Educators » Carol J. Carter

Schools of Conscience

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

In the article below, the topic of student conscience and civic engagement is explored in the context of courageous individuals who have quietly helped Holocaust survivors and others in need. The author raises the important perspective that what matters most in our learning is what KIND of students are reading the books and doing the math? The piece of educational emphasis about being a good person, making ethical choices, contributing to the world beyond your own needs is central to human development, but often left out in school. Arguably, these â€œhumanâ€ skills are the most important abilities for college, career and life fulfillment and success.

Several schools in Michigan have taken on a hunger initiative. Their students learned that 18,000 people die each day from hunger and 850 million people go to bed hungry each night. How do you think those statistics motivate apathetic students? Research shows that working with real problems facing the worldâ€”hunger, health, education, injusticesâ€”have the ability to motivate and call forth some of the most dispassionate students. We can all learn a lesson from the model of Michigan and begin to apply this â€œperspectiveâ€ to how we teach students to understand themselves and the world that they are preparing to enter.

In our new book, CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING FOR TEENAGERS, we explore the worldâ€™s greatest problems through each element of critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and conscious action. Write us for a copy and start now to empower your students through compassion and purposeful life choices.

ARTICLE
Educational Leadership
Charles Haynes

Education’s highest aim is to create moral and civic habits of the heart. At a time when the United States faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, public schools must do far more to prepare young people to be engaged, ethical advocates of “liberty and justice for all.” Yes, reading and math are important. But what matters most is what kinds of human beings are reading the books and doing the math.

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Teaching Social Responsibility

CAROL’S SUMMARY:
In the article below, which comments on the lead story in Educational Leadership, Charles Haynes explores the value of students who know how to be good human beings relative to the other qualities and skills we emphasize as a society, something Haynes calls “the moral habits of the heart”. Certainly, learning math, science, English and foreign languages are important, but these skills wonâ€™t serve students well if they donâ€™t have emotional and social intelligence to solve their own problems, as well as those of their communities and the world.

Schools can help students develop compassion and a sense of responsibility by emphasizing some of the worldâ€™s greatest problems in a project-based learning format.Â Â When students are challenged by understanding the complexities of overfishing, sanitation problems in third world countries or the rise of AIDS,Â they are given an avenue in which to be involved and are motivated to make a difference.Â Â Â Research shows that todayâ€™s students have a greater sense of social responsibility than the generation that preceded theirs.Â So, as educators, we need to tap in to that interest to help teach critical thinking, problem-solving and citizenshipâ€”including what it means to be a global citizen.

LifeBoundâ€™s new book in print this July, Critical and Creative Thinking for Teenagers, examines some of the greatest problems facing the world right now and provides a framework to help students solve those problems.

ARTICLE:
ASCD
by Marge Scherer

The lead story in my newspaper this morning features the upcoming G20 summit in London at which international leaders will discuss whether regulations, bailouts, and stimulus plans will do anything to stem the financial crisis. Another story is about North Dakota, where residents are wearily watching whether the sandbag barriers they’ve built will hold back the Red River. The stories have their similaritiesâ€”looming disasters, overwhelming forces, demands for people to come together to solve the problem before it is too late. The flood story seems a simpler one. But perhaps it only seems easier to battle a raging river than to battle raging greed.

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Rising Above I.Q.

In Nicholas Kristofâ€™s article below reviewing John Nesbittâ€™s new book, Intelligence and How to Get It, both authors consider the role IQ and effort has when analyzing Asians, Jews and West Indian-born African Americans. As it turns out, each of the people in these three ethnic groups outperform other ethnic groups and typically white middle class students as well. The people in these ethnic groups arenâ€™t necessarily â€œsmarterâ€ than their counterparts, but because of family support, priority around becoming educated and exposure to more vocabulary at a young age, they get the â€œmost out of the firepowerâ€ that they have.

What all students should be taught in school is this basic lesson: Intelligence and academic success are very much a matter of personal choice and is, therefore, a decision that we can make. As my friend Joe Martin, who was raised in the projects and went on to get his Ph.D says: “Your I CAN is a lot more important than IQ.”

ARTICLE
New York Times
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

In the mosaic of America, three groups that have been unusually successful are Asian-Americans, Jews and West Indian blacks â€” and in that there may be some lessons for the rest of us.

To view the entire article visit
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/opinion/07kristof.html?emc=eta1

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Texting May Be Taking a Toll

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Yesterday and today, we worked with a school district, training teachers and administrators from elementary through high school.Â When we asked them what characterizes some of their challenges working with todayâ€™s students, they cited texting and cell phone use as a huge problem.Â The article below is right on with their concerns.Â

Too much texting at school, out of school and in class has caused major problems in focusing and being attentive, teachers say.Â Â Â If studentsÂ are continually distracted by responding to everyone who texts them ( American teenagers sent an average of over 2,000 text messages a month) then they arenâ€™t able to set and maintain boundaries which can allow them to concentrate and follow-through when they need to do that.

