools, parental involvement, as well as commitment to our children/students.
Marcus LeGrand is the Afrocentric Program and College Prep Coordinator at Central Oregon Community College. His dedication to assisting students to develop culturally incentive programming, while connecting them with the community and industry resources is his passion. Additionally, his focus on building an equitable and inclusive community led him to co-found The Father’s Group; a non-profit organization structured to assist students with academic success, develop support for our underserved youth, and small business development.
Beyond his everyday role, he volunteers for various community organizations including Restorative Justice and Equity, Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc., the Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators, the American School Counselor Association, and a consultant with Allyship and Action. In 2018 and 2020, he received the Diversity Achievement Award from Central Oregon Community College for my longstanding commitment to community service.
Marcus’s public service led him to run for public office where he serves as a Director and Vice-Chair for the Bend-La Pine School board, where he works to establish developmental pathways for students in the region. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from the University of Washington-Seattle and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Rowan University.
Should Students Do College?
This is a great question that we tackle in this episode. Given the literature, the facts, data points as well as the cost of tuition!
Does the student have a purpose? A passion? What are they good at doing? What are their interests?
Below are some articles that might be of interest:
Racial Gaps in College Degrees are Widening
CTEE 2021 Fall Report
The Number of College Graduates in the Humanities Falls
A Handful of Colleges are Providing Training in the Way Consumers Want it - Fast!
Most Manufacturing Certificate Holders Don’t Get Jobs in Manufacturing
The Dire Consequences of Fewer People Enrolling in Colleges
Parental Involvement
IN the past, we have encountered many parents. Those who were blase about what was going on in the schools and those who you found at every turn demanding more information about their child. Most, though, were in-betweeners, many who sought to find out more were encouraged (and many did) to volunteer and help in their offspring’s hallowed halls. PTOs, Site Councils, PSOs, Boosters, and many other activities had parents working together with the schools to provide a safe, healthy, and vibrant climate for their students - well, many schools had that. Many did not ever have that.
Studies around the globe have found that schools immersed in poverty have a much lower percentage of parents who worked for an hourly wage and made much less than $75k @year who participated in their children’s schooling.
The ASA (2014) tells us that testing and student performance have more to do with environmental factors outside of school than the school itself. However, despite this, how are schools factoring in their relationship-building with parents? How are they addressing many of the problems and obstacles these students and families face?
How Do We Strive to Better our Communities for ALL?
Here are some articles we found helpful - as well as a link to HB1134 of Indiana:
HB 1134 and all the information
Parent Involvement and Student Success
One Size Does Not Fit All - Parental Involvement
Flip the System
Is Anxiety the New Learning Disorder?
Lately, it appears there are so many people afflicted with anxiety. What does this mean for students? Teachers? And others?
What is a disability?
What is a Learning Disorder?
What are some strategies?
We discuss these and more.
And, here are some references for you to pursue and ingest!
Positive Peer Culture
13 Categories of Disability Under IDEA Law
Disability Determination for Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorders and Social Security Benefits
Anxiety Disorders in People with Learning Disbailities
Understanding the Relationship Between Anxiety and Learning Disabilities in Children
Anxiety
Anxiety in People Who Learn and Think Differently
Anxiety, Depression, and LD
Making Sense of the Overlapping Nature of Anxiety, ADHD, and LDs
The Relationship Between Anxiety and Learning Difficulties
Educational Triage Logo - Hanna Charlotte
Music by Joseph McDade - Sundown
Upcoming Event -
Liz Keable and Metacognition in Practise!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their "instrument" and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for even more resources.
HB 1134, Flipping Teachers, and More Part One
The intent of this episode was to review and explore the writing of Jelmer Evers and Rene Kneyber, Flip the System: Changing Education from the Ground Up. Since they wrote and edited this work (in it there are many essays from around the world explaining how teachers have challenged the system and worked through the mire). Since that time, there is another work, Flip the System US, there is Flip the System Australia. This demonstrates that the philosophy engaged in the primary work touched more than a nerve in many around the globe, and is working its way into the bloodstreams of those who read it.
