The School House is Changing

As our school population continues to grow, our facilities become more confined. As much as we would like to expand into a larger complex, this is not an option.  In order to handle the increasing number of students within our finite space, we need to start exploring different ways to manage our building and deliver education.  We’re finding that this is a timely discussion because we’re already engrossed in dialogue about wholesale change in education. Hopefully, the need to change because we have to will not only allow us to accommodate more students but will force a change that will make school more relevant for our students.

It is widely accepted that the future of education will be vastly different than the current model.   One option that seems to be part of this future is “Flexible Scheduling”.  We are already seeing students embrace alternative forms of education within the confines of the current system. They are investing heavily in distributed learning courses, summer school, and night school. Recently, we polled our students and found that many indicated that they would be interested in pursuing a course outside of the traditional day-school bell schedule. This tells us that students are now more conscious than ever before about owning their “learning time”.  Is now the time to make a wholesale change in how we deliver education? Let’s use the pressures on our facilities to create a better way to deliver education.

We’ve heard over and over again that our current educational system is really the remnants of an industrial revolution model. It’s served a purpose and had its day. Isn’t it time we move past our fears of change and make decisions that we will better serve our communities and students? Is our community of parents ready to move past what they’ve always known?

Recently during our course selection assemblies, we engaged students in pointed discussions about how they want to manage their own education.  We’ve been telling them that they must own their education and thus take an active role in deciding what to take and how they want to take it. Some of the questions we’ve been asking include:

• Would you prefer to take a class at 7:30 a.m.?
• Would you prefer to start school later and take classes that go into the late afternoon?
• Do you prefer an independent study model?
• Do you want to do school part time so you can either work or do other activities the other part?
• Is there a specific course you want to take outside our current schedule?

What we’re seeing is that some of our students are finding it difficult to fit into our current traditional model of education. This discussion begs the question: “Why have we been fostering a system that demands our students learn our way? Isn’t this concept fundamentally flawed? Shouldn’t we be asking our students, “What way do you learn best? Or, “How do you learn?” These are exciting times! We are not sure what change is coming our way but we are extremely excited about the way we’re challenging what we’ve always known.

  

Identify the stakeholders…       Trust the process…      Trust the people…

How's Your Code?

The code of conduct in a school is tied to the hidden curriculum that we teach our students on a day-to-day basis.  Some schools have it written down, as “Thou Shall Not do this or that”, and other schools embrace the 3 R’s with “Respect this, Respect that and Respect these”.  Is this good enough? Are we doing a good enough job teaching our children the norms, values and beliefs that govern our society?

A hidden curriculum is a side effect of an education; lessons which are learned but not openly intended such as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in the classroom and the social environment.

(2009, The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling)

As the pressures of society put more and more demands on our parents, it’s the schools that are increasingly being asked to provide more guidance in the social upbringing of our children.  The challenge schools face in meeting this demand are directly related to the growing diversity of socio-economic status, culture, and ethnicity within our society. In order to honour our differences and at the same time teach norms, values, and beliefs, we must take into account the many variables that make up our society.  The schoolhouse is the common bond that unites all children and hopefully, finds the common strand that runs through socioeconomic and cultural differences.

The current school code of conduct design seems to be outdated for where we are in our evolution of educational thought. The evolution of what a school code of conduct is to be, has moved beyond being a simple script or set of rules. If we’re asking our students to reflect and evaluate their values and beliefs and align them with a common understanding of how we all want to be treated, then we must be thoughtful in how we design and implement a code for our school. Maybe that’s the answer…  Moving past a code of conduct, and developing a more holistic, all encompassing “CODE” that addresses more than just conduct. A code that is living and breathing and larger than any one individual. One that strikes right to the heart and finds the common core values that thread through our diversity. A code that isn’t a script but rather a way of being that is acknowledged and lived through the fabric of a school.

The new era CODE should be values-based and should guide behavior towards commonly accepted beliefs on how we all should conduct relationships. Not a top down directive, but rather an idea grown out of all participants who own it, believe in it and speak its common language.  A code that is grounded in values and developed through a mutual understanding of what is acceptable behavior.  Does this exist in our schools today? Yes, we know that it is implied that we should be doing this, but where are the mechanisms that force our students to reflect on their values and or beliefs and are we really doing a good enough job teaching core values?

So what should a school code look and feel like?  We believe the answer lies in using the Positive Behavior Systems approach. Through PBS, the school culture is bolstered through positive reinforcement. Primary, secondary and tertiary levels of intervention are targeted and tied together in a process of intervention for all students. The code becomes applicable to all students and is something that everyone is proud of and uses to define who they are.

