Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, 7th edition 0135760542, 9780135760543, 9780135760536, 9780135758830, 9780135760451, 9780135760413

Table of contents :
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Authors
Preface
Brief Contents
Contents
Special Features
Part 1 Teachers and Students
1 Do I Want to Be a Teacher?
What Is It Like to Be a Teacher?
Rewards in Teaching
Challenges in Teaching
What Is It Like to Be a Teacher? Will I Be Prepared?
The Teaching Profession
What Does Being a Professional Mean?
Are Teachers Professionals?
InTASC: A Beginning Point for Professional Growth and Development
Technology and Teaching: The Influence of Technology on the Profession
Diversity: The Changing Face of American Classrooms
Diversity: Teaching in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Schools
Reform in Teacher Education
Changes in Teacher Preparation
Comprehensive Teacher Testing
Issues You’ll Face in Teaching
Chapter 1 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Teacher Licensure and Testing in Your State
2 Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students
Changes in American Families
Different Family Patterns
Child Care
Changes in Our Students
Sexuality
Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs
Obesity
School Violence
Technology and Teaching: Should We Be Worried About Addiction to Technology?
The Influence of Socioeconomic Factors on Students
Poverty
Homelessness
Socioeconomic Status and School Success
The Dropout Problem
Obstacles to Success: What Can Schools and Teachers Do?
Chapter 2 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: School Safety and Security
3 Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities
Cultural Diversity
Ethnicity and Race
Immigrants and Schools
Culture and Schooling
Religious Diversity
Educational Responses to Cultural Diversity
Technology and Teaching: Technology Access Issues
Language Diversity
Language Diversity: The Government’s Response
Language Diversity: Schools’ Responses
Gender
Gender and Society
Gender and Classrooms
Learners with Exceptionalities
Intelligence
Special Education and the Law
Categories of Exceptionalities
Diversity: Are Children from Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Backgrounds Over- or Underrepresented in Special Education?
Adapting to Students’ Abilities and Exceptionalities: Your Role as a Teacher
Technology and Teaching: Employing Technology to Support Learners with Disabilities
Chapter 3 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Exploring Cultural Diversity
Part 2 Foundations
4 Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots
The Colonial Period (1607–1775)
Differences in Colonies
Teaching in Colonial Schools
European Influences on American Education
The Early National Period (1775–1820)
The Constitution Shapes Education
The Common School Movement: The Rise of State Support for Public Education (1820–1865)
The Age of the Common Man
Making Education Available to All
Teaching in the Common School Era
The Evolution of the American High School
Historical Roots of the Comprehensive High School
Junior High and Middle Schools
Technology and Teaching: A Brief History of Technology in the Classroom
Searching for Equality: The Education of Cultural Minorities
Education of Native Americans
Education of African Americans: Up from Slavery to . . .
Education of Hispanic Americans
Education of Asian Americans
The Search for Equality: Where Are We Now?
The Modern Era: Schools as Instruments for National Purpose and Social Change
The Cold War: Enlisting America’s Schools
The War on Poverty and the Great Society
Schools and the Battle for Economic Survival
The Federal Government’s Role in Pursuing Equality
Diversity: A Look Back at Teaching Through the Lens of Gender
Chapter 4 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Investigating Title I Programs and Students
5 Educational Philosophy and Your Teaching
Philosophy and Philosophy of Education
Philosophy and Teacher Professionalism
The Relationship Between Philosophy and Theory
Branches of Philosophy
Philosophies of Education
Perennialism
Progressivism
Essentialism
Social Reconstructionism
Technology and Teaching: Philosophy of Education and Technology in Classrooms
Diversity: Philosophy and Cultural Minorities
Developing Your Philosophy of Education
The Role of Beliefs in a Philosophy of Education
Examining Your Beliefs
Forming a Philosophy
Urban Education: Philosophy of Education in Urban Environments
Chapter 5 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Assessing Your Philosophy of Education
6 Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools
Governance: How Are Schools Regulated and Run?
Governance: A Legal Overview
State Governance Structures
School Districts
School Finance: How Are Schools Funded?
School Funding Sources
Educational Revenues: Where Do They Go?
Emerging Issues in School Governance and Finance
Savage Inequalities: The Struggle for Funding Equity
Urban Education: Takeovers as Alternatives to Local Control
Parent Power: Experimenting with Local Governance Structures
Commercialization: Are Our Schools for Sale?
Diversity: Pay-to-Play or Pay to Learn?
Chapter 6 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: School Finance
7 School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching
Law, Ethics, and Teacher Professionalism
Limitations of Laws
Ethical Dimensions of Teaching
The U.S. Legal System
Federal Influences
State and Local Influences
The Overlapping Legal System
Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities
Teacher Employment and the Law
Academic Freedom
Copyright Laws
Teacher Liability
Child Abuse
Teachers’ Private Lives
Religion and the Law
Prayer in Schools
Religious Clubs and Organizations
Religion in the Curriculum
Diversity: Teaching About Religion in Schools
Students and the Law
The Educational Rights of Immigrant Children
Students’ Rights in Speech and Dress
Technology and Teaching: Students’ Freedom of Speech and Technology
Sexual Harassment
Permissible Search and Seizure
Student Privacy
Students’ Rights in Disciplinary Actions
Students with AIDS
Chapter 7 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Deepening Your Knowledge of Legal Issues
8 Choosing the Right School
How Do Schools Function?
What Is a School?
School Personnel
The Physical Plant
Organization of Schools and the Curriculum
School Levels
Early Childhood Programs
Elementary Schools
Junior High and Middle Schools
High Schools
Technology and Teaching: Distance Education Redefines Our Definition of a School
Finding a Good School
Optimal Size
Leadership: Your First Principal
Collective Efficacy: The Influence of Other Teachers in Your School
Achieving Collective Efficacy: Essential Elements of Effective Teaching
Diversity: School Organization and the Achievement of Cultural Minorities
Chapter 8 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Choosing a School
Part 3 Teaching
9 The School Curriculum in an Era of Standards
What Is Curriculum?
Components of the Curriculum
The Explicit Curriculum
Technology and Teaching: What Role Should Technology Play in the Curriculum?
The Implicit Curriculum
The Null Curriculum
The Extracurriculum
Forces That Influence the Curriculum
The Teacher
Standards and Accountability
The Federal Government
Politics
Textbooks
Controversial Issues in the Curriculum
Controversies in the Social Studies Curriculum
Controversies in the Science Curriculum
Sex Education
Service Learning
Technology and Teaching: Internet Issues and Controversies
Soft Skills: Where Do They Belong in the Curriculum?
Diversity: Women and Minorities in the Curriculum
Chapter 9 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Making Curriculum Decisions
10 Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments
How Does Effective Classroom Management Contribute to a Productive Learning Environment?
Why Classroom Management Is So Important
Goals of Classroom Management
Preventing Classroom Management Problems
Creating a Productive Learning Environment
Communicating Caring
Organizing Your Classroom
Preventing Problems Through Planning
Teaching Effectively
Urban Education: Effective Classroom Management in Urban Environments
Involving Parents
Benefits of Parental Involvement
Strategies for Involving Parents
Technology and Teaching: Using Technology to Communicate with Parents
What to Do When Misbehavior Occurs
Intervening Effectively
Serious Management Problems: Violence and Aggression
Chapter 10 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Classroom Rules and Procedures
11 Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students
Effective Teaching and Student Motivation
Motivation and Learning
Motivation: Increasing Students’ Interest
Planning for Effective Teaching
Planning in a Standards-Based Environment
Planning for Assessment
Instructional Alignment and Accountability
Putting Plans into Action: Implementing Instruction and Assessing Learning
Implementing Instruction: The Personal Qualities of Effective Teachers
Implementing Instruction: Essential Teaching Skills
Diversity: Effective Instruction in Urban Classrooms
Assessing Student Learning: Using Assessment as a Learning Tool
Data-Driven Instruction
Instructional Strategies
Teacher-Centered Strategies
Technology and Teaching: Capitalizing on Technology to Teach Basic Skills
Learner-Centered Strategies
Becoming an Effective Teacher: The Big Picture
Chapter 11 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Developing Teaching Expertise
Part 4 Entering the Profession
12 Educational Reform and You
Understanding Reform
Reform: What Is It?
A Brief History of the Reform Movement
Reform: Focus on the Curriculum
Standards, Testing, and Accountability
National Standards
Controversies in the Standards Movement
Reform: Focus on Schools
Race to the Top
School Choice
Reform: Focus on the Teacher
Teacher Evaluation
Teacher Salaries: Using Money to Reform Teaching
Merit Pay
Professional Organizations and Collective Bargaining
Diversity: Reform and Cultural Minorities
Reform Revisited
Chapter 12 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activities
13 Developing as a Professional
Entering the Profession
Beliefs of Preservice and Beginning Teachers
Making Yourself Marketable
Finding a Job
Your First Year of Teaching
Stages of Teacher Development
Survival Skills for the First Year
Capitalizing on Your First Day of Teaching
Thriving in Your New School
Teacher Evaluation
Induction and Mentoring Programs
Diversity: Preparing to Teach Every Student
Career-Long Professional Development
Membership in Professional Organizations
Technology and Teaching: Using Technology for Your Professional Development
Action Research
Long-Term Professional Growth: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Chapter 13 Summary
Important Concepts
Portfolio Activity: Professional Organizations
References
Glossary
Name Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Subject Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Z

Citation preview

SEVENTH EDITION

INTRODUCTION

TO TEACHING

BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL

BECOM ING A PROFESSIONAL

DON KAUCHAK   PAUL EGGEN

Seventh Edition

Introduction to Teaching Becoming a Professional

Don Kauchak Professor, Emeritus, University of Utah

Paul Eggen Professor, Emeritus, University of North Florida

Managing Content Producer: Megan Moffo

Product Manager, Teacher Education: Drew Bennett Director of Product Management: Linea Rowe Senior Analyst HE Product Management, Teacher Education: Rebecca Fox-Gieg Product Management Analyst, Teacher Education: Brooke Warner Manager Content HE, Careers & Professional: Jenifer Niles Managing Producer, Production and Digital Studio: Autumn Benson Content Producer (Team Lead): Faraz Ali Procurement Specialist: Deidra Headlee Cover Designer: SPi Global Cover Photo: FatCamera/E+/Getty Images; Caiaimage/Robert Daly/Getty Images; Digital Vision/Getty Images Composition: SPi Global Development Editor: Jeffery Johnston Editorial Project Manager: Shiela A. Quisel, SPi Global Downstream Project Manager: Sindhuja Vadlamani, SPi Global Printer/Binder: LSC Communications, Inc. Cover Printer: Phoenix Color/Hagerstown Text Font: 9.5/13 Palatino LT Pro Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. 221 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, or its ­affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by ­copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited r­ eproduction, ­storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, ­photocopying, recording, or otherwise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please visit http://www.pearsoned.com/permissions/. Acknowledgments of third party content appear on the page within the text, which constitute an extension of this copyright page. Unless otherwise indicated herein, any third-party trademarks that may appear in this work are the property of their respective owners and any references to third-party trademarks, logos or other trade dress are for demonstrative or descriptive purposes only. Such references are not intended to imply any sponsorship, endorsement, authorization, or promotion of Pearson’s products by the owners of such marks, or any relationship between the owner and Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates, authors, licensees or distributors. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Kauchak, Donald P., 1946- author. | Eggen, Paul D., 1940- author. | Pearson (Firm) Title: Introduction to teaching : becoming a professional / Don Kauchak, Professor, Emeritus, University of Utah, Paul Eggen, Professor, Emeritus, University of North Florida. Description: Seventh Edition. | Hoboken : Pearson Education, 2019. | Previous edition published in 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Teaching-the hardest job you'll ever love. Yes, teaching is challenging. Ask any teacher. But it's also rewarding. Again, ask any teacher. And, when you ask them why, they'll tell you that no other job carries with it the knowledge that you are helping kids grow and also helping to make the world a better place. This is what motivates so many people to go into teaching”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2019040217 (print) | LCCN 2019040218 (ebook) | ISBN 9780135760543 (Paperback) | ISBN 0135760542 (Paperback) | ISBN 9780135760536 (Other) | ISBN 9780135758830 (ePub) | ISBN 9780135760451 (ePub) | ISBN 9780135760413 (ePub) Subjects: LCSH: Teachers. | Teaching--Vocational guidance. | Education--United States. Classification: LCC LB1775 .K37 2019 (print) | LCC LB1775 (ebook) | DDC 371.102--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019040217 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019040218

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Print: ISBN 10:    0-135-76054-2 ISBN 13: 978-0-135-76054-3

About the Authors Don Kauchak Don has taught and worked in schools and in higher education in nine different states across the country and at every level, including preschool and kindergarten. He is married to a teacher, and his son is also a teacher. He has published in a number of scholarly journals, including the Journal of Educational Research, Journal of Experimental Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Teaching and Teacher Education, Phi Delta Kappan, and Educational Leadership. In addition to this text, he has co-authored or co-edited six other books on education. He has also been a principal investigator on federal and state research grants examining teacher development and evaluation practices. He currently volunteer-tutors in a local elementary school. Besides helping him keep in touch with classrooms, teachers, and students, it’s also a lot of fun and provides him with valuable insights into how hard it is to be a good teacher.

Paul Eggen Paul has worked in higher education for nearly 40 years, and during that time he has spent literally hundreds of hours in public and private school classrooms working ­directly with teachers and students at all levels ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade. He is a consultant for public schools and colleges in his university ­service area and has provided support to teachers in 12 different states. Paul has also worked with teachers and in classrooms in 23 different countries in Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, Central America, South America, and Europe. He has published ­numerous articles in national journals, is the co-author or co-editor of six other books, and presents regularly at national and international conferences. Public school education is central to Paul’s life. His wife is a middle school teacher in a public school, his daughter is also a public school teacher, and his daughter and son are graduates of public schools and state universities.

iii

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Preface About This Book Welcome to the seventh edition of the most interactive and applied introduction to education book in the field! Teaching—the hardest job you’ll ever love. Yes, teaching is challenging. Ask any teacher. But it’s also rewarding. Again, ask any teacher. And, when you ask them why, they’ll tell you that no other job carries with it the knowledge that you are helping kids grow and also helping to make the world a better place. This is what motivates so many people to go into teaching. As you open this text, two questions should be uppermost on your mind. • Do I want to become a teacher? • If so, what kind of teacher do I want to become? You are probably asking yourself these questions, and we wrote this edition with the explicit goal of helping you answer them. We capture realistic images of classroom life by taking an interactive, case-based ­approach. Cases inserted throughout the book provide concrete examples of teaching in the real world and how changes in society and teaching affect the lives of real teachers and their students. Each chapter begins with a case that provides the framework for the content that follows, and we integrate other, shorter vignettes throughout every chapter to help you to experience the classrooms you’ll encounter when you become a teacher. We designed these realistic classroom snapshots to help you under­stand how educational ideas are connected to classrooms and schools. Deciding to become a professional educator and wrestling with the kind of teacher you want to become require a great deal of thought and effort. This process is demanding and these decisions aren’t easy. To facilitate your journey, we have designed interactive features that help you connect with text content. Teaching isn’t for everyone, and we hope that reading this text will encourage you to think about and reflect on what you want to do with the next phase of your life. This text will help you make that important decision. And, if you decide that you do indeed want to be a teacher, we hope it will also help you answer the second question, “What kind of teacher do I want to become?” As a new teacher, you’ll be faced with a myriad of personal and professional decisions about yourself, the way you interact with students, and how you’ll teach when you have your own classroom. The information in this text is designed to encourage your thinking about what being a good teacher means and how you can develop into the teacher you want to become. We believe the world needs more caring, conscientious, and intelligent teachers who not only change students’ lives but also help shape the teaching profession in the future.

New to This Edition • The theme of Professionalism, integrated throughout, provides valuable ­information about strategies for finding a teaching job, describes factors that ­contribute to a successful first year in teaching, and offers guidance toward careerlong ­professional development (Chapter 13). • The theme of Diversity, integrated throughout every chapter, describes ways in which the evolving American family affects learning and teaching and addresses

v

vi Preface the influence of socioeconomic factors on teachers, students, and schools (­Chapter 2) and guides readers through the impact of cultural and language diversity, gender differences, and exceptionalities to help them understand how to meet the needs of all students (Chapter 3). • The theme of Reform, integrated throughout every chapter, focuses on how ­reform influences the lives of teachers and explains how reform is changing and transforming schools and classrooms, by highlighting such current trends as standards and accountability (Chapter 9), instructional alignment and accountability  (Chapter 11), value-added models of teacher evaluation  (Chapter 12), ­essentialism and ­reform (Chapter 5), high-stakes testing (Chapter 12), restrictions on tenure (Chapter 12), and the move toward merit pay (Chapter 12). • Implications for Teaching, found in every chapter, describes how chapter content applies to teachers and teaching, including the following: school ­violence  (­Chapter 2), immigrants and education  (Chapter 7), learning to use the ­internet ­effectively (Chapter 9), teaching soft skills (Chapter 9), and bias in ­classroom management (Chapter 10). New Topics provide current information about the changing nature of the teaching profession. Examples include: teacher walkouts (Chapter 1), the opioid crisis and schools (Chapter 2), minorities and special education (Chapter 3), combatting unreliable information on the internet (Chapter 9), and the Every Student Succeeds Act (Chapter 12).

New to This Edition: MyLab Education One of the most visible changes, and also one of the most significant in the seventh edition, is the expansion of the digital learning and assessment resources embedded in the eText and the inclusion of MyLab Education in the text. MyLab Education is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to engage learners and improve learning. Within its structured environment, learners see key c­ oncepts demonstrated through real classroom video footage, practice what they learn, test their understanding, and receive feedback to guide their learning and to ensure their mastery of key learning outcomes. Designed to bring learners more directly into the world of K–12 classrooms and to help them see the real and powerful impact of ideas covered in this book, the online resources in MyLab Education with the ­Enhanced eText include: • Video Examples. Three or four times per chapter, an embedded video provides an illustration of important ideas in action. These video examples illustrate students and teachers working in classrooms, and also describe how students and their teachers wrestle with challenges and dilemmas they encounter in ­classrooms. • Self-Checks. In each chapter, self-check quizzes help assess how well learners have mastered the content. The self-checks are made up of self-grading, ­multiple-choice items that not only provide feedback on whether questions are answered correctly or incorrectly but also provide rationales for both correct and incorrect answers. • Application Exercises. These exercises give learners opportunities to practice ­applying the content from the chapters. The questions in these exercises are usually constructed-response. Once learners provide their own answers to the questions, they receive feedback in the form of model answers written by experts.

Preface vii

Key Content Updates by Chapter Chapter 1: New Topics: Politics and Education, Teacher Walkouts: What Is the Story?; Teachers as Parents, and Parents as Teachers; Updated Topics: Finding a Job: An Update on the Teacher Shortage, Teacher Salaries Chapter 2: New Topics: Transgender Students, The #MeToo Movement and ­Sexual Harassment, #MeToo and Sexual Harassment in Teaching, School Violence: Is ­Arming Teachers the Answer?, The Opioid Crisis and Schools, Technology and Teaching: Should We Be Worried About Addiction to Technology?; Updated Topics: ­Cyberbullying, Homeless Children, Students’ Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs, Sex Education Chapter 3: New Topics: Immigrants and Schools, Diversity: Are Children from Linguistically and Culturally Different Backgrounds Over- or Underrepresented in Special Education?, Religious Diversity; Updated Topics: Diversity: Culturally Responsive Teaching Chapter 4: Updated Topics: The Search for Equality: Where Are We Now?, Evaluating Compensatory Education Programs, Technology and Teaching: A Brief History of Technology in the Classroom, Head Start, Equity for Women Chapter 5: Updated Topics: Philosophy of Education and Technology in Classrooms, Essentialism and Educational Reform, Social Reconstructivism: Implications for Teaching, The High-Stakes Testing Debate, Philosophy and Cultural Minorities Chapter 6: Updated Topics: Recent Trends in Educational Funding: Implications for Teaching, School Funding Sources, Savage Inequalities: The Search for Funding Equity, Money and Your First Job Chapter 7: New Topics: Immigrants and Education: Implications for Teaching; Updated Topics: Legal Challenges to Teacher Tenure, Teachers’ Private Lives, LGBTQ Issues and Sexual Behavior, Students’ Freedom of Speech and Technology, Data Mining and Student Privacy Chapter 8: Updated Topics: Distance Education: Implications for Teaching, Early Childhood Programs, The Push for Universal Preschool, Alternatives to Comprehensive High Schools, School Principals: Implications for Teaching Chapter 9: New Topics: Learning to Use the Internet Effectively: Combatting Conspiracy Theories and Fake News, Soft Skills: Where Do They Belong in the Curriculum?, Technology in the Curriculum: Teaching Students to Code; Updated Topics: Continued Controversies About the Common Core Chapter 10: New Topics: Promoting Socio-emotional Learning, Diversity: Fighting Bias in Classroom Management; Updated Topics: Involving Parents, Using Technology to Communicate with Parents, The Use of Punishment in Classroom Management Chapter 11: New Topics: Data-Driven Instruction, Personalized Learning; Updated Topics: Personal Qualities of Effective Teachers, Technology in Your Classroom Chapter 12: New Topics: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), edTPA and Teacher Evaluation for New Teachers, Backlash Against Standardized Testing and High-Stakes Evaluation; Updated Topics: Value-Added Teacher Evaluation, Merit Pay for Teachers, Teacher Tenure, Teacher Evaluation, Charters, Vouchers Chapter 13: New Topics: U.S. Supreme Court Changes the Rules for NEA and AFT; Updated Topics: Finding a Job, Interviewing Effectively, Private School Employment, Traditional or Alternative Licensure? Induction and Mentoring Programs, Using Technology for Your Professional Development

lem. Groups need to be small enough (typically three or four) so that all students are involved in the process. • The teacher guides students’ efforts with questioning and other forms of scaffolding.

viiiLet’s  Preface look at how an elementary math teacher uses problem-based instruction in her classroom. Laura Hunter, a 5th-grade teacher at Bennion Elementary, is trying to teach her students about area by involving them in a problem-based learning activity. The class has studied perimeter and area and can find perimeters and areas of regular geometric figures, such as squares and rectangles. They haven’t had experience finding the areas of irregularly shaped figures, however.

Additional Features Case Studies Provide Realistic 405 Perspectives on Teaching

Laura begins by posing the following problem, “Our principal is planning to re-carpet Becomingour an classEffective Teacher: Reaching All Students room and needs to know how much carpeting to order.” The complexity of the problem is increased by the fact that linoleum covers part of the floor, and it won’t be carpeted, so the carpeted portion will have an irregular shape. Breaking students into groups of four, she has each group devise a strategy for determining how much carpet will be needed. As the different groups work, two strategies emerge. One is to find the total area of the room and subtract the non-carpeted parts of the room—the parts covered with linoleum. The other is to compute the area of a rectangle within the carpeted area and then add on additional, irregularly-shaped carpeted sections. As students discuss their strategies, they use the

5´ Sink 10´ 8´

Counter 10´

4´

Door

2´ 5´

2´

6´ 3´ 6´

31´

15´

30 ft.

3´

Figure 3.1 The Four Dimensions of Student Diversity. 3´ Forms of Diversity in Today’s 48 ft. Students

15´

(The parts marked L on the diagram are the parts covered with linoleum.)

following diagram and calculators to find the area.

Different groups select and implement their unique strategies and report back to the whole class. The class discusses both the different strategies used to solve the problem and the interpersonal Culture Language problems that came up in the group work.

Gender

Exceptionalities

Thethe written rangegenerated of Differences in The knowledge,their results, In evaluating classand finds that theThe answers by the different groups difspoken methods of students that result attitudes, values, characteristics that fer,customs, and the and class discussescommunication possible reasons for thedistinguish differences. Laura asks in fortheir suggestions males needing about behavior patterns people and females special help tonumbers ways to make the answersamong more accurate, and students suggest starting with common reach their full that characterize and using the sameastrategies. social group potential

Teachers use problem-based instruction to accomplish a variety of goals (Barton rsity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 93 & Avery, 2016):

• ses his students’ • es Churro sheep, • When they study • students’ ances-

What I Believe

Learning to systematically investigate questions and problems Developing self-regulation and self-directed learning abilities

Student Diversity and Me

Developing social interaction skills

Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. As you read this chapter,

Learning content discussions of these issues. Each of the items will be addressed in the you will encounter sections Revisiting My Beliefs.

illustrate igneous, These goals were evident in Laura’s classroom. Students learned about finding the area of1.irregularly shaped figures developing their abilities to Culturally responsive teacherswhile treat allsimultaneously students the same way. conduct of meaningful problems learning howeffectively to interact each 2. investigations Students who aren’t native English speakersand learn English most bywith hearing other in socially productive ways. the teacher use correct English.

ng on students’ 3. Boys generally get better grades in school than girls. Strengths and Weaknesses of Problem-Based Instruction t achievement 4. It is important for me to adapt my instruction to the individual learning styles of which enhance Problem-based instruction has two important strengths. First, evidence indicates that my students. content learned in problem-based lessons is retained longer and transfers better than ents and other Experts in special education advocate the creation of special classrooms to meet the content5. learned using teacher-centered approaches (Mayer & Wittrock, 2006). Addiitalized on this needs of students with exceptionalities. tional evidence indicates that learners are more motivated in problem-based lessons d identify with.

The case studies we provide throughout the text were ­selected from our work in classrooms and are designed to provide you with glimpses into the real world of teaching. Hopefully they will provide you with an accurate look at the realities of classrooms and what it’s like to be a teacher.

14/10/2019 17:25

Case-Based Approach: We capture realistic images of classroom life through written case studies inserted throughout the book. We use cases to provide concrete examples of teaching in the real world and how it affects the lives of real teachers and their ­students. Each chapter begins with a case that provides the framework for the content that follows, and we integrate other, shorter vignettes throughout every chapter to help you vicariously experience the classrooms you’ll encounter when you become a teacher. We included these realistic classroom snapshots to help you understand how educational ideas are connected to classrooms and schools.

Applied: Interactive Features Promote Personal Decisions about the Teaching Profession Deciding to become a professional educator and wrestling with the kind of teacher you want to become require a great deal of thought and effort. This process is ­demanding and these decisions aren’t easy. To facilitate your journey, we have designed the f­ ollowing interactive features that help you connect with text content. What I Believe: This inventory begins each chapter and invites you to assess your own beliefs about important issues in teaching and learning. We address each of the items as we discuss the content of each chapter.

than in traditional teacher-centered activities (Cooper, 2014; Larner, 2014). However, most of the research identifying the strengths of problem-based instrucRevisiting My Beliefs tion has been conducted with older or advanced students, and its effectiveness with ultural groups. This section addresses first item LEARNING OUTCOME 3.1 the Explain how cultural diversity influences learning and younger students is not clear. And, teachers often fail to provide sufficient guidance a misnomer how in effective in What Iteachers Believe, use “Culturally sensi- to increase learning. InTASC Core Teaching this diversity panics, African tive 2, teachers treat all students the Standard Learning Differences Revisiting My Beliefs: These features in every chapter ask readers to revisit their I Want to Be a Teacher? 33 of the popula- sameDoway.” This statement isn’t true Macionis, 2019). and is, in fact, the opposite of cultur­responses to the chapter opening What I Believe inventory and ­reflect on the new infornt in New education roit, York, ally responsive teaching. To be most mation they’ve learned over the course03/09/2019 of the M11_KAUC0543_07_SE_C11.indd 405 16:24 chapter. effective, you’ll need to adapt your 9, Professional olor. The clothes we wear, the music we listen to and even the food we eat, along with instruction to your students’ cultural ult of immigraother dimensions, such as language and religion, are all part of our culture, the backgrounds. gateway cities” knowledge, attitudes, values, customs, and behaviorTeaching patterns that characterize a This book is not only about the field of education but also about and You: urban schools. social group (Banks, 2019; Bennett, 2019). Culture exerts a powerful force on our lives, enter, adapt to, and change the world of teaching. Teaching and You asks nd that African and it can also influence your students’ learning as wellyou—how as your success you’ll as a teacher. Cultural diversity refers to the different cultures you’llquestions encounter in classrooms andwill need to answer when you begin teaching. It also invites you to on and less than that you hools the history of how these differences influence learning. n this ng for reforms, Teaching and You personally To see how culture influences the way we live, think about eating consider as a simple important ideas in education and evaluate their applicability and onal leaders crease student Are you good at taking tests? How iversity in example. Do you sit down for dinner at 6:00 in the evening, or do you often wait until will tests influence your future as a value to you as a prospective teacher. This feature is interspersed throughout each chapter and states and daptations 8:00 p.m. or later? Does your family sit down together, or do you “eat on the run”? Do teacher? What can you do right now re that allin classmance you use a knife and fork, perhaps chopsticks, or even your hands? And, if you useto a evaluate new educational ideas and how they’ll change your life as to encourage you with the to prepare yourself for these tests? nges will occur knife and fork, do you cut a piece of meat and then transfer the fork back to your right them to a teacher. ely uphave speaker stage. Then theleft kidshand? start The patterns in which we all engage are informed we handon orthe leave it in your uch asat themade grner tag,diversity). running circles around the seatingways area, and by our backgrounds, of living, and traditions-our cultures. The influence of the gleefully. No adult ommission on response—you are amazed, and struggle st the urge to quiet the children. As is often the case, family cational Reform. ers ofunable many communities take on the roles of supervising eing to teracting withwas their children. While you may have expected education 21/08/2019 18:10 s to and intervene in monitoring their children, siblings and other ort, educamembers edge andassumed skills the role that you thought was strictly the s’ prerogative. ny attempts Still at nothing from the Islander parents who either unaware or unconcerned about the children’s reform efforts ior! You are caught in the middle of a conflict of cultures—

Cultural Diversity

member adds. “Kids learn things in these activities they can’t get in their regular classes. And we know from the research we’ve done that our minority kids and ones from poor families benefit the most from these offerings. We can’t let them down by excluding them from our after-school programs. ” “I know, I know,” the first board member replies. “But we have to balance our budget. Do you want to lay off teachers or

participation in programs that many taxpayers are calling ‘frills.’”

Consider These Questions

Preface ix

1. Are extracurricular activities frills or should they be considered an integral part of the curriculum?

2. Is the idea of fee waivers for pay-for-play activities a good idea? Can it be an effective way to encourage broader

Issues You’ll Face inpolicies Teaching: reflective featureactivities? presents the pros and cons of participation in extracurricular eliminate pay increases? Pay-for-play make sense to This me. If parents have it and want their kids to participate, they can kick 3. What other solutions could you suggest to these board different educational reforms and asks you to make a personal decision about their in some extra money.” members? value to you and the profession.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Money and Your First Job As you’ve seen, much of this chapter, is about money and how

in terms of the attractiveness of the profession to young people

it will influence your professional life. Most people don’t go into

such as yourself, as well as the satisfaction of teachers already

teaching for the money, but we all need to eat, put gas in our

in classrooms. We can think about money in teaching in two ways: how

cars, and wear decent clothes. So how important will money be when you consider your first teaching job? We know several things about teachers and money. First,

much goes in, and how much reaches teachers. With respect to the amount that goes in, we know how much each state spends

relative to other occupations, teachers are underpaid, earning

per student. As we saw in Table 6.2, the amount different states

20% less than other college graduates (Krugman, 2018). We

spend on each student varies considerably, and this money is

also know that money influences teacher morale. In a national

reflected in the books, supplies, and number of students you’ll

poll, over half the teachers said they were dissatisfied with their

have in your classroom. When faced with budget problems,

salaries, and these dissatisfied teachers viewed their working

states cut back on educational funding, and these budget

conditions less favorably than other teachers (National Center

cuts influence the quality of your professional life as a teacher

for Education Statistics, 2018). In addition, a teacher shortage

because almost half of the funding for the district you’ll work for

exists in our country, and the shortage is expanding (Burnette,

comes from state funds. But that’s only part of the story. As we saw earlier in the

2019). Further, research suggests that higher salaries would encourage more people to go into teaching (Han, Borgonovi, &

chapter, different districts within a state also vary greatly in the

Guerriero, 2018). Money makes a difference in teaching, both

amount of money available for teachers (Brimley et al., 2016).

221

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools

people’s decisions about entering and staying in teaching or

Districts in wealthy areas with high tax bases can afford to spend money M06_KAUC0543_07_SE_C06.indd 220on

leaving the profession (Calfas, 2018; Cortez, 2018b).

things like art and science supplies,

technology, and field trips. They also can spend more money on their teachers’ salaries, benefits, and professional development,

ences working conditions, including class sizes, supplies,

offering classes and workshops to help their teachers keep up with evolving trends in education.

The Issue

26/08/2019 14:38

• The amount states and districts spend on education influand professional development opportunities (Gebelof, 2018). Con • Most teachers don’t go into teaching for the money. We

How important should money be when selecting your first

become teachers because we believe we can make a differ-

teaching job? Should you move to another state to access bet-

ence in our students’ lives and the world (Ni & Rorrer, 2018).

ter funding and consider only districts that pay well? Here are

Monetary reward, while important, is clearly secondary.

arguments on both sides of this complex professional decision.

• Factors such as working conditions influence teachers’ job

The pro position suggests that money is very important in mak-

satisfaction much more than money (Brooks, 2018). The

ing a decision about your first job, and the con position makes

principal you work for and the teachers, students, and par-

the opposite argument.

ents you’ll work with will largely determine how happy you are with teaching and ultimately will determine whether you

Pro • Money influences our quality of life. It can make the difference between owning a home or renting, driving a new, reliable car or a clunker, and being able to afford a nice vacation or staying close to home. Your first teaching job should allow you to enjoy a decent standard of living, and housing costs in many cities are beyond the reach of teachers (Handy, 2018). • Money is a surrogate for the way a state or district supports

remain in the profession (Ubben, Hughes, & Norris, 2016). • Some of the places that might not pay as well are also places where students need good teachers the most (Luschel & Jeong, 2018). Large urban and small rural districts urgently need good teachers, and working in these high-need areas can have a powerful influence on these students’ lives.

The Question Now it’s your turn to take a position on the issue. Should

education. States and districts that spend more money on

financial considerations be a primary factor in determining where

schools communicate to the community and teachers that

you seek your first teaching job? What do you think?

education is important. Teacher compensation influences

159

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots

Despite these restrictions, women flocked into teaching because historically it provided one of the few occupations accessible to them (Kafka, 2016). Factory jobs were MyLab Education Self-Check 6.3 exclusively for men (except during World War II, when men went to war and women were needed on the assembly line), and alternatives in the industry were often limited to clerical or secretarial work. This is no longer the case, and women in record numbers are finding their way into areas like medicine, law, and industry, but societal forces still draw women into, and men away from, the teaching profession. Currently, 77% of teachers are women, and experts predict this figure will increase to 80% in the near future (Miller, 2018). In a profession once dominated by men, women have taken control, at least in terms of numbers.

Diversity and You: These sections, found in every chapter, explore different forms of diversity—culture, language, gender, socioeconomic status, and exceptionalities— and how they will influence your life and success as a teacher. This feature presents a case-based problem to analyze based upon different dimensions of diversity.

Diversity and You The Gender Gap in Teaching Several teachers are talking over lunch. Topics range from the weather to life in general. “Sometimes when I look around, I wonder if I’m lost or in the right place. Do you realize I’m the only male teacher in

“They don’t mind, but I wonder if this is good for them. Don’t the boys need male role models? And what about the science department you left? Don’t the girls in high school need female role models?”

this school?” Jeff Ridges comments jokingly to his colleagues. “Sometimes I feel like an endangered species.” “Don’t feel so bad,” Sharon Stanton replies. “I felt the same way in my science department before I switched to the elementary level. I was the only woman in the department.” “At least it’s not so bad at the sixth-grade level. When I go to district sixth-grade math meetings, at least I’ll find a few others like me. But I read somewhere that at the preschool and kindergarten levels, 98% of the teachers are women.” M06_KAUC0543_07_SE_C06.indd 221

“Hmm. I didn’t realize it was that bad. Well, the kids don’t

seem to mind,” Sharon replies.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching

Questions to Consider 1. Is the predominance of female teachers a positive influence on the profession?

2. What about students? As Jeff asked, do children need male role models as teachers?

3. Is gender a factor in teaching effectiveness, that is, are men better at teaching male students, and women better at teaching female students?

26/08/2019 14:38

4. What do you predict in terms of this trend for the future?

x Preface

Instructor Resources This edition of Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional provides a comprehensive and integrated collection of supplements to assist students and professors in maximizing learning and instruction. The following resources are available for instructors to download from www.pearsonhighered.com/educator. Enter the author, title of the text, or the ISBN number, then select this text, and click on the “Resources” tab to download the supplement you need. If you require assistance in downloading any resources, contact your Pearson representative.

Instructor’s Resource Manual The Instructor’s Resource Manual includes chapter overviews, chapter outlines and outcomes, lists of PowerPoint® slides, presentation outlines, teaching suggestions for each chapter, Going Into Schools, which contain suggestions for student field ­experiences, and student portfolio activities.

PowerPoint Slides® The PowerPoint® slides highlight key concepts and summarize text content. The slides also include questions and problems designed to stimulate discussion, encourage students to elaborate and deepen their understanding of the topics in each chapter, and apply the content of the chapter to both the real world of teaching and their daily lives. The slides are further designed to help instructors structure the content of each chapter to make it meaningful for students.

Test Bank The Test Bank provides a comprehensive and flexible assessment package. The Test Bank for this edition has been revised and expanded to make it more applicable to students. To provide complete coverage of the content in each chapter, all multiple-choice and essay items are grouped under the chapters’ main headings and are balanced between knowledge/recall items and those that require higher level thinking. Feedback is provided for all essay items, providing clear explanations for correct answers.

TestGen® TestGen® is a powerful test generator available exclusively from Pearson Education. You can install TestGen® on your personal computer (Windows or Macintosh) and create your own tests for classroom testing and for other specialized delivery options, such as over a local area network or on the web. A test bank, which is also called a Test Item File (TIF), typically contains a large set of test items, organized by chapter and ready for your use in creating a test, based on the associated textbook material. ­Assessment may be created for both print and testing online. The tests can be downloaded in the following formats: TestGen Testbank File—PC TestGen Testbank File—MAC TestGen Testbank File—Blackboard 9 TIF TestGen Testbank File—Blackboard CE/Vista (WebCT) TIF Angel test Bank (zip) D2L Test Bank (zip) Moodle Test Bank Sakai Test Bank (zip)

Preface xi

Acknowledgments Our appreciation goes to all of the fine people who have taken our words and given them shape. We especially want to thank Rebecca Fox-Gieg our editor, and Jeff Johnston, our developmental editor who worked patiently and persistently to make this edition a finished product. We hope that all of our collective efforts will result in ­increased learning for students and more rewarding teaching for instructors. Finally, we would sincerely appreciate any comments, suggestions, or questions about anything that appears in the book or any of its supplements. Please feel free to contact either of us at any time. Our email addresses are: [email protected] and [email protected]. Good luck and best wishes on your educational journey. Don Kauchak Paul Eggen

List Of Reviewers Denise Patmon, University of Massachusetts/Boston; Jeanine Huss, Western Kentucky University; Judy Sander, Texas A&M University–Texarkana; Carmen Garcia-Caceres, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Dale Allender, California State University, Sacramento; Lois Paretti, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Deron Boyles, Georgia State University.

Brief Contents Part 1 

7 School Law: Ethical and Legal

Teachers and Students

1 Do I Want to Be a Teacher?

Influences on Teaching

2

2 Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students

38

Part 2 

Its Historical Roots

5 Educational Philosophy and Your Teaching

6 Governance and Finance:

Regulating and Funding Schools

xii

82

260

Teaching

of Standards

296

10 Classroom Management: Creating

Productive Learning Environments 334

Foundations

4 Education in the United States:

Part 3 

9 The School Curriculum in an Era

3 Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities

8 Choosing the Right School

224

11 Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students

366

124

Part 4  164 194

Entering the Profession

12 Educational Reform and You

416

13 Developing as a Professional

456

Contents About the Authors iii Prefacev

Part 1 

Teachers and Students

1 Do I Want to Be a Teacher?

2

What Is It Like to Be a Teacher? Rewards in Teaching Challenges in Teaching What Is It Like to Be a Teacher? Will I Be Prepared?

3 5 10 20

The Teaching Profession What Does Being a Professional Mean? Are Teachers Professionals? InTASC: A Beginning Point for Professional Growth and Development Technology and Teaching: The Influence of Technology on the Profession

21 21 26 27 28

Diversity: The Changing Face of American Classrooms 29 Diversity: Teaching in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Schools 30 Reform in Teacher Education Changes in Teacher Preparation Comprehensive Teacher Testing Issues You’ll Face in Teaching

33 33 34 34

Chapter 1 Summary

36

Important Concepts

37

Portfolio Activity: Teacher Licensure and Testing in Your State

37

2 Changes in American Society:

Their Influences on Our Students

Changes in American Families Different Family Patterns Child Care

38 40 41 41

The Dropout Problem Obstacles to Success: What Can Schools and Teachers Do?

73 75

Chapter 2 Summary

80

Important Concepts

81

Portfolio Activity: School Safety and Security

81

3 Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities

82

Cultural Diversity Ethnicity and Race Immigrants and Schools Culture and Schooling Religious Diversity Educational Responses to Cultural Diversity Technology and Teaching: Technology Access Issues

84 85 85 87 88 90 94

Language Diversity Language Diversity: The Government’s Response Language Diversity: Schools’ Responses

96 97 98

Gender 102 Gender and Society 102 Gender and Classrooms 103 106 Learners with Exceptionalities Intelligence 107 111 Special Education and the Law 112 Categories of Exceptionalities Diversity: Are Children from Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Backgrounds Over- or 115 Underrepresented in Special Education? Adapting to Students’ Abilities and Exceptionalities: 117 Your Role as a Teacher Technology and Teaching: Employing Technology to Support Learners with Disabilities 120 Chapter 3 Summary

122

Important Concepts

123

Changes in Our Students 43 Sexuality 43 Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs 50 Obesity 52 School Violence 53 Technology and Teaching: Should We Be Worried About Addiction to Technology? 61

Portfolio Activity: Exploring Cultural Diversity

123

The Influence of Socioeconomic Factors on Students 64 Poverty 65 Homelessness 68 Socioeconomic Status and School Success 70

The Colonial Period (1607–1775) Differences in Colonies Teaching in Colonial Schools European Influences on American Education

Part 2 

Foundations

4 Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots

124 127 127 129 130

xiii

xiv Contents The Early National Period (1775–1820) The Constitution Shapes Education The Common School Movement: The Rise of State Support for Public Education (1820–1865) The Age of the Common Man Making Education Available to All Teaching in the Common School Era The Evolution of the American High School Historical Roots of the Comprehensive High School Junior High and Middle Schools Technology and Teaching: A Brief History of Technology in the Classroom

131 132 133 134 134 135 138 138 140 141

Searching for Equality: The Education of Cultural Minorities 144 Education of Native Americans 144 Education of African Americans: Up from 146 Slavery to . . .  Education of Hispanic Americans 147 Education of Asian Americans 148 The Search for Equality: Where Are We Now? 148 The Modern Era: Schools as Instruments for National Purpose and Social Change 149 The Cold War: Enlisting America’s Schools 150 The War on Poverty and the Great Society 150 Schools and the Battle for Economic Survival 153 The Federal Government’s Role in Pursuing Equality 153 Diversity: A Look Back at Teaching Through the Lens 157 of Gender Chapter 4 Summary

161

Important Concepts

162

Portfolio Activity: Investigating Title I Programs and Students

162

5 Educational Philosophy and Your

Teaching 164

Philosophy and Philosophy of Education Philosophy and Teacher Professionalism The Relationship Between Philosophy and Theory Branches of Philosophy

166 167 168 168

Philosophies of Education 171 Perennialism 171 Progressivism 173 Essentialism 175 Social Reconstructionism 179 Technology and Teaching: Philosophy of Education and Technology in Classrooms 181 Diversity: Philosophy and Cultural Minorities 183 Developing Your Philosophy of Education The Role of Beliefs in a Philosophy of Education Examining Your Beliefs Forming a Philosophy

186 187 188 189

Urban Education: Philosophy of Education in Urban Environments

190

Chapter 5 Summary

192

Important Concepts

192

Portfolio Activity: Assessing Your Philosophy of Education

193

6 Governance and Finance:

Regulating and Funding Schools

194

Governance: How Are Schools Regulated and Run? Governance: A Legal Overview State Governance Structures School Districts

196 196 198 199

School Finance: How Are Schools Funded? School Funding Sources Educational Revenues: Where Do They Go?

205 206 210

213 Emerging Issues in School Governance and Finance Savage Inequalities: The Struggle for Funding Equity 214 Urban Education: Takeovers as Alternatives to Local Control 216 Parent Power: Experimenting with Local Governance Structures 217 Commercialization: Are Our Schools for Sale? 217 219 Diversity: Pay-to-Play or Pay to Learn? Chapter 6 Summary

222

Important Concepts

222

Portfolio Activity: School Finance

223

7 School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching

224

Law, Ethics, and Teacher Professionalism Limitations of Laws Ethical Dimensions of Teaching

226 227 227

The U.S. Legal System Federal Influences State and Local Influences The Overlapping Legal System

228 228 229 229

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities Teacher Employment and the Law Academic Freedom Copyright Laws Teacher Liability Child Abuse Teachers’ Private Lives

230 230 234 235 235 237 238

Religion and the Law Prayer in Schools Religious Clubs and Organizations Religion in the Curriculum Diversity: Teaching About Religion in Schools

241 242 243 243 244

Students and the Law The Educational Rights of Immigrant Children

245 245

Contents xv

Students’ Rights in Speech and Dress Technology and Teaching: Students’ Freedom of Speech and Technology Sexual Harassment Permissible Search and Seizure Student Privacy Students’ Rights in Disciplinary Actions Students with AIDS

247 248 252 252 253 255 257

Chapter 7 Summary

258

Important Concepts

259

Portfolio Activity: Deepening Your Knowledge of Legal Issues

259

8 Choosing the Right School

260

How Do Schools Function? What Is a School? School Personnel The Physical Plant Organization of Schools and the Curriculum

263 264 265 266 267

School Levels Early Childhood Programs Elementary Schools Junior High and Middle Schools High Schools Technology and Teaching: Distance Education Redefines Our Definition of a School

269 269 271 273 276

Finding a Good School Optimal Size Leadership: Your First Principal Collective Efficacy: The Influence of Other Teachers in Your School Achieving Collective Efficacy: Essential Elements of Effective Teaching Diversity: School Organization and the Achievement of Cultural Minorities

281 282 285

Chapter 8 Summary

294

Important Concepts

294

Portfolio Activity: Choosing a School

295

Part 3 

279

286 287 291

Teaching

9 The School Curriculum in an Era of Standards

296

What Is Curriculum? Components of the Curriculum The Explicit Curriculum Technology and Teaching: What Role Should Technology Play in the Curriculum? The Implicit Curriculum The Null Curriculum The Extracurriculum

299 299 300

Forces That Influence the Curriculum

309

302 305 307 308

The Teacher 309 Standards and Accountability 310 The Federal Government 311 Politics 312 Textbooks 313 316 Controversial Issues in the Curriculum Controversies in the Social Studies Curriculum 316 Controversies in the Science Curriculum 318 Sex Education 319 Service Learning 321 Technology and Teaching: Internet Issues and Controversies 322 Soft Skills: Where Do They Belong in the Curriculum? 327 Diversity: Women and Minorities in the Curriculum 329 Chapter 9 Summary

332

Important Concepts

333

Portfolio Activity: Making Curriculum Decisions

333

10 Classroom Management: Creating

Productive Learning Environments 334

How Does Effective Classroom Management Contribute to a Productive Learning Environment? Why Classroom Management Is So Important Goals of Classroom Management Preventing Classroom Management Problems

337 337 337 338

Creating a Productive Learning Environment Communicating Caring Organizing Your Classroom Preventing Problems Through Planning Teaching Effectively Urban Education: Effective Classroom Management in Urban Environments

342 342 343 344 346

Involving Parents Benefits of Parental Involvement Strategies for Involving Parents Technology and Teaching: Using Technology to Communicate with Parents

349 349 349

What to Do When Misbehavior Occurs Intervening Effectively Serious Management Problems: Violence and Aggression

353 353

Chapter 10 Summary

364

Important Concepts

365

Portfolio Activity: Classroom Rules and Procedures

365

11 Becoming an Effective Teacher:

347

352

358

Reaching All Students

366

Effective Teaching and Student Motivation Motivation and Learning Motivation: Increasing Students’ Interest

369 369 370

Planning for Effective Teaching Planning in a Standards-Based Environment Planning for Assessment

374 375 376

xvi Contents Instructional Alignment and Accountability Putting Plans into Action: Implementing Instruction and Assessing Learning Implementing Instruction: The Personal Qualities of Effective Teachers Implementing Instruction: Essential Teaching Skills Diversity: Effective Instruction in Urban Classrooms Assessing Student Learning: Using Assessment as a Learning Tool Data-Driven Instruction

377 377 379 380 389 392 393

Instructional Strategies Teacher-Centered Strategies Technology and Teaching: Capitalizing on Technology to Teach Basic Skills Learner-Centered Strategies Becoming an Effective Teacher: The Big Picture

394 395 396 401 412

Chapter 11 Summary

414

Important Concepts

415

Portfolio Activity: Developing Teaching Expertise

415

Part 4 

Entering the Profession

12 Educational Reform and You

416

Understanding Reform Reform: What Is It? A Brief History of the Reform Movement

418 418 418

Reform: Focus on the Curriculum Standards, Testing, and Accountability National Standards Controversies in the Standards Movement

424 425 427 428

Reform: Focus on Schools Race to the Top School Choice

431 431 432

Reform: Focus on the Teacher Teacher Evaluation Teacher Salaries: Using Money to Reform Teaching

438 439 443

Merit Pay Professional Organizations and Collective Bargaining Diversity: Reform and Cultural Minorities Reform Revisited

444 447 450 452

Chapter 12 Summary

454

Important Concepts

455

Portfolio Activities

455

13 Developing as a Professional

456

Entering the Profession Beliefs of Preservice and Beginning Teachers Making Yourself Marketable Finding a Job

458 458 460 467

Your First Year of Teaching Stages of Teacher Development Survival Skills for the First Year Capitalizing on Your First Day of Teaching Thriving in Your New School Teacher Evaluation Induction and Mentoring Programs Diversity: Preparing to Teach Every Student

472 473 474 476 477 478 479 480

Career-Long Professional Development Membership in Professional Organizations Technology and Teaching: Using Technology for Your Professional Development Action Research Long-Term Professional Growth: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

482 482

Chapter 13 Summary

490

Important Concepts

491

Portfolio Activity: Professional Organizations

491

485 486 488

References 492 Glossary 527 Name Index

534

Subject Index

544

Special Features Chapter 1 What I Believe: Teaching and Me  4 Diversity and You: What Kind of School Is Right for You?  32 Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Testing Teachers  35

Chapter 2 What I Believe: Societal Changes and Our Students  40

Diversity and You: Religion and the Community in Which You’ll Teach 245

Chapter 8 What I Believe: Choosing a School to Begin My Career  263 Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Grade Retention  290 Diversity and You: Making Urban Schools and Classrooms Effective 293

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Zero Tolerance  62 Diversity and You: Teaching Vulnerable Students  79

Chapter 3

Chapter 9 What I Believe: Curriculum Decisions and My Classroom  298 Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Is the Common Core State

What I Believe: Student Diversity and Me  84

Standards Initiative (CCSSI) a Positive Move in Curriculum

Diversity and You: Cultural Discontinuities  93

Reform? 315

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Bilingual Education  100

Diversity and You: Controversial Issues in the Curriculum  330

Chapter 4

Chapter 10

What I Believe: History of Education and Me  126

What I Believe: Creating a Productive Learning Environment  336

Diversity and You: The Gender Gap in Teaching  159

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: The Use of Punishment in

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Is Compulsory Attendance the

Classroom Management  357

Solution to Absenteeism and Dropouts?  159

Diversity and You: Teaching in Challenging Classrooms  362

Chapter 5

Chapter 11

What I Believe: Educational Philosophy and Me  166

What I Believe: Instruction in My Classroom  368

Diversity and You: Philosophy in Your Classroom  185

Diversity and You: Considering Teaching in an Urban School  392

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: The High-Stakes Testing

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Technology in Your Classroom  398

Debate 185

Chapter 6 What I Believe: Governance and Finance and My Life as a Teacher 196 Diversity and You: Is a Quality Education Only for the

Chapter 12 What I Believe: Educational Reform and My Teaching  418 Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Teacher Tenure  449 Diversity and You: Reform Strategies and Your Work with Cultural Minorities 451

Wealthy? 220 Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Money and Your First Job  220

Chapter 7

Chapter 13 What I Believe: Entering the Profession  458 Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Traditional or Alternative

What I Believe: Education Law and Me  226

Licensure? 471

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching: Technology and Legal Restrictions

Diversity and You: How Can You Become Effective with All

on Teachers’ Freedom to Communicate with Students  240

Students? 481

xvii

Chapter 1

Do I Want to Be a Teacher?

Shutterstock

2

Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 1.1 Describe major rewards and challenges in teaching. InTASC Core

Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 1.2 Describe the essential characteristics of professionalism and

explain how they relate to teaching. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 1.3 Identify different dimensions of diversity and explain how

diversity affects the lives of teachers. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences 1.4 Explain how the current reform movement in education is

changing the teaching profession. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice LEARNING OUTCOME 1.1  Describe major rewards and challenges in teaching. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

What Is It Like to Be a Teacher? “Do I want to be a teacher?” This question is probably uppermost on your mind as you begin studying this book. If you’re undecided, you’re not alone; many people don’t decide on a career in teaching until they’re in college, and some turn to teaching even later, after trying other occupations. This chapter will help you begin answering that question by providing you with information about the teaching profession and what your life will be like as a teacher. For those of you who have already decided on a teaching career, this chapter is designed to help answer the question we ask in the title of this section, “What is it like to be a teacher?” As you read the following case studies, think about Amy’s and Matt’s experiences and how they might compare to your own. Amy I always liked working with kids. I enjoyed watching my little brother when my mom ran errands, and I often helped out with summer youth programs. In high school, I started thinking about being a music teacher since I enjoyed playing the piano and singing in choral groups. Then I went to college, and one of my courses required us to be a high school teacher’s aide. I worked with a music teacher but never felt like I really fit in. Luckily, in a second course, I had a chance to work in an elementary school. I went home after the first day and thought, “Yes, this is it.” One of my most rewarding experiences was working in an urban second-grade classroom where a number of my students were native Spanish speakers. I had a Spanish-speaking aide, who was a big help, and to see the eagerness of the students and the progress they made over the course of the year left me with an enormously satisfying feeling when the year came to a close. Now here I am, five years later, married with a family of my own, and I still love teaching. There have been challenges, of course, but I’ve learned an enormous amount, and I now appreciate my teacher preparation program even more than I did then when I was formally in it. Now, I have my own intern, and I enjoy helping her figure it all out. (Amy Carson, second-grade teacher in an urban elementary school)

4  Chapter 1 Matt Before I became a teacher, I worked for 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, first in a research lab and then as a project manager. It was challenging, and I made a good salary, but I began to feel that there was more to life than making money for some big company. Several years ago, I read a book in which the author described the difference between a person’s “job” and a person’s “work.” Your job is how you make money; your work is how you contribute to the world. It began to crystallize everything for me. Business, for me, was a job, but I didn’t really have any “work.” Then, I thought about my high school chemistry teacher, and I remembered how much he loved that stuff. I began to think about teaching, and, to make a long story short, I went back to school, and this time I did what I’ve always wanted to do. No one ever said teaching was going to be easy, but when you see the lightbulb go on for someone, it gives you a feeling like no other. Now, my job and my work are the same thing. (Matt Shepard, high school science teacher in a suburban high school and recent entry into teaching)

Many of you are probably similar to Amy or Matt. You’re intelligent and introspective, and you’ve had a number of life experiences. You’ve thought about teaching but aren’t sure if it’s right for you or where you might fit in. Or you may be less certain because you’re still in the process of deciding what you want to do with your life. You enjoyed your own school experiences, and most of your ideas about teaching are based on them. The idea of working with young people is attractive, but you’re still not sure. To begin answering the question “Do I want to be a teacher?” we invite you to consider different reasons people go into teaching by responding to the following What I Believe feature.

What I Believe Teaching and Me Think about the statements below and then respond to each using the following format: 4 = I strongly agree with the statement. 3 = I agree with the statement. 2 = I disagree with the statement. 1 = I strongly disagree with the statement. We address each of these items in the sections Revisiting My Beliefs throughout the chapter. 1. Job security is a major reason I’m considering becoming a teacher. 2. Long summer vacations are important to me as I consider teaching as a career. 3. My desire to work with young people is an important reason I’m considering becoming a teacher. 4. I’m thinking of teaching because I want to contribute to our society. 5. My interest in a subject matter field is a major reason I’m thinking about becoming a teacher. 6. I’m considering teaching because of the opportunities for a lifetime of self-growth.

We gave this survey to other prospective teachers in many of our classes over the years, using the same format, averaged their responses, and then ranked the items from the most (1) to the least (6) important reasons for becoming a teacher. Table 1.1 summarizes the results, which have stayed surprisingly constant over the years. Let’s see how yours compare.

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 5

Table 1.1  Responses to the What I Believe Survey Survey Rank

Item Focus

Average Response of Students

Item Number

1

Work with youth

3.7

3

2

Value to society

3.6

4

3

Self-growth

3.1

6

4

Content interest

3.0

5

5

Job security

2.5

1

6

Summer vacations

2.3

2

You see from Table 1.1 that the desire to work with young people (Item 3) and wanting to contribute to society (Item 4) were our students’ two most important reasons for considering teaching. These reasons are consistent with Amy’s and Matt’s thinking, as well as with polls of teachers in our country over 25 years, and with additional polls of teachers in other countries (National Education Association, 2010; Ni & Rorrer, 2018; Watt & Richardson, 2007). The polls suggest that people go into teaching because they expect to find it personally rewarding. As with any occupation, however, it can also be challenging. Let’s look at the rewards and challenges in teaching.

Rewards in Teaching A national poll posed the same question we asked in Teaching and You, and more than half of the respondents said that volunteering would be more rewarding than extra money (Healy & Bravo, 2011). The fact that teacher salaries aren’t as high as many believe they should be is a frequently cited issue in education, but we’d bet that some of the respondents who chose volunteering over money were teachers. The pay in teaching may not be great, but the personal rewards derived from helping to shape young people’s lives can more than compensate (Han, Borgonovi, & Guerriero, 2018). The rewards in teaching can be either intrinsic rewards, existing within ourselves and satisfying for personal, emotional, or intellectual reasons, or extrinsic rewards, coming from the outside, such as job security and vacations.

Teaching and You Which would be more rewarding, a 5% pay raise or spending an hour a week volunteering? What does your answer to this question tell about your future happiness as a teacher?

Intrinsic Rewards Many people enter teaching because of intrinsic rewards, and these rewards not only attract people to the teaching profession but also keep them in it. These rewards can be emotional, psychological, intellectual, or a combination of all three. Emotional and Psychological Rewards.  Many people go into teaching for emotional and psychological reasons, such as wanting to guide young people’s learning and development (Ni & Rorrer, 2018). To help us understand these rewards, let’s look at several true stories teachers have shared with us, as well as experiences we’ve had ourselves.

Kasia, 23, calls her boyfriend, Jeff. It’s “Teacher Appreciation Week” at her middle school, and she has just received a dozen roses from a group of her seventh-grade science students. “I was always on them about whispering, too,” she excitedly tells Jeff. “I maybe would have expected something from my fifth-period class, but never from this bunch.” “Let me read the note I got from them,” she continues. She reads, Thank you for all that you’ve done for us and for all the wonderful things that you’ve teached [sic] us. You are truly an amazing teacher. Thank you again.

MyLab Education Video Example 1.1 A great many intrinsic rewards exist in teaching. Here special needs teacher Anna Thurst describes some of the emotional and psychological rewards she experiences from working with her students.

6  Chapter 1 Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, Sincerely, Alicia, Rosa, Shannon, Tina, Stephanie, Melissa, Jessica, and Becca “That’s wonderful,” Jeff laughs. “Good thing you’re not their English teacher.” “I know. I showed Isabel [the students’ English teacher] the note, and she just laughed. ‘So much for grammar,’ she said.”

Sharon, a veteran first-grade teacher, describes these emotional rewards in her work. “The beginning of the day gets me going,” she said, smiling as she described her continued commitment to her career. “Every day I stand at the door, and the kids give me a hug, a high five, or a handshake when they come in the room. Even if the previous day was a bad one, all those little faces are enough to get me started all over again.” Another elementary teacher, this one at the kindergarten level, asked her students, “Please tell me anything you’d like me to know.” One of her students replied (in scrawling kindergarten printing), “I love you for ever [sic].” Needless to say, that made the teacher’s day (Wiley, 2018). The same teacher went to school another day, feeling under the weather. Her students innocently asked, “Why does your face look like that?” and “Did you forget to put on your makeup?” The honesty of kids can be disarming. Sometimes students show their affection in strange ways:

Joanne, a first-year teacher, entered her classroom first thing in the morning on her birthday. Her students had arranged with the custodian to gain access to her room and had moved all the desks to the center of the room and had wrapped them with tape and toilet paper. How would you react? Joanne was delighted. “I called [the perpetrators] out of class and had them come down and [another teacher] took a picture of them standing out in the middle of it all. I left it here all day. I made them sit on the floor. It was really fun. It was really a fun day” (Bullough, 1989).

It helps to have a sense of humor when you teach. We’ve experienced some of these emotional rewards ourselves.

Judy Eggen, seventh-grade geography teacher and the wife of one of your authors, received this note from one of her students: Mrs. Eggen, I wanted to think of some creative way to thank you for being the best teacher I ever had. (But I couldn’t). Even though all the geography skills I’ll ever use in my life I learned in second grade, I just wanted to say thanks for teaching me how to really prepare for life in the years to come. Every day I looked forward to coming to your class (and not just because of Mike [a boy in the class]). I always enjoyed your class, because there was a hidden message about life in there somewhere. Your [sic] my very favorite teacher and you’ve taught me some of the best lessons in life I could ever learn. Thank you so much. A grateful student, Erica Jacobs P.S. No, I didn’t write this to raise my grade.

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 7

Don, your other author, experienced these emotional rewards directly when he worked in a local elementary school. He had been tutoring first, second, and third graders as a volunteer in the same school for four years. Then, he tried kindergarten and was working with a small group of students out in the hall when, unexpectedly, one of his former students, a fourth grader, walked by, recognized him, and gave him a big hug of hello. A few days later, it happened again, this time with a sixth-grade student! He was surprised and touched. Both were boys who sometimes struggled with the topics involved in the tutoring sessions. (Boys, and particularly older boys, aren’t typically big huggers, and teachers don’t usually send high-achieving, well-behaved students for tutoring.) If he ever had doubts about whether his efforts were making a difference, they disappeared with those hugs. Our students are a constant source of rewards as we work with them in the classroom. In a nationwide poll of 700,000 students, researchers found the following patterns: • Seventy-one percent said, “My teacher makes me feel like my schoolwork is important.” • Seventy-five percent reported, “I have at least one teacher who makes me excited about the future.” • Seventy-seven percent felt that “I can think of many ways to get good grades.” • Eighty-five percent said, “I have a great future ahead of me.” (Gallup Student Poll, 2017). Teachers do make a difference, and knowing this provides a wonderful source of fulfillment to teachers. All teachers reap emotional rewards from their work with students, whether they’re wide-eyed first graders, capricious middle school students like Erica Jacobs, or high school seniors struggling to become adults. Contributing to society and making the world a better place are also psychological rewards that attract people into teaching (Goodwin, 2018). When we teach, we see children grow and develop every day, and we know that our efforts are contributing to making the world a better place. Joseph Masiello, 2011 Delaware Teacher of the Year, explained it this way: I became a teacher because I believe that teaching is one of the few careers that you can wake up each morning, and you can change the world. I know that might sound a little exaggerated, but I truly believe it. . . . I think teachers are heroes. Not the kind of hero that runs around the school in tights, trying to save the day. I’m talking about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2011)

Most of us can remember teachers who made a difference in our lives, and many of us go into teaching hoping to do the same with our students. Teachers do make a difference in students’ lives, and these individual changes make a difference, not only in their lives but also in the world that these children will help shape in the future. Personal and Intellectual Rewards.  People also go into teaching because they think it will be both personally challenging and stimulating (Ni & Rorrer, 2018). We all want to believe what we’re doing with our lives is making a difference in the world, and teaching provides many opportunities on a daily basis for personal and intellectual growth. By changing the world, we also change ourselves. Mary Eldridge-Sandbo, the 2010 North Dakota Teacher of the Year, commented, “I know what every teacher knows: that every time I teach a student, my life changes forever” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2011). Another teacher reported “a magical moment” when she watched a student “get it” after lengthy struggles trying to learn a new idea (Wiley, 2018). Every teacher experiences this “aha” moment when they see the lights go on in a student’s eyes. It’s heady, even intoxicating, and it provides a unique sense of satisfaction seen in no other occupation.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses Items 3 and 4 in the What I Believe survey. People go into teaching because they want to work with young people and contribute to society. Teaching provides unique opportunities to do both.

8  Chapter 1 By working with young people, we also grow internally, gaining valuable insights into both ourselves and people in general. When teachers go home at night, they often think about the day, including their successes and failures. A better understanding of who we are and how our actions influence others is one outcome of this reflection. Interest in a content area and a desire to share it with students is another intellectual reward and a major reason many people go into teaching.

David Ling, a high school physics teacher, enthusiastically begins his class: “Think about these questions, and try to figure out what they have in common,” and he then writes the following on the board: Why do we have seat belts in our cars? Why does an automatic washer have holes in the drum? How does a dog shake the water off itself when it comes out of a pond? The students look at the list, and after several seconds, David continues, “Now, what have we been studying?” “Inertia,” Taneka responds after hesitating briefly. “Exactly,” David says, smiling. “So let’s review for a minute. What is inertia? . . . Go ahead, Dana.” “The tendency . . . of something moving to keep on moving . . . straight.” “Or something not moving to remain still,” Jamal adds. “Excellent,” David responds with a nod. “Now, let’s answer the questions on the board using the idea of inertia.” With David’s guidance, students conclude that if cars suddenly stop, their bodies tend to keep moving because of inertia, and seatbelts stop them, so they don’t get hurt. They also decide that inertia separates water from clothes in the washer because the water goes straight out through the holes in the drum, but the clothes are kept in it. Finally, they determine that as the dog shakes one way, and then stops, the water keeps moving, and the same thing happens when it shakes the other way. So, the dog uses the principle of inertia to shake the water from itself. “Neat,” Rebecca says. “Where’d you get that stuff, Mr. Ling?” “I just thought up the questions,” David replies. “The more I study, the more examples I find. . . . That’s what we’re here for. We study science so we can learn how the world around us works.”

Revisiting My Beliefs Our survey (Table 1.1) found that “The opportunity for a lifetime of selfgrowth” (Item 6) and “Interest in a subject matter field” (Item 5) were major reasons for considering teaching, ranking 3 and 4 of 6. Learning more about ourselves and the world and seeing students get excited about the topics we teach are two personal and intellectual rewards of teaching. Not surprisingly, these intellectual rewards also help keep veteran teachers in the field.

A national survey asked graduates from different college majors how interested they were in the work they were doing (Gallup-Purdue, 2014). Researchers found that education majors and other students from the social sciences ranked highest on this measure—47% agreed with the statement “I am deeply interested in the work that I do” compared to only 37% for business majors. Working with ideas and people motivates people to enter into teaching and keeps them there throughout their careers. Occupational status is another personal reward. In spite of perceptions to the contrary, teachers enjoy high regard and high status. If you doubt this assertion, consider how parents feel as they approach their first parent–teacher conference: They want nothing more than to hear that you really care about their child, that he or she is growing academically and socially, and that everything is okay in school. One high school teacher reported that at a graduation ceremony, a parent grabbed her arm and thanked her for teaching her son, who was quiet and passionate about learning but often overlooked by other teachers. The teacher’s efforts worked, and the student blossomed; the parent felt relieved and optimistic about the prospects of her son being successful in the adult world (Lauritzen, 2014). Into no other profession’s hands is so much care of young people placed. This positive view of teachers is corroborated by national polls. For example, one poll indicated that nearly 70% of the public viewed teachers as honest and ethical, second only to nurses in the helping professions, and above doctors, the clergy, and judges (Langer Research Associates, 2017). A second poll found that nearly three of

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 9

four people said they had confidence and trust in teachers, and over two of three gave teachers an “A” or “B” grade for the job they do (Langer Research Associates, 2016). People believe in teachers, and this fact is reassuring to all of us as we work in classrooms on a daily basis. MyLab Education Application Exercise 1.1: Rewards in Teaching In this exercise you will be asked to analyze the emotional and intellectual rewards a teacher ­experiences in her work.

The Economic Impact of Teachers.  As we saw earlier, Item 4, “I’m thinking of teaching because I want to contribute to our society,” ranked second in our survey. Enhancing the economic well-being of individuals is an important way of contributing to society, and large-scale studies—studies examining millions of students—indicate that good teachers have positive effects on their students that last a lifetime (Araujo et al., 2016; Goldhaber, 2016). This impact begins as early as kindergarten. For instance, one study found that students who had a good kindergarten teacher (one whose students were learning at the 75th percentile) versus a poor one (one whose students were learning at the 25th percentile) resulted in students who were more likely to attend college and adults who were more likely to own a home and have higher lifetime incomes (Chetty, Friedman & Rockoff, 2011). And the economic impact of teachers continues as students move through school. Having a good teacher in fourth grade, for example, results in increased adult incomes, an increased likelihood of going to college, and a decreased likelihood of teenage pregnancy. The cumulative economic effects of good teaching are dramatic; if the profession could replace as few as the bottom 5% of teachers and replace them with teachers of no more than average ability, an increase in cumulative earnings of $52,000 for each student, or $1.4 million for a class, would result (Kristoff, 2012). This is indeed a stunning result, and knowing the impact you can have not only on your students but also on the society as a whole can be enormously rewarding.

Extrinsic Rewards Extrinsic rewards also attract people to teaching. In our student surveys, job security and summer vacations ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, and the job security in teaching is greater than in most other occupations. For instance, people in the business world are terminated or let go much more frequently than teachers. And the current teaching force is aging, so demographic trends suggest that job security is likely to remain high (Will, 2018b). Schools are also positive places in which to work; we’re surrounded by others like ourselves, colleagues who are optimistic about young people and want to make the world a better place (Wiley, 2018). And vacation breaks allow us to recharge our batteries and explore new places and ideas. According to an old joke, a student asked to identify three reasons for going into teaching responded, “June, July, and August.” And these breaks occur at times when they’re the most attractive—the Friday after Thanksgiving, the winter holiday season in December, and spring break, for example. Besides job security and desirable vacations, teachers’ work schedules are also attractive. For instance, their schedules are similar to those of students, so their own children don’t go home to empty houses after school. For many, family is central to their lives, and teaching provides opportunities to spend valuable time with their partners and children.

10  Chapter 1 Revisiting My Beliefs In addition to intrinsic rewards, teaching also has extrinsic benefits (Items 1 and 2 of the What I Believe survey). Teaching has greater job security than many other careers, and favorable schedules enable teachers to stay positive about themselves and their jobs and to spend time with the people they care about.

Teachers as Parents and Parents as Teachers There is an additional, and often overlooked, advantage to becoming a teacher. Evidence suggests that teachers make better parents, and parents make better teachers (Denny, 2011; Mosle, 2014). For those of you considering raising a family of your own someday, this synergistic relationship between teaching and parenting is positive and important. Why do teachers make better parents? First, working in an environment where they can observe and work with children provides prospective parents with insights into how their own children will grow and change. Understanding how students learn will make you a more sensitive and effective parent. In addition, many of the skills you’ll develop as a teacher are similarly important in parenting. For instance, research on both effective classroom management and effective parenting suggests that young people need not only limits and emotional support but also opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). When teachers learn how to provide these limits and opportunities in their work with students, the knowledge and skills can transfer to child-rearing. In addition, understanding how schools work also allows parent/teachers to better steer and navigate their children through school challenges and opportunities. But why can being a parent also help you become a better teacher? Knowledge of children, for instance, what makes them “tick” and how to motivate them, can transfer into classrooms. Similarly, the skills you’ll learn as a parent, such as being able to multitask and juggle many balls, are essential for effective teaching. These results are not surprising. In many ways, being a teacher is like being a parent, only in teaching there are more children to worry about and nurture. The best teachers often act as surrogate parents. (It’s not unusual, in fact, for young students to inadvertently call their teachers “Mom.”) The synergistic relationship between parenting and teaching can result in you being better at both. Similarly, the best parents act like teachers, helping their children grow and develop on a continual basis. If you decide to become a teacher, we believe this will pay off in other areas of your life, such as parenting.

Challenges in Teaching Teaching and You How hard is teaching? Can anyone become a good teacher? What will be your major challenges when you teach?

Despite the many rewards of teaching, challenges also exist, the first of which is simply finding a job.

Finding a Job: An Update on the Teacher Shortage Finding a job is the first challenge you’ll face when you complete your program. What are your prospects? In the previous edition of this text, we described the job market for new teachers as being tight, but it has changed dramatically since then. Nationally, teacher education enrollments declined by 35% between 2009 and 2014 as opportunities in occupations with higher salaries increased (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond, & Carver-Thomas, 2016). In California, a state that educates more than 1 of 10 of our country’s students, teacher education enrollments declined nearly 70% between 2002 and 2015 (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). To address this shortfall, California districts have begun relying on stopgap measures, such as provisional and short-term teaching permits. In both California and the nation at large, teacher shortages are greatest in high need areas such as math, science, technology, and bilingual and special education (Passy, 2018). The shortage is particularly acute in districts with large numbers of minority and lowincome students (Holland, 2017). These trends make job prospects very positive for new teachers in general, and particularly those in high demand areas. Opportunities are greater in rural and urban schools than in the suburbs, and they’re also greater in districts with higher numbers of

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 11

low-income students and students who are members of cultural minorities (Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2018). Your job prospects will be good when you complete your program and go to look for a teaching position.

Working Conditions After you’ve been hired, your working conditions will arguably be the greatest challenge you’ll face. Let’s look at one new teacher’s experience.

I’m really tired. I work every night, and sometimes I work all weekend. Perri [her high school-aged daughter] and I went on a short day trip last weekend, and I worked all the way there and all the way back while she drove. I know I’m in my first year of teaching, but, wow, the workload. And it’s compounded by required end-of-course exams, and part of my year-end evaluation will be based on how well my students do on the test. I know that the first year is the toughest, and everyone tells me next year will be much easier. Sure hope so.

Think about the following as you anticipate your first job: If you’re teaching in an elementary school, you will be responsible for 20 to 30 children all day, every day, or, if you work in a middle or secondary school, you’ll have five different classes with similar numbers of students. You will be responsible for their safety, and you’ll be expected to promote both their academic learning and their social and emotional development. Your planning time in school will be limited, so you’ll almost certainly have a limited amount of time during the day to plan, which means that you will almost certainly need to work on school-related tasks during your evenings and weekends just to keep up. The good news is that it does get easier as you become more efficient and learn how to do things with less effort. No other profession expects so much from its members. If you were in the business world, for example, you would spend a considerable amount of time at a desk, working alone; if you worked in sales, you’d typically spend time with one or, at most, a few clients, but you wouldn’t be responsible for a large group of people at one time all the time. The same is true for attorneys, architects, engineers, and even physicians. None are responsible for 20 to 30 people, all day, every day. The complexities of classrooms and the multiple roles that teachers perform add to the demands of teachers’ working conditions. Let’s look at them in more detail. Complexities of Classrooms.  “Classrooms are complex” is an understatement; teachers make literally hundreds of decisions every day, and many require split-second timing. But how does managing a classroom on a daily basis feel? Let’s look at two teachers’ experiences.

Andrew, a first-grade teacher, teacher, has his students sitting in a circle, and when he looks up, he sees that Madison, one of his students, is crying. He asks what’s wrong, and she says Ryan told her she was fat and ugly. As the rest of the students look warily at Andrew, his mind races in trying to decide what to do. He can admonish Ryan, take him out in the hallway and talk to him, put him in timeout, tell him to apologize to Madison, or even tell Madison not to over-react to a passing comment, among a number of other alternatives. After pausing for several seconds, he looks up and sees Madison whispering and giggling with Kelsey. The problem, at least temporarily, has gone away.

12  Chapter 1 Olivia, a first-year middle school English teacher, is trying to get her class to settle down on the first day back after a four-day holiday. Students are excited, they want to talk about their holidays, some wander in late, and others are listless. She begins her lesson, but keeping them on task is a struggle. They don’t listen to her directions, and their questions, complaints, and requests for help seem endless. Olivia limps through the lesson, and, as the end appears in sight, she nearly explodes. While her back is turned, one student throws a sponge ball across the room, and another jumps up to catch it and knocks his chair over with a clatter. The rest of the class erupts into laughter. Olivia says loudly, “Everyone needs to settle down this instant. You’ve all had your fun, and now it’s time to get back to business.” This seems to work. “If every day was like this, I’m not sure I would make it,” she sighs after her students have finally left for the day. Fortunately, not all days are like this, and the good ones usually outnumber the bad ones.

As these classroom episodes suggest, classrooms are both complex and demanding. These complexities are outlined in Figure 1.1 and discussed in the paragraphs that follow. Classrooms are multidimensional. Think about the different roles you’ll perform today: You’re a student, friend, coworker, and perhaps even a parent. Your life is multidimensional, and a classroom is as well. For instance, while working with one group of students, you’ll need to monitor other groups working on assignments; ­students will request permission for routine activities, such as going to the bathroom; and learners with special needs may be pulled out of your classroom for extra help. Some students will be attentive and involved in your lessons, whereas others will drift off and may even be disruptive, as Andrew and Olivia experienced. And announcements over the school communication system, assemblies, and other school functions add to the complexity. Classroom events can occur quickly and simultaneously. For example, Andrew’s and Olivia’s management problems occurred at the same time they were trying to teach. Knowing which problem to attend to first can be challenging, if not bewildering. Classroom events often require immediate actions. Research conducted 50 years ago suggested that teachers make somewhere between 800 and 1,500 decisions every day (Jackson, 1968; Murray, 1986). And classrooms are more complex now than they were back then. Beyond the sheer numbers, the need to make decisions right now adds to the demands on a teacher. Madison was crying, and Andrew needed to immediately decide

Figure 1.1  Characteristics of Classrooms Simultaneous Classroom tasks and events occur at the same time Public Classrooms exist in “fishbowls,” where events are observable

Multidimensional Many components, tasks, and events exists in classrooms

Classrooms

Immediate Events occur frequently and quickly

Unpredictable Classroom events take unexpected turns

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 13

whether to intervene and, if so, how. In hindsight, when things became rocky from the start, Olivia should probably have stopped her lesson and talked to her students about the problem, and her day might have gone more smoothly. The immediacy of classroom life requires challenging, split-second decision-making. Classrooms are also unpredictable. Karen, a first-grade teacher, brings a shoe into class, attempting to involve students in a lesson about a story they had read about shoes. Pulling it out of a bag, she begins, “What can you tell me about this shoe?” “It’s red,” Mike responds. The shoe is black—there is no sign of red on it anywhere!

Expert teachers plan carefully, but even doing so may not be enough; it’s impossible to plan for a response such as Mike’s. Similarly, Andrew couldn’t anticipate the incident between Ryan and Madison, and the same is true for the events in Olivia’s classroom. Teachers rarely have enough time for thoughtful analysis and consideration of alternatives. It’s easy to see what we should have done after the fact, but in the heat of the moment, you’ll need to respond immediately to unanticipated events. Classrooms are exciting, unpredictable places—one reason people find teaching both exhilarating and challenging. Finally, classrooms are public, meaning our decisions are open to scrutiny. The fact that we teach in front of people is obvious. In a sense, we’re on stage, and our triumphs and mistakes occur in public for all to see. As we work with students, we are bound to make mistakes, and our actions can have unintended consequences. Andrew ignored Ryan (allegedly) calling Madison fat and ugly; did he unintentionally communicate that verbal abuse is acceptable? Did Olivia’s management problems suggest that she wasn’t in charge or was unsure of what she was doing? A “fishbowl” is an apt metaphor for teaching: As we swim through our day, both students and other teachers watch us and form judgments about our actions. Will your first year of teaching include unpredictable events? Almost certainly. Learning to teach is a journey filled with unanticipated events, and your first year will be both exhausting and exhilarating. Keep in mind that most beginning teachers survive, and many thrive. As veteran teachers jokingly comment, “It’s the toughest job you’ll ever love.” The Multiple Roles of Teachers.  The multiple professional roles that teachers perform also make teaching challenging. Five of the most important roles are outlined in Figure 1.2 and discussed in the paragraphs that follow. Creating a productive learning environment, a classroom environment that is safe, inviting, and focuses on learning and social and emotional development, is your first and most important role. In productive learning environments, the day-to-day routines—including the values, expectations, learning activities, and both spoken and unspoken rules and conventions—are all designed to help students learn and develop intellectually, personally, and socially. Working with parents and other caregivers is a second essential role. Experts remind us that our students spend only 20% of their waking hours in classrooms; the remainder is spent with families and friends and in communities (Reville, 2018). This fact makes reaching out to families and engaging them in their children’s learning so important. Promoting student learning and development is a cooperative venture, and teachers, students, and parents/caregivers all need to work together to make it happen (Vara-Orta, 2018). Trust is a first step in developing these partnerships; parents need to feel that you have their child’s welfare as a first priority and that you will do everything possible to help their child learn and grow. Because the home environment has such a powerful influence on learning, you will need to develop strategies

MyLab Education Video Example 1.2 First-year teachers face a number of challenges, and learning to manage their classrooms is one of the most important, Here, first-year teacher Ann Marie Hinkle describes how she learned to manage her classroom and who she turned to for advice in the process.

14  Chapter 1

Figure 1.2  The Multiple Roles of Teaching The Multiple Roles of Teaching

Creating Productive Learning Environments

Working with Parents and Other Caregivers

Collaborating with Colleagues

Connecting Families with Community Resources

Creating a safe, inviting, and orderly classroom that is focused on learning and student development

Cooperating with parents and other caregivers to maximize learning for all students

Working with others in making decisions about curriculum, assessment, and teaching strategies

Helping students and caregivers access organizations in their communities that provide crucial services

Coordinating with Local Businesses and Organizations Providing valuable links to local businesses and institutions for apprenticeships and service learning opportunities

to increase parents’ involvement in their children’s learning (Vara-Orta, 2018). These strategies should go beyond traditional, once-a-year parent-teacher conferences and need to actively involve parents, encouraging them to monitor and help with homework, limit television viewing, and read to their young children. Students benefit from home–school cooperation in several ways. When parents are involved, students have more positive attitudes toward school and create fewer management problems. They also develop higher levels of self-regulation and personal responsibility. They are more willing to do homework, attendance and graduation rates increase, and students are more likely to go on to college (Li & Fischer, 2017). These positive outcomes result from parents’ increased participation in school activities, higher expectations for their children’s achievement, and teachers’ increased understanding of learners’ home environments. Deciding how to respond to a student’s disruptive behavior, for example, is easier when his teachers know that his mother or father has lost a job, his parents are going through a divorce, or there’s an illness in the family. Virtually all schools have formal communication channels, such as open houses (usually occurring within the first two weeks of the school year when teachers introduce themselves and describe their plans for the school year); interim progress reports that tell parents about their youngsters’ achievements at the midpoint of each grading period; parent-teacher conferences; and, of course, report cards. These communication channels provide opportunities for teachers to form links with families (Thomas & Stoddard, 2017). Expert teachers go beyond these formal channels and establish routines, such as sending student work home on a regular schedule and calling and e-mailing parents frequently, both when problems come up and when students deserve extra recognition for a job well done. Collaborating with colleagues is a third essential teacher role. When you begin your career, you will become part of a team, and you’ll collaborate with your colleagues in decisions about curriculum, assessment, and teaching strategies. Teachers want to be involved in their schools’ decision making and want to work with other teachers to make their school a better place in which to work and learn. Many principals view collaboration as one essential characteristic of an effective teacher, and interviewers will try to assess your ability and inclination to work with others during your initial job interview (Hopkins, 2017). A fourth important teacher role is coordinating efforts with family support providers in the community. Increasingly, schools are recognizing the importance of working with other community agencies to provide a coordinated web of services for students (Jacobsen, Villareal, Munoz, & Mahaffey, 2018; Klein, 2018). Teachers are often in the best position to identify when these services are needed. Community organizations

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 15

can provide a wealth of services such as medical and dental screening, immunizations, employment and housing assistance, as well as individual counseling and mental health services. Each of these helps to provide a comprehensive web of assistance to ensure that children come to school healthy and happy. Teachers also serve as liaisons to the businesses and communities in which they teach, a fifth important role that teachers play. Increasingly schools are being seen as portals for students to enter the world of work through apprenticeships and schoolwork partnerships (Gewertz, 2018a, 2018b). In addition, service learning opportunities in the community provide opportunities for students to learn about and contribute to their communities (National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2019). Teachers provide a vital link for both of these efforts.

Teacher Salaries The salary you’ll receive is a third challenge you’ll experience when you begin teaching. Teacher salaries are relatively low compared to professions such as medicine, law, architecture, and engineering, and more than half of teachers say they’re dissatisfied with their salaries (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). The general public agrees; a 2018 poll found that two thirds of the public felt that teachers were underpaid, a new high for this figure, dating back more than half a century (Langer Research Associates, 2018). However, politically conservative critics contend that when benefits, such as medical insurance and pensions, are factored in, teacher salaries are competitive with, or even higher than, similar occupations (Eskildson, 2018). But teacher salaries are improving. The average teacher salary in the United States in 2018 was $58,780 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018); the average beginning salary nationwide was $38,617 for the same time frame (National Education Association, 2018). Further, teachers who are satisfied with their salaries are also more likely to comment favorably on the working conditions in their school. Money matters, and it affects teachers’ satisfaction with their working conditions (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). And there is reason for optimism about teacher salaries. Kamala Harris, a politician who aspired to be the Democratic nominee in the 2020 presidential election, proposed a federal effort to raise teacher salaries (Grayer & Lah, 2019). Her proposal would have used federal funds to increase teacher salaries by $13,500 nationwide, an average increase of 23%. In raising this issue, Harris acknowledged that low teacher salaries have historically been, and continue to be, a problem that requires a national response. And polls indicate that nearly 8 of 10 Americans agree that teacher salaries are too low and half say they would even pay more taxes to address this problem (Feldman & Swanson, 2018). But, as always happens when education and money are involved, Harris’s plan has critics, who contend that it fails to address teacher professionalism issues related to test-based accountability and inadequate resources for underserved schools (Greene, 2019). These are valid points, but this proposal is a good starting point, and, in the future, educators should actively support candidates who understand the need for increased educational funding. Your beginning salary will depend on a number of factors, including the location of the school district and the cost of living in your area. Local property taxes are a major funding source for schools, so your salary will depend on property values in your district. Also, urban and suburban districts typically have higher salaries than their rural counterparts because of a higher cost of living. Other economic factors also influence the attractiveness of teaching. For instance, in many states, annual salary increases are automatic, and as we saw earlier in the chapter, vacation periods are ideal. Medical, dental, and retirement benefits are usually provided. In addition, you will be paid a supplement for extra duties, such as being a club sponsor, coaching, chairing academic departments (e.g., chairing the English department in a middle school), and mentoring beginning teachers. Table 1.2 lists the average and beginning teacher salaries for each state for the 2017–2018 school year. Take a look at your state and any others that you might be considering.

16  Chapter 1

Table 1.2  Average and Beginning Teacher Salaries by State State

Average Salary (Rank)

Average Beginning Salary (Rank)

Alabama

$51,480 (40)

$38,477 (20)

Alaska

$62,342  (3)

$46,785  (3)

Arizona

$53,829 (25)

$34,068 (41)

Arkansas

$51,202 (42)

$33,973 (42)

California

$61,533  (4)

$44,782  (8)

Colorado

$55,140 (18)

$32,980 (48)

Connecticut

$61,444  (5)

$45,280  (5)

Delaware

$60,053  (7)

$41,415 (13)

District of Columbia

$62,611  (2)

$51,359  (1)

Florida

$52,985 (32)

$37,405 (26)

Georgia

$53,096 (30)

$34,872 (38)

Hawaii

$58,470 (11)

$45,963  (4)

Idaho

$52,060 (37)

$33,743 (45)

Illinois

$54,749 (20)

$38,820 (18)

Indiana

$52,854 (33)

$35,241 (36)

Iowa

$51,593 (39)

$35,766 (32)

Kansas

$53,314 (27)

$34,883 (37)

Kentucky

$51,290 (41)

$36,494 (29)

Louisiana

$52,085 (36)

$40,128 (16)

Maine

$53,215 (28)

$33,876 (43)

Maryland

$59,292  (9)

$44,675 (10)

Massachusetts

$60,467  (6)

$44,726  (9)

Michigan

$54,511 (21)

$36,234 (31)

Minnesota

$54,050 (24)

$37,644 (23)

Mississippi

$49,687 (50)

$34,780 (39)

Missouri

$54,316 (22)

$31,842 (50)

Montana

$49,892 (49)

$30,036 (51)

Nebraska

$51,059 (46)

$33,854 (44)

Nevada

$56,650 (14)

$37,973 (22)

New Hampshire

$58,129 (13)

$36,845 (28)

New Jersey

$63,437  (1)

$51,179  (2)

New Mexico

$50,961 (47)

$34,544 (40)

New York

$58,695 (10)

$44,935  (7)

North Carolina

$53,001 (31)

$37,514 (24)

North Dakota

$50,849 (48)

$38,032 (21)

Ohio

$53,725 (26)

$35,249 (35)

Oklahoma

$51,612 (38)

$31,919 (49)

Oregon

$55,507 (16)

$35,534 (34)

Pennsylvania

$54,890 (19)

$44,144 (11)

Rhode Island

$59,668  (8)

$41,481 (12)

South Carolina

$52,462 (34)

$33,057 (47)

South Dakota

$48,097 (51)

$37,419 (25)

Tennessee

$51,183 (44)

$36,402 (30)

Texas

$53,108 (29)

$40,725 (14)

Utah

$52,136 (35)

$35,722 (33)

Vermont

$55,860 (15)

$38,483 (19)

Virginia

$55,208 (17)

$39,398 (17)

Washington

$58,249 (12)

$40,426 (15)

West Virginia

$51,198 (43)

$33,684 (46)

Wisconsin

$54,082 (23)

$36,983 (27)

Wyoming

$51,138 (45)

$45,207  (6)

U.S. Average

$58,780

$38,617

SOURCES: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2018); National Education Association (2018); Salary.Com (2018).

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 17

Is Money an Incentive for Teachers?  Think about the first question we asked in Teaching and You. One study examined the potential impact of teacher salaries beginning at $65,000 and going as high as $150,000. Researchers found that the percentage of high-performing graduates who said they would choose teaching jumped from fewer than 15% to nearly 70% (Sawchuk, 2012b). Another study found that a potential salary increase of 10% would result in nearly an equal percentage increase in the number of students who said they would consider a career in teaching (Han et al., 2018). The answer to our question in the title of this section appears to be “Yes.” Now, think about the other questions we asked in Teaching and You: “What if you had to work longer hours?” and “What if your salary depended on your students’ standardized test scores and you could be terminated if your performance did not satisfy your principal?” These questions are now being considered by policy makers. For example, educational leaders are suggesting that the much higher salaries we describe here should be tied to multiple factors: longer hours, larger class sizes, reduced retirement benefits, and virtually nonexistent job security—the principal could terminate you without recourse if he or she felt you were not doing an adequate job (Bennett & Nussle, 2018; Eskildson, 2018). Perhaps now your answer to the offer of a $125,000 salary has changed—or maybe not. Your dilemma is one that many teachers nationwide are facing, as reforms attempt to link higher salaries to more rigorous teacher evaluation, including student test scores. As you begin thinking about your first job, the conditions of employment, including your salary structure, and what you’ll need to do to receive pay increases will become increasingly important. Teacher Walkouts: What Is the Story?  In 2018, teachers in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia walked out of their classrooms to protest salaries and school budget cuts (Goldstein, 2018a). One Oklahoma teacher noted that many teachers were taking second jobs on nights and weekends to make ends meet and commented that teachers were digging into their own pockets to pay for supplies and students’ basic needs, such as snacks they kept in their classrooms for students who miss breakfast. Some teachers were actually living in cars and taking out loans, and all were struggling to pay their own bills (Lowrey, 2018). The walkout states’ per-pupil expenditures were below the national average, so money was an issue, and the states tended to be politically conservative (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017b). You likely heard or read about the walkouts, particularly if you live in one of these states. But exactly what happened, and what implications do these walkouts have for you as a prospective teacher? The protest movement began in West Virginia, where 20,000 teachers walked off the job for nine days in early 2018, and then quickly spread to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, and Arizona (R. Miller, 2018; Romero & Turkewitz, 2018). Budget shortfalls that resulted in stagnating teacher wages and greater costs for health insurance were a common factor in the teachers’ protests (Huetteman, 2018). The salaries of public school teachers have not kept up with inflation since the mid-1990s; teachers now earn 23% less than other college graduates, and in politically conservative states, the gap is greater (Krugman, 2018a). The Tea Party political wave of 2010 resulted in political conservatives gaining control of many state legislatures. These politicians then proposed major tax cuts, arguing that the cuts would result in booming economies that would benefit all citizens, including teachers. However, the tax cuts didn’t result in the promised economic growth, and significantly less state revenues were the result. One Nobel-winning economist concluded, “What tax cuts do, instead, is sharply reduce revenues, wreaking havoc with state finances” (Krugman, 2018b, para. 7). The problem was compounded by state constitutions that required balanced budgets, even during economic downturns. Faced with budget shortfalls, state governments reduced expenditures to education by cutting

Teaching and You How would you like to make $125,000 a year working as a teacher? What if you had to work longer hours? What if your salary also depended on your students’ standardized test scores, and you could be terminated if your performance did not satisfy your principal?

18  Chapter 1 the number of teachers and aides and reducing funds available for resources such as textbooks (Goldstein, 2018b). Ultimately, teacher walkouts were the result (Scheiber, 2018). But the issues were broader than teacher salaries and resources, and they affect more states than those in which teachers walked out. For instance, state funding shortfalls also resulted in cuts to teachers’ health benefits and retirement programs in a number of states (Huetteman, 2018). These areas aren’t directly taxed, and cuts meant that teachers had to make up the differences out of their own pockets. Experts predict that these benefit cuts could result in fewer people choosing teaching as a career, making this an additional challenge in teaching (Caplinger, 2018). Lack of school resources that impact teachers’ abilities to provide a quality education for their students is an additional issue. For instance, in North Carolina, budget cuts resulted in 28% fewer teaching assistants (Gebeloff, 2018). In Kansas, the funding situation became so severe that the state supreme court ruled the school funding system unconstitutional because it failed to meet state requirements to adequately fund education. And these spending cuts disproportionately impacted students from low-income families; test scores were lower and graduation rates were reduced in districts that cut spending the most (Krugman, 2018b). But the walkouts involved more than just money issues. Teacher professionalism was also a major point of contention, with striking teachers indicating that politicians devalued their contributions to their states by limiting their autonomy and dismissing their professional judgment (Scheiber, 2018). Increased teacher accountability for student test scores as well as pressures to teach a prescribed curriculum were perceived as barriers to professional autonomy. The public sided with teachers on the walkouts; 80% of respondents in a national poll said they approved of the teacher strikes. Also, 78% of the American public said they felt that teachers don’t make enough money, with only 5% saying salaries were adequate and 6% saying they thought teachers were overpaid. When broken down by political affiliation, 90% of Democratic-leaning voters thought teacher salaries were too low, compared to 78% of independents and 66% of Republican-identified voters. Half of respondents went further to say they’d support paying higher taxes to give educators raises (Feldman & Swanson, 2018). In addition, 80% of respondents said they approved of the teacher strikes. These results suggest that the general public appreciates teachers and wants them adequately compensated for their efforts in classrooms.

Teacher Walkouts: Implications for Teaching As with all issues affecting education, the teacher strikes were controversial. Critics, for example, argued that the walkouts harmed children and eroded the public trust (Bennett & Nussle, 2018). Teachers obviously disagreed, and the walkouts achieved a number of goals. For instance, Arizona teachers were given a 20% increase in salaries, and legislatures in other states where teachers walked out offered concessions that support education (Snow & Tang, 2018). The legality of teacher strikes cannot be ignored, however. In most states (37), teachers are legally forbidden to strike, the argument being that children’s welfare and safety are at stake (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). But when the vast majority of teachers walk out of their classrooms to protest unfair employment conditions, there is little that politicians can do. When you begin your career, you will have to decide where you stand on many issues that affect your school, your students, and you, professionally and personally. Be aware that public support is crucial; if voters aren’t willing to support teachers in their efforts to improve education, then no tactics will work. Examine the facts and talk to other teachers in your school and district. Then vote and become politically active. It is all part of being a professional.

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 19

Perhaps more than any other factor, these issues suggest a more positive future for teachers, in particular, and education in general. Salaries and working conditions are improving, and they’re likely to continue improving in the future.

Politics and Education As we saw in the last section, politics play a major role in teachers’ lives. In past editions, we’ve consciously avoided discussing the role politics plays in educating our country’s children, but we now believe that was misguided. In our attempt to avoid trying to shape our readers’ views about politics in general, we shied away from discussing the powerful role that politics plays in shaping educational policy as well as how it will affect your life as a new teacher. Politics influence education in a variety of ways. Nationally, the federal government influences education, and the political party that holds sway in Washington shapes educational policy in many ways, ranging from school choice to teacher tenure. Testing and accountability, which you have already encountered as a student, are also influenced by politics and will shape the way you teach. The political party in power has an enormous impact on education, and between the years 2010 and 2018, conservatives were in a congressional majority. This majority resulted in attempts to block efforts to provide better health care to poor families, arguing that it is government overreach. Research, however, indicates that poor student health is an obstacle to school success (Berk, 2019a). This majority also attempted to block increased aid to families and children below the poverty line in the form of free or reduced lunches, again citing government overreach and arguing that this support is a disincentive for families’ inclinations to become self-sufficient. But research also confirms the intuitively sensible conclusion—that thousands of teachers who keep crackers and granola bars in their desks for hungry students know—hunger detracts from learning and development (Berk, 2019a). Further, our country devotes far fewer resources, as a percentage of gross domestic product, to welfare programs that assist families and students than other advanced nations (Rank, 2018). And research indicates that every dollar spent on reducing childhood poverty saves the country seven dollars in the economic costs of poverty (McLaughlin & Rank, 2018). Politics also shapes educational decisions at the state level, and state educational funding crises have become so great that the problem has reached the courts in several states, such as Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and New Jersey (Zernike, 2016). When state funding falls short, districts must scramble to make up the difference, as often happens in rural states (Joseph, 2017). Teachers and students suffer. Conservative political thinking has also affected teachers’ lives in terms of the paychecks they bring home (Krugman, 2018b). Because of tax cuts at the state level, teachers’ salaries have fallen behind inflation since the mid-1990s. Currently, teachers earn 23% less than other college graduates, and this figure is even worse in conservative-leaning states. In essence, conservatives have attempted to balance state budgets by shortchanging teachers, forcing many teachers to take second jobs to make ends meet. The funding problem results from fundamental differences about the role of government in our lives and schools (Danziger & Smith, 2016; Parsons, 2017). Conservative politicians believe that government is the problem, not the solution (Brooks, 2018). “Starve the beast” became the call, urging politicians to cut taxes to force federal, state, and city governments to do more with less. These tax cuts are made with the hope that they will provide significant boosts to states’ economies, but this rarely if ever happens. One prominent, Nobel prize-winning economist commented, “This promise is, however, never—and I mean never—fulfilled; the right’s continuing belief in the magical payoff from tax cuts represents the triumph of ideology over overwhelming negative evidence” (Krugman, 2018b).

20  Chapter 1 Unfortunately, less means less money for teachers and fewer resources for schools and classrooms. Liberal politicians, by contrast, believe that government should be a tool to improve people’s lives. If this means higher taxes, so be it. People basically get what they pay for.

Politics and Education: Implications for Teaching So, you might ask, “What am I supposed to do with this information?” We suggest the following: First, use it in your communication with parents and other education stakeholders. If your district is experiencing significant financial cutbacks, share that information with the parents of your students, and remind them that underfunding schools often results in increased class sizes and fewer resources to support instruction. The result will be decreased learning. With respect to all controversial issues, such as climate change, ground all your instruction in evidence and present the evidence dispassionately. Emphasize with your students that you’re not trying to change their beliefs, but they are accountable for understanding the content you’re teaching. If our perspective on politics and education appears slanted, it is, because as authors, we believe that politics and government can play a significant and positive role in improving people’s lives. This includes schools. Schools need money to operate effectively, and teachers need resources to teach effectively. Our purpose in this discussion is not to influence your political views or perspectives. Instead, our goal is to explain how political decisions at the federal, state, and local levels can and do influence how well schools are financed and the resources available to teachers who work in them. Politics will influence your life as a new teacher, and we believe you should understand how and why.

What Is It Like to Be a Teacher? Will I Be Prepared? Teaching and You What will your first year of teaching be like? How will you respond to the rewards and challenges we’ve discussed? How confident will you be in your ability to help students learn?

How do new teachers react to the rewards and challenges of teaching, and how does this affect their perceptions of the profession? Historically, large majorities of beginning teachers have been satisfied with their jobs, and more than 9 of 10 were confident in their abilities to teach (Rochkind et al., 2008). Although the first two decades of the twenty-first century have been tumultuous, as we saw earlier, more recent polls reinforce this generally positive perspective of beginning teachers (Bowsher, Sparks, & Hoyer, 2018). More than 8 of 10 say they feel confident in their ability to teach students the subject matter for which they’re responsible, and 3 of 4 say they can meet the standards outlined by their states. Nearly 7 of 10 say they’re capable of using a variety of instructional strategies to help students learn. They also report being satisfied with the support they receive from administrators as well as in-service classes designed for beginning teachers. Without question, challenges exist in teaching, but the rewards are many. In virtually no other profession do you have the opportunity to dramatically change young people’s lives for the better, and at the same time make a positive contribution to our society. In spite of challenges and politics, we remain optimistic about the future of education, which is an essential reason for writing this book. We hope the information we’re providing will help you make a decision about whether you should choose teaching as a career. We turn now to teacher professionalism, one of the major themes of this text. MyLab Education Self-Check 1.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 1.2  Describe the essential characteristics of professionalism and explain how they relate to teaching. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 21

The Teaching Profession Are teachers professionals? This question is becoming increasingly important because many reform efforts in our country assume that teachers only work for money and that the best way to motivate teachers is to test their students and pay teachers based on the results (Scheiber, 2018). In the opinion of many educators, these efforts are misguided. Teachers, they assert, are already working hard and to suggest that money will make them work harder is an affront to their professionalism and doesn’t work anyway (Meador, 2018). Instead, teachers should be regarded as and act like professionals. Making teaching a profession comparable to medicine or law, advocates contend, would benefit both teachers and their students; it would mean better-prepared teachers, higher standards for performance and ethics, and greater trust in teachers by parents. As authors, we support this position. We believe in the potential of professionalism to transform teaching in many positive ways, which is why we’ve made it the subtitle of your text and a major theme for its content. Let’s examine the issue further.

What Does Being a Professional Mean? Established professions have the following characteristics:

Teaching and You

• A specialized body of knowledge • Autonomy • Emphasis on decision-making and reflection • Ethical standards for conduct (Saks, 2012; Victoria, 2018) Let’s examine each of these and use them to analyze teaching (see Figure 1.3).

A Specialized Body of Knowledge Professionals understand and use a specialized body of knowledge in serving their clients. A physician, for example, recognizes symptoms of diseases and prescribes medications, surgical procedures, or other forms of therapy to eliminate both the symptoms and their causes. People seek the advice and help of physicians because of their specialized knowledge. Do teachers possess specialized knowledge? Researchers believe the answer is yes and suggest this knowledge exists in four forms (Darling-Hammond, 2008; Kunter, Klusmann, Baumert, Richter, Voss, & Hachfield, 2013): • Knowledge of content: The more teachers know about a content area, such as algebra, American history, or chemistry, for example, the more effective they can be in teaching it (Russ, Sherin, & Sherin, 2016). Acquiring a deep understanding of the content you’ll teach will be one of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a beginning teacher.

Figure 1.3  Characteristics of Professionalism A specialized body of knowledge

Autonomy

Teacher professionalism

Decision making and reflection

Ethical standards for conduct

What do you look for when you visit a doctor or dentist? How important are their confidence, competence, or expertise?

22  Chapter 1

MyLab Education Video Example 1.3 Professional knowledge is essential for expert teaching. Notice how sixth-grade teacher Dani Ramsay demonstrates pedagogical content knowledge in the way she illustrates the concept of personification, general pedagogical knowledge in the way she interacts with her students, and knowledge of learners and learning in realizing that students learn more when they’re involved in learning activities.

• Pedagogical content knowledge: Understanding a content area is essential for teaching but, in itself, is not sufficient. Being able to make the content understandable to others requires an additional form of professional knowledge (Ayers, 2018; Buchholtz, 2017). The ability to illustrate abstract ideas, such as equivalent fractions in math or the concept nationalism in history, in ways that are understandable to students reflects pedagogical content knowledge. • General pedagogical knowledge: General principles of teaching and learning, such as the ability to maintain an orderly and learning-focused classroom and guide student learning using skilled questioning, constitute a third form of professional knowledge called general pedagogical knowledge (Depaepe & König, 2018; König & Pfanzl, 2016; Lauerman & König, 2016). • Knowledge of learners and learning: Understanding the different ways students learn and develop is another form of professional knowledge. Young children, for example, aren’t merely miniature versions of those who are older; they think and learn differently (Berk, 2019a). Your ability to understand your students and adjust your lessons accordingly will determine, to a large extent, your teaching effectiveness. To these four, we add knowledge of the profession, which includes understanding the social, historical, philosophical, and legal aspects of teaching. These different forms of knowledge will help you make better professional decisions in your classroom (Ayers, 2018; Barnhart & van Es, 2015). Professional knowledge allows us to focus on key aspects of our instruction and alter it to increase student learning and promote their healthy social and emotional development. The inclination to continue learning is also essential for professionals. Just as physicians must continually upgrade their knowledge of therapies, medications, and surgical procedures, you will need to stay abreast of research in your field. For instance, intuition suggests that we should encourage students who aren’t successful to work harder, but research indicates that this can be counterproductive. Students, in general, believe they are already working hard, so they’re bewildered by the suggestion, and older students often believe that an admonition to work harder suggests low ability in the student. If you’re aware of this research, you will encourage students to change the way they study instead of the amount they study, and doing so can have a significant influence on their motivation to learn and ultimately learning (Schunk, Meece, & Pintrich, 2014). In essence, you are encouraging them to study smarter, not harder. The more professional knowledge you possess, the better able you will be to adapt your instruction to best meet each student’s needs. Our primary goal in writing this text is to help you develop these different forms of professional knowledge.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 1.2: Demonstrating Professional Knowledge in Classrooms In this exercise, you will be asked to analyze how a teacher demonstrates different types of professional knowledge.

Extended Training for Licensure.  Extended training for licensure is required to develop these different types of professional knowledge. As with physicians, lawyers, and engineers, teachers must earn a license that allows them to practice their profession. The license certifies that you’re competent, and, as with other professions, you will be required to periodically renew your license to confirm that you are staying current in

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 23

your field. Teachers need at least a bachelor’s degree before licensure, and, in many states, they must complete the degree in a content area, such as math or English, before they begin their teacher preparation programs. In trying to stay current in their profession, nearly 6 of 10 teachers have gone on past a bachelor’s degree, seeking master’s and doctorates (Walker, 2018). Licensure also requires clinical experiences, such as internships, which are designed to ensure that you can apply your professional knowledge in the real world of schools.

Autonomy With knowledge comes autonomy, the capacity to control one’s own professional life (Scheiber, 2018). Professionals have the authority to make decisions based on their specialized knowledge. When a person sees a physician because of stomach problems, for example, no set of standards mandates specific treatments or medications; doctors have the authority to treat patients as they professionally see fit. Autonomy is important for teachers on several levels. On a human, personal level, research shows that autonomy is essential for motivation; people with more autonomy in their lives are happier and more motivated (Schunk et al., 2014). In addition, lack of autonomy can contribute to teacher stress and burnout (Ni & Rorrer, 2018). Most people go into teaching with the hope that they can create a classroom that reflects who they are and what they believe; when teachers are forced to teach a certain way or teach a specific topic, their autonomy becomes limited. Some suggest that teaching isn’t a profession because states and districts, instead of teachers, prescribe what teachers teach (the curriculum) as well as how student understanding is measured (assessment) (Golann, 2018). However, others, citing national polls, suggest that teachers believe they have considerable autonomy in selecting teaching strategies and managing their classrooms (Boser & Hanna, 2014). Indeed, states and districts prescribe standards, statements specifying what students should know or be able to do after completing an area of study, and districts often require students to meet these standards before moving from one grade to another or graduating from high school. However, in spite of these mandates, you will have a great deal of autonomy when you begin teaching. You will have control over the specific content you teach, how you teach it, and—even though yearly standardized assessments are often mandated—how you will assess your students’ learning.

Emphasis on Decision-Making and Reflection As you saw earlier in the chapter, classrooms are complex, and teachers make many decisions in ill-defined situations. For example, when Madison accused Ryan of calling her fat and ugly, Andrew had to decide whether to ignore the incident or to intervene. And if he decided to intervene, what should this intervention be? Should he take Ryan out of the classroom and talk to him? Make him apologize or write a note to Madison? Call his parents? And what if Madison wasn’t telling the truth or misunderstood what Ryan said? David Ling, in his lesson on inertia, had to decide how to begin his lesson, what examples to use, what students to call on and in what order, how long to give them to answer, what kind of follow-up question to ask if they didn’t respond, and a host of other decisions. Both Andrew and David faced ill-defined situations, yet decisions had to be made. This is why professional knowledge is so essential: Without it, wise decision-making is virtually impossible. But how will you know if you’ve made wise decisions? Unfortunately, you will receive little formal feedback about the effectiveness of your work. Typically, teachers are observed by administrators a few times a year at most, and they receive only vague, sketchy, and often uncertain feedback from students and parents; they get virtually no feedback from their colleagues unless the school has a peer coaching or mentoring program. To develop as a professional, you will need to be able to assess your own decisions.

24  Chapter 1 The ability to conduct this self-assessment requires that teachers develop a disposition for continually and critically examining their work; this is the essence of a simple yet powerful idea called reflection, the act of thinking about and analyzing our actions (Brooks, 2019; Butani, Bannister, Ruben & Forbes, 2017). Reflective teachers are thoughtful and critical about their teaching, focusing not only on their failures but also on their successes. Through reflection, teachers figure out not only what works in their classrooms but also what doesn’t and why (Parsons et al., 2018). They plan lessons carefully and take the time to analyze them afterward, learning from both their successes and failures. Fortunately, beginning teachers have several options available to them when they reflect on their own classrooms. Other, more experienced teachers are usually more than willing to share their experiences and expertise and often ask questions that can facilitate our own problem solving. Video recording yourself while you teach can provide concrete examples for analyzing your own teaching. And sharing our ideas and concerns online can be helpful in gaining perspective about our own classroom practices. Reflection is essential because it improves our teaching and helps us develop as professionals. As we analyze our work, we gradually develop a coherent philosophy of education that helps us integrate theory and research into our classrooms and continually refine our practice (Parsons et al., 2018).

Professional Ethics Teaching is—and has historically been—described as a moral enterprise in which teachers are continually asked to make ethical decisions (Goodlad, Soder, & Sirotnik, 1990; Kafka, 2016; Strauss, 2015). Fortunately, teachers have ethical standards to guide their actions. To understand what this means, consider the following problems: An ardent advocate of gun control, you believe that access to guns should be strictly regulated, and you have said so in class. Eric, one of your students, brings a newspaper editorial to school that makes a compelling argument against gun control. Because of your beliefs, you don’t allow him to share the editorial with the class. Greg is a difficult student in one of your classes. He is disruptive and periodically shouts insults at other students and sometimes even at you. You’ve tried everything you know to control his behavior, but you’ve been unsuccessful. Finally, in exasperation one day, you walk up to him while he is talking, clap your hands together, and say angrily, “Greg, I’ve had it with you! You can’t keep your mouth closed for more than one minute, and you’re an embarrassment to yourself and the other students in this class. I don’t want to hear another sound out of you for the rest of the period.” Surprisingly, it works; Greg sits quietly for the remainder of the period. Now, finding that anger seems to be the only way to keep Greg from being disruptive, you sometimes use it to manage his behavior.

Have you behaved “ethically” in these cases? How do you know? Ethics are sets of moral standards for acceptable professional behavior, and all professions have codes of ethics intended to guide professionals as they make decisions about how to act. In its code of ethics, the National Education Association (NEA), the largest professional organization in education, addresses the issue of how teachers should interact with their students (see Figure 1.4). Let’s evaluate your actions based on the information in the NEA Code of Ethics. Item 2 of Principle I, Commitment to the Student, states that a teacher “shall not unreasonably deny the student access to varying points of view.” In the first example, you didn’t let Eric share the editorial with other students, so you have denied them access to a view that differs from your own. Whether your denial was “unreasonable” is open to interpretation, as is the case with ethical standards in any profession. In the second example, you were desperately searching for a way to manage Greg’s behavior, and by chance, you found that anger (and possibly intimidation) was the only

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 25

Figure 1.4  National Education Association Code of Ethics SOURCE: National Education Association. (2008). Code of Ethics of the Education Profession, NEA Representative Assembly.

Preamble The educator, believing in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognizes the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of democratic principle. Essential to these goals is the protection of freedom to learn and to teach and the guarantee of equal educational opportunity for all. The educator accepts the responsibility to adhere to the highest ethical standards. The educator recognizes the magnitude of the responsibility inherent in the teaching process. The desire for the respect and confidence of one’s colleagues, of students, of parents, and the members of the community provides the incentive to attain and maintain the highest possible degree of ethical conduct. The Code of Ethics of the Education Profession indicates the aspiration of all educators and provides standards by which to judge conduct. The remedies specified by the NEA and/or its affiliates for the violation of any provision of this Code shall be exclusive and no such provision shall be enforceable in any form other than one specifically designated by the NEA or its affiliates. Principle I—Commitment to the Student The educator strives to help each student realize his or her potential as a worthy and effective member of society. The educator therefore works to stimulate the spirit of inquiry, the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, and the thoughtful formulation of worthy goals. In fulfillment of the obligation to the student, the educator— 1. Shall not unreasonably restrain the student from independent action in the pursuit of learning. 2. Shall not unreasonably deny the student access to varying points of view. 3. Shall not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter relevant to the student’s progress. 4. Shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning or to health and safety. 5. Shall not intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement. 6. Shall not on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, marital status, political or religious beliefs, family, social or cultural background, or sexual orientation unfairly: a. Exclude any student from participation in any program; b. Deny benefits to any student; c. Grant any advantage to any student. 7. Shall not use professional relationships with students for private advantage. 8. Shall not disclose information about students obtained in the course of professional service, unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by law. Principle II—Commitment to the Profession The education profession is vested by the public with a trust and responsibility requiring the highest ideals of professional service. In the belief that the quality of the services of the education profession directly influences the nation and its citizens, the educator shall exert every effort to raise professional standards, to promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment, to achieve conditions which attract persons worthy of the trust to careers in education, and to assist in preventing the practice of the profession by unqualified persons. In fulfillment of the obligation to the profession, the educator— 1. Shall not in an application for a professional position deliberately make a false statement or fail to disclose a material fact related to competency and qualifications. 2. Shall not misrepresent his/her professional qualifications. 3. Shall not assist entry into the profession of a person known to be unqualified in respect to character, education, or other relevant attribute. 4. Shall not knowingly make a false statement concerning the qualifications of a candidate for a professional position. 5. Shall not assist a noneducator in the unauthorized practice of teaching. 6. Shall not disclose information about colleagues obtained in the course of professional service unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by law. 7. Shall not knowingly make a false or malicious statement about a colleague. 8. Shall not accept any gratuity, gift, or favor that might impair or appear to influence professional decisions or actions.

26  Chapter 1 thing that seemed to work. However, Item 5 of Principle I says that a teacher “shall not intentionally expose the student to embarrassment or disparagement.” This case is clear: In your desperation and frustration, you intentionally used anger and disparagement as a strategy with Greg, so you are in violation of NEA’s ethical code. Other examples of ethical lapses sometimes seen in teaching include retaliating against students for alleged slights or offenses by grading unfairly or making unfair placement decisions, accepting fees for tutoring one’s own students, and cheating on state tests by giving students more than the prescribed time or by giving them clues and/or answers. Ethical standards are so important to professionals that they are often written into employment contracts; they are also valuable because they can provide a basis for your own professional decision-making.

Are Teachers Professionals? Not everyone believes that teachers are professionals. Critics’ arguments most commonly include lack of rigorous training and lack of autonomy. Let’s examine these arguments.

Lack of Rigorous Training The academic rigor of teachers’ professional training has historically been criticized (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2018). Entrance into teaching isn’t as competitive as entrance into other professions such as medicine or law, and some critics suggest that knowledge of content, such as knowledge of math, science, or literature, is all teachers need to teach successfully. This position is not supported by research, however (Ayers, 2018; Depaepe & König, 2018). The complexities of teaching requiring split-second decisionmaking and the responsibility of guiding the lives of young people suggest that teaching is a demanding profession requiring a great deal of specialized knowledge. Training in any profession can always be more rigorous, but suggesting that teaching doesn’t require deep, extensive, and varied knowledge reflects a lack of understanding of the profession.

Lack of Autonomy In the previous section, we argued that teachers have a great deal of autonomy. We maintain this position, but we acknowledge that teachers have less autonomy than some other professionals (Ni & Rorrer, 2018). For example, unlike physicians and lawyers, teachers are supervised and evaluated by their principals, and states and districts mandate a portion of the curriculum. Teachers have little to say about the standards for licensure, and some teachers even have to sign in at the beginning of the day and sign out at the end. The extent to which these requirements detract from teaching as a true profession continues to be debated.

Are Teachers Professionals? Implications for Teaching The issue of teaching as a profession is controversial and won’t be resolved anytime soon. Without question, the training required for professions such as medicine and law is lengthier and more rigorous than the training required for teaching, although rigor in teacher education is increasing (Gitomer & Bell, 2016). Prospective teachers are expected to know and do more, and their professional knowledge is now assessed with tests that measure their understanding of the content they teach, as well as their understanding of how to help students learn. We discuss these tests later in the chapter. With respect to autonomy, a battle is currently being fought on both sides of the issue (Scheiber, 2018). Some would curtail teachers’ autonomy by mandating what and how to teach as well as how to assess student learning. Others argue that this technical view of teaching isn’t feasible because teaching requires too many split-second decisions to be reduced to mandates and good teachers need to be sensitive to different student’s needs (Good & Lavigne, 2018). It is clear that teachers share many characteristics of established professions: They possess a specialized body of knowledge, they make an enormous number of decisions

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 27

as they work, and they have a significant amount of autonomy wisely. Expert teachers also take time to reflect on their actions and are careful to follow the ethical standards established by educational leaders. You can behave like a true professional by becoming knowledgeable about factors that affect teaching and learning, exercising autonomy in your classroom, and behaving ethically in all your dealings with students, parents and other caregivers, colleagues, and the public at large. This is as much as individuals do in any profession.

InTASC: A Beginning Point for Professional Growth and Development A rapidly expanding body of research consistently demonstrates that teaching now requires professionals who are highly knowledgeable and skilled (Good & Lavigne, 2018), and the profession is responding. Created in 1987, the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) was designed to help states develop better teachers through coordinated efforts to support new teachers and create improved teacher-evaluation systems. InTASC has raised the bar by setting rigorous standards for all teachers in important areas, such as planning, instruction, and assessment. These standards “ . . . describe the new vision of teaching needed for today’s learning, and strategies teachers can employ to improve their practice both individually and collectively” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2018, p. 1). They describe what you should know and be able to do when you first walk into a classroom, and they provide a concrete starting point for your own professional development. To date, InTASC has prepared general, or “core,” standards organized around the following 10 principles (see Table 1.3). InTASC is also preparing standards for various subject-matter areas and specific student populations as well as developing a Test for Teaching Knowledge (TTK) linked to the core principles.

Table 1.3  InTASC Core Teaching Standards Teaching Standard Focus

Description

1. Learner Development

The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.

2. Learning Differences

The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

3. Learning Environments

The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

4. Content Knowledge

The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.

5. Application of Content

The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.

6. Assessment

The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.

7. Planning for Instruction

The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.

8. Instructional Strategies

The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop a deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

9. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.

10. Leadership and Collaboration

The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession.

SOURCE: Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium, 2019. InTASC model core teaching standards. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.

28  Chapter 1 The InTASC standards are demanding, as they should be. If you expect to be treated as a professional, you should have the knowledge and skills that allow you to make the decisions expected of a professional. Being able to meet the InTASC standards is a good beginning.

Technology and Teaching: The Influence of Technology on the Profession To say that technology is an integral part of our lives is a vast understatement. For instance, cell phones, Facebook, and Twitter have revolutionized the way we communicate. Internet search engines, such as Google, Dogpile, and Yahoo, have radically altered the way we find information and have made print encyclopedias and dictionaries anachronisms. We don’t find locations on a map anymore; we go to www.mapquest.com. And our vehicles are equipped with GPS systems that guide us directly to our desired destination. Technological literacy has become a basic skill, virtually equal in importance to reading, writing, and math (Herold, 2018a). Our students spend more than eight and a half hours looking at a screen each day; for minority students, the figure is 13 hours (Riley, 2018). More than a third of middleschool-age students regularly watch three hours or more of television each day, and research suggests that the amount of “screen time” teenagers are spending on devices such as computers, smartphones, and tablets is having negative effects on their social and emotional development (Domoff et al., 2017). Technology is also having an significantimpact on education. It is increasingly being seen by many as the key to economic survival in a global economy, and countries, such as China and India, have invested heavily in educational technology in attempts to make their countries economically competitive. Experts are asking, “Are U.S. students’ tech skills keeping up with their international peers?” Although other technologies have advanced as well, the most dramatic growth in schools has occurred in the area of computer technologies (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Virtually all schools in our country have access to high-speed internet, most teachers have computers in their classrooms (Herold, 2018a), and 70% report regularly assigning homework that requires the use of a computer and the internet (Lynch, 2017). Most homes with school-age children have computers and are connected to the internet (Lynch, 2017). Initially, computer literacy, or preparing students for life in the age of computers, was the focus of most computer use in our nation’s schools. Over time, instructional uses of computers have expanded to include: • Computer-assisted instruction, including simulations, multimedia instruction, drill and practice, and tutorials • Information tools for students, including spreadsheets, databases, and other capabilities for information retrieval, processing, and multimedia learning • Computer-managed instruction, including student record keeping, diagnostic and prescriptive testing and test scoring and analysis, and design of instructional materials, including text and graphics (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019) Technology has become an essential component of education in our country. For instance, some states and school districts are experimenting with supplying every student with a laptop computer (Riley, 2018), experts estimate that our nation’s schools spend more than $8 billion each year on software alone, and the total bill for educational technology is sure to be higher (Neuhaus, Oreopoulus, & Kane, 2018). Unfortunately, much of this spending occurs without adequate research supporting its effectiveness, however; only 11% of purchasing decisions are based on rigorous research.

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 29

But implementing technology in our schools isn’t as simple as it appears on the surface, and research has raised a number of issues that influence learning and teaching in today’s classrooms (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). To address these issues, we include Technology and Teaching sections in most of the chapters in this text. For example, in Chapter 2, we focus on tech addiction, an issue that has received a great deal of public attention in recent years. In Chapter 3, we examine technology access issues for different student groups, and in Chapter 11, we discuss how teachers can use technology to increase student learning. Our goal in each of these sections is to provide you with current information about technology use in our schools, issues involved in this use, and how it will affect your life as a teacher. We hope you find these sections a valuable addition to your understanding of the profession.

MyLab Education Self-Check 1.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 1.3  Identify different dimensions of diversity and explain how diversity affects the lives of teachers. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Diversity: The Changing Face of American Classrooms When you walk into your first classroom, you will likely be struck by one fact: Our students have become remarkably diverse. Projections estimate that by 2026, 55% of the students in our nation’s schools will be members of cultural minorities, with Hispanic students projected to be the largest group, at slightly less than 30% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017a). White students, who currently make up half of all students, are projected to decrease to 35% by 2060 (Howard & Rodriguez-Scheel, 2017). In our 25 largest cities, members of cultural minorities already make up more than half the student population (Macionis, 2019), and California has 1.4 million English language learners, 84% of whom speak Spanish (Hopkinson, 2017). Nationally, five million U.S. students, or nearly 10% of all students, speak a language other than English at home; in Texas this figure is more than 15%, with 70% of this group being native Spanish speakers (Babinski, Amendum, Knotek, Sanchez, & Malone, 2018; National Center for Education Statistics, 2017a). When you begin your teaching career, you will likely have members of cultural minorities in your classroom, and you will be expected to work effectively with students who speak a native language other than English. Your students’ socioeconomic status (SES)—the combination of their parents’ income, level of education, and jobs—will also differ, and these differences will strongly affect their performance in your classroom (Macionis, 2019). Some parents can afford trips to other states and even countries, for example, whereas others are barely able to provide a place to live and enough to eat. Some students will take trips to zoos, museums, and other places that provide the school-related experiences that prepare them for future learning, but others’ experiences will be limited. These differences often result in dramatic differences in their school success. In a single grade, you will also have learners who are mature for their age and others who are slower in developing. Some will be poised and self-confident; others will be shy and hesitant. You will certainly have a mix of boys and girls, and you’re likely to have students with learning problems who will require extra help. Each of these forms of diversity can affect students’ success in your classroom, and how you respond to these differences will influence how much your students learn, how they feel about school, and your own enjoyment of teaching. In addition, federal

30  Chapter 1 mandates currently require states to report student progress in terms of specific ethnic and cultural groups (Ujifusa, 2018). Unfortunately, many beginning teachers feel ill-prepared to work with students from diverse backgrounds. Because learner diversity will have such an important impact on your teaching success, we have made diversity the second theme (together with professionalism) of this text. Consistent with this theme, we devote all of Chapters 2 and 3 to the topic, and we include specific diversity sections in every chapter.

Diversity: Teaching in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Schools Teaching and You Where would you like to teach after you graduate? Will you be most happy/comfortable in a school similar to the one you attended as a student? With what kinds of students will you be most effective?

The Diversity section in each chapter examines a diversity-related issue; in this chapter, we consider teaching in rural, suburban, and urban contexts. Understanding different learning and teaching contexts will be important for you when you begin teaching because these environments present different opportunities and challenges. We begin with rural schools.

Teaching in Rural Schools In 1900, 60% of the population in our country lived in rural areas; today it’s closer to 20% (Porter, 2018; U.S. Census Bureau, 2016a), and the figure has declined steadily in recent years. Many rural schools are closing because of declining enrollments, exacerbated by rural flight to suburbs and cities where jobs and nightlife beckon (Bosman, 2018). But rural schools still educate nearly 9 million students, more than the 20 largest urban school districts combined (Joseph, 2017; Reagan et al., 2019; Rural School and Community Trust, 2017). Across our country, 1 in 4 students attends a rural school, which comprise one third of all schools, and which are administered by more than half of all school districts. In 15 states, students in rural areas make up a majority of the public school population; South Dakota has the highest percentage of rural students (79%), and Massachusetts the lowest (7%). As we’d expect, rural schools are much smaller than their urban and suburban counterparts; in 2013, in fact, 200 one-teacher, one-room schools remained in rural areas of our country (Joseph, 2017). Because rural schools are small, student–teacher ratios are low compared to urban and suburban schools. Students in rural districts are different from their urban and suburban counterparts. Some ride horses to school, and most face long bus rides to and from school (Moulton, 2014). Rural schools also tend to be less culturally diverse than those in urban and suburban districts, although this is rapidly changing and varies from state to state. For example, members of cultural minorities make up more than 80% of the student population in New Mexico, compared to less than 5% in Rhode Island (Rural School and Community Trust, 2017). Immigrants from Latin America and Asia are finding their way into rural America, seeking jobs in construction, meatpacking, and other food-processing industries (Macionis, 2019). Twenty-six percent of rural students are members of minority groups, and the Hispanic population grew more than 150% between 1999 and 2009. In Denison, a small rural town in western Iowa, for instance, the Hispanic population in the schools went from 42% in 2006 to 57% in 2011; the percentage of white students declined by 26% in that same time frame (Maxwell, 2014e). Many of these students don’t speak English as their native language. Poverty is also an issue in rural districts, particularly in the South and Southwest (Krugman, 2018a). For example, more than 40% of students in rural districts qualify for free or reduced-price lunch programs, and many rural students come to school with inadequate health care (Joseph, 2017). In addition, access to quality early childhood programs is often lacking. For instance, fewer than 6% of children are enrolled in these programs in South Dakota, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arizona (Rural School and Community Trust, 2017).

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 31

Teaching in rural schools has both advantages and disadvantages (Reagan et al., 2019). Because the districts are small, they have a strong sense of community, and schools often serve as the social center for the community. Because of small class sizes, communication with parents is often easier. And rural districts’ small size can make innovation and change easier to accomplish than in larger districts. However, rural districts often aren’t able to offer all of the services found in larger school districts (Joseph, 2017; Porter, 2018). But job prospects are good in rural districts, and many make special efforts to attract new teachers (Peterson, 2018; Sparks, 2018).

Teaching in Suburban Schools The last half of the twentieth century resulted in unprecedented growth in the suburbs of our major cities. By the turn of the twenty-first century, many people had moved to suburbs from both rural and urban areas, and the majority of our population now lives there (Macionis, 2019). This exodus brought with it a growing tax base, which resulted in more money for suburban schools (Macionis & Parillo, 2017; Spring, 2018). Increased revenue translates into smaller class sizes and greater access to resources, such as science labs and technology. Suburban schools are also more culturally diverse than their rural counterparts, but much of the diversity comes from well-educated professionals working in high-tech industries (Macionis, 2019). They are less diverse than urban schools, however, and average household incomes tend to be higher than in rural or urban areas. Most of the highest-achieving school districts in our country are found in suburban areas, and many suburban families select neighborhoods based on the reputation of the schools in that area (Spring, 2018; Verstegen, Knoeppel, & Brimley, 2020). Because teaching in suburban schools is considered to be highly desirable, getting a job in them is likely to be quite competitive.

Teaching in Urban Schools With respect to jobs, urban schools are “where the action is.” Consider the following statistics (Council of the Great City Schools, 2018): • Our nation’s 100 largest school districts represent less than 1% of all districts but are responsible for educating 16% of our students. For example, the New York City Public Schools and the Los Angeles Unified School District, the two largest in the nation, each have enrollments greater than the total enrollments of 27 states. • The one hundred largest districts employ more than a sixth of the nation’s teachers. Urban schools tend to be large, 80% of students in urban schools are members of cultural minorities, and this number exceeds 95% in some (Council of the Great City Schools, 2018; Macionis & Parillo, 2017). More than 70% of all urban students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, and nearly one of five are enrolled in programs designed for students who don’t speak English as a heritage or native language (Council of the Great City Schools, 2018). Teaching in urban schools is often more challenging than in either rural or suburban environments (Papay, Bacher-Hicks, Page, & Marinell, 2017). Teachers working in urban schools identify scarce resources, low academic standards, lack of parental support, and poverty as major obstacles to successful teaching and learning. And statistics confirm teachers’ perspectives. For instance, urban students sometimes have less access to challenging courses, and resources are often limited (Macionis & Parillo, 2017). Most significant, however, teachers are often ill-prepared for the challenges they face (Papay et al., 2017). However, important rewards exist for teachers willing and able to meet the challenges of urban schools. First, the job market is good; there are jobs there, and opportunities to make a difference in students’ lives. A number of urban districts actively

MyLab Education Video Example 1.4 The diversity of our students is increasing dramatically. Here, elementary teacher Rebecca Atkins discusses gardening with a group of kindergarteners in an urban elementary school.

32  Chapter 1

Table 1.4  Urban, Suburban, and Rural Schools Rural

Suburban

Urban

Size of District

Small

Intermediate

Large

Cultural Diversity of Students

Low in diversity, but diversity growing.

Intermediate in diversity; many minority professionals.

High in diversity, both in terms of numbers and types of diversity.

Socioeconomic Status (SES) of Parents

Poverty an issue in many areas.

Generally high SES, but can vary.

Poverty is a major issue for many students, but this can vary from school to school.

District Resources

Resources limited. Districts smaller, less complex; innovation and change easier to accomplish.

Resources generally good due to high tax base.

Large bureaucracy and resources vary from school to school.

seek out new competent and dedicated teachers to work in their schools. Salaries are usually higher to reflect the cost of living. Many new teachers choose to live and work in urban environments because of the social and cultural advantages of living and working in a large city. If you are considering working here, you should try to include some of your clinical experiences in urban areas to allow you to sample what life is like in these schools and to make yourself marketable when looking for a teaching position after graduation. The differences between rural, urban, and suburban schools are summarized in Table 1.4, and the Diversity and You section that follows asks you to apply the information on different educational settings to yourself and your future as a teacher.

Diversity and You What Kind of School Is Right for You? You’ve just graduated from a local university with a bachelor’s

the district, and the head of the program will be retiring in three

degree, and you’re licensed to teach special education. Jobs

years.

are plentiful, you’ve interviewed with three different districts, and

Your third interview is with a school in a growing suburban district on the edge of a major metropolitan area in your state.

each has offered you a position. The first is in a large urban district in the city where you grew

The district office is modern and bustling. The head of personnel

up. The interview in the central office goes well, and they ask

explains that the district will be hiring 50 new teachers for the

you to interview with a school principal. When you arrive at the

next school year, and each will be assigned a mentor. The school

school, you’re surprised at how run-down the school and the

district has the highest tax base in the state, and this is evident

surrounding neighborhoods are. But the principal is dedicated

in the school you visit. Computers and other forms of technology

and enthusiastic, and when she shows you around the school,

are everywhere. The salary is also the highest in the state.

you can tell she loves what she does. Her last words to you are, “Think about us. This is a school that needs you, and you can

Consider These Questions

really make a difference here.”

1. Which advantages and disadvantages of different types of

Your second interview is in a small rural district near the university you attended. The central office is small, the interview

districts are most important to you?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of teaching in

also goes well, and the assistant superintendent and head of

schools similar to the one you attended as a student? For

personnel conclude the interview by walking you down the

example, if you grew up in a rural town, what would be the

street to meet the principal you’ll work for if you take the posi-

pros and cons of teaching in a similar setting?

tion. The school is a small, traditional brick building with well-lit halls and high ceilings. Although your salary will be lower than in the urban school, the principal emphasizes the opportunities for growth and leadership in a small district such as this one. Only two other full-time special education teachers are employed by

3. Rank order your preferences in terms of the three teaching locations from most to least desirable. How do you think your rankings will change by the time you finish your teacher preparation program?

MyLab Education Self-Check 1.3

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 33

LEARNING OUTCOME 1.4  Explain how the current reform movement in education is changing the teaching profession. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Reform in Teacher Education You’re considering teaching in one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of American education. Critics, both in and outside the profession, are calling for reforms, suggested changes in teaching and teacher preparation intended to increase student learning. To implement these reforms, teachers must be well prepared, and states and districts are now holding teachers accountable for their students’ performance in classrooms. The current reform movement has changed teaching, and more changes will occur by the time you enter the profession. To prepare you for these changes, we have made reform the third theme for this text (together with professionalism and learner diversity). The modern reform movement began in 1983, when the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. This widely read document suggested that America was “at risk” of being unable to compete in the world’s economic marketplace because our system of education was inadequate (Toch, 2018). The term “students at risk” grew out of this report, and educators use it to refer to students who are at risk of not acquiring the knowledge and skills needed for success in our modern technological society. Since 1983, many attempts at reform have taken place in our nation’s educational system, and these reform efforts will affect you when you begin teaching. Some of the more prominent reform efforts include:

Teaching and You Are you good at taking tests? How will tests influence your future as a teacher? What can you do right now to prepare yourself for these tests?

• Standards: Statements describing what students should know and be able to do— mastered essential knowledge and skills—at the end of a period of study. All states have specified standards in most content areas. • Test-based accountability: The process of using standardized tests to determine whether students have met specified standards and, in some cases, basing promotion and graduation on test performance.

Teaching and You

• Choice: Attempts to provide parents with alternatives to regular public schools by creating alternative charter schools and providing parents with financial vouchers that allow them to send their children to schools of their choosing.

1. Which of the following fractions is the smallest?

We discuss these reforms and the implications they will have for your life as a new teacher in detail in later chapters. Reforms that focus on changes in teacher preparation, however, will have an immediate impact on you, and we examine them in the next section.

Changes in Teacher Preparation Increased emphasis on professionalism, combined with concerns that too many underqualified teachers enter the field, has resulted in a number of reforms in teacher education, most enacted at the state level. These reforms include (Cochran-Smith & Villegas, 2016; Faltis & Valdes, 2016; Kafka, 2016): • Raising standards for admission into teacher training programs • Requiring teachers to take more rigorous courses • Expanding teacher preparation programs from four to five • years • Requiring experienced teachers to take more challenging professional-development courses • Requiring higher standards for licensure, including teacher competency tests

How would you answer the following questions?

a.

12 11

b.

99 100

d.

15 16

e.

200 201

c.

3 4

2. Read the following sentence, and decide if it is grammatically correct. If not, how should it be changed to make it correct? A teacher should never assume that the students they teach understand something if they explain it correctly. a. The sentence is grammatically correct. b. The sentence is NOT grammatically correct and should be changed in this way: ______________________________

34  Chapter 1 You have already experienced, or are now experiencing, some of the outcomes of these reform efforts. For example, you are taking required courses, and you can decide if you believe they are appropriately rigorous. With respect to teacher preparation, teacher testing is one of the most significant reform efforts implemented, and it will affect you and every other teacher candidate in our country. Let’s look at it in more detail.

Comprehensive Teacher Testing Virtually all states in our country now test prospective teacher candidates before they’re licensed. A few states have created their own state tests, but the vast majority (40 states) use the Praxis Series™, either to test students before or during their teacher education programs or after as a requirement for licensure (Praxis, 2018). The Praxis Series (praxis means “putting theory into practice”) exists at three levels (Educational Testing Service, 2018a; Praxis, 2018): • Praxis I: Pre-professional Skills Test. These tests are designed to measure the basic skills in reading, writing, and math that all teachers need. The items you saw in Teaching and You are similar to those you’ll encounter in these pre-professional skills tests and similar to those you might encounter in state-specific basic skills tests. • Praxis II: Subject Assessments. The subject assessments are intended to measure teachers’ knowledge of the subjects they will teach. In addition to 70 contentspecific tests, Praxis II includes the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) tests, which measure professional knowledge. The four PLT tests are designed for teachers seeking licensure in Early Childhood or in grades K–6, 5–9, and 7–12. Each of the grade-level tests has two parts: The first consists of 24 multiple-choice questions similar to items in the test bank that accompanies this text, and the second part presents case histories with three short-answer questions to read and analyze. • Praxis III: Classroom Performance Assessments. These tests use classroom observations and work samples to assess beginning teachers’ abilities to plan, instruct, manage, and understand professional responsibilities. In addition, Praxis III assesses a teacher’s sensitivity to learners’ developmental and cultural differences. You are most likely to encounter Praxis I before being admitted to a teacher licensure program, Praxis II during and after its completion, and Praxis III during your first years of teaching. Comprehensive teacher testing is part of a broader reform effort, and, as with most reforms, it’s controversial. This leads us to issues you’ll face when you begin your teaching career.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Because reform is one of the themes for this book, we ask you to examine a variety of current reform efforts with a feature in each chapter titled Issues You’ll Face in Teaching. We introduce the feature in this section and illustrate how you can use it to increase your understanding of educational reforms and how they’ll influence you as a teacher. The feature incorporates the following elements: • A discussion of a reform issue, such as zero-tolerance discipline policies (Chapter 2), money and your first job (Chapter 6), or grade retention (Chapter 8) • Positions taken by both proponents and critics of the reform effort • An opportunity for you to take a position with respect to the issue and receive feedback from us

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 35

Because teacher testing is an important and controversial reform issue that will directly affect your life in the near future, we use it to illustrate our Issues You’ll Face in Teaching in this chapter. If you haven’t already encountered teacher tests as an entrance requirement for admission into a teacher education program, you likely will as you move through your program and apply for licensure in your state.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Testing Teachers Currently, virtually all states require some form of testing for

• The tests are economical and cost-effective, and the pub-

prospective teachers, but the exact form that this testing takes

lic at large supports teacher testing, with 81% of the gen-

varies from state to state (Praxis, 2018). Most states (40) require

eral public believing that teachers should have to pass a

tests of basic skills either before admission to a teacher education

board certification exam similar to those in medicine and law

program or after, and others test professional knowledge after pro-

(Bushaw & Calderon, 2014). An earlier poll found that almost

gram completion. In addition, most states (43) require tests of your

80% of the general public thought that teachers should have

knowledge of the subjects you’ll be teaching, especially if you’re a

to pass a national test in the subjects they teach (Bushaw &

middle or high school teacher. Virtually all of these tests exist either

Gallup, 2008).

in a paper-and-pencil format or online, and new teachers will also be evaluated on their classroom performance during their first year. Testing teachers is not new; for instance, teachers were tested all the way back in the 1840s using oral exams that focused primarily on candidates’ moral qualifications (Wilson & Youngs, 2005). The current emphasis on testing teachers is part of a larger accountability movement in education in which students, teachers, and even principals are being tested, and the results are being used to evaluate the effectiveness of educational efforts.

Con • Critics of teacher testing argue that the tests aren’t valid because they fail to differentiate between good and bad prospective teachers. Performance on a test does not guarantee performance in the classroom, which further detracts from their validity (Good, 2014). It’s difficult, if not impossible, for a paper-and-pencil test to measure something as complex as teacher competency. • Cutoff scores established by different states are arbitrary,

The Issue

based more on the demand for new teachers than on any

Is teacher testing an effective way to improve the teaching pro-

objective measure of minimal teacher competency. When

fession, or does it create barriers to talented people entering the

the state teacher exam and cut-off score were revised in

profession? Arguments exist on both sides of the issue.