Nonetheless, as we began to explore the reasons for teachers leaving the profession, there was an alert about Indiana’s HB 1134 which passed the house this week. From the information, I was able to gather prior to recording it appeared that it was an act of overreach but an act that demonstrated concern by the parents and the conservatives in the state. What I understood when I was quickly gathering is that the expectation for teachers is to present their year’s worth of lesson plans by June 30 for review by a panel of parents (60%) and educators (40%).
Since we recorded, I determined that this was timely and needed to get to you as soon as possible, and we will follow up with a better understanding, within the next couple of weeks.
We hope you are engaged and listen with an open mind - albeit tough when this feels as though another dart is being thrown our way. Yet, if we keep an open mind, there may be a rich and vibrant answer that could satiate all those involved, and could create something far more meaningful as well. What that is, we don’t know - yet.
Upcoming Event -
Liz Keable and Metacognition in Practise!
Liz takes us another step further with her workshop. Click the link and discover more!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their "instrument" and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for even more resources.
Liz Keable Talks Metacognition
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What is Metacognition?
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Are you, as an educator, plotting out your curriculum based on an experience you expect the students to have, or one that they will have? What is the difference? Listen in!
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How do we engage students and put them into a situation so we can have them buy in to the learning and begin down the road to learning what we hope they glean form the material?
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How do the five senses become a basis for all our learning?
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How do we switch from learning to being taught? What are the differences?
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How do we incorporate Gardiner’s Learning Styles in our work every day?
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How do we help students find their strengths?
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How do we encourage failure to learn?
This conversation with Liz Keable takes us down a path of learning how our students learn despite our best efforts.
Liz Keable is a Success Coach and Social Psychologist who delves into how students think, what they need in order to find success, and how teachers can also work more effectively.
I have posted her information below, in case you’d like to contact her.
I’m hoping to have her back soon!
Upcoming Event -
Liz Keable and Metacognition in Practise!
Liz Keable
(BSc Hons, PGCE, MSET, MInstLM)
(Teaching and Learning Specialist - Metacognition in Practice)
Inspiring Success, Supporting Change
success@lizkeable.com
Liz is a fully qualified teacher and trainer with many years experience of working with children, young people and adults to support their learning, in both group and one to one situations. As a Biologist with a special interest in the brain, she initially taught Science in High Schools and has always pursued ‘brain friendly’ ways of teaching. Liz also undertook additional training as a Hamlyn Fellow with the University of the First Age, and then with the British Academy of Advanced Training in order to employ the best teaching and learning methods available.
Specialising in Gifted and Talented Education, Liz trained further with ‘Sapere’ to deliver ‘Philosophy for Children’, and with author Barbara Bell to deliver the Minimus Primary Latin project. During her time as an Advisory Teacher, Liz developed confidence building ‘transition’ materials for Primary schools, trained classroom teachers to use the specialist packs provided, and carried out a successful research project to raise attainment in that sector. She has more recently supported the educational needs of vulnerable children in specialist ‘foster care’ placements, developing further ‘Learning Brain’ materials in the process.
As a Masters level trainer of adults, Liz has written and independently delivered numerous bespoke courses within the education, voluntary and business sectors, whilst also serving as a tutor through other education providers. She has a management qualification from the Institute of Leadership and Management and spent several years as the Development Manager for a local Parenting Strategy. Liz trained further with Parenting UK to become a ‘Trainer of Parent Educators’ and provides specialist material for parents, and the facilitators of parenting programmes. Over recent years, Liz has also been supporting schools with their CPD needs for Cover Supervisors, Teaching Assistants, and Teachers.
Liz originally founded Learning Pockets UK to help learners in any situation to feel more confident about their ability to succeed, and has personally assisted hundreds of young people to achieve more than they, or anyone else thought possible. In recognition of the fact that the internal environment of a learner’s mind is the most significant factor for both postive mental health, and academic outcomes, Liz now offers; ‘Metacognition in Practice – An Integrated Approach.
Support on this topic is available in several formats; Leadership consultancy for whole school application, specialist training for Teachers and Support Staff, individual student support training for Parents, and an opportunity to access ‘The Learner Success Pathway’. This is a unique 84 page package of structured activities, introducing a sense of ‘self’ into the learning process that enables previously struggling students to become self-motivated, independent learners, responsible for their own progress!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their "instrument" and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for even more resources.
