Mulberry Street

The School All Children Deserve

Early in February, after undergoing a routine medical procedure, I experienced a life-threatening medical event.  Immediately I sought to make sense out of what happened. Certainly such a close call would lead me to make life changes but I didn't know what I needed to change. I lead a healthy life, have low blood pressure, low cholesterol, don’t smoke, enjoy a sweet family and was happily dedicated to my job. What was wrong with this picture? I wanted immediate answers. None were forthcoming. I went home from the hospital more worried about my work than I was about my health.

My first stop on the day I was released from the hospital was Kepler’s Bookstore. A doctor-ordered medical leave gave me lots of time to make progress on my To Read and To Re-Read lists. I bought David Elkind’s new book, The Power of Play; Alfie Kohn’s, The Homework Myth; some Jane Austen and, to, replace my hardback loaned to a teacher,  a paperback copy of The House At Pooh Corner.

Reading and re-reading several books, numerous articles and many blogs about learning and creativity was energizing and agonizing. I realized how much I missed working with people who share my beliefs about learning and schools. I remembered the heartache I felt on one of my last visits to my school's kindergarten. On that gloomy day I retreated to my office and bit my lip after noticing that a page from a workbook was the teacher's only resource for teaching fractions to five year olds. The room was missing many of the most of the important tools for reaching young minds-  water table, workbench, cooking center, puzzles, hollow blocks.

After much reading and thinking I uncovered my biggest problem- my work was no longer connected to my heart. That is very unhealthy! I must return to a school that values the pace of childhood and authentically teaches to the whole child. I am looking for a place in such a school- I may just launch one.

Christian Long's  "The Future of Learning" Manifesto"  inspired me to create my own manifesto- The School All Children Deserve:

Children deserve schools that are beautiful, filled with art, interesting colors, shapes and textures.   

Children deserve schools that are balanced; where creativity and literacy have equal status and wonder is treasured.

Children deserve schools that are comfortable; with cozy spots for solitude and welcoming spaces where groups can gather.

Children deserve schools that are responsive to their questions, ideas and concerns.

Children deserve schools that are flexible; free of rigid schedules and the one-size fits all curriculum.

Children deserve schools that are open; that invite learners to explore the world beyond the classroom walls and welcome non-traditional teachers who share wisdom and expertise.

Children deserve schools that are respectful of the individual; where personal best is emphasized rather than competitive comparisons.

Children deserve schools that are inclusive of learners with diverse backgrounds and abilities.

Children deserve schools that are sustainable; where simplicity and service to others are embedded in daily life.

I have taught in, worked with, learned of and visited schools that embody these principles. I will use this blog to share examples of such schools. I will also write about the theories and beliefs that are the foundation for my manifesto. Along the way I will probably post about other subjects too- after life is boring when it lacks serendipity. Look at me- I wound up in the ER and re-discovered my calling!

Decision for the Admissions Committee

Admissions season has just concluded in independent and parochial schools. Many magnet schools and programs for gifted students in the public sector have recently selected their new crop of students.  From Boston to Oahu admission committees have screened four and five year-olds and later convened to discuss which candidates to admit. If you were to eavesdrop on admissions conferences you would most likely hear more than a few conversations very similar to the one below.

Frankly, I am a bit troubled by our next candidate’s profile. There are some red flags that suggest he may be on the spectrum.

Oh, that’s too bad. He is such an attractive child- those big eyes- and quiet too. I'm sure he would never disrupt the class.

He is quiet but I am worried about perseveration. Did you notice that he never put that compass down? Just kept staring at it as he moved around the room.

I agree. That obsession with the compass is definitely perseveration. I think he is on the spectrum.

I was thinking the same thing. I noted some echolalia.

Too bad. He was so captivated by the music. I think he might have real talent but if he is on the spectrum we can’t take him.

He is a spectrum kid all right. Did you read his application? His parents report that when he first saw his baby sister he said, “Yes, but where does it have it’s small wheels?”

I don’t think we can meet his needs.

That’s right. We are not the right place for a kid on the spectrum.

