NCLB and schools

This article really takes a look at how teachers themselves feel NCLB had effected the schools and in some places even pulls into the context of the students lives outside of the school. It looks at this act at all different levels and really is an interesting insight.
http://educationvotes.nea.org/2015/02/20/educators-share-how-no-child-left-behind-has-affected-their-classroom/

House Bill 410

Ohio House Bill 410 is something that I have been following for several months, as this is a huge issue in the schools and with the children I work with directly. House Bill 410 is focused on decriminalizing truancy and looking for more preventive measures and other solutions in dealing with this issue. 

A few examples of these new strategies were outlines on an overview of the bill found at (http://jjohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Legislative-Summary-HB-410-Passed-by-House-5.6.16.pdf). These being: The school must notify the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian that the student is missing school, the the school can start utilizing interventions with the student to assist in lowering the number of absences, then if it continues, the school must refer the student to an absence intervention team to create a specific intervention plan for that student. This team must include an administrator, a teacher, and the student’s parent or guardian and can also include a school psychologist, counselor, social worker, and representatives of local public or nonprofit agencies that can provide services to the student. If these steps do not work in limiting the issue then the courts will be involved.  

This policy is aimed at looking for alternatives to suspending children, which continues to hinder their academic success and availability to needed services gets replaced with punishments. The implementation of this bill takes a more positive outlook at getting the core of what children need. 

The full bill at this time can be found at the following link: file:///C:/Users/UMADAOP/Downloads/hb410_05_EN%20(1).pdf

U.S. Education System Is Failing

I thought 10 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing, was an interesting read. It breaks down the Education crisis in the U.S. into 10 points. Each point this article gave had a valid breakdown about the issues that cause concern in our society.

Some of the issues the author highlights have been issues for a long time, such as issues of race, gender and funding. There are also questions about how schools can address new challenges like incorporating new technologies. I am part of the technology generation, have been an intern at various schools and systems the last few years, and attended both public and catholic school. With all that experience I find that the points made are totally accurate with what is happening in our country.  I feel we should all pay attention to how we can impact these issues when we are working with families and youth.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2015/08/10_reasons_the_us_education_system_is_failing.html

These articles reference a case in Buffalo New York where a mother who chose to home school her children was arrested and her children were removed from the family home.The mother, Kiarre Harris was arrested for educational neglect. According to some of the online reports, the children were placed in foster care.

This article raised two issues for me. The first being that many Black parents are now starting to home school their children because they are recognizing the connection between the high rates of Black people in prison and the high level of suspensions that occur in Black student populations in schools. There is a level of distrust between towards the American educational system. Is this distrust warranted? Based on my own experiences as a parent, student and an intern that spends many hours a week in a school that is predominately Black, I believe it is.

The other issue that this raises for me is the measures used to intervene with families whose children are removed because of educational neglect. Before going any further I should add that I do not believe that home schooling is educational neglect. However, in families where there is educational neglect should children be removed? It seems to me that this would just create a greater level of instability. I believe that educational neglect causes harm to children, I in most cases it does not cause imminent harm that facilitates removal. Removing the children does little to support family intervention.

https://blackmainstreet.net/buffalo-ny-mother-arrested-homeschooling-kids/

http://buffalonews.com/2017/02/13/homeschool-mom-blames-neglect-charges-school-district/