Why are Teachers Leaving Education?
The following is by no means an exhaustive list. These are simple lists that we came up with as we worked on this:
Look first at why those who teach enter the profession
- Do something good for the community
- Love the subject
- Want to make a difference
Most teachers who leave tend to do this within the first 5-10 years for more economic stability and benefits.
Most teachers who consider leaving do so due to feeling demoralized, believe they have compromised their ethics.
Teachers burn out due to
- ever-increasing demands on their time,
- energies,
- lack of administrative support,
- treatment as expendable and replaceable;
- lack of respect,
- Micromanaging - teachers feel as though they are paraprofessionals - not allowed autonomy or ability to work without strong oversight.
- Lack of Input - teacher-led groups now managed by administration. Teachers “allowed” to attend.
- and forced duty to tests, rather than the integrity of the subject.
- Understaffing
- More busywork than actually teaching work
- Low ROI in energy & degree
Re-moralization can occur when teachers are able to reidentify their purpose and reboot, but that will then become a series of waves for the instructor over time.
What is needed:
- Continuous mental health work with every teacher
- Identifiable supports from the administration
- Valid support from Administration
- Validations from peers, community, and administration
- Cultivation of a viable professional community on a continuous basis
In this episode, we also referenced several articles listed below:
Why Are Experienced Teachers Leaving the Profession?
Leaving a Profession After It’s Left You: Teachers’ Public Resignation Letters as Resistance Amidst Neoliberalism
Why do teachers leave? A comprehensive occupational health study evaluating intent-to-quit in public school teachers
Somatization disorder and stress in teachers: a comprehensive occupational health evaluation
Why So Many Teachers Are Thinking of Quitting
Why Education Is About To Reach A Crisis Of Epic Proportions
Upcoming Event -
Liz Keable and Metacognition in Practise!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their "instrument" and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for even more resources.
A LIttle History Lesson - a little
The material from this discussion originated from this essay:
A Brief History of Alternative Education by Ron Miller
We aren’t able to discuss the entirety of the essay - we are able to skim through some programs and their philosophies, and some of the founders we have to thank for many of our current structures.
While we bring in ideas from previous episodes, it is a fun and lively chat.
Should we encourage seminar-style learning? Much like a dialog between students wherein they should be able to discuss both sides of an issue, whether they agree or not? How do we encourage learning and intellectual capital?
What do we do that other cultures do that work? Are there really crucial differences?
Are we headed for an Alternative Education drought? What does that look like? Philip is going to delve into this for a future learning opportunity!
Join Us!
Upcoming Event -
Liz Keable and Metacognition in Practise!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their "instrument" and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for even more resources.
And we're back with Philip Summers who engages us in a conversation about more aspects of Flow. How do we use it? What are the components we need to begin using.
How do we engage all students? How would flow work when not all students completely understand?
How is Flow used in Game Design? How do we use Game Design in the classroom/curriculum?
Philip nerds out! This is packed with information.
Below, I have put some links that will help you find more information about Flow, Flow States, and more!
What type of Flow do you have?
Flow Genome Project
Cognitive Flow: The Pyschology of Great Game Design
More Articles on Cognitive Flow Theory
A Conversation on Flow with Philip Summers - Part One
This week our dear friend, Philip Summers, teaches us about Flow.
What is Flow?
Well, if I were to put it simply, it’s finding your “zone” where you are so focused on what you’re doing that nothing else really exists - and then, several hours later, you return to a regular reality with an accomplishment. Sometimes people find this in gaming, or even in projects
How do we, as teachers, access the ability to include our students in FLOW? And engage them?
There are four categories of states that need to exist in order for Flow to occur:
- Psychological
- Environmental
- Social
- Creative
I have added some sites with information for you to access:
Tapping into your Flow State
Also, here is an article that will also open your mind to more questions and answers:
When good is good: A virtuous circle of self-efficacy and flow at work among teachers
A Conversation with Marion Wagner on School Psychology
Marion Wagner is a former school psychologist who still remains active in her concerns and actions for students in our schools. She went into the field out of a love for students and learning but was stymied when she found herself spending her time in front of a computer doing paperwork rather than serving the needs of the population she believed she was hired to help. She practiced in three states, Oregon, Colorado, and Nevada, and found all three varied greatly in how they utilized her skills and office. She fell prey to the burnout that is suffocating so many of our good teachers and staff.
