Category: student achievement

Years ago the Detroit Free Press had a popular columnist named Bob Talbert, he was known for his column titled, “Outta of my  Monday moaning mind. “  It was a collection of random thoughts some connected and some disconnected.  With the utmost respect to Bob Talbert, here’s my version.

• Researchers at Stanford University recently published a study that found persistent multitaskers perform badly.  Surprising?  It seems trying to do a lot at the same time is ultimately a waste of time.  Multitaskers are in a constant state of stress with a frenzied pace of ever changing information.  This got me to thinking about the implications for teaching.  Too many layers of directions and instruction are a lesson plan for low achievement.  Morale – keep it simple. 

• Federal Race to the Top grants are inspiring school districts to re-think their education plans.  Some of the more innovative ideas include an Oxford Michigan district offering foreign language and string instruments to all kindergarteners.  Another district is eliminating English and social studies in favor of classes that focus on in-depth projects for lower achieving students. Some educators are willing to let go of long held beliefs to help students learn in a different way.  Sounds hopeful and inspiring to me. 

• Prominent child rearing experts observe that siblings who play together have healthier relationships because play allows them to work out grievances and competition.  Too much parent intervention often looks like favoritism to children and sometimes creates life long jealously and fractured adult relationships.  The ties that bind need not be too tight.  Be a model of kindness and respect and your children can take that into their play relationships.

• Middle and High School literature teachers are letting students choose their own books to help build a life-long love of reading.  “The Reading Zone” by Nancie Atwell promotes achievement through choice.  This book that has sold half a million copies is gaining popularity with many teachers all over the country.  Many lit teachers report gains in student achievement and higher performance on standardized tests. More evidence of how letting go of sacred cows allows for growth and success. 

• One last thought: All of these show the amazing potential to create a better system when the shareholders allow change to happen.  In order to change anything you must be willing to let go of something forever.  It’s time to let go.

For a generation of women in the 60’s Julia Child took the fear out of cooking.  She is famous for her live television moments when things didn’t quite turn out as planned.  What made her so endearing to fans was the undaunted way she handled mistakes.

The most memorable episode was Julia flipping a pan sized potato pancake.  She said, “When you flip anything you must have the courage of your convictions.”   She then gave the pancake a big flip.  It caught on the lip of the pan and fell on the stovetop.  She quickly patched it up and said, “The only way to learn to flip things is just to flip them.”

Just flip them.  I find that phase a mantra of fulfillment.  For me it means having the courage to take a risk and be okay with the outcome.  Too often we seize upon the idea of perfection as the truest measure of success ignoring the noble efforts when the flip didn’t quite make it.  Sometimes a little catastrophe is a lesson and a liberation.  

I can’t think of a more appropriate environment for a little catastrophe than school.  For many children the flip will not make it.  They have to learn how to patch it up and more importantly they have to experience the lesson of patching it up.  

The best teachers will encourage their students along this path by making room for mistakes.  Mistakes should be understood and part of the norm in learning anything. If students are comfortable in sharing their mistakes they will have the courage to “just flip” even when they are uncertain of the outcome.   

Most of what we plan to do turns out differently.  It takes humility and courage to continue when things change.  

Can success in life be predicted by intelligence measured on IQ tests?

The hereditarian view of intelligence claims that cognitive inequalities are written in our genes as well the social inequalities that arise from them. This view accepts that IQ differences between ethnic groups are a matter of heredity.  The accepted IQ ranking in racial/ethnic groups are – Ashkenazi Jews, East Asians, whites in general and then blacks.   Although this view has been denounced as racism wrapped up in pseudoscience it is still believed.  Unfortunately when a teacher believes this idea even as a generality it limits and cripples the success of their students.

In “Intelligence And How To Get It” Richard Nisbett puts forth evidence that stresses the importance of non-heredity factors in determining IQ.  This “new environmentalism” comes from neuroscience and genetics as well as from studies of educational interventions.

In a nutshell what Nisbett has found is that IQ differences are largely environmental and that extensive early childhood interventions have produced enduring IQ gains.  The challenge is in finding and implementing the right kinds of educational programs.  Nisbett believes that nearly everyone can be propelled above the threshold of an IQ of 115.

The way to gain intelligence is to live in an environment rich in possibilities.  Not only is it critical for parents especially those from poor and disadvantaged homes to have lofty goals for their children but for their teachers to have these same goals as well.  Embracing a possibility even one that seems unachievable is the first step to seeing it happen.

Imagine the story of Joyce Gladwell who grew up in the poor Caribbean island of Jamaica. She was able to go to high school only because her mother Daisy Nation was a dreamer and an idealist.  Daisy Nation’s ambitions made her a force to be reckoned with. These ambitions made it possible for her daughters to go to college.

A rich environment uses what’s available and the very first place is in our language. Language must be fine-tuned and practiced the same way a musician tunes and practices with an instrument.  With language children learn to question, to explore, to be engaged, to be creative, to dream and to aspire.    Children become masters of their language when they are talked to, read to, and questioned.  This is the beginning for enrichment and achievement and it must be woven into the fabric of everyday life.

Every parent and teacher can embrace the culture of possibility.   Embracing this culture is giving a gift to your child, to your student.  And it’s a gift that every child deserves.