Trump administration revokes Obama-era transgender bathroom guidance for schools

Today the Trump Administration revoked federal guidelines created by the Obama administration that let students use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities. The argument used to justify this revocation was that it is a state issue and should not be mandated on a federal level. Supposedly, this change should not affect anti-bullying safeguards, but it seems impossible that this will be the case. To me, by removing this guideline, it gives people inclined to ridicule and ostracize transgender youth a free pass to do so. It takes federal support away from this population, and shows them that they're "on their own". A quote in the article by Betsy DeVos states, "Schools, communities, and families can find -- and in many cases have found -- solutions that protect all students." But this does not protect everyone, only the ones motivated and empowered enough to do something about injustices committed against a marginalized population. Why should it be okay for the transgender kid in a rural, unprogressive town to be ridiculed and made to use the restroom/locker room of the gender that he/she does not identify with, while a transgender kid in a more progressive city environment has the luxury of being considered and treated with fairness? This revocation seems to only benefit people like Vicki Wilson, a member of Students and Parents for Privacy, and another individual interviewed in this article. She says, "Our daughters should never be forced to share private, intimate spaces with male classmates, even if those young men are struggling with these issues...It violates their right to privacy and harms their dignity." To me this feels unfair. What about the dignity of the transgender youth? Passing this legislation feels like it is welcoming negativity and disapproval toward this population. It's not like passing this guideline was costing taxpayers more money or something that would be logistically difficult for schools to achieve, and it is hard for me to understand why it couldn't just be left in place. 

P.S. This article is from Fox News and even they can't defend this one. 

Article: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/22/trump-administration-revokes-obama-era-transgender-bathroom-guidance-for-schools.html

Police end High Five Fridays at Mass. School after Complaints

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/police-end-high-five-fridays-massachusetts-schools-amid-074531385--abc-news-topstories.html

This story is quite interesting in that it speaks about this program to help students feel engaged with authority figures, specifically police placed in the school system. This program received an outpouring of support from social media and the community, but has since ended due to concerns that students with negative experiences with policemen would make then uncomfortable, specifically minorities and undocumented immigrants. This event has shed some light on the relationship between police and groups of minority/immigrants. The police department is looking for other alternatives to help promote positive engagement.

From a social work standpoint, a lot of social issues arise due to the complex relationship of authority figures to students, specifically those of color or immigrants that may have developed a fear for policemen due to stereotypes and tragic events that have occurred among the two groups. I think it's a great idea to introduce the high five program because it does support a positive interaction between students and police, which would lesson the stigma that exists for authority. Things like this can also evolve into more complex programs that encourage further engagement from police with students in a positive way, in order to promote safety in the school environment and help break the negative views from students that have previous perspectives.

Child-Abuse Awareness In Schools

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-legislature/child-abuse-survivors-advocate-for-bill-to-encourage-awareness-education/article_1cbde36c-0ef8-505e-b1f2-2b259e878522.html

After going through many articles about the education system, there is one to stand out from the rest. The reason why it stands out so much is due to the fact that I never really thought about having this awareness put into schools. I think I did not think about it because of how hard it may be to implement. It may be hard to implement because of how touchy the subject is and how many factors need to go into making it a success.

According to the article, this law does exist in other states throughout the country, which go by a different name. In Helena, "House Bill 298 would require the Office of Public Instruction, in coordination with the Department of Public Health and Human Services as well as experts on childhood trauma, to develop sample policies, education plans and related materials..." These materials would cover things like "safe touch" and such to educate students on the ways being touched inappropriately can come about. They also state that it is important for the students to know that their teachers can be a safe place to go to if things like this are happening to them at home. Not only do they say that the students need this type of education, but it states that is is crucial for the teachers to know and understand trauma. For example, they need to know how certain phrases can trigger a trauma response in children. Also, being able to recognize behaviors in the children can be a key factor as well. 


I find it to be important to also state that teachers and everyone in the educational system need to protect the victims of this type of abuse. In other words, it is critical that this information is not made public to those around them. This type of abuse is not something that these children want to be known by their peers, which means that it needs to be kept confidential. If the information gets out, they can be bullied by their peers and often times, these children have to possibly move schools.

I really enjoyed this article. I find that since this type of law has been implemented in other states, it must mean that it has been successful. I agree that educators need to be educated on how trauma impacts a child. I also agree that the children need to know that they do have a safe person they can go to in order to talk about these things. Hopefully, the children that would remain silent about this abuse would go and allow themselves to be heard. I could not imagine going through a trauma such as this. Knowing that this abuse often comes from a family member is heartbreaking! We need to be a voice for these children and the schools is such a good start. It is a good start because it is one of the first places that we come into contact with these children. Getting these children help early on can definitely change the path of their lives!