Now, she works, using much the same skill sets, helping women “solopreneurs” in their journeys to start their own business no matter what that is.
Join us as we explore insights into the mental frameworks both from the views of the psychologist, students, and teachers. I must admit, I learned a great deal and I’m sure you will, as well. This is exciting as it is stimulating.
Here are some takeaways:
-
Why do we assume that all students are going to be ready, or should be ready for specific forms of learning/skills at a specific age?
-
What do the standards truly mean, and why are we using tests that measure a moment in time rather than a skillset or ability? Don't we spend enough money for them to figure that one out?
-
How are we meeting the first three steps of Maslow's hierarchy for every student? or do we simply agree that the collateral damage is just that? Why do we allow for such collateral damage?
These are some of my thoughts that came out - maybe you have some others? What piques your interest and discussion?
If you’re interested in her podcast, you can find it here:
Dare To Decide - Amazon Podcasts OR, you can find it on iTunes, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, iHeart Radio, or any most other platforms you prefer.
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their "instrument" and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for even more resources.
Episode 17 Valinda Jones from Gates High School
Valinda Jones is the principal at Gates High School in Tacoma Washington.
She began as a Drug and Alcohol treatment counselor and found herself in Alternative Education.
IN this interview, we learn about her journey, how the high school grew, and became effective and a place of learning and nurturing.
How did they grow their graduation rate?
How did they counter their massive dropout rate?
How did they nearly eliminate suspensions and expulsions? What are their solutions?
This is a great frank, and absorbing discussion on what they discovered and how working with the right team can change the culture of complaint to a culture of trust.
Why did they change from being an Alternative Learning Experience to a Basic Education platform? How did that work?
How does Alternative Education work in Washington State?
References:
Laura van dernoot Lipsky the author of Trauma Stewardship, https://traumastewardship.com/laura-van-dernoot-lipsky/ She also has a great Ted Talk called Beyond the Cliff that talks about vicarious trauma, https://youtu.be/vnOO0mWcTbs
Also referenced Randy Sprick, author of Safe and Civil Schools, https://www.safeandcivilschools.com/aboutus/trainer_bios/sprick.php Dr. Bruce Perry and Trauma-Informed Training
Restorative Practices also came into practice.
Join us, won't you?!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
WTF is Alternative Education?
Def: an educational program or system that is separate from a mainstream educational program or system and that is designed especially for students with academic or behavioral difficulties Gov.
There are so many things said about Alternative Education. We can begin with what IS regular education and look at its purposes and beginnings. Alternative Education is an entity that came about to help the students who couldn’t be successful in such an overbearing and confined manner.
In this episode, the trio hashes out and makes some epiphanies as to the true nature of Alternative Education.
One Note: Tony states that by 1900 30 states had compulsory education laws. This is erroneous. There were 32 states that had those laws, and it took 18 years for the rest to catch up and pass theirs. So, as you can see, all this is still relatively new and just over 100 years old.
The flow chart on the Tennessee Alternative Education filter is available at:
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/testing/tn_alt_participation_guidelines_flowchart.pdf
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
Episode 13 - How Do States Define Alternative Education?
Well, it would seem natural that there was a thread that held Alternative Education together from state to state, but just looking at the federal definition, states are all over the map (no pun intended) with how they look at it.
First, please have a gander at this site: https://nationalcharterschools.org/a-game-grant/data-visualizations/
This gives us a state-by-state analysis of how each state fares with its achievement rates.
Then, we can also look here: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/midatlantic/pdf/REL_2014038.pdf
Here is where we can look and see how each state looks at Alternaitve Education. Interesting, isn’t it!?
You might also enjoy looking at this document: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e39a7c38-400f-4e92-b5c7-f84ce1836ba2/downloads/1cr0n9msg_679421.pdf
This last document helps put into perspective some of the definitions, but is there a simple definition that truly will work with the student and the schools? Or are we simply spinning wheels to accommodate some particular optic for the politicians?
