Wasn't Kozol amazing last night? His words and demeanor are still resonating within me. His passion and commitment and rabble-rousing nature are still lifting me up this morning. His ninja-like advocacy of subversion is inspiring me to go out and break some rules today.
I found this riveting 9 minute clip in case you want another dose of Jonathan Kozol.
I invite you to write a response to his words this week. What struck you when he was talking? What line or anecdote stuck in your craw? What message lifted you up and why?
My favorite line was something Francesca, the young teacher in Boston, said to him: "I refuse to steal away their childhood."
So many things about schools steal childhood away from our students. The very nature of institutions is to steal away our personalities and our joys and to standardized and socialize us to conform to the status quo. It is up to the guardians of childhood--the teachers--to make sure that childhood, and all of its complexities and innocence and beauty, remains at the center of teaching and learning. We can never forget that we are educating children--that they are still growing and changing and learning and hurting--that their humanity comes before standards and assessments.
I invite you to post your thoughts about Kozol's words this week. He deserves our attention and thoughtfulness here.
13 comments:
So, I will be honest...I broke a rule while we were all sitting there in the hall. I had a recorder on me, and knowing full well I had a rough day, I knew I would want to revisit his words once I had a chance to breathe.
The recorder, however, is new. And technology is NOT my forte, so I am working on seeing how I go about taking the sound file from the recorder and putting it onto my computer. Once I do that, if I can send it to you, I will. I know none of us will plan to reproduce the clip and sell it...so I feel confident that my rule breaking was not harmful, but rather, for the sake of the education of educators.
Anyways, just wanted to let you guys know I am working on that. This is not my OFFICIAL response, as with the week's events I do want to spend a little more time to think about the speech, as it came about at a PERFECT time for me.
But...hopefully I can get us all a sound file of the speech!!
In light of Dr. Cook's response to the line about "stealing away their childhood," Kozel, and my recent arrival at the middle school - what I would like to focus on from Thursday night is - BEING WHIMSICAL.
In a world of education that has become all too fond of concrete standardized tests and assessments, where creativity is smoldered like an out of control fire, where students are instructed to engage in "SSR" (sustained silent reading) for 45 minute blocks - we simply must be w h i m s i c a l :) why not?
I spent my first day at Woonsocket Middle School today, and the students told me about imaginary friends, comic strips, and bubble letters. They are excited to dress up for Halloween and draw; They are brimming with creativity.
After being in high school for eight weeks where things took on a more serious tone (senior project, graduation, college aps), it was like being on another planet with sixth graders.
There will always be a little piece of "whimsical-ness" in me after today. Bringing myself back to what sixth grade encompasses was overwhelming, and still is, but just going with it seems to be the thing to do.
bubble letters. pizza parties.tennis balls on chair legs. sustained silent reading. imaginary animals. locker time. sneakers. sonic. sponge bob. bus schedules. insecurities. making friends. small chairs and desks. being 11. This is what middle school was like today.
Aimee Marsland, you just made my day!!!!!!!
WHIMSY!!!!!!!!!
I've been thinking about Kozol's remark about the dropout rate of high school and how it's rising, especially when it comes to minorities. And then I thought about what he didn't mention, mainly what happens to these kids after they drop out. The largest numbers in prison, whether it be adult facilities or training schools/juvenile detention centers, are non-white males. I found some statistic which said that 70% of prisoners in the U.S. are non-white. 70%. So why is this? How are schools and society failing these young people? Why are these kids dropping out more than their fellow white students? Many of the young (mostly black) men I've talked to (who claim they're going to drop out) don't see how an education is going to help them. They say they'd rather be out making money. They seem to have this vision that being a thug or a gangsta is a good life.