-- Jennifer Lampinen

Faced with outsized stresses, these Baltimore students learn to take a deep breath

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/faced-outsized-stresses-baltimore-students-learn-take-deep-breath/

This video/article talks about schools in Baltimore, Maryland implementing mindfulness meditation programs during the school day and as after school programs. As discussed in the article, violent crime and unemployment rates are almost double the national average in Baltimore. PBS went into a few schools in Baltimore, both high schools and elementary schools, which were implementing these mindfulness meditation programs to see the effects on students.

One of the things I found most interesting was what the principal of a local Baltimore high school had to say. He noted the high violence within the schools in the past, but also said that since they have implemented these mindfulness meditation programs, violence within the school has lessened. He also mentioned that fights between black male students, especially, have decreased. He attributed this to the program helping students learn to take a breath and walk away when they get angry, instead of fighting. He also noted how it may help them literally walk away from death in the real world.

If this can make such a huge impact within the school (in terms of recorded number of fights, suspensions, etc.), I’m curious to know how it could help outside of school. Has it truly helped students to walk away from violent crimes outside of the school? If this program has lessened fights between black male students, has it also helped them walk away from gangs? Fights? Crimes? One girl said she has learned to just breathe when someone wants to fight her, and “stress rest.”

I liked this program best because it's low budget. As the video pointed out, often times students at a local elementary school have after-school mindfulness meditation without anyone leading them. You don't need a lot of equipment and it costs little (if any) money to implement. It's a realistic approach to lowering severe problems such as violence, crime, and even suspensions (as the elementary principal noted, since mindfulness meditation programs have been implemented, they have had zero suspensions). Mindfulness meditation is backed by a ton of research, some of which was shared in this clip. I'd love to see programs such as these adopted by many more schools across the nation, as I do believe it could have many more positive impacts than we could ever list.

Trump administration to lift transgender bathroom guidance

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/source-administration-to-lift-transgender-bathroom-guidance/ar-AAndYlk?li=BBnb7Kz

“The Trump administration will revoke federal guidelines telling public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen identity, a government official said Wednesday.”

This recent news article discusses that the Trump administration will revoke the educational guidelines for public schools to allow transgender students to enter bathrooms/locker rooms that align with their gender identity. The article talks about how the Trump administration believes that each state should determine the guidelines for public schools within the state. It mentions that there will be no changes made in regards to “anti-bullying safeguards.” The article talks about concerns from each side of the argument.

Revoking these guidelines is concerning in many ways, and I would say this is a major setback for transgender rights. I can’t imagine how a student would feel if they were just recently able to start going to the bathroom/locker room that matched their gender identity, and now they may be told that they aren’t able to do it anymore. If students don’t have the ability to go the restroom where their identity aligns with, I’m not sure how a student will be able to feel comfortable and learn within the walls of the school to their fullest capacity. I’m disappointed with the possibility of revoking these rights. As a social worker within the school, I would want to do everything possible in advocating for the rights of transgender students. Students come to school to get an education, not to be discriminated against where they are allowed to go the restroom. 

High Schools are Frozen in Time.

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-10-05/can-virtual-reality-improve-education

https://xqsuperschool.org/whoweare

These two websites talk about the differences in the world and the new technology that has been introduced since the early 1900s. But that high schools are still the same. My favorite line from the video said something along the lines of "teenagers have the best BS detectors on the planet." We talk about how young people need to love learning and love their education when we are just trying to make ourselves believe that fact as well. The point of this is that "American public schools have failed to keep up." Having a foreign exchange student while I was in high school, I saw this first hand. He already knew everything he was learning in classes here because he had already done that material back home.

The video also talks about how we want to shape the youth to become innovative thinkers and intellectual human beings but the school system teaches from a packet. "We want self-reliance but we force them to sit prisoner, in the name of learning." I believe, in my own opinion, that high school does not prepare you for the real world or for going off to college.  I have never been taught to do my own taxes or to do other tasks that I had to very quickly get the help of other people outside of school.

These articles talk about the need to re-model the high school norm. If we are able to successfully change the way high school teaches its students, they will be able to remodel the workforce and make it more competitive and at the level of other countries. They can also change the poverty rate, the incarceration rate, etc.