Florida, 36% of prospective teachers failed, versus 10% before the revision. Based on test scores, more than 1,000

Pro • Standardized tests are valid and necessary because they keep unqualified teachers out of classrooms. • These tests are fair, and they minimize or even eliminate evaluator bias; a test doesn’t know if the people being tested are male or female, or if they are members of a cultural minority. Further, research indicates that teachers’ performance on basic skills tests correlates with later performance on licensure tests that measure teaching ability (Gitomer, Brown & Bonett, 2011), and teachers’ verbal and mathematical scores are strongly correlated with student learning (Good & Lavigne, 2018; Hanushek, Piopiunik, & Wiederhold, 2019).

MyLab Education Self-Check 1.4

provisional teachers, with proven records in the classroom, were terminated (LaGrone, 2018). Too often, the pass rates fail to distinguish between qualified and unqualified teacher candidates. • The tests penalize cultural minorities and nonnative speakers because they rely on verbal and test-taking skills that may or may not influence teaching effectiveness (Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2018; Peregoy & Boyle, 2017).

The Question Are teacher tests an effective way to ensure teacher quality, or are there better ways to guarantee teacher competency?

Chapter 1 Summary 1. Describe major rewards and challenges in teaching. • Rewards in teaching include both intrinsic and extrinsic benefits. Intrinsic rewards include both helping young people grow emotionally, socially, and academically and teacher opportunities for a lifetime of intellectual growth. Being both a parent and teacher has benefits for both roles. Examples of extrinsic rewards are desirable vacation times, convenient work schedules, and occupational status. • The first challenge in teaching is finding a job, but the job prospects for new teachers are quite good. Other challenges in teaching include the complexities of classrooms as well as the multiple roles that teachers perform. Classrooms are multidimensional, and the events that occur in classrooms are simultaneous, immediate, unpredictable, and public. Teachers’ roles include creating productive learning environments, serving as ambassadors to the public, working with other professionals as collaborative colleagues, connecting families with community resources, and coordinating efforts with local businesses and organizations. • Beginning teachers are positive about the profession and confident in their competence as professionals. A vast majority (80%) said they planned to be teaching in five years, and most (90%) believed they did a good job of teaching students. However, teachers at all levels identified incompetent or unmotivated teachers as a major professional problem. Teacher walkouts underlined important professional issues, such as pay and autonomy. And the role of politics plays an ever-increasing role in the professional lives of teachers. 2. Describe the essential characteristics of professionalism and explain how they relate to teaching. • Characteristics of professionalism include a specialized body of knowledge, autonomy, the ability to make decisions in ill-defined situations and reflect on one’s own performance, and ethical standards that guide professional conduct. • Some argue that teachers aren’t professionals, suggesting their training isn’t rigorous and they lack autonomy. Others contend that teaching is a developing profession that is still evolving. • The future status of teaching as a profession will be largely determined by current reform efforts.

36

3. Identify different dimensions of diversity and explain how diversity affects the lives of teachers. • The following dimensions of diversity influence student learning: culture and ethnicity; socioeconomic status; cognitive, physical, and emotional maturity; gender; and learner exceptionalities. • Understanding different learning and teaching environments is important for beginning teachers because these environments present different opportunities and challenges. • Rural districts tend to be smaller and more homogeneous in terms of diversity. Suburban districts are intermediate in size and funded better than other districts, but competition for teaching jobs is greater there. Urban districts present unique challenges and opportunities, are more culturally diverse, and also offer the most teaching opportunities for first-year teachers. 4. Explain how the current reform movement in education is changing the teaching profession. • Prospective teachers will encounter reforms calling for higher standards, more rigorous training, and increased teacher testing. In addition to increased use of licensure exams, beginning teachers will be asked to demonstrate their competence in the classroom. • Testing teachers has been proposed as a major way to improve education in the United States. Advocates claim that teacher tests are a valid and reliable way to ensure teacher quality, and that these tests are practical and economical. The public supports the testing of teachers. • Critics counter that these tests are neither valid nor reliable, that they fail to capture the complexities of successful performance in the classroom, and that they punish minority candidates and those whose first language is not English, because they are language based. • The Praxis Series is the most widely used teacher test; different versions test teachers at the pre-K and elementary, middle, and high school levels. The Praxis tests are designed to assess teachers’ basic skills, subject matter mastery, and classroom performance. The Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) tests assess teacher knowledge.

Do I Want to Be a Teacher? 37

Important Concepts assessment autonomy curriculum ethics extrinsic rewards

general pedagogical knowledge intrinsic rewards pedagogical content knowledge

productive learning environment professionalism reflection reforms

Portfolio Activity Teacher Licensure and Testing in Your State InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The goal of these activities is to familiarize you with the current teaching licensing requirements in your state. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Talk with a teacher at your school who has entered the profession in the last three years. Ask the following questions: a. What were the major requirements to become licensed in this state? b. What tests were required for teachers? When did you have to take these tests? c. What specifically was on the tests? How did you prepare for each test? What were the cutoff scores for each test? d. What aids were available to prepare for these tests? How did you locate them? Based on this information, what can you do right now to begin preparing yourself for these tests? 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Locate the website for your state’s office of education. Within the website, find the teacher licensing requirements in your state and the role of teacher testing in the process. Answer the following questions: a. What are the major requirements to become licensed in your state? b. What tests are required for teachers? When will you have to take these tests? c. What are the specific contents of these tests? What are the cutoff scores for each test? d. What aids are available to prepare for these tests? Based on this information, what can you do right now to begin preparing yourself for these tests?

socioeconomic status (SES) standards

Chapter 2

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students

Shutterstock

38

Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 2.1 Describe changes that have occurred in the American family

and society, and the implications of these changes for education. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences 2.2 Describe changes that have occurred in our country’s students

and the implications these changes have for teachers. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences 2.3 Explain how socioeconomic status influences students and their

success at school. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences Teaching today is more complex and dynamic than at any point in our nation’s history, in large part because our society is changing in ways that bring new opportunities, challenges, and ways of thinking. As you read the following case study, think about the children in it, how societal changes are influencing them, and how these issues will affect your life as a teacher.

It is the middle of August, and Carla Torres, a second-year teacher, is excited as she anticipates the new school year. Relocating to the Midwest because of her husband’s job, she has been assigned a first-grade classroom in a large city. Looking forward to her new position, she spent much of the summer planning for the year. Two weeks into the school year, Carla walks into the faculty lounge on her lunch break. “You look a little tired. Getting enough sleep?” her hallmate, 20-year veteran Rae Anne Johnson, asks. “No, I’m fine, just a little tired. This is a whole lot of work.” “Anything you want to talk about?” Rae Anne asks. “It’s my kids,” Carla replies. “Most of them are doing great. Happy, eager, and fun to work with, but there are a few. . . . And, they almost wear me out at times.” “What do you mean?” Rae Anne continues. “Well, Connor and Ella, two of my kids, are really squirrelly, and it’s almost impossible to get them to sit down and pay attention. Then, Ian falls asleep in my lessons. I need to find out what’s going on with him at home. . . . And, Luis and Chloe don’t know their letters and numbers, so they’re way behind the rest of the class. I’m spending an inordinate amount of time and effort with these kids. They’re so sweet and innocent and wonderful, and they give me hugs in the morning when they come in. I just want to hug them back and tell them that everything is going to be okay. But, I almost feel like I might be shortchanging some of the others.” “I understand completely,” Rae Anne nods. “I have some of the same problems. Kelsey, one of my kids, was upset yesterday, so I sat down with her during free reading time, and she told me that her parents had had a big fight the night before. And, then there’s Johnny. . . . He’s always so droopy, so I asked him if he’d had breakfast. He said he never eats it, so I called his mother and told her about the school’s free breakfast program. I had to call three times to catch her. She was apologetic about sending him to school without breakfast, but she works two jobs and she’s a single mom, so I know it’s tough for her, too. It’s hard for some of the kids.”

40  Chapter 2 When you begin teaching, you will likely face issues similar to those Carla and Rae Anne experienced. Many of your students will be eager learners who are in solid families and come to school prepared to grow and develop. Working with them will be a pleasure, and you’ll find the experience rewarding. Others, however, will have issues similar to Connor, Ella, Ian, Luis, and Chloe. Some of today’s students are indeed different from those in years past. For instance, fewer children now exist in “traditional” families, and in some instances, students are coming to school tired, hungry, or emotionally drained, as we saw with Kelsey and Johnny in Rae Anne’s class. Throughout the history of education in our country, a segment of our student population has faced issues and problems that can negatively influence their learning, but the needs of children today are, in some ways, unique because of contemporary societal issues. How do these issues affect our students, how will they impact your life as a teacher, and what can we do to best serve today’s students? We address these questions in this chapter, but before you begin your study, please respond to the issues in What I Believe.

What I Believe Societal Changes and Our Students Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. As you read through this chapter, you will encounter discussions of these issues. Each of the items will be addressed in the sections Revisiting My Beliefs. 1. In most of the families of the children I’ll be teaching, caregivers will work outside the home. 2. Parents of today’s students don’t want schools to teach sex education, preferring to provide it themselves. 3. In recent years, student use of drugs and alcohol has declined. 4. If I see what I suspect is an instance of child abuse, I’m required by law to report it to the proper authorities. 5. Parents’ educational background strongly influences their children’s success in school.

LEARNING OUTCOME 2.1  Describe changes that have occurred in the American family and society, and the implications of these changes for education. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Changes in American Families No one ever said our work as teachers would be easy. In fact, a superintendent of schools, and a friend of Paul’s, your second author, described teaching in this way, “It’s the toughest job you’ll ever love.” Some students are fortunate enough to have the resources that help them succeed in school. For others, poverty, parents who work long hours, often in two jobs, and challenges linked to drugs and mental health problems adversely affect their lives in classrooms. As teachers, we’re committed to providing a quality education for all of our students. This is a major reason people decide to become teachers. We believe that we can make a difference in the world. But some societal changes make our efforts more challenging. Let’s see how different family patterns influence these issues.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 41

Different Family Patterns Joey looks puzzled when asked how many people live in his home. Though the question seems simple, he’s uncertain about the answer. He furrows his brow, pushes back in his chair, and thinks carefully. “Well, my mom and sisters and I live together, and my grandfather and cousins visit often.”

Joey’s story illustrates the different ways the American family has changed. The “traditional” family—a husband who provides for his family, a mother who is the primary family caregiver and doesn’t work outside the home, and two school-age children— currently makes up one of 20 households in the United States. Other changes have occurred: • In 2017, families headed by married couples made up 70% of all households; of these almost a half million were same-sex marriages, and 17% involved mixed racial or ethnic couples (more than five times the number in 1960). • Seven of 10 women with children are in the workforce; only one in four families has the father as the primary financial provider; in only 5% of families is the mother the primary breadwinner. • The divorce rate quadrupled from 1978 to 2000; currently, it is just over 40% for first-time marriages. • Thirty-five percent of births in our country are to unmarried women, a fourfold increase since 1970. Most are to women in their 20s and 30s. • Nearly one of three children live with only one parent, the vast majority (84%) with their mothers (Cilluffo & Cohn, 2018; Cohen, 2017; Livingston, 2018a, 2018b; Macionis, 2019; Park & Livingston, 2018). Poverty, divorce, both parents working outside the home, and families headed by a single mother or father all pose challenges for both parents and their children. Because of busy schedules, families spend less time together than they did in previous generations, and, even when they have time, many parents are uncertain about how to help their children with schoolwork. Some parents had negative experiences in schools and bring that attitude with them to their child’s classroom, and others are intimidated by schools. These factors can result in children coming to school less well prepared to learn. What does this information suggest for you when you begin teaching? First, remember that family patterns have changed. For instance, when students are told, “Take this home and have your parents sign it,” they may not be living with their parents. One California teacher stopped using the word “parents” with her students because so many didn’t have them; seven lived with their “Grams,” six with their dads, and a few rotated between parents. “Parents” was an inappropriate descriptor because it not only didn’t fit, it also might embarrass some students (Karrer, 2011). When you talk with students, communicate that different family configurations are common and attempt to be flexible with meeting times for parent/family–teacher conferences. These actions communicate that you care about your students, that you’re committed to their education, and that you’re aware of the pressures that today’s parents experience.

Child Care When both parents work outside the home, or if a working parent is single, young children spend a great deal of time in child care. Over half of 3- to 6-year-olds not yet in kindergarten attend child care centers. The cost, which can be more than $16,000 a year, and parents’ variable working hours become obstacles to accessing quality child care (Burke, 2017). For instance, one study found that 38% of low-income parents receive less than a week’s notice of their work schedules, and many child care centers are unable to

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the first item in What I Believe: “In most of the families of the children I’ll be teaching, caregivers will work outside the home.” This statement is true. Today, seven of 10 mothers work outside the home, which raises questions about both child care and “latchkey” children.

42  Chapter 2

MyLab Education Video Example 2.1 The majority of mothers and fathers both work outside the home in our country today, which makes child care nearly essential. Here we see the different forms that child care can take and descriptions of the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive benefits of high-quality child care for children.

provide space on such short notice (Henly, 2018). Experts believe access to child care is often a major obstacle to families, and especially those with women as primary providers, escaping poverty (Kristoff, 2019). Questions about the impact of child care on children’s development are continually raised. Critics contend that young children need the presence of a parent in the home, and child care isn’t an adequate substitute. (Tell that to a single parent who is scrambling to make ends meet.) Supporters counter that children readily adapt to different care patterns and learn valuable lessons from interacting with other children. Researchers examining this issue focus on the quality of the child care instead of the larger issue of working parents. Their research indicates that high-quality child care is positively related to children’s long-term cognitive and emotional development, higher earnings later in life, and greater marital stability. It also reduces delinquency, teenage pregnancy, drug use, and dropout rates (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). The term high-quality is crucial; poor-quality child care can have the exact opposite effect. Although quality child care is important for all children, it is essential for children of poverty, and unfortunately, children from low-income families are the least likely to have access to quality early childhood education programs, such as nursery school and pre-kindergarten. Further, the rate of participation for poor families has decreased in recent years. A number of reasons exist, with money being a primary one. Our country is losing an important opportunity to invest in its children; research shows that quality child care programs can have benefits for children that last into adulthood (Berk, 2019a, 2019b).

Latchkey Children Ana Rosa opens the door to her apartment, goes inside, and quickly relocks it, remembering what her mother has said about strangers. She drops her backpack on the sofa, deciding to do her homework later. The house is quiet, too quiet. She goes into the living room, turns on the television, and surfs through the menu of talk shows, cartoons, and soap operas. Then, she heads to the kitchen and checks out snacks. A soft drink and chips look good. She returns to the living room and settles in with the television. Her mom will be home from work in three hours.

Latchkey children, children who return to empty houses or apartments after school and are left alone until caregivers arrive from work, also face challenges. More than 19 million children return to an empty home after school (Afterschool Alliance, 2018). These children face issues ranging from concerns about children’s safety to questions about supervision, excessive time spent watching television, and lack of help with homework. Some schools respond with after-school programs, but more commonly, they attempt to cooperate with community agencies, such as YMCAs or youth clubs, to offer after-school programs. Over 10 million children participate in these programs, and more would, but availability is an issue in these tight budget times (Afterschool Alliance, 2018). In addition to providing safe, supervised environments, these programs teach children how to respond to home emergencies, use the phone to seek help, make healthful snacks, and spend time wisely. You can address the homework issue when you begin your career by ensuring that your students 1) understand exactly what is expected of them on homework assignments and 2) can do the work before sending them home. Both increase the likelihood that they’ll try to do it.

MyLab Education Self-Check 2.1

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 43

LEARNING OUTCOME 2.2  Describe changes that have occurred in our country’s students and the implications these changes have for teachers. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Changes in Our Students Just as families have changed over time, our students have also changed, and these changes will present challenges when you begin teaching (see Figure 2.1). We examine these changes in this section, beginning with sexuality.

Sexuality

Teaching and You

In the past, we tacitly thought that teenagers were either asexual or restrained. We knew they were going through puberty but assumed that they weren’t sexually active—or chose not to think about it. The facts suggest otherwise. Surveys indicate that nearly half of teens are sexually active and, on average, they begin by age 17, but don’t marry until their mid-20s or later. In addition, 13% of females and 18% of males report having sex before age 15 (Guttmacher Institute, 2017). Most teenagers said their first sexual experience was with a steady partner, but 16% of females and 18% of males reported first having sex with a friend or someone they just met. Further, more than 1 of 5 didn’t use any contraception the first time they had sex. This level of sexual activity poses risks, including teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Teenage Pregnancy Although the annual birthrate for 15- to 19-year-olds has declined from a high of 117 births per 1,000 girls in 1990 to 20 per 1,000 in 2016, more than 210,000 babies were born to teenagers in 2016 (Guttmacher Institute, 2017; National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2018). Experts attribute the decline to both decreased sexual activity and increased use of contraceptives. Despite these declines, our country still has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and births in the industrialized world. Seventyfive percent of teenage pregnancies were unintended, and nearly six of ten teenage mothers keep their babies (Brody, 2018; Guttmacher Institute, 2017). Young mothers, by choice or necessity when fathers fail to accept responsibility, are faced with the task of raising a child on their own. Teen pregnancy is a major problem for the mothers, their children, and our country as a whole. Teenage parents must divert energy from their own development to the care of the baby, forcing them to mature too quickly. Juggling child rearing with work and school, teenage mothers are more likely to drop out, develop poor work skills, and have limited employment opportunities (Macionis, 2019). Their babies also fare poorly; because of inadequate prenatal care, they are often born prematurely or with health problems (Berk, 2019b).

Figure 2.1  Changes in Our Students Changes in Our Students

Sexuality Teen pregnancies, STDs, and sexual harassment all present challenges to our students.

Alcohol & Drugs Experimentation and dependency on alcohol and drugs can hamper healthy development and expose students to other risk factors.

Obesity Student obesity is increasing and puts students at risk for other medical problems and conditions.

Crime & Violence School and community violence, together with bullying, cyberbullying, and child abuse, threaten healthy student development.

How much do you know about the sexual habits of the students you’ll teach? How many are sexually active, and when do they typically have their first sexual contact? How many have had more than one sexual partner? How do your answers to these questions compare to your own experiences?

44  Chapter 2 Single parenting also results in financial problems. For example, 43% of families headed by a single mother live in poverty, compared to 10% for households with two married parents (Verbruggen, 2018). These differences reflect the problems single mothers encounter when they seek work with minimal job skills and limited education. Efforts to respond to teen pregnancies focus on programs that encourage mothers to complete their education through home instruction, or programs in which mothers bring their babies with them to school and attend child care and regular classes. Despite these efforts, the majority of teen mothers drop out of school.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second question in this chapter’s What I Believe feature, “Parents of today’s students don’t want schools to teach sex education, preferring to provide it themselves.” This statement is not true; polls suggest that the vast majority of parents want schools to provide sex education for their children.

Teaching and You Did you know about any students in your school who were lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender? Were any of these students your friends? How were these students treated by others? What obstacles did they face as they were growing up? Did any of these obstacles affect you personally?

As we saw above, many teens have sex without protecting themselves, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as herpes, human papillomavirus, chlamydia, genital warts, syphilis, and gonorrhea, are often the result. Nearly half of the 19.7 million new STD cases each year occur among young people, aged 15 to 24 years old (Guttmacher Institute, 2017). AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), which can be transmitted through sexual activity, has made the problem more urgent and deadly. Although it was first believed that the AIDS virus was transmitted primarily through male homosexual sex or intravenous drug use, we now know that heterosexual sex can also spread the virus.

Sex Education In response to teenagers’ sexual activity, many school districts have implemented sex education, but, because it is controversial, the form and content of instruction vary widely. Polls suggest that the vast majority of parents favor sex education for their children (over 90% for parents of middle school or high school students) (Seiocus, 2018), and they want it to include discussions of STDs, birth control, and abstinence. In addition, courts have consistently upheld districts’ rights to offer sex education courses (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). Parents who object are free to take their children out of the programs.

Sexual Orientation and LGBTQ Youth LGBTQ, an acronym that originated in the 1990s and replaced what was formerly known as “the gay community,” refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and individuals who are exploring or questioning their identities. The labels lesbian, gay, and bisexual refer to a person’s sexual orientation; transgender refers to sexual identity. The acronym was created to be more inclusive of diverse groups (Human Rights Campaign, 2016). Experts estimate that between 3% and 10% of students in our country differ in their sexual orientation, comprising over four million students in the United States (Greve, 2016; Murray, 2015), and between .5% and 1.5%, more than 150,000, differ in sexual identity (Hoffman, 2016; Singal, 2018). In addition, 12% of females and 4% of males aged 18 and 19 reported some type of same-sex activity in the previous two-year period. Accurate figures on both sexual orientation as well as sexual activity are hard to obtain, however, because of the social stigma involved (Berk, 2019a; Macionis, 2019). LGBTQ students are often rejected by both peers and society, leading to feelings of alienation and depression, drug use, and suicide rates considerably higher than in the heterosexual population (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). In addition, these students are more likely to face disciplinary actions in schools than their straight counterparts (Mittleman, 2018). Discussions about sexual orientation and identity are controversial, with some believing that differences in individuals are genetically based, and others attributing them to learning and choice (Bennett, 2019). Those arguing that the causes are genetic ask why someone would voluntarily choose an orientation or identity that would result in discrimination and rejection, and their position is strongly

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 45

supported by research. For instance, if one identical twin is gay or lesbian, the other twin is much more likely also to be gay or lesbian than is the case with fraternally linked twins (Berk, 2019a). LGBTQ students often go through a three-phase process in their attempts to understand who they are sexually (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2020). The first is feeling different, a slowly developing awareness that they aren’t like other children. In the second phase, which typically occurs during adolescence, students are frequently confused. In this phase, LGBTQ students attempt to understand their developing sexuality, looking for both social support and role models. Finally, in the third phase, the majority of LGBTQ teenagers reach a point where they accept who they are and share it with those who are close to them and who they trust. Unfortunately, rather than experiencing understanding, many are often subjected to harassment. A survey of more than 10,000 young people who identified themselves as LGBTQ reveals some of the challenges they face. For instance, a strikingly high number are homeless or in foster care, and many are profoundly disconnected from their communities and believe they must leave to make their hopes and dreams for the future come true (Tierney & Ward, 2017). Compared to their non-LGBTQ peers, these young people report much lower levels of happiness, a higher incidence of alcohol and drug use, and less connection to adult support when they have personal problems (Human Rights Campaign, 2016). In addition, they face discrimination in classrooms through unequal treatment in disciplinary issues (Mittleman, 2018). Other problems that LGBTQ students encounter include (Human Rights Campaign, 2016): • More than 4 of 10 say their community is not accepting of LGBTQ youth, and nearly 6 in 10 say that churches or places of worship in their community are not accepting of LGBTQ people. • More than 1 in 4 say their biggest problem is not being accepted by their families. • More than 90% say they hear negative messages about being LGBTQ, with primary sources being school, the internet, and peers. Transgender Students.  Transgender students are those whose sense of personal identity does not correspond with the gender assigned to them at birth. Students born as one gender may discover at puberty that they identify instead as the opposite. Internally, they’re more comfortable with a different gender orientation than the one specified on their birth certificate (Kahn, 2016). As we saw earlier, experts estimate that the national incidence of transgender students is between 0.5% and 1.5% and includes over 150,000 adolescent teenagers (Hoffman, 2016; Singal, 2018). What is it like to be a transgender student? Here’s how Chloe, a 20-yearold, describes it: “Living in a body that you feel doesn’t fully belong to you yet, is extremely painful, but dealing with people who think you are disgusting and sick is mentally draining” (Tritt, 2017, para. 9). And Max, a 13-year-old, puts it this way: “As a trans person who has experienced hate, I want people to understand that nobody deserves to be hated. Everyone deserves love, regardless of race, gender, or sexuality” (Tritt, 2017, para. 5). Transgender youth experience many challenges. Like other LGBTQ students, they face ongoing bias, discrimination, bullying, and harassment. Nearly half report being sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime, 4 of 10 admit to attempting suicide— compared to less than 5% in the general population—and nearly 40% report serious psychological stress (Hodges, 2016). More than 1 of 10 report prostituting themselves— sex work in exchange for income—so the rate of HIV infection in the transgender community is high. And, their poverty rate is twice that of the general population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016b).

46  Chapter 2 Controversies surrounding transgender students were thrust into the national limelight in 2016 when North Carolina passed the highly controversial “bathroom bill,” legislation requiring transgender students to use bathrooms matching the sex listed on their birth certificates, instead of bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. The bill triggered a backlash that could have cost the state $5 billion in lost federal funds, together with thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue. It was also a likely factor in the governor losing a second term (Katz, & Eckholm, 2016). Ultimately, the law was repealed in 2017, but criticism from LGBTQ groups—arguing that the bill still allowed for discrimination against transgender people—continued (Hanna & McLaughlin, 2017). The legal status of transgender students is unclear. The Education Department during the Obama administration, citing Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, instructed the nation’s schools to let these students use bathrooms corresponding to their chosen genders (Ujifusa, 2018). Lawsuits challenging that directive were then filed in more than 20 states (Liptak, 2016). And, in 2017, these Obama administration mandates were rolled back when he left office. Trump administration Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered the Justice Department to take the position in court cases that transgender people are not protected by a civil rights law that bans workplace discrimination based on sex (Savage, 2017). However, more recent court cases at the state level have reaffirmed the rights of transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity (Walsh, 2018). Given these conflicting views, it is likely that we’ll see more legal actions in this area.

Helping LGBTQ Students: Implications for Teaching All young people need accepting and supportive adults, and this is particularly true for LGBTQ youth. A positive school climate is associated with decreased depression, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, and unexcused school absences among these students (Goodenow, Watson, Adjei, Hommoa, & Saewyc, 2016). As teachers, we can create a safe and nurturing classroom environment. Suggestions for meeting this goal include: • Openly communicating that all students are welcome and valued in our classrooms, and demonstrating this assertion by treating all students equally. • Establishing and enforcing rules that require all students to treat each other with respect. Harassment and ridicule, in any form, become unforgivable sins in all interactions. • Conducting class meetings that include discussions of all forms of diversity and asking students from different backgrounds to describe their experiences and feelings. • Encouraging students to join student-led and student-organized school clubs that promote a safe, welcoming, and accepting school environment (e.g., gaystraight alliances, which are school clubs open to youth of all sexual orientations). These suggestions are particularly important for transgender students. Our use of respectful language and behavior with these young people will model the expectation of civil behavior for all students. If we hear others using derogatory or hurtful language, we should immediately stop it. Personal questions about a student’s transition, anatomy, or any medical issues should be avoided. Using the name and pronoun that match the student’s gender identity, even if the legal name on the school record is different, and keeping the information about their prior name and pronoun confidential are important (Kahn, 2016). Students often surprise us with their ability to “rise to the occasion.” For example, 9 of 10 LGBTQ youth say they are out—acknowledging their sexual orientation or sexual identity—to their close friends, nearly 2 of 3 say they are out to their classmates, and 75% say their peers don’t have a problem with their identity as LGBTQ. Further, nearly 8 of 10 LGBTQ youth are optimistic, saying things will get better over time (Hodges, 2016).

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 47

Open, honest, and supportive discussions can increase those percentages. When students learn that we are similar in more ways than we’re different—we all want to be loved and respected, we all want to have friends, and we all want to lead happy and productive lives—whether we’re LGBTQ or not becomes much less significant. In Teaching and You, we asked about your own experiences with students who were LGBTQ. Often these students are ostracized and even bullied; rarely are they accepted like other students. As teachers, we can make a huge difference in the way these students are treated by the implicit and explicit messages we send. It is essential that we make our classrooms safe and inviting for all students.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 2.1: Helping LGBTQ Students In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how one teacher provides support for her LGBTQ students.

Sexual Harassment Hey, babe. Lookin’ good in that sweater! Hey, sugar. Want to make me happy tonight?

Comments like these, heard in many classrooms and hallways in our nation’s schools, constitute sexual harassment, which involves unwanted attention or conduct of a sexual nature, occurring at either an institutional or personal level (Russ, Moffit, & Mansell, 2017). It includes a variety of activities, such as touching of a sexual nature; making comments, jokes, or gestures that are directly sexual or have sexual overtones; displaying or distributing sexually explicit pictures, drawings, or written text; or spreading sexual rumors, such as suggesting that an individual had been involved in some sex act (Russ et al., 2017). With respect to this issue, 2017 was unique in our nation’s history. During this year, sexual harassment charges against powerful figures—almost exclusively male—in the entertainment, business, political, military, and mainstream press worlds seemed to be constantly in the news. A number of people were brought down from lofty positions, and many lost jobs. The charges, denials, and firings seemed to appear almost daily. Some commentators believe it represented a turning point. Although sexual harassment has a long history, and has been widely recognized, many women have been afraid to come forward for fear of personal reprisals or not being believed. Somehow, this all changed in 2017. The #MeToo Movement and Sexual Harassment.  The #MeToo movement began in 2006 when a social worker, concerned about the increased incidence of sexual harassment with her clients, posted the hashtag on the internet (Noveck, 2018; Ohlheiser, 2017). But it wasn’t until 2017 that the #MeToo movement gained momentum with the publication of an investigation into sexual harassments and assaults by entertainment executive Harvey Weinstein (Kantor & Twohey, 2017). These allegations included wellknown actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. The report found that the instances of sexual assault and harassment occurred over decades from the 1990s, painting a picture of a sexual predator who used his position in Hollywood to exploit women and force himself on unsuspecting young victims. On October 15, 2017, the actor and social activist Alyssa Milano took to Twitter and posted the following message: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me

48  Chapter 2 too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Her tweet occurred around noon, and by the end of the day more than 200,000 Twitter followers had replied, and she received more than 500,000 replies by the next day (France, 2017; Siwi, 2017). This tweet also sparked a massive social response from 85 other countries. In less than 24 hours of Alyssa’s message, a landslide of replies and shares to people around the world sent shockwaves through society and brought the subjects of women’s rights and systemic sexual harassment to the forefront of social consciousness. Now in the hands of social activists like Alyssa Milano, the hashtag #MeToo used social media to out suspected perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment, and provide survivors a platform to share their experiences. This mass display of agency called for an open dialogue and examination of the current climate of victim and accuser. Since the first tweets went out in 2017, hundreds of men have been outed and accused on social media, resulting in many individuals publicly apologizing and being terminated or resigning from positions in Hollywood and other professions. In the past, assault and harassment victims were publicly shamed or silenced by society, creating an environment where women were fearful of the response to their allegations. In the same article that brought Harvey Weinstein into the light, women also shared stories of being fearful of recourse for their accusations and questioned the effects it might have on their careers in the entertainment industry. This is exactly what feminists have been fighting against for decades, a patriarchy that protects men from justice because they are in positions of power and use that power to silence their victims. #MeToo: Sexual Harassment in Teaching.  Unfortunately, schools and teachers are not immune to the problem of sexual harassment. In one poll, 40% of teachers and school administrators reported having witnessed or been victims of sexual harassment or assault in their jobs (Prothero, 2018a). Twenty-five percent of female educators said they personally experienced sexual harassment or assault on the job. One in four! But nearly 60% of teachers and administrators who said they either experienced or witnessed sexual harassment or assault said they did not report it to any authority. Hopefully, the #MeToo movement will change that. Experts believe that most perpetrators are not single-victim harassers, so reporting a problem helps prevent this from happening to others. How does this problem in education compare to other occupations? Experts estimate that the incidence of sexual harassment across the country ranges between 25% and 90% (Prothero, 2018a). But educators believe the problem is greater in other fields. On a positive note, 62% of educators said they were “very” or “extremely” knowledgeable about what to do when sexual harassment occurs, and 67% said they had received training on preventing or responding to sexual harassment and assault. But experts question the effectiveness of this training; if the training was effective, why did 60% of educators fail to report the problem? Answers to this question come from a follow-up survey that directly asked this question. The top three responses were 1) teachers didn’t think the incident was serious enough to report; 2) they didn’t think anything would be done, even if they reported the incident; and 3) they feared retaliation (Prothero, 2018b). The first reason, while lamentable, is still understandable; people’s actions and behaviors are complex and can sometimes be misunderstood, so it becomes a judgment call. The other two are seriously problematic. With respect to the second reason, everyone in schools, including teachers, should know that accusations of sexual harassment will be taken seriously. The third reason is even more troubling; teachers should know from the outset that their actions won’t result in retaliation. Survey responders from small, close-knit communities, faculties, and schools commented on the personal repercussions that might arise. Whatever the reason, educators at all levels need to do a better job of addressing this serious problem.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 49

The #MeToo Movement: Implications for Teaching The #MeToo movement has made people aware that this is a societal problem and that victims need not suffer in silence. This applies to both teachers and their students. Sexual harassment has become more visible, and people, in general, are more aware of the problem and are sympathetic to its victims. Unfortunately, Title IX, which is supposed to protect students from sexual harassment, is often a forgotten entity in many districts (Blad, 2018c). For instance, Title IX coordinators, whose existence is stipulated by the law, are frequently assigned without a clear explanation of their role and responsibilities. This awareness can help teachers become more vocal and assertive, both for themselves and for their students. No one, male, female, teacher, or student, should have to live in fear of unwanted sexual attention. Hopefully, this will be the enduring legacy of the #MeToo movement.

Sexual Assault Sexual assault is a form of sexual violence involving non-consensual sexual touching or a forced sex act, such as rape, forced oral sex, or sodomy. Sexual assault was also in the news in 2017, with a widely publicized example of the former USA Gymnastics team doctor who plead guilty to a series of incidents under the guise of medical treatment (Hobson, 2017). While the vast majority of education settings are safe and provide youth with supportive environments, schools are not immune to situations that endanger youth. Sexual assault is a larger problem in our nation’s schools than many educators realize. A large, yearlong investigation by the Associated Press, using state education records, identified roughly 17,000 cases of sexual assault in our nation’s schools (actual figures are likely much higher because these attacks are greatly underreported) between the fall of 2011 and the spring of 2015, describing it as a “hidden horror.” No SES level or type of school—suburban, urban, or rural—was immune, and assaults by peers are far more common than those by teachers (Associated Press, 2017). “Ranging from rape and sodomy to forced oral sex and fondling, the sexual violence that AP tracked often was mischaracterized as bullying, hazing, or consensual behavior. It occurred anywhere students were left unsupervised: buses and bathrooms, hallways and locker rooms” (Associated Press, 2017, para. 22). Even children as young as 5 or 6 have been victimized, but the numbers increase significantly until about age 14 at which time they tend to decrease as students move through high school. It’s important to understand that sexual harassment, and particularly sexual assault, is an abuse of power. “Sexual predatory behavior is rooted in power and played out sexually with those who are vulnerable. Unless we understand it has less to do with sex and more to do with power, we will miss an important responsibility to our students” (Berkowicz & Myers, 2017, para. 3). This abuse of power is common in politics, where young interns’ careers depend in part on the recommendations of powerful politicians, leaving them vulnerable. In schools, it’s more common among LGBTQ students or those who don’t fit in socially (Doty et al., 2017). The problem of sexual assault is especially acute for students who are LGBTQ. Nine out of 10 LGBTQ students reported being harassed or bullied (Human Rights Campaign, 2016). LGBTQ youth are twice as likely as their peers to say they have been physically assaulted, and more than half have been verbally harassed at school, compared to 25% for their non-LGBTQ peers. One teenage boy commented, “To call someone gay or fag is like the lowest thing you can call someone. Because that’s like saying that you’re nothing” (Warner, 2009, p. 2). And the abuse often goes beyond verbal; many LGBTQ students report physical harassment and not feeling safe at school (Human Rights Campaign, 2016). Harassment such as this contributes to higher rates of depression, drug abuse, and suicide for LGBTQ students. Unfortunately, many teachers feel unprepared to deal with these issues.

50  Chapter 2

Sexual Harassment and Assault: Implications for Teachers Schools and teachers need to do a better job of making classrooms and hallways safe for every student. A Supreme Court ruling that holds school districts legally responsible in cases where sexual harassment is reported but not corrected is likely to make both teachers and administrators more sensitive to this issue (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). And, you can make a major contribution in this area when you enter the profession. It begins with creating and enforcing rules forbidding students from mistreating each other and can extend to detailed discussions about acceptable ways of behaving and treating others (Sparks, 2019). Students may initially resist or appear not to care, but they will understand and ultimately appreciate your efforts. Sexual harassment and sexual assault are legally and morally wrong. All students— boys and girls, straight and LGBTQ—have a right to a safe school environment.

Teaching and You What was the alcohol and drug picture like in the schools you attended? Were these available and common to students, or limited to a small group of students? Did any of your friends use alcohol or drugs? Did you?

Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs Consider the following statistics on student alcohol and drug use (Johnston et al., 2018; National Institute on Drug Abuse 2017; Scheff, 2019; Selig, Cannaviccio, & Hawk, 2018): • In 2016, 8% of 8th graders, 20% of 10th graders, and 33% of 12th graders reported drinking alcohol in the last month. In addition, 62% of 12th graders reported drinking alcohol during high school. Nine percent of 8th graders and 45% of 12th graders also reported being drunk, and 3%, 10%, and 16% of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders reported binge drinking. • In 2016, 10% of 10th graders and 12% of 12th graders smoked cigarettes in the month prior to the administration of the survey. In addition, researchers found a 900% increase in high school students’ e-cigarette use between 2011 and 2016, with over 1.7 million students reporting recent use. • Daily rates of marijuana use in 2016 were 0.7%, 2.5%, and 6.0%, for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, respectively. Statistics for occasional use were much higher, totaling 37% for 12th graders. • In the past two decades, the rate of overdose rates among teenagers has tripled. The problems of drug and alcohol abuse are well known and occur on multiple levels. You will likely have students in your classes who come from families where alcohol and drug abuse are persistent problems. Alcohol and drug users have myriad schoolrelated problems, including alienation from school and their classmates, poor attendance, decreased learning, and an increased likelihood of dropping out. Further, they place themselves at risk for health problems and car accidents. And they are less likely to develop healthy mechanisms for coping with life’s problems, which can increase the likelihood of suicide (Berk, 2019a). Early alcohol use carries with it an additional problem; teens who start drinking by age 13 are 43% more likely to become alcoholics later in life (Davis, 2018). Although student use of alcohol and other drugs has declined in recent years, substance abuse still poses a serious problem for our teenagers.

The Opioid Crisis and Schools The opioid crisis is having a particularly devastating effect on our country. It has been described as “The deadliest drug crisis in American history” (Salam, 2017, para. 1). Overdoses fueled by opioids are the leading cause of death for Americans under age 50—more than either car accidents or guns. More than 64,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016, with the sharpest increase occurring in deaths related to fentanyl and other opioids, such as hydrocodone and oxycodone (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2017). And, evidence suggests the problem continued to worsen in 2017. Over two million Americans depend on opioids, an additional 95 million use prescription

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 51

painkillers—more than use tobacco—and the epidemic crosses age, ethnic, and socioeconomic boundaries. “Narcotics Anonymous meetings . . . are populated by lawyers, accountants, young adults and teenagers who described comfortable middle-class upbringings” (Katz, 2017, para. 18). The opioid crisis is also affecting schools in two important ways. Schools are battling the epidemic directly with the increased incidence of opioid use in their students. In 2014, 168,000 students aged 12 to 17 were addicted to prescription painkillers, and 28,000 had used heroin in the past year (Collins, 2018). And the rate of teenage drug overdose deaths in the United States climbed dramatically from 2014 to 2016 (over 20%), primarily from the same drugs (Kounang, 2017). The indirect effects of the epidemic are seen in the children of affected families. Tens of thousands of babies are born each year to mothers who abused opioids during pregnancy (Samuels, 2018). These babies suffer neonatal abstinence syndrome, characterized by withdrawal symptoms from the mother’s drugs that passed through the bloodstream into the fetus. In 2012, 22,000 infants were born with this syndrome, and some rural states, such as Maine, Vermont, and West Virginia, experience exceptionally high rates of this problem. Opioid abuse is not just an inner city problem. The problem doesn’t stop with the adverse effects at birth. Later in school, these children are more likely to need special education services for autism, developmental delays, specific learning disabilities, and speech and language impairments, as well as other health impairments (Samuels, 2018). Other children, not directly affected by neonatal abstinence syndrome, live in chaotic households where a parent or other family member is abusing drugs. Children affected by the opioid epidemic typically have behavioral and emotional issues and don’t perform as well on subsequent achievement tests. Schools have responded in two ways. The first is to stock the drug Naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose in students (Alltucker, 2018). State legislatures have also responded; at least ten states have passed legislation about Naloxone, with some requiring schools to stock it, while others have left the decision to local school boards or superintendents. The other response by schools is to step up drug education efforts to alert students to the sometimes-fatal effects of opioid use. What leads teenagers to alcohol and drug use? Experts identify several potential causes, including the stresses of growing up, unstable families, and peer pressure (Berk, 2019a). Some also blame the mixed messages teens receive from the media and our culture at large (Frakt & Humphreys, 2017). The tobacco industry spends billions on advertising, and these billions influence behavior; students who are exposed to smoking in advertising and movies are more likely to smoke than peers who aren’t (Molnar, Boniger, Libby & Fogarty, 2014). Although educators and parents talk about the dangers of these substances, the media—and particularly teenage pop culture—often glorify using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, implying that it’s acceptable and the best way to deal with problems, such as stress, loneliness, or depression. At the turn of the 21st century, the federal government made teenage substance abuse a priority by including the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act as an integral part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Unfortunately, the primary focus of these actions has been enforcement rather than prevention. Other programs attempt to teach students facts about drugs and help them learn to make wise personal decisions and develop strategies for understanding and avoiding peer pressure. Probably best known is the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program that used local police officers to deliver anticrime, anti-gang, and antidrug messages. Research on these programs is generally negative, and delivering the “Just Say NO” message without further intervention is rarely effective and can even be counterproductive by introducing students to new drugs (Frakt & Humphreys, 2017; Scheff, 2019).

52  Chapter 2

Students, Alcohol, and Drugs: Implications for Teaching

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third item in What I Believe at the beginning of the chapter, “In recent years, student use of drugs and alcohol has declined.” This statement is true, but research suggests that large numbers of students are still abusing different forms of drugs and that this abuse interferes with healthy development.

Teaching and You Did you ever struggle with your weight as you were growing up? (Most of us did—we thought we were either too skinny or too fat.) Did the school you attended do anything to help with the problem, or was it exacerbated by easy access to sugary drinks and snacks?

School connectedness, the belief by students that adults and peers in the school care about them as individuals and their learning, is an important protective factor against drug and alcohol abuse. Young people who feel connected to their school are less likely to smoke, use alcohol and drugs, or initiate sex. They also achieve higher, have better attendance, and are less likely to drop out of school (Garcia-Moya et al., 2018). We can help students develop connections to their school by learning their names and getting to know them as individuals. Creating physically and emotionally safe classroom environments is particularly important in this age of tumult, where classroom lockdown drills, in response to widely publicized school shootings, are commonplace. (We address the topic of school shootings later in this section.) This is where teachers can make a difference. Studies of effective drug prevention programs found that teachers are central to program effectiveness (Dixon, 2014). Teacher-led discussions about drugs and emphasis on healthy lifestyles have been identified as crucial to successful efforts to prevent drug abuse. We can do a great deal to help prevent drug abuse by talking about the problem and helping our students understand the benefits of dealing with their problems in a positive and proactive manner. We can also model healthy lifestyles and tout the benefits we experience from them.

Obesity A healthcare worker at the Obesity Center of Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles encountered the following:

One of my patients, 16-year-old Max, who weighed close to 300 pounds, reported that he drank a six-pack of sweetened soda every day. He was consuming more than 1,000 empty calories on soda alone! His daily intake included five cans purchased from school vending machines, one each before his first class, his second class, and lunch. He downed a fourth before football practice, and he topped it off with a fifth when practice was over. That left one for home. The rest of his diet was equally bad. At mid-morning he bought a candy bar at the student store, he had a high-calorie, high-fat burrito and fries or cheese nachos at lunch, and there were boxes of doughnuts after football practice. There was literally nothing in his daily diet that was both nutritious and appealing. (Based on F. Kaufman, 2005)

Obesity is a major health issue in our country, and this is equally true for our young people. Nationally, more than one of six students is obese, and today’s obesity rates for students are triple those in 1980 (National Health and Nutrition Survey, 2018). This figure is even higher for children living in poverty and members of cultural minorities, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans who often lack access to affordable healthy foods. Research suggests the problem is getting worse. In 2016, nearly 40% of American adults were obese, up from 34% in 2008, and equally disturbing was the finding that nearly 1 of 5 school-age children had similar weight problems, and even young children, aged two to five, aren’t immune, with 14% being obese (Richtel & Jacobs, 2018). Recognizing the health risks associated with obesity, the American Medical Association has labeled it a disease and not just a risk factor for other disorders (Brody, 2013). Obesity-related health conditions cost our nation more than $150 billion and result in an estimated 300,000 premature deaths each year. In addition to immediate health risks, such as high blood pressure and joint problems, overweight youth risk becoming heavy adults with health problems, such as heart disease and Type II diabetes. Long-term health risks are well known, but the social-emotional costs may be as, or more, significant.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 53

“Obese children face teasing, systematic discrimination, mistreatment, exclusion, and chronic victimization, and they experience more peer rejection, victimization, and teasing than children with other stigmatized attributes” (Jackson & Cunningham, 2015, p. 153). The problems of obesity become even more pronounced as people get older. For instance, obese individuals are stereotyped as lazy, weak-willed, slovenly, and physically and sexually unattractive. This bias exists in the attitudes of health care professionals, hiring practices in the workforce, interpersonal relationships, and the media (Nutter et al., 2016). The causes of this epidemic are multifaceted and range from lack of exercise to just plain unhealthy diets, such as we saw with Max above. School-age children spend more than 63 hours a week in front of either a television or computer screen (Riley, 2018), and 4 of 5 teenagers get less than an hour a day of physical exercise, the minimum recommended by experts (Reynolds, 2018). In addition, advertisers spend more than $10 billion a year marketing food and beverages to children, mostly for non-nutritious products, such as candy, snacks, and sugary drinks, instead of healthy products, such as fresh fruits and vegetables (Molnar, Boniger, Harris, Libby & Fogarty, 2013; Molnar, Boniger, Libby & Fogarty, 2014). Schools, strapped for cash, contribute to the problem by signing contracts that promote unhealthy habits, such as placing soft-drink machines in school hallways (Molnar et al., 2013). (A typical can of non-diet soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories; students drinking three or four cans a day can gain six pounds in a month. This helps us understand why Max weighs close to 300 pounds.) In addition, school lunches, loaded with high-energy, low-nutrition foods, also contribute to the problem. And, recess and P.E., two of the best weapons against obesity, are facing a losing battle in many schools, being squeezed out by competition from academic subjects that are being promoted by accountability and high-stakes testing (Stewart & Webster, 2018). Guidelines suggest that students should get a minimum of an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day, but fewer than 40% of the states in our country require an adequate amount of gym time in elementary schools. This figure drops to less than 30% in middle and high schools, and more than six of 10 states permit schools to allow students to substitute other activities, such as marching band, for physical education (Stewart & Webster, 2018). State legislatures have responded with both stricter nutritional guidelines for school lunches and bans on soft-drink sales during school hours (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). In addition, several states have passed legislation requiring schools to provide more recess time (Holson, 2019). The federal government has also issued new guidelines for school lunches, requiring more vegetables and fruits and limiting foods high in sodium, fats, and empty calories (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2019). This is a start, but lack of exercise and unhealthy diets still need to be addressed. You can help deal with the problem. Information is a start; many students have a limited understanding of healthy eating. Discussions about healthy foods and how they affect health can make a difference. And your own modeling can be a powerful tool in helping students understand how exercise and a good diet can contribute to their own good health.

School Violence Anthony has grown up in a violent world. He never knew his mother, and his father, who was involved with drugs, died when he was in second grade. The trauma of losing his only parent contributed to his being held back a year in second grade. His grandmother, who raises him, cautions him every morning before he leaves for school, “Be careful.”

The focus of this chapter is how changes in society affect our lives as teachers. Fortunately, for the vast majority of school communities, children are provided with safe and nurturing environments that are designed to foster life-long learning, the knowledge

Teaching and You Were the schools you attended safe places to learn? If so, what did your teachers do to make them safe and secure? If not, what could the teachers have done to make them safer?

54  Chapter 2 and skills to become contributing members of society, and even creativity. Unfortunately, crime and violence are a part of American society, and sometimes they enter school doors. A number of horrific incidents of violence have occurred over the last two decades, ranging from the Columbine, Colorado, massacre in 1999, in which 12 students were killed; the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, where 20 students and 6 adults where shot and killed; and more recently Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 14 students, a teacher, a coach, and the school’s athletic director were killed by a 19-year-old ex-student on Valentine’s Day in 2018 (Gold, 2018). Then, only three months later, 8 students and 2 teachers were killed in a Santa Fe, Texas, shooting (Fernandez, Blinder, & Chokshi, 2018). Deaths, and even non-fatal injuries, are only part of the problem; the emotional toll is also an important factor. For instance, a report by the Government Accountability Office (2016) found that nearly two-thirds of schools now conduct “active shooter” drills, and lockdown drills are implemented in nearly all schools (Will, 2018). These drills provide teachers and students with essential information, but also incite fear, particularly in younger children. “[T]eachers say the lockdown drills never lose their impact. While some teachers say they’re glad that their schools prepare for the worstcase scenario, many also say the drills have become increasingly surreal and ­unnerving” (Will, 2018, para. 5). Additional research indicates that exposure to youth violence can lead to a wide array of negative health problems, including alcohol and drug use, depression, anxiety, fear, and even suicide (Berk, 2019b). But we should keep one additional statistic in mind; students are safer in schools than on the streets where they live (Goldstein, 2018). In the last 20 years, less than 3% of childhood homicides occurred at schools, and unintentional injuries from traffic accidents, poisonings, and drowning outnumber school shootings by a large margin.

School Violence: Is Arming Teachers the Answer? In the aftermath of the Parkland shootings, then President Trump advocated arming teachers in all of the nation’s 130,000 schools. In doing so, he claimed that “a gun-free school is a magnet for bad people,” and that gun-free zones in schools provide “target practice for the sickos and for the mentally ill” (Newkirk, 2018, p.1). He proposed giving weapons to “gun-adept” teachers with military or special training experience; “only the best” specially trained teachers would be trained as guards (Newkirk, 2018, p. 1). The reaction to this suggestion was swift and overwhelmingly negative. Teachers were uniformly opposed (Gstalter, 2018; Palmer, 2018; Bosman & Saulfeb, 2018), and the former head of the New York City police department described the idea as “the height of lunacy” (Devaney, 2018). Let’s examine the pros and cons of this proposal to arm teachers in every school in America. Advocates argue that allowing teachers to carry guns in schools would be a psychological deterrent, making schools safer by sending a clear message to would-be shooters. In addition, they note that arming teachers is more cost-effective than arming security guards for every school. In addition, on-site teacher/guards would shorten the response time when shootings did occur (Lahitou, 2018). However, critics make a number of arguments opposing the idea of arming teachers. Logistics is the first. Trump wanted to arm 20% of teachers, which would result in nearly 750,000 armed teachers in our schools (750,000!). The cost of training these teachers would be prohibitive. Second, the possibilities of lost or misplaced guns are real. For instance, the Department of Homeland Security reported that between 2014 and 2016, its personnel lost 228 firearms, often because its officers—thoroughly trained professionals—did not properly secure the weapons (Violence Policy Center, 2018). This problem would be even more likely with large numbers of minimally trained teachers. Third, a number of incidents of accidental gun firings in schools have occurred (Foley & Fenn, 2018). For instance, in Virginia, a school police officer accidentally fired

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 55

his gun and sent a bullet through the wall and into a middle school classroom. In California, a teacher, demonstrating firearm safety, mistakenly fired a round into the ceiling, injuring three students hit by falling debris. These are merely two examples, and many others exist. As the number of guns in schools increases, the potential for deadly accidents also increases dramatically. Fourth, critics question whether partially trained teachers would really be effective deterrents in the case of a shooting incident. In armed confrontations, trained law enforcement officers miss their intended targets most of the time (Violence Policy Center, 2018). For instance, in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, 12 police officers fired 141 shots at the two killers, none of which hit their targets. The tragedy ended only when the two student-attackers took their own lives (Donohue, 2018). Given that highly trained law enforcement workers struggle in adverse, chaotic situations, can we realistically believe that minimally trained teachers will do better? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, how would all this affect teachers’ lives and their relationships with students? Teachers are already incredibly busy, and they don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to take on police work as well. Further, what message would pistol-packing kindergarten teachers send to their students as they stand in front of a classroom with a firearm strapped to their waist? Is this how we want students to think about teachers when they recall their time at school? So, to answer the question we posed in the heading of this section: No, arming teachers is not the answer to school safety. Of course, we want safe schools, but evidence, common sense, and the opinions of both law enforcement officials and teachers themselves suggest that more guns in schools is precisely the wrong approach.

School Violence: Implications for Teaching What are the implications of all of this for you as a prospective teacher? First, keep concerns about violence and shooting in proper perspective. One of your most important roles as a teacher is to create a safe and orderly classroom environment for your students, and lockdown and “active shooter” drills admittedly make your job that much more challenging. You may take some solace, however, in the fact that in spite of the horrific acts that receive widespread publicity, school shootings—statistically— remain rare (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016a). This comment isn’t intended in the least to diminish the significance of these unspeakable events, but rather to remind you that the likelihood of your school being involved in a shooting is still small. Prepare yourself and your students—absolutely. Dwell on the possibility of being involved in a school shooting—no. Second, be sure you’re clear about emergency procedures at your school and prepare your students beforehand. In addition, make yourself knowledgeable about referral procedures for problem students, and alert the proper authorities if you suspect a potential for danger exists. Finally, make sure students are aware of available channels to report suspicious behavior by fellow students and assure them of anonymity if problems are reported. What else can teachers and schools do to increase school safety? The answer is, a lot! A study of Chicago schools found that school safety depends more on the schools and their teachers than the poverty and crime surrounding them (Sparks, 2011). Some schools were safe havens for students, while others in similar neighborhoods were centers for violence. Although safe neighborhoods count, students’ success in school and their relationships with caring adults were even more important. This is where we come in. We need to make sure that our students are learning and that they believe we care about them and want them to succeed. Research indicates that nearly half of students who end up in juvenile-justice systems are below grade in learning, nearly a third have a learning disability, and one in four has repeated a grade (Blad, 2014b). Helping these students succeed is undoubtedly challenging, but it is both important and possible. A principal from one of the safe schools in Chicago noted, “If a child doesn’t have

56  Chapter 2 someone to talk to, they will carry [their problems] into the classroom” (Sparks, 2011, p. 13). When students enter her school, they are greeted by name, in ways that reflect care and acknowledgment by both teachers and school staff. They aren’t just numbers passing through schoolhouse doors. A parent commented, “When a kid feels loved, they know that, and they know that when they come to school they are safe” (Sparks, 2011, p. 13). You can make a big difference in your students’ lives by showing you care and helping them succeed, both academically and personally. Teachers confronting school violence at their own schools are unbelievably courageous (Turkewitz, 2018). “School shootings put teachers in a new role as human shields,” one teacher admitted. “I think about it all the time.” After the Parkland shooting, another teacher was asked by his students, “Mr. K., would you give your life for me?” He replied, “Did you even have to ask?” And one teacher who had taught the gunman at Parkland High School summed it all up, “I want to go back, I want to go back to my kids. I want to go back to my classroom. I want to see the kids. I want to teach the kids—and that’s the bottom line.”

Bullying If you were a teacher, how would you react to the following incidents? You are monitoring students on the playground when you overhear one student say to another, “Get away from us. Can’t you hear? We don’t want you around.” The student leaves and plays alone for the remaining time with tears in her eyes. This is not the first time this individual has kept someone from joining her group of kids. You have assigned the students in your class to work in groups of four on their projects. While the students are getting into their groups, you see one student push another so hard he falls down. The push is clearly intentional and unprovoked. The child who fell yells, “Stop pushing me around! You always do this, just leave me alone.”

MyLab Education Video Example 2.2 Bullying is a problem that can have a negative impact on student’s personal, social, and cognitive development. Here a group of teachers discuss strategies for reducing bullying in their school.

Bullying, a subtler kind of school violence, is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can exist in the form of threats, teasing about perceived sexual orientation, refusing to let someone participate or play, or direct attacks. It can also include behindthe-back behaviors, such as spreading malicious rumors, writing harmful graffiti, or encouraging others to exclude a child. Although physical bullying declines with age, subtler forms persist, such as excluding others from a peer group, as in the example we saw above (Bartlett, Prot, Anderson, & Gentile, 2017). Bullying is receiving increased attention, as educators better understand its damaging effects on students and possible links to suicides and school shootings. Because of the perceived seriousness of bullying as a school mental health problem, all 50 states have passed anti-bullying laws, and many districts have implemented zero-tolerance policies (Brackett & Rivers, 2014). Unfortunately, these laws and policies have been largely ineffective for reducing incidents of bullying. All of us remember teasing and taunting in the halls and on school playgrounds, and many parents and teachers considered this a normal rite of passage. But research now links bullying to a number of antisocial and aggressive behaviors that can have negative consequences for both bullies and victims (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Research suggests that bullying is a major factor contributing to the mindset of individuals involved in many school shootings; both bullies and victims are more likely to carry weapons, bring them to school, and become involved in serious fights. People who bully take advantage of imbalances in power, such as greater size or strength, higher social status, or the support of a peer group. Typical victims include students who are overweight, physically immature, anxious or lacking self-confidence, socially isolated, or LGBTQ or are students with exceptionalities (Bartlett et al., 2017).

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 57

Bullying is more common than many adults realize, but getting accurate information about the incidence of bullying is difficult because statistics vary and victims are often hesitant about reporting it. For example, one large study found that 35% of students reported being bullied (Modecki, Minchin, Harbaught, Guerra, & Runions, 2014), and a more recent study put the figure at slightly more than 20% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). Assuming that this decrease is accurate, we still have a serious problem with bullying in our schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Experts think the incidence of bullying is actually higher than reported because it usually occurs in areas where students interact informally and have little adult supervision, such as playgrounds, hallways, cafeterias, and school buses (Berk, 2019b). Bullying hurts and leaves victims with emotional scars that can extend into adulthood; victims of bullying were more than four times as likely to have anxiety disorders, compared to non-bullied students (Saint Louis, 2013). Bullying is typically learned, with modeling and reinforcement by parents and peers playing major roles (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Bullies tend to come from homes where parents are authoritarian, hostile, and rejecting. Parents of bullies often have poor problemsolving skills änd use fighting as a solution for conflicts, and their children then imitate these behaviors. Bullies are often emotionally underdeveloped, and they’re unable to understand or empathize with others’ perspectives or regulate their own behavior. Students are often hesitant to report bullying because they fear reprisals or don’t want to appear weak or unable to solve their own social problems. This is where alert and sensitive teachers play a crucial role. Teachers sometimes fail to take steps to address the problem because they perceive bullying incidents as part of the normal rough-and-tumble give-and-take that amounts to something that should be expected when young children are involved. Unfortunately, beginning teachers are often less likely than veterans to respond to incidents of bullying.

Bullying: Implications for Teaching Bullying is an important issue that affects not only specific students but also school climate and the way students feel about our classrooms. We need to be proactive in communicating that bullying won’t be tolerated. When bullying does occur, we should intervene immediately and apply appropriate consequences for the perpetrators. Perhaps more importantly, we can use bullying incidents as teachable moments because bullying is often tolerated and even encouraged by peers. Discussions of right and wrong, the way we should treat others, tolerance for differences, and abuse of power can make a difference in time. Also, experts emphasize teaching about the emotions involved in bullying and how bullying affects the bully, the victim, and other students who witness the bullying (Brackett & Rivers, 2014). Teachers working together can make a difference, not only in their classrooms but also in their schools.

Cyberbullying The growing presence of the internet in students’ lives has resulted in cyberbullying, a relatively new form of bullying that occurs when students use electronic media to harass or intimidate other students (Jones, 2018). Cyberbullying has received enormous attention in response to the suicides of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi in 2010, after his roommate streamed video of his sexual encounter with another male student, and of Florida 12-year-old Rebecca Ann Sedwick in 2013, after a year and a half of constant cyberbullying, made headlines across our country. Since then, both school officials and parents have become concerned about this growing problem. The internet, whether accessed by smartphone or some other platform, is used by nearly 9 of 10 people in our country, and “in 2014, approximately 70% of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 years reported experiencing some form of online harassment, including being purposefully embarrassed, called offensive names, or repeatedly being physically threatened” (Gibb & Deveroux, 2016, p. 313). And nearly 6 of 10

58  Chapter 2 students report having been bullied or harassed on the internet (Anderson, 2018). The most common forms of cyberbullying include offensive name-calling (42%), spreading of false rumors (32%), receiving unsolicited explicit images (25%), and physical threats (16%) (Anderson, 2018). Given the popularity of the internet among teenagers (most teenagers use it every day), cyberbullying is likely to remain a persistent problem. What does cyberbullying feel like? Let’s hear how one high school student described it. I received an e-mail from the ringleader of the group. I opened it up to reveal a headline that bluntly stated, ‘Fifty Reasons Why We Can’t Be Friends With You.’ (Kristoff, 2013, p. A27)

The e-mail message then described these 50 reasons, ranging from her body and how she dressed to her personality. How did the student react? I felt sick. I wasn’t going to let them get me. . . . I deleted the note, picked up the pieces and moved on. I found friends who were kind and accepting. Friends who wouldn’t devour their own. (Kristoff, 2013, p. A27)

Many victims of cyberbullying aren’t this strong. Cyberbullying tends to follow the same patterns as traditional forms of bullying; students who are bullies and victims on the playground play similar roles in cyberspace (Boyd, 2014). In fact, two-thirds of cyberbullies also exhibit aggressive behaviors in other contexts. The anonymity of the internet distinguishes cyberbullying from other types, and this anonymity can make bullies even less sensitive to the hurtful nature of the bullying incidents.

Cyberbullying: Implications for Teaching Attempts to prevent cyberbullying focus on both the victims and the aggressors. A comprehensive effort to prevent both bullying and cyberbullying in Norway involved parents, teachers, and students (Aronson, Wilson, Sommers, & Akert, 2019). Information about the possible negative outcomes of cyberbullying, along with positive steps to prevent bullying, resulted in a reduction of all forms of bullying by 50%. Teaching students about the harmful effects of bullying does work. Legal efforts to prevent cyberbullying have been complicated by First Amendment rights that protect free speech. All states have enacted anti-bullying laws; 47 of those state laws target electronic harassment, and 18% specifically prohibit cyberbullying (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). Legal experts conclude, “In effect, all anti-bullying laws can be interpreted to prohibit cyberbullying” (Schimmel et al., 2015, p. 166). But a court case in New York found that some anti-cyberbullying laws went too far, interfering with a person’s freedom of speech when using electronic media (Blad, 2014a). Victims can take several actions that discourage cyberbullying (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). First, if possible, they should obtain the e-mail address of the bully. Then, they should print the offensive message as proof of their harassment and provide it to adults. If they don’t know who the bully is, they should change their screen name and only share it with good friends. Long term, we should discuss the problem in our classes, emphasizing the hurt it causes to others, and encouraging a sense of empathy, fair play, and appropriate treatment of others. Because of our close contact with students, we can be instrumental in helping our students understand how their actions influence others.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 2.2: Preventing Bullying in Schools In this exercise you will be asked to identify strategies teachers use to prevent bullying in their schools.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 59

School-Wide Safety Programs School-wide safety programs are designed to make schools safe havens for teaching and learning through comprehensive antiviolence and anti-bullying programs (Blad, 2018b; Toppo, 2018). In 2011, New Jersey passed an anti-bullying law that required each school to appoint a safety team to review all bullying complaints and required principals to begin a review within one school day of any reported bullying incidents (Hu, 2011). The aim of this law, called the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, was to make schools accountable for the safety of their students. When school safety programs work, school leaders establish policies that clearly communicate that violence and bullying will not be tolerated, and parents, administrators, and teachers then monitor playgrounds, lunchrooms, and hallways, areas where these incidents are most common. When an incident occurs, it’s quickly identified and defused, and the students involved are held accountable for their actions. In other attempts to increase school safety, many schools are adopting comprehensive security measures, such as having visitors sign in, closing campuses during lunch, and controlling access to school buildings (Blad, 2018a; Toppo, 2018). Schools are also adding prevention policies that include use of hallway police, student photo ID badges, transparent book bags, handheld metal detectors, and breathalyzers to check for alcohol consumption. In many districts, visitors are screened through an electronic system that matches drivers’ licenses to a database of convicted sex offenders. Students are warned to avoid jokes about violence and are given hotline numbers to anonymously report any indications that a classmate could turn violent. Schools are also creating peer buddy systems and adult mentorship programs and are teaching conflict-resolution skills as alternatives to violence (Johnson & Johnson, 2017). But, experts warn that these are first steps and do not guarantee the safety of school personnel. School Safety, Guns, and Politics.  In the aftermath of gun violence in schools across the country, and particularly the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, questions about access to guns were widely raised. But politics continues to stymy efforts to control gun access across our country. For instance, a federal panel commissioned to assess school safety refused to look at gun accessibility (Green, 2018). And, in Texas and Florida, sites of recent school shootings, legislators refused to target gun control as one measure to reduce school violence (Bacon & Schmitz, 2018; Oppel, 2018). The political power of the National Rifle Association to quell attempts at gun restrictions was evident in all cases. The enormous publicity generated by school shooting incidents has led many schools around the country to experiment with additional approaches to making schools safe. One of the most controversial involves zero-tolerance policies, which call for students to receive automatic suspensions or expulsions as punishment for certain offenses, primarily those involving weapons, threats, or drugs. Such policies have become increasingly popular across the nation. We examine controversies surrounding zero-tolerance policies in our Issues You’ll Face in Teaching feature that follows later in this section.

Suicide Think about this statistic: Suicide is the third-leading cause of teen death, surpassed only by car accidents and homicides (Bokas & Ward, 2018)! About a half million young people attempt suicide each year, and between 2,000 and 5,000 succeed; accurate figures are hard to obtain because of the social stigma attached to suicide (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). The suicide rate among adolescents has quadrupled in the last 50 years; in the time period from 2006 to 2016 the teen suicide rate increased by more than 70% (Brooks, 2018; Fisher & Frey, 2017/2018). This increase is part of a national trend; the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline saw calls double from 2014 to 2017 (Pitofsky, 2018). And elementary students are not immune to the problem; between 2008 and 2016, the number of elementary-aged suicide deaths doubled (O’Donnell, 2018). Girls are twice as

60  Chapter 2 likely as boys to attempt suicide, but boys are four times more likely to succeed. Boys tend to employ more lethal means, such as shooting themselves, whereas girls choose more survivable methods, such as overdosing on drugs. Causes of teen suicide vary, but most are related to the stresses of adolescence; they include family conflicts, parental unemployment and divorce, drug use, failed peer relationships, and peer harassment, especially for LGBTQ youth (Berk, 2019a). In addition, students who are socially isolated as well as those who display antisocial behaviors, such as fighting, bullying, and drug use, are more likely to attempt suicide. In a bizarre twist to the topic, educators are now concerned about the messages the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet is sending to adolescents (Means, 2018). (Recall that the play ends with the two main characters committing suicide.) To address this concern, suicide prevention experts were on hand at performances for students to discuss the problem and place it into perspective. Indicators of a potential suicide include: • An abrupt decline in the quality of schoolwork • Withdrawal from friends or classroom and school activities • Neglect of personal appearance or radical changes in personality • Changes in eating or sleeping habits • Depression, as evidenced by persistent boredom or lack of interest in school activities • Student comments about suicide as a solution to problems (American Psychological Association, 2014) If you observe any of these indicators in a student, contact a school counselor or psychologist immediately; early intervention is essential (Fisher & Frey, 2017/2018).

Child Abuse You’re a middle school teacher in a rural district, and you meet with your homeroom students every day. You use homeroom to take care of daily routines and get to know your students as individuals. Janine has always been a bright, happy student who gets along well with her classmates. Lately, she seems withdrawn, and her personal appearance is disheveled. When you look at her, she seems hesitant to make eye contact. You ask her to come in after school to talk. She says she has to go right home to help care for her younger brothers and sisters, so you suggest her lunch break instead. She reluctantly agrees. When she comes in, she appears nervous, fidgeting with her hands, and refusing to look at you. You ask her how she feels, and she replies, “Fine.” You mention that she seems to be different lately, preoccupied. She only shrugs. You ask if there is anything bothering her, and she shakes her head no. You reaffirm your availability if she ever wants to talk, and she smiles briefly. As she gathers her books to get up and leave, her sweater slides off her shoulder, revealing bruises. “Janine, what happened to your arm?” “Oh, I fell the other day.” “But how did you hurt the inside of your arm?” Janine’s pained and embarrassed expression suggests that a fall wasn’t the cause. “Did someone try to hurt you, Janine? You can tell me.” “Only if you promise not to tell,” she blurts out. Without thinking, you agree. She proceeds to tearfully tell you about an angry father who has been out of work for months and who becomes violent when he drinks. As she leaves, she makes you promise that you won’t tell anyone. What would you do in this situation?

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 61

Child abuse is another serious problem today’s young people face. In spite of an increase in media attention, abuse and neglect often remain hidden or unreported, so reliable figures are hard to obtain. However, based on available evidence, some grim statistics exist (American Society for the Positive Care of Children, 2016): • Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 children have been killed in their own homes by a family member, nearly four times the number of soldiers killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. • Teens who have been abused are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. • Nearly a third of parents who have been abused will abuse their own children, continuing a heinous cycle. • Nearly 4 of 5 21-year-olds who were abused as children meet criteria for at least one psychological disorder. • Nearly 2 of 3 people in treatment for drug abuse reported being abused or neglected as children. • When sexual abuse occurs, it most commonly involves a family member, relative, or friend. In 2014, child protective services agencies across the country received over 3 million reports of child abuse, and further investigation found that over 700,000 children had been victims of abuse or mistreatment (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015). Because abuse and neglect are often hidden, reliable figures are difficult to obtain. When data were analyzed, researchers found that most victims suffered from neglect, followed by physical and sexual abuse. Experts estimate that one in five girls and one in 20 boys are sexually abused as children (Blad, 2014c). When sexual abuse occurs, it most commonly involves a family member or friend. Although child abuse can occur at any level of society, it tends to be associated with poverty and often linked to parental substance abuse. As a teacher, you will be in a unique position to identify child abuse because you’ll work with children every day. Possible symptoms of abuse include: • Neglected appearance • Sudden changes in either academic or social behavior • Disruptive or overly compliant behavior • Repeated injuries, such as bruises, welts, or burns Teachers in all 50 states are legally bound to report suspected child abuse, and you and your school are protected from lawsuits if a report is made honestly and includes behavioral data, such as observations of the symptoms just listed (Schimmel et al., 2015).

Technology and Teaching: Should We Be Worried About Addiction to Technology? To begin to answer this question,we need to look at our students’ use of technology. Three aspects of technology use stand out, the first of which is smartphones and texting. The iPhone first came on the market in 2007; today, 396 million cellphone service accounts exist in our country (Will, 2018). Ninety-five percent of teens own or have access to a smartphone (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Nine of 10 teens go online several times a day, and 18.7 billion (not million) texts are sent each day (Burke, 2016). This averages out to 32 texts per person per day! It gets worse. American adults between the ages of 18 and 24 send and receive an average of over 128 texts per day or 3,853 per month. It is no wonder that some experts are warning about the problem of tech addiction.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fourth item in this chapter’s What I Believe feature, “If I see what I suspect is an instance of child abuse, I’m required by law to report it to the proper authorities.” This statement is true. Every state and the District of Columbia require that teachers report instances of child abuse either to school authorities or to the police. The intent of the laws is to encourage teachers to report these problems and to protect them if they do.

62  Chapter 2

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Zero Tolerance The era of zero tolerance began in 1994, when Congress

wrenched communities across the nation” (Langer Research

passed the Gun-Free Schools Act, requiring states receiving fed-

Associates, 2018, p. K9). In addition, 34% of parents fear for

eral funds to expel for one year any student who brought a fire-

their child’s physical safety.

arm to school (Curran, 2016a). The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act broadened the focus from firearms to all weapons and included expelling students for possessing drugs or drug paraphernalia. This act became part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and continues to have a powerful effect on teachers and their classrooms. This issue will affect you because you have the most direct contact with students, and you will be expected to report inci-

Con • Zero-tolerance policies are exacerbating the school-to-prison pipeline, “a national trend in which school policies and practices are directly and indirectly pushing students out of school and on a pathway to prison. Often zero-tolerance policies in schools funnel students into this pipeline” (Maxime, 2018, para. 2). • When expulsions occur, fewer than six of 10 students are

dents of noncompliance.

sent to an alternative placement; the rest are sent home to

The Issue

crime even greater. Research shows that suspended high

The need for safe schools is obvious, and the premise of zero-

school students were as much as 10 times more likely to

tolerance policies—that students who endanger or disrupt the

drop out of school, experience academic failure and grade

learning environment for the rest of the school population should

retention, and face incarceration later in life (Justice4All,

be removed—is intuitively sensible. But are zero-tolerance poli-

2016; Lacoe, & Steinberg, 2019). School suspensions also

cies the best way to make our schools and classrooms safe?

result in psychological problems and emotional disengage-

Leaders disagree, and the following are arguments on both

ment from school (Pyne, 2019).

fend for themselves, making the likelihood of truancy and

sides of the issue:

• The implementation of the policies is inconsistent, and some say biased (Curran, 2016b). Nationally, in the 2010–2011

Pro • Our schools need to be safe havens where parents can send their children, and zero-tolerance policies have resulted in safer, less-violent schools. In recent years, incidents of crime and violence have decreased in schools, largely because of zero-tolerance policies (Kaste, 2018). • Students can’t learn if they don’t feel physically and emotionally safe (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Safety is a basic human need, and students need to feel both emotionally and physically safe so they can devote their full energies and attention to learning.

school year, Black students were five times more likely to be suspended, and Latino students were almost three times as likely to be suspended as White students (Chandler, 2014). • The policies fail to discriminate between major and minor disruptions, so schools sometimes punish students for minor transgressions. For example, more than 8,000 3- and 4-yearold students were expelled in the 2011 school year for relatively minor offenses, and as with other studies, Blacks and boys were overrepresented (Samuels, 2014).

The Question

• Parents and other taxpayers are concerned about school

Do zero-tolerance programs make schools safer and better

safety. “Just 27% of K–12 parents express strong confidence

places to learn, or do the related negative side effects outweigh

that their school could deter an attack like those that have

the benefits?

Social media is a second issue. We’ve already learned that school-age children spend more than 63 hours a week in front of either a television or computer screen (Riley, 2018). Possible addiction to social media is significant enough that a massive long-term study is being conducted asking if social media use is stimulating the reward centers in young people’s brains in ways similar to the impact of drugs, such as marijuana. If the answer turns out to be yes, researchers then believe that they can design interventions to deal with the possible addiction (Rowe, 2019). The third technology use issue is gaming. Responses to worldwide trends have led the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider adding “gaming disorder” to its International Classification of Diseases (Hsu, 2018). The organization describes the condition as “ . . . impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 63

over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities . . . ” (Price & Snider, 2018, p. 3A). Around the world, 2.6 billion people play video games, including two-thirds of American households (Hsu, 2018). Anyone who has ever tried to talk with a teenager while they’re in the middle of a video game understands what the WHO is talking about. Experts estimate that up to 1% of our country’s general population, and as many as 9% of young players, might qualify for this diagnosis (Hsu, 2018; Price & Snider, 2018). Some experts compare it to substance abuse and gambling disorders because they all interfere with students’ health (Rowe, 2019). One therapist battling with the problem compared it to cocaine addiction: “Their lives are ruined, their interpersonal relationships suffer, their physical condition suffers” (Hsu, 2018, p. B3). But other experts aren’t so sure. In 2014, the American Psychological Association included this condition in an appendix, signaling that additional research is needed before classifying gaming addiction as a disorder (Price & Snider, 2018). Critics also question whether the disorder is a symptom of possible psychological problems and not vice versa; in essence, they wonder whether problems such as anxiety and depression result in excessive gaming and not the reverse (Carey, 2018). Therapies to treat the disorder range from rural retreats weaning patients away from electronic media to horseback riding (Carey, 2018; Hsu, 2018). Some treatments last for months and can cost up to $30,000. And there is a waiting list for many of these treatments! Other concerns focus on the broader issue of students’ overreliance on or overuse of electronic media. Many are questioning whether students’ hours devoted to social media are displacing face-to-face social interaction, hampering healthy social development, and leading to mental and emotional problems (Hsu, 2018; Price & Snider, 2018). Mental health problems in teens have become severe enough to be covered in the popular news media. For instance, 1 of 5 teenagers is believed to suffer from a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavior disorder, and 7 of 10 say it’s a major problem in their friends and acquaintances (Snow & McFadden, 2017). In recognition of this danger, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged parents to avoid screen times for children younger than 18 months, limit screen time for two- to five-year-olds to one hour a day of high-quality programming, and carefully monitor the time older students spend on social media (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016). Research supports these suggestions. For instance, limiting screen time to two hours or less, combined with sufficient sleep and physical activity, is linked to improved cognition and academic performance (Molina, 2018). That’s the good news. The bad news is that only 1 in 20 children in our country meets all these guidelines, and nearly 1 of 3 meets none of them. Further, researchers found that teens who use digital media excessively are twice as likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as infrequent users (Suppe, 2018). Experts don’t totally agree about the extent to which technology might be harmful or addictive, but even technology advocates agree that parents should carefully monitor the time their children spend on media, and research is sending us messages we should share with our students.

Addiction to Technology: Implications for Teaching Technology, as with virtually all aspects of life, should be used in moderation. That’s the message we take away from this discussion, and one we should share with our students. As teachers, we should set clear limits on cellphone use in our classes and explain why; students can’t learn effectively if they’re distracted by their phones. We should explain why, sharing with them information about multi-tasking and the dangers of cell phone use while driving (and learning). We should also talk about healthy technology use and possible drawbacks to both friendships and development that can result from overusing media (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Everyone needs face-to-face contacts in their daily lives, and learning to develop these

64  Chapter 2 friendships is part of healthy social development. We can help students develop interpersonal skills with activities such as cooperative learning, which encourages students to communicate with each other face to face, as well as discussions and roleplaying (Klosser, Wilsey, Madkins, & Windschitl, 2019). Each provides opportunities for social interaction, and can contribute to multiple dimensions of learner development. MyLab Education Self-Check 2.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 2.3  Explain how socioeconomic status influences students and their success at school. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Teaching and You Were finances ever an important concern in your family? Did your parents go to college? What kinds of jobs do they have?

The Influence of Socioeconomic Factors on Students As you begin this section, think about the amount of time your students will spend in your classroom compared to the rest of their day. Classroom time is actually quite limited; experts estimate that—when weekends and holidays are factored in—children spend five times as many hours in their homes and neighborhoods as they do in school (Berliner, 2009). During this out-of-school time, students learn a great deal about the world, and they develop attitudes and values that shape the ways they’ll act and learn in our classrooms. The family is the primary influence on students in their out-of-school time. Interest in the influence that families have on learning peaked in 1966 when the famous and controversial Coleman Report suggested that family background was the primary factor influencing student achievement (Coleman et al., 1966). More recently one expert noted, “We have moved from a society in the 1950s and 1960s in which race was more consequential than family income, to one today in which family income appears more determinative of educational success than race” (Tavernise, 2012, p. A3). Research confirms this conclusion; not only has the achievement gap between rich and poor children grown in the last three decades, but it is also nearly twice as large as the black–white achievement gap (Maxwell, 2012c). Socioeconomic status (SES), the combination of family income, parents’ occupations, and level of parental education, consistently predicts intelligence and achievement test scores, grades, truancy, and dropout and suspension rates (Macionis, 2019; Putnam, 2016). Researchers describe socioeconomic status using four classes—upper, middle, working, and lower—with finer distinctions within each (Macionis, 2019). Table 2.1 outlines characteristics of these different socioeconomic classes. Before you continue,

Table 2.1  Characteristics of Different Socioeconomic Classes Upper Class Income

$170,000+

Middle Class

Working Class

Lower Class

$80,000–170,000 (1⁄2)

$25,000–$40,000

Below $25,000

$40,000–80,000 (1⁄2) Occupation

Corporate or professional (e.g., doctor, lawyer)

White collar, skilled blue collar

Blue collar

Minimum-wage unskilled labor

Education

Attended college and professional schools and expect children to do the same

High school, college, or professional schools; strive to help their children do the same or higher.

High school; may or may not encourage college.

High school or less; cost a major factor in education.

Housing

Own home in prestigious neighborhood

Usually own home

About half own a home

Rent

SOURCES: Information from Fontenot, Semega, & Kollar, 2018; Macionis, 2019; and Macionis & Parillo, 2017.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 65

look at Table 2.1, see where you are, and think about how your family background influenced your attitudes and values related to school. We’ll share ours later in this section. The upper class, composed of highly educated, highly paid professionals (people who usually have a bachelor’s degree or higher and make more than $170,000 per year), is at the top of the SES pyramid. Although only a small part of the total population (about 5%), the upper class controls a disproportionate amount of the wealth (some estimate that the top 1% controls nearly half of the wealth in this country, and the top 5% control almost 60%) (Macionis, 2019; Macionis & Parillo, 2017). The middle class is composed of managers, administrators, and white-collar workers. As a teacher, you’ll likely be in this class; you will hold a bachelor’s or higher degree, join a professional organization, and, as we saw in Chapter 1, earn around $59,000 per year (Statista, 2018). Middle-class incomes typically range between $40,000 and $170,000; about 4 of 10 families in our country are middle class (Macionis, 2019). Families in the working class, also called the lower middle class, earn between $25,000 and $40,000 per year and compose about a third of the population. Most have a high school education and hold steady blue-collar jobs involving manual labor, such as construction or factory work. About half of this group owns a home. College is a reality for only about a third of working-class children. Families in the lower class typically make less than $25,000 per year, have a high school education or less, and work in low-paying, entry-level jobs (Macionis, 2019). About one of five families in our country falls into this category, and the percentage is increasing. Only half of lower-class family members complete high school, and only one of four reaches college. People in the lowest-earning segment of this category often depend on public assistance to supplement their incomes and are often the third or fourth generation to live in poverty. The term underclass is often used to describe people with low incomes who continually struggle with economic problems. Escaping from the underclass is very difficult, and poverty poses special challenges to these families and their children, a topic we examine next.

Poverty Mia, a sixth grader, hurries home from school with Nathan, her fourth-grade brother, fixes them both a snack, and starts on her homework. Then she straightens up the small apartment they share with their single mother, who works two low-paying jobs, has some health problems, and usually collapses on the sofa, exhausted, after work, which is where Mia often finds her when getting home from school. Mia cleans up the dishes from the day before and fixes dinner for Nathan and their mom. She’s afraid they will run out of money and won’t have enough to eat, or maybe will even have to leave their apartment. Mia’s life is complex and demanding, and she sometimes doesn’t have enough time to keep up with her schoolwork.

Poverty exerts a toll on both families and children. And poverty can have devastating effects on students. For instance, research in neuroscience indicates that children growing up in poverty face high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which changes the architecture of the brain and impairs brain circuits responsible for impulse and emotional control, memory, dealing with errors, and healthy metabolic functioning (McCoy, 2016). These results are even more pronounced if children are coming to school hungry (NoKidHungry, 2016). As a result, children of poverty begin their schooling already at a significant disadvantage, and poverty-related problems can have dramatic effects on learning. For instance, in addition to lower achievement, they are more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems in school, they’re twice as likely as their peers to be suspended and repeat a grade, and they’re five times more likely to drop out of school (Lesaux & Jones, 2016). Further, the percentage of American families below the poverty level is consistently higher than in other industrialized countries, and childhood poverty could be eliminated, according to a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

66  Chapter 2 (NASEM, 2019), with a program that would involve expanding tax credits, providing housing vouchers, and increasing support for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (food stamps). This would obviously cost money, and political conservatives, who argue that people in poverty don’t work hard enough and have unproductive work habits, are unwilling to make the investment (Fessler, 2019; NASEM, 2019; Porter, 2018). This doesn’t appear to be wise economics, however. “Current levels of child poverty cost the U.S. between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion a year” (Fessler, 2019, para. 3). These figures result from the children becoming less productive adults and increased costs due to higher crime and poor health. In the end, the whole country pays the price (NASEM, 2019). To assist families, the federal government has established poverty thresholds, household income levels that represent the lowest earnings required to meet basic living needs. In 2017, the federal government defined the poverty level for a family of four as $24,600 (PeopleKeep, 2018). This definition is determined primarily by the cost of food, and it largely ignores other factors, such as housing, transportation, and energy. Almost 40 million people were living below the poverty level in 2017, and many of these live in families with incomes below half the poverty level (Fontenot, Semega, & Kollar, 2018). Several disturbing patterns exist in our country with respect to poverty. Children represent 23% of our country’s population but 33% of the total number of people living in poverty (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2017). Nearly one of five U.S. students lives in poverty, and almost half of the poor in our country are people under the age of 25 (Federal Safety Net, 2017). A third of children living in poverty have at least one parent working full-time, but the low-paying jobs available to poorly educated parents can’t keep up with the rising cost of living (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2018). Experts estimate that half of all Americans will at some point experience poverty (OECD, 2018), and the percentage of American families below the poverty level is consistently higher than in other industrialized countries (Bradbury, Corak, Waldfogel, & Washbrook, 2016). Poverty is not equally distributed across different groups in our country (see Table 2.2). For instance, 22% of all African Americans but 40% of those under age 6, and 20% of all Hispanics but one-third of those under age 6, live in poverty. This compares to nearly 9% of whites and 14% of white children under age 6 who live in poverty (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2017). These statistics reflect disturbing trends; the poverty rate for children in each group is higher than the overall rate (see Figure 2.2). Level of education is also important; the poverty rate for students who don’t graduate from high school is more than five times greater than the rate for college graduates. Marital status is also significant; the poverty rate for single mothers is more than five times greater, and the rate for single fathers is twice the poverty rate for married couples. And, if more than one of these factors exists in a person or family, the chance of escaping poverty is that much more difficult. The poverty rate in our country is influenced by two major factors: the economy and federal programs to combat poverty. The poverty rate, which in 2017 was 13%, fluctuates with the economy; the Great Recession, which began in 2007, resulted in a jump of 2% in the nationwide poverty rate (Pear, 2014). Federal programs also make a difference in reducing the adverse effects of poverty; the poverty rate before President Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” in 1964 was 19% but dipped as low as 11% during the 1970s when the economy was thriving and federal anti-poverty programs were working (Pear, 2014). Many of our students, like pre-service teachers nationwide, come from the suburbs and think that they won’t encounter poverty in their classrooms. This isn’t true. For instance, we used to think of poverty as an inner city or remote rural problem, but 55% of poor students now live in the suburbs. This suggests that no matter where you teach, you’ll likely work with students who live in poverty. A major reason that poverty in the United States, a basically wealthy country, is so hard to combat is that politicians disagree about its root causes. Liberals focus on the stagnation of wages, the disappearance of middle-class jobs that pay well, and

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 67

Table 2.2  Poverty Rates by Race, Educational Attainment, and Marital Status Poverty statistics by race

Americans in the category (millions)

Americans in poverty (millions)

Poverty rate

White, not Hispanic

195.2

17.3

 8.8%

African American

 42.0

 9.2

22.0%

Asian

 18.9

 1.9

10.1%

Hispanic

 57.6

11.1

19.4%

Americans over 25 years old (millions)

Americans over 25 years old in poverty (millions)

Poverty rate

No high school diploma

22.5

5.6

24.8%

High school diploma

62.5

8.3

13.3%

Some college, no degree

57.8

5.4

 9.4%

College degree or higher

74.1

3.3

 4.5%

Race

Poverty statistics by educational attainment

Educational Attainment

Poverty statistics by marital status

All families (millions)

Families in poverty (millions)

Married couple

60.8

3.1

 5.1%

Single mother

15.6

4.1

26.6%

Single father

 6.5

 .8

13.1%

Marital status

Poverty rate

SOURCE: Federal Safety Net, 2017; Semega, Fontenot, & Kollar, 2017.

Figure 2.2  Child Poverty Rates for Children Under 6 by Race/Ethnicity SOURCE: Based upon National Center for Children in Poverty, 2017.

45 40%

40 35

32%

30 25 20 15

14%

12%

10 5 0

White

Asian

Hispanic

Black

Percentage of Children in Poverty

the insecurity of low-paying jobs. In contrast, conservatives target effort, arguing that people in poverty don’t try hard enough and have unproductive work habits (Krugman, 2014; Porter, 2018). A political solution to this persistent problem is unlikely, given the current political gridlock in Congress. And, you will likely encounter students who come to school hungry. The federal government has attempted to address this issue by making children whose families are at or below 130% of the poverty level eligible for free breakfasts and lunches, and those between 130% and 185% eligible for reduced-price meals (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2018). This program provides free or low-cost lunches to more than 30 million

68  Chapter 2 students each day, but many families that qualify don’t participate, being either unaware that the programs are available or too proud to take advantage of them (Verstegen, Knoeppel, & Brimley, 2020). And, unfortunately, the federal safety nets that do exist are among the weakest of any industrialized country (OECD, 2018; Rank, 2018) The issues of childhood hunger and poverty are not new, and children in poverty face additional poverty-associated problems, such as substandard housing, an inadequate diet, lack of health insurance, and chronic dental or health problems. Experts estimate that the annual cost of poverty in the United States is over $1 trillion and that every dollar spent on reducing childhood poverty results in a total savings of $7 in down-the-road costs (McLaughlin & Rank, 2018). These same children also face deprivation and violence in their communities and little or no funds for school supplies, and their overburdened parents subsist on welfare or work long hours at miserably paid jobs. Together these conditions pose enormous problems for America’s schools and the teachers who work in them. Seventy-three percent of teachers report that they regularly work with hungry students who don’t have enough to eat at home, responding in a variety of ways, such as keeping snacks in their desks and spending nearly $40 a month out of their own pockets (Klein, 2013). They also help students sign up for free or reduced-priced meals at school. Food insecurity is not limited to P–12 students; college students also suffer from food insecurity. Research suggests that almost 50% of college undergraduates experience food insecurity, and 20% of two-year college students have very low levels of food security (Broton & Goldrick-Rab, 2018). Perhaps you were one of these students or knew students who were. To address the effects of poverty on students, a number of districts across the country have implemented integration-by-income programs, including Louisville, Kentucky; Omaha, Nebraska; and San Francisco (Kahlenberg, 2012a, 2012b). These programs integrate students from different SES levels in a variety of ways, including magnet schools, vouchers, and even busing. All are based on the belief that high concentrations of students from impoverished backgrounds limit a school’s ability to meet students’ learning needs. Research indicates that these programs are effective in lowering achievement gaps between White children and children from ethnically diverse communities, as well as improving the ways that different groups think about and get along with each other (Wells, Fox, & Cordova-Cobo, 2016).

Homelessness When Dasani wakes up in the morning, she can hear the rest of her family breathing in the space where they live. Their makeshift home is small. She shares the room with her younger brothers and sisters who are tangled beside her, their chests rising and falling under winter coats and wool blankets to keep warm. A few feet away, her parents sleep near the mop bucket they use as a toilet. Two other children share a mattress by the rotting wall where mice live; the baby, whose crib is warmed by a hair dryer perched on a milk crate, sleeps nearby. (Based on Elliott, 2013)

This is what homelessness feels like to one of the nearly 115,000 homeless students in New York City (Harris, 2018a). Dasani lives with her family in a run-down homeless shelter that serves as home for her family until better options arise. New York City teachers are likely to have two or three homeless children in their classrooms (Harris, 2018b). New York City is merely one example. Homelessness has become such a national issue that the children’s television show Sesame Street introduced Lily, a new homeless Muppet (Stewart, 2018). Lily debuted seven years ago as a character to highlight the problems of childhood hunger; in her newest incarnation, Lily plays a homeless girl who drifts from homeless shelters to relatives’ homes, trying to find a safe, comfortable place to sleep and live. Lily’s Sesame Street creators hope she will help other children understand and empathize with the plight of homeless children.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 69

Homelessness is a direct result of poverty. An accurate count of homeless students is difficult, but experts estimate that in 2016, 1.3 million students were homeless, including one in 30 high school-aged students and one in 10 young adults aged 18–25 (Morton, Dworsky, & Samuels, 2017; Samuels, 2018). And 35% of people experiencing homelessness live in families (Pavlakis, 2018). To survive, homeless families resort to a number of strategies to find shelter. For instance, more than three-fourths move in with friends or relatives, 14% live in shelters, 7% live in motels or hotels, and an unfortunate few (3%) are unsheltered, with no place to call home (Samuels, 2018). The typical homeless family is headed by a single woman in her 20s with limited education and two children, one or both under age 6. Children exposed to homelessness are twice as likely to come to school hungry and often have major developmental lags in speech, social skills, and motor coordination. They are also three times more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems and are twice as likely to drop out of school, be suspended, or repeat a grade. More than one in five have repeated two grades (Macionis & Parillo, 2017; Hardin & Wille, 2017). In the 2013–2014 school year, only 13% of homeless students met grade-level standards in English, and 17% met math standards (Pavlakis, 2018). Being homeless takes a heavy toll on children and their ability to learn and develop. Homeless children often come from unstable families and lack medical care; a large percentage don’t regularly attend school because of either family or logistical problems, such as not being able to get to their old school after relocating to a homeless shelter. One study found that New York City homeless elementary students missed 88 days out of a 178-day school year (Harris, 2018b). Homeless students can’t learn if they aren’t in school. A major provision of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act required that districts provide homeless students with transportation to their original schools, but cash-strapped districts found it difficult to comply with this law. The federal government has acted. Under provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which we describe in Chapter 12, our nation’s public school districts are required to: • Identify and prepare school personnel to locate, enroll, and support homeless students. • Increase “school stability” for homeless children, that is, allow them to remain in the same school, even if they move, such as to a different shelter or motel. • Ensure counseling for furthering their education and providing access to financial aid. • Help young homeless children get into early childhood programs. • Authorize more funding to support school districts’ efforts to identify and serve homeless children (National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, 2018). Schools respond to the problem of homelessness in several ways by becoming sanctuaries or havens for children whose lives have been turned upside down (Shapiro, 2018). Recognizing the difficulties of students’ home situations, they attempt to make school admission, attendance, and course requirements flexible; they provide outreach services, such as counselors, after-school programs, and financial aid for transportation; and school officials coordinate with other community agencies to ensure that basic needs, such as food and shelter, are met. A number of urban schools across the country target homeless children as their primary clients (Hallett, Skrla, & Low, 2015). They send school buses around their cities to pick up the children, and they maintain rooms in which students can shower, wash clothes, and get clean underwear and changes of clothes. Volunteer pediatricians staff on-site clinics and provide free medical care and immunizations. One school even handed out alarm clocks (old-fashioned windups because many of the children don’t have access to electricity) to help them get to school on time. Teacher dedication and effort make these schools work. Nothing is more powerful than teachers’ commitment to students’ personal and academic well-being.

70  Chapter 2 The problem of homelessness is exacerbated by economic downturns, and many families that were just getting by often face being evicted from their homes (Macionis, 2019). Families that once owned homes or were renting now find shelter in one-room motel rooms—if they have any shelter at all, forced there by an inability to pay the up-front costs of renting, such as security and utility deposits. Often as many as six members of a family share one room that serves as living room, kitchen, and bedroom. Academic success is a challenge when the television is on and there is no quiet place to do homework.

Homelessness: Implications for Teaching Homelessness is obviously very difficult for students, but we can help. For instance, being a willing ear is a start. You might be the only person students will confide in because they fear the scorn of peers and will do everything they can to mask this embarrassing personal problem. Second, make a special effort to maintain appropriately high expectations for all your students, regardless of their dress or appearance. This communicates to these students that we believe in them and want them to succeed in school. Research suggests that factors such as dress and grooming can influence the ways teachers treat and respond to students (Ready & Wright, 2011). Third, talk with experienced teachers about community resources available for these students and their families, and pass this information on to parents and caregivers. Most importantly, care and flexibility are essential. Demonstrating that you genuinely care about students and their learning is important for all children; for those who are homeless, it’s critical.

Socioeconomic Status and School Success Socioeconomic status consistently predicts a number of indicators of school success, including achievement test scores, grades, truancy, and dropout and suspension rates (Macionis & Parillo, 2017; Putnam, 2016). Socioeconomic status influences school success in a number of ways but has its most powerful influence at the lower income levels. Frequently, low-SES children come to school ill-prepared to succeed; they are more than twice as likely as their higher-SES peers to fall below basic levels of reading, and they are only one-third as likely to achieve at a proficient level. As we saw earlier, children of poverty are five times more likely to drop out than their more fortunate peers (Rumberger, 2013). And only about one of four high school graduates from lower-SES classes goes to college and earns a degree, compared to nearly eight of 10 graduates from the highest SES classes (Macionis, 2019). But what accounts for these dramatic differences in school success? Experts identify the following factors: • Fulfillment of basic needs • Family stability • School-related experiences • Interaction patterns in the home • Parental attitudes and values Fulfillment of Basic Needs.  Most families in our country take basic needs, such as food, shelter, and medical care, for granted. Many low-SES families lack adequate medical care, however, and an increasing number of children come to school without proper nourishment. In 2015, over 13 million children in America lived in food-insecure homes, not knowing where they would find their next meal, and cultural minorities and singleparent families make up a disproportionate share (Feeding America, 2018). Poor nutrition and inadequate prenatal care lead to higher rates of premature births and infant mortalities (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Premature babies have higher incidences of brain abnormalities, sensory impairments, language delays, emotional and behavioral problems, and poor motor coordination. A United Nations report found that a newborn Black child in South Carolina has a shorter life expectancy than a child born in China (Kristoff, 2018). This is

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 71

shameful for a country as rich as ours! Further, poor nutrition can affect attention, memory, and hyperactivity, and can even lead to lower intelligence test scores (Brody, 2017). In high-poverty schools, the school nurse, when available, often serves as a substitute for the family doctor because families in poverty don’t have medical insurance and can’t afford to seek medical help (Redlener, 2014). In the case of a serious medical issue, they go to an emergency room; in less severe cases, they line up for the school nurse. It’s hard for children to learn when they’re sick or hurting. Unfortunately, budget cuts across the country have resulted in fewer school nurses, sometimes the only recourse many students have to a qualified health care worker (Maughan, 2018). Family Stability.  Economic problems can also lead to family and marital conflicts that result in less stable and supportive homes. Children of poverty often come to school without the sense of security that equips them to tackle school-related tasks. Because of these family insecurities, students from poor families have a greater incidence of depression, anxiety, and other emotional and behavioral problems than do their more advantaged peers (Macionis, 2019). Children of poverty also relocate frequently; in some low-income schools, mobility rates are at or above 100% (Dalton, 2013). Nearly a third of the poorest students attend at least three different schools by third grade, compared to only one of ten for middle-class students. These frequent moves are stressful for students and a challenge for teachers attempting to develop caring relationships with them. School-Related Experiences.  School-related experiences in the home have a powerful influence on students’ learning as well (Castleman & Page, 2017). High-SES parents are more likely than their low-SES counterparts to provide their children with educational activities outside school, such as visits to museums, concerts, and libraries, and to have materials at home that support learning (e.g., newspapers and computers with internet access). They are also more likely to arrange for formal out-of-school learning experiences, such as music or dance lessons, participation in tennis and soccer camps, and computer classes. Parents at the upper end of the income spectrum spend five times as much per child on education-related enrichment activities as lower-income parents; by the time a child leaves high school, this amounts to a $100,000 difference in educational experiences between low- and high-income students (Duncan & Murnane, 2014a). By the time children of poverty reach middle school, experts estimate that these students receive 6,000 fewer hours of enrichment learning outside of school. These activities provide an experiential foundation that helps students succeed in school activities. Low-SES students are also less likely to participate in extracurricular activities provided by schools, often because of parents’ work demands or transportation problems, or because their parents don’t know these opportunities exist. Interaction Patterns in the Home.  In general, high-SES parents talk to their children more and differently than do those who are low SES. By the time children of professional parents reach the age of 3, experts estimate that these children hear millions more words than the children of lower-income parents (Purcell-Gates, Duke, & Stouffer, 2016). And these differences show up early (as young as 18 months) and affect future learning outcomes. For instance, researchers found that children from professional families hear more than 2,150 words an hour, compared to slightly more than half that many in working-class families, and little more than 600 words an hour for families on welfare. By age 3, children of professionals have vocabularies more than twice as large as peers in families receiving welfare. And, it goes beyond the simple number of words. Children of professionals hear twice as many unique words and have twice as many “encouraging” versus “discouraging” conversations, such as “What did you think of that?” versus “Don't touch that.” High-SES parents ask their children more questions, explain the causes of events, provide clearer directions and reasons for rules, and are more likely to encourage problem solving (Pace, Luo, Hirsh-Pasek, & Golinkoff, 2017).

72  Chapter 2 Called “the curriculum of the home,” these rich interaction patterns, together with enriched background experiences, provide a strong foundation for future learning, especially in the areas of reading and writing. While higher-SES interaction patterns may more closely mirror the communication styles found in classrooms and schools, it is important to remember that all children, from all families, bring knowledge of literacy, numeracy, and more to classrooms. Researchers who have examined the “funds of knowledge” all students bring to school settings highlight the importance these assets contribute to all learners (Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 2009). Teachers who recognize and value the assets that all children bring to classrooms see learning potential in all their students. These educators recognize the ways in which literacies, for example, are part of children’s daily lives (Ordoñez, Siqués, & EstebanGuitart, 2018; Sebolt, 2018). As an educator, you might ask yourself, where does literacy exist outside of my classroom? Examples might include reading, writing, and problem solving that are part of daily life with cooking, using transportation, and taking care of others. The “accumulated” knowledge that all children gain within their families reflects their potential for learning (Moll et al., 2009). Expert teachers value and are able to identify where knowledge is “hidden” for some students and how they can adapt curriculum and instruction to respond to their students’ assets. SES also influences how children spend free time at home. On an average day, 94% of children between the ages of 8 and 12 used media, but students from low-income families spent nearly two more hours more with various entertainment media than students from high-income families (Herold, 2019). And while children from low-income families spent large amounts of time on their computers, they spent only 16 minutes a day on homework. Only about one-third of children reported any household rules limiting computer or internet use, and when these parental rules are present, media use drops by almost three hours per day. Research also shows that higher-SES parents are more likely to monitor computer use, resulting in significantly less time spent on entertainment programs (Wood & Hawley, 2012). Some are calling these differences in technology use the “new digital divide.”

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth question in this chapter’s What I Believe feature, “Parents’ educational background strongly influences their children’s success in school.” This statement is true; parents’ level of education influences learning in a number of ways, including attitudes and values, as well as the kinds of experiences children have as they grow up.

Parental Attitudes and Values.  Finally, parental attitudes and values shape the way students think about schools and learning. Reading materials are more common in high-SES homes, and these children learn that reading is an important part of people’s lives. Parents who enjoy books, newspapers, and magazines communicate that the information they contain is valuable and that reading is a useful activity for its own sake. When children see their parents read, they imitate the behavior, which enhances their learning at school (Tompkins, 2020). Parents also communicate their attitudes about education through the expectations they hold for their children and through their involvement in their children’s activities. High-SES parents are more likely to encourage their children to graduate from high school and attend college (Castleman & Page, 2017). This is not surprising since these parents typically succeeded at these levels and realize what an education can do to open doors. High-SES parents also know how to play the “schooling game,” steering their sons and daughters into advanced high school courses and contacting schools for information about their children’s learning progress (Lareau, Weininger, & Cox, 2018; Putnam, 2016). Low-SES parents, in contrast, tend to allow their ­children to “drift” into classes, and rely on the decisions of others. Students often get lost in the shuffle, ending up in inappropriate or less challenging classes (Dumont, Klinge, & Maaz, 2019; Gil-Hernandez, 2019). An innovative program in California directly addresses these problems, teaching parents how to become advocates for their ­children. One parent commented, “I always wanted to help [my children] get what I didn’t have, but I didn’t know what to ask, where to look for information”

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 73

(Gewertz, 2017, p. 6). Outreach programs such as these can empower low-SES parents to help their children navigate through schooling and even find resources for their children to attend college later.

SES: Some Cautions and Implications for Teaching It’s important to remember that the information in this section describes group differences; individuals within groups will vary widely. For example, many low-SES parents read and talk to their children, encourage their involvement in extracurricular activities, and attend school events. Both of your authors come from low-SES families, but we were given many enriching experiences associated with high-SES parents, and our parents talked to us and communicated values about the value of schooling and the need to work hard at our studies. Conversely, belonging to a high-SES family does not guarantee that a child will have enriching experiences and caring, involved parents. When we work with students, we need to be cautious about unconsciously stereotyping our students. They are individuals, we should treat them as such, and we should keep our expectations appropriately high for all students. A second, related, caution: We know that certain home conditions make it more difficult for students to succeed in school, but we also know that schools and teachers can do much to overcome these problems (Good & Lavigne, 2018). As you’ll see later in the chapter, schools that are safe, nurturing, and demanding, and teachers who hold high expectations for their students’ success and who teach effectively can make a significant difference in all students’ lives. Third, while higher-SES interaction patterns may more closely mirror the communication styles found in classrooms and schools, it is important to remember that all children, from all families, bring knowledge of literacy, numeracy, and more to classrooms. Teachers who acknowledge the assets that all children bring to classrooms see learning potential in all students.

The Dropout Problem Because it has an enormous impact on subsequent employment opportunities, income, and success in later life, dropping out of school is one of the most problematic outcomes of not succeeding in school. Dropouts not only decrease their chances of personal success, they also are more likely to have problems with transiency, crime, and drug abuse (Macionis, 2019). High school dropouts often end up in dead-end minimal wage jobs earning $7.25 an hour, the U.S. minimum wage in 2017. In a year, that comes to $14,500; try living on that, much less raising a family on it. The average high school dropout earns $10,000 less per year than a high school graduate; over a lifetime, a high school dropout earns $260,000 less than someone with a high school diploma (Lynch, 2015). In addition, dropping out of high school closes the door to college and well-paying jobs that require advanced training and expertise with technology (Brown, Cook, & Santos, 2019). In the past, factory and farm jobs offered viable alternatives for dropouts; today, with outsourcing to other countries and the consolidation of smaller farms, these jobs no longer exist. In 2016, the national graduation rate was 84%, with gains of 2% for Black and EL students, and 1.5% for low-income and Hispanic students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018) (see Figure 2.3). But students with disabilities still lag behind, with an average graduation rate of 66%, and at 72%, Native Americans continue to have the lowest graduation rates of any racial group. Many believe this recent increase in high school graduation rates is due to increased emphasis on student accountability forced by the Every Student Succeeds Act and its predecessor, No Child Left Behind. But critics claim that at least part of the increase is due to districts not counting low-performing

74  Chapter 2

Figure 2.3  Graduation Rates by Ethnicity SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics (2018a). Condition of education: Public high school graduation rates. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_coi.asp

100%

93%

90% 80% 70%

81%

85% 76% 68%

68%

Native American

Black

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Hispanic

White

Asian

All Students

students, encouraging transfers of students to alternative schools, and credit recovery programs that lead to graduation through standards that aren’t as rigorous as regular high school courses (Gewertz, 2018). Dropout rates are strongly affected by poverty; as we saw earlier, students from lowincome families are five times more likely to drop out of school (Lesaux & Jones, 2016). Other factors contributing to high dropout rates include falling behind in studies, language barriers, family instability, and high rates of student mobility as well as higher graduation standards and high school exit exams (Moore, 2017; Prothero, 2014). Typically, large urban districts have lower graduation rates, but these vary greatly in different urban districts; Chicago had a graduation rate of 70% in 2008 compared to Detroit’s 33% (EPE Research Center, 2011). Even within a district, dropout rates can vary significantly, with some schools with abysmally low graduation rates identified as “dropout factories” (Rodriguez, 2014). This wide variability both between and within districts suggests that schools and the teachers in them can have a powerful influence on keeping students in school. The dropout problem received additional national attention in President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address. In it, he urged every state to require that all students stay in school until they graduate or turn 18 (Maxwell, 2012c). When he made that speech, eighteen states had legal dropout ages of 16. Unemployment statistics bolster the case for changing the legal dropout age; in 2012, the national unemployment rate was 8.3%; for those with less than a high school diploma, it was 13.1% (Nakamura, 2012). Nationally, the most successful dropout-prevention programs provide students with multiple pathways to graduation, including career and technical programs, as well as flexible options to complete high school degrees (National Dropout Prevention Center, 2018).

Preventing Dropouts: Implications for Teaching What can you do to address this problem? Many people think that dropping out is a high school problem, but it isn’t. A number of educationally related problems contribute to dropping out, including low achievement and grades, retention in grade, poor attendance, behavior problems, and poor self-esteem. These problems often develop in the early elementary grades. Student motivation is also a major factor, with poor teaching, uninteresting classes, and lack of challenge all contributing (Prothero, 2014). You can make a significant difference in your classroom through the way you teach and relate to your students.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 75

Potential dropouts need better teachers, and a move is now under way to ensure that the best teachers are available to them (Sawchuk, 2013a). In the past, low-­performing, high-poverty schools had problems attracting and retaining the best teachers. Now the federal government is funding an initiative to pay high-performing teachers who can produce achievement gains in their students up to $20,000 to move to, and teach in, schools with large numbers of vulnerable students at risk for dropping out. The additional pay, increased support from administrators, and help from teams of other teachers make this a potentially attractive option for teachers who want to make a difference in students’ lives.

Obstacles to Success: What Can Schools and Teachers Do? Laurie Ramirez looks over the papers she has been grading and shakes her head. “Fourth grade, and some of these kids don’t know what zero means or how place value affects a number. Some can’t add or subtract, and most don’t understand multiplication. How am I supposed to teach problem solving when they don’t understand basic math facts?” “Reading isn’t much better,” she thinks. “I have a few who read at a fourth-grade level, but others are still sounding out words like dog and cat. How can I teach them comprehension skills when they are struggling with ideas this basic? What am I doing wrong with my teaching?”

Struggling students can be found in any school. Many reasons exist, but often students are exposed to a combination of conditions that decrease their chances for success, not only in school but also later in life. At one time, these students were called “at-risk,” but critics argue that negative connotations about students’ ability to learn exist with the label, and many professionals now prefer the term vulnerable students because it clearly communicates that the cluster of problems we have been describing in this chapter make students vulnerable to school struggles (Odenbring, 2018; K ­ amenetz, 2015). Each of the societal issues alone, such as poverty, drugs, and violence, can interfere with student learning and healthy development; when they occur together, as often happens in too many schools, the effects can multiply, making success very difficult. This is what we, as teachers, are trying to prevent. One way to do this is by redefining schools and teachers’ roles in them.

It Takes a Village: The Community-Based Approach to Removing Obstacles to Success: Working with Children Who Are Vulnerable Although schools and teachers can have a powerful influence on the success of vulnerable students, they can’t do it without outside help. Effective schools involve parents, family members, and other members of the community in redesigning schools to better meet the needs of these learners. Full-service schools serve as family resource centers that provide a range of social and health services (Superville, 2018). Recognizing that many of the risk factors students encounter occur outside school walls, and that supporting families also strengthens children, full-service schools attempt to create a safety net of services for students and their families (Oakes, Lipton, Anderson, & Stillman, 2016). Services provided by these schools are listed in Table 2.3. The School Development Program, created by Yale psychiatrist James Comer, is one example of a full-service model (Emmons & Comer, 2009). These programs integrate schools and the community by bringing principals, teachers, and parents together in school planning and management teams designed to create comprehensive support programs. These efforts address students’ problems by coordinating services through teams of psychologists, counselors, and special educators who focus on each child’s physical, social, emotional, and academic growth in integrated efforts. Free dental care and immunizations, physicals at the beginning of the school year, and family visits to

76  Chapter 2

Table 2.3  Services Provided by Full-Service Schools Child care Medical and dental screening Immunizations Nutrition/weight management Employment and housing assistance Legal and immigration advice Individual counseling/mental health services Substance abuse treatment Recreation, sports, and cultural events Parent education After-school teacher assistance with homework Summer youth employment Food pantries Information about college and college financial assistance

health clinics with sliding fees based on family income are also offered (Kirp, 2018). This coordination is important because services for students are often fragmented. A case study of a third-grade girl in New Mexico illustrates the complexity of problems facing some students and how full-service programs can address these issues (Cardinali, 2014). The student’s teacher noticed that she had been absent 25 times in just the first semester. Home visits revealed that the girl lived in a two-bedroom apartment with nine other people, and her mother had untreated mental health problems. The little girl often got lost in the shuffle, frequently had no clean clothes to wear and no quiet place to do homework. School resource personnel worked with the family to provide mental health services for the mother and housing assistance for the family. The young girl’s home life stabilized, and she was no longer ashamed to go to school with dirty and smelly clothes. Her school absences all but stopped, and she was able to move up at the end of the year to fourth grade. This would not have happened without comprehensive assistance to her family. Similar programs in Canada that coordinate community resources, have made a substantial reduction in poverty in communities across that country (Brooks, 2019). From its start in New Haven, Connecticut, the School Development Program has spread to more than 5,000 schools across the country. Similar programs serve over 5 million students nationwide (Jacobsen, Villareal, Muñoz, & Mahaffey, 2018). Evaluations indicate that these community outreach programs are effective; researchers report increases in achievement and student self-concepts and declines in school dropouts, absences, suspensions, and management problems in schools, as well as out-of-school juvenile crimes (Maier, Daniel, Oakes, & Lam, 2017; Jacobsen et al., 2018). Research on other comprehensive school programs shows similar positive effects, with increased parental involvement in their children’s schooling, a major benefit (Institute for Educational Leadership, 2018). And the American public believes these outreach programs are beneficial; in a national poll conducted in 2017, 77% of respondents supported ­after-school programs, 76% thought that mental health programs were beneficial, and 66% were in favor of health care assistance (Langer Research Associates, 2017). While the Trump administration tried to cut funding for these successful programs, Congress resisted, allocating over $73 million to these programs (Uiifusa, 2018). If you should work in a full-service school, your role will expand to include—in addition to your teaching—becoming a partner with the community. You’ll be asked to serve on community councils that attempt to link schools with their surrounding communities, and you’ll also be asked to be proactive in making contacts with parents and other caregivers. Your workload will be greater, but the potential rewards that come from seeing your students succeed because of your outreach efforts can be worth the effort.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 77

Resilience: Building on Diversity as an Asset to Success Educators need to consider the different ways in which classrooms and schools create unintentional barriers for student success. For many students, the obstacles they experience may prove to be overwhelming. For others, teachers create classroom environments that value individuals and promote agency. Teachers who support children in these ways create places where all students succeed. Despite the obstacles they encounter, many students overcome them and graduate from school with the skills necessary to succeed in life. Resilient students are students who are vulnerable, yet are able to rise above adverse conditions to succeed in school and in other aspects of life (Tichy, 2017). Resilient children have well-developed “selfsystems,” including high self-esteem and confidence that they are in control of their destinies. They set personal goals, possess good interpersonal skills, and have positive expectations for success. They are motivated to learn and are satisfied with school (Edwards, Catling, & Parry, 2016). How do these adaptive skills develop? First, resilient children have relationships with caring adults who hold high moral and academic expectations for them (Edwards et al., 2016; Tichy, 2017). Second, resilient children bring with them valuable resources from their communities that they can build upon to achieve school success. Third, they come from schools that are both demanding and supportive; in many instances, schools serve as homes away from home. Let’s look more closely at how schools and teachers can foster resilience in our students. Effective Schools for Promoting Resilience in Students.  Effective schools for vulnerable students focus on personal responsibility, cooperation, and mutual respect between teachers and students. These schools emphasize:

• Caring and demanding teachers who hold high expectations for all students • A safe, orderly school environment that provides a stable, nurturing place for students to learn, and where students understand the reasons for school and classroom rules • Academic instruction focusing on success and mastery of content • Classroom interaction that builds upon the cultural assets that students with diverse backgrounds bring to school • Cooperation, a sense of community, and prosocial values • Student responsibility and self-regulation with decreased emphasis on external controls • Strong parental involvement (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017; Gran, 2016; Maier et al., 2017). The combination of these factors creates a web of support that promotes resiliency in students. Effective Teachers for Promoting Resilience in Students.  Well-run and academically focused schools are important, but they aren’t enough; students also need expert ­teachers. Effective teachers in these schools are simultaneously caring and demanding and hold high moral and academic expectations for their students (Acosta, 2019). In essence, they refuse to let students fail. One high school teacher reported an encounter with a former student she hadn’t seen in years. As they spoke, his eyes filled with tears. “You never gave up on me. You never ignored me. You always encouraged me to get my work in and pass all of my classes, even when I wasn’t nice to you. Thank you” (Barnoski, 2005, p. 37). This kind of teacher commitment is essential because the backgrounds of many students make them vulnerable to failure, with doubts about the relevance of school. Effective teachers reach out to students and convince them that they can and will succeed. In contrast, ineffective teachers are more authoritarian and less accessible. They distance themselves from vulnerable students and place primary responsibility for learning on them. They view being emotionally supportive as “babying” students or “holding students’ hands.” Lecture is a common teaching strategy, and motivation is

78  Chapter 2 the students’ responsibility. One urban high school student observed, “Some teachers are here to work and some are just here to get paid. . . . The bad teachers at Fremont just sit down on their behinds all day and expect us to work without them helping us to work” (Alonso et al., 2009, p. 103). Students perceive these teachers as adversaries, to be avoided if possible, tolerated if not. In addition to being caring and demanding, what do we need to do to help nurture resilient students? We also have to be effective instructors. Effective Instruction and Support.  Teachers who strive to develop resilient students don’t have to teach in ways that are fundamentally different from the way we work with any other learner; instead, they systematically and energetically apply the strategies that are effective with all students (Good & Lavigne, 2018). They provide enough instructional support to ensure success while teaching students active learning strategies that help them to take control of their own learning. They identify student strengths and build upon the cultural assets that students bring to school. Effective instruction for these students includes:

• High classroom structure with predictable routines • Clear learning goals that connect with students’ background knowledge and build upon the funds of knowledge that students bring with them • High levels of interaction between the teacher and students • Frequent and thorough assessment • Informative feedback to promote student success MyLab Education Video Example 2.3 Using high-quality examples helps connect with students’ funds of knowledge, and they’re particularly important for promoting resilience in learners who may lack the school-related experiences that prepare them for success. Here, 10th grade social studies teacher Annie Rients promotes the use of examples with her students in a lesson on ancient Rome.

• Emphasis on student responsibility (Good & Lavigne, 2018; Lemov, 2015) Let’s see how one teacher does this. When students enter Darren Hine’s second-grade classroom after recess, they see a math review assignment on the whiteboard. As Darren takes roll, students get out their books and start on the assignment. Five minutes later, Darren begins with a brief review of the previous day’s lesson. Because the students answer his questions quickly and correctly, he concludes that his class knows the content and is ready to move on. As he introduces two-column subtraction, he comments that this is an important skill that everyone will be able to learn. Then he presents the following problem and discusses how twocolumn subtraction will help them solve it: Teresa was saving her money to buy a toy for her little sister. The toy cost 99 cents, and she has already saved 67 cents. How much more money did she need to buy the toy? Next, he gives each student bundles of 10 craft sticks bound together with rubber bands. As he does this, he comments, “This is all work that everyone can do. And if you have troubles, I’ll be around to help.” He then guides students through the subtraction steps by having them take apart the bundles to illustrate the process, asking multiple questions as he proceeds. He also uses questioning to help them link the craft sticks to the numbers he writes on the board. Then he has students solve problems on their own mini-writing chalkboards and hold them up to allow him to check their solutions. Whenever mistakes occur, he stops, explains the errors, and helps students correct them. When most of the class is correctly solving the problems, Darren starts the students on additional practice problems, which they check in pairs. As they work, he helps those still having difficulty, moving around the room to respond to pairs who disagreed with each other or who have questions.

Effective teachers actively involve their students in learning activities, and they provide instruction that is challenging, motivating, and connected to students’ lives. A final word about a major problem often associated with struggling students: low self-esteem. This problem is real, and we’ve seen it at all grade levels as we’ve worked in classrooms around the country. Students sit passively, pretending that they’re not there

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 79

and hoping that the teacher won’t call on them because they don’t think they know the answer. They have a history of failure, and a low sense of self-worth is the result. The solution? Teach them something, and make sure that they know that hard work and effort contributed to their learning. The best way to address low self-esteem in students is to design your instruction so that everyone in the class learns something and knows it afterward. When students are successful, their confidence improves, and their self-esteem grows. Nothing succeeds like success. This isn’t an easy task, but many classroom teachers do this on a daily basis (Lemov, 2015). We have one more suggestion; at the beginning of the year, look every student in the eye and say, “I guarantee that each and every one of you can learn if you work hard and try. I promise to work hard to make that happen, but I need your cooperation. If we work together, each of you, and I mean everyone, can succeed and learn in my classroom.” Then the challenge is to make this happen in your own classroom. It can be done.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 2.3: Promoting Resilience in First Graders In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher promotes resilience in her students.

Diversity and You Teaching Vulnerable Students Wendy Kauffman sighs as she enters the teachers’ lounge at

it’s like to be human. It’s okay to smile at the kids—just not

Lincoln Middle School, located in a large urban center in the

too long or too often. Just kidding. I’ve only been teaching five

Northeast.

years, but I found that these kids respond to teachers who treat

What’s wrong, Wendy?” Joe Patterson, one of the other social studies teachers, asks, jokingly. “Are the kids winning?” “Sometimes it feels like it,” Wendy replies with a grin, “but I

them as humans first—the human touch. They want to know that you care, and you can’t do that when you have them sitting quietly in rows while you lecture to them. They need oppor-

didn’t think that teaching was going to be a game with winners

tunities to work in groups, to learn to work with others, and to

and losers. If I could just get them to settle down and cooperate,

express their own thoughts and ideas. Don’t be afraid to be

I might be able to teach them something.”

human. That’s important to students. Of course, we hold them

“Don’t forget what I told you at the beginning of the year,” Joe

to high standards, both for their behavior and their achieve-

responds. “Don’t smile ’til Christmas. You have to teach them that

ment. That goes without saying. But, without the human touch,

you mean business, and once they’ve accepted that, you can

our efforts are less effective. And, I’ve been doing a lot of read-

teach them something. I’ve been here for seventeen years, and my

ing, and everything I read says that kids work much harder for

referrals to the principal’s office are virtually nonexistent. I lay it on

teachers if they believe the teachers care about them.”

the line the first day of class and refuse to take crap from anyone. Once you convince them of that, it’s all downhill. They’ll sit quietly;

Consider These Questions

some will listen and even take notes. Not a lot, but what can you

1. Classroom management is a perennial concern for begin-

expect? This is a tough school in a rough neighborhood. Toughen

ning teachers. Which approach to classroom manage-

up, Wendy, and maybe you’ll be around in seventeen years.”

ment—Joe’s or Emma’s—makes the most sense?

“Don’t listen to Joe,” Emma Harris interjects with a smile. “He’s been teaching in this school too long and forgets what

MyLab Education Self-Check 2.3

2. What about instruction? Which advice—Joe’s or Emma’s— makes the most sense?

Chapter 2 Summary 1. Describe changes that have occurred in the American family and society, and the implications of these changes for education. • The traditional family, which historically has been described as a father who is the breadwinner and a mother who stays at home to care for two children, has become rare in this country. • The majority of mothers now work outside the home, raising concerns about child care. Quality child care can provide an environment where children learn both cognitive and interpersonal skills; these skills then provide a foundation when students enter school. In addition, the benefits of quality early child care extend into adulthood. • Latchkey children arrive at empty homes after school and are required to fend for themselves until one or both parents arrive. 2. Describe changes that have occurred in our country’s students and the implications these changes have for teachers. • Students are becoming sexually active at an earlier age, placing themselves at risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Schools attempt to deal with these problems through effective sex education programs. In addition, LGBTQ students face a number of challenges in school, including sexual harassment. Teachers play an essential role in communicating that sexual harassment won’t be tolerated in schools or classrooms. • The use of alcohol and other drugs, violence, suicide, and child abuse all present challenges to youth as well as the teachers who work with them. Although the use of alcohol and drugs is declining, significant numbers of students experiment with and use these at an early age. • Obesity has become another health issue threatening students. Although it’s increasingly common in all students, its negative effects are seen more often in low-SES and cultural minority youths. • Crime and violence are on the decline in schools as well as society as a whole but still pose a problem to educators. Bullying is a major school safety issue because of its potential not only to damage individuals but also to lead to more serious forms of violence. In response to these issues, schools have implemented school-wide safety programs. • A major response to crime and violence in the schools has been the implementation of zero-tolerance policies that expel students from school for any infraction

80

involving drugs or weapons. Although adopted by a number of school districts, zero-tolerance policies have problems, ranging from increased student dropout rates to punishing students for minor offenses, and differential treatment of minority students. 3. Explain how socioeconomic status influences students and their success at school. • Socioeconomic status (SES) describes the combined effects of income, occupation, and educational level on people’s attitudes, values, and success in life. SES can also have powerful influences on how children respond to schools. • Poverty presents a number of challenges, ranging from lack of basic needs to unstable home environments. Recently, the rate of childhood poverty has increased, creating challenges for both teachers and students. • SES influences educational success in several ways, including whether students’ basic needs, such as nutrition and medical care, are met. It also influences the language skills and school-related experiences students bring to the classroom. Finally, SES shapes parents’ and students’ attitudes and values about the importance of education and school. • Homelessness affects large numbers of children, influencing their ability to succeed in school. High percentages of homeless children don’t attend school regularly, and when they do, they suffer from inadequate diets and substandard medical care as well as unstable families. • Vulnerable students at risk face a number of challenges to school success, ranging from poverty to transience and unstable families. These conditions result in educational problems that create barriers to school success. • Community-based approaches to working with vulnerable students actively involve parents and the community in designing and implementing comprehensive educational programs. Community-based programs attempt to integrate the services available to students by linking various support agencies. • Effective schools for vulnerable students create a safe, orderly learning environment that emphasizes academic goals. Studies of successful or resilient children suggest that caring home and school environments with supportive, understanding adults can help these students withstand societal challenges. Effective teachers for vulnerable students combine supportive interpersonal contacts with instructional structure and support.

Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Our Students 81

Important Concepts bullying cyberbullying full-service schools latchkey children LGBTQ

lower class middle class poverty thresholds resilient students school connectedness

sexual assault sexual harassment socioeconomic status (SES) transgender students underclass

Portfolio Activity School Safety and Security InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. These activities are designed to familiarize you with school safety and security procedures in the schools in your area. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Talk with a teacher at your school who has been there for several years. Ask the following questions: a. What are the current safety and security procedures at your school? b. How have these procedures changed in the last few years? c. How are students prepared in case of a security emergency? d. What kind of training did the teacher receive in case of a security emergency? e. How well prepared does the teacher feel about these security measures? f. What else would the teacher like to see in terms of security procedures? Summarize the teacher’s responses under the heading “Security Procedures at My School.” 2. Activity for Students Without Access to a Classroom Locate the websites of several local school districts. Browse the sites for information on student conduct policies and procedures, and read how each district handles discipline and safety issues. How are the procedures similar and different? How would they affect your life as a teacher? Summarize your findings under the heading “Security Procedures in the Schools in My Area.”

upper class working class zero-tolerance policies

Chapter 3

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities

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Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 3.1 Explain how cultural diversity influences learning and how

effective teachers use this diversity to increase learning. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences 3.2 Describe the major approaches to helping EL students learn.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 8, Instructional Strategies 3.3 Explain how gender differences influence school success and

how effective teachers respond to these differences. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences 3.4 Explain how schools have changed the ways they help students

with exceptionalities. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences If you’re typical of most beginning teachers, you’ll begin your career expecting to find your classroom similar to those you experienced as a student. And in many ways, it will be. Students go to school to study and learn, but they also want to have fun and be with their friends. They expect to work but often need a nudge from their teachers. They’re typical kids. Classrooms are changing, however, because our students are becoming increasingly diverse. As you read the following vignette, think about how this diversity will affect your life as a teacher.

Carla Jackson, a first-grade teacher in an urban elementary school, watches as her students stream into her room on the first day of school. She has 14 girls and 12 boys in her class, and the names . . . . Wow! Her students reflect family origins from around the world. In addition to a Smith and a Jones, there are a Lee, a Wong, a Hassad, a Trang, and a Robles, among others. Because she’s in an urban school, Carla knew in advance that her students would come from a variety of backgrounds, but she didn’t realize that the fabric of her classroom would include children from 11 different cultures and nearly as many different languages. She humorously refers to her class as her “Little United Nations.”

When you begin teaching, your students will come from more diverse backgrounds than your classmates did when you went through school. This is true for two reasons. First, the diversity in both our country and our schools is rapidly increasing, and second, the most readily available jobs for new teachers are in schools that serve diverse populations. This diversity exists in four different dimensions that are outlined in Figure 3.1. In this chapter, we focus on how you can capitalize on this diversity in your teaching to make your classroom a place where all students can learn and flourish. But, before you begin, please respond to the questions in What I Believe.

84  Chapter 3

Figure 3.1  The Four Dimensions of Student Diversity Forms of Diversity in Today’s Students

Culture

Language

Gender

Exceptionalities

The knowledge, attitudes, values, customs, and behavior patterns that characterize a social group

The written and spoken methods of communication among people

The range of characteristics that distinguish males and females

Differences in students that result in their needing special help to reach their full potential

What I Believe Student Diversity and Me Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. As you read this chapter, you will encounter discussions of these issues. Each of the items will be addressed in the sections Revisiting My Beliefs. 1. Culturally responsive teachers treat all students the same way. 2. Students who aren’t native English speakers learn English most effectively by hearing the teacher use correct English. 3. Boys generally get better grades in school than girls. 4. It is important for me to adapt my instruction to the individual learning styles of my students. 5. Experts in special education advocate the creation of special classrooms to meet the needs of students with exceptionalities.

LEARNING OUTCOME 3.1  Explain how cultural diversity influences learning and how effective teachers use this diversity to increase learning. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Cultural Diversity MyLab Education Video Example 3.1 The diversity in our schools is rapidly increasing. In this discussion, four educational leaders describe the growing diversity in their schools and the adaptations they’re making to ensure that all students are provided with the services that will allow them to learn and develop as much as possible.

The clothes we wear, the music we listen to, and even the food we eat, along with other dimensions, such as language and religion, are all part of our culture, the knowledge, attitudes, values, customs, and behavior patterns that characterize a social group (Banks, 2019; Bennett, 2019). Culture exerts a powerful force on our lives, and it can also influence your students’ learning as well as your success as a teacher. Cultural diversity refers to the different cultures you’ll encounter in classrooms and how these differences influence learning. To see how culture influences the way we live, think about eating as a simple example. Do you sit down for dinner at 6:00 in the evening, or do you often wait until 8:00 or later? Does your family sit down together, or do you “eat on the run”? Do you use a knife and fork, perhaps chopsticks, or even your hands? And, if you use a knife and fork, do you cut a piece of meat and then transfer the fork back to your right hand or leave it in your left hand? The patterns in which we all engage are informed by our backgrounds, ways of living, and traditions—our cultures. The influence of the

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 85

different cultures our students bring to our classrooms contributes to the lives of our students, to the wider communities from which they come, and to us as teachers.

Ethnicity and Race Ethnicity, individuals’ ancestral heritage, language, value system, and customs, is an important part of culture (Banks, 2019). Immigration and other demographic shifts have resulted in dramatic changes in the ethnic makeup of our nation’s population, and experts estimate that nearly 300 distinct ethnic groups now live in our country (Bennett, 2019; Nieto & Bode, 2018). Race includes factors such as a person’s observed and biological makeup as well as the social and cultural characteristics of individuals and communities. Although our country tends to see three major racial categories when it conducts census tallies— Black, White, and Asian—considerable variation exists within each. For instance, Asian commonly refers to individuals from Japan, China, and Korea but also those from Viet Nam, the Philippines, and Thailand, all of whom have distinct cultures. And South Asian ethnic groups, including people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, also display considerable variation. Historically, race was used to categorize people in ways that often limited access and opportunity. The definitions of race were also limited to one’s genetic background, as demonstrated in the way they appeared. The results of this thinking were devastating to individuals and to our country’s history. A number of states used it to limit access to institutions and services, such as schools and colleges, restaurants, public restrooms, drinking fountains, swimming pools, and even seats on buses. And, prior to a Supreme Court decision in 1967, it was illegal in 16 states for mixed-race couples to marry, cohabit, or have sex (Macionis, 2019). While our individual and national histories are always embedded in our daily lives, our understanding of race has changed as more people now describe themselves as multiracial or multiethnic. For instance, in 2015 more than 17% of all newly married people wed someone from a different race, and for African Americans and Asians, this figure was 19% and 28%, respectively (Bialik, 2017). This 17% compares to 3% in 1967, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that marriage across racial lines was legal in all 50 states. So, as we think about culture, ethnicity, and race, it’s important to remember that these are merely labels, they’re constantly changing, and we teach people, not categories.

Immigrants and Schools Immigrants are people who migrate to another country, typically with the intent of living there permanently (Valenzuela, Shields, & Drolet, 2018). Historically, immigration in our country was largely restricted to people from Europe, but the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended this restriction, and since then immigrants have come from all over the world, bringing a wide array of cultural beliefs and practices with them. Our country has been the top immigration destination in the world since 1960, with about one-fifth of the world's migrants living here as of 2016. During that year, nearly 44 million immigrants, slightly less than 14% of the population, were living in our country. India was the leading country of origin in 2016, followed by China/Hong Kong, Mexico, Cuba, and the Philippines. India and China surpassed Mexico in 2013 as the top countries of origin for recent arrivals (Zong, Batalova, & Hallock, 2018). Refugees are a unique group of immigrants who are fleeing unsafe conditions in their home countries. The United States has become home to millions of refugees who resettled here to escape political or economic problems at home—children who will enter our classrooms make up a large part of the refugee numbers. But we should remember that immigrants and refugees are not the same. Immigrants, as a rule, choose to live in

86  Chapter 3 another location; refugees are forced out and come here because of adverse conditions in their home country (Igielnik & Krogstad, 2017). Despite its long history of immigration, our country has oscillated between perceiving immigration as a valuable resource and as a major challenge for communities in their efforts to support individuals from immigrant and refugee groups. And, since 2016, immigration has become a hot button political issue, with some political factions suggesting that immigrants pose a threat to public safety. Evidence doesn’t support this contention; research indicates that immigrants commit fewer crimes than do nativeborn citizens. “Several studies, over many years, have concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States” (Perez-Peña, 2017, para. 2). Further, experts suggest that our country needs immigrants to work in various aspects of our economy (Valenzuela et al., 2018). Immigration and the arrival of many refugees have strongly impacted our school population. For instance, in 2014, almost 50% of our students were members of cultural minorities, and projections estimate that the figure will be 55% by 2026, with Hispanic students the largest minority, at slightly less than 30% of the total school population (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017c). In addition, in 2016, nearly 18 million students, or more than one of four children under age 18 in our country, lived with at least one immigrant parent, and this number continues to increase (Samuels & Mitchell, 2018; Zong et al., 2018). Census estimates indicate that people from culturally diverse groups now make up over a third of our nation’s population, and projections suggest that this figure will be more than half by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). In the 100 largest cities in our country, minorities—Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans— already are in the majority, representing over 60% of the population. And the 2000 census found, for the first time, that the Hispanic surnames Garcia and Rodriguez were among the 10 most common in our country (Roberts, 2007). This trend is reflected in our classrooms. In 1997 White students comprised 63% of the P–12 student population, but the 2010 census revealed that for the first time in history less than half of three-year-olds were White (Chen, 2018; Frey, 2011). And more recent census figures indicate that the overall number of Hispanic, Black, and Asian students had surpassed the number of non-Hispanic Whites (Chen, 2018). White students are no longer a majority in our public schools. These trends help us understand why the backgrounds of Carla’s students are so diverse (see Figure 3.2). Immigrant children, and children of immigrant parents, face challenges. You may have experienced anxiety yourself if you’ve changed schools or moved to a new community. For most of us, these changes are still within a sphere of familiarity linked to language, knowledge of schools, churches, or community organizations. These anchors may be missing for many immigrant and refugee children and their families. For instance, teachers who work with refugee students report that many exhibit signs of trauma from their relocation experiences and need extra care and nurturing to thrive in our schools. Also, because of delays in entering our country, both immigrants and refugees experience gaps in their schooling, resulting in lower achievement and academic struggles (Potochnik, 2018). In addition, they may feel unwanted because of their status as immigrants or as members of ethnic minorities, and they may also feel discriminated against because of their cultural backgrounds (Fleming, Villa-Torres, Taboada, Richards, & Barrington, 2017; Lo, Hopson, Simpson, & Cheng, 2017). Research, however, also identifies factors that contribute to their positive adjustment. For instance, their confidence and sense of well-being are strengthened as their English language skills develop, and self-esteem rises with each successive generation following immigration (Lo et al., 2017). In our discussions with teachers who work with immigrant children, two patterns emerge. They acknowledge that these students need more instructional support, particularly when lack of facility with English is a factor, but

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 87

Figure 3.2  Percentages of Public School Students by Race/Ethnicity SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2017c). Racial and Ethnic Enrollments in Public Schools. Washington, DC: Author.

Asian/Pacific Islander 5%

American Indian/Alaska Native 1% Students of more than one race 4%

Black 16% White 50%

Hispanic 25%

they also note that the students are highly motivated. Their families have come to our country in search of a better life, and effort and school success are strongly emphasized in their homes. Teachers also comment that immigrant children in their classrooms enrich learning for everyone, including the teachers themselves. Skilled and caring teachers can do much to facilitate the growth and development of immigrant students. We offer suggestions for ways teachers can contribute to their academic, social, and emotional development later in this section. And the law is clear about one aspect of all forms of immigration: Any child born in the United States is a citizen and has the legal right to a free, public K–12 education (Crawford & Dorner, 2018). Some confusion has existed with respect to this issue, but the law is unambiguous, and understanding it is important, so you can defend these students when you begin teaching.

Culture and Schooling This diversity in our students has direct implications for our teaching because our students come to school with a learning history shaped and influenced by their home and neighborhood cultures. In some cases, cultural attitudes and values strongly support learning. For instance, researchers studying the impressive academic success of Asian American students have found that hard work, perseverance, and pride are heavily emphasized in the home (Lee, 2018; Shafer, 2017). Asian American students typically score higher on achievement tests and have higher rates of high school and college attendance and completion than do other groups, including European Americans (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018b). Asian American parents typically have high expectations for their children and encourage them to not only attend college but also earn graduate or professional degrees. And they often translate these aspirations into academic activities at home that augment school-assigned homework. One Vietnamese student who became the valedictorian at her high school after only seven years in the United States commented, “Anybody can be smart, can do great on standardized tests. But unless you work hard, you’re not going to do well” (Kristoff, 2006, p. 13).

MyLab Education Video Example 3.2 Students who are members of cultural minorities bring different experiences, attitudes, and emotions with them to our classrooms. Here three minority students describe their experiences in mainstream classrooms, and they offer suggestions to teachers that can help them work successfully with members of cultural minorities.

88  Chapter 3 This pattern of high expectations and hard work complements school learning and allows these students to excel at academic tasks. Research on Indian students’ success in spelling, geography, and science contests in our country found a similar emphasis on hard work and study (McNulty, 2017). Children of Indian descent consistently place high in these academic contests, winning much more often than other ethnic groups (Subbarro, 2014). While media portrayals may jokingly suggest an Indian “spelling gene” or a “geography gene,” experts point instead to the hard work and determination instilled by cultural attitudes and values. Researchers caution against thinking that all Asian students will automatically excel in our classrooms, however (Lee, 2018; Shafer, 2017). Many, such as Korean, Chinese, and Japanese immigrants, adapt quickly to our classrooms, whereas other Asian groups, such as Hmong, Cambodian, and Laotian, experience greater cultural discontinuities when entering our schools. Other cultural groups such as Hispanic, African American, and Native American consistently score lower on achievement tests (Dee & Penner, 2017; National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2015). An important factor affecting these groups is de facto segregation, racial segregation in public schools that happens “by fact” rather than legal requirement, often resulting from the concentration of cultural minorities in certain neighborhoods served by these schools. For instance, in 2014, 57% of Black students and 60% of Hispanic students in our country attended schools that were at least 75% minority enrollment, whereas only 5% of Black and 6% of Hispanic students attended schools that were less than 25% minority enrollment. In contrast, only 5% of White students attended schools that were more than 75% minority enrollment and more than half attended schools that were less than 25% minority enrollment (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). This issue is complicated by the fact that many of the schools with high concentrations of minority students are urban and serve high poverty areas, so poverty is a major factor. Segregation, combined with high rates of poverty, result in lower rates of achievement for cultural minority students (Reardon, 2016). Because these schools are not viewed as desirable places to teach, they are often staffed by inexperienced teachers who lack the professional knowledge and skills needed to meet the unique needs of minority students (Goldhaber, Lavery, & Theobald, 2015). These teachers sometimes have low expectations for students of color (Gershenson, Holt, & Papageorge, 2016), the schools may lack adequate facilities, incidents of violence and disruption are more frequent, and parents of students in such schools may have fewer resources that can be used to benefit their children’s education (Morsy & Rothstein, 2015). To address achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, several practices are important. First, we need to maintain high expectations for our students and communicate the belief that all students can learn and succeed (Good & Lavigne, 2018). Then we should strive to develop positive relationships with our students. Finally, we need to design learning activities that involve all students. If students are involved, their motivation increases and, with it, their learning. These actions include addressing the assets of all students, integrating their backgrounds, cultures, and languages into the classroom, and placing value on each learner.

Religious Diversity Religious diversity is an important part of culture and another dimension of diversity that influences students in our classrooms. The religions our students bring to school influence the holidays they celebrate and can also shape their views of right and wrong as well as morality in general. As we see in Figure 3.3, the United States is home to a number of different religions (Norman, 2018; Pew Research Center, 2019). While most Americans describe themselves as Christian, a substantial percentage (30%) do not. Among these are significant numbers of Jews (2%), Muslims (1%), Buddhists (1%), and Hindus (1%). In addition, there are a number of people who are unaffiliated (23%), claiming no connection to any organized religion.