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
Episode 14 - What Makes a Good Mainstream/Alternative Ed Teacher?
While both mainstream and alternative education teachers share many of the same qualities, it’s always good to revisit what may be a reassessment of how we’re doing. We’re not perfect, by any means, and we should always be looking to improve upon our methods, demeanor, and skills. AS we continue to progress in years, experience, and with different curricula, we should be alert and open to receiving critical and honest feedback.
The goal for this episode was not to crow, or humble, but to investigate and share what students and the general populace consider to be the basis of good (if not GREAT) teaching. Currently, I work with some of the most amazing colleagues and I learn so much from watching them in their mainstream classrooms. Teachers, though, aren’t always alert to watching those in other departments and how they engage their students. It shouldn’t really matter the subject - the skills and deployment techniques of caring, building a community, and fostering the relationships are universal.
I couldn’t honestly remember how many sites I visited in researching this, but here are a few:
- https://blog.teachmint.com/qualities-of-a-good-teacher/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-12-qualities-great-teachers-share/2011/06/13/AGL64fTH_blog.html
- https://www.slideshare.net/GlaizaGubaton/personal-and-professional-attributes
- https://www.careeraddict.com/teacher-skills
Most are quite similar, but none are really the same as those of the students I interviewed:
Mainstream:
Sense of humor
Relaxed
Accessible
Understanding - empathy
Listens
Equity & Equality
Make connections over and above academics
1:1 Connections
Feel comfort in knowing they will come to you.
Even-tempered
Non-Authoritarian but have control
Put boundaries on friendship
Listener with empathy
Knows what they are teaching with more than just one way of doing it.
Able to jump student-to-student and accommodate each one
Personable - can talk to and relate
Can be trusted
Push for Success
Willing to go out of their way to help
Teaches
Gives options to do the work
Supportive and help you to succeed
Always happy to have you around
Pays attention
Cares about your well-being
More than school - actually follows through with what they say/promise
Alternative Ed
Mentorship rather than a teacher
Feel Welcomed
Recognition
Relaxed but know you have rules
Respectful
Educate - not Punish
Push us
Hold you accountable
Stricter with actual consequences
Treat as a person, not like a number or little kid
Treat as an adult
Be blunt and not sugar coat - but you know they’re on your side.
Friend/Advocate/Mentor
You can count on them, no matter what
Take time to know you and understand what you need and will help you get it
Willing to kick you in the donkey with love
Help you find your own way to your success
Care and pay attention to
Follow through with what they say/promise
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
Episode 12
Consensual Learning - What Is It?
In this episode, the trio discuss what Consensual Learning might look like, without using the Democratic Schools model.
Lively may be one way to describe the enthusiasm shared.
Did “A Nation At Risk” begin the downfall of what might be considered solid education? Could it be that this sent us the message but was it misinterpreted or did someone plot out the direction that forgot about students?
How do you create a program which best honors the students’ interests and isn’t the prison where students believe they are subjected to spend so much time? Ideas are pitched and discussed.
Mother Nature’s Pedagogy: How Children Educate Themselves is one of the articles referred to. Dr. Peter Gray, Ph.D. from Boston College is the author.
You may also enjoy his article on how Hunter-Gatherers had the right idea with education!
This is a topic we will explore further, and figure out different iterations.
Be sure to subscribe and tell others about us.
We want your comments and input! Please help us and respond!
Have an idea? Let us know : Edcuationaltriage@gmail.com
Would you like to publish something to our blog? Send it to our email and we’ll gladly review it and put it up! Educationaltriage@gmail.com
Visit our website and help us build! https://www.educationtriage.net/home
Please share, subscribe, and rate us! WE also would love to hear your ideas and feedback!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
What is the Sense of Belonging at School? We hear admin and teachers speak of our “School Family”, but does that truly include the students? Is it truly inclusive of everyone? What does that phrase really mean?
What do we do to ensure all members of our community feel included, wanted, welcome, and contributing? How are all voices heard and respected?
What is it we do? What can we do better?
How do we help students feel safe? - this can be seen from all sides. Do you feel safe with your students? This is integral! If you believe they should feel safe, then so should you - what is holding you back from being authentic? This does not mean you need to be an open-book, but that you are accessible to ALL students.