"Let's teach to the subject not to the bell"

Teachers Learn how to Help Students with Trauma Issues

http://mtstandard.com/education/teachers-learn-how-to-help-students-with-trauma-issues/article_b9dcd5bd-89f3-50f5-9ad5-11265c4cc935.html

Earlier this week, while most students had Presidents Day off, teachers at Butte public school in Montana were learning about what causes students to act out and how to appropriately handle it. Their speaker, Stacy York, of Colorado, is a mother and licensed clinical social worker who has 16 years of experience. This training was a part of a trauma-informed initiative to create a healthier community. York’s training centered around “regulate, relate, and reason” (in that order). These are three things that students who have suffered some type of trauma should do as a means to calm them down and prepare them for what they need to do in school. It’s about establishing healthy patterns for students who shut down in a random environment and helping them overcome complex emotions. First, teachers should start the day by helping students “regulate” their behavior. This can be done by checking in to see how their evening or morning went. If it didn’t go well, then one thing a teacher can do is give them a task as a means of distraction from the bad experience. York explained that because a young person’s brain cortex isn’t fully developed until age 25, it is important that these steps are not reversed-“reason, relate, regulate.” The point is to shift unhealthy thought patterns so that something positive comes before the “reason” (math or science class, for example). 90% of a child’s brain is already formed before age 5. If they suffer abuse or neglect, a teenager may only be developed at a toddler level, for example. They may not know how to handle tasks, or problem solve, which can lead to behavior issues. York stated that prevention-not intervention-is vital. Regulation includes that students feel safe and welcome in their classrooms. School nurses can also provide insight to why a child is acting out.  If a student is presenting with a high heart rate or oxygen level, they may shut down because they are emotionally overwhelmed about anything that is home, peer, or academically related. This can then lead to poor mental health, which can then to depression. The special education teacher stated that he plans to shorten lessons by a minute or two to better deal developmental and behavioral problems. It can be overwhelming for teachers, as well. Sometimes they are expected to be more than just the teacher. However, York stated that if teachers keep their heart rates down, students can reflect that calmness and hopefully that can lead to a better learning environment.

I’m not a school social worker, but I see some good potential in strategies outlined in this article. I really appreciated the prevention initiative and that York was also considerate of physical repercussions that stress can have on the students. Because I am not in a school setting, I’m curious to know if there is any similar kind of initiative happening here in Ohio. Do we have the means to hold training like this in Columbus City Schools, for example? Would there be barriers to doing this, and what would they be?

~Cara

If Trump Really Wants to Fix Troubled Schools, Here are Five Things He Could Do

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/01/24/if-trump-really-wants-to-fix-troubled-schools-here-are-five-things-he-could-do/?utm_term=.6e19ff10dd35

William Doyle - author, Fulbright Scholar, media and education lecturer - takes a look at the state of education in America and what he thinks the Trump administration ought to do to fix troubled schools. Doyle first states that American schools are performing at or near the top internationally, but only after high-poverty, especially inner city, schools are not part of the consideration.  His focus of change is on these non-performing schools, but with an ideology that would benefit all schools.  His plan is broken into five steps:

1. Sharply improve standards - parents and teachers in charge, not outside political, business, or social people with no classroom experience
2. Unleash rigor and competition - treat teaching profession with the same respect and autonomy as the medical profession, including improvements in training with a research and "clinical" classroom practice
3. Deliver maximum school choice - give all parents choice by providing high quality neighborhood schools instead of school lottery or voucher systems
4. Give children what they need to learn best - many specifics listed, but essentially treat all children as valued, capable individual learners and provide a academic rich but low stress environment
5. Require strict accountability - hold federal and local politicians accountable to provide minimum standards

Doyle proposes that $20 billion to fund these changes is available by redirecting funds now used for "unnecessary mass standardized testing of children, unproven technology products and ineffective teacher development."