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Figure 3.3  Religions in the U.S. SOURCES: Norman, 2018; Pew Research Center 2019

Other world religions 2%

Buddhist 1% Hindu 1%

Unaffiliated 23% Protestant 48%

Muslim 1% Jewish 2%

Catholic 22%

A substantial shift in the religious affiliations of Americans has occurred over the years (Lipka, 2015). Between 2007 and 2014, the Christian share of the population fell from nearly 80% to about 70%, while the number of unaffiliated rose from 16% to nearly a fourth of Americans. Protestants were the majority religion in 2007 at more than half, but by 2014, that figure had dropped to 45%. The significant drop between 2007 and 2014 was matched by increases in non-Christian faiths, fueled primarily by immigration. Two-thirds of senior citizens identify as White Christian, while only one-fourth of citizens under age 30 do. Interestingly, while only 70% of the general public describe themselves as Christian, more than 9 of 10 members of Congress do. Geographically, the southeast and southwest parts of our country are the most religious, while citizens in New England and the Northeast are least likely to call themselves Christian.

Religious Diversity: Implications for Teaching The statistics we see here have important implications for us as teachers. As we saw above, 30% of people in our country do not describe themselves as Christian. This presents dilemmas for teachers wanting to celebrate events with religious backgrounds, such as having a Christmas party in their classrooms. Doing so can leave out significant numbers of students, who may already feel marginalized by cultural differences. So, celebrating Christian holidays can exacerbate the problem. What can we do to ensure that non-Christian students don’t feel excluded or marginalized? Instead of celebrating Christmas per se, for instance, we can teach about religious holidays in general, including Christmas and Hanukkah, which both fall in December, as well as others, such as the Muslim Ramadan and Buddhist and Hindi festivals (Hamer, 2017; Underwood, 2019). The point is not to ignore Christmas but to teach that other religious holidays exist and acknowledge that we have students who aren’t Christian. Using different holidays to teach about religious diversity communicates that all religions are welcome and provides opportunities for all students to learn about each other. Inviting members of different religious communities, such as parents and clerics from different religions into our classrooms, can be a powerful way to teach about the religious diversity in both our schools and in our country. Being aware of and sensitive to the broad range of religions in our school’s community provides a rich opportunity for our students

90  Chapter 3 to learn about the different religions that exist in our country and in their neighborhoods and, in doing so, fosters tolerance and respect for peers with different beliefs.

Educational Responses to Cultural Diversity Historically, social commentators have used different metaphors to describe the relationships among the diverse cultures in our country, with a “melting pot” being one of the first. Those who saw the United States as a melting pot emphasized assimilation, the process of socializing people so they adopt dominant social norms and patterns of behavior. Assimilation attempted to make members of minority cultural groups “similar” to those of the dominant cultural group in our country—typically, White people of northern European descent. The melting pot metaphor was especially popular in the early 1900s, when large numbers of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe came to the United States. Society assigned schools the task of teaching immigrants how “Americans” were supposed to think, talk, and act. Immigrants, eager to become “American” and share in this country’s economic wealth, generally accepted assimilation efforts. About the middle of the 20th century, a shift in thinking occurred. People realized that assimilation had never totally worked and resulted in practices that erased or dismissed individual histories and identities. Further, communities within neighborhoods and groups continued to speak their native languages, celebrate their unique cultural holidays, and maintain their cultural habits, such as celebrating ethnic holidays and eating foods from their home countries. In other words, a true “melting pot” never existed. In this shift in thinking, the contributions of different cultural and ethnic groups were increasingly recognized, and leaders began to realize that some educational practices aimed at assimilation were actually counterproductive. For example, in an effort to encourage English language acquisition, schools in the Southwest didn’t allow students to speak Spanish, even on playgrounds. Schools became hostile places where students had to choose between family, friends, and school. The policy probably did as much to alienate Hispanic youth as it did to encourage English language development (Echevarria et al., 2018).

Diversity: Culturally Responsive Teaching To capitalize on the contributions of culture and ethnicity in our country and schools, educational leaders developed an approach to working with members of different cultural groups called culturally responsive teaching, instruction that acknowledges and capitalizes on cultural diversity (Carter & Darling-Hammond, 2016; Seriki & Brown, 2017). Let’s look at an example.

Shannon Wilson, a fifth-grade teacher in a large urban elementary school, walks around her classroom, helping students as they work on a social studies project. A number of hands are raised, and she feels relieved that she has Maria Arguelas, her resource teacher, to help her. Shannon has 27 students, seven of whom speak a first language other than English. Five are Hispanic, and fortunately, Maria can help them with language-related problems. Shannon often spends extra time with Kwan and Abdul, the other two non-English speakers. Shannon’s class is preparing for Family Day, an afternoon when parents and other caregivers join the class in celebrating the students’ ancestral countries. The students present information about each country’s history, geography, and cultures in their projects. The class has already prepared a large world map with pins marking the students’ countries of origin. Although several of the pins are clustered in Mexico and Central and South America, the map shows that students also come from many other parts of the world. Each student is encouraged to invite a family member to come and share a part of the family’s culture. The parents, caregivers, and family members bring food, music, or native dress from their different homelands to share with other students.

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Culturally responsive teaching (also called culturally sustaining instruction) attempts to capitalize on cultural diversity in three ways, which were illustrated in Shannon’s work with her students: • Accepting and valuing cultural differences • Accommodating different patterns of cultural interaction • Building on students’ cultural backgrounds Accepting and Valuing Cultural Differences.  Communicating that we recognize and value student diversity is an important first step, and it’s particularly important because it helps students understand, accept, and affirm their different cultural identities (Bennett, 2019). This affirmation is the exact opposite of a “melting pot” approach to cultural diversity; as teachers, we want our students to understand and value the cultures in which they developed. As a simple example, Shannon had her students identify their ethnic homelands on the map; this showed a personal interest in all her students and helped them feel accepted and valued. As another example, high school social studies teachers made a special effort to allow students to research aspects of history that were culturally meaningful to them (Levy, 2014). Hmong students learned more about the Viet Nam War, Chinese students learned about the Cultural Revolution in China, and Jewish students studied the Holocaust. Researchers found that both learning and motivation were enhanced when content focused on students’ cultural backgrounds and interests. Genuine caring is an essential component of culturally responsive teaching; it makes students feel welcome and wanted in our classrooms. We can communicate caring in several ways:

• Devote time to students—for example, being available before and after school to help with schoolwork and to discuss students’ personal concerns. • Demonstrate interest in students’ lives—for example, asking about Jewish, Muslim, Latin American, and African American traditions. • Involve all students in learning activities—for example, calling on all students as equally as possible and using group work to allow all students to participate in lessons. • Learn students’ names and pronounce them correctly. This is especially important for recent immigrants, whose names may differ from ones typically found in our country. Each of these suggestions communicates that we welcome and value all students. MyLab Education Application Exercise 3.1: Demonstrating Respect for Culturally Diverse Learners In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher demonstrates respect for culturally diverse learners.

Accommodating Cultural Interaction Patterns.  Our students learn how to interact with others at home based upon traditions, cultural practices, and conventions for communication, but cultural conflict can occur when these interaction patterns conflict with classroom procedures. Let’s look at an example: Cynthia Cole, a second-grade teacher in an elementary school in the Southwest, is reading a story. “What do you think is going to happen next? . . . Tony?” Cynthia asks in response to his eagerly waving hand. “I think the boy is going to meet his friend.” “How do you think the boy feels about meeting his friend?” she continues.

92  Chapter 3 After Tony responds, Cynthia calls on Sharon Benally, one of the Navajo Native Americans in her class, even though Sharon has not raised her hand. When Sharon doesn’t answer, Cynthia prompts her by rephrasing the question, but Sharon continues to look at her in silence. Slightly exasperated, Cynthia wonders if Sharon understands her questions, or if she is asking the right kind of questions, because Sharon seems to be enjoying the story and also understands it. Why won’t she answer? Thinking about the lesson after school, Cynthia realizes that this has happened before, and that, in fact, her Native American students rarely answer questions in class. She can’t get them to talk.

How might we explain this problem? Some experts suggest that Native American children aren’t used to the fast-paced, question-and-answer patterns found in most classrooms in our country. When involved in discussions, such as the one in Cynthia’s class, they are uncomfortable and reluctant to participate (Banks, 2019). Similar issues can exist with students who are members of other cultures. Cultural interaction patterns learned in the home can influence the way students interact in our classrooms. This is not surprising when we realize that children’s first experience with language is in the home with parents and other caregivers. For example, researchers found that White children tend to respond comfortably to questions requiring specific answers, such as, “What’s this story about?” African American children, accustomed to questions that are more “open-ended, story-starter” types, are sometimes confused by the specific questions because they aren’t viewed as information givers in their homes (Banks, 2019; Gollnick & Chinn, 2017). Being sensitive to possible differences between interaction patterns of home and school and adapting our instruction to best meet our students’ needs is a second important step in culturally responsive teaching. For example, we saw that the communication patterns of Native Americans might clash with typical classroom practices. Recognizing that some of our students may not be comfortable in question-and-answer activities that require one specific answer, we can use more open-ended questions, such as “What do you notice?” and “How do these items compare?,” that allow a variety of acceptable responses. Questions such as these involve students and encourage them to respond while simultaneously removing the pressure to give “the” right answer. Expert teachers also use different cooperative-learning activities to complement their question-and-answer sessions and involve all students. As another example, when a first-grade teacher realized that her routines might clash with her students’ cultures, she made a simple adaptation. I traditionally end every day with the students receiving a hug before they leave. My Vietnamese kids were always the stiff huggers until October. . . . I now give all students the choice of a hug, handshake, or high-five.

This teacher also commented that this simple change made a difference in her classroom, helping all her students feel more comfortable in interacting with her. Accommodating different interaction patterns can help our students adapt to the existing culture of schools without losing their native identities, a process called “accommodation without assimilation” (Ogbu, 2003). Accommodation without assimilation helps students function comfortably in both cultures, including using different language patterns in school than in the home or their neighborhoods. Our challenge is to help students understand the “culture of schooling”—the norms, procedures, and expectations necessary for success in school—while honoring and valuing their home cultures. Building on Students’ Backgrounds.  Learning about students’ cultures and using this information to promote personal pride and motivation is a third step, as we saw in Shannon’s class (Royal & Gibson, 2017). Let’s see how one teacher did this.

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 93

Jack Seltzer, a high school biology teacher on the Navajo Nation Reservation, uses his students’ background experiences to illustrate hard-to-understand science concepts. He uses Churro sheep, a local breed that Navajos use for food and wool, to illustrate genetic principles. When they study plants, he focuses on local varieties of squash and corn that have been grown by students’ ancestors for centuries. He also uses geologic formations in nearby Monument Valley to illustrate igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. (Adapted from Baker, 2006)

Both students and their parents and families benefit from building on students’ cultural backgrounds (Carter & Darling-Hammond, 2016). Student achievement increases, and parents become more positive about school, both of which enhance student motivation. Shannon recognized this when she invited parents and other caregivers to share their cultural heritages with her class, and Jack capitalized on this idea by providing examples the students could personally understand and identify with.

Urban Education: Cultural Diversity in Urban Schools The term cultural minority is often used to refer to various non-White cultural groups. Based on sheer numbers, this term may soon be obsolete and is already a misnomer in many parts of the country, especially in urban areas. For example, Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians—when combined—now make up the majority of the population in almost half of the one hundred largest cities in our country (Macionis, 2019). In addition, more than 90% of the students in major cities, such as Detroit, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles, are children of color. The growth of minority student populations in urban areas is the result of immigration combined with higher birth rates. Urban centers are often called “gateway cities” for recently arriving immigrants, and this diversity is reflected in urban schools. In some high schools in New York City, for example, researchers found that African American and Hispanic students made up 97% of the student population and less than

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the first item in What I Believe, “Culturally responsive teachers treat all students the same way.” This statement isn’t true and is, in fact, the opposite of culturally sensitive teaching. To be most effective, you’ll need to adapt your instruction to your students’ cultural backgrounds.

Diversity and You Cultural Discontinuities You’ve been invited to a community awards ceremony at a

serenely up at the speaker on the stage. Then the kids start

local church of community members from the Pacific Islands to

playing tag, running circles around the seating area, and

honor students from your school. (This invitation and the events

yelling gleefully. No adult response—you are amazed, and struggle

that followed actually happened to one educator, a colleague

to resist the urge to quiet the children. As is often the case, family

of ours, who shared this incident with us.) You gladly accept,

members of many communities take on the roles of supervising

arrive a few minutes early, and are ushered to a seat of honor

and interacting with their children. While you may have expected

on the stage. After an uncomfortable (to you) wait of over an

parents to intervene in monitoring their children, siblings and other

hour, the ceremony begins, and the students proudly file to the

family members assumed the role that you thought was strictly the

stage to receive their awards. Each is acknowledged, given an

parents’ prerogative. Still nothing from the Islander parents who

award, and applauded. After this part of the ceremony, you have

seem either unaware or unconcerned about the children’s

another eye-opening experience.

behavior! You are caught in the middle of a conflict of cultures—

The children all go back and sit down in the audience again, and the meeting continues with several more items on the agenda. The kids are fine for a while, but get bored and start to fidget. Fidgeting and whispering turn into poking, prodding, and open chatting. Like all children, formal presentations can drag on. You become a little anxious at the disruption, but none of the other adults appear even to notice, so you ignore it, too. Soon, several of the children are up and out of their seats, strolling about the back and sides of the auditorium. All adult faces continue looking

yours and the Pacific Islanders’. You don’t know what to do.

Consider These Questions 1. This section discussed two potentially conflicting ideas: accepting and valuing cultural differences and accommodation without assimilation. How do these ideas relate to this dilemma?

2. What would you do in this situation, both short-term and long-term?

94  Chapter 3 1% were White (Goldsmith, 2011; Kozol, 2005). Many of these students don’t speak English as their first language, which will pose a challenge for you if you teach in an urban school. Teachers who can help students simultaneously learn English and the content of their classes are desperately needed.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 3.2: Rewards and Challenges in Urban Environments In this exercise you will be asked to analyze the rewards and challenges that exist for teachers in urban schools.

Technology and Teaching: Technology Access Issues “Technology is everywhere” has become almost a cliché, but this isn’t true for all students. Many students don’t have ready access to technology in classrooms, and if they don’t, they obviously can’t use it to learn. Surveys of technology use in schools across our country found that by 2017, virtually all public schools had Internet access, and more than 9 out of 10 had wireless capability (Herold, 2018a). But 1,356 schools, mostly in rural and remote areas, were still off the grid, without high-speed fiber optic connections (Herold, 2018b). Between 1998 and 2008, the number of students per Internet-connected computer dropped from 12 to slightly more than 3. This statistic is misleading, however, because many schools cluster computers in labs where they are accessible only once or twice a week. Teachers still need to do instructional juggling to provide computer access to all students when they need it. While most teachers have access to computers in their classrooms, numbers are a significant problem in their effective use (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). In one survey, more than half of teachers of low-income students reported that students’ lack of access to digital technologies made incorporating more digital tools into their teaching challenging. When we’ve asked teachers about barriers to effective use of technology, they commonly identify an insufficient number of computers as a major problem. And research suggests that the number and quality of computers influence teachers’ use of technology in their classrooms (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). When obstacles are too great, teachers tend not to use it, which deprives their students of valuable learning opportunities. “Technology is everywhere,” is essentially true for many aspects of our lives, but this often isn’t the case in schools. The problem is further complicated by differences between urban and suburban schools. In the past, disparities in technology access existed between urban and suburban schools and between schools serving high percentages of students living in poverty compared to those serving more affluent families (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). Research indicates that these differences in tech availability have largely vanished, but there are significant disparities in how technology is actually used in schools. For instance, schools with high concentrations of students from low-income backgrounds are more likely to use computers for practice on basic skills versus higherlevel learning, such as problem-solving, coding, writing essays, or developing studentinitiated multimedia projects (Herold, 2017). These differences become important when students apply for college or jobs in high-skill industries. Home-school communication is also an issue; teachers in high-poverty schools are much less likely to use the Internet to communicate with parents/families and students about school-related problems or issues and are less likely to use regular posts to keep parents informed about class progress. A major obstacle to greater home/school communication is access to technology in low-income households (Herold, 2018c).

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 95

Figure 3.4  Internet Access and U.S. Teens’ Ability to Do Homework at Home SOURCE: Anderson, M., & Perrin, A. (2018). Pew Research Center.

Percentage of U.S Teens, by Race/Ethnicity or Annual Income, Who Report Lack of Home Internet Access 30 25

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21 20

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Being unable to do homework due to no access to home computer or Internet (often or sometimes)

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These differences create a two-tiered system in which computers are used in very different ways by high- and low-poverty schools.

Differences among Ethnic Groups and Income Levels While more than 9 of 10 students in our country have access to computers at home, significant differences in access based upon race, family income, and family education level exist (Herold, 2018c). Many, if not most, of these differences are related to money. Household incomes often determine whether families can afford technology, and incomes are not distributed equally between different ethnic groups. For example, Asian American households’ median income was $81,000 in 2017, versus White households, with a median income of $65,000, while African American households had a median income of $39,000 (Brooks, 2017). These income differences result in major differences in home access to technology for many students (Herold, 2018c). Important differences in teens’ access to computers at home related to both race and income also exist, and this affects their ability to do assigned homework (Anderson & Perrin, 2018). While more than 1 of 10 teens report they don’t have reliable access to a home computer, the figure changes when comparing White (9%) to Black (11%) and Hispanic (18%) teens. For households whose family income is less than $30,000 a year, 25% of teens don’t have access to a home computer; for teens with household incomes of $75,000 or more, the figure shrinks to 4%. The effects of these conditions on students’ homework habits can be seen in Figure 3.4. Because of these problems, many teens are forced to use public Wi-Fi to do their homework.

Technology Access Issues: Implications for Teaching Why is this important to teachers? When students are expected to complete assignments at home that require computers and information from the Internet, access can be a serious problem. Long term, access to computers can also influence the career options available to students; students are less likely to pursue high-tech careers in areas such as science and engineering if they have inadequate technology backgrounds or haven’t been introduced to ways that technology can be used in these areas. Recent immigrant

Doing homework on public Wi-Fi due to no home Internet (often or sometimes)

96  Chapter 3 students are particularly hit by the access issue; cost is a major barrier, and even when access occurs, many parents are unaware of how to use these technologies to help their children learn (Moon & Jofferth, 2018). Preparing all students to compete in such an environment can be a challenge. But access to technology, alone, might not be the “Great Equalizer” that narrows the achievement gap between poor and wealthy students and minorities and non-minorities. Studies, in both this and other countries, indicate show that access to computers is only the first step in increasing student learning (Stross, 2010). Left on their own, students tend to use computers to play games and interact with each other instead of accessing the wealth of information available on the Internet or developing their skills with technology. Encouragement and close supervision from adults are essential to increase student learning through access to computers and must be strategically planned and assessed by teachers. And greater access to technology may actually have a negative effect on students (Riley, 2018). This counter-intuitive conclusion comes from a broad range of research that shows more is not better when it comes to some forms of technology. For instance, minority children and children in poverty watch 50% more television than their White and higher-income peers and use computers an hour and a half longer each day. But psychologists have discovered that increased screen time leads to a number of negative outcomes, including children’s decreased abilities to understand nonverbal emotional cues, higher rates of depression and other forms of mental illness, higher risk for obesity, and attention-deficit problems in school (Canter, 2018). Unfortunately, many parents are unaware of these problems, which are greater for low-income families (Squire & Steinkuehler, 2017). There is a lesson in this for all of us who teach; just “throwing” technology at students doesn’t guarantee learning. As educators, we’re tempted to view technology as a “magic bullet” that can solve all of our educational problems, but this is far from true. We need to carefully plan when we use technology, structure lessons strategically, monitor students while they are using it, and evaluate both students and the technology afterward to ensure that using it translates into learning for students. MyLab Education Self-Check 3.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 3.2  Describe the major approaches to helping EL students learn. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 8, Instructional Strategies

Language Diversity Teaching and You Have you ever tried to learn a language different from the one spoken in your home? Was it easier to learn to speak the language, understand it when spoken, or read it? How proficient were you after two or three years? How successful would you have been if all the instruction in your other classes were in that language?

Think about the questions we asked in Teaching and You and imagine trying to help students make sense of a topic you’re teaching if they can’t understand the words you’re saying. And what if you can’t understand what they’re trying to say to you? This is the challenge many teachers in today’s schools face. Language is one of the most important parts of any culture, and language influences learning more than any other single factor. Let’s see how one school responds.

Ellie Barton, a language arts teacher at Northeast Middle School, is the school’s English Learner (EL) coordinator. She teaches EL classes and is also in charge of the school’s testing and placement program. Her job is challenging, as her students vary considerably in their knowledge of English. For instance, one group of Somali-Bantu children just arrived from a refugee camp in Kenya. They cannot read or write because there is no written language for Mai-Mai, their native tongue. Language isn’t their only challenge; many had never been in a building with more than one floor, and others

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 97 found urinals and other aspects of indoor plumbing a mystery. At the other end of the continuum is a young girl from India who can read and write in four languages: Hindi, the national language of India; Urdu, the language of her Persian ancestors; Telegu, a regional language in India; and Arabic. To sort out this language diversity, the district uses a placement test that categorizes students into three levels: newcomer classrooms for students who have little or no expertise with English; self-contained EL classrooms, where a primary emphasis is on learning to read and write English; and sheltered English, where students receive structured help in learning academic subjects, such as science and social studies. However, the placement process is not foolproof, since English skills are sometimes nonexistent, and some parents and families don’t know the exact ages of their children. Ellie’s principal deals with this information void in creative ways; he recently asked a dentist friend to look at a student’s teeth to estimate the child’s age.

English learners (ELs) are students who “participate in language assistance programs to help ensure that they attain English proficiency and meet the same academic content and achievement standards that all students are expected to meet” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017b, para. 2). (English learners are also called English language learners [ELLs], and you will see both EL and ELL used in the educational literature.) As we saw earlier in the chapter, immigration has brought increasing numbers of students into our schools who are not proficient in English. This what the EL school population looked like in 2015 (Babinski, Amendum, Knotek, Sánchez, & Malone, 2018; Burton, 2018; National Center for Education Statistics, 2017b): • Nearly 5 million, or 10%, of all students in our country were ELs. • Eight states—Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington—plus the District of Columbia, had public school populations with 10% or more ELs. In California, this figure was more than 20%, with Texas second at more than 15%. • The highest concentrations are in large cities, where nearly 17% of all students are ELs. In rural areas, the figure is less than 5%. • They are most prominent in the lower elementary grades, where more than 1 of 6 of students in the first three grades are ELs. This figure falls to fewer than 1 of 20 by the eleventh grade. • The vast majority of ELs (70%) speak Spanish as a home language, followed in order by Chinese, and Creole French. As we can see, the trend in our nation’s schools is toward increasing language diversity. For instance, the EL population increased 27% between 2001 and 2016, and 23% of public school students spoke a language other than English at home (Camaroto, Griffith & Zeiger, 2017; Pope, 2016). Children who are learning English often experience challenges as they try to simultaneously learn English, conventions of schools, and curricular content. As a result, they typically lag behind in achievement, and they’re more likely to drop out of school (Turnbull, Turnbull, Wehmeyer & Shogren, 2020; Vaughn, Bos, & Schumm, 2018). And they face additional obstacles. “[T]hey experience significant barriers to graduating from high school, stemming from high rates of poverty, higher mobility rates, segregation, underfunding, and unsafe schools, leading toward low K–12 academic performance” (Jiménez-Castellanos & García, 2017, p. 318). The federal government and our schools have responded to these issues with a variety of programs.

Language Diversity: The Government’s Response Historically, our federal government, through legislation and court rulings, attempted to address the needs of EL students through bilingual approaches, strategies intended to maintain the first language while students learned English. For example, in 1968,

98  Chapter 3 Congress passed the Bilingual Education Act that provided federal funds for educating nonnative English speakers. Then, in the controversial 1974 Lau v. Nichols case, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the San Francisco School District unlawfully discriminated against minority students by failing to address non-English-speaking children’s language problems (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon & Fischer, 2015). But in 1998 more than 60% of the voters in California passed Proposition 227 to replace bilingual education programs with a fast track to English; EL students were provided with a special pullout English immersion program for one year and then shifted into mainstream English-only classrooms (Ash, 2014). Thirty-two states have passed legislation making English the official language in that state (U.S. English, 2018). The effectiveness of these actions is still being debated, as you’ll see in the Issues You’ll Face in Teaching feature in this chapter. Bowing to political pressure, the federal government has more recently changed course, advocating that schools should teach English, with little attempt to preserve heritage languages. When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001, it added a new law, the English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act, that emphasized English proficiency rather than bilingualism (Schimmel et al., 2015). Further, public interest in educating students who are English learners increased with the passage of NCLB, which required states to document the educational progress of each specific group of students, including ELs. With this shift in thinking, the previous federal Office of Bilingual Education became the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). In 2006, during a debate on immigration reform, the U.S. Senate voted to designate English as the national language (Hulse, 2006). Now the federal government’s primary goal is to teach English to EL students as quickly as possible. Federal involvement in EL education increased with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015 (Ujifusa, 2018). As part of that legislation, states must also have in place English language proficiency standards focusing on speaking, reading, and writing that are aligned with academic standards in math, language arts, and science. States must also provide for annual assessments of English proficiency for all ELs, aligned with their English language proficiency standards. This legislation makes English acquisition a national priority. But in an ironic twist, dual language immersion programs, that teach a foreign language to English-speaking students while teaching English to El students, are becoming more popular across the country, numbering 2,000 programs and growing (Mitchell, 2018). What makes these programs distinctive is that students are typically immersed in the new language, with significant parts of instruction occurring in that new language. Forty states are experimenting with these programs, and New York City alone has more than 100, including ones in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese (Steele et al., 2018). The need for these programs is clear; experts point out that the United States lags other countries in producing students who can speak a second language. For example, in Europe 92% of students study a foreign language, versus only 20% in our country (de Montlaur, 2019). Fueled by the need to address our global economy, teachers for these programs are in high demand, so if you speak a foreign language, this could increase your chances of landing a teaching position.

Language Diversity: Schools’ Responses Despite the federal position on EL instruction, schools across the country, when faced with the reality of educating EL students, have responded to the challenge of language diversity in very different ways (see Table 3.1). Although all of the programs are designed ultimately to teach English, and all benefit students’ academic achievement, they differ in how fast English is introduced and to what extent the first language is encouraged and maintained (Echevarria et al., 2018; Peregoy & Boyle, 2017).

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 99

Table 3.1  Types of EL Programs Type of Program

Description

Advantages

Disadvantages

Immersion

Places students in classrooms where only English is spoken, with few or any linguistic aids.

Increased exposure to new language and multiple opportunities to use it.

Sink or swim approach may be overwhelming and leave students confused and discouraged.

Maintenance

Students maintain first language through reading and writing activities in first language while teachers introduce English.

Students become literate in two languages.

Requires teachers trained in first language. Acquisition of English may not be as fast.

Transitional

Students learn to read in first language, and teachers give supplementary instruction in English as a second language. After mastering English, students enroll in regular classrooms and discontinue learning in first language.

Maintains first language. Transition to English is eased by gradual approach.

Requires teachers trained in first language. Literacy skills in first language are not maintained and may be lost.

ESL Pullout Programs

Pullout programs in which students are provided with supplementary English instruction along with regular instruction in content classes.

Easier to administer when dealing with diverse language backgrounds because it only requires the pullout teachers to have EL expertise.

Students may not be ready to benefit from content instruction in English. Pullout programs segregate students.

Sheltered English

Teachers adapt content instruction to meet the learning needs of EL students.

Easier for students to learn content.

Requires an intermediate level of English proficiency. Also requires teachers with EL expertise.

Bilingual maintenance language programs place the greatest emphasis on using and sustaining the first language while teaching English. In these programs, students initially receive most or all of their instruction in their first language, which is usually Spanish, and a corresponding small percentage in English. The emphasis on English then increases in each subsequent grade. The future of maintenance programs is uncertain, given the current emphasis on speedy English acquisition. At the opposite end of the continuum, immersion programs, English as a second language (ESL) programs, and sheltered English programs emphasize rapid transition to English, with no efforts to maintain students’ native language. Immersion programs provide all content instruction in English with the hope that continual exposure to English will facilitate learning English as quickly as possible. This can work, but students are often overwhelmed with this sink-or-swim approach to learning a new language. ESL programs, which are often found at the secondary level, vary across the country, with some focusing on general education classroom-based ESL, others on pullout ESL instruction, and still others on sheltered or structured English instruction. In each of these, the content remains similar to other classrooms, but the teacher makes a special effort to provide extra instructional help for students who are simultaneously learning both content and a new language. A current trend is to place more and more EL students into regular classrooms, and there are some social benefits to this process of “mainstreaming” these students. EL students benefit from socially interacting with other students, and other students have opportunities to learn about and make friends with EL students. Halfway between the two ends of the continuum, transition programs maintain the first language until students acquire sufficient English to succeed in English-only classrooms, with the primary goal of helping students reach English proficiency. Logistics are often a factor when schools consider which type of program to use. For example, transition programs can be effective when classes are composed of large numbers of EL students who speak the same language, such as Spanish-speaking students in Los Angeles, because schools can hire a teacher who speaks the students’ native language. This isn’t possible when several first languages exist. This happened at Northeast Middle School and is a primary reason why Ellie Barton teaches in an EL program that places minimal emphasis on students’ first language.

100  Chapter 3

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Bilingual Education Bilingual education is controversial and reflects our country’s

2017). Students in bilingual programs learn English just as

changing views about immigration and assimilation. Through the

well as students in English immersion classes and have

Bilingual Education Act of 1968 and guidelines drafted as a result

higher fluency rates in both languages and better academic

of Lau v. Nichols in 1974, the federal government signaled its

achievement by the end of high school.

commitment to providing services for nonnative English speakers. But in 2002, Congress failed to renew the Bilingual Education

• Immersion programs place unrealistic demands on students who are faced with the dual task of learning English and

Act, instead packaging funds for English language learners into

a content area at the same time (Echevarria et al., 2018;

NCLB that required students to attain “English fluency” in three years and required schools to teach students in English after that time period. In addition, state-level proposals, similar to Proposi-

Peregoy & Boyle, 2017). • Because bilingual programs produce students who can speak two languages, they make sense economically. People

tion 227 in California, passed in 26 other states and sharply cur-

who can speak more than one language will become increas-

tailed the use of bilingual programs across the country, replacing them with English-only immersion programs (Ash, 2014). But in a strange turnabout, in 2016 California voters approved by a large

ingly valuable in today’s global economy. • Research shows that knowledge and skills acquired in a native language are “transferable” to the second language,

(74%) margin the California Multilingual Education Act, which

providing students with a better understanding of the role

effectively repealed the English only component of Proposition

of language in communication and how language works

227 (Hopkinson, 2017). School districts can now offer bilingual

(Peregoy & Boyle, 2017).

programs if their patrons desire it for their children. The essence of bilingual programs is an attempt to maintain and build on students’ native languages while they learn English. Proponents claim that maintaining and building on students’ native language not only makes sense from a learning perspective but also produces adults who can navigate in other languages. Critics contend that bilingual programs are divisive and slow down the rate of English acquisition.

Con • Critics of bilingual education contend that it is divisive, encouraging groups of nonnative English speakers to remain separate from mainstream American culture (Ash, 2014). • Bilingual programs are ineffective, slowing the process of acquiring English for EL students. • Bilingual programs are inefficient, requiring expenditures

The Issue

for the training of bilingual teachers and materials that

Are bilingual programs designed to maintain students’ native

could be better spent on quality monolingual programs

languages an effective way to teach English, or are other

(U.S. English, 2018).

approaches, such as English immersion, more effective? Here are the arguments on both sides of the issue. The “pro” argu-

The Question

ments support bilingual education; the “con” arguments do not.

So, what is the best way to support language learners

Pro

more effective and humane way to learn English, or is it better

• Bilingual programs make sense educationally because they build on and reinforce students’ first language (Romero,

academically? Do bilingual maintenance programs provide a to immerse students in an English-rich environment to speed up the process?

Language Diversity in Your Classroom: Implications for Teaching As you work with EL students, it’s easy to fall into the trap of tacitly assuming that they’re all similar in terms of their backgrounds and competence in their native languages. This isn’t true. As with students in general, some come from homes where books, newspapers, and the Internet are a regular part of their lives, but others come from families whose members can barely read and write in their native language. When these students enter your classroom, they bring considerable diversity in terms of their grasp of the mechanics and power of language. Also, just because they can use English in conversation doesn’t mean they can effectively use the language to learn (Echevarria et al., 2018; Peregoy & Boyle, 2017).

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 101

ELs usually pick up enough English to communicate with peers and teachers after three or four years, but it can take up to four more years to learn enough English to function effectively in academic content areas. You’re almost certain to have students in your classroom whose first language is not English. Your ability to make informed professional decisions will be essential to help them learn. In working with students from diverse cultural and language backgrounds, your professional knowledge will be tested, perhaps more than in any other area of your work. If you have ever tried to learn another language, you can understand how difficult the process is. Vocabulary and grammar are constant challenges and often interfere with understanding. Try to remember your own struggles as you work with students attempting to master English.

Teaching EL Students Research offers a number of suggestions for working with students from varying language backgrounds (Babinski et al., 2017; Banse, Palacio, & Martin, 2019): • Create a warm and supportive classroom environment by taking a personal interest in all students and involving everyone in learning activities. Get to know students, and strive to personalize the content you’re teaching with examples that relate to students’ backgrounds. Explain how new terms will be useful in their lives and work. • Use positive reinforcement to encourage participation in lessons and make it contingent upon both effort and progress. • Mix whole-class instruction with group work and cooperative learning to allow students to interact informally and practice their developing language skills with the topics they study (Flores, 2019; Portes, Canché, Boada, & Whatley, 2017). • Use word walls and label objects in the classroom, like clocks and desks to provide links between students’ heritage languages and English. Use these links to help all students understand how the English language works. • Use interactive question-and-answer sessions to involve all students in classroom activities, and concrete examples to provide reference points for new ideas and vocabulary (Echevarria et al., 2018). Continually check for understanding through questions, assignments, and quizzes. Misunderstandings are a normal part of teaching and are even more common with EL students. Use these checks to adjust instruction. • Avoid situations that draw attention to students’ lack of English skills, such as making students read aloud in front of the whole class. The emotional support you provide EL students will be a major factor in how much EL students learn and feel a part of your classroom. These strategies represent good instructional practice for all students; for EL students, they’re essential (Otto, 2018). How will language diversity affect you as a teacher? First, although bilingual programs in our country have been reduced, the need for teachers with EL expertise will continue to increase. Teacher candidates who speak two languages, and especially Spanish, are in high demand across the country, especially in rural and urban settings (Babinski et al., 2018).

MyLab Education Self-Check 3.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 3.3  Explain how gender differences influence school success and how effective teachers respond to these differences. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second question in our What I Believe feature, “Students who aren’t native English speakers learn English most effectively by hearing the teacher use correct English.” This statement isn’t true: The only truly effective way for students to learn English is to practice it in language-related activities.

102  Chapter 3

Teaching and You Think about this class. What is the ratio of males to females? Is it similar to other classes you’re taking? How would the ratio be different if it were an engineering or computer science class?

Gender What Marti Banes sees on the first day of her advanced-placement (AP) chemistry class is surprising and disturbing. Of her 26 students, only 5 are girls, and they sit quietly, responding only when she asks them direct questions. Sharing her interest in science is a major reason she chose teaching as a career, but this situation is giving her little opportunity to do so with the very students she hopes to target—females like herself. Lori Anderson, the school counselor at an urban middle school, looks up from the desk where she is working on her annual report to the faculty. She knows that boys traditionally outnumber girls with respect to behavioral problems, but the numbers she is seeing are troubling. In every category— referrals by teachers, absenteeism, tardies, and fights—boys outnumber girls by more than two to one! In addition, the number of boys that have been referred to her for special education testing far exceeds referrals for girls.

Gender and Society Why did you choose your current major? Did your gender play a role in the decision? If you are like students in other areas, there’s a chance it did. For example, more than 8 of 10 elementary and middle school teachers are female, and the figure rises to close to 100% for preschool and kindergarten teachers (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2017). Similarly, gender differences are equally, or more pronounced, in the field of nursing, where the ratio of women to men is 9 to 1 (AMN Healthcare, 2018). On the other hand, both of Paul’s two brothers are on computer science faculties at their universities, and they report just the opposite—the vast majority of their students are male. And this represents a pattern in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) where women earn fewer than 1 in 5 bachelor’s degrees in computer science and engineering (U.S. Department of Labor, 2017). Unfortunately, societally based stereotypes rob girls of opportunities to pursue careers in areas where salaries are currently good, and expected to get better (Sparks, 2019). The fact that males and females are different is so obvious that we often don’t think about it, but research has uncovered some important gender-related differences. For example, females generally are more extroverted, anxious, and trusting; they’re less assertive and have slightly lower self-esteem than males of the same age and background; and their verbal and motor skills tend to develop faster than boys’ (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). In addition, the play habits of boys and girls differ, with boys typically preferring more “rough and tumble” play. These gender differences also influence learning and teaching in our classrooms. Why do these differences exist? As with most individual differences, research suggests the influence of both genetics and environment (Angier, 2018; Zimmer, 2018). Genetics largely determines physical differences, such as size and growth rate, and may also influence temperament, aggressiveness, and early verbal and exploratory behaviors. And some researchers now believe that boys’ and girls’ brains are wired differently for learning. For example, components of the brain that focus on words and fine-motor skills are developmentally a year ahead in girls, which gives them an advantage in reading and in small-motor tasks, such as using pencils and scissors, printing, and cursive writing. Emotional centers in the brain are also more advanced for girls, making them calmer and better able to sit still for the long periods that classrooms often require (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Some wonder if schools, as they currently exist, may be more compatible with girls’ genetic makeup (Rosin, 2012). Our environment also influences gender differences. From the day we’re born, boys and girls are treated differently (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Girls are given pink blankets, are called cute and pretty, and are handled delicately. Boys are dressed in blue,

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 103

are regarded as handsome, and are seen as tougher, better coordinated, and hardier. Fathers are rougher with their sons and involve them in more physical roughhousing and play; they tend to be gentler with their daughters and offer more sex-stereotyped toys, such as dolls and stuffed animals. Not surprisingly, boys and girls grow up looking and acting differently.

Gender and Classrooms Differences between boys and girls should generally be celebrated, but gender bias becomes a problem when forces in schools and the larger society limit the growth and academic potential of either boys or girls, as happened in Marti Banes’s AP chemistry class. Girls obviously can’t learn chemistry if they don’t take chemistry classes. Differences between girls and boys are real and important. They include the following (Berk, 2019a, 2019b; College Board, 2017; Feldman, 2019; Kim, Sinatra & Seyranian, 2018; OECD, 2015): • In the early grades, girls score as high as or higher than boys on almost every standardized measure of achievement and psychological well-being. By the time they graduate from high school or college, they have fallen behind boys. • In math, girls are initially better at basic skills, such as counting, arithmetic computation, and basic concepts. Later during adolescence, boys do better on math tests requiring abstract reasoning. Boys are more confident in their abilities in math, even when achievement levels are the same. • Girls score lower on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT), both of which are important for college admission. The greatest gaps are in science and math. • Women score lower on all sections of the Graduate Record Exam, the Medical College Admissions Test, and admissions tests for law, dental, and optometry schools. • Women still lag far behind men in traditionally male-dominated college majors, such as mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science. However, boys have a number of issues as well. They include the following (Berk, 2019a, 2019b; Feldman, 2019; National Center for Education Statistics, 2017a, 2017d, 2017e; Turnbull et al., 2020): • Boys outnumber girls in remedial English and math classes, are held back a grade more often, and are almost twice as likely to be classified as special needs students. • Boys receive the majority of failing grades, drop out of school 4 times more often than girls and are cited for disciplinary infractions as often as 10 times more than girls. • Boys score lower than girls on both direct and indirect measures of reading and writing, and the average eleventh-grade boy writes at the same level as an average eighth-grade girl. • Fifty-nine percent of associate and bachelor’s, 60% of master’s degrees, and 52% of all doctoral degrees are earned by women. Boys have other problems, and they appear to be behavioral, often persisting into adulthood. For instance, men are arrested for more than 6 of 10 property crimes and 80% of all violent crimes, and are more likely to abuse drugs and die from car accidents or homicides (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2018; Reichert,2019). With respect to differences between girls and boys, research focuses attention on the environment and particularly the part gender-role identity, societal expectations and beliefs about appropriate roles and behaviors of the two sexes, plays in shaping student behavior (Bian, Leslie, & Cimpian, 2017; Thomas, 2017). Society treats boys and girls differently and expects them to develop different gender-role identities. These identity

104  Chapter 3 Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third item on our What I Believe feature, “Boys generally get better grades in school than girls.” This statement is not true, and, in fact, the opposite is the case: Girls generally do better than boys on a number of academic measures, with grades being one of the most obvious.

differences aren’t a problem unless they perpetuate stereotypes, rigid, simplistic caricatures of a particular group of people, or negatively influence behavior, learning, or expectations for school success. For example, “Women aren’t good at math” and “Men don’t make good nurses or teachers” are both inaccurate and damaging stereotypes because they limit career choices.

Gender and Career Choices Look around your classroom for this course; if it’s a typical education course, the vast majority of the students are women. The same would be true for classes in nursing, but you would find the opposite in math, science, engineering, and computer-related fields (U.S. Department of Labor, 2017). Where do stereotypes about “appropriate” careers for boys and girls originate? Some are perpetuated by society, but ironically, parents—and particularly mothers— play a major role. For example, when mothers believe that math is a male domain—a negative gender-stereotyped view—their daughters take fewer math classes, get lower grades in them, and are less likely to view math positively (Cavanagh, 2008). In addition, peers can also influence the career decisions that young women make; when friends encourage STEM options, girls are more likely to pursue careers in science, technology, and math (Raabe, Boda, & Stadtfeld, 2019). Gender-stereotypic views can also negatively influence career decisions. For example, only 20% of the bachelor’s degrees in engineering and physical and computer sciences go to women. In 2014, women held only 26% of computer occupations, down from 37% in the mid-1990s (Ashcraft, Eger, & Scott, 2017). Of these, Black women held 3% of these jobs, Latinas 1%, and Native American women minuscule percentages. While slightly more than half of all doctorates are earned by women, the percentage in sciencerelated fields remains low—31% in physical sciences, 28% in math, 21% in computer science, and 24% in engineering (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2017). Experts fear these trends limit later career options in high-paying fields where job growth is out-stripping other non-science related fields (Sawchuk, 2018). Many of the genderstereotypic views of science careers begin in the elementary grades, where teachers avoid science topics because they are uneasy about the subject, and because of accountability pressures that steer them away from subjects that aren’t tested (Will, 2018). Similar gender-related problems exist for men. As we saw earlier, faculties in virtually all elementary schools are overwhelmingly female. And although more men are choosing nursing as a career, they remain a distinct minority, comprising just 11% of registered nurses (U.S. Department of Labor, 2017).

Single-Gender Classrooms and Schools What would you say to a class of fifth graders who weren’t working hard enough? Here is how one urban teacher responded, “You—let me see you trying! Come on, faster!” Another, right across the hall, said this: “This is so sloppy, honey. Remember what I spoke to you about? About being the bright shining star that you are?” (Medina, 2009b, p. A24). Can you guess which teacher was talking to an all-girls class and which was addressing a room full of boys? The creation of single-gender classes and schools, where boys and girls are segregated for part or all of the day, is one response to gender-related learning problems. One argument for single-sex classrooms is that they minimize distractions from the other sex that interfere with learning. One director of a single-sex school notes, “The boys don’t feel like they need to put on a big show for the girls, and the girls feel like they can strive academically without having to dumb down their ability” (Standen, 2007, p. 47). Separating boys and girls also allows teachers to adjust their teaching to the specific needs and interests of each. The number of single-gender schools in the United States has increased dramatically, from less than a dozen in 2000 to over 1,000 in 2017 (Mitchel, 2017).

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 105

These schools are typically found in urban (42%) or rural (34%) areas, with relatively fewer found in suburban sites. They serve primarily Black and Hispanic students, with White students comprising only 11% of the student population. Students in these schools are 1.5 times more likely to qualify for free or reduced-cost meals than their peers nationwide. Why this interest in single-gender classrooms and schools? Advocates claim that both girls and boys benefit from single-gender schools (Stanberry, 2018). Girls in these schools are more likely to assume leadership roles, they argue, take more math and science courses, and have higher self-esteem. Advocates of all-male schools claim that they promote male character development and are especially effective with boys from low-income and minority families. However, additional research disputes these claims (Tichenor, Welsh, Corcoran, Piechura, & Heins, 2016), and some researchers even call for a ban on the practice (Halpern et al., 2011). These critics assert that academic achievement is no higher in single-gender classrooms, gender stereotypes are reinforced, boys become more aggressive, and girls’ assertiveness is reduced. Research raises other issues. Because boys and girls are isolated from one another, single-gender schools and classes might not prepare students for the “real world,” where males and females must work together (Halpern et al., 2011). One critic observed, “A boy who has never been beaten by a girl on an algebra test could have some major problems having a female supervisor” (Medina, 2009b, p. A24). Some critics also question the legality of single-gender schools and classrooms based on Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex, but recent federal directives suggest that these are legal if participation is voluntary and comparable educational opportunities are available to both genders (Schimmel et al., 2015). More research is needed to determine the long-term effects of this experiment and whether these changes are an effective way of helping students learn and develop. At this point, the research is inconclusive, but the experiment seems to be thriving. And, nationwide, there has been an increased interest in attendance at women’s colleges, where research shows an almost 50% increase in enrollments there in recent years (Tugend, 2019). Experts attribute the increase to women seeking havens, or safe places, where they can pursue their college studies. Interestingly, single-gender classrooms, or at least segregation of the sexes, were common in colonial schools in the United States. And England, with a long history of private, single-gender schools, is currently moving away from them and toward coeducational classrooms (Condie, 2018).

Gender and Classrooms: Implications for Teaching What can we do to promote gender equality in our classrooms? The following suggestions offer guidance: • Communicate openly with students about gender issues and concerns. Simply telling our students that teachers often treat boys and girls differently and that we’re going to work to treat them equitably is a positive first step. • Encourage equal participation in all classes. One demanding but extremely effective technique is to call on everyone in your classes individually and by name, regardless of whether their hands are raised (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). • Make an effort to present examples of men and women in non-stereotypical roles, such as women who are engineers and men who are first-grade teachers. • Encourage girls to pursue science-related careers and boys to consider careers in nontraditional male fields, such as nursing and teaching. • Talk to parents—and particularly mothers—and remind them to be careful about how they talk to their daughters about careers in STEM-related fields. Let’s see how one high school math teacher addresses this problem.

MyLab Education Video Example 3.3 Eliminating gender bias in instructional activities can increase learning for both girls and boys. Notice how a middle school science teacher promotes gender equality in a learning activity by ensuring that girls and boys participate equally.

106  Chapter 3 When I meet my parents and families at open house, one of the things that I emphasize is the importance of avoiding negative comments about math, such as, “Well, I was never very good at math either.” It almost gives the girls in my class an excuse for not doing well. Then, I re-emphasize it during parent–teacher conferences. My dad used to say to me, “None of this ‘Math isn’t for girls’ stuff in this house,” when I was growing up, and it made a huge difference. I never considered the possibility that math wasn’t a field for me because I was a girl (Nicole Shantz, Personal Communication, November 26, 2020).

The powerful influence that teachers can have on students is captured in this remembrance from a 42-year-old female math professor who entered an algebra class for the first time: I loved it. And then, all of a sudden, I excelled in it. And the teacher said, “Oh no, you should be in the honors course,” or something like that. So, there’s somebody who definitely influenced me because I don’t think I ever even noticed. I mean, I didn’t care one way or the other about mathematics. (Zeldin & Pajares, 2000, p. 232)

The student ended up majoring in math and ultimately became a math professor. When teachers believe in their students, students start believing in themselves. Two other factors—hands-on science activities and teacher modeling—also appear to remedy the problem of female STEM stereotyping. Researchers have found that hands-on science activities illustrating how science concepts apply to the real world can also make a difference in how females view science (Solanki & Xu, 2018). Teachers and the way they design their classroom instruction, as well as how they treat students, can make a significant difference in gender equity in classrooms (Gansen, 2017). In addition, actually seeing females work in STEM fields, such as teaching science, can have a positive influence on ­ inatra, female students’ attitudes and motivations to pursue a career in STEM fields (Kim, S & Seyranian, 2018). Again, teachers make a difference, and if you’re a math, science, or computer major, you too can influence the next generation of women science teachers. No one is suggesting that boys and girls are, or should be, the same. Nevertheless, we should strive to provide the same academic opportunities and encouragement for all our students. MyLab Education Self-Check 3.3

LEARNING OUTCOME 3.4  Explain how schools have changed the ways they help students with exceptionalities. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Learners with Exceptionalities In our country more than 6.4 million students, or 13% of the student population, are diagnosed as having exceptionalities, learning or emotional needs that result in their needing special help to succeed and reach their full potential (Bray & Russel, 2018; National Center for Education Statistics, 2017a). Most get help in general education classrooms, which means you will, without question, work with these students when you begin your teaching career. How will exceptionalities influence your teaching? Let’s look at one teacher’s experience. Emma Jackson, a beginning first-grade teacher in a large elementary school, has survived her hectic first weeks. She is beginning to feel comfortable, but at the same time, some things are bothering her. “It’s kind of frustrating,” she admits to Clarisse, a veteran who has become her friend and confidante. “I think I’m teaching, but some of the kids just don’t seem to get it.

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 107 “For instance, there’s Aidan. You’ve seen him on the playground. He’s cute, but his engine is stuck on fast. I can barely get him to sit in his seat, much less work. The smallest distraction sets him off. He can usually do the work if I can get him to stick to it, but it’s tough. I’ve talked to his mother, and he’s the same way at home. “Then there’s Zoe; she’s so sweet, but she simply doesn’t get it. I’ve tried everything under the sun with her. I explain it, and the next time, it’s as if it’s all brand new. I feel sorry for her because I know she gets frustrated when she can’t keep up with the other kids. When I work with her one-on-one, it seems to help, but I don’t have enough time to spend with her. She’s falling farther and farther behind.” “Maybe it’s not your fault. You’re supposed to do your best, but you’re going to burn yourself out if you keep this up,” Clarisse cautions. “Check with one of the special ed teachers. Maybe these students need some extra help.”

When you begin your teaching career, you will have challenges similar to Emma’s. You will have students like Aidan and Zoe, both of whom may have an exceptionality, which means they need special help to succeed in school. You may also have students who are gifted and talented, learners with abilities at the upper end of the continuum who require support beyond general education classroom instruction to reach their full potential. That’s why we’re introducing you to the study of students with exceptionalities at this early point in your teacher preparation program. In today’s schools, almost one of seven has some type of exceptionality that requires extra help. And the trend is to place more and more of these students in general educational settings instead of segregated facilities (Turnbull et al., 2020). The terms children with exceptionalities, students with special needs, and individuals with disabilities have all been used to describe students needing additional help to reach their full potential, and you may encounter any of them when you begin teaching. Notice that in these terms, children, students, and individuals appear first. This “people-first” mindset emphasizes that, foremost, these individuals are people like all of us, and they deserve to be treated with the same care and respect. Because it plays an important role in understanding and helping students with exceptionalities, we begin by examining the concept of intelligence.

Intelligence We all know people we think are “sharp” because they’re knowledgeable or perceptive, or learn new ideas quickly and easily. These are intuitive notions of intelligence, which experts define as the ability to acquire and use knowledge, solve problems and reason in the abstract, and adapt to new situations in our environments (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). The ability to benefit from experience is a simple way to think about intelligence. For instance, if we could hypothetically give two people exactly the same experiences, the more intelligent of the two will derive more benefit from them. Intelligence is important for all of us involved in teaching because it relates to important aspects of learning, such as success in school and even behavior problems. For example, high intelligence correlates with academic achievement, whereas low intelligence correlates with higher incidents of school problems and even delinquent behavior (Turnbull et al., 2020). However, intelligence scores tell only part of the story of school success; when researchers include other measures, such as motivation, self-regulation, and elements of practical intelligence and creativity, they get more accurate predictions of school success (Grigorenko et al., 2009). Experts suggest that you're likely to have students with intelligence test (IQ) scores ranging from 60 or 70 to 130 or 140 in an average, heterogeneously grouped classroom— the full spectrum of ability levels (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019). This range is so great that students at the lower end would be classified as intellectually handicapped,

108  Chapter 3 whereas students at the upper end might be considered gifted and/or talented. You’re likely to encounter the full spectrum of ability levels when you begin teaching. And experts caution us not to place too much emphasis on a single test score that might not accurately reflect a child’s true learning potential (Salvia, Yselldyke, & Bolt, 2017).

Changes in Views of Intelligence: Multiple Intelligences

MyLab Education Video Example 3.4 Howard Gardner views intelligence as existing in eight relatively independent dimensions. Here, a young student, in being able to group shells according to their common characteristics, demonstrates naturalistic intelligence, the ability to recognize patterns in the physical world.

Historically, researchers believed that intelligence was a single trait and that all people could be classified along a single continuum of “general” intelligence (Turnbull et al., 2020). Thinking has changed, however, and many researchers now believe that intelligence is composed of several distinct dimensions that may occur alone or in various combinations in different individuals. In other words, we can be “smart” in many ways instead of just one. Howard Gardner, a psychologist who did groundbreaking work in this area, is one of the best-known proponents of this idea (Gardner, 1983; Gardner & Moran, 2006). He proposed a theory of multiple intelligences, which suggests that overall intelligence is composed of eight relatively independent dimensions (see Table 3.2). Gardner’s theory makes sense intuitively and is popular with teachers. We all know people who don’t seem particularly “sharp” analytically but who excel in getting along with others, for instance. This ability serves them well, and in some instances, they’re more successful in life than their “brighter” counterparts. Others are extraordinary athletes or accomplished musicians. Gardner describes these people as high in interpersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, and musical intelligence, respectively. Gardner recommends that we present content in ways that capitalize on different intelligences and also help students understand their strengths and weaknesses in each. For example, to develop interpersonal intelligence we might use cooperative learning, we can encourage students to put their thoughts into words to develop linguistic intelligence, and we can have students practice defending their ideas with evidence to capitalize on logical-mathematical intelligence. Gardner warns, however, that not all topics can be adapted for each intelligence: “There is no point in assuming that every topic can be effectively approached in [multiple] ways, and it is a waste of effort and time to attempt to do this” (Gardner, 1995, p. 206). Despite its popularity with teachers, Gardner’s work has a number of vocal critics (Armstrong, 2018). For instance, some caution that the theory and its applications have not been validated by research and particularly research from cognitive neuroscience. Others disagree with the assertion that abilities in specific domains, such as music, qualify as separate forms of intelligence. Some even argue that it isn’t truly a valid theory.

Table 3.2  Gardner’s Dimensions of Intelligence Individuals Who Might Be High in This Dimension

Dimension

Description

Linguistic intelligence

Sensitivity to the meaning and order of words and the varied uses of language

Poet, journalist

Logical-mathematical intelligence

The ability to handle long chains of reasoning and to recognize patterns and order in the world

Scientist, mathematician

Musical intelligence

Sensitivity to pitch, melody, and tone

Composer, violinist

Spatial intelligence

The ability to perceive the visual world accurately and to re-create, transform, or modify aspects of the world on the basis of one’s perceptions

Sculptor, navigator

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

A fine-tuned ability to use the body and to handle objects

Dancer, athlete

Interpersonal intelligence

An understanding of interpersonal relations and the ability to make distinctions among others

Therapist, salesperson

Intrapersonal intelligence

Access to one’s own “feeling life”

Self-aware individual

Naturalist intelligence

The ability to recognize similarities and differences in the physical world

Biologist, anthropologist

SOURCE: Based upon H. Gardner & Hatch (1989) and Chekles (1997).

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 109

Also, despite the theory’s popularity with teachers, most classrooms focus heavily on the linguistic and logical-mathematical dimensions of Gardner’s theory and virtually ignore the others. To develop the other dimensions, students need to explore and practice them. For example, participation in sports or dance can improve bodilykinesthetic abilities, and playing in a band or singing in choral groups can improve musical intelligence.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 3.3: Applying Multiple Intelligences in First Grade In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a teacher’s efforts to apply Gardner’s theory with his students.

Emotional Intelligence We’ve all been in situations where we’ve been offended and would like to respond with a rude comment ourselves. In restraining ourselves, we demonstrate emotional intelligence, the ability to manage our emotions so we can cope with our world and accomplish goals (van der Linden et al., 2017). In recent years, leaders in both the educational and business world have increasingly emphasized the importance of emotional development, and assert that the greatest return on education investments are from nurturing these abilities (Brotto, 2018). This emphasis is well grounded in research that has identified strong relationships between emotional intelligence and outcomes ranging from increased school achievement, particularly with students at risk (Dougherty & Sharkey, 2017; McBride, Chung, & Robertson, 2016), to improved performance in the business world (Belfield et al., 2015). This important form of intelligence includes factors such as: • Controlling impulses to behave in socially unacceptable ways (Deciding against the impulse to hurt another person’s feelings) • Managing negative emotions (Being able to forget about the rude remark after initially feeling angry about it) • Behaving in socially acceptable ways (Deciding to talk calmly to the person about the remark, or simply leaving) Students who can manage their emotions are happier, better adjusted, and better able to make and keep friends than those who can’t. In addition, they’re also better students because they’re able to focus their emotions on the learning task at hand (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). As we would expect, children differ considerably in their ability to control and regulate their emotions. Older children are better at it than their younger counterparts, and language plays a role, providing a tool they can use to examine and monitor their emotions (e.g., “I know I feel bad about how I did on the test, but I’ll try to study harder for the next one.”). Research indicates that girls are better able to control negative emotions than boys, who are more likely to act out (Berk, 2019a, 2019b).

Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Teaching We can help our students develop the ability to manage their emotions by openly talking about emotions and discussing strategies for dealing with them. In the process, we can remind students that feeling a variety of emotions is completely normal, but some ways of responding to them are better than others. For example, feeling hurt and angry is normal, but responding calmly is more effective than lashing out.

Teaching and You Have you ever had a person make a rude remark to you, and you thought, “I’d love to tell him [or her] where to go!”? But you don’t. Why not?

110  Chapter 3 Using literature also offers opportunities to develop emotional intelligence. As we read and discuss stories, we can ask questions about characters’ motives, feelings, and actions. Our goal is for students to become aware of their own emotions, how they influence their behavior, and ultimately, how to control them. If we can help our students understand and control their emotions, they will have acquired an ability that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Learning Styles Teaching and You How do you like to learn? When do you learn best—mornings or afternoons? Do you like to study alone or with other people? Do you prefer to read about a topic or hear someone lecture about it? How will your learning preferences differ from the students you’ll teach?

The questions we asked in Teaching and You relate to the concept of learning style, our preferred ways of learning, studying, or thinking about the world. Conceptions of learning style range from focusing on environmental factors, such as lighting and noise level, to preferences for the way information is presented, such as visually or verbally. This latter perspective shouldn’t be a factor in our teaching, however, because research indicates that, as a general pattern, we should be presenting information both visually and verbally, and in tactile forms as well, whenever possible (Pomerance, Greenberg, & Walsh, 2016). Although intuitively appealing, little evidence supports the efficacy of attempting to assess students’ learning styles and then matching instruction to those preferences. First, critics question the validity of the tests used to measure learning styles, and second, they cite research indicating that attempts to match learning environments to learning preferences have resulted in no increases in achievement and, in some cases, even decreases (Good & Lavigne, 2018). Most credible experts in the field question the wisdom of teachers’ allocating energy and resources to accommodate learning styles (Hood, 2017). They further question the validity of claims made by those who urge teachers to assess their students with learning style inventories and follow with differentiated curriculum and instruction. Others speak more strongly, calling the concept of learning styles a myth and waste of time (Khazan, 2018; Newton, 2015). While little evidence supports attempts to match instruction to students’ learning styles, the idea does have implications for us as teachers. First, it reminds us that we should vary our instruction because no instructional strategy works for all students, or even the same students all the time (Good & Lavigne, 2018). Let’s look at an example. One thing Chris remembers from his methods classes is the need for variety. He has been primarily using large-group discussions in his middle school social studies classes, and most of the students seem to respond okay. But others seem uninterested, and their attention often drifts. Today, Chris decides to try a small-group activity involving problem-solving. The class has

Revisiting My Beliefs

been studying the growth of American cities, and he wants the students to think about solutions

This discussion addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “It is important for me to adapt my instruction to the individual learning styles of my students.” This statement is not supported by credible research. Varying instruction is important, but little evidence supports the contention that achievement is increased by attempting to match instruction to each child’s individual learning style. This would create enormous logistical problems and would also fail to teach students to broaden and develop their different learning abilities.

to some of the problems of big cities. As he watches the groups interact, he’s surprised at what he sees: Some of the students who are most withdrawn in whole-class discussions are leaders in the groups. “Great!” he thinks. But at the same time, he notes that some of his more active students are sitting back and not getting involved.

Second, we should also help our students understand how they learn most effectively, something that they aren’t initially good at (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Third, our students differ in ability, motivation, background experiences, needs, and strengths (Vaughn et al., 2018). Understanding the idea of learning styles can sensitize us to these differences, help us treat our students as individuals, and encourage us to do everything we can to help each one learn as much as possible. Having examined the concept of intelligence, we now turn to a discussion of special education and our country’s efforts to best serve students with exceptionalities.

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Special Education and the Law Historically, students with exceptionalities were separated from their peers and placed in segregated classrooms or schools (Boroson, 2017). Unfortunately, instruction in these settings was often inferior, achievement was no better than in general education classrooms, and students didn’t learn the social and life skills they needed to function effectively in the outside world (Turnbull et al., 2020). To address these issues, Congress passed Public Law 94–142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in 1975 (Yell, 2019). The guarantee of a free and appropriate public education for all students with exceptionalities was central to this act. IDEA, combined with later amendments, provides the following guidelines for working with students having exceptionalities:

Teaching and You You have three students in your class who you suspect have exceptionalities. Do you have professional obligations to them that go beyond those for all your students? If so, what are they?

• Guarantees an appropriate education for all students with exceptionalities • Identifies the needs of students with exceptionalities through assessment that doesn’t discriminate against any student • Involves parents in decisions about each child’s educational program • Creates an environment that doesn’t restrict learning opportunities for students with exceptionalities • Develops an individualized education program (IEP) of study for each student Since 1975, Congress has amended IDEA three times to ensure that all children with disabilities are protected and provided with a free, appropriate public education (Turnbull et al., 2020). For example, one amendment extended the provisions of IDEA to children ages 3 through 5 and held states accountable for locating young children who need special education services. A second amendment helped ensure protection against discrimination in testing, and required districts to keep confidential records of each child and share them with parents upon request. The third amendment requires schools to establish methods to reduce the number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are inappropriately placed in special education. This amendment also provides for procedures that allow districts to remove students from the classroom who “inflict serious bodily injury” on others.

The Move Toward Inclusion As educators realized that segregated classes and services weren’t meeting the needs of students with exceptionalities, they searched for alternatives. Mainstreaming, the practice of placing students with exceptionalities in general education classrooms, often for selected activities only, was their first effort. Mainstreaming began the move away from segregated services, but it had problems. Students with exceptionalities were often placed in general education classrooms without adequate support and services, and the results were unsatisfactory, however, as one student’s experience documents, as he was transferred from a special education classroom to a mainstreamed one: The work was way too hard, and the teachers did not try to help me. They went way too fast, and I got confused. I got scared and angry. I needed the help, but none of the teachers seemed to care. (Schrimpf, 2006, p. 87)

To remedy problems connected to mainstreaming, educators developed an alternative approach to educating students with exceptionalities, now commonly called inclusion, a comprehensive approach to educating students with exceptionalities that incorporates a total, systematic, and coordinated web of services (Boronson, 2017). Inclusion has three components: • Include students with special needs in a general education school campus. • Place students with special needs in age- and grade-appropriate classrooms. • Provide special education support within the general education classroom.

MyLab Education Video Example 3.5 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is federal legislation making a free and appropriate public education for all students with disabilities a legal requirement in our country. Here, two teachers describe the benefits of IDEA for working with their students who have exceptionalities.

112  Chapter 3 Inclusion is broader than mainstreaming, and it means that as a general education classroom teacher, you will have students with exceptionalities in your classroom, with the support of special educators to assist you with these students. And teachers are central to making inclusion work and helping students feel welcomed in regular classrooms (Stiefel, Shiferaw, Schwartz & Gottfried, 2018).

Individualized Education Program To ensure that inclusion works and that learners with exceptionalities don’t get lost in general education classrooms, a team of educators prepares an individualized education program (IEP) for every student who has an exceptionality. As a general education teacher, you will be part of this team, which will also include a special education specialist, resource professionals, and parents. An IEP includes: • An assessment of the student’s current level of performance • Long- and short-term objectives • Strategies to ensure that the student is making academic progress • Schedules for implementing the plan • Criteria for evaluating the plan’s success The IEP provides sufficient detail to guide general education teachers and special education personnel as they implement the plan. While generally effective in providing instructional help for students with exceptionalities, research suggests that accountability pressures, as well as the multiple teachers found in high schools, serve as obstacles to their effectiveness (Bray & Russell, 2018). Signatures from each participant indicate that all were consulted and agree on the recommended course of action. IEP conferences are a source of comfort for parents and families who have seen their child struggle again and again in school (Fialka & Fialka-Feldman, 2017). One mother wrote this note to her child’s teacher: Thank you so much for attending the IEP. Because of your advocacy, concern, and belief in Sam, the IEP was a nice experience for us. To be surrounded by people who see that all is good and possible in Sam was just wonderful. Thanks. (Kostelnik, Onaga, Rohde, & Whiren, 2002, p. 114)

An individualized family service plan (IFSP) provides the same type of planned care as an IEP but targets developmentally delayed preschool children. A product of PL 99-457, an IFSP provides for early intervention and care for children from birth to age 2. It differs from an IEP in two important ways (Turnbull et al., 2020). First, it targets the child’s family and provides supplemental services to the family as well as the child. Second, it includes interventions and services from a variety of health and human services agencies in addition to education; these could include physical therapy as well as family training and counseling.

Categories of Exceptionalities More than 6 million students in the United States are enrolled in special education programs, two-thirds of them for relatively minor problems (Turnbull et al., 2020). As we saw above, approximately one of seven students in a typical school receives some form of special education services, most in a general education classroom for much of the school day. Federal legislation has created categories to identify students eligible for special education services, but the use of categories is controversial (Friend, 2018). Advocates argue that categories provide a common language for professionals and encourage specialized instruction that meets each student’s specific needs. Opponents claim that categories are arbitrary, that many differences exist within each, and that categorizing students encourages educators to treat them as labels instead of people.

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Despite the controversy, these categories are widely used, so they should be part of your professional knowledge base. IDEA lists 13 different categories of disabilities, outlined in Figure 3.5. More than 8 of 10 students with exceptionalities fall into one or more of the following six categories: • learning disabilities • communication disorders (speech or language impairment) • intellectual disabilities • emotional or behavior disorders • developmental delays • autism spectrum disorders Learning disabilities, the most frequently occurring, involve difficulties in acquiring and using listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. Communication disorders interfere with students’ abilities to receive and understand information from others and to express their own ideas or questions. Intellectual disabilities, which historically were called mental retardation, include limitations in intellectual functioning, as indicated by difficulties in learning, and problems with adaptive skills, such as communication, self-care, and social interaction. This category relates to our earlier discussion of intelligence, with children having intellectual disabilities falling toward the lower end of the intelligence continuum. Emotional disorders, or behavior disorders, involve the display of serious and persistent age-inappropriate behaviors that result in social conflict, personal unhappiness, and school failure. This category relates to our earlier discussion of emotional intelligence. Learners with behavior disorders tend to be lower than their peers in emotional intelligence. The term emotional or behavior disorder is often used interchangeably

Figure 3.5  Percentage of Students Ages 3 to 21 Receiving Special Education Services Under the Federal Government’s Disability Categories SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics, (2018).

Developmental Delay 7% Autism 10%

Other Health Impairments** 14% Other Disabilities Combined* 5%

Specific Learning Disability 34%

Speech or Language Impairment 19%

Emotional or Behavioral Disability Intellectual Disability 6% 6% *Multiple Disabilities 2% Hearing Impairment 1% Orthopedic Impairment 1% Visual Impairment 1%

**Asthma, attention-deficit disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, hepatitis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia

MyLab Education Video Example 3.6 Students with learning disabilities make up the largest category of learners with exceptionalities. Here a teacher describes the adaptations a high school student with a learning disability in reading makes to succeed in school. Notice the teacher’s emphasis on the student’s motivation and ability to advocate for herself as she thrives in spite of her disability.

114  Chapter 3

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth item in the What I Believe feature, “Experts in special education advocate the creation of special classrooms to meet the needs of students with exceptionalities. “This statement isn’t true; special educators recommend that students with exceptionalities should be educated in general education classrooms whenever possible. This movement toward inclusion reflects research that suggests that these students learn more and develop more effective social skills when they have opportunities to interact with other students in general education classrooms.

with emotional disturbance, emotional disability, emotional handicap, or behavioral disorder, and you may encounter any of these in your work. When teachers work with these students, they often focus on socio-emotional skills that help the student function in classrooms (Turnbull et al., 2020). These might include how to make friends with other students, controlling tempers in conflict situations, or solving conflicts with solutions that accommodate all participants. Two of these categories—developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders— are relatively new. Developmental delays are significant delays or atypical patterns of development that make children eligible for early interventions. This category has grown because of recent changes to IDEA that require states to increase their efforts to identify young, preschool children that needed extra services. Work with these students often emphasizes a comprehensive web of medical and special education services that assists the family in providing an optimal environment for cognitive, social, and emotional development. Autism spectrum disorders, added to the IDEA list of disabilities qualifying for special services in 1990 and originally thought of as a single disorder, refer to a cluster of problems that reflect a range of disabilities. These disorders involve problems with social relationships that vary from conditions in which language is severely impaired and normal social relations are virtually impossible, to Asperger’s syndrome, in which students have average to above-average intelligence and only moderately impaired language abilities and social relationships (Friend, 2018). These disorders are also characterized by communication deficits and are often associated with highly ritualized and unusual behaviors. The frequency of autism spectrum disorders may be as high as 1 of 50, up from earlier estimates of 1 of 88, making it the fastest growing exceptionality (Heward et al., 2017). Rates are also higher for lower income and Hispanic and African American children, and early identification in these populations is essential for effective treatment. Interventions that employ modeling, feedback, role-playing, and targeted discussions have been found to be effective in helping these students communicate and interact more effectively (Friend, 2018). Students in each of these categories require extra assistance to help them succeed in the general education classroom.

Students Who Are Gifted and Talented As a classroom teacher, you’ll likely also work with learners who are gifted and talented, students at the upper end of the ability continuum. Although we don’t typically think of gifted and talented students as having exceptionalities, they often have learning needs not met by the general education curriculum, and they need special services to reach their full potential. Experts estimate that more than 3 million students are gifted and talented, slightly more than 6% of the total student population (Rimm, Siegel, & Davis, 2018). At one time, gifted was the only term educators used, but now the enlarged category includes students who not only do well on IQ tests (typically 130 and above) but also those who demonstrate talents in a range of areas, such as math, creative writing, and music. Students who are gifted and talented typically: • Learn more quickly and independently than their peers. • Use advanced language, reading, and vocabulary skills. • Display more highly developed learning and metacognitive strategies. • Demonstrate higher motivation for challenging tasks and less on easy ones. • Set high personal standards of achievement (Rimm et al., 2018). Our challenge as teachers is to provide a rich learning environment that helps these children develop to their fullest potential.

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Table 3.3  Acceleration and Enrichment Options for Students Who Are Gifted and Talented

Enrichment Options

Acceleration Options

1. Independent study and independent projects

1. Early admission to kindergarten and first grade

2. Learning centers

2. Grade skipping

3. Field trips

3. Subject skipping

4. Saturday and summer programs

4. Credit by exam

5. Simulations and games

5. College courses in high school (Advanced Placement courses)

6. Small-group inquiry and investigations

6. Online courses

7. Academic competitions

7. Early admission to college

Meeting the needs of students who are gifted and talented requires both early identification and instructional modifications. Conventional procedures often miss students who are gifted and talented because they rely heavily on standardized test scores and teacher nominations; as a result, females, students from low SES backgrounds, or cultural minorities are typically underrepresented in these programs (Friend, 2018; Harris, 2018). For example, in New York City where Black and Hispanic students make up 70% the student population, White students are 20 times more likely to attend Stuyvesant High, one of the elite high schools in the city, and 7 times more likely than Hispanic students (Shapiro, 2019). To address this problem, experts recommend more flexible and less culturally dependent methods, such as creativity measures, tests of spatial ability, and peer and parent nominations in addition to test scores or teacher recommendations (Harris, 2018).

Gifted Students: Implications for Teaching As a general education classroom teacher, you will probably be responsible for adapting instruction for students who are gifted and talented because special programs for these students have declined in recent years. Different ways of helping these students are typically based either on acceleration, which keeps the curriculum the same but allows students to move through it more quickly, or on enrichment, which provides richer and varied content through strategies that supplement usual grade-level work (Rimm et al., 2018). Table 3.3 lists different acceleration and enrichment options. Dual enrollment programs that allow gifted students to enroll in college classes while still in high school are becoming more popular and not only address the need for challenge, but also give gifted students a head start on college. An added benefit of these programs is that they provide early access to higher education to many gifted minority students, many of whom would never think of entering college (Rimm et al., 2018). The acceleration option is sometimes criticized because of possible negative social consequences; students who are moved to a higher grade or placed in challenging classes designed for older students may feel out of place or miss out on the friendships important for healthy social development. However, failure to address the needs of these students can result in gifted underachievers, with other social and emotional problems linked to boredom and lack of motivation. Currently, educators are wrestling with better ways to challenge and nurture these students.

Diversity: Are Children from Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Backgrounds Over- or Underrepresented in Special Education? A controversy has emerged with respect to members of cultural minorities and their placement in special education programs. The controversy centers on whether members of cultural minorities are over- or underrepresented in these programs and isolated

116  Chapter 3 more often in separate classrooms (Samuels & Harwin, 2018). Overrepresentation would mean that a disproportionate number of these students are placed in special education programs than would be expected by their numbers in the general population; under-representation would mean the opposite. For instance, data from the National Center for Education Statistics (2017c) indicate that in 2014, 16% of students enrolled in schools in our country were African American, and 25% were Hispanic. So, if more than 16% of African American students or 25% of Hispanic students are enrolled in special education programs, they are overrepresented, whereas if fewer than 16% or 25%, respectively, are enrolled, they’re underrepresented. Historically, the assumption has been that students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds are overrepresented (Samuels, 2017). Further, it’s been suggested that they are over-identified for specific learning problems, such as intellectual disabilities and emotional and behavior disorders, which can lead to stereotyping and stigmatizing these students (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 2016). As a result, federal legislation, regulations, and policies increasingly seek to address concerns that members of cultural minorities are overrepresented because of their race and ethnicity (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). This has led to some educational leaders and politicians believing that special education is a form of institutionalized racism that has legalized the segregation of minority students (Zhang, Katsiyannis, Ju, & Roberts, 2014). But other researchers suggest that precisely the opposite is occurring. These researchers argue that members of cultural minorities are underrepresented in special education programs and, as a result, don’t benefit from the services these programs can provide. “Recent work now reports that race and ethnic minority children may instead be under-identified as having disabilities and . . . less likely to receive special education services as they attend U.S. schools” (Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, & Maczuga, 2017, p. 306). This problem is particularly pronounced, the researchers contend, when these students are compared to White students displaying similar characteristics. The issue is complicated by the fact that members of cultural minorities typically struggle academically more than White students. These struggles can be linked to prenatal issues leading to lower birth weight, greater exposure to toxic environmental conditions, such as lead exposure, and the devastating effects of poverty (Garcia, 2015; Morsy & Rothstein, 2015). Children growing up in poverty face high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which literally changes the architecture of the brain, impairing circuits responsible for impulse control, emotional regulation, and the ability to process and learn from errors (Lesaux, & Jones, 2016; McCoy, 2016). Access to high-quality special education programs can help accommodate these disadvantages, making appropriate placement in them essential (Phillips, 2016). Additional research indicates that schools are more likely to medicalize the struggles of White children while criminalizing those of minorities (Ramey, 2015). For instance, misbehaving White children are more likely to be diagnosed as having behavior disorders, with efforts then made to provide services designed to help them learn to cope with their disability. Minority children, in contrast, are more likely to be viewed as irresponsible or incorrigible, with some form of punishment, and even suspension or incarceration the more likely response. This controversy has not been resolved. For instance, some researchers continue to contend that members of cultural minorities are overrepresented in programs for learners with exceptionalities (Skiba, Aritles, Kozleski, Losen, & Harry, 2016), whereas others continue to assert precisely the opposite (Morgan et al., 2017). The issue involves differences in the way different researchers interpret the existing data and whether the standardized tests used to determine placements are free of cultural and linguistic bias (Echevarria et al., 2018). This controversy is a highly sensitive topic, and you may be understandably uncomfortable with it. It’s impossible to view our students through a colorblind lens,

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and we want to be fair in our decisions about which students need additional help through special education services. Our goal should be to help ensure that all students get extra help if they need it. We share this information to increase your professional knowledge, so you will be in a better position to make reasoned judgments about your students. Also, close communication with your school’s special education experts can help in dealing with these highly sensitive issues.

Adapting to Students’ Abilities and Exceptionalities: Your Role as a Teacher Because of inclusion, we—as general education teachers—now are central to helping students with exceptionalities learn and develop to their full potential. We have three important roles in this process: • Identify students we suspect have exceptionalities. • Collaborate with other professionals. • Modify instruction to meet students’ needs. Helping students with exceptionalities begins with identification, an important first step in understanding and diagnosing learning problems. Following identification, classroom teachers collaborate with special educators and other support personnel to design and implement the IEP. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, classroom teachers adapt instruction to meet the learning needs of students with exceptionalities in ways that align with their legal rights and individual needs. The process begins with identification.

Identifying Students with Exceptionalities Because you work directly with students every day, you are in the best position to identify students who may have exceptionalities. For example, Emma’s ongoing observations of Aidan—in the case study at the beginning of this section—led her to conclude that “his engine is stuck on fast,” and he might need special help. No one else in the school was in a better position to raise the question of whether Aidan needed additional support. The same was true for her experiences with Zoe. In the past, a discrepancy model of identification was used to identify students with exceptionalities. This model looked for differences between: 1. Performance in the classroom and scores on standardized tests 2. Scores on intelligence and achievement tests 3. Intelligence test scores and classroom achievement 4. Subtests on either intelligence or achievement tests Performance in one area, such as an intelligence test, should predict performance in others; when the two were inconsistent, a learning problem was suspected. Many experts became dissatisfied with the discrepancy model, arguing that it identified a disability only after a problem surfaced, sometimes after several years of failure and frustration (Vaughn et al., 2018). Instead, they argued, educators need early screening measures, so they can prevent failure before it occurs. Critics also contended that the discrepancy model didn’t provide specific information about the nature of the learning problem or what should be done to correct it (Samuels, 2019). The response to intervention (RTI) model of identification addresses both of these problems. RTI typically begins at the start of the school year with pretesting designed to identify potential learning issues as early as possible (Vaughn et al., 2018). If a potential learning issue is identified, the classroom teacher adapts instruction in an attempt to meet the student’s needs. Common interventions include working with individual students while the majority of the class does seat-work, one-on-one tutoring

Teaching and You Did you know any students with exceptionalities when you were in school? Do you have any of these students in your circle of friends? Do you, by any chance, have an exceptionality? How were students with exceptionalities treated by other students in the schools you attended?

118  Chapter 3 outside of regular school hours, and small-group work. RTI also emphasizes developing study strategies, such as highlighting important vocabulary, using a dictionary, reading assignments aloud, and finding a quiet place to study free of distractions. If the interventions are unsuccessful, a learning exceptionality is likely (Friend, 2018). You will note what works and what doesn’t and document how the student responds to the intervention. This is the source of the label “response to intervention.”

Collaboration with Other Professionals Collaboration with other professionals is your second important role in the inclusion process. Initially, inclusion provided for additional services to help students with exceptionalities function in general education school settings (Turnbull et al., 2020), but the concept of collaboration gradually replaced this additive approach. Collaboration involves communication with parents and other professionals, such as special education specialists, school psychologists, and guidance counselors, to create the best possible learning environment for students with exceptionalities. You will work closely with special education teachers to ensure that learning experiences are integrated into the general education classroom curriculum. For example, rather than pulling a student with special needs out of the classroom for supplementary instruction in math, a special education teacher will coordinate instruction with you and will then work with the student in your classroom on tasks linked to your standard math curriculum, as the following example illustrates: Sharon Snow notices that Joey Sanchez is having difficulties with three-digit addition problems. After checking the IEP she has helped design in collaboration with the special education team, she finds that mastering math problems such as these is one of Joey’s goals. She meets with Ken Thomas, the resource teacher, after students have left and examines some recent work samples from Joey’s math homework and quizzes. They discover he is having trouble with problems that involve place value and carrying values over to the next column, such as the following: 345 +296 During the next week, when Sharon’s class is working on similar problems, Ken stops by Joey’s desk to help him. At first, they work in the back of the room, and Ken reviews place values for him. When Ken thinks Joey understands how place value affects the addition problems, he sends him back to his seat to work on the next few problems. Both Sharon and Ken monitor Joey’s progress carefully so he won’t get discouraged. When the number of problems seems to overwhelm Joey, Ken breaks them down into smaller blocks of five, providing feedback and encouragement after each block. Slowly, Joey starts to catch on and gain confidence. Collaboration enables the classroom teacher and the special educator to coordinate their efforts to help Joey succeed.

Unquestionably, having learners with exceptionalities in your classroom will make your teaching more demanding, but helping a student with a disability adapt and even thrive can be one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll have as a teacher. One teacher shared this story about her efforts to help a student struggling with a communication disorder. “At the end of the year, his dad took me aside and said, “We don’t know what we would have done without this program. We were getting desperate. He’s a different child today from what he was in August” (Kostelnik et al., 2002, p. 129). In Teaching and You, we asked if you knew any students with exceptionalities in the schools you attended. Most of us did, either directly or indirectly, and some of us had family members who struggled in school. It isn’t easy being different or struggling to understand topics that seem effortless for other students. When you work with these students in your own classroom, try to remember your own struggles in encountering challenging topics and help them in every way you can.

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Modifying Instruction to Meet Students’ Needs Modifying your instruction to meet the needs of students with exceptionalities is your third important role, but the modifications we use will not differ drastically from your general instructional practices (Vaughn et al., 2018). “In general, the classroom management and instructional strategies that are effective with special education students tend to be the same ones that are effective with other students” (Good & Lavigne, 2018, p. 324). In other words, you don’t teach students with exceptionalities in ways that differ fundamentally from the way you teach all students; you simply do it that much better. The following are some suggestions designed to help learners with exceptionalities succeed in our classrooms (Turnbull et al., 2020): • Teach in small steps, and provide detailed feedback on assignments and homework. • Involve students with exceptionalities by calling on them as often as other students in your classes. • Carefully model solutions to problems and other assignments. • Provide outlines, hierarchies, charts, and other forms of organization for the content you’re teaching. • Increase the amount of time available for tests and quizzes. • Use available technology to assist learners. • Teach learning strategies in addition to content. The last item on the list is particularly important. Students with learning difficulties often approach tasks passively or use the same strategy for all learning tasks (Vaughn et al., 2018). These students can learn to use strategies, and strategy training is one of the most promising approaches to working with students having exceptionalities, but the strategies need to be taught explicitly. For example, a student with a learning disability in reading is taught to first look at the chapter outline to see how the chapter was organized. Then he uses the outline as a guide as he skims the chapter, followed by reading the chapter to himself aloud, stopping every few paragraphs to summarize what he has just read. If he is unable to summarize the information, he rereads the section. Success is essential for struggling learners, and you’ll need to provide additional support to help students overcome a history of failure and frustration and to convince them that they can succeed if they’re willing to make the effort. For instance, while the majority of the class is completing a seatwork assignment, you might work with an individual student or a small group; this is how Sharon and Ken helped Joey with his math skills. Positive reinforcement and support are crucial. One teacher reported: Any time Brian did what I asked him to do, I made sure to help him recognize that he had been successful. I would make a little (smiley) face, put my thumbs up, or say, “Good job.” I wanted him to get the message “You’re doing okay” or “You’re on the right track.” (Kostelnik et al., 2002, p. 127)

Other times, the teacher reported that she just wanted him to know that she saw him and noticed that he was working—not because he had accomplished anything in particular but just because it was fun to have him around. This kind of caring attention can make a huge difference in a struggling student’s life. Peer tutoring has also been used effectively, providing benefits to both the tutor and the person receiving the tutoring. It not only helps with content learning but also provides an opportunity for students to interact with and learn about students with exceptionalities (Vaughn et al., 2018). Home-based tutoring programs that involve parents are especially effective (Turnbull et al., 2020). Parents often want to help with their children’s schooling but aren’t quite sure how. Some simple directions and encouragement from you are often all that parents need.

120  Chapter 3 MyLab Education Application Exercise 3.4: Effective Teaching for Learners with Exceptionalities In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a teacher’s efforts to accommodate the needs of learners with exceptionalities in his instruction.

Technology and Teaching: Employing Technology to Support Learners with Disabilities Julio is partially deaf, barely able to use a hearing aid to understand speech. Kerry Tanner, his seventh-grade science teacher, works closely with the special education instructor assigned to her classroom to help Julio. Seated near the front of the room to facilitate lip-reading, Julio takes notes on a laptop computer during teacher presentations. Other students take turns sharing their notes with him so he can compare and fill in gaps. He especially likes to communicate with other students on the Internet because this levels the communication playing field. When he views video clips on his computer, he uses a special device with earphones to increase the volume. Jaleena is partially sighted, with a visual acuity of less than 20/80, even with corrective lenses. Despite this disability, she is doing well in her fourth-grade class. Terrence Banks, Jaleena’s teacher, has placed her in the front of the room so that she can better see the whiteboard and overhead projector and has assigned students to work with her on her projects. Using a magnifying device, she can read most written material, but the computer is giving her special problems: The small letters and punctuation on websites and other information make it difficult for her to use the computer as an information source. Terrence works with the special education consultant in his district to find a monitor that magnifies the display. He knows it’s a success when he sees Jaleena quietly working alone at her computer on the report due next Friday.

Assistive technology, a set of adaptive tools that support students with disabilities in learning activities and daily life tasks, can be a powerful tool for students with exceptionalities. These assistive tools are required by federal law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and include motorized chairs, remote control devices that turn machines on and off with the nod of the head or other muscle action, and machines that amplify sights and sounds (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019; Turnbull et al., 2020). Probably the most widespread use of assistive technology is in the area of computer adaptations.

Adaptations to Computer Input Devices To use computers, students must be able to input their words and ideas; however, this can be difficult when visual or other physical disabilities impede standard keyboarding. Enhancing the keyboard, such as making it larger and easier to see, arranging the letters alphabetically to make them easier to find, or using pictures for nonreaders are adaptations that accommodate these disabilities. AlphaSmart, one widely used program, helps developing writers by providing spell-check and word-prediction scaffolding. When a student hesitates to finish a word, the computer, based on the first few letters, then either completes the word or offers a menu of suggestions, freeing students to concentrate on ideas and text organization. Additional adaptations bypass the keyboard altogether. For example, speech/ voice-recognition software translates speech into text on the computer screen

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(Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). These systems can be invaluable for students with physical disabilities that affect hand and finger movement. Other adaptations use switches activated by an eye or body movement, such as a head nod, to interact with the computer. Touch screens also allow students to go directly to the monitor to make responses. Research also indicates that students with learning disabilities encounter difficulties translating ideas into written words (Hallahan et al., 2019). Speech-recognition technology eases this cognitive bottleneck by bypassing the keyboard, helping to produce initial drafts that are longer, with fewer errors.

Adaptations to Output Devices Adaptations to computer output devices also assist learners with exceptionalities (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). For example, the size of the display can be increased with a special large-screen monitor, such as the one Jaleena used, or with a magnification device. For students who are blind, speech synthesizers read words and translate them into sounds. In addition, special printers can convert text into Braille and Braille into text.

Assistive Technology in Your Classroom: Implications for Teaching Assistive technologies are important because they prevent disabilities from becoming obstacles to learning. Their importance to students with exceptionalities is likely to increase, as technology becomes a more integral part of classroom instruction (Herold, 2018b; Redford, 2019). Other students will be naturally curious when you introduce any of these new technologies into your classroom. Use this as an opportunity to discuss the whole topic of exceptionalities: emphasize that everyone is different, with unique strengths and abilities, and that knowing these students allows us to make the most out of what each of us possesses. MyLab Education Self-Check 3.4

Chapter 3 Summary 1. Explain how cultural diversity influences learning and how effective teachers use this diversity to increase learning. • As students from diverse cultural backgrounds enter our classrooms, they bring with them unique attitudes, attributes, and values. Sometimes these cultural attitudes and values complement school learning; at other times, they don’t. • Diversity also results in differences in the cultural interaction patterns students bring to our classrooms. Often the interaction patterns of the classroom conflict with those of the home. Teachers who recognize these differences can adapt their instruction to meet the needs of students and teach them how to adapt to the interaction patterns of the classroom. • Educational responses to cultural diversity have changed over time. Initially, the emphasis was on assimilation, or socializing students to adopt the dominant social norms and patterns of behavior. Culturally responsive and sustaining teaching recognizes, accommodates, and builds on students’ cultural differences. • Urban areas are often called “gateway cities” because many immigrants to the United States first settle there. Consequently, the number of cultural minorities attending urban schools is large. In addition, many of these recent immigrants don’t speak English as their first language. 2. Describe the major approaches to helping EL students learn. • Language diversity is increasing in U.S. classrooms. During the 1960s and 1970s, the federal response to this diversity was to encourage bilingual programs. Currently, the federal emphasis is on the rapid acquisition of English with little or no emphasis on preserving students’ home or heritage languages. • Educational responses to language diversity range from recognizing and building on the home language to teaching English as quickly as possible. Currently, despite research that suggests advantages for maintaining the first language, political sentiment often favors teaching English as quickly as possible. • Teachers who have EL students in the classroom can do several important things to help them learn. In addition to creating a warm and inviting classroom, they can provide multiple opportunities for students to practice their developing language skills with their peers. Teachers also should use a variety of concrete examples and graphics to illustrate abstract ideas and concepts.

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3. Explain how gender differences influence school success and how effective teachers respond to these differences. • Males and females are different, and these differences reflect genetic influences as well as differences in the way society treats boys and girls. Parents also exert powerful influences on gender differences. • Evidence suggests that both boys and girls encounter problems in today’s schools. For girls, these problems focus more on achievement and career choices, especially in math, science, and computer science, whereas for boys, the problems are more behavioral and connected to learning problems. Suspected causes of these problems range from societal and parental expectations to differential treatment in classrooms. Teachers play a major role in ensuring that gender differences don’t become gender inequalities. 4. Explain how schools have changed the ways they help students with exceptionalities. • The legal foundation for special education was established in 1975 with the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. IDEA, combined with later amendments, mandates a free appropriate public education, protection from discrimination in testing, parental involvement, a learning environment that doesn’t restrict learners, and an individualized program of study for learners with exceptionalities. • Students with exceptionalities require extra help to reach their full potential. The majority of students with exceptionalities fall into four major categories: learning disabilities, communication disorders, intellectual disabilities, and behavior disorders. A substantial number of students with exceptionalities are also gifted and talented. • General education classroom teachers collaborate with other professionals to provide individualized educational services to students with exceptionalities. This collaboration begins with helping to identify students with exceptionalities, continues with collaboration during the creation of IEPs, and extends into the classroom, where teachers adapt their instruction to meet the learning needs of these students. Throughout this process, the teacher maintains continual communication with parents, school administrators, and other school professionals. • Effective teachers use the same basic instructional strategies that work with all students, but they also provide additional support for students with

Student Diversity: Culture, Language, Gender, and Exceptionalities 123

one-on-one tutoring, break large tasks into smaller ones, provide visual aids, use assistive technology, and teach students how to use learning strategies.

exceptionalities. The emphasis is on helping students with exceptionalities succeed in their academic tasks. Effective teachers use modeling, provide peer and

Important Concepts acceleration assimilation assistive technology autism spectrum disorders bilingual maintenance language programs collaboration communication disorders cultural diversity culturally responsive teaching culture developmental delays

discrepancy model of identification emotional intelligence emotional disorder or behavioral disorder English as a second language (ESL) programs English learners (ELs) enrichment ethnicity exceptionalities gender bias gender-role identity

gifted and talented immersion programs immigrants inclusion individualized education program (IEP) individualized family service plan (IFSP) intellectual disabilities intelligence learning disabilities learning style mainstreaming

Portfolio Activity Exploring Cultural Diversity InTASC Core Teaching Standards 2: Learning Differences Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to introduce you to the cultural diversity in an area where you might teach. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Talk with a teacher at your school who has been there for several years. Ask the following questions: a. What kind of cultural diversity is there at your school? b. How has this cultural diversity changed in recent years? Why has it changed? c. How does this cultural diversity influence your teaching? d. What can I do to prepare myself to take advantage of this cultural diversity in my own teaching? Summarize the teacher’s responses briefly, identifying major cultural groups and possible implications for your teaching. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Contact the State Office of Education in a state where you’re thinking of teaching (addresses and websites can be found on the Internet). Or contact a district in which you might teach (school district websites can be found on the Internet or telephone numbers can be found in the White Pages of the telephone directory, in the Business Section under “Schools”). Ask for demographic information on cultural minorities and EL students. Summarize the information briefly, identifying major cultural groups and possible implications for your teaching.

multiple intelligences race refugees response to intervention (RTI) model of identification sheltered English programs single-sex classes and schools stereotype students with exceptionalities transition programs

Chapter 4

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

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Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 4.1 Explain how the diversity of the original colonies shaped our

educational system and describe the role of religion in colonial schools. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 4.2 Explain how the early national period influenced education in

this country. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 4.3 Explain how the common school movement influenced

education in our country today. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 4.4 Describe the historical roots of contemporary secondary

schools. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 4.5 Identify similarities and differences in minority groups’

struggles for educational equality. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 4.6 Explain how schools became instruments for national purpose

during the modern era. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Why are our schools the way they are? What roles did teachers play in shaping today’s schools? And how will they change as you begin your career as a new teacher? Understanding the history of our country’s educational system can help us answer these questions. Education in our country is unique. The way we organize schools, the content we teach, and our teaching methods differ from those in other countries. The reasons for these differences lie in the historical roots of our education system. As you read the following case study, think about the ways that history has influenced the schools in which you’ll teach.

“I’ve about had it,” Dave Carlisle, a first-year teacher at Westmont Middle School, says as he drops into a chair in the teachers’ lounge. “Having a bad day?” Monica Henderson, one of Dave’s colleagues, asks. “Bad day. You could say that,” Dave replies. “We had lunch money missing again today. And I’m pretty sure there was cheating on the test I gave last week. They think cheating is fine if they can get away with it. It’s almost like these kids have no ideas about right and wrong. I sometimes think they could use some religion.” “We already tried that,” Monica, a fourth-year “veteran,” replies, looking up from the papers she is grading. “When?” Dave asks. “Back in our country’s history, and often since then.”

126  Chapter 4 “Oh, no. Not more of that history stuff. . . . What’s that class you’re taking?” “Actually, it’s interesting. I understand much better why our schools are the way they are and why some of the issues politicians fight about still exist. It’s really good,” Monica replies with a smile. “Yeah, I know, ‘Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it,’” Dave says, rolling his eyes, “but how will it help me with my cheating and stealing problems?”

Studying our country’s educational history won’t give Dave a direct answer to his question, but it can help us understand the evolution of today’s schools. Our goal in writing this chapter is to help you see how our nation’s history helped shape the schools we have today. But, before you begin, please respond to the items in What I Believe.

What I Believe History of Education and Me Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. As you progress through this chapter, you will encounter a discussion of each of these issues. Each of these items will be addressed in the sections, Revisiting My Beliefs. 1. The Constitution of our country requires that religion and public schooling be kept separate from each other. 2. A free public education for students like me has always been a cornerstone of education in the United States. 3. The American high school has historically attempted to meet the needs of all students. 4. When slavery ended in our country, cultural and ethnic minorities were welcomed into our public schools. 5. In recent times, the federal government has used our nation’s schools as instruments to achieve national goals. Think again about Dave’s lament: “We had lunch money missing again today. And I’m pretty sure there was cheating on the test I gave last week. . . . ” His comment relates to the issue of moral and character education in our classrooms. Educators generally agree that schools should promote students’ moral development, but they don’t agree on how to accomplish it. Some want to link it to religious values taught in homes and churches, but others argue that basing moral education on religion is neither desirable nor possible, given the religious diversity in the United States (Gollnick & Chinn, 2017). Parents who believe schools should teach values and morals often send their children to private, church-supported schools, and supporters argue that these schools have as much right to federal education money as do our country’s public schools. Opponents counter that federal support of parochial schools violates the Constitution. Religion and schools are closely linked in many states. Some public schools, for example, want to allow prayer in classrooms, hold religious assemblies, and provide students with Bibles (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). They argue that this emphasis promotes positive values, but critics, as with support for religious schools, contend that these practices violate our country’s Constitution. These and other controversies in today’s schools have their roots in the colonial period in our nation’s history. This is where we begin.

LEARNING OUTCOME 4.1  Explain how the diversity of the original colonies shaped our educational system and describe the role of religion in colonial schools. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 127

The Colonial Period (1607–1775)

Teaching and You

The roots of American education began with the Jamestown colony, the first permanent English settlement in North America. Religion was an integral part of the colony from its beginning. King James of England, after whom the colony was named, wanted to establish a foothold for Protestantism in the New World, for both spiritual and political reasons. The English believed it was their duty to spread the gospel and convert Native Americans to Protestant Christianity, and King James wanted to counter the colonizing efforts of the French and Spanish, who were zealously converting native peoples in their North American colonies to Roman Catholicism. Colonial schools were formed in response to this need, and they laid the foundation for many of the controversies that exist today (see Figure 4.1). As occurs even today, colonial schools reflected the settlers’ values and beliefs, and as a result, schooling in colonial America had the same class and gender distinctions common in Europe at the time. Formal education was reserved for wealthy White males and ignored females, people of color, and those less wealthy. Differences in the colonies existed, however, and we examine them next.

Differences in Colonies After Jamestown was settled, large numbers of people from Europe came to the New World, and although many spoke English, others came from a number of different countries and settled in each of the 13 colonies. They were similar in some ways, such as being linked to Europe and desiring better lives, but geography, economics, and their reasons for coming resulted in regional differences (see Figure 4.2).

The Southern Colonies If you’d lived in Georgia in 1700, your life would have differed dramatically from the way you live today, and it would also have differed from life in New York or Massachusetts. Life in the Southern colonies—Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia— was linked to the land and revolved around agriculture, often on large plantations where African slaves and indentured servants worked land owned by wealthy landlords. Poor White settlers worked small farms on the margins, barely scratching out an existence. You wouldn’t have attended a public school because they didn’t exist at the time. If your parents weren’t wealthy, you probably wouldn’t have gone to school at all. Life for most people in the colonial South was hard, and formal education was a luxury reserved for those with money (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Private tutors often lived on plantations, or parents pooled their resources to hire a tutor for the children of several families. Often these teachers would actually live with families to cut expenses. Private schools sponsored by the Church of England—the religion of the original Jamestown settlement—and boarding schools for the wealthy sprang up in larger

Figure 4.1  The Colonial Period The Colonial Period (1607–1775)

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The roots of the American educational system are established.

Today

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When you begin teaching, you’re likely to face problems, such as the ones Dave encountered. Thefts will occur, and you’ll have students who cheat, or at least attempt it. How should we respond?

128  Chapter 4

Figure 4.2  Regional Differences in Colonies Southern Colonies

New Hampshire

Middle Colonies New England Colonies

Massachusetts New York

Connecticut

Pennsylvania Maryland

Rhode Island

New Jersey Delaware

Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina Georgia

Southern cities, such as Charleston and Williamsburg. The English tradition of education for the wealthy few made an easy leap over the Atlantic to the Southern colonies.

The Middle Colonies The middle colonies—New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania— were more diverse than the Southern colonies. For example, substantial pockets of Dutch in New York, Swedes in Delaware, and Germans in Pennsylvania brought their native cultures to the New World. As a result, middle colonists belonged to a number of religious groups, such as Dutch Reformist, Quaker, Lutheran, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Jewish (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Because religious freedom was an important reason for coming to America, and because religion played a central role in people’s lives, it was difficult to create schools that satisfied everyone. In response to this cultural and religious diversity, families in the middle colonies created culturally influenced parochial schools, schools that included the study of religion in addition to the three R’s. Students often learned in their native languages, and local religious beliefs, such as the study of the Lutheran religion in German schools, were an integral part of the curriculum.

The New England Colonies We’ve all heard maxims such as “Idle minds are the Devil’s workshop” and “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” as well as the three R’s—“reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic.” Let’s see where these ideas came from. The New England colonies—Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire— differed from the other colonies in two important ways. First, they were culturally and religiously homogeneous, which made consensus about school goals easier to achieve. Second, industry and commerce encouraged the clustering of people into towns, which allowed the formation of common schools.

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 129

For example, in Massachusetts where the Puritans, followers of John Calvin, settled, religion played a huge role in the colonists’ lives. The Puritans came to America because of conflicts with the Church of England, which they believed had grown too liberal and tolerant of “immoral practices.” Puritans believed that humans were inherently evil, having fallen when Adam and Eve committed their original sin. They advocated a “purity” of worship and doctrine, hence the name “Puritan,” and education was viewed as the vehicle for helping people follow God’s commandments and resist the devil’s temptations (Spring, 2018). By learning to read and write, people gained access to God’s word through the Bible. Education was important because it made people more righteous, industrious, resourceful, and thrifty, all religiously influenced goals.

Teaching in Colonial Schools Let’s think again about Dave’s lament and the Teaching and You at the beginning of this section. There we said, “When you begin teaching, you’re likely to face problems, such as the ones Dave encountered. Thefts will occur, and you’ll have students who cheat, or at least attempt it. How should we respond?” Colonialists would answer that question by saying that religion is the answer (Kafka, 2016). Like today, colonial schools were shaped by the cultures that created them, and because religion was such a big part of colonial life, it made sense that colonial schools would reflect this religious orientation. For example, the Puritans in New England saw children as savage and primitive, requiring education (and religion) to become civilized and God-fearing. Puritans viewed play as idleness and considered children’s talk to be prattle. They commonly used corporal punishment, such as beating students with switches or forcing them to kneel on hard pebbles, as punishment for unacceptable behavior. Puritans truly believed in the adage “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” Religion also influenced both what was taught (the curriculum) and how it was taught (instruction). For instance, if you had taught in one of these colonial schools, you would have focused on the four R’s—reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion—and you would have emphasized memorization and recitation. Your students would have been expected to sit quietly for extended periods of time, and you wouldn’t have allowed students to ask questions or express their opinions. You would have had no formal professional preparation, such as the class you’re now taking, and you would have had virtually no textbooks or other curriculum materials to support your efforts. You wouldn’t even have had a chalkboard, and you probably wouldn’t have written on it if you did have one since most instruction was verbal. Also, you would have been underpaid and underappreciated, and your students wouldn’t want to be there because the experience was unpleasant, and the curriculum didn’t seem relevant to their lives. If you were a woman, the likelihood of being a teacher was almost nonexistent because women were expected to stay in the home as mothers and housewives, and almost all teachers were men, either preparing or waiting for a position in the ministry. And these conditions were not limited to New England. Teaching in the colonies, in general, was grim. Paradoxically, a landmark piece of legislation, the Massachusetts Act of 1647, also known as the Old Deluder Satan Act, arose from this grim educational landscape. The law was designed to produce citizens who understood the Bible and could thwart Satan’s trickery, and it required every town of 50 or more households to hire a teacher of reading and writing (Semuels, 2016). This act is enormously significant historically because it gave birth to the idea that public education could contribute to the greater good of our country. It also provided the legal foundation for public support of education, which is a cornerstone of schooling in our country.

130  Chapter 4

European Influences on American Education

MyLab Education Video Example 4.1 Teaching during the colonial period in our nation’s history was crude and unsophisticated, but even then, more child-centered instruction began to first take root. Here, fifth-grade teacher DeVonne Lampkin applies this legacy as she conducts a student-centered lesson designed to help her students understand the concept arthropod.

Schools in the colonies focused on religion and emphasized memorization and recitation, but change was occurring in Europe and gradually making its way across the Atlantic. Prominent European philosophers were changing the way people thought about children, as well as schools and teachers. Although their ideas came from different places, all involved a more humane, child-centered, and practical view of education. These philosophers are important because they planted the seeds of educational change that would fundamentally alter the education of students in the United States. Some of the more prominent European thinkers and their contributions to American education include: • John Amos Comenius (1592–1670; Czech philosopher), who questioned the effectiveness of memorization and recitation and instead emphasized the importance of basing teaching on children’s interests and needs. Published the first picture book, Orbis Pictus, to illustrate abstract ideas. • John Locke (1632–1704; English philosopher), who emphasized the importance of firsthand experiences in helping children learn about the world. Proposed that each child’s mind was a tabula rasa, or blank slate that needed filling with experiences. • Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778; Swiss philosopher), who wrote Emile, viewed children as innately good, and argued that teachers should provide children with opportunities for exploration and experimentation. • Johann Pestalozzi (1746–1827; Swiss philosopher), who criticized authoritarian educational practices that stifled students’ playfulness and natural curiosity and recommended that teachers use concrete experiences to help children learn. Because of these European educational pioneers, American schools slowly became more humane and interesting places for both teachers and students. But it would take time.

The Legacy of the Colonial Period: Implications for Teaching The colonial period shaped our schools today in three important ways. First, it was the source of inequality in American education: With few exceptions, poor Whites, women, and minorities, such as Native Americans and African Americans, were excluded from schools (Spring, 2016, 2018). William Berkeley, the aristocratic governor of Virginia, supported this restrictive view of education and, in 1671, railed against both free public education and access to books: I thank God, there are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years, for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the  best government. God keep us from them both. (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013, p. 95)

European ideas of class structure and privilege didn’t die easily in the New World. Given attitudes such as these, it’s easy to see why equality of educational opportunity wasn’t a legal reality until the mid-twentieth century, and some critics argue that today’s schools are still racist and sexist (Spring, 2018). Second, although education was a privilege reserved for wealthy males, with the passage of the Old Deluder Satan Act, the colonial period also laid the foundation for public support of education and local control of schools, two principles shaping education in our country today. Third, and perhaps most significantly, the close relationship between religion and schooling, so dominant in the colonial period, helps us understand why religion continues to be an important and contentious issue in our schools today.

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MyLab Education Application Exercise 4.1: The Influence of the Colonial Period on Education Today In this exercise you will be asked to analyze the ways in which the Colonial Period in our nation’s history influences education today.

MyLab Education Self-Check 4.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 4.2  Explain how the early national period influenced education in this country. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

The Early National Period (1775–1820) Teresa Sanchez has moved with her family from a large urban center in the Northeast to a sprawling city in the South. Although the teenager encounters changes in climate and lifestyle, she finds her new high school surprisingly similar to the one from which she came. The buildings and physical layout are similar, with long hallways lined with lockers and interspersed with classrooms. Even the central office seems the same, and the guidance counselor she works with assures her that she won’t lose credits because of the move. But there are differences. Teresa rides a district school bus instead of using public transportation. The students, although friendly, talk differently, and their interests differ from those of her friends back home. And the textbooks she receives, although covering the same basic material, do so in different ways. Her mother, an elementary teacher, also notices similarities and differences. She is hired almost immediately but is told that her teaching certificate is only temporary and that she’ll have to take additional course work for it to become permanent. The textbooks she is given are different from the ones she had previously used, but the principal’s emphasis on testing at the end of the year isn’t. Some things never change.

As you travel across our country, the United States appears homogeneous. A McDonald’s in California looks much like one in Ohio, for example, and television programs, movies, and music across the country are similar. But there are still many regional differences (Gollnick & Chinn, 2017). The same paradox occurs if you look at schools across the country. Although they appear similar, if you look closely, you will see important regional and state differences. For example, students in Texas study Texas state history and take specially constructed tests to determine grade advancement and even graduation, and students in other states study their own history and take their own state-specific graduation tests (Popham, 2017). Education to assist English learners (ELs) exists in all states, but the form of this assistance varies considerably (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2017). Why do these differences exist? Answers can be found in the early national period of our country (see Figure 4.3). Before 1775, the United States was a loose collection of separate colonies that looked mostly to Europe for trade and ideas. During the forty-five years from 1775 to 1820, however, the separate colonies became the United States of America, and this country shaped its future through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as we’ll see in the next section.

132  Chapter 4

Figure 4.3  The Early National Period The Colonial Period (1607–1775)

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Early National Period (1775–1820)

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The Constitution removes formal religion from the schools and establishes state responsibility in education.

Teaching and You We know that religion was a major factor during the colonial period, and religious controversies remain in education today. You’ve taken your first teaching job in a public elementary, middle, or high school, and the topic of religion comes up in one of your classes. Is it okay for you to be involved with your students in this discussion?

The Constitution Shapes Education The U.S. Constitution, written in 1787 and adopted in 1789, played a major role in shaping the educational system you’ll teach in today. It has had 27 amendments, the first ten of which are known as our Bill of Rights. As we saw in our discussion of the Colonial Period, the original colonies were very religiously diverse, and because of this diversity, our country’s founders concluded that no religion should be placed above others. This led to the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment, which prohibited the government from passing legislation to establish any one official religion over another. This created the principle widely known as separation of church and state. Considering the importance of religion in the colonies, it’s easy to see how the principle of separation of church and state led to controversies about religion that continue today. The following questions occur frequently: • Should prayer be allowed in schools? • Should federal money be used to provide instruction in religious schools? • What role should religion play in moral or character education? This discussion also addresses the question we asked in Teaching and You in this section. Yes, it’s perfectly okay for you to discuss religious topics with your students if they relate to your content or if students ask a question or bring the topic up (Schimmel et al., 2015). But it wouldn’t be okay for you to advocate one religion over another; doing so would violate the principle of separation of church and state. Severing the federal government’s ties between religion and education also raised another question: Who should be responsible for organizing and managing education in our new country? Establishing a national education system was one suggestion. Proponents argued that a national system would best meet the country’s growing agricultural, industrial, and commercial needs. Opponents cited the monolithic and unresponsive systems in Europe. Opponents also argued that the beginnings of viable local and state systems, such as those in Massachusetts, already existed, so why create another level of bureaucracy and control when it wasn’t needed? The Constitution’s framers sidestepped the issue with the Tenth Amendment, which said that areas not explicitly assigned to the federal government would be the responsibility of each state. This amendment was important for two reasons: First, it implicitly removed the federal government from a central role in running and operating schools, and second, it passed this responsibility on to the individual states. This helps us understand why standards, accountability, and the high-stakes tests, so common in today’s education, often are implemented and governed at the state level. To support states’ efforts, Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 (Verstegen, Knoeppel, & Brimley, 2020). At that time, Congress didn’t have the power to directly tax American citizens, so the Land Ordinance was designed to raise money by selling

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 133

land in the territories west of the original colonies acquired from Britain at the end of the Revolutionary War. The ordinance divided the land into townships consisting of 36 one-square-mile sections, with the income from one section reserved for the support of public education. Although not directly involved in governing or operating schools, the federal government provided monetary support for schools and education, a tradition that persists to this day. With respect to education, the lines of responsibility between state and federal governments were already being blurred.

The Early National Period: Implications for Teaching Three important events occurred during the early national period. First, the principle of separation of church and state was established, and second, legislators removed control of education from the federal government and gave it to the states. Third, in passing the Land Ordinance of 1785, the federal government established a role for itself in public education. We continue to feel the influence of these actions in today’s schools. For example, courts have repeatedly upheld the principle of separation of church and state, and decisions about school and classroom policy are made by individual states and local school districts instead of by the federal government. However, the federal government does play an important role in education: Public schools receive federal funding and must adhere to federal laws, and the federal government continues to use our schools to achieve national goals. For example, when Russia launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957 and appeared to be winning the space race, a torrent of federal funds targeted instruction in math and science in our country. If we were going to beat the Russians in outer space, we needed better scientists. More recently, based on the belief that significant segments of our country’s students were underachieving, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and its successor, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, were passed, which required all states to develop comprehensive accountability plans to ensure that all students acquire basic skills, with primary emphasis on reading and math. MyLab Education Self-Check 4.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 4.3  Explain how the common school movement influenced education in our country today. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

The Common School Movement: The Rise of State Support for Public Education (1820–1865) In addition to what we saw in Teaching and You, your school will be organized into grade levels. At the elementary level, 5-year-olds will be in kindergarten, 6-year-olds will be in first grade, and so on; at the middle- and high-school levels, classes will focus on different content areas, such as ninth-grade English, chemistry, or geometry. When you begin your teaching career, you will have a designated grade level or content area to teach. Getting a job will require you to be licensed. You’ll have to complete a specified set of university courses, which is one reason you’re in this class, and you’ll complete clinical experiences in schools, including an internship. You’ll probably also have to take a standardized test—the content of which will vary from state to state—to assess your competency as a teacher. Let’s see how all these structures and policies came to be (see Figure 4.4).

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the first item in our What I Believe feature at the beginning of the chapter, “The Constitution of our country requires that religion and public schooling be kept separate from each other.” This statement is essentially true: The framers of our Constitution wanted to avoid problems associated with governments—federal, state, or local—establishing any one official religion. It’s difficult to keep the two completely apart, however, as you’ll see at different points in the text.

134  Chapter 4 Teaching and You When you begin your career teaching at the elementary, middle, or high school level in a public school, your students won’t have to pay to come to school, and they’ll be required by law to be there. Further, your salary, the building in which you teach, your materials and supplies, and even the buses that transport students to and from school will be supported with public funds, funds derived from federal, state, and local taxes. How did these developments occur, and how have they shaped our schools today?

Figure 4.4  The Common School Movement The Colonial Period (1607–1775)

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Free public schooling becomes accessible to most students.

The Age of the Common Man Historians often describe the period from 1820 to 1865 as the “Age of the Common Man.” Two important factors contributed to this trend. First, Andrew Jackson, the popular and down-to-earth hero of the War of 1812, was elected president. Second, westward expansion provided opportunities for the poor and landless to start over by pulling up stakes and heading west. The land area of the United States nearly doubled between 1830 and 1865, and the population increased from 13 to 32 million, 4 million of whom were new immigrants (Urban & Wagoner, 2013). This unprecedented growth presented both opportunities and challenges. Industrialization created jobs and contributed to the growth of cities such as New York and Boston, but it also resulted in pollution, crime, and urban slums. Many newly arrived immigrants didn’t speak English and weren’t accustomed to the American way of life. And most citizens were functionally illiterate. The country needed an informed citizenry that could participate in politics and contribute to the nation’s economy, so America turned to its schools for help.

Making Education Available to All What was it like to teach and learn during the common school period? If you taught in the early nineteenth century, you would have encountered an American educational system that was a patchwork of private and quasi-public schools. “Public” schools often charged partial tuition, discouraging all but the wealthiest from attending. States didn’t coordinate their efforts, and the quality of education was uneven at best (Kafka, 2016). This began to change about 1820, when the common school movement, a historic attempt to make education available to all children in the United States, began. Let’s see how our country attempted to reach this important goal, and the person responsible for this progress.

The Influence of Horace Mann Horace Mann, a lawyer turned educator, was a key figure in making education available to all children (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education from 1837 to 1848, he was an outspoken advocate for public education, believing that education was “ . . . the great equalizer of the conditions of men” (Semuels, 2016) and that it was the key to developing our country and improving the quality of life for all people. Under Mann’s influence, Massachusetts became the leader of education in the United States. It doubled state appropriations for education, built 50 new secondary schools, increased teacher salaries by 50%, and passed the nation’s first compulsory school attendance law in 1852. (By 1900, 32 other states had passed similar laws; today all states have compulsory attendance laws.) Mann’s most important legacy, however, was the idea that public education, in the form of tax-supported elementary schools (common schools), should be a right of all citizens.

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 135

Contributions of the Common School Movement The influence of Horace Mann and other educational leaders resulted in several major contributions of the Common School Movement (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013): • States and local governments began to tax citizens directly to support public schools, and during the Common School Movement, tax-supported public elementary schools were firmly established as a cornerstone of our country’s educational system. (New Jersey, the last state to do so, eliminated the requirement that parents pay for their children’s elementary education in 1871.) • Educators attempted to increase the attendance of underrepresented groups, such as the urban poor and freed slaves. For example, by 1865, 50% of American children were enrolled in public schools. • States created state education departments and appointed state superintendents of instruction. By the middle 1860s, 28 of 35 states had established state boards of education. • Educators organized schools by grade level and standardized the curriculum. • States improved teacher preparation. These events dramatically changed education in the United States and remain as integral parts of our educational system today. The common school movement prospered despite obstacles, such as business interests that feared a loss of cheap child labor, citizens who objected to increased taxes to pay for the education of other people’s children, and competition from private and parochial schools. The reasons for this unprecedented growth include: • Parents beginning to view education as a way of improving their children’s lives • National and local leaders seeing education as the vehicle for assimilating immigrants and improving national productivity • Industry and commerce growing and requiring an increasingly educated populace Free public education for elementary students was on its way, but the same didn’t occur in secondary education until much later. (We examine the evolution of the American high school in the next section of the chapter.) MyLab Education Application Exercise 4.2: The Common School Movement and Teaching Today In this exercise you will be asked to analyze the ways in which the Common School Movement has influenced education in our country today.

Teaching in the Common School Era Although the common school movement dramatically increased access to education, as a teacher, you would have encountered a number of obstacles and challenges. During the early to mid-1800s, here’s what your life would have been like. Your workload would have been very heavy, and you would have taught only the basics, such as reading and math. The building you taught in would have been poorly constructed, and it’s unlikely that you would have had textbooks, writing boards, or other materials. Buildings were not maintained, lighting was not adequate, and quite often one poorly trained teacher was in charge not only of one school but also of an entire district. You probably would have had no more than an elementary school education yourself (Kafka, 2016).

MyLab Education Video Example 4.2 Improved preparation of teachers and increasing access to schooling for underrepresented groups, such as members of cultural minorities, are two contributions of the Common School Movement that remain today. Here, expert science teacher Scott Sowell works with diverse middle school students as he teaches the concept force.

136  Chapter 4 Teaching was especially challenging if you taught in a rural school; students didn’t want to be in school, so they often misbehaved or didn’t come to school at all. Your resources would have been virtually nonexistent. One rural school had two teachers for 108 students (Manning, 1990). Imagine teaching 54 students at a time and having to teach all grade levels; at this point in our schools’ history, grade levels were nonexistent (Cuban, 2012). Another teacher reported building a rock walk to the outhouses with her students so they could use them without tracking mud and dirt into the classroom. This teacher was one of the lucky ones; in other schools, no outhouses were available, so everyone used the bushes near the school. If you had worked in one of these schools, you would have been expected to sweep floors and take care of other janitorial responsibilities, such as chopping wood and hauling water. Because your own education would have been limited, you would have struggled to stay a day ahead of your students.

Improving Education Through Teacher Preparation But this was soon to change; then, as now, teachers were seen as keys to improving schools. The creation of normal schools, two-year institutions developed to prepare prospective elementary teachers, was the first significant attempt to improve teacher preparation during the common school era. Before normal schools, the typical teacher was a man, either preparing for or waiting for a position in the ministry. Because teachers had no training in education, they used primitive methods, such as memorization and recitation, and they maintained order with stern disciplinary measures, including corporal punishment. Normal schools, in contrast, targeted women as potential teachers and attempted to provide both content background and pedagogical training beyond the high school level. Many of today’s state colleges and universities began as normal schools, such as Eastern Michigan University (formerly Michigan State Normal School), Illinois State University (formerly Illinois State Normal University), Sam Houston State University (formerly Sam Houston Normal Institute), and, perhaps most famous, UCLA, the University of California at Los Angeles (formerly Los Angeles Normal School). The functions of normal schools are now performed by undergraduate and graduate schools of education in a college or university such as the one you’re now attending. An improvement in school quality that occurred when larger elementary schools began separating students into grade levels was a second significant change. This eliminated congested conditions and the overlapping curricula often found in oneroom schools. When enrollments were small, one-room schools were the norm, and different-aged students learned together. (Imagine trying to teach 6- and 7-year-olds in the same room as 13- and 14-year-olds.) Dividing schools into grade levels resulted in more age-appropriate instruction and allowed content to be taught in greater depth for older students. Finally, educational materials, such as paper and pens and—as printing presses became more common—textbooks, were made available. Teachers finally had some tools to help students learn.

The Legacy of the Common School Movement: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked why your students don’t have to pay to come to school and why your salary and other facilities and resources are paid for with public funds. The answer reflects important developments during the common school movement. It was a turning point in American education; the idea of universal access to a tax-supported education was planted and took root. The number of children who attended elementary schools increased steadily during this time, and public support for education grew. State governance and control of education were institutionalized with the creation of state departments of education, and teacher training and quality improved with the development of normal schools.

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 137

Table 4.1  A Summary of Historical Periods in American Education (1607–1865) Period

Significant Features

Issues That Remain Today

Colonial period, 1607–1775

• Education reserved for wealthy White males

• Whether prayer should be allowed in schools and in what circumstances

• Seeds planted for public support of education

Early national period, 1775–1820

• Religion at the core of education

• Tax support for religious schools

• The principle of separation of church and state established

• National testing of students

• Control of education given to the states, rather than the federal government

• The relationship between religion and character education • The role of the federal government in education • A national curriculum

• Education viewed as crucial for furthering the national interest Common school movement, 1820–1865

• Access to tax-supported education for all established

• Inequities in funding among states and school districts

• Grade levels introduced in elementary schools

• Teacher quality and alternative routes to teacher certification

• Normal schools created to prepare teachers

Organizing elementary schools into grade levels, similar to what we have today, was another important contribution of the common school era. This makes sense; grouping students together by age makes it easier for teachers to design instruction to meet students’ developmental needs. Despite these advances, the common school movement left two issues that remain today. One involves the inequitable education funding from state to state and district to district, both of which affect quality. In his book Savage Inequalities (1991), Jonathan Kozol, a prominent educational commentator, addresses this issue: Americans abhor the notion of a social order in which economic privilege and political power are determined by hereditary class. Officially, we have a more enlightened goal in sight: namely, a society in which a family’s wealth is not related to the probability of future educational attainment and the wealth and station it affords. By this standard, education offered to poor children should be at least as good as that which is provided to the children of the upper-middle class. (1991, p. 207)

This often doesn’t occur, however; wide differences in funding exist among states and even districts within states. In some states, per-pupil expenditures in the wealthiest districts are two or three times the amount spent in poorer districts (Brimley et al., 2016). That extra money means better facilities and resources and the ability of wealthy districts to pay higher salaries and retain their teachers. Teacher quality is the second contentious issue that remains from the common school movement, and educational leaders continue to debate the question of what constitutes a well-qualified teacher. Two contradictory movements in education today illustrate this debate. Alternative licensure, which allows people to become teachers more easily and quickly, is the first. The effort to increase teacher professionalism by making entry into teaching more intellectually rigorous is the second, and it is a theme of this text. How the issue will be resolved in the future is unclear. Table 4.1 outlines the important events in our country’s early history, their influence on education, and the issues that remain today.

MyLab Education Self-Check 4.3

LEARNING OUTCOME 4.4  Describe the historical roots of contemporary secondary schools. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second item in our What I Believe feature, “A free public education for students like me has always been a cornerstone of education in the United States.” This statement isn’t true: Originally, access to education was reserved for the wealthy, and only slowly did this access spread to students from all walks of life.

138  Chapter 4 Teaching and You How would you describe your high school experience? How big was your high school? How big was your graduating class? Did your school have a vocational or technical track? What track were you in? Did you have many friends in other tracks?

The Evolution of the American High School Kareem and Antonio walk to high school together, have lockers that are side by side, and even have the same homeroom period. But that’s where their contact ends. Kareem is in a college preparation track, along with about a third of the other students in his school. As he goes from class to class, he sees many of the same students. Antonio is in a vocational track, and many of his classes are designed to explore different career options. A technology class focuses on business applications of computers and introduces him to jobs in the computer field. A metalworking class includes welding and even allows him to work on his family’s car as a class project. Once Kareem and Antonio leave homeroom, they often don’t see each other until soccer practice at the end of the day.

Think about your own experience in high school. Many of you probably took honors classes in English, chemistry, or math, whereas some of your classmates were in “standard” or “general education” classes, designed for students of average ability. You may also have enrolled in some vocational courses, such as word processing or woodworking, designed to give you skills you could use immediately after graduating from high school. You may have even taken driver’s training or nutrition and cooking or other “life management” courses. These options existed because you attended a uniquely American invention, the comprehensive high school, a secondary school that attempts to meet the needs of all students by housing them together and providing a variety of curricular options geared toward different ability levels and interests. How did this uniquely American invention evolve, and how well does it work today? Necessity and need drove these changes. Today, a high school education is seen as essential for success in life, but this wasn’t always the case: Before the turn of the twentieth century, fewer than 10% of students progressed beyond elementary school (U.S. Department of Education, 1995). In contrast, 96% of teenagers now attend high school, and in 2016, 84% of high school students graduated with a regular high school diploma in four years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). A high school education has evolved from a luxury to a right and now to a necessity.

Historical Roots of the Comprehensive High School The high school you attended is the result of a long evolutionary history. A timeline illustrating this development appears in Figure 4.5 and is discussed in this section. To understand the evolution of today’s high schools, we need to go all the way back to 1635, when The Boston Latin Grammar School was established. It was the first American high school, but it served only the colonial elite and had a strong European flavor. As the name suggests, the Latin grammar school was a college-preparatory

Figure 4.5  The Evolution of the American High School 1635 Boston Latin Grammar School

1751 Franklin’s Academy

1821 English Classical School

1892 Committee of Ten

1918 Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education

Prepared boys for ministry and law

Eliminated religion; focused on practical needs: math, science, navigation

Focused on needs of boys not attending college

Created standards and methods for high schools

Created Cardinal Principles of Education, including applied goals in health, and civic education

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 139

school designed to help boys prepare for the ministry or a career in law. If you were female, you didn’t attend because you could be neither a minister nor a lawyer. The narrow curriculum—Latin and Greek were the core components—and high cost made Latin grammar schools unattainable and irrelevant for most Americans. In reaction to this narrow academic orientation, Benjamin Franklin opened the Academy of Philadelphia in 1751. Free of religious orientation and uniquely American, Franklin’s academy was a secondary school that focused on the practical needs of colonial America. Math, navigation, astronomy, bookkeeping, logic, and rhetoric were all taught, and both boys and girls attended. Students selected courses from this menu, which created the precedent for electives and alternative programs at the secondary level that exist today. Merchants and artisans, who had questioned the emphasis on Latin and Greek in the Latin grammar schools, enthusiastically supported this new school. By 1860, a quarter of a million students were enrolled in 6,000 tuition-charging academies, and they were the most common type of high school until about 1890 (Reese, 2005). These academies made three important contributions to American education. First, they shifted emphasis to a practical, career-oriented curriculum, an idea still prominent today, and second, they removed religion from the curriculum, another current trend. Third, they were partially supported by public funds, which established a trend that flourished during the common school movement. These characteristics—practical, secular, and public—are themes that remain in today’s schools. In addition to the academies, another uniquely American educational institution appeared. In 1821, Boston established the first English Classical School, a free secondary school designed to meet the needs of boys not planning to attend college. It offered studies in English, math, history, science, geography, bookkeeping, and surveying, and to reflect its practical emphasis, the name was changed to the English High School in 1824. Schools modeled after the English High School spread slowly because of competition from the academies and public opposition to tax-supported schools. Unconvinced of the practical or economic benefits of a high school education, taxpayers disagreed with the idea that secondary schools should be free, natural extensions of elementary education. The schools were also unable to decide whether their mission was practical or college preparatory, so they responded by offering both types of classes. This uncertainty also affected students: In 1900, only one of ten students expected to attend college, but the majority took a college-preparatory curriculum. As we see in the next section, this confusion about the mission of the American high school continued into the twentieth century and persists even today.

Redefining the High School The American high school in the late 1800s was an institution in search of an identity. Educational leaders recognized the problem, so in 1892, the National Education Association (NEA) appointed a group called The Committee of Ten to examine the high school curriculum and make recommendations about standards, programs, and methods. The committee concluded that students who planned to go no further than high school needed content and teaching methods that were the same as those who were collegebound—an idea that continues to be debated today. Three factors shaped the committee’s conclusions (Spring, 2018). First, it was composed of only college professors and administrators—no high school teachers or parents were included—so the bias toward a college-preparatory curriculum isn’t surprising. Second, the committee believed in faculty psychology, the view that exercising the powers of the mind promoted intelligence. Proponents of this view believed that everyone should practice mental discipline to achieve a “stronger” mind. So, the specific content of high school courses wasn’t important; everyone needed to strengthen their minds. A third factor influencing the committee was the large number

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third item in What I Believe, “The American high school has historically attempted to meet the needs of all students.” This statement isn’t true; a high school education was initially a luxury reserved for the wealthy elite. And problems remain today. Even though all students have access to a high school education, some fail to graduate on time, and this problem is greater for cultural minorities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018).

140  Chapter 4 of non-English-speaking immigrants and a growing lower class that threatened to create divisions in American society. The committee felt that a different curriculum for college- and non-college-bound students might create a class-based system of education and damage national unity. Educators recognized, however, that the college-preparatory curriculum wasn’t providing prospective workers with the skills needed for increasingly complex jobs, a complaint often heard today (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2018). To resolve this dilemma, NEA appointed a second committee, the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education. Its 1918 report, The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, broadened the high school curriculum to include basic skills, such as reading and math, together with vocational education, personal health, worthy home membership, civic education, effective use of leisure time, and ethical character (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). To accommodate these more applied goals, the commission proposed the idea of comprehensive high schools with different tracks for different students; the hope was that the diverse student body, separated into different tracks, would be integrated by extracurricular activities, such as clubs, music, and sports (Spring, 2018). Efforts to solve the problems of intellectual and cultural diversity persist today. Although different tracks are designed to provide a customized education for all students, they create two negative side effects. First, the curriculum in the noncollege-bound tracks often offers little intellectual challenge; teachers tend to have low expectations for students, and they often use primitive and ineffective teaching methods, such as extensive lecture and seatwork. In addition, cultural minorities and disadvantaged students were often shunted into lower tracks, with few opportunities to move up to college prep tracks (Modica, 2015). Second, the move to make high schools comprehensive often made them very large, particularly in urban areas.

Urban Education: The Challenge of Teaching in Large Urban High Schools More than 70% of American high schools have enrollments of 1,000 or more, and Brooklyn Technical High School in New York has 5,534 students (Geier, 2018). Their size creates problems. Classrooms are crowded, and teachers have trouble getting to know their students. Students get lost in the shuffle and are treated as numbers rather than as people. If you teach in a large urban school, how can you respond to these problems? One way is to create a learning community in which you and your students work together to create a supportive environment in your own classroom (Warren, 2016). Effective teachers in large urban high schools make a special effort to get to know students as people by quickly learning their names, discussing their hopes and fears, and spending out-of-class time with them. They model courtesy and respect for all students, create clear standards of behavior that require students to treat each other the same way and expect the same in return. This creates a sense of community in their classrooms that can reduce the impersonal feel of large high schools. This is challenging, but it’s an ideal worth striving for.

Junior High and Middle Schools While different groups, such as the Committee of Ten and the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education, wrestled with curricular issues, other educators questioned the effectiveness of the then-prevalent organizational pattern of eight years of elementary and four years of high school. Critics argued that too much emphasis was being placed on basic skills like reading and language arts in the upper elementary grades, time that should be spent learning content such as science or social studies in depth. Developmental psychologists also noted that early adolescence is a time of intellectual, emotional, and physical transition, and students undergoing these transitions

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 141

require a different kind of school (Carjuzaa & Kellough, 2017). In response to these arguments, educators created junior high schools to provide a unique academic curriculum for early adolescents. The first junior high, for grades 7, 8, and 9, opened in Columbus, Ohio, in 1909. The concept spread quickly, and by 1926, junior highs had been set up in 800 school districts (Kliebard, 2002). The 6–3–3 organizational pattern (six years of elementary school, three of junior high, and three of high school) was more a change in form than substance, however. Most “junior” highs were exactly that—imitations of high schools with an emphasis on academic disciplines and little attention to the developmental needs of adolescents. In spite of these problems, junior highs remained popular until the 1970s, when continued criticism caused fundamental change. The creation of middle schools, targeting grades 6 to 8 and designed to meet the unique social, emotional, and intellectual needs of early adolescents, was a response to these criticisms (Carjuzaa & Kellough, 2017). Middle schools attempted to build stronger teacher–student relationships by creating teams. For example, a science, English, math, and social studies teacher would form a team and would have the same group of students for the school year. This organization allowed teachers to share information about learner progress and make the topics they were teaching more meaningful. For instance, if you were a science teacher working on the acceleration of falling bodies, you might integrate the topic with the math teacher on the team, who would demonstrate how the acceleration could be represented graphically. And the social studies teacher, whose students are studying the Civil War, might work with the English teacher, who would have her students read The Red Badge of Courage, a novel that focuses on a young soldier’s reactions to a Civil War battle. This integration promotes both intellectual and emotional development. In addition, educational psychologists encouraged teachers to move away from lecture-dominated instruction, so prominent in high schools, to focus more on interactive instruction guided by teacher questioning. This middle school philosophy has grown in popularity, and the number of junior highs has decreased in recent years.

American Secondary Schools: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked you to describe your own high school experiences. Those experiences were influenced by historical trends that shaped the high schools we have today. The history of American secondary schools also helps us understand important questions facing today’s educators. For example, are the tracking systems common in high schools meeting every student’s needs? Are middle schools rigorous enough academically? Begun as college-preparatory institutions, high schools became comprehensive in an effort to meet the needs of a diverse student body. To help adolescents make the transition from elementary to high school, junior highs were created; when those schools failed to fulfill that mission, educators created middle schools. The academic pendulum has now swung back, however, and some leaders are calling for a redesign of middle schools to make them more academic and rigorous (Barnum, 2018). Have American secondary schools been too trendy, quickly zigzagging in response to changes in society, or have they been too conservative, hanging on to outmoded academics that are no longer relevant? We examine these questions later in the chapter when we discuss the modern era in American education.

Technology and Teaching: A Brief History of Technology in the Classroom The year is 1770, and Anthony and his 17 elementary classmates are involved in a math lesson with Mr. Willis, who has been assigned to teach in the school while he waits for his appointment to a congregation as a minister.

142  Chapter 4 Mr. Willis asks Anthony to recite his “4s” times tables orally, while the other students listen quietly. After Anthony is finished, Mr. Willis has James repeat the process with the “5s” times tables. He continues through the rest of the times tables, calling on a different student for each table.

As you begin reading this section, you may be asking yourself, “How does this relate to technology?” The answer is “A great deal.” Although there is no precise definition for the term technology, most experts agree that it includes the development and use of tools, machines, and methods of organization designed to perform a specific function (Fishman & Dede, 2016). A history of technology can be traced back to prehistoric times with the domestication of fire, an essential tool for improving nutrition, or the invention of the wheel, certainly one of the most important technological advances in history. With respect to education, communication and presenting information were two of technology’s most common functions. Advocates have historically suggested that technology would “revolutionize” education, and some of the advances that we take completely for granted, and typically don’t even consider as technology, did indeed revolutionize education. Easy access to paper and efficient writing pens are two examples. For instance, paper was scarce and expensive during colonial days, which made books even more scarce, so parchment was originally used. The parchment was laid on a flat wooden board, and a transparent piece of cow’s horn was fastened onto the parchment to protect it from daily use. These “hornbooks” were used for children’s first lessons, such as learning the alphabet or numbers. Constructing hornbooks was time-consuming and expensive, so written materials weren’t widely used in colonial classrooms. This helps us understand how technology relates to Mr. Willis and his class. The recitation method, which we saw illustrated, was admittedly inefficient and crude but was used in large part because tools we take for granted today, such as paper and books, were scarce and copy machines were still far in the future. Abe Lincoln reportedly learned math by writing with charcoal on the back of a shovel, and the recitation method was a popular assessment tool because paper wasn’t available on which to print tests (Kafka, 2016). The use of pens that made writing efficient is another example. Quill pens, made from bird feathers that required students to repeatedly dip the quills in inkwells, were used until about 1830. As you might expect, using them was slow, tedious, and messy, so teachers avoided having their students do much writing. The fountain pen, a pen holding an internal reservoir of ink, was a major technological advance, as was the ballpoint pen, which wasn’t widely available until nearly the middle of the twentieth century (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Gradually, as books, writing paper, and pens and pencils came into widespread use, education in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries advanced dramatically. Similarly, the use of other technologies in education also rapidly increased. During the twentieth century, educational tools that were frequently used in classrooms included (Lever-Duffy, & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019): • (1930s) Projectors and filmstrips: This instructional technology, commonly used through the 1980s, and still used in some areas today, allowed teachers to show still photographs in classes, sometimes with accompanying narrative. The instructor turned on a film projector that showed the first frame (image) of the filmstrip, and the instructor might then turn on a record or cassette tape containing the accompanying audio narration. At the appropriate point, a tone signaled the teacher to turn a knob, advancing the presentation to the next frame. • (1940s) Overhead projector: You might be familiar with overhead projectors, as they were often used to present information to classes until recent years, when they were replaced by smart boards and other more flexible tech tools. They

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 143

required information to be placed on transparent plastic for projection, a primary disadvantage. • (1950s) Programmed and computer-based instruction: Originally developed as teaching machines in the 1920s, programmed instruction got a boost from the famous psychologist B. F. Skinner. Programmed instruction focused on forming behavioral objectives, breaking instructional content into small units, and rewarding correct responses immediately and frequently. Today’s computer-based drill-and-practice software, common in basic skills areas at the elementary level, is largely grounded in Skinner’s original ideas. • (1950s–1970s) Educational television, the videocassette recorder (VCR), and video home system (VHS) tapes: VCRs and VHS tapes are still familiar to most of us but are rapidly being replaced by DVRs and DVDs. These were originally used to bring the outside world into the classroom. • (1967) Handheld calculators: Introduced by Texas Instruments, these large and initially bulky tools paved the way for the sophisticated calculators used in today’s classrooms. In the twenty-first century, we’ve seen a shift in the use of technology both in and outside classrooms (Fishman & Dede, 2016). Historically, technology was used primarily as a tool for presenting information. Today it is more commonly used to access information via the internet and communicate with others. For example, research shows that in the U.S., 8 billion texts are sent every day, with an average of 32 per person; for people 18–24, the figure balloons to 128 messages per day (Burke, 2016)! A number of other changes have occurred in the twenty-first century. For example, the 2000s marked the use of streaming video in classrooms; the use of handheld devices, such as smartphones and clickers; the replacement of overhead projectors with document cameras and chalkboards with whiteboards; and the increasing popularity of distance learning (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Common to all these technological innovations was the claim that they would revolutionize education and perhaps even replace the teacher (Cuban, 1986, 2001). But history has proven these claims to be inaccurate. Although different forms of technology have found their way into classrooms, the teacher is still the center of instruction, and technology’s effectiveness depends heavily on the expertise of the teacher using it. Critics also argue that technology is not having the impact on teaching and learning that many thought it would, and it failed to act as a “magic bullet,” curing all of education’s problems (Cuban, 1986, 2001; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). For example, research suggests that students in distance learning and virtual school environments often learn less than their counterparts in brick-and-mortar schools (Chronister, 2016). In addition, research suggests that technology sometimes improves learning, while other times, it doesn’t (Maloy et al., 2017; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Simply immersing students in technology without careful planning and execution doesn’t work. Without question, technology is having a profound effect on the way we live. However, the history of technology in classrooms tells us that it is a tool, but only a tool, that we can use to support our instruction. You, the teacher, are still the key to student learning, and you always will be. You will never be replaced by a teaching machine, website, video, or any other form of technology, now or in the future.

MyLab Education Self-Check 4.4

LEARNING OUTCOME 4.5  Identify similarities and differences in minority groups’ struggles for educational equality. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

144  Chapter 4

Searching for Equality: The Education of Cultural Minorities To this point, the history of American education has been generally positive. Despite lurches and false starts, the quality of education improved, and became accessible to more people. The story isn’t so positive if you were a member of a cultural minority, however. For example, as a group, students who are cultural minorities: • Score lower on achievement tests at all grade levels • Are more likely to drop out of school and fail to graduate with a high school diploma • Are less likely to attend and graduate from college (Macionis, 2019; Macionis & Parillo, 2017). History helps us understand the reasons for these patterns. In this section, we outline the experiences of four minority groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. We begin with Native Americans.

Education of Native Americans The first thing to do was to clean them [Native Americans] thoroughly and to dress them in their new [military] attire. . . . [Then] everything except swallowing, walking, and sleeping had to be taught; the care of person, clothing, furniture, the usages of the table, the carriage of the body, civility, all those things which White children usually learn from their childhood by mere imitation, had to be painfully inculcated and strenuously insisted on. In addition to this, they were to be taught the rudiments of an English school course and the practical use of tools. (U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1974, p. 1749)

The history of Native American education is a story of largely unsuccessful attempts to assimilate different tribes into the American mainstream (Juneau, 2018; Spring, 2016). Assimilation is the process of socializing people to adopt the dominant society’s social norms and patterns of behavior. Historically, schools have sought to bring minorities, and particularly Native Americans, into the mainstream of American life by teaching basic skills and instilling White, middle-class values. In doing this, they asked Native Americans to reject important aspects of their own histories and cultures. The basic idea was to “Kill the Indian to save the man” (Peter, 2016). As with American education in general, the education of Native Americans began with a religious orientation. During the 1700s and 1800s, mission schools run primarily by the Catholic Church designed classrooms that focused on basic skills, agriculture, vocational education, and religion. Although instruction was in the native language, mission schools attempted to assimilate Native Americans by helping them bridge the gap between communal, tribal life and one in which individuals owned land, had jobs, and followed the dominant culture (Keenan, 2019; Spring, 2016). Attempts at assimilation were formalized by the federal government, which was involved in the education of Native Americans from the beginning of our country (see Figure 4.6). From 1771 to 1870, it signed nearly 400 treaties with Native American tribes designed to provide federal assistance for agriculture, medical care, and education. From 1890 to 1930, the federal government established boarding schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The best way to “Americanize” these children, educators thought, was to remove them from tribal settings and provide them with a strict program of cultural transformation. Consequently, children were forced to live at the schools, English was spoken and taught, and native languages and customs were forbidden. The basic strategy to deal with Native American languages was “erase and replace” with English, causing many to languish and even disappear (McCarty, 2018).