“What is PBS:  Improving student academic and behavior outcomes is about ensuring all students have access to the most effective and accurately implemented instructional and behavioral practices and interventions possible. PBS provides an operational framework for achieving these outcomes. More importantly, PBS is NOT a curriculum, intervention, or practice, but IS a decision making framework that guides selection, integration, and implementation of the best evidence-based academic and behavioral practices for improving important academic and behavior outcomes for all students.”

(2009, Positive Behaviour Intervention Supports.  Effective Schoolwide Interventions)

A fully developed functioning school code fosters an environment that allows students to be engaged in a place of learning that is not only free of prejudice but also nurturing and caring for everyone.  It promotes and endorses all the ideals of a safe and effective school. As schools are increasingly being tasked to play a greater role in social development, it behooves us to use systems that nurture and support the common values that unite diversity.  A school code should be by design, positive, reinforcing, and most important of all owned by everyone.

Is your code a functioning part of the cultural fabric of your school?

  

Identify the stakeholders…       Trust the process…      Trust the people…

Learning to learn… The new model of education

Professional development for educators is currently undergoing a fundamental change.  A paradigm shift that is moving away from a one-size fits all model to a more targeted view of best practice. This shift appears to be aligned with the 21^st century learners’ notion that Pro-D must be personalized and specific to the growth plan of the individual.  We should be including students into this new design.

Why don’t we borrow from the teachers’ model and formally get students in the metacognitive mindset. If learning about learning is not achieved in the typical classroom, then we need to consider doing it another way. Once students are prepared to accept the notion that learning to learn is a critical skill, it brings relevance to their learning. Students will start to achieve at higher levels because they now have the tools that will allow them to unlock their potential.  

For educators, professional development is a time to think about improving your practice. A time to be metacognitive, a time to reflect. Isn’t this what we should be teaching our students? Activities in the classroom can often become bogged down in heavy content focus and overlook the metacognitive component (refer to the mile wide – inch deep dilemma). We as educators say that we value the teaching of skills over knowledge acquisition. However, we often feel obliged to “establish a baseline of knowledge” first before we get to the skills. Although we value knowledge acquisition, this approach treats metacognition as an afterthought. This is not necessarily best practice.

Just as teachers are realizing that individualized learning and metacognition are critical components of good practice, so too must students. It should be a key component of our mission to ensure that education must include metacognitive reflection. Only when this happens, can students become true lifelong learners.  This is metacognition in action – a real-world practice.

Is this a glimpse into the new era of education?

Identify the stakeholders…       Trust the process…      Trust the people…

A Network of Support through a Process of Intervention

The building and nurturing of a collective responsibility for integrated systemic support for learning at all levels for all students is essential for every school. All schools should have a systemic support system that supports teachers and identifies them as the central solid foundation for student learning. In public education, teachers are the first line of support for our students.  The relationships they form and nurture provide the connections needed for deep, profound learning to take place.  Within the constructs of the classroom, the effective teacher employs many strategies to protect the sanctity of the classroom so that learning flourishes. Thus, the personal influence of an effective teacher is directly related to the tools they employ to establish an effective learning environment. It’s fair to say that the effective teacher will have many tools in their toolbox to support all students; the effective school will have structures in place to support all teachers. These structures should form a tightly woven network of support with a clearly communicated process of intervention that provides a safety net for every student.

As educators, we design learning opportunities that seek to engage all learners. The classroom is the front line where learning support and interventions occur. Everyday teachers face student issues related to learning difficulties, social emotional distress and behavioral concerns.  When intervention is needed to effect change, classroom level intervention is the first line of support. The classroom teachers, through their myriad of tools, are in the best position to effect positive change with their students.  Thus, teachers who have access to many different intervention tools often experience the greatest success when intervention is needed. The underlying concern is that there are times when teachers are unable to effect change due to the breadth and depth of potential student issues. It is inevitable that we have some students who still won’t engage in learning and or let impediments interfere with their learning. An effective network of support will care for these student and help teachers develop and hone the tools in their toolbox.

When intervention outside of the classroom needs to occur, communication becomes essential. Some of the sources of intervention and support outside of the classroom include Counsellors, LST Support Teachers, District Resource Counselors, Behavior Specialists, District Psychologist, etc. The student’s case manager (often the counselor) is the one who coordinates and directs the support of external resources and personnel with the ultimate goal of following a process of intervention that ensures all possible resources have been utilized in support of their student.   Effective schools make time to develop a clearly outlined and communicated process of intervention that employs everyone’s expertise. 

Identify the stakeholders…       Trust the process…      Trust the people…