Breaking the Stereotype

When most people think of boarding schools, they picture smart middle- to upper-class white kids in ties and blazers.  After all, it is fairly expensive to send a child away for schooling, so the parents have to have money. Right? Not at Washington D.C.’s SEED (School for Educational Evolution and Development). This charter and boarding school seems to be the antithesis of most people’s idea.  98% of the students here are African-American and 2% are Hispanic.  This school uses a lottery system to select students and many are two years behind academically.  The students here have free tuition, boarding, meals, tutoring and career counseling. The staff is diverse and is allowed to chose their own curriculum.  There is also a large number of teachers to ensure smaller class size.

These students have had a life altering experience; they probably would not have finished high school or given college a thought. Now, 100% of graduates are going on to college and most are first generation college-attendees. SEED graduates have been accepted to such places as Princeton, Duke, and Georgetown.  They also score better and are better behaved than their Washington D.C. peers (Only 5% were in a physical fight last year compared to 35% of their public school counterparts).

Some critics feel Washington City Council’s money could be spent wiser, using less per student instead of significantly helping a few. But the creators of the SEED program are thrilled by the success of their students and wish to expand to more locations in D.C. and possibly California.

I think schools like this should be everywhere.  They are intensive and have a measurable impact on the students as well as the community. Think of how much better the world would be if students had personalized attention and access to all the things they need to succeed!  But if this happened, following the SEED model,  state deficits would be much larger since the funding comes from the government.  I know both sides of the charter school debate, but I think they have quite a bit of merit.    And it isn’t fair for only certain students to have that privilege, but I am reminded of that story with the old man, the boy, and the starfish: “I made a difference to that one.”  

“The Little Class that Could”

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Changed again (for the last time)!

After much searching and frustration, I have finally picked the one blog topic that I think will stay the course: reading instruction.  First, I chose “boarding schools” because I am interested in the setup and want to teach at one.  But the only articles that came up were about why those types of schools are better and why more people are choosing them-nothing to do with literature. Next, I chose “multicultural education” or teaching of cultures, but I only came up with censorship related articles.  More fundamental than that topic is how to go about reading or engage students in reading. Although our class and text book are already concerned with this area, I hope I will be able to find more articles relating to the findings we discuss in class or alternative options and views.  I think this will be especially helpful to me right now because I am a reading tutor at an elementary school and work with students who are just learning how to read. The feeds I have subscribed to are BBC World News-Education, New York Times-Education, Department of Education, Google and Yahoo! feeds for “reading education”, and I Speak of Dreams and Librarian blogs.The article below is still my original one and starts to give an idea why I am interested in this type of schooling; it would allow me to be a positive “role model for a confused generation.” I would like to have a positive influence on my students, not only in the realm of education, but in their everyday behavior.  By following my example and seeing that someone can have fun and be outgoing without using alcohol or other substances, maybe they could see an alternative and change.Heads must be ‘role models for a confused generation’