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Figure 4.6  Time Line of Native American Education SOURCE: Clarrer, 2017; Juneau, 2018; Spring, 2016.

1771–1870

1890

1928–1934

1972

1990

Federal government signs nearly 400 treaties with Native American nations and tribes.

U.S. government begins building boarding schools.

National reports and federal legislation provide Native Americans with greater control over education.

Indian Education Act establishes Office of Indian Education.

Native American Languages Act protects the languages and cultures of Native Americans.

These boarding schools were a complete failure. For example, in 1901, only 300 of 5,000 eligible Navajo children attended these schools, and many who did initially attend later ran away and returned to the reservation (Button & Provenzo, 1989). Those who graduated quickly returned to reservations. Despite the failure of boarding schools, federal control of Native American education continued through the 1960s (Spring, 2016). Tribal schools that added Native American culture to the curriculum opened in 1965, but teachers were poorly paid, instructional materials were limited, and schools depended on the federal government for finances, all problems difficult to overcome. Legislation during the 1970s gave Native Americans greater control over their schools, and more recently, the federal government shifted responsibility for Native American education from tribal schools to public schools. Currently, there are over 5 million American Indian and Alaska Natives in the United States belonging to 566 federally recognized tribes; most are clustered in western states and most live outside reservations (Maxwell, 2013b). The vast majority (92%) attends regular public schools; the remainder attends the 183 Bureau of Indian Education schools on 64 reservations in 23 states (Juneau, 2018). Despite this shift and increased involvement by tribal governments, a number of problems with Native American education persist (Dunbar-Ortiz, 2016; Masta, 2018). Native American students consistently score below White students in standardized math and reading tests, and are least likely to attend high schools that offer challenging college prep courses (Clarrer, 2017). And their high school completion rates are lower, and high school dropout rates higher, than both Whites and the general population, and Native American students are much less likely to attend college. There is an ongoing debate among Native American educators about the benefits of reservation schools versus nearby public schools. In response to criticisms of existing reservation schools, Congress, in 1995, passed a moratorium on new reservation schools run by the Bureau of Indian Education (Ash, 2013). Currently, there are 310 Native American Reservations in our country, and 246 do not have a school on them. Although acknowledging that public schools may offer better academic programs in certain areas, such as advanced science and math, Native American educators fear their students are losing an important part of their cultural heritage, including their native languages, when reservation schools don’t exist to address Native American history and culture (Juneau, 2018). There are signs of hope, however. In a special P–12 school for Hawaiian Natives, students are taught their native language as well as cultural history and customs (Peter, 2016). High school graduation rates of 100% contrast with public school completion rates of 82%, and graduates’ college attendance rates of 80% are significantly higher than public school rates of 54%. A quality education that honors Native American history and culture in addition to high academic standards is possible. It just requires creative thinking and hard work.

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Education of African Americans: Up from Slavery to . . .  The first African Americans arrived in America shortly after the founding of Jamestown in 1607. Brought as slaves, they had few educational opportunities before the Civil War, and many states had laws forbidding the education of slaves (Spring, 2018). Even in “free states,” the education of African Americans was limited. For example, in 1850, about 4,000 Black students in slave states and 23,000 in free states attended schools—less than 2% of the African American population. The result was a literacy rate of less than 10% (Reese, 2005). The Civil War (1861–1865) ended legal slavery in the United States, but the policy of separate but equal replaced it, formalizing the segregation of African Americans in education, transportation, housing, and other aspects of public life (Kafka, 2016). This policy justified segregation by claiming that African Americans were receiving different but equal treatment under the law. In education, the policy was implemented by creating separate schools with different curricula, teaching methods, teachers, and resources. Some historians believe that these efforts were well-intentioned but misguided, whereas others argue that they were inherently racist (Boroson, 2017; Spring, 2016). The policy remained in place until it was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1954 in the famous watershed case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Unfortunately, the separate but equal policy resulted in schools that could more accurately be described as separate and unequal. Funding for African American schools was consistently lower than for White schools, and the schools were consistently substandard. In 1913, for example, South Carolina spent $1.09 per African American student but $9.65 per White student. By 1929, the disparity had grown to $5.20 compared to $52.89 per student (Urban & Wagoner, 2013). In the early 1900s, White teachers in Alabama were paid five times more than African American teachers. In Georgia in the late 1920s, 99% of the money budgeted for teaching equipment went to White schools, even though African Americans made up more than a third of the state’s student population (Gordon, 2007). In New Orleans in the 1930s, class sizes in African American schools often exceeded 40 and even 50 students, while White students encountered much smaller classes (Kafka, 2016). Separate but equal wasn’t working, and the reason was that “equal” wasn’t equal.

Proposed Solutions to the Problem The education of African Americans was clearly inferior to that of Whites, but a solution to the problem remained elusive. Finally, two leaders, with sharply different perspectives, emerged. Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) was born a slave and taught himself to read. In 1901 he published a book, Up From Slavery, that chronicled his life, first as a slave and then as an educator. Educated at Hampton Institute, a vocational school for African Americans, he established the Tuskegee Institute in 1881. Short of resources, he had his students build the school themselves, and this hands-on approach to learning illustrates his strategy for bettering the education and lives of African Americans in the South. He believed that hard work, practical training, and economic cooperation with Whites were the keys to success. His philosophy became popular, and he was often invited to address White audiences on the topic of African American education. Washington also encouraged his students to become teachers; he believed that attempting to enter other professions or politics was premature and would lead to conflict with the White power structure in the South. Although Washington was accepted by many African Americans and was popular with Whites, his policy of accommodating segregation angered other African American leaders. W. E. B. Dubois (1868–1963) was an important opponent whose resistance to Washington’s stance was predictable, given the differences in their backgrounds.

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Dubois was born in Massachusetts and educated in integrated schools. He attended colleges and universities in the United States and Europe and was the first African American to receive a PhD in the United States (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Dubois was committed to changing the status of African Americans and advocated a determined stand against segregation and racism. He focused his energies on the top students, believing that they would provide leadership and create opportunities for the rest of the African American population. He also believed that this group could and should take its place among the business, professional, and intellectual leaders of the White population. Dubois believed that Washington’s separatist approach implied inferiority and, although expedient in the short term, would impede the educational progress of African Americans in the long run. He advocated social activism and was a leader in establishing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This organization played a major role in the twentieth century Civil Rights Movement, which opened up schools and colleges to African American students across our country.

The Courts Examine “Separate but Equal” Before the Civil War, African Americans lived apart from the White majority because of slavery and legal restrictions. African Americans were excluded from schools and often forbidden from learning to read or write. Segregation continued after the Civil War because of the separate but equal policy. A federal challenge to the policy came in Louisiana in 1896 in a court case involving segregated railroads. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal railroad facilities didn’t violate the Constitution (Spring, 2018). This decision was also applied to education, and separate but equal remained for almost 50 years—until the Civil Rights Movement we described above.

Education of Hispanic Americans Hispanic is a label that refers to a diverse group of people who speak Spanish or are of Latin American or Caribbean heritage: Mexican Americans in the Southwest, Puerto Rican Americans in the Northeast, and Cuban Americans in Florida are all included in this group. The term Hispanic is more popular in the Northeast, with groups in the Southwest preferring Latino (Latina, female). The term Chicano (Chicana, female) refers to Hispanics of Mexican American heritage (Bennett, 2019). Hispanics are both the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States, both in schools and in the general population. Between 2000 and 2010 the number of Hispanics increased by 43% and currently makes up 18% of the total population and 23% of students in our country (Bauman, 2017; Florez, 2017). And experts predict that, in the near future, 30% of the student population will be Hispanic (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017c). The increase in the Hispanic population is reflected in census data; of the 15 most common surnames in our country, 6 are Hispanic, with Garcia and Rodriguez ranked sixth and ninth respectively (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). In several states, such as California and Texas, nearly half the school population currently is or soon will be Hispanic. Hispanic education in America began with Catholic mission schools in the Southwest, but it shifted to public schools after the Mexican–American War in 1848. Assimilation was the initial policy; classes were taught in English, Spanish was forbidden, and students’ Hispanic heritage was either ignored or disparaged (Keenan, 2019; Spring, 2016). As with African Americans, schools were often segregated with limited resources allocated unevenly. Apathy, resistance to school, dropping out, and problems similar to those with Native Americans were pervasive. These educational problems persist today. For example, Hispanic adults are half as likely to earn a college degree as non-Hispanic

148  Chapter 4 White adults (Barshay, 2018). Fewer than a quarter of Hispanic adults hold a two-year or higher college degree in 2016, compared with more than 30% of African Americans and 47% of White adults. Language differences have been the source of many problems in the education of Hispanic students. Language symbolizes differences between Hispanics and the dominant culture, and language differences often complicate student learning. Some experts argue that Hispanic students have historically scored lower on both intelligence and achievement tests largely because of language barriers (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2017; Peregoy & Boyle, 2017).

Education of Asian Americans Like Hispanics, Asian Americans are a diverse group of people with varied histories (Gollnick & Chinn, 2017). The first Asian Americans were Chinese who came to the United States to work in the California gold mines and on the first transcontinental railroad. Japanese immigrants came to California and Hawaii in the late 1800s as farmworkers. More recently, Korean and Southeast Asian immigrants came to the United States seeking a better life and an escape from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Asian immigrants initially were welcomed because they relieved an acute labor shortage in the West. However, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, racism and competition for jobs resulted in changes in immigration laws that prevented further Chinese and Japanese immigration (Spring, 2018). A dark period in our country’s history occurred during World War II, when more than 100,000 Japanese American citizens were forced out of their homes near the Pacific coast and into internment camps in barren areas of the West. Like other minority groups, Asian Americans experienced discrimination. For example, in 1906, San Francisco established segregated schools for Asian Americans, and instruction was in English, which resulted in problems similar to those that Native Americans and Hispanics encountered. In Lau v. Nichols (1974), a federal court ruled that the San Francisco school system had violated the rights of Chinese American students, and students who found their educational experience “wholly incomprehensible” should be taught in their first language if that language was not English (Schimmel et al., 2015). Asian Americans are now the fastest growing group of immigrants in our country (Smith, 2018). During the years 2010–2017, 41% of immigrants came from Asia, versus 39% from Latin America. Most came from China, India and the Philippines, and, as a group, 45% held college degrees. In general, Asian Americans have generally fared better in American schools than members of other minorities, scoring higher on achievement tests and having higher rates of high school and college attendance and completion (Gollnick & Chinn, 2017). This success has led some educators to label this group “the model minority,” a stereotypic term that can be misleading; Many Asian American students encounter problems in school, and language and poverty remain obstacles (Lopez, Ruiz, & Patten, 2017). In addition, considerable differences exist between the educational backgrounds of different Asian American groups and their median household incomes (Witsil, 2018). Chinese and Korean students, for example, enroll in colleges at much higher rates than Cambodians and Hmong, an ethnic group in Southeast Asia. Focusing on group memberships can result in inappropriate expectations for, and unjust treatment of, individual members of those groups. In short, we need to remember that our students are individuals and treat them that way.

The Search for Equality: Where Are We Now? The United States has always been ambivalent about ethnic and cultural diversity. While accepting and even valuing diversity in music, food, and holidays, such as the Chinese New Year or Cinco de Mayo, our country values assimilation and uniformity. Some argue

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for cultural homogeneity and emphasize the need for common values and language, whereas others counter that cultural diversity contributes unique ideas and perspectives that make our country vibrant and rich (Spring, 2018). As our country continues to attract immigrants from different countries and cultures, the debate is likely to continue. Because of this ambivalence, the federal government’s role in the education of cultural minorities remains poorly defined. In the past, federal courts played a major role in desegregation. During the 1960s, integration’s commendable goal of attempting to help cultural minorities and White majority students learn about each other by attending the same schools, often became synonymous with the highly unpopular policy of forced busing (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Parents who wanted their children to attend neighborhood schools resisted busing, public support for integration waned, and a resegregation of cultural minorities in both urban and suburban schools has resulted (Stancil, 2018). Because of public resistance, the federal government is reluctant to impose busing and other legal mechanisms to achieve integration. As with the federal courts, the position of the legislative branch also remains uncertain. Once an advocate for cultural diversity, the Senate voted 63 to 34 in 2006 to designate English as the national language (Hulse, 2006). We examine this changing federal role in education in the next section. MyLab Education Self-Check 4.5

LEARNING OUTCOME 4.6  Explain how schools became instruments for national purpose during the modern era. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

The Modern Era: Schools as Instruments for National Purpose and Social Change The modern era in education began after World War II and continues to the present (see Figure 4.7). It is characterized by an increased national emphasis on education that people now view as the key to both individual success and the progress of the nation. Given this perspective, a more active federal role in education than in the past isn’t surprising. This increased involvement occurred in four important areas: • Education and the Cold War • The War on Poverty • The enlistment of schools in a worldwide economic battle • The government’s role in equity issues

Figure 4.7  The Modern Era The Colonial Period (1607–1775)

1600

1700

Early National Period (1775–1820)

1800

The Common School Movement (1820–1865)

1900

The Modern Era (1946–Present)

2000

Schools become instruments of national purpose and social change.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fourth item in our What I Believe feature, “When slavery ended in our country, cultural and ethnic minorities were welcomed into our public schools.” This statement isn’t true: Even today, many cultural minorities fail to benefit from educational opportunities in our country.

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The Cold War: Enlisting America’s Schools After World War II, the United States became involved in the “Cold War”—the term used because no shots were fired—with the Soviet bloc, primarily the USSR. With ever more powerful weapons being stockpiled on both sides, the struggle for world leadership significantly influenced education in our country. The Russian launching of the satellite Sputnik in 1957 was a key event of this period. Believing the United States was losing the technology war, our government authorized a fivefold increase in the funding of the National Science Foundation, which was created in 1950 to support research and improve science education. Congress also passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958, which was designed to enhance “the security of the nation” by improving instruction in math, science, and foreign languages. The NDEA provided funds for teacher training, new equipment, and the establishment of centers for research and dissemination of new teaching methods. During this period, Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the American nuclear navy, called education the first line of defense against our enemies (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). MyLab Education Application Exercise 4.3: The Modern Era in Our Country’s Educational History In this exercise you will be asked to analyze the ways in which the Modern Era in our country’s educational history has influenced teaching and learning in today’s schools.

Teaching and You Did you attend preschool? Kindergarten? Did most of the students in your neighborhood do the same? Were these public or private schools?

The War on Poverty and the Great Society During the 1960s, leaders began to realize that, despite the economic boom following World War II, many Americans were living in poverty. The United States was becoming a nation of “haves” and “have-nots,” and the problem was exacerbated by an economy that required ever-increasing skills from its workers. For the unfortunate, a cycle of poverty began with inadequate education that decreased employment opportunities, led to a poorer quality of life, and resulted in lowered achievement for the next generation (Macionis, 2019). To break this cycle and create a “Great Society,” in which all could participate and benefit, President Lyndon Johnson stated in his 1964 State of the Union address that, “Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom . . . . The cause may lie deeper in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities.” He concluded by declaring, “ . . . this administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America” (LBJ Presidential Library, 2014). The War on Poverty, a general term for federal programs designed to eradicate poverty during the 1960s, emphasized education as its major thrust. During this period, the federal government’s involvement in education increased significantly. Initiatives included (Pulliam & Van Patton, 2013): • Increased federal funding for K–12 education. Funding grew from $900 million and about 4.4% of the total spent on education in 1964 (before Johnson’s initiatives to $3 billion and 8.8% of the total educational budget by 1968. • The development of the Job Corps. Modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, the Job Corps created rural and urban vocational training centers to help young people learn marketable skills while working in government projects. • The creation of the Department of Education in 1979. The department was originally part of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, but education was considered so important that it was elevated to its own cabinet-level position during President Carter’s administration.,

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• Support for learners with exceptionalities. Legislation was passed to protect learners with exceptionalities, students who struggle with school in general or in a particular area like reading or math. In 1975, Congress passed Public Law 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that required a free and appropriate public education for all students, including those with exceptionalities. In 1976–1977, the nation educated about 3.3 million children with exceptionalities; today, the schools serve more than 6.7 million, an increase of over 100% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). • The creation of national compensatory education programs. Let’s look at these education programs in more detail.

Compensatory Education Programs Compensatory education programs are government attempts to create equal educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth. These programs provide supplementary instruction and attempt to prevent learning problems before they occur. The two best known are Title I and Head Start. Title I: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged.  Title I is a federal compensatory education program that funds supplemental education services for low-income students in elementary and secondary schools. Title I provided more than $210 billion to the nation’s school districts between 1965 and 2007, and these funds reach virtually all of our nation’s school districts, serving 21 million low-income children in over 56,000 schools (Clark, 2018; National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Most students (60%) who receive Title I assistance are in preschool or lower elementary grades, and this money is clustered, with 15% of the highest poverty schools receiving nearly half of Title I funds. The other 40% of Title I funds are divided between middle and high school. Title I currently serves 100,000 homeless and 2.5 million English language learners. More than a third of Title I recipients are Hispanic, another third are White, and a quarter are African American. The effectiveness of Title I programs has been uneven. Part of the problem resulted from the initial design. Because Title I funds were available only to low-income students, “pullout” programs—where students were taken out of their regular classrooms for supplementary instruction—were common. Much of the instruction in these programs was conducted by unlicensed paraprofessionals, who spent much of their time without supervision by licensed teachers. More recent authorizations of Title I programs attempt to address this problem by specifying increased qualifications for Title I paraprofessionals, but the modifications often aren’t met or enforced. The pullout Title I programs had other problems as well. Students who were pulled out missed important instruction, and teachers had trouble helping them catch up. Also, instruction in these programs often focused on low-level skills with few links to the regular curriculum. In response to these criticisms, Title I programs have been redesigned to focus on total school improvement instead of pullout programs (Clark, 2018). For example, more and more programs now emphasize improved family services such as no or low-cost medical care as well as counseling and social services (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017a). Another program called Success for All® attempts to prevent school failure by emphasizing family involvement and by laying a strong foundation in reading, writing, and math during the early grades (Success for All, 2016). Head Start.  Head Start, another part of the federal war on poverty, is a federal compensatory education program designed to help 3- to 5-year-old disadvantaged children enter school ready to learn. It has two goals: (1) to stimulate the academic achievement and development of low-income preschoolers and (2) to educate and involve parents in the education of their children. Begun in 1965, Head Start has served more than

152  Chapter 4 24 million children; in 2018, the program included 1,600 sites, serving over 900,000 lowincome students, including large numbers of students who were homeless or in foster care (DeParle, 2019; National Head Start Association, 2018). To qualify, a child’s family has to be at or below the federal poverty level, which in 2018 was $25,100 for a family of four (Stancil, 2018). The Head Start curriculum has undergone important changes in recent years, with a significant shift toward basic skills, such as counting and identifying numbers and letters, combined with social-emotional skills, such as taking turns and following directions. The program also develops parenting skills, such as reading and talking to children and providing enrichment experiences, like trips to zoos, libraries, and museums, which increase readiness for school. To signal this change in emphasis, Head Start was moved in 2005 from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Department of Education. In general, Head Start 4-year-olds perform better than comparable 4-year-olds who haven’t participated in the program. In the more effective Head Start programs, such as the Perry Preschool Program in Ypsilanti, Michigan, researchers have found longterm benefits ranging from fewer special education placements to greater numbers of high school graduates and lower crime and teen pregnancy rates (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Research on another Head Start program in North Carolina found long-term health benefits in addition to cognitive benefits. For instance, 42 years later, participants were healthier, had better diets, were less likely to develop hypertension, and were more physically active (Tavernise, 2014). These early interventions effects are impressive and suggest long-term, lasting benefits of programs such as Head Start. Not all Head Start programs are effective, however, and some have little impact on children’s readiness to learn. Uneven quality across different programs and inadequate budgets are the most commonly cited reasons. The federal government issued new guidelines in 2012 to make the Head Start curriculum more academic and federal grants to the program more competitive (DeParle, 2019). These guidelines have resulted in large increases in the number of Head Start teachers with bachelor’s degrees, as well as an increased focus on instructional quality within the program. In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked if you attended kindergarten and whether your attendance was state-supported or private. Like education in general, access to public-supported kindergarten has increased slowly, and it wasn’t until the 1970s that state-supported kindergarten became a reality for most students in the United States (Kafka, 2016). Today we know that high-quality early childhood education programs can have a powerful positive effect on students’ cognitive and social development (Berk, 2019a, 2019b), and interest in early childhood education has increased in recent years. Evaluating Compensatory Education Programs.  A dilemma exists in federal aid to education. These funds are usually given with only broad guidelines that allow schools and districts to spend the money as they see fit (DeParle, 2019). This necessary flexibility also results in uneven quality, and because of this problem, critics hope to do away with compensatory education programs altogether, arguing that these programs have failed to eliminate differences in achievement between participants and other students. This criticism is debatable. Expecting schools, alone, to solve all the social problems associated with poverty, such as drug use, violence, unstable families, and unhealthy neighborhoods, is unrealistic. And a long history of research consistently demonstrates that these factors adversely affect learning (Macionis, 2019).

The War on Poverty: Fifty Years Later President Johnson declared “war on poverty” in his 1964 State of the Union address, but where are we now, more than 50 years later? Experts across the country have reevaluated the effects of these programs on the people they were designed to serve, and the

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results are not encouraging. In 1964, 23% of children under 18 lived in poverty; after decades of decrease in this percentage, that figure rose again to just below 22% in 2012 (Sparks, 2014a). If President Johnson’s plan was to eliminate poverty, “by that metric, the initiative was certainly a failure,” researchers concluded (Sparks, 2014a, p. 14). After 50 years, the poverty rate for children has hardly budged. But, without government supports in housing aid, food stamps, and school meals, researchers estimate that childhood poverty figures would be nearly twice as high. This suggests that federal programs to assist families in poverty did make a difference, but achievement gaps between wealthy and poor children still remain large (Macionis, 2019). So, is the glass half empty or half full? Experts who analyze the problem conclude that families who were poor in 2014 were better off than poor families in 1964 (Bailey & Danziger, 2013; Sparks, 2014a). In the 1960s, poverty often meant lack of medical care, or even indoor plumbing, and schooling that ended after a few short years. In the early 1960s, only 10% of 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in preschool, compared to 40% today. A third of the children entering these programs in 1964 had never been inoculated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), or polio. Today these medical safeguards are in place for most American children. And while the academic achievement gains from Head Start programs tend to fade as students grow older, the long-term benefits of better health and higher rates of high school graduation and college attendance remain. In addition, the poverty rate for people over 65 has dropped from nearly 50% in the 1960s to less than 20% today (Sparks, 2014a). But problems remain, and people are questioning whether increased federal spending will solve the problem of poverty. While the high school graduation rate for people living in poverty has increased dramatically since the 1960s, the demands of a high-tech job market are increasing even faster. And segregation in housing, both by race and income, continues to separate our country into “haves” and “have-nots” (Williams, 2018). Whether the schools alone can address these larger societal issues related to poverty is unclear.

Schools and the Battle for Economic Survival As we’ve seen in earlier sections, schools in the twentieth century were frequently asked to serve as change agents in the nation’s struggles. During the 1960s, the opponents were poverty and the Soviets in the Cold War. More recently, our country has asked schools to aid in the battle for economic advantage as we compete with other countries around the world. This shift in focus was caused in large part by the revolution in technology, which resulted in fewer jobs in low-skilled areas. For the United States to compete economically, it needed a highly educated and skilled workforce that could compete with workers in other countries. This perspective resulted in “the standards movement” in education. The standards movement began with the publication of the famous federal report A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) that declared that our nation was “at risk” of losing its preeminence in science and technology. It continues with No Child Left Behind (NCLB), passed in 2001, and its successor, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. Some critics suggest that the United States has already lost its technology edge. And they also assert that this loss can be attributed in large part to problems in our educational system together with insufficient attention to technology in our schools (Herold, 2018; Kohli, 2015). Standards, accountability, and our technological expertise compared to other countries around the world continue to be hotly debated.

The Federal Government’s Role in Pursuing Equality While our country has made progress in reducing gaps between cultural minorities and the rest of the population, a number of problem areas persist. For example, Hispanic

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth item in our What I Believe feature, “In recent times, the federal government has used our nation’s schools as instruments to achieve national goals.” This statement is true: The federal government has increasingly used education as a tool to achieve national goals.

154  Chapter 4 adults are half as likely to hold a college degree as non-Hispanic White adults (22% vs. 47%) (Barshay, 2018). And Black and Native American students continue to struggle in schools with low achievement test scores, graduation rates, and college attendance (Macionis, 2019). The struggle for equality in education is an important area in which the federal government’s role has increased. Civil rights and equity for women are two major areas where the federal role has made an important difference.

The Civil Rights Movement Linda Brown was an 8-year-old African American student in Topeka, Kansas, in 1951 (Genzlinger, 2018). Instead of safely walking five blocks to an all-White elementary school, she was forced to cross unguarded and potentially dangerous railroad tracks to catch a bus to a school for African Americans 21 blocks away. In addition to objecting to the distance, her father believed that the African American school had substandard resources and programs. With the help of the NAACP, he went to court to change this.

The policy separate but equal was put into place after the Civil War and remained a guiding principle until 1954, when Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African American on the Supreme Court, represented the NAACP in arguing against the separate but equal doctrine that forced Linda Brown to attend a segregated school. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled in the famous watershed case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and that racially segregated schools generated “a feeling of inferiority.” Before that momentous decision, 17 states mandated segregation in schools, and four others allowed it (Schimmel et al., 2015). This segregation was pernicious because it not only robbed minority students of a quality education, it also failed to teach students how to productively interact with students who were different from themselves (Aronson, Wilson, Akert & Sommers, 2019). The days of segregated education for African American students were supposed to be over. But the Brown decision also caused unanticipated problems for Black educators (Andrews et al., 2019). As southern schools became integrated, both Black teachers and principals lost jobs in newly integrated school districts. In Georgia, 38,000 Black teachers lost their jobs; in Kentucky and North Carolina, over 90% of principals were released. These terminations had a long-term negative effect on the recruitment of Black educators, a persistent problem that is still with us 70 years later. In some school districts, Whites so strongly resisted integration that it had to be forced. For instance, in 1957, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to an all-White high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce the Supreme Court’s anti-segregation decision and allow nine African American students to attend the school in safety. In spite of these efforts, discrimination remained widespread because the responsibility for desegregation was left to individual states and school districts, many of which resisted change. Congress responded with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination against students based on race, color, or national origin in all institutions receiving federal funds. The federal government now had a mechanism to both encourage and enforce integration efforts. To understand federal attempts to provide equality of education for all students, the distinction between de jure and de facto segregation is important. De jure segregation results from laws, such as those that existed in many states that created schools that were supposedly “separate but equal.” The Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education put a legal end to de jure segregation in our country. De facto segregation, by contrast, results from individuals’ private decisions, such as where to live and which friends to have. In the United States, more than half of students are enrolled in districts that are either predominantly (over 75%) White or predominantly students of color

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 155

(Croft, 2019). As we saw earlier in the chapter, busing both African American and White students in an effort to integrate schools was a strategy used to battle de facto segregation (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). A tug-of-war between the federal government and state and local officials followed. Mandated busing became the most controversial aspect of this struggle. The policy was based on the belief that integration was important enough to justify transporting students from their neighborhoods to schools across town. However, parents were upset about both the loss of neighborhood schools and the possibility that their children would be exposed to the drugs, crime, and poverty found in inner-city schools. Bending to political pressure, federal courts slowly backed away from mandatory busing (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Instead, districts employed a variety of strategies, including magnet schools and transfer program, to encourage parents to voluntarily send their children to integrated schools. This approach to integration seemed to work until 2007. In response to parents’ objections to busing, school districts in Seattle and Louisville had designed school desegregation plans based on parental choice. In these plans, more than 90% of all students were assigned to their first- or second-choice schools (Wiley, Shircliffe, & Morley, 2012). However, some parents objected to the race-based intent of these programs, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that districts cannot take individual students’ race into account when assigning them to schools unless the program is specifically designed to remedy the harms of past segregation. Chief Justice Roberts, in defending the close 5–4 decision, stated, “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race” (Peery, 2011). The status of future federal efforts to promote racial integration is unclear. Although the Supreme Court did ban assignment to schools based on race, other districts are successfully designing programs to integrate students based on income or academic achievement through magnet schools, vouchers, and even busing (Potter, Quick, & Davies, 2016). The goal is to bolster the achievement of minority students and encourage students to learn about others from different economic and cultural groups.

Educational Equality: Implications for Teaching So how does integration affect you as a teacher? It has two goals: to provide all students with access to quality learning environments and to provide opportunities for people to learn about different cultures and segments of our society. You can help reach both of these goals with the decisions you make in your own classroom. For example, you can promote a genuine form of integration by treating all your students as equitably as possible. This means seating them so they aren’t grouped by race or culture, calling on all of them as equally as possible in learning activities, and designing activities and group projects that require students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds to work together. In doing so, students will realize that they’re much more alike than different, and the barriers that exist among them will gradually break down. In many cases, friendships across racial and cultural lines result from these opportunities.

Equity for Women Earlier in the chapter, we saw that women were largely excluded from education in the early periods of American history, and they were historically underserved by our nation’s schools. The federal government became involved in gender-equity issues by enacting Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Eliminating gender bias in our schools was the goal of this legislation (Boroson, 2017; Walsh, 2016). Title IX has had its largest impact on physical education and sports.

Teaching and You Did you participate in any athletic teams during high school? Did your school support girls’ athletics at the same level as boys’? Were the facilities and resources the same for boys’ and girls’ teams?

156  Chapter 4 The number of girls participating in high school athletics increased from fewer than 300,000 in 1972 to over 3.5 million in 2016 (National Federation of State High School Associations, 2016), and the number of female college athletes increased more than fivefold in that same time span (Berri, 2018). Nevertheless, participation by girls in high school athletics is still well below that of boys, at 3.5 million for girls compared to more than 4.5 million for boys in 2016 (National Federation of State High School Associations, 2016). In addition, women’s teams typically don’t receive comparable funding, facilities, equipment, publicity, travel budgets, or practice opportunities in most schools. In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked if the resources for male and female sports were equal at your school. They probably weren’t; Title IX is attempting to fix that, but societal pressures in favor of male sports often run counter to that change. Title IX administrators who lack background knowledge and training are also obstacles to greater progress in this and other areas of gender inequity in schools (Meyer & Somoza-Norton, 2018). Title IX has become controversial at the college level. Critics argue that achieving equal numbers of male and female athletes requires schools to eliminate many of the “minor” men’s sports, such as wrestling, swimming, gymnastics, and tennis. Supporters of Title IX argue that the extraordinary cost of college football skews the issue and that a modest cut in football expenditures would allow greater investment in women’s sports with no cuts to other men’s sports. In the past, colleges and universities typically have used internet surveys to poll female students about their interest in participating in sports programs, but a recent change in federal policy now requires schools to provide additional forms of data, such as actual participation rates (Berri, 2018). Title IX has also become controversial in public schools over the issue of transgender students’ rights to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their new gender identity (Walsh, 2016). Transgender advocates claim that this policy makes sense; students should be allowed to use facilities consistent with their gender identities. Critics answer that this interpretation of Title IX discriminates against other students who may feel uncomfortable dressing and undressing in the presence of transgender students. The issue has gone to the Supreme Court, which will decide on the issue in the near future.

Evaluating Federal Equality Efforts So, how has federal intervention affected the struggle for equality in education? With respect to integration, progress is uncertain. In the North, segregated housing patterns have led to de facto segregated schools. This problem has been exacerbated in urban areas by “White flight” to the suburbs. Consider these findings from a study done at the beginning of this century: in Chicago, 87% of public school enrollment was Black or Hispanic; less than 10% of children in the schools were White; in Washington, D.C., 94% of children were Black or Hispanic; less than 5% were White; in Detroit, 95% of students were Black or Hispanic; in New York City, nearly three quarters of the students were Black or Hispanic (Kozol, 2005). A more recent study shows that little has changed in the state of New York (Kucsera & Orfield, 2014). In 2010, more than half of New York’s Black and Latino students attended schools with a White enrollment of less than 10%. In New York City, 19 of its 32 community school districts had 10% or less of White students in 2010. The problem of segregation is especially acute in the city’s charter schools, where 73% of the charter schools had less than 1% of White enrollments. Nationwide, 40% of Black students attend schools that are more than 90% minority, up from 34% 20 years ago (Rothstein, 2014). The problem of resegregated schools results from both persistent patterns of residential segregation as well as decreased efforts by schools to desegregate schools. Various strategies have been proposed to achieve greater racial diversity, such as school boundary realignments, and the mandatory busing we discussed earlier. In the 1970s, magnet schools, public schools that provide innovative or specialized programs

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 157

and accept enrollment from students in all parts of a district, were developed to integrate White and minority students. Magnet schools capitalize on parental choice, avoiding the problems associated with mandatory busing to achieve racial integration (Fuller, Dauter, & Waite, 2016). These schools organize their curricula around high-interest or high-need areas, such as math, science, and computer science, or around high-quality general programs designed to prepare students for college. They’re most common in large cities, and they attract large proportions of cultural minorities and low-income students who are looking for alternatives to existing schools. The federal government supports the growth of magnet schools by providing annual grants of over $90 million to school districts (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). In spite of strong governmental support, magnet schools haven’t always met their original goals. For instance, they tend to attract the highest-achieving minority students, robbing their former schools of role models. And, when they attract high achieving cultural minorities, high-performing White students sometimes don’t go to the same schools. Although magnet schools are more racially diverse than charter schools, social class differences between wealthier and poorer students and cultural differences within magnet schools can thwart true integration and the development of cohesive learning communities. Civil rights and women’s equity efforts also continue to be highly controversial. Some minority leaders and women’s groups assert that progress for cultural minorities and women has been too slow, and the government should do more. On the other hand, conservative leaders contend that civil rights efforts have gone too far; they charge that women and minorities are receiving preferential treatment, which amounts to reverse discrimination. These debates are likely to continue in the future as critics on various sides become increasingly vocal and polar in their positions.

Equity Efforts: Implications for Teaching Although you may feel limited in what you can do about these issues at the national or state level, you can make a difference in your own classroom. You play an important role in creating a classroom climate that welcomes and encourages all students (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). You create procedures that promote equity, you establish rules that govern acceptable behavior, and you set a moral tone when you implement both. You model desirable behavior in the way you treat students, and you have many opportunities to teach about fairness and equity in the way you interact with your students and provide extra help and encouragement. You can make your classroom a microcosm of the kind of world you’d like your students to grow up in.

Diversity: A Look Back at Teaching Through the Lens of Gender Currently, more than 3 in 4 teachers in our country are women, and the proportion continues to increase. But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, as we saw earlier in the chapter, in colonial times, most teachers were male, and women were considered illsuited for the sometimes rugged demands of teaching. Women were viewed as inferior, physically and intellectually, and not capable of disciplining unruly students with the “rod.” The story of women in teaching mirrors changes in our society, and these changes continue today as more women are attracted to teaching. To understand these changes, let’s return to colonial times. During colonial times, men dominated teaching, and women were viewed as second-class citizens, with few property rights and little say in government. (Women weren’t even allowed to vote until 1920, when the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed.) Dame schools, in which women taught small groups of children in their homes, were the exception to this rule, but few existed, and they depended on donations of money or food from parents of schoolchildren (Kafka, 2016).

158  Chapter 4 This pattern of male domination in the teaching force continued until the Civil War, when three events occurred, both in and out of schools. First, large numbers of men were killed during the Civil War, which created a labor shortage. Second, the industrial revolution took hold in America, resulting in higher wages for men in factories. And third, access to public schooling increased dramatically, resulting in large numbers of students who needed teachers—especially women who would work for lower salaries. The shift in the gender composition of the teaching force was dramatic (see Figure 4.8). By the late 1800s, two-thirds of teachers in our country were women, and the figure rose to 90% in urban areas, largely because men left teaching for better-paying factory jobs. The proportion of female teachers in rural areas at the same time was much lower (one of three teachers are women) because men in rural areas didn’t have access to higherpaying factory jobs, and women were needed on the farm to help with the work. By 1920, 86% of the teachers in our country were women, and the figure remained at about 70% through the rest of the twentieth century. In the first two decades of the twentyfirst century, the figure has moved up to slightly less than 80% (Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2018; Miller, 2018). Despite increasing numbers, female teachers faced a number of obstacles, including lower salaries and restrictions on their private lives (Kafka, 2016; Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). In Boston in the late 1890s, for instance, female high school teachers were paid $756 per year, with $48-yearly increments for experience; male teachers earned $1,380 with $144 annual increments. The top salary for women in Boston was $1,300; for men, it was $2,880. And salaries didn’t improve rapidly; in New York City in 1953, teachers made $66 per week, less than an experienced car washer (Goldstein, 2014). Female teachers endured these inequities because viable alternatives in the workplace didn’t exist. In addition to low pay, female teachers also had to endure restrictions on their private lives. For example, during the 1920s, many urban districts wouldn’t hire married women, reasoning that if teachers were married, their husbands should support them, and they shouldn’t take jobs from men who needed them. In addition, women were commonly required to take a leave of absence when they became pregnant. It wasn’t until 1978 that Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act that forbids this discriminatory practice (Schimmel et al., 2015). Finally, it was common for school districts to place restrictions on women’s clothing, makeup, and fingernail polish (Urban & Wagoner, 2013).

Figure 4.8  Women and Teaching: A Historical Look SOURCES: Holmes & Weiss, 1995; Tyack & Hansote, 1986; Urban & Wagoner, 2009; Festritzer, 2011; U.S. Department of Labor, 2014; Miller, 2018; Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2018.

Percentage of Female Teachers

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1675

1725

1775

1825 1875 Year

1925

1975

2025

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 159

Despite these restrictions, women flocked into teaching because historically it provided one of the few occupations accessible to them (Kafka, 2016). Factory jobs were exclusively for men (except during World War II, when men went to war and women were needed on the assembly line), and alternatives in the industry were often limited to clerical or secretarial work. This is no longer the case, and women in record numbers are finding their way into areas like medicine, law, and industry, but societal forces still draw women into, and men away from, the teaching profession. Currently, 77% of teachers are women, and experts predict this figure will increase to 80% in the near future (Miller, 2018). In a profession once dominated by men, women have taken control, at least in terms of numbers.

Diversity and You The Gender Gap in Teaching Several teachers are talking over lunch. Topics range from the weather to life in general. “Sometimes when I look around, I wonder if I’m lost or in the right place. Do you realize I’m the only male teacher in

“They don’t mind, but I wonder if this is good for them. Don’t the boys need male role models? And what about the science department you left? Don’t the girls in high school need female role models?”

this school?” Jeff Ridges comments jokingly to his colleagues. “Sometimes I feel like an endangered species.” “Don’t feel so bad,” Sharon Stanton replies. “I felt the same way in my science department before I switched to the elementary level. I was the only woman in the department.” “At least it’s not so bad at the sixth-grade level. When I go to district sixth-grade math meetings, at least I’ll find a few others like me. But I read somewhere that at the preschool and kindergarten levels, 98% of the teachers are women.” “Hmm. I didn’t realize it was that bad. Well, the kids don’t seem to mind,” Sharon replies.

Questions to Consider 1. Is the predominance of female teachers a positive influence on the profession?

2. What about students? As Jeff asked, do children need male role models as teachers?

3. Is gender a factor in teaching effectiveness, that is, are men better at teaching male students and women better at teaching female students?

4. What do you predict in terms of this trend for the future?

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Is Compulsory Attendance the Solution to Absenteeism and Dropouts? Dropping out of school has become both a social issue as well

time, the importance of school attendance for later success in

as an educational problem. When students drop out of school,

life became apparent, and Massachusetts passed the first com-

they not only decrease their own personal chances for suc-

pulsory attendance law in 1852. Pallid by current standards, it

cess, they also increase the probability of being unemployed

required twelve weeks of school attendance, at least six of which

and become at risk for drug abuse and crime (Macionis, 2019).

had to be continuous (Urban & Wagoner, 2013). Despite public

Compulsory attendance laws in every state require students to

resistance (Why does my son or daughter need to go to school

attend school until age 16 to 18, depending on the state. But

to learn how to farm or be a wife?) and lax enforcement, public

are compulsory education laws working, and are they the best

school attendance increased significantly over time. In 1860,

way to address our country’s dropout problem?

less than half of 5- to 19-year-olds attended school regularly; by

If you had asked citizens during colonial times the same

1920, the figure had increased to almost 80% (Urban & Wagoner,

questions, they would have looked at you with a puzzled stare.

2013). But currently, 8 million students, about 1 in 7, are chroni-

Not only were children not required to attend school, it was a

cally absent from school, missing at least 15 school days, and

privilege reserved for a select few—the wealthy. Slowly over

in 8 states and the District of Columbia, 1 in 5 miss this amount

160  Chapter 4

(Blad, 2018). In schools where more than 75% of students qualify

• Compulsory attendance laws currently exist in all 50 states.

for free or reduced-price lunches, 34% of students are chronically

They need to be enforced better; non-enforcement of these

absent. And these absences take a disproportionate toll on cul-

laws sends the wrong message to truants.

tural minorities and students living in poverty. School attendance is important for several reasons, with

• New technologies allow schools to track truancy and address the problem more efficiently (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019).

learning the most obvious. Students can’t learn if they aren’t in class; chronically absent students have lower GPAs, lower test scores, and lower graduation rates than their peers (Jacob &

Con • Compulsory attendance laws don’t work. The students who

Lovett, 2017). Currently, the U.S. graduation rate is 84%, with

normally attend school aren’t affected by them, and the stu-

higher rates for Asian American/Pacific Islander (91%) and White

dents who need them the most, disregard them.

(88%) than Hispanic (79%), African American (76%), and American Indian/Alaska Native (72%) students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018b). In large urban districts, such as Chicago, average attendance rates predict graduating from high school almost as well as GPA.

• Nonattendance and truancy are symptoms of larger problems, not the problem itself. Poverty is a major factor affecting school attendance, and many students miss school because of family or health problems (Macionis, 2019). In addition, students fail to attend school and drop out because school is meaningless to them and fails to

The Issue So, what is the best way to address this pressing problem? Some call for stricter enforcement of existing compulsory attendance laws, whereas others contend that poor attendance is a symptom rather than a cause. Here are the arguments on both sides of stricter compulsory attendance laws.

connect to their lives. • Instead of more attention to coercing students to attend, alternative personalized programs are needed that motivate students and address their problems.

The Question Are compulsory education laws the best answer to the atten-

Pro • Strong links between attendance and school success and between dropping out and success in later life exist. Compul-

dance and dropout issues, or is there a better way to address the problem?

sory attendance laws address these connections.

MyLab Education Self-Check 4.6

Chapter 4 Summary 1. Explain how the diversity of the original colonies shaped our educational system and describe the role of religion in colonial schools. • Major geographic, economic, and cultural differences existed in the original 13 colonies. These differences spilled over into religious differences that strongly influenced the decision to separate church and state. • Early colonial educational practices were largely negative and repressive. Over time, European philosophies that were more humane and child-centered made their way across the Atlantic. • The colonial period resulted in three historical legacies. First, early schools were elitist, catering to wealthy White males. Second, the foundation of public support for education was established by the Old Deluder Satan Act. Finally, the tangled relationship between religion and education began. 2. Explain how the early national period influenced education in this country. • During the early national period, the framers of the Constitution used the First Amendment to separate religion from government control or influence. • The Tenth Amendment placed the primary responsibility for funding and governing education in the hands of state and local governments. • During this period, the federal government separated church and government, relegated educational responsibility to the states, and established the idea that schools were essential for improving the quality of life and helping the nation grow. 3. Explain how the common school movement influenced education in our country today. • During the years leading up to the Civil War, states laid the foundations for universal access to tax-supported schools. States established state departments of education to govern schools and built normal schools to improve professional training for teachers. • The common school movement was a turning point in American education because it planted the idea of access to a tax-supported education for all. Although this ideal was not achieved in practice until later, establishing the principle was important. 4. Describe the historical roots of contemporary secondary schools. • The history of the comprehensive American high school began with the Boston Latin School, the first

secondary school in the colonies. This college-preparatory institution focused on the classics. Benjamin Franklin’s Academy of Philadelphia introduced the idea of a practical curriculum. The English High School targeted non-college-bound students and was supported by public funds. • The comprehensive American high school evolved as a compromise out of a tug-of-war between committee reports that advocated either academic or applied orientations. The goal of the comprehensive high school is to meet the needs of all students— general education, vocational, and college preparatory—under one roof. • Current middle schools began as more traditional junior highs created in the early 1900s. Junior high schools were more academically oriented and were often “mini” versions of high schools. Middle schools were created to meet the unique developmental needs of young adolescents. 5. Identify similarities and differences in minority groups’ struggles for educational equality. • The education of cultural minorities in the United States aimed at assimilation. Although attempts were made to create schools that were separate but equal, they generally failed. Native American education efforts attempted to assimilate students through boarding schools. • The education of African Americans in the United States had a long history of separate but unequal treatment that was finally challenged in the Supreme Court in 1954. • Education for Hispanic Americans had a similar, uneven history, with both segregation and unequal funding. Language was a central issue in the education of Hispanic students, and bilingual education, designed to preserve students’ first language, has been a central controversy in the education of Hispanics. • Asian Americans experienced educational problems similar to those of other cultural minorities. In attempts to assimilate them quickly, schools often ignored Asian Americans’ native languages and cultures. Asian American groups and students are widely diverse, in terms of both cultural backgrounds as well as facility with the English language. • The federal government’s proper role in pursuing equity in education is continually being debated. The debate includes advocates of local control and

161

162  Chapter 4 questions about whether equity efforts should come from states or the federal government. 6. Explain how schools became instruments for national purpose during the modern era. • During the modern era, the federal government took a more active role in education, using it as an instrument of national purpose. During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the federal government spent large amounts of money improving math, science, and foreign language education. • During the War on Poverty and the Great Society, the federal government also used courts and federal spending to battle poverty and inequities in schools.

• The federal government also enlisted schools in its economic struggles with other countries. A Nation at Risk called for improved education to maintain U.S. “preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation.” No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act, which followed, aimed to reform education through testing and accountability. • Currently, consensus is lacking about the federal government’s proper role in achieving educational equity. Although most believe that reform is needed, whether the focal point of change should be federal or local is still undecided.

Important Concepts academy assimilation common school movement compensatory education programs

comprehensive high school dame schools de jure segregation de facto segregation English high school

Head Start junior high schools Latin grammar school magnet schools middle schools

normal schools Old Deluder Satan Act separate but equal Title I War on Poverty

Portfolio Activity Investigating Title I Programs and Students InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2: Learning Differences Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The goal of these activities is to familiarize you with the Title I programs in your area. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Talk with a teacher who has worked at your school for several years. Ask the following questions: a. What percentage of students at your school qualify for Title I assistance? b. What are the criteria for inclusion in these programs? c. Who are the students that qualify for these programs (that is, students from which cultural groups)? d. What kinds of extra assistance do Title I students receive at your school? e. How could the Title I program be improved to provide better services to these students? Based on the teacher’s responses, what are some ways that you can prepare yourself to teach in schools that have high percentages of Title I students?

Education in the United States: Its Historical Roots 163

2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Locate the websites for your state’s office of education or for several local school districts. Browse the sites for information on Title I programs, and answer the following questions: a. Which districts or schools offer the largest number of these programs? b. What kinds of students (that is, students from which cultural groups) are found in these programs? c. What is the curriculum in these programs? d. What is instruction like in these programs? Based on this information, what are some ways that you can prepare yourself to teach in schools that have high percentages of Title I students?

Chapter 5

Educational Philosophy and Your Teaching

Mark Bowden/123RF

164

Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 5.1 Define philosophy and describe the branches of philosophy.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 5.2 Describe the major educational philosophies and identify

examples that illustrate each. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 5.3 Explain why a personal philosophy of education is important and

describe the steps involved in forming one. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice As you begin reading this chapter, you may be saying, “Ugghh, philosophy of education. When in the world will I ever use this in my teaching?” This is a common reaction, and “Many educators think that philosophy is a field full of vague concepts . . . ” (Uzun, 2014, p. 614). As a result, they don’t see how it can be useful to their teaching. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Philosophy is a search for meaning, and it’s also a set of principles we choose to live by (Rosen, Byrne, Cohen, Harmon, & Shiffrin, 2018; Soccio, 2016). By extension, an educational philosophy is a set of beliefs and principles that guides our approach to teaching and our attempts to increase student learning. It helps us decide what we believe is important for our students to learn, and it influences how we teach (Biesta & Stengel, 2016). In essence, our educational philosophy is what defines us as teachers. The ability to understand and articulate a personal educational philosophy is essential for guiding our professional growth. Think about the different teachers you’ve encountered in your own education. How were they similar? How were they different? These similarities and differences were likely due to their own individual philosophies of education. Let’s see how different educational philosophies influence the thoughts and actions of two middle school teachers as they talk in their school’s teachers’ lounge.

“What’s happening?” Brad Norman, an English teacher, asks Allie Davenport, a colleague who teaches science, as he walks into the lounge after school. “Working on this quiz,” Allie smiles, glancing up at him. “You sure do test the heck out of your kids, don’t you? Every time I come in here, you’re either writing a quiz or scoring one.” “Well, I’ve given all this a lot of thought, and this is what I’ve come to believe. . . . Everything I read in professional journals talks about how important background knowledge is for new learning. Everything we learn depends on what we already know. And there’s real, practical stuff out there that kids need to know. They have to be good readers, they need to be able to write and do math, and they need to understand the science content I’m teaching. I’m not doing my job if I don’t get them to learn as much as possible. And practice, frequent assessment, and detailed feedback are some of the best ways we have of getting them to learn. That’s the reality of today’s world.” “I like the idea of kids knowing stuff, too, but I think the reality of today’s world is different from that,” Brad responds. “Where in your scheme of things do kids learn to solve problems, make intelligent choices, and accept responsibility for their own behavior? The only way

166  Chapter 5 they’re going to get good at making personal decisions is to be involved in situations where they’re forced to make decisions. . . . That’s how the world works, and I would be doing the kids, their parents, and ultimately, our whole society a disservice if I didn’t try to prepare them for life outside school. They laugh, agree to disagree, and promise to continue the discussion later, as Allie goes back to work on her quiz.

We address the issues Allie and Brad raised in their conversation as the chapter unfolds, but before we begin, please respond to the following What I Believe feature.

What I Believe Educational Philosophy and Me Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. Each of these items will be addressed in the sections Revisiting My Beliefs found throughout the chapter. 1. The purpose of educational philosophy is to help me and other prospective teachers understand how past experts have thought about teaching. 2. Children should learn morals in the home. Teaching morals in school is not part of my job. 3. Our nation’s schools should focus on teaching students to think and solve problems in the real world. 4. As a teacher, my primary goal should be to help students master essential content rather than help them develop emotionally and socially. 5. I should encourage my students to think about their personal role in making the world a better place.

LEARNING OUTCOME 5.1  Define philosophy and describe the branches of philosophy. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Teaching and You What is the most effective way to teach? For example, should we focus primarily on explaining content clearly and succinctly, or should we be attempting to get our students to find their own answers to questions and solutions to problems?

Philosophy and Philosophy of Education Think about the questions we asked in Teaching and You. If you believe, for example, that your job is to explain the content you teach as clearly as possible, you are expressing one philosophical view of teaching. Similarly, if you believe your job is to help students learn to be independent, critical thinkers, your thinking is also philosophical—a different view from the first, but in the realm of philosophy nevertheless (Biesta & Stengel, 2016). This is why educational philosophy is important. It helps make us aware of our beliefs about teaching and learning and helps us make decisions about the kinds of teachers we want to become. Just as we saw with Brad and Allie, teachers’ beliefs strongly influence the way they approach their work with students and the way they teach. Your ability to analyze your own personal beliefs and attitudes will influence your educational philosophy, how you teach and interact with your students, and ultimately, how you develop as a teacher. We fully understand that, at this early point in your teacher preparation program, you won’t have a fully developed philosophy of education, but now is the time to start.

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You can begin by asking yourself these questions: • What is most important for students to learn (such as the differences Brad and Allie described)? • Is the present emphasis on standardized testing in schools effective, or is it misguided? Why? • Is it my job to try to motivate students, or is motivation their responsibility? • Am I responsible for addressing problems students bring with them from their homes and neighborhoods? • Do I want to go through a traditional teacher preparation program or is an alternate program, such as Teach for America, better? These and many other important personal questions about your teaching are all grounded in philosophy. Let’s begin. The term “philosophy” is derived from the Greek “philo” (loving) and “sophia” (knowledge, wisdom), so at its most basic level, philosophy is a search for wisdom (Soccio, 2016). In our introduction, we said it is a search for meaning and a set of principles we choose to live by. With respect to teaching and learning, it’s the set of beliefs and principles that guides our work. We see this displayed in Allie and Brad’s conversation. Allie, for example, said, “Well, I’ve given all this a lot of thought, and this is what I’ve come to believe.” Just as your responses to the questions in Teaching and You represent your current beliefs, she was describing personal beliefs that guide her own teaching. And, although his beliefs and conclusions were different, Brad was doing the same. This is what makes philosophy important for all of us. We can’t teach with any vision or direction if we don’t know what we believe about teaching, learning, and the role of schooling in the first place.

Philosophy and Teacher Professionalism In their conversation, Allie and Brad expressed different views, but their contrasting positions have common features, and these positions are closely related to teacher professionalism (see Figure 5.1). For instance, Allie commented, “I’ve given all this a lot of thought,” which indicates reflection, and she made the decision to frequently quiz her students and provide feedback in the belief that doing so increases learning. She had the autonomy that allowed her to do so—no one told her how to teach or how many quizzes to give—and she commented, “I’m not doing my job if I don’t get them to learn as much as possible,” which describes a moral standard for professional behavior. A specialized body of knowledge is also a component of teacher professionalism, and both Allie and Brad based their philosophical decisions on research. For example, Allie said, “Everything I read in journals talks about how important background knowledge is for new learning.” She didn’t base her decisions on intuition or whim; rather,

Figure 5.1  Elements of Professionalism in Allie and Brad’s Beliefs Teacher Professionalism

Decision making and reflection

Specialized body of knowledge

Autonomy

Ethical standards for conduct

Making decisions in ill-defined situations and analyzing our actions

Knowledge of content and an understanding of teaching, learners, and learning

The capacity to control one’s own professional life

A set of moral standards for acceptable professional behavior

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the first item in What I Believe, “The purpose of educational philosophy is to help me and other prospective teachers understand how past experts have thought about teaching.” This statement is only partially true. A philosophy of education goes well beyond helping you and other prospective teachers understand the thinking of past experts; it also guides us as we work in our classrooms and provides a framework for thinking about educational issues as we work in classrooms.

168  Chapter 5 she grounded them in professional knowledge. The same was true for Brad, as he commented, “Everything I read says that kids need lots of experience in making decisions and solving problems.” He disagreed with Allie, but his decisions were also based on professional knowledge. You will do the same when you begin teaching. You will make decisions about what you believe is most important to teach and what is the best way of helping your students learn. Your philosophical beliefs will shape your classroom decisions (Biesta & Stengel, 2016).

The Relationship Between Philosophy and Theory Philosophy and theory overlap in many ways, and the distinction between the two is often blurred, because the two are not identical. A theory is a set of related principles that are based on observation and are used to explain the world around us. The term explain in the definition is important—the primary function of theories is to help us understand and explain events we observe in our day-to-day lives. For example, Allie’s emphasis on knowledge is based on theories of learning that suggest, “Everything we learn depends on what we already know.” Her philosophy goes beyond theory, however. Instead of explaining the way things are, as a theory would do, philosophy suggests the way things ought to be and also goes further to analyze ideas and beliefs. Allie, for instance, suggested that schools should emphasize knowledge and understanding, whereas Brad thought they should focus on problem solving and decision-making. Allie also expressed the belief that kids need extensive background knowledge to learn new ideas, whereas Brad believed that experience with problem solving and decision-making is more important. In this regard, both Allie and Brad stepped beyond theory into the realm of philosophy. People in other professions also use philosophies to direct their actions. In medicine, for instance, one school of thinking suggests that the medical profession should emphasize prevention through healthy lifestyles, whereas another focuses on healing through medication and other treatments. A description of the way something ought to be—such as the way teachers, physicians, or other professionals ought to practice—is called a normative philosophy (Chaffee, 2016).

Branches of Philosophy Philosophy is a broad discipline that attempts to answer questions in four primary areas: • Epistemology • Metaphysics • Axiology • Logic We examine each of these in the sections that follow.

Epistemology Teaching and You How do we resolve controversies in our lives, and how will we resolve controversies when they occur in our classrooms? For instance, do you believe that climate change exists and is caused by human behavior? If you do, why? If you don’t, why not?

Think about the questions we asked in Teaching and You. The answers to these questions relate to epistemology, the branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge and questions such as “How do we know what we know?“ and “How is knowledge acquired?” For instance, if you don’t believe in climate change, what led you to that conclusion? On the other hand, if you argue that a great deal of scientific evidence suggests that climate change does indeed exist, you are also dealing with epistemology because evidence and the scientific method address the question “How do we know what we know?” Epistemology was involved in Allie and Brad’s discussion. For instance, Allie said, “And there’s real, practical stuff out there that kids need. . . . And practice, frequent

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assessment, and detailed feedback are some of the best ways we have of getting them to learn. That’s the reality of today’s world.” She believes that practice and assessment with feedback are important ways students come to know the ideas they learn. A variety of ways of knowing exist. The scientific method (testing a problem by systematically collecting facts through observation and experimentation) is one, and the dominant one in our culture. Experience, intuition, authority—relying on the knowledge and expertise of others, divine revelation, and ideology, the beliefs and faiths of a certain social institution, are others. Epistemology is important for all of us because our beliefs about how students learn influence how we teach. For instance, many experts answer the question “How is knowledge acquired?” by suggesting that students, and people in general, don’t passively receive and store information from others, as a recording device would do. Instead, they mentally process it and then construct an understanding of the information that makes sense to them (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). For instance, students are asked to find the areas of the figures you see here:

2"

4" 1" 2"

3"

They routinely find the area of the rectangle by multiplying the length times the width to get an area of 8". This makes sense and is correct. So, using the same reasoning, they multiply 3 * 1 * 2 and get an area of 6 for the pentagon. They have—based on their experience with the rectangle—constructed the idea that we multiply the dimensions of any figure to find its area. This is incorrect, but it makes perfect sense to some students (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). Encountering examples of student thinking, such as this one, will influence your beliefs about the way students learn, and these beliefs will, in turn, influence the way you teach. Understanding how students sometimes idiosyncratically construct knowledge in their own heads suggests that we should interact with our students so their thinking is made public. Based on this thinking, we can then attempt to help them construct valid ways of finding areas of irregular figures, such as the pentagon, that make sense to them. On the other hand, if you believe that knowledge is acquired by listening to a knowledgeable expert, you will be more likely to lecture to students and expect them to reproduce, on tests, what they’ve heard. These different ways of thinking about epistemology influence our teaching.

Metaphysics Epistemology examines how we know, and metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that considers what we know. Metaphysics considers questions of reality and ultimately attempts to answer the question “What is real?” (Rosen et al., 2018). For instance, if you don’t believe that climate change exists, your thinking is in the context of metaphysics because you’re drawing a conclusion about reality, and it’s still in the realm of metaphysics if you have the opposite view. With respect to the metaphysics of teaching and learning, Allie and Brad disagree. Allie, for example, argues that the reality of today’s world requires students to understand content and have skills, such as the ability to read, write well, and do math. Brad, on the other hand, believes that educational reality involves problem solving, decisionmaking, and accepting personal responsibility. (Possessing content knowledge and skills, and problem solving, decision-making, and personal responsibility are not mutually exclusive, of course. Allie and Brad’s differences are a matter of emphasis rather than believing one is important and the other is not.)

170  Chapter 5 Our metaphysical beliefs influence both our goals for our students and the way we teach. For instance, we’ve all heard the question, when encountering a partially filled glass of liquid: “Is the glass half empty or half full?” Optimists say half full, while pessimists say half empty. In a similar way, teacher optimism, in the form of positive expectations for our students, can influence how we teach; teachers with positive expectations, who believe all students can learn, try harder and refuse to let students fail (Biag, 2016). When we believe the educational glass is half full, we try harder to challenge our students and are less likely to give up on them when they struggle. Optimism is important in teaching, and our views of reality have direct consequences for our teaching.

Axiology

Revisiting My Beliefs This discussion addresses the second item on What I Believe, “Children should learn morals in the home. Teaching morals in school is not part of my job.” This is not the prevailing opinion in our country today. Most people believe that moral development is part of students’ overall education (Bushaw & Lopez, 2010).

Teaching and You You comment to a friend, “I’m going to ace my next test,” to which your friend responds, “How can you be so sure? You reply, “Hard work is the key to success, and I’ve been studying hard.”

Axiology, a third branch of philosophy, examines values and ethics, issues prominent in American education. For example, surveys indicate that 58% of high school students admit to cheating on tests, 64% said they plagiarized, and 74% admitted to copying a friend’s homework (Simmons, 2018). Also, large numbers of students express concerns about being bullied, a moral problem that involves a misuse of power (Bartlett, Prot, Anderson, & Gentile, 2017; National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). Outside of schools, political corruption and scandals that led to the economic downturn in the latter part of the last decade have sent shock waves through our financial system and American society in general. The American public is increasingly looking to education for solutions to problems such as these. How might axiology influence your own teaching? Let’s look again at Allie and Brad’s conversation. Allie asserted, “I’m not doing my job if I don’t get them to learn as much as possible”; Brad retorted, “I would be doing the kids, their parents, and ultimately, our whole society a disservice if I didn’t try to prepare them for life outside school.” Both suggest they wouldn’t be behaving ethically if they weren’t true to their beliefs about what’s important for students to learn. Axiology is involved whenever we examine our values to decide what’s best for our students.

Logic Logic is the fourth branch of philosophy, and it influences how we think about the world. To see how, let’s look at the example in Teaching and You. You made the comment “I’m going to ace my next test,” and when challenged by your friend, you responded, “Hard work is the key to success, and I’ve been studying hard.” In making these statements, you demonstrated logic, the branch of philosophy that examines the processes of deriving valid conclusions from basic principles (Rosen et al., 2018). In making your conclusion, you demonstrated a form of logic called deductive reasoning. It begins with a proposition, called a major premise, which can be a principle or generalization such as “Hard work is the key to success.” The major premise is followed by a fact or observation, called a minor premise, such as “I’ve been studying hard.” And the process ends with a conclusion that follows from the two premises. In your case, the conclusion was: “I’m going to ace the next test.” Allie also demonstrated deductive reasoning in asserting that she was promoting learning in her students. Although these aren’t her exact words, the following statements represent her thinking: • Practice, assessment, and feedback promote learning (her major premise). • I am providing my students with practice, and I’m assessing their learning and providing them with feedback (her minor premise). • Therefore, I am promoting learning in my students (her conclusion). Inductive reasoning, the counterpart to deductive reasoning, begins with specific facts or observations and ends with a conclusion that connects them together. For instance, you’re an elementary teacher, and you have your students plant seeds under a variety

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of growing conditions, such as differing amounts of sunlight. Your students find that seeds placed in bright sunlight grow faster than those in either moderate or dim light. Based on these specific instances, your students then make general conclusions about sunlight and plant growth, such as, “The more sunlight plants receive, the faster they grow.” Logic helps us promote clear thinking in our students. For instance, in social studies, we help students see that if we stereotype a cultural group based on the behavior or appearance of a few members, we’re using faulty inductive reasoning. Similarly, many controversies in education and other aspects of life occur because proponents and critics disagree on the validity of conclusions derived from deductive reasoning. For example, many educational reformers believe that test-based accountability— holding teachers and students accountable by using standardized tests to measure student learning progress—is an effective way to improve education in our country (Rosen & Parise, 2017). This is a major premise. And because standardized testing has become a major part of schooling (a minor premise), learning should be improving (conclusion). On the other hand, critics argue that the key to improving schooling is the quality of teachers (Goldhaber, 2016; Lee, 2018). They question both the major premise and the conclusion of standardized testing’s proponents. Critics believe that an overemphasis on testing actually detracts from learning—a different conclusion based on a different major premise. Other controversies in education involve similar disagreements between premises and conclusions.

MyLab Education Self-Check 5.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 5.2  Describe the major educational philosophies and identify examples that illustrate each. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Philosophies of Education Think about the questions we asked in Teaching and You. Your answers to these questions are important because, even though you may not have thought about it in this way, they provide insights into your own informal philosophy of education. The different philosophies of education that we describe in this section help answer these and other questions about schooling, the curriculum (what your students study), and instruction (how you teach) by providing different perspectives on educational quality. In this respect, a philosophy of education provides a framework for thinking about educational issues and guides our actions as teachers. Keep the questions in Teaching and You in mind as you study the following educational philosophies, each of which, to varying degrees, is prominent in schools today: • Perennialism • Progressivism • Essentialism • Social reconstructionism

Perennialism What kinds of classes are most valuable? If you answered the first question in Teaching and You by saying that your high school literature courses were most valuable because you studied important novels, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, an icon of quality literature

Teaching and You Think back to when you were in elementary, middle, and high school. What classes did you find most valuable, and why do you think they were the most useful? Who were your best teachers, and why do you believe they were the best?

172  Chapter 5 in the school curriculum. The novel, originally published in 1960, examines family, loyalty, racism, and a belief in human goodness in the face of evil and adversity. These ideas are as relevant today, 60 years later, as they were then. This is why it’s considered to be among the best American novels ever written and why it continues to be an integral part of the curriculum in our nation’s schools (Fleischer, 2014). Focusing on the study of great literature is consistent with perennialism, an educational philosophy suggesting that nature—including human nature—is constant and schools should teach content and topics that have withstood the test of time. The term perennial means “perpetual” or “long lasting,” which is the source of the term perennialism. For perennialists, the goal of education is for students to understand the great ideas of Western civilization, that once acquired, will help them solve problems in a variety of areas. According to perennialists, cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education. Consistent with this idea, for example, many people have bought the series, The Great Books of the Western World, a 54-volume set of books originally published in the United States in 1952, by Encyclopedia Britannica. Major works included in this series include Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Melville’s Moby Dick, and Darwin’s Origin of Species. People using this series often explain, “I was filling some of the gaps in my undergraduate education” (Fleischer, 2014, para. 2). Perennialists also emphasize the importance of math and the most important principles of science because they have also stood the test of time and remain as relevant today as they were hundreds of years ago. For instance, modern algebra began to emerge near the end of the sixteenth century, but its roots can be traced all the way back to ancient Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, and Arabs (Frejd, 2013). Most of us have taken at least one algebra course during high school, and this emphasis on algebra reflects a perennialist perspective. Algebra has stood the test of time, trains the mind, and develops reasoning. And Newton originally presented his laws of motion in 1687, but they remain an integral part of today’s science curriculum more than 300 years later, and they have many practical applications, including why we are required by law to wear seat belts when we drive. Our country’s founding fathers held perennialist views, believing that democracy required an educated populace who could examine and analyze important issues facing our country. Historically, perennialism has been an important educational philosophy in our country. Perennialism received a major boost in the 1980s when E. D. Hirsch published Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know (1988). In this book, Hirsch listed 5,000 terms and ideas, ranging from “adrenal glands” to “zeitgeist,” that he believed every well-educated citizen ought to know. This book, as well as a more recent one, Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children from Failed Educational Theories (Hirsch, 2016), argues that knowledge that has passed the test of time is the most important (and neglected) aspect of school success. Instead of teaching reading comprehension strategies, we should be teaching students background knowledge that will allow them to make sense of reading passages. As with all educational philosophies, perennialism has its critics. For example, critics argue that it is elitist, aimed primarily at high-ability students (Biesta & Stengel, 2016; Rosen et al., 2018). And, because it focuses on ancient content that has stood the test of time, it is primarily backward-looking, instead of preparing our students for the modern world in which they live. Further, critics question the value of distant and abstract ideas— regardless of their enduring nature—for students who fail to see the value of old, abstract ideas and are sometimes poorly motivated. Aspects of perennialist philosophy remain prominent, however, as we saw with the example of To Kill a Mockingbird. Perennialism declined as a dominant educational philosophy in our country when the thinking of John Dewey (1902, 1906, 1923, 1938), arguably the preeminent philosopher in our country’s history, encouraged teachers to focus more on

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problem solving, applications to the real world, and the importance of experience in learning. (We discuss Dewey’s work later in this section.)

Perennialism in Classrooms: Implications for Teaching Jack Wallace’s students are involved in studying Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (1850). This classic American novel—also on the list of best American novels (Fleischer, 2014)—set in Boston in the 1600s describes a tragic and illicit love affair between the heroine (Hester Prynne) and a minister (Arthur Dimmesdale). The novel’s title refers to the letter A, meaning adulterer, which the Puritan community makes Hester wear as punishment for her adultery. “Surprisingly, the kids love it,” Jack comments. “Everyone has heard of the Puritans, and we use their intolerance and repressiveness as a metaphor for issues in today’s society, such as gay and lesbian rights, cohabitation outside of marriage, and the counterculture of the 1960s. Then, we consider the concept of evil, and we ask which is more evil, Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s love affair, the Puritans’ humiliation of Hester by making her wear the A, or her husband’s attempted revenge directed toward her and Dimmesdale? . . . Then, as we discuss evil in a more general sense, the kids realize that it isn’t as cut-and-dried as they previously thought. . . . Once we get past some of the stilted language, they really get into it, and I’ve even had to stop them from yelling at each other and remind them that attempting to shout each other down is just another form of repression. . . . It’s great.”

Jack’s efforts reflect a perennialist philosophy. The concepts of good and evil, sin, and repression are ideas that have been examined throughout history, and they’re as timely today as they have ever been. This is what we mean when we say that aspects of perennialist philosophy remain prominent in our schools today. Jack promoted learning by having his students read and discuss the important ideas contained in the book. Presenting important ideas and developing students’ understanding of these ideas through Socratic questioning and dialogue is the teacher’s role. When perennialist teaching works, students leave classrooms understanding the important ideas of our western civilization.

Progressivism Consider again the question about which courses were most valuable to you that we asked in Teaching and You. Many of our students answer this question by saying that their best courses were those that had them study ideas directly relevant in today’s world, courses that allowed them to work on projects involving problems that are interesting to them, or classes that have them write about topics important to them. If this is how you responded, your thinking reflects progressivism, an educational philosophy emphasizing real-world problem solving and individual personal development. Progressivists believe the purpose of schooling is to develop students as completely as possible—physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally. The curriculum should be composed of content applicable in today’s world. Teachers should be caring individuals, and instead of relying primarily on lecture as a teaching method, they should use questioning and discussion to guide students as they search for meaning in their lives and the broader outside world. As we saw in the previous section, the rise of progressivism contributed to the decline of perennialism as the dominant philosophy of education in our country. Brad’s philosophy is aligned with progressivism. In his conversation with Allie, he commented: “Everything I read says that kids need lots of experience in making decisions and solving problems. The only way they’re going to get good at making personal decisions is to be involved in situations where they’re forced to make decisions. That’s how the world works, and I would be doing the kids, their parents, and ultimately, our whole society a disservice if I didn’t try to prepare them for life outside school.”

MyLab Education Video Example 5.1 Progressivism is an educational philosophy that emphasizes real-world problem solving and personal development. Here, fourth-grade teacher Laura Hunter applies progressivist philosophy in her teaching as she guides her students’ attempts to find the area of the carpeted portion of their classroom.

174  Chapter 5 Progressivism has been enormously influential in American education, and it continues to be debated today (Fallace & Fantozzi, 2017; Heilbronn, Doddington & Higham, 2018). To better understand this educational philosophy, let’s briefly look at the development of the progressive movement in our country.

The Progressive Era in American History

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third item in What I Believe, “Our nation’s schools should focus on teaching students to think and solve problems in the real world.” People with a progressivist philosophy would agree with this statement. Progressivists believe our schools and classrooms should prepare students for life by immersing them in real-world applications.

From 1890 to 1920, American education experienced dramatic growth (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). School enrollments, fueled by accessibility and compulsory attendance laws, increased 70%, and the number of teachers grew by 80%. During this period of growth, educators reexamined schooling practices and began to question the value of students’ studying topics that had few direct relationships to their present-day lives—a charge directed at the perennialist philosophy dominant at the time. John Dewey (1859–1952) was at the center of this movement. Dewey (1923, 1938) wrote extensively on education, and his work has had more impact on teaching and learning in our country than any other philosopher. And, as we noted earlier, his ideas continue to be actively debated by educators today. Dewey first encountered progressive teaching practices through his children, who attended a lab school in Chicago that was experimenting with hands-on, experiential learning. He became so fascinated with student-centered teaching that in 1896 he established his own lab school connected to the University of Chicago, where he worked. The school became the birthplace of progressive education, which gained prominence during the early to mid-twentieth century (Fallace & Fantozzi, 2017). For Dewey, classrooms should become microcosms of our democratic society, and what students learn in school should relate to and help them in the real world (Biesta & Stengel, 2016). Classrooms should be places for living and learning, in addition to preparation for future life. Goals such as personal growth and preparation for participation in a democracy are met through an activity-oriented curriculum. Content, which historically was an end in itself, now became a tool to solve real-life problems (Heilbronn et al., 2018). Dewey’s ideas created both excitement and criticism. To some, seeing learners actively involved in solving real-world problems was exciting. To others, progressive education deemphasized important content and catered to student interests and whims. Interest in progressive education waned after the mid-twentieth century, caused in part by a well-intentioned but misguided attempt at fostering life-adjustment courses, such as “Developing an Effective Personality” and “Marriage and Living,” which were attacked by critics as lacking content and academic rigor. These criticisms increased as a result of the furor caused by Russia beating our country into space with its launching of the Sputnik satellite in 1957. Losing this race symbolized a weak American educational system, critics asserted. The public agreed, and the progressive movement declined. Dewey’s defenders argue that critics either misrepresent or don’t understand him (Fallace, & Fantozzi, 2017). Dewey didn’t deemphasize knowledge and understanding in favor of student interests, his defenders assert. To Dewey, asking, “Which is more important: the interests of the child or the knowledge of subject matter?” was a dumb question. Both are equally important (D’Agnese, 2018). Many aspects of progressive education, such as problem-based instruction, cooperative learning, and guided discovery, are alive and well today. And you and your peers in teacher preparation programs are encouraged to involve your students in learning activities and connect the topics you teach to the real world. You are also encouraged to help them develop not only intellectually but also personally, socially, morally, and physically. These are all progressivist ideas (Mead, 2017). This discussion also relates to the second question we asked in Teaching and You: “Who were your best teachers, and why do you believe they were the best?” Most of our students believe their best teachers were those who cared about them, both as individuals and as students and did more than simply lecture to them. These beliefs are consistent with progressivism.

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Progressivism in Classrooms: Implications for Teaching To see how a progressivist philosophy can influence your teaching, let’s join a group of urban middle school teachers as they talk over lunch.

“I’m having a heck of a time with my students,” Kelly Erhardt, a first-year English teacher, confesses. “They simply couldn’t care less about learning grammar, punctuation, or writing.” “Welcome to middle school teaching,” Dan Shafer, a geography teacher and “veteran” of three years, smiles. “These kids have to see how the stuff they study applies to their lives. No magic solution exists, but here’s what I did with my geography kids, and it went really well. “I told them we’d be working with maps all year, so understanding scale was important, both in class and in life outside of school. I showed them a map of our state and talked about scale. Then I broke students into pairs, and each pair had to decide on a scale, construct a map of the room, and present it to the class. Some were a little disorganized, but gradually they did okay, and they’re learning to work together. Tomorrow, we’re going outside to make a map of the school grounds—to scale.” “That does sound like fun,” Kelly responds. “I wish we had done something like that when I studied maps. All we did was listen to the teacher talk.” “Can’t do that, or you’ll lose them,” Mary Burbank, the science teacher, and a 10-year veteran, joins in. “I’ll offer another example that you might consider. . . . Yesterday, I started class by swinging a pair of athletic socks tied to a string around my head and then letting it go. I asked them what they observed and led them to notice that the socks traveled in a straight line after I let go of the string, and they kept on going until the wall of the room stopped them. So, then I asked them what happens when they ride in a car and go around a curve. They said they were ‘thrown’ against the door of the car. So, then we got to the idea that being ‘thrown’ against the door was our bodies’ tendencies to travel in a straight line as the car rounded the curve. We also talked about why we wear seat belts, and they got the idea that when we slam on the brakes, our bodies tend to keep going, so we wear seat belts to keep us from getting hurt. I finally described what we were discussing as the concept inertia, and not only did they get it, they liked it. “Like Dan just said, they have to see how ideas relate to their lives. If I started out lecturing about inertia, they’d drift off in five minutes. You have to figure out how to connect English to them right now. . . . You’re a smart kid; you’ll figure it out.”

Think for a minute about the advice Kelly’s colleagues gave her. None of their recommended activities involved students’ simply listening while teachers lecture; instead, the teachers suggested involving students in learning activities that relate to their personal lives. These activities illustrate a progressivist philosophy and reflect the emphasis placed on learner thinking and involvement that we see in many classrooms today (Good & Lavigne, 2018).

MyLab Education Application Exercise 5.1: Educational Philosophies in Teaching In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher applies philosophies of education in her teaching.

Essentialism To begin this section, think again about Teaching and You where we asked which courses were most valuable in your school experiences. When we asked our students the same question, many said the reading courses they took when they were young or the math

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MyLab Education Video Example 5.2 Essentialism is an educational philosophy suggesting that specific knowledge and skills exist that all people should possess. Here, second-grade teacher Monica Miller applies this philosophy as she helps her students understand place value, understanding that all second graders should have.

courses they took throughout their schooling were most valuable because they provided the skills they needed to succeed in college and ultimately in the world at large. If you feel the same way, your thinking is consistent with essentialism, an educational philosophy suggesting that specific knowledge and skills exist that all people should possess. We’ve all heard of “back to the basics” movements, proponents of which argue that learning should focus on basic skills, such as reading, writing, math, science and, in today’s world, computer literacy. Essentialists argue that the purpose of schooling is to advance society by providing a curriculum that includes the skills needed to function effectively in today’s world. Further, they suggest, teachers should play a central role in directing classes to help students acquire these skills (Biesta & Stengel, 2016; Robertson, 2014). Essentialism evolved, at least in part, in response to some of the perceived weaknesses in progressivism, such as an overemphasis on learner interests at the expense of important knowledge and skills. Also, essentialism shares with perennialism the view that knowledge and understanding are crucial, and both are wary of what their advocates believe is “trendiness” in education, such as an overemphasis on learner-centered approaches to teaching and learning, integrated curricula, and a focus on learner self-esteem. Essentialists, however, don’t share perennialists’ emphasis on universal truths; instead, they focus on knowledge and skills that are useful in today’s world (Heiten, 2016b). Because it concentrates on practical, usable knowledge, the essentialist curriculum is more likely to change than a perennialist curriculum. For instance, because technology has become such an important part of our lives in the twenty-first century, technological literacy is now viewed as a basic skill, and schools across the country are struggling to prepare students for the technological world in which they’ll live and work (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019).

Essentialism and Educational Reform

Revisiting My Beliefs This discussion addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “As a teacher, my primary goal should be to help students master essential content rather than help them develop emotionally and socially.” Essentialists would strongly agree with this statement.

Essentialism emphasizes the knowledge and skills today’s students need to succeed in college or in the world of work, but evidence suggests that they are not acquiring these abilities. For instance, in 2017, the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that only 37% of American fourth graders and 36% of eighth graders scored well enough to be considered “proficient” in reading. The results weren’t any better in math, with only 40% of fourth graders and a third of eighth graders scoring as proficient (Barshay, 2018). American adults also fare poorly. For example, a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which focused on adults aged 16–64 in 24 countries, found that, compared with their international counterparts, American adults are weak in both literacy and math (OECD, 2018). In response to these concerns, educational leaders have established academic standards, statements that describe what students should know or be able to do at the end of a prescribed period of study. These standards describe essential knowledge and skills that leaders in the business, educational, and political worlds believe all students in our country should possess, so we can see why they reflect an essentialist educational philosophy. All states and the District of Columbia have established standards. The following are two examples: the first in world history from the state of California and the second in third-grade math from Texas. Students analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. 1. Analyze why England was the first country to industrialize (California State Board of Education, 2018). (3) Number and operations. The student applies mathematical process standards to represent and explain fractional units. The student is expected to:

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(A) represent fractions greater than zero and less than or equal to one with denominators of 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 using concrete objects and pictorial models, including strip diagrams and number lines (Texas Education Agency, 2018).

Despite general agreement that standards such as these are important, analysis of standards from different states has identified significant variations in expectations, rigor, and even content, however. Also, critics charge that many states have lowered their standards to meet federal mandates (Hess & McShane, 2018). Further, despite the standards movement, American students are still behind other nations in academic achievement, readiness for college, and the world of work. For instance, on the Program for International Studies Assessment (PISA), among the 69 top countries tested, American students were ahead of 28, tied with 5, and behind 36 countries in math. Science comparisons were only slightly better, with American students ahead of 39 countries, tied with 12, and behind 18 (Tures, 2018). Ours is a country that prides itself as being a leader in science and technology, and experts find a link between student scores in math and science and a nation’s economic growth (Hanushek, 2018). These problems led to the development of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). The Common Core State Standards Initiative and Essentialism.  The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is a state-led effort to establish a single set of clear educational standards for all states (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018i). The standards exist in mathematics and English-language arts, together with literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. States can voluntarily adopt and use the standards to shape education in their districts. By 2018, 41 states, the District of Columbia, 4 territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activities had adopted the Common Core standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018i). The CCSSI standards are designed, “to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018i, para. 2). The standards are also designed to provide parents, teachers, and students with a clear understanding of what is expected of them, and they’re linked to international benchmarks in an attempt to ensure that American students are competitive in the global marketplace. The following is an example from fourth-grade math: CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.B.3 Apply knowledge of fractions. Explain why a fraction a/b is equivalent to a fraction (n * a)/(n * b) by using visual fraction models, with attention to how the number and size of the parts differ even though the two fractions themselves are the same size. Use this principle to recognize and generate equivalent fractions. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018f)

As another example, a literacy standard in History/Social Studies for Grades 9 and 10 appears as follows. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018b).

The Common Core State Standards are similar to many of the standards that already existed in various states. The consistency that the standards provide—both internationally and among states in our country—is a primary advantage of using them. As we can see, the standards specify knowledge and skills their creators believe are crucial for today’s students and represent a trend in our country’s educational systems, reflecting,“ . . . the predominance of the Essentialist philosophy as the driving basis for conceptualizations and practices of teaching and learning” (Robertson, 2014, p. 341). Partnership for Twenty-First Century Learning.  Twenty-first Century Learning, another reform movement consistent with essentialism, describes the skills people

178  Chapter 5 will need to succeed in work, school, and life in our present century (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2018). These abilities include: • Core subjects, such as reading, math, science, and social studies • Twenty-first century content, such as global awareness; financial and economic understanding; civic literacy; and an understanding of factors that influence health and well-being • Critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and communications skills; the ability to innovate. • Media literacy, the ability to use information and communications technology • Life skills, such as leadership, ethics, self-regulation, the ability to work with others, and social responsibility The Twenty-first Century Learning movement emphasizes standards, assessment to ensure that knowledge and skills have been mastered, professional development for teachers, a strong emphasis on technology, and research and development to guide teaching practices and assessment strategies. Changes in Teacher Preparation.  Essentialism is also influencing teacher education programs around our country. For example, calls to increase the academic rigor of teacher preparation programs by requiring that all teachers possess a specified body of professional knowledge are being made (Loewus & Sawchuk, 2017). To ensure that you acquire this professional knowledge, you’ll take an identified sequence of courses, and you’ll likely be expected to demonstrate mastery of essential teaching skills on a standardized test, either the Praxis Series™ or a state-specific test. The fact that teachers now have to pass exams before they are allowed to teach reflects the belief that all teachers should possess essential knowledge and skills—a reflection of essentialist educational philosophy.

Essentialism in Classrooms: Implications for Teaching Essentialism plays a central role in American education today, which is reflected in Allie’s comment “There’s real, practical stuff out there that kids need. They have to be good readers, they need to be able to write and do math, and they need to understand this stuff, the science I’m teaching.” She believes a body of knowledge and skills exist that all students should master, and it’s her job to be sure they do. This essentialist emphasis is also reflected in the design of this text. For instance, we list important learning outcomes at the beginning of each chapter and include “MyLab Education Self-Check” exercises. Important concepts are also placed in bold print, listed at the end of each chapter, and defined in the glossary. These features reflect our belief that important knowledge exists that all professionals should master and understand. As with the other philosophies of education, essentialism has its critics. For instance, critics argue that essentialism results in teacher-centered approaches to instruction that involve simply transmitting knowledge and skills to students. Then, the extent to which students master these abilities is measured with standardized tests (Robertson, 2014). Further, the strong emphasis on standardized testing has been highly controversial for years (Strauss, 2017). Given that our approach to writing this book is essentialist, we obviously don’t agree that an essentialist philosophy necessarily results in teacher-centered instruction at the expense of student involvement; in fact, many of the interactive activities embedded in the text, such as MyLab Education Self-Checks, Diversity and You, and Issues You’ll Face in Teaching, are designed to actively involve you in text content. But we do understand that the philosophy could be (mis)interpreted in this way.

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MyLab Education Application Exercise 5.2: Essentialism in Teaching In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher applies essentialism in her teaching.

Social Reconstructionism Think about our world today. Our students and the society they live in have changed. Too many students use drugs, engage in irresponsible sexual behavior, and bully other students. Many live in poverty, and some are homeless. In the world outside of school, maintaining a clean, healthy environment and having adequate supplies of water for growing populations are receiving increasing attention. Social reconstructionists believe schools and teachers should be addressing these problems. Social reconstructionism is an educational philosophy asserting that schools, teachers, and students should take the lead in addressing social problems and improving society. Social reconstructionists answer the question “What is the purpose of schooling?” by saying that it should be used to eliminate inequities by creating a new and more just culture. The curriculum should include topics that reflect social issues, and discussion should be a primary teaching method. The roots of social reconstructionism in our country are often traced to American philosopher and educator Theodore Brameld (1904–1987). Influenced by the thinking of John Dewey (1923, 1938) and affected by the horrors of World War II, Brameld believed that the human race possessed the potential either to annihilate itself through conflict and weapons, such as the atomic bomb, or to create a humane and just society through the use of compassion and technology. Teachers and schools, he believed, should serve as the agents for creating this just society. Paulo Freire (1921–1997), a Brazilian philosopher and educator whose concerns for the poor and underprivileged were colored by his personal experiences with poverty and hunger during the Great Depression of the 1930s, also influenced social reconstructionist thinking in the United States. He believed that schools are institutions that dominant groups in specific cultures use to maintain social inequities (Freire, 1989). For example, suburban schools in our country are modern, roomy, positive learning environments where teachers have access to adequate resources. In contrast, many urban schools, with students who are overwhelmingly members of cultural minorities, are often old, overcrowded environments that sometimes even lack textbooks (Kozol, 1991, 2005). Social reconstructionists, such as Friere, cite these problems as evidence for the need to teach students about social inequities (Biesta & Stengel, 2016). Social reconstructionism is also related to social justice, a movement in education that emphasizes human rights, fairness, and equity in the opportunities available to all members of society (Perez-Gualdron & Helms, 2017). Social justice focuses on the fair and equal treatment of all groups and opposes discrimination based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or ability (Warren & Wilkes, 2018). In classrooms, social justice translates into instructional practices that promote success for all students. It can also mean helping our students become more aware of the inequities that exist in our society (DeMatthews & Tarlau, 2019). Research indicates that minority children involved in a social justice curriculum are more engaged at school and in their communities, earn higher grades, and are less likely to drop out of school (Perez-Gualdron & Helms, 2017).

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth item in What I Believe, “I should encourage my students to think about their personal role in making the world a better place.” Social reconstructionists believe this statement is true and recommend teaching students about how they can make a difference through their actions.

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Social Reconstructionism: Implications for Teaching Emma Wilkenson, a high school biology teacher, has her students read The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the 21st Century (Prud’homme, 2011), a book that describes the ways Americans use and abuse water, raises questions about future water supplies, and asserts that access to clean water will be one of the most important issues facing our country in the future. As part of their study, her students examine basic ideas related to water, such as molecular structure and the hydrologic cycle as well as the problems with lead poisoning and other toxins in the water in Flint, Michigan (Clark, 2018). As they study these topics, Emma directs a discussion that asks students about what they personally, at this point in their lives, can do to ensure that we will have access to adequate water supplies in our future. Jeremy Stevens, an American history teacher, uses the Internet to have his students watch Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King describes his desire for a future where Blacks, Whites, and other races would coexist harmoniously as equals. “This speech was a defining moment of the American civil rights movement,” he explains to his students. The next day, he displays the following paragraphs from the speech: I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

He reminds his students that the speech was given in 1963 and asks them why the speech in general and the two paragraphs in particular were so significant at the time. He then asks, “To what extent do you believe that racial injustice and inequality have been overcome in our country and in the world?” The question sparks hot debate among students, and Jeremy reminds them that if they’re practicing justice and equality in their classroom, all opinions are allowed and respected, no matter how strongly they disagree with each other. The class concludes their discussion by creating a list of steps they can take to promote justice and tolerance for dissenting opinions in their own school and how they can encourage the same steps in their lives outside of school.

Emma and Jeremy both taught topics traditionally included in biology and American history. In addition, however, they examined issues influencing the world both today and in the future, and they encouraged their students to make commitments to make the world a better place in which to live. Their efforts are applications of social reconstructionist philosophy. Social reconstructionism, and particularly social justice, is controversial. Critics claim that emphasis on social justice is socialist and advocates property and wealth redistribution (Mahony & Hextall, 2013). Politically conservative critics also argue that social reconstructionists have abandoned intellectual pursuits in schools and instead are using schools for political purposes. School principals, while seeing the need for civic engagement, are uneasy about examining controversial topics in classes because of potential political consequences (Klein, 2018). Proponents counter that social justice makes students aware of the plights of others, examines ways to make our democracy more equitable and fair and, in essence, is simply good teaching. Advocates also argue that acting on moral decisions is an important aspect of good citizenship in our democracy. Filling students’ heads with abstract ideas without encouraging them to develop a moral compass for their actions leaves them adrift in an amoral and even immoral world In addition, research suggests that most students are open to the idea of becoming involved in social justice projects, but they need a teacher’s direction to focus their energies. Obstacles remain, however, foremost of which are the demands of accountability, which requires covering topics that are tested (Sparks, 2018).

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Table 5.1  Classroom Applications of the Educational Philosophies Philosophy

Educational Goal

Curriculum

Teaching Methods

Learning Environment

Perennialism

Train the intellect

Focus on enduring ideas

Lecture; questioning; discussion

High structure; strong focus on academic work

Progressivism

Develop problem solving, decision making, and other life skills

Practice in problem solving and other life skills

Emphasizes applications in problem-based learning, cooperative learning, and guided discovery

Democratic; collaborative; emphasis on learner responsibility

Essentialism

Acquire the basic skills needed to function in today’s world

Essential knowledge and basic skills

Lecture questioning; practice and feedback

High structure; strong focus on essential knowledge and skills

Social Reconstructionism

Contribute to the creation of a just society

Social issues

Discussion; collaboration; student projects

Model for equity and justice

Classroom applications of the major educational philosophies are summarized in Table 5.1.

Technology and Teaching: Philosophy of Education and Technology in Classrooms Technology is everywhere, and it is transforming our classrooms. But what is its proper place in teaching and learning? Its role has been debated essentially from the time it’s come into widespread use. Philosophy, which helps us examine our priorities in other educational domains, can also help us think about the most productive ways to use technology in our teaching. In this section, we consider four different perspectives on the role of technology in the context of the educational philosophies we’ve just examined.

Educational Technology as a Tool for ­Producing Technologically Literate Citizens Because technology is shaping virtually every aspect of our lives, technological literacy is now nearly as much a basic skill as reading, writing, and math, and students who acquire these skills will be better equipped to function effectively in today’s world (Heiten, 2016a). Consistent with essentialist philosophy, this view suggests that our students should be taught technological skills, such as word processing, the use of spreadsheets, presentation software, such as PowerPoint, and the ability to access information on the Internet (Fishman & Dede, 2016). Then we should provide them with opportunities to practice until these skills are highly developed. A progressivist philosophy, that suggests that schools should prepare students for the challenges they’ll encounter in the real world outside of school, supports the essentialist position; it suggests that students will need the skills necessary to thrive in a technological world when they graduate. The best place to learn about these technologies, progressivists assert, is in school, where learning tasks can be aligned to match the realities of out-of-school technology demands.

Technology as a Tool for Delivering Information A perspective focusing on technology as a tool for delivering information grew out of a movement that began in the 1930s, when experts suggested that media, such as slides and films, could be used to deliver information in more concrete and effective ways than

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could be done with books and lectures. This view of educational technology continues to be prominent today, as evidenced by the popularity of using presentation software, such as PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote, to provide students at all levels with information sometimes difficult to present in other ways (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). For instance, look at the time-lapse image of a falling ball that you see here. It’s easy to illustrate the force of gravity; simply drop a ball, and students can see it fall to the floor. However, directly observing acceleration caused by gravity is essentially impossible. In the time-lapse image, each of the rectangles represents the same amount of time. We can see that images of the ball are farther and farther apart, which concretely illustrates the ball’s acceleration. Without technology, it would be impossible to illustrate. This view of educational technology borrows from both essentialist and progressivist philosophies. From an essentialist perspective, the more realistically content can be represented for learners, the more likely they are to acquire the skills needed to function in life after school. For progressivists, the most meaningful learning occurs when school experiences mirror the real world, and technology has the power to bring faithful reproductions of the real world into classrooms. Using technology as a tool for accurately and vividly presenting information has a long history, and this function will certainly continue well into the future.

Technology as an Instructional System Beyond technological literacy and a tool for presenting information more effectively, some suggest that technology can be used to effectively deliver instruction and literally replace teachers (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Drill-and-practice software, tutorials, and simulations illustrate this view. When using drill-and-practice software, students respond to items, such as math facts (e.g., 6 * 9 = ?), and receive immediate feedback that can range from a simple “Okay” or “No, try again” to elaborate animated displays and explanations. Tutorials are designed to be self-contained and include an entire instructional sequence, such as units on learning rules for punctuation or rounding numbers. As opposed to drill-and-practice software, which is designed to supplement other instruction, tutorials are intended to be stand-alone teaching materials, and the best are highly interactive (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). Simulations allow students to physically manipulate processes represented on the screen. For example, students might be shown a variety of chemicals, told to arrange them in various combinations, and observe and explain the results. Or students can dissect a frog in a simulation, avoiding the mess and bother and sparing the life of a frog. Historically, software quality has been a problem. For example, some critics argue that drill-and-practice software programs are little more than electronic flashcards (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). And the promise (or threat) of technology replacing teachers hasn’t been fulfilled. Technology can be a valuable tool for supplementing instruction, but an extensive body of literature confirms that the most important factor in influencing student learning is you—the teacher (Lee, 2018). How do these instructional uses of technology relate to educational philosophies? First, because it has the potential to make our instruction more effective, technology complements both perennialist and essentialist philosophies that stress the importance of knowledge acquisition. In addition, instructional technology also fits well with progressive philosophies because it emphasizes the integration of technology into classrooms and our lives. If students are going to learn how to use technology efficiently and wisely, they need to see this happen in the classroom.

Technology as a Tool for Communication and Creating Social Change Over the past several years, the power of technology as a communication tool and a tool for creating social change has grown dramatically. Born into the world of tablets

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and smartphones, research suggests that our students spend a staggering amount of time using digital technologies. For example, one study found that 77% of Americans go online on a daily basis, and this figure increases to 89% for adults with mobile devices (Perrin & Jiang, 2018). Thirty-one percent of these mobile device owners report that they are online “constantly.” Additional research indicates that the typical adult in our country sends or receives 8.5 texts per day, or 255 per month, but this figure balloons to 128 texts per day or 3,853 texts per month for those between the ages of 18–24 (Burke, 2016)! Our students’ world is bombarded by technology, and some experts wonder if adverse effects on students’ cognitive and social development are a result (Hsu, 2018; Price & Snider, 2018). Technology is also being seen as an instrument of social change. For example, many people believe the 2016 U.S. presidential election was influenced by misinformation inserted into national media sites (Manjoo, 2016), and experts also believe the same phenomena occurred in other countries (Mozur & Scott, 2016). And we’ve all heard about the impact of social media on organized protests around the world. Technology has given people the power to force social change, for both good and bad, something that wouldn’t have been possible even as recently as 10 or 15 years ago. As people come to better understand the power of technology for creating social change, it is increasingly becoming a powerful tool to improve the human condition. In that regard, it can become a true application of social reconstructionist educational philosophy. However, the opposite is also true; technology has the potential to disseminate lies and misinformation, warping the very foundations of democracy, which are dependent on citizens understanding critical issues. A downside to technology also exists in our schools. Cyberbullying is particularly pernicious because a single keystroke can send hurtful and damaging messages across the Internet. For example, the suicides of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi in 2010, after his roommate streamed video of his sexual encounter with another male student, and Florida’s 12-year-old Rebecca Ann Sedwick in 2013, after a year and a half of constant cyberbullying, made headlines across our country. The prominence of social media is likely to make cyberbullying more common. So, how does philosophy relate to this discussion? Progressivists see schools as helping students understand the role of technology in their lives, and social reconstructionists would use the power of technology to improve the human condition. For instance, some schools are experimenting with social websites that allow students to communicate and share their ideas with peers across the country, with the goal of increasing understanding of cultural and socioeconomic differences (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). As with all tools, technology has the potential for both good and bad. It is up to all of us as educators to ensure that it is used for the good of our students.

Diversity: Philosophy and Cultural Minorities The philosophies we’ve examined in this chapter are “Western,” meaning their origins tend to be northern European or American. The preeminence of the individual and an emphasis on rational thought are principles that undergird this orientation. The first is seen in the emphasis on individuals’ growth of knowledge reflected in both perennialism and essentialism and in the interaction of the individual with the environment in progressivism. The emphasis on rational thought is seen in the importance of logic, observation, objectivity, and the scientific method in the sciences. Essentialism and progressivism both emphasize clear, rational thinking and science as a way of knowing. Some philosophers criticize this emphasis on science and objectivity and point to its undesirable consequences in American life. Americans are working more hours per week than they ever have in the past, technology dominates our lives, and we are

184  Chapter 5 chronically sleep deprived, for example. Critics of this Western orientation assert that valuable alternatives can be found in the philosophies of other cultures. Some, such as those embedded in certain Native American cultures, use the shared folklore of elders and knowledge that comes from the heart as their sources of wisdom (Woolston, 2018). Because people in these cultures have a long history of living in harmony with the land, their philosophies emphasize ecological balance and cooperation, and this emphasis results in valuing individual achievement primarily as it contributes to the group’s overall well-being. Competition and individual displays of achievement are frowned upon. Understanding these differences can help explain why Navajo students shun competitive classrooms and are sometimes reluctant to participate in the competitive verbal give-and-take of fast-paced questioning sessions that require individuals to demonstrate how much they know (Banks, 2019). Similarly, for some African cultures, feelings and personal relationships, as ways of knowing, are as important as, or more important than, science and rational thought (Nieto & Bode, 2018). Further, in many African cultures, art and music are important means for both expression and the process of seeking knowledge. This philosophical view helps explain why music was such a prominent part of slaves’ lives in America, why African Americans have made such a strong contribution to modern and impressionistic art, and why African influences can be seen in much of the contemporary music in Europe and the Americas. Many Asians also value harmony. The desire to balance life, family, society, and nature leads to reverence for elders, respect for authority, and adherence to traditions. Because cooperation is so important, being polite is highly valued, and feelings and emotions are controlled to maintain order and cultivate social relationships (Fong, 2007; Im, 2018). Awareness of these perspectives can help us understand the behaviors of Asian American students in our classrooms. For instance, they’re often described as shy, reluctant to speak out in class, and restrained in their emotions that sometimes makes reading their nonverbal cues difficult. However, the descriptions above represent group differences and are approximate generalizations at best. The personal philosophies many of our students bring to our classrooms often differ from ours, mainstream America’s, and each other’s. We should be sensitive to our students’ varying beliefs, but we should also be cautious about drawing conclusions about individuals based on group descriptions. Critics argue that these descriptions are little more than stereotypes that grossly oversimplify the complexities of alternative philosophies (Sternberg, 2007). For example, some Americans simplistically think of Africa as a country, not realizing that it’s a vast continent more culturally and linguistically diverse than North or South America. Similarly, the term Asian encompasses students from several different countries, such as China, Japan, Vietnam, and Korea. To speak of a singular “African philosophy”—or Native American or Asian philosophy-—does an injustice to diverse groups of people and their philosophies (Paih et al., 2014). Further, people are people, and categorizing them based on broad philosophical generalizations is questionable at best and perhaps even damaging. Rather than viewing students as Hispanic, Native American, or African American, or as representative of any other cultural or ethnic group, we should see students as individuals. Concluding that a boy named Ted Chang, for example, doesn’t speak out in class solely because of the influence of his Chinese culture is unwise. Getting to know Ted as an individual will better help us understand why he’s quiet and will help us find ways to involve him in learning activities, just as we would involve any student in our classes. Learning about and respecting and valuing cultural differences is a good idea; making decisions that may detract from learning, based on overgeneralizations about these differences, is not. Realizing that not all people have the same philosophical orientations will help us be more sensitive to important individual differences in our students.

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Diversity and You Philosophy in Your Classroom Four middle school teachers are discussing their students during

“Okay, we agree that Roberto needs help,” Rasheen

their weekly team meeting in which they share ideas about their

Wallace, the language arts teacher on the team, interjects.

teaching and discuss the 110 students in their pod. Their school

“But the big question is, what are we going to do about it?”

recently instituted these pods or teams of teachers to create a

“He’s lacking the basics,” Jim Hansen offers. “We need

more personal learning environment and to better track each

to try to get him up to speed on all the stuff he’s missed.

student’s academic progress.

We could take turns meeting with him early in the morning

“I’m concerned about Roberto,” Jim Hansen begins. “He

to help him catch up. I could start with basic math facts like

shuffles into class and seems to try to hide behind Jerry, one of

addition and subtraction and then progress to decimals and

the biggest boys in my class. He hasn’t done his math home-

fractions.”

work for the second time this week. When I asked him about it,

That’s a start, but I’m not sure the problem is just basics.

he said that the 12 problems I assigned were too many. Then

He really seems to have a motivation problem in my class,”

he mumbled, ‘I hate math,’ as I walked back to the front of the

Rasheen interjects. “He just seems to be floating, going

room to greet the other students as they came into the room.

through the motions in my language arts class. He doesn’t

“Roberto is a recent immigrant from Nicaragua, and his

seem to understand what grammar and punctuation have to

English is limited. Some of the other students frown when he

do with his life. Maybe I need to do more writing and applied

talks because they can’t understand his halting English; he often

stuff. I could find out if he still has relatives back in Nicaragua

doesn’t fully understand my explanations. At lunch, if his friend

and help him write letters to his friends and family back there.

Raul isn’t there, he eats alone. He seems so alone and is

My Spanish isn’t great, but I think I remember enough to be

struggling both academically and socially.”

dangerous.”

“I’ve noticed the same problems in my class,” Caitlin Connors adds. “His background knowledge in American

The other teachers nod and offer their own suggestions about possible solutions to the problem.

history is a problem, and I can’t really blame him. How would you like to try to remember all those names and places in

Consider These Questions

American history? It’s a lot to learn even for someone with a

1. Consider Jim Hansen’s suggestion for helping Roberto.

background in our history.” “You think that’s a problem. Try teaching science to someone who struggles with English,” Shanda Meyers replies. “My regular students complain about our textbook. . . . They say it’s too hard. Roberto’s having trouble just keeping up with what’s going on much less putting all the information together in his head.”

What educational philosophy are his ideas based on?

2. What about Rasheen Wallace’s suggestion to help Roberto? What educational philosophy are her ideas based on?

3. Which of the four educational philosophies—perennialism, progressivism, essentialism, or social reconstructionism— would be most effective for working with students who are cultural minorities? Least effective? Why?

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching The High-Stakes Testing Debate When you begin your career, standards, such as the examples

high-stakes tests, standardized tests used to make important

we saw earlier in the chapter, will be part of your everyday

decisions that affect students, teachers, and schools (Popham,

teaching reality. Although controversial, they aren’t going

2017). When students are not promoted from one grade level

away, and standards, in some form will influence your teach-

to the next or are not allowed to graduate from high school

ing. Accountability, the process of requiring students to

because they fail a test, for example, the “stakes” are very high,

demonstrate that they have met standards and holding teach-

which is the origin of the term high-stakes tests. Each of these

ers responsible for students’ performance, is an additional part

elements—standards, accountability, and high-stakes tests—

of this process. Accountability is achieved through the use of

can be linked philosophically with an essentialist philosophy.

186  Chapter 5

The Issue

• Test cutoff scores are arbitrary, the instruments are too

High-stakes tests and using them to hold students and teach-

crude to be used in making crucial decisions about students,

ers accountable for meeting standards are highly controversial

teachers, and schools, and students often “blow off” the test,

(Popham, 2017). Proponents and critics differ dramatically with

making judgments based on the tests invalid (Jensen, Rice, &

respect to their value and the extent to which they contribute to

Soland, 2018; Wasserman, 2018).

students’ learning. Here are arguments on both sides of the issue.

• The tests have had a disproportionately negative impact on members of minority cultures and particularly those with

Pro • The standards and corresponding tests help clarify the goals of school systems, send clear messages to students about what they should be learning, and provide the public with hard evidence about school effectiveness. • Standardized tests focus the curriculum on important basic skills all students need to master. • Standardized tests are reliable and objective measures of student achievement (Brookhart & Nitko, 2019). Without them, policymakers would have to rely on tests scored by individual schools and teachers who have a stake in producing favorable results. Teacher-graded assessments are inadequate alternatives to standardized tests because they are subjectively scored and unreliable. • Standardized tests are inclusive and nondiscriminatory because they ensure content is equivalent for all students.

limited proficiency in English (Echevarria & Graves, 2018; Peregoy & Boyle, 2017). • The process is costly. In a given year, millions of students take state-mandated tests at an annual cost of billions of dollars, and many educators and parents feel that standardized testing is overemphasized (Langer Research Associates, 2018). • Cheating is a problem, and some argue that the pressures involved in high-stakes testing make cheating inevitable (Morgan, 2016). For example, one report indicated that teachers in 18 schools in Washington, D.C., cheated on students high-stakes tests to make their teaching look better, and the former superintendent of schools in Atlanta was indicted for racketeering related to a cheating scandal in the district’s schools (Stark, 2018).

The Question

Con • Teachers spend too much class time having students

Now it’s your turn to take a position on the issue. Is the

practice for the tests, the curriculum is narrowed to what is

emphasis on high-stakes testing a productive way to promote

being tested, and the tests don’t provide a true measure of

learning, or do other philosophical positions offer a more

what students have learned (Cappella, Aber, & Kim, 2016).

promising perspective?

MyLab Education Self-Check 5.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 5.3  Explain why a personal philosophy of education is important and describe the steps involved in forming one. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Developing Your Philosophy of Education The philosophies we’ve studied in this chapter will help you make one of the most important decisions of your professional life: deciding what kind of teacher you want to become. This decision will influence the content you select, the teaching strategies you’ll use, and the criteria you use to analyze, reflect on, and improve your teaching. These decisions will be strongly influenced by your philosophy of education (Biesta & Stengel, 2016).

Educational Philosophy and Your Teaching 187

Professionals are able to articulate what they’re doing and why. For instance, if you walk into a classroom, see students involved in basic skills activities, and ask the teacher why they’ve selected these activities, professionals can give you clear and specific answers. If they hold an essentialist philosophy, for example, they might suggest that the activities will help the students acquire core knowledge and skills that learners need to function effectively in today’s world. Teachers with less expertise aren’t clear about their reasons. For instance, they involve students in activities because they did the same activities last year, or they cover topics because the topics appear next in their textbooks or curriculum guides. These are inadequate and unprofessional reasons. If we’re clear about our own philosophy, we will be able to make systematic changes when we conclude that our instruction can be improved (Biesta & Stengel, 2016). If our philosophy isn’t clear, we’ll be less likely to make needed changes, or we might make random changes and hope everything improves. In either case, student learning suffers and professional growth doesn’t occur. This is why philosophy is so important for all of us—for you and others just beginning their careers as well as for veterans’ continued professional growth. As you begin forming your personal philosophy, keep three ideas in mind. First, every teacher’s philosophy is evolving and dynamic and will change and be refined as you gain experience and learn (Um, 2019). So, don’t be concerned if your current philosophy is initially murky and unclear; it will gradually crystallize and become clearer as you think about and use it. Second, your personal philosophy is likely to include elements of more than one of the educational philosophies. For example, both Don and Paul, your authors, have strong essentialist philosophies with respect to knowledge. However, we are equally strong in our beliefs about the efficacy of progressivist teaching methods. And aspects of social reconstructionism also have merits for us in these tumultuous times. Third, openness to other perspectives is important; changing your views as you grow as a professional is an indicator of the open-mindedness necessary for personal and professional growth.

The Role of Beliefs in a Philosophy of Education Analyzing your beliefs is the first step in constructing your philosophy of education (Robertson, 2014). Allie and Brad both did a good job of describing their beliefs about teaching and learning. Here is a summary of Allie’s beliefs:

• Everything we learn depends on what we already know. • There’s real, practical stuff out there that students need. They have to be good readers, they need to be able to write and do math, and they need to understand this stuff, the science I’m teaching. • Practice, thorough assessment, and detailed feedback are some of the best ways we have of getting them to learn. That’s the reality of today’s world.

And here is a summary of Brad’s: • Kids need lots of opportunities to make decisions and solve problems. • The only way they’re going to get good at making decisions is to be put in situations where they’re allowed to practice making decisions. . . . That’s how the world works. • I would be doing the kids, their parents, and ultimately, our whole society a disservice if I didn’t try to prepare them for life outside school.

MyLab Education Video Example 5.3 Analyzing our beliefs is the first step in the process of constructing a philosophy of education. Here, elementary teacher Joyce Madsen, high school teacher Leonia Townsend, and elementary teacher Lynda Hootman describe the beliefs that provide frameworks for their personal philosophies of education.

188  Chapter 5 We can see that Allie’s and Brad’s beliefs are quite different, but both had thought about what they believed and were able to clearly state their positions. The following questions can help you get started in identifying your own beliefs. • What’s the purpose of schooling? For example, should schools focus on content, or is the development of self-control, interpersonal skills, and other personal qualities more important? • Is passing knowledge on to students my primary teacher role, or should I guide students as they learn on their own? • How do students best learn? Do frequent tests and quizzes promote learning, or is time better spent having students explore topics that interest them? • Is motivating students part of my job, or should motivation come from within students? Should I push them, or should they be left largely on their own?

Examining Your Beliefs Our beliefs influence and ultimately shape the philosophies that we carry into our classrooms. To assess your developing beliefs about education, respond to the following statements, and then answer the questions that follow. Use this scale in making your responses:

5 4 3 2 1

strongly agree agree neither agree nor disagree disagree strongly disagree

1. Schools should emphasize important knowledge more than students’personal interests.

1

2

3

4

5

2. Teachers should emphasize interdisciplinary subject matter that encourages project-oriented, democratic classrooms.

1

2

3

4

5

3. Schools should emphasize each student’s responsibility in making the world a better place.

1

2

3

4

5

4. The primary aim of education is to develop a person’s intellectual capacity.

1

2

3

4

5

5. Schools should emphasize basic skills more than humanistic ideals.

1

2

3

4

5

6. Teachers should guide student’s investigations about the physical and social world around them.

1

2

3

4

5

7. The best teachers lead students in discussions about important social issues.

1

2

3

4

5

8. The goals of education should be the same for everyone: All students should understand the important literature, mathematics, and science of Western civilization.

1

2

3

4

5

9. The purpose of schools is to ensure practical preparation for life and work more than personal development.

1

2

3

4

5

Educational Philosophy and Your Teaching 189

10. Curriculum should emerge from students’ needs and interests; it should not be prescribed in advance.

1

2

3

4

5

11. The best education emphasizes the great works in the arts and humanities.

1

2

3

4

5

12. It is more important for teachers to involve students in activities that analyze and criticize society than to have them accumulate a lot of information.

1

2

3

4

5

13. Education should enhance personal growth through problem solving in the present rather than emphasizing preparation for a distant future.

1

2

3

4

5

14. Human nature’s most distinctive quality is the ability to reason; therefore, the intellect should be the focus of education.

1

2

3

4

5

15. Schools should take the lead in combating racism and sexism camouflaged as traditional values.

1

2

3

4

5

16. Teachers should help students learn a common core of useful knowledge, not experiment with their own views about curricula.

1

2

3

4

5

Now add up your responses using the following scale: Strongly Disagree 1; Disagree Agree 4; Strongly Agree 5.

2; Agree/Disagree

3;

Perennialism: Item #4 _____

#8 _____

#11 _____

#14 _____

_____

Essentialism Item #1 _____

#5 _____

#9 _____

#16 _____

_____

Progressivism: Item #2 _____ #6 _____

#10 _____

#13 _____

_____

Social Reconstructionism Item #3 _____ #7 _____

#12 _____

#15 _____

_____

What did the totals of your responses tell you about your beliefs about teaching? Did the tallies confirm what you believe your philosophy of education is at this point in your studies, or were they inconsistent with what you previously thought your philosophy of education was? Don’t worry if an inconsistency exists. Remember, you’re only beginning your journey as a teacher, and your beliefs will evolve and become more crystallized as you gain experience and develop. Let’s turn now to the process of forming your own philosophy of education.

Forming a Philosophy All new knowledge depends on what we already know. So, my job is to help kids learn as much as they can about the topics I teach, and that’s what I try to do every day. I know that I can get them to learn. The best way to get kids to learn is to have them practice and then provide them with feedback. So, I’m going to give them lots of practice; I’m going to quiz them thoroughly and often, and I’m going to give them detailed feedback about the quizzes. If I do my job, they’ll learn.

What you’ve just read is a succinct description of Allie’s philosophy of education. It’s clear, well-articulated, and consistent with her beliefs. The relationships between her beliefs and components of her philosophy are outlined in Table 5.2.

190  Chapter 5

Table 5.2  An Analysis of Allie’s Philosophy of Education Belief Statement

Component of Her Philosophy

“Everything we learn depends on what we already know.”

“My job is to help kids learn as much as they can about the topics I teach, and that’s what I try to do every day.”

“There’s real practical stuff out there that kids need. They have to be good readers, they need to be able to write and do math, and they need to understand this stuff, the science I’m teaching.”

“I’m going to be sure that the kids learn the real, practical stuff they need to function in today’s world.”

“Practice, thorough assessment, and detailed feedback are some of the best ways we have of getting them to learn. That’s reality.”

“I’m going to give them lots of practice; I’m going to quiz them thoroughly and often, and I’m going to give them detailed feedback about the quizzes.”

Because Allie’s philosophy is well articulated, she can use it to guide her thinking as she defines her goals and designs learning activities and assessments. It helps ensure that all three—learning goals, learning activities, and assessments—are consistent with each other. You may or may not agree with Allie’s goals or the rationale for them, but the fact that she’s clear in her thinking increases the likelihood that her students will reach her goals, and she’ll be more likely to make conscious choices to change and improve her teaching when she sees evidence that change is needed. Armed with an analysis of your beliefs and a description of Allie’s philosophy, you should now be ready to create your own personal philosophy that can guide your thinking and actions.

Urban Education: Philosophy of Education in Urban Environments Forming a coherent philosophy of education is important for all teachers; for new teachers in urban classrooms, it’s crucial. The philosophy that you develop will help you understand your role in urban classrooms and how you can best help urban students learn and develop.

Examining Your Beliefs about Urban Learners Understanding your own beliefs in forming your personal philosophy of education is particularly important when you work in urban settings. Answering the question “What do I believe about urban learners and working in urban schools?” is essential, and becoming aware of your beliefs will strongly influence how you approach your work with urban students. For instance, consider the following contrasting beliefs. • Working in an urban setting is challenging, and teachers need to change how they teach to accommodate urban students. • Working in an urban setting is much like working in any other school setting. • Urban students don’t want to learn; they’re in school only because they’re required to be there. • Urban students are much like all students: They want to learn, but they need help and encouragement. • Urban students believe respecting and liking teachers is a sign of weakness. • Urban students need caring and supportive teachers, as do all students. • There is little point to assigning homework to urban students because they won’t do it. • Homework is as important a part of instruction when working with urban students as it is with all students.

Educational Philosophy and Your Teaching 191

Although only examples, we can see how these differing beliefs could influence the way we approach our work with urban students. For example, if we believe that, at a basic level, urban students want to learn and their acting as if they don’t is more an effort to protect their sense of self-worth than a true disinterest in learning, we will make a greater effort to help them understand the topics we’re teaching than if we believe that they genuinely don’t want to learn. Similarly, if we believe that working in an urban setting is much like working in any other school, we will interact with students different9ly than if we believe that urban students don’t want to learn and connect with teachers (Neal-Jackson, 2018).

Developing a Philosophy for Working in Urban Settings Urban classrooms can be challenging, and we’re not suggesting that a set of positive beliefs will make working with urban students simple and easy. However, a well-formed philosophy that you can reflect on can serve as a powerful foundation as you teach and interact with your urban students. We hope this chapter provides you with the professional knowledge needed to begin your journey toward developing a personal philosophy and that it encourages you to think about teaching in different ways. At this point, you won’t have all the answers you’ll need to decide what education should be and how you can help make it that way. But if you’re now able to begin asking some important questions, then our goal for the chapter has been fulfilled. Good luck. MyLab Education Self-Check 5.3

Chapter 5 Summary 1. Define philosophy and describe the branches of philosophy. • Philosophy is a search for wisdom. A normative philosophy describes the way something ought to be, such as the way educators ought to teach and treat their students. In forming a philosophy, a professional teacher searches for the wisdom to maximize learning for all students. • Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that describes how we know what we know. It’s important for teachers because it influences how we teach and our choice of teaching methods. • Metaphysics considers what we know and addresses questions of reality and, ultimately, what is real. Our beliefs about reality influence our goals for our students, as we help them discover their own realities. • Axiology considers values and ethics and examines questions and issues involving decisions about right and wrong. Axiology is important because schools play an important role in shaping students’ values and, ultimately, their moral behavior. • Logic is the process of deriving valid conclusions from basic principles. Effective teachers help students understand the logic of different arguments and also how to think clearly about ideas. 2. Describe the major educational philosophies and identify examples that illustrate each. • Perennialism focuses on time-honored absolutes. Because truth doesn’t change, a teacher ’s responsibility is to expose students to time-tested knowledge and truth. Assigning students to read Shakespeare’s works because they focus on the human condition is an example.

• Progressivism views goals as dynamic and evolving and emphasizes that learning should be experiencebased and relevant to students’ lives. A teacher involving students in problem-based learning activities is applying progressivist philosophy. • Essentialism suggests that a critical core of information exists that all people should possess, schools should emphasize basic skills and academic subjects, and students should master these subjects. A curriculum that emphasizes reading, writing, and a deep understanding of math is consistent with essentialism. • Social reconstructionism sees schools and other social institutions in need of restructuring, with marginalized people and their works elevated to more prominent positions in the content of schooling. 3. Explain why a personal philosophy of education is important and describe the steps involved in forming one. • A personal philosophy of education is important because it guides your instructional decisions and specifies criteria you can use to reflect on and analyze your teaching. • A personal philosophy also helps you explain and defend your educational goals. • Developing a personal philosophy begins with a description and an analysis of your beliefs and continues with an internally consistent articulation of your philosophy. • Developing a personal philosophy of education increases your professionalism by providing a concrete frame of reference for both action and reflection.

Important Concepts accountability axiology Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) epistemology essentialism

192

high-stakes tests ideology logic metaphysics normative philosophy perennialism

philosophy philosophy of education progressivism social justice social reconstructionism standards

theory Twenty-first Century Learning

Educational Philosophy and Your Teaching 193

Portfolio Activity Assessing Your Philosophy of Education InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to help you begin to develop a philosophy of education. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom After reviewing your responses to the questions in the Examining Your Beliefs section in this chapter, arrange to meet and talk with a teacher at your school. Ask the following questions: a. How important is developing student knowledge and skills in your teaching as opposed to other educational goals? b. How do you attempt to prepare students for life outside of and after school? c. How do you attempt to make students aware of social problems in our society? d. How have your responses to these questions changed over time? Compare your own answers to these questions to those of the teacher. Based on this comparison, write a short one- or two-page summary of your developing philosophy of education. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Review your responses to the questions in the Examining Your Beliefs section in this chapter. a. Do you think your responses accurately reflect your philosophy of education? Why or why not? b. Which educational philosophy was most congruent with your current beliefs about education? Least? c. How will your responses to this survey influence your teaching at your projected first teacher assignment (e.g., first grade or middle school math teacher)? Now, using your scores on the survey as a basis, write a short one- or two-page summary of your developing philosophy of education.

Chapter 6

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools

Cathy Yeulet/123RF

194

Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 6.1 Describe the major educational governance structures at state

and local levels. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 6.2 Explain the different sources and targets of educational funding.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 6.3 Describe current issues in school governance and finance.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice You’re immersed in and enthusiastic about your first job, and you find an interesting article that you’d like to have your students read. So, you decide to duplicate copies of it for them. You go to copy the article but are told you can’t because your school’s budget for duplicating materials is nearly gone, and what’s left must be reserved for copying only absolutely essential materials. The budget cuts resulting from the recession that began in 2008 made this a reality for many schools across our country. So if you believe that school governance and finance are irrelevant to you as a beginning teacher, you might want to think again. Also, these same budget cuts have resulted in the elimination of thousands of teacher positions (Gould, 2014). For teachers who lost their jobs, educational finance made a big difference in their lives. Teacher strikes over low wages and cuts to teacher benefits have resulted in teacher walkouts and strikes across the nation (Goldstein, 2018; Huetteman, 2018). Parents of school-age children are aware of this problem; a national poll found that these parents thought that inadequate funding was the biggest problem facing our schools today and one that has appeared number one for the previous 17 years (Langer Research Associates, 2018). And anyone who knows teachers—who are already underpaid—has heard stories about them spending their own money for classroom materials (Will, 2018a). As you read the following case study, think about how governance and finance influence Carla Buendía, an elementary teacher in a large district in the Midwest.

Carla sits at her desk, looking at the pile of books and papers covering it. “I better get this one right, as it’ll be our only chance,” she thinks to herself. Carla is a member of Unified Metropolitan School District’s Elementary Math Steering Committee that has been meeting regularly over the last two years to study the elementary math curriculum in the district. Test scores have been declining, especially for application and problem solving, and the committee has been asked to make a recommendation to the district’s school board. Tonight is the night. "Don’t be nervous,” Carla tells herself, but her advice isn’t working. She’s been to school board meetings as a spectator when teacher salaries and contracts were being discussed, and she’s clearly uneasy about being in front of the 100 or more people who will be in attendance. “Why did I ever say I’d do this?” she thinks. “Too late for that. I just better have my act together when it’s my turn to speak.”

196  Chapter 6 Carla’s work involves governance as well as finance issues if her school board decides to adopt her committee’s recommendations. We’ll return to Carla’s work with the math steering committee as the chapter unfolds, but for now, imagine taking a tour of schools that are only a few miles apart. The experience can be unsettling. One is bright, cheerful, and clean, with student projects and artwork prominently displayed; the other is dark and depressing with trash-strewn hallways. These differences often can be traced to the ways the schools are governed and financed. School governance and finance will also influence the resources available when you begin your career. As another example, drive from New York, where the average spending per pupil in 2016 was $22,366, to Ohio, where it was $12,102 (Governing the States and Localities, 2018). These disparities will make important differences in your working conditions. Some politicians argue that money doesn’t influence the quality of education, but evidence suggests otherwise (Verstegen, Knoeppel, & Brimley, 2020). Money buys paper, supplies, and equipment and allows students to do science experiments instead of reading about them. Money also allows districts to hire new teachers like you and provide them with a decent salary. Before continuing, take a few minutes to respond to the issues in the following What I Believe feature. We discuss each of the items as the chapter unfolds.

What I Believe Governance and Finance and My Life as a Teacher Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. 1. All states govern education in basically the same way. 2. The state office of education in each state is responsible for setting rules and regulations. 3. In the past, the federal government has provided the largest source of educational funding. 4. Most of a district’s budget goes to funding instructional activities. 5. Students in different districts across states are provided with approximately the same amount of money to fund their education.

LEARNING OUTCOME 6.1  Describe the major educational governance structures at state and local levels. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Governance: How Are Schools Regulated and Run? In a few short years, you will walk into your own classroom, look around, and think, “At last, it’s all mine.” That’s a good feeling, and it will indeed be all yours—sort of. You will have considerable autonomy in implementing your own vision of good teaching, but you will also operate within a specified governance framework. Let’s look at it.

Governance: A Legal Overview Unlike many other countries, where the national government is responsible for schools, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution clearly assigns legal responsibility

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 197

for education to the 50 states in our country. Because the states differ significantly in geography, history, economics, and politics, you might think that they would also differ in their approaches to governing education. But in fact, they’re surprisingly similar in the way they’re organized. These organizational structures are outlined in Figure 6.1 and described in the sections that follow.

Figure 6.1  State Administrative Organizational Structure Constitution

State Courts

Governor

State Legislature

State Board of Education

Chief State School Officer (Superintendent, Commissioner, or Secretary of State Board)

State Office of Education

Local School Districts

District School Board

District Superintendent

District Office

Principals and Schools

Principals and Schools

Principals and Schools

198  Chapter 6 Revisiting My Beliefs The information in this section answers the first item in What I Believe, “All states govern education in basically the same way.” This statement is essentially true. Despite some variation in views about the ways schools should educate children, most states govern education in basically the same way.

State Governance Structures In every state in our country, a constitution outlines the roles and responsibilities of state education officers. Governors focus public attention on educational issues and solicit public support for educational funding. State legislatures meet annually to debate school finance and other issues. These legislative sessions are important to all of us in education because states supply almost half of a district’s education budget, and legislative actions (or inactions) influence your salary, class sizes, supplies, and available equipment (Brimley et al., 2016).

State Board of Education Because the governor and legislators have an entire state to run, they turn most of the responsibility for steering their state’s schools to the state board of education, the legal governing body that exercises general control and supervision of the schools in a state. State boards are similar in purpose to district school boards and perform both regulatory and advisory functions. State boards regulate education in four important ways: • Issuing and revoking teaching licenses • Establishing the length of the school year • Publishing curriculum standards to guide teachers’ instruction • Developing and implementing uniform systems for gathering education data, such as standardized test scores, enrollment trends, and demographics State boards set long- and short-term goals for their states and help create an educational agenda for the governor and the state legislature. For example, national standards are a major focus in today’s schools, and state boards assist governors and legislatures in shaping responses to this initiative. State board members are rarely professional educators; in fact, only nine states specifically set aside a seat for teachers, and of these, only four give teachers voting rights (Will, 2018c). The problem seems to be conflict of interest; if teachers can vote, they might vote for policies that would advantage them or the profession. Board members are usually appointed by the governor, but about a fifth of the states elect these officials, who typically serve without pay (Education Commission of the States, 2017).

State Office of Education Teaching and You How will the state office of education assist you as you begin your teaching career? How will it influence your life as a teacher?

The state board of education makes policy; the state office of education is responsible for implementing that policy on a day-to-day basis. In contrast with state boards that are composed of lay members who meet periodically to discharge their duties, state offices of education are staffed by full-time education professionals, virtually all of whom have been teachers and most of whom have advanced degrees in education. Each state office of education is headed by a chief state officer, with titles, such as superintendent, commissioner, or secretary of the state board, that differ from state to state. Chief state officers are appointed by the state board of education in most states but are elected or appointed by the governor in others. The state office implements teacher and administrator licensing, supervises curriculum, approves school sites and buildings, and collects statistical data (Burnette, 2018b). As a new teacher, the state office of education will influence your life in two important ways. First, you will seek licensure from the state office of education in your state. In addition, it will influence your teaching because it controls standards and textbooks. Let’s look at them a bit more closely. State Standards.  State standards, statements specifying what students should know and what skills they should have after completing an area of study, is one of the most important ways state offices of education influence curricula. Originally, all states wrote

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 199

their own standards, but with the Common Core State Standards Initiative (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018), there is a move to make these standards uniform across the 50 states, and as of 2018, 41 states have committed to this initiative. State offices of education are also responsible for administering statewide testing programs based on standards, and these tests will influence what and how you teach. Textbook Approval.  Textbook approval is a second way state offices of education will influence your teaching. The textbooks you use must be on a state-approved list, and states usually offer districts a choice of several acceptable text series for a given grade level or content area. The textbook selection process can be highly politicized when controversial topics are involved. For instance, in 2014, the Texas Board of Education couldn’t muster enough votes to approve history and social studies textbooks in our nation’s second largest state. Political liberals complained that many of the books up for adoption overstated the influence of religion on early American democracy, including exaggerating Moses’s importance to the founding fathers. Conservatives, on the other hand, worried that the same books promoted pro-Islam values (Weissert, 2014b). Ultimately, the publisher withdrew the textbook. This controversy illustrates how politicized the textbook approval process can be. In our chapter’s opening case, Carla’s steering committee began its search for a math series by looking at the state-approved list. The committee then conferred with the state’s math specialist to evaluate the options. Although state boards and state offices of education influence teaching and ­learning, for the most part, they do so at arm’s length; the day-to-day responsibility for educating students falls to the district in which you’ll teach. This is why Carla’s experience at a district school board meeting is relevant. Let’s look at districts’ roles in governing education.

School Districts The school district in which you teach will have a powerful influence on your first teaching job (Johnson, 2016). A school district is an administrative unit within a state that is defined by geographical boundaries and is legally responsible for the public education of children within those boundaries. With respect to educational governance, it’s where the action is. Districts hire and fire teachers, they determine the content that students learn (the curriculum), and, to a certain extent, they influence the kinds of learning experiences (instruction) students have in schools (Heller, 2018). That’s why Carla was making her presentation to the district school board. She was involved in decisions about the district’s elementary math curriculum. Decisions such as these are usually made at the district level; school districts also select textbooks from those on the state approved list and make them available to you and your students at the beginning of the school year. School districts differ dramatically in number and size. For example, there were 13,600 school districts in the United States in 2016, and if they were divided equally among the states, each state would have 272 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018b). But the whole state of Hawaii constitutes one school district, and Texas and California have more than 1,000 districts each. The New York City School District has more than a million students, but almost half of the districts in our country enroll fewer than 1,000 students. Historically, the trend is toward consolidating schools into fewer, larger districts. For instance, in 1932, the United States had more than 127,000 school districts, but 80 years later, this figure was reduced to under 14,000. Efficiency is the primary reason for consolidation; larger districts can offer broader services and minimize duplication of administrative staff. For example, one medium-sized district with a superintendent and a district staff of ten people is more efficient than two small districts that require

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second item in What I Believe, “The state office of education in each state is responsible for setting rules and regulations.” The statement is technically false because the state board of education is the legally responsible body. But many decisions about implementing rules are left to the state office of education, so, in practice, the statement is true in many cases.

200  Chapter 6 a superintendent and a staff of six to eight people each. However, parents often resist consolidation because of loss of control, sometimes higher taxes, loyalty to high school athletic teams, and longer bus rides for their children. What are learning and teaching like in a small district? Marathon School District in Texas had 56 students in 2011 (Smith, 2011). Class sizes, an issue that continually plagues larger districts, were so small that grade levels were often combined. The competition for high school valedictorian wasn’t intense because there was only one graduating senior. But, in spite of the fact that the district had to share special education services with other districts and sports and extracurricular activities were limited, town residents fought to keep their district. “If you close the school, you close the town,” residents warned.

District Size: Implications for Teaching So what district size is best for you as a beginning teacher? Both small and large districts have advantages and disadvantages. If you work in a small district, you will often be able to rely on face-to-face contacts to make things happen quickly. On the other hand, these districts typically lack resources and instructional support staff. For instance, Carla teaches in a large district, and as the committee did their work, they were assisted by a district math coordinator, a testing specialist, and technology experts who helped them evaluate the claims of different commercial math programs. This type of assistance doesn’t exist in small districts. Large districts also have problems. They tend to be hierarchical and bureaucratic, and getting things done takes time. Teachers sometimes feel like nameless, faceless cogs in large, impersonal organizations. And decision making in large districts is placed in the hands of sometimes-contentious committees. The ideal district has an administrative structure that is supportive and responsive to teachers but also leaves them alone to work with their students. Every school district has a local school board, a superintendent, and central staff. These are the people who make the district-level decisions about teaching and learning in your classroom. Let’s see how they will influence you when you begin your career.

The Local School Board A local school board is a group of elected lay citizens responsible for setting policies that determine how a school district operates (Underwood, 2017). With respect to governance, there are three important questions: • What do school boards do? • Who are the members of these boards? • How are board members selected? Because these questions will influence your life as a teacher, you should know the answers to them. What Do School Boards Do?  School boards serve five important functions, outlined in Figure 6.2 and discussed in the paragraphs that follow. Working with the district budget is the most important, and often most contentious, school board function. School boards are responsible for raising money through taxes and for disbursing funds to the schools within the district. They also make decisions about district services, such as providing buses and maintaining lunch programs. Your school board will directly influence you by making decisions about salary increases and benefits, such as health care and retirement packages. They also affect you indirectly by making budget decisions that affect class size and available instructional materials. Wrestling with each year’s budget occupies a major part of a school board’s time and energy; it’s a continual process that begins in the fall and ends in the spring.

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 201

Figure 6.2  Functions of Local School Boards Functions of Local School Boards

Finance

Personnel

Curriculum

Students

Infrastructure

Create and manage district budgets

Hire (and fire) district workers

Define, implement, and monitor what students learn

Establish student policies both in and outside the classroom

Responsible for school and transportation maintenance

Personnel responsibilities, a second important function, are closely aligned with financial decisions. School boards are legally responsible for hiring and firing all school personnel, such as teachers, administrators, custodians, and school bus drivers. For instance, you will be offered your teaching contract by your district school board. The curriculum—everything teachers teach—is a third school board function. Assisted by district administrators, your school board will be responsible for defining the curriculum and implementing the standards your students will be expected to meet. In virtually all districts, teachers are consulted about the curriculum; in the better districts, teachers are directly involved in curriculum decisions. For example, Carla’s committee helped decide what math curriculum the district would adopt. Decisions that affect students, a fourth function, are also made by school boards. They set attendance, dress, grooming, conduct, and discipline standards for their ­districts. For instance, issues, such as school uniforms or effective math programs, are debated at district, state, and national levels, but the decision—sometimes after contentious debate—is ultimately made by local school boards. School boards also determine extracurricular policies, which can be controversial. For instance, some districts require students to maintain a certain grade-point average to participate in sports, a policy that doubly punishes struggling student athletes, critics contend; it first fails them academically and then prevents them from participating in sports. Supporters, in contrast, argue that they improve student motivation by providing incentives for academic success. The question of whether to grant gay and lesbian clubs equal status with other school-sponsored organizations is another controversial school board meeting topic. As we would expect, attendance at these meetings increases when agendas involve controversial issues. Finally, school boards make decisions about district infrastructure. For example, they ensure that school buildings and school buses are maintained and safe, and they approve plans to hire contractors when new schools are built. School closings, consolidation, and other budget-related issues have become a primary concern of school board members, together with school safety and reform efforts aimed at increasing student achievement (National School Boards Association, 2019). Interestingly, as recently as the 1980s, student achievement wasn’t even listed in school board members’ top concerns, but today it’s at the forefront of their decisions, and research indicates that school board emphasis on student learning can actually make a difference in classrooms (Shober & Hartney, 2014). In recent times, budget issues and the national trend toward greater school accountability have powerfully affected the ways school boards operate.

202  Chapter 6 Members of School Boards and Their Selection.  Who serves on school boards, and how do they get there? These are important questions because members create an important link between schools and the people they serve (National School Boards Association, 2018). Most school boards elect their members for three or four-year terms; in the remainder, members are appointed by mayors or city councils. School board elections can be controversial, for two reasons. First, the voter turnout for most school board elections is embarrassingly low. As few as 1% of eligible voters often decide school board membership (Ujifusa, 2014b). Critics contend that this results in boards that don’t accurately represent the citizens in the district. Second, the question of whether school board membership should be at-large or limited to specific areas within a city is often contentious. At-large elections tend to favor wealthy, White-majority candidates who have more money to run a campaign or who benefit from White-majority voting pools. In a limited-area election, only citizens who live in a specific part of the city are allowed to vote for candidates representing that area. Areaspecific elections provide greater opportunities for minority candidates to represent local, ethnic-minority neighborhoods. Who serves on school boards? The typical school board member is male, White, older, and wealthy, although membership is slowly becoming more diverse. For example, surveys have found that more than 44% of board members are female, and in large urban districts, 22% are African American and 6% Hispanic. In addition, 75% have at least a bachelor’s degree, with many possessing higher professional degrees (National School Boards Association, 2018). Despite progress in recent years, disparities still exist between the composition of school board members and the people they’re elected to serve. For instance, although the number of minority school board members has risen in recent years, the percentage still lags far behind student percentages in most urban school districts. School board elections serve as a major obstacle to greater minority involvement because they require major outlays of money and time. Critics contend that wealthy school board members can’t empathize with the financial hardships that teachers and community members often experience. Critics also question the ability of male-dominated school boards to effectively represent the teaching force, which is predominantly female.

The Superintendent

MyLab Education Video Example 6.1 The superintendent is the head administrative officer of a school district. Here, Ed Pratt-Dannals, the superintendent of a large urban district in the Southeast, describes some of the challenges that superintendents face.

The school board makes policy, and the superintendent, the school district’s head administrative officer, together with his or her staff, implements that policy in the ­district’s schools. The division of labor between the board and the superintendent isn’t simple and well defined, however. Because most board members have little or no ­background in professional education, the superintendent often plays a central role in leading the board and helping set agendas. Historically, superintendents were hired by school boards and held an advanced degree in education, but some districts are now looking outside the field of education to find superintendents. For example, Joel Klein, the former chancellor of the massive New York City school system, was a lawyer and politician who worked in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration. And Arne Duncan, the former superintendent of the Chicago school system and President Barak Obama’s first Secretary of Education, graduated from Harvard with a degree in sociology. As with school boards, women and minorities are underrepresented as superintendents. For instance, slightly more than half of the general population, and over three-fourths of the teaching force, are women, but they are only about one of five superintendents. Similarly, members of cultural minorities make up half the student population and more than 10% of teachers, but only 6% of superintendents (School Superintendents Association, 2018).

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 203

When power and authority are shared, as is the case with school boards and superintendents, conflicts are inevitable, and when they occur, the superintendent usually loses. The average tenure for superintendents across our country is approximately six years, but the figure is considerably lower for female superintendents and those who serve in high poverty districts or districts with large numbers of minority students (Superville, 2018). Accountability, in the form of student test scores, the challenges of balancing budgets in tough economic times, and conflicts with dysfunctional school boards are primary reasons for superintendents’ short tenures. Superintendents often get caught in the crossfire of politics and public opinion when controversy flares over issues, such as student drug use, school violence, desegregation, or lagging student achievement, and a community looks to the superintendent for answers. Unable to quickly solve these problems, they’re either terminated or decide to resign. What are superintendents paid for this frustrating and insecure job? Pay varies considerably with both location and district size; the average 2019 salary for superintendents across the country was $158,580; in districts larger than 25,000 students, salaries can be more than $225,000 (PayScale, 2018; Salary.com, 2019). Competition for superintendents in urban districts has resulted in considerably higher salaries.

The District Office The district office assists the superintendent in translating school board policies into action and provides a link between you and your school board (see Figure 6.1). It also coordinates the myriad curricular and instructional efforts within the district. The district office is responsible for tasks, such as: • Ordering textbooks and supplies • Developing programs of study • Ordering, distributing, and analyzing standardized tests • Evaluating teachers and assisting those with difficulties The district office is instrumental in translating abstract state and local school board mandates into reality. How it handles these mandates can give teachers a sense of empowerment or make them feel like hired hands. The district office will also play an important role in helping you get started in your first job. It will provide a new-teacher orientation that will likely include an overview of the district’s curriculum, any district-wide instructional initiatives, and your district’s assessment program. These policies and procedures are important for you because they frame the district’s professional expectations for its new teachers. In addition, the central office will coordinate a mentoring program that will help you make the transition from university student to working professional.

The School Principal The school principal, the individual given the ultimate administrative responsibility for a school’s operation, is the district administrator who will have the greatest impact on your life as a teacher (Bird, 2018; Sergiovanni & Green, 2015). The principal plays an essential role in establishing the academic and work climates of the school and the process of hiring, and sometimes firing, teachers (Rangel, 2017). Most principals have classroom experience and at least a master’s degree in educational leadership (see Table 6.1). When we shared the information in Table 6.1 with our classes, it resulted in lively discussions. Our students were struck by the gender disparity because the vast majority of teachers are female. They asked, “Why aren’t there more female principals?” Good

Teaching and You How important will the first principal you’ll work for be? How much difference will a good or bad principal make in your job satisfaction? What factors should you consider when you interview with the principal of a school?

204  Chapter 6

Table 6.1  Profile of Public School Principals Public School Principals Gender Male

48%

Female

52

Ethnic Background White

80

African American

10

Hispanic American

7

Other (Asian American, Alaska Native, Native American)

3

Highest Degree Earned Bachelor’s

2

Master’s

62

Higher than master’s

36

Average Years of Teaching Experience

12 years

Salary (12-month)

$82,900

SOURCE: Hill, Otten, & DeRoche (2016).

