Education vs Schooling...

“Education is not the piling on of learning,

 information, data, facts, skills, or abilities—

that's training or instruction—

but is rather a making visible what is hidden as a seed...

--Thomas Moore

Teaching

Teaching is the greatest act of optimism!!!

Helping-Fixing-Serving....

"Helping, fixing, and serving represent
three different ways of seeing life.
When you help, 
you see life as weak,
when you fix,
you see life as broken.
When you serve,
you see life as whole.
Fixing and helping
may be the work of the ego,
and service the work of the soul."
— Rachel Naomi Remen

Turnaround Teachers and Adults Provide 3 Protective Factors …

1. Caring Relationships…

 Adults can convey loving support to students

 by listening to students and validating their feelings,

and by demonstrating kindness, compassion, and respect

(Higgins, 1994 ; Meier, 1995).

They refrain from judging,

and do not take students' behavior personally,

understanding that youth are doing the best they can,

 based on the way they perceive the world.

  

2. Positive and High Expectations.

 Adults' high expectations can structure and guide behavior,

and can also challenge students beyond what they believe they can do (Delpit, 1996)

Turnaround adults recognize students' strengths,

mirror them, and help students see where they are strong.

They especially assist overwhelmed youth,

who have been labeled or oppressed

by their families, schools, and/or communities,

in using their personal power to grow from

damaged victim to resilient survivor by helping them to:

 (1) not take personally the adversity in their lives;

 (2) not see adversity as permanent; and

 (3) not see setbacks as pervasive (adapted from Seligman, 1995)

 These adults are student-centered:

they use the students' own strengths,

 interests, goals, and dreams

as the beginning point for learning,

and they tap students' intrinsic motivation for learning.

  

3. Opportunities to Participate and Contribute.

As an outgrowth of a strengths-based perspective,

 turnaround adults let students

express their opinions and imagination,

 make choices, problem solve,

work with and help others,

and give their gifts back to the community

 in a physically and psychologically safe and structured environment.

They treat students as responsible individuals,

allowing them to participate in all aspects of the school's functioning.

 ( Rutter et al., 1979; Rutter, 1984; Kohn, 1993)

Transforming Lives..

Adults and Programs Have the Power to Transform Lives

A common finding in resilience research

 is the power of adults, often unbeknownst,

to tip the scale from risk to resilience.

Turnaround  teachers/mentors

provide and model three protective factors

that buffer risk and enable positive development

 by meeting youth's basic needs for

safety, love and belonging, respect, power,

 accomplishment and learning, and,

ultimately, for meaning.

 (Benard, 1991)

Teaching Troubled and Troubling Kids!

When we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey.  The

When we no longer know what to do

 we have come to our real work,

and when we no longer know which way to go

 we have begun our real journey. 

The mind that is not baffled is not employed. 

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

                   - Wendell Berry

 mind that is not baffled is not employed.  The impeded stream is the one that sings.

                   - Wendell Berry

Creating Healthy Environment for all our children!

In its original meaning the term “at-risk” was meant to focus attention on the HAZZARDS IN THE ENVIRONMENT

That can lead to poor outcomes for ANY CHILD!!

It was never intended to become what it has turned into…. Another description or label for “ CERTAIN KINDS OF KIDS”!!

Once the term became distorted it simply has become another label to describe kids.

We have shifted from the original focus… which was on how to build supportive environments for ALL children and youth…toward once

Again… labeling  kids!!

I suggest to you that this is the wrong focus……!!

Let’s take a look at the SEEDS OF DISCOURAGEMENT AND THE

4 ENVIRONMENTAL HAZZARDS THAT PLACE CHILDREN AND YOUTH

                              “AT-RISK”.

1.  DESTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS

As experienced by rejected or unclaimed children, abandoned, unable to trust…and expecting to be hurt again.

Bowlby ( 1982 ) described 2 types of anger triggered by UNSTABLE BELONGINGS….

The first he called:  THE ANGER OF DESPAIR

It is seen in youth who believe…

“It is no use… I deserve what is happening to me.”

These kids feel deep guilt and worthlessness…they have

• Very low self esteem
• Sexual abuse may have been experienced by these children
• Are at high risk of drug/alcohol abuse
• You may see promiscuous behaviors
• High risk of depression
• Cutting
• Suicide
• These are the children and youth that act their anger out “inwardly”
• They blame themselves for how they have been treated by those

     closest to them.

The second group he labeled:  THE ANGER OF HOPE

This is seen in youth who believe:

·         “I” do not deserve this shit.  It is not fair.

·          They are indignant at the treatment they have received and direct their

       Anger …”EXTERNALLY” AT ALL OTHERS.

·         They have a sense of me first.

·         No one tells me what to do… I can and do take care of myself!

·         Fuck-You All…..

There is a third broad group of HYPER-VIGILANT CHILDREN always in an uneasy state of ANXIETY AND STRESS.  These kids can look at act like children with ADHD. 

Over time… all these children can become… “RELATIONSHIP RESISTENT”

AND DISTRUSTFUL OF ALL ADULTS.

They are children with-out POSITIVE ADULT BELONGINGS!!!

2.  CLIMATES OF FUTILITY

As experienced by children that rarely meet with any success in schools.  They have long histories of failure…many times repeating grades….being removed from schools and programs….and becoming crippled by feelings of inadequacy.

Generally schools have not had much success with these children and have been characterized by:

• High Degrees of Punitive-ness
• Negative Expectations
• Professional Pessimism

Inadvertently Schools often recreate the STRESS and CONFLICT of the kids life outside of school.  These kids carry their worlds into our schools and they get unconscious adults to re-create those worlds on a daily basis in many of our schools!

It is also important to note… that for many kids…it is much better to be seen as BAD… rather than STUPID!!!

3.  Learned Irresponsibility

As seen in kids who display an “ I DON’T CARE”…INDIFFERENT ATTITUDE IN OUR SCHOOLS OR… A “DEFIANT…REBELLIOUS”.. “YOU CAN’T MAKE ME” DISPLAY.

As students disengage academically they become powerfully dependent on other DISENGAGED PEERS who join together to support each other in their “hatred of school”!!

4.  LOSS OF PURPOSE

As seen by self-centered youth searching for meaning in a world of very confusing values.  Empathy must be nurtured to grow and many of these children have been under-nourished.

Young people can not develop their own value unless they have opportunities to be of value to others.

THESE ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL HAZZARDS THAT OUR MOST TROUBLING CHILDREN HAVE GROWN IN.  To reclaim them will require schools to do many things a bit differently….

Let us begin.....