THE DIRT OF DEMOCRACY!?!

THE CIRCLE OF COURAGE- MEDICINE WHEEL AND THE SOIL OF DEMOCRACY!?!

The Art of Creating A Democratic Learning Community-
AMERICAN SCHOOLS by Sam Chaltain

Thanks Sam for writing this important book. I think it is a book that certainly took me to many places and allowed me to both reflect on my past experiences in schools as well as allowed me to consider future directions of my work. I love books that allow me to pause, go inward, and reflect on my purposes and personal vision.

To start…. Some of my notes and my reflections..........

Introduction:

Alongside the need for freedom, there is a equally pressing desire- for sturture, safety, and a sense of order to the world. ( As i think of the circle of courage above...what this describes is the inter-play between the BELONGING quaderant and the INDEPENDENCE quaderant )

These two universal human needs – for freedom on the one hand and structure on the other- are particularly relavant to our nation’s school leaders, who must strike the right balance between the two in order to create healthy, high-functioning learning environments. ( Yep...spent 10 years on this one and it is a fascinating balance....)

Most schools value one of these needs at the expense of the other- consciously or unconsciously----You do not have to choose!!! ( if you choose you lose.... the tug...the inter-play between these is critical in any democratic organization and the work is never finished...and it is hard good work)

It is possible, essential- to find the right balance between individual freedom and group structure. In fact, research confirms that when school leaders do so, they create optimal conditions for student learning, motivation and engagement. p.1

Ways of Seeing and being seen: ( THE BELONGING QUADERANT- Making connections )

“ Although schools have changed some in the last hundred years, most are still organized to impart a largely fact-based, rote oriented curriculum through structures that do not allow long-term teacher student relationships or in depth study.”

“ Over and over again, research and causal observation reveal that in most bureaucratically organized schools, students feel alienated from teachers, who appear to have little time for students unless they are unusually ‘bright’ or ‘problematic’. Teachers feel at odds with administrators, who appear to have little time for them unless their concerns pertain to contractual matters, mandates, or paperwork. And everyone feels victimized by the ‘system’, which demands attention to reports and procedures when teachers, students, and administrators would rather devote their time to each other and to learning.” ( Linda Darling-Hammond p.6 )

This approach is no longer tenable. When we as leaders do not trust, believe in, or have opportunities to recognize the true worth and potential of the fellow human beings we are supposed to serve, we manage each other as we would manage inanimate things. P. 6 ( The need to create the soil with our staff is critical.... we must become what we wish to see.... again... not easy but very good work....)

“ When you believe in a democratic society, you must provide a setting for education that is democratic.” Myles Horton p.7

C. Otto Scharmer- MIT senior lecturer- author of Theory U.

“ Social Fields are the grounding condition, the living soil from which grows that which only later becomes visible to the eye. And just as every good farmer focuses attention on sustaining and enhancing the quality of the soil, every good organizational leader focuses attention on sustaining and enhancing the quality of the social field- the ‘farm’ in which every responsible leader works day in and day out.” P. 8

“ the invisible parts of a school culture are far more, elusive-and essential- to the cultivation of a healthy learning environment.” P.8 ( For me...the cirlce of courage... make up the ingredients of this invisilbe healthy culture.... actualizing those basic needs....now that's the work! )

“ Democracies, organizations, and healthy schools can not function optimally without a high degree of participation and social trust. This is not, therefore, add-on work; it is the superordinate goal of any organization that wishes to bring out the best in its people.”
Questions: How do you cultivate the “organizational” topsoil where the visible and invisible social fields meet, connect, and interwine? P. 11 ( Critical...what the cirlce does for me...is take the concept of invisible social fields and gives me a picture of its pieces)

WHAT PIECES HAVE YOU FOUND?

WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS IN YOUR SOIL?

AS CLASSROOM TEACHERS.... IS THE SOIL THAT YOU CREATE FOR YOUR STUDENTS MADE UP OF SIMILAR INGREDIENTS?

Be well.... mike

Tags: american, schools.....