MyLab Education Video Example 6.2 Your school principal, the individual responsible for a school’s operation, is the district administrator who will have the greatest impact on your life as a teacher. Here, elementary school principal Tatiana Epanchin describes the observation and follow-up interview she conducted with third-grade teacher Lisa Staib. You are likely to have experiences similar to Lisa’s when you begin teaching.

question. While 90% of elementary teachers are female, only 66% of principals are; the gender disparity in secondary schools isn’t much better with only 48% of female principals for a teaching force that is 63% female (Maranto et al., 2018). Our students also commented on the disparity between the racial or ethnic backgrounds of principals and their students. For instance, 80% of principals are White, while students who are cultural minorities make up more than half of all students in our country (Geiger, 2018). Finally, our students commented about the disparity between principal and teacher salaries; the average teacher makes $58,780 a year, whereas principals average $82,900 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018; Salary.com, 2018). However, most principals have many years of experience, usually have at least a master’s degree, and are expected to work 12 months a year. And, with the current emphasis on accountability, principals’ jobs are becoming more demanding. Like teachers, they’re being evaluated based on their schools’ performance on a number of dimensions, including student scores on achievement tests, as well as student graduation and teacher turnover rates (Taylor, 2018). Since 2010, 36 states have adopted laws requiring principals to undergo regular assessments. These laws reflect the growing view that principals are integral to both teacher performance and student learning in a school. As the person who oversees the everyday operation of the school, the principal has wide-ranging responsibilities, and teacher selection and evaluation are two of the most important (Rangel, 2017). The principal’s interview will be crucial in determining whether you get the job and will also give you an opportunity to learn about the person you’ll work for and the kind of school you’ll work in. During an interview, you should try to determine the principal’s views about your role as a teacher and how he or she runs the school. Teacher evaluation is another important role that your principal will perform, and these evaluations can determine whether you are retained and rehired as well as whether you’ll get a raise (Will, 2018b). Classroom observations are the major vehicle principals use to evaluate teachers (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016), but unfortunately, many only have time for cursory walk-throughs during their busy days. You should understand the criteria the principal will use during these observations. District-wide evaluation instruments, as well as conversations with more experienced teachers at your school, can provide you with valuable information.

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 205

The principal is also responsible for school-level curricular and instructional leadership, community relations, and the coordination of pupil services provided by school counselors, psychologists, nurses, and others. Principals also implement and monitor the school budget and ensure that the school’s physical facilities are maintained. It’s not easy being a principal; the job is both challenging and stressful, turnover is often high, and many teachers choose not to become principals because the demands outweigh the benefits (Rangel, 2017). Experienced teachers want instructional leaders who take a hands-on approach to the teaching–learning process as principals. This leadership is especially important for beginning teachers, who need support, mentoring, and feedback. Because of their busy schedules, however, many principals become managers who focus primarily on the day-to-day operation of the school and forget that supporting teaching and learning is their most important role (Bird, 2018).

School Principals: Implications for Teachers In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked how important principals will be for you in your first teaching job. Very! For you, principals are the most important people in the district’s administrative structure because they work directly with teachers and students (Brooks, 2018; Green, 2017). Effective principals can transform a mediocre school into a positive and productive learning environment, but the opposite is also true; an ineffective principal can make a school an unpleasant place in which to work. Your principal can make a huge difference in your first year of teaching, so during your interviews, finding out as much as you can about the principals, the schools, and what each principal expects from you is important. Before an interview, we suggest obtaining either electronic or physical copies of the teachers’ handbook and students’ and parents’ guides. Read them before the interview and take notes and prepare questions. Going into your interviews with questions you want to have answered will help you learn about a school in which you might teach, and in making a decision about whether or not you want to work there. In addition to providing you with valuable information, your questions will demonstrate that you’re knowledgeable about the teaching profession and sincerely interested in the position.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 6.1: What Makes an Effective Principal? In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a district superintendent’s assessment of what makes an effective school principal.

MyLab Education Self-Check 6.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 6.2  Explain the different sources and targets of educational funding. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

School Finance: How Are Schools Funded? To help you understand how school finance will influence your professional career, let’s return to Carla’s work on her school’s Elementary Math Steering Committee.

206  Chapter 6 “And based on our analysis of math programs around the country, we believe this one is best for our children. . . . Any questions?” Carla asks as she concludes her presentation to the school board. “Let me make sure that I’m clear about this,” one board member responds. “In addition to the texts themselves, students will need manipulatives. . . . I’m sorry, but I’m not sure exactly what ‘manipulatives’ are.” “Manipulatives are concrete objects, such as cubes that could be put in a box to help kids understand the concept of volume and plastic squares that could be used to illustrate area. The success of this program depends on students seeing math ideas in action.” “Thank you. . . . And teachers will need additional in-service training to bring them up to speed on how to use these new materials. Is that right?” “Yes. What we’ve read and heard is that teacher in-service is essential to the success of this program,” Carla replies, as her fellow committee members nod in agreement. “What seems clear to me,” the chair of the school board adds, “is that this program, along with our technology initiative and the changes in our language arts program, is going to need additional funding. We need to make sure that the public understands how and why taxes are going to go up next fall. We’ve all got a big job ahead of us—explaining why our schools need additional monies.”

Money is obviously important in education. It will determine your salary, professional development opportunities, and access to resources, such as computers, lab supplies, supplementary texts, and other materials. It also influences the quality of schools by allowing districts to do such things as reduce class sizes and recruit and retain expert teachers. And funding often directly impacts teachers. For instance, research indicates that the average classroom teacher spends $479 on classroom supplies without reimbursement, and 7% spend more than $1,000 (Will, 2018a). These figures will likely increase as states’ funding for education is reduced. Polls taken from 2003 to 2018 indicate that the general public consistently believes that lack of financial support and funding for education is a major problem facing local schools. Overcrowded schools, an issue closely related to financial support, is an additional problem identified in national polls (Bushaw & Lopez, 2013; Langer Research Associates, 2018). In 2018, more than 50 million students attended public schools at a cost of $654 billion. Education is a huge enterprise, and this money has attracted a great deal of attention—both positive and negative—from business (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018b). In this section, we look at where this money comes from and how it will influence your life as a teacher.

School Funding Sources Local, state, and federal sources all provide money for education. Let’s see how these funds are raised at each level of government and how they make their way to your classroom. These revenue sources are outlined in Figure 6.3 and discussed in the ­sections that follow.

State Revenue Sources As we see in Figure 6.3, states typically contribute the largest source of educational funding, accounting for nearly half of the monies that go into schools. The only exception to that trend occurred in 2009–2010, when the Great Recession caused a substantial drop in state revenues. In 2015, 29 states were still providing less total support per student than in 2008, and 12 states have cut funding by 7% or more over the last decade (Leachman, Masterson, & Figuero, 2017). This is why we’ve seen teacher strikes and walkouts in recent years. State income taxes and sales taxes are the two largest sources of state income, each contributing about one-third of all state revenues. Sales taxes are regressive, however, meaning they take proportionally more from lower-income families who spend a larger

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 207

Figure 6.3  Education Revenues from Local, State, and Federal Sources SOURCE: Data from National Center for Education Statistics (2018b).

Local Governments

60

State Governments Federal Government

50

47.0% 45.0%

Percentage

40 30 20 10 0 1974-75

8.0%

1979-80

1984-85

1989-90

1994-95

1999-00

2004-05

2009-10

2014-15

Year

portion of their income on necessities, such as food, clothing, and housing. For instance, one study found that the poorest fifth of Americans pay 11% of their income in state and local taxes, the middle fifth pay 9%, and the top one percent pay 5% (Cohen, 2014). Political conservatives defend these figures claiming that top income earners are “job creators” which results in a “trickle down” effect that benefits all earners. Most economists discredit this theory (Becarro, 2018; Krugman, 2018). So, teachers in many states are left with a tax base in which financially strapped lower- and middle-income families lack the financial resources to adequately support their schools. Large class sizes and inadequate been resources are often the result. The remaining third of state revenue comes from other sources such as taxes on liquor and tobacco, oil and mining revenues, and corporate income taxes. In recent years, state lotteries and gambling have promoted to skeptical taxpayers as new sources for school funding. Education is often the victim of a zero-sum shell game, however, because increased funding from lottery monies is balanced by decreasing revenue from other sources, such as sales taxes. While 42 states have lotteries, fewer than half allocate profits directly to education, and the percentage of income taxes going to education in these states varies considerably (Brimley et al., 2016). Also, lotteries are inefficient; states spend a great deal of lottery income on expenses, such as advertising and commissions to stores that sell lottery tickets. Lotteries also tend to attract participants who are poor and have little schooling, so they don’t understand the remote probability of winning. (Given the infinitesimal likelihood of winning, some call lotteries “taxes on stupidity.”) Ten to 15% of players account for 80% of lottery sales (Brimley et al., 2016). Cashstrapped states are now increasingly turning to “sin taxes” that target gambling, tobacco, and alcohol, which also place more of the funding burden on the poor and uneducated. Disparities among different states’ support for education can also be striking. Let’s look at one teacher’s experience.

Nikki, Paul’s daughter, began her teaching career in a middle school in a state and district with generous education funding. Her average class size was 16, with a maximum of 22. Her district employed a full-time math supervisor for her middle school and another person whose full-time job was to support math instruction in two middle schools! As we might predict, her students were very high achievers and often won state math competitions. Student motivation and classroom management problems were virtually nonexistent.

208  Chapter 6 She then moved to a different state, where state support was much lower, and took a teaching position in a high school where 31 was her average class size, with as many as 40 in some classes. “I had basically good kids, but I had too many of them, and we never had the materials we needed to make the content interesting,” she commented. Student achievement, motivation, and classroom management were always undercurrents that made the job challenging and sometimes stressful.

Problems with large class sizes occur all across our country but are exacerbated by tight education budgets. The state of Utah is a good example. The state ranks last in perpupil spending (Governing the States and Localities, 2018). Teachers in the state report unwieldy class sizes; a middle school social studies teacher had 52 students, a high school music teacher had 48, and Utah kindergarten classes average over 28 students per class (Dabakis, 2014; Schenker, 2014; Tanner, 2018). An Advanced Placement Literature teacher reported 39 students in one class and 100 AP students overall. “Try grading the amount of writing that takes place every week in an AP Lit course (or should take place . . . which doesn’t . . . because I can’t humanly keep up . . . .),” the teacher complained (Schenker, 2014, p. A11). What is frustrating to educators is that the state ranks thirteenth from the top in household income, but politically conservative legislators are unwilling to raise taxes to support education (Dabakis, 2014). We’re not suggesting that more money would solve all of Nikki’s problems in her second school or turn Utah schools into beacons of excellence, but claiming that funding has no influence on educational quality is nonsense, fomented in the interest of political expediency.

Local Funding As we saw in our discussion of school governance, financing education at the local level is the responsibility of local school boards, which is why Carla made her presentation to this group, and the need for increased funding was one of the implications of her presentation. At the local level, most school funding comes from property taxes that are determined by property values in the school district. Other local revenue sources include fees for building permits, traffic fines, and user fees charged to groups that hold meetings in schools. In collecting property taxes, local authorities first assess the value of a property and then tax the owner a small percentage of the property’s value (usually less than 1%). Funding education through local property taxes has disadvantages with inequities between property values and resources in different districts the most glaring (Croft, 2019). Wealthy cities and districts have higher tax bases, so they’re able to collect (and spend) more money for their schools. Poorer rural and urban school districts find themselves on the opposite end of this continuum, with a lower tax base that results in lower revenues. Property taxes also place extra burdens on older taxpayers, whose homes may have increased in value while their ability to pay taxes has remained constant or even decreased. In addition, many older taxpayers resist these charges because they no longer have children in school and don’t see the immediate benefit of increased spending for schools. The property-tax method of financing schools also has a political disadvantage. Unlike sales taxes, which taxpayers pay in small, continual, and almost unnoticed increments, property taxes are more visible targets for taxpayer dissatisfaction. Statements arrive once a year with a comparison to the previous year, and property-tax increases are discussed in public forums when school boards ask their taxpayers for increased funding. Dissatisfaction with this funding method reached a head in California in 1978, when voters passed an initiative called Proposition 13, which limited property taxes in the state. By the 1990s, 45 other states had passed similar measures (Brimley et al., 2016). The result has been reduced funding for schools and harder fights for educational resources.

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 209

Federal Funding for Education The federal government is the third, smallest, and most controversial source of educational funding. From 1920 to 1980, the federal share increased from virtually zero to a peak of nearly 10%, declining in the 1980s to less than 7% before rising to its current level of 8%. Although the amount spent on education has increased steadily over the years, the total still accounts for only about 2% of all federal expenditures (Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 2017). Nearly half of the federal funds for education are channeled through the Department of Education, with the next largest proportion— about 20%—coming from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start and national drug prevention programs. Although the percentage of education funds contributed by the federal government has been small, the impact has been considerable, largely because of categorical grants, federal grants targeted for specific groups and designated purposes. Head Start, aimed at preschoolers, and Title I, which benefits economically disadvantaged youth, are examples of categorical aid programs targeting specific needs or populations. Because the funds must be used for specific purposes, categorical grants have strongly influenced local education practices. During the 1980s, many categorical funds were replaced by block grants, federal monies provided to states and school districts with few restrictions for use. Begun during the conservative Reagan administration (1981–1989), block grants purposely reduce the federal role in policymaking, in essence giving states and districts more control over how monies are spent. Proponents contend this makes sense—who knows local needs better than local educators? But critics contend that funds are often misspent or spent in areas where they aren’t needed (Brimley et al., 2016).

Variations in School Funding Over Time State and local shares of school funding have remained fairly steady, ranging from between 40% and 50% since 1990. These figures are national averages, and the federal, state, and local proportions can vary significantly. For example, in 2016, no school budget money came from local sources in Hawaii, whereas in some states, local funds accounted for more than 40% of school funding (Brimley et al., 2016). Shifts in education funding patterns reflect changing views about education throughout the history of our country. In early America, education was a local responsibility with virtually no involvement by the federal government. In sharp contrast, twentieth-century leaders saw a direct connection between education and the country’s political and economic well-being. Quality schools and a well-educated workforce became national concerns, and the federal government’s role in education increased. Similarly, states began to recognize the importance of education in attracting high-tech industries and high-paying jobs. Federal funding of education is controversial. Proponents of a greater federal role believe that education is essential for the country’s continued progress in the twentyfirst century and the federal government should continue to exert leadership (and provide funds) in this area. Critics warn of increased federal control over what they believe should be a local responsibility. Political conservatives also argue against the expansion of what they consider an already bloated federal bureaucracy. For these critics, less is better when it comes to federal funding. Local funding, they say, makes schools more efficient and responsive. The public has consistently believed that adequate educational funding is important but is undecided about the relative amounts that local, state, and federal governments should contribute. In earlier polls, more than 20% of those polled favored a greater role for local funding through property taxes, a third favored state sources, and slightly more than a third favored greater reliance on federal taxes (Rose & ­Gallup, 1998). More recent polls indicate that the public still views lack of funding as a serious

Revisiting My Beliefs The third statement in What I Believe, “In the past, the federal government has provided the largest source of educational funding,” is clearly false because both state and local shares have been considerably larger.

210  Chapter 6 problem but remains undecided about where additional money should come from (Bushaw & Lopez, 2013; Langer Research Associate, 2018).

Recent Trends in Educational Funding Educational funding depends on taxes, and tax revenues fall when an economic recession hits our country’s economy. Beginning in 2008, the U.S. economy experienced a major downturn, and both schools and teachers have suffered. Teaching positions have been cut, teacher salaries frozen, class sizes increased, and students have been increasingly asked to pay for extracurricular activities, ranging from athletics to academic clubs. The impact of the recession was exacerbated by the sharp drop in property values in many states, a major source of educational funding. As of 2014, 30 states were still below pre-recession education funding levels, with Oklahoma (- 26,), Alabama (- 18,), and Arizona (- 18,) the most prominent (Ujifusa, 2014a). In Texas, where legislators cut $5.4 billion from the state’s education budget, districts reduced funding for school buses, and teachers were asked to clean and sweep their rooms to accommodate the elimination of janitorial positions (Fernandez, 2012). This harkens back to the 1700s and 1800s, when teachers were expected to clean rooms, chop wood, and haul in water for one-room schoolhouses. But this is the twenty-first century, and hundreds of school districts have sued the state, saying that the state’s current school finance system doesn’t adequately and equitably fund public education (Chen, 2017). The federal government tried to ameliorate these negative trends with the passage of the $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act designed to provide an economic stimulus to our country’s faltering economy (Brimley et al., 2016). New federal aid to education in that bill totaled $115 billion, with major chunks distributed as follows: • State stabilization funds to prevent teacher layoffs and cuts to programs in education ($53.6 billion) • Additional funds for Title I programs targeting disadvantaged students ($13 billion) • Increased funding for special education services ($12.2 billion)

Teaching and You Where do you plan to teach when you graduate? Do different states spend different amounts of money on education? Do a particular state’s expenditures on education matter?

In addition, new, one-time funds also targeted specific areas, such as Head Start, homeless children, and teacher quality initiatives emphasizing performance pay. But these funds have dried up, and states are faced with tight budgets and lawsuits arguing that states aren’t meeting their educational responsibilities.

Educational Funding: Implications for Teaching What are the implications of these changes for you as a beginning teacher? In the near term, the competition for desirable jobs might be tight because of scarce educational funds; long-term, the prospects are better, as the student population increases and teachers retire (Will, 2018d). Increased competition means that you’ll need to adjust accordingly; the best teacher candidates will get the best jobs. Take your teacherpreparation program seriously, and look for ways to distinguish yourself from the competition. Good grades are important, but the breadth and quality of your experiences in schools and the recommendations from your instructors are equally valuable.

Educational Revenues: Where Do They Go? The largest part of states’ total budget expenditures goes to education, with more than a third spent on P–12, and approximately 10% going to higher education (Brimley et al., 2016). In 2016, the 50 states spent an average of $11,762 per pupil, but as we see in Table 6.2, spending varied considerably from state to state. New York spent the most ($22,366), and Utah the least ($6,953). The data in Table 6.2 also reveal regional trends. Most of the higher per-pupil expenditures are found in the Northeast and upper Midwest, with lower expenditures in the South and the West.

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 211

Table 6.2  State-by-State Spending per Student State

Spending Rank

Annual $ per Student

New York

1

22,366

Dist. of Columbia

2

19,159

Connecticut

3

18,958

New Jersey

4

18,402

Vermont

5

17,873

Alaska

6

17,510

Wyoming

7

16,442

Massachusetts

8

15,593

Rhode Island

9

15,532

Pennsylvania

10

15,418

New Hampshire

11

15,340

Delaware

12

14,713

Maryland

13

14,206

Illinois

14

14,180

Hawaii

15

13,748

North Dakota

16

13,373

Maine

17

13,278

Minnesota

18

12,382

Nebraska

19

12,299

Ohio

20

12,102

Michigan

21

11,668

Washington

22

11,534

California

23

11,495

Wisconsin

24

11,456

Virginia

25

11,432

Montana

26

11,348

West Virginia

27

11,291

Iowa

28

11,150

Louisiana

29

11,038

Oregon

30

10,842

Missouri

31

10,313

South Carolina

32

10,249

Kansas

33

9,960

Kentucky

34

9,863

Indiana

35

9,856

Arkansas

36

9,846

Georgia

37

9,769

New Mexico

38

9,693

Colorado

39

9,575

Alabama

40

9,236

South Dakota

41

9,176

Texas

42

9,016

Nevada

43

8,960

Florida

44

8,920

Tennessee

45

8,810

North Carolina

46

8,792 (Continued)

212  Chapter 6

Table 6.2  State-by-State Spending per Student (Continued) State

Spending Rank

Annual $ per Student

Mississippi

47

8,702

Oklahoma

48

8,097

Arizona

49

7,613

Idaho

50

7,157

Utah

51

6,953

United States

11,762

SOURCE: Governing the States and Localities (2018). Education Spending per Student by State. Retrieved from http://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html

It’s tempting to conclude that a state’s commitment to education can be judged by its per-pupil spending, but some states are wealthier than others, and the number of children per taxpayer varies, so they have a greater capacity to fund education. Funding differences between states are also influenced by the cost of living and the number of children who need to be educated. Utah, for example, which has the lowest per-student spending in the country, also has the highest birth rate in the nation—about 1.5 times the national average—so whatever funds are available must be divided among more children. Interpreting the effects of funding on educational excellence is controversial, with early research concluding that the amount spent has little influence on achievement (Hanushek, 1996). However, more recent research suggests that higher per-pupil expenditures can result in higher achievement, if funds are used wisely and strategically (Owens, 2018). Increased expenditures seem to have their greatest effect on low-income and minority students. The relationship between funding and learning isn’t simple or precise, however. Achievement tests—the most commonly used measure of student learning—focus on core academic areas, such as reading, math, and science, and not every dollar spent on education is directed to these subjects. Some monies go to art and music, for instance, which are valuable areas of the curriculum, but increased expenditures in these areas won’t be directly reflected in higher test scores. Furthermore, as we see in Figure 6.4, only 61% of the money allocated to education is spent on instruction, most of which goes to salaries for teachers and teacher aides (Brimley et al., 2016). The rest is spent on areas that only indirectly affect achievement.

Figure 6.4  Educational Expenditures on Different District Programs SOURCES: Based on information from Brimley et al., 2016; National Center for Education Statistics, 2018c.

Food Services 4% Transportation 4% Physical Plant 10% Instruction 61% Administration 8%

Instructional Supports 13%

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 213

In addition to the more than 60% earmarked for instruction, 13% of district funds go to instructional assistance needs, such as student services, teacher professional advancement, and curriculum development (see Figure 6.4). Another 8% supports administration. Approximately one-third of administration funding is spent on the central district office, with the other two-thirds going to schools, primarily for principals’ salaries. Maintenance of school buildings and grounds (physical plant) takes up another 10% of the budget. Transportation (school buses) and food services (cafeteria lunches) each account for another 4%. To understand the magnitude of transportation expenditures, consider these national figures: In an average school year, half a million yellow school buses travel 4.4 billion (yes, billion, not million!) miles, providing rides to millions of P–12 students (Brimley et al., 2016). Student activities add 5 million trips. Schools provide transportation to 55% of the nation’s student population at a cost of $961 per student (Gottfried, 2017). The importance of an efficient bus system for students is revealed in a study that linked school bus availability to student absences (Gottfried, 2017). When school buses are unavailable, student absences increase, resulting in lower achievement, increased risk of retention in grade, and dropping out. School buses are an academic necessity for many students. Surges in fuel costs result in scheduling changes and cutbacks in bus services. A number of smaller, rural districts have experimented with four-day school weeks, and other districts have changed the requirements for bus services, limiting access to younger students who live more than two miles from school (Sparks, 2018). Critics question whether these changes will result in more accidents and deaths from students driving and walking on dangerous streets. Students are 70 times more likely to arrive at school alive if they take the bus instead of driving or riding with a friend (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2019). Critics often decry the large amount of monies (nearly 40%) spent on areas other than academics and have initiated national efforts to mandate that a minimum of twothirds of education funds go to instruction—teachers and textbooks. But finance experts point out that expenditures for school nurses, buses, and school lunches, for example, are all part of the total education process. In addition, experts note that the amounts schools spend on administration and maintenance of the physical plant compare favorably with those spent in industry (Brimley et al., 2016). This may be a classic case of micromanaging, in which legislators want to influence education without spending more money.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “Most of a district’s budget goes to funding instructional activities.” This statement is true: The average district in our country spends more than 60% of its budget on instruction.

MyLab Education Self-Check 6.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 6.3  Describe current issues in school governance and finance. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Emerging Issues in School Governance and Finance As schools confront the challenges of the twenty-first century, they face four major issues in the areas of governance and finance: • Equity in funding, one of the most fundamental issues facing education • The governance of struggling urban schools • Alternatives to existing governance structures • Commercialization Let’s look at these challenges.

Teaching and You How important will the finances and administration of the first district you work in be to your professional life and growth? What are some indicators of healthy and well-financed districts? What are some signs that a district is having problems, either administratively or financially?

214  Chapter 6

Savage Inequalities: The Struggle for Funding Equity Lakesha Lincoln walks into Andrew Jackson Middle School among a horde of other students. Jackson is a 72-year-old urban school in a large northeastern city. Lakesha doesn’t react to the fact that three of the five lights down the long main hall are out and that the hall badly needs a paint job, because they have been that way for a long time. She walks by the girls’ bathroom, where a sign on the door says, “Bathroom out of order. Use the bathroom on the second floor.” She decides she’ll wait and get permission to go to the bathroom during her first-period class. She enters her homeroom and sits down. She has barely enough room to squeeze through the rows of desks because there are 38 students in her homeroom, a room built for 30. Discarded paper sits on the floor from yesterday, and the boards haven’t been cleaned from the last class of the previous day. Students are milling around the room as the bell rings, and Mr. Jensen, her homeroom teacher, tries his best to get them to settle down. He is struggling because he has had no formal professional training, and he is doing his best to feel his way through his first year of teaching. Dawn Johnson walks into Forest Park Middle School, which is in the suburbs. It was built in 2008, and it’s roomy, well lit, and pleasant. Dawn enters her homeroom, which is spotless, with ample equipment and materials to support instruction. Her room is comfortable, with plenty of space available for her and 22 classmates. As the bell rings, the last of the students slide into their chairs. Mrs. August is standing in front of the room, ready to begin. She is a 10-year veteran, with a reputation for being demanding but fair. Students agree that they learn a lot from her.

As we saw earlier, significant differences in per-pupil expenditures exist, both between and within states. Jonathan Kozol (1991) described this issue in his influential book Savage Inequalities: “Americans abhor the notion of a social order in which economic privilege and political power are determined by hereditary class” (p. 207). Kozol goes on to say that in a democracy, education offered to poor children should be as good as that provided for children more fortunate. This standard of equality is not what Kozol found when he visited schools across our country. Instead, he found that many urban schools were like Lakesha’s— dirty and run down with peeling paint; broken toilets; antiquated or missing textbooks; and teachers who were inexperienced, not certified, or both. Only miles away, suburban schools such as Forest Park Middle, where Dawn attends, featured new, well-­maintained, attractive buildings that were inviting learning environments. And teachers were generally seasoned, knowledgeable professionals. These stark contrasts gave Kozol’s book its title. In 1968, Demetrio Rodriguez, a sheet-metal worker in a poor suburb of San Antonio, Texas, looked at the schools his children were attending, compared them with schools in wealthier districts only ten miles away, and found similar discouraging contrasts between his children’s schools and those of neighboring districts (Brimley et al., 2016). The primary problem was that property taxes for his district produced only $37 per student compared to $412 per student for the wealthier suburb. These differences aren’t unusual; in Texas during the 1980s, for instance, the 100 most affluent districts in the state spent an average of $7,233 per student, whereas the poorest 100 averaged $2,978. Faced with these inequities, Mr. Rodriguez sued, contending that his children were being penalized by where they lived. Nationally, wealthy districts spend $1,000 more on their affluent students than on their poorer ones; in Illinois, for instance, low poverty districts spent 22% more than their high-poverty counterparts (Camera, 2018). This doesn’t make sense because poorer students, or those in poverty, require more help than those more fortunate

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 215

(Chingos & Blagg, 2017). Despite efforts to alleviate these inequalities, substantial within-state differences continue to exist between districts serving low- and highincome families (Owens, 2018). For example, in Kansas, per-pupil expenditures vary from $5,655 in the poorest district to $16,969 in wealthier ones, an amount three times greater. In Illinois, some wealthier districts have $18,000 more per pupil to work with than poorer ones (Brimley et al., 2016). A study in Rhode Island found that the state spent an average of $16,000 to educate each of its students in 2016, but per-pupil spending ranged from as little as $9,000 in some schools to as much as $45,000 in others (Burnette, 2018a). While the level of spending isn’t everything, which school would you want to work in when you start your teaching career? And these differences in school funding are also connected to race (Croft, 2019). School districts that serve predominantly White students receive an average of $2,226 per year more than districts that are composed of students of color. That amounts to a difference of $23 billion a year. The biggest funding gap occurred in Arizona, where predominantly White districts received $ 7,613 more than districts serving cultural minority students. The problem across the country is not racism per se, but rather the difference in property taxes that exist between “racially concentrated” districts, in which three fourths of students in that district are either predominantly White or minority. Legal challenges over funding equity have increased. The battle lines for these cases were drawn in California in 1971, when the California Supreme Court ruled in a six to one vote that the use of property taxes to fund education resulted in unconstitutional funding inequities in the state (Serrano v. Priest, 1971). At the time, educational expenditures in wealthier districts were six times greater than those in poorer districts. To reduce these inequities, the state’s share of education funding rose from 40% to 70%. Some of these lawsuits went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. For example, based on the California decision in the Serrano v. Priest lawsuit, many believed that the Supreme Court would find spending patterns in Texas unconstitutional. However, in a five to four vote, it did just the opposite, ruling in 1973 that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee citizens a right to an education. The Court did point out, however, that funding inequities might violate state constitutions, many of which do guarantee citizens that right. The Supreme Court ruling on the Rodriguez case in Texas sent the issue back to state courts, and many other state suits followed. As of 2014, 45 of the 50 states had lawsuits challenging existing funding formulas; in 24 states, courts overturned existing systems, resulting in more equitable funding formulas, upheld others in 9 states, and left others pending (Brimley et al., 2016; Ujifusa & McNeil, 2014a). Differences in state rulings are primarily the result of differences in the wording of state constitutions: Some are quite specific in guaranteeing “equal education for all,” whereas others are vague in specifying that educational opportunity should be “ample” or “efficient.” When rulings favored the plaintiffs, inequities were reduced, with decreasing or eliminating reliance on the property tax being a primary factor. A subsequent study found that when states were forced to reduce funding disparities between rich and poor districts, disadvantaged students were primary benefactors; low-income students in districts that received more funds were more likely to graduate, earn livable wages later in life, and avoid poverty (Yettick, 2014). Money does indeed matter in education. Funding inequities are complicated by the fact that not all districts in a state have the same needs. Some have a higher proportion of low-income children, non-native English speakers, or children who need special education services. These students require extra resources, and educating them is more expensive. Reformers are calling for funding formulas that go beyond simply equalizing dollars; they want flexible plans that attempt to meet the needs of all students (Camera, 2018). These proposed reforms are expensive and controversial, however, because many parents from wealthier

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth item in What I Believe, “Students in different districts across states are provided with approximately the same amount of money to fund their education.” This statement isn’t true: Large disparities in the property tax base that provides funds for schools result in widely v­ arying resources for students and their teachers.

216  Chapter 6 districts object to having their local taxes used to fund distant schools across the state. In addition, the problems involved in quantifying educational needs in terms of dollars and cents are complex. Efforts have also been made to change funding practices within rather than between districts. The weighted student formula allocates resources within a district to schools on a per-school basis according to student needs (Kotesky, 2016). Instead of every school in a district getting the same per-pupil amount, the weighted student formula provides more funds to schools that have more special education students or other students requiring additional services. Several states, including California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, are experimenting with this change (Chingos & Blagg, 2017; Diepenbrock, 2014). California is a leader in this school finance experiment, with local districts given the power to target funds on three groups of high-need students—­ students in poverty, English-learners, and foster children. Advocates claim that it’s a fairer way of distributing funds and that it decentralizes educational decision making by allowing individual schools to decide how dollars can best be spent. Comprehensive research is still needed to see how this change will work, and critics are worried that increased funding for some schools could mean decreased, and potentially crippling, funding for others.

Urban Education: Takeovers as Alternatives to Local Control Governance by local school boards is the predominant pattern in American education, but what happens when local control doesn’t work? Seeing education as central to economic growth, 12 of our country’s largest cities have taken the drastic step of authorizing mayors to take over the running of the cities’ schools. Some examples include Boston in 1991, Chicago in 1995, New York in 2002, and Detroit in 2009 (Brimley et al., 2016). Mayoral takeovers usually occur because of fiscal mismanagement or student underachievement in a school system. In addition, states have authorized similar moves in smaller districts, removing local school boards and replacing them with new management teams (Schueler, Goodman, & Deming, 2017). By 2017, 33 states had passed takeover legislation, and 22 had actually taken over troubled districts (Barnum, 2018). How bad does it have to get to trigger these actions? Consider what occurred in Detroit (Winerip, 2011c). In 2009, math scores were the lowest in 21 years; the district had a budget deficit of $200 million and was losing students at a rate of 8,000 per year to private and suburban schools. For each student who left, the district lost $7,300 in state funds—an annual loss of $58 million. After two years of attempted fiscal reform, the hemorrhaging budget resulted in a $327 million deficit, and enrollments fell from 104,000 in 2007 to 74,000 in 2011 (McClatchy-Tribune, 2011). Something had to be done. Changes in governance included balancing districts’ budgets, closing neighborhood schools, improving the facilities of the ones that remained, and renegotiating union contracts. But the results were disappointing at best (Rovira, 2018). Student test scores didn’t improve, parents continued to flee the city’s schools for charter schools or the suburbs, and the debt load continued to grow. By virtually all measures, the experiment was a disaster. Despite these problems, mayors in other cities have also experimented with educational reform, expanding choice options through charter schools, creating smaller, thematic high schools, and attempting to tie teacher and principal pay to s­ tudent achievement (Brimley et al., 2016; Schueler et al., 2017). School district takeovers, as one solution to the problems of failing urban school districts, will probably continue. Their success will ultimately be judged by their ability to improve teaching and learning in urban classrooms.

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 217

School Takeovers: Implications for Teaching Earlier, we asked in Teaching and You how important finances and administration will be to your professional life. The answer is very important, not only for your initial entrance into the profession, but also long-term; how a district is run and how educational funds are allocated and used will have a major effect on you and your classroom. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to get an accurate reading on these factors. Here are two suggestions. First, talk to the teachers you meet when you interview at a school. Ask them how they like teaching in that district and whether they feel supported and appreciated. You can also Google the district to see what issues have been in the public eye in recent years.

Parent Power: Experimenting with Local Governance Structures Mayoral and state takeovers of schools centralize power; several alternative governance proposals do just the opposite, placing governance decisions in the hands of parents, who have the most to gain and lose from educational decisions. This governance innovation is part of a larger movement designed to provide parents with a greater voice in the education of their children (Adamski, Fraser, & Peiro, 2013). This movement exists in two forms: local school councils and parent triggers. Both innovations are being examined as the educational landscape changes. Local school councils bypass current governance structures and create school-based governing boards with the power to hire and fire principals (Superville, 2014b). The move toward local school governance was born out of frustration with existing school systems; achievement and graduation rates in targeted school districts were consistently below national averages. The ability to hire and fire principals of failing schools was a selling point for these local governing boards. Results from this experiment have been mixed; while student performance increased slightly, general interest in the idea has waned because of low voter turnout and the logistical problems of coordinating different council-led schools. Parent triggers, a second school governance experiment, has linked itself to the growing popularity of charter schools, publicly funded, but semi-independent schools that have considerable latitude in both curriculum and personnel decisions (Ujifusa, 2014b). (We examine charter schools in depth in Chapter 12.) Parent triggers provide parents in failing schools with a mechanism for converting that failing school into a locally governed charter school. But like local school governing boards, implementing this idea has proven to be challenging. Research on charter school effectiveness has also been mixed, with about as many failures as successes (Sargrad, 2017), so enthusiasm for parent trigger legislation has declined.

Commercialization: Are Our Schools for Sale? The economic downturn in 2008 found states and districts desperate for new funding sources (Leachman et al., 2017). “School districts across the nation are fiscally ever more open to the enticements of corporate ‘partnerships’ that might bring in some money— any money at all” (Molnar et al., 2013, p. 1). This leads to the idea of commercialization, corporations using schools as mechanisms for advertising and other business ventures (Molnar et al., 2014). Education is big business; total expenditures for education in 2015 were $668 billion (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018a). Because of the huge amounts of money involved, corporations have always looked at education as a place to make money. Textbook sales and standardized testing, for instance, generate billions of dollars for corporations (Boninger, Molnar, & Murray, 2017; Molnar, Boninger, Harris, Libby, & Fogarty, 2013; Molnar, Boninger, Libby, & Fogarty, 2014).

MyLab Education Video Example 6.3 Schools are always looking for ways to increase revenue. Here, an elementary principal describes different strategies her school staff members are considering as ways to raise money to support their educational programs.

218  Chapter 6 When money of that magnitude exists, business and industry quickly become interested. This interest can be beneficial, such as corporations advocating for a better-­ educated workforce. On the other hand, the profit motive sometimes encourages ­corporate educational pursuits that don’t benefit students or parents. School commercialization takes many forms, but all are intended to increase sales, and teachers are sometimes unwitting allies. For instance, British Petroleum, trying to erase the negative perceptions associated with its Gulf Coast disaster in 2010, created lesson plans and held workshops for teachers to promote the idea that it was “green” and environmentally conscientious (Molnar et al., 2010). “Funbrain,” a digital math game that teaches math facts, also contains ads for McDonald’s and other corporations (Molnar, Boninger, Wilkinson, & Fogarty, 2009). Teachers need to screen these “free” educational materials closely and decide whether the tradeoff is worth the cost. Children are captive and often naïve audiences, which can present problems because advertising within a school context lends legitimacy to the product. (“Gee, if the school says it’s so, it must be.”) At one level, it’s dishonest and uses schools as marketing tools for large corporations whose primary objective is to make money. Critics link problems, such as childhood obesity and premature sexuality in youth, to ads that promote calorie-heavy soft drinks and sexually explicit ads (Olson, 2016). Schools contribute to these problems when they provide profit-seeking companies with unfettered access to our students. Certain aspects of commercialization aren’t new. Schools have been outsourcing contracts for support services, such as school lunches and transportation, for years (Cavanagh, 2014b). The argument, in this case, is that for-profit corporations can provide these services more cheaply and efficiently. In addition, districts typically hire companies, such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard, to provide technology support. What is new is the idea of handing over control of a whole school or district to a private corporation in the form of commercially run, for-profit schools. Modeled after HMOs (health maintenance organizations), EMOs (education maintenance organizations) manage and run either whole districts or specific schools within a district. The history of for-profit education dates back to the 1960s and 1970s when corporations tried performance contracting (Strauss, 2013). Performance contracting occurs when corporations agree to educate a group of students and raise their achievement test scores, typically in reading and math. If they’re successful, districts renew their contracts, and the corporations make money. The 1960s and 1970s experiments with performance contracting were essentially complete failures, that is, scores didn’t improve. The corporate experiment continued in the 1990s, however, with the emergence of Edison Corporation that managed schools in Kansas, Pennsylvania, and California (Strauss, 2013). Despite the earlier setbacks of similar companies, optimism was high, but Edison, too, was unable to raise test scores.

Commercialization: Implications for Teaching Commercialization has implications for you when you begin teaching, and the presence of vending machines in schools is an important one. Obviously, the machines are there to make money, and they exist in more than 40% of elementary schools, 70% of middle schools, and virtually all high schools (HealthyYouVending, 2017e). Also, the items most commonly found in these vending machines are foods with little nutritional value (Cisse-Egbuonye et al., 2016). And, further, the existence of vending machines in schools is associated with obesity in students, and particularly low-income students and members of cultural minorities (O’Hara & Haynes-Maslow, 2015). This suggests that we should be attempting to educate our students in the habits of healthy eating. Research suggests that students have a limited understanding of the importance of exercise and healthy eating, so providing information about these topics can make a difference (Endres & Rockwell, 2020). Modeling these habits, exercising,

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 219

and making an effort to control our own weight (which is good for our health as well) can be even more important. Second, the ill-fated attempts of performance contracting and for-profit schools should remind us that there are no magic formulas for increasing student achievement. Corporations didn’t have revolutionary methods because the methods don’t exist. If they did, schools would have incorporated them long ago (Gran, 2016). No substitute exists for expert teaching, such as careful planning, orderly classrooms, and high levels of interaction with students. This is what we should be striving for, not a hoped-for panacea offered by a for-profit corporation. Finally, educators should be cautious when for-profit companies make grandiose promises about increasing student achievement when making money is their primary goal.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 6.2: Accommodating Commercialization in Our Schools In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a teacher’s efforts to help students avoid consuming sugary drinks and snacks.

Diversity: Pay-to-Play or Pay to Learn? Originally, education in our country was only available to those who could afford to pay for it, but free public education gradually became accessible to everyone­ (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Now, as districts across the country face tight budget decisions, the basic idea of free public education is being challenged. The idea of charging for educational services began in the 1990s, when cashstrapped districts started charging for participation in sports. Now the practice has become widespread, with districts in about half of the states using this policy to raise revenue. The legality of pay-to-play policies is murky, with different states’ constitutions interpreting the practice in different ways (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). Initially, pay-to-play was limited to participation in sports, but the practice has expanded into other areas. For instance, one district in Utah charged students $2,500 to attend a science camp, and another asked parents to pay $2,500 for being on the cheer team. Further, districts failed to notify eligible families that they qualified for fee waivers. And this occurred in spite of the fact that Utah has laws against this practice (Cortez, 2018). As another example, a district in Ohio faced with million-dollar deficits began charging fees for band and other extracurricular activities. One family with three high school students ended up paying more than $4,000 for their children’s school activities. How could this happen? Voters in the district rejected higher property taxes three years in a row. Desperate school board members and administrators looked for places to save money. They cut counseling staff and 100 teaching positions and eliminated classes in advanced placement math and science, as well as art, music, and physical education. Class sizes went from 25 to 31 students. Teachers took salary cuts and were forced to pay more for medical insurance. School board members, forced to balance budgets, cut expenditures but still couldn’t balance budgets that had risen 23% in five years. Pay-to-play policies became an unsavory option. This is an unfortunate development because research indicates that extracurricular activities contribute to students’ social and emotional development (Im, Hughes, & Cao, 2016). This is one more example that belies the assertion that extra money doesn’t make a difference in education.

220  Chapter 6

Diversity and You Is a Quality Education Only for the Wealthy? We’ve seen the impact of the national trend toward pay-to-play

“But that’s exactly the problem,” another board member

policies. Now let’s look in on a school board meeting in a district

responds. “Some of our families are barely getting by and can’t

contemplating similar policies.

afford these fees, and their kids won’t get to participate. We

One board member laments, “I don’t know how we’re going to do it. The taxpayers just won’t give us the money that

can’t have that.” “What about fee waivers?” a fourth board member adds.

we need to run our programs. We either cut teachers and pro-

“I’ve read that some districts waive the extra fee if a family’s

grams, or we start charging for frills. Or both. I don’t see any

income is below a certain level. That could help a lot.”

other alternatives.” “Wait a minute,” another board member replies.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea either,” another opponent adds. “How would you like to be that kid or his family coming

“Extracurricular activities aren’t frills. They help our kids grow

to school with their hands out for district charity? Other kids will

socially and emotionally. I know from personal experience that

find out, and families will be afraid to embarrass themselves or

the lessons kids learn on the ball field are some of the most

their children. Participation will drop, and low-income kids will be

important lessons they’ll learn in school. Like how to be a good

hit the hardest.”

loser and graceful winner. These are lessons that last a lifetime.” “And let’s not forget band and drama clubs,” another board member adds. “Kids learn things in these activities they can’t get in their regular classes. And we know from the research we’ve done that our minority kids and ones from poor families benefit the most from these offerings. We can’t let them down by excluding them from our after-school programs. ” “I know, I know,” the first board member replies. “But we have to balance our budget. Do you want to lay off teachers or eliminate pay increases? Pay-to-play policies make sense to me. If parents have it and want their kids to participate, they can kick in some extra money.”

“Isn’t that what we want?” the first board member rejoins. “We’re trying to cut expenses, and one way to do that is cut participation in programs that many taxpayers are calling ‘frills.’”

Consider These Questions 1. Are extracurricular activities frills, or should they be considered an integral part of the curriculum?

2. Is the idea of fee waivers for pay-to-play activities a good idea? Can it be an effective way to encourage broader participation in extracurricular activities?

3. What other solutions could you suggest to these board members?

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Money and Your First Job As you’ve seen, much of this chapter is about money and how

in terms of the attractiveness of the profession to young people

it will influence your professional life. Most people don’t go into

such as yourself, as well as the satisfaction of teachers already

teaching for the money, but we all need to eat, put gas in our

in classrooms.

cars, and wear decent clothes. So how important will money be when you consider your first teaching job? We know several things about teachers and money. First,

We can think about money in teaching in two ways: how much goes in and how much reaches teachers. With respect to the amount that goes in, we know how much each state spends

relative to other occupations, teachers are underpaid, earning

per student. As we saw in Table 6.2, the amount different states

20% less than other college graduates (Krugman, 2018). We

spend on each student varies considerably, and this money is

also know that money influences teacher morale. In a national

reflected in the books, supplies, and number of students you’ll

poll, over half the teachers said they were dissatisfied with their

have in your classroom. When faced with budget problems,

salaries, and these dissatisfied teachers viewed their working

states cut back on educational funding, and these budget

conditions less favorably than other teachers (National Center

cuts influence the quality of your professional life as a teacher

for Education Statistics, 2018). In addition, a teacher shortage

because almost half of the funding for the district you’ll work for

exists in our country, and the shortage is expanding (Burnette,

comes from state funds.

2019). Further, research suggests that higher salaries would

But that’s only part of the story. As we saw earlier in the

encourage more people to go into teaching (Han, Borgonovi, &

chapter, different districts within a state also vary greatly in the

Guerriero, 2018). Money makes a difference in teaching, both

amount of money available for teachers (Brimley et al., 2016).

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 221

Districts in wealthy areas with high tax bases can afford

people’s decisions about entering and staying in teaching or

to spend money on things like art and science supplies,

leaving the profession (Calfas, 2018; Cortez, 2018b).

technology, and field trips. They also can spend more money on their teachers’ salaries, benefits, and professional development,

• The amount states and districts spend on education influences working conditions, including class sizes, supplies,

offering classes and workshops to help their teachers keep up with evolving trends in education.

The Issue

and professional development opportunities (Gebelof, 2018). Con • Most teachers don’t go into teaching for the money. We

How important should money be when selecting your first

become teachers because we believe we can make a differ-

teaching job? Should you move to another state to access bet-

ence in our students’ lives and the world (Ni & Rorrer, 2018).

ter funding and consider only districts that pay well? Here are

Monetary reward, while important, is clearly secondary.

arguments on both sides of this complex professional decision.

• Factors such as working conditions influence teachers’ job

The pro position suggests that money is very important in mak-

satisfaction much more than money (Brooks, 2018). The

ing a decision about your first job, and the con position makes

principal you work for and the teachers, students, and par-

the opposite argument.

ents you’ll work with will largely determine how happy you are with teaching and ultimately will determine whether you

Pro • Money influences our quality of life. It can make the difference between owning a home or renting, driving a new, reliable car or a clunker, and being able to afford a nice vacation or staying close to home. Your first teaching job should allow you to enjoy a decent standard of living, and housing costs in many cities are beyond the reach of teachers (Handy, 2018). • Money is a surrogate for the way a state or district supports

remain in the profession (Ubben, Hughes, & Norris, 2016). • Some of the places that might not pay as well are also places where students need good teachers the most (Luschel & Jeong, 2018). Large urban and small rural districts urgently need good teachers, and working in these high-need areas can have a powerful influence on these students’ lives.

The Question Now it’s your turn to take a position on the issue. Should

education. States and districts that spend more money on

financial considerations be a primary factor in determining where

schools communicate to the community and teachers that

you seek your first teaching job? What do you think?

education is important. Teacher compensation influences

MyLab Education Self-Check 6.3

Chapter 6 Summary 1. Describe the major educational governance structures at state and local levels. • The responsibility for governing schools in the United States is given to the states by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Despite geographic, economic, and political differences among states, the educational governance structure in most states is similar. • The governor and state legislature in each state are supported by the state board of education that establishes educational policy for the state. This policy is implemented by the state office of education, which is responsible for teacher licensing, curriculum, approval of school sites and buildings, and collection of statistical data. • Local control of education, a uniquely American idea, occurs through individual school districts that are governed by a local school board and administered by a district superintendent. The superintendent is responsible for overseeing the operations of the individual schools within the district. Principals play a powerful role in shaping instruction at the individual school level. 2. Explain the different sources and targets of educational funding. • Schools are funded from three sources. Almost half of school funds come from the states, which typically gather funds using state income taxes and special taxes. Local sources provide another significant source of funding (more than 40%), usually through property taxes. The rest is provided by the federal government. • Most education monies go to instructional services, primarily to pay for teacher salaries. The rest is divided about equally among student services, teacher professional development and curriculum development, administration, maintenance of school buildings and grounds, and transportation and food services.

3. Describe current issues in school governance and finance. • Because educational governance is an individual state responsibility, controversies over inequities in school finance have focused on differences within states. Court cases involving funding inequities have caused states to increase state and decrease local funding. Current approaches to funding equity go beyond absolute dollar amounts to include student and district needs. • Urban takeovers occur when existing administrative structures are unable to run a district efficiently. Most common in large urban districts, these takeovers target monetary and personnel management. • Alternatives to current governance structures include local school councils and parent triggers. Local school councils provide parents and other stakeholders with increased powers to run their local schools, including the right to hire and fire principals. Parent triggers is a nationwide innovation that provides parents with increased power to govern and even close schools if they aren’t performing adequately. • Commercialization occurs when corporations use schools as venues for advertising and promoting products. Commercialization is controversial because it involves schools in business ventures that make money for private corporations. • Asking students to pay for educational experiences has become more common in cash-strapped districts. It originally began with pay-to-play plans for athletic participation. Currently, it has spread to other extracurricular areas as well as some academic classes. Critics are concerned that these fees can discourage poor and minority students from participating in the full range of educational activities.

Important Concepts American Recovery and Reinvestment Act block grants categorical grants

222

commercialization local school board principal property taxes

school district state board of education state office of education

superintendent weighted student formula

Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools 223

Portfolio Activity School Finance InTASC Core Teacher Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to help you begin thinking about the role of school finance in your future life as a teacher. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Locate a teacher at your school who has been at the school for several years. Ask these questions: a. Are you satisfied with your salary? Why or why not? b. Has your salary changed over the last few years? Why or how? c. What role did a professional organization (e.g., NEA or AFT) play in your district’s salary schedule? d. What about school supplies and textbooks? Are they adequate, and, if not, what would the teacher do with additional funds? e. What role does state politics play in educational funding? f. What advice does the teacher have in terms of finances for a beginning teacher? Summarize your findings, focusing on implications for you as a beginning teacher. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Locate the website of a local school district or one in which you may want to teach. Browse the site’s budget section, and try to determine how much of the district’s budget is allocated to teacher salaries and professional development. Also, check out the teacher salary schedule. How do these figures compare to those mentioned in this text? Write down several questions you might want to ask about finance issues when you interview with a district (e.g., “How much of your district’s budget goes to teacher professional development?”).

Chapter 7

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching

Jamie Wilson/123RF

224

Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 7.1 Explain the differences between legal and ethical influences on the

teaching profession. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 7.2 Describe how the legal system at the federal, state, and local levels

influences education. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 7.3 Explain how teacher employment, academic freedom, liability, and

teachers’ personal lives are influenced by the law. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 7.4 Describe the legal implications of religion in schools. InTASC Core

Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences 7.5 Describe students’ legal rights and responsibilities. InTASC Core

Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences You’re a third-grade teacher, and you’re called to the main office to answer a quick question from a parent. You tell your students to continue working on their seatwork while you’re gone. Is there a problem with your leaving your class unsupervised? Or you’re a high school English teacher, and you find a poem that strikes you as a moving commentary on love, but it includes some sexual overtones. Do you dare to share it with your students without their parents’ approval? Or you’re a science teacher, and you find a program on the internet that you would like to use in your classes. Can you download and duplicate the information? These examples involve legal issues, and they illustrate how these issues will influence your work when you begin your teaching career. So, if you think legal issues are unrelated to your life as a beginning teacher, you might want to think again. As you read the following case studies, think about the different ways that legal issues can influence your career as a teacher. Jason Taylor is a science teacher in a suburban school in the Pacific Northwest. The town in which he teaches is considering an open-space initiative that will limit urban growth. Environmentalists support the law because they believe it will help preserve local farms and wildlife habitats; business concerns oppose it because of its potential to curtail economic growth. Jason talks about the initiative in class, explaining how it will help the environment. He mentions that he is the head of a local action committee and that interested students can receive extra credit for passing out fliers after school. Some parents complain to Jason’s principal, claiming that he shouldn’t be spending school time on political activity. His principal calls him in to discuss the parents’ concerns, and during the meeting, Jason adamantly argues that he has the right to involve students in local politics, claiming that a part of every course should be devoted to civic awareness and action. His principal points out that Jason was hired to teach science, not social studies, and that parents’ concerns are important. Sasha Brown looks at the two folders in front of her and frowns. Her job is to recommend one of two students from her school for a prestigious math scholarship to the state university.

226  Chapter 7 Although the decision will ultimately be made by a committee, she knows that her recommendation will carry considerable weight because she is chair of the math department. Brandon, one of the candidates, is a bright, conscientious student who always scores at the top of his class. The son of a local engineer, he has a good grasp of math concepts. Sonia, the other candidate, is not as strong conceptually but often solves problems in creative ways. The fact that she is female is also an issue because a girl hasn’t won the award in its six-year history. In addition, Sasha knows that Sonia comes from a single-parent family and needs the scholarship more than Brandon does.

What would you do in Jason’s position? In Sasha’s? Do guidelines exist to help you, and how do these dilemmas relate to teacher professionalism? We address these issues in this chapter. Before you begin your study, please respond to the items in the What I Believe feature.

What I Believe Education Law and Me Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. Each will be addressed in the sections Revisiting My Beliefs found throughout the chapter. 1. As a teacher, I have the legal right to determine what is taught in my classroom. 2. I’m responsible for the safety of the students in my classroom. 3. As a teacher, I will be held to the same moral standards as other citizens. 4. The law prohibits any form of prayer in schools. 5. Corporal punishment in schools is prohibited by law.

LEARNING OUTCOME 7.1  Explain the differences between legal and ethical influences on the teaching profession. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Law, Ethics, and Teacher Professionalism As a professional, you are responsible for making decisions in ill-defined situations, you have the autonomy to do so, and you’ll use your professional knowledge to make those decisions. Understanding the legal and ethical aspects of your profession is an important part of this knowledge. However, if you’re typical, you may not be prepared to deal with these issues when they arise. And, not surprisingly, the students you’ll teach are also often unaware of their legal rights and responsibilities. One comment before you begin your study of this chapter. When our students read this chapter, they frequently ask why we’ve included dated references, sometimes from the 1970s and 1980s. This concern is legitimate; prospective teachers should have access to and understand the latest research about teaching. However, educational law, like law in general, is based upon precedents established by earlier courts. We present these original cases so that you can access these precedent-setting cases and understand where current laws originate. In this chapter, we discuss educational law and how it can influence your life as a professional. We begin by putting the legal aspects of teaching into a larger context.

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 227

Limitations of Laws The answer to the question we asked in Teaching and You is unequivocally yes. You’re responsible for the safety of children in your classroom and school, so you can’t ignore the fight. In fact, parents can legally sue teachers if they can demonstrate that teachers failed to protect students from injury. Are you required to physically break up the fight, or can you simply report it to the administration? As with many other situations, the law isn’t precise and doesn’t specify an exact response. Laws regulate your professional rights and responsibilities, but two limitations affect the extent to which they can guide your decisions. First, laws are purposely general, so they can apply to a variety of specific situations. For example, regarding the protection of students from injury, teachers are required to intervene in the case of fights on a playground, they also need to supervise chemistry experiments, maintain order at school assemblies, and stop horseplay in locker rooms. Jason’s dilemma is another case. The law generally protects a teacher’s freedom of speech, but does it allow him to campaign in his classroom and present issues that may not be a part of the assigned curriculum? The law doesn’t provide specific answers to these questions, so your professional judgment will be crucial. A second limitation of laws is that they were created in response to problems that existed in the past, so they don’t provide specific guidelines for future decisions. New situations often raise new legal questions. For instance, the use of technology raises a number of questions: In what ways are students’ emails and Facebook messages restricted? Are your professional emails protected by privacy clauses, or are they public domain? What kinds of materials can you legally download from the Internet? What can you legally copy? Experts wrestle with these issues, and preliminary guidelines exist, but you will often have to make decisions based on your professional judgment and your knowledge of the law as it exists. This again illustrates why your knowledge of legal issues is so important.

Ethical Dimensions of Teaching Laws tell teachers what they can do (their rights) and what they must do (their responsibilities), but laws don’t tell us what we should do. For decisions about appropriate conduct, we need to turn to professional ethics, moral standards that guide professional behavior. For instance, grounded in the Hippocratic Oath, the medical profession pledges to do its best to benefit patients, tell the truth, and maintain patients’ confidences. Other professions have similar ethical codes that are designed to guide practitioners and protect clients. We introduced the National Education Association’s (NEA) Code of Ethics in Chapter 1, when we examined teacher professionalism (see Figure 1.4). The NEA code provides guidance when teachers face ambiguous professional issues, such as those described at the beginning of the chapter. As with the law, codes of ethics are limited; they provide only general guidelines for professional behavior. To see why, let’s look again at Jason’s dilemma. Under Principle I of the NEA Code of Ethics, Item 2 states, “the educator . . . shall not unreasonably deny the student access to varying points of view.” Has Jason been balanced and fair in presenting both sides of the environmental and political issue? A code of ethics isn’t, and never can be, specific enough to provide a definitive answer. Jason must answer the question for himself based on his personal philosophy of education and, within it, his personal code of ethics. The limitations of the NEA code are also illustrated in Sasha’s case. Item 6 of ­Principle I restrains teachers from discriminating “on the basis of race, color, creed, [or] sex,” but it doesn’t tell Sasha which student to choose. Judged strictly on academics, Brandon appears to be the better candidate. If Sasha believes that Sonia is less talented than Brandon, choosing her because she is female would be granting her an unfair advantage. On the other hand, Sasha may believe that Sonia’s math talents are different

Teaching and You You’re working in a middle school, and you see a fight between two students on the playground. Does the law address your responsibilities in a situation like this?

228  Chapter 7 from—but equal to—Brandon’s and that it’s ethically valid to consider her financial need and the good that might result from recognizing a female in a male-dominated area of the curriculum. In response to these complexities, teachers are often encouraged to “treat all students equally.” But even this edict isn’t as simple as it appears on the surface. Expert teachers purposely call on shy students to involve them in lessons, sometimes avoid calling on assertive students who tend to dominate discussions, and give students who struggle with English more time to answer questions and finish tests. Teachers treat students differently depending on their individual needs; professional ethics direct teachers to treat all students equitably, but not always equally. These examples illustrate why developing your personal philosophy of education is so important. A philosophy of education provides a framework for thinking about educational issues and guides your professional practice in situations where school policy and codes of ethics are not specific. MyLab Education Self-Check 7.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 7.2  Describe how the legal system at the federal, state, and local levels influences education. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

The U.S. Legal System When making professional decisions, you will be influenced by the legal system in our country, which is a complex web of rulings that originate at the federal, state, and local levels. Laws regulating schools and teachers are part of this larger legal system that uses peoples’ rights and responsibilities as the basis for defining fairness.

Federal Influences Through amendments to the Constitution and specific laws enacted by Congress, the federal government plays a central role in defining the rights and responsibilities of teachers and students.

Constitutional Amendments Teaching and You How much freedom do you have in selecting topics to teach? Are you limited in what books and articles you can ask your students to read? Can you publicly criticize the administrators and school boards you work for? How much freedom do students have in running their school newspapers and yearbooks?

The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees our country’s citizens freedom of speech, but where is the line drawn with respect to the questions we asked in Teaching and You? For example, you can’t have your students read Playboy magazine, but how about Catcher in the Rye, a classic coming-of-age novel with explicit sexual references? Legal uncertainties also exist with respect to the second and third questions. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. To what extent does this amendment protect you and your students? For instance, can school officials search students’ backpacks and purses when they’re on school grounds? Are students’ lockers considered personal property, or can they be searched if school officials suspect they contain drugs or weapons? The Fourth Amendment provides general guidelines about search and seizure but doesn’t specifically answer these questions. The Fourteenth Amendment states, “Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” What does “due process” mean in the context of schools? For example: • Can you be fired without a formal hearing? • Can students be expelled from class without formal proceedings? • How long can a student be suspended from school, and what kinds of deliberations need to precede such a suspension?

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 229

Our country’s Supreme Court is often called upon to interpret these laws and decide how they apply to the 50 states. But, in recent years, the Supreme Court has been hesitant to intervene in contentious educational issues (Driver, 2018). Chief Justice Roberts explained, “You can’t expect to get a whole list of regulations from the Supreme Court. That would be bad, because we wouldn’t do a good job at it” (Walsh, 2014a, p. 20). This reticence reflects a conservative philosophical belief that less is better with respect to federal laws and regulations, and legal decisions are best made at the local level. Unfortunately, this approach to the Constitution provides general guidelines about due process, but specific decisions are left to you and other educators. That’s why understanding these legal issues is so important to you.

Federal Laws Federal laws passed in Congress also influence education. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states, “No person in the United States shall on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” This law helped end school segregation in our country. Similarly, Title IX, passed in 1972, prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender and has been instrumental in helping equalize the resources provided for boys’ and girls’ sports (Brennan, 2017).

State and Local Influences States also influence education by passing laws regulating teachers’ qualifications, working conditions, and legal rights. For instance, all states require a bachelor’s degree to teach, and many are now requiring a major in an academic area (Education Commission of the States, 2017). States also create departments of education with a variety of responsibilities, such as determining the length of the school year and approving textbooks. They also pass laws creating local school districts, which are then legally responsible for the day-to-day functioning of schools.

The Overlapping Legal System Overlapping levels in the legal system correspond to different responsibilities, but conflicts sometimes occur. When they do, the system attempts to resolve disputes at a lower level before sending them to a higher one. Let’s look at two examples.

Brenda Taylor has been hired to teach American history at a rural high school. Three days before the school year begins, her principal informs her that she will be the debate team sponsor. She objects, saying she knows nothing about debate. When the principal insists, she looks into her contract and finds that a description of her duties includes the phrase “and related extracurricular activities.” It doesn’t mention the debate team. She complains again to her principal, but he is desperate to find someone and insists that it be Brenda. She writes a letter to the school board, which appoints a grievance committee. The committee rules in the district’s favor. Brenda, not willing to back down, hires a lawyer, and her case goes to a state court. Henry Ipsinger likes his job in a suburban middle school but disagrees with the school’s priorities. A strong proponent of middle school philosophy, he believes that middle schools are supposed to be for all kids, not just the academically and athletically talented. He especially objects to his school’s participation in Academic Olympics, an interschool academic competition, and the school’s emphasis on competitive football and basketball. Henry isn’t afraid to express his opinions and, to the consternation of his principal, frequently does so at faculty meetings. When his concerns aren’t addressed, he takes his complaints to school board meetings. His complaints fall on deaf ears, although they raise a number of eyebrows. He then tries politics, openly backing opposition candidates to the school board. His involvement in

230  Chapter 7 local politics was the final straw: At the end of the school year, he is cited for insubordination, and his contract isn’t renewed. Livid, Henry hires a lawyer, claiming his First Amendment right to freedom of speech has been violated. The case works its way through the court system all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Can you be asked to perform duties beyond your teaching responsibilities? Can you be fired because of your professional opinions? Both questions fall into a gray area called school law and are addressed by different court systems. Brenda and Henry’s cases both started at the local level, but Brenda’s complaint moved to state courts because her suit involved conditions of employment, which are state responsibilities. Henry’s case went to federal courts because freedom of speech is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. In the next section, we examine your own rights and responsibilities, probably the most important dimensions of school law for teachers. MyLab Education Self-Check 7.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 7.3  Explain how teacher employment, academic freedom, liability, and teachers’ personal lives are influenced by the law. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities This section of the chapter is about you, and it examines one of the most important topics you’ll study in this book—your rights and responsibilities as a teacher. Your understanding of the information in this section can prevent you from being fired or even sued. As citizens, teachers enjoy the same legal safeguards, as do all Americans, including freedom of speech and the right to due process. But because you’re a professional entrusted with the care of children, you have responsibilities beyond those of other citizens. Your professional rights are outlined in Figure 7.1 and discussed in the sections that follow.

Teacher Employment and the Law How you get and keep a job is one of the first things you’ll think about as you join the teaching profession. The law influences the process and can guide your efforts.

Licensure Licensure is the process by which a state evaluates your credentials to ensure that you are professionally competent and morally fit to work with young people (Education Commission of the States, 2017). Every state has licensure requirements, which typically include

Figure 7.1  Teachers’ Rights Teachers’ Rights

Employment

Academic Freedom

Copyright Law

What are teachers’ rights in terms of employment issues, such as contracts, tenure, dismissal, and collective bargaining?

How much latitude do teachers have in selecting content for their classes?

How much material can teachers “borrow” from external sources?

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 231

a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum number of credit hours in specified areas, such as those required for a teaching major or minor. In addition, 46 states screen prospective teachers for felony arrests or a history of abusing or molesting children (Blad, 2014e). Applicants who fail these screens usually have the right to petition before a state professional practices board that hears their individual cases. Teachers are increasingly being asked to pass competency tests that measure their ability to perform basic skills (reading, writing, and mathematics), their background in an academic area, such as biology, history, or English, and their understanding of learning and teaching. These tests are controversial, but when properly developed and validated, they have been upheld in courts (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). If you meet these requirements, you’ll receive a teaching license that makes you eligible to teach but doesn’t guarantee you a job.

Contracts A teaching contract is a legal employment agreement between you and a local school board. In issuing contracts, school boards must comply with laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or age, and contracts are legally binding for both parties. School boards can be sued for breaking a contract without due cause, and you must also honor a signed contract. Many states permit a teacher’s certificate to be revoked for breach of contract, a practice growing more common as the competition for teachers increases. As a new teacher, you should carefully read your contract and any district policies and procedures manuals covered by it. Extracurricular assignments, such as sponsoring school clubs or monitoring sports events, may not be specified in detail in an initial contract but can be required later. This is what happened to Brenda when her contract said, “. . . and related extracurricular activities.” Courts have generally upheld districts’ rights to require these additional responsibilities, but have also said that a reasonable connection must exist between additional assignments and a teacher’s regular classroom duties. So, for instance, English teachers may be required to sponsor a debate club, but they wouldn’t have to coach an athletic team if they didn’t have corresponding expertise or experience.

Collective Bargaining Many details of your contract, such as working conditions, class size, salaries, benefits, and transfer policies, will be determined by collective bargaining agreements between your school district and the local professional organization (Schimmel et al., 2015). Most teachers belong to either the National Education Association (NEA) or the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the power of collective bargaining is a major reason they do. Collective bargaining occurs when a local chapter of a professional organization negotiates with a school district regarding the rights of teachers and the conditions of employment. Collective bargaining is an effort to ensure that teachers are treated fairly with respect to wages, benefits, and working conditions (Will, 2018a). Legally, teachers have a constitutional right to join a professional organization but cannot be forced to do so (Center for Education & Employment Law, 2017). Nonmembers in 22 states have been required to pay “fair-share” fees to financially support union efforts, however, but this changed with a 5–4 Supreme Court ruling that eliminates the requirement that nonmember teachers pay union dues (Liptak, 2018). Experts predict that this decision will result in fewer union members and reduced clout for unions during contract negotiations (Will, 2018b). In most states, the law also requires that the local school board negotiate with whatever professional organization that represents the most teachers in that district, and the final agreement applies to all district teachers.

232  Chapter 7 If teachers believe a school district isn’t meeting the terms of their contracts or that they are given unreasonable responsibilities, they can file a grievance. A grievance is a formal complaint against an employer alleging unsatisfactory working conditions. When teachers file grievances, they are usually arguing that a working condition, such as class size or a teaching assignment, violates the teacher’s contract. You cannot be dismissed for filing a grievance, and the professional organization that negotiates the contract with the district will usually provide legal counsel. Teachers also have a limited right to strike in 23 states. In the others, state legislatures group teachers with employees, such as police officers and firefighters, believing that the public welfare would suffer from a strike (Schimmel et al., 2015). Because of variability among states related to strikes and items covered by collective bargaining, you should become familiar with the state laws governing these issues. Professional organizations can help in this regard. Collective bargaining has become a political hot potato, with several states passing legislation banning teachers from using it in negotiations with school districts (Rosenthal, 2014). Political conservatives argue that collective bargaining has been responsible for budget shortfalls in many districts; professional organizations, such as NEA and AFT, counter that collective bargaining is a necessary safeguard that ensures teachers’ rights and acceptable salaries. Lawsuits are now blocking some of the bills, and the future of collective bargaining is uncertain.

Tenure Tenure is a legal safeguard that provides job security by preventing teacher dismissal without due cause. Tenure is designed to ensure the stability of the teaching force and protect teachers from political or personal abuse. It is grounded in the principle that teachers should be hired and fired on their professional merits and not because of personal connections or political views. Tenured teachers can be dismissed only for causes such as incompetence, immoral behavior, insubordination, or unprofessional conduct. When any of these charges are filed against a tenured teacher, due process must be observed, and the teacher must be provided with the following (Center for Education & Employment Law, 2017): • A written description of the charges and adequate time to prepare a rebuttal to them • Access to evidence and names of witnesses • A hearing conducted before an impartial decision maker • The right to representation by legal counsel and the opportunity to introduce ­evidence and cross-examine witnesses • A school board decision based on the findings of the hearing • A written record of the hearing and the right to appeal an adverse decision These safeguards, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, provide you with the same constitutional protections enjoyed by the population at large. However, the specifics of due process laws vary considerably from state to state (Underwood, 2018). Experts suggest that you work closely with the professional organization in your state if you are faced with the prospect of due process. Legal Challenges to Teacher Tenure.  As of 2018, teachers in 46 states receive tenure after 1–5 years on the job (ProCon.org, 2018). Florida, North Carolina, Kansas, and Idaho have chosen to repeal tenure, though Idaho’s effort to abolish tenure was reversed by its voters (Education Commission of the States, 2019). Like collective bargaining, teacher tenure has come under attack in several states (Underwood, 2018). Critics claim that tenure protects incompetent teachers; proponents counter that it is necessary to protect teachers’ job security and their ability to express opinions on controversial topics in the classroom. The public is divided with respect

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 233

to teacher tenure; nearly half believe that tenure protections have hurt the quality of public education (Bushaw & Lopez, 2011). Much of the public’s ambivalence can be traced to negative press about tenure and the perception that it protects teachers who aren’t doing their jobs. A potentially damaging challenge to tenure occurred when nine students and their families filed a lawsuit against the state of California, claiming that existing tenure laws violated students’ equal-protection rights by shielding incompetent teachers from dismissal (Sawchuk, 2014h). In Vergara v. California, 2014, the plaintiffs targeted five state statutes governing teacher tenure, dismissal, and seniority (Kohli, 2016). Initially, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge sided with the plaintiffs, dealing a major blow to teacher tenure and other teacher job protections. However, a state appeals court reversed the decision, ruling in favor of teacher unions and supporters of teacher tenure (Sawchuk, 2016). The Vergara case is important because it could serve as a precedent for similar cases in other states (Medina & Rich, 2016). But before this happens, a lengthy appeal process is expected with the possibility that the case and corresponding issues will ultimately be decided by the California Supreme Court. It will likely take years for this case to be decided. The complexity of issues surrounding teacher tenure is illustrated in North Carolina, where state legislators voted in 2013 to eliminate teacher tenure by the 2018 school year. To sell the prospect to teachers, the legislature offered a $5,000 pay raise and four-year contracts to a quarter of the teachers in the state. This is where things get complicated. Should this 25% offer be applied to a school or to a district? Should it be based on true merit or performance, or should other factors be used, such as teaching in hard-to-staff positions, such as special education or math, be used? In addition, teachers in the state are upset because teacher salaries in the state have fallen in recent years, lagging behind 45 other states, and there is no guarantee that the $5,000 will be in place after the first year. Teacher morale has suffered, and many teachers are talking about leaving the profession or moving out of state to teach. As in California, lawsuits followed, both from the state’s teacher organization as well as districts, who find the new law logistically difficult to implement (Sawchuk, 2014b).

Dismissal You’ll work hard to become licensed and perhaps even harder to get a teaching position. You obviously won’t want to lose your job, so it’s important to understand your rights in the unlikely event that this occurs. Most districts—in the 46 states that grant tenure—require a probationary period before tenure is granted—commonly three years. During this time, beginning teachers have a yearly contract, and you can be dismissed for a variety of reasons, such as overstaffing, reduced school enrollments, or evidence of incompetence. Although uncommon, some states require districts to provide a formal hearing on demand when a nontenured teacher is dismissed. If you’re uncertain about your rights during this period, you should check with your district, state office of education, or professional organization. Dishonesty on a job application can also result in a new teacher’s dismissal. Students close to obtaining their degrees are sometimes offered positions during their internships. In some cases, they sign a contract but, because of unforeseen circumstances, are unable to graduate or obtain a license. When districts discover the problem, they can either dismiss the teacher or lower their status to substitute teacher, resulting in lower pay and loss of benefits. Reduction in Force.  Because of budget cuts, declining student numbers, or course or program cancellations, districts are sometimes forced to dismiss teachers. Reduction in force, or “riffing,” as it’s called in the industry, is the elimination of teaching positions because of declining student enrollment or school funds. Typically, districts dismiss

234  Chapter 7 teachers with the least seniority; the last in are the first out. Fortunately, “riffing” occurs relatively infrequently as increasing numbers of students enter our educational system, but it can occur during difficult economic times, such as during the recession that began in 2008. Educational funding decreased both at the federal level and in a number of states, which resulted in increased class sizes and teacher layoffs (Gebeloff, 2018; Huetteman, 2018). When it’s time to look for a teaching position, investigate the funding picture in your state or local district to make sure that your job will secure. Reduction in force can involve both tenured and nontenured teachers and is regulated either by state law or collective bargaining agreements (Schimmel et al., 2015). If you’re faced with this possibility, you should consult representatives from your local professional organization.

Academic Freedom Teaching and You Most of us went into teaching because we wanted to help others grow and develop or because we wanted to share our love of a content area with our students. But what legal restrictions are there in terms of what we can discuss with our students?

Academic freedom refers to your right to choose both content and teaching methods based on your professional judgment. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment, but academic freedom has limits. What are they? Consider the following cases (Schimmel et al., 2015).

In an attempt to motivate his students, a teacher organized his classroom around a sports-competition theme called “Learnball.” Dividing his students into teams, the teacher instituted a system of rewards that included playing the radio and shooting foam basketballs. His principal objected, and when the teacher refused to change his methods, he was fired. He sued to get his job back, claiming his freedom of speech had been violated. An eleventh-grade English teacher was leading a discussion on taboo words in literature. To illustrate his point, he wrote the four-letter slang word for sexual intercourse on the board. Parents complained, and the teacher was dismissed. He sued to get his job back, claiming his freedom of speech had been curtailed.

You will be hired to teach a specific grade level or subject matter area, such as first grade, middle school science, or high school English. State and district curriculum frameworks exist to guide you, and they often identify required textbooks. Within this general framework, teachers are free to teach topics as they see fit. Sometimes these topics and methods are controversial and may result in a teacher being disciplined or even dismissed, as in the cases we just saw. In resolving disputes about academic freedom, the courts consider the following: • Your goal in discussing a topic or using a method • The age of the students involved • The relevance of the materials to the course • The quality or general acceptance of the questioned material or methods • The existence of policies related to the issue In the case of the teacher using the Learnball format, the courts upheld the district’s dismissal. The Court concluded that this teaching strategy was not widely accepted, and the teacher had been repeatedly warned to stop using it. The opposite occurred in the case of the English teacher. The teacher’s job was reinstated because the Court upheld the importance of two kinds of academic freedom: (1) the “substantive” right to use a teaching method that serves a “demonstrated” purpose and (2) the procedural right to use a teaching method not prohibited by clear regulations. The teacher’s goal was for his students to understand taboo words and how they influenced literature, a topic that fell under the English curriculum’s broad umbrella.

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 235

Had this not been the case, or if the teacher had been clearly warned against using this strategy, the outcome would likely have been different. When considering the discussion of controversial topics or the use of controversial methods, trying to decide if they fall within the scope of your assigned curriculum is a useful guideline. In essence, you need to determine if you are speaking as a public employee educating students (which is legal) or a private citizen advocating a particular position (which is questionable). If you choose to move forward, having clear goals in mind and rationales for pursuing them will helpful if objections arise. Academic freedom protects knowledgeable, well-intentioned teachers working within their assigned responsibilities, but the legal process of defending the inclusion of questionable topics can be long and demanding. If you’re uncertain about an issue that might involve academic freedom, you should check with your principal or another school administrator. Grades and grading are also covered under academic freedom. In general, you are free to assign the grades you deem appropriate, with two caveats. First, your grading system should be consistent with accepted practice in the school and district, and second, you should be able to justify the grade with evidence based on student performance. If these requirements are met, courts rarely intervene in issues involving grading (Essex, 2015).

Copyright Laws As teachers, we want to share the most current information with our students. This can involve copying information from newspapers, magazines, books, television programs, and information from the Internet. Sometimes, however, doing so can violate copyright laws (Schimmel et al., 2015). Copyright laws are federal laws designed to protect the intellectual property of authors, which includes printed matter, videos, computer software, and other types of original work. Just as patents protect the intellectual work of inventors, copyright laws protect the work of print writers, filmmakers, software creators, songwriters, and graphic artists. Federal guidelines have been developed to balance the rights of authors with the legitimate needs of teachers and learners. Fair-use guidelines are policies that specify limitations in the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes. For instance, you may make a single copy of a book chapter, newspaper or magazine article, short story, essay, or poem for planning purposes, and you may copy short works (poems that are less than 250 words or prose that is less than 2,500 words) for one-time use in the classroom. However, you may not create class anthologies by copying material from several sources or charge students more than it cost to copy the materials. In addition, pages from workbooks or other consumable materials may not be copied. Video recordings and computer software pose unique challenges. They, too, were created by and belong to someone, and fair-use guidelines apply to them as well. For example, you may record a television program, but you must use it within 10 days. You may show it again for reinforcement but must erase the recording after 45 days. One copy, and no more, of software may be made as a “backup.” Materials on the Internet may not be copied unless specific permission is given or unless the document is published by the federal government. These guidelines restrict teachers, but the restrictions are not usually a major handicap. Students should also be made aware of fair use as they work on projects involving downloaded materials from the Internet. This can provide a “teachable moment” to help them understand its purpose and the ways that copyright laws help protect people.

Teacher Liability In addition to rights, teachers have professional responsibilities, some of the most important being their students’ safety and well-being, the obligation to report suspected child abuse, and the mandate to lead ethical and moral private lives (see Figure 7.2). We begin with the complex issue of teacher liability.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the first item in What I Believe, “As a teacher, I have the legal right to determine what is taught in my classroom.” This statement is true: Academic freedom allows teachers to select content for their classrooms if the content is appropriate for their students and teaching assignment.

236  Chapter 7

Figure 7.2  Teachers’ Professional Responsibilities Teachers’ Professional Responsibilities

Teacher Liability

Child Abuse

Teacher’s Private Lives

What obligations do teachers have in protecting the safety of their students?

What legal responsibilities do teachers have in reporting child abuse?

How are legal issues in terms of teachers’ private lives different from other citizens’?

An elementary teacher on playground duty is mingling with students, watching them as they run around. After the teacher passes one group of students, a boy picks up and throws a rock that hits another boy in the eye, causing serious injury. The injured boy’s parents sue the teacher for negligence. A teacher is taking a group of first graders on a school-sponsored field trip to the Oregon coast. While some of the students are wading in the water, a wave rolls in, bringing a big log with it, and one of the children is seriously injured. The parents sue the teacher for negligence.

Teaching and You Have you ever been asked to care for a younger brother or sister? Or babysit someone else’s child? Did you ever have to worry about their health or safety, or do something to ensure that the children in your care would be safe? How is that similar to what you’ll encounter as a teacher?

Large numbers of children in small spaces combined with youthful exuberance and energy can result in falls, scrapes, and accidents. And field trips, science labs, woodworking shops, and physical education classes pose special liability risks for teachers. You are legally responsible for the safety of children under your supervision. The courts employ the principle of in loco parentis, which means “in place of the parents,” in gauging the limits of teacher responsibility. This principle requires teachers to use the same judgment and care as parents in protecting the children under their supervision. Negligence is a teacher’s or other school employee’s failure to exercise sufficient care in protecting students from injury. If you’re negligent, parents may file a liability suit against you, your school, or district. Experienced teachers are concerned about liability suits, and they influence teachers’ day-to-day professional decision-making. In attempting to define the limits of your responsibilities as a teacher in liability cases, the courts consider whether you do the following: • Make a reasonable attempt to anticipate dangerous conditions. • Take proper precautions and establish rules and procedures to prevent injuries. • Warn students of possible dangerous situations. • Provide proper supervision. In applying these principles to the rock-throwing incident, the courts found no direct connection between the teacher’s actions and the child’s injury (Schimmel et al., 2015). The teacher was properly supervising the children, and events happened so quickly that she was unable to prevent the accident. Had she witnessed—and failed to stop—a similar incident, or had she left the playground for personal reasons, the court’s decision would likely have been different. Field trips pose special safety and legal challenges because of the dangers of transportation and the increased possibility of injury in unfamiliar surroundings. Most school districts require parents to sign a consent form and liability waiver before students are allowed to take field trips. These forms won’t protect you from liability, unfortunately; even with signed forms, you’re still responsible for the safety of the children in your care.

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 237

For instance, in spite of signed forms, the courts ruled in favor of the parents in the Oregon case because this type of accident is fairly common on Oregon coast beaches, and the teacher, they ruled, should have anticipated the accident and acted accordingly. As you supervise, you need to consider both the ages and developmental levels of students, as well as the type of classroom activity. Young children require more supervision than older students, for instance, as do some students with special needs. Science labs, cooking classes, use of certain equipment, and physical education classes pose special safety hazards. Professional organizations, such as the National Science Teachers Association, provide guidelines to help teachers avoid liability-causing situations in their classroom, and beginning teachers should be familiar with their guidelines. In addition, you should carefully plan ahead, anticipate potential dangers, and teach safety rules and procedures to all students. A court case in New York illustrates how complicated professional liability can be. A 14-year-old boy with autism ran away from school; his remains were found months later, and no one knows exactly what happened to him after he left school (Baker, 2014). His mother had alerted his teacher that her son “likes to run,” but the teacher didn’t share the warning with school administrators. Paraprofessionals working in the boy’s classroom failed to notice that he had left the classroom. A security guard saw the boy running in the halls but was distracted by another student before any preventative action could occur and didn’t act, and the principal failed to use a video-based security system to alert authorities about the missing boy. Subsequent analysis of the boy’s individualized education plan, required for all students with exceptionalities, noted that the boy “does get excited at times and runs off.” So, the bottom line is that a young student is dead and his mother is suing the district. Who is to blame? The teacher who didn’t share the parent’s concerns with the administration? The paraprofessionals who were immediately responsible for supervising him, but who were preoccupied with other difficult students? The principal, who didn’t know the code to the school’s security video system, and consequently didn’t alert police immediately about the missing boy? Or the security guard responsible for monitoring the halls and doors? Easy answers don’t exist, which is often true in liability cases.

Teacher Liability: Implications for Teaching In spite of conscientious planning, accidents can happen. As a beginning teacher, we suggest that you consider the liability insurance offered by professional organizations, in the unlikely event that you’re sued. It’s worthwhile for all teachers, and it’s particularly valuable if you plan to teach in areas with higher risk, such as science, vocational education, or sports.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 7.1: Teacher Liability In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a teacher’s efforts to accommodate her responsibilities as she prepares for a student field trip.

Child Abuse Jimmy is a quiet, shy fourth-grader. He rarely volunteers in class and seems to avoid interacting with other children. He is underweight, and efforts to sign him up for federally financed lunches have been rebuffed by his parents, who assert they don’t need help from anyone. One day you notice a bruise on Jimmy’s face. When you talk to him at lunch, he says he fell while playing, but the bruise isn’t consistent with a fall. You ask him how things are at home, and his eyes fill with tears. You ask him if he wants to talk about it; he just shakes his head no. When you ask him if someone hit him, he blurts out, “Please don’t say anything, or I’ll get in trouble.”

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second item in What I Believe, “I’m responsible for the safety of the students in my classroom.” This statement is true. In loco parentis suggests that teachers are indeed responsible for the students in their care. Factors such as the age and ability of the students, as well as dangers inherent in a particular situation, should guide your actions as you work to protect the welfare of your students.

238  Chapter 7 What are your responsibilities in this situation? The student begged you to say nothing; do you honor his request? The answer is no. All 50 states and the District of C ­ olumbia legally require educators to report suspected child abuse (Imber et al., 2014). In ­addition, you’re protected in case of a lawsuit if you act in “good faith” and “­without ­malice.” If you suspect child abuse, you should immediately report the matter to school counselors or administrators. All schools have established procedures for ­dealing with cases of suspected child abuse, and these guidelines help you understand your role in the process.

Teachers’ Private Lives Teaching and You

Mary Evans has taught in Chicago for more than eight years and doesn’t mind the long commute

Have you ever done anything crazy, risky, or even illegal that you didn’t want other people to know about? Most of us have. If these actions were to become common knowledge or widespread in your community, what effect would they have on your teaching career?

from the suburbs because it gives her an opportunity to “clear her head.” She has been living with her boyfriend for several years, and everything seemed fine until one day she discovers that she’s pregnant. After lengthy discussions with her partner, she decides to keep the baby but not get married. When her pregnancy becomes noticeable, her principal calls her in. She affirms that she isn’t married and doesn’t intend to be. He asks for her resignation, suggesting she is a poor role model for her students. Gary Hansen has lived with the same male roommate for several years. They are often seen shopping together in the local community, and they even attend social events together. Students and other faculty “talk,” but Gary ignores suggestions that he’s gay until the principal calls him into his office, confronts him, and threatens dismissal.

An individual’s right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is one of our c­ ountry’s founding principles. What happens, however, when your lifestyle conflicts with those of the community where you work? Is your private life really “private,” or can you be dismissed for what you do in your free time? In answering these questions, the courts have relied on a definition of teaching that’s broader than classroom instruction. Teachers do more than help students understand English and history, for instance; they also serve as role models. As a result, teachers are scrutinized more closely than people in general. Other professionals, such as attorneys or physicians, might be able to lead lifestyles at odds with community values, but is the same true for teachers? What are teachers’ rights with respect to their private lives? Clear answers don’t exist. Morality and what constitutes a good role model are contextual. For example, in the 1800s, women’s teaching contracts often required them to: • Abstain from marriage. • Be home between the hours of 8:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M. unless attending school functions. • Wear dresses no more than two inches above the ankle. More recently, pregnant teachers were required, even if married, to take a leave of absence once their condition became noticeable. Obviously, views of morality change. As the California Supreme Court noted, “Today’s morals may be tomorrow’s ancient and absurd customs” (Schimmel et al., 2015, p. 278). Moral standards also vary among communities; what’s acceptable in large cities may not be in suburbs or rural areas. Cities provide a measure of anonymity, and notoriety is one criterion courts use to decide whether your private activities damage your credibility as a role model. Notoriety describes the extent to which a teacher’s behavior becomes known and is controversial. For example, many young people are choosing to live together as an alternative to marriage, and this lifestyle is obviously less noticeable in a large city than in smaller communities.

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 239

Teachers’ Private Lives: LGBTQ Issues and Sexual Behavior LGBTQ issues illustrate how schools can become legal battlegrounds for people’s differing values and beliefs. For instance, some people believe that being LGBTQ is a choice and is morally wrong, so they shouldn’t be allowed to work with young people. Others believe a person’s sexual orientation is irrelevant to schools and teaching. When the issue has gone to courts, they have generally ruled in favor of LGBTQ teachers. In a landmark California case, a male teacher’s romantic relationship with another man was reported to the state board of education, which revoked his license. The board argued that state law required teachers to be models of good conduct and that this behavior was inconsistent with the moral standards of the people of California (Morrison v. State Board of Education, 1969). The California Supreme Court disagreed, concluding that “immoral” isn’t precisely defined, and evidence indicating that Morrison’s behavior adversely affected his teaching didn’t exist. In other cases involving public sexual behavior, such as soliciting sex in a park, courts have ruled against teachers (Essex, 2015). Notoriety was a key element in these cases. The case involving the unwed mother further illustrates the murkiness of school law. A case in Nebraska resulted in the dismissal of an unwed mother because the school board claimed there was “a rational connection between the plaintiff’s pregnancy out of wedlock and the school board’s interest in conserving marital values” (Brown v. Bathke, 1976). In other cases, however, courts have ruled in favor of pregnant unwed teachers, including one in Ohio who became pregnant through artificial insemination (Schimmel et al., 2015). Although the law is ambiguous with respect to teachers’ private sexual lives, it’s very clear regarding sexual relations with students. Teachers are in a position of authority and trust, and any breach of this trust will result in dismissal. When teachers take sexual advantage of their students, they violate both legal and ethical standards and their actions are traced on state databases that can result in termination and legal actions against future employment (Blad, 2014e).

Teachers’ Private lives; Implications for Teaching So, where does all this leave you? First, the law and professional ethics are completely clear in one area—absolutely no romantic or sexual relationships with students. Second, other behaviors, such as drug offenses, excessive drinking, driving under the influence of alcohol, felony arrests, or even misdemeanors, such as shoplifting, can result in dismissal (Essex, 2015). Further, your classroom is part of the workplace; courts do not view it as private property (Schimmel et al., 2015). If school officials have reason to suspect illegal activity, such as drug use, they can search your desk or file cabinets without a warrant. Courts allow districts wide latitude in ensuring that schools are safe and positive learning environments. In Teaching and You, we asked if you had ever done anything crazy, risky, or illegal. Hopefully, if your answer was yes, those behaviors are in your past because legal problems can jeopardize your career. Finally, in cases where the law is less precise, generalizations, such as “Consider the community in which you live and teach,” provide some guidance, as do representative court cases. In these instances, remembering that we are legally and ethically required to be role models for our students, combined with personal discretion, will help us make wise decisions with respect to our private lives.

Teachers with AIDS In determining the rights of teachers with AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) or HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infections, the courts have used nondiscrimination as the legal principle guiding their decisions. The foundation for this principle was established in a case involving a Florida teacher with tuberculosis (School Board of Nassau County, Florida v. Arline, 1987). The courts’ dilemma involved weighing

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third item in What I Believe, “As a teacher, I will be held to the same moral standards as other citizens.” This statement isn’t true: You are, in fact, held to higher moral standards because you serve as a role model for your students.

240  Chapter 7 Teaching and You Have you ever posted or written something on the Internet that you wished you hadn’t? How hard was it to correct your mistake?

the rights of individuals against the public’s concern about the possible spread of disease. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the teacher, considering the disease a handicap and protecting the teacher from discrimination because of it. The Florida decision set a precedent for a California case involving a teacher with AIDS who had been removed from the classroom and reassigned to administrative duties (Chalk v. U.S. District Court Cent. Dist. of California, 1988). The Court ruled in favor of the teacher, using medical opinion to argue that the teacher’s right to employment outweighed the minor risk of communicating the AIDS virus to children.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Technology and Legal Restrictions on Teachers’ Freedom to Communicate with Students State lawmakers have responded. In Missouri, for instance,

Is it okay to be Facebook friends with your students? What about sending them direct messages on Twitter? Or should you

the legislature passed a law banning electronic communication

text students from your cell phone? As a teacher, you will face

between teachers and students but repealed it months later

questions such as these when you begin your teaching career.

after critics warned of legal and logistical problems (Perez,

Technology is everywhere, and it has opened doors for teach-

2018). Other states and districts, either have, or are considering,

ers, both personally and professionally. It allows us to communi-

similar restrictions on teachers’ private text messages to

cate with friends, colleagues, and students more easily than we

students and social networking interactions between teachers

ever have in the past. But recent legislation and court cases have

and students. For instance, Naperville, a suburb of Chicago,

raised red flags about our rights and responsibilities with respect to

already bans communications between teachers and students

our use of technologies, such as the Internet and cell phones.

on teachers’ personal media accounts, and Louisiana requires

In the past, students’ peeks into their teachers’ lives

that all teacher-student media contacts through social media

amounted to isolated incidents, such as running into them at the

or personal electronic devices must be approved by the school

local grocery store. Now, students only have to log onto their

district and documented (Perez 2018). But most states have

computers to find their teachers’ Facebook profiles, Tweets, or

hesitated to jump into this complex legal fray, concerned about

personal blogs, and inappropriate information in these postings

both teachers’ and students’ First Amendment rights to free

can cause professional problems. Experts in this area advise,

speech, as well as the enormous logistical problems involved

“Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want on the front page of

in enforcing such a law (Schimmel et al., 2015). For example,

a newspaper.” For instance, a Massachusetts administrator was

students may need to contact a teacher about questions on

forced to resign after describing residents of her community as

a homework assignment. Currently, most states leave this

“snobby and arrogant” on her Facebook site (Manning, 2010).

decision to local school districts, so you should check very

Interactions with parents likely led her to feel that way, but she

carefully with district guidelines and discuss the issue with other

certainly didn’t intend the whole world, including the parents she

experienced teachers.

worked with, to know how she felt. In a more recent case, a middle school teacher took a

The Issue

topless selfie and sent it to her boyfriend (Gold, 2019). Unfor-

Should teachers’ electronic communications with students be

tunately, the photo found its way onto the Internet, where a

restricted? Here are arguments on both sides of this complex

student discovered it, resulting in the teacher’s firing; her super-

issue. Pro suggests that yes, they should be, and con takes the

intendent defended the firing claiming that the photo resulted

opposite position.

in her inability to be a proper “role model” for her students. So despite annual evaluations describing her as exemplary, the teacher now has to resort to the courts to try to get her job back. Again, don’t post anything on the Internet that you don’t want the whole world to see. Teacher–student communications can also be problematic. In the past, teachers could talk openly one-to-one with students,

Pro • These laws provide both teachers and students with clear guidelines about appropriate and inappropriate teacher– student interactions. • Parents want and need safeguards for their children’s safety.

only needing to keep the classroom door open to avoid any hint

• The laws only target individual messages to students

of impropriety. Cell phones and the Internet have changed that,

and allow group messages in which teachers can

providing opportunities for inappropriate relationships between

clarify assignments or provide group feedback about

teachers and their students.

homework.

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 241

Con

• Coaches and sponsors of extracurricular activities, who often

• These laws create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust between teachers and students, and professional codes of

use their personal cell phones to coordinate last-minute logistical concerns, will be hampered by these restrictions.

ethics already address this issue. • Laws such as these inhibit legitimate one-to-one communi-

The Question

cation between teachers and their students. The burden of

Now it’s your turn to take a position on the issue. Are legal

documenting such interactions discourages teachers from

attempts to restrict teachers’ one-to-one communications with stu-

communicating with their students.

dents a good idea or a step backward for the teaching profession?

MyLab Education Self-Check 7.3

LEARNING OUTCOME 7.4  Describe the legal implications of religion in schools. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Religion and the Law Religion provides a fertile ground for helping us understand the complexities of educational law and how conflicting views of education can result in legal challenges. Religion plays an important role in the lives of Americans. For instance, more than 7 of 10 people in our country claim a preference for some religious group, with 48% calling themselves Protestant, 22% Catholic, and 7% affiliating with other faiths, including Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam (Pew Research Center, 2019). To add to this diversity, Christians, who use the Bible as the centerpiece of their religion, have drastically different views about the Bible. For example, one poll found that 28% believe that the Bible is the actual word of God; 47% think it’s the inspired word of God; and 21% believe that the Bible is an ancient book of fables, legends, history, and moral precepts (Blow, 2014). Given the religious diversity in our country and these divergent views of the Bible, it’s easy to see why these topics can become legal flashpoints in our schools. Because of this religious diversity, the framers of our Constitution were careful to keep religion separate from government. The First Amendment to the Constitution establishes the principle of separation of church and state:

Teaching and You How religious are you? Do you ever discuss your religious beliefs with your friends? What will you do if one of your students asks, “Do you believe in God?” or “Do you go to church?”

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Two of the clauses of this amendment have implications for us as teachers. The establishment clause prohibits the establishment of a national religion. The words “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” is the free exercise clause, which prohibits the government from interfering with individuals’ rights to hold religious beliefs and freely practice religion. Interpretations of both have led to legal battles. Because religion is central to many people’s lives, the issue of religion in schools is legally contentious, and educators are often caught in the crossfire. Important questions that have arisen include: • Are students and teachers allowed to pray in schools? • Can religion be included in the school curriculum? • Are religious clubs allowed access to public school facilities? We answer these questions in the sections that follow.

MyLab Education Video Example 7.1 Our students will come to schools with varying religious beliefs. Here, fifth-grade teacher DeVonne Lampkin describes adaptations she makes to accommodate the religious beliefs of one of her students. DeVonne also describes the support the student receives from her classmates.

242  Chapter 7

Prayer in Schools In the past, prayer and scripture reading were common in many, if not most, schools. In fact, they were required by law in some states. For instance, Pennsylvania passed legislation in 1959 that required daily Bible reading in schools, but exempted children whose parents objected. The law was challenged, and our country’s Supreme Court ruled that it violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause (Abington School District v. Schempp, 1963). Nondenominational or generic prayers designed to skirt the issue have also been outlawed. In a New York case, the Supreme Court held that generic prayers also violated the establishment clause (Engle v. Vitale, 1962). Neither schools nor teachers can officially encourage student prayer, but it’s permissible when student-initiated and when it doesn’t interfere with other students or the functioning of the school (Essex, 2015). The law also forbids the official use of religious symbols in schools. For example, the courts ruled that a 2-by-3-foot portrait of Jesus Christ displayed in the hallway next to the principal’s office was unconstitutional (Schimmel et al., 2015). Also, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in all school classrooms (Stone v. Graham, 1981). But religion-in-schools supporters don’t give up easily. In 2018 Alabama placed a state constitutional amendment on the ballot to allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in schools and other public properties (Peter, 2018). Although the amendment passed easily, legal experts predict another legal challenge and probable defeat for this measure. These cases illustrate a clear legal trend; officially sanctioned prayer and religious symbols—whether they come from school boards, principals, or teachers—violate the principle of separation of church and state and are not allowed in public schools. Our students may be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, members of other religions, or belong to no religion at all. Imposing a particular form of prayer or religion on children in a school is both illegal and unethical because it can exclude children on the basis of religion. On the other hand, schools cannot—nor should they want to—prohibit students from praying privately without disrupting class time. Although the courts have been clear about denying prayer as a regular part of schools’ opening ceremonies, the issue of prayer at graduation and other school activities is less clear. In a landmark case, a high school principal asked a clergyman to provide the graduation invocation and also suggested the content of the prayer. The Supreme Court ruled that this was a violation of the separation of church and state (Lee v. Weismann, 1992). The school’s involvement in the prayer was the key point; it is uncertain whether the Court would have banned the prayer if students or parents had initiated it. The Supreme Court also voted six to three against student-led prayers at football games in Texas; the Court concluded that students would perceive the pregame prayer as “stamped with the school’s seal of approval,” thus violating the separation of church and state (Schimmel et al., 2015). More recently, the Supreme Court considered a case involving a high school football coach who prayed on the field after games, with some of his athletes joining him (Herold, 2019). While declining to take up the case from lower courts, some on the Court weighed the coach’s free speech and free-exercise-of-religion rights versus the non-establishment clause of the Constitution. The controversies continue. In a twist on the school prayer issue, several states have instituted mandatory moments of silence in schools (Schimmel et al., 2015). Critics contend these pauses are nothing more than veiled attempts to institute a minute of prayer; advocates say they are designed to help students relax and focus on the day ahead. Courts have used the “Lemon” test to judge the legality of these efforts, named after a landmark legal case in this area (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971). In applying the test, the courts ask these questions: • Is there a secular purpose to the practice? • Does the practice advance or inhibit religion? • Does the practice avoid excessive government entanglement in issues of religion?

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When applying these criteria to state laws, the courts look to the reasons behind the laws (Essex, 2015). If the reasons are secular, the laws are allowed to stand; if religious intents are involved, the laws are ruled unconstitutional.

Religious Clubs and Organizations Organized prayer in schools is illegal, but it may be legal for extracurricular religious clubs to meet on school grounds. In one instance, a student in Omaha, Nebraska, requested permission to meet with her Bible study group before school. Officials refused, concerned about the possibility of undesirable groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, using the case as precedent. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the student’s favor, stating that schools must allow religious, philosophical, and political groups to use school facilities in the same ways as other extracurricular organizations (Board of Education of the Westside Community School v. Mergens, 1990). The fact that the club was not school sponsored or initiated was central to the Court’s argument.

Religion in the Curriculum A high school biology teacher prefaces his presentation on evolution with a warning, stating that it is only a “theory” and that many theories have been proven wrong in the past. He encourages students to keep an open mind and offers creationism, or the Biblical version of the origin of the world, as an alternative theory. As part of his presentation, he holds up a pamphlet published by a religious organization that refutes evolution and argues that creationism provides a more valid explanation. He offers the pamphlets to interested students.

Where does religion fit in the school curriculum? Can a well-intentioned teacher use the classroom to promote religious views? Given court decisions on school prayer, “no” or “never,” is the simple answer. But this issue isn’t that simple. Evolution is an example. Concern over this issue dates back to the famous 1925 “Scopes Monkey Trial,” in which a high school teacher, John Scopes, was prosecuted for violating a Tennessee state law that made it illegal to teach any theory that denied the Bible’s version of divine creation. Scopes argued that the law violated his academic freedom, contending that the theory of evolution had scientific merit and should be shared with his high school biology students. In a highly publicized trial, Scopes was found guilty of violating the state law and fined $100, but the decision was later reversed on a technicality. Evolution is a contentious issue today because of the diverse views that people across our country have about it. In a Gallup poll, for instance, 42% of respondents said that they believed God created humans in their present form; 31% said that humans evolved with God’s guidance; and 19% said that humans evolved, but that God had no hand in the process (Blow, 2014). Science teachers attempting to teach students about evolution are often caught in the religious crossfire. Several states have attempted to use legislation to resolve the evolution issue (Schimmel et al., 2015). As examples, the Arkansas legislature passed a law in the 1960s banning the teaching of evolution in that state. Our country’s Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional because it violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. In 1982, the Louisiana legislature, trying to create a middle ground, passed a “Balanced Treatment Act,” requiring that evolution and creationism be given equal treatment in the curriculum. The Supreme Court also threw this law out, arguing that instead of being balanced, it was designed to promote a particular religious viewpoint. In another case involving religion in public schools, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that intelligent design did not qualify as a scientific theory (Schimmel et al., 2015). Intelligent design is the belief that the complexity we see in living things, including humans, is the result of some unnamed guiding force. The Dover, Pennsylvania, school

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “The law prohibits any form of prayer in schools.” This statement isn’t true. The law doesn’t prohibit prayer in schools per se. Students can legally pray in school, but neither school officials nor teachers can lead or sanction organized prayer in schools.

244  Chapter 7 board voted to require that intelligent design be taught as an alternative to evolution. Parents in the district sued, claiming that intelligent design was an attempt to interject religion into public schools. The courts agreed, concluding that the Board’s Intelligent Design Policy violated the Establishment Clause. The courts explained, “In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We have concluded that it is not, and, moreover, that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents” (LaMorte, 2012, pp. 59–60). Although the court’s ruling had legal standing only in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, legal experts predict that the legal precedent it established will carry considerable weight in future cases involving intelligent design. The broader issue of religion in the curriculum has also surfaced in several other court cases. In Tennessee, fundamentalist parents objected to including literature, such as The Wizard of Oz, Rumpelstiltskin, and Macbeth, in the curriculum, arguing that these works exposed children to feminism, witchcraft, pacifism, and vegetarianism. A lower court supported the parents, but a higher federal court reversed the decision, asserting that accommodating every parent’s religious claims would “leave public education goals in shreds.” It supported the right of districts to use religiously controversial materials if they were useful in achieving important educational goals (Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools, 1987, 1988). Comparable cases in Alabama (Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 1987) and Illinois (Fleischfresser v. Directors of School District No. 200, 1994) resulted in similar outcomes. When schools can show that learning materials have a clear purpose, such as exposing students to time-honored literature, parental objections are usually overridden.

Diversity: Teaching About Religion in Schools A significant difference exists between teaching about different religions and advocating a particular one. Religion has had an enormous impact on our art, literature, and history (e.g., the Crusades, New World exploration). Avoiding the study of religion leaves students in a cultural vacuum that shortchanges their education (Moore, 2018). Unfortunately, legal controversies have had a dampening effect on teaching about religion in schools (Zubrzycki, 2016). But how can schools teach about religion without provoking religious controversies? Educators across the country wrestled with this problem and developed the following guidelines (Haynes, 2008): • Teachers and administrators in public schools should not advocate any religion. • Public schools should not interfere with or intrude on a student’s religious beliefs. • Public schools may teach about the history of religion, comparative religions, the Bible as literature, and the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries. Experts caution that the Bible should not be used as a history textbook, should not be taught exclusively from a Christian perspective, and should not be used to promote the Christian faith or Christian values (Schimmel et al., 2015). In addition, a student paper in a comparative religions class can include religious references and opinions, but it would be inappropriate for that student to present that paper to promote one religion over another. To address this issue, the First Amendment Center, a national organization promoting free speech, published the guidelines The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide (First Amendment Center, 1999). The guidelines, endorsed by the NEA, the AFT, and the National School Boards Association, recommend using secondary sources to provide additional scholarly perspectives with respect to the Bible as a historical document. These guidelines seem straightforward, but future legal battles over this emotion-laden issue are likely.

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Diversity and You Religion and the Community in Which You’ll Teach The English department in a rural high school is in the middle of

“Yeah, but good luck if you try,” Steve, a four-year veteran,

their monthly departmental meeting. After a review of next year’s

interjects. “When we studied English literature, and I talked

budget issues and scheduling problems, the chair of the depart-

about King Arthur and the Crusades, I thought it would be useful

ment asks if anyone has questions or problems they’d like to

if the students know a little about the Muslim religion and con-

discuss. You’re a first-year teacher and just had an unpleasant

flicts with Christianity over the years. I received several irate calls

discussion with a parent on the phone. You had begun a unit on

from parents about promoting Islam. You’d think I was trying to

American novels, and in your overview of the subject, you brought

start a mosque here in Greensburg. Luckily, our principal cov-

in a Bible, held it up, and discussed how it had influenced works

ered my back, but we both concluded that this might not be the

such as Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, and even To Kill a Mock-

best topic to teach right now, especially with all the 9/11 stuff

ingbird. The parent was irate about the use of the Bible in a public

and the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.”

school class, claiming it had no place in the curriculum. You ask

So where does that leave me? Should I shy away from reli-

for advice. The chair looks around the room with a smile and

gion altogether and be intellectually dishonest and shortchange

asks, “Any advice for the newest member of our faculty?”

my students? And if I do decide to get brave and risk teaching

“Welcome to Greensburg,” Harry, a grizzled veteran of 30 years, replies. “We should have warned you. A third of the

about religion in my classes, what legal guidelines are there to follow? What are my realistic options?

parents don’t want any religion in the school, a third want their religion, and a third don’t care. I steer away from any mention of

Consider These Questions

religion in my literature classes. It’s just not worth the hassle.”

1. What is the legal status of teaching about religion in

“Oh, Harry,” Karen responds with an exasperated sigh. “What kind of advice is that for a new teacher? Anyone who knows anything about American literature knows that religion played a major

schools? Why is the distinction between teaching about a religion and advocating for a particular one important?

2. What other factors might influence the advice you give to

role in shaping its themes. You can’t do an honest analysis of any

this first-year teacher about teaching about religion and

major work without discussing the cultural context of the times.”

literature?

MyLab Education Self-Check 7.4

LEARNING OUTCOME 7.5  Describe students’ legal rights and responsibilities. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 2, Learning Differences

Students and the Law The law also helps define students’ rights and responsibilities, and understanding these laws can guide you in your work with them. Students’ legal rights and their corresponding responsibilities fall into seven general areas, outlined in Figure 7.3 and discussed in the sections that follow.

The Educational Rights of Immigrant Children As of 2018, the children of immigrants represented 25% of all American students and are projected to make up a third of the more than 100 million children in our country by 2050 (Crawford & Dorner, 2018). Children of immigrants are the fastest growing segment of our country’s population, and, in 2015, they made up more than 80% of the student population in cities in Florida, New York, Texas, and California (Camaroto, Griffith, & Zeigler, 2017). This brings us to the issue of children whose parents are illegal immigrants. As of 2015, between one-third and one-fourth of the immigrant children in our public schools were in our country illegally. The presence of these children raises questions about the educational legal status of illegal immigrant children (Camaroto et al., 2017).

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Figure 7.3  Students and the Law Students and the Law

Educational Rights of Immigrant Children What rights do immigrant children have in terms of education?

Students’ Rights in Speech and Dress How does the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech apply to students?

Sexual Harassment What are schools’ legal obligations to students in terms of sexual harassment?

Permissible Search and Seizure How are students’ rights to freedom from unlawful searches addressed by schools?

Student Privacy What are students’ privacy rights in terms of their educational work?

Students’ Rights in Disciplinary Actions What legal guidelines exist in terms of student disciplinary actions?

Students with AIDS How are students with AIDS protected by the law?

Who are these children? They are students born outside the United States and brought here illegally by their parents (Crawford & Dorner, 2018). (Any child born in the United States—regardless of their parents’ legal status—is considered an American citizen and is entitled to all the benefits of U.S. citizenship, including access to a public school education.) However, what about the educational rights of children who were born outside the United States and were brought here illegally by their parents? Or what about children—unaccompanied by adults—who arrive at our borders seeking shelter from escalating violence and gang activity in their home countries (Maxwell, 2014d)? Questions such as these were posed to our country’s Supreme Court in 1982 when it examined a Texas law that attempted to deny the children of illegal immigrants access to schools in that state. The Court, in a five-to-four decision, held that funding for the education of these children could not be withheld from local school districts, nor could districts deny enrollment to children not legally admitted to the country (Schimmel et al., 2015). In doing so, the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of public education in maintaining basic civic institutions and the lasting impact of educational deprivation on the life of a child. This ruling, as well as the larger issue of illegal immigration in the United States, was, and remains, intensely controversial (Thompson, 2018). Political conservatives believe that providing educational services and others, such as health care and insurance, to unauthorized immigrants and their children, encourages illegal immigration and places an undue financial and social burden on the country and its citizens. The liberal position, which basically seeks a long-term solution to the illegal immigrants that are already here, is strengthened by polls examining public attitudes toward this issue. For instance, polls have found the following (Thompson, 2018): • The share of Americans calling for lower levels of immigration has fallen from a high of 65% in the mid-1990s to just 35%, a near-record low. • Fears that immigrants bring crime, take jobs from native-born families, or damage the budget and overall economy, are all at all-time lows. • The percentage of Americans saying immigrants “mostly help” the economy is at its highest point since the mid-1990s. • Most people believe immigrants strengthen the country with their work ethic and talents. The politics of this issue remain deeply divided, however, and a political solution in the near future seems unlikely (Thompson, 2018). Reflecting this political turmoil, a number of conservative states have passed laws making it illegal for undocumented immigrants to attend public colleges and receive financial aid (Oh & Cooc, 2011). Liberals counter that the only humane and realistic solution to the problem of unauthorized immigrants is to design a comprehensive system for allowing them, and any children they bring with them, to eventually become American citizens.

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 247

Immigrants and Education: Implications for Teaching In spite of the controversies, the law is clear, “All children in the United States are entitled to equal access to a public elementary and secondary education, regardless of their or their parents’ actual or perceived national origin, citizenship or immigration status” (U.S. Department of Education, 2014, p. 1). Given the large numbers of immigrant students in this country, it is likely that you will encounter them in your professional career. It is your professional and legal responsibility to ensure that these students are provided with a quality education. Doing so can be controversial, as people in some communities across our country are either unaware of this federal directive, or resist its intent. But courageous teachers across the country are helping these students and making their futures much brighter (Mitchell, 2018). You can be among those teachers.

Students’ Rights in Speech and Dress Many parents in an urban middle school are advocating mandatory school uniforms. They believe that wearing uniforms would reduce classroom management problems, discourage the display of gang colors, and minimize social comparisons between wealthy students and those less fortunate. The school administration supports the proposal. The student editors of the school newspaper hear of this proposal and conduct a poll of students that indicates that a majority is opposed to uniforms. The editors want to publish these results together with an editorial arguing for student choice in what to wear. The principal refuses to let them print the article. What are students’ rights in this matter?

As we’ve seen throughout this chapter, the First Amendment guarantees citizens’ freedom of speech, and we want our students to understand and appreciate this right as they prepare to be responsible citizens. Do they retain this right when they enter schools? The answer is yes, but within limits: They have the right to express themselves in schools provided doing so doesn’t interfere with learning. A landmark case in this area occurred during the peak of the controversial Vietnam War. As a protest against the war, three high school students wore black armbands to school, despite the school’s ban on such protests (Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District, 1969). Mary Beth Tinker, one of the students, was a minister’s daughter who felt the Viet Nam war was wrong and objected to a school culture that supported the war (Walsh, 2012). However you feel about her actions, you have to admire a plucky 13-year-old who said she “wasn’t a big rabble rouser” and who felt “scared” when she wore her armband to school (Walsh, 2012, p.10). When the students were suspended, they sued the district, arguing that the suspensions violated their freedom of speech. The case went all the way to our country’s Supreme Court, which ruled seven-to-two in favor of the students. The Court ruled that freedom of speech is a right of all citizens, and students’ freedom of expression should not be curtailed if it isn’t disruptive and doesn’t interfere with the educational mission of the schools (Schimmel et al., 2015). Students’ freedom of speech was tested again in 1986. During a high school assembly to nominate student government leaders, a student made a speech that contained an explicit metaphor comparing a candidate to a male sex organ. Not surprisingly, students in the audience hooted, made sexual gestures, and became disruptive. The student was reprimanded, and he sued, claiming his freedom of speech had been curtailed. This case also went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled seven-to-two that “schools . . . may determine that the essential lessons of civil, mature conduct cannot be conveyed in a school that tolerates lewd, indecent or offensive speech” (Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 1986). In this instance, the Court ruled that the school didn’t violate the student’s freedom of speech because the speech undermined “. . . the school’s basic educational mission” (Walsh, 2012, p. 10).

248  Chapter 7 In a more recent, and bizarre, case involving student freedom of expression, a student unfurled a banner announcing “Bong Hits for Jesus” while his high school was given released time to watch a parade carrying the Olympic torch to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The banner made national news, and school officials, embarrassed by the unwelcome publicity, suspended the student for 10 days for actions advocating drug use. The student sued, claiming this was only a prank to get on television, and that the school was unlawfully limiting his freedom of speech. After several lengthy court cases, the issue landed in the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled six-to-three that the school district had acted legally in reprimanding the boy. Justice Roberts, speaking for the majority, noted that the principal who suspended the student acted properly, and “[F]ailing to act would send a powerful message to the students in her charge . . . about how serious the school was about the dangers of illegal drug use.” He added, “The First Amendment does not require schools to tolerate at school events student expression that contributes to those dangers” (Greenhouse, 2007, p. 3). The fine line between students’ freedom of speech and school policies is illustrated in the problem of anti-gay bullying. On the one hand, educators want to honor all students’ rights to express their own opinions; on the other hand, schools have an obligation to protect LGBTQ students from harassment. For example, a student wearing a “Be Happy, Not Gay” shirt, while potentially hurtful to gay students is still legal under the First Amendment’s freedom of speech provision (Shah, 2012a). However, hurtful actions directed against specific students are not, and districts and teachers are increasingly being held responsible for protecting individuals from harassment. In a court settlement, a Minnesota district was instructed to pay more than a quarter of a million dollars to six plaintiffs who had been subjected to daily taunts of “queer,” ”fag,” “dyke,” and “homo” as well as physical harassment that included being urinated upon, stabbed in the neck with a pencil, and pushed into walls and lockers (Shah, 2012b). The underlying problem was a district policy that required teachers to remain “neutral” when issues of sexual identity arose in class. Student safety and well-being trumps other issues, such as freedom of speech and censorship (Warnick, 2014). We can’t, and shouldn’t, remain neutral when students are being bullied, whether the students are gay or straight. It is our professional responsibility to protect all the students under our care. School newspapers pose a special problem with respect to freedom of speech. Court rulings usually reflect the idea that a school newspaper is an integral part of a school’s extracurricular activities and should be consistent with the school’s goals (Essex, 2015). In a pivotal case, students working on a newspaper wanted to print two articles, one detailing the personal stories of three anonymous, pregnant teenage students, and the other dealing with the effects of divorce on children. The principal objected, arguing that the students in the first story might be identified because of details in the articles. The newspaper authors sued, but the U.S. Supreme Court decided that school newspapers could be regulated in cases of “legitimate pedagogical concerns” (Peiser, 2018). Currently, 14 states have laws in place to safeguard school publications from interference, but all too often, articles are vetoed by school principals hoping to avoid controversies in their communities.

Technology and Teaching: Students’ Freedom of Speech and Technology Technology has redefined the legal boundaries of schools’ control over student speech and behavior. In years past, when students left the school grounds, the influence of district policies ended at school boundaries, superseded by home and parents. The introduction of cell phones and the Internet has erased that boundary and made legal issues surrounding students’ freedom of speech more complex. Our students live in a world of technology; most teenagers consider the Internet and texting a normal, if not essential, part of their everyday lives. But these changes in society have also resulted in new definitions of students’ rights. These changes are evident in three areas: freedom of speech, sexting, and cyberbullying.

School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching 249

Students’ Freedom of Speech.  Students’ freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment, but what happens when student electronic messages hurt others or disrupt school functioning? Two court cases illustrate the complexity of the issues involved.

Students in two different Pennsylvania schools created mock MySpace profiles featuring profiles of their principals. Both contained outrageous and unbelievable statements about the principals (e.g., one called the principal a “big whore” and “sex addict,” and the other claimed the principal was a “big marijuana-smoking steroid freak”). Students in both incidents, who at the time thought this was pretty funny, were suspended and subsequently took their cases to court, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated.

What would you do if you were the judge on these cases? Interestingly, the two cases went to separate courts, which delivered two different opinions (Schimmel et al., 2015). One U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the schools could legally suspend the students because these actions were necessary to preserve the principal’s authority and avert future disruptions. The other court reached just the opposite conclusion, protecting the student’s First Amendment rights and asserting that the school had failed to prove that the posting had significantly disrupted the teaching environment. These contradictory rulings confirm that the whole issue of student freedom of speech on the Internet is currently murky, uncertain territory. A second case involving electronic freedom of speech focused on the issue of school safety.

Six middle school girls in Nevada posted an “Attack a Teacher Day” message on a Facebook page. The students claimed it was just meant as a joke, but they were suspended from school and arrested on the same day that a teenage student in Omaha, Nebraska, fatally shot an assistant principal, wounded the principal, and then took his own life (Associated Press, 2011b).

Five of the students were suspended for 3 days and one for 5 days because of a prior disciplinary issue, and all were given small fines and required to do community service by the courts. While this particular case was resolved fairly cleanly, related cases involving technology and students’ freedom of speech point to the complexities of issues surrounding the issue. Can schools control the contents of students’ private email messages, and what are the limits to students’ freedom of speech? Future court decisions will help answer these questions. Cyberbullying.  Bullying has always been a problem in our schools, but technology has added a new dimension to the problem. One poll of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 revealed that 70% had been cyberbullied (Gibb & Devereu, 2016). Cyberbullying occurs when students use electronic media to harass or intimidate other students (Jones, 2018b). Adjectives like “ho,” “skank,” and “fat bitch” frequently appear in students’ postings about other students, and both parents and school officials are attempting to take action. Cyberbullying becomes a serious problem when it places other students’ mental health at risk. Cyberbullying has caught the attention of state lawmakers, with 49 states passing anti-cyberbullying laws (Schimmel et al., 2015). As an example of the potentially devastating effects of cyberbullying, a student secretly videotaped his college roommate’s sexual encounter with another man and posted the video on the Internet. The student was so devastated by the “outing” that he committed suicide by jumping off a bridge 200 feet into the Hudson River (Hampson, Leinwand, & Marcus, 2010). Incidents of cyberbullying are on the increase (HartwellWalker, 2018).

MyLab Education Video Example 7.2 Bullying has always been a problem in our schools, but technology has added a new dimension to the problem. Here, seventh-grade social studies teacher Chris Gammon describes the steps his school is taking to deal with bullying in general and cyberbullying in particular.

250  Chapter 7

Cyberbullying: Implications for Teaching Cyberbullying hurts, but what schools and teachers can legally do about it is not clear. Schools can regulate school computer use, but their control over students’ personal computers, and other technologies, such as smartphones and tablets, is marginal at best (Essex, 2015). Courts are increasingly skeptical about limiting students’ freedom of speech in the absence of clear evidence that a particular behavior is disrupting a school’s normal functioning. We can address this problem, however, by taking a clear and unequivocal stand against all forms of bullying in our work with students. We can make clear our feelings about the negative effects that bullying, in whatever form, has on everyone in our classrooms. If enough teachers do so, bullying in schools can be reduced. Sexting.  Sexting, in which students send sexual photos, videos, or texts, primarily from one cell phone to another, presents another challenge related to the limits of student free speech. A first question to ask about sexting is, “Why would anyone in their right mind want to broadcast naked pictures of themselves?” The simple answer is they don’t, and the key idea is “broadcast.” Typically, these pictures are sent to an individual, and the sender either doesn’t realize or doesn’t think about the fact that they might be shared with the world at large. Surveys vary about the prevalence of sexting, but one study found that 20% of teens had sent these messages and nearly 40% had received them (Strassberg, McKinnon, Sustaita, & Rullo, 2013). In addition to the personal embarrassment involved, sexting can also become a form of cyberbullying. One Ohio teenager committed suicide after the nude photos she sent her boyfriend via her cell phone were shared with classmates (Manzo, 2009a). Again, the boundaries of students’ free speech and schools’ abilities to limit it are being tested. School authorities, interested in protecting students from harm, actively discourage the practice but are sometimes hesitant to become involved in personal matters affecting students’ mental health and their lives. Unfortunately, students often don’t realize that these messages can go viral, can spread all over the Internet (and their school), and can qualify as child pornography, if the subject is under 18 (Schimmel et al., 2015). The legal controversies over sexting have taken another turn with the emergence of “revenge porn,” which occurs when someone retaliates against a former girlfriend or wife by posting nude or sexual images on the Internet (Janjigian, 2016). In response to this problem, 42 states have passed laws designed to curb the posting of humiliating sexual images (Wang, 2019).

Student Dress Codes Look around you as you go to class and notice the different ways that students dress. How we dress is often an expression of who we are, but is student dress an aspect of free speech covered by the First Amendment? The answer is complex, as we saw in the case involving student protests against the Viet Nam War. Recognizing the complexity of the issue and the need for local norms, the Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to become embroiled in student dress issues, such as hair and skirt length, leaving them to lower courts instead (Schimmel et al., 2015). As a result, whether dress is considered a form of student expression depends on the state and its circuit court. The dress code issue actually has two sides, clothing that is prohibited, and clothing, such as uniforms, that is required (Essex, 2015). Schools have banned clothes, including tank or tube tops; ripped, baggy, or saggy pants; pajama tops or bottoms; sweat pants; hats; hooded sweatshirts; and athletic wear associated with local gangs (Jones, 2018a). When considering whether these restrictions are legal, courts usually ask if they contribute to a positive school learning environment (Underwood, 2018). For instance, student dress that is sexually suggestive is often banned because it can distract other students. As a teacher, you should be aware of the influence of state and local influences on dress codes, both for yourself and your students. For example, in Utah, a politically

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conservative state, the issue of dress codes came up in both dance attire as well as yearbook class photos. In one high school, students were not permitted to enter a dance if boys wore jeans and girls wore dresses that were “backless” (Wood, 2014). When students refused to change, they were denied admission to the dance. In another Utah high school, yearbook photos were digitally altered to cover the excess skin of students who wore sleeveless blouses (Miller & Moulton, 2014). Unfortunately, it’s often a no-win situation for both schools and teachers who are often caught in a local cultural debate about modesty and dress and the role of schools in enforcing community standards. Gender has also become an issue with dress codes. Critics claim that many current dress codes are sexist because they disproportionally target female students, focusing on bare shoulders and short shorts (McClellan, 2018). Some school districts have responded to these criticisms by modifying their codes to allow any kind of clothing that doesn’t send an illegal message, such as hate speech. But messages and images on T-shirts have also raised the issue of students’ freedom of speech. In one case, an Ohio high school banned a T-shirt that said, “Jesus Is Not a Homophobe.” The parents of the student objected, and the courts agreed, saying there was no link between the T-shirt and the district’s ability to run safe and manageable schools (Schimmel et al., 2015). In a second case, schools banned a student from wearing a T-shirt with the message “Homosexuality is shameful.” A federal court upheld the ban because the shirt was worn on the school’s “Day of Silence,” a day in which students were encouraged to reflect on discrimination toward others. During a similar day the year before, student disruptions had occurred. The courts supported the ban, arguing that schools can limit a student’s right to free speech when there is a reasonable risk of disruption to the normal running of the school. Also, schools can prohibit students from saying things at school that demean students who are members of particular groups, such as LGBTQ, Black, Islamic, or Jewish. School officials should protect students’ freedom of speech but must also protect the rights of others and maintain the efficient operation of their schools. School Uniforms.  Largely in response to students’ wearing gang colors, a growing number of public schools are requiring school uniforms. For instance, from 2000 to 2014, the percentage of public schools that required students to wear uniforms increased from 12% to 20% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). Proponents of school uniforms argue that they contribute to improved classroom behavior and respect for teachers, increased school attendance, better academic performance, lower clothing costs, reduced social stratification, and lower rates of crime and violence (Underwood, 2018). Although uniforms are popular with parents and administrators, critics counter that requiring them violates students’ rights, students will find other ways to compete, and uniforms have minimal effect on either behavior or achievement. Instead, they argue, the positive effects are due to greater parental involvement in the school and a visible and public symbol of commitment to school improvement and reform (Chen, 2014a). The courts have generally supported the use of mandatory school uniforms, siding with proponents who argue that they contribute to improved student behavior.

Students’ Rights: Implications for Teaching The complex issue of students’ rights with respect to freedom of speech can become an effective framework for teaching students about the law. But what, exactly, should we strive for when we teach our students about freedom of speech? At one level, we want them to express their opinions about controversial topics because these discussions promote learning, and because the process prepares them to take stands and describe their views later in life. But students also need to understand that individual freedoms have limits; they may not infringe on the rights of others, for instance. By encouraging an open exchange of ideas while reminding students of their responsibilities to one another, we can create classrooms that become models of democracy. This is a powerful and worthwhile ideal.

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Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is unwanted attention of a sexual nature, and it can include touching of a sexual nature; making comments, jokes, or gestures that are directly sexual or have sexual overtones; displaying or distributing sexually explicit pictures, drawings, or written text; or spreading sexual rumors, such as suggesting that an individual had been involved in some sex act (Russ, Moffit, & Mansell, 2017). All students have the right to be free of this form of attention, but unfortunately, sexual harassment is common in many schools, and students and their parents have resorted to courts to curtail the problem. A landmark sexual harassment case in Georgia made its way all the way to our country’s Supreme Court when parents of a fifth-grader sued the school district after several months of repeated warnings from the parents failed to eliminate unwanted touching and sexual comments. The Supreme Court ruled that the district was liable for damages because it had failed to address the problem (Schimmel et al., 2015). You are central to addressing this problem because you are in a position to monitor student interactions, both in your classroom and in hallways. You should clearly communicate that schools should be a safe place for all students, and sexual harassment in any form will not be tolerated.

Permissible Search and Seizure Students’ rights are important, but what happens when these rights conflict with school safety issues? The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens from unlawful search and seizure, and warrants are required before a person, or that person’s property, can be searched. How do these protections apply to students? Again, educators face dilemmas. We don’t want to run our schools like prisons or teach students that personal privacy is not a right. But, because drug and alcohol use and violence on school campuses remain persistent problems, many educators feel compelled to search students and their property or even use entryway metal detectors and surveillance cameras to maintain safe schools. Where do courts draw the line on the issue? The issue of unlawful search and seizure surfaced in New Jersey in the 1980s when a teacher discovered two girls smoking cigarettes in a high school restroom. When questioned by the vice principal, one admitted smoking, and the other, T.L.O., denied the charge. The vice principal opened T.L.O.’s purse and found both cigarettes and rolling papers, which prompted him to empty the purse, where he discovered marijuana, a pipe, empty plastic bags, a number of dollar bills, and a list titled “People who owe me money” (New Jersey v. T.L.O., 1985). T.L.O. confessed that she had been selling marijuana at school and was sentenced to a year’s probation by the juvenile court. T.L.O. appealed the ruling, claiming that she was the victim of an illegal search. The U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the evidence and upheld both the verdict and the legality of the search, concluding that school searches are legal if they target a specific problem. But schools must have probable cause to conduct the search; that is, they must have a reasonable suspicion that the student being searched deserves the treatment (Schimmel et al., 2015). In addition to probable cause, the nature of the search is important: Does it involve passing through a metal detector or opening a school bag, or is it more intrusive? The courts have consistently upheld the legality of metal detectors at school entrances, asserting that such searches are nonintrusive (Center for Education and Employment Law, 2017). However, more intrusive strip searches are generally considered illegal. In one case, a high school student was strip-searched after a police dog mistakenly identified her as carrying drugs. (Authorities later found that the dog was drawn to the girl because earlier in the day she had been playing with her dog, which was in heat.) The school district was required to pay damages to the girl’s family (Doe v. Renfrow, 1980). In another case, high school students were required to strip to their underwear in an attempt to recover $364 in missing money. A federal circuit court found the search

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unconstitutional, concluding that the missing money did not justify the intrusiveness of the search (Schimmel et al., 2015). The U.S. Supreme Court became involved in a similar case in 2009, ruling in Safford Unified School District v. Redding that a search by school personnel of a student’s undergarments for prescription painkillers violated the Fourth Amendment (Walsh, 2014a). While condoning searches for probable cause, the courts remain sensitive to the rights of students. School lockers, however, are considered school property and may be searched if reasonable cause, such as suspicion of drug or weapon possession, exists. Similarly, courts have found unattended student backpacks are legally subject to searches if safety concerns are an issue (Underwood, 2017). The use of urine tests to detect drug use illustrates how legal issues can become convoluted. In one case, the Supreme Court held that random drug testing for student athletes was legal, arguing that the safety of students and the importance of a drug-free school environment outweighed the privacy rights of student athletes who were participating voluntarily (Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, 2002). Despite this ruling, which involved students in voluntary school activities, the courts have been unanimous in prohibiting school-wide drug testing (Imber et al., 2014). In a twist on the issue of student monitoring, districts in both Ohio and Texas are using micro computer chips embedded in nametags to keep track of students while they’re in school (Brown, 2013). School officials claim these tracking devices make keeping student attendance records more efficient and can help find missing students during emergencies, such as fires. Critics, however, question whether these tags could be illegally hacked into by predators and whether these devices violate students’ privacy, a topic we’ll explore in the next section.

Student Privacy Our personal privacy is important to us, but in today’s world, privacy is becoming increasingly elusive. We consider this issue next.

Data Mining and Student Privacy Data mining involves the collection and analysis of large quantities of information intended to identify patterns in people’s lives (Greene, 2018; Nelson, 2018). Educators are concerned because of the growing popularity of personalized learning, which purports to individualize education through technology. Personalized learning is a relatively new idea in technology that attempts to adjust online instruction to accommodate not only students’ academic strengths and weaknesses but also their interests and what motivates them to learn (Friedman, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). It does this by gathering huge amounts of data from every student and analyzing this data for trends and patterns. A major goal for data-mining companies is to create learner profiles, comprehensive portraits of each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and preferences in order to provide them with customized learning experiences (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Online adaptive testing that adjusts the level of difficulty based on the responses of the test-taker is a small-scale application of this idea, but data miners want to expand this scale to include historical records over time, as well as student information across a number of courses. But who owns this data, and how will it be used in the future? These privacy issues are proving to be a major legal obstacle in the long-term development of learner profiles and personalized learning. Critics fear data will be tied to individual students and sold in the future to the highest bidder (Nelson, 2018; Singer, 2018). Similar data mining has resulted in a multi-billion dollar advertising industry, which uses information gleaned from the Internet to target advertising to an individual’s wants and needs. But our children aren’t commodities, and education shouldn’t be used as a moneymaking vehicle for data-mining companies. Concerns about student data privacy are not new (Singer, 2014). In 1998, Congress passed COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Act, which prohibits the online collection of personal information from children under age 13. However, this law only applies to

Teaching and You Have you ever shopped for something online, only to turn on your computer the next day to find pop-up ads for that and similar products? Did you ever wonder how companies are able to link your needs to products on the market? Could similar personalization be used in education to create learning systems geared to each individual student?

254  Chapter 7 sites and apps specifically directed at young children, leaving general-audience sites unprotected. And FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which we’ll describe in greater detail in the next section, prohibits the sharing of student personal data with third parties without written permission from their parents. California took a major step in addressing the issue of data privacy when it passed a law to restrict the use of student data by outside organizations (Herold, 2014b). The law prohibits operators of online educational firms from selling student data and using it to target advertising or to create a profile on any student for non-education purposes. This legislation resulted from findings that Google had been scanning and data-mining students’ email messages in an education app used by 30 million students and educators and using the data to target advertising (Molnar, 2014). Public outrage followed, and Google quickly stopped the practice, but lawmakers in California, and in 20 other states, have passed legislation restricting the collection of educational data.

Student School Records and Privacy Students’ records—grades, standardized test scores, teacher comments, and letters of recommendation—can determine whether students are admitted to special programs or colleges of their choice. School records can also influence a student’s ability to get jobs. What legal safeguards guide the creation and use of these records? In 1974, Congress passed the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Also called the Buckley Amendment, FERPA is a federal act that makes school records accessible to students and their parents. Under this act, schools must: 1. Inform parents of their rights regarding their child’s records. 2. Provide parents access to their child’s records. 3. Maintain procedures that allow parents to challenge and possibly amend information that they believe is inaccurate. 4. Protect parents from disclosure of confidential information to third parties without their consent. The law doesn’t guarantee access to all student records, however. For example, you may jot down notes during a busy school day, such as reminders about a student’s behavior that will help you decide whether to refer a child for special education testing; these notes can’t be made public without your consent. Also, a teacher’s letter of recommendation may remain confidential if students waive their rights to access. To protect teachers in these situations, the Buckley Amendment excludes teachers’ private notes, grade books, or correspondence with administrators. A court case in Oklahoma further defined the types of information protected by the Buckley Amendment (LaMorte, 2012). A mother objected to the practice of having her children’s papers graded by other students and the results called out in class; she claimed this violated her children’s rights to privacy, and a federal circuit court agreed. But in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision, concluding that the term education records didn’t cover student homework or classroom work. Administrators and teachers have mixed feelings about the Buckley Amendment because of the extra effort and paperwork required to put the procedural safeguards into place. A recent case in Nevada uncovered some of the complexities in addressing this law in this day of large student databases; school officials told a parent that it would cost more than $10,000 to access requested information on his four children (Herold, 2014a). School officials are working with lawyers to figure just what their legal responsibilities are. Some teachers are also ambivalent about the law because of potential encroachments into their private records. The law has improved parents’ access to information, however, and it has made school officials more sensitive to the importance of confidentiality in dealing with students’ and parents’ needs for information.

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MyLab Education Application Exercise 7.2: Student School Records and Privacy In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how effectively a teacher handles the issue of student records and privacy.

Students’ Rights in Disciplinary Actions Jessie Tynes, a sixth-grade teacher, turns around just in time to see Billy punch Jared. “Billy, what did I tell you about keeping your hands to yourself?” Jessie demands. “There’s no room for this nonsense in our school and our classroom! You’re out of this class until I meet with your parents. Come with me to the principal’s office, where you’ll sit until we can solve this problem of keeping your hands to yourself.” Sean, a high school junior, is walking to his locker when someone reaches in from behind to knock his books on the floor. When he turns around, he sees Dave standing behind him with a smirk on his face. Losing his temper, Sean pushes Dave. A scuffle begins, but it is broken up by Mr. Higgins, the vice principal. Both students receive ten-day suspensions.

How are the two incidents similar and different? Both involve infractions of school rules, but they differ in the severity of the problem and resulting actions. These differences are important when the courts consider due process, which is a set of legal guidelines, based on the Fourteenth Amendment, that must be followed to protect individuals from arbitrary or capricious actions by those in authority. The Fourteenth Amendment states that no “state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Due process is a key element related to students’ rights in disciplinary matters. Students have a right to an education, and courts specify that limiting this right can occur only when due process is followed. The courts, however, also acknowledge the rights of schools to discipline students in the day-to-day running of schools. In our first example, suspending Billy is generally considered an internal affair best resolved by his teacher, his parents, and Billy himself. Unless a suspension lasts longer than ten days or results in expulsion, teachers and administrators are usually free to discipline as they see fit, assuming the punishment is fair and equitable. The exact definition of due process varies from state to state, so you need to understand the specifics of the law in your state (Essex, 2015). Zero-tolerance policies are often a major factor in many student suspensions (Curran, 2016a, 2016b). Zero-tolerance policies, typically result in immediate suspensions and became prevalent following the Columbine High tragedy that left 14 students and a teacher dead. The purpose of these policies, which target weapons, drugs, or school fights, is to send a clear message about the importance of school safety. Although courts have generally upheld the legality of these policies, critics, including the American Bar Association, question whether this one-size-fits-all approach to school discipline is an effective legal way to prevent school violence (Ward, 2014). Actions that lead to suspension, such as the incident between Sean and Dave, are often resolved with an entry on a student’s record; permanent expulsions require more formalized safeguards that include the following: 1. A written notice specifying charges and the time and place of a fair, impartial hearing 2. A description of the procedures to be used, including the nature of evidence and names of witnesses 3. The right of students to legal counsel, and to cross-examine and present their own evidence 4. A written or taped record of the proceedings as well as the findings and recommendations 5. The right of appeal

256  Chapter 7 As these guidelines indicate, the procedures involved in long term (longer than 10 days) suspensions and expulsions are detailed and formal. Because these actions consume considerable amounts of time and energy, schools generally use them only as a last resort.

Corporal Punishment In a Pennsylvania elementary school, a 36-year-old, 6-foot, 210-pound school principal paddled a 45-pound first-grade boy four times during one school day for a total of 60–70 swats. After the incident, the boy needed psychological counseling, cried frequently, and had nightmares and trouble sleeping (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Douglass, 1991). In 2011, Clayton Trey Clayton, an eighth-grade Mississippi boy, was paddled for “mouthing off” to a teacher. This was not the first time; he had been paddled before for being tardy or falling asleep in class. But this time was different. Shortly after being paddled, he fainted, and as he fell, broke his jaw and opened a 2-inch gash in his chin. When his mother came to pick him up, she reported her son was “ . . . spitting teeth into the trash can.” Clayton missed weeks of school while his jaw was wired shut, missing end-of-semester tests, failing eighth-grade, and ultimately dropping out of school. Subsequent legal actions against the school were stymied because Mississippi law permits corporal punishment in schools (Sparks, 2016).

Fortunately, times are changing, and corporal punishment—the use of physical, punitive disciplinary actions to correct student misbehavior—is gradually declining. In 1995, 80% of parents approved of spanking; by 2013, this figure had dropped to 67% (Caron, 2018). Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics came out in a statement advising against the use of corporal punishment because of possible negative side effects on children. Corporal punishment is highly controversial because of the legal issues involved and the questionable effects of using physical punishment as a disciplinary tool. In a 1977 landmark case, the Supreme Court ruled that corporal punishment isn’t a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The Court further ruled that states may authorize corporal punishment without either prior hearing or prior permission of parents (Ingraham v. Wright, 1977). In 2013, corporal punishment was used with over 109,000 students; it is much more common in the South and in rural areas, where it is embedded in the cultural and social fabric (Sparks & Harwin, 2016). It is currently prohibited in 31 states and the District of Columbia, which means the door is left open for the use of corporal punishment in the remaining 19 states (Morones, 2014). Unfortunately, research also indicates that where it is legal, corporal punishment is much more likely to be used on males and cultural minorities, such as Black and Native American students, than on those who are White (Sparks & Harwin, 2016). So where does all this leave you?

Corporal Punishment: Implications for Teaching In states where corporal punishment is permitted, legal guidelines suggest teachers may use corporal punishment under the following conditions: • The punishment is intended to correct misbehavior. • Administering the punishment doesn’t involve anger or malice. • The punishment is neither cruel nor excessive, and doesn’t result in lasting injury (Schimmel et al., 2015). However, if you’re considering this disciplinary option, you should ask yourself several questions: • Is this the best way to teach students about inappropriate behavior? • Would other options be more effective in encouraging students to consider their behaviors and the effects of those behaviors on others? • What does corporal punishment teach children about the use of force to solve problems?

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Psychologists disapprove of the use of corporal punishment, both because negative side effects, such as modeled aggression, can occur and because there are more effective alternatives (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). For example, properly administered detention is an effective form of punishment, and it doesn’t include negative side effects. Because of both legal and psychological issues, we recommend that you speak out strongly against it, and even if school policies allow it, completely avoid it in your classroom.

Disciplinary Actions and Students with Exceptionalities Students with exceptionalities are provided with additional legal safeguards under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Acts (IDEA) of 1997 and 2004. These laws were passed to ensure students with exceptionalities access to an education, while safeguarding the rights of other students (Turnbull, Turnbull, Wehmeyer, & Shogren, 2020). IDEA 1997 enabled school administrators to discipline students with disabilities in the same way as students without exceptionalities but required schools to review any change of placement, suspension, or expulsion that exceeded 10 days. The purpose of this special review was to determine whether the student’s behavior was related to a disability, such as a behavior disorder. If the review determined that the student’s behavior wasn’t related to the disability, the same disciplinary procedures used with other students could be imposed, but schools were required to continue to provide educational services in the alternative placement. IDEA 2004 revised these discipline procedures to make it easier to remove a student with disabilities under special circumstances, such as bringing a weapon to school; possessing, using, or selling illegal drugs at school; or inflicting serious injury to someone at school. Under these circumstances, school officials can remove a student with disabilities to an interim alternative educational setting for up to 45 school days, regardless of whether the misconduct was related to the child’s disability. This provision was designed to ensure the safety of other students and teachers.

Students with AIDS AIDS became a major health and legal issue in schools in the 1980s. Previously thought to be limited to sexually active gay men and drug users who shared hypodermic needles, AIDS entered the school-age population through contaminated blood transfusions. Battle lines were quickly drawn. Concerned parents worried that the AIDS virus would be spread in school through either casual contact or the sometimes rough-and-tumble world of children on playgrounds. Parents of children with AIDS wanted their children to have access to as normal an education as possible. The courts were soon drawn into the fray. A landmark and precedent-setting case occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1987 and involved 7-year-old Randy Ray, a hemophiliac infected with the AIDS virus through a blood transfusion. Because of his condition and fears about possible spreading of the disease, school officials refused to allow Randy and his two brothers, who also were infected, to attend school. His parents first reacted by moving elsewhere, but when that failed to open school doors, they moved back to St. Petersburg and sued the school district. A U.S. district court ruled that the boys should be allowed to attend school with special safeguards, including special attention to the potential hazards of blood spills (Ray v. School District of DeSoto County, 1987). Subsequent cases involving other students with HIV/AIDS have been similarly resolved, with courts holding that these children are protected by federal laws that prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities (Schimmel et al., 2015). Central to the courts’ decisions have been the potential negative effects of exclusion on the social and emotional well-being of the child. The courts have been clear in rejecting exclusion as the automatic solution to the problem of dealing with HIV-infected students and instead have required schools to address the specific risk factors involved in each case. MyLab Education Self-Check 7.5

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth item in What I Believe, “Corporal punishment in schools is prohibited by law.” This statement isn’t true. As you saw, the majority of states (31) prohibit the use of corporal punishment, but it is legal in 19 others.