OK then. Albert is not accepted. I will notify Mr. And Mrs. Einstein.

Walter Isaacson’s new biography, Einstein: His Life and Universe, reminded me of five year-old Albert’s fascination with the compass. As he held the gift from his father Albert’s hands trembled and he wondered why the needle always pointed north.  He later wrote,"I can still remember...this experience made a deep and lasting impression on me. Something deeply hidden had to be behind things"

Isaacson’s book describes a young boy with several characteristics that would earn him a diagnosis somewhere on the autistic spectrum. He reports that young Albert would repeat words and sentences over and over to himself until he could get them right. That is echolalia, a symptom of autism.

The ability to think in pictures, a trait Isaacson believes was key to Einstein’s genius, is a spectrum behavior defined as visuospatial thinking.

The fascination with the compass could be labeled as the spectrum behavior of perseveration- getting stuck with one behavior or object.

Little Albert’s quirky question about his sister, “Where are the wheels?” would likely be interpreted as an indiscriminate social interaction or indifference to others. Social impairment is a symptom of autism.

In an interview with WHYY's Fresh Air Isaacson said,  “His sense of wonder, his ability to think in pictures and his rebellious streak were what made Einstein a genius. “

If he were applying to kindergarten in 2007 those very behaviors would earn young Albert a rejection letter from many selective schools.

Admissions committees work hard to ensure that their student bodies are diverse. Appropriately, much attention is given to racial, socio-economic and gender balance but there is much work to be done to create schools that are authentically diverse. Far too few schools are inclusive of students with learning differences. If we really want to educate children who will solve the big problems of the 21st century we must stop stigmatizing children who learn or socialize differently.They may be some of our most creative students who, like Einstein, look at the world with wonder when most of us see only the mundane. We need more kids who are obsessed with pondering questions that cannot be answered on a test- questions that might take a lifetime to answer.

In his interview on NPR's Fresh Air Walter Isaacson said, “Einstein was not smarter than other physicists. He was just more creative.”

In his  TEDTalk Sir Ken Robinson said, ”Creativity now is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.”

Let’s strengthen our focus on creativity and broaden our definition of intelligence. We must reach more children who learn differently-kids like Albert.

My dream school will be inclusive of learners with diverse backgrounds and abilities. In my dream school the admissions committee would have been excited by Albert and his compass.

 

Watch Sir Ken Robinson Explain What School Does to Marco

                 

Sir Ken Robinson  makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. Robinson is author of "Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative", and a leading expert on innovation and human resources. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 20:03) - More TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com

John Backus and the Honor Roll

John Backus died last weekend. Backus led the IBM team that created FORTRAN, the computer language that changed how programmers interacted with computers. Backus was one of the innovators who laid the foundation for modern software. He was awarded the 1977 Turing Award, often called the “Nobel Prize of Computing. “ The citation for his award reads:

For profound, influential, and lasting contributions to the design of practical high-level programming systems, notably through his work on FORTRAN, and for seminal publication of formal procedures for the specification of programming languages.

Pretty impressive-clearly Backus was a gifted mathematician and original thinker- but if you think that means he was a successful student you are wrong. In a 1979 edition of Think, the IBM employee magazine, he described his educational career as “checkered.” Referring to his prep school, Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, he said, “the delight of the place was all the rules you could break.” He managed to graduate from Hill but was invited to leave the University of Virginia after only six months. He studied premed after serving in the Army during WWII but dropped out of medical school because, “I had visions of right away doing research on the functions of the brain. But at medical school, all they wanted you to do was "memorize, memorize, memorize.”

I doubt that Backus made the honor roll during his school days but he earned numerous honors and awards in the real world. As I read his obituary I was reminded of the saying I have often heard from successful entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.

The A students go on to academia, the B students work for the C students.

There are a lot of kids like John Backus who are falling through the cracks in today’s test-driven, grade-focused schools. How do we nurture creativity and talent that our children will need in the future? Christian Long articulates his thinking about this subject in the Future of Learning Manifesto.

I am thinking about my response to his vision. More to come……….