Parents and teachers need to work with students on critically analyzing the pros and cons of technologyâ€”especially texting which is the most prevalent Â means of communication among young people. Â Many teens say they would rather text than make a phone call or have an in-person conversation.Â Not only is too much texting an issue of attention, it can also be addicting for students, sucking them into texting all the time at the expense of their own mental and emotional health.Â Â Texting has also fostered an unabashed language of sexual innuendos and trash talk which hamper personal and interpersonal self-respect.

If we really want to help young teens develop their emotional intelligence, as parents and educators, we need to model more attentive interaction ourselves, engage in honest discussions about pros and cons of technology and the basics of how to manage oneself with increasingly complex choices.Â If we are honest about this problem, we can give students the tools to listen to themselves, be brave enough to turn off distractions when needed and say â€œnoâ€ at the right time.

ARTICLE:

New York Times

By KATIE HAFNER

They do it late at night when their parents are asleep. They do it in restaurants and while crossing busy streets. They do it in the classroom with their hands behind their back. They do it so much their thumbs hurt.

Spurred by the unlimited texting plans offered by carriers like AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless, American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company â€” almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier. Â

To view entire article visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html?emc=eta1

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Lumina’s Leader Sets Lofty Goals for Fund’s Role in Policy Debates

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Jamie Merisotis, the 45-year-old President of the Lumina Foundation, has a lot to teach college presidents and K-12 principals through the actions in his first year in this position. First, he has set ambitious goals, the primary one being 60% of the U.S. population earning degrees or credentials by 2025. Second, Merisotis has asked key questions like, why are other developing countries outpacing the U.S. in education and why have we been satisfied with academic performance which is at a 40-year-old standard from which all other countries have moved ambitiously beyond?

Third, he has broadened Lumina’s scope and mission to be a policy-driven change agent in addition to a grant-funding organization. Fourth, he has taken specific steps to model progressive and successful European models in Indiana, Minnesota and Utah so that those models can be improved and expanded in other areas in the U.S. Fifth, Merisotis is forging necessary partnerships with businesses and business leaders who can support, buttress and take action on behalf of this mission. Finally, Merisotis gets that more Americans students need access and student success preparation for continued life success. If we are going to have 16 million more graduates by 2025, we all need to have this same vision, standards, commitment and collaboration.

ARTICLE
Chronicle of Higher Education
By SARA HEBEL

Soon after Jamie P. Merisotis took over the Lumina Foundation for Education last year, he began talking about a “big goal.” America must increase the proportion of its population with degrees or credentials to 60 percent by 2025, in order to remain globally competitive and meet the nation’s growing demand for college-educated workers, he said. The United States, he warned, is falling behind, and the foundation would make reversing the trend the core of its work.

To view the entire article please visit
http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=3BtgtkkntsQJxWqc5P3r2k9G9twJmjgd

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Invoking the Sputnik Era, Obama Vows Record Outlays for Research

CAROL’S SUMMARY:Â Obama made a huge commitment to science funding from grade school through corporate American, as stated in the article below.Â Innovation, Â strides in science, health and industry will not only help solve some of the worldâ€™s leading problems, it will also help us to create jobs and industries which can sustain our economy and the global economy for years to come.Â Â Â Currently, at the high school level America is number 27 in science compared to other developed nations.Â This focus and funding will help to turn around waning scores in science and math as we prepare students for the suite of competitive skills they will need as adults.

ARTICLE

New York Times

By Andrew C. Revkin

In a speech on Monday at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, President Obama presented a vision of a new era in research financing comparable to the Sputnik-period space race, in which intensified scientific inquiry, and development of the intellectual capacity to pursue it, are a top national priority.

To view the entire article visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/earth/28speech.html?_r=1&ref=education

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Large Urban-Suburban Gap Seen in Graduation Rates

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

A report by America’s Promise finds that one in four students in the U.S. drop out of high school, but some large cities are bucking the trend and improving their dropout rates. The report also found that some districts such as Philadelphia’s have graduated more students by focusing on ninth-grade achievement, creating smaller freshman classes and easing teens’ transition into high school. These schools show what is possible for all schools in the U.Sâ€”urban or ruralâ€”when clear programs are set forth and measured in the areas of academic, emotional and social intelligence, teachers are mission-driven to make this happen, and parents and community members participate with schools to buttress these efforts around smaller, focused communities of learning.

LifeBound offers books, trainings and services which can coalesce a school and schools within a district to set new standards for student learning, awareness, ambitions, achievement and readiness for the rigors of college and the world of work. Working with ninth graders is just the beginning and it is crucial, but the real opportunity is in better preparing students starting in elementary school and working with them in each of these areas as they progress to graduate from high school.