Chapter 7 Summary 1. Explain the differences between legal and ethical influences on the teaching profession. • Both laws and ethical codes provide guidelines as teachers make professional decisions. Laws specify what teachers must and can do. Codes of ethics provide guidelines for what teachers should do as conscientious and caring professionals. Professional organizations, such as the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), publish codes of ethics for teachers. • Two major drawbacks to using both laws and ethical codes to guide professional decisions are (1) they are general, lacking in specificity, and, (2) they were created to address problems in the past and, consequently, may not be relevant to current issues. 2. Describe how the legal system at the federal, state, and local levels influences education. • The U.S. legal system is a complex web of interconnected bodies. At the federal level, the U.S. Constitution provides broad guidelines for legal issues, and Congress passes laws that affect education. • Most of the direct legal responsibility for running schools belongs to states and local school districts. The U.S. Constitution gives states the legal rights to govern education, and many day-to-day responsibilities are passed on to districts. • The overlapping U.S. legal system places the legal responsibility for specific issues or cases at different levels depending on the particular issue involved. 3. Explain how factors, such as teacher employment, academic freedom, liability, and teachers’ personal lives, are influenced by the law. • Teachers have rights and responsibilities as professional educators. Licensure provides them with the right to teach; a teaching contract specifies the legal conditions for employment. Most new teachers are hired on probationary status. Once granted tenure, teachers cannot be dismissed without due process. • Teachers’ academic freedom is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. But in deciding on issues of academic freedom, the courts examine the educational relevance of the content or method involved and the age of the students. • Copyright laws, designed to protect the property rights of authors, provide restrictions on teachers’ use of others’ original materials. New questions about fair use are being raised by the increased use of videotapes and DVDs and material presented on the Internet.

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• Liability poses unique challenges to teachers. The courts hold that teachers act in loco parentis, and when they fail to protect the children under their charge, they can be sued for negligence. When deciding on issues of liability, the courts take into account the age and developmental level of students as well as the kinds of risks involved in an activity. • Teachers’ private lives aren’t as private as some would wish. Teachers are expected to be role models to students, so their activities in their private lives are often scrutinized and, if illegal, can result in dismissal. 4. Describe the legal implications of religion in schools. • Because of differing beliefs about the proper role of religion in education, religion provides a legal battleground in the schools. Organized or schoolsponsored prayer is banned in schools, but students’ right to pray in school is protected by law. • Courts have approved religious clubs and organizations and private expressions of a student’s religious beliefs. Religious clubs are provided the same legal safeguards as other extracurricular organizations. • Although the courts disapprove of religious advocacy, teaching about religion is legal when it can be justified educationally. 5. Describe students’ legal rights and responsibilities. • The U.S. Department of Education has ruled that all children in the United States are entitled to equal access to a public elementary and secondary education, regardless of their immigration status. • Many of the same issues of rights involving freedom of speech and due process that affect teachers also pertain to students. Students’ right to freedom of speech is protected by the courts, but the expression of free speech must not interfere with the school’s or the teacher’s instructional agenda. • Students are protected by the U.S. Constitution from unreasonable search and seizure. Lockers are considered school property, however, and students and their belongings may be searched if school officials have a reasonable suspicion about the possession of drugs or dangerous weapons. • Students’ education records are protected by federal legislation called the Buckley Amendment. The main thrust of this law is to protect the privacy of students’ educational records. • Corporal punishment is legally allowed in a number of states. Those laws contain safeguards against injury and anger or malice, and experts recommend against this practice.

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• The educational rights of students with AIDS are protected by law. School officials must address specific risk factors to other students when excluding children with AIDS from educational activities.

• Because the courts view attending public schools as a legal right, school officials must conduct student expulsions from school in a prescribed manner that makes the process transparent to parents or guardians.

Important Concepts academic freedom Buckley Amendment collective bargaining copyright laws corporal punishment cyberbullying

data mining due process establishment clause fair-use guidelines free exercise clause grievance

in loco parentis licensure negligence notoriety personalized learning professional ethics

Portfolio Activity Deepening Your Knowledge of Legal Issues InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9: Commitment Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to encourage you to deepen your understanding of one aspect of school law. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Locate a teacher in your school with several years of teaching experience. Ask these questions: a. How have legal issues such as academic freedom, copyright laws, and teacher liability influenced your life as a teacher? b. If you have questions about legal issues, who do you turn to for advice? How helpful is this advice? c. Have you ever used the Internet for advice on legal issues? How helpful was this strategy? d. Are students’ legal rights ever an issue at your school? If so, how was the issue resolved? e. What advice do you have for a beginning teacher in terms of legal issues? In a short paper, describe our findings, with emphasis on implications for you as a beginning teacher. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Choose a topic from this chapter and research it further. (Teachers and the Law [Schimmel et al., 2015] is an excellent source.) In a short paper, describe the issue and implications it might have for you as a teacher.

reduction in force sexting teaching contract tenure

Chapter 8

Choosing the Right School

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Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 8.1 Describe different meanings of school and identify the components

of a typical school organization. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 8.2 Describe important differences between schools at different levels.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 1, Learner Development 8.3 Identify characteristics of good schools. InTASC Core Teaching

Standard 3, Learning Environments To begin, let’s jump ahead two or three years. You’ve finished your program, applied for jobs, and have had the good fortune to receive several offers. How do you decide which one is the best? Choosing the right school when you begin your career is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as you enter the profession. We’ve all experienced schools as students, so we’re basically familiar with the way they’re organized and run. But now you’ll be looking at schools from a teacher’s instead of a student’s perspective. As a prospective teacher, you’ll need to first decide which grade level is best for you and then find a good school that can help you grow in your first years as a developing professional. To understand the issues in finding a good school, let’s look at the experiences of two different teachers. Randi Timmons teaches kindergarten at Oak Creek, a large urban elementary school, and Chris Lucio is a seventh-grade geography teacher at Lakeside, a suburban junior high. We begin at Oak Creek.

Randi has a class of 24 kindergarteners, five with learning issues that require extra help. A special education teacher teams with her to provide support. It’s mid-March, and the class has been focusing on short vowel sounds, one vowel at a time. Now she feels they’re ready for the next step. She gathers her class on a carpet in the front of the room where she has assembled an array of objects, including a clock, a sock, a plastic frog, a toy dog, a fan, a bag of sand, a tin can, a plastic hat, and a picture of a cat. “Okay, class, we’re really going to use our brains today. I’ve got a puzzle for you to figure out. I have two different kinds of things here. See if you can figure out what they are.” “Animals!” one student blurts out. “Toys!” suggests another. “Hmm. Not animals and not toys. Raise your hand to tell us one thing you see here,” Randi requests. She then calls on different students to name an object. As each one is identified, she has the children say the name out loud in unison, emphasizing the vowel in the word as she writes the word on the whiteboard, listing the “short a” words in one column and the “short o” words in the other, without explanation. When all the objects are listed, she has the whole group read each list out loud together. She then asks her students to guess why the words in the first list go together. With prompting, she elicits the idea of the common sound in the “ă” words and does the same with the “ŏ” word list.

262  Chapter 8 Next, the class goes to their “jobs” tables to complete an activity involving cutting out pictures of short “ă” words and short “ŏ” words from magazines and pasting them in two groups. Randi supervises one group, while the special educator, an aide, and a parent volunteer take each of the other groups. The special educator uses the objects from the whole group lesson to help her group with the activity, providing extra personalized support when needed. To conclude the lesson, the children reassemble as a whole group, where they sing “Apples and Bananas,” emphasizing the “ă” and “ŏ” sounds in the song. “Wow, noon. I need to get going,” Chris Lucio says to his colleague, April Jackson, as he finishes the last bite of his lunch and jumps up from the couch in the teacher’s lounge. “My kids will be champing at the bit trying to get into the room.” Chris hurriedly leaves the lounge, stops by the main office to check his mailbox, and then walks across the courtyard to his building. Chris’s school is organized into six periods a day, and he teaches five sections of seventhgrade geography, two advanced and three standard. Chris has planning time during the sixth period. He has 28 students in his standard fourth-period geography class, which begins right after lunch. When the bell rings, Chris’s students are in their seats and facing the screen at the front of the room where Chris has displayed the images shown here on his document camera. “Okay, I want everyone to look carefully at what you see on the screen,” Chris begins. “Today, our goal is to identify similarities and differences in the mountains we see here, try to figure out why they exist, and see what influence these differences have on our lives. . . . What do you notice in the two pictures? . . . Sophia?” With Chris’s guidance, his students make a series of observations, in the process, noticing how much higher and sharper the peaks in the Rocky Mountains are, and how much more rugged the Rockies are in general. As the lesson progresses, Chris guides them to understand that the differences are related to differences in ages between the two mountain ranges, with

Rocky Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

Choosing the Right School 263 the Rockies being young mountains and the Appalachians being mature. They also discuss how the differences influence different aspects of our lives, such as recreation and the use of natural resources. Chris teaches the same lesson in each of his standard classes. His advanced students have moved through the curriculum more quickly, so he has his students in the two advanced classes examine the influence of geography on the economies of different regions of the country.

As we see, similarities and differences exist in teaching at different levels. All teaching involves working closely with students, but how we interact with them and the challenges and rewards we’ll encounter differ between levels. Our goal in this chapter is to help you understand how schools at different levels are organized and how to identify the characteristics of a good school, so you will be equipped to make informed decisions about choosing a school and grade level that’s best for you. But, before you begin, please respond to the items in the What I Believe feature that follows.

What I Believe Choosing a School to Begin My Career Decide whether you agree with each of the following statements. We address the issues involved in each of the statements in the Revisiting My Beliefs sections found throughout the chapter. 1. My school principal is the person who will have the ultimate responsibility for the successful operation of my school. 2. If I decide to teach in an elementary school, I’ll have to choose between promoting my students’ social and emotional development versus preparing them for standardized tests. 3. Middle and junior high schools are essentially the same but are given different labels. 4. Larger schools generally provide students with better learning opportunities because they have better facilities and can provide a wider variety of programs. 5. If some of my students fail to master the content at the grade level I’m teaching, retaining the students in that grade is the best way to ensure that they will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to succeed at the next grade.

LEARNING OUTCOME 8.1  Describe different meanings of school and identify the components of a typical school organization. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

How Do Schools Function? Think about the schools you attended before enrolling in your college or university. If you’re typical, you first went to an elementary school that began with kindergarten or preschool, then to a middle or junior high school, and finally to a high school. Schools are typically organized this way in our country. In this section of the chapter, we look at why American schools are organized this way as we discuss each of the following: • What is a school? • School personnel • The physical plant • Organization of the curriculum

264  Chapter 8

What Is a School? When you enter the profession, you’ll be teaching in a school. But what exactly is a school? We can think about schools in several different ways. At one level, it’s a physical place where teachers teach and students learn, and where you’ll find your first job. Metaphorically, schools have been compared to factories, shopping malls, and even prisons. The factory metaphor considers schools as places that turn raw material— students—into finished products whose quality is measured by scores on standardized tests. Thinking of schools as shopping malls focuses on the broad array of offerings in many of them, where choice and personal preference are emphasized. Harsh critics use the prison metaphor; students are required to attend until they’re 16, and their freedoms are severely limited while they’re “incarcerated” in school. Many teachers and educational leaders like to think of schools as extended families, learning communities where young people can grow and develop personally, socially, and intellectually (Weinstein & Romano, 2019). This happens in the best schools, but it can be lost in others. (We examine key differences between more- and less-effective schools later in the chapter.) Finally, we can think of schools as social systems, organizations with established structures and rules designed to promote certain goals, and this is the way we’ll describe schools in this chapter. More than 30 years ago, John Goodlad, one of education’s most important thinkers of the past half-century, identified four major goals for schools (Goodlad, 1984). They’re as relevant and timely today as they were then. These goals are important because they shape the ways our schools are organized and how this organization will influence your teaching. They’re outlined in Figure 8.1. Three factors are involved when these goals are translated into action. First, both parents and students have historically believed that these goals are important (Goodlad, 1984), so you’ll be expected to address each as you work with your students. Second, the goals sometimes compete, and conflicts can occur. For example, academics are strongly emphasized in today’s schools, as indicated by the current focus on standards and highstakes testing. Critics, who include many teachers, argue that this emphasis narrows the curriculum and shortchanges the personal and social growth of students (Walsh, 2017). Third, the relative emphasis placed on each goal varies with grade level. Elementary schools, for instance, place greater emphasis on personal and social development than do high schools, where the focus is more on academic and vocational goals. Social systems function effectively when their components work together to meet their goals. In the schools you’ll work in, these important components include: • School personnel: The people who make schools work—administrators, support staff, and teachers • The physical plant: The school building or buildings, playgrounds and playing fields, and parking lots • The curriculum: Everything teachers teach and students learn in the school We examine these components of a school next.

Figure 8.1  Goals of Schools Goals of Schools

Academic

Social and Civic

Vocational

Personal

To help students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to successfully function in our culture

To help students become productive and democratic members of today’s society

To provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to move comfortably into our nation’s workforce

To help students acquire the skillls that allow them to live as happy and satisfied individuals

Choosing the Right School 265

School Personnel School personnel include all the people—administrators, support staff, and teachers— who help make a school a place where students can learn and grow. When you teach, your success will depend in part on the other people in the school. In essence, you’re part of a team, and the team’s success depends on how well everyone works together.

Administrators and Support Staff Elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools all have administrators, people responsible for the day-to-day operation of a school. The principal is the most important administrator because he or she is given ultimate responsibility for the school’s operation. As with expert teachers, the best principals understand teaching and learning and how schools can promote healthy learning and development in students (Duncan, 2018). The size of a school and the wealth of a district determine the way they’re administratively organized. For instance, Oak Creek, Randi’s school, is large and has two “administrative support” people who assist the principal, one handling student behavior issues and the other in charge of the curriculum. Lakeside Junior High, Chris’s school, also has two administrators who support the principal—a vice principal and an assistant principal. The vice principal’s duties include scheduling, record keeping—collecting student records from teachers and keeping master records for the school—and maintaining communication with district-level administrators and parents. The assistant principal is in charge of the physical plant, which includes all maintenance and construction, as well as the process of ordering and distributing textbooks. In many cases, schools will also have guidance counselors and may have school psychologists, who are often shared with other schools. Oak Creek, for example, has one full-time and one part-time guidance counselor. Lakeside has two full-time guidance counselors, one for seventh grade and the other for eighth. Guidance counselors’ duties commonly include scheduling, coordinating statewide assessment tests, and providing information to students about course offerings and career options. School psychologists assist by administering group and individual tests to place students in the right classes and make decisions about whether students qualify for special education or programs for the gifted and talented. They also provide individual counseling for students having emotional problems and make recommendations for further mental health assistance. Lakeside also has a full-time licensed practical nurse who maintains all student health records, serves students who need immediate care, dispenses all prescribed medications to students, and is trained in CPR. Students at Lakeside aren’t allowed to take even an overthe-counter painkiller, such as aspirin, on their own, and teachers may not give students any form of medication. These restrictions are typical of the schools in which you’ll be working. Lakeside is among the 39% of public schools in our country that have a full-time, on-site nurse, which means that the majority of schools share health professionals, sometimes with several schools. And 25% have no nurse at all. With the cutbacks in educational funding in recent years, this shortage is likely to get worse before it gets better (Roberts, 2017). In addition, all schools have support staff who keep the school running smoothly. They include: • Secretaries and receptionists, who answer phones and greet visitors to the school • Administrative and instructional support staff, who complete paperwork for the principal and other administrators, duplicate tests and handouts for teachers, maintain payroll records, and generally keep the school running • Media center specialists, who manage books and different forms of technology • Physical plant staff, such as custodians, who clean the rooms and buildings • Cafeteria workers, who prepare and serve school lunches

266  Chapter 8 All of these workers contribute to a welcoming school environment that communicates to students that they are welcome and wanted. Our descriptions of Oak Creek and Lakeside are merely examples; schools vary in the labels they use for different administrators and the duties they perform. For instance, Oak Creek uses the label “administrative support” to describe duties that might be assigned to a vice principal or assistant principal in another school. So, the labels and duties for administrators and support staff in schools that you visit, or the school in which you take your first job, may differ from our examples here. But the functions remain the same; administrators and support staff ensure that the school runs smoothly.

School Personnel: Implications for Teaching

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the first item in What I Believe, “My school principal is the person who will have the ultimate responsibility for the successful operation of my school.” This statement is true: Principals are given the legal responsibility for running a school and have a major influence on its effectiveness.

Why is it important that you understand the roles that school personnel play in a school? A school is a complex social system, and all the people working in it contribute to serving students. For instance, if you have a student who is chronically disruptive, you’ll need the support of the administrator in charge of student discipline, and the student may need counseling with a school psychologist. As another example, experienced teachers commonly joke that the administrative assistant and other school secretaries are the ones who really “run” a school. They know where things are and how to get things done. The way you and other teachers treat support staff helps set the tone for a positive school climate and will influence how cooperative they are and how much help they give you. For instance, requesting—instead of demanding—services, such as having a test duplicated, or certain classroom supplies ordered, communicates to the support staff that you value their contributions to the school’s overall smooth functioning. As a professional, your ability to work with other school personnel will influence how effective you and the school will be. Principals often describe the ability to work with others as one of the most important characteristics they look for in new teachers.

Teachers Although school principals have ultimate administrative responsibility for the school’s operation, teachers are at the heart of any effective school. This means you. No organization, system, institution, or enterprise is any better than the people in it, and the same applies to schools. The quality of a school is determined by the quality of its teachers (Goldhaber, 2016). You will be the most important factor influencing your students’ learning! Surprisingly, only recently have educational researchers and leaders begun to understand and appreciate this fact. And the American public agrees. According to a national poll of the public’s attitudes toward public education, Americans singled out improving the quality of teachers as the single most important action for improving education (Bushaw & Lopez, 2011). Helping you develop into the kind of teacher our country’s students need is the goal of this text.

The Physical Plant In addition to the people who work in it, a school is a physical place. Schools have classrooms, hallways that allow students to move from one room to another, central administrative offices, and other large rooms, such as auditoriums, gymnasiums, music rooms, and cafeterias. Most schools have a relatively simple boxlike structure, with hall upon hall of separate classrooms. This structure has both disadvantages and advantages. For example, it separates you from your colleagues, and the isolation sometimes bothers teachers (Davis, 2018). When you’re in your classroom and you shut the door, as many teachers do, you’re on your own, and you won’t get any help. You’ll be responsible for 20 to 30 kindergarteners or first graders, for instance, all day, every day, as is the case with Randi. Or, if you teach in middle school, junior high, or high school, you’ll spend most

Choosing the Right School 267

of your workday in your classroom, where you’ll be responsible for the education and safety of five or six different classes of students every day—the situation Chris is in. Your classroom will be your own domain, where you can define yourself as a teacher and operate according to your own professional judgment. It will also offer you privacy and a sanctuary from the hectic pace of school life. When you go into your classroom and close the door, you control essentially everything that goes on in there. Beginning in the late 1960s, schools experimented with open classrooms that had large, movable walls, but they became unpopular because of noise and lack of privacy, and by the late 1970s, interest in the “open classroom” had waned (Cuban, 2004b). Although your primary responsibility will be within the confines of your classroom, where promoting your students’ learning and development is your primary responsibility, you’ll also be expected to carry out non-instructional activities in other areas of the school. If you teach in an elementary school, for instance, you’ll be expected to escort your students to and from the cafeteria or the media center and periodically supervise them on the playground. If you’re a middle or high school teacher, you’ll monitor students as they move through the corridors, and you’ll be expected to attend non-academic events, such as assemblies and pep rallies. You may also be asked to sell tickets at football games, attend track meets, and go to band concerts. These responsibilities broaden your focus and integrate you into the workings of the whole school. The physical condition of a school says much about the public’s support for education, and it can have a powerful effect on teacher morale (Verstegen, Knoeppel, & Brimley, 2020; Kozol, 2005). Both teachers and students are affected by the physical environment of a school, and your first look will provide you with some indication of how well the school is run.

Organization of Schools and the Curriculum The curriculum, everything that teachers teach and students learn in schools, is a third major component of every school (Gordon, Taylor, & Oliva, 2019). In today’s schools, the formal curriculum is commonly organized around standards, essentially statements of learning goals that describe what students should know or be able to do after a prescribed period of study. The following are two examples—the first in third-grade language arts, and the second in middle school math. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L3.1f “Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019c). CCSS.Math.Content.6.RP.A.3c Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 (e.g., 30% of a quantity means 30/100 times the quantity); solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019g).

Historically, educators decided that the most efficient way to help students reach standards/goals such as these is to organize the curriculum according to grade levels and subject matter areas. For instance, the first standard targets children in third grade, that is, third graders are expected to understand both subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement, and, if you’re a third-grade teacher, you’ll be expected to ensure that they do. The second standard is focused on middle school math; it suggests that middle schoolers should be able to solve problems involving ratios and percentages, and middle school teachers are held accountable for ensuring that they can. Standards for different grade levels and subject matter areas are part of each school’s general curriculum, and these goals provide you and other teachers with direction as you make decisions about what to teach. How should students and teachers be physically organized to help learners most effectively reach goals such as these? For example, are students most likely to reach the goals by having kindergarteners, third graders, middle school students, and those taking advanced high school courses all in the same building? Most educators don’t agree.

268  Chapter 8 For instance, how would 6-year-old children likely feel walking down a hall and bumping into 17-year-olds, many of whom are as big and strong as adults? Even seemingly minor concerns, such as the size of desks and the height of drinking fountains and toilets, are considerations. Because of these developmental factors, schools are typically organized into three levels: elementary schools for young children, middle or junior high schools for beginning adolescents, and high schools for later adolescents. Considerable variation exists at each level, however, and the most commonly found configurations are outlined in Table 8.1. Some school districts are even experimenting with schools that include grades 7 through 12, or even K through 12 (Johnston, 2017), but they are much less common than those in Table 8.1. What factors do educational leaders consider when making decisions about grouping students into grade levels? For example, why are grades K through 5 common in elementary schools, and grades 6, 7, and 8 common in middle schools? Two factors are most influential: (1) the developmental characteristics of students and (2) economics and politics.

Developmental Characteristics of Students

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second item in What I Believe, “If I decide to teach in an elementary school, I’ll have to choose between promoting my students’ social and emotional development versus preparing them for standardized tests.” This statement isn’t true. Your students will indeed be expected to perform on tests, but the goals need not compete. You can do both to a greater extent than many people believe.

Development refers to the physical changes in children as well as changes in the way they think and relate to their peers that result from maturation and experience (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). For example, tenth graders are bigger, stronger, and more coordinated than fifth graders; they’re physically more developed. Similarly, tenth graders think differently from fifth graders, who also think differently from kindergarteners. Differences exist in social development as well—differences in students’ abilities to relate to their peers and work collaboratively in groups (Feldman, 2019). These developmental differences influence how schools are organized. For example, students in elementary schools, and particularly in kindergarten and first grade, are typically assigned to one teacher who focuses on the cognitive, social, and emotional growth of students. In some schools, looping, the practice of keeping a teacher with one group of students for more than a year, is used to help teachers better nurture the development of individual students, and research supports the practice, both for students and the teacher (Iasevoli, 2018). This makes sense, as looping allows teachers to get to know individual student’s needs and strengths. Older students are more capable of learning on their own and fending for themselves, so they are assigned a number of teachers who also serve as subject matter specialists. This is the common arrangement in middle, junior high, and high schools.

Table 8.1  Common Ways to Organize Schools School Level

Grade Ranges

Elementary school

K–2 K–3 K–5 K–6 K–8

Middle/junior high school

5–8 6–8 7–8 7–9 8–9

High school

9–12 10–12

Choosing the Right School 269

Economics and Politics Why school districts group certain grades together under one roof is often more a matter of practical necessity rather than educational intent (Verstegen et al., 2020; Sergiovanni & Green, 2015). For instance, both economics and politics influenced the development of Lakeside, Chris Lucio’s school, first created as a middle school and later converted to a junior high school. At the time Lakeside was built, elementary schools in the district had become overcrowded because of rapid population increases, and the district couldn’t build elementary schools fast enough to keep up with demand. Creating middle schools temporarily solved the problem because sixth graders could be moved into these schools. This was a decision based on economics. Also, the middle school movement was gathering momentum at this same time, and Mary Zellner, Lakeside’s first principal, was an outspoken proponent of middle schools. She was a respected leader in district politics, and, because of her influence, Lakeside was built according to middle school philosophy. This philosophy deemphasized competition among students, and, as a result, the school didn’t have competitive athletics, which was the reason the school originally didn’t have a gymnasium. Issues then became complicated. Coaches at the local high school complained that potential athletes came to them from middle schools without the athletic background students from competing schools enjoyed. (These pressures aren’t unusual: Many middle-level schools in the United States offer organized competitive sports.) The fact that the high school, the only one in the district, had become overcrowded presented an additional problem. District officials solved both problems by converting the middle schools into junior highs, moving ninth graders from the high school to the junior highs, and sending sixth graders back to elementary schools. By this time, the elementary schools were able to handle the additional students because a number of new ones had been built. The decision to convert the middle school to a junior high was based on both economics and politics; it had little to do with the developmental needs of students.

Organizational changes such as these, driven by economics and politics, are common in education. School districts can often save millions of dollars in new construction costs by rearranging grade configurations.

MyLab Education Self-Check 8.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 8.2  Describe important differences among schools at different levels. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 1, Learner Development

School Levels In the previous section, we saw how the developmental needs of students at different grade levels influence how schools are organized into elementary, middle or junior high, and high school levels. In this section, we take a closer look at these levels, beginning with early childhood programs.

Early Childhood Programs Visitors to Randi’s kindergarten classroom at Oak Creek are sometimes struck by what appears to be chaos. Students around her classroom are working on a number of seemingly unconnected tasks. As students work, Randi circulates among the groups, asking questions and offering suggestions.

Teaching and You We have all attended schools, but how much thought have you given to the way schools are organized? And how will the current organizational structure of elementary, middle or junior high, and high schools influence your life as a teacher? What are the rewards and challenges that exist at each of these levels, and which level is best for you?

270  Chapter 8 Closer examination reveals clusters of activity organized around learning centers. One has a water-filled tub where students measure amounts of water in different-sized cups and also determine which kinds of objects sink or float. Another has a table with an assortment of plastic blocks and geometric shapes that children use to construct objects. A third has different costumes and clothing, together with two telephones that students use for pretend conversations and dialogues. A fourth contains a variety of picture books that require different amounts of expertise with letters and words. As children circulate among these centers, Randi keeps track of who has been to which center and completed different tasks.

Early childhood education is a general term describing a range of programs for young children. It includes infant intervention and enrichment programs, nursery schools, public and private pre-kindergartens and kindergartens, and federally funded Head Start programs. Early childhood education in the United States is a midtwentieth-century development, although its philosophical roots go back several centuries (Kafka, 2016). The French philosopher Rousseau, for example, gave this advice about educating young children: “Do not treat the child to discourses which he cannot understand. No descriptions. . . . Never substitute the sign for the thing” (Rousseau, quoted in Compayre, 1888). Rousseau argued that young children need to play and interact with concrete objects (“the thing”), rather than being taught with abstract words, and this is what we saw in Randi’s classroom. This approach is consistent with the need for concrete experiences that the famous developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1952,1970) emphasized, and it’s at the philosophical core of today’s developmentally appropriate early childhood programs (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Developmental programs accommodate differences in children’s development by allowing them to acquire skills and abilities at their own pace through direct experiences. These programs are heavily influenced by the Montessori method, an approach to early childhood education inspired by Maria Montessori (1870–1952), an innovative Italian educator (Deluca et al., 2019). Montessori believed that children develop at their own rate, and personal qualities, such as individual discipline and self-confidence, come from exploring a classroom environment that provides options and choices. Visitors to a developmental classroom are likely to see learning centers around the room, such as those in Randi’s classroom. Unlike traditional teacher-centered instruction, where the teacher spends most of the time talking or asking questions, the teacher’s role is to provide experiences for children and encourage exploration (Feldman, 2019). Because of the emphasis on standards and high-stakes testing in our country today, early childhood programs have become more “academic,” meaning they are focusing more strongly on basic skills that prepare children to perform on standardized tests (Samuels, 2018). We saw this in Randi’s lesson, where the focus was on language arts skills, such as phonemic awareness, spelling, and comprehension skills. In fact, some now describe kindergarten—with homework, testing, and full-day classes—as “the new first grade” (Samuels, 2018). This creates a dilemma for teachers in early childhood programs who are caught between the requirements of accountability and their children’s developmental needs. All too often, the tested subjects of math and reading squeeze out other important areas of the curriculum, such as art, music, social studies, and physical education, that aren’t tested. While many teachers disagree with this trend toward more “academic” early childhood programs, it is likely to continue, and if you choose to work in a pre-K or kindergarten classroom, you will likely feel pressures to emphasize academic skills with your students (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Although the skills Randi taught in her lesson reflected this emphasis, Randi managed to include developmentally appropriate experiences for her students as well, and you can, too. It will take planning, effort, and creativity, but is a goal well worth pursuing.

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The Push for Universal Preschool In the previous section, we examined early childhood education and developmental programs. The need for the learning-related experiences early in life that are provided by these programs is well documented (Berk, 2019a, 2019b), and the public overwhelmingly supports programs that provide these experiences. For instance, one poll found that 71% of voters supported a major federal investment in early education, including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike (Voter Demand, 2014). Unfortunately, this strong public sentiment hasn’t translated into greater access to early childhood programs. Research indicates that the benefits of effective intervention programs at the early childhood level are long lasting and widespread (Reynolds, 2019). For instance, research indicates that Head Start students have higher levels of high school and college completion rates and lower levels of chronic absenteeism and grade retention (Samuels, 2016). Research has also found that parents who attended Head Start as youngsters used more positive parenting practices in their own child-rearing, such as reading to their children more and being more responsive to their learning and development needs. Other research shows that challenging preschool programs result in higher general reasoning, better attention during lessons, as well as advances in reading and math skills (Sparks, 2014). Quality preschool programs work; they reduce later special education placements and grade retention, and they result in higher high school graduation rates. And the impact of these programs is greatest for Hispanic and Black children, English learners (ELs)—children who speak a native language other than English—and children from low-income families. Additional research indicates that children who attend early childhood programs are better prepared academically, better adjusted socially and emotionally, they earn more money throughout their lifetimes, and they’re less likely to be involved in crime (Gertler et al., 2014). And they are healthier. For instance, one study found that men— now in their mid-30s—who had gone to a high-quality preschool had lower blood pressure and were less likely to be obese than men who hadn’t attended preschool. Further, because their lives were more successful, these preschool graduates were far more likely to have health insurance (Campbell et al., 2014). Issues with early childhood education exist, however. For example, as recently as 2014 only 38% of American 3-year-olds were enrolled in preschool programs, compared to an average of 70% among other industrialized countries (Organization for Economic Opportunity and Development, 2014). In 2017 only 10 states enrolled more than 50% of 4-year-olds in state-funded preschools (Hinton, 2018), and nationally only 2 of 10 children have access to a quality preschool program (Lesaux & Jones, 2018). However, progress is being made; compared to the turn of the twenty-first century when only 14% of 4-year-olds were enrolled in state-funded preschools, 33% were enrolled in 2015 (Leonhardt, 2018). But teacher quality is also an issue; childcare workers are severely underpaid. For instance, one study found that they make less money per hour than people who care for animals (Whitebook, Phillips, & Howes, 2014). However, as the economic benefits of early childhood education are more fully realized, the political pressure to provide more financial support for this extremely important aspect of education is likely to increase. The federal government has joined the push for universal preschool with an annual grant competition for $250 million to encourage states to expand their preschool offerings (Samuels, 2019). As a result, job opportunities in this area will continue to grow, so if you’re planning to teach in an elementary school, you might also consider working in a pre-K classroom.

Elementary Schools As with early childhood, elementary classrooms are typically self-contained, so if you choose to work in an elementary school, you will have a great deal of personal

272  Chapter 8 autonomy in scheduling your day and emphasizing areas and topics you feel are important. To illustrate this idea, let’s look at the schedules of a first-grade and a third-grade teacher outlined in Table 8.2. What do you notice? Similarities and differences between the two levels include the following: • Both teachers are responsible for all the content areas, such as reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. • The teachers’ schedules are quite different. Although both teach young children, Sharon begins with language arts, and Susie begins by having the children practice skills they learned the previous day. • The amount of time each teacher allocates to the content areas varies considerably and is a personal, professional decision. Sharon devotes 50 minutes to math, while Susie teaches math for 75 minutes a day. Both teachers noted that the schedules in Table 8.2 were approximate and often changed, depending on their perception of students’ needs and the day of the week. For example, if students were having trouble with a math topic, they might devote more time to math on a given day. This level of teacher freedom and autonomy is characteristic of elementary schools and is a major reason many people choose to become elementary teachers. Why are elementary schools organized this way? History and precedent are part of the answer. Until about the mid-1800s, elementary teachers taught all subjects and a range of students; schools weren’t organized into grade levels. This structure was born out of necessity rather than philosophy. Most small towns could afford only one teacher, who was expected to teach everything and everyone (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). With improved transportation and consolidation, the number of one-room schools gradually decreased, although some still exist today in remote rural areas. The developmental characteristics of students also influence the organization of elementary schools. We saw earlier that young children look, think, and interact with their peers differently from older students. Educators have historically believed that young children need the stability of one teacher and a single classroom to function most effectively in school. Schools can be frightening places for little children, and selfcontained classrooms provide emotional security. Further, simply moving from room to room, as middle and secondary students do, can be challenging for young children; imagine, for instance, a first grader going to Room 101 for math, 108 for language arts, and so on. Rotating schedules that change from day to day and are popular in middle, junior highs, and high schools, would be even more confusing.

Table 8.2  Schedules for Two Elementary School Teachers Sharon’s First-Grade Schedule

Susie’s Third-Grade Schedule

8:30 am

School begins

8:30 am

School begins

8:30–8:45

Morning announcements

8:30–9:15

Independent work (practice previous day’s language arts and math)

8:45–10:30

Language arts (including reading and writing)

9:15–10:20

Language arts (including reading and writing)

10:30–11:20

Math

10:20–10:45

Snack/independent reading

11:20–11:50

Lunch

10:45–11:15

Physical education

11:50–12:20

Read story

11:15–12:15

Language arts/social studies/science

12:20–1:15

Center time (practice on language arts and math)

12:15–12:45

Lunch

1:15–1:45

Physical education

12:45–2:00

Math

1:45–2:30

Social studies/science

2:00–2:30

Spelling/catch up on material not covered earlier

2:30–2:45

Class meeting

2:30–2:45

Read story

2:45–3:00

Call buses/dismissal

2:45–3:00

Clean up/prepare for dismissal

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However, some educators question the efficacy of a single classroom and teacher. Expecting one teacher to be sufficiently knowledgeable to teach all the subjects in the elementary curriculum effectively—reading, language arts, math, science, social studies, art, music, and physical education—is asking the impossible, they say (Gordon, Taylor & Oliva, 2019). As a result, teachers commonly de-emphasize some content areas, such as social studies, art, and music. Both Sharon and Susie acknowledge that they strongly emphasize reading, language arts, and math and de-emphasize other areas, even though these other content areas appear on their schedules (see Table 8.2). In response to these issues, beginning in grade 3 or 4, many elementary schools do a form of departmentalization. For instance, two teachers might work as a team, with one teaching reading and writing and the other focusing on math and science. The reading/writing teacher teaches one class in the morning while the math/science teacher teaches the other; then in the afternoon, they switch classes. Educators and parents face a dilemma: Are social and emotional well-being more important than academic content for elementary students? Historically, the answer has been yes. But tensions between these two positions will increase as pressures to document student academic growth through testing continue to grow.

Choosing a Grade Level: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked why differences in grade levels exist and how they will influence your teaching and ultimately your career satisfaction. Without question, teaching at different grade levels requires different instructional skills and different ways of interacting with and managing students. We’ve worked with teachers who have changed grade levels in the same school, and they unanimously confirm that major differences exist. Don (your book’s first author) experienced this personally in his volunteer tutoring efforts. He had tutored for four years at first- through third-grade levels and found the progress he was able to make with the students very rewarding. Then he switched to kindergarten and had a rude awakening. Either they weren’t ready for him, or he wasn’t ready for them. “Fun” activities, such as using dice games to reinforce math facts, or role-playing dialogues in stories— successful with older students—didn’t work with kindergartners. (They didn’t know enough math facts to reinforce, and they couldn’t read well enough to act out stories.) Fortunately, Don was working with an experienced teacher who helped him out. What are the implications of all this for you? We suggest that you actively seek experiences in schools at different levels and especially at the levels you’re considering as career choices. Volunteer work and substitute teaching, in addition to the clinical activities associated with your classes, will provide some of these experiences and will put you in a better position to make an informed decision.

Junior High and Middle Schools To understand differences between elementary schools and middle, junior high, and high schools, compare Sharon’s and Susie’s experiences to Chris’s, the middle school teacher in our chapter’s opening case study. Elementary teachers typically teach all or most of the content areas and set their own schedules. In contrast, Chris teaches only one subject (geography), and he (along with all the other teachers in his school) follows a predetermined schedule. The lengths of class periods are uniform for all teachers, and the beginnings and endings are signaled by a bell. Because of these predetermined periods, junior high and middle school teachers have less control over their daily schedules. Why are upper-level schools organized in this way? The answer centers on the same tensions between content acquisition and the developmental needs of children. Historically, views about educational goals have shifted over time. In colonial times, the goal was for students to be able to read and understand the Bible. Much later—near the end of the nineteenth century—promoting mental discipline and assimilating a large

274  Chapter 8 influx of immigrants into American society were major goals. To reach those goals, educators believed that college-bound and non-college-bound students should take the same curriculum. As educational thinking further evolved, leaders believed that society needed citizens well schooled in a variety of specific academic subjects, such as math, science, and history. This emphasis resulted in the departmentalization found in the middle or junior highs and high schools that you attended and is typical of secondary schools throughout our country. But tensions still exist between this emphasis on content and meeting the development needs of students. Let’s see how this conflict affected the organization of junior high and middle schools.

The Development of Junior Highs Schools in the early twentieth century were typically organized into eight elementary and four high school grades. But this 8–4 organization changed when emphasis shifted away from learning basic skills, such as reading and math, and toward more intensive study of specific content areas, such as science, history, and literature. This intensive study required teachers who were subject matter experts. In addition, educators began to recognize the unique needs of early adolescents, and the modern “junior” high school was developed. Most junior high schools today have a variety of offerings, although not as comprehensive as those in high schools, and they include competitive athletics and a multitude of other extracurricular activities. Although initially designed to help students make the transition between elementary and high schools, they are in every sense of the word “junior” high schools, with a clear emphasis on academic subjects.

The Development of Middle Schools The emphasis on content in junior highs, however, failed to address the developmental needs of early adolescents as was originally intended when they were first developed. Think back to your friends from sixth, seventh, or eighth grade; some of the girls were literally young women, whereas others were still little girls. Some boys needed to shave, but others looked like fifth graders. Boys and girls were becoming physically attracted to each other, and, in many cases, they didn’t know why. This was the transitional and often tumultuous period of early adolescence (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). Because of these rapid physical, emotional, and intellectual changes, early adolescence is a unique period in a child’s development. Bodies are changing, hormones are surging, and adolescents are trying to figure out what to do with their developing bodies and minds. As a result, many educators believed that schools for young adolescents should be organized to meet their unique needs. This thinking led to the formation of middle schools, schools specifically designed to help students through the rapid social, emotional, and intellectual changes characteristic of early adolescence. They typically include some combination of grades 6 through 8. What is teaching like in an ideal middle school? Let’s look again at Chris’s experience.

Chris is a member of a four-person team that includes, in addition to himself, a math, science, and English teacher. They have a common planning period, and they teach the same group of students. Planning periods are often spent discussing the students and the topics they’re teaching. Many of their students aren’t native English speakers, and their discussions often center on what can be done to help those who struggle with language. In addition, Chris has four students with learning disabilities in his classroom. Whenever possible, the teachers integrate topics across as many of the four areas as they can.

Choosing the Right School 275 “Can you help me out with anything on graphing?” Maria, the math teacher on the team, asks the others one Monday. “The kids just see graphs as some meaningless lines. I explain the heck out of them, but it doesn’t seem to help much.” “I know what I can do,” Chris offers, after thinking for a few seconds. “We’ve been talking about climate change for the past week, and we’ve looked at some temperature trends in both our country and around the world—especially in the Arctic and in Antarctica. We’ve looked only at raw data but haven’t graphed any of it. How about I give you some of the figures—you know, dates and temperatures—and you can graph them in math. Let me know when you do, and I’ll talk about the graphs the next day in geography.” “This all sounds good,” Keith, the science teacher offers. “I can change my schedule a little, and we can discuss the science behind climate change.” “And I’ll make the topic of my next essay some aspect of it,” Sarah, the English teacher adds. “By the way, how is Emma Williams doing in math?” “Not so good,” Maria responds. “In fact, I was going to ask you all about her. She hasn’t been turning in her homework, and she seems only ‘half there’ in class.” “Same thing for me,” Keith, who is also the student’s homeroom teacher, adds. “We’d better see what’s going on. . . . I’ll call her parents tonight.”

As we saw with Chris and his team, the best middle schools follow a different approach from junior highs, and they make adaptations, such as the following (Carjuzaa & Kellough, 2017; Weilbacher, 2019): • They organize teachers and students into interdisciplinary teams: For example, Chris, Maria, Keith, and Sarah instruct the same group of students and work together to coordinate topics. • They strive to create and maintain long-term teacher–student relationships with attention to the importance of social and emotional development. This is possible because teaching teams maintain contact with students over an extended period of time. • They use interactive teaching strategies to involve all students. Teachers are encouraged to move away from the lecture-dominated instruction so common in high schools and toward instruction based on student involvement. In addition, teachers place greater emphasis on teaching study strategies, such as note-taking, outlining, and time management. • They eliminate activities that emphasize developmental differences, such as competitive sports; in middle schools, everyone is invited to participate in intramural sports and clubs. When done well, these changes have a positive influence on students. For instance, interdisciplinary teams allow teachers to efficiently plan for the integration of topics across different content areas, so students can see how the information they’re learning applies to different content areas. And when teachers have the same students, they can more closely monitor their progress, as the team did with Emma. Forming relationships with students helps them adjust to an atmosphere less personal and supportive than in their elementary schools. And eliminating competitive sports encourages greater participation in athletic activities and minimizes the advantages early-maturing students have over their later-developing classmates. Interactive teaching strategies, such as developing lessons with questioning and involving students in cooperative learning activities, are particularly important in middle schools. These strategies actively involve students in learning activities and develop their thinking and social interaction skills. Motivation often drops during the early adolescent years, and researchers believe this drop is partially due to increased use of lecture as a teaching strategy (Schunk, Meece, & Pintrich, 2014).

276  Chapter 8 Chris’s meeting with his team describes what should happen in an “ideal” middle school, and you might not see all of these modifications in the schools you visit. Many are middle schools essentially in name only, and they have characteristics, such as competitive sports and no interdisciplinary teams, that are much more like junior highs. This is unfortunate because a sharp drop in the academic performance of many students occurs when they make the transition to middle school (Carjuzaa & Kelough, 2017). In fact, researchers found that students who remain in K–8 schools perform better academically than do students moving to middle schools in the sixth grade, a finding that corroborates the importance of emotional support on academic performance. Don’s first teaching job was in a K–8 school in the Midwest, and he experienced some of the advantages of this organizational structure. Classes in the upper grades were departmentalized, so these students had teachers who were subject matter experts. Also, because they stayed in the same school, students didn’t seem to suffer from the notorious “middle school slump” that afflicts so many young adolescents. Because we were housed with the lower grades, we used our own clocks to signal class changes, and if teachers needed extra time for an involved lesson, they just worked with other teachers to adapt the schedule so they had an extra ten or fifteen minutes to complete a lesson.

This structure has disadvantages, however. Our teaching environment felt like an extended elementary school, and I wondered if my students would encounter culture shock when they entered the neighboring large high school. Also, extracurricular options were limited, and students didn’t have access to clubs and activities that allowed them to explore and develop socially, emotionally, and creatively.

However, at this point in the evolution of our country’s schools, relatively few schools nationwide are structured in the K–8 configuration, whereas the vast majority are 6–8 or 6–9.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third item in What I Believe, “Middle and junior high schools are essentially the same but are given different labels.” In an ideal middle school, this statement is false: These schools have different philosophies and view students differently. In the real world, however, the statement is often true.

Middle Schools: Implications for Teaching So, what does all this mean for you if you choose to teach in a middle school or junior high? For instance, as a first-year teacher, creating an interdisciplinary team would be difficult if one doesn’t already exist in your school. However, you can develop your teaching skills so you’re able to involve all students, instead of merely lecturing to them. And, in addition to academic outcomes, you can make the development of student responsibility and self-regulation important goals for your students. You can also design a classroom management system that creates a safe emotional environment in your classroom and promotes a learning community in which you and all the students work together to help everyone learn. It won’t be an ideal middle school, but it will do a great deal to promote both the academic performance and the development of socioemotional well-being of your students.

High Schools We all attended high school, and some of you graduated within the last year or two. Most of us probably attended a comprehensive high school, a secondary school that aims to meet the needs of all students by offering a variety of courses and programs. Let’s examine this unique American innovation more closely.

The Comprehensive High School In The American High School, James Conant (1959) argued persuasively that the most effective high schools offer a variety of academic courses and facilities to meet the

Choosing the Right School 277

needs of all students. In attempting to reach this goal, most high schools organize students into tracks (Carjuzaa & Kellough, 2017). For example, students in the collegepreparatory track take courses designed to prepare them for college-level work, and it might include Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment classes in core subject areas. Advanced Placement (AP) classes are courses taken in high school that allow students to earn college credit, making college less time-consuming and expensive. Dual-enrollment courses are closely related—but not identical to-AP classes. For instance, with dual enrollment, students are literally enrolled in college classes while in high school, whereas they are not with AP classes. And students in AP classes take a mandatory final test at the end of the course to receive college credit, but students in dual enrollment don’t. Across the country, nearly 1 of 5 high school students take AP courses, but low-income students and students of color are underrepresented, both in numbers and in pass rates (Kolluri, 2018). Teachers can address this problem by explaining the program, personally talking to eligible students, and encouraging their participation. Students of average ability, who may or may not go to college, are often tracked into “standard” classes, and they may take some vocational courses, such as word processing, designed to provide practical skills they can use immediately after graduating. A vocational track specifically targets students not going to college and is designed to prepare them for careers in areas such as technology, electronics, or auto repair. Criticisms of the Comprehensive High School.  Can a comprehensive high school be all things to all students? Critics say no and focus on four issues:

• Problems with tracking • School size • Departmentalization • Lack of academic rigor (Cuban, 2010) Different tracks, designed to present quality alternatives, have become a paradox of the comprehensive high school because they often produce exactly the opposite of what is intended (Barrington, 2018). Instead of providing freedom and choice, tracking limits choices and segregates students, often leaving many with substandard educational experiences (Kafka, 2016; LaSalle & Johnson, 2018). Lower-achieving students, members of cultural minorities, and those from low socioeconomic-status (SES) backgrounds, are often steered into vocational or lower-level tracks, with poor instruction and a lesschallenging curriculum that often doesn’t prepare them for the world of work. Because of these deficiencies, some critics charge that tracking should be eliminated completely (LaSalle & Johnson, 2018). School size, which exceeds 1,500 students in many comprehensive high schools, is a second problem (Cuban, 2010). As schools become larger, they also become more impersonal and bureaucratic (Cappella, Aber, & Kim, 2016). This problem is particularly acute for lower achievers, who often get lost in the shuffle and fail to receive a quality education. Departmentalization, the organization of teachers and classes into separate academic areas, is a third problem with comprehensive high schools. Departmentalization fragments the curriculum and interferes with learning, critics contend (Parker, Rakes, & Arndt, 2017). Fragmentation in the curriculum also comes from the schedule itself, which breaks the day into 50-minute periods that many think are too short to pursue topics in depth. Block scheduling, in which students spend longer times in classes but meet less frequently during the week—such as 90 minutes every other day—is one attempt to solve this problem. Block scheduling is quite common, and you’re likely to encounter it as you visit high schools. Block scheduling is controversial with some teachers. Some, such as those in science, like the extra time it provides for labs, but music and foreign language teachers

278  Chapter 8 are less enthusiastic because the schedule doesn’t provide for the daily practice they believe is important. One factor is certain. If you plan to be a high school teacher, and you work in a block schedule, you’ll need to adapt your instruction. It’s literally impossible to lecture for 90 to 100 minutes to any group without losing their attention, let alone students who may not always be interested in the specific topic you’re teaching. Lack of academic rigor is an often-cited fourth criticism of comprehensive high schools. In an attempt to be all things to all students, high schools neither challenge learners nor provide them with the job skills needed for a technologically oriented modern society, critics claim. Reformers promote high-stakes testing, end-of-course exams, and more rigorous graduation requirements as solutions to this problem (Popham, 2017). Alternatives to Comprehensive High Schools.  Creating “smaller learning communities” within large schools has been offered as one solution to the problem of large high schools. Doing so allows students to keep the same guidance counselor throughout high school and offers opportunities for students and teachers to get to know one another. We discuss these ideas in more depth later in the chapter. Career technical schools designed to provide students with education and job skills that enable them to get a job immediately after high school are alternatives to large, comprehensive high schools (Association for Career and Technical Education, 2019). In more than 1,000 vocational centers nationwide, students spend part of the day or evening in specialized vocationally oriented programs and then attend their “home” high school for academic or general education courses during the other part of the day. In addition, about 250 career or specialty high schools in the United States focus on preparing students for work in a particular occupation or industry but also offer academic and general courses at that school. Students attend these career technical schools full-time. A comprehensive evaluation of career technical schools found that they have a beneficial effect on student motivation and graduation rates (Gewertz, 2018d). This makes sense; student learning and motivation increase when students can see how content relates to their present lives and future goals (Schunk et al., 2014). In addition, the report concluded that attending a career technical school did not close doors to students who later aspired to additional college work. To address the issue of access to jobs in industry, innovative high school programs link schoolwork to local businesses in the form of apprenticeship programs (Gewertz, 2018b, 2018c). These programs provide students with hands-on experiences and give them a first-hand look at job possibilities in their area. Experts estimate that there are more than a million apprenticeship programs functioning in our country, and they’re growing and receiving governmental support (Gewertz, 2018c). For instance, in 2018, the federal government pledged $150 million to support these efforts (Thrush, 2018). One innovative program in Minneapolis combines high school work with internships in a variety of local businesses including automotive repair shops, credit unions, as well as local media outlets. Student response has been positive, both for the hands-on experiences and for opportunities to explore various career options early in their lives. Adding to student motivation, this program combines internships with mentoring from experts in industry. Job prospects for graduates are good because developers designed their programs with input from industry experts. Colorado has created a statewide apprenticeship program targeting more than 20,000 students who leave high school with transferable college credit, a postsecondary credential, and three years of work experience (Gewertz, 2017a). Students receive help with college tuition and may receive a small stipend. In one innovative program, schools drive to cooperating companies and use semi-trailers as classrooms to provide on-site instruction and coordinate work– study programs (Hannon, 2019). These programs are understandably very popular with both students and their parents (Langer Research Associates, 2017).

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Career academies, a variation of career technical schools, combine career education and the school-within-a-school movement (Fuller, Dauter, & Waite, 2016). Career academies are small learning communities (typically 200 or fewer students) working with the same groups of teachers in career-oriented areas, such as health and bioscience, business and finance, architecture and construction, education and child development, and information technology. Currently, there are more than 675 career academies nationwide, serving more than 100,000 students in 36 states and the District of Columbia (Lanford & Maruco, 2018). Applied classes are supplemented with field trips, job shadowing, and internships that provide realistic introductions to the world of work. In addition, the best programs provide students with multiple pathways to both career skills and a college education. Students in these academies have fewer behavioral problems and are more likely to stay in school. They also attend more classes and progress more efficiently toward graduation (Lanford & Maruco, 2018). In addition, graduates earn 10% more money than non-academy students after graduation, a figure comparable to the benefits of attending a community college for one or two years. These benefits are especially strong for students considered to be at high risk for dropping out of school. Because of these positive results, career academies are seen as a model for high school reform (Lanford & Marucco, 2019).

Technology and Teaching: Distance Education Redefines Our Definition of a School Eliot Anderson’s parents decide to home school him instead of sending him to a regular middle school. So during the day, he spends most of his time at a computer with an Internet connection. He also has workbooks and materials supplied by a commercial, online cyberschool corporation. His mother, who decided to homeschool her children, serves as his learning coach and helps him when he runs into problems. She also monitors his learning progress and encourages him when he struggles or is studying content areas he doesn’t like. Jasmine Winters attends a local high school, one of several options available in her large urban school district. When she comes to school, she has a homeroom teacher she works with each day. All of her courses are online, but breakout sessions where teachers focus on specific problem areas are scheduled during the day. Homework is a problem because she doesn’t have Internet access at home. So the school opens its doors on Saturdays to accommodate students who need extra time or help to catch up with other students. Based on Fairbanks, 2013b, 2014a; Ravitch, 2013; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019.

When most people think of a school, they imagine a building with teachers and students. Distance education, also called distance learning, is a general term used to describe organized instructional programs that utilize technology. In this type of learning environment, teachers and learners, although physically separated, are connected through technology (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). Over the past several years, a dramatic increase in distance learning, particularly in higher education, has occurred, and millions of students in our country participate in some kind of online learning annually. Distance learning attempts to meet student learning needs in three ways (LeverDuffy & McDonald, 2018). First, it offers courses in specialized areas, such as advanced physics or Japanese, to students living in rural communities where a local teacher may not be available. Second, it provides instruction for nontraditional students, such as teenage mothers who can’t attend classes during the day or students who are homebound because of physical conditions. Third, it delivers classes to students over a broad geographic area where driving to a central location isn’t possible. In addition, a number of school districts across the country are using distance education to compensate for snow days, in which schools are closed because of inclement weather.

MyLab Education Video Example 8.1 Distance education provides opportunities for students to research topics and share perspectives with other students around the world. Here, high school history teacher Jimmy Chun explains how his students in Hawaii will collaborate in learning activities with another social studies class in New Hampshire.

280  Chapter 8 Correspondence courses in which students read books, answered questions, and received feedback from instructors through the mail were the earliest efforts at distance education. Currently, distance education includes a number of options: • Videoconferencing that allows learners and teachers from various sites to ask and answer questions face-to-face over great distances. • Computer conferencing that allows students and teachers the opportunity to interact via the Internet. Like bulletin boards and chat rooms, these interactions can provide either simultaneous or synchronous interaction. • Web-based systems that allow learners to access information for research. Students use computers, e-notebooks, and phones to find information on the web. For example, in one program, students across the country viewed the Gettysburg battlefield, listened to profiles of individual soldiers, and explored websites where they could find additional information for study. Research suggests that the type of distance learning used is not as important as the quality and organization of the course and the availability of the instructor for answering questions and providing feedback (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). The most effective online courses provide students with flexibility and choices in terms of when and how to work on assignments and opportunities to interact with other students. Younger students, English-language learners, and students with exceptionalities present special challenges; students in online courses need to be constantly monitored, and instruction needs to be modified to meet the needs of these students. Most American colleges and universities presently offer some type of distance learning program, and these numbers are continuing to grow (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Distance education is growing in K–12 education as well, with students enrolling in both public and commercial education courses. These programs have also entered the teacher education arena, offering professional development courses and degrees for working teachers (Fleming, 2018; Schulten, 2018). Flexibility and convenience are major attractions, but courses vary widely in their quality, so if you’re considering taking one, you should investigate thoroughly before enrolling. Virtual schools, schools that provide alternatives to traditional brick-and-mortar schools through distance learning technologies, are also appearing around the country. These schools offer comprehensive K–12 courses that connect teachers and students over the Internet. In 2016, 34 states had one or more virtual schools, and 528 full-time virtual schools in the United States enrolled 278,514 students (Molnar, 2017). Of these, 29% were operated by private companies that served 70% of all virtual students. Although most common at the high school level, virtual courses are also appearing in elementary and middle schools. Most popular with homeschooled students, such as Eliot Anderson in our earlier case study, virtual courses also provide students in rural areas with access to education, and students in all areas with courses in hard-to-teach areas, such as advanced mathematics or certain languages, such as Chinese or Arabic. A hybrid, called blended learning, that combines elements of both face-to-face and online instruction is becoming increasingly popular in our schools (Molnar, 2017). Its popularity is due to the increased structure and support it provides to students. Jasmine Winters, in our earlier case, is involved in a blended learning program at her high school. While most of her instruction is online, she also has access to academic coaches, who work with her and other students in small groups on problems they encounter during the day (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Experts caution that students, when first introduced to online instruction, may need assistance in learning to function effectively in these courses (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Blended learning that combines online learning with the human contact and support provided by a teacher attempts to address this problem. But the logistics of providing each student with a computer they can take home to do homework has proven to be an

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obstacle for all kinds of online learning systems (Fairbanks, 2014a). Also, critics warn against relying too heavily on this technology, arguing that the lack of social interaction with other students may result in decreased social development and motivation (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). To this point, research doesn’t paint a positive picture of online schools’ effectiveness. For instance, research on the achievement of students enrolled in privately managed, for-profit virtual schools found that more than two thirds failed to achieve a minimal level of progress. Other research indicates that students enrolled in online schools had lower test scores, lower graduation rates, and higher attrition rates than students in traditional schools (Chang, 2017; Molnar, 2017). So the very students who need the most help and guidance, aren’t getting it. The problem seems to be the match between the kind of instruction and the type of students (Dynarski, 2018). Students who have figured out how to play the school game and have mastered the art of selfdiscipline do well; students who are struggling to begin with don’t do well with online courses. Unfortunately, many private, for-profit online schools target these struggling students and use online courses as a cheap way to make money by extending the pupilteacher ratio. This is yet another instance where the search for profits trumps the need to serve and educate students.

Distance Education: Implications for Teaching As distance education grows, you likely will be asked to teach courses in a distancelearning format at some point in your career, and some states are considering requiring additional certification for those who teach these courses. Teachers who have done so tell us that the experience is both enlightening and frustrating. Designing distance education courses requires teachers to re-analyze their approaches to instruction. For instance, when we don’t have immediate access to students, and them to us, so creating lessons in which students succeed poses additional challenges. Interaction and feedback are essential. In addition, teachers we talked to who have taught these courses, admit to missing the human element that most teachers go into teaching expecting to find.

MyLab Education Self-Check 8.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 8.3  Identify the characteristics of good schools. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments

Finding a Good School The quality of the school in which you’ll work will be a major factor influencing your satisfaction with both your first job and the jobs you’ll have throughout your career. But how can you find a “good,” or “effective,” school, and what is it like to teach in one? We address these questions in this section. Although the public commonly refers to schools as good or not so good, as in “Woodrow Wilson is a very good elementary school,” researchers commonly use the term effective. An effective school is one in which learning for all students is maximized, and good schools are effective, that is, they maximize learning for students. If students are learning, other factors associated with your job satisfaction will fall into place. For instance, successful students create fewer classroom management problems, and they tend to be more motivated. It’s a pleasure to work with motivated and well-behaved students, so it’s easy to see why working in a good or effective school is professionally rewarding.

Teaching and You Were the schools you attended as a P–12 student “good schools”? How did you know? What criteria do you use in judging the quality of a school? How will you know if a school you’re considering working at in the future is a good school?

282  Chapter 8 When experts talk about an effective school, they aren’t just focusing on academic success. Effective schools also nurture students’ personal and social development and help them develop into emotionally healthy and happy individuals. Absentee, dropout, and graduation rates, incidents of crime, violence, and drug use, and the number of students who go on to college, all provide different measures of how well a school serves its students. Effective schools focus on students’ total development and establish policies that protect and nurture students and help them develop into healthy individuals. Research has identified several essential characteristics of effective schools (Lee & Louis, 2019), and this research has been confirmed in schools in other countries (Rai & Prakash, 2014). These characteristics are outlined in Figure 8.2 and discussed in the sections that follow.

Teaching and You How large were the schools you attended? Were they too big, too small, or just the right size? How did the size of the schools you attended influence the quality of the educational experiences they provided? How does school size influence student learning, and how will it affect your life as a teacher?

Optimal Size Size—both the size of the school and the size of classes—can affect both the quality of students’ learning as well as your satisfaction with your first job. Let’s see how.

School Size Paul, one of your authors, attended a small, rural high school in Montana. When he told Don he was the valedictorian of his high school class, Don (who went to a much larger high school near Chicago) replied, “Big deal. I could have been a valedictorian, too, if I had 16 in my graduating class.”

Figure 8.2  Characteristics of Effective Schools Optimal Size The school and classes are neither too large nor too small.

Strong Parental and Community Involvement

Leadership The school has a strong academic focus and strong leadership.

Home–school communication is ongoing.

Effective Schools Collective Efficacy

Safe and Orderly Environment

Teachers believe they can promote learning regardless of circumstances.

The school is safe, and students are orderly and well behaved.

Monitoring of Student Progress Teachers assess students frequently and thoroughly and provide feedback.

Interactive Instruction Teachers involve students, and avoid excessive lecturing.

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Are small schools better than big ones, or is the reverse true? As it turns out, the relationship between school size and quality isn’t that simple. Schools must be large enough to provide an adequate variety of curricular offerings, resources, and facilities, but not so large that they lose the personal, human dimension students so badly need (Bloch & Taylor, 2018). How big is too big? The largest high school on record, DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, housed 12,000 students in 1934 (Allen, 2002). (How do you suppose ninth graders felt walking into that school on the first day of the school year?) One-room elementary schools are at the other end of the spectrum; for example, in 2009 one elementary school in Nevada had one teacher and six students—one fifth grader, four fourth graders, and a first grader (Friess, 2009). Imagine being that teacher! And this school is not alone; in 2017, there were still 200 one-room schoolhouses in our country (Webb, 2017). School size is also correlated with level; while the average public school in our country had 503 students, elementary schools tend to be smaller and high schools larger. But averages are deceiving; 18% of high school students attend rural schools with enrollments of less than 100 students, while some attend urban schools that have enrollments over 3,000 (Public School Review, 2018). The ideal size for a high school isn’t completely clear, but an experiment in New York City schools found that reducing student numbers to around 400 resulted in both academic gains and higher graduation rates, and these benefits were especially pronounced for students from low-income families and cultural minorities. Between 2002 and 2013, the New York School District closed 69 high schools, most of them large (Bloch & Taylor, 2018). In 2009, the year before it closed, Columbus High, one of these New York schools, had a graduation rate of 37%; after it was broken into five smaller campuses the graduation rates for those new schools reached 81%, a dramatic increase. Experts attributed this increase to increased opportunities for teachers and students to interact in meaningful ways, which resulted in fewer discipline and safety issues. When schools are either too large or too small, learning decreases, especially for low-SES students. This is ironic because a disproportionate number of low-SES students attend either very small or very large high schools. Examples include small rural schools in sparsely populated states, such as Wyoming and Montana, and large urban schools in cities such as New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Advantages and disadvantages exist in both small and large schools, however. For example, Paul’s high school in Montana had a total enrollment of 46—that’s 46 total students in grades 9 through 12. Because of its small size, most of the students in the school participated in a wide range of extracurricular activities. Paul, for instance, played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. He played in the band, sang in the chorus, worked on the school newspaper, and was on the yearbook staff. Access to this variety of experiences would have been impossible in a large school. On the other hand, the curriculum offerings were very limited; neither chemistry nor physics was offered in his high school, so he had to work extra hard when he took them in his first year of college. This lack of science courses in small schools continues to be a problem; for instance, one study found that small schools are much less likely to offer physics than larger ones (Heiten, 2016). His first teaching job was also in a small school—a total enrollment of 150 in grades 9 through 12. He taught general math, earth science, physics, algebra, and geometry; he was assistant football, basketball, and track coach; and he drove the team bus to games and track meets. All of these activities provided Paul with opportunities to get to know the students in his school. Opposite issues exist in very large schools. If you teach in a large school, the likelihood of having five different preparations, as Paul experienced his first year, is low. On

284  Chapter 8

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “Larger schools generally provide students with better learning experiences because they have better facilities and can provide a wider variety of programs.” This statement is true up to a point: Schools need to be large enough to provide adequate offerings. But when they’re too large, students can become lost, and the human dimension suffers.

the positive side, his average class size was 11; you will likely have many large classes when you begin your first year of teaching. Size itself doesn’t detract from a school’s effectiveness; instead, it influences other factors. For example, as schools become larger, it’s more difficult to create learning environments in which students feel physically and emotionally safe. Also, education is less personal in large schools because it’s harder for teachers and students to get to know one another and to work together. Both parents and teachers want smaller schools, but the cost of building them deters taxpayers. In a national survey, parents said they believed their children received a more rigorous and personalized education in smaller schools, and teachers said that smaller schools prevented students from “falling through the cracks” (Public Agenda, 2002). Creating schools within schools, smaller learning communities within larger schools where both teachers and students feel more comfortable, is one solution to the problem of school size. For example, Kernan Middle School in Jacksonville, Florida, has more than 1,200 students, more than experts recommend for any school, and especially for a middle school. To address the issue of school size, Kernan students are grouped within “houses” of approximately 400 students each at the start of sixth grade. Students stay in these houses through eighth grade, enabling them to get to know the adults in their building. They deal with a small front office managed by an assistant principal, who, essentially, is the principal of this mini school. The students get to know all the teachers in the hallway as well as the other students who are part of their houses. The goal is for each student to be well known by at least one adult. Students are at ease in making the transition to the next grade level because they’re familiar with the house and all its components (people, rules, procedures). When asked, a student will typically identify himself or herself as a “house A student” or a “house B student.” At the end of their middle school experience, students will hopefully have formed meaningful, personal relationships with more people than they would in a typical arrangement. Similar examples exist in many parts of the country. In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked how school size affected your own experiences in school. When we asked the same question to our students, most thought that small to intermediate schools felt the best—neither too small nor too large. Our students wanted a school that was big enough to offer social and academic variety, but not so large that they felt like a number. Their reactions corroborate the research we discussed in this section.

Class Size Class size also influences a school’s effectiveness, as well as the students and teachers in a class. In the early 1900s, class sizes of fifty or more students were common in many urban schools (Cuban, 2013). Currently, classes of 20 or fewer students are considered optimal, but many are much larger, particularly in middle, junior high, and high schools. Don recently worked with a health teacher who had 47 students assigned to one of her classes. If all her students showed up for class, there weren’t enough desks. The student-teacher ratio, the number of students taught by one teacher, is a commonly used measure of class size. This ratio can be misleading, however, because districts typically include administrators and other district-level personnel in the computation, which makes the student-teacher ratio appear lower than it actually is. Critics often argue that class size doesn’t matter or that reducing class size isn’t worth the cost, but research suggests otherwise (Brown, Magnuson, Schindler, Duncan, & Yoshikawa, 2017). And the effects are particularly pronounced in the lower grades and for low SES students and students who struggle at school (Bosworth, 2014).

Choosing the Right School 285

Reductions in class size can have both short- and long-term positive effects. In Tennessee, for instance, where average class sizes were reduced from 25 to 15 students, researchers found immediate gains in reading and math scores. Follow-up studies revealed that the positive effects lasted through twelfth grade; low-SES students who participated in the program for four years were twice as likely to graduate from high school as their counterparts in larger classes. Students in the smaller classes also took more challenging courses later in school and were more likely to attend college than those in larger classes. These positive effects were especially strong for low-SES and African American students (Konstantopoulos, 2008). Smaller class sizes will also make your life easier. When first-year teachers were asked what would help improve the quality of their teaching, 97% identified reduced class sizes as a major factor (Rochkind, Ott, Immerwahr, Doble, & Johnson, 2008). If you’re fortunate enough to have small classes, classroom management will be easier, you’ll have fewer papers to score, your record keeping will be less demanding, and you’ll have an easier time getting to know your students. Teachers’ morale and job satisfaction increase when class sizes are reduced. Now, the trick is to convince politicians and the public that reducing classes is worth the cost to improve both learning and teaching.

Leadership: Your First Principal Just as you influence the learning that occurs in your classroom, your principal will set the academic tone for the first school in which you’ll teach (Burkhauser, 2017). The best principals are instructional leaders who can advise staff and serve as a resource to parents and students. In an effective school, the principal is an instructional leader; the principal understands the principles of effective instruction and uses that knowledge to help his or her teachers do their best. Faculty meetings focus on instructional issues, and learning and effective teaching are continually discussed topics (Sergiovanni & Green, 2015). Effective principals consistently communicate their school’s mission to teachers, and they create a climate that makes student learning the core goal of the school (Lee & Louis, 2019). They emphasize that high expectations are important for all students, and they try to create a teaching environment that will allow you to maximize your instructional time.

Teaching and You What will be the most important factor influencing your satisfaction with teaching in your first job? What should you look for when you make decisions about accepting your first teaching position?

School Principals: Implications for Teaching This discussion has important implications for you when you interview with a principal for your first job. For example, consider the kinds of questions he or she asks. Are the questions specific, and do they focus on student learning? And you can ask questions of your own, such as: • What do you believe are the most important characteristics of an effective teacher? • What do you look for when you’re observing in a teacher’s classroom? • What learning challenges exist in your school, and how do your effective teachers meet them? If the principal’s answers are vague, or they focus on trivial items, such as whether you have an up-to-date “word wall” or samples of student work on your bulletin board, you might—assuming you have other options—think carefully about whether you want to work in that school. We don’t object in the least to “word walls” or displays of students’ work, but the question we should always be asking is: “What impact does this have on student learning?” The way you manage your classroom, the way you instruct,

MyLab Education Video Example 8.2 Principals set the academic tone for the schools they lead. Here, school principal Dr. Kristin Waters describes the efforts she has made to increase the collective efficacy of the teachers in a formerly failing middle school.

286  Chapter 8 and the way you treat your students, such as we saw with Randi and Chris (and his team), are much more important, as are your beliefs about teaching and learning, which we examine next. In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked what factor would most influence your satisfaction with your first job and throughout your career. When we ask this same question to the teachers we work within schools, they are almost unanimous in their response—their principal! School principals can have an almost magical effect on a school. When they are good, they boost morale and make the teachers in that school feel like they’re doing a good job and making a difference in students’ lives (Davis, Gooden, & Bowers, 2017). Unfortunately, the opposite can also be true. Earlier, we suggested that you directly ask prospective principals strategic questions about their knowledge of and attitudes toward good teaching. We also suggest that you ask teachers in that school how they like working for that principal. Their answers could make an important difference in your first years of teaching.

Collective Efficacy: The Influence of Other Teachers in Your School The principal of your first school is important, but what about the other teachers you’ll work with? What should you be looking for when you talk with your potential future colleagues? High collective efficacy, teachers’ beliefs in their schools’ ability to promote student learning regardless of external conditions, is pervasive in an effective school (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). When teachers believe in their school’s ability to help students, good things happen. Morale increases, teachers teach more energetically, and student learning increases (Donohoo, Hattie, & Fells, 2018). High collective efficacy begins with personal teaching efficacy, each teacher’s belief that he or she can promote learning in each of their students, regardless of their backgrounds or home conditions (Holzberger, Philipp, & Kunter, 2013; Yada et al., 2019). Personal teaching efficacy, not surprisingly, results from successful teaching experiences that bolster a teacher’s confidence in his or her ability to promote learning (Grant, Jeon, & Buettner, 2019). High-efficacy teachers take personal responsibility for the success of their students. If students aren’t learning, rather than blaming students’ lack of intelligence, poor home environments, uncooperative administrators, or some other cause, high-efficacy teachers conclude that they need to do a better job and look for ways to improve student learning. Two aspects of high-collective-efficacy schools are important. First, students from all SES levels learn more in them than in schools where collective efficacy is lower (Donohoo et al., 2018). This in itself isn’t surprising; it makes sense that the harder teachers work to promote learning, the more students learn. Second, low-SES students in high-collective-efficacy schools have achievement levels nearly equal to those of high-SES students in low-collective-efficacy schools. High-collective-efficacy schools help reduce achievement differences between groups of students who typically benefit quite differently from schooling (Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy, 2004). Related to the power of collective efficacy is the problem of teacher churning. Teacher churning, in the form of experienced teachers leaving, to be replaced by new teachers, teacher transfers in and out of a school, and even reassignment within a school, all result in less effective teaching and lower student learning (Adnot, Dee, & Katz, 2017; Atteberry, Loeb, & Wycoss, 2017).

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Achieving Collective Efficacy: Essential Elements of Effective Teaching Now, imagine that you’re walking through the hallways of a school. What would you look for to help you decide if the school is effective, that is, how would you know if all students are learning as much as possible? Or, put another way, how do high-efficacy teachers and high-collective-efficacy schools accomplish positive results with students? A number of factors contribute, but four are essential: (1) interactive instruction, (2) frequent monitoring of learning progress, (3) a safe and orderly learning environment, and (4) strong parental and community involvement. We examine them next.

Interactive Instruction Imagine walking through the hallways of a school; the doors of classrooms are open so you can glance inside. Can you determine anything about the effectiveness of the school with a simple glance? The answer is yes, as this principal found.

Cassie Jones, principal of an urban middle school, walks through the halls and listens to the sounds coming from the different classrooms. As she walks by Ben Carlson’s social studies class, she hears him say, “Yesterday we talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the North and South at the outbreak of the Civil War. Who remembers one of these?” As she moves down the hall, she stops in front of Sarah McCarthy’s science class. Sarah is at the front of the room, swinging a set of keys from a piece of string. “Hmmm,” Cassie thinks, “no wonder her class is so quiet—she’s got them hypnotized.” As she listens further, she hears Sarah say, “This

MyLab Education

is a simple pendulum, just like the one we find in grandfather clocks. Who can tell me what factors

Video Example 8.3

influence the rate at which a pendulum swings?”

Teachers in effective schools interact with their students instead of lecturing. Here, we see seventhgrade math teacher Kadean Maddix guide his students’ developing understanding with questioning instead of using explaining as his primary teaching method.

“Good question,” Cassie thinks. “Maybe that’s why her kids are so quiet.” When Cassie turns the corner, she is greeted by a steady stream of student voices arguing about something. “I don’t care what you say, stealing is wrong.” “But his family didn’t have enough to eat. They were hungry, and he couldn’t let them starve!” “What’s Hector up to today?” Cassie thinks as she listens more closely to Hector Sanchez’s English class. “Listen, everyone,” Hector breaks in with a strong voice, “it’s not enough just to disagree with your partners. You have to explain why. Remember, one of the reasons we read books like Sounder is to help us understand our own lives. So, you have three more minutes in your discussion groups to explain why the father was right or wrong to steal food for his family. Be sure that you’ve written your reasons on your papers to be turned in.” Cassie chuckles as she hears Hector’s class rejoin the battle. “He’s sure got them stirred up today. I’m lucky to have such a talented teaching staff that has so many different strengths.”

Teachers in effective schools involve students in learning activities, and you also saw how interactive Randi and Chris were in the lessons we used to introduce the chapter. If the teachers in the school are asking large numbers of questions, and students are involved in discussions, it’s likely that the school is effective (Lemov, 2015). On the other hand, if teachers are mostly lecturing, or students are spending large amounts of time doing seatwork, the school is likely to be less effective. Evaluating schools in this way is admittedly simplistic, and other factors influence how much students learn, but interaction between teacher and students and students with each other is an essential

288  Chapter 8 ingredient for both motivation and learning (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020; Lavigne & Good, 2018). Students at all levels prefer challenging, interactive activities to sitting passively, listening to teacher lectures. Effective schools provide opportunities for students to become actively involved in their learning. MyLab Education Application Exercise 8.1: Interactive Instruction in Effective Schools In this exercise you will be asked to analyze the different ways a teacher interacts with her students.

Frequent Monitoring of Learning Progress In effective schools, teachers frequently assess their students and provide them with continual feedback about learning progress. Effective learning environments are assessmentcentered, which provides both students and teachers with information about learning (Brookhart & Nitko, 2019). “Assessment-centered” means that assessment isn’t tacked on at the end of an instructional period, such as a test at the end of a unit or term; rather, it’s an integral part of the entire teaching-learning process. Teachers in effective schools gather large numbers of work samples, give frequent quizzes and tests, and their assessments measure more than recall of facts. They return quizzes and assignments shortly after they’re given, and they thoroughly discuss test items to provide students with feedback about their responses. The need for assessment-centered classrooms also helps us understand why interactive instruction is so effective—it allows you to gather a great deal of information about your students’ understanding by listening to their responses to questions as they attempt to describe their developing thinking skills. MyLab Education Application Exercise 8.2: Monitoring Learning Progress in the Fifth Grade In this exercise you will be asked to analyze the different ways a teacher monitors her students’ learning progress.

Safe and Orderly Learning Environment Students at all grade levels need to feel safe and secure, and research indicates that effective schools are places of trust, order, cooperation, and high morale. Further, in safe and orderly schools and classrooms, students are more engaged, and problems with fighting, bullying, and disruptive students are sharply reduced (Capella et al., 2016). Most significantly, students are more motivated and learn more in safe and orderly classrooms (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). Theories of learner development suggest that people prefer to live in an orderly rather than a chaotic world (Piaget 1952, 1970). In addition, the psychologist Abraham Maslow (1968), who described a hierarchy of human needs, argued that only the need for survival is more basic than the need for safety. Children need to feel safe and secure if they are to thrive in our schools and classrooms. We can do much to promote safe schools by our actions, both within our classrooms and around our schools. We can create and consistently enforce rules and procedures that prevent disruptive behavior and forbid bullying and harassment. We can also set a

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positive and proactive tone in hallways and playgrounds by requiring students to treat each other with courtesy and respect. And, as with collective efficacy, when teachers band together collectively to make their school safe, students feel the difference.

Strong Parental and Community Involvement Schools, no matter how well they’re organized, can’t be effective if parents aren’t involved in their children’s education. “Extensive research has documented the benefits of family involvement and the comprehensive benefits in children’s education” (Tran, 2014, p. 19). Learning is a cooperative venture, in which our students, their parents, and we all work together. Home and school cooperation occurs at two levels. At the classroom level, you and other teachers can actively enlist the help of parents in helping their children learn. At the community level, effective schools reach out to immediate neighborhoods and become centers for help and assistance (Institute for Educational Leadership, 2018; Jacobsen, Villereal, Munoz, & Mahaffey, 2018). School management and planning teams that connect school personnel with community leaders provide valuable feedback about current efforts and guidance for future directions. Medical clinics address community health care needs. In many urban and rural areas where these services are scarce or lacking, the school becomes an oasis where parents and their children can come for help. In recognition of the important role that parents play in their children’s education, a number of districts are promoting outreach efforts that include classes on how school districts work and how to help their children with homework (Gewertz, 2017b). Students benefit from home–school cooperation in a number of ways: • Students exhibit more positive attitudes and behavior. • Students achieve more, regardless of SES, ethnic/racial background, or the parents’ levels of education. The more extensive the parental involvement, the higher the student achievement. • Students earn higher grades and have better test scores, attend school more regularly, and complete homework more consistently. • Student alcohol use, violence, and antisocial behaviors decrease as parental involvement increases. • Educators hold higher expectations for students whose parents collaborate with teachers. They also have higher opinions of those parents (Kraft, 2016; Li & Fischer, 2017). To summarize, “Decades of research have shown the value of parent involvement, revealing a consistent, positive relationship between parents’ engagement in their children’s education and student outcomes. . . This relationship holds true regardless of race, SES, or gender (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011).

Parental Involvement: Implications for Teaching Parental involvement takes work; it won’t happen naturally. You’ll need to be proactive in reaching out to parents and other caregivers. This starts with a letter at the beginning of the school year that describes your class and how parents and caregivers can contribute to their child’s education. Parent–teacher conferences provide opportunities to reinforce that message. Send work samples home frequently; some teachers do this as part of a weekly routine. When learning or management problems surface, contact parents immediately; they love their children and want them to succeed in school. Often, all they need are encouragement from you and concrete suggestions about how they can help their child with schoolwork at home. Table 8.3 summarizes the implications effective schools have for you when you begin your career and as you move through it.

MyLab Education Video Example 8.4 Parental involvement is an integral part of an effective school. Here, teachers and a parent discuss the importance of parental involvement for all students and particularly for students with learning issues.

290  Chapter 8

Table 8.3  Implications of Effective Schools for You as a Teacher Effective Schools Dimension

Implications for You

Optimal Size The school and classes are neither too large nor too small.

Do everything you can to personalize your classroom to make students feel a part of it. Learn all of your students’ names as quickly as possible, and address them by name both in and out of class.

Leadership The school has a strong academic focus and strong leadership.

Consider the kinds of questions your potential principal asks you during your interview. Are they academically focused, and do they indicate a thorough understanding of teaching and learning?

Collective Efficacy Teachers believe they can promote learning regardless of circumstances.

Talk to teachers when you interview, and try to gauge the climate of the school. Are the teachers upbeat, and do they make generally positive comments about the school and students? If they do, it is likely that the work environment will also be positive.

Interactive Instruction Teachers involve students and avoid excessive lecturing.

Observe and talk to expert teachers and ask them how they involve students. Learn about effective teaching strategies, and practice basic teaching skills, such as questioning, until they become essentially automatic.

Monitoring of Student Progress Teachers assess students frequently and thoroughly and provide feedback on learning progress.

Make assessment an integral part of your instruction. Give frequent quizzes, measure understanding above the recall of factual information, and discuss all assessments with your students after they’ve been given.

Safe and Orderly Environment The school is safe, and students are orderly and well behaved.

Create a classroom learning community that involves all students. Design a system of rules and procedures to help maintain order in your classroom. Require that students respect each other and refrain from all forms of hurtful comments.

Strong Parental and Community Involvement Home–school communication is ongoing

Begin communication immediately with a letter home to parents describing your classroom goals and how they can help their children learn. Continually send work samples home so parents are aware of their child’s learning progress. Call parents at the first sign of either behavioral or academic problems.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Grade Retention Our schools are organized to teach students increasingly com-

re-asserted arguments supporting it. In 2010, nearly one million

plex ideas as they move from one grade to the next. In addition,

students were retained in our nation’s schools, more than 2% of

ideas learned in one grade build on one another as students

the student population, and 17 states require students to pass

master content in each grade. But what happens when students

a standardized test before they are promoted to the next grade

aren’t ready for, or don’t master, course content at a specific

(Jacobs, 2016). Research indicates that cultural minorities are

grade.

retained at a much higher rate than other students; for example,

Some school systems have implemented the policy of grade retention, the practice of requiring students to repeat a grade if they don’t meet certain criteria (Logsdon, 2018), and

in 2010, Black students were three times more likely to be retained than White students. Delaying kindergarten entry for children whose birthdays

you will likely be faced with this issue at some point in your

are near the cutoff date or who are developmentally immature

career. You will be asked to provide input as to whether some of

is a variation on grade retention. Advocates suggest that giv-

your students should be retained in a grade to give them more

ing students, and especially boys, an extra year to mature and

time to master essential content.

develop enhances chances for success and minimizes the risk

The elimination of social promotion, the process of promoting low-achieving students to the next grade so they can

of failure due to developmental lags. At the middle and secondary levels, as an alternative to

be with their age-similar peers—even if they’re failing academi-

making students repeat courses they’ve failed, some districts

cally—has become a controversial policy suggestion in many

around the country have implemented a policy called grade

reform efforts. This stand against social promotion is particularly

recovery, or credit recovery, where failing students are allowed

popular with conservative politicians.

to improve their grades to as high as a C by using online pro-

The issue of grade retention is not new, but with calls for higher standards and greater accountability, reformers have

grams designed to remediate their failure in previous courses. Grade or credit recovery programs are found in three-fourths of

Choosing the Right School 291

our country’s schools and serve more than 1 of 10 high school

grade—based on reading achievement—results in higher

students (Gewertz, 2018a). This policy is controversial, with

achievement in later grades (Casey, 2017).

many teachers complaining that some students realize that they can use it to “beat the system.” These students make little effort during the year, teachers complain, and then work for as little as three days on a grade-recovery program to change a failing

Con • Research on grade retention generally fails to support the practice (Logsdon, 2018). This research indicates that

grade to a C.

retained students perform lower on subsequent achievement

The Issue

more likely to drop out of school later.

Is grade retention an effective educational policy? What are

tests than their non-retained classmates, and they are much • Retained students are also much less likely to participate in

the long-term ramifications for students who are retained in a

postsecondary education, and later retention (between fourth

grade? Are retained students more or less likely to be personally,

and eighth grades) was linked more strongly to lower rates

socially, and academically successful later in their schooling?

of postsecondary education than retention between first and

These issues are controversial, and arguments on each side of

third grades (Stipek & Lombardo, 2014).

the issue are outlined below:

• Grade retention can cause emotional problems (Berk, 2019a). One study found that going blind or losing a parent

Pro • Retaining students in a grade until they’ve acquired the knowledge and skills for that level makes sense, and promoting students who lack the skills sets them up for future failure. • Spending a second year in a grade gives learners another chance to acquire the necessary understanding and skills, and sends the message that schoolwork is important (Casey, 2017). • Social promotion communicates to students that they can “get by” without working hard, forces teachers to deal with underprepared students while simultaneously trying to teach students who are prepared, and gives parents a false picture of their children’s progress. • Research at the lower elementary level indicates that grade

were the only two life events that children felt were more stressful than being retained. The psychological effects of grade retention are especially acute in adolescence, when physical size differences and peer awareness exacerbate the problem (Logsdon, 2018). • Better and less expensive alternatives to both grade retention and social promotion exist. Before- and after-school tutoring, summer school programs with reduced class sizes, instructional aides who work with low-achieving children, and peer tutoring are all possible alternatives (Jacobs, 2016).

The Question Now it’s your turn to take a position on the issue. Is grade retention an effective way to help struggling students? Or, if possible,

retention in kindergarten, first, or second grade results in

should students be moved to the next grade level, even if their

higher test scores on subsequent achievement tests (Jacobs,

achievement doesn’t meet prescribed standards?

2016), and additional research indicates that retention in third

Revisiting My Beliefs

Diversity: School Organization and the Achievement of Cultural Minorities Since the 1970s, African American and Hispanic students have made considerable progress in narrowing the achievement gap separating them from their White and Asian peers. Wide disparities still exist, however, and some evidence suggests that this progress has leveled off or may even be declining (Barshay, 2018). For instance, statistics gathered from the National Assessment of Educational Progress—often called “The Nation’s Report Card”—indicate that African American and Hispanic students still trail their White peers by an average of two grade levels. Further, while more than 90% of Asian students and 88% of White students graduated on time in 2016, this figure was 79% for Hispanic students, 76% for

This discussion in Issues You’ll Face in Teaching addresses the fifth item in What I Believe, “If some of my students fail to master the content at the grade level I’m teaching, retaining the students in that grade is the best way to ensure that they will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to succeed at the next grade.” As you see, experts disagree, and you now have the opportunity to weigh in on the issue.

292  Chapter 8 African American students and 72% for American Indian students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). Similar differences are found for college graduation rates (Tate, 2017) Researchers have identified several factors to explain differences in achievement between White and minority students, with poverty being one of the most important (Macionis, 2019). In addition, tracking and class size have also been identified, and they both relate to the way schools are organized.

Tracking and Members of Cultural Minorities Earlier in the chapter, we saw that comprehensive high schools often practice tracking, despite evidence that the educational experiences in lower-level tracks are often substandard (LaSalle & Johnson, 2018). This problem is particularly critical for members of cultural minorities because they tend to be overrepresented in lower-level tracks and underrepresented in higher-level ones; White and Asian students are much more likely to be enrolled in rigorous, college-preparatory oriented courses than African American and Hispanic students. Tracking and minority achievement have a form of negative synergy; student achievement in low-level classes is reduced compared to the achievement of students of comparable ability in high-level classes. Because decisions about tracking are based on records of students’ past achievement, minority students continue to be placed in lower-level tracks, and the negative relationship between achievement and tracking is magnified. Unfortunately, school leaders haven’t identified a satisfactory solution to this problem.

Cultural Minorities and Class Size The relationship between class size and minority achievement is more encouraging. Earlier, we saw that student achievement is higher in smaller classes. This research is important because the effects of reducing class size are especially beneficial for cultural minorities (Mathis, 2016). Two studies are particularly significant. First, assessments of a major Tennessee project for reducing class size found the following (Finn, Gerber, & Boyd-Zaharias, 2005): • Children in small classes (about 15 students per class) consistently outperformed children in larger classes. • Inner-city children (more than 95% of whom were members of cultural minorities) in small classes closed significant parts of the achievement gap between themselves and nonminority children that exists in larger classes. • Children in small classes outperformed children in larger classes, even when teachers in the large classes had support from aides. In the second study, a four-year experiment with class size reduction in Wisconsin, researchers found the achievement gap between minorities and nonminorities shrank by nearly 20% in smaller classes, whereas in comparable regular classrooms, it grew by nearly 60% (Molnar, Percy, Smith, & Zahorik, 1998). In addition to narrowing the achievement gap between minority and nonminority students in first grade, the program also prevented it from widening when students in the smaller classes advanced to second and third grades. When class sizes are reduced, teachers can engage with individual students on a more personal level and can design more effective learning activities.

Choosing the Right School 293

Diversity and You Making Urban Schools and Classrooms Effective You have just graduated, and you quickly find that the job

so bad; it provided kids in the lower tracks with opportunities

market is tight. You’ve been offered a job in a large urban high

for success by slowing down and lowering grading require-

school with a student body that is overwhelmingly minority.

ments. One even said he gave fewer tests and quizzes because

You’ve visited the school, seen that the resources are decent, and think that the administration is supportive and

students complained that the work was too hard. On your way home from the interview, you had a lot to think about.

effective. But two factors disturb you. The school is heavily into tracking, and because you are new, you’re assigned many of

Consider These Questions

the basic or remedial classes. In addition, class sizes are large,

1. What can you personally do to minimize the negative effects

averaging more than 30 students. When you talked with several teachers in the department where you’ll be teaching, they said not to worry about class sizes; lecturing to 35 students is no different than lecturing to 20. They also said that tracking wasn’t

MyLab Education Self-Check 8.3

of tracking?

2. What could you do to reduce the effects of the large classes that you will be teaching?

Chapter 8 Summary 1. Describe different meanings of school and identify the components of a typical school organization. • Although different definitions of schools exist, the one used in this text describes schools as social institutions that are organized to promote student growth and development as well as the welfare of society. • Personnel—the school principal and other administrators, support staff such as custodians and cafeteria workers, and teachers—are the most important component of a good or effective school. • The physical plant—buildings that house classrooms, the library, the cafeteria, and other support functions—make up a second component. The physical plant reflects a school’s educational priorities and influences the activities in that school. • The curriculum, what is taught in school, is a third component, and it is typically organized into grade levels, with content intended to be taught to students of different ages. • Developmental characteristics of students as well as economics and politics influence the organization of schools and curriculum. 2. Describe important differences between schools at different levels. • Early childhood programs include a number of educational options serving young children and include infant intervention and enrichment programs, nursery schools, and public and private pre-kindergartens and kindergartens. • Elementary schools are organized so that a single teacher is responsible for all of the instruction in the different content areas. Elementary teachers arrange their own schedules and typically emphasize reading, language arts, and math while de-emphasizing content areas, such as science, social studies, and the arts.

• Middle schools, junior highs, and high schools differ from elementary schools in that they’re organized into different content areas and have specified periods of time devoted to each. • Effective middle schools differ from junior highs in four ways: (1) Unlike junior highs, middle schools organize teachers and students into interdisciplinary teams, where all teachers on a team have the same group of students. (2) Middle schools place greater emphasis on students’ social and emotional development than do junior highs. (3) Teachers in effective middle schools emphasize interactive teaching strategies that involve students. (4) Middle schools eliminate activities in which developmental differences among students are emphasized, such as competitive athletics. • A comprehensive high school aims to meet the needs of all students through differentiated offerings. That means it provides offerings for students who are likely to attend college as well as students who will be entering the job market after graduation. 3. Identify characteristics of good schools. • Good schools, also called effective schools, promote learning and development for all students. • Optimal size is one characteristic of a good school. Effective elementary schools keep class sizes below 20 students per class, and effective high schools struggle to maintain enrollments that allow personalization and attention to every student. • Effective schools are safe and orderly, and they actively involve parents and the larger community. They’re academically focused, and they have strong leadership from the principal. • Grade retention requires students who haven’t mastered grade content to repeat the grade. Advocates claim it promotes content mastery and eliminates social promotion; critics counter that it damages students developmentally and emotionally.

Important Concepts administrators Advanced Placement (AP) classes blended learning

294

block scheduling career academies career technical schools

comprehensive high school curriculum departmentalization

development developmental programs distance education dual enrollment

Choosing the Right School 295

early childhood education effective school grade recovery grade retention high collective efficacy

junior high schools looping middle schools Montessori method personal teaching efficacy

principal schools within schools social promotion social system standards

Portfolio Activity Choosing a School InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to help you begin thinking about the grade level in which you will be most effective and happy working. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Create a chart with four columns labeled “Elementary Teachers,” “Middle School/ Junior High Teachers,” “High School Teachers,” and “Me.” Think about the effective teachers you’ve known and list their characteristics in the appropriate columns. In the last column, list the personal strengths that you think you’ll bring to the teaching profession. Compare this personal list with the school-level list, and decide which educational level best fits your personal strengths. Then talk to a teacher at the school where you’re working. Ask the following questions: a. How long have you been in your present teaching assignment? b. Have you had any other different teaching assignments, in terms of grade level and/or content focus? c. What are the advantages and disadvantages of your current teaching assignment? d. If you could, would you change your current teaching assignment? Why or why not? Compare the teacher’s responses to the lists you made above. Then write a one or two-page summary of your findings under the heading “An Ideal Teaching Assignment for My First Year.” 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Create a chart with four columns labeled “Elementary Teachers,” “Middle School/ Junior High Teachers,” “High School Teachers,” and “Me.” Think about the effective teachers you’ve known and list their characteristics in the appropriate columns. In the last column, list the personal strengths that you think you’ll bring to the teaching profession. Compare this personal list with the school-level list, and decide which educational level best fits your personal strengths. Then write a one or two-page summary under the heading “An Ideal Teaching Assignment for My First Year.”

student-teacher ratio virtual schools

Chapter 9

The School Curriculum in an Era of Standards

Ian Allenden/123RF

296

Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 9.1 Differentiate between curriculum and instruction and explain

how the explicit, implicit, null, and extracurriculum are different. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction 9.2 Identify different forces that influence the curriculum and explain

how they will influence your teaching. InTASC Core Teaching ­Standard 7, Planning for Instruction 9.3 Describe prominent controversial issues in the curriculum. InTASC

Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction Think about the question we asked in Teaching and You. In your work as a teacher, you’ll ask yourself many questions, but as you plan, three of the most important will be: “What topics should I teach?” “Why am I teaching them?” and “How will I help my students understand them?” These questions are so basic that we often forget that a great deal of thought and decision-making (and sometimes controversy) go into answering them. Let’s look in on a teacher involved in this process.

It’s Saturday afternoon, and Suzanne Brush, who teaches second grade, is planning for her ­coming week. She is working with her students on the following standard: CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.D.10 Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using the information presented in a bar graph (­Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018b).

“Okay, . . . they need to be able to collect data and analyze it using graphs and charts,” she thinks. She also checks the math textbook for her grade level and goes online, searching for some sample test bar graph items from the state high-stakes test to see how her students’ understanding of the standard will be measured. Based on the standard, sample test items, and her textbook, she decides on an activity in which students try different flavors of jellybeans, pick their favorites, and chart their preferences on a bar graph. “I’ll do it Monday—it should be a great way to start the week,” she thinks to herself, and she then prepares plastic bags with an assortment of jellybean flavors in each. On Monday, she begins, “I’m planning a party for our class, and I want to have some jelly beans for prizes, but I don’t know what your favorite flavor is.” After several suggestions from students, the class decides to give everyone different-flavored jellybeans, have them taste them, and choose their favorite flavor. Suzanne passes out the plastic bags with different flavored jelly beans, the students taste them, and when they’re finished, she continues, “We have an empty graph in the front of the room,” as she moves to the front and displays the outline of a graph that appears as you see here.

Teaching and You You’re a first-year teacher and thinking about planning for your first week of classes. What questions will you ask yourself as you begin to plan?

298  Chapter 9 Most Popular Jelly Bean

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Pink

Black

White

Suzanne then explains that she has some colored cardboard pieces for the graph that match the colors of the jelly beans. She asks students to come to the front of the room and paste the colored piece that represents their favorite jellybean on the graph. When the students are done, the graph appears as the one you see here. Most Popular Jelly Bean

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Pink

Black

White

Suzanne then reassembles the class and says, “We collected the information and organized it up here on the graph. Now we need to look at it and figure out what it tells us.”

We’ll rejoin Suzanne’s lesson later, but before we do, please respond to the items in the What I Believe feature that follows:

What I Believe Curriculum Decisions and My Classroom Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. As you read this ­chapter, you will encounter discussions of these issues. Each will be addressed in the sections ­Revisiting My Beliefs found throughout the chapter. 1. Because it is important to remain objective about what students should learn, I should be careful to avoid letting my attitudes and values influence decisions about what I teach. 2. Decisions I make about what not to teach are sometimes as important as the decisions about what to teach. 3. School activities, such as clubs and sports, can provide positive outlets for students and are an essential part of schooling. 4. Because standards and accountability are so important in today’s schools, the most important decisions about what I will teach are now out of my hands. 5. Sex education should be taught in the home, and it should not be a topic addressed in schools.

LEARNING OUTCOME 9.1  Differentiate between curriculum and instruction and explain how the explicit, implicit, null, and extracurriculum are different. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

The School Curriculum in an Era of Standards 299

What Is Curriculum? Let’s look at the decisions Suzanne made as she planned. She first decided that her s­ tudents needed to understand how to collect data and analyze it using graphs and charts. In m ­ aking that decision, she consulted standards, sample test items from standardized tests her students would take, and the math textbook for her grade level. She then decided that she would use her jellybean activity to help them understand how data can be r­ epresented in charts and graphs. Her first decision was about curriculum, and the second was about instruction. Educators offer a variety of definitions of curriculum, and no single one is generally accepted (Gordon, Taylor, & Oliva, 2019; Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, & Rupiper, 2019). Some common definitions include: • The subject matter taught to students • A course of study, or a systematic arrangement of courses • The planned educational experiences offered by a school • The process teachers go through in selecting and organizing learning experiences for their students Also, definitions of curriculum and instruction often overlap, and in some cases, curriculum subsumes instruction because teachers also think about the teaching strategies they will use to help students meet their learning goals when they plan. We avoid these issues and simply define curriculum as everything that teachers teach and students learn in schools, and instruction as the strategies they use to help students reach their learning goals in the curriculum. For example, Suzanne wanted her second graders to understand that graphs help us represent information; her learning goal was a curriculum decision. To reach the goal, she had her students sample a variety of jellybeans, pick their favorite flavors, represent their preferences on a large graph, and analyze the information mathematically. These were decisions about instruction. Instead, for instance, she could have simply explained why graphs are valuable, modeled the process for creating graphs, given her students some information, and had them graph and analyze it. That would have been a different decision about instruction. The curriculum you—as a teacher—construct means different things to different people. For students, it’s a road map for learning; it tells them what you expect them to learn. For parents, your curriculum tells them what content their children will be studying, and for your principal, it provides a succinct description of the topics you will teach. Most importantly, the curriculum you create says a lot about you as a teacher. It represents the topics and ideas you think are important, and it communicates your ability to connect ideas in ways that make sense to learners. It also communicates, although sometimes implicitly, whether your classroom is rigorous and engaging or the content is trivial and even irrelevant to students’ lives. In short, the curriculum you create and present to students reflects who you are as a teacher. Once we construct our curriculum, we typically share it with others. During “Open House” or “Back-to-School Night” at the beginning of the school year, we provide parents with an overview of the topics we’ll be covering. For older students, we typically summarize our curriculum in a syllabus that provides a shorthand overview of our course. For younger students, we often share parts of the curriculum at the beginning of a lesson to tell them what they’ll be learning that day. Sometimes we even share our curriculum with other teachers so we can coordinate our efforts and provide students with a coherent menu of ideas. The curriculum we create is important because it allows us to put our ideas about teaching and learning down on paper to share with others.

Components of the Curriculum Describing the curriculum as “everything that teachers teach and students learn in schools” makes the concept very broad. It includes content, such as the geography and climate of a certain region, and skills, such as being able to solve math problems. It also

300  Chapter 9 includes personal and social development and the attitudes and values that students acquire as part of their day-to-day school experiences. Experts use four aspects of the curriculum to describe how schools help students acquire these abilities, attitudes, and values (Gordon et al., 2019; Kostelnik et al., 2019): • The explicit curriculum • The implicit, or “hidden,” curriculum • The null curriculum • The extracurriculum

The Explicit Curriculum The explicit curriculum, or formal curriculum, is the stated curriculum found in textbooks, curriculum guides, and standards, as well as other planned formal educational experiences (Gordon et al., 2019). It includes everything we’re expected to teach, what students are expected to learn, and all that schools are held accountable for. Suzanne’s lesson on graphing was part of the explicit curriculum. The explicit curriculum at the elementary level is quite different from its counterpart in middle, junior high, and high schools. We examine these differences in the following sections.

Curriculum in Elementary Schools

MyLab Education Video Example 9.1 Curriculum in elementary schools focuses strongly on basic skills, such as reading, writing, and math. Here, kindergarten teacher Liza Taylor works with her students on the beginning sounds of words.

The elementary curriculum focuses strongly on basic skills, such as reading, writing, and math, and if you’re planning on teaching in elementary schools, you’ll have considerable autonomy in determining how topics in these areas are taught, as well as when you incorporate them into your curriculum (Kostelnik et al., 2019). However, some states and districts actually mandate how much time you should devote to different topics, so you need to check your teachers’ support materials, typically found in a handbook, before you design your curriculum. To see how this occurs in classrooms, let’s look at two elementary teachers’ schedules. Sharon is a first-grade teacher, and Susie teaches third grade. Their schedules are outlined in Table 9.1. Both teachers are responsible for all the content areas, such as language arts, math, and science, and the amount of time they devote to the different areas—a curriculum decision—is a personal decision made by each teacher. Although the specific details of these schedules are different, they reveal two important patterns in the elementary curriculum. First, most elementary schools focus heavily on reading, writing, and math. For example, in a 6-hour teaching day (­subtracting the time for lunch), Sharon devotes 1 hour and 45 minutes and Susie a minimum of 1 hour and 35 minutes to language arts (including spelling). Both teachers schedule additional time for reading stories.

Table 9.1  Two Elementary Schedules Sharon’s First-Grade Schedule

Susie’s Third-Grade Schedule

8:30 am

School begins

8:30 am

School begins

8:30–8:45

Morning announcements

8:30–9:15

Independent work (practice previous day’s l­anguage arts and math)

8:45–10:30

Language arts (including reading and writing)

9:15–10:20

Language arts (including reading and writing)

10:30–11:20

Math

10:20–10:45

Snack/independent reading

11:20–11:50

Lunch

10:45–11:15

Physical education

11:50–12:20

Read story

11:15–12:15

Language arts/social studies/science

12:20–1:15

Center time (practice on language arts and math)

12:15–12:45

Lunch

1:15–1:45

Physical education

12:45–2:00

Math

1:45–2:30

Social studies/science

2:00–2:30

Spelling/catch up on material not covered earlier

2:30–2:45

Class meeting

2:30–2:45

Read story

2:45–3:00

Call buses/dismissal

2:45–3:00

Clean up/prepare for dismissal

The School Curriculum in an Era of Standards 301

Second, more time on reading and math means less for social studies, science, art, music, and other areas, such as physical education. Also, in spite of the widespread impact of technology on our daily lives, and even though most classrooms have computers in them, elementary school teachers place little emphasis on computer use and computer skills (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Beginning in second or third grade, many elementary schools specialize their instruction. For example, one teacher might be assigned to teach language arts, while another focuses on math. They might also switch for science and social studies or music and art. Reduced planning and preparation time is one advantage of specialization; the disadvantages include logistical and coordination problems and spending less time with your own students. If you observe in elementary classrooms, you’ll probably see schedules that vary from those in Table 9.1. But even with these differences, you’ll likely see primary emphasis placed on reading, writing, and math. We’ll see why when we look at forces influencing the curriculum later in the chapter.

Curriculum in Middle Schools Middle schools are specifically designed to help early adolescents make the sometimesdifficult transition from elementary to high school. The curriculum is organized around specific content areas, and, unlike elementary schools, the content areas are each allocated the same amount of time (the length of one class period). If a middle school designs its curriculum in a way that is consistent with “middle school philosophy,” the school also focuses on real-life issues that concern middle school students, and an effort is made to connect different content areas (Association for Middle Level Education, 2018). Let’s look at a team of middle school teachers helping students make these connections. Carrie Fisher is an eighth-grade American history teacher in an urban middle school. She and her team members have a common planning period each day when their students go to P.E. During this period, they generally discuss the topics they’re teaching and the students they share in their classes. The students are grouped heterogeneously and vary widely in ability. To begin today’s meeting, Carrie announces, “I’ll be starting the Civil War in about three weeks. At the end of the unit, each group will have to make a report on some aspect of the war. Is there any way I can connect with what you’re doing in the curriculum?” “I could have them read Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage. That’s on the district’s optional list and really does a good job of communicating the realities of the Civil War,” Jim Heath, the language arts teacher, offers. “That would be great,” Carrie replies. “That’s just what they need—something to help them understand that history is about real people. How about you, Jacinta? Any links to math?” “Well, we’re just starting to work on different kinds of data, such as nominal, ordinal, and interval data. If you can give me some different kinds of data from the Civil War, I can use them to illustrate how these different kinds of data provide different kinds of information.”

These teachers are working to make the curriculum meaningful for middle school students by helping them see connections across disciplines. Although these connections are valuable at any level, they are particularly emphasized in elementary and middle schools. Again, this is what you’ll see if the middle school in which you observe attempts to apply a middle school philosophy. Many, however, are middle schools in name only and, in fact, may look more like junior highs than middle schools.

Curriculum in Junior High and High Schools The organization of junior high schools is similar to that of high schools—hence the name junior high—and this organization influences the curriculum. Whereas one team of teachers in middle schools often have the same group of students, as you saw with Carrie and her colleagues, no such coordination exists in the curriculum for most junior

302  Chapter 9 high and high schools. The curriculum in those schools focuses on separate disciplines and becomes more specialized. Some say it also becomes more fragmented.

Integrated Curriculum The emphasis on content in junior and senior high schools has implications for students’ learning. For example, a high school student might study geometry from 9:20 to 10:10, English from 10:15 to 11:05, and so on through the rest of the day. Critics argue that compartmentalizing the curriculum in this way detracts from learning because teaching and learning bear little resemblance to the world outside school. Instead, they argue, schools should offer an integrated curriculum (also referred to as an interdisciplinary curriculum), in which concepts and skills from various disciplines are combined and related. Different forms of integration occur informally in many elementary classrooms. For example, teachers might have students read about a science topic and then conduct an experiment or interview someone who has expertise in the area. As a culminating activity, students write about the topic, thus integrating science with language arts. In some middle, junior high, and high schools, efforts have been made to formally integrate topics within a content area. For example, in middle schools, students typically take general science in sixth grade, life science in seventh, and physical science in eighth. Some schools integrate these content areas by having students study related topics from earth, life, and physical science in each of the middle school years. For example, using energy as a focal point, students might study the sun as an energy source in earth science, food as a source of energy in life science, and nuclear power in physical science. An integrated curriculum has the following potential benefits: • It increases the relevance of content by making connections among ideas explicit. • It can improve learning by increasing motivation. • It promotes collaborative planning that increases communication among teachers. Even the most ardent proponents acknowledge, however, that the process of integrating curriculum is demanding and time-consuming, and few teachers have the knowledge of content in different disciplines that is required to create effective integrated units. “While the values and goals inherent in integrated curricula are likely appealing to many faculty, the process of implementation is not an easy one” (D. Anderson, 2013, p. 6). Also, in attempts to create links across content areas, teachers are often unable to help students develop a deep understanding of important concepts in individual areas. Curriculum integration is most popular at the elementary level, where a single teacher can relate several topics, and at the middle school level, where teams of teachers periodically meet to interconnect content areas. It’s least common at the high school level, where a disciplinary approach to the curriculum is entrenched. The emphasis on standards and accountability so prominent in today’s schools is likely to reduce the interest in integrating curriculum at all levels.

Technology and Teaching: What Role Should Technology Play in the Curriculum?

MyLab Education Video Example 9.2 Technology has the potential to play an increasingly important role in the curriculum. Here, two teachers describe how they use technology to help enrich fifth graders’ understanding of the phases of the moon.

It goes without saying that technology is playing an increasingly powerful role in our daily lives, but what role should it play in the explicit curriculum? Not surprisingly, the answer to this question has changed over time to reflect changes in technology. During the 1980s, for example, the call was for computer literacy. Stand-alone desktop computers were finding their way into homes and workplaces, and society asked schools to respond with a curriculum that taught students word processing skills and the ability to use computers for basic literacy and computing tasks (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Rapid technological change occurred, and the Internet, tablets, smartphones, and social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, soon produced students who were not only computer literate but also tech-savvy. Often students knew more about technology than their teachers, and keeping technology from distracting students while they

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were learning other content became the challenge. Attempts to ban cell phones and other devices in classrooms quickly followed, but the results of these attempts have been mixed. More recently, another technology-related curriculum initiative, coding, is ­beginning to find its way into the curriculum. We look at it next.

Technology in the Curriculum: Teaching Students to Code To begin this section, let’s look at two classrooms where technology is being used. In a kindergarten classroom, Antonio is trying to debug a robot made of wooden blocks that won’t move. “What’s wrong?” Why won’t it work?” Maria, working next to him, suggests, “Try moving the blocks. Make this one first and this one last. See if that works.” The smiles on their faces reveal that the change works, as the robot moves haltingly across the floor (Miller & Bidgood, 2017). Down the hall, students in a third-grade classroom are working in pairs at a computer. Their job is also to “debug” a classroom computer program, and this time they are actually working on a ­computer terminal. As they attempt to figure out how to make their animated program work, they receive tips and advice from the computer. Some of these focus on solving the problem on the screen. A game-like format keeps them motivated. Other suggestions focus on working together effectively, such as taking turns, working together as a team, and explaining their thinking as they work together (Code.org, 2018).

The students in these examples were learning to code, the implementation of a­ lgorithm-specific sets of steps used to solve problems in a chosen computer programming language. These problems can include the design of software and websites, as well as apps (applications), computer software that allows users to perform specific tasks, ranging from as simple as a calculator on a smartphone to complex games and simulations. Coding is central to expertise in computer science and is a basic tool that programmers use in their work. Timothy Cook, chief executive of Apple, has argued that teaching coding can help solve a huge deficit in the skills that students need to succeed, both in the job market and life in general. Technology experts, such as Cook, argue that coding should be a requirement in all schools and that the government should do its part to ensure that students acquire programming skills. Others have stated the case even more strongly, arguing that our country is failing its students by not teaching coding in every high school (Kohli, 2015). A major push to advance the coding agenda has come from Silicon Valley through Code.org, an industry-backed nonprofit group founded in 2012. Code.org’s goal is to expand access to computer science and increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities. It believes that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn coding, just as they would learn algebra, biology, or any other form of content. Learning to code is as foundational as learning to read, write, and do math, it argues (Code.org, 2018). Since its founding, Code.org has become a major economic, political—and even pedagogical—force. It has raised more than $60 million from companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Google to support its initiatives, and it has developed curriculum, created free online coding lessons, and offered training for teachers. Politically, these efforts appear to have paid off. For instance, Code.org has helped persuade more than 20 states to change their education policies to include coding in the curriculum (Singer, 2017), and coding competitions for public school students are now becoming more common (D’Amico, 2017). In addition, the federal government is earmarking $200 ­million for computer science education, and industry leaders, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have pledged an additional $300 million for computer science education (Kang, 2017). As is the case with virtually all initiatives, these efforts are controversial. For instance, critics of the movement to include coding in the curriculum are skeptical of companies, whose primary goal is to maximize profits, leading the way in curriculum development that focuses on technology. Industry supporters’ motives are self-serving,

304  Chapter 9 critics assert; they want to develop software engineers that help power their companies (Singer, 2017). For instance, in Idaho, Microsoft, Oracle, and Code.org helped push a bill that increased efforts to promote computer science instruction in schools. As an outcome, public school teachers were trained to teach Java, a popular programming language developed by Oracle. The benefit to the company is obvious; teaching the program will help prepare thousands of students to work for Oracle. But critics question whether teaching this specific programming language is the best approach to helping students function in the world of technology (Singer, 2017). The industry response to these critics has been both forceful and creative. For instance, the curriculum has been broadened beyond the mechanics of coding to include goals such as problem-solving, persistence in the face of adversity and frustration, and social skills, such as cooperation, taking turns and working as a team (Code.org, 2018). For instance, in the short case studies at the beginning of this section, students were learning rudimentary coding, but they were also learning how to work together to solve problems. So, at their best, these initiatives, in addition to coding, can also teach personal and interpersonal skills that will serve students throughout their lives (Florez et al., 2017). However, resources and space in the curriculum are limited, and the impact inclusion of coding might have on other curriculum areas is uncertain. As an example, 24 states currently allow computer science to count toward math and science credits required for high school graduation, and other states have considered substituting computer science for a foreign language requirement (Singer, 2017). And, when mandates are implemented, schools sometimes develop ways to “beat the system.” For instance, in South Carolina, which has mandated computer science in the schools since 1997, many students fulfill the requirement by taking a half-credit course in keyboarding (Herold, 2018a). Tensions within the curriculum already exist; when coding is added, something else is likely to be dropped.

Coding: Implications for Teaching Let’s assume that teaching coding to students is a good idea. How might it be done? A number of tutorials have been developed for children in kindergarten (Kim & Ko, 2017), and one of the more popular is ScratchJr, a program designed for preschool and early elementary students (ScratchJr, 2018). It is designed to teach students as young as age four basic programming concepts with interactive animations and stories. Similar tutoring programs are proliferating across the country as states rush to fill this developing need. In 2016, Virginia became the first state to include computer science as part of the curriculum in all of its schools (Miller & Bidgood, 2017). And the number of high school students taking advanced placement computer science courses increased more than 50% from 2017 to 2018 (Jones, 2018). The extent to which you are likely to be involved in these initiatives remains unclear. Our goal in writing this section is to raise your awareness of curriculum initiatives and issues, such as these, so you will be better prepared to make informed decisions, if and when you become involved. Questions about technology in the curriculum go beyond the issue of teaching coding. Preparing students for the future should be the major thrust of any technology curriculum, but critics question if this is even possible, given the rapid pace of technological change (Elmes, 2017). For instance, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile computing devices were being discussed primarily in development labs a few short years ago, but now, they’re ubiquitous. The current accountability movement, which attempts to define the curriculum in terms of standards, is a second obstacle (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). What gets tested gets taught is essentially a fact about curriculum, and technology advocates worry that other content-related standards will push technology out of the curriculum. Plus, in this discipline-oriented era of specialization, who will be responsible for teaching these technology skills? Will it be language arts teachers as part of the writing process, science teachers as part of scientific literacy, or stand-alone classes that focus specifically on technology skills?

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Despite these questions and concerns, technology will play an increasingly larger role in our nation’s economy and our students’ future. How to address the challenges that arise from these changes will continue to be an issue in the explicit curriculum.

The Implicit Curriculum Think about the questions we asked in Teaching and You. If you are like the students in our classes, your answers probably relate to the implicit curriculum, that includes the unstated and sometimes unintended aspects of the curriculum. It consists of the hidden messages educators and schools send as children participate in school activities, and it is heavily influenced by our attitudes and actions (Gordon et al., 2019). Also called the hidden curriculum or the informal curriculum, the implicit curriculum is reflected in the way we present our content, the classroom management routines and rules we establish, the way we treat students, the general climate of our classrooms, and the unstated values and priorities that shape the school day. For example, if we only call on students with their hands up, shy or reluctant students quickly learn that the way to avoid being called on is to hunker down in their seats and make themselves invisible. Lessons may run more smoothly, but the implicit message is that only “smart” or verbally assertive students participate in lessons—an unintended consequence of the implicit curriculum. “A great deal of learning takes place through the implicit curriculum, and it begins when children are very young. . . . They learn early how they must behave in order to get on.” (Eisner, 2003, p. 648). As another example of how the implicit curriculum influences students, let’s return to Suzanne’s work with her second graders. They had represented their jellybean preferences on the large bar graph at the front of the room, and when Suzanne reassembled them, she said, “We collected the information and organized it up here on the graph. Now we need to look at it and analyze it.” We rejoin her class now. “Tell us what we know by looking at this graph. . . . Candice, what do we know?” she asks, walking toward the middle of the room. “People like green,” Candice answers. “Candice said most people like the green jelly beans. . . . Candice, how many people like green?” “ . . . Nine.” “Nine people like green. . . . And how did you find that out? Can you go up there and show us how you read the graph?” Candice goes up to the graph and moves her hand up from the bottom, counting the green pieces as she goes. Suzanne has her students make several more observations of the information on the graph and then says, “Okay, now I’m going to ask you a different kind of question. . . . How many more people liked the green jellybeans than the red? Look up at the graph. Try to find the information, set up the problem, and then we’ll see what you come up with. . . . I’m looking for a volunteer to share an answer with us. . . . Dominique?” “Nine plus 5 is 14,” Dominique responds. Most Popular Jelly Bean

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Pink

Black

White

“Dominique says 9 plus 5 is 14. Let’s test it out.” (She asks Dominique to go up to the graph and show the class how she arrived at her answer.) “We want to know the difference. . . . How many

Teaching and You Think back in school. experience and which important?

to your own experiences What aspects of your do you remember best, were most valuable or

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the first item in What I Believe, “Because it is important to remain objective about what students should learn, I should be careful to avoid letting my attitudes and values influence decisions about what I teach.” This statement isn’t true, and, more importantly, it’s impossible for you to avoid having your attitudes and values influence your teaching.

306  Chapter 9 more people liked green than red, and you say 14 people? . . . 14 more people liked green. Does that work?” “I mean 9 take away 5,” Dominique says after looking at the graph for a few seconds. “She got up here, and she changed her mind,” Suzanne smiles warmly. “Tell them.” “9 take away 5 is 4.” ”9 take away 5 is 4. So how many more people liked green than red? . . . Carlos?” “Four.” “Four, good, four,” Suzanne again smiles. “The key was you had to find the difference between the two numbers.” Suzanne then has students work at a series of centers, in which they graph different kinds of information, such as the months in which different students’ birthdays fall, the most common ways students get to school, or the hair color of each student. After students finish their work, she reviews what they’ve done and closes the lesson.

What did Suzanne’s students learn from this brief episode? The following are possibilities: • Math is more than simply memorizing basic facts. • Making mistakes is a normal part of learning. • Learning is an active process of applying what we know in our daily lives. These are powerful and positive messages of the implicit curriculum. Students learn from the implicit curriculum in many ways. For instance, if we use classroom management to create classroom environments in which our classroom rules and procedures make sense to our students, they will be more likely to accept responsibility for their own behavior (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). If we call on all students even if they don’t have their hands raised, students learn that all are welcome and expected to participate and learn (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020; Lemov, 2015). These messages reflect the implicit curriculum and are important parts of students’ total learning experiences.

The Implicit Curriculum: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked which part of your ­educational experiences were most memorable and valuable. When we asked our students the same question, their answers almost always focused on the implicit c­ urriculum. They recalled teachers who were kind and understanding. They ­remembered classes that were interesting and meaningful. Seldom did they ­emphasize specific aspects of the explicit curriculum, such as the date of the signing of the Magna Carta (1215), the name of the president who succeeded Lincoln (Johnson), or even important skills, like solving algebraic equations. As we think about and plan for the learning e­ xperiences in our own classrooms, we should constantly think about the “big picture”, and remind ourselves that students might forget some of the specific facts we cover, but the way we treat our students and the way we involve them in our lessons will ­continue long into the future The implicit and explicit curricula can conflict. For example, if a teacher reacts negatively to a student who challenges authority, insists on explanations and has an inquiring and questioning mind, this could affect not only the student but also the rest of the class. This could then result in a clash between the explicit curriculum that focuses on learning and mastery of content, and the implicit curriculum that rewards docile students and conformity. What do students learn when they’re expected to listen passively as teachers lecture, or if competition for grades is emphasized? They likely learn that “playing the game” is more important than hard work and mastery of content. These are not messages we want to send. With awareness, we can help ensure that the implicit and the explicit curricula in our classrooms are consistent. Making learning the focal point of our teaching, ­modeling our own interest in the topics we teach, respecting students, and expecting them to respect us and each other all communicate important, positive values and are

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part of the implicit curriculum. Some of the most important learning experiences that students take away from schools reside in this important area. MyLab Education Application Exercise 9.1: The Explicit and Implicit Curriculum in Second Grade In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher worked the explicit and implicit curriculum together to create her lesson.

The Null Curriculum A third dimension of the curriculum focuses on topics that are ignored or left unexamined (Milner, 2017). The decisions we make about what we won’t teach are often as important as what we do teach. Topics left out of the course of study are referred to as the null curriculum. We don’t have time to “cover” everything, so we choose topics we consider most important or that we feel most comfortable with. For example, if you’re an American history teacher, you’ll cover the events of the American Civil War, but you may be uncomfortable dealing with controversial factors in the war, such as slavery and racism. So, you slide over them briefly even though they’re an important part of our country’s history. They then, unfortunately, become part of the null curriculum. You demonstrate your professionalism when you think carefully about the ­topics you choose to emphasize and those you choose to leave out. As with the implicit ­curriculum, important messages about learning are tacitly communicated through the null curriculum.

Recess: The Missing Fourth “R”? Recess, a topic receiving increased attention today, is thought by many to be a crucial fourth “R,” and is a prime example of the null curriculum because it is increasingly left out in today’s schools. Many elementary schools have cut back or eliminated recess time, and the lack of recess has been linked to childhood problems ranging from obesity to anxiety and hyperactivity (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). The benefits of physical activity are undisputed. “There is a consensus . . . .that children and youth should accumulate a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day” (Parrish, Okely, Stanley, & Ridgers, 2013, p. 288). Unfortunately, research indicates that while recess constitutes 27% of an average student’s daily physical activity, it takes up only 6% of elementary students’ days (Massey, Stellence, & Fraser, 2018). Free play during recess also provides students with opportunities to interact with others, and this interaction can contribute to social and emotional development (Yogman & HirshPasek, 2018). Given these benefits, why are so many schools cutting back on recess? Time is the answer. Many schools are pressured to improve scores on high-stakes tests, so they allocate extra time to the areas—such as reading and math—that are covered on the tests. These decisions, however, are having adverse effects on children’s development.

Recess: Implications for Teaching If your school doesn’t have recess, there isn’t much you can do personally. However, if the issue is discussed in your school, you can emphasize that research consistently suggests that recess is important, and you can advocate for including it in the school day. You can also periodically have your students get out of their desks for a few minutes to simply stretch, move around, and relax. Even these short and simple breaks can have learning benefits.

Revisiting My Beliefs This addresses the second item in What I Believe, “Decisions I make about what not to teach are ­sometimes as important as the decisions about what to teach.” This statement is indeed true.

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The Extracurriculum The extracurriculum consists of learning experiences that extend beyond the core of students’ formal studies. The extracurriculum includes clubs, sports, school plays, and other activities that don’t earn academic credit for students. Although outside of the explicit curriculum, extracurricular activities provide valuable learning experiences for students (Mehta & Fine, 2019). Research indicates that a well-developed extracurricular program is an integral part of an effective school, and students who participate in extracurricular activities derive a number of benefits (Im, Hughes, & Cao, 2016): • Higher academic performance • Reduced dropout rates • Lower rates of substance abuse • Less sexual activity among girls • Better psychological adjustment, including higher self-esteem and reduced feelings of social isolation • Reduced rates of delinquent behavior Research also indicates that low-ability students, members of cultural minorities, and students who are at risk for failing to complete high school are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities, which can lead to feelings of alienation toward the school. Many low socioeconomic status (SES) high school students are forced to work after school to make ends meet, a practice that not only competes with participation in extracurricular activities but also can have adverse effects on school success in general. Sports, one form of extracurricular activity, can have an important positive influence on students, especially for members of cultural minorities. Participation in sports can reduce behavior problems and increase positive attitudes toward school. Studies of the effects of participation in sports indicate that girls involved in sports have lower teen pregnancy rates, are less likely to be sexually active, and have fewer sexual partners (Moses, 2015). Sports provide students with alternative outlets for healthy development and help girls cut loose from the conventional form of femininity that encourages them to establish self-worth mainly in terms of sexuality and heterosexual appeal. Sports also provide opportunities for students to make friends, learn social skills as part of a team, and excel in areas not typically tapped by the regular curriculum (Berk, 2019a).

Extracurriculum: Implications for Teaching

Revisiting My Beliefs This information relates to the third item in What I Believe, “School activities, such as clubs and sports, can provide positive outlets for students and are an essential part of schooling.” This statement is most definitely true.

School leaders wanting to help students develop in healthy ways in this sometimesconfusing world might look more closely at extracurricular activities for answers (Mehta & Fine, 2019). And the American public agrees. Seventy percent of respondents in a national poll thought that extracurricular activities were very important, and 71% supported art and music offerings (Langer Research Associates, 2017). Given what we know about the benefits of extracurricular activities, schools should take a more proactive role in recruiting students for extracurricular activities by making them aware of the activities available. This is especially important for students who struggle in school, members of cultural minorities, and students with exceptionalities, groups that traditionally have been underrepresented in extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities also offer you and other beginning teachers opportunities for professional growth (Cochran-Smith & Villegas, 2016). Sponsoring clubs and coaching teams can provide you with both a salary supplement and chances to interact with your colleagues at a personal level. Working with students in these activities can be emotionally rewarding and can provide you with insights into students’ personalities and lives. Don and Paul, your authors, both coached sports and sponsored clubs when we taught in public schools and found the experience time-consuming and demanding but very ­rewarding. We were able to get to know students in ways not possible in the regular classroom.

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MyLab Education Self-Check 9.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 9.2  Identify different forces that influence the curriculum and explain how they will influence your teaching. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

Forces That Influence the Curriculum To this point, we’ve examined the curriculum as it currently exists in schools. But what forces shaped it in the past and are influencing it today? Answers to these questions can be found both in society at large and in educational reforms, and they answer the question we asked in Teaching and You (Preston, 2019). These forces will influence the decisions you make about what to teach and, to a certain extent, even how to teach. They are outlined in Figure 9.1 and discussed in the sections that follow.

The Teacher The most powerful and important force influencing the curriculum is you, the classroom teacher (Davis et al., 2017; Good & Lavigne, 2018). Ultimately, you determine the learning experiences that occur in your classroom. The curriculum you create reflects the learning goals you have for your students. Because time doesn’t allow us to teach all goals, you’ll have to make decisions about priorities. For instance, of the following goals, which do you consider most important? • Thoroughly understand traditional content, such as important concepts and ideas from literature, science, history, and advanced mathematics. • Develop basic skills, such as the ability to read fluently, write effectively, and complete mathematical tasks. • Develop workplace skills, such as the ability to work with others and solve problems. • Develop learner self-esteem and the motivation to be involved in learning for its own sake. Answers to this question of importance vary. Some teachers believe that the last goal is most important, arguing that intrinsically motivated people will adapt and acquire the skills needed to function effectively in a rapidly changing world. The development of the individual is preeminent in their view. Others suggest that society needs people who can solve problems and function well in groups, the third goal. Still others advocate the first or second goals, asserting that academic skills, knowledge, and understanding are the keys to expertise and the ability to solve today’s complex problems. These arguments are grounded in different philosophical positions, and each of these positions has both strengths and weaknesses, as outlined in Table 9.2.

Figure 9.1  Forces That Influence the Curriculum Forces That Influence the Curriculum

The Teacher

Standards and Accountability

The Federal Government

Making professional decisions about what is most important to your students to learn

Specifying what students should understand, which often determines curriculum content

Legislation and funding designed to meet national goals and priorities

Politics

Textbooks

Influencing the curriculum through legislation and laws

Presenting topics that traditionally make up the curriculum in a content area

Teaching and You When you begin your career, you’ll make a great many decisions about what you teach and how you’ll teach it. What will you use to help you make these decisions?

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Table 9.2  Philosophical Foundations of Curricula Dominant Educational Basis for Curriculum Philosophy Needs of individuals

Needs of society

Academic disciplines

Advantages

Disadvantages

• Concern for individuals is placed at the heart of curriculum development.

• Efforts to respond to the special needs of each individual are virtually impossible.

• Learner motivation is promoted.

• Students may not be the best judges of their long-range needs, opting for shallow ­learning experiences.

Progressivism

• Students learn to integrate information from a variety of sources.

• Society’s needs change rapidly, often ­making curriculum obsolete.

Social Reconstructionism

• Curriculum is relevant, contributing to learner motivation.

• Learners may be steered into career choices too early, limiting long-range opportunities.

Essentialism Perennialism

• Research indicates that expertise and ­problem-solving ability depend on ­knowledge (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020).

• Academic disciplines tend to artificially “compartmentalize” what students learn.

Progressivism

• Schools and teachers are being held accountable, and accountability depends on discipline-based tests.

• Students complain that traditional subjects are irrelevant.

Many of today’s curriculum controversies are rooted in these different philosophical positions. For example, today’s reform movements, including accountability and high-stakes testing, have resulted from widespread complaints about young people entering the workforce without the basic knowledge and skills needed to function effectively in today’s society (Hirsch, 2011, 2016). These current reforms are based on essentialist philosophical positions. Others argue that our young people lack even the most basic concepts and language needed to deal with moral issues that they’ll face in their later lives, and without this moral compass, our society will inevitably decline (Shriberg & Clinton, 2016). Cheating, bullying, and drug use are symptoms of this lack of moral direction. These concerns reflect a social reconstructionist philosophy that tries to change society by producing students who will change society. The philosophical positions you embrace and believe in will determine, largely, the curriculum you design for your students. MyLab Education Video Example 9.3 Standards are important forces that influence the curriculum. Here, the role of standards in shaping curriculum is described, and third grade teachers Shelly Shulteis and Kristin Bartelt use standards to guide their curriculum planning.

Standards and Accountability Standards and accountability are also shaping the curriculum you’ll create in your classroom (Gamson, Eckert, & Anderson, 2019). To understand how, think back to Suzanne Brush’s lesson in the case study that introduced the chapter. The first thing Suzanne considered when she designed her lesson was this standard: CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.D.10 Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with singleunit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple puttogether, take-apart, and compare problems using the information presented in a bar graph (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018b).

This statement is a standard, a description of what students should know or be able to do at the end of a prescribed period of study. All of the states in our country have written standards in most areas of study, and they are particularly emphasized in reading, writing, math, and science, because leaders in education, business, and politics believe that students must develop a high level of expertise in these areas to succeed in college or the world of work after high school. Your school (and you) will be held accountable for the extent to which students meet the standards prescribed by your state. Accountability is the process of ­requiring students to demonstrate understanding of the topics they study as measured by high-stakes tests, standardized tests that can determine whether students are promoted to the next grade level or even graduate from high school with a standard diploma. (If performance on a test can determine whether a student is allowed to graduate from high school, for example, the “stakes” are very high, which is the source of the term “high-stakes tests.”)

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Standards have a powerful influence on the curriculum. To see how, think again about the emphasis placed on reading, writing, and math that we saw earlier in our discussion of the elementary curriculum. The high-stakes tests in most states focus on these content areas, so this is what schools emphasize in the curriculum. As we said earlier in the chapter, “What gets tested gets taught,” and, other than you—the teacher, standards are likely the most powerful force influencing the curriculum today. For example, whether a content area such as science is emphasized will depend on whether it is included on the high-stakes test for a particular state; some states include science on their high-stakes tests while others do not. Content areas such as social studies, art, and music are rarely covered on high-stakes tests, so they receive less emphasis in the curriculum. The American public is skeptical of this narrowing of the ­curriculum. In a recent poll, a clear majority (71%)felt that art and music courses were important, and 82% believed that schools should not just focus on tested subjects, instead b ­ roadening the focus to include helping students develop interpersonal skills, such as being ­cooperative and respectful of others (Langer Research Associates, 2017). The influence of standards, accountability, and high-stakes tests is so powerful that some districts create teacher guides that specify topics, performance tasks, and even the number of class periods that should be devoted to specific topics. And teachers are told to avoid deviating from the prescribed curriculum. As you would expect, these practices are highly controversial (Popham, 2017). Adding to the problem is the fact that beginning teachers, like you, often feel inadequately prepared to deal with the new assessment roles required of them by the accountability movement. Regardless of the state in which you teach, standards, accountability, and highstakes testing will be a part of your professional life, and they will strongly influence the curriculum in your class.

The Federal Government Even though the leaders who originally framed our country’s Constitution gave ­control of education to the states, our federal government has a long and rich history of ­involvement in education, and this role has increased rather than decreased over time. The federal government’s efforts to influence school curricula dramatically increased in the 1950s when people began to view education as an important vehicle for accomplishing national goals. Table 9.3 outlines some of the major pieces of federal legislation that have influenced both the curriculum and other aspects of education. As we see in Table 9.3, federal legislation has led to significant changes in the school curriculum in our nation’s schools. For instance, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), federal legislation passed in 1975, requires that all students have access to the regular curriculum. As a result, it’s almost certain that you’ll have learners with exceptionalities, such as students with learning disabilities in your classroom, and you’ll be expected to help them understand the same curriculum content that is being taught to regular education students. The National Defense Education Act (passed in 1958) resulted in a much greater emphasis on math, science, and foreign languages in the curriculum, particularly in high schools. The most recent impact of the federal government on the curriculum began in 2001 with the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The impetus behind this legislation was a growing realization that major achievement gaps existed between students from affluent families and their less fortunate peers, as well as members of cultural minorities and their White counterparts. Leaders concluded that requiring states to create standards and measure students’ attainment of them was the most effective way to address these disparities. The creation of standards and holding students and teachers accountable for reaching them strongly influenced what was taught, i.e., the curriculum, as we saw in the previous section. Another example of federal efforts to shape education was the Race to the Top Program, a $4.35 billion initiative created by the Obama administration in 2009 and

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Table 9.3  The Federal Government’s Influence on the Curriculum Act

Date

Impact on Curriculum

National Defense Education Act

1958

Made math, science, and foreign language high curriculum priorities.

Economic Opportunity Act

1964

Increased emphasis on vocational training and teaching marketable skills.

Civil Rights Act

1964

Prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Intended to provide all students with equal access to the curriculum.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

1965

Created Title I, designed to help disadvantaged children acquire basic skills.

Bilingual Education Act

1968

Provided for teaching the curriculum in students’ native languages as they gradually learned English.

Title IX

1972

Increased girls’ participation in physical education and sports.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

1975

Increased participation of learners with exceptionalities in the regular curriculum.

Environmental Education Act

1991

Stimulated the modern environmental education movement.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act

1994

Established goals to be met by American education by the year 2000.

No Child Left Behind Act

2001

Requires states to establish standards for what learners should know and be able to do in different subjects and holds them accountable for student performance on tests linked to these standards.

Race to the Top

2009

Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it is designed to spur reforms in state and local district K–12 education.

Every Student Succeeds Act

2015

Update of No Child Behind Act that gives states more authority and freedom to implement accountability plans.

designed to spur reforms in state and local district K–12 education (Gabriel & Woulfin, 2018). One of the provisions of the program stipulates that students’ test scores should be an important factor in teachers’ evaluations. This stipulation makes basic skills an even more important part of the curriculum because the focus of the tests is on these skills, and, critics argue, the curriculum will be narrowed to what is measured on the tests. You will see evidence of this trend, particularly in elementary schools, where the curriculum substantively focuses on reading, language arts, and math. The most recent federal effort to improve education in our country, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), was passed in 2015, replacing its predecessor, No Child Left Behind. Accountability remains a central component of the ESSA legislation, but the federal government has handed responsibility for defining accountability to the states (Burnette, 2017). Under ESSA, each state must set achievement goals for students, and the definition of student achievement was broadened to include other measures of school quality, such as student motivation and self-regulation, which will have the impact of broadening the curriculum (Ujifusa, 2018). An important goal of ESSA is to ensure that all students have good teachers (Will, 2018). Understanding these federal efforts to shape education will allow you to react to them strategically as you plan your own classroom curriculum. The more knowledgeable you are, the better prepared you’ll be to adapt to these curriculum influences. We offer suggestions for adapting to these issues at the end of this section.

Politics Our country is a democracy, and the political process influences the direction the country takes. Conservatives and liberals attempt to convince voters that their vision of the American dream is better than that of the opposing party. These differences in values and beliefs are then often reflected in the school curriculum (Andrews & ­Warren, 2018). For instance, a liberal perspective might result in an emphasis on ­topics such as climate change, multicultural education, evolution, and comprehensive sex education, whereas a conservative perspective may question the human impact on climate change, deemphasize multicultural education and evolution, and focus on abstinence-only sex education programs. These are only four examples, and many more exist. Teachers are often caught in the middle because it’s their job to implement the curriculum (Harmon, 2017). You need to be aware of, and understand, controversies that

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can influence the curriculum and be clear about your beliefs and what is best for your students. This is what it means to be a professional. (We examine curriculum controversies in more detail later in the chapter.)

Textbooks You’re a beginning teacher, and you’re thinking about what you’ll teach during the next week. Where will you turn for help? If you’re typical, you’ll reach for the textbook you’re using. Textbooks are part of teaching life, and school districts in our country spend more than $8 billion per year on them (ProCon, 2017). Teachers also depend heavily on them to select content, sequence topics, and locate instructional activities (Kafka, 2016). In some of your education classes, you may be encouraged to set textbooks aside or at least not depend heavily on them. But research suggests that if you’re typical, you won’t do so. Other than standards, many experts believe that textbooks will be the most powerful influence on your curriculum decisions (Kostelnik et al., 2019). Textbooks can be valuable resources, and we’re not suggesting that you abandon them. Instead, we recommend that you use them strategically, de-emphasizing—or even eliminating—some topics and chapters while including other valuable topics not in them. Reasons to use textbooks selectively include: • Student needs: The topics presented in textbooks may not be consistent with the specific needs of your students, school, or district. Following a textbook too closely then fails to meet these needs. • Scope: To appeal to a wide market, textbook publishers include a huge number of topics. Texts and curriculum guides often contain twice as much material as students can learn in the time available, and curriculum experts recommend that teachers select the most important concepts and skills to emphasize and concentrate on the quality of understanding rather than on the quantity of information presented (Kostelnik et al., 2019). • Quality: Textbooks sometimes are poorly written, lack adequate examples, are superficial, or even contain errors of fact. Following textbooks too closely can lead to superficial understanding or even faulty ideas that detract from learning. However, innovative textbooks and other curriculum materials can be positive catalysts for change, and they can encourage you to rethink what and how you teach. In addition, because of the current emphasis on standards, most publishers now key objectives in their textbooks to standards, making them useful planning tools.

Adapting to the Forces Influencing the Curriculum: Implications for Teaching Earlier in this section, we said that—despite the influence of external forces such as standards and textbooks—you are the most powerful factor influencing the curriculum in your classroom. These forces will certainly influence both your curriculum decisions and your teaching, but we believe that the impact is often overstated. While ensuring that your students are prepared for the high-stakes tests they’ll be required to take, you’ll have a great deal of latitude and autonomy in deciding how much time to devote to different standards and how you’ll prepare your students for relevant tests. Let’s look at an example. Mike Durant is a biology teacher in a large high school in Texas. He looks at his state’s standards for biology, one of which says: Science concepts. The student knows that interdependence and interactions occur within an environmental system. The student is expected to: Compare variations and adaptations of organisms in different ­ecosystems. (Texas Education Agency, 2018)

MyLab Education Video Example 9.4 Textbooks are arguably the most important force that influences the curriculum, and teachers heavily depend on them to guide their curriculum decisions. Here, eighth grade math and science teacher Wendy Olsen describes features common in today’s textbooks that can enhance students’ learning experiences.

314  Chapter 9 “I’ll use my skull, bones, and these pictures,” Mike thinks to himself, referring to the skull and leg bones of an American bison and some photographs of bison in the wild that he has saved for just this occasion. “We’ll examine the structure of the skull, and I’ll have the kids make some conclusions about its size, what kind of environment this animal lived in, what its primary food sources were, and

Jim Parkin

we’ll even see if we can figure out what it’s most common enemies were.”

Mike organizes his class into groups of three and has students make conclusions about the animal based on what they observe about the skull, the bones, and the photographs, and they examine each group’s findings in a whole-class discussion. With Mike’s guidance they conclude that the animal was an herbivore because it had large, flat-surfaced teeth that would be effective for grinding food, such as grass; the size of the skull suggested that it was a large animal; and the fact that it was an herbivore probably meant it lived in herds to protect itself from predators. After they’ve finished, Mike has the students think about themselves, and how we, as humans, have adapted to our environments.

Mike’s curriculum planning decisions are significant for several reasons. First, he was well aware of the standard his students were expected to meet, and his lesson focused on that standard. But the standard had a minimal effect on the way he approached the topic. The standard provided direction with respect to the curriculum, but it had little effect on how he conducted his lesson. Second, Mike used his textbook to supplement his activity, rather than use it as the primary source of information for his students. In fact, he had his students read about organisms and the way they adapt to their environments after, rather than before, he conducted his activity. Because they had investigated the skull, bones, and pictures, their reading was more meaningful, increasing the likelihood that his students would actually do their assigned readings. Third, guiding a learning activity, such as this one, is professionally very satisfying. Seeing students actually thinking about what they’re studying and making connections to their lives is one of the most rewarding experiences we have when we teach. Mike demonstrated the characteristics of a professional, and he readily adapted to the forces influencing his curriculum. He helped his students reach a standard mandated by his state, and he did it in a creative, professionally satisfying, and time-efficient way.

