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I just heard about President Obama's proposal for all states to require mandatory high school attendance to age 18-years old. It's currently16-years old in most states.
I can't help but gasp at the understanding gap--make that understanding gulch--between those who have enough of the right stuff to graduate from high school and those who don't. In spite of the fact that many who did make it through say it was boring and that ultimately they "just learned how to play the game teachers wanted them to play," most of them are ardent supporters of the system. Politicians are making laws to shore up the system and take standardized tests that they couldn't pass the standardized tests they think kids should be taking. Most teachers, comfortable themselves with reading and rote learning, are still insisting that the best way to educate all of our young people is to keep them at desks with their noses in books, giving them exams, handing out grades, and berating those who aren't "living up to their potential." Parents who had absolutely horrendous experiences in school pressure their kids unmercifully to excel in the same system that was so painful for them. What are we thinking, folks?
Let's get something straight, for the school system there is right stuff and wrong stuff, and most students know fully well what they've got. Those with the wrong stuff are the dropouts. So, I ask President Obama and Arne Duncan, who is likely behind this recommendation, What are you going to do differently in those extra two years of high school with these kids who have the wrong stuff? Mr. President, these kids with the wrong stuff populate our prisons, roam the streets, enroll in home school programs by the thousands and will continue to do so until the system figures out how to respect and facilitate learning for all of its learners rather than expect all of its learners to fit the system. If you don't have a plan for these students who don't have the right stuff, please do not prolong their misery.
The Right Stuff
In the school system there is definitely the right stuff, and there are two kinds of it. Students can be assured of doing well academically if they have a natural disposition for planning ahead, organizing, getting work done on a schedule, being interrupted every hour to change classes, reading, writing, math, sitting quietly at a desk, and listening for long periods of time. Eight to ten percent of learners have this combination of traits and skills. And, as much as it is considered politically incorrect to speak of it, there is great concern for the social skills of these students. These kids, although loved by teachers, are often disliked by classmates and take the brunt of their teasing, jokes, and bullying.
The other kind of right stuff is social. These kids have a natural disposition for group activities, hanging out, chatting, gossiping, making friends. When you ask them what they like about school they will tell you either "recess" or "my friends". They are most engaged by school when clustered in small groups in hallways -- before and after school, between classes, and at lunch. They are the kids who use their cell phones the most and take it personally if they aren't allowed to use them. Some of these kids are talented athletically and enhance their social status by becoming well known throughout the school. Parents and teachers are often greatly concerned about the academic development of many of these socially motivated students. These kids often hear how "they are not living up to their potential." However, these students hang in and perform well enough to stay in, because school is the place where their belonging needs are met. These kids make up about 20-25% of students.
The Wrong Stuff
There are two kinds of wrong stuff, as well. You are likely to be misunderstood and to have a difficult time in school if you are a student with any combination of this wrong stuff: you think into things deeply; ask questions; like a hands on approach to learning -- to take things apart and put them together again; like to construct your own understanding of how the world works; enjoy spending long periods of time on one subject; learn best by doing projects; like problem solving, invent things; want to use your imagination to create in art, music, literature, poetry, and/or dance.
There is another kind of learner who has the wrong stuff for school and who often suffers greatly from severe punishment in an attempt to teach him or her the right stuff. These students, sometimes known as the "class clowns" are born entertainers. They like to have fun, often have a great sense of humor, and enjoy taking center stage. Other students often enjoy their antics, at least to some degree. These students with highly developed performing skills have a lot to contribute to a classroom. However, the way classrooms are currently managed there isn't a way for these students to be constructive participants, so we often find them sitting outside the classroom door or on a bench waiting to see the principal.
These two categories of kids with the wrong stuff account for 55-60% + of our learners. And, these are
the kids who are dropping out of school in droves.
Every day at the LearningSuccess™ Institute we see or hear about the suffering of these students and their families. They inspired us to write Discover Your Child's Learning Style and Midlife Crisis Begins in Kindergarten. They inspire us to continue to develop systems, strategies, and materials that support all learners to have successful and meaningful learning experiences--and to become constructive contributors of their unique gifts and talents to their families and communities.
by Victoria Kindle Hodson, copyright 2012 by Willis & Hodson, Reflective Educational Perspectives LLC
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