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sam Chaltain on December 7, 2009 at 2:49pm: Thanks for taking the time to read the book and share your thoughts, Mike. I'm a fan of the circle of courage you shared -- and I'll be eager, like you, to see how/if people respond to your question of what different educators' "topsoil ingredients" are. If you're not familiar with the Rethink Learning Now campaign, you can see a tag cloud of some ingredients that are emerging across hundreds of stories from people across the country. Check it out, and share your voice, at http://rethinklearningnow.com/stories/.

Cheers,

Sam Chaltain; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Michael Mcknight on December 7, 2009 at 7:29pm: Hi Sam.... hope this finds you well.... lets face it...i am sure it was easier for me to read then the efforts of writing it!! :)

I will certainly check out the rethink learning now sight.......

be well..mike; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Michael Mcknight on December 25, 2009 at 11:04am: Hi Sam and everyone.... hope this finds you well!

Wondering .....does this fit into the 5 Freedoms!!!!

Public school resegregation is a "national horror hidden in plain view," writes former educator turned public education activist Kozol (Savage Inequalities, Amazing Grace).

Hope and Despair in the American City
Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh
Gerald Grant

In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 5–4 verdict in the case of Milliken v. Bradley, thereby blocking the state of Michigan from merging the Detroit public school system with those of the surrounding suburbs.

This decision effectively walled off underprivileged students in many American cities, condemning them to a system of racial and class segregation and destroying their chances of obtaining a decent education.

In Hope and Despair, Gerald Grant compares two cities—his hometown of Syracuse, New York, and Raleigh, North Carolina—in order to examine the consequences of the nation’s ongoing educational inequities.

The school system in Syracuse is a slough of despair, the one in Raleigh a beacon of hope. Grant argues that the chief reason for Raleigh’s educational success is the integration by social class that occurred when the city voluntarily merged with the surrounding suburbs in 1976 to create the Wake County Public School System.

By contrast, the primary cause of Syracuse’s decline has been the growing class and racial segregation of its metropolitan schools, which has left the city mired in poverty.

Hope and Despair is a compelling study of urban social policy that combines field research and historical narrative in lucid and engaging prose. The result is an ambitious portrait—sometimes disturbing, often inspiring—of two cities that exemplify our nation’s greatest educational challenges, as well as a passionate exploration of the potential for school reform that exists for our urban schools today.

Some background thought:
Who attends high poverty schools?

Income in our society is closely tied to race. Nationally, about 50 percent of all black and Latino students attend schools in which 75 percent or more of the students are low-income as measured by eligibility for free and reduced price lunch (FRPL). Only 5 percent of white students do. In fact, over half of all white students attend schools in which 25 percent or fewer of the students are eligible for FRPL.

1. To what extent does a school’s overall poverty rate affect student achievement?

Student achievement—on which the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools appropriately place a great deal of emphasis—has been clearly shown to fall as the poverty level of a school rises. A consistent, forty-year body of scientific studies confirms that children who attend high-poverty schools face considerably higher risks of lower academic performance, whatever their individual academic potential. In fact, middle-income students who attend high-poverty schools earn lower average test scores than do low-income students who attend middle class schools.2

Since the publication of the Coleman Report in 1966, social scientists have reported that the socioeconomic composition of a school makes a difference in the achievement levels of individual students.

In 1982, Professor Karl White evaluated 101 previous studies and concluded that overall, the socioeconomic composition of schools seems more predictive of future academic achievement than does a student's individual socioeconomic status.

Can compensatory measures overcome the effects of concentrated poverty?

Unfortunately, in most cases, compensatory measures do not appear readily able to counter these strong trends in high-poverty schools. The means adopted in Charlotte's Equity Plus II schools plainly have not yet succeeded, despite well-intended plans to provide safeguards to assist students in Charlotte’s high-poverty schools. Indeed, many of the finest experts agree that although educators know a great deal about how to reach individual students from disadvantaged backgrounds, far too little is currently known about what is needed to make high-poverty schools, full of disadvantaged students, really effective.12

more to come :)

be well.... mike; ▶ Reply to This