ARTICLE
New York Times
By SAM DILLON

It is no surprise that more students drop out of high school in big cities than elsewhere. Now, however, a nationwide study shows the magnitude of the gap: the average high school graduation rate in the nationâ€™s 50 largest cities was 53 percent, compared with 71 percent in the suburbs.

To view the entire article visit
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/education/22dropout.html

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Campus Counseling Centers React to Recession-Related Stress Among Students

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

College student stress levels at college this year are at an all time high because of the economy. Parents have lost jobs and are unable to help pay for college. Many students are daunted by the bleak job prospects after graduation, and the debt they are incurring in college. Combine these factors with the normal feelings of adjustments students have during college and you have a recipe for tapped out and fully taxed advisors and counselors on college campuses. The stress also impacts faculty who teach undergraduates.

Colleges can help their staff by emphasizing coaching skills–the pro-active and specific ways in which you can help students to focus on their options and the steps they can take to further their specific goals. Coaching is
not rescuing; on the contrary, it is about showing people that they are creative, capable and resourceful so that they have the wherewithal to move through their own obstacles.

During times like this, it is helpful to remind students of the courageous people who have immigrated to this country from oppressive dictatorships, half of the world’s population who live on less than $2 a day, and the
incredible men and women who returned to the U.S. after serving in World War II who, from very little, built an economy which still sustains us today.

Even in hard times by our standards, students in the U.S. still have many advantages with which to take on current and future challenges. We are up to that task and our very best days can be ahead, and will be, if we all
become fortified–stronger and more effective– by the current economic situation.

ARTICLE
The Chronicle of Higher Education
By STEVEN BUSHONG

Rebecca Jordan has been a good student, achieving nearly a B average and working as an undergraduate student assistant in the English department at Troy University. But lately, she says, “family drama” has been keeping her up at night, sapping her motivation, and making class seem like a chore better avoided.

To view the entire article visit
http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=Rnx5fpdDWzggZzH2qqBctbFpPbp2ngM4

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Europe’s Higher-Education Restructuring Holds Lessons for U.S., Report Says

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Clifford Adelman from the Institute for Higher Education, is leading a new way of thinking in the U.S. based on the Bologna Process, the higher education agenda of 29 European countries. Like many of us, Adelman believes the U.S. is no longer on the cutting edge, nor can “we assume world-wide dominance oblivious to the creative energies, natural intelligence and hard work of other nations.”

The Lumina Foundation agrees with Adelman and will be working in three states–Minnesota, Utah and Indiana–to pilot some of the strategies from the Bologna Process. Most appealing to me, is that people from many perspectives will be surveyed–students, faculty, recent grads and, hang on to your hat, employers in an effort to define knowledge and skills needed from specific disciplines as they translate to real world success. Wow!
What a concept and how obvious in this age of serious global competition. I would encourage all states to follow suit as soon as possible.

The Lumina Foundation’s goal is to increase the quality of degrees–and I am sure there must be workforce equivalent to measure this longitudinally–from 39% to 60% by 2025. As I said, we could really benefit from this nationally. In this age of global achievement and opportunity, the U.S. needs to look out for best practices and then apply them to an educational system which can again become cutting-edge, hopefully on or before 2025.

ARTICLE
Chronicle of Higher Education
April 8, 2009

To view entire article visit
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Report Envisions Shortage of Teachers as Retirements Escalate

CAROL’S SUMMARY:Â

As the article below indicates, over the next four years, one third of the nationâ€™s 3.2 million teachers are slated to retire. In addition to that, many entering the professionâ€”one in three–drop out in their first five years of teaching.

What can we do to keep talented young teachers on the teaching track? What are we not doing in our schools of education to prepare these students for what lies ahead? How can we recruit some of the best and brightest people from industry to get their teaching certificates and become teachers in this tough economy? How can we look to other nations for top talent in teachers who can inspire and educate our students in the United States? How can more talented teachers become principals or leaders in their districts in other important capacities?

Many people with industry experience are now being considered for Superintendent positions. School boards value managers who are data driven, smart and able to motivate and inspire people beyond what they have always done. Michael Bennett in Colorado was a lawyer and a successful business person before he ran Denver Public Schools. Now that he is a United States Senator, his successor was the CFO under Bennet and has the same business sensibilities as the new Superintendent.

ARTICLE
New York Times

By SAM DILLON
April 7, 2009
Over the next four years, more than a third of the nationâ€™s 3.2 million teachers could retire, depriving classrooms of experienced instructors and straining taxpayer-financed retirement systems, according to a new report.

To view entire article visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/education/07teacher.html?emc=eta1

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