What I appreciated about Doyle's approach is that it is somewhat comprehensive and does not portray the teachers as the fulcrum of the problem as many politicians have been apt to do.  His teacher focus concerns elevating the profession through teacher selection, improved practical training, autonomy and empowerment.  He recognizes the parent as a stakeholder who, along with teachers, supersedes the interests of politicians and other outside of education entities. I get the impression that he is encouraging utilization and implementation of research and evidence based practice to improve teaching and schools by closing the research-practice gap.  I fully support collaboration and sharing of best practice by the schools as it leads to more widespread improvements and stretching of limited resources.  He has a different take on "school choice" than what it currently represents and I am not sure that I fully understand what he means, but I surmise that he is promoting that all public schools are neighborhood based and equally resourced, safe, and high-quality so that choice will be equal no matter the location. Doyle appears to be promoting that students are met on their level financially and academically with the expectations that each will be equally cherished and nurtured as an individual learner.  As a former teacher, I really appreciate his shift of accountability to those providing the funding, resources and support instead and allowing the teachers the room to teach.

I found Doyle is sticking to the traditional view that learning takes place at school as he fails to include any discussion of the family and community beyond the parent as a stakeholder.  His focus is also limited to K-12 without consideration for preschool and transition to post-secondary options.  Aside from "proper sleep and nutrition" Doyle does not discuss the many other social and economic factors that affect a child's ability and readiness to learn.  No mention is made of the many mental health issues faced by children that also need to be considered.

Doyle points out the top-down approach that has been used the last twenty-five or so years to reform education has not really resulted in an improved public school system, and he advocates for local control and parent and teacher empowerment.  He's calling for a cultural shift where teachers and the teaching profession are held in the same high esteem as in countries with the highest student achievement.  His position is one of positive change and not another negative blame game.  He has developed an intriguing framework that could result in real change but only, in my opinion, if it is expanded to include the other systems such as community and family that also directly impact a student's ability to realize his/her potential.

Sam Kass: Want kids to learn well? Feed them well

 https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_kass_want_to_teach_kids_well_feed_them_well#t-678370

Sam Kass is a former White House chef and food policymaker who has various educators in his family. In his TED Talk, Mr. Kass speaks about the relationship between nutrition and educational outcomes. He offers the physical health, mental health, behavioral and educational benefits of students receiving nutritious meals, specifically breakfast, at school. Mr. Kass recognizes, as he demonstrates with a story of a “school chef” or “lunch lady,” that many children do not get nutritious meals or even meals at all at home, and that these kids are unable to focus on school and learning due to their hunger. Mr. Kass cites what can be seen as alarming statistics regarding food insecurity, hunger, and health issues related to nutrition in the U.S. He suggests that schools should offer free, nutritional breakfast and lunch to all students, as opposed to only low SES students, as this reduces stigma. Mr. Kass supports this idea by showing improved educational outcomes in schools with over 40% low income students that implemented a program Kass helped create during his time at the White House where nutritious foods for breakfast and lunch were served to all students for free. These outcomes include an increase in math and reading scores by over 17.5%. Mr. Kass even shares a story of a state-championship-winning football team from one of the poorest districts in the country whose coach credited their win to the new nutritional foods served at the school. Mr. Kass nears the end of his talk by stating, “If we focus on the simple goal of properly nourishing ourselves, we could see a world that is more stable and secure, we could dramatically improve our economic productivity, we could transform our healthcare, and we could go a long way in ensuring that the earth can provide for generations to come.”

I think Mr. Kass has a lot to offer in terms of the benefits of nutrition on education. I would have liked for him to go into more detail about the body’s functioning and why nutrition plays such a big role, but I understand he may have been under time constraints. I agree with Mr. Kass on the issue that nutritious, free meals should be offered to all students. I have witnessed the stigma associated with receiving free or reduced lunch at school, and I know the impact that it can have on students’ self-esteem. I had a friend in high school who waited until all 400 or so students went through the lunch line before she got her food to avoid other students seeing that she got her lunch for free. She then would have to eat very quickly and sometimes not have enough time to finish eating. In her case, the benefits of the free lunch were mitigated by the drawbacks.