I've been thinking about how poverty, race, and education are linked. How when we get kids in our classroom we're getting their history of education (including their education before school and outside of school i.e. parents reading to their children, trips to museums, etc.). Sometimes kids are behind even before they start school. We're also getting their perceptions (and their parents' perceptions) of education which we've had no control in shaping. And...we're getting the media's stereotypes (black men are either rappers, basketball or football players, or gangsters) and the realities of the society that we live in (in many cities minorities are predominately found in poor, “bad” neighborhoods). Kids are faced with these thoughts and burdens every day, and somehow we have to not only teach content, but also find ways to teach against stereotypes, racism, and socioeconomic inequalities. It's our job to make education relevant—to show children how important it is, to show children who live day to day how to look to the future, to show children that we can work to change the unjust things we see in the world.
I want to be able to show kids that their place in society is not predetermined by their skin color, that they are not the stereotypes that the media has created, and that they have the ability to breakdown the racial/class divide in our society.
First off...Kate-I couldn't agree with you more! The line that stuck with me was for many of the same reasons. Kozol said we are in a "Regressive and Reactionary moment in education". It made me think. What are we regressing from? A student centered learning model? Moving towards a classroom where standards are posted on walls, and teachers are void of creativity and teaching only to the test? That, in my mind, is what this regression is. Education is becoming more about the state demands and less about what the students need. The districts want number crunchers who will raise scores, and treat the students as numbers. As teachers of the humanities, our REACTION is to go against that. We value our students, we encourage them to learn, we shape our methods and lessons to our students so they can connect with the works of literature. We spend hours thinking of projects that will prove how the students have learned the standards and still have the project be meaningful to them. We are artists. We are magicians.
Regressive and Reactionary. How far will our education system regress before there is a reaction on a big scale?
The other line that stuck with me (and made me cry) was when he was talking about Mr. Rogers and the line of "When will we welcome them into OUR neighborhood?" This is where a lot of things hit home for me. Why is it that underprivledged children are outcasted from the educational system? Their voices are minimalized at best; silenced at worst. Yet the educational system allows this to happen in many respects. The best effort of a teacher is not always enough, sometimes not even the effort of a school is enough to be able to fix this issue. Our students are pushed aside, and they know it. The workings of a school system are transparent to the students.
I am glad to know that at least our small group will be joining the teacher force soon. Maybe...just maybe it will be our teacher voices to start the reaction to the regression of the education system. And maybe then we can welcome all students to the same privledged educational neighborhood.
The part about the lecture that stuck out to me was when Kozol told us about when he introduced the Langston Hughes (Im pretty sure that was the author) poetry to his cramped classroom and one student was so moved just by Hughes' photograph that she started to cry. This really touched me, knowing that this student had probably never been exposed to any kind of literature that she could relate to in her whole student career. I think its amazing what a poem or novel can do for a student and their education if what they are reading truly speaks to their heart. Its hard for me to imagine what it would have been like for me when I was younger; sitting in class, learning from white teachers about white people who frown upon or try to marginalize my voice and my culture. It kind of scared me. To think that now I have some sort of control over this situation and I am not making moves everyday to integrate this kind of diversity into EVERY lesson sometimes makes me feel like I am forgetting a big part of my job. Of course, this is not the case everyday, but on the days where it seems that everything we are reading comes from one dominant culture's point of view, I feel the need to rebel against it even more. If Kozol taught me one thing it was to be brave enough to introduce material into your classroom that may seem different, or teach from work by the marginalized population. Seeing eyes light up from a student that has finally read something that speaks to their life can be great for that student's education. Imagine how we can run with that new motivation and determination as teachers.
Kellen, Your post is beautiful. Thank you. We all need to be reminded every day to take risks and to bring in, from our home worlds, literatures and artworks and songs and photographs that may speak to our students. We are the ones with all the access to these materials! We have college degrees and good minds! We are giving, sharing people! Once you are out from under the thumb of your cooperating teacher and school and district, I hope you all will remember to take a risk everyday, to bring in a new text everyday, to try and light a spark in a student or two, to expose them to something they've never seen or heard before. Different is good!