What is the buy-in? How does “Stealth Learning” come into play for you?
We explore the crust of this very deep topic - and begin to delve into the research that is linked below!
Thank you for listening!
Remember to subscribe and rate us - every episode counts!
Visit our website - it’s still building - and if you want to send us something to include (e.g. would you like to post your thoughts in the blog? Send it and after a review, we may be able to post it! We need more voices heard!)
Also, Check out these resources:
Quantum 10 Conference and Framework (Conference December 7-9, 2021)
National Alternative Education Association
Alternative Education Research Organization (AERO) - Education Revolution
For this episode:
Psychology Today Creating a Sense of Belonging
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1228555.pdf
Here is a diagram of the factors/Themes of Sense of Belonging in School, per a 2007-17 study on At-Risk Students. These students expressed mainly variables such as family, mental health, trauma, and poverty that impacted a student’s SOBAS.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1228555.pdf
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
Episode 8 - Computer Platforms in Alternative Education
Is teaching via a computer platform a viable method for our populations?
How well can students actually learn?
Is this passive?
What about students who require “hands-on” or paper learning?
Does this leave them in the dark?
Are students being punished for not complying in the mainstream?
What about SpEd students?
What about a sense of community? Collaboration?
How does this play into isolation which we all know is dangerous for many students at this time?
It’s always there - a canned curriculum
Need to be a strong learner? What about those who need further direction or are not adequately equipped?
How does an algorithm actually work as a “teacher”?
How does the physical environment impact the learning for the student, now many worked and are working from home?
Can it be a primary or a supplemental form of instruction/learning?
These are just some of the questions we muddle through.
It seems there has been quite a strong promotion of these types of platform-based learning programs in our districts. Does this honor the students’ learning processes? OR is it just seen as an efficient means by which to shove kids through the system (and for many shoved into even more failure)?
Our Website is UP! Please check in at: https://www.educationtriage.net/
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
Episode 1.7 - What Did We Learn From the Pandemic?
The pandemic opened its arms to us to teach us more than we realized. Think about how you welcomed the changes - were you stressed? Did you find yourself strung out over students and their attending?
What did we learn about control?
What innovations did we realize we could integrate into our classrooms and our lives?
What made our lives richer? And what did we find was simply unnecessary?
These are discussed as we reflect on the differences between being in a regular environment after spending so much time teaching from the virtual platforms.
And, if we learned anything are we able to continue implementing what we did?
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
Episode 1.6 - One Size Does Not Fit All: A student’s assessment of school by Nikhil Goyal
We discuss elements from the rich text of Nikhil Golyal’s book on education, which creates many insights and outbreaks of epiphanies.
Why do we foster a fear of failure despite knowing how important it is?
What happened to curiosity? How have we crushed it?
Should students invest in the stock market rather than in university?
How are we teaching?
Do we really need to group students by grade? Or should we do it by interest?
Why do we regiment children?
How much of what we do is about optics rather than about context and action?
“Let my tombstone be my diploma.” - Ertha Kitt
Why does the educational system remain static while society moves ahead?
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
Episode 1.5 Who Does Alternative Education Serve?
This is really a loaded question.
For the most part, alternative education tends to be a melting pot that specializes in more focused education for the students served. OR is it really a dumping ground for the hopeless students that nobody wants to work with?
Newsweek article Demographic Breakdown of the 2021 Best High Schools
The odd finding in our search for numbers of students in the alternative setting finds that there is nothing beyond 2007, and then there were growing numbers of students in every state that were enrolled in some form of alternative education. I was greeted with a wonderful response from Dr. Amy Schlessman-Frost, Ph.D. who gave me more information that may guide us. Unfortunately, though, the following information came through after we’d recorded our session. However, you may sift through and use some of it.
States define what is alternative education, and because of this, the numbers begin to vary. Here is a document that helps understand the definitions between states and Alternative Education:
https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=366
Dr. Jody Ernst has done the most current research on Alternative Education Campuses. (AECs) Much of her work is found in AEC data visualizations.
It’s quite interesting to understand just how wide the net is cast in working with students, families, and communities for the greater good. Alternative programs/schools/campuses serve anyone who was not attended to at the mainstream, for whatever reason.