Offering free meals to all students is a good intervention, in my opinion. But as we have been discussing in class, it is more beneficial to intervene sooner and, therefore, target prevention. As social workers, we can support and advocate for universal free lunch and nutritious meal programs, but doing so would be a smaller-scale fix to a large-scale problem. We know that we need to address poverty before families become food insecure; We need to address food insecurity before children are malnourished; We need to address hunger before students’ educations are negatively impacted. While I feel the ideas Mr. Kass offers for intervention are practical and beneficial, this issue has many layers to be addressed.

Website for disabled kids disappears as DeVos takes office

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/A-disability-website-disappears-Murray-10924413.php

This article is about how right before Betsy DeVos was confirmed as the Secretary of Education the Federal website that hosted the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that was a main resource for parents to be able to advocate for their child's education as well as a reference for schools and policy makers to implement the law.

Parents have a hard time keeping up with the rules and regulations for their typical student but throw in that your child also has a disability makes it even more complex. School systems are hard to navigate for some parents and then when you have a child with a learning disability or a behavioral concern it is even harder for the parent to know how to ensure their child is getting the best education possible.

If you go to the website now it has an update posted on February 16, 2017stating the following:
"Thank you for visiting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) resource website – IDEA.ed.gov! After a technical outage of this page, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has restored the functionality and resources that were available prior to February 8, 2017. Please be aware that some of the materials herein are outdated, and that you may find the most current regulations, statute, and additional IDEA-related resources on the OSERS/OSEP IDEA webpage." 

I agree that policies and information are consistently changing but to unexpectedly take away a main resource for how to implement a Federal Law is unacceptable. This provides more confusion and stress for a population that is already incredibly overwhelmed and vulnerable.

Chronic Absenteeism & Washing Machines

http://www.businessinsider.com/washing-machines-solve-schools-big-problem-2016-8

The article above is about Whirlpool donating washing machines and dryers to schools in low-income areas to decrease the chronic absenteeism rate in their schools. Chronic absenteeism is one of the biggest problems that the low-income area school districts are facing. Chronic absenteeism can occur from a variety of problems, but 17 school districts showed an increase in attendance after Whirlpool donated washing facilities to the schools. This amounted to 2,000 loads of laundry completed within a school because that is how many students needed their clothes washed.

"Over 90% of kids in the 17 schools came to school more often than they did they year before the program began, with an average increase of 6.1% extra days per year. Teachers reported that over 89% of kids participated more in class, 95% interacted with their peers more and nearly all of them were reported as being more motivated."

Whirlpool plans to expand the program to all over the US. I truly think that programs and larger companies that are willing to make small donations and help to improve the school systems will make an improvement on the achievement gap and overall achievement of students in low-income areas.

Paper Tigers

Hi!
I wanted to share with everyone the documentary Paper Tigers. This documentary was released in 2015, and it is about a school in Washington that took their knowledge of the ACE's study, their student needs and adapted their teaching style to meet the needs of the students that they are serving in their school. The school is an alternative school where the students are given a chance to succeed when they just weren't in the typical school setting; whether that was due to their ACE's, drug and alcohol use, low self esteem, minimal resources, etc.

 I love this documentary because it follows a couple of the students in the school closely as well as their teachers, principal and counselor. You're able to see the students deal with extremely raw, different situations in their life and how that effects the students, their families and their teachers. You watch students succeed, put up their guards, break down their guards and go through really tough times, over and over again.

It's refreshing to see the staff and how they are coping with the students and all that the students bring to the table, as well as how to educate the students in the documentary. The documentary also talks a lot about being resilient and having just one healthy stable adult in a students life can make a world of a difference for that student. I think that is very important to remember and hear when we're working with kids. I recommend renting it off of amazon if you haven't seen it!


http://kpjrfilms.co/paper-tigers/

http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2015/06/03/paper-tigers-documentary-adverse-childhood-experiences/

Beyond 'Hidden Figures' Nurturing New Black and Latino Math Whizzes

An article posted by the NY Times on 2/17, shed some light on BEAM 6, a summer program targeted toward low-income, mathematically bright black and Latino students in New York City. BEAM 6 focuses on creative problem-solving, rather than standardized tests or material required within the school year. The summer camp aims are reducing the gap created by racial stereotypes and socioeconomic status, to increase opportunities, self-efficacy and spark a love for math in their students.