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This is an example of how you can also adapt to the forces influencing the c­ urriculum in your classroom. We also see this form of creative professional adaptation illustrated in Suzanne’s work. For example, she used her standard as a guide, but the decisions about how to plan and present the content were hers and hers alone. She relied on her professional knowledge in designing the learning activity to promote student involvement and ­interest. There is no substitute for this knowledge and professionalism. At the beginning of this section, we asked in Teaching and You what resources you will use when you construct your own curriculum. You’ll almost certainly consult standards and textbooks, and perhaps the Internet if the topic is new or complex. Above all, however, you’ll think about your own values and what you believe is important for your students to learn. When you do this, you are essentially “alone” as a professional when you shut your classroom door. Closing the door is symbolic, representing your professional control over the curriculum and how it is taught.

Revisiting My Beliefs The information in this section addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “Because standards and accountability are so important in today’s schools, the most important decisions about what I will teach are now out of my hands.” This statement isn’t true: Standards present general frameworks for you, but the most important decisions about ­curriculum and instruction remain in your hands.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Is the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) a Positive Move in Curriculum Reform? Standards will be part of your professional life when you begin

of achievement than others (Sawchuck, 2017). A national set

teaching, but not all standards come from the same source. For

of standards would create uniform standards for all and help

instance, all states in our country have created standards, but in

raise achievement for low SES and cultural minority students

2009, an additional effort, the Common Core State Standards

in all states.

Initiative (CCSSI) was proposed. The CCSSI is a state-led effort designed to establish a single set of educational standards for all

• Students in countries such as Germany and Japan, which have national standards and national exams, achieve more

states in essential content areas. “The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life,

than American students (DeSilva, 2017). • A common set of standards provides stability and coherence. The population in the United States is highly mobile: 6.5 mil-

regardless of where they live” (CCSSI, 2018b, para. 2). As of 2018,

lion students relocate every year, some urban schools have

42 states and the District of Columbia had voluntarily adopted and

a 50% turnover rate during the school year, and by the end

are moving forward with the Common Core (CCSSI, 2018a).

of third grade, one of six children has attended three or more

The Common Core Standards enjoyed widespread approval

schools (Sparks, 2016). Teachers working with new students

until 2012, but then criticisms began to surface, which have

from different districts or states often can’t tell what they have

­continued since that time. Even though most states have adopted

or haven’t already studied.

the Standards, new issues regularly surface that threaten to undermine their acceptance nationwide (Education Corner, 2018). For instance, in 2019 the state of Florida decided to drop the Common Core, after pressure from politically conservative groups who rankled at federal overreach—even though the Standards are a state-led, as opposed to a federal initiative—and the inclusion of controversial topics such as climate change and evolution (Sawchuk, 2019). Although only one example, it illustrates some of the issues involved in the adoption and use of the standards.

The Question Is the idea of a common set of standards that all states can adopt a good idea, or will it result in a new level of bureaucracy that won’t improve education for either students or their teachers? Arguments for and against the CCSSI include the following:

Con • The uniformity of standards across states represents federal over-reach and amounts to an attempt to establish a national curriculum. When the founding fathers of our country framed the Constitution, they consciously avoided a national curriculum, ceding control of education to the states (Chen, 2018). • CCSSI would create a massive and unwieldy national bureaucracy that will also weaken local control and accountability. • A national curriculum won’t be responsive to regional ­differences and will ignore the specific needs of students with diverse backgrounds in different parts of the country (Sawchuk, 2019).

The Question So, is a common set of standards a good idea for schools in

Pro • The rigor of state standards has varied significantly from state to state; some states had much lower standards and levels

our country, or should curriculum decisions be left to states as ­originally proposed by our country’s Constitution?

316  Chapter 9 Teaching and You During a health lesson, it becomes obvious that several of your students are confused about factual issues relating to birth control. Should you clear up the misconceptions and address the topic as part of the curriculum or leave this topic as something students should discuss with their parents?

MyLab Education Self-Check 9.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 9.3  Describe prominent controversial issues in the curriculum and explain how they’ll influence your teaching. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

Controversial Issues in the Curriculum At one level, the curriculum seems straightforward; we teach our students the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college or function in their lives after school. However, as the questions in Teaching and You reveal, it isn’t that simple, and a number of controversies exist with respect to decisions about what we should teach. For instance: • Should sex education be part of the curriculum, and if so, what should go into such a course? This relates to the first question we raised in Teaching and You. • Should teaching values and morals be part of the curriculum, and if so, where and how should they be taught? • If you’re preparing to become a science teacher, should you offer disclaimers about the theory of evolution, suggesting that it is only one explanation for the makeup of our natural world? • Should you be allowed to have your students read anything that your professional judgment dictates, or should limits be placed on what students can read in school? The answer to each of these questions is controversial, and they have implications for you as you attempt to implement the curriculum in your classroom. We examine these issues in this section.

Controversies in the Social Studies Curriculum The goals of the National Council for the Social Studies, the professional organization that shapes and steers our nation’s social studies curriculum, are to “teach students the content knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy” (National Council for the Social Studies, 2019). These goals, seemingly innocuous at first glance, have led to a ­number of social studies controversies over the years, many of which are tied to politics. Well-meaning parents, politicians, and special interest groups see the social studies ­curriculum as an important way to influence both children and the next generation of voters (­Sawchuk, 2018b). This potential to influence future voters, and, ultimately, the future direction of our country, has resulted in a number of recent controversies in the social studies curriculum. For example, the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) has struggled with demographic changes, as its White student population shrank from a 1970s majority to 20% in 2018, while the Hispanic population increased to over 60% during that time (Tucson Unified School District, 2018). These changes resulted in a court-ordered integration plan and difficulties retaining superintendents in a highly politicized position. In an attempt to address the realities of these changes, the district developed an elective Mexican American course to teach Hispanic students about their own history and heritage, and to help them develop a critical consciousness as active citizens and agents of change in their communities. The course set off a firestorm of controversy within the state legislature, which responded with a bill empowering the state superintendent to withhold 10% of state monies from any district offering a course that 1) advocated ethnic solidarity over treating pupils as individuals, 2) promoted resentment toward a particular race or class (presumably White, in this context), 3) was designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group, and 4) promoted the overthrow of the U.S. government (Cabrera, Milem, Ozon, & Marx, 2014). The wording of the bill left no doubt that it targeted the Tucson District course.

The School Curriculum in an Era of Standards 317

The state superintendent ruled that the troubled Mexican-American course could not be changed or modified to meet the legislative criteria, so it had to be eliminated. When the TUSD School Board met to discuss this prospect, nine students chained themselves to school board members’ chairs in protest, and the following school board meeting was attended by 500 community members and 100 police officers. This controversial course is no longer available to students, and this is unfortunate because research showed that it had beneficial effects; students taking the course had higher graduation rates and scores on state achievement tests (Cabrera et al., 2014). Politics and curriculum can be a volatile mix. Similar social studies controversies have also occurred in a number of other states, such as Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Colorado, where legislators objected to the “liberal bias” and critical stance of a revised advanced-placement U.S. history course (Campbell, 2015). The National Republican Party agreed and called on Congress to withhold funding from the College Board, the nonprofit that developed the course, because it “emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects” (Campbell, 2015, p. O7). In Colorado, the Jefferson County School Board, which governs Colorado’s second largest district, thought the revisions in the course went too far and proposed altering it to more strongly emphasize patriotism, free enterprise, respect for authority, while downplaying the role of civil disobedience in the shaping of our country’s history (Superville, 2014a). When the proposed revisions were published, hundreds of district high school students walked out of classes to protest the school board’s proposal, carrying signs that said, “Teach us the truth.” The superintendent, realizing that he had a controversy on his hands, recommended that a new curriculum review committee comprised of students, educators, and community members be formed to examine the curriculum and chart a future direction. Additional controversies exist in the social studies curriculum. For instance, the ­content of social studies textbooks considered for adoption resulted in a major ­controversy in Texas in 2014. Critics claimed that the content of the textbooks s­ uggested that Moses had an undue influence on our Founding Fathers, most terrorists are ­Muslims, and slavery was not a key contributor to the Civil War (Jervis, 2014). These assertions overstated the influence of religion on our early history, critics argued, and they were “[M]isleading, racially prejudiced and, at times, flat-out false” (Jervis, 2014, para. 2). Conservatives, on the other hand, suggested that the same textbooks promoted pro-Islamic values (Weissert, 2014). The fact that the controversy occurred in Texas is significant because it is the ­second most populous state in our country, and publishers commonly market the books made for Texas to other states. As a result, the Texas controversy essentially became a national controversy. As it turns out, the issue was so contentious that the controversial ­textbooks failed to gain approval for adoption (Weissert, 2014).

Social Studies Controversies: Implications for Teaching What can we learn from these social studies curriculum controversies? First, it further illustrates how politics can influence the curriculum, as we discussed earlier in the chapter. Politicians realize that what we teach students (the curriculum) can influence how they will vote as adults. Given the divisiveness in our current political climate, such curricular controversies are likely to continue and even grow. Second, teachers are often caught in the middle, sometimes even being accused of using students as pawns to further their own political agendas (P. Smith, 2017). Having the courage to stand up for your own professional values and beliefs is not easy, especially for new ­teachers, who are frequently on probationary status. Unfortunately, teachers who will be r­ esponsible for implementing curricular changes are frequently not consulted when curricular issues are involved, although this is slowly changing, and teachers are ­playing a central role in evaluating textbooks for the new Common Core curriculum that is being considered. As authors, we’re encouraged by the student reactions in both Arizona and ­Colorado, not because of the underlying politics, but rather by students’ commitment and activism. Today’s students are often criticized for being apolitical and apathetic. If

318  Chapter 9 our goal is to develop students who have the knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values necessary to participate in a democracy, this level of student involvement is ­encouraging. Perhaps our schools aren’t doing such a bad job after all. The most important implication for you when you begin your career is to continue to emphasize truth, critical thinking, and the involvement of your students in national issues that are important to them. If you can defend the topics you teach—and the way you teach them—with evidence, you will be on solid footing, regardless of how controversial the topic might be.

Controversies in the Science Curriculum Political controversies in the curriculum are not limited to social studies. For instance, West Virginia prepared to implement a new science curriculum, which emphasized critical thinking and analytical skills, until the state board of education proposed changes in the wording of some of the standards, which weakened arguments for human-caused climate change, evidence for which virtually all credible scientists find overwhelming (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2017). (West Virginia is a major fossil fuel producing state, whose industries are threatened by climate change legislation.) The West Virginia Science Teachers Association objected, calling the proposed changes “compromises” to good science (Schwartz, 2014). Under pressure, the state board backed off and voted to undo the edits (Heiten, 2015c).

Intelligent Design Another science curriculum controversy centers on fundamental questions such as, “Where did we come from, and how did we get here?” These questions have intrigued people since the beginning of time and are central issues in most religions. The United States has a strong religious foundation, and many people believe in a supreme “designing” being. As a result, political initiatives supporting these beliefs have been proposed. These initiatives have resulted in efforts to diminish the science of evolution in public school classrooms. For example: • In 2017, the Texas State Board of Education voted to retain language that challenges the theory of evolution. • The state of Alabama includes language in its biology texts that describes evolution as a controversial theory. • Tennessee passed a law in 2012 requiring that teachers introduce theories such as evolution as controversial and recommended that teachers critique and analyze the theory when discussing it in class (Stone, 2017). This leads us to the concept of intelligent design, the belief that certain features of the universe and living things are so complex that their existence can only be explained by an intelligent cause, rather than an undirected process, such as evolution and natural selection. Intelligent design is highly politicized. In some states, and particularly in the south, religious and political conservatives have had a strong influence on educational policy (Da´vila, 2014). Proponents of intelligent design argue that it’s a scientific theory that stands on equal footing with, or is superior to, evolution as an explanation for the existence of life. Opponents argue that intelligent design is little more than creationism, a religious view suggesting that the universe was created by God as described in the Bible, framed in terms designed to make it appear scientific. The scientific community overwhelmingly views intelligent design as unscientific, and some call it pseudoscience, or junk science, because it can’t be tested by ­experiment, and it doesn’t generate predictions or propose new hypotheses (­Klinghoffer, 2018). Religious influence, in general, and Intelligent Design, in particular, are so ­controversial and highly politicized that the issue has gone to the courts. In the first direct challenge to a Pennsylvania school district’s requirement that science classes teach intelligent design as an alternative to evolution, a U.S. federal court ruled that the

The School Curriculum in an Era of Standards 319

requirement was a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (Kitzmiller et al., v. Dover Area School District, 2005). This doesn’t mean the controversy is going away, however, and the issue of religious influence in the science curriculum is likely to remain contentious. For instance, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence suggesting that the Earth and humans have a long history, polls indicate that 4 of 10 Americans believe that God created humans in their present form within approximately the last 10,000 years (Ghose, 2014). You may encounter these issues in some form when you begin teaching. If you do, consult with your school leaders to help you understand how the controversies are playing out in your community and how you should respond.

Sex Education Sex education as a curriculum controversy has a long history in our country. More than 50 years ago, an article in Time magazine claimed, “Sex education has become the most hotly debated topic in American elementary education” (Time Magazine U.S., 1969, para. 1), and the debate continues today. Here’s the status of sex education in the United States today: • Twenty-four states require sex education. • Thirty-seven states require that information on abstinence be provided. • Twenty-six states require that abstinence be stressed • Only 10 states include instruction on healthy relationships, consent, or sexual assault. • Two states require discussion of sexual orientation. • Seven states require that people who identify as LGBTQ be portrayed negatively (Dastagir, 2018; Sparks, 2018). But today’s debate on sex education centers not so much on if it should occur, but rather how. Polls consistently show that the vast majority of parents want some form of sex education included in the curriculum (Chen, 2014b). In spite of the fact that some religious, social, and political conservatives argue that the home or church is the proper place for sex education—so it can be placed in a proper moral context—every state allows some form of sex education in schools, and nearly half mandate its presence in the curriculum. But, apart from this general agreement that sex education is needed, there is considerable disagreement about what exactly should go into a sex education curriculum. The major controversy surrounding sex education focuses on whether it should teach the virtues of abstinence or provide students with more comprehensive information about developing sexuality, contraception, and birth control. Religious and social conservatives support abstinence-only programs and strongly oppose any other form of sex education, including discussion of contraception. They argue that it encourages promiscuity and is fundamentally dangerous to the well-being of our young people and society in general. Research on the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs doesn’t support their effectiveness (Guttmacher Institute, 2017). For example, a comprehensive study summarizing the research on these programs concluded, despite the billions of dollars spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, federally funded research has clearly shown that such programs are ineffective and do not lead to significant behavioral changes, and often contain inaccurate or erroneous information that could even cause harm (Djamba, Davidson, & Aga, 2012). Proponents of an inclusive approach to sex education offer the following statistics: • Forty-one percent of high school students have had sex by the time they graduate from high school, and 86% used some form of birth control. In 2016, there were more than 200,000 teen births, and in 2011, 45% of pregnancies for women ages 15–44 were unplanned. Only 57% of females and 43% of males received formal

320  Chapter 9 instruction about contraception before they first had sex (Guttmacher Institute, 2017; National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2018). • Although teens in the United States and Europe have similar levels of sexual activity, those in Europe are more likely to use effective contraceptive methods, so they have substantially lower pregnancy rates (Kristoff, 2014). In France and the Netherlands, for instance, teen birthrates are only a fifth of the rate in our country (Druckerman, 2014). Some commentators state the case more strongly. If parents and churches are responsible for sex education, they’re doing a poor job, proponents of a comprehensive approach to sex education contend. “This is also a tale of national irresponsibility and political irresponsibility—of us as a country failing our kids by refusing to invest in comprehensive sex education and birth control” (Kristoff, 2014, para. 2). Advocates of a comprehensive approach to sex education also point to evidence indicating that parents’ knowledge about contraception and other health topics is often inaccurate or incomplete, and the same is true for information on the Internet; nearly half of the websites teens consult for sexual health information contain errors of fact (Guttmacher Institute, 2017). In addition, parents are often reticent to talk about sex, birth control, and the negative consequences of pregnancy with their children (Berk, 2019a, 2019b). When asked, they admit they are too embarrassed and, consequently, only half of teens report having these important conversations with their parents. Advocates of a comprehensive approach argue that schools should be responsible for ensuring that all students have access to accurate information about their bodies and their developing sexuality, and courts have upheld school districts’ rights to offer comprehensive sex education courses (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). Parents who object are free to take their children out of the classes or programs, and 35 states have passed legislation allowing parents to opt out if they don’t want their children involved (Chen, 2014). Additional research documents the need for accurate information about sex and birth control. In one study involving teenage mothers, one-half said they hadn’t used any form of birth control at all during sex, and one-third didn’t use birth control because they thought (incorrectly) that they couldn’t get pregnant (Beadle, 2012). Only 13% said they didn’t use birth control because they had trouble accessing it. So, consensus suggests that teens need and want sex education, and most parents support, at a minimum, the “plumbing” approach, in which the physiology and anatomy of sexual reproduction are explained. But that’s where the agreement ends. Religious and social conservatives support abstinence-only programs and strongly oppose any other form of sex education, including discussion of contraception. They argue that it encourages sexual promiscuity and is fundamentally dangerous to the well-being of our young people and society in general. We believe most parents want their children to understand basic facts about sex, as well as sound information about contraception. In addition, most parents want their children to delay sex until they are mature enough to understand all the issues around a committed sexual relationship. However, we acknowledge that some parents feel differently, believing that sex should only occur after marriage. Resolving these conflicting views about sex, marriage, and religion is what makes sex education controversial. The best available evidence indicates that the most effective programs combine abstinence education with information about birth control and the development of refusal and other communication skills (Berk, 2019a, 2019b; Garcia, 2018). High-quality sex and relationship education can be effective in reducing not only unwanted pregnancies but also sexual harassment. The issue of sexual harassment has also changed the face of modern sex education (Sawchuk, 2018a). Responding to widely publicized instances of improper sexual conduct—most commonly by powerful men, such as Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly of Fox

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News, Matt Lauer of NBC, and Charlie Rose of CBS and PBS—a number of educators are calling for a broadening of the sex education curriculum to include topics such as unwanted touching and attention (Garcia, 2018). More importantly, sex education is being broadened to include emphasis on healthy boy-girl relationships and how to create them.

Sex Education: Implications for Teaching So, what should you do when questions about topics related to sex come up? We asked this question in Teaching and You at the beginning of this section. Like most controversial issues in education, the answer is complex. First, how old are the students? The courts consistently ask whether controversial topics are developmentally appropriate for the intended students (Schimmel et al., 2015). The way you respond to the question should match the age and developmental level of your students. A second issue is whether the topic fits under your teaching responsibilities. The question we asked identified the topic as occurring in a health lesson. You are much less likely to arouse controversy if you answer questions such as this in a health or biology class versus a social studies or English class. Finally, you should consider the community in which you work; in some communities, parents would welcome an accurate, straightforward answer about birth control, while in others the topic could be a lightning rod for controversy. Talk with other, more experienced teachers, to get a feel for the community in which you’ll teach.

Service Learning Cindy Lloyd’s students at Somerset Intermediate School in Westover, Maryland, conducted a grocery drive called Harvest for the Hungry. In addition to collecting and distributing food for the poor, they studied the effects of malnutrition in science. In social studies, they learned about the economics and politics of food distribution. They read novels and poetry about poverty, wrote newspaper articles about their campaign, and toured a food bank. (Based on F. Smith, 2006)

Service learning attempts to promote students’ character and moral development by combining service to the community with content-learning objectives (Jagla & Tice, 2018). It blends civic action with academic subjects to provide students with an appreciation of the academic disciplines, while enhancing their sense of civic responsibility. It is grounded in the belief that providing community service changes both the provider and the recipient of the service (Lo, 2019; Stroeker, 2016). Examples of service-learning programs include environmental education projects designed to encourage people to recycle, volunteer work in hospitals, and projects aimed at getting people out to vote. They also include internships and field-based programs that allow students to see academic concepts applied in real-world situations. One innovative service-learning project encouraged students to focus their efforts on their own school (Taines, 2012). Participants could see the fruits of their efforts on a daily basis as the school environment improved. Because of the emphasis on application, service learning can also be motivating. One urban high school student commented “Every Wednesday we go out . . . and do community service, and it’s really made a big difference to me. That’s really made me want to go to school on Wednesdays” (Cushman, 2006, p. 37) Some advocates of service learning connect it to the goal of social justice, which attempts to create a society in which all of our citizens have equal access to opportunities (Carnicelli & Boluk, 2017; LO, 2019). By working with diverse members of the community, students become more aware of the adverse conditions that prevent all members of our society from leading productive lives. In addition, service learning provides students with a concrete way to address the inequities found in our society, another way that service learning combines action with learning.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth item in What I Believe, “Sex education should be taught in the home, and it should not be a topic addressed in schools.” This statement remains c ­ ontroversial, but research indicates that most ­parents and citizens, in general, advocate some form of sex education in our nation’s schools.

322  Chapter 9 The popularity of service learning programs has grown over the years, and a national learning clearinghouse exists to provide resources and promote service learning projects (National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2018). Whether service learning should be voluntary or required is an important policy question. Not all parents support service learning requirements, but courts have upheld the legality of these courses, noting that they promote habits of good citizenship and introduce students to the idea of social responsibility (Schimmel et al., 2015).

Technology and Teaching: Internet Issues and Controversies We are connected by technology; social media, the web, texting, and video calling all allow us to communicate and stay connected twenty-four hours a day through a multitude of devices. These Internet connections have changed our lives and are reshaping education. But along with advantages, this connectivity also presents challenges and controversies to educators. These include access, censorship, plagiarism and cheating, and learning to use the Internet effectively.

Access A basic issue for Internet use in education is access. To use it, students have to have access to it. Accessibility creates problems when teachers attempt to use the Internet in their classrooms and in homework. Research shows that the percentage of students who have the Internet at home has increased dramatically from 11% in 1997 to more than 80% in 2015 (Fairbanks, 2014a; Lynch, 2017). But the same research reveals that Black and Hispanic students (72%) are much less likely to have access to the Internet at home than their White (88%) or Asian peers (92%) (Lynch, 2017). Similar trends of unequal home access are also found when comparing family incomes. Only 8% of Families with annual incomes over $50,000 lacked high-speed Internet access, while 31% of families with incomes under $50,000 did not have access. Unfortunately, up to 70% of teachers report assigning homework that requires the use of the Internet (Lynch, 2017). The problem of Internet access is multi-faceted. Poorer schools and school districts are less likely to have broadband access that is essential for quick and efficient hightech learning (Polis & Gibson, 2014). Combined with the lack of home access for many low-income and cultural minority students, this presents a double whammy for these students and their teachers. Mobile phones present another dimension to the access problem. Teachers are being urged to use social networking in their classroom to connect with other classrooms and provide students with opportunities to share their ideas with other students nationwide and even around the world (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). But the same tech access issues also limit the educational uses of mobile phones in and out of the classroom. You should become familiar with student access issues in your own school. Talk with experienced teachers about the problem and how they adjust their teaching to address the issue. Some schools respond to this issue by providing Internet access through after-school and Saturday sessions. Find out if your school has these policies and let your students know about their availability.

Internet Content Screening: Censorship or Protection? A second educational issue related to the Internet is censorship. Internet censorship is the process of controlling or suppressing what can be viewed, accessed, or published on the Internet. “The motivations for censorship range from well-intentioned desires to protect children from unsuitable content to authoritarian attempts to control a nation's access to information” (Strickland, 2014, para. 2).

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Censorship in schools is not new; efforts have been made to ban each of these books from the public school curriculum: Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

As additional examples, in 2005, Oklahoma legislators urged libraries to limit students’ access to books with gay themes (Oder, 2005), and Arkansas educators were pressured to remove books with similar themes from school libraries (Weiss, 2005). The censorship of books with LGBTQ themes continues; research shows that the five most-challenged books in schools continue to be those with gay themes (Glazer, 2017). In Miami, Florida, the federal courts became embroiled in a censorship battle over the book A Visit to Cuba, which critics believed painted too rosy a picture of communist Cuba (Banning Books in Miami, 2009). The beginning of normalized relations with Cuba likely to make this issue, even more controversial. School administrators’ attempts to censor students’ freedom of speech entered the digital age in Petaluma, California, when a valedictorian’s graduation speech was abruptly cut short. She had informed the school that she was going to talk about her claim that she had been sexually assaulted on the school campus. After warning her not to proceed, school administrators cut off her microphone midway through her ­presentation. But the next day, she gave the entire speech on YouTube, which was then viewed 335,379 times (Pitts, 2018). School administrators learned a hard lesson about censorship in the digital age. The Internet can be a powerful learning tool in classrooms, but students’ ability to access information with the click of a mouse also raises concerns about the kinds of materials available to children. The response to this issue occurs at several levels. Congress passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act in 2000 that requires schools and libraries receiving federal technology funds to block or filter Internet access to pictures that are obscene, involve child pornography, or are harmful to students. This act was updated in 2012 to include provisions against cyberbullying (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). Internet filtering via software programs is used by states and school districts to block out entire lists of web pages based on specific, predetermined categories or words in five broad categories: criminal skills, hate speech, drugs, gambling, and sex (Sangsuvan, 2014). Currently, 25 states have laws mandating schools or libraries to develop policies or procedures to protect children from offensive material online; 12 of those states require filtering software as part of that solution (Means, 2018). In addition, some software filtering programs also identify students who continually attempt to access filtered topics. Some districts have also tried to block access to games and social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, claiming they present distractions to students during school time. The practice of Internet filtering in schools is, as you would expect, controversial and raises several issues. The first is the issue of free speech (Sangsuvan, 2014). Free speech advocates contend that such filtering is unconstitutional, violating students’ rights to access information and free speech. The American Association of School Librarians has weighed in against the practice, comparing banned websites to banned books (LaRue, 2018). A second issue with Internet filtering or censorship is the exclusion of many interesting and educationally defensible sites (Means, 2018). For example, one Internet screen banned the Declaration of Independence (presumably, because it calls for citizens to violently overthrow their government, if necessary). Another filter blocked students researching breast cancer because the search topic contained the word breast. Critics contend that this indiscriminate screening not only robs students of important information but also may be politically biased, as would be the case in blocking access to information on Marxism.

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Internet Censorship: Implications for Teaching Issues of censorship are certain to continue in the future, and they are likely to become more prominent and politicized now, with ongoing concerns about the fight against terrorism, moral values, and the rights of gays and lesbians, together with the increased political power of religious conservatives in the United States. What content students should be allowed, or required, to read in schools is a question that remains unanswered. Censorship in the curriculum also raises questions about how much autonomy you should have in selecting content that, in your professional judgment, is important for promoting your students’ learning and development. The courts have generally opposed censorship of content, ruling that schools and teachers have a right to expose students to different ideas and points of view through literature (Schimmel et al., 2015). When you use the Internet in your classroom, you should be aware of state and district policies that govern classroom access. Explain to students about these policies and use the discussion as an opportunity to talk about issues of free speech censorship, and child protection. Also, talk to other teachers and read the district guidelines that are provided to all students. Know your rights and responsibilities regarding Internet use. This will help you avoid problems and controversies down the road.

Plagiarism and Cheating Another major issue facing student Internet use is student plagiarism and cheating (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Easy access to information on the Internet presents students with opportunities to use that information in academically dishonest ways. One college survey found that 86% of undergraduates admitted to cheating on assignments or exams (Farkas, 2017). In addition, 76% said they had copied word-for-word another student’s work, and 72% said they had used their phone, tablet, or computer to cheat in class. Most disturbing was that 54% said it was okay to cheat. Students have easy access to papers and products they can turn in as their own, and some websites even advertise papers for students to purchase. One response to the problem of student plagiarism is the use of anti-plagiarism software that compares a student’s assignment to already published work (Cleary, 2017). But this only addresses the symptom and not the underlying problem, student dishonesty; experts recommend that this software should be regarded only as a stopgap measure for teachers to use in combination with classroom discussions about academic honesty and stealing other people’s work (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). The widespread availability of technology has also increased the possibility of cheating in classrooms. Examples include storing and consulting notes on cell phones, taking pictures of exams and sharing them, and receiving test answers during an exam (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). College testing centers respond with surveillance technologies that monitor students during test taking. But this cat-and-mouse game only discourages cheating and doesn’t get at the root cause—student dishonesty. Some colleges now require incoming freshman to complete an online tutorial on cheating and plagiarism. The presence and influence of the Internet are likely to increase. As they do, issues such as access, censorship, and honesty will also increase. Perhaps most importantly for you as you work with your students, is the need to remind them to examine everything they see on the Internet with a critical eye, the topic of the next section.

Learning to Use the Internet Effectively: ­Combatting Conspiracy Theories and Fake News “You can find virtually anything on the Internet” is an idea often heard about the impressive information-gathering capabilities of the web, which is one of the major ­reasons why students use it to research school-related topics. But this accessibility comes at a price; there is just so much information out there on the Internet that the

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sheer volume can be overwhelming. A major challenge facing teachers is how to teach students to use the Internet effectively and efficiently. Experts call this information literacy, and it includes the ability to formulate a question, use appropriate technologies to seek meaningful information related to the question, and critically evaluate this information to create an answer to the question (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). The problem of teaching students to be savvy consumers of information is complicated by inaccurate or biased sites (Pitts, 2015). Not surprisingly, research reveals that students lack this essential Internet skill (Herold, 2014c). Researchers found that students were generally poor at locating online information, critically evaluating it for validity, and using that information to synthesize it into a coherent statement. The National Council of Teachers of English, recognizing the need for these essential technology skills, has updated its definition of literacy to include the ability to organize, analyze, and synthesize the large amounts of information found on the Internet (Herold, 2014c). The solution to this problem is not easy. Educators have been wrestling with the problem of trying to teach students to analyze data sources critically and evaluate their accuracy for as long as students have had access to printed media. The Internet complicates the problem because of the amount of information found there and the ease of accessing it. Experts advise against seemingly easy, one-shot approaches; instead, teachers need to address the problem with long-term strategies that actively involve students in gathering and analyzing data, as well as discussions about how to use data to make a coherent argument, using the data (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018). One solution to the problem is to teach critical thinking skills. Critical thinking has been described in various ways, but most definitions center on individuals’ inclination and ability to make and assess conclusions based on evidence. This means that critical thinkers are able to justify their conclusions with factual information, “ . . . justification as being the most important element in terms of our being able to say that we ‘know’ something” (Lack & Rousseau, 2016, p. 15). Critical thinking is clearly a valuable addition to the curriculum, and its need in both our schools and in the larger society has never been greater (Hobbs, 2017). Let’s see why.

Critical Thinking: Conspiracy Theories and Fake News Our descriptions in Teaching and You illustrate conspiracy theories, explanations for events that invoke plots or schemes by governments or other powerful actors for nefarious motives (Moore, 2017). Conspiracy theories’ explanations contradict basic facts (evidence) or accepted explanations, and their harm goes well beyond their simple lack of truth. For instance, a number of Sandy Hook parents, who lost their children in the shooting, have been harassed by conspiracy theorists (Wiedeman, 2016). This unspeakable cruelty is incomprehensible. Not only did the parents lose their young children, but they also had to endure the brutality and vindictiveness of the people questioning their loss. The prevalence of conspiracy theories, while not new, represents an increasing trend in our world that goes beyond simple falsity to potentially seriously destructive outcomes. And the Internet is an important source of conspiracy theories. Fake news, another problem on the Internet, is deliberate misinformation that uses exaggerated and attention-grabbing headlines for political, economic, or social gain. “The cornerstone of a fake news publication is its falsity. . . . Further, fake news publications are intentionally or knowingly false. Fake news publishers do not reasonably believe that the stated facts are true” (Klein & Wueller, 2017, p. 6). Again, the Internet is an important source of fake news. How do people respond when confronted with these different types of misinformation? A large body of research indicates that we are not good at identifying conspiracy theories, or ferreting out fake news (Fernbach & Sloman, 2017; Lack & Rousseau, 2016; Lynch, 2016; Sloman & Rabb, 2016). Some experts state the case more strongly, ­arguing, “[R]eluctance to change our minds in light of evidence has been described as

Teaching and You The Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting that was described as occurring in December 2012 never really occurred. It was a vast hoax perpetrated by the Federal Government in order to promote stricter gun control laws. The attack on the twin towers in New York City on September 11, 2001 (9/11) was actually committed by our country’s government to justify attacking Afghanistan and Iraq to further America’s geopolitical interests.

326  Chapter 9 so pervasive as to suggest that we’re living in an ‘age of willful ignorance’” (McIntyre, 2015, p. 8). In other words, we’re not good at thinking critically about the information we encounter on the Internet.

Why Don’t Our Students Think Critically? So, why are we so poor at critical thinking? Many causes exist, but research has identified the Internet as a major factor that contributes to the problem. Ease of access to information has revolutionized today’s world. For instance, we’re in a conversation with friends, a question about an obscure piece of information comes up, we pull out our smartphone and find the answer so quickly that it doesn’t interrupt the flow of conversation. We don’t even use our fingers. We simply ask the question, and voice recognition does the rest. Never before has this been possible. This is a double-edged sword, however, because any information—valid or invalid—can be posted on social media and the Internet at large. We can find any information we desire, regardless of how bizarre or far-fetched, that will confirm an existing belief. For instance, if we were inclined to believe the conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook or 9/11, we can find information on the Internet that will support this belief. This leaves us with the possibility of “social media and its propensity to disseminate fake news through Facebook, Google, and Twitter, and thereby to create a ‘bubble world’ where . . . selected news sources simply reinforce existing prejudices” (Peters, 2017, para. 9). This tendency helps us understand the results of a widely publicized study that found, “Overall, young people’s ability to reason about the information on the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak” (­Stanford History Education Group, 2016, p. 4). The Internet is both a wonderful source of information and a major source of misinformation. The key is knowing the d ­ ifference. Critical thinking.

Learning to Use the Internet Effectively: Implications for Teaching So, what can we do about our students’ lack of critical thinking abilities? How can we help our students become better critical thinkers as they navigate the Internet? Formally teaching critical thinking and modeling our own critical thinking is the answer. Earlier, we painted a fairly bleak picture of the state of critical thinking in both our students and the population at large. Not all news is bad, however, because research indicates that formally teaching critical thinking can make a significant difference in our students’ abilities to recognize conspiracy theories and fake news, as well as their tendencies to react emotionally and cling to existing beliefs (Prooijen, 2017). Further evidence suggests that directly confronting Internet falsehoods can help address the problem (Miller, 2016), and providing practice and feedback within the context of the regular curriculum can improve students’ critical thinking abilities (Goodwin, 2017; Hobbs, 2017). The process begins with awareness. For instance, becoming aware of our tendencies to cling to a belief in spite of strong evidence to the contrary increases the likelihood that we’ll change our thinking (Prooijen, 2017). As teachers, we can model thinking dispositions, such as a sense of curiosity, a desire to be informed, a willingness to respect opinions different from our own, and most important in our teaching, to provide evidence for our conclusions (Hobbs, 2017). Statements such as, “The first thing I ask myself when I read an opinion piece in the newspaper is, ‘What evidence does the writer provide . . . ?’” can, over time, make an important difference in our students’ inclination to look for evidence when they hear opinions or conclusions. Asking our students questions such as “why” and “how do you know” requires that they provide evidence for their conclusions (Goodwin, 2017). In a sense, our classrooms become microcosms of the world we want our students to live in, one in which people constantly question the veracity of news they encounter.

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In addition to these general strategies for promoting critical thinking in our students, specific strategies to help them become better Internet users, include: • Consider the source. Does the story come from a reputable periodical, newspaper, or website that you’ve heard of? Who benefits from the story if it is true? Examine the authors; what other pieces have they written? • Dig deeper. Don’t stop at the headline. Is the story plausible? Are there quotes and references? If so, check them out. Check to see if the story is being shared by other mainstream news sources (Hammons, 2017). • Get another opinion. There are a number of fact-checking websites available, including Snopes.com, FactCheck.org, and PolitiFact.com. Encourage your students to cross-reference any suspicious story with reputable news sources (Anderson, 2017; Hewitt, 2017). Teaching students to become critical thinkers and knowledgeable consumers of Internet news is not an easy, one-time lesson. We need to return to this topic repeatedly over the course of a school year for it to have an effect on students’ thinking. But the outcome—better thinkers and better consumers of Internet news—is worth it.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 9.2: Critical Thinking in Elementary School In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how two teachers promote critical thinking in their students.

Soft Skills: Where Do They Belong in the Curriculum? People across the country are asking schools to change their narrow focus from “hard skills,” such as reading, math, and science content, the focus of standardized tests, to soft skills that don’t show up on tests of academic learning. Soft skills include personal and interpersonal skills that allow students to understand and control their actions and emotions and how they influence their success, happiness, and interactions with others. (The terms soft skills and social-emotional learning are often used interchangeably, and you will see both used in descriptions of this curriculum area.) Part of the trend towards soft skills is a reaction to the current overemphasis on testing, and part of it is the recognition that students need something beyond bare facts and knowledge to succeed in the job market and in life. The impetus for soft skills comes from two primary sources. Industry is the first, where leaders are finding that high school—and even college—graduates-lack some of the abilities they need to succeed in today’s job market. Business leaders are looking for personal and interpersonal skills that focus on students’ abilities to communicate with and work with other people. They identified the following as essential: • Ability to communicate orally (80% of respondents) and in writing (76%) • Ability to work effectively in teams (77%) • Ability to work independently and prioritize and manage time well (77%) • Being self-motivated, proactive, and able to apply knowledge and skills to realworld settings (77%) (Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2018) These skills and abilities extend well beyond what is typically taught in our classrooms, and they’re important both in the job market and for life in general. A second force behind soft skills in the curriculum comes from child advocates, psychologists, and educational leaders who realize that these social-emotional

328  Chapter 9 skills not only result in improved learning but also happier and better-adjusted students. Parents, as well as the public at large, support this shift toward a broader and more balanced curriculum (Langer Research Associates, 2017; Phi Delta ­Kappan, 2016). This shift in emphasis is well grounded in research that identifies strong links between social-emotional learning and increased school achievement, particularly with students who struggle in school (Dougherty & Sharkey, 2017; McBride, Chung, & Robertson, 2016). And the positive effects of social-emotional skills on learning and development have been identified as early as kindergarten (Jones, Greenberg, & Crowley, 2015). The emphasis on social-emotional learning rapidly increased over the last 25 years with the publication of Daniel Goleman’s popular book, Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 1995). Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions in ourselves and others, and to use this knowledge to enhance our lives (Goleman, 1995; van der Linden, 2017). Since the publication of Goleman’s book, leaders in both the educational and business world have increasingly emphasized the importance of social-emotional skills, both for success in school and later life. In fact, one component of the Every Student Succeeds Act requires schools to assess students’ social-emotional learning as one factor in gauging a school’s performance (Teich, 2018). Social-emotional learning programs have five goals: • Self-awareness—the ability of individuals to understand their own thoughts and emotions and how they influence their responses to their environments, such as realizing that we tend to over-react to problems facing us, and consciously avoiding doing so. • Self-management—the ability of people to regulate their emotions, thoughts, and actions in a variety of contexts to problems facing us. • Social awareness—an understanding of social and ethical norms for our actions, as well as the ability to take others’ perspectives and feel empathy for people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, such as the ability and inclination to consider where someone is “coming from.” • Relationship skills—the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups, such as cooperating and taking turns in conversations. • Responsible decision-making—the ability to make constructive choices about ­personal actions and interactions with others, based on an understanding of the consequences for our actions, such as following through on our commitments (Dougherty & Sharkey, 2017; Dusenbury & Weiss, 2018; McBride, Chung, & ­Roberson, 2016). Most teachers agree that these are important skills to nurture in their students, but the question of where they belong in the curriculum hasn’t been clearly answered.

Soft Skills: Implications for Teaching The simple answer to our question is everywhere; experts recommend that soft skills should be an integral part of every teacher’s curriculum (Gewertz, 2018; Teich, 2018). But how exactly can we do this? The task begins with us. By modeling these skills in our interactions with students, we provide them with concrete examples they can follow and learn from. We can make this modeling more effective by explicitly commenting on our actions when they occur. For instance, in a classroom discussion on a controversial topic, we might, “You know, there are a lot of different opinions on this topic. You don’t have to agree with all of them, but we do owe it to each person to listen carefully to their positions and then decide how we feel about them.” Statements such as this can provide our students with concrete ideas about how to deal with controversies and differences of opinion.

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The emphasis on social-emotional learning can begin as early as the elementary years. Let’s look at three examples from different grade levels. Sofia Cortez, a fourth-grade teacher, has her students analyze different characters’ motives and feelings when they discuss a story they’ve read. She asks, “What is each character thinking? Why do you believe they think that way? How would you feel if you were that person?” She then has the students discuss each of the characters, their perspectives, and their feelings, encouraging her students to “walk in the characters’ shoes.” As they discuss the characters, she has the students practice speaking clearly, building upon others’ ideas, and asking clarifying questions. Joe Williams, an eighth-grade science teacher, sometimes purposefully leaves decisions about individual assignments up to the groups in cooperative learning activities. He then discusses the decisions in whole-class activities. During the discussions, he emphasizes consequences for irresponsible decisions, such as how learning is affected when students decide to avoid challenging tasks, or when they don’t find meaningful tasks for all students. Maria Olson, an American history teacher, encourages her students to consider points of view when they read reports of historical events. For example, when her students study the Civil War, she reminds them that both sides thought they were morally right and asks questions such as, “How did the different sides in the war interpret the Emancipation Proclamation? Why do you suppose they felt so differently? Why do you suppose each side thought they were morally right with respect to the issue of slavery?” As a framework for the discussions, she provides an outline of desirable discussion skills, such as active listening and building upon or responding to others’ perspectives, and they use the framework throughout the school year.

Opportunities such as these abound in the P–12 curriculum. As we become aware of the possibilities, integrating them into the regular curriculum will become nearly automatic. The payoff will be both immediate and long-lasting. Students will be happier and better adjusted, and, as we said earlier, evidence suggests that they will also achieve higher academically. And our jobs become easier as students learn to harness and control their actions and emotions. MyLab Education Application Exercise 9.3: Soft Skills in the Curriculum In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher attempts to develop soft skills in her students.

Diversity: Women and Minorities in the Curriculum Critics believe the curriculum in our country’s schools has historically failed to adequately represent the contributions of women and cultural minorities (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017; Ornstein, Pajak, & Ornstein, 2015). For example, until the 1960s and 1970s, the majority of the works included in junior high and high school literature books were written by White men, such as Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Robert Frost, with only a few marginal contributions by White women. And women continue to be underrepresented. For example, a study of middle school language arts textbooks found that less than 30% of authors were women (Alber, 2017). Recognition of the historical contributions of minorities is similarly lacking. For example, Dr. Charles Drew (1904–1950), an African American, developed the procedure for separating plasma from whole blood, an enormous contribution that unquestionably saved many soldiers’ lives in World War II. Dr. Charles Norman (b. 1930), another African

330  Chapter 9 American, was the first person to implant an artificial heart in a human. Historically, most history books have ignored the contributions of cultural minorities. In response to critics, this situation is gradually changing. For example, a postage stamp was issued in Drew’s honor in 1981, and science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, a friend of Norman’s, based his novel Fantastic Voyage on work done in Dr. Norman’s laboratory. History texts have been expanded to include the contributions of women and minorities. School literature books also have changed; many now include works written by members of various cultural minority groups, such as Maya Angelou, Sandra Cisneros, Gary Soto, and Toni Cade Bambara. The issue is still controversial, however, and critics charge that cultural minorities’ works continue to be underrepresented in the curriculum (Bennett, 2019; Nieto & Bode, 2018). Because more than a half of our schoolchildren are members of cultural minorities, and the proportion is increasing, critics argue, the curriculum should be broadened to better reflect minority members’ contributions and presence in our society. Some critics even argue that entire curricula should be oriented to specific ethnic groups. For instance, to help African American students understand and appreciate their cultural heritage, proponents of an “Afrocentric” curriculum advocate focusing on the achievements of African cultures, particularly ancient Egypt. Students who study the contributions of people with ethnicities similar to their own will gain in self-esteem, motivation, and learning, they contend. A number of urban school districts have experimented with an Afrocentric curriculum (Gollnick & Chinn, 2017). The effectiveness of this approach has yet to be thoroughly examined by research. As you would expect, these positions have critics of their own. Some educators and social commentators question the accuracy and balance of the content and whether the emphasis on differences leads to racial and ethnic separatism (Hirsch, 2016). Instead, critics, such as Hirsch, contend that all students need to learn a common body of knowledge that will provide access to success in later life. Hirsch believes that “[y]ou have to give the people who are without power the tools of power and these tools of power don’t care who’s wielding them” (Baker, 2013, p. 2). Critics also argue that schools have gone too far in emphasizing cultural differences, resulting in the reduction or elimination of works that focus on some of the great contributions to literature, such as those of Shakespeare. Further, we are all Americans, they maintain, and overemphasis on diversity has resulted in the failure of students to develop a common cultural heritage and shared national identity. The role of women in the curriculum is also controversial. For example, many feminist groups contend that women continue to be both underrepresented and misrepresented in the curriculum, arguing that students read too many books that portray men as doctors, lawyers, and engineers, and women as nurses, teachers, and secretaries (Anderson, 2015; Dines & Humez, 2014). When this occurs, they assert, girls are sent messages about appropriate roles and careers for them. In response to criticisms, a strong and systematic national effort has been made to address the needs of girls and women in the curriculum. But some people contend that the emphasis on girls’ needs has gone too far, which is the argument made in The War Against Boys, the provocative book by Christine Hoff Sommers (2000). Twenty years later, the debate continues as hotly as ever, and the controversy is likely to remain in the future.

Diversity and You Controversial Issues in the Curriculum You’re sitting in the teachers’ lounge discussing the “sanitized”

of your colleagues in the English Department, strongly disagrees

version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in

with this “sanitizing” process, arguing that the original version

early 2011, in which the N-word, which occurred 219 times in

presents an accurate picture of racism and racist attitudes at

the original version, was replaced by the word slave. Ken, one

that time, and a significant portion of the book’s message is lost

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in the revision. Further, he contends, today’s rappers continue to

Consider These Questions

liberally use the N-word in their lyrics.

1. Knowing that it can be highly emotional and potentially con-

Joan, another of your colleagues, takes the opposite view,

troversial, should a book, such as The Adventures of Huck-

arguing that the original version of the novel has fallen off many

leberry Finn, be included as part of the school curriculum?

reading lists, substantively because the use of the N-word

Recently Duluth, Minnesota dropped both To Kill a Mocking-

remains as vitriolic today as has ever been. “I don’t use it in my

bird and Huckleberry Finn from its curriculum over the use

classes anymore,” she notes. “I just don’t want to deal with the

of the N-word in each, following similar actions in Virginia,

controversy, which detracts from the text’s literary message. It

Mississippi, and Pennsylvania (Phillips, 2018). If these books

got almost explosive in one of my classes last year, and I don’t

are used, would a “sanitized” version be preferable to the

want to go through that again.”

original?

“What do you think?” they ask simultaneously, seeing that you’re obviously interested in the conversation. “Honestly I don’t know what to think. I’m a first-year teacher, and my courses are full of controversial topics— sex, drugs, religion, politics, and LGBTQ issues. How can I avoid dealing with these when they pop up in my classes? It seems like the curriculum is a minefield of controversial topics.”

MyLab Education Self-Check 9.3

2. Some authors and teachers argue that other classics, such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, no longer belong in the curriculum because the content is dated and that more recent novels with similar themes are more motivating to today’s students. Do you agree or disagree with this position? Explain why.

3. What advice do you give to this first-year teacher about dealing with controversial topics in the curriculum?

Chapter 9 Summary 1. Differentiate between curriculum and instruction and explain how the explicit, implicit, null, and extracurriculum are different. • Curriculum is defined in a variety of ways, such as the subject matter taught to students, a systematic arrangement of courses, the planned educational experiences offered by a school, experiences students have in school, and the process teachers go through in selecting and organizing learning experiences for their students. • In this chapter, curriculum is defined as everything teachers teach and students learn in school, and instruction is described as the strategies teachers use to help students reach the goals established in the curriculum. • The explicit curriculum is the curriculum found in standards, curriculum guides, textbooks, and other formal educational experiences. • The implicit, or hidden, curriculum is reflected in the unstated values and priorities of the school and the classroom, along with the general climate of our classrooms. It differs from the explicit curriculum in that it isn’t specifically prescribed and, in some cases, is out of the teachers’ conscious awareness or control. • The null curriculum differs from the explicit and the implicit curricula in that they both reflect what is taught, whereas the null curriculum reflects what is not taught. • The extracurriculum includes learning experiences that extend beyond the core of students’ formal studies. Participation in extracurricular activities correlates with a number of positive outcomes, including increased achievement and more positive attitudes toward school. 2. Identify different forces that influence the curriculum and explain how they will influence your teaching.

332

• A teacher’s general philosophical views of teaching and learning—as well as standards and accountability, technology, the federal government, politics, and textbooks—all influence the curriculum. • Teachers’ philosophies influence the curriculum because philosophy is grounded in beliefs; professionals teach what they believe is important, and they use approaches they believe are most effective. • Standards and accountability influence the curriculum because standards specify what students should be learning, and what is tested often becomes what is taught. • The federal government influences curriculum through its legislative mandates as well as through the programs it supports financially. • Textbooks influence the curriculum because many teachers use textbooks as a primary source for their curricular decisions about what to teach. 3. Describe prominent controversial issues in the curriculum. • Sex education, intelligent design versus evolution, Internet censorship, and the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the curriculum are controversial issues facing today’s teachers. These issues are likely to remain unresolved in the near future. These controversial issues influence the curriculum because they affect what topics are or are not taught and how they are presented to students. • Effective use of the Internet and soft skills have emerged as important additions to the curriculum. Learning to use the Internet effectively involves the development of critical thinking skills that allow students to analyze and evaluate information on the Internet. Soft skills focus on areas of development that provide students with communication and social-emotional skills that help them function in the classroom and society.

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Important Concepts accountability code Common Core State ­Standards Initiative (CCSSI) conspiracy theories creationism curriculum

critical thinking emotional intelligence explicit curriculum extracurriculum fake news high-stakes tests implicit curriculum information literacy

instruction integrated curriculum intelligent design internet censorship null curriculum responsible decision-making relationship skills

Portfolio Activity Making Curriculum Decisions InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7: Planning for Instruction Complete one of the following activities to add to your professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to help you begin the process of making decisions about curriculum. (You will have an opportunity to refine your portfolio entry when you study the process of instruction in more detail.) 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Locate a teacher who has taught at your school for several years. Ask the following questions: a. Where do you start when you begin thinking about the curriculum for your class(es)? b. When do you do this? Why? c. How do you use state standards to guide your curriculum decisions? d. How do required state or district tests influence your curriculum decisions? e. How has the process of curriculum decision-making changed as you gained experience as a teacher? f. What advice do you have for a beginning teacher in terms of designing a curriculum? In a short paper, describe what you’ve learned in terms of how you’ll design your own curriculum when you begin teaching. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Locate a website for your state’s curriculum and identify two of your state’s standards for your content area or teaching level. For example, if you’re preparing to be an elementary teacher, identify a reading and a math standard for the grade level you want to teach. If you’re preparing to be a middle or secondary teacher, identify two content-related standards. a. Write one or more learning goals that best represent your interpretation of each standard. b. Then describe a learning activity designed to help students reach the learning goal or goals for each standard.

self-awareness self-management service learning soft skills social awareness standards

Chapter 10

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments

Cathy Yeulet/123RF

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Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 10.1 Explain how effective classroom management contributes to a

productive learning environment. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments 10.2 Explain how teachers can create productive learning environments

in their classrooms. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments 10.3 Explain how involving parents contributes to a productive

learning environment. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments 10.4 Describe how effective teachers intervene when misbehavior

occurs. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments Think about the first question we asked in Teaching and You. If you’re typical, the answer is “classroom management.” It’s an ongoing concern for teachers, administrators, and the public at large. It was for both of us (Don and Paul, your authors) as we started our first jobs, and beginning teachers commonly describe it as their most serious challenge. “New teachers report that challenging behavior/classroom management is their top professional development need” (Rispoli et al., 2017, p. 58). It’s also a major cause of teacher burnout and job dissatisfaction for veteran teachers. Teaching can be a stressful job, and research suggests that student misbehavior and disengagement contributes to the problem (Dicke et al., 2014). Without question, your ability to create an orderly and learning-focused classroom will be one of your most important tasks when you begin your career. To begin, let’s look at the experience of Shannon Brinkman, a fifth-grade teacher, as she prepares for her second year.

Shannon had a challenging first year. Her students were sometimes inattentive, they were periodically involved in horseplay, and she sometimes felt like her class was in turmoil. They weren’t bad kids, and, in fact, she became emotionally attached to them, but their behavior was a problem, and she knew they didn’t learn as much as they should have as a result. She vows that her second year will be different, and she begins planning several weeks before the beginning of the school year. First, she spends several days preparing her room. She tapes posters and pictures on the walls, and because she knows she’ll have several native Spanish speakers in her class, she labels the clock, windows, door, and other common objects in both Spanish and English. Then she prepares a letter of introduction to parents to be emailed—or delivered by her students—the first day of school. She also prepares a description of rules and procedures that she plans to present to her students on the first day. As her students enter her classroom on the first day, Shannon greets them at the door and tells them to find their names on the desks. She has 14 girls and 10 boys in her class, and 8 speak Spanish as their first language. After they’re settled, she has them introduce themselves and describe their families, some of their favorite activities, and anything else they think might be interesting and want to share.

Teaching and You As you anticipate your first teaching position, what is your greatest concern? Why do you feel that way?

336  Chapter 10 After they’re finished, Shannon comments, “We’re going to have a great year. I asked you to introduce yourselves because we’re all going to work together to help each other learn and grow. Our classroom is like a family, and, in families, people help each other.” She continues, “We want to make our classroom a place where you can come and learn, so we need some guidelines that will make our classroom run smoothly,” and then she asks the students for suggestions that will make the classroom comfortable and keep it safe and orderly. She takes notes to be sure she remembers what the students say, and she particularly emphasizes rules that prevent students from saying or doing anything that might hurt the feelings of classmates. After the discussion, she takes a picture of each student, prints the pictures that evening, puts them on a large chart, and then, based on their discussion, creates a poster that combines the rules and procedures she prepared in advance, together with the students’ suggestions, that describes the final class rules and procedures. Before school the next morning, she displays the pictures on a bulletin board under a sign that says, “Our class,” and places the rules and procedures where everyone can see. Her first day has been demanding, but she feels ready to jump into the year.

Shannon’s first-year experience is not unusual. Many beginning teachers struggle with classroom management, and it’s a major reason almost half leave the profession within their first five years (Will, 2018). This high turnover rate costs our country more than 2 billion dollars a year, and it disproportionately affects high-poverty schools and seriously limits our nation’s ability to provide all students with access to skilled teaching (Haynes, 2014). It doesn’t have to be this way. We saw the adjustments Shannon made as she anticipated and began her second year, and they work. In this chapter, we’ll see why, and we’ll also see you can use classroom management to create a classroom in which students can grow and develop, both academically and socially and emotionally. Our goal in writing this chapter is to start you on a path that will ensure a better first-year experience than Shannon had. Before we continue, please respond to the items in the What I Believe feature that follows:

What I Believe Creating a Productive Learning Environment Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. As you read this chapter, you will encounter discussions of these issues. Each will be addressed in the sections Revisiting My Beliefs found throughout the chapter. 1. The most effective way I can maintain an orderly classroom is to quickly stop misbehavior in my students whenever it occurs. 2. The best way to increase the amount my students learn about a topic is to allocate more time to that topic. 3. Showing that I care about students is important if I plan to teach elementary students, but it is less important if I plan to teach middle or high school students. 4. It is important that I involve my students’ parents in their children’s education. 5. If several of my students are involved in a fight or a scuffle, I am required by law to intervene.

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LEARNING OUTCOME 10.1  Explain how effective classroom management contributes to a productive learning environment. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments

How Does Effective Classroom Management Contribute to a Productive Learning Environment? The goal of classroom management is to create a productive learning environment, a classroom that is safe, orderly, and focused on both academic and social-emotional learning. In it, students feel physically and emotionally safe, and the daily routines, learning activities, and expectations for appropriate behavior are all designed to promote learning and development (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). In productive learning environments, students are well behaved but the emotional climate is relaxed and inviting. They understand that learning is the highest priority, they’re respectful of others, and they accept responsibility for their behavior. Teachers rarely raise their voices, and the focus is on helping everyone learn. This is true for all grade levels and content areas. This may seem idealistic, but with time and effort, it’s possible in most classrooms. Classroom management, all the actions teachers take to create environments that support academic and social-emotional learning, is essential for creating a productive learning environment. Let’s see why it’s so important.

Why Classroom Management Is So Important Classroom management is important for one simple reason. Students learn more and are more motivated to learn in well-managed classrooms (Schunk, Meece, & Pintrich, 2014). It’s virtually impossible to teach effectively if students don’t feel safe—both physically and emotionally—are not paying attention or, worse, are disruptive (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). Administrators understand the importance of classroom management, and the ability to create and maintain orderly classrooms is one of the abilities they look for most when they hire teachers, and one they rank above knowledge of content and teaching skills (Engel, 2013). And, as has historically been the case, public opinion polls continue to identify it as one of schools’ most challenging problems, with only inadequate funding ranked higher (Langer Research Associates, 2016).

Goals of Classroom Management Classroom management has two major goals. Creating an environment that increases academic learning is the first, and promoting social and emotional development is the second.

Increasing Academic Learning Academic learning includes everything we are expected to teach, such as basic skills first graders acquire, like learning to add three whole numbers with sums less than 20 or using singular and plural nouns with matching verbs, as in “he runs” and “we run.” Or it can be as advanced as interpreting figures of speech in context, such as recognizing an author’s use of satire or paradox. And it can be as sophisticated as solving a quadratic equation. Academic learning is strongly influenced by textbooks, curriculum specified by school districts, and state standards. For instance, each of the examples above is taken

338  Chapter 10 from the Common Core State Standards Initiative (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018a), which we examined in earlier chapters. This learning is strongly enhanced when students work in safe and orderly environments.

Promoting Social-Emotional Learning Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the ability to recognize and manage our emotions, understand and establish positive relationships with others, and make responsible decisions (Dusenbury & Weiss, 2018). Leaders in both the educational and business world have increasingly emphasized the importance of social-emotional development, recognizing the importance of these skills in not only school success but also success in a career and life. Classroom management is an important mechanism for promoting social-­ emotional learning and development. For instance, research indicates that having rules requiring students to treat their teachers and each other with respect helps students learn to ­manage their emotions and form positive relationships with others (Emmer and ­Evertson, 2017; Evertson and Emmer, 2017). Classroom management also helps ­students acquire important personal learning skills, such as learning to stay focused, listen a­ ttentively, follow directions, and work cooperatively with peers, all of which are aspects of social-emotional learning (Garrett, 2015; Jones, Bailey, & Jacob, 2014). S­ tudents learn many of these skills in the classroom and a productive learning e­ nvironment not only enhances academic learning, it also provides opportunities for students to develop their social and emotional skills (Mahoney, Durlak, & Weissberg, 2018). So, how can we use classroom management to reach these goals? We examine this topic next.

Revisiting My Beliefs

Preventing Classroom Management Problems

This discussion addresses the first item in What I Believe. “The most effective way I can maintain an orderly classroom is to quickly stop misbehavior in my students whenever it occurs.” This statement isn’t true; prevention, not intervention, is the key to effective classroom management.

Some of the earliest research in this area was done by Jacob Kounin (1970), who helped clarify the difference between classroom management and discipline, teachers’ responses to student misbehavior after it occurs. Kounin found that the key to an orderly classroom is the teacher’s ability to prevent management problems from occurring in the first place, instead of handling misbehavior once it happens. His findings have been consistently corroborated since then (Lester, Allanson, & Notar, 2017). We can prevent classroom management problems in four ways: • Promoting a positive classroom climate • Creating a community of learners • Developing learner responsibility • Maximizing time and opportunities for learning

Promoting a Positive Classroom Climate

MyLab Education Video Example 10.1 A teacher-student relationship based on mutual respect is essential for promoting a positive classroom climate. Notice in this segment how the teacher describes his efforts to promote this kind of climate as he works with his students.

A positive classroom climate is an environment in which learners feel physically and emotionally safe, feel personally connected to both their teacher and their peers, and feel worthy of love and respect (Jones & Jones, 2016). It’s essential for preventing management problems. In a positive classroom climate, students can afford to be emotionally vulnerable and willing to risk engagement in acts of kindness and concern for others. Aggressive acts such as name-calling, bullying, putdowns, and other forms of hurtful interactions are forbidden because they detract from feelings of safety and the willingness to be open to others (Berk, 2019a). As Shannon began her second year, she promoted a positive classroom climate in several ways. First, she displayed attractive posters, together with pictures of her students to make her room physically inviting. Second, because she knew that a number of her students were native Spanish speakers, she labeled objects around the room in

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 339

both English and Spanish. Third, as her students came into the room the first day, she greeted them at the door and had them introduce themselves. She took their pictures and displayed them on a bulletin board before the students came in the second day. And, finally, she prepared rules and procedures, one of which was a rule forbidding students from saying or doing anything that might hurt a classmate’s feelings. Each of these actions helped make her classroom warm and inviting, a place where students would want to come and learn.

Creating a Community of Learners A positive emotional climate allows us to create learning communities in our classrooms, places where teachers and students all work together to help everyone grow and develop (Vaughn, Bos, & Schumm, 2018). In a learning community, we and all our students—high and low achievers, members and nonmembers of cultural minorities, students with and without exceptionalities, boys and girls—work together. Everyone participates in learning activities, supports each other’s learning efforts, and believes they can succeed. We facilitate this process by treating our students as individuals, refusing to allow members of cultural minorities to cluster in groups at the back of our classrooms, and involving everyone in learning activities. Each of these actions makes our students feel as if they belong and are welcome. Shannon began this process by having her students offer suggestions for making their classroom a positive place to learn. She didn’t impose rules on her students; the class collaborated in developing them. Her efforts helped students believe that they had a personal investment in the class and a role in making it a productive learning environment. Respect is essential in a learning community. We are courteous and attentive in our interactions with our students, and we require the same in return. When we speak, they show respect by listening, and they listen when a classmate has the floor. Learning to respect the rights of others contributes to social-emotional development, and the benefits extend well beyond school. People who are sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others are much more successful in life than those who haven’t developed this essential trait (Berk, 2019a). Helping students learn to be respectful can be a challenge, particularly in some environments, and we will have students who are disrespectful regardless of what you do. However, with time and effort, you can make important strides toward this essential goal, and for the students you reach, you will have made an invaluable contribution to their lives, both in and beyond school.

Developing Learner Responsibility “My kids are so irresponsible,” Kathy Hughes, a colleague and friend of Shannon’s, grumbles in a conversation after school. “They don’t bring their books, they forget their notebooks in their lockers, and they come without pencils. . . . I can’t get them to come to class prepared, let alone do their assignments.” “I know,” Shannon smiles sympathetically. “Some of them are totally spacey, and others just don’t seem to care at all.”

Developing responsible decision-making is an important social-emotional learning goal (Dusenbury & Weiss, 2018). Teachers frequently lament students’ lack of effort and willingness to take responsibility for their own learning, and this feeling of frustration is particularly common among beginning teachers. Helping students learn to be responsible is one of the biggest challenges we face. Classroom management provides the opportunity to help students develop personal responsibility in both their own work and in their dealings with others.

340  Chapter 10 Explicitly teaching responsibility and concretely illustrating the consequences for behaving irresponsibly are the most effective ways to promote its development. Let’s look at Shannon’s efforts. On the second day of school, she begins, “To learn in our classroom, each of us needs to take responsibility for our own actions. For instance, I need to plan for what we’re trying to accomplish, and I need to bring the examples and materials that will help you understand our topics. . . . That’s my part, my responsibility. . . . So, what’s your part?” With some guidance from Shannon, her students conclude that they should bring their books and other materials to class each day, they need to be in their seats when the bell rings, and they need to understand their homework instead of merely getting it done. They also decide that they need to listen until classmates finish talking, and they need to be supportive of their classmates’ efforts. “Now, who is responsible for all this?” Shannon asks. “We are,” several students respond. “Yes . . . I’m responsible for my part, and you’re responsible for your parts. Now, let’s see what happens when people aren’t responsible,” Shannon continues, displaying the following on the document camera: Josh brings all his materials to school every day, and he carefully does his h ­ omework. He has a list that he checks off to be sure that he has done each of the items. If he’s uncertain about any part of his homework, he asks the next day. He participates in class discussions and is supportive when his classmates talk. Josh is learning a lot, and he says his classes are interesting. His teachers respect his effort. Andy gets in trouble with his teachers because he often forgets to bring his book, notebook, or pencil to class. He sometimes forgets his homework, so he doesn’t get credit for the assignment, and he isn’t learning very much. Andy also snaps at his classmates in discussion, and sometimes hurts their feelings. Now, some of the other students don’t want to talk to him. Andy’s teacher called his mom to discuss his behavior and lack of responsibility, and now Andy can’t watch television for a week.

“What are some differences you notice between Josh and Andy?” Shannon asks after giving students a minute to read the vignettes. The students make several comments, and in the process, one student concludes, “It’s his own fault,” in response to someone pointing out that Andy isn’t learning very much and not getting along with the other students. “Yes,” Shannon nods, “if we don’t take responsibility for ourselves and control our own actions and emotions, whose fault is it if we don’t learn?” “Our own,” several students respond. “Yes,” Shannon emphasizes. “We’re all responsible for ourselves.”

Students, and particularly those who are younger, are often oblivious to how their actions affect learning and influence others, so Shannon taught the idea of responsibility by illustrating it with an example (Josh) and nonexample (Andy), which is the way we teach any abstract idea. By illustrating the consequences of being—or not being— responsible, Shannon helped promote awareness and understanding in her students. She further contributed to the process by saying, “I need to plan for what we’re trying to accomplish, and I need to bring the examples and materials that will help you understand our topics. . . . That’s my part, my responsibility.” In doing so, she modeled responsibility and illustrated the respect for others that is essential for creating a learning community and developing a productive learning environment. Students obviously won’t learn to take responsibility for their actions in one lesson but with effort and reinforcement throughout the school year, we can make a difference with most of them. And the benefits can be enormous. The more likely students are to take responsibility for their learning, the less likely they will be to cause management

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problems. As a result, our jobs are easier, and students develop a sense of personal satisfaction, accomplishment, and autonomy when they see that they are in charge of their own learning and can do things that will help them learn.

Maximizing Time and Opportunities for Learning Creating a positive classroom climate and a community of learners helps our students accept responsibility for their actions, and as they become responsible, disruptions and misbehavior are less likely. As a result, we have more time to devote to teaching and learning. But “time” isn’t as simple as it appears on the surface, and different dimensions exist (Weinstein & Romano, 2019): • Allocated time—the amount of time a teacher or school designates for a content area or topic, such as elementary schools’ allocating an hour a day to math or middle and secondary schools’ having 55-minute periods. • Instructional time—the time left for teaching after routine management and administrative tasks, such as taking roll and returning papers, are completed. • Engaged time—the amount of time students are paying attention and actively involved in learning activities. This includes active listening, participating in discussions, and taking and using notes (Goldin, O’Neill, Naik, & Zaccarelli,2019) • Academic learning time—the amount of time students are successful while engaged in learning activities. When reformers suggest lengthening the school day or year, they’re suggesting an increase in allocated time. International comparisons indicate that our students have significantly less time allocated to their studies than students in other countries (Gewertz, 2008). Critics say this is a major reason our students don’t perform as well as their international counterparts. Time’s value, however, depends on how efficiently it’s used. Let’s look at how two teachers use their allocated time. Shannon has a warm-up exercise on the board when her students come back to her room after lunch and get ready for math. She completes routine tasks while they finish it, and she then moves immediately into her math lesson by displaying the following problem: 1 2 + 4 3 “What do we need to do first to solve this problem . . . Dena?” she asks. She guides the students through this problem and several others with her questioning, and when the lesson is finished, she gives an assignment and monitors the class while they work on it. Donna Burroughs, who teaches in the room next to Shannon, completes routine tasks while her students talk among themselves. After a few minutes, she begins her math lesson and finishes with 10 minutes left in the time she has allocated for math, during which she again lets her students talk quietly.

From these examples, we see that Shannon devoted more of her allocated time to instruction, and if they represent patterns, Donna will lose nearly 40 hours of this precious time over the course of a school year! The obvious result is less student learning. The benefits of increasing allocated time are reduced if too much time is spent on non-instructional activities, as we saw with Donna. Engaged time is lost if students aren’t paying attention, and academic learning time decreases if students are confused and unsuccessful. Classroom Time: Implications for Teaching.  These different dimensions of time help us understand why classroom management is so essential. In classrooms where students are engaged and successful, achievement is high, students feel a sense of

342  Chapter 10 Revisiting My Beliefs This discussion addresses the second item in What I Believe, “The best way to increase the amount my students learn about a topic is to allocate more time to that topic.” While devoting more time to a topic can be beneficial, the statement isn’t completely true: We promote the most learning when we promote high levels of student involvement in learning activities in which they’re successful.

accomplishment, and interest in the topics increases (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). In addition, research indicates that classrooms in low-income schools average half an hour less of instructional time than their peers in high-income schools (Yettick, 2014a). Disruptions from emergencies and drills, increased use of standardized tests, and high teacher absences all contribute to these disparities. Achievement differences between high- and low-income students are partially the result of these differences in time. The ideal we strive for is to maximize instructional, engaged, and academic learning time so that all our allocated time is devoted to learning. Although teachers must spend some time on routine activities, such as taking roll and collecting homework, we should try to come as close as possible to this ideal. MyLab Education Self-Check 10.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 10.2  Explain how teachers can create productive learning environments in their classrooms. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments

Creating a Productive Learning Environment As we’ve emphasized, our goal in classroom management is to promote a classroom environment that is orderly and focused on both academic and social-emotional learning. But, specifically, how can we create this type of environment in our classrooms? The process begins with us, and we set the tone for a productive learning environment in four ways, which are outlined in Figure 10.1 and discussed in the sections that follow.

Teaching and You Think back to your time in elementary, middle, and high school, and ask yourself which of your teachers you remember most positively. What do you remember about them?

Communicating Caring To begin, let’s consider the question we asked in Teaching and You. If you’re like students we’ve asked in our classes, believing that they cared about you as a person and were committed to your learning was most important. Caring refers to a teacher’s investment in the protection and development of young people, and a caring teacher is at the heart of a productive learning environment (Noddings, 2005, 2010b). The importance of caring is captured by a fourth grader’s comment more than 20 years ago: “If a teacher doesn’t care about you, it affects your mind.

Figure 10.1  Creating Productive Learning Environments Creating Productive Learning Environments

Communicating Caring Communicating to students that you care about them as people and are committed to their learning

Organizing Your Classroom

Preventing Problems Through Planning

Teaching Effectively

Preparing materials in advance and using time efficiently

Preparing rules and procedures that guide students’ behavior and create classroom routines

Using teaching strategies that involve students and promote learning

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 343

You feel like you’re a nobody, and it makes you want to drop out of school” (Noblit, Rogers, & McCadden, 1995, p. 683). Research supports this fourth grader’s feelings, and it’s as true today as it was then. When researchers asked adults to describe the best teacher they ever had, the most common word they used was “caring” (Busteed, 2014). Additional research indicates that students are more motivated and learn more in classrooms where they believe their teachers like, understand, and empathize with them (Nasir, Scott, Trujillo, & Hernandez, 2016). “A convincing accumulation of research has shown that students who feel supported by their teachers tend to be more engaged in academic work and have fewer disciplinary interactions with adults in school, relative to their peers who experience less support” (Gregory, Skiba, & Mediratta, 2017, p. 261). A supportive classroom environment, where each student is valued regardless of academic ability or performance, is essential for both learning and motivation for all students.

Showing Them That We Care How do we communicate that we care about our students? Saying that we care, or pretending that we do, won’t work. Our efforts need to be sincere and consistent with our words. Effective ways to show students we care about them include: • Learn their names quickly, call on them by their first names or preferred nicknames, and pronounce their names correctly. • Greet students every day and get to know them as individuals. • Use “we” and “our” instead of “you” and “your” in reference to class activities and assignments. • Use effective nonverbal communications, such as eye contact and smiling, when communicating with students. • Spend time with students before and after school and during lunch breaks. • Hold students to high standards. We want to emphasize the last two items in particular. We all have 24 hours in our days—no more, no less—and the way we choose to allocate our time is the truest measure of our priorities. Giving students our time—such as helping those who have problems with an assignment, calling a parent after school hours, or spending a moment to ask about a baby brother or compliment a new hairstyle—is the best indicator of caring that exists. Nothing can replace it. The idea that holding students to high standards is an indicator of caring may seem surprising and even counterintuitive. But students realize that we care about them when we refuse to accept sloppy, thoughtless, or incomplete work, encourage them never to give up, and by only praising work that reflects genuine effort and accomplishment (Garza, Alejandro, Blythe, & Fite, 2014). Perhaps surprisingly, students often interpret actions intended to protect students’ feelings, such as accepting low quality work, as a lack of caring (Gregory et al., 2017). Ironically, our actions that are intended to protect students’ self-esteem—such as accepting or even praising low-quality work— often convey a lack of caring. Research corroborates these positions. When junior high students were asked, “How do you know when a teacher cares about you?” they commonly respond that paying attention to them as human beings is important but more striking is their belief that teachers who care are committed to their learning and hold them to high standards (Kuhl, 2017).

Organizing Your Classroom We’ve probably all said at some point in our lives, “I need to be better organized.” This usually means that we don’t have routines for where we put personal items, such as our keys, aren’t able to easily access important papers and other materials, or have a tendency to just waste time.

Revisiting My Beliefs This discussion addresses the third item in What I Believe, “Showing that I care about students is important if I plan to teach elementary students, but it is less important if I plan to teach middle or high school students.” The first part of this statement is true, but the second isn’t: A caring teacher is important for students at all grade levels, and its importance doesn’t diminish as students grow older.

344  Chapter 10 The same idea applies in classrooms. Classroom organization is a professional skill that includes: • Preparing instructional materials in advance • Starting classes and activities on time • Making transitions quickly and smoothly • Creating well-established routines It’s impossible to create productive learning environments if we’re fumbling around for materials, wasting instructional time at the beginning or end of class periods, or lack effective procedures for routine activities such as collecting student work or passing it back. Organization is essential for effective classroom management, and it’s one of the first things you’ll need to consider as you plan. Shannon was well organized; she had an exercise prepared and waiting for her students as they entered the room, so instruction began immediately. By planning a warmup activity as she did, having materials prepared in advance, and beginning instruction immediately, we can eliminate “dead” time, when disruptions are most likely to occur. Transitions from one activity to another, such as from whole-class instruction to group work and back again, are also important. Providing clear and precise directions for group-work helps make transitions quick and smooth and reduces opportunities for disruptions. Well-established routines, such as procedures for turning in papers, going to the bathroom, and lining up for lunch, are essential as well. When students perform these routines automatically, that is, essentially without thinking about them, management problems are reduced, and opportunities for teaching and learning are maximized because you don’t have to spend time and energy continually explaining or reminding students of what to do.

Preventing Problems Through Planning In productive learning environments, classroom management is nearly invisible. The atmosphere is calm but not rigid, movement around the classroom and interactions in lessons are comfortable, and students work quietly. Few directions focusing on behavior are given, and reprimands are infrequent. Learning is occurring. This is an ideal, but you can make it happen in your own classroom. How? Careful planning is the key. Some classes are tougher to manage than others, and if you anticipate a challenging class, it simply means that you’ll need to plan even more carefully. In most cases, creating an orderly classroom is possible, but beginning teachers often underestimate the amount of time, energy, and planning it takes.

Developmental Differences in Students As we begin our planning, we first need to consider the developmental needs and capabilities of our students. For instance, first graders are typically compliant and eager to please their teachers, but they also have short attention spans and tire easily (Evertson & Emmer, 2017). So, if you’re a first-grade teacher, you will plan differently than if you’re teaching older students. For example, you’ll need to carefully model simple procedures for first graders, such as how to turn in papers, and you’ll need to provide them with concrete examples that illustrate each of your classroom rules. In comparison, middle schoolers often test their developing independence, they’re sometimes rebellious and capricious, and they’re sensitive about teachers who have “favorites” or “pets.” So, if you’re a middle school teacher, you will need to be judicious in enforcing your rules consistently and dispassionately (Emmer & Evertson, 2017). However, students at all levels need caring teachers who have positive expectations for them and hold them to high standards.

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Creating Procedures and Rules Having considered how to organize your classroom, keeping your students’ developmental needs in mind, you’re now ready to make decisions about the procedures and rules you’ll implement in your classroom. They will be the cornerstone of your management system (Weinstein & Romano, 2019). Procedures are the routines students follow in their daily learning activities, such as how they enter and leave the classroom, sharpen pencils, and make transitions from one activity to another. For instance, Shannon’s students turn in their papers from the ends of the rows, with each student putting his or her paper on the top of the stack as it moves forward. This allows her to collect the stacks from the first student in each row, and when she returns the papers, she simply gives the stacks to those same students, who take their papers off the top and pass the stacks back. Simple procedures, such as these, create a sense of order and save time and energy. You will need to create procedures for the following activities: • Entering and leaving the classroom • Handing in and returning papers • Accessing materials such as scissors and paper • Sharpening pencils • Making trips to the bathroom • Making up work after an absence After planning and teaching students about procedures, expert teachers have their students practice until they can follow the procedures automatically—virtually without thinking about them. Rules, such as “Listen when a classmate is talking,” are guidelines that provide standards for acceptable behavior (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). When consistently enforced, clear, reasonable rules both reduce behavior problems that interfere with learning and promote a feeling of pride and responsibility in the classroom community. Perhaps surprisingly, students also see the enforcement of rules as evidence of caring: “Students also say that they want teachers to articulate and enforce clear standards of behavior. They view this not just as part of the teacher’s job but as evidence that the teacher cares about them” (Brophy, 2010, p. 24). Table 10.1 includes examples of rules at different grade levels. Note that some occur at all levels, such as students’ staying in their seats and waiting for permission to speak. Others are specific to a grade level and reflect the developmental needs of students at that level.

Table 10.1  Examples of Classroom Rules at Different Grade Levels Lower Elementary

Middle School

High School

• Stay in your seat unless given permission by the teacher.

• Bring a textbook, notebook, pen/pencil, and planner to class every day.

• Be in your seat before the bell rings.

• Raise your hand before speaking. • Listen politely when someone else is talking. • Stand quietly in line when entering and leaving the classroom. • Keep your hands to yourself.

• Follow directions the first time they’re given. • Be in your seat and quiet when the bell rings and leave class only when dismissed by the teacher. • Raise your hand for permission to speak. • Keep your hands and feet to yourself. • Do all grooming outside class.

• Stay in your seat except when given permission to leave it. • Bring all materials daily, including textbook, notebook, pen/ pencil, and paper. • Give your full attention to others during discussions and raise your hand to participate. • Leave when I dismiss, not when the bell rings.

MyLab Education Video Example 10.2 Practicing rules and procedures until they’re automatic is a suggestion for creating and teaching classroom rules. Notice here that the students come into the classroom, gather their materials, and begin work immediately, without a word of direction spoken by the teacher.

346  Chapter 10 Guidelines for creating and implementing effective rules include: • State rules positively. • Emphasize rationales for rules. • Minimize the number of rules. • Monitor rules consistently throughout the school year. Stating rules positively communicates desirable expectations for students and sets a positive emotional tone. Providing rationales is perhaps the most essential guideline because students are much more likely to accept responsibility for their behavior and obey rules when they understand the reasons for them. Also, students want rules to make sense, and providing rationales helps meet this need. Keeping the number small helps prevent students from breaking rules simply because they forget. The increase in your own confidence is arguably the most important benefit of being well-planned. And students recognize this confidence and will respond positively to it. When students sense that you are confident and in control, they are less likely to be disruptive and more likely to follow directions. Further, the broader and deeper your professional knowledge, the less likely you will have classroom management issues. Acquiring this knowledge is one of the reasons you’re taking this course. MyLab Education Application Exercise 10.1: Presenting Rules in Middle School In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher presents her classroom rules at the beginning of the school year.

Teaching and You Think about your own experiences as a student. In which classes are you most likely to pay attention to your instructor? In which are you more likely to drift off, perhaps text a friend, or even chat with the person next to you?

MyLab Education Video Example 10.3 The close link between orderly classrooms and effective instruction has been consistently corroborated by research, and it’s true whether we plan to teach in elementary, middle, or high schools. Notice in this segment that both school leaders emphasize the importance of effective instruction in creating positive and orderly learning environments.

Teaching Effectively Think about the questions we asked in Teaching and You. Typically, we’re most likely to drift off, text, or talk to a neighbor if our instructor stands at the front of the class droning on in a lecture. “Dry lessons with limited opportunities for students to participate are boring and erode students’ motivation; this is when management problems begin” (Evertson & Emmer, 2017, p. 102). This was certainly true when we—Don and Paul— were students, and you’ve likely had similar experiences. Classroom management and expert instruction are interdependent, that is, it’s virtually impossible to develop and maintain an orderly classroom in the absence of effective teaching. In other words, developing a productive learning environment requires both expert classroom management and expert instruction. “Walk the halls of any school, and you’ll find that it’s not the strictest teacher with the most rules but the personable teacher with the most interesting and challenging lesson plan that has the best-behaved students” (Kraft, 2010, p. 45). The close link between management and instruction has been consistently corroborated by research, and it is true whether we plan to teach in elementary, middle, or high schools. Expert teachers plan for management in several ways: • Be clear about learning goals and clearly communicating them to students. • Prepare examples or representations of the topics they’re planning to teach. For instance, if a second-grade teacher is teaching the concept reptiles, she might have pictures of lizards, turtles, alligators, and snakes waiting to share with students when the lesson begins. (One or more live animals, such as a lizard and a turtle, would be even better.) • Plan to involve students to maximize the likelihood that they will maintain their attention. Students who are actively involved in lessons are less likely to have behavior problems. Teachers can create highly engaging instruction by providing

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frequent opportunities for students to participate and respond. For instance, as soon as they finished their warm-up activity, Shannon immediately began involving her students in her math lesson through her questions. As we plan for classroom management, we also need to simultaneously plan for effective instruction. MyLab Education Application Exercise 10.2: Preventing Classroom Management Problems with Effective Teaching In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a teacher's attempts to prevent classroom management problems by teaching effectively.

Urban Education: Effective Classroom Management in Urban Environments Teachers in urban classrooms often encounter unique classroom management ­challenges. Consider the case of Isabella Torres, a first-grade teacher in an urban school in a large metropolitan area in the southwest. Isabella’s classroom is a small portable classroom that the district built to accommodate a surge in enrollment. It doesn’t have air conditioning, and, as a result, loud fans are used in attempts to keep the room cool. She has 33 students (16 girls and 17 boys) in a room designed for 25, seated at six rectangular tables with chairs around each table. Six students sit at three of the tables, and five are at the other three. Her students include recent immigrants from Southeast Asia, Mexico, Central and South America, and others, including both African Americans and European Americans. (Based on Lepage, Darling-Hammond, & Akar, 2005)

Three patterns exist in urban environments. First, students in urban schools often come from very diverse backgrounds (Macionis & Parillo, 2017). As a result, their prior knowledge and experiences vary, and what they view as acceptable patterns of behavior may also vary, sometimes dramatically. Second, urban classes are often large. For example, Isabella had 33 students in a small portable. Third, and perhaps most pernicious, negative stereotypes about urban students create the perception that developing a productive learning environment is difficult, if not impossible (Carter & Darling-Hammond, 2016). Two of the most common are “Students can’t control themselves” and “Students don’t know how to behave because their parents don’t care.” In response, urban teachers often teach defensively, using teaching strategies that simplify content and reduce demands on students in return for classroom order and minimal student compliance. This defensive approach to classroom management and instruction can result in lowered expectations and decreased student motivation. Students who aren’t motivated to learn are more likely to be disruptive, a downward spiral of motivation and learning occurs, and management issues become increasingly challenging. Expert urban teachers overcome these obstacles by being highly organized and creating active student involvement. Let’s see how Isabella does this as she teaches a lesson on buoyancy. She has a tub of water placed on each of the six student tables, and students are given two objects apiece, such as paper clips, plastic bottle caps, small wooden cubes, and pennies, to drop into the tubs. Students at each table take turns dropping their first object into the tubs to see if the object sinks or floats, and after everyone has had a turn, they repeat the process with their second object. Isabella moves among them, asking questions, patting students on the back, smiling and responding to their comments as they participate in the activity. Some inevitable splashing and noise occur, and a few students have trouble waiting their turn, but overall, the lesson goes smoothly.

348  Chapter 10 After they’re finished, Isabella calls them up to the carpet at the front of the room and displays a large poster with all the objects listed on it. She goes through the list, asking the students if the object sank or floated. Then, she asks her class to see if they can find any patterns in the objects that sank compared to those that floated.

Although sometimes challenging, classroom management in an urban environment doesn’t have to be overly restrictive or punitive. How is this accomplished? Research suggests three important factors: • Caring and supportive teachers • Clear standards for acceptable behavior • Effective instruction

Caring and Supportive Teachers Teachers who care are important in all schools but are essential in urban classrooms. When students perceive their teachers as caring, they become more engaged and are less likely to misbehave than if they perceive teachers as more distant (Garza et al., 2014). Isabella, for example, walked among her students, talked to them, reacted positively to their comments, and was generally supportive during the activity.

Clear Standards for Acceptable Behavior Because they bring varying background experiences to class, urban students’ views of acceptable behaviors often vary. As a result, being clear about what behaviors are and are not acceptable is essential in urban classrooms. As we saw earlier, students interpret clear behavioral standards as evidence that the teacher cares about them. One urban student had this to say: “She’s probably the strictest teacher I’ve ever had because she doesn’t let you slide by if you’ve made a mistake. . . . She’s one of my strictest teachers, and that’s what makes me think she cares about us the most” (Alder, 2002, pp. 251–252). The line between clear standards for behavior and an overemphasis on control is not cut-and-dried. The distinction between the two is sometimes described as “the ethical use of power” (Alder, 2002). Expert urban teachers are demanding but also helpful; they model and emphasize personal responsibility, respect, and cooperation; and they’re willing to take the time to ensure that students understand the reasons for rules (Weinstein & Romano, 2019). Further, in responding to the inevitable incidents of students’ failing to bring needed materials to class, talking, or otherwise being disruptive, they enforce rules but provide rationales for them and remind students of essential behaviors, such as completing assignments, pointing out that doing so is necessary for developing the skills needed for more advanced work. In contrast, less-effective teachers tend to focus on negative consequences, such as threatening, “If you don’t finish this work, you won’t pass the class.” When Isabella corrects behavioral problems, she explains that there is a school way to do things and a home way to do things, and at school, we follow the rules we agreed upon. This communicates clear standards for behavior without criticizing students’ homes.

Effective Teaching Isabella’s careful planning and organization are the most obvious features of her lesson. For instance, she had her tubs, water, objects, and poster all gathered and ready to go, so she spent very little time getting the students started on the activity. And each subsequent time she teaches the lesson will require less preparation; she merely has to get her tubs, objects, and poster out of storage. Once her lesson began, her students knew exactly what they were supposed to do, and Isabella carefully monitored the activity as it progressed. This high structure, order, and predictability are important in all classrooms, but are even more important in urban settings because students in these schools sometimes come from environments where stability and structure may not be a regular part of everyday life (Berk, 2019a).

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MyLab Education Self-Check 10.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 10.3  Explain how involving parents contributes to a productive learning environment. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments

Involving Parents “Students typically spend only 25% of their waking hours in school. Accordingly, outof-school factors account for the vast majority of differences in educational achievement in the United States” (Kraft & Rogers, 2015, p. 49). In other words, parents are crucial for student achievement, and research consistently confirms a positive relationship between students’ success in school and their parents’ involvement. Learning is a cooperative venture, and we, our students, and their parents are all in it together. A productive learning environment requires cooperative and motivated students, and parental support is essential for promoting this cooperation and motivation.

Benefits of Parental Involvement Students benefit from parental involvement in several ways (Kraft, 2016; Li & Fischer, 2017): • More positive attitudes and behaviors • Higher long-term achievement • More conscientious completion of homework • Better attendance and graduation rates • Greater enrollment in postsecondary education These outcomes result from parents’ increased understanding of school activities, higher expectations for their children’s achievement, and teachers’ insights into learners’ home environments. Deciding how to respond to a student’s disruptive behavior is easier, for example, when you know that his mother or father lost a job, his parents are going through a divorce, or a family member is ill. Collaboration with parents also benefits us as teachers. For example, teachers who encourage parental involvement report more positive feelings about teaching and their school and rate parents higher in helpfulness and follow-through (Weinstein & Romano, 2019).

Strategies for Involving Parents Virtually all schools have formal communication channels, such as open houses (usually occurring within the first 2 weeks of the year); interim progress reports that tell parents about their youngsters’ achievements at the midpoint of each grading period; parent–teacher conferences; and, of course, report cards. Although these processes are school-wide and necessary, we can do more to involve parents. Options include emails, letters sent home with students, text messages, and phone calls. Emails are most convenient but their effectiveness depends upon parents’ access to computers at home. Sending an email or letter home to parents within the first days of school that expresses positive expectations for students and solicits parents’ help sets a positive tone for the whole school year. The letter Shannon sent home with her students appears in Figure 10.2. Sending packets of student work together with descriptions of new units and topics that will be covered in the upcoming days is another effective communication strategy. This allows parents and other caregivers to talk with their child about what’s

Revisiting My Beliefs This discussion addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “It is important that I involve my students’ parents in their children’s education.” This statement is most definitely true. Involving parents can have a number of benefits, and increased achievement is one of the most important.

350  Chapter 10

Figure 10.2  Letter to Parents August 28, 2020 Dear Parents, I am looking forward to a productive and exciting year, and I am writing this letter to encourage your involvement and support. You always have been, and still are, the most important people in your child’s education. We cannot do the job without you. For us to work together most effectively, some guidelines are necessary. With the students’ help, we prepared the ones listed here. Please read this information carefully, and sign where indicated. If you have any questions, please call me at Southside Elementary School (555-5935) or at home (555-8403) in the evenings. Sincerely, Shannon Brinkman AS A PARENT, I WILL TRY MY BEST TO DO THE FOLLOWING: 1. I will ask my child about school every day (evening meal is a good time). I will ask about what they’re studying and try to learn about it. 2. I will provide a quiet time and place each evening for homework. I will set an example by also working at that time or reading while my child is working. 3. Instead of asking if homework is finished, I will ask to see it. I will ask my child to explain some of the information to me to check for understanding. Parent’s Signature ____________________________ STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESS 1. I will be in class and seated when the bell rings. 2. I will follow directions the first time they are given. 3. I will bring homework, notebook, paper, and a sharp pencil to class each day. 4. I will raise my hand for permission to speak or leave my seat. 5. I will keep my hands, feet, and objects to myself. HOMEWORK GUIDELINES: 1. Our motto is I WILL ALWAYS TRY. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP. 2. I will complete all assignments. If an assignment is not finished or ready when called for, I understand that I get no credit for it. 3. If I miss work because of an absence, it is my responsibility to come in before school (8:15–8:45) to make it up. 4. I know that I get one day to make up a quiz or test or turn in my work for each day I’m absent. 5. If I do all the required work, extra credit isn’t necessary. I understand that extra credit work is not given Student’s Signature _________________________________

happening at school. Effective teachers also emphasize students’ accomplishments through newsletters or individual notes attached to student work that is sent home. Parents always want to hear when their child is doing well at school. All forms of communication with parents should be scrupulously clean and free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. First impressions are important and lasting; our communications create perceptions of our competence, and errors detract from our credibility. Take the extra time to proof all your memos to parents. Finally, even though it’s not the most efficient in terms of time, calling parents is one of the most effective ways to involve them. Talking to a parent allows you to be specific in describing a student’s needs and gives you another chance to solicit support. If a student is missing assignments, for example, you can alert the parents, ask for possible explanations, and encourage them to more closely monitor their child’s study habits.

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When talking to parents, making an effort to establish an initial positive, cooperative tone that lays the foundation for joint efforts is important. Consider the following conversation Shannon had with a parent of one of her students: “Hello, Mrs. Hansen? This is Shannon Brinkman, Jared’s teacher.” “Oh, uh, is something wrong?” “Not at all. I just wanted to call to share with you some information about your son. He’s a bright, energetic boy, and I enjoy having him in class. But he’s been having some problems handing in his homework assignments in math.” “I didn’t know he had math homework. He never brings any home.” “That might be part of the problem. He might be forgetting that he has any to do. . . . I have a suggestion. Let’s try to set up a system that will help him remember. I always have the class write down their math homework in their folders. Please ask Jared to share that with you every night, and make sure that it’s done. When it’s done, please initial it, so I know you and he talked. I think that will help a lot. How does that sound?” “Sure. I’ll try it.” “Good. We don’t want him to fall behind. If he has problems with the homework, have him come to my room before or after school, and I’ll help him. Is there anything else I can do? If not, I look forward to meeting you soon.”

Calling parents or contacting them via email are admittedly time-consuming, but it can pay major dividends. Because you’re allocating some of your 24 hours to that individual student, it communicates better than any other way that you care about your students.

Economic, Cultural, and Language Barriers to Communicating with Parents Economics, culture, and language can all create barriers that limit the involvement of minority and low-SES parents in school activities. These parents may lack resources— such as childcare, transportation, Internet access, and even telephones—that allow them to become involved in school activities (Tucker, 2017). Holding down more than one job often prevents parents from volunteering at school and even helping their children with homework. Cultural differences can also be misinterpreted (Eng, Szmodis, & Wulsow, 2014). Because of their respect for teachers, for example, some Asian and Hispanic parents hesitate to become involved in matters they believe are best handled by the school, but teachers sometimes misinterpret this deference to authority as apathy (Qin & Han, 2014; Weinstein & Romano, 2019). Language can also be a barrier. Parents of some minority students don’t speak English, which leaves the child responsible for interpreting communications sent home by teachers. Homework also poses a special problem because parents can’t interpret assignments or provide help, and schools sometimes compound the difficulty by using educational jargon when they send letters home.

Involving Minority Parents We can narrow the home–school gap by offering parents or other caregivers specific strategies for working with their children (Robinson, Lee, & Dearing, 2018). Let’s see how one teacher does this: Nancy Collins, a middle school English teacher, has students who speak three different native languages in her class. During the first two days of school, she prepares a letter to parents, and with the help of her students, translates it into their native languages. The letter begins by describing how pleased she is to have students from varying backgrounds in her class, saying that they enrich all her students’ education.

352  Chapter 10 She continues with a short list of procedures and encourages the parents to support their children’s efforts by: 1. Asking their children about school each night 2. Providing a quiet place to study for at least 60 minutes a day 3. Limiting television until homework is finished 4. Asking to see samples of their children’s work and grades they’ve received She tells her students that the school is having an open house and that the class with the highest attendance will win a contest. She concludes the letter by reemphasizing that she is pleased to have so much diversity in her class. She asks parents to sign and return the letter. The day before the open house, Nancy has her students compose a handwritten letter to their parents in their native languages, asking them to attend. Nancy writes, “Hoping to see you there” at the bottom of each note and signs it.

Nancy’s letter was effective in three ways. First, writing it in students’ native languages communicated sensitivity and caring. Second, the letter included concrete ideas for helping their children. Even parents who can’t read a homework assignment are more involved if they ask their children to explain their schoolwork. The suggestions also let parents know they’re needed. Third, by encouraging parents to attend the school’s open house, Nancy increased the likelihood that they would do so. If they did, and the experience was positive, their involvement would likely increase.

Technology and Teaching: Using Technology to Communicate with Parents Communication is an essential step in home–school cooperation, but parents’ and teachers’ busy schedules are often obstacles. Technology such as voice mail and email can help overcome these obstacles by creating communication channels between parents who work and teachers who are busy with students all day (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). A recent national poll of more than 500,000 students, parents, and educators found that 74% of parents preferred emails to other types of communication, primarily because of their ease and convenience (Blackboard, 2018). Face-to-face meetings were the second most popular method of communicating, with 45% of parents preferring this avenue. Being able to interact on a one-to-one human basis with their child’s teacher was an important factor here. Texting (39%) and phone calls (32%) came in third and fourth, in terms of parents’ school–home communication preferences. A growing number of schools and teachers use the Internet to create websites that describe current class topics and assignments and also include information about performance on tests and current grades (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Schools also use electronic hotlines to keep parents informed about current events, schedule changes, lunch menus, and bus schedules, as well as provide them with daily attendance and absentee reports (Gewertz, 2016). However, many parents still prefer traditional information sources, such as newsletters and open houses. This may be because some households don’t have access to the Internet and email, or because of an instinctive desire for the face-to-face contact that exists in open houses. One innovative program teaches first graders to Tweet their parents about current classroom activities. The program has two benefits: First, parents like being informed about classroom activities, as it gives them something to talk about with their children. Second, students are learning to use social media and can see how technology can be a valuable tool in their lives both in and out of school. Another creative elementary teacher has her students teach their parents about technology on Back to School Night (Tucker, 2017). When parents enter their children’s classroom, they encounter

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computers that their children use to explain the different ways they can communicate with teachers and the school. Another innovation uses the Internet to provide parents with real-time images of their children, and increasing numbers of preschool and day-care programs are installing cameras and Internet systems that provide parents with secure-access websites they can use to monitor their children during the day. Technology can be a powerful tool for communicating with parents. However, in spite of its influence, we should all remember that nothing replaces the human connection of face-to-face interaction. This is the way it’s always been, and this is the way it always will be. MyLab Education Self-Check 10.3

LEARNING OUTCOME 10.4  Describe how effective teachers intervene when misbehavior occurs. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments

What to Do When Misbehavior Occurs “What kind of problem is this . . . Gabriel?” Emma asks as she walks down the aisle and points to

Teaching and You

a problem on the overhead.

Consider the situation Emma Johnston, a middle school teacher, faces in the example below. How would you respond?

“It’s a percentage problem,” Gabriel responds after thinking for a few seconds. As soon as Emma walks past him, Kevin sticks his foot across the aisle, tapping Alison on the leg with his shoe while he watches Emma’s back. “Stop it, Kevin,” Alison mutters loudly, swiping at him with her hand. Emma also notices that Madison is also texting her friend, Mia, who is on the other side of the room.

Emma’s dilemma illustrates why classroom management is so vexing for teachers. She planned carefully and taught effectively, but she still had to deal with Kevin’s and Alison’s behaviors. Regardless of your efforts, you will periodically have to intervene when misbehavior occurs. It happens in all classrooms—and particularly in middle schools—and no amount of advance planning can prevent it. And intervening effectively is challenging because it requires immediate and judicious decisions. For instance, if an off-task behavior is brief and minor, such as a student asking a classmate a quick question, you can usually ignore it. But if the behavior has the potential to disrupt the learning activity, such as the one involving Kevin and Alison, you’ll need to intervene. And you’ll need to make the decision on the spot and instantly.

Intervening Effectively An intervention is a teacher action designed to increase desired behaviors or to eliminate student inattention or misbehavior. Teachers use a variety of interventions, such as moving near or calling on inattentive students, simply telling a student to stop talking, or, in extreme cases, removing a disruptive student from the classroom. Let’s see how Emma reacts to her problem.

Hearing the disruption behind her, Emma turns, comes back up the aisle, and continues, “Good, Gabriel.” Standing next to Kevin, looking directly at him, she asks, “And how do we know it’s a percentage problem . . . Kevin?” “Uhhh . . . .” “What words in the problem give us a clue that it’s a percentage problem?”

354  Chapter 10 “ . . . ‘Which is the better buy?’” Kevin answers, pointing at the sales numbers from the two stores. “We have to figure out which store sale saved us more. That’s a percentage problem.” “Good,” Emma replies, moving to the document camera and displaying additional word problems involving percentages. “Class, go ahead and do the first problem,” Emma directs. “Be sure you’re able to explain your answer.” She watches as students work on the problem, then moves over to Madison, and quietly says, “Move up here,” nodding to a desk at the front of the room. “What did I do?” Madison protests. “When we talked about our rules at the beginning of the year, we agreed that texting interfered with learning and should only occur outside of class,” Emma whispers. She watches as Madison changes seats. Then, lightly tapping her knuckle on the ­document camera, Emma says, “Okay, let’s see how we did on the problem. Explain what you did first . . . Juanita.”

When intervening, you have three goals: (1) stop the misbehavior quickly and simply; (2) maintain the flow of your lesson; and (3) help students learn from the ­experience. But emotional factors often complicate the process.

Teaching and You Have you ever been criticized or reprimanded in front of other people or been in an argument in public? How did it make you feel? How did you feel afterward?

MyLab Education Video Example 10.4 When intervening, expert teachers protect students’ emotional safety and do only as much as is necessary to eliminate the misbehavior. Notice here that the teacher meets a student at eye level and quietly uses a simple desist to stop a misbehavior.

Emotional Factors in Interventions Throughout this chapter, we’ve emphasized that students feeling safe—­including emotionally safe—is essential for a learning environment to be productive. This relates to the questions we ask in Teaching and You. We all want to avoid being ­humiliated in front of our peers, and the same applies in classrooms. The e­ motional tone of our interventions influences both the likelihood of students complying with them and their attitudes toward us and the class afterward. Loud public ­reprimands, ­criticism, and sarcasm reduce students’ sense of safety and are particularly ­destructive in elementary schools, where children are vulnerable and strongly seek the approval of their teachers. In middle and secondary schools, they create resentment, detract from classroom climate, and lead to students finding creative ways to be disruptive ­without getting caught (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). Similarly, arguing with students about the interpretation of a rule or compliance with it also detracts from the emotional climate of classrooms. You never “win” an argument with students. You can exert your authority but doing so is not sustainable throughout the year, resentment is often a side effect, and the encounter may expand into major conflict. Consider the following incident that occurred after a teacher directed a chronically misbehaving student to move: Student: I wasn’t doing anything. Teacher: You were whispering, and the rule says to listen when someone else is talking. Student: It doesn’t say no whispering. Teacher: You know what the rule means. We’ve been over it again and again. Student: Well, it’s not fair. You don’t make other students move when they whisper. Teacher: You weren’t listening when someone else was talking, so move.

The student knew what the rule meant and was simply playing a game with the teacher, who allowed herself to be drawn into an argument. In contrast, consider the following.

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 355

Teacher: Please move up here (pointing to an empty desk in the first row). Student: I wasn’t doing anything. Teacher: One of our rules says that we listen when someone else is talking. If you would like to discuss this, come in and see me after school. Please move now (turning back to the lesson as soon as the student moves).

This teacher maintained an even demeanor and didn’t allow herself to be pulled into an argument or even a brief discussion. She handled the event quickly and e­ fficiently, offered to discuss it with the student later, and immediately turned back to the lesson. Students’ inclination to argue with teachers strongly depends on the emotional climate of the classroom. If rules and procedures make sense to students, and if they’re enforced consistently and fairly, students are less likely to argue. When students break rules, simply reminding them of the rule and why it’s important, and requiring ­compliance are as far as minor incidents should go. (We examine serious management issues, such as defiance and aggression, later in the chapter.)

Helping Students Understand Our Interventions When we intervene, we not only want to stop the misbehavior but also help promote the academic and social-emotional learning that are the overriding goals of classroom management. To be effective, both our rules and procedures, and our interventions, must make sense to students. If they do, the likelihood of future problems is reduced, and students learn about the connection between their actions and our interventions. Interventions that help students make sense of their actions are outlined in Figure 10.3 and discussed in the sections that follow. Demonstrate Withitness and Overlapping.  Withitness refers to a teacher’s ­awareness of what’s going on in all parts of the classroom at all times and communicating this awareness to students. It’s an essential component of successful interventions, and expert teachers describe it as “having eyes in the back of your head.” Emma demonstrated withitness in three ways:

• She identified the misbehavior immediately and quickly responded by moving near Kevin. • She correctly identified Kevin as the cause of the incident. If, in contrast, she had reprimanded Alison, she would have left students with a sense that she didn’t know what was going on.

Figure 10.3  Helping Students Understand Our Interventions Helping Students Understand Our Interventions

Demonstrate Withitness and Overlapping

Be Consistent and Follow Through

Keep Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior Congruent

Apply Logical Consequences

Demonstrate that you know what is going on in your classroom and maintain the flow of lessons

Enforce rules uniformly and ensure that students comply with the rules

Keep words, tone of voice, and body language consistent with each other

Use consequences that are conceptually related to the misbehavior

356  Chapter 10 • She responded to the more serious infraction first. Kevin’s poking was more ­disruptive than Madison’s texting, so she first called on Kevin, which drew him back into the activity and made further intervention unnecessary, and then she moved over to Madison to stop her texting. Withitness involves more than dealing with misbehavior after it happens. ­Teachers who are withit also watch for the initial signs of inattention or confusion; they approach, or call on, inattentive students; and they respond to signs of confusion with questions such as “Some of you look puzzled. Do you want me to rephrase that question?” They’re sensitive to students and make adjustments to ensure that everyone is involved and successful. Emma also managed to eliminate Kevin’s, Madison’s, and Mia’s misbehavior while simultaneously maintaining the flow of her lesson. This skill is called overlapping, the ability to attend to two issues at the same time. Lack of withitness and overlapping are often problems for beginning ­teachers. They’re concentrating on the lesson and have so much to think about that they s­ imply don’t notice misbehavior when it occurs. The best solution to this issue is well-­ established routines and carefully planned instruction that simplify the amount we have to think about. Be Consistent and Follow Through.  “Be consistent” is recommended so often in ­classroom management that it has become a cliché, but it is essential nevertheless. If one student is reprimanded for breaking a rule and another is not, for example, students will notice the inconsistency. As a result, they’re likely to conclude that the teacher doesn’t know what’s going on or has “pets,” either of which detracts from classroom climate. Although consistency is important, achieving complete consistency in the real world is virtually impossible, and even undesirable. For example, most classrooms have a rule about speaking only when recognized by the teacher. Now, while you’re monitoring seatwork, one student asks another a question about the assignment and then goes back to work. Failing to remind the student that talking is not allowed during seatwork is technically inconsistent but intervening, in this case, is both unnecessary and counterproductive. On the other hand, a student who is repeatedly whispering becomes a disruption, and intervention is necessary. Students understand the difference, and your “inconsistency” is appropriate and effective. Following through means doing what you’ve said you’ll do. Without followthrough, your management system will break down because students learn that you aren’t fully committed to maintaining an orderly environment. This is confusing, leaves them with a sense of uncertainty, and can even increase disruptions because students feel less inhibited about misbehaving. The first few days of the school year are crucial. Being completely consistent and following through during this time will set the tone for the rest of the year. Keep Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors Congruent.  For interventions to make sense to your students, your verbal and nonverbal behaviors need to be congruent. When messages are inconsistent, people attribute more credibility to body language and tone of voice than to spoken words (Aronson et al., 2019). Emma’s actions were congruent. For example, when she moved over to Kevin and called on him, she looked him directly in the eye, and she watched as ­Madison changed seats. Her nonverbal behavior communicated that “she meant what she said.” If Emma had glanced over her shoulder at Kevin instead, her ­communication might have been confusing; her words would have said one thing, but her body ­language said another. When teachers make eye contact with their students, for instance, students are more likely to believe that they’re withit and in charge of their classes.

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 357

Our nonverbal behavior sends powerful messages about intentions, and being aware of its consistency with our verbal messages can make a major difference in our interactions with our students. Apply Logical Consequences. Logical consequences are outcomes that are c­ onceptually related to misbehavior; they help learners make sense of an intervention by creating a link between their actions and the consequences that follow. For example: Allen, a rambunctious sixth grader, is running down the hall toward the lunchroom. As he rounds the corner, he bumps Alyshia, causing her to drop her books. “Oops,” he replies, continuing his race to the lunchroom. “Hold it, Allen,” Doug Ramsay, who is monitoring the hall, says. “Go back and help her pick up her books and apologize.” Allen walks back to Alyshia, helps her pick up her books, mumbles an apology, and then returns. As he approaches, Doug again stops him. “Now, why did I make you do that?” Doug asks. “Cuz we’re not supposed to run.” “Sure,” Doug says evenly, “but more importantly, if people run in the halls, they might crash into someone, and somebody might get hurt. . . . Remember that you’re responsible for your actions. Think about not wanting to hurt yourself or anyone else, and the next time you’ll walk whether a teacher is here or not. . . . Now, go on to lunch.”

In this incident, Doug used a logical consequence to help Allen understand how his actions affect other people. Having to pick up Alyshia’s books after bumping her and causing her to drop them made sense to Allen, and this is our goal in applying logical consequences. They help students understand the effects of their actions on others and promote the development of responsibility (Weinstein & Romano, 2019).

MyLab Education Application Exercise 10.3: Addressing Off-Task Behavior In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a teacher's intervention with a student who is off-task.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching The Use of Punishment in Classroom Management Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? What happened to

critics say it’s ineffective and counterproductive (Milner, 2018;

your subsequent driving behavior—at least for a while? Most of

Sparks, 2016).

us can attest to the idea that punishment works—at least in the short run. But then what? Beginning teachers often worry about whether they’ll

Punishment can range from a teacher action as simple as saying, “Stop whispering, Liam,” to corporal punishment, the use of physical actions, such as paddling students, to eliminate

be able to maintain order in their classrooms. Many turn to

undesirable behavior. Corporal punishment, which is still legal

­punishment, the process of decreasing or eliminating undesired

in 19 states, is controversial, with virtually all child psychologists

behavior through some aversive consequence. But punishment

advising against its use (Berk, 2019a; McDevitt & Ormrod, 2016;

as a management tool is controversial, both in classroom man-

NBC News, 2018).

agement and in child-raising (for example, “Spare the rod and

The use of punishment in classrooms usually occurs in

spoil the child”). Advocates say it’s sometimes necessary, but

the form of simple desists, nonexclusion time-out, or detention.

358  Chapter 10

Desists are verbal or nonverbal communications teachers use

• Veteran teachers believe punishment is acceptable when

to stop a behavior (Kounin, 1970), such as telling a student to

the severity of the punishment matches the severity of the

stop whispering or putting fingers to the lips to signal “Shh.”

­misbehavior (Cowan & Sheridan, 2003).

Nonexclusion time-out involves seating a student near the teacher or on the edge of the classroom, with the

• When paired with explanations about the undesired ­behavior, punishment can be humane because it helps unruly students

goal of preventing the student from receiving attention from

quickly learn new, more acceptable behaviors (Alberto &

­classmates. It’s a variation of the traditional “exclusion” time-out

Troutman, 2017).

that involves completely removing students from the class and physically isolating them in an area away from other students. ­Commonly used by parents to eliminate undesirable behaviors

Con • Punishment can have unintended consequences, such as

in their young children (Alberto & Troutman, 2017), seclusion,

resentment and hostility, and can damage teachers’ efforts

or ­removing students completely from opportunities to learn, is

to create a positive classroom climate (Alberto & Troutman,

controversial. Questions about violating students’ rights when

2017).

it’s used, as well as the disproportionate numbers of students with exceptionalities affected, have both been raised (Samuels, 2015). As a result, nonexclusion time-out is viewed as more effective. Detention, most commonly used with older students, is similar to time-out and involves taking away some of students’ free time by keeping them in school after regular dismissal times.

• The use of punishment emphasizes control and o ­ bedience instead of focusing on student responsibility—a more d ­ esirable outcome that promotes social-emotional ­ development (­Milner, 2018). A comprehensive study of ­physical ­punishment (e.g., spanking and paddling) found that the more ­children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy adults, show more ­ ggression and have lower anti-social behaviors such as a

The Issue So, is punishment an effective tool for promoting order in our classrooms? Arguments both for and against its use exist.

­academic achievement (Sparks, 2016). • Punishing students for simple acts, such as talking without permission, fails to examine possible causes for the behavior, such as ineffective instruction or not understanding why it’s

Pro • Research supports the use of desists and nonexclusion time-out. For instance, desists, when administered imme-

important to give everyone a chance to speak (Alberto & Troutman, 2017).

diately, briefly, and unemotionally, can reduce misbehavior

• Research indicates that systems based on reinforcing posi-

(Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017), and

tive behavior are more effective than those using punishment

­nonexclusion time-out is effective for a variety of disruptive

(Alberto & Troutman, 2017).

behaviors (Alberto & Troutman, 2017). • Additional research suggests that punishment is sometimes necessary; when all negative sanctions are removed, some students become more disruptive (Alberto & Troutman, 2017).

Teaching and You We’ve all heard about highly publicized incidents of school shootings and other stories about teachers being assaulted by students. Do you worry about these possibilities as you anticipate your first teaching job?

The Question Now it’s your turn to answer the question: Is punishment an effective management strategy, and should it be a part of a teacher’s classroom management systems? What do you think?

Serious Management Problems: Violence and Aggression If you answered yes to our question in Teaching and You, you’re not alone; most ­preservice and beginning teachers have similar concerns. Many think—and worry— about incidents of school violence and even the possibility of being assaulted by a student. However, in spite of the horrific and highly publicized incidents of violence in schools, defiance and aggression are rare; you are much more likely to encounter the everyday management problems we’ve discussed throughout the chapter. However, these incidents can happen, and we need to be prepared to deal with an incident in the unlikely event that it occurs.

Responding to Defiant Students Ryan, one of your students, has difficulty maintaining attention and staying on task. He frequently makes loud and inappropriate comments in class and disrupts learning activities. You warn him, reminding him that being disruptive is unacceptable, and blurting out another comment will result in a time-out.

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 359 Within a minute, Ryan blurts out again. “Please go to the time-out area,” you say evenly. “I’m not going, and you can’t make me,” he says defiantly. He crosses his arms and remains seated at his desk.

What do you do when a student like Ryan says, “I’m not going, and you can’t make me”? Experts offer two suggestions (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). First, remain calm and avoid a power struggle. Becoming angry and ­displaying a show of force to demonstrate to students that they “can’t get away with it” is a ­natural ­tendency. Remaining calm gives you time to control your temper, and the s­ tudent’s mood when facing a calm teacher is likely to change from anger and bravado to ­uncertainty and contrition. Second, if possible, give the rest of the class an assignment, and then tell the student calmly but assertively to step outside the classroom so you can talk. Communicate an assertive, but not threatening, tone. Defiance is often the result of negative student–teacher relationships, and incidents of defiance occur most often with students who are aggressive or impulsive (Emmer & Evertson, 2017). When a problem occurs with such a student, it’s important to let the student say everything that is on his or her mind in a private conference, such as outside the classroom, before responding. Finally, arrange to meet with the student before or after school, focus on the defiance as a problem, and attempt to generate solutions that are acceptable to both of you. In the case of a student who refuses to leave your classroom or one who becomes physically threatening, immediately send someone to the front office for help. D ­ efiance at this level requires extra help and long-term intervention from a mental health professional.

Responding to Fighting As you work with a small group of your fourth graders, a fight suddenly breaks out between Trey and Neil, who are supposed to be working on a group project together. You hear sounds of shouting and see Trey flailing at Neil, who is attempting to fend off Trey’s blows. Trey is often verbally aggressive and sometimes threatens other students. What do you do?

Incidents of student aggression toward each other are much more common than threats to teachers. Information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) indicates that in 2017 almost one-fourth of high school students were involved in a physical altercation on school property. Incidents between younger children, such as second, third, or fourth graders, are lower, and the figures in both cases may also be lower because statistics indicate that violent crime in schools—in spite of some unspeakable and widely publicized incidents of school violence—has been declining steadily since the early 1990s (Child Trends, 2018; Musu-Gillette et al., 2017). In a situation such as the one between Trey and Neil, you are required by law to intervene. If you don’t, you and the school can be sued for negligence, the failure to exercise sufficient care in protecting students from injury (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). However, the law doesn’t require you to physically break up the fight; immediately taking action to defuse the situation or reporting it to administrators are both viable options.

Responding to Fighting: Implications for Teaching An effective response to fighting involves three steps: (1) stop the incident (if possible), (2) protect the victim, and (3) get help. For instance, in the case of the classroom scuffle, a loud noise, such as shouting, clapping, or slamming a chair against the floor, will often surprise the students enough so they’ll stop (Evertson & Emmer, 2017). At that

360  Chapter 10

Revisiting My Beliefs This discussion addresses the fifth item in What I Believe, “If some of my students are involved in a fight or scuffle, I am required by law to intervene.” This statement is true, and failure to intervene can result in you and the school being sued for negligence.

point, you can begin to talk to them, check to see if the victim is all right, and then take the students to the main office, where you can get help. If your interventions don’t stop the fight, you should immediately send an uninvolved student for help. Don’t attempt to separate the students unless you’re sure you can do so without danger to yourself or them. You are responsible first for the safety of the other students and yourself, and, second, for the involved students. Breaking up a scuffle is, of course, only a short-term solution. Whenever ­students are aggressive or violent, you should involve parents and other school personnel. ­Parents want to be notified immediately if school problems occur. In addition, ­counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and principals have all been trained to deal with these problems and can provide advice and assistance. Experienced teachers can also provide a wealth of information about how they’ve handled similar ­problems. No teacher should face problems of violence or aggression alone. Further, excellent ­programs are available to teach conflict resolution and to help troubled students (­Johnson & Johnson, 2017). If you can get help when you first suspect a problem, many incidents can be prevented.

Responding to Bullying Matt, one of your seventh graders, is shy and a bit small for his age. As he comes into your class this morning, he appears disheveled and disturbed. Concerned, you take him aside and ask if anything is wrong. With some prodding, he tells you that he repeatedly gets shoved around on the school grounds before school, and two boys have been taunting him and calling him gay. “I hate school,” he comments.

MyLab Education Video Example 10.5 Bullying is increasingly recognized as a problem in today’s schools. Here a school leader describes strategies that teachers might employ to address the problem. Notice her emphasis on the need to be aware of minor bullying incidents in order to prevent them from escalating into full-blown bullying episodes that can lead to serious problems.

How do you respond?

Bullying, a form of peer aggression that involves a systematic or repetitious abuse of power between students, is a serious management problem in our schools. Bullying damages the safety of classrooms and interferes with social-emotional development, a major goal of classroom management. In 2015, nearly 20% of students reported that they had been bullied on school property during the previous 12 months, with a much higher percentage for self-identified gay, lesbian, or bisexual students—more than a third. Further, in this same year 15% of fourth graders and 7% of eighth graders in our nation’s schools reported experiencing bullying at least once a month (Musu-Gillette et al., 2017). Dramatically increased attention has been directed at bullying in recent years, ­partially because of more frequent incidents of cyberbullying, a form of bullying that occurs when students use electronic media to harass or intimidate other students. ­Attention has also increased because of widely publicized cases of students committing suicide after being bullied, particularly after being cyberbullied. For example, in Florida in 2013, authorities pressed charges against two adolescent girls because of allegations that they harassed a 12-year-old to the point that she jumped to her death from the top of an abandoned concrete plant (Almasy, Segal, & Couwels, 2013). Statistics indicate that 59% of students report being cyberbullied (Anderson, 2018). Our society in general and school officials in particular are now recognizing that bullying is a serious problem. The courts are very clear that all facets of the school community must police and report any bullying behavior that is observed. It is no longer okay to shrug these incidents off as “horse play” or some other minor behavior (­Schimmel et al., 2015). Bullying obviously detracts from students’ feelings of safety, and it can result in serious problems for both perpetrators and victims. And research indicates that many adults vividly remember incidents of being bullied many years after they’ve completed their schooling (Cooper, & Nickerson, 2013), and the longterm effects of being bullied can be as damaging as maltreatment in childhood (Lereya, Copeland, Costello, & Wolke, 2015).

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 361

Bullying: Implications for Teaching As teachers, we are central to our schools’ efforts to eliminate bullying, so you will play an important role in the process. Because you interact with students on a daily basis, you will be in a better position than other school authorities to monitor incidents of bullying, and you’ll need to be prepared to deal with this serious problem. Interventions against bullying occur at three levels. At the first and most basic level, you should intervene immediately when bullying occurs and apply appropriate consequences for the perpetrators. Bullies should learn that their actions are unacceptable and won’t be tolerated, and victims should know that you care and will protect them. At the second level, open and frank classroom discussions about bullying should emphasize the human cost of bullying. Even children as young as kindergarten age can empathize with others who experience pain; discussions about the hurt and pain that bullying victims experience can help students understand bullying can cause (Berk, 2019b). Our goal in these discussions is to make bullying a socially unacceptable practice because of its cruelty to other people. These discussions can also address topics such as ideas about right and wrong, appropriate treatment of others, tolerance for differences, and abuse of power. They can also focus on the importance of students taking responsibility for their actions, which contributes to their social-emotional development (Berk, 2019b). At the third and long-term level, the most effective responses to bullying are schoolwide and include all members of the school community—administrators, teachers, students, support staff, custodians, parent–teacher organizations, bus drivers, cafeteria personnel, and parents. These comprehensive programs are time and energy intensive and demanding, but they are effective because most incidents of bullying occur outside classrooms (Padgett & Notar, 2013). If students know, for example, that their bus driver will report an incident of bullying on the ride home from school, and consequences exist, they are less likely to bully. The same is true for incidents in the cafeteria, on the school grounds, and activities outside of school. Both intermediate and long-term interventions take time, and they won’t reach every student. But they can make a difference, and, for the students you and your school reach, the results can be increased responsibility, increased social-emotional development for individuals, and a safer and more positive school environment for all students.

Diversity: Fighting Bias in Classroom Management Working with learners who are members of cultural minorities presents a unique set of management challenges for classroom teachers. A long history of research suggests that discrepancies exist in disciplinary referrals and punishment for these students (Welch & Payne, 2018). Studies over the past 30 years have consistently found racial disparities in the administration of discipline. Discipline is administered more frequently and with heavier penalties for African American students than White students who engage in the same conduct (Ware, 2017). For example, in a comprehensive nation-wide study, researchers found that Black students were suspended at three times the rate of White students (Green, 2018). In addition, while Black students accounted for 16% of all students, they represented 39% of all school suspensions. These disparities start in preschool and are true across different types of schools (Samuels & Harwin, 2018). The issue involves more than African American students. Disproportionate disciplinary measures have also been documented for Latinos, American Indians, and learners with exceptionalities (Gregory, Skiba, & Mediratta, 2017), and additional evidence indicates that LGBTQ students are also at heightened risk of disproportionate sanctions. Negative stereotypes are a likely factor in these inconsistencies (Poteat, Scheer, & Chong, 2015). Research also suggests that fear and misunderstanding may be a factor in the tendency to overreact to misbehavior in minority students (Welch & Payne, 2018). Negative stereotypes may also be a factor here; teachers who are prone to accepting

362  Chapter 10 stereotypes of adolescent African American males as threatening or dangerous may overreact to relatively minor threats to authority. Research indicates that Black students who are taught by Black teachers experience lower rates of exclusionary disciplines, such as suspensions and expulsions, and researchers believe this is due to the teachers better understanding the backgrounds and cultures of these students (Lindsey & Hart, 2017). Additional evidence suggests that communication breakdowns between teachers and students who are English learners (ELs) sometimes occur, resulting in students being punished for rule infractions that resulted from misunderstandings and miscommunications (Rader-Brown & Howley, 2014). Some researchers believe this miscommunication occurs because most teachers, who are typically middle class, female, and White, fail to understand EL students, who are cultural minorities and often from lower SES families. When working with these students, carefully illustrating your rules and procedures with concrete examples, enforcing them consistently, and periodically revisiting them throughout the school year will help them understand your rules and procedures. Understanding is the essential first step in following them.

Bias in Classroom Management: Implications for Teaching Culturally responsive classroom management is a classroom management approach to working with members of cultural minorities that can help overcome possible bias. It includes the following elements that combine cultural knowledge with teachers’ awareness of possible personal biases, and can help overcome some of these problems (Petrilli, 2018): • Becoming aware of our own possible cultural biases • Respecting our students’ cultural heritage • Learning about students’ neighborhoods and home environments • Creating caring learning environments in classrooms As teachers become aware of their own possible fears and biases and come to understand students’ backgrounds and interaction patterns, they often realize that student responses that appear threatening or disrespectful are not intended that way. Increased awareness and knowledge, combined with a positive classroom climate, emphasis on personal responsibility, and rules and procedures that make sense to students, can significantly reduce discrepancies in classroom management (Howard & Rodriguez-Scheel, 2017; Petrilli, 2018). Combined with effective instruction and feedback to students that guides both their learning and behavior, these management strategies are effective with all students and are particularly important for students from diverse backgrounds. As with any approach, they won’t solve every problem, but they will contribute to your students’ academic and social-emotional learning.

Diversity and You Teaching in Challenging Classrooms You’re a new sixth-grade world history teacher in a middle

openly to each other, and a few even get out of their seats to

school in a large urban city in the northeast, and you’re strug-

sharpen pencils in the middle of your presentation. You point to

gling to maintain order in your classroom. You’re beginning a

the rules on the bulletin board, but this seems to work only for a

unit on factors leading up to World War I, and you begin your

while. You threaten them with referrals and other punishments,

lesson by explaining that increased nationalism—loyalty to a

which work briefly, but the disruptions soon recur.

country’s language and culture—was a major problem in Europe before the war. As you’re explaining, some of the students talk

Other students are listless and make little effort to pay attention; some even put their heads down on their desks during your

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 363

lesson. You try interventions, such as walking around the room

the assistant principal, you agree to allow him back in your class

as you talk and standing near the inattentive students, but nei-

if he will refrain from negative comments. When you talk with

ther strategy works well.

other teachers at lunch, they agree that the student is outspo-

You decide to address the issue directly. You walk up to the front of the room and say in a loud voice, “Class, this content is really important. It will help you understand why we continue to

ken (one uses the term “mouthy”), but most think the student is bright, but not motivated or interested in school. What to do next?

have conflicts in the Middle East.” As you conclude, you hear an audible “Who cares?” from one of the students. When you confront the guilty student, things quickly go south. He claims he really doesn’t care and can’t see why World War I should be important to him. Recalling similar previous times when the same student questioned the relevance of your class, you lose your temper. Things quickly escalate, and you ask him to leave the room and come to the office with you to straighten things out. After a lengthy three-way discussion with

MyLab Education Self-Check 10.4

Consider These Questions 1. Based on the information in the vignette, it appears that you have two primary problems. What are they?

2. With respect to instruction, what can you do to help solve your problem?

3. With respect to classroom management, what can you do to solve your problem?

Chapter 10 Summary 1. Explain how effective classroom management contributes to a productive learning environment. • A productive learning environment is a classroom that is orderly and focused on learning. • Students learn more and are more motivated in wellmanaged classrooms. • Creating a positive classroom climate, creating a community of learners, developing learner responsibility, and maximizing time for learning are the goals of classroom management. • Effective classroom management also contributes to students’ social-emotional learning. 2. Explain how teachers can create productive learning environments in their classrooms. • Teachers who care about their students as people and are committed to their learning are essential for a productive learning environment. • Effective teachers in productive learning environments create learning activities in which students are actively involved and successful in lessons. • Organization is important in productive learning environments. Teachers have their materials ready; they begin classes on time; they make transitions quickly and smoothly, and they have well-established routines. • Planning for classroom management involves considering the developmental needs of students and creating a clear and comprehensive system of procedures and rules that matches those needs. 3. Explain how involving parents contributes to a productive learning environment. • Students whose parents are involved in their education have better attitudes toward school, learn more, are more likely to do their homework, and are more cooperative in class.

364

• Teachers who encourage parental involvement also feel more positive about teaching and their school, and they have higher expectations for parents. • Teachers can involve parents by sending samples of student work home, emphasizing student accomplishments, and contacting parents by phone or email. 4. Describe how effective teachers intervene when misbehavior occurs. • Effective interventions are designed to stop misbehavior quickly and efficiently, maintain the flow of instruction, and help students learn from the intervention. • Teachers who intervene effectively avoid loud, public, demeaning interventions, and help maintain students’ emotional safety. • Teachers who intervene effectively demonstrate withitness, an understanding of what’s going on at all times in their classrooms, and overlapping, the ability to deal with two issues at once. • Teachers who intervene effectively are consistent in their interventions, follow through to ensure compliance, keep their verbal and nonverbal communication congruent, and apply logical consequences when consequences are necessary. • Serious management problems, although rare, can occur in classrooms, and teachers are required by law to intervene in cases of fighting and scuffling. • Effective teachers in urban environments are caring and supportive, establish clear standards for behavior, provide structure in their classrooms, and use effective instruction to complement their classroom management.

Classroom Management: Creating Productive Learning Environments 365

Important Concepts academic learning time allocated time bullying caring classroom management classroom organization corporal punishment

culturally responsive ­classroom management cyberbullying desist detention discipline engaged time instructional time

intervention learning community logical consequences negligence nonexclusion time-out overlapping positive classroom climate procedures

Portfolio Activity Classroom Rules and Procedures InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3: Learning Environments Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to encourage you to begin thinking about classroom rules and procedures, and how they will help you create a productive learning environment in your classroom. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Locate a teacher who has been in teaching for several years. Ask the following questions: a. Are you satisfied with your current management system in terms of rules and procedures? If not, why not? b. What rules do you currently have for your classroom? How have they changed over the years? c. What procedures do you currently have for your classroom? How have they changed over the years? d. How do you teach or share your rules and procedures with your students at the beginning of the school year? e. What advice do you have for teachers in their first year of teaching? In a short paper, explain what you’ve learned and briefly describe what rules and procedures you’ll implement in our first year of teaching. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Based on the content in this chapter, interactions with teachers, other texts, and classroom discussion, what rules and procedures will you implement in your classroom? How do they reflect the specific age group that you’ll be teaching? How do they reflect the specific content area you’ll be teaching? Summarize your answers to these questions in a short paper.

productive learning environment punishment rules social-emotional learning (SEL) withitness

Chapter 11

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students

FatCamera/E+/Getty Images

366

Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 11.1 Define motivation and describe how teachers can increase motiva-

tion with their instruction. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments; InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction 11.2 Explain the processes involved in planning for instruction. InTASC

Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction 11.3 Explain how expert teachers implement instruction and assess

student learning. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 8, Instructional Strategies 11.4 Describe different instructional strategies and explain how these

strategies promote learning in all students. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 8, Instructional Strategies The title of this chapter is “Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students,” but what exactly does effective mean? Simply, effective teaching is instruction that maximizes learning for all students, and it’s the essence of being a professional. Sounds simple, but it requires hard work, careful planning, and sophisticated skills. In this chapter, we describe how you can become an effective teacher and how to apply instructional strategies to involve all students in your own classroom. When we teach, it’s important to include all students in our lessons. When we teach, our tendency is to focus on the eager, high achievers because they help our lessons proceed smoothly. But in doing so, we often neglect many students who are reluctant to participate because they are shy, unsure of their abilities, or may lack the motivation to join in our lessons. When we ignore these students, we miss a critical opportunity to open the doors of learning for all our students. A major goal of this chapter is to help you understand how you can design and teach lessons that are inclusive, inviting all students to participate in your lessons. We begin by joining a 4th-grade teacher as she plans for her next week.

“What are you doing?” Al Barton asks his wife, Shirley, as he sees her cutting and drawing on cardboard pieces. “Working on a unit on equivalent fractions and adding fractions with unlike denominators. . . . Do they look like pizzas and cakes?” she asks, holding up the pieces of cardboard.

368  Chapter 11 “They really do,” he says with a smile, a bit impressed. “Some of my students had trouble with this standard last year, so I’m using more concrete, real-world examples.” “Standard?” “Yes, standards describe what my kids need to understand by the end of this year. . . . Here it is,” Shirley responds as she slides a paper over to Al. Explain why a fraction a/b is equivalent to a fraction (n * a)/(n * b) by using visual fraction models, with attention to how the number and size of the parts differ even though the two fractions themselves are the same size. Use this principle to recognize and generate equivalent fractions. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019f)

“For instance, one-third and two-sixths are equivalent forms of the same fraction. That’s what I want to work toward with these models. “I see,” Al says, genuinely interested. Well, you know how kids are,” Shirley continues. “They sometimes don’t want to think. They think it’s too hard or they can’t do it, so I have to encourage them. And they often have misconceptions. . . . Like, this problem,” Shirley continues, writing 1/2 + 1/3 on a piece of paper. “What’s the answer?” “Five-sixths,” Al replies with a shrug, after thinking a moment. “Wrong. . . . It’s two-fifths,” Shirley grins. Responding to Al’s puzzled look, she continues, “The kids see that we’re adding, so they just add the top numbers and get 2 and then add the bottom numbers and get 5. . . . The answer should be five-sixths, just as you said, but some of them have trouble getting it. So, that’s why I’m working on this.” “Impressive,” Al says, smiling, as he turns and leaves the room. “Okay,” Shirley thinks to herself after Al leaves. “I’ll use the pizzas for review, and then I’ll use the cakes to introduce equivalent fractions.” She also prepares a worksheet with other exercises that her students will complete for additional practice on finding equivalent fractions. “If they do okay on the worksheet, I’ll give them a quiz Friday,” she mumbles out loud. “If they don’t do so well, I’ll give them some more practice.”

We examine Shirley’s planning in more detail in the sections that follow, but before we do, please respond to the items in the What I Believe feature that follows.

What I Believe Instruction in My Classroom Decide whether you agree with each of the following statements. We address the issues involved in each in the sections Revisiting My Beliefs found throughout the chapter. 1. Some students are more motivated to learn than others, and I can do little about those who aren’t motivated. 2. Because assessing students with quizzes and tests uses instructional time, students who are frequently assessed learn less than those assessed less frequently. 3. Planning for instruction primarily involves identifying the topics that are important for my students to learn. 4. The best way I can teach effectively is to clearly explain the content I’m teaching to my students. 5. The best teachers find one or two strategies that work for them and stick to these throughout the school year.

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LEARNING OUTCOME 11.1  Define motivation and describe how teachers can include motivation in their instruction. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 3, Learning Environments; InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

Effective Teaching and Student Motivation As you begin this section, you might be saying to yourself, “Wait, this chapter is supposed to be about effective teaching, but it begins with a discussion of motivation. Why?” The answer is simple. Effective teaching focuses on learning, and it’s virtually impossible to promote learning if students aren’t motivated. Motivation and effective teaching are interdependent; we can’t have one without the other. Now, consider the question we asked in Teaching and You about motivating teachers. When we’ve asked our students, they typically used phrases such as “Interesting material,” “Tough but worthwhile class,” “Practical,” and “I always felt involved” to describe their most motivating teachers and classes. Motivation is an energizing force that initiates and sustains our efforts to reach a goal (Schunk, Meece, & Pintrich, 2014). If we’re working to be able to use a new app on our smartphones or to learn how to play a guitar, for instance, we say we’re motivated in each case. Learning to use the app or play the guitar are the goals, and motivation initiates and sustains our efforts to reach each one. In classrooms, motivation pulls students into lessons, challenges them, keeps them involved, and helps maintain their efforts as they work on assignments. Motivation is often divided into two broad categories—extrinsic motivation, motivation to engage in an activity to receive some reward, and intrinsic motivation, motivation to be involved in an activity for its own sake (Schunk et al., 2014). When you study to get high test scores, for example, you are extrinsically motivated; a high test score is the reward. On the other hand, if you read about history simply because it’s interesting, you are intrinsically motivated; you study it for its own sake. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are not mutually exclusive, that is, they can exist at the same time (Schunk et al., 2014). For example, you might study hard both because you want to get a high test score and because you want to understand the content. In this case, both your extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are high.

Motivation and Learning Motivation is important for both current learning and future success (Good & Lavigne, 2018). Compared to their less motivated classmates, motivated students do the following: • Study more diligently. • Persist longer on challenging tasks. • Participate more in learning activities. • Cause fewer management problems. • Have more positive attitudes toward school. Not surprisingly, motivated students are a primary source of job satisfaction for all of us, and they will be for you when you begin your career. Admittedly, some students are more motivated than others, but we can do a great deal to increase the motivation of all our students. We examine ways of doing this next.

Teaching and You Think about some of the most motivating teachers that you’ve had in the past. What stands out about them, their teaching, and their classes?

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Motivation: Increasing Students’ Interest “Because it’s interesting” is an intuitively sensible answer to why people are motivated to engage in some activity, and efforts to increase our students’ interest in the topics we teach are a major way that we can increase our students’ motivation to learn (Good & Lavigne, 2018). Different ways to increase students’ interest include: • Begin lessons with activities that attract and maintain students’ attention. • Personalize content by focusing on real-world applications and linking topics to students’ lives. • Promote student success. • Present challenging tasks. • Promote high levels of student involvement in learning activities.

Attracting and Maintaining Students’ Attention

MyLab Education Video Example 11.1 We can attract students’ attention in many different ways. Here, first-grade teacher Jenny Newhall attracts her students’ attention with a demonstration that has unexpected results.

Obviously, students need to pay attention if they’re going to learn, but attracting and maintaining student motivation during lessons can be challenging. For instance, though often not intentional, students’ frequently drift off during lessons, and many times, they aren’t paying attention when we begin a lesson. We can address this issue by consciously planning to attract their attention at the beginning of our lessons. For instance, an elementary school teacher begins her discussion of arthropods—animals, such as lobsters, shrimp, spiders, and insects—by holding up a live lobster. (We illustrate this lesson as a case study later in the chapter.) A high school history teacher begins a study of the American Revolution by announcing that the school is short of money and is going to place a surtax on students for attending. Shirley planned to begin her lesson by showing students her cardboard pizzas and cakes as attention-getters. Beginning lessons with attention-getting activities need not take a lot of extra work. For instance, as an introduction to the concept adverbs, having a student run across the front of the classroom, first quickly and then slowly, and asking his classmates to describe how he moved takes little extra time and no extra work, but it will attract their attention. The same is true for the history teacher’s comment about a surtax, and it’s true for most other topics. Beginning lessons with an attention-getting activity piques student interest and draws them into the lesson.

Personalizing Content Through Real-World Applications “So what? What does this have to do with me?” and “Why do we need to learn this?” are common student complaints. We can address this problem by linking the topics we teach to our students’ lives (Carmichael, Callingham, & Watt, 2017; Yang, 2016). For instance, when students understand that wearing seat belts in their cars is an application of the law of inertia in science, or that when they listen politely while a classmate is speaking, they are applying the principle of freedom of speech—part of the First Amendment to our country’s Constitution—their interest in the topics is likely to increase. Keeping the question, “How can I relate this topic to my students’ lives?” in mind as we plan can make an important difference in their motivation and learning. Shirley used her pizzas and cakes to illustrate how fractions applied to their lives, and the teacher focusing on arthropods had her students squeeze their own legs to remind them that our skeletons are inside our bodies, as opposed to arthropods’ exoskeletons on the outsides of their bodies. As other examples, a language arts teacher inserts students’ names in examples of well-written paragraphs, and a geography teacher begins a study of landforms by having students describe the geographic features of the area where they live. One creative high school history teacher allowed her students to research topics related to their own families’ personal histories; Chinese students studied the Cultural Revolution in China, Jewish students studied the Holocaust, and Hmong students studied the Viet Nam War (Levy, 2014). Being able to connect

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 371

topics to their own personal family histories made the content come alive and resulted in increased motivation and learning. And like attention-getters, personalizing content doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time on your part. Expert teachers—teachers who are highly knowledgeable and skilled—continually think about ways to personalize content and integrate personalized examples into their teaching.

Promoting Student Success Student success is essential for motivation; students need to succeed in the tasks we give them, or they’ll become discouraged and drift off. But promoting student success can be an enormous challenge. If it were easy, we wouldn’t see mainstream media lamenting school dropout rates, teachers complaining about students who seem disinterested and a myriad of other motivation-related issues. We can take steps that increase the likelihood of all students experiencing success in our classrooms. Two of the most important are (1) using open-ended questions and (2) using high-quality examples. Let’s look at them. Open-Ended Questions.  Open-ended questions are questions for which a variety of answers are acceptable. To illustrate, let’s look again at the lesson on arthropods that we mentioned earlier. To begin the lesson, Lori Dubose, the teacher, has Stephanie, one of her students, carry the lobster around the room and asks her students to make observations of it. Lori: Look carefully because I’m going to ask you to tell us what you see. . . . After a short pause in which everyone has a chance to observe the lobster, she asks, “Okay, what did you see or feel?” Zoe: “Hard.” Emily: “Pink and green.” Kevin: “Kinda wet.”

Notice that Lori asked a simple, straightforward question: “What did you see or feel?” and Zoe, Emily, and Kevin each responded with a different answer. This question, or similar others, such as “What do you observe?” or “What do you notice?” can be very effective for helping students—and particularly those who are often unable to answer questions requiring a single answer—experience success because virtually anything they say in response is acceptable. Open-ended questions are especially effective with English language learners, who are often hesitant to participate in classroom discussions because their language skills are still developing. Open-ended questions provide them with a safer way to join the classroom conversation. Using open-ended questions often takes a little “getting used to.” Students are typically asked questions requiring one specific answer that they may initially be reluctant to try to respond. In our own teaching, we’ve even had students say, “I’m not sure what you’re looking for,” to which we reply, “I’m looking for whatever you notice.” Our experience suggests that open-ended questions work. As one example, Paul was recently teaching a lesson with a group of 5th graders, and within a matter of minutes, students who were initially reluctant to respond were raising their hands attempting to volunteer answers. Open-ended questions aren’t a panacea for success, but using them can be an effective strategy for helping students experience the pleasure of being able to answer and participate. High-Quality Examples.  When students are introduced to unfamiliar topics, highquality examples help them understand abstract ideas. High-quality examples are

MyLab Education Video Example 11.2 High-quality examples are essential for promoting student success. Here, fifth-grade teacher DeVonne Lampkin uses pieces from chocolate candy bars to illustrate the concept of equivalent fractions.

372  Chapter 11 examples for which all the information students need to understand a topic is observable in them. Lori’s lobster was a high-quality example. She wanted her students to understand that arthropods have an exoskeleton, three body parts, and segmented legs. Her students could see these characteristics in the lobster. When students can actually see the important characteristics in an example, they are much more likely to respond, and respond correctly, so they can experience success in your classroom. Combining open-ended questions with high-quality examples also makes it easier to help students when they are initially unable to answer. To illustrate, let’s look again at some dialogue from Lori’s lesson.

Lori:

[holding up the lobster] What do you notice about the lobster’s legs? . . . Damien?

Damien: They’re long. Lori:

[wiggling the legs] Are they all in one part or more than one part?

Damien: More than one. Lori:

Yes, good. When we see legs like this, we say they’re segmented.

Damien was able to answer successfully, to which Lori responded, “Yes, good.” This is admittedly a small success, but if he has enough experiences like this one, in time, his motivation will increase. In other content areas, such as math or language arts, when students need to develop problem-solving or grammar and punctuation skills, having students practice with the teacher’s support before expecting them to work independently can also contribute to their success. Let’s see how. You’re teaching percent increase and percent decrease, and you’ve presented your students with the following problem:

You’re shopping on the Internet, and you see a jacket originally priced at $70 that’s now marked down to $50. What is the percent decrease in the price?