This is a great conversation starter for parties!
Be sure to subscribe and tell others about us.
We want your comments and input! Please help us and respond!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
Episode 1.4 - Why Are There No Alternative Education Teacher Training Programs?
In this episode, we discuss the often overlooked abyss of Alternative Education Training.
Too often, districts and schools place teachers in alternative education schools/programs without any regard to best practices, let alone having faculty/staff who understand or lean into any of the pedagogies that best serve students in that environment.
Are you trained in best practices that covers:
- Severely traumatized students?
- School Phobia?
- Students with high anxiety?
- Students who have become disenfranchised?
- Students on the brink of dropping out?
- Students who are under suspension?
- Students who are expelled?
- Students who require Drug and Alcohol services?
- Students in residential treatment?
- Court Adjudicated students? Students who are talented and gifted?
- Students who require more intellectual challenges?
- Students who do not fall into the regular categories of the typical student?
- Surely, there are so many more to list than we can put here.
Are you trained in Open Mindset?
Can you teach from a student-centered approach?
What are the aspects you wish you’d been given some training in?
Are you familiar with the various pedagogies and philosophies?
Not all Alternative Education programs/schools are alike. Every one of them has its own purpose and personality.
Why do districts take students who cannot find a place in their schools, and react to their finding only failure, by placing them into an “Alternative Setting” - note the negative connotation) where they are told to stay until their “sentence” is served, or they graduate? In other words (probably not very eloquent), why do districts use alternative education settings as a punishment for students they claim to want to serve better? Is the irony lost on them?
According to the American Statistical Association (2014) schools have a 1-14% impact on student learning outcomes. Has that truly changed? This means that the majority of the learning the student encounters is from their own personal environment outside the school system. Where do your students fall on that scale?
Let us know your thoughts!
Also, be sure to check out your Alternative Education rules and definitions for your state by searching in your state’s Department of Education database.
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
We are continuing our discussion of what we understand to be the solid foundations of a good alternative program - from strategies, philosophies, pedagogies, types of curriculum; everything truly matters.
We would love to have you join in our conversation either in the comments below, or email us at: educationaltriage@gmail.com.
Do you want to share your ideas with us via the blog? We're just getting started, and would love to be able to take your contributions and share them on the blog pages! Perhaps your sharing can lead to a podcast idea, or even you joining us!
Subscribe!
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
Hey there!
In this Episode, we discuss what we believe to be the foundations of a solid alternative program. We tend to agree on many items, but we were able to jigsaw components together and realized that although the ideas came easily - implementation was another story.
So, if we left anything out, please let us know in the comments section!
And, if you’d like to visit our webpage, https://www.educationaltriage.net .
IF you have ideas, or would like to contribute, please send us something we can share on the blog! This is going to be a community! So, let’s share.
Contact us at: educationaltriage@gmail.com.
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.
Hello! This is our inaugural episode, and we’re happy to be here.
In this episode we begin with a quote from Chase Mielke:
https://affectiveliving.com/2017/07/09/we-have-a-problem-with-alternative-education-and-we-need-to-talk-about-it/
Why does Alternative Education have such a negative context? What gives anyone in the mainstream context to demean those students, rather than provide them with the best education they deserve?
These are the questions we discuss in our conversation.
“Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards?” - Kierkegaard
What did we learn from COVID, if we strive to return to pre-Covid structure and rules?
Why did schools fail to access the Alternatives in their buildings to help construct viable means by which to continue to educate their students while using Trauma-Informed structures?
Nikol Goyal - One Size Does Not Fit All
Dr. Lateshia Woodley - Transforming Alternative Education
Sharon Deloach, Ed.D. - An Answer to Disenfranchised Students
How do we face our challenges every day? How do we explain to others what it is we truly do, and how much of an impact do we truly make?
Why do our peers and our mainstream “supervisors” speak of the importance of our work, and then discount everything we do and also gloss over our students - is it all smoke and mirrors?
Be sure to catch us every week with a new topic.
Let us know what you’d like us to explore - you are important to us, as are your ideas and your feedback! Talk to us in the comments below!
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources!
And, visit AERO for more resources.