Mathematicians, educators and business leaders, who are all mathematically minded, are considerably homogeneous professions, with the vast majority being Caucasian or Asian. They see this homogeneity as "directly linked to the striking underrepresentation of blacks and Latinos in high-paying, high-status jobs in finance, science and technology." BEAM 6 focuses on low-income, black and Latino students from New York City.

While the article relates the students to those represented in the movie Hidden Figures, the author describes less obvious obstacles to achievement in math for African American and Latino students, including prejudice and assumptions about financial power, respect and stereotypes about who is good at what. The article uses Jonathon, an 11-year-old participant to explain both the power of the program and some of the common hesitations of the students and their parents. A notable quote regarding Jonathon's mother's hesitation to put him in BEAM 7 this coming summer read, "As police shootings of black men continued and Donald J. Trump moved into the White House, Jonathan’s mother had started to question her belief in the power of math to provide her son with a buffer." Kids, even at age 11, parents, and educators recognize the barriers and gap for these students, but are striving to instill hope and forge a path for a better future. (Bonus, the article contains a link to five of the sample questions these 11- and 12-year-olds work on during the program.)


Harmon, A. (2017, February 17). Beyond 'Hidden Figures':Nurturing new black and Latino math whizzes. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/nyregion/new-york-math-camp.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Feducation&action=click&contentCollection=education&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

No Sex Education in Texas

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-02-15/texas-school-districts-skimping-on-sex-education-report-says

This article is about a report from the Texas Freedom Network, talking about the high percentage of public school districts in Texas that taught abstinence-only or no sex education at all. A significant factor is that in 2009 Texas's legislature removed high school health classes as a requirement for graduation. It is believed that because of this decision, no requirement for health classes means that there is no requirement for sex education. Teachers and policy makers are uncomfortable talking about sexuality and sex education, especially with youth in schools. Interestingly enough, in 2011 Texas had the fifth-highest birth rate in the nation among girls age 15 to 19.

In the article, a Texas mom stated, "I think our public schools should focus on reading, writing, math and history as the core competency". She also stated, "the social, emotional issues are not the role of the public schools". If students are not taught this critical health information in schools, it is not guaranteed that students will be taught this health information elsewhere. These issues impact students' education and can then create non-academic barriers, which then would need to be addressed. Not talking about sex education is not benefiting or protecting our youth.

Harmful Use of Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

http://www.ndrn.org/images/Documents/Resources/Publications/Reports/School_is_Not_Supposed_to_Hurt_3_v7.pdf

This report by the National Disability Rights Network addresses the harmful use of restraint and seclusion in both public and private school settings. These interventions are often used disproportionately on children with disabilities and commonly lead to injury, trauma, and in extreme circumstances, even death. According to the National Disability Rights Network, over two-thirds of states have used restraint and seclusion with children as young as three years old in both public and private school settings. What I find to be interesting about this is that, according to www.thearc.org, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted an investigation after this report was published and found that no federal laws restricting the use of restraint and seclusion in schools even exist. Any state laws that exist vary widely, and in many states they don't exist at all.

It's important to note that the high use of restraint and seclusion are often implemented by untrained school personnel. Additionally, The Arc reports that they're often used for behaviors that do not even pose any danger or threat of harm in the first place. They also do not offer any therapeutic or educational value, and as mentioned previously, have been shown to produce the opposite effect (emotional trauma, physical harm, and death). Oftentimes, the intervention itself is more dangerous than the child's behavior. It's extremely unfortunate that these interventions are utilized so often, because there are several alternatives to restraint and seclusion. Schools need provide trainings and prioritize positive behavioral interventions and supports as well as techniques for preventing and stopping problem behaviors to avoid traumatizing vulnerable children.

"Stop Hurting Kids" is a campaign to end restraint and seclusion abuse in schools. There's a lot of good resources on their website, including a film that includes 4 individual's and their stories about the restraint and seclusion they experienced in school, as well as the physical and emotional injuries they suffered as a result of the interventions. The campaigns website is www.stophurtingkids.com.