And, Kate--thank you for reminding us that we are failing more kids than we are helping. How can this be? Why are black boys and men still fighting for a place at the table "all these years after" slavery and segregation? What are the deep-seated fears of black folks that tarnish our society and why do we continue to let them permeate our schools? Our answer to all of this, of course, in education, is to test and to make tougher standards for children and for teachers. Tighten the strings and the instrument will be in tune, right? Wrong.
Kids aren't strings, nor are they products or agents or outcomes or grade level expectations. They are hopes and dreams and heartbreak and sadness and promise and whimsy and lost innocence and disillusionment. They are living, humming balls of complexity who we try desperately to contain and to control and to manage. What would happen in schools if children were permitted to study only what interested them? What would happen if children could play as much as they liked? What would happen if we let them speak their minds all the time? What could we learn from them?
I often wonder what sec. ed. english classes look and sound like in other colleges and universities across the country. I hope they look and sound something like our class...the thought of it really makes me hopeful for the future of education. You're all so awesome.
Kate--Thanks for the shout out to yer peeps. We are an amazing bunch of educators, and this gives me HOPE, HOPE, HOPE for the future of this country and its children. Thank you for being so thoughtful and careful and true and for choosing the best profession on the planet.
wow - kate - awesome post
I enjoyed Kozol.
He reminded me of George Carlin.
I wish he had talked more about the education system.
I wish he had opened the forum for some questions.
I wanted to ask...
"What problem in the education system exists now, that did not exists in the past--and what problem in the education system existed in the past, but does not exist now."
Overall, I thought that he was heartfelt and interesting, I think though, that I would rather read his books.
My favorite story that Kozol told was how he was inspired by Dr. King. I love that he simply went to the city and asked an episcopal priest, "how can I help?". It showed how all you have to do to start making a difference is to get involved. Ask questions.
I am glad that I was able to see Kozol speak and I love the concept of his new book.
After hearing Kozel speak I can honestly say that I got goosebumps. Having read some of his work is one thing, but having him there in front of me was a totally different experience. Looking back at my notes from his speech I wrote things like "i love this man" and this is amazing! I left the auditorium feeling like if he can make a difference in the world that so can I if I am as passionate about kids as he is. I am that passionate about kids. It makes me so sad to hear the injustices and inequalities that kids are facing in their everyday lives. Shouldnt school be the one place that they can be safe and have the same opportunities as everyone else? How is it that my school is so different from Kate's?
It has always been interesting to me that people stereotype certain groups of people as being lazy, and only here to milk off of the government, never trying to advance themselves because Welfare will just take care of them forever...the people who make these claims should take step into a neighborhood that the people they are stereotyping lives in...walk into their schools and take a walk down their streets...does it look like a place that screams "you can become a doctor/lawyer/white collar professional?" does it look like a place that is hopeful? does it look like a place where children are being educated with the best? These kids are not given a chance from the time that they start school...they are given the short end of the stick...whatever is left over from the nicest, best schools. How can we expect them to excel and compete with students from say a school in Barrington when they are not given the same opportunities that those students are? It is sad to me that we are not really the land of equal opportunity.
Kozel did say something that was beautiful to me. He said, and Aimee spoke of it in her post...be whimsical....sooooo cooolllll! This made me want to hug him.
I want to work to make a differnece. I want to work for equality for my students.
After hearing Kozol speak I felt overwhelmed by two emotions; fear and excitement. I fear for children who do not have the teacher in the double-wide, the teacher who will go to all lengths for their kids. Excitement for the oppurtunity to show myself and others my abilities to be like that teacher. A chance to touch/reach students in a way no other can.
Kozol's speech made me also think of the kids I have already met. The adolescents who hang onto anyone who shows them a glimpse of hope. To be able to do that in an academic setting is so invigorating to me.
I was on the fence as to where I wanted to teach. Do I go back to the kind of town I grew up in? The town Kozol grew up in? Or do I go where I can best help kids out. After hearing Kozol speak of these inner city kids I feel like I would best serve them. I want to be their support system, their advocate. I want to challenge them and myself and hold both of us to our highest standards.
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