You then have the students all work the problem while you monitor their efforts. When they’ve finished, you discuss the solution, give them another problem, and continue until you believe most of the students understand the process. Then you give your students a homework assignment, and while the majority of the students work on the assignment, you provide extra support in a small group for those who need it. Teacher support, such as this, is one of the most effective strategies we have for maximizing our students’ success.

Teaching and You Think about how you feel when you solve a difficult problem, make a computer application work, or figure out a puzzling event. Why do you feel this way?

Increasing Motivation Through Challenge We all want to feel smart, and when we accomplish difficult and challenging tasks, our sense of competence (our beliefs in our abilities to accomplish specific tasks) increases (Schunk et al., 2014). We all want to feel competent, and seeing our competence increase is intrinsically motivating. “All students, even the seemingly unmotivated, care about being seen as competent and able in the eyes of others” (De Castella, Byrne, & Covington, 2013, p. 861). This helps answer the question we asked in Teaching and You. Solving difficult problems or figuring out a computer application or a puzzling event increases our feelings of competence. Being able to complete “challenging goals conveys to learners that they are becoming more competent. . . . In turn, learners are apt to set new, challenging

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 373

goals, which serve to maintain intrinsic motivation” (Schunk et al., 2014, p. 268). When we create challenging tasks that our students can succeed at, their motivation increases. So, our motivation equation becomes: Challenge * Success = Motivation to Learn The multiplication sign in the equation is important because anything times zero is zero. This suggests that success, alone, is not sufficient for promoting student motivation. Students can successfully memorize lists of facts and rules or solve routine problems, but this success does little to increase their motivation because challenge is zero, and it isn’t satisfying. For motivation to occur, students need to experience success in activities they perceive as challenging. As with other aspects of promoting student motivation, creating a sense of challenge in your classroom need not be difficult. For instance, a question such as, “What are three ways in which we’re different from arthropods?” is a simple, but challenging, question. Similarly, a problem, such as the one below, will be challenging for Shirley’s students who are working on adding fractions with unlike denominators. Ben ate two pieces of pizza from two different pizzas. One pizza was cut into six equal pieces, and the other pizza was cut into eight equal pieces. How much pizza did Ben eat altogether?

The satisfaction that comes with answering questions and problems such as these virtually assures an increase in our student’s motivation. These examples illustrate how our motivation equation applies to teaching; challenge combined with success increases our students’ motivation.

Involving Students Finally, involving students is essential for promoting motivation. Involvement, the extent to which students are actively participating in a learning activity, is a fifth way to increase student interest—and ultimately learning. Think about your own experiences with friends at lunch or at a party. When you’re talking and actively listening, you’re more attentive and interested in the conversation than if you’re uninvolved or on its fringes. The same applies in classrooms, and personalizing content, promoting students’ success, and challenging students all increase the likelihood of students being involved. Questioning, and particularly open-ended questioning, as we discussed earlier, is one of the most effective strategies we have for promoting students’ involvement. The strategies we described for increasing our students’ motivation are outlined in Figure 11.1. Understanding these strategies helps us consciously plan learning activities that promote our students’ motivation. We discuss planning for instruction in the next section of the chapter.

Figure 11.1  Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Attracting Attention

Personalizing Content

Begin lessons with attentiongetting activities

Use familiar and real-world applications

Promoting Success Help students succeed in learning activities

Providing Challenge

Involving Students

Ask challenging questions and present challenging problems

Ensure that all students are actively participating in learning activities

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses our first item in What I Believe, “Some students are more motivated to learn than others, and I can do little about those who aren’t motivated.” This statement isn’t true: Some students are indeed more motivated than others, but we can do a great deal to increase our students’ motivation to learn.

374  Chapter 11 MyLab Education Application Exercise 11.1: Increasing Students’ Interest In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher promotes and maintains students' interest in a learning activity.

MyLab Education Self-Check 11.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 11.2  Explain the processes involved in planning for instruction. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

Teaching and You Imagine that you’re sitting in your room and planning for the first lesson that you’ll teach in your first job. What will you think about, and how will you begin?

Planning for Effective Teaching Good teaching doesn’t just happen; expert teachers plan carefully, and this planning is important for three reasons. First, and most importantly, the more carefully we plan, the better our lessons are, and the more our students learn. Second, careful planning helps increase our confidence and relieve some of the inevitable anxiety that accompanies our initial teaching efforts. And when we’re sure of ourselves, we behave differently, our students can sense that difference, and they’re more likely to react well to our lessons (Ko, Sadler, & Galinsky, 2014). Third, careful planning helps reduce classroom management problems, a primary source of anxiety for beginning teachers. Further, when expert teachers plan, they also keep the strategies for increasing student motivation that we discussed in the last section in mind. For instance, when they plan, expert teachers find or create high-quality examples, consciously think about ways to attract and maintain attention, personalize content, and involve and challenge students. This is the reason we began this chapter with a discussion of motivation. Planning is the first phase in the overall act of teaching. We then implement our plans and assess our students to determine the extent to which our learning goals have been met. These phases are outlined in Figure 11.2, with the planning phase highlighted. We discuss each of these phases as the chapter unfolds.

Figure 11.2  Planning for Instruction Phases of Effective Teaching

Planning for Instruction • Identify topics • Specify objectives • Prepare learning activities • Prepare assessments

Implementing Instruction • Conduct learning activities that help students reach learning objectives • Employ essential teaching skills

Assessing Student Learning • Informally assess learning during instruction • Formally assess learning after instruction

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Teacher planning essentially involves making a series of decisions about what we’ll do when we work with our students in the classroom. For instance, Shirley made four important decisions when she planned: • Select a topic. She decided it was important for her students to learn about equivalent fractions. • Specify learning objectives related to the topic. Shirley wanted her students to understand and generate equivalent fractions (and ultimately add fractions with unlike denominators). • Prepare and organize learning activities. Learning activities are all the actions we take, such as presenting examples, questioning students, explaining, and responding to students’ questions, that are designed to help students reach our learning objectives. We’ll see how Shirley actually conducted her learning activity later in the chapter. • Create assessments. Creating assessments during planning helps us ensure that they are consistent with learning objectives and learning activities. These planning decisions address the questions we asked in Teaching and You. When we plan, we consider each of these components, just as Shirley did in her planning.

Planning in a Standards-Based Environment As we saw in the case study at the beginning of the chapter, a standard, a statement that describes what students should know or be able to do at the end of a period of study, strongly influenced Shirley’s planning. For instance, the standard specified that students should “recognize and generate equivalent fractions.” This guided her decision about both the topic—equivalent fractions—and her learning goal—for her students to recognize (understand) and create equivalent fractions. Learning standards are now a part of reality for all teachers, and they will be for you when you begin your career. So, the sooner you become comfortable with them, the better off you’ll be. The standard that guided Shirley’s planning was generated by the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), a state-led effort launched in 2009 to establish a single set of clear educational standards for all states in essential content areas (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019a). All states and the District of Columbia have established standards, and 45 states have adopted the Common Core standards. Standards are essentially statements of learning goals or objectives, but because they vary in specificity, we often need to first interpret the meaning of the standard and then construct our own specific learning objectives based on our interpretation. Shirley’s standard was quite clear, “to recognize and generate equivalent fractions,” so it didn’t require a great deal of interpretation. However, consider the following standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2019b)

If you’re a middle school social studies teacher, you will first have to make a decision about what you believe the standard means and then generate your own learning objectives based on the standard. This may seem like a daunting task at this early point in your teacher preparation program, but you will encounter and work with other standards as you go through your program, and you will get better at translating standards into meaningful lessons.

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Planning for Assessment

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second item in What I Believe, “Because assessing students with quizzes and tests uses instructional time, students who are frequently assessed learn less than those assessed less frequently.” Exactly the opposite is true: The process of assessment makes a major contribution to learning, and it is one of the most valuable uses of our instructional time.

Think about the classes you’re now in. In which do you study the hardest, and in which do you learn the most? If you’re typical, it’s the classes in which you’re frequently and thoroughly assessed. Assessment includes all the processes involved in gathering information and making decisions about students’ learning progress. Assessment is an interesting educational phenomenon. Somehow, historically, it has been perceived negatively by some, and it’s even viewed as even punitive in a few cases. And students sometimes protest that they would study just as hard if they weren’t assessed, an assertion that isn’t supported by research (Chappuis & Stiggins, 2016). In fact, the exact opposite is true (Brookhart & Nitko, 2019); expert teachers assess frequently and their students, because of this, learn more. Expert teachers, such as Shirley, assess frequently during instruction, using questioning, in-class exercises, homework, and quizzes and tests to provide students and themselves with ongoing information about learning progress. Now, think about some of your own experiences with assessment. You study a content area, and then you’re given a quiz or test intended to determine how much you understand about the topics. If your experience is typical, some of the information emphasized in class is only superficially covered on the quiz, and several questions on the quiz relate to information only mentioned in passing during instruction. This disconnect results from teachers carefully planning their lessons but not thinking about assessments—the quiz or test—until sometime later. To eliminate this disconnect, expert teachers think about assessment during the planning process. Sample assessment items that Shirley prepared as she planned are illustrated in Figure 11.3.

Figure 11.3  Sample Assessment Items from Shirley’s Planning Part I Look at the drawings of pairs of fractions below. Circle the pairs that are equivalent, and explain why they are equivalent in each case. A.

B.

C.

Part II Add the following fractions. 1 +2 = 5 5

2 +4 = 7 7

1 +1 = 3 2

3 +1 = 4 8

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Instructional Alignment and Accountability In the previous section, we noted that a disconnect often exists between what was emphasized in class and what appears on a quiz or test. When this occurs, instruction is out of alignment. Instructional alignment refers to the match between standards, our learning objectives, learning activities, and assessments, and it is essential for effective classroom learning. Without alignment, it is difficult to know what is being learned. Students may be learning valuable information, but we can’t know that unless we align our assessments with what they learn (Brookhart & Nitko, 2019). Instructional alignment is also important because if instruction isn’t aligned with assessments, and poor test results come back, we can’t tell if students were actually taught what they needed to know, but didn’t learn it, or they weren’t taught what they needed to know, so they didn’t learn it. Maintaining alignment isn’t as easy as it appears. For instance, if our goal is for students to be able to write effectively, yet our learning activities focus on isolated grammar skills, our instruction is not aligned. It is similarly out of alignment if the goal is for students to apply math concepts to the real world, but learning activities have students solely practicing computation problems. Thinking about assessment during planning, as Shirley did, helps ensure that instruction is aligned. For example, her objectives were for students to understand the concept equivalent fractions and to add fractions with unlike denominators; her instruction focused on these goals, and the quiz items in Figure 11.3 directly addressed these objectives.

Alignment: Implications for Teaching Alignment is not only essential for effective instruction, it is also important when you wrestle with accountability in your own classroom. As teachers are increasingly held accountable for their students’ performance on standardized tests, the ability to align our instruction with standards and ultimately the standardized tests that our students take is a skill that all teachers need to understand. The process starts at the beginning of the school year when we analyze the standards our students are expected to meet, and continues throughout the year as we match learning activities to these standards. Your ability to perform these functions can affect not only future pay raises but also whether you’ll be retained and granted tenure. Understanding alignment is becoming an essential teaching skill for all new teachers.

MyLab Education Self-Check 11.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 11.3  Explain how expert teachers implement instruction and assess student learning. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 8, Instructional Strategies

Putting Plans into Action: Implementing Instruction and Assessing Learning You’ve made a series of decisions about what you want your students to learn (your learning goals), how you’ll help them learn it (your learning activities), and how you will determine whether they’ve reached your objectives (your assessments). Now it’s time to put your plans into action. Implementing instruction is the process of putting the decisions made during planning into action. Planning is a series of sequential decisions, combined with gathering necessary materials, whereas

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third item in What I Believe, “Planning for instruction primarily involves identifying the topics that are important for my students to learn.” This statement isn’t true. Planning does indeed involve identifying topics, but it is much broader and also includes decisions about learning objectives, learning activities, and assessments.

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Figure 11.4  Implementing Instruction Phases of Effective Teaching

Implementing Instruction

Planning for Instruction • Identify topics • Specify objectives • Prepare learning activities • Prepare assessments

• Conduct learning activities that help students reach learning objectives • Employ essential teaching skills

Assessing Student Learning • Informally assess learning during instruction • Formally assess learning after instruction

implementation focuses on action. A great deal of thinking is involved during implementation as well, but if we plan carefully, the amount we’ll have to think about will be significantly reduced when we actually conduct our learning activities. Implementing instruction is the second phase of effective teaching (see Figure 11.4). Let’s look now at how Shirley implemented her plans.

She made the transition from language arts to math and has completed a review of adding fractions with like denominators (we illustrate this review in more detail later in this discussion). She then pulls out her cardboard “cakes” and asks, “What do you notice that’s different about them . . . Regina?”

After peering intently at the drawings for a few seconds, Regina responds, “That one is divided into two parts” (pointing at the drawing on the left), “and there’s three parts in that one” (pointing to the drawing on the right). “Good,” Shirley smiles. “So, now let’s suppose our class eats half of this cake (the one on the left) and a third of this one (the one on the right). How much cake will we have eaten altogether?” Seeing the quizzical and uncertain looks on the students’ faces, she says, “That’s what we’re going to figure out today.” She then displays the following sketch:

“Now, suppose this is our cake divided into thirds. . . . Tell us again what fraction of the cake we’ve eaten . . . Owen?” “One third.”

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 379 “Good. . . . Now watch what I do here,” and Shirley then draws a line in the sketch, so it appears as follows:

“Now, how many parts do we have altogether . . . Camilia?” “Six,” Camilia answers. “And how many are shaded . . . Dylan?” “Two.” “So, what is the fraction that’s shaded . . . Zoe?” “Two . . . sixths,” Zoe responds hesitantly. “Very good, Zoe. Indeed, the fraction is two sixths.” “Now, look at the two drawings again. What do we know about the one third and the two sixths in the drawings . . . Think about it, and I’ll let someone volunteer an answer.” After pausing several seconds, Mariana volunteers, “They’re the same.” “Excellent!” Shirley responds enthusiastically. Yes, they are equal. We call fractions like this equivalent fractions,” and she then writes equivalent fractions on the board. Shirley then repeats the process with sketches to illustrate how one half is equivalent to three sixths, and she then says, “Now, we can answer the question we first asked, ‘how much cake have we eaten altogether?’ . . . What is the answer?” After giving the students several seconds to think about their answer, Adam says excitedly, “I know! . . . We’ve eaten five-sixths of one cake.” “Hmmm? Can you explain that for us,” Shirley requests. “It’s like the pizza. We ate two-sixths of the first cake and three-sixths of the second one, so it’s five-sixths of one cake.” “What do the rest of you think? Does Adam’s thinking make sense?” The students nod in agreement, and Shirley then models a process for finding equivalent fractions by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the same number, as we see here: (2)1 2 = (2)3 6

(3)1 3 = (3)2 6

2 3 5 + = 6 6 6

She guides the students through several additional problems and then moves the lesson to closure. (We illustrate the way Shirley summarizes the lesson and moves it to closure later in our discussion.)

We’ll refer to Shirley’s lesson again as this section unfolds, but now let’s turn now to a more detailed discussion of the personal qualities and skills that effective teachers demonstrate as they implement their plans.

Implementing Instruction: The Personal Qualities of Effective Teachers Regardless of the topics they teach or the grade level of their students, all effective teachers possess important personal qualities, which they demonstrate when they implement instruction, i.e., when they conduct their learning activities. They include what researchers call prerequisites of effective teaching (Lavy, 2016; Meng, Muñoz, King, & Liu, 2016): • Verbal ability. Effective teachers are articulate and use language succinctly and accurately. Shirley’s language was clear, and she avoided the use of any vague terms, such as maybe, perhaps, and sort of.

380  Chapter 11 • Content knowledge. They understand the content they’re teaching, such as math, science, history, or literature. Shirley obviously understood equivalent fractions and how to add fractions with unlike denominators. • Professional knowledge. In Chapter 1 we emphasized the professional knowledge that all effective teachers possess, such as the ability to represent topics in ways that are understandable to learners—pedagogical content knowledge—and an understanding of how students learn. Shirley’s drawings provided concrete and understandable examples of equivalent fractions, and she realized that her students needed examples such as these to understand equivalent fractions. Professional knowledge is essential for effective teaching, and developing professional knowledge is one reason you’re taking this course, and it’s also the reason that “becoming a professional” is the subtitle of this book.

Implementing Instruction: Essential Teaching Skills As with the personal qualities of effective teachers, when effective teachers teach, regardless of content area or grade level, they utilize essential teaching skills, the abilities that all teachers, including those in their first year of teaching, possess to promote learning in their students. For instance, regardless of the grade level or the content you’re teaching, you’ll need to be well organized, and you’ll need questioning skills, such as those Shirley demonstrated in her lesson, that will help you guide your students’ learning. Organization and questioning are two of the essential teaching skills we describe in this section. They are analogous to what is commonly referred to as basic skills, the skills in reading, writing, math, and technology that all people need to function effectively in today’s world. Essential teaching skills are derived from a long line of classroom research that documents their role in promoting learning (Lavigne & Good, 2018; Lemov, 2015). These are outlined in Table 11.1, and we illustrate them with Shirley’s work in the sections that follow.

Teacher Beliefs and Interactions with Students Admittedly, teacher beliefs and interactions with students are not “skills,” but they are indeed essential for success. Effective teaching begins with who we are—our beliefs about

Table 11.1  Essential Teaching Skills Essential Teaching Skill

Description

Purpose in Promoting Learning

Teacher beliefs and behaviors

Teachers’ beliefs and actions that influence the learning environment

Create a classroom environment that promotes student motivation and learning

Organization

Teacher actions that include: 1) starting lessons on time, (2) having materials prepared in advance and ready for use, (3) making smooth transitions from one activity to another, and (4) having wellestablished routines

Maximize the amount of time available for instruction

Focus

Concrete objects, pictures, models, and other examples teachers use to begin lessons and illustrate their topics

Attract and maintain learners’ attention, and provide them with the experiences they use to learn during the lesson

Review

Discussion and clarification of previously taught content

Help students recall prior knowledge to which new content can be connected

Questioning

The process of (1) using many questions during instruction, (2) calling on students as equally as possible, (3) giving them time to think about their responses, and (4) providing cues and prompts when they’re unable to answer

Promote the active involvement of students and encourage them to think about the topic being taught

Feedback

Communicating with students about their learning progress

Provide students with the information they need to confirm or increase their understanding

Closure and Application

Summary at the end of a lesson and practice with the content

Help students confirm their understanding and use their knowledge in new contexts

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how our students learn and how we should interact with them as we teach. Teacher beliefs set the stage for everything else that occurs in classrooms (Lavy, 2016; Meng, Muñoz, King, & Liu, 2016). These essential teacher beliefs and interactions include: • caring • personal teaching efficacy • high expectations • enthusiasm and modeling Let’s look at them. Caring.  Caring refers to a teacher’s investment in the protection and development of young people, and a caring teacher is at the heart of all good teaching. How do we demonstrate that we care about our students and that we’re committed to their learning and well-being? Saying that we care, or pretending that we do, won’t work. Our efforts need to be sincere and our actions consistent with our beliefs. Different ways to show students we care about them include:

• Learn their names quickly and call on them by their first names. • Use “we” and “our” instead of “you” and “your” in reference to class activities and assignments. • Use effective nonverbal communications, such as eye contact and smiling, when communicating with students. • Spend extra time with students, such as before or after school. • Hold students to high standards. We want to particularly emphasize the last two items. We all have exactly 24 hours in our days, and the way we choose to allocate our time is the truest measure of our priorities. Giving students our personal time to help them when they struggle, or simply talking to them about issues important to them, are the best indicators of caring that exist. The idea that holding students to high standards is an indicator of caring may seem surprising. But students realize that we care about them when we refuse to accept sloppy work, encourage them never to give up, and only praise genuine effort (Garza, Alejandro, Blythe, & Fite, 2014). Ironically, teacher actions that are often intended to protect students’ self-esteem, such as accepting or praising low-quality work, often convey just the opposite: a lack of interest or caring. Research with students corroborates these positions. When students were asked, “How do you know when a teacher cares about you?” they responded that paying attention to them as human beings was important but more striking was their belief that teachers who care are committed to their learning and hold them to high standards (Wilson & Corbett, 2001). Personal Teaching Efficacy.  Effective teachers believe in themselves. Personal teaching efficacy describes teachers’ beliefs in their abilities to help all students learn, regardless of students’ home lives, the conditions of the school, or the support of the school administration (Holzberger, Philipp, & Kunter, 2013; Tanel, 2013). To illustrate this idea, let’s return to Shirley’s planning and her interactions with her husband, Al. “My students didn’t understand fractions as well as I would have liked last year, and I promised myself they were going to do better this year,” Shirley comments as she plans for her lesson on equivalent fractions. “But you said your students aren’t as sharp this year,” Al responds. “That doesn’t matter. I need to push them harder. I think I can do a better job than I did last year. They’re going to be so good at fractions that they’ll be able to do the problems in their sleep.” “You never give up, do you?” Al smiles admiringly at her dedication, then shakes his head as he leaves the room.

382  Chapter 11 Shirley’s comments, “I think I can do a better job than I did last year” and “They’re going to be so good at fractions . . . ,” reflect her belief in her ability to help all her students learn. When students aren’t learning, high-efficacy teachers don’t blame it on lack of intelligence, poor home environments, uncooperative administrators, or some other external cause. Instead, they redouble their efforts, persevere with low achievers, emphasize praise rather than criticism, and maximize the time available for instruction. Low-efficacy teachers, in contrast, spend less time on learning activities, “give up” on low achievers, and are more critical when students fail. Not surprisingly, students taught by high-efficacy teachers learn more than those taught by low-efficacy teachers. Research supports these contentions. Teachers with higher self-efficacy beliefs demonstrate higher instructional effectiveness, as indicated by more involved students, better classroom management, and greater individual learning support for struggling students (Holzberger et al., 2013). In classrooms where teachers have high levels of teaching efficacy, high levels of learning occur. High Expectations.  A time-honored maxim states, “People tend to rise to the expectations of others,” and it particularly applies to classrooms. The more we expect of our students, the more we get out of them. It’s true that some students have more ability than others, but most are capable of learning much more than they often do. In fact, teacher expectations can have a profound impact on students’ achievement, and this influence can remain in effect years later (Sawchuk, 2018). “High school students whose 1st-grade teachers underestimated their abilities performed significantly worse on standardized tests. . . . Conversely, when early abilities were overestimated, high school students performed better than expected” (Sorhagen, 2013, p. 472). Think about this; teachers’ expectations are so important that expectations in 1st grade continue to have an effect on students’ achievement as much as 10 years later! Powerful and amazing. Shirley’s comment, “I need to push them harder,” captures the spirit of high expectations. When we have high expectations for our students, their effort and learning increase, and the opposite is true if our expectations are low. Unfortunately, teachers treat students for whom they have high expectations differently than those for whom they have low expectations. These differences exist in four areas (Good & Lavigne, 2018):

• Questioning: Teachers call on perceived high achievers more often, they allow these students more time to answer, and they prompt perceived high achievers more often when they don’t respond. • Teacher effort: Teachers give perceived high achievers more thorough explanations, their instruction is more enthusiastic, and they require more complete and accurate student answers. • Feedback: Teachers praise perceived high achievers more and criticize them less. They also offer perceived high achievers more complete and lengthier feedback. • Emotional support: Teachers interact more with perceived high achievers, make more eye contact, stand closer, and orient their bodies more directly toward these students. Teachers are typically not aware of the fact that they treat perceived high achievers better than lower achievers (Sawchuk, 2018), and this is the reason we’re discussing this topic. If you understand that you might—without realizing it—unconsciously treat your higherand lower-achieving students differently, you can make a conscious effort to treat all your students as equitably as possible and hold appropriately high expectations for each one. Modeling and Enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm is contagious. If we see someone behave enthusiastically, we tend to become more enthusiastic ourselves, and the same applies in teaching. If your instructors demonstrate an interest in the topics they’re teaching, you’re more likely to become more interested in them as well. This occurs through modeling, the tendency of people to imitate others’ behaviors (Schunk, 2016). While

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 383

difficult to capture in a written case study, Shirley’s responses, such as “Good” and “Excellent,” provide some insight into her enthusiasm. Our modeling can have a powerful influence on our students’ motivation and subsequently, their learning. For example, how would you feel if one of your instructors said, “I know this stuff is boring, but we have to learn it anyway,” compared to “Now this idea is interesting and important; it will help us understand how our students think and learn.” Obviously, you’re more likely to be interested in the second topic. As another example of the importance of modeling, consider how we teach students to respect each other. If we want our students to be courteous and respectful to us and each other, we need to treat them with the same courtesy and respect. If we want them to be responsible and conscientious, we need to model these same characteristics by returning their papers promptly, having our instructional materials organized and ready to use, and using our instructional time effectively. Effective teaching begins with you, the teacher, and caring, personal teaching efficacy, positive expectations, and teacher modeling and enthusiasm set the stage for classroom learning.

Organization Organization is important in our personal lives, and it’s no less so for effective teaching. Teaching a class of 20 to 30 students is complex and challenging, and organization helps us reduce that complexity. To see how organization can affect your teaching, let’s join Shirley’s class again, just before she began her lesson on equivalent fractions that we saw at the beginning of this section. She schedules math each day from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Shirley walks up and down the aisles, placing sheets of paper on each student’s desk as students finish a writing assignment in language arts. At 9:58, she says, “Quickly turn in your writing assignment, and get out your math books.” Her students stop writing and pass their papers forward, putting their papers on the top of the stack. Shirley puts the papers in a folder and at 10:01 pulls out her cardboard pizzas and says, “Let’s see what we remember about adding fractions. Look at these pizzas.”

Shirley scheduled math from 10:00 to 11:00 and announced that it was time for math at 9:58. By 10:01, her students had turned in their papers and were ready, so she made the transition from language arts to math in 3 minutes. In addition, she had her cardboard pizzas already prepared and at her fingertips and placed the sheets of paper on students’ desks as they turned in their language arts papers. Also, she had taught her students routines that they followed essentially without thinking about them, which saved both time and energy. For instance, they placed their papers on the top of the stacks as they were passed forward, without being reminded to do so. These examples illustrate organization, the set of teacher actions that maximizes the amount of time available for instruction. Teacher organization is important for two reasons. First, organized teachers have more time available for teaching. Second, being well-organized helps our classes run smoothly, which decreases the likelihood of management problems. Components of organization are outlined in Table 11.2. Teachers who aren’t as organized spend more time in transitions from one activity to another, so they don’t start lessons on time, they waste class time accessing materials, and lose valuable instructional time because their routines aren’t well established. The result is fewer minutes available for teaching, resulting in decreased student learning.

Focus You care about your students and have high expectations for them. You believe you can get them to learn regardless of their circumstances, you’re enthusiastic about what you’re teaching, and you’re well organized.

Teaching and You Have you ever misplaced your keys or wallet and spent a frustrating amount of time looking for them? Have you ever said, “I’ve got to get organized”?

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Table 11.2  Components of Organization Organizational Component

Example

Starting on time

Shirley’s students had their math books out and were waiting at 10:01.

Making smooth transitions

Shirley made the transition from language arts to math in 3 minutes.

Preparing materials in advance

Shirley had her cardboard pizzas and cakes prepared and easily accessible.

Establishing routines

At Shirley’s signal, the students placed their papers on the top of the stack and passed the stack forward without being told to do so.

Now, we turn to the actual lesson. What should occur first? In our discussion of motivation earlier in the chapter, we saw that the ability to attract and maintain students’ attention is important for increasing motivation and interest, and it’s equally important for learning; students obviously aren’t going to learn if they aren’t paying attention. Teachers accomplish this through focus, the use of problems, controversial questions, eye-catching demonstrations, concrete objects, pictures, models, materials displayed on the document camera, and even information written on the board that help attract and maintain attention during learning activities. Some experts use the term hook to describe this attention-attracting function (Lemov, 2015). We use focus to “hook” our students’ attention at the beginning of a lesson. High-quality examples, such as those Shirley used in her lesson, are excellent forms of focus, and building lessons around examples provides students with the raw materials they need to develop their understanding. So, in addition to helping maintain attention, examples that illustrate abstract ideas also provide the first-hand experiences that students can use to develop their understanding of the topic.

Review Learning is cumulative, building upon what students already know, so we need to help students connect the topic we’re teaching to their prior understanding (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). Reviews during lessons help students understand how new content relates to ideas they have already learned. To illustrate how review does this, let’s rejoin Shirley’s lesson. “Let’s see what we remember about adding fractions,” she says, displaying the pizzas as shown here.

She then removes three pieces from the first and two pieces from the second, so they appear as shown here.

She continues, “What fraction of one whole pizza did we eat?” After giving her students a few seconds to think about their answers, she asks, “How many pieces of the first pizza did we eat? . . . Jacob?”

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 385 “Three.” “And how about this pizza? How many pieces did we eat? . . . Emma?” “Two.” She then writes 3/8 + 2/8 on the board and, pointing to these numbers, asks, “Why did I write three-eighths here and two-eighths there? . . . Aiden?” “You have eight pieces in each pizza, and you ate three of them in that one,” Aiden responds, pointing to the one on the left. “Good,” Shirley smiles. “And what about the second one? How many pieces of that pizza did we eat? . . . Sophia?” “Two.” “So what fraction of a total pizza did we eat altogether? . . . Mason?” “Five-eighths of a pizza?” Mason responds after thinking for a few seconds. “Good, Mason. . . . And why is it five-eighths . . . Claire?” “ . . . ” “How many pieces altogether in each pizza?” “Eight,” Claire answers. “Good, and how many did we eat, altogether?” “Five.” “Yes,” she smiles at Claire, “so we ate five-eighths of one pizza.” Shirley then writes these problems on the board: 3/7 + 4/7 = ?, 2/5 + 1/5 = ?, and 4/8 + 2/8 = ?, and reviews them as she did with her pizzas. “Now remember,” she emphasizes, “in each of these problems, the two fractions have the same denominator. . . . Be sure to keep that in mind as we continue our study of fractions.”

Reviews help students recall the prior knowledge they need to help them understand the content of the current lesson. Shirley reviewed adding fractions with like denominators to prepare them for understanding equivalent fractions and adding fractions with unlike denominators. Presenting concrete examples, such as her “pizzas,” during the review increased its effectiveness by providing motivation and additional links to what her students already knew.

Questioning Think again about Shirley’s review and her lesson on equivalent fractions and adding fractions with unlike denominators. The fact that she conducted both primarily with questioning is testimony to Shirley’s expertise. In our discussion of motivation, we found that students learn more if they are involved, and questioning is one of the most effective ways to involve all students in our lessons (Lemov, 2015). And questioning also provides teachers with unique opportunities to facilitate higher cognitive thinking in their students (McCarthy, Sithole, McCarthy, Cho, & Gyan, 2016). Expert teachers have highly developed questioning skills, and some researchers believe that teacher questioning is a major indicator of the quality of our teaching (Good & Lavigne, 2018; Lemov, 2015). Expert teachers excel in four aspects of questioning. These are outlined in Figure 11.5 and discussed in the sections that follow. Frequency.  Questioning frequency refers to the number of questions teachers ask during lessons, and expert teachers ask many more questions than do teachers who are less skilled. Again, Shirley’s review and lesson illustrate this ability. She conducted both almost entirely with questioning. In contrast, teachers with less expertise tend to fall back on lecturing and teacher talk, students quickly drift off, and the amount they learn decreases. Equitable Distribution.  We know that teacher questioning is effective, but how do we know who to call on? To answer this question, let’s look at Shirley’s review again. It took only a few minutes, and in that short time she called on Jacob, Emma, Aiden,

386  Chapter 11

Figure 11.5  Components of Effective Questioning Effective Questioning

MyLab Education Video Example 11.3 Equitable distribution is an important questioning skill. Here, middle school science teacher Scott Sowell calls on a variety of students in a lesson involving the concept force. Notice that Scott first asks the question and then identifies the student he expects to answer. This process communicates that teachers believe students are capable learners and expect all students to participate in learning activities.

Questioning Frequency

Equitable Distribution

Prompting

Wait-Time

Asking large numbers of questions that focus on the learing objective(s)

Calling on all students in the class as equaly as possible

Asking additional questions or providing cues if students don’t initially answer correctly

Giving students time to think about their answers before and after calling on them

Sophia, Mason, and Claire—six different students, all by name, and she did the same in her lesson. Her actions illustrate equitable distribution, the practice of calling on all students—both volunteers (students who have their hands raised) and non-volunteers (those who don’t)—as equally as possible (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020; Kerman, 1979). Some experts use the term cold call when describing equitable distribution to emphasize that we should call on all students, including those who don’t have their hands up (Lemov, 2015). Equitable distribution sends an important message to our students. By calling on them as equally as possible, we’re communicating: I don’t care whether you’re a boy or girl, member of a cultural minority or a nonminority, high achiever or low achiever. I want you in my classroom, and I want you involved. I believe you’re capable of learning, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that you’re successful. Earlier, we saw how important high expectations are for student learning, and nothing communicates high expectations better than equitable distribution, in which you call on all students to involve them in your lesson. In classrooms where it’s practiced, student achievement rises, and classroom management problems decrease (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). When students know that they’ll be called on, they are more alert and involved in the lesson and learning follows. As one teacher explained, “I like it for the engagement. . . . You know everyone is paying attention” (Sawchuk, 2015d, p. 8). Prompting.  At this point you might be thinking to yourself, “All this sounds fine, but what do I do if I call on a student who doesn’t have his or her hand up, and the student can’t respond?" Prompting, providing additional questions and cues when students fail to answer correctly, is the answer. To see how prompting works, let’s look again at some dialogue from Shirley’s review.

Shirley: So what fraction of a total pizza did we eat altogether? . . . Mason? Mason: Five-eighths of a pizza. Shirley: Good, Mason . . . And why is it five-eighths? . . . Claire? Claire:

 . . . [no response]

Shirley: How many pieces altogether in each pizza? Claire: Eight. Shirley: Good . . . and how many did we eat altogether? Claire: Five.

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 387

When Claire didn’t respond to her first question, Shirley asked, “How many pieces altogether in each pizza?” This was a prompt, and it helped Claire respond successfully. The value of prompting is well documented (Good & Lavigne, 2018). As with equitable distribution, it communicates positive expectations—that you believe students are capable, and you want and expect each to participate in the lesson and answer successfully. Less effective teachers tend to turn an unanswered question to another student instead of prompting. For example, Shirley could have asked, “Can someone help Claire out?” when Claire didn’t answer, but this would have communicated that she didn’t believe Claire was capable of answering and didn’t expect her to do so—not a message we want to send our students. Wait-Time.  In every class and lesson, we want our students to think, to connect ideas, and asking them questions is one of the best ways to promote this thinking. But if we want our students to answer questions that require more than simple recall of facts, we need to give them time to think. To illustrate this idea, let’s consider again the dialogue between Shirley and her students. In each case, after asking a question, she paused briefly and gave the whole class a few seconds to think before she called on someone. Then, after calling on a student, she briefly paused again to give the student additional “think” time. This period of silence after a question is asked and after a student is called on is called wait-time. Giving students a few seconds to think about their answers makes sense, but in most classrooms, wait-times are very short, often 1 second or less (Good & Lavigne, 2018). Significantly, increased learning is linked to longer wait-times, such as 3 to 5 seconds. Longer wait times consistently result in longer student responses, an increase in the number of students volunteering to respond, and an increase in the number of follow-up questions posed by students. In addition, the number of times students respond “I don’t know” decreases, and learning increases.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “The best way I can teach effectively is to clearly explain the content I’m teaching to my students.” Quite the opposite is true: We are most effective when we involve our students in lessons with our questioning.

Questioning: Implications for Teaching In this section, we emphasized using questioning to involve our students in our learning activities. This doesn’t suggest that you should never explain an idea to your students because clear explanations are also a part of good teaching. What we are suggesting, however, is that you will be more effective if—instead of relying on explaining as your primary teaching method—you guide your students’ evolving understanding with questioning. It will take time and practice, but the more skilled at questioning you become, the more successful and rewarding your teaching will be.

Feedback We’ve all had experiences similar to those in Teaching and You. We’ve been uncertain about our learning progress because of the absence of feedback, information about current understanding that can be used to promote new learning. Feedback is one of the most powerful factors influencing all forms of learning, and some experts suggest we should never give a quiz or test without providing our students with feedback (Hattie & Gan, 2011. Never is an absolute term, but in this case, it’s appropriate; if we give students a quiz or test, we need to score them and give students feedback as quickly as possible. We can provide feedback in a number of ways. We can grade homework and assignments individually and then discuss items that gave students trouble as a group activity. We can also discuss frequently missed items on quizzes and tests, and then allocate more instructional time for the items that caused the most problems. We can use extra time to help struggling individual students while the majority of our students are working on an assignment. The corrective information feedback provides is its most important characteristic; feedback allows students to know if they are on the right track and, if not, what they need to do to correct the problem. To illustrate this idea, consider the following lessons on participles in which the teacher displays the following sentences on the document camera. Which teacher provides the most effective feedback?

Teaching and You Have you ever been in a class where you handed in assignments and had to wait weeks before they were graded and returned? Or when you had to wait until the midterm exam to find out how you were doing? How did you feel in each case?

388  Chapter 11 Our team’s running game was in high gear last night. Running is one of the best forms of exercise that exists. Mr. Dole: What does the word running illustrate in the first sentence displayed on the document camera, . . . Jo? Jo:

A verb.

Mr. Dole:

Not quite. Help her out, . . . Steve?

Ms. West: What does the word running illustrate in the first sentence displayed on the document camera, . . . Jason? Jason:

A verb.

Ms. West:

No, it’s a participle. How is running used in the second sentence, . . . Albert?

Ms. Baker: What does the word running illustrate in the first sentence displayed on the document camera, . . . Donna? Donna:

A verb.

Ms. Baker: Not quite. . . . How is the word running used in the sentence? Donna:

It tells us about the game.

Ms. Baker: Good. So, it behaves as an adjective. Verb forms that behave as adjectives are called participles. Now, let’s look at the second sentence.

Each teacher gave immediate feedback, but neither Mr. Dole nor Ms. West gave the students any corrective information. Ms. Baker, in contrast, provided Donna with specific information that helped her understand the concept, which is an essential element of effective feedback (Good & Lavigne, 2018).

Closure and Application Just as lessons need clear beginnings, they also need clear endings. Closure summarizes the lesson and pulls the ideas in the lesson together. Let’s see how Shirley brings her lesson to closure and helps her students apply their understanding to additional problems. Notice how she continues to use questioning to involve students and gauge their developing understanding. MyLab Education Video Example 11.4 Closure is a summary at the end of lessons that helps learners pull different aspects of a topic together. Notice here how 5th grade teacher Myrlene Schenck helps her students arrive at closure in a lesson emphasizing vocabulary development.

Shirley has demonstrated equivalent fractions with her sketches, modeled the process for finding equivalent fractions, and has guided her students through several problems. She then asks, “Now, what have we been doing here? . . . Liam?” “ . . . We’re finding equivalent fractions.” “And why do we want to find them . . . Jared?” “ . . . So we can add fractions when the denominators aren’t the same.” Shirley praises the class for their good work, gives them a sheet of practice problems, and says, “Okay, everyone, do the first one on your sheet together as a class. What do you get when you add two-thirds and one-fourth?” As her students work the problem, Shirley walks up and down the rows to check their progress, ask questions, and offer brief suggestions. After they finish the problem, Shirley discusses it and repeats the process with a second and third problem. She then has them work independently on additional problems for the remainder of their time in math. As the majority of the students work independently, she calls Heather, Harper, Mandi, and Mason to a table at the back of the room, where she provides them with extra assistance. Finally, seeing it is 10:59, Shirley says, “It’s nearly time for our break. As soon as you’ve cleaned up around your desks, we’ll go.”

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In this segment of the lesson, Shirley summarized the lesson and brought it to closure, a form of review at the end of lessons designed to help students organize what they’ve learned into coherent and meaningful ideas. Closure pulls the different ideas in a lesson together and signals the end of a lesson. Shirley achieved closure by having her students explicitly state the main point of the lesson. Let’s see how she did that. Shirley: Now, what have we been doing here? . . . Liam? Liam:

We’re finding equivalent fractions.

Shirley: And why do we want to find them? . . . Jared? Jared:

So we can add fractions when the denominators are not the same.

Then she had her students apply their understanding of equivalent fractions by giving them a worksheet with a series of additional problems to solve. This was the application part of her lesson, and it was designed to further reinforce their understanding and help them apply it to new problems. As they worked on the problems, she carefully monitored their progress for signs of confusion or off-task behavior. Less-effective teachers tend to give students seatwork assignments and then sit at their desks and work. Without question, teaching is demanding, and teachers are very busy, but students need to be carefully monitored during seatwork to prevent confusion, frustration, or off-task behavior. The essential teaching skills described in this section are important in all classrooms. You will, however, adapt them to meet the specific learning needs of your students. In the next section, we examine effective adaptations for students in urban classrooms.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 11.2: Implementing Instruction In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher applies essential teaching skills in her work with her students.

Diversity: Effective Instruction in Urban Classrooms Urban classrooms are unique in several ways. First, urban students tend to come from diverse backgrounds, which present challenges when we try to accommodate differences in their background knowledge. Since many come from different backgrounds, it is sometimes difficult to know how to link new content to what they already know, an important element of learning. Second, many urban students are second-language learners and struggle to learn both English and the content being taught. Third, urban learners sometimes struggle in school, so efforts to ensure their success is particularly important. Finally, inadequate funding often results in fewer resources, which can exacerbate problems. These differences have implications for your teaching if you take a job in an urban school.

The Need for Examples High-quality examples are important for all learners, but they are essential when teaching in urban classrooms. Examples help accommodate differences in urban students’ backgrounds by providing them with common experiences that they can use to develop

390  Chapter 11 their understanding. For example, a science teacher explaining the concept of density might use the following examples: • A clear plastic glass filled with cotton that can be compressed to show how density—“compactness”—changes when mass doesn’t, as we see here.

• Several different-sized groups of students standing in the same area of the classroom, as shown in the figure.

As another example, a 2nd-grade teacher uses the interlocking cubes we see in the margin to illustrate that the two digits of a two-digit number represent tens and ones. The students can see the two groups of 10 together with a single cube and link it to the numeral 21 in the first case, and one group of 10 and two single cubes, linking it to the numeral 12 in the second case. These concrete examples help them understand the difference between the 2 in 21 and the 2 in 12, for example. Concrete experiences such as these are important for all students, but they’re essential for students in urban classrooms who may lack the prior experiences that help make the information meaningful for them. As another example, a middle school social studies teacher who wants her students to understand longitude and latitude draws lines on a beach ball as we see here. Using this example, the students can see that the lines of latitude are parallel to each other and get shorter north and south of the equator, and they can also see that the lines of longitude are the same length and meet at the poles. Examples such as these are particularly helpful for English learners (ELs), students who are not native English speakers and may struggle with both content and language (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2017; Peregoy & Boyle, 2017). They provide something concrete that students can refer to as they’re learning new vocabulary. Personalizing your examples can also be effective. For instance, if you’re a geography teacher working on longitude and latitude, you might begin a lesson by asking your students to describe the precise location of their school or a popular hangout. Or if you’re a language arts teacher working on grammar skills, you could present a paragraph about your class, or a sporting event at the school. With some thought, you can do the same with most of the topics you teach.

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 391

Urban students, like students in general, sometimes wonder how abstract ideas relate to their lives; by making explicit links between new content and their day-to-day experiences, you can increase both their motivation and their learning.

The Need for Interactive Instruction When working in challenging environments, teachers tend to revert to instructional strategies that afford them the most control. This often results in inordinate amounts of passive learning activities, such as lecture and seat work. One urban high school student complained, “In my chemistry class, the teacher just keeps going and going and writing on the board. . . . She’s in her own little world. She never turns around, she just talks to the board, not to us” (Cushman, 2003, p. 8). Exactly the opposite is needed. In a study of urban elementary classrooms conducted 25 years ago, more effective teachers interacted with their students nearly 50% more than those who were less effective (Waxman, Huang, Anderson, & Weinstein, 1997), and this research has been consistently corroborated since that time (Good & Lavigne, 2018). As with high-quality, concrete examples, interaction with students is important in all environments, but essential when working with urban students. Equitable distribution can also be particularly effective when working with urban students. Making equitable distribution the prevailing pattern in your classroom communicates your belief that all your students can learn and that you expect them to do so.

The Need for Feedback and Application To work effectively with students in urban classrooms, we also need to provide our students with opportunities to test their developing ideas and receive feedback. The knowledge urban students develop is likely to vary considerably because of the diversity of their background experiences. Again, detailed discussions of their assignments, homework, and quiz and test results are important for all students, but they’re essential for students in urban classrooms.

Adaptations for English Language Learners English language learners present unique challenges to urban teachers. They not only struggle to understand the English being spoken in their classrooms, they often lack the background knowledge that other students possess. Experts recommend the following instructional strategies to help English language learners succeed in our classrooms (Echevarria et al., 2017; Peregoy & Boyle, 2017): • Use familiar instructional routines and explain new ones when you introduce them. • Use open-ended questions to encourage participation by all students. • Model skills that you want them to learn, and be sure students understand these before giving them as homework. • After giving directions for an assignment, ask questions to make sure all understand. • Plan for small group activities to provide opportunities for students to practice their developing language skills. Individually, each of these can help English language learners succeed in your classroom; collectively, they can make your classroom an inviting place for all students.

392  Chapter 11

Diversity and You Considering Teaching in an Urban School You’re in a conversation with one of your classmates, and you

“I don’t believe it,” your classmate retorts. “I’ve heard horror

comment, “I think we all need to think about working in urban

stories about trying to teach in those schools. I’m going to hang

schools. . . . Money is tight, education is being cut back, so jobs

in until I can find a job in a suburban school.”

are going to be scarce, and this is where we, as first-year teachers, will have the best chance of getting a job. It also is where

Consider These Questions

we can do the most good.

1. Your classmate seemed adamant about not working in an

“No way,” your classmate responds. “I’m not going to work in

urban school and commented, “I’ve heard horror stories

an inner city school. Those kids are simply too hard to teach. I have

about trying to teach in those schools.” How valid are the

a friend who teaches in one of these schools, and he says teach-

“horror stories” likely to be?

ing there is almost impossible. The kids there aren’t motivated and

2. How do teachers need to adapt their teaching to reach stu-

don’t respond to teaching like other kids. When he lectures, they

dents in urban classrooms? Why is there an achievement

just sit there passively and don’t say a word. He tries to explain how

gap between students in urban schools compared to those

the content is important, but only receives blank stares.”

in suburban schools, and why is so much written about

“But there must be something teachers can do.” you counter. “They can’t be all disinterested. There’s gotta be some way to get them interested and motivated. Some teachers can do this; I’ve seen it when I’ve observed in these kinds of classrooms.”

Teaching and You You’ve planned carefully, and you’ve implemented your plans, employing essential teaching skills in the process. Now, what do you do?

teaching and learning in urban schools? In your conversation, you assert, “There’s gotta be some way to get them interested and motivated.” What are some ways that teachers can use to motivate students?

Assessing Student Learning: Using Assessment as a Learning Tool Think about our question in Teaching and You. The answer is assessment: How will I know if my students have reached my learning objectives? In Shirley’s case, she wants to know if her students do indeed understand equivalent fractions and can add fractions with unlike denominators. To find out she needs to assess her students. Assessment is the third phase of effective teaching, and it’s outlined in Figure 11.6. Assessment exists in two forms. Formative assessment is the process of gathering information and making decisions during the course of learning activities (Chappuis & Stiggins, 2016). To see how formative assessment helps teachers adjust their instruction during lessons, let’s look again at Shirley’s efforts to teach equivalent fractions.

Figure 11.6  Assessing Student Learning Phases of Effective Teaching

Planning for Instruction • Identify topics • Specify objectives • Prepare learning activities • Prepare assessments

Implementing Instruction • Conduct learning activities that help students reach learning objectives • Employ essential teaching skills

Assessing Student Learning • Informally assess learning during instruction • Formally assess learning after instruction

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 393

Shirley: So what fraction of a total pizza did we eat altogether? . . . Mason? Mason: Five-eighths of a pizza. Shirley: Good, Mason . . . And why is it five-eighths . . . Claire? Claire: “ . . . ” Shirley: How many pieces altogether in each pizza? Claire: Eight. Shirley: Good, . . . and how many did we eat, altogether? Claire: Five.

Shirley’s question to Claire and her decision to prompt Claire was a form of formative assessment. She learned from Claire’s inability to respond to her question, “And why is it five-eighths?” that Claire didn’t fully understand the idea of adding fractions. She then decided to prompt Claire with the question, “How many pieces altogether in each pizza?” These questions allowed Shirley to access students’ developing thinking and adjust her instruction accordingly. Seeing students drifting off and deciding to call on them is another example of formative assessment. It is ongoing and an integral part of teaching, and it is particularly important during learning activities as we saw in the example with Shirley and her work with Claire. Summative assessment is the process of gathering information used to make conclusions about the level of learner achievement. In contrast with formative assessment, which is primarily designed to increase learning, summative assessments are designed to both promote learning and evaluate how much learning has occurred. Summative information is typically reflected in a grade and communicated with others using a mechanism such as a report card (Popham, 2017). Expert teachers prepare summative assessments during the planning process, as we discussed earlier in the chapter. (For example, we see “prepare assessments” under “Planning for Instruction” in Figure 11.6.) The assessment items we saw in Figure 11.3 are examples of the summative assessment items Shirley prepared as she planned her instruction. We tend to think of assessment as giving tests and assigning grades, but it is much more than that: It provides feedback to both teachers and students and is an essential part of the overall teaching-learning process. When implemented effectively, assessment is one of the most powerful learning tools we have (Brookhart & Nitko, 2019).

Data-Driven Instruction Assessment’s central role in directing and improving instruction has led to a movement in education called data-driven instruction. Data-driven instruction is an approach to teaching that relies on information about student performance to help teachers design better lessons (Park & Datnow, 2017). Data-driven instruction includes four components: • Clear learning goals and objectives. When implementing data-driven instruction, goals are important because they provide a target for both students and the teacher. Sometimes these goals are quite specific, like learning to add fraction with unequal denominators or broader, such as raising the percentage of students who score proficient or higher on a standardized assessment. • Baseline data. Baseline data provide teachers with information about students’ present level of understanding. This information provides a starting point for instruction and also identifies areas where students need additional work. Pretests, homework assignments, quizzes, and tests can all provide valuable information

394  Chapter 11 about where each student in the class is at when a unit or lesson begins. Baseline data can also come from other sources, such as a prior year’s state test. • Frequent assessments throughout the school year. Frequent assessments provide ongoing sources of information that are used to guide instruction and mark student progress throughout the school year. • Expert instruction based on assessment evidence. Both formal and informal assessments are an integral part of data-driven instruction; it obviously makes sense to base instructional decisions on information about students’ current understanding. Expert teachers have always used information about their students for making decisions about instruction, so data-driven instruction, in essence, isn’t new. However, critics argue that schools’ attempts to implement data-driven instruction, grounded in the accountability and high-stakes testing movement, sometimes lead to ineffective teaching practices, such as inappropriate ability grouping and over-reliance on seatwork and worksheets to improve skills that posed problems on standardized assessments (Neuman, 2016; Park & Datnow, 2017). Instead, critics assert, students need more interactive instruction that will help them acquire the background knowledge essential to comprehending complex topics. That doesn’t mean more worksheets focused on basic skills; instead, these students need effective instruction that provides skill-building opportunities (Neuman, 2016). To be optimally effective, data-driven instruction needs teachers who are sensitive to student needs and can include non-tangible factors such as student effort, behavior and family circumstances into their instructional decision making (Datnow, Choi, & Park, 2018). In addition, teachers need a repertoire of effective teaching strategies, the topic of the next section.

MyLab Education Self-Check 11.3

LEARNING OUTCOME 11.4  Describe different instructional strategies and explain how these strategies promote learning in all students. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 8, Instructional Strategies

Teaching and You “What is the best way to teach?” “How should I teach when I have my own classroom?”

Instructional Strategies There are many different ways to teach, but which ones are most effective, and which ones will fit best with your personality and skills? An understanding of different instructional strategies will help you answer these questions in Teaching and You. Instructional strategies are structured approaches to teaching designed to help students acquire a deep understanding of specific forms of content. When we use different instructional strategies, essential teaching skills support these strategies. For instance, regardless of the strategy discussed in this section, being organized, reviewing, guiding students with questioning, and bringing lessons to a clear closure are essential. When examining instructional strategies, educators often describe them as teachercentered or learner-centered. Teacher-centered instruction typically involves a teacher strongly directing the flow of lessons, with students following the teacher’s directives. In contrast, learner-centered instruction typically involves a teacher supporting students—providing guidance when necessary—as they develop their own understanding of the topic being taught. Some misconceptions exist with respect to these differences. For example, some people believe that teacher-centered instruction isn’t interactive; students sit passively while the teacher delivers content through a lecture. This isn’t true; teacher-centered instruction, when well done, involves a great deal of interaction between teachers and

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 395

students. And learner-centered instruction does not mean that learners are left to discover content on their own. A great deal of teacher support and direction is needed in learner-centered instruction.

Teacher-Centered Strategies In this section, we discuss direct instruction and lecture-discussion, two of the most widely used teacher-centered strategies.

Direct Instruction Direct instruction, a teacher-centered strategy designed to teach essential knowledge and skills needed for later learning, is one of the most popular in today’s classrooms. It is straightforward and widely applicable, and it’s particularly effective for working with struggling students and learners with exceptionalities (Turnbull, Turnbull, Wehmeyer, & Shogren, 2020). The current emphasis on accountability and high-stakes testing of basic skills has increased its use even further. Creating equivalent fractions and adding fractions with both like and unlike denominators, the focus of Shirley’s lesson, are examples of skills that can be effectively taught with direct instruction, as are punctuating in writing, balancing equations in chemistry, and using longitude and latitude to pinpoint locations in geography. Direct instruction typically occurs in three phases, outlined in Table 11.3 and discussed in the following sections. Let’s see how Shirley applied each of these phases as she used direct instruction to teach equivalent fractions. Introduction and Review.  Direct instruction begins with an introduction and review that are designed to attract students’ attention and activate students’ prior knowledge. To attract her students’ attention, provide focus, and increase their interest, Shirley used her cardboard pizzas to introduce her lesson. She then reviewed by having them add fractions with like denominators. Although the importance of focus and review seems obvious, teachers often begin their lessons with little attempt to attract attention or activate students’ relevant prior knowledge. Developing Understanding.  In the developing understanding phase of direct instruction, we help our students understand the skill through explanation, modeling, and questioning. It’s the most important phase of the strategy and, ironically, it’s the one teachers often rush through and perform least well. Instead of focusing on understanding, they often emphasize memorization, fail to ask enough questions to ensure understanding, and move too quickly to practice, the third phase. Shirley avoided these pitfalls. She began with her “cakes” and involved her students by asking many questions. She continued providing additional examples and

Table 11.3  Phases of Direct Instruction Phase

Purpose

Introduction and Review: Teachers begin with a review of previous work, followed by an attentiongetting activity.

• Access students’ prior knowledge

Developing Understanding: Teachers explain the knowledge or skill and use questioning to develop student understanding. Examples and high levels of interaction are evident.

• Develop students’ understanding of the concept or skill

Practice: Students first identify additional examples of the concept or apply the skill under the watchful eye of the teacher and then apply the concept or skill to new situations on their own.

• Make the transition from rudimentary understanding to being able to work independently

• Attract students’ attention

• Reinforce understanding of the concept or skill • Develop expertise with the concept or skill

396  Chapter 11 then modeled the process for finding equivalent fractions by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the same number. She didn’t move to the practice phase until she was confident that most of her students understood the process, which is essential for student success during practice, the next phase of direct instruction. Practice.  When students learn a new skill, they need opportunities to practice it and apply it to new problems. As they begin practicing the new skill, the teacher assists and monitors their efforts to ensure that they fully understand the skill and are successful. Once Shirley felt most students understood the idea of equivalent fractions and how to create them, she assigned additional problems. As they worked, she carefully monitored their progress and then provided detailed feedback about the first problem before asking them to solve the second. She repeated this process with two more problems, and if her students had struggled with either one, she would have had them continue to practice under her guidance until she believed they were ready to practice on their own. To reinforce classroom practice, homework can then be used for additional practice of the new skill (Bas, 2017; Williams, Swift, Williams, & Van Daal, 2017). To be effective homework should be an extension of the content your students have studied and practiced in class; in other words, it’s aligned with your learning objectives and activities (Bempechat, 2019). Although grading homework can be time-consuming, you’ll need some mechanism for providing feedback and giving students credit, or they won’t take it seriously. Strengths and Weaknesses of Direct Instruction.  As you’ll see when you observe and work in classrooms, direct instruction is one of the most widely used teaching strategies in our schools today, and this is probably for good reason; a large body of research attests to its effectiveness (Carnine, Silbert, Kame’enui, Slocum, & Travers, 2017; Stein, Kinder, Rolf, Silbert, & Carnine, 2018). Direct instruction also “feels” right when you do it effectively, and your students are successful. When used effectively, we’re constantly interacting with our students, we can see their competence and confidence grow, and it’s a good feeling for both them and us. Direct instruction also has potential weaknesses. One of the most important— although technically more a weakness in the way the strategy is used than in the strategy itself—is the tendency of teachers to drift away from interacting with their students and toward lecturing and explaining. For instance, when teachers move through the developing understanding phase too quickly, allowing their students to begin to practice before the students adequately understand the concept or skill, confusion, lowered student success rates, and decreased motivation follow. As a result, students struggle when they practice on their own during seatwork, and teachers then spend an inordinate amount of time helping individual students. Teachers’ tendencies to rely primarily on explaining instead of interacting with their students also contributes to critics’ assertions that direct instruction is too “teacher centered,” ignoring the need for students’ active involvement. Critics also point out that, because the teacher controls the flow and direction of lessons, it isn’t effective for promoting self-regulated learning in students, the ability of students to take responsibility for their own learning. And evidence suggests that the development of self-regulation is one of the most valuable outcomes of learning (Berk, 2019a).

Technology and Teaching: Capitalizing on Technology to Teach Basic Skills For direct instruction to be effective, students need to practice the skills they’re learning. But this takes time, and providing your students with opportunities to practice can be a challenge. Here is where technology can be a valuable tool.

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 397

Historically, students used worksheets and flashcards to practice basic skills, such as phonetic analysis in reading or addition and multiplication facts in math. As we’ve moved into the twenty-first century, technology is rapidly replacing worksheets, and most existing educational software currently emphasizes skill learning (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Let’s look at an example (based upon IXL Learning, 2018). You’re practicing rounding numbers, and you log onto a rounding numbers program. You open the program, and the following appears:

You open the program, and the following appears:

When you click on ‘New Problem,’ a problem, such as you see here, is displayed.

You type in 675,000.

When you click on “Check Your Answer,” “No, try again” pops up in a separate box. A bit uncertain about why your answer is incorrect, you click on “Hint” which tells you, “Look to the digit to the right of the rounding place. Is it 5 or greater?” Using the hint, you type in 676,000 and “Correct!” pops up. Had you answered incorrectly a second time, “Sorry, here is the answer” would have been displayed, and you would have been given the answer. You can use software applications such as these with your students in a variety of areas; the most common are drill-and-practice exercises in reading, math, and science. Many programs provide more detailed feedback than simple hints, such as “Look to the digit to the right of the rounding place. Is it 5 or greater?” and they can also be designed to increase learner interest and motivation. Some software asks students to enter information about themselves, such as their name, friends, family members, pets, and even their teacher into the program, and it then personalizes problems. For instance, consider this elementary math problem: There are four objects, and each one is cut in half. In all, how many pieces will there be then?

Now, compare it to the one below, personalized for a student named Zach, whose teacher is Mrs. Alvarez. Mrs. Alvarez surprised Zach with a treat for his good behavior by giving him four small candy bars. He wanted to share them with his friend, Devin, so he cut each one in half. How many pieces does Zach now have?

The program took the information Zach had previously entered and inserted it into the problem. Software that personalizes problems in this way can increase both learning and motivation (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019).

398  Chapter 11 Drill-and-practice software, such as we saw in the example with rounding, is controversial, and some critics describe it as little more than “electronic flashcards” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Used effectively, however, technology can provide individualized and personalized feedback. As we also saw in the examples with rounding, it provides students with individualized practice and increases student engagement because the student must answer every question. Learners like using the software because they can set their own pace (if the software allows), and their answers and the feedback they receive are private. And a computer, unlike a human, can be programmed to have unlimited patience. One caution, however: While drill-and-practice software can supplement your teaching, it isn’t designed to replace you. For example, instead of having your students simply memorize a set of steps for rounding numbers, your goal in teaching this skill is for rounding to make sense to them, and you, not the software, will be instrumental in helping your students reach that goal. Then you can use the software to provide extra practice for students who continue to struggle. This is an effective application of technology, and, used this way, it can contribute to your students’ learning.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Technology in Your Classroom Saying we live in a technological world is a vast understatement.

secondary schools. But some experts, school administrators,

It has become such a part of our everyday lives that we almost

and teachers themselves have begun to question the effective-

forget how pervasive it is.

ness of these software presentations, suggesting that they are

Technology is increasingly finding its way into classrooms;

inconsistent with efforts to involve students in learning activities

in many schools in our country, technology is now an integral

and teach higher-order thinking. Others go even further and

part of instruction (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Roblyer &

suggest that the technology is an impediment to using more

Hughes, 2019), and virtual schools, schools that offer courses

interactive, student-centered forms of instruction, such as

through the Internet, are increasing in number (Molnar, 2017). If

guided discovery and problem-based learning (Holmes, 2016).

you haven’t already, you will probably encounter online courses

The most ardent critics are even harsher, particularly about

as you move through your teacher preparation program. When

using this technology at the college level, where instructors sub-

you begin your career, you will likely experience some pres-

stitute reading from their PowerPoint slides word-for-word for

sure to include technology in your instruction, and you may be

actual teaching (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Unfortunately, most

encouraged, or even required, to teach online courses.

of us have had similar experiences.

Technology has enormous, and obvious, benefits, such as being a time-saving tool and providing virtually unlimited access

The Issue

to information. However, in spite of these benefits, technol-

Is the emphasis on technology in today’s schools an effective

ogy is also controversial. Proponents claim that technology

way to improve teaching and increase learning?

improves student learning, and school leaders who are investing large amounts of money in technology and encouraging its use are making wise decisions (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Critics counter that technology is expensive and its benefits are still unproven (Neuhaus, Oreopoulus, & Kane, 2018). The issue has become politicized, with critics claiming that improper business

Pro • Technological literacy has become a basic skill, so developing that literacy should be a part of every school’s and classroom’s curriculum (Heiten, 2016). • Some research suggests that using technology promotes

practices exist, with corporations pushing technology to make

learning and increases teacher effectiveness, especially with

money and not necessarily to improve teaching and learning

software that reinforces basic skills in math (Horn, 2017;

(Selwyn, 2016).

Roblyer & Hughes, 2019).

Even technologies commonly used in classrooms have

• Virtual schools provide high-quality educational opportunities

become controversial. For example, presentation software,

as well as educational choice, and they allow students in rural

such as Microsoft PowerPoint—the most popular and com-

and remote areas to access courses that wouldn’t be avail-

monly viewed as the industry standard, Apple Keynote, Prezi,

able to them in any other form (Chang, 2017; Molnar, 2017).

or Google Slides, are very popular, particularly in middle and

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 399

Con

• Technology is expensive. The questionable learning out-

• The claim that virtual schools provide high-quality educational

comes that result from technology don’t justify its consider-

opportunities is not grounded in research (Chronister, 2016).

able cost, and this huge amount of money could be better

A significant body of research suggests that student achieve-

used to reduce class sizes or provide professional develop-

ment in virtual schools is lower than in traditional schools, and

ment activities for teachers (Neuhaus et al., 2018).

students in these schools are losing ground academically (Horn, 2017). • Just throwing technology at students doesn’t work; for example, efforts to provide a computer to every student didn’t increase learning (Horn, 2017). And test scores in some traditional schools that have strongly emphasized the

The Question So, is the current emphasis on technology an effective way to increase student learning, or should traditional instruction be emphasized, with simple technological literacy the primary emphasis with respect to technology?

integration of technology have stagnated in comparison to test scores in general (Cuban, 2013).

Lecture-Discussion Direct instruction is effective if you want to teach a specific skill, such as adding fractions with unlike denominators, as we saw in Shirley’s lesson, or well-defined concepts, such as basic shapes like square, triangle, and circle with 1st graders, or different forms of figurative language with older students. But often we teach much more than specific skills and well-defined concepts, such as adding fractions with unlike denominators, as we saw in Shirley Barton’s lesson. For instance, if you’re a lower elementary teacher, you’ll want your students to understand the four seasons, why they occur, and how they affect our lives. As a middle school geography teacher, you’ll want your students to understand how landforms and climate influence the economies of different regions of our country. Or, if you’re a high school English teacher, you’ll want your students to understand relationships among plot, character, and symbolism in novels such as The Scarlet Letter, The Red Badge of Courage, or To Kill a Mockingbird. These topics are broader and more complex than a single concept or skill. So, how would you teach them? If you’re typical, you would explain the information you want your students to understand in a lecture, which is—together with direct instruction—one of the two most commonly used teaching strategies in schools today (Cuban, 1993, 2013). However, lectures have significant weaknesses (Poirier, 2017; Riley & Ward, 2017): • Lectures, instead of requiring students to think carefully about a topic, basically ask them to record the information in memory or on paper, in the form of notes. • Lectures are ineffective for attracting and maintaining student attention. • Teachers often present too much information too quickly in lectures, so much of it is lost before students can make sense of it and pull it together. • When lecturing, your communication with students is one-way, and you have little opportunity, other than the looks on their faces, to determine whether they understand the information you’re presenting accurately. Lecture-discussion is an instructional strategy designed to overcome these weaknesses by making lectures more interactive, with periodic question-and-answer segments interspersed into our presentations. Let’s see how a 10th-grade American history teacher uses this strategy to help her students understand the interconnections among events leading up to our Revolutionary War.

400  Chapter 11 Diane Anderson has been discussing the early colonization of our country by the French and English. She begins with a review of their previous lesson, and then says, “I want us to understand important events that led up to the Revolutionary War, and, to do so, we need to back up to the early 1600s. When we’re finished, we’ll see that there were historical events that made the war inevitable. . . . That’s why history is important . . . to see how events that happen at one time affect events even today . . . For instance, the conflicts between the British and the French in America became so costly for the British that they led to policies in the colonies that ultimately led to the Revolution.” She then points to a large map, “We know the British established Jamestown in 1607, but at about the same time, a French explorer named Champlain traveled down the St. Lawrence River and formed Quebec City, here. Over the years, at least 35 of the 50 states were discovered by the French, and they founded several of our bigger cities, such as Detroit, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Des Moines. “Now, what do you notice about the location of the two groups?” After thinking a few seconds, Alfredo offers, “The French had control of a lot of Canada, . . . and it looks like this country, too,” pointing to the north and west on the map. “It looks like the east was . . . British, and the west was French,” Jayden adds. “Yes, and remember, all this growth and development was happening at about the same time,” Diane continues. “Also, the French had better relations with the American Indians than the British. Also, the French had what they called a seigniorial system, where the settlers were given land if they would serve in the military. So . . . what does this suggest about the military power of the French?” “Probably powerful,” Josh suggests. “The people got land if they went in the army.” “And the American Indians probably helped because they were friendly with the French,” Tenisha adds. “Now, what else do you notice here?” Diane asks, moving her hand back and forth across the width of the map. “Mountains?” . . . Tessa answers. “Yes, exactly,” Diane smiles. “Why are they important? What do mountains do?” “ . . . The British were sort of fenced in, and the French could expand as they pleased.” “Good. Now, the British needed land and wanted to expand. So they headed west over the mountains and guess who they ran into? . . . Ava?” “The French?” Ava responds. “Right! And conflict broke out. Now, when the French and the British were fighting, why do you suppose the French were initially more successful than the British? . . . Dan?” “Well, they had that sig . . . seigniorial system, so they were more eager to fight because they got land.” “Other thoughts? . . . Madison?” “I think that the American Indians were part of it. The French got along better with them, so they helped the French.” “Okay, good thinking, everyone; now let’s think about the British. . . . Let’s look at some of their advantages.”

Now, let’s see how Diane used lecture-discussion to involve her students in the lesson. First, she introduced the topic with a review and attempted to capture students’ attention by explaining how events in the past influence the way we live today. Then she presented information about Jamestown, Quebec, and French settlements in the present-day United States. After this brief introduction, she used questioning to encourage her students to think about the new content. To illustrate these strategies, let’s return to some dialogue from the lesson. Diane:

Now, what do you notice about the location of the two groups?

Alfredo: The French had a lot of Canada . . . and it looks like this country, too [pointing to the north and west on the map]. Jayden: It looks like the east was . . . British, and the west was French.

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 401

Diane’s questions were intended to involve her students in the lesson, check their developing understanding, and help them refine and expand on the new content she was teaching. Satisfied with their level of understanding, she returned to presenting information when she said, “Yes, and remember, all this growth and development was happening at about the same time.” She continued by briefly describing the French seigniorial system and pointing out the friendly relations between the French and the American Indians. Then she again used questioning to involve her students. Diane:

So . . . what does this suggest about the military power of the French?

Josh:

Probably powerful. The people got land if they went in the army.

Tenisha:

And the American Indians probably helped because they were friendly with the French.

In this segment, Diane guided students to a deeper understanding of the relationships between different factors, such as the seigniorial system, the partnership between the French and the American Indians, and French military power. Diane then used the same cycle of presenting information followed by questions that helped her determine whether her students understood the new information. Her goal for the whole lesson was for her students to understand the cause-effect relationships between the French and Indian Wars and the American Revolutionary War. Strengths and Weaknesses of Lecture-Discussions.  The primary strengths of lecture-discussions include the ability to present large amounts of information students would have trouble gathering on their own, being able to combine disparate items of information into a cohesive whole, and exposing students to different points of view. As with direct instruction, the primary weakness of lecture-discussion is more how it is used than in the strategy itself. This weakness is the tendency of teachers to slide into what amounts to a “pure” lecture with limited periods of interaction with students. This is easy to do because lecturing is easier, taking less teacher energy and expertise than strategically interacting with students. Our effectiveness in using lecture-discussions is determined by how frequently we break up periods of presenting information with questioning to involve our students and help them develop a deep understanding of the content (Klosser, Wilsey, Madkins, & Windschitl, 2019). These question-driven mini-discussions allow us to informally assess our students’ current level of understanding and guide them to a deeper understanding of the topic. If these comprehension checks are infrequent, the involvement and formative assessments they promote won’t occur. How often should you pause from presenting information to check your students’ understanding? A specific rule doesn’t exist, but our experience suggests that it should be short—much shorter than we think. If explanations are longer than a few minutes— even with older students—many are likely to begin drifting off. In general, the more often you intersperse your presentations with questioning, the better.

Learner-Centered Strategies Our understanding of the way students learn has increased dramatically over the past several years, and the better we understand learning, the more we realize how important it is to involve students in the teaching-learning process. This is why interest in learner-centered strategies has significantly increased in recent years. In this section, we examine four learner-centered strategies: • Guided discovery • Problem-based instruction

402  Chapter 11 • Cooperative learning • Differentiated instruction We begin with guided discovery.

Guided Discovery Guided discovery is a learner-centered instructional strategy that involves teachers providing students with information and then guiding them to an understanding of well-defined concepts and generalizations (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020; Kauchak & Eggen, 2012). When using the strategy, we first identify the content we want students to learn, then arrange information so that patterns can be found and, during instruction, guide students with questioning to our learning objectives. Misconceptions exist about discovery strategies. Teachers sometimes believe that students should be left essentially on their own to “discover” the ideas being taught. Doing so allows misconceptions to form, wastes time, and often leaves students frustrated (Purpura, Baroody, Eiland, & Reid, 2016). Teachers correctly believe that learners construct their own knowledge, but sometimes assume that the best way to promote such construction is to have students try to discover new knowledge or solve new problems without guidance from the teacher. Unfortunately, this idea is both widespread and incorrect. In contrast, “guided” discovery—and other forms of learner-centered instruction, such as problem-based learning—is highly scaffolded, that is, teachers play an essential role in guiding students’ learning progress and preventing failure and frustration from occurring. To see guided discovery in action, let’s rejoin Lori DuBose in her lesson on arthropods, which we introduced earlier in the chapter. Lori is a 5th-grade teacher, who is trying to help her students understand how arthropods—cold-blooded animals with exoskeletons such as lobsters, crabs, insects, and spiders—differ from humans and other mammals.

Lori begins by saying, “Okay, everyone, reach down and grab your leg. Squeeze it and tell us what you feel. . . . Isabella?” Her students note that their legs feel soft and warm and that a bone is inside them. Lori has them explain their observations with questions such as “What do you feel inside your legs?” and “Why do they feel warm?” In addition to drawing students into the lesson, these observations and questions also establish differences between mammals and arthropods, which are coldblooded and have exoskeletons. Lori then brings a live lobster out of a cooler, a cricket in a baggie and a crayfish and passes them around so students can observe and touch them.

With each, she has them compare the arthropods’ outer coverings with their own skin, and they conclude that each of the examples has a hard outer covering. “Good!” Lori responds as she next displays a colored picture of the cricket and crayfish on her document camera for the children and asks them to compare the legs on these animals to theirs.

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 403 She continues, “Now look at all three of these animals. What is something they all have in common? . . . Sergio?” “ . . . They all felt hard.” “And what does that tell us?” “ . . . Their skeletons are on the outside!” Sergio responds after thinking for several seconds. “Well done, Sergio. You’ve identified one of the important features of these animals. What else did we find was similar about the animals? . . . Ava?” “They all felt cold.” “Excellent, Ava. How is that different from the way we feel? . . . Ethan?” “We feel warm. We’re warm-blooded!” Ethan concludes, excitedly. “These animals are all cold-blooded!” “Yes, that’s outstanding thinking, Ethan,” Lori responds with a smile and a wave of her hand. Lori continues to direct students’ analyses of the lobster, cricket, and crayfish, comparing them to their own bodies, having them identify the jointed legs in each of the animals, and having them identify the segmented bodies in each. Let’s see how Lori wraps up the lesson. “Now, let’s look at the patterns we’ve found in these animals,” Lori directs. “What do they have in common? . . . Christy?” “ . . . They’re all cold-blooded.” “Yes, excellent. That’s one common feature of these animals,” and with that, she writes “coldblooded” on the whiteboard. “What else do they have in common? . . . Robert?” “Skeleton on the outside,” Robert replies quickly. “Good, Robert. That’s another important feature,” and she writes “outside skeleton” on the board on her list of characteristics. “Kirsty?” “ . . . Their legs are jointed.” “Good!” (Writing this characteristic on the board.) “Another one? Jason?” “ . . . They have segmented bodies.” “Outstanding, everyone! You’ve identified all the important features of this group of animals. Now, does anyone know the name of this animal group?” After hearing no response, Lori says, “We call these animals arthropods. Everybody say that word now.” The students then respond in unison, “ARTHROPODS!” Lori then quickly writes the word on the board and says, “Now give me a definition of arthropods. I’ll let someone volunteer.” With some prompting, they define arthropods as animals that have an outside skeleton, jointed legs, and segmented bodies, and are cold-blooded. Lori extends the lesson by showing the students a clam, a worm, a grasshopper, and even Mrs. Ramirez, their parent volunteer, asking them to tell her if they are arthropods and explain why or why not.

Let’s look at Lori’s lesson in more detail. She began by having students squeeze their legs to determine that their skeletons were inside their bodies and that they were warm-blooded. This activity attracted students’ attention and provided a reference point for comparison with arthropods. Lori then provided high-quality examples of arthropods—the lobster, cricket, and crayfish. And she also displayed large, colored pictures of the cricket and crayfish so students could clearly see other essential characteristics, such as segmented bodies and legs. After displaying each example, Lori had her students observe and describe each animal. She then moved the lesson to closure, with questions such as, “Now let’s look at the patterns we’ve found in the animals. . . . What do they have in common?”

404  Chapter 11 After identifying common characteristics, Lori identified the animals as arthropods and then had her students apply their understanding by having them analyze a clam, a worm, a grasshopper, and Mrs. Ramirez, explaining why each was or wasn’t an arthropod. Strengths and Weaknesses of Guided Discovery.  As with other strategies, guided discovery has both strengths and weaknesses, and its ability to develop students’ thinking and promote learning are probably its biggest strengths. “Guided discovery may take more or less time than expository instruction, depending on the task, but tends to result in better long-term retention and transfer than expository instruction” (Mayer, 2002, p. 68). When using guided discovery, we spend less time explaining and more time asking questions, so our students are more involved and are required to do more active thinking than in teacher-centered approaches. The use of examples and students’ involvement also increases their motivation that ultimately can result in increased learning—an additional advantage of the strategy. The strategy is sophisticated, complex, and demanding, however, and teachers used to teacher-centered, information–giving roles often initially feel uncomfortable with it. This explains why we don’t see it practiced more often in schools. This complexity is both a strength and a weakness. It’s harder to become proficient with it, but being able to guide students developing understanding with questions and examples can be very rewarding. It takes time and effort to get good at it, however, and some of your students—who are used to teachers primarily using lecture as a teaching strategy—might be initially uncomfortable with being guided rather than being told, so they will need help getting used to the strategy as well. MyLab Education Application Exercise 11.3: Using Instructional Strategies In this exercise you will be asked to construct lessons using two of the instructional strategies described in this section.

Problem-Based Instruction Problem-based instruction is a learner-centered teaching strategy that uses problems as the focus for teaching content along with developing thinking skills and self-regulation. Problem-based learning is widely used in a variety of areas ranging from social studies at all grade levels to medical education and public health and business (Barton & Avery, 2016). Problem-based learning activities have the following characteristics: • Lessons begin with a problem, and solving it is the lesson’s focus. • Students are responsible for designing strategies and finding solutions to the problem. Groups need to be small enough (typically three or four) so that all students are involved in the process. • The teacher guides students’ efforts with questioning and other forms of scaffolding. Let’s look at how an elementary math teacher uses problem-based instruction in her classroom. Laura Hunter, a 5th-grade teacher at Bennion Elementary, is trying to teach her students about area by involving them in a problem-based learning activity. The class has studied perimeter and area and can find perimeters and areas of regular geometric figures, such as squares and rectangles. They haven’t had experience finding the areas of irregularly shaped figures, however. Laura begins by posing the following problem, “Our principal is planning to re-carpet our classroom and needs to know how much carpeting to order.” The complexity of the problem is increased

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 405 by the fact that linoleum covers part of the floor, and it won’t be carpeted, so the carpeted portion will have an irregular shape. Breaking students into groups of four, she has each group devise a strategy for determining how much carpet will be needed. As the different groups work, two strategies emerge. One is to find the total area of the room and subtract the non-carpeted parts of the room—the parts covered with linoleum. The other is to compute the area of a rectangle within the carpeted area and then add on additional, irregularly-shaped carpeted sections. As students discuss their strategies, they use the

5´ Sink 10´ 8´

Counter 10´

4´

Door

2´ 5´

2´

6´ 3´ 6´

31´

15´

30 ft.

3´

3´

15´

48 ft.

(The parts marked L on the diagram are the parts covered with linoleum.)

following diagram and calculators to find the area.

Different groups select and implement their unique strategies and report back to the whole class. The class discusses both the different strategies used to solve the problem and the interpersonal problems that came up in the group work. In evaluating their results, the class finds that the answers generated by the different groups differ, and the class discusses possible reasons for the differences. Laura asks for suggestions about ways to make the answers more accurate, and students suggest starting with common numbers and using the same strategies.

Teachers use problem-based instruction to accomplish a variety of goals (Barton & Avery, 2016): • Learning to systematically investigate questions and problems • Developing self-regulation and self-directed learning abilities • Developing social interaction skills • Learning content These goals were evident in Laura’s classroom. Students learned about finding the area of irregularly shaped figures while simultaneously developing their abilities to conduct investigations of meaningful problems and learning how to interact with each other in socially productive ways.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Problem-Based Instruction Problem-based instruction has two important strengths. First, evidence indicates that content learned in problem-based lessons is retained longer and transfers better than content learned using teacher-centered approaches (Mayer & Wittrock, 2006). Additional evidence indicates that learners are more motivated in problem-based lessons than in traditional teacher-centered activities (Cooper, 2014; Larner, 2014). However, most of the research identifying the strengths of problem-based instruction has been conducted with older or advanced students, and its effectiveness with younger students is not clear. And teachers often fail to provide sufficient guidance

406  Chapter 11 when using problem-based instruction, so students flounder and waste time. Further, some research indicates that students, including many university students, sometimes use the most superficial strategies possible to solve problems, particularly if they aren’t carefully monitored by their instructors (Loyens, Gijbels, Coertjens, & Côté, 2013). This research suggests that problem-based instruction requires a great deal of guidance from expert teachers to be effective.

Cooperative Learning MyLab Education Video Example 11.5 Cooperative learning, instructional strategies that involve students working in groups to reach both cognitive and social-emotional learning goals, strongly emphasizes social interaction. Notice here that the teacher, when satisfied that the students are interacting effectively, leaves the group to help them acquire the independence that can lead to productive learning on their own.

Whole-class instruction, such as we saw with direct instruction, lecture-discussion, and guided discovery, is effective and widely used in classrooms at all levels. But, if we have 30 or more students in our classes, the sheer numbers make it difficult to involve all of them. Less-confident or less-assertive students may get few chances to participate, so they drift off. Cooperative learning, a set of learner-centered instructional strategies used to help learners meet specific learning and social-interaction goals, addresses this problem by breaking students into smaller groups that allow greater levels of involvement and interaction (Carter & Darling-Hammond, 2016). Let’s see what cooperative learning looks like at three different grade levels. A kindergarten teacher is teaching his students basic shapes, such as square, rectangle, circle, and triangle. After explaining and illustrating each with cardboard cutouts, he divides the class into pairs and asks each group to find examples of each shape in their classroom. He then reassembles the class, and students share their examples. A middle school math teacher is teaching how to solve word problems involving percent increase and percent decrease. She divides the class into teams of four and asks each team to solve the next few problems. Students in each team first solve the problems individually and then take turns explaining their solutions to each other. Later, the teams take turns at the board explaining to the whole class how they solved the different problems. A senior high English teacher is reviewing different forms of figurative language, such as simile, metaphor, personification, and alliteration. He assigns a scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and asks students in groups of two to identify as many of these literary devices as they can. The whole class then compares their findings.

As an instructional strategy, cooperative learning is very popular, not only in this country but worldwide, and a great deal of research examining its effectiveness has been conducted in countries ranging as widely as Iran (Ghahraman & Tamimy, 2017), Turkey (Kirbas, 2017), Switzerland (Buchs, Filippou, Volpé, & Pulfrey, 2017), and Canada (Gagne & Parks, 2013). In our country, it is used at all levels of instruction, including doctoral programs (Roseth, Akcaoglu, & Zellner, 2013). Cooperative learning activities share the following features (Johnson & Johnson, 2017): • Students work together in small groups—usually two to four—on a clearly assigned task. • Learning goals direct the groups’ activities; students have a clear idea of what they are supposed to learn and do. • Social interaction is emphasized. • Students are held individually accountable for their learning. • Learners depend on one another to learn content. The last feature is important because it emphasizes the crucial role that peer cooperation plays in learning. Accountability through some form of assessment is also essential because it keeps students focused on the content and reminds them that learning

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 407

(not visiting) is the purpose of the activity. This assessment may be an assignment, quiz, or project that each student completes to provide evidence of the learning that occurred during the group work. Introducing Cooperative Learning.  Your students won’t automatically be good at cooperative learning, and some—particularly those in middle schools—may view cooperative activities more as opportunities to socialize than to understand a topic. The following suggestions can help you get started.

• Seat group members together, so they can move back and forth from group work to whole-class activities with little disruption. • Have materials ready for easy distribution to each group. • Introduce students to cooperative learning with short, simple tasks, and provide very specific directions for completing the activity. • Specify the amount of time available to accomplish the task (and keep it relatively short). • Monitor groups while they work. • Require that students produce a product, such as written answers to specific questions, as an outcome of the activity. These suggestions are designed to minimize the likelihood of disruptions and maximize the likelihood of students remaining on task, particularly when you first introduce them to cooperative learning activities. Cooperative Learning Strategies.  Different variations of cooperative learning all capitalize on social interaction, but each is designed to accomplish different goals. Four of the most common are outlined in Table 11.4. Other cooperative-learning strategies exist, and although they differ in specifics, all depend heavily on social interaction for their effectiveness. Strengths and Weaknesses of Cooperative Learning.  Research examining cooperative learning reveals both strengths and weaknesses. For instance, some studies suggest that it can increase student achievement and that it can also improve problem-solving abilities and interpersonal skills (Gillies, 2014; Slavin, 2014). It can also increase motivation. When implemented effectively, it involves all students, which can be difficult in whole-class activities where less confident learners have

Table 11.4  Cooperative Learning Strategies Strategy

Description

Example

Reciprocal Questioning

Pairs work together to ask and answer questions about a lesson or text.

Teacher provides question stems, such as “Summarize . . . ” or “Why was . . . important?” and students use the stems to create specific questions about the topic.

Scripted Cooperation

Pairs work together to elaborate on each other’s thinking.

Math: First member of a pair offers a problem solution. The second member then elaborates, and the process is repeated. Reading: Pairs read a passage, and the first member offers a summary. The second elaborates, and the process continues.

Jigsaw II

Individuals become expert on subsections of a topic and teach it to others in their group.

One student studies the geography of a region; another, the economy; a third, the climate. Each attends “expert” meetings, and the “experts” then teach their content to others in their group.

Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STADs)

Social interaction is used to help students learn facts, concepts, and skills.

The independent-practice phase of direct instruction is replaced with team study, during which team members check and compare their answers. Team study is followed by quizzes, and individual improvement points lead to team awards.

408  Chapter 11

MyLab Education Video Example 11.6 Differentiating instruction, the process of adapting learning experiences to meet the needs of all students, is a response to the fact that our country’s schools have an increasing number of students whose backgrounds are very diverse. Here, 3rd grade teacher Sheila Brown describes the diversity in her school and explains how she differentiates her instruction to accommodate this diversity.

fewer chances to participate. If students aren’t involved during whole-class instruction, they’re more likely to drift off. However, simply putting students into groups doesn’t ensure either increased achievement or motivation. For instance, when students are organized into mixed-ability groups, those with higher ability often feel they are being exploited by slackers and frequently prefer to work alone (Will, 2016). Also, average-ability students often do not take advantage of learning in mixed-ability groups because high-ability students tend to dominate the group interaction (Lack, Swars, & Meyers, 2014). Monitoring cooperative learning groups carefully to make sure that all students are participating and learning is essential.

Differentiating Instruction Our students are more diverse than ever before in our nation’s history. Because of this diversity, they respond to our instruction in different ways. Differentiating instruction, the process of adapting instruction to meet the needs of students who vary in background knowledge, skills, needs, and motivations, is a response to this diversity. When we think about differentiating instruction for our students, two ideas are important. First, it is not individualized instruction. In essence, one-to-one tutoring is the only true form of individualization, and it’s impossible for you to tutor every one of your students. When we attempt to differentiate instruction for our students, we need to create systems that are workable and doable. Second, good teaching should always be the first step in differentiating instruction. Much of what you do when you plan carefully and effectively implement your instruction will address students’ diverse learning needs. For example, simple ways to address diverse students’ learning needs include (Tomlinson, 2016): • Plan thoroughly and, in your planning, address the learning needs of all students. For example, if some of your students are struggling with an important idea, plan for ways to spend additional time with them. • Carefully teach the essential knowledge and skills needed for learning. This provides a foundation for future learning and minimizes the need to reteach topics later on. • Use assessment as a tool to extend and reinforce learning rather than simply measure learning. Integrating assessments into your instruction provides practice for students and allows you to gauge each student’s learning progress. It also provides you with information you can use to differentiate subsequent instruction. • Actively engage all learners. Equitable distribution and cooperative learning are two effective ways to reach this goal. • Vary your instruction. For example, using direct instruction in one lesson, guided discovery in another, and cooperative learning in a third, or in combination with the other strategies, helps meet students’ varying needs and interests. In addition to these general strategies, the following specific differentiation strategies can be effective: • Small-group support • Peer tutoring • Multi-ability tasks Small-Group Support.  Providing extra instructional support for small groups of students who need it is one of the most applicable and practical forms of differentiation. For instance, when Shirley’s students began practicing adding fractions with unlike denominators on their own, she called Heather, Harper, Mandi, and Mason to the back of the room, where she provided additional help. Because she was working with only four students, she could modify her instruction to meet the specific learning needs of

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 409

each student. Small group support accomplishes two tasks. First, students who need the extra instructional support get it, and second, it provides extra time for learning for students who require extra time to master the task. They then can practice, by completing Shirley’s homework assignment on their own after school or at home in the evening. Effectively implementing the developing understanding phase of direct instruction is essential for the success of this form of differentiation. The rest of the class needs to be able to work successfully and quietly on their own while we’re helping students in the small group (Vaughn, Bos, & Schrumm, 2018). If we have to get up to help other students or deal with off-task behaviors, our small-group support will be much less effective. The idea of small-group support can be extended by providing additional help to students who need it before or after school. This will place extra demands on you, but it’s a proven way of helping students who need more time to keep up with their classmates. Peer Tutoring.  Expert teachers use all the resources available to them, and the students themselves can be valuable resources. Peer tutoring, as the term implies, involves students teaching students (Sparks, 2015). Peer tutoring offers several benefits. First, because the sessions are one-on-one, instruction is individualized, which is effective for all teaching situations and especially for skill learning. Second, peer tutoring can be motivating for both the tutor and the one being helped. Helping someone learn is intrinsically motivating for the tutors, and the satisfaction that comes with increased understanding motivates those being helped. Finally, peer tutoring has positive benefits for participants, resulting in improved thinking and reasoning, increased tolerance for differences, and appreciation for talk as a means for solving interpersonal problems (James, Kobe, & Zhao, 2017). The idea of students helping students is not new. The ancient Greeks and Romans used peer tutors, and in nineteenth-century England, where pupil–teacher ratios of 100 or more to one often existed, teachers coped by first teaching older monitors who then worked with younger students. Teachers in America’s one-room schoolhouses dealt with the vast differences in grades one through eight by having older or more capable students help others. Two peer tutoring arrangements are popular. Cross-age tutoring, such as existed in one-room schoolhouses, has older students helping younger ones. Cross-age tutoring benefits from the more mature tutor's knowledge and skills but is harder to manage logistically because of difficulties with scheduling and coordination with other grade levels. Same-age peer tutoring, which employs students from the same grade level as tutors, addresses this problem and can be used in any heterogeneous class where students are at different levels of learning. When using same-age peer tutoring, having a high achiever tutor a lower achiever is the typical arrangement. Reciprocal tutoring, pairs students of comparable ability, with students taking turns being the tutor. In this arrangement, students usually slide into a pattern in which they simply work together, rather than having one student formally designed as tutor for a period of time. Multi-Ability Tasks.  A third way to differentiate instruction is through multi-ability tasks, tasks which vary requirements for students and allow them to capitalize on differences in their background knowledge and learning strengths. As opposed to convergent tasks that have only one right answer, multi-ability tasks:

• are open-ended and involve general answers or several ways to solve problems; • use a variety of skills and call on a wide variety of knowledge; • provide opportunities for different students to make contributions to the overall task; and • incorporate reading, writing, constructing, and designing skills, as well as multimedia (Tomlinson, 2016).

410  Chapter 11 Multi-ability tasks promote learning for all students by providing alternate ways to learn content and skills (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018). For example, in one social studies unit focusing on the Aztec and Inca civilizations of the Americas, students had different learning options. Different groups of students studied pictures of ruins and watched video clips portraying life in these civilizations. They followed up by building models of these buildings in dioramas depicting life in these two cultures. Others studied artifacts from the two civilizations to experience the way anthropologists conduct research. One group examined a soup can commonly found in today’s supermarkets to understand the work of anthropologists and see what information the color, label, list of ingredients, and packaging suggested about our culture. Another group investigated the foods that each culture lived on and created posters showing typical meals for members of the two cultures. Each group then reported their information and conclusions to the whole class.

Multi-ability tasks provide students with a rich menu of interesting—and hopefully motivating—options to choose from as they pursue different learning objectives. Other ways of differentiating instruction exist, such as varying learning objectives, learning materials, and assessments, but they are time-intensive, demanding, and difficult to implement. If you’re typical of other beginning teachers, you’ll probably begin with the strategies we’ve outlined here and, as you gain experience and confidence, experiment with different ways to adapt your instruction to meet individual student needs and interests. Strengths and Weaknesses of Differentiated Instruction.  As we’ve said about each of the strategies in this chapter, differentiating instruction has both strengths and weaknesses. For example, small-group support is a strategy that makes sense intuitively and has been used successfully by teachers for many years. The key to its success is expert whole-group instruction that allows the majority of the class to work independently while teachers provide small groups of students with extra help. Peer tutoring is a widely researched strategy and, when well organized, has generally been found to be effective (Worley & Naresh, 2014). It has also been successfully used with students having different kinds of exceptionalities (Turnbull et al., 2020), as well as with students who struggle in school (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018). Further, research suggests that peer tutoring also promotes positive social and emotional outcomes by providing opportunities for students to learn how to interact productively with others.

Differentiated Instruction: Implications for Teaching Differentiating instruction is somewhat controversial, and practicality tends to be the key issue. For instance, critics point out that truly differentiating instruction—beyond the small-group support that we strongly endorse—is extremely difficult to implement in a heterogeneous classroom. “Although fine in theory, differentiation in practice is harder to implement in a heterogeneous classroom than it is to juggle with one arm tied behind your back” (Delisle, 2015, p. 36). Our conversations with teachers faced with the demands of accountability and testing corroborate this argument. Teachers wonder how they’re going to “differentiate” instruction when their students must meet specified standards. Supporters of differentiating instruction counter that it does work, but acknowledge that it isn’t easy. “I absolutely understand that differentiating instruction well is not easy. But then, I’ve never felt that teaching should be easy” (Tomlinson, 2015, p. 26). We agree. Differentiating instruction isn’t easy, and when you begin your first job, you will likely focus on other aspects of instruction. But meeting the needs of all your students should be a long-term professional goal, and this is also the goal when

Becoming an Effective Teacher: Reaching All Students 411

attempting to differentiate instruction. This is the reason we introduce the topic now, so you can begin thinking about different ways you can make your classroom a place where all students can experience the motivating benefits of success.

Personalized Learning Personalized learning refers to “instruction in which the pace of learning and the instructional approach are optimized for the needs of each learner. Learning objectives, instructional approaches, and instructional content (and its sequencing) may all vary based on learner needs” (Office of Educational Technology, 2017, p. 9). In optimal personalized learning environments, learning activities are often self-initiated, driven by student interests, with the goal of making the activities meaningful and relevant to learners (Netcoh, 2017). Schools and teachers vary widely in their efforts to personalize learning (Herold, 2019). Many, if not most, rely on technology and use computer software to tailor curriculum, pacing, and modes of presentation to specific students' needs, interests, and abilities (Horn & Fisher, 2017). Other approaches rely more heavily on teachers for accomplishing these same tasks. Teachers remain largely in control and use their knowledge of students’ capabilities and interests to determine the pace, style, and content of curriculum for each student. Personalized learning and differentiated instruction are similar, but there is an important difference between the two. With differentiated instruction, learning objectives remain the same for all students, but instructional methods vary. For instance, in our discussion of differentiating instruction, we described small group support as a form of differentiation. Students in the small group are expected to meet the same objectives as the rest of the students in the class, but they receive additional support through explanations and practice that their classmates don’t get. By comparison, choice is a major provision in many personalized learning environments; students have considerable choice in content, goals, and the means of reaching the goals (Herold, 2019). As is the case with most educational innovations, personalized learning has its ardent supporters and equally ardent critics. For instance, proponents argue that student learning is increased if students have more power over what they learn, and they note that students are typically given little choice about what they learn in today’s schools (Davis, 2019; Netcoh, 2017). Critics counter that teachers are in a better position to make decisions about what is important for students to learn, claiming that nothing replaces the teacher, and a teacher’s ability to know a student and what they need. This argument makes sense. For instance, how many middle schoolers would choose algebra or pre-algebra as content they want to study, and how many would choose writing persuasive essays as desirable content? Both are viewed as essential by educational leaders. In addition, critics note that most efforts to personalize learning rely heavily on software, which is essentially programmed instruction that walks students through skills in small steps with immediate feedback (Kucirkova, 2018). The critics argue that over-reliance on this software removes the teacher from a central role in instruction and isolates students from each other, which can detract from the development of important social and emotional skills (Herold, 2017). Further, critics assert, the popularity of personalized learning, and the backing it has received from philanthropists, venture capitalists, and the ed-tech industry, far outpaces research evidence supporting its efficacy (Molnar & Herold, 2019; Pane, Steiner, Baird, Hamilton, & Pane, 2017).

Personalized Learning: Implications for Teaching School principals are ambivalent about personalized learning that is heavily dependent on software (Herold, 2018). In a survey conducted in 2018, more than half reported pressures from technology companies to increase student screen time to implement personalized learning. When asked to compare the effectiveness of technology with paper and pencil approaches to teaching math concepts and skills, more than half favored

412  Chapter 11 traditional approaches (Samuels, 2018). Principals also voiced concerns about students’ over-exposure to media, both in and out of schools. As gatekeepers to a school’s technology resources, principals sound a precautionary note to the overuse of technology in classrooms. And when you interview for a teaching position, be sure you ask questions about the principal’s views about technology. They can tell you a lot about your access to technology in your new school. Finally, in today’s world of standards and accountability, allowing student choice about content and learning objectives raises a number of issues. Students are expected to meet specific standards, and teachers are being held accountable for ensuring that students do so. Standards and accountability are part of reality in today’s schools, and they aren’t going away. This limits the amount of choice that students and teachers have. Personalized learning is a wonderful ideal, but its widespread application is laden with enormous challenges. When you first begin teaching it can represent an ideal to strive for, but practically, it might not be easy to implement in your first years of teaching.

Becoming an Effective Teacher: The Big Picture Think ahead several years or more, consider your first teaching job, and ask yourself what your primary role will be. If you’re like we were when we began our careers, you most likely believe it is helping your students learn content and skills. When we started our careers, Paul taught chemistry and physics in a high school, and Don taught science and American History in a K–8 school. We were young and enthusiastic, we wanted our students to understand the topics we taught, and we didn’t think about much else. Helping our students develop socially and emotionally was implicit in our interactions with them but not uppermost on our minds. In hindsight, we were missing the big picture. Since those early days, we have both spent literally thousands of hours in classrooms ranging from Pre-K through high school, and in urban, suburban, and rural schools. Our experience has convinced us that helping students understand content is certainly important, but it isn’t the whole picture. To see what we mean, let’s look at one teacher’s classroom a bit more closely.

David Hicks, 7th-grade geography teacher, has a rule, the violation of which is “punishable by incarceration” as he jokingly puts it: You may not say or do anything at any time to one of your classmates that is sarcastic or hurtful. “We are in this class to learn as much geography as possible,” he asserts the first day. “And we’re in this together. . . . We’re going to help each other whenever we can, and we’re going to treat each other with kindness and respect. And this also goes for when we’re outside our classroom.” David conscientiously treats his students with courtesy and caring, but at the same time, “Don’t mess with Hicks,” is a comment his students make to each other. “I like him,” one of his students notes. “He’s tough but fair. He makes us learn, and he helps us if we need it.”

What are David’s students learning? Likely, a considerable amount of geography, but they are also learning lessons that will serve them throughout their lives. Learning to treat others with courtesy and respect, for example, is essential. If you can’t get along with other people, you’re unlikely to succeed in the world of work or in life in general.

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As you progress through your teaching career, you will teach your students much more than geography, how to write coherent paragraphs, or solve math problems. You will also help them learn to accept responsibility for their actions; develop personally, socially, and morally; respect and embrace peers with different ethnic, language, and religious backgrounds; persevere in the face of frustration; and value the acquisition of knowledge and skills that may not be initially interesting to them. Ideally, you will also help them learn to delay gratification, such as foregoing an immediate pleasure, like going to a movie with friends on a school night, in favor of staying home and studying for an important exam. These lessons are more important than any specific content that we teach, and if we’re successful, we’ve given students something that will serve them well throughout their lives. When we use direct instruction to develop students’ skills, we aren’t just teaching content; we’re also teaching students that practice and hard work are important for both learning and success in life. When we give homework, we aren’t just targeting specific skills; we’re also teaching students about personal responsibility (Bempechat, 2019). When we use lecture- discussion, we want students to understand the ideas we present, but we also want them to learn that knowledge is interconnected and that organizing it in systematic ways promotes learning. Similarly, guided discovery and problembased learning are valuable not only because they’re motivating, but also because they promote critical thinking, the inclination to search for patterns in our experiences and support conclusions with evidence. A national survey found that more than 90% of parents, teachers, and students all thought that thinking skills such as these were crucial for preparing students for college and the world of work (MetLife, 2011). Cooperative learning teaches much more than content; it teaches students to listen to each other, to work together to reach common goals, and to resolve conflicts in ways that will satisfy everyone.

Effective Teaching and the Big Picture: Implications for Teaching So, becoming an effective teacher is much more than just teaching content. In addition to making students more knowledgeable, we also want to help them believe in their ability to continue learning throughout their lives and thrive in the complex and often confusing world they’ll grow up in. Students often forget the specifics of the content we teach, but the social skills, self-discipline, and personal growth that we help them acquire are outcomes that will remain with them forever. Now, let’s return to the questions we asked in Teaching and You at the beginning of this section: “What is the best way to teach?” and “How should I teach when I have my own classroom?” The answer to the first question is: There is no “best” way to teach. Expert teachers use a variety of strategies, they vary the way they teach, and they use the strategies that best works with their students. You must answer the second question for yourself, which is why we raise it at this early point in your teacher preparation program. You may initially be most comfortable with direct instruction and lecture-discussion, but as you acquire experience and expertise, you may use more guided discovery or cooperative learning, much more complex and sophisticated strategies. No two teachers teach the same way, and one of the challenges you’ll face when you begin teaching is finding instructional strategies that work for you and your students. This will involve experimentation and some trial and error, but when you’re successful, you will become a teacher with a repertoire of strategies, and this will mark another step toward becoming an expert teacher.

MyLab Education Self-Check 11.4

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the final item in What I Believe, “The best teachers find one or two strategies that work for them and stick to these throughout the school year.” This statement is not true. Expert teachers have a variety of  teaching strategies and use them strategically when they teach.

Chapter 11 Summary 1. Define motivation and describe how teachers can increase motivation with their instruction. • Motivation is the energizing force in learning and can have a powerful effect on student success. • Extrinsic motivation is motivation to engage in an activity to achieve some incentive, whereas intrinsic motivation is motivation to engage in an activity for its own sake. • Attracting students’ attention, involving students, and helping students apply their understanding to the real world are all factors that can increase motivation to learn. 2. Explain the processes involved in planning for instruction. • Planning for instruction involves identifying topics; specifying learning objectives; preparing and organizing learning activities; designing assessments; and ensuring that instruction is aligned, that is, making sure that learning activities and assessments are consistent with your goals. • Finding or creating high-quality examples or problems is the most important part of preparing and organizing learning activities and is a major reason that specifying clear learning objectives is so important. If objectives are clear, then teachers know what information the examples should contain, and they can then attempt to find or create them. • Planning in a standards-based environment often requires teachers to first interpret the standard. Once the standard is clearly understood, the teacher can design learning activities to address that standard. 3. Explain how expert teachers implement instruction and assess student learning. • Implementing instruction is the process of putting plans into action. • Effective teachers have well-developed verbal abilities, they understand the content they teach, and they possess the professional knowledge and dedication that maximizes learning for students. • Essential teaching skills are the abilities that all teachers, regardless of topic or grade level, should demonstrate in their teaching.

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• Effective teachers are caring, have high personal efficacy and positive expectations for all their students, and communicate their own genuine interest in the topics they teach. • Being well organized, which means that lessons begin on time, materials are prepared and ready, and well-established classroom routines exist, is essential for promoting student learning. • Expert teachers use focus to attract students’ attention, involve students through questioning, provide informative feedback, and use reviews to activate students’ prior knowledge. • Effective teachers help students apply their understanding in new contexts. 4. Describe different instructional strategies and explain how these strategies promote learning in all students. • Instructional strategies are designed to help students reach specific learning objectives. • Teachers who want their students to acquire basic skills, such as adding fractions, would likely use direct instruction. • Lecture–discussion is an effective strategy for helping students understand the interrelationships among ideas in large bodies of knowledge, such as the relationship between geography and lifestyle in different parts of our country. • Guided discovery is an effective strategy for helping students understand concepts and how to form ideas on their own. • Problem-based instruction attempts to teach problem-solving and critical thinking by immersing students in realistic problems. • Cooperative learning can support the other strategies and can be effective for helping students learn social interaction skills. • As the backgrounds of our students have become more varied, being able to differentiate instruction to meet all students’ needs is increasingly important.

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Important Concepts assessment caring closure Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) competence cooperative learning cross-age tutoring data-driven instruction differentiating instruction direct instruction effective teaching

equitable distribution essential teaching skills extrinsic motivation feedback focus formative assessment guided discovery high-quality examples implementing instruction instructional alignment instructional strategies intrinsic motivation

involvement learner-centered instruction learning activities lecture–discussion modeling motivation multi-ability task open-ended questions organization peer tutoring personal teaching efficacy

Portfolio Activity Developing Teaching Expertise InTASC Core Teaching Standard 4: Instructional Strategies Complete one of the following activities to add to your professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to give you experience using instructional strategies and to provide you with a baseline to measure the development of your expertise throughout your teacher preparation program. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Get permission to teach a lesson on a topic and grade level of your choice. Create a lesson plan using the suggestions for planning discussed in this chapter. Then teach the lesson while the classroom teacher either observes you or records it. Ask the classroom teacher to give you feedback. Then view the recording, and write an analysis of the lesson that includes your assessment and how it compares to the classroom teacher’s feedback. Keep a copy of the recording and your analysis in your professional portfolio to be used as a comparison when you teach other lessons as you move through your program. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom Go to your college or university’s library, and locate a recent copy of a text on teaching strategies (these might be called teaching methods or instructional strategies). Examine one or more chapters on teaching methods and answer the following questions: a. How do the suggestions for instructional strategies in the text you found differ from the focus of this chapter? b. This chapter emphasizes the need for interactive teaching when working with students. How does the text you’re examining deal with this topic? c. How does the text you are examining deal with developmental issues (i.e., how should teachers adapt their instruction to meet the developmental needs of different-aged students?)? d. How does the text you are examining address cultural diversity in students? In a short paper titled “Effective Teaching,” describe what you’ve learned in terms of promoting student learning and development in your first classroom.

personalized learning problem-based instruction prompting questioning frequency reciprocal tutoring same-age tutoring standards summative assessment teacher-centered instruction virtual schools wait-time

Chapter 12

Educational Reform and You

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Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 12.1 Explain how the current reform movement has been shaped by

previous efforts at reform. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 12.2 Explain how reform efforts focusing on standards, testing, and

accountability are influencing the curriculum and classroom instruction. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction 12.3 Describe how schools are being changed as a result of reform

efforts. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 12.4 Describe how current reform efforts that focus on the teacher will

affect your life in the classroom. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 10, Leadership and Collaboration This chapter is about reform and how it will affect your life as a teacher. Never in our country’s history has education faced so many proposals for change. Our goal in writing this chapter is to help you understand these reforms, so you will be prepared to adapt to and perhaps influence them when you begin your career. Let’s begin by looking at one teacher’s experience.

Emma Harrison has been offered a teaching job in a district near her home, and she’s ecstatic. She is finally going out into the real world, where she can put into practice what she’s learned in her teacher preparation program. And she can begin paying off her college loans and start to “live.” Everything seems great and so exciting. However, during her new-teacher orientation and conversations with experienced teachers at her school, she finds that the teaching world is very different from what she thought it would be. She knows about standards because they were emphasized during her teacher preparation program and internship. But she didn’t quite realize how important they were because they seemed somewhat abstract when they were discussed in her classes, and during her internship, they were ultimately the responsibility of her directing teacher. Now, both her principal and the district emphasize that her students will be held accountable—by having them take state-mandated tests—for meeting the standards, and her students’ performance on the tests will influence both her evaluations and her pay increases. And, even more significant, these scores can potentially have an impact on whether she will be rehired and awarded tenure in her district. Emma has a lot to think about. And her students arrive on Monday.

You will likely encounter challenges similar to Emma’s when you begin your career. Reform means change, and not all attempts at reform are successful or beneficial. Reforms are often promoted for political or economic reasons, with the good of students and teachers ignored or neglected. Proponents of change paint themselves as fighting against the “educational establishment” and “educational bureaucracy” and their

418  Chapter 12 opponents as “obstructionist.” Critics of reform counter that many reforms are poorly thought out, lack a solid research foundation, and at worst are fronts for conservative politicians and industry backers (Greene & McShane, 2018; Wexler, 2018). The goal of this chapter is to help you understand the major changes in education that will affect your professional life when you begin your career. As we discuss these reforms, we’ll continually ask the question, “Does reform mean ‘better’—better for the students we teach, better for the schools we teach in, and better for teachers and the profession?” But before we begin, please respond to the items in the What I Believe: Educational Reform and My Teaching feature here.

What I Believe Educational Reform and My Teaching Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. Each of these items will be addressed in the Revisiting My Beliefs sections found throughout the chapter. 1. Educational reform in our country is a recent idea, beginning at about the turn of the twenty-first century. 2. In my first years of teaching, I will be expected to follow national standards in my work with students. 3. During my first years of teaching, classroom observations by my school administrators will be the most common form of evaluation that I will experience. 4. Current proposals for merit pay will use my students’ test scores as a basis for judging whether I am eligible to receive merit pay. 5. Professional organizations, such as the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, have led the way in the process of educational reform.

LEARNING OUTCOME 12.1  Explain how the current reform movement has been shaped by previous efforts at reform. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Teaching and You As you prepare to take your first job two or three years from now, how different do you believe teaching will be compared to when you were a student in elementary, middle, or high school? What implications will these differences have for your work as a teacher?

Understanding Reform Reform: What Is It? Reform implies changes—for schools, students, and teachers. These changes are intended to improve our nation’s schools and make them better places to learn and work. Reform takes many forms. It can mean changes in the way you and other teachers are screened as you enter the profession, how your teaching will be evaluated, or the way you’ll be rewarded for quality work. It can also mean changes in ways student learning is assessed and even whether students are promoted from one grade to another based on these assessments. These changes address the questions we asked in Teaching and You at the beginning of this section. Teaching for you will be different, and perhaps even radically different, from what it was for your teachers when you were a P–12 student. To understand these changes, we begin with a brief history of the reform movement.

A Brief History of the Reform Movement During much of the twentieth century, educational reform focused on high-ability students, with the goal of producing more scientists and engineers for our growing economy (Schneider, 2011). Reformers thought of education as a pyramid, and the goal

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was to propel more students to the top and make these high-performing students even more competent and productive. Leaders didn’t worry as much about lower-achieving students because they believed these students would continue to find decent-paying jobs in factories. However, technology and competition from other industrial countries changed all that. Factory jobs disappeared, and service sector jobs, such as working in fast food restaurants, failed to provide a viable standard of living for those near the bottom of the educational pyramid. Our country’s evolving economy no longer had jobs for school dropouts and underachievers. Some reformers even claimed that attaining a college degree should be the goal not just for some, but for every student (Carlson, 2016). These concerns led to the modern reform movement, which is often traced back to 1983, when A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, published by the National Commission on Excellence in Education (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) appeared. This publication stated that our country was “at risk” of losing the economic war with other industrialized countries because of a “mediocre” educational system (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). The report came at a time when other industrialized countries, such as Japan and Germany, were outcompeting us both industrially and educationally. The report struck a chord with our country’s leaders; if we were to compete internationally, we needed better schools (Toch, 2018). Since 1983, public education has been immersed in a wave of efforts to address the concerns raised in A Nation at Risk. The most important include: • 1989: President George H. W. Bush and the nation’s governors held a national education conference to establish six broad goals to address the issues raised in A Nation at Risk. Their report emphasized the need for the development of student performance standards, which would make explicit exactly what our students should know and learn. • 1993: The National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST) was established to begin the development of national standards and testing procedures for K–12 students. This effort was ultimately unsuccessful, primarily because of resistance to the idea of national standards. • 1994: President Clinton signed the Goals 2000: Educate America Act that created a special council to certify national and state standards together with state assessments. • 1996: A National Education Summit, composed of the governors of more than 40 states and national business leaders, attempted to establish clear standards and subject matter content at state and local levels. • 1999: A second summit identified challenges facing U.S. schools in three areas: improving teacher quality, helping all students reach high standards, and strengthening accountability. Economics was the impetus behind these reform efforts, with the goal of making our country’s economy more globally competitive. The creation of standards was viewed as the central mechanism for reaching that goal. Standards are statements that specify what students should know or be able to do after a prescribed period of study, and since 2001, every state in the nation has developed both standards in different content areas and tests to measure students’ attainment of those standards. These standards are the direct result of No Child Left Behind legislation, discussed in the next section.

No Child Left Behind The reform movement took a major turn in 2001, with the passage of federal legislation called No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB was a far-reaching federal legislative attempt to identify and serve students in all segments of our society. The impetus behind this legislation was a growing realization that many children in our poorest

420  Chapter 12

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses our first question in What I Believe, “Educational reform in our country is a recent idea, beginning about at the turn of the twenty-first century.” This statement isn’t true; educational reform has a long history. Our modern reform movement, however, is largely considered to have begun in 1983, when A Nation at Risk was published.

schools were indeed being left behind, as indicated by major achievement gaps between poor and more affluent students and between students who are members of cultural minorities and their White counterparts. In keeping with the “standards” theme, leaders concluded that requiring states to create standards in math and reading, and constructing tests to measure every student’s attainment of those standards would address these disparities. Schools that did not produce adequate yearly progress (AYP) in these academic areas would be subject to a variety of sanctions, including providing students with transportation to alternate schools, supplementary tutoring services, and even takeovers of failing schools. As we saw in our introductory case study, when Emma took her first job, she was immediately faced with standards and their implications for both her and her students. Standards and the tests based on them are now a fact of life for teachers in our country, substantively influenced by NCLB. This complex and comprehensive (670 pages) reform effort was controversial from the beginning. Proponents suggested that NCLB focused our nation’s attention on the importance of education, and especially on the basic skills essential for success both in school and in later life (Wong, Wing, Martin, & Krishnamachari, 2018). In addition, by requiring that states report the academic progress of specific subgroups, such as members of cultural minorities, it highlighted the problem of unequal achievement in our country’s students. Critics of NCLB agreed that all children should have the opportunity to succeed in school, but focused on the way the legislation was implemented. For example, NCLB required that each state design its own standards and assessments to measure the extent to which students met the standards. This resulted in a patchwork of standards and accountability systems that varied widely from state to state and, more significantly, were often inaccurate and misleading. For instance, some states, faced with the possibility of federal sanctions for not meeting their benchmarks, “gamed the system” by lowering standards and creating lax accountability systems that rewarded mediocre and even poor performance (Wong et al., 2018). Requiring all students to become proficient in basic skills by 2014, a key component of the act, was another problem. Critics argued that this requirement was as unrealistic as asking the country to do away with crime, poverty, or cancer by a certain date. It just couldn’t be done, they contended (Chen, 2017). In recognition of the difficulties in reaching this unrealistic goal, the federal government awarded waivers to 42 states, basically negotiating with them over issues such as Common Core standards, accountability, and linking teacher evaluations to student test performance (Klein, 2015). (We discuss the Common Core standards in detail in the next section of the chapter.) NCLB is now gone, replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act, which we discuss in the next section (Hess & McShane, 2018). But major provisions of the law, which focused on testing and accountability, remain, and its long-term effects on reform in general, and standards and accountability in particular, will persist well into the future.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) NCLB was not popular. Political conservatives believed it gave too much power to the federal government; liberals thought it placed too much emphasis on testing and accountability of basic skills—primarily reading and math—at the expense of a more balanced curriculum that includes areas such as, social studies, art, and music. Parents reacted to the over-emphasis on testing, often having their children “opt out” of many standardized tests (Burnette, 2016). Teachers disliked it because it limited their professional autonomy and forced them to focus on content that would be tested by standardized tests. Something had to change. NCLB was scheduled to be reauthorized in 2007, but a politically divided Congress was unable to create a viable alternative until 2015, when ESSA was passed by a 359–64

Educational Reform and You 421

vote, with dissenting votes coming from Republicans who resisted federal intrusions into local control of schools. This legislation, which was implemented in the fall of 2018, ushered in a new era for both teachers and schools. ESSA: Accountability Redefined.  Accountability through testing remains a central tenet of the new ESSA legislation, but how that accountability is defined has changed (Ujifusa, 2018). In essence, the federal government handed responsibility for defining accountability to the states. Under ESSA, each state is responsible for setting achievement goals for its students, and the definition of student achievement has been broadened to include other measures of school quality. In response to critics who claimed that standardized achievement test scores too narrowly defined a quality education, the new ESSA allows states to include alternate innovative measures of success. These include measures of student chronic absences, graduation rates, tracking whether students are ready for college, and school climate surveys (Ujifusa, 2018). In addition, states are required to provide information on graduation rates for different groups of students, including cultural minorities, English learners, and students with exceptionalities. To receive federal funds, states must still test all students on statewide assessments in math and reading/language arts, every year in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, and in science once between grades 3 and 5, once between grades 6 and 9, and once again in high school. States are also required to provide information on the learning progress of English learners, and exception rates for the number of students with disabilities are strictly limited to 1% of the student population (Klein, 2018a). However, in an attempt to raise test scores, almost half of the states requested waivers from this limit, and 19 were granted waivers. In addition, states are required to provide information on graduation rates for different groups of students, including cultural minorities, English learners, and students with exceptionalities. The message was clear—states and districts need to gather and report on the educational progress of all students, not just the high performing ones.

ESSA: Implications for Teaching So, how will these changes affect your life as a teacher? Your students will still be tested, but the specific tests will vary from state to state (Klein, 2018a). You’ll need to find out what these tests contain and adjust accordingly. There will be increased pressure to ensure that all subgroups of students—members of cultural minorities, English learners, and students with exceptionalities—learn and succeed on these annually administered tests (Burnette, 2016). This will mean that you will need to become proficient in analyzing test results for each subgroup and adjust your instruction accordingly (Will, 2018a). In addition, schools will still be expected to communicate results to parents, caregivers, and the community at large with information about student progress. Gone are the unrealistic requirements of annual yearly progress (AYP) and the mandatory interventions for schools failing to meet AYP goals, but schools and districts (and teachers) will still be graded. And states are still required to provide report cards for each school, which must include per-pupil expenditures as well as specific information about homeless children, those in foster care, and children of military families.

Data-Driven Reform Reshapes Education in the United States As a result of reform efforts, increased emphasis is being placed on student test scores. Data-driven reform uses information, typically student test score data, to spur and guide improvements in teaching and learning. By analyzing student test scores, data-driven reformers’ goal has been to steer the direction of educational reform in—what they believe is—the right direction (Datnow, Choi, Park, & St. John, 2018; Park & Datnow, 2017). The No Child Left Behind act, and its successor ESSA,

422  Chapter 12 were data-driven reforms, as are several others. In this section, we examine three of the most significant: • The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) • Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) • Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) Let’s look at them now. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a battery of achievement tests administered periodically to carefully selected samples of students (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2019). Called the “Nation’s Report Card,” the NAEP is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of achievement for students across our country. To obtain a valid picture, it strategically samples students with respect to gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity to ensure that the results accurately reflect students’ achievement in all of our nation’s schools. Results are not provided for individual students, classrooms, or schools, but test scores are reported for specific groups of students, such as females from low-income families, as well as for different states and major urban areas (National Assessment for Educational Progress, 2019). NAEP tests are given every four years in the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades in math, reading, science, and writing and less frequently in art, civics, economics, geography, and American history. A pilot of a new technology and engineering test—NAEP’s first entirely computer-based assessment—has been field-tested and is oriented toward critical thinking and problem solving, such as asking students to collaborate with a simulated boss via video conference to improve the life cycle of a household toaster. Only 20% of this test consists of concrete facts and information. Future NAEP tests will continue to emphasize performance assessments focusing on application and problem solving, and test administration by computer is likely to expand (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017b). To see what kind of information the NAEP provides, let’s look at results for American students’ 4th-grade math achievement over time (see Figures 12.1 and 12.2). Initial results from NAEP tests were encouraging; when we compare scores from 1990 to 2015,

Figure 12.1  White and Black Students’ NAEP Scores on 4th-Grade Math SOURCE: National Assessment of Educational Progress (2018). The nation’s report card. Available at https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/math_2017/nation/ gaps?grade=4

White and Black Students’ NAEP Scores on 4th Grade Math 250

Scale Score

230

243 227

188

216

193

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248

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248

248 ACHIEVEMENT GAP

234

220

210 190

231

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203

White Black

170 150

1990 1992 1996 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 Year

YEAR

GAP

1990 1992 1996 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017

32 34 33 31 27 26 26 26 25 26 24 25

Educational Reform and You 423

Figure 12.2  White and Hispanic Students’ NAEP Scores on 4th-Grade Math SOURCE: National Assessment of Educational Progress (2018). The nation’s report card. Available at https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/math_2017/nation/ gaps?grade=4

White and Hispanic Students’ NAEP Scores on 4th Grade Math 250

Scale Score

230 210

243 227

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202

222 205

248

226

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249

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234

220 200

246

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250 231

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208

190 White Hispanic

170 150

1990 1992 1996 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 Year

we see a positive trend for all students. Our students seemed to be learning more and getting smarter. Reform initiated by A Nation at Risk appeared to be working. But a closer examination of the scores revealed that around the turn of the twentyfirst century the gains in scores leveled off. Also, NAEP data revealed a more troubling pattern, a considerable and persistent gap between the achievement of White and minority students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018b). For example, while the achievement gap between White and Black students in 4th-grade math significantly narrowed between 1990 and 2003, further progress stalled between 2003 and 2017 (see Figure 12.1). We see a similar pattern in the achievement gap between White and Hispanic students during those time periods (see Figure 12.2). Comparing the proficiency levels for different racial or ethnic groups in 4th-grade math and reading is another way to look at the NAEP data (NAEP considers “proficient” as representing “solid academic performance” (Harvey, 2018) (see Table 12.1). In 2017, a considerable gap between the 4th-grade math and reading proficiency levels of White students compared to both Black and Hispanic students continued to exist. Subsequent analysis of the data revealed that these disparities are even more pronounced at the high ends of achievement. For example, in 2011, 1 in 10 White 4th graders achieved at an “advanced” level in math, compared with 1 in 50 Hispanic students and 1 in 100 Black students (Education Trust, 2013). When reformers analyzed this data, they concluded that American schools were doing a passable job

Table 12.1  Percentage of Students Reaching Proficiency Levels in 4th-Grade Math and Reading, 2017

4th-Grade Math

4th-Grade Reading

White

51

47

Black

19

20

Hispanic

26

23

Asian

64

59

Pacific Islander

29

27

SOURCE: National Assessment of Educational Progress (2018). The Nation’s Report Card. Retrieved from https:// www.nationsreportcard.gov/math_2017/nation/achievement?grade=4 and https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ reading_2017/nation/achievement?grade=4

ACHIEVEMENT GAP YEAR

GAP

1990 1992 1996 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017

20 25 26 26 21 20 19 21 20 19 18 19

424  Chapter 12 of educating most students, but serious gaps or problems with the achievement of certain cultural minorities continued to exist (Camera, 2018). In addition, experts cautioned that student performance on these tests is linked to a country’s economic growth and progress; if we want a healthy economy, our students must perform better on these tests (Hanushek, 2018).

Teaching and You How good was your own elementary and secondary educational experience? Did it prepare you for college? How do you think it would compare to those in other countries? What would have made it better?

International Comparisons Fuel Further Reform Efforts Given the interest in international competition in industry and business, it was only a matter of time until educational reformers started to ask how well our schools were doing compared to those in other countries. This led to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the Program for International Science Assessments (PISA). Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).  Using comparable standardized test score data from other industrialized countries, TIMSS data revealed that students in our country lag behind many other countries in science and mathematics (TIMSS, 2018). For instance, in 2015, American 4th graders ranked eleventh in math and eighth in science compared to other developed countries, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, and 8th graders ranked ninth in math and eighth in science compared to these same countries (Provasnik et al., 2016). These international comparisons have resulted in increased scrutiny of our country’s educational system, and they have raised questions about how to import the best educational practices from other countries. Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).  PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment, is another testing program designed to provide a comprehensive picture of student achievement in different countries around the world (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Initiated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, PISA has tested hundreds of thousands of international high school students from 80 countries since 2000, focusing on reading, math, and science, with an emphasis on critical thinking (Schneider, 2019). The 2015 administration revealed that 38 nations outperformed U.S. students in math; in contrast, Canada, our neighbor to the north was ranked ninth (Hanushek, 2018). The only area in which our country consistently excels is educational spending per pupil, where we are second in the world (Ripley, 2013). The need for reform appeared to be clear. American students lagged behind other countries in educational achievement, and within our country, significant numbers of minority students were falling behind (Yu & Cantor, 2016). To correct these problems one of the first places that reformers looked was the content that students were studying, the curriculum. We turn to it next.

MyLab Education Self-Check 12.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 12.2  Explain how reform efforts focusing on standards, testing, and accountability are influencing the curriculum and classroom instruction. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

Reform: Focus on the Curriculum In response to information suggesting that our schools were not performing adequately, reformers first focused on the school curriculum. Three aspects of this effort were put into place: 1) Standards, which describe what students should know or be able to do after a prescribed period of study; 2) testing to determine the extent to which standards

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have been met; and 3) accountability, which requires students to meet the standards and makes teachers responsible for ensuring that they do. We examine these aspects of reform next.

Standards, Testing, and Accountability Spurred on by the NCLB Act of 2001, a major sea change occurred in the area of curriculum. In the past, teachers were relatively free to teach what they wanted. They had state and district curriculum guides, which they may or may not have consulted before deciding what was best for students. Now, because of NCLB, and its successor, ESSA, every state has constructed standards in most major content areas, and if you teach reading, math, and perhaps science, you and your students will both be held accountable for meeting them. Accountability means that your students will be required to demonstrate that they’ve met the standards, and you will be responsible for ensuring that they do. States have also developed standardized tests to hold students (and their teachers) accountable for meeting these prescribed learning standards. In many cases, the assessments are high-stakes tests, standardized assessments that states and districts use to determine whether students can advance from one grade to another, graduate from high school, or have access to specific fields of study, like advanced math or science courses. For example, if graduating from high school depends on students’ performance on the test, the stakes are high, thus the term, “high-stakes”. As of 2017, 12 states required students to pass an exit exam to receive a high school diploma (Gewertz, 2018). If you recently graduated from high school, you might have taken one of these tests yourself. When you teach, you will be on the other side of the fence; you will be responsible for preparing your students to perform well on these assessments.

Standards in Today’s Schools Although most attention has been focused on reading, math, and science, standards have also been written for a variety of other content areas: • Fine arts • Physical education • Economics • Agricultural science • Business education • Technology applications • Trade and industrial education • Spanish language arts and English as a second language And even this list is not exhaustive. You can easily access your own state’s standards by clicking on the following link: http://www.educationworld.com/standards/. Scroll down and click on the menu to select your state. Many professional organizations have produced similar content-specific standards, including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2019), the National Council of Teachers of English (International Literacy Association & National Council of Teachers of English, 2019), and others that focus on science, social studies, early childhood education, special education, the arts, health education, and bilingual education. Most state standards are grounded in the standards prepared by these organizations.

Standards and Assessment Together with standards, states also have constructed tests aligned with the standards. As with standards, state tests have different labels, such as the State of Texas

426  Chapter 12 Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) (Texas Education Agency, 2019). States also vary in the way they administer their tests. For example, the STAAR is given in 3rd through 8th grade in reading and math, 5th and 8th grade in science, 4th and 7th grade in writing, and 8th grade in social studies. Other states’ schedules differ. When you begin teaching, you will need to become fully aware of the testing schedule for your state. To help teachers align their instruction with state standards, sample test items that parallel the items on the standardized assessments or older versions of the tests themselves are usually available. Both are linked to specific standards. These sample items and older versions of the tests are useful in two ways. First, standards vary in their specificity, so you will sometimes have to interpret the meaning of the standard. Sample items help you with this process. Second, the sample items help guide your efforts as you prepare your students for the tests. For example, a sample test item from the STAAR designed to measure the extent to which students have reached the 4th-grade math standard from Texas looks like this (Texas Education Agency, 2019) (see Figure 12.3).

Standards and Assessment: Implications for Teaching

MyLab Education Video Example12.1 Standards guide teachers’ instruction and their assessments. Here, fifth-grade teacher DeVonne Lampkin describes the results of an assessment she has given her students designed to determine the extent to which they understand equivalent fractions and are able to add fractions with unlike denominators.

This sample standard and item is typical of other state standards and assessment items in two ways. First, both standards and assessment items are designed to measure more than students’ ability to remember factual information; most go beyond this level and measure students’ understanding of conceptual knowledge. This means that when you plan your instruction to meet standards, you’ll need to teach students to do more than simply memorize information, and you should also develop assessments that do more than measure their knowledge of facts. Second, the items on virtually all state tests are written in a multiple-choice format that both increases their reliability and makes them easier to score. The fact that these items are multiple-choice has an important implication for you; you’ll need to be sure your students are comfortable with this testing format. This suggests that some of the teacher-made assessments you create should be multiple choice as well, so your students have practice responding to this format. This is a demanding process, but one that will help prepare your students for the state tests and increase the likelihood that their test scores reflect what they actually know. At this early point in your teacher preparation program, standards, accountability, and high-stakes testing might seem somewhat intimidating, or even overwhelming. However, as you spend time on your state’s website and are provided with support from your school when you begin your first job, the task won’t seem so daunting.

Figure 12.3  Sample Evaluation Item to Measure Students’ Understanding of Equivalent Fractions in STAAR

Adapted from Texas Education Agency, 2019.

Which pair of models is shaded to represent equivalent fractions?

A

C

B

D

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MyLab Education Application Exercise 12.1: Applying Standards in 1st Grade In this exercise you will be asked to analyze how a teacher uses standards to guide her instruction.

National Standards Earlier we saw that our country’s students lag behind their counterparts in other countries in math, reading, and science. Additional analysis of these international comparisons revealed large variations in different states’ performance on these international comparisons; some did quite well, while others scored poorly (Gewertz, 2013; Heitin, 2013). Reformers claimed that differences in the rigor of different states’ standards and testing procedures was the primary cause. In response to these differences, the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) was launched in 2009. “The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in college, careers and life, regardless of where they live” (CCSSI, 2018a, para.2). This effort was designed to establish a single set of clear educational standards for all states in English-language arts, and mathematics; history/ social studies, science, and technical education standards are on the drawing boards. As of 2018, 42 states and the District of Columbia adopted these standards (CCSSI, 2018a), but this figure changes daily as political controversies cause many state governments to reconsider (Hess & McShane, 2018). The standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to go to college or enter the workforce, and that parents, teachers, and students have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. The new standards are also linked to international benchmarks and are designed to ensure that American students can compete in the emerging global marketplace. To illustrate, let’s look at two of these Common Core standards. The following is an example from 1st-grade math. CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.B.3 Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract. Examples: If 8 + 3 = 11 is known, then 3 + 8 = 11 is also known (commutative property of addition). To add 2 + 6 + 4, the second two numbers can be added to make a ten, so 2 + 6 + 4 = 2 + 10 = 12 (associative property of addition). (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018g)

As another example, a literacy standard in English/Language Arts for Grades 9 and 10 appears as follows. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018d)

As we see, these Common Core State Standards are similar to the standards that already exist in the states. The consistency the standards provide—both internationally and among states in our country—is a primary advantage of the CCSSI, and they have been endorsed by most professional groups. As of 2015, 28 states were using nationally developed tests designed to assess attainment of the standards, with the remainder using those locally developed (Gewertz, 2015). However, as with most reforms, the movement toward the Common Core has been controversial, and critics raise a number of questions. For example, will Common Core standards result in lessons dictated from afar? How will the public in each state have access to and control over what is being taught in their schools? And will CCSSI

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Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the second item in What I Believe, “In my first years of teaching, I will be expected to follow national standards in my work with students.” This statement is likely true; most states have additional standards and are using them to guide instruction. You will know whether this applies in your state when you take your first job.

lead to a national curriculum and a national test, something that conservatives and local control advocates strongly resist (Clement & Brown, 2015)? A similar controversy over local control of schools prevented the adoption of national standards efforts in the 1990s. Critics also contend that the new standards aren’t demanding enough and don’t adequately prepare students for college (Heitin, 2015b). However, other critics (primarily parents of test-taking students) argue the exact opposite; they fear that the new tests are too challenging (Kirp, 2014). Finally, skeptics believe many of the proposed standards are vague and wonder if they provide teachers with sufficient guidance for implementation. Model curriculum units, sample lesson plans, formative assessments, and test items linked to standards are all needed to provide teachers with more guidance and support. But supporters of the Common Core are enthusiastic about its promise, describing it as “the most important educational reform in the country’s history” (New York Times Editorial Board, 2013, para. 2), “[A]rguably one of the most important education initiatives in decades,” (Bushaw & Lopez, 2013, p. 9), and “. . . the most serious educational reform of our lifetime” (Keller, 2013, para. 3). As we saw above, the standards have been endorsed by most professional groups, and business leaders have come out in formal support of the Common Core (Molnar, 2014). Also, more than 8 of 10 Americans strongly agree that schools should teach critical thinking skills, which are integral to the Common Core (Langer Research Associates, 2018). Despite the controversies, the common standards movement is moving forward, and you will likely encounter them when you begin teaching. The federal government has invested over $360 million in this reform, and private organizations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have added hundreds of millions more (Strauss, 2015). Further, as development moves forward, you will likely be provided with model curriculum units, sample lesson plans, formative assessments, and test items linked to standards, all of which will provide you with additional support.

Controversies in the Standards Movement Standards, accountability, and high-stakes testing are facts of teaching life, and they’ll influence all aspects of your teaching. Every state has created standards in a variety of content areas, and schools, districts, and states must report the achievement of different groups of students classified by race, ethnicity, gender, and English proficiency. This requirement has focused attention on the considerable disparities in achievement between different groups of students, such as those who are members of cultural minorities. Schools are graded—A, B, C, D, and F—depending on how their students perform, and, in addition to the stigma for being in a D or F school, sanctions such as school closings threaten schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress with any of these student subgroups. In addition, a number of states have passed laws requiring students to pass standards-based tests before they can be promoted to the next grade, despite research that shows that grade retention increases the odds for students dropping out later (Jacobs, 2016). The pressure on states, school districts, and particularly on schools and teachers within specific schools, is enormous.

The Backlash Against Standardized Testing and High-Stakes Evaluation Because of the pressures, accountability and high-stakes standardized testing are controversial. Resistance to accountability and the use of test scores to evaluate both teachers and students led to a strike threat from Denver teachers in 2019 (Will, 2019). We take a look now at criticisms of these practices, resistance to them, and finally arguments made by advocates. Criticisms of Standardized Testing and High-Stakes Evaluation.  Critics argue that they damage both schools and students in several ways. Critics assert, because high-stakes tests primarily focus on math, reading, and science, teachers spend the majority of their time on

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these subjects and de-emphasize other content areas, such as social studies, art, and music. This narrowing of the curriculum deprives students of a well-rounded education and also stifles teacher professionalism and creativity. In addition, critics assert that current accountability systems fail to measure important educational goals, such as student motivation, self-regulation, and physical and emotional health (Cappella, Aber, & Kim, 2016). The pressure for students to perform well on these tests can also produce unintended consequences. For instance, to avoid test-related sanctions, teachers sometimes request transfers out of grades that are tested, or schools that face sanctions, such as urban and high-poverty schools where students often underachieve (Luschel & Jeong, 2018). As a result, students are deprived of precisely the competent, experienced teachers they need most (Springer, Swain, & Rodriguez, 2016). In addition, high school exit exams may discourage students from staying in school, so they contribute to the dropout problem, and these adverse effects are often greater for members of cultural minorities and students from low-income families. Research also shows that accountability pressures encourage teachers to concentrate their efforts on “bubble “students, those who are close to passing required tests, and subconsciously ignore lower ability students whose test scores are unlikely to change enough to make a difference in a teacher’s classroom pass rates (Lauren & Gaddis, 2016). Critics also contend that current tests are not adequate for making crucial decisions about students’ lives, and cutoff scores are often arbitrary. For example, when Virginia lowered the cutoff score for a test by one point, nearly 6,000 failing scores became passing (Bracey, 2003). In New York City, just the opposite happened; 82% of students passed their math tests in 2009, but when cutoff scores were slightly raised the next year, only 54% passed (Noddings, 2010c). Did students suddenly become dumber? No, school administrators just changed the cutoff passing score. In New York State, the number of students who scored “proficient” on new state tests plummeted by approximately 30 percentage points in 2013, the first year of testing (Kirp, 2014). Again, critics asked, “Did the kids get dumber, or is there something wrong with the test and its cutoff points?” Further, making decisions about student grade promotion or graduation based on one score is being increasingly criticized by a number of professional organizations, such as the American Educational Research Association (American Educational Research Association, 1999) and the American Psychological Association (cited in American Educational Research Association, 1999). Experts also warn that high-stakes tests have negative side effects, such as decreased student motivation and, ultimately, decreased learning (Good, 2014). Questions related to high-stakes testing with minority students also remain unanswered. One involves test bias and whether existing tests provide an accurate picture of minority achievement, and particularly the achievement of students who are not native English speakers (Peregoy & Boyle, 2017). Wide-ranging cases of cheating, as a result of the pressures involved, are perhaps the most insidious unintended consequences of high-stakes testing. Investigators have “. . . documented cases of cheating in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense schools and 60 ways in which adults can manipulate test scores” (Mitchell, 2015, para. 21). One of the most widely publicized cases occurred in Atlanta, where 11 educators were convicted of racketeering that led to them spending years in prison (Mitchell, 2015; Stark, 2018). Some argue that the pressures involved in highstakes testing make cheating inevitable (Morgan, 2016). In summary, critics argue that high-stakes testing: • distorts education by narrowing the curriculum and teaching to the test; • demoralizes teachers and encourages them to transfer out of low-performing schools; and • adversely affects students and can lead to cheating (Lavigne, Good, & Marx, 2014; Robinson, Fischer, Wiley, & Hilton, 2014).

MyLab Education Video Example 12.2 Standards, testing, and accountability are controversial. Here, first-grade teacher Tracy Ruark describes her reactions to the controversies involved in the standards movement.

430  Chapter 12 Resistance to Standardized Testing and High-Stakes Evaluation.  Resistance to standardized testing and high-stakes evaluation focuses largely on the problem of overtesting. For instance, a survey of 66 school districts around the country found that students typically take several standardized tests in a given year, at an annual cost of billions of dollars. High-stakes testing has become a lucrative business for companies that construct and sell these tests (Hart et al., 2015). Many parents believe that students are over-tested and have responded with “opting out,” basically keeping their children at home when standardized tests are given (Kirylo, 2018). Advocates of the opting out movement protest policies that rank, sort, and impose what they believe are unfair consequences on students, teachers, and schools. This resistance movement has caused problems for federal and state policymakers. Both No Child Left Behind and its successor, ESSA, require states to have 95% participation rates in their mandated accountability measures, but 13 states failed to meet this 95% threshold level in 2015, and the situation was even worse in high opt-out states (Ujifusa, 2016). In California, only 90% of students in grades 7 through 10 completed Common Core-aligned tests, and 21% of New York students in grades 3 through 8 refused to take state exams (Burnette, 2016). Parents and the general public have mixed reactions to the opting-out movement. For instance, a 2015 poll indicated that more than half of parents and nearly 60% of the general public opposed opting out of tests (Ujifusa, 2016). But 25% of the general public and 32% of parents supported it. Parents who resist the emphasis on standardized testing and high-stakes evaluation advocate more emphasis on interpersonal skills such as cooperation, respect, and problem-solving, and increased focus on technology and engineering. Only 6% endorse the present emphasis on standardized testing and 4 in 10 parents express little or no confidence in the significance of standardized test results (Langer Research Associates, 2017). The Opposite View.  Advocates of testing, while conceding that teacher preparation, instructional resources, and the tests themselves need to be improved, argue that these tests are the fairest and most effective means of promoting success for all students. Further, they assert, evidence indicates that educational systems that require content standards and use tests that thoroughly measure the extent to which the standards are met greatly improve the achievement for all students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds (Rosen & Parise, 2017).

Standardized Testing: Implications for Teaching Polls suggest that a disconnect exists between state and federal testing policies, and what parents want for their children. And you, as a teacher, will be stuck right in the middle of this controversy. You will be responsible for preparing students to take the tests and administering them. You will also be the person who explains test results to students and their parents, what scores mean, why tests are given, and the implications they have for students and their families. To communicate clearly and effectively, you will need to understand the pros and cons of standardized testing and accountability, and how they impact students. Hopefully, the information in this section will assist you in this process.

MyLab Education Self-Check 12.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 12.3  Describe how schools are being changed as a result of reform efforts. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

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Reform: Focus on Schools Changing the curriculum is one way to reform education; changing the schools themselves is another. In this section, we consider reforms directed at schools and how they’re organized and run. We begin with the federal effort called “Race to the Top.”

Race to the Top Race to the Top was a more than $4 billion U.S. Department of Education competition, open to all 50 states, designed to spur innovation and reforms in states’ and districts’ schools (Gabriel & Woulfin, 2018). The Race to the Top competition awarded states points for satisfying certain educational criteria, all of which focused on school improvement. The major goals for the program were to (Howell, 2015): • Improve teacher and principal effectiveness through performance-based assessments (student test scores). • Encourage the adoption of Common Core Standards and develop corresponding assessment systems. • Target low-performing schools and either improve them or convert them to charters or privately managed schools. • Improve existing data management systems to provide better information to teachers and decision makers. When these goals were translated into criteria for the Race to the Top competition, they encouraged large numbers of states to pass laws designed to improve teacher quality through increased testing, stricter teacher tenure laws, and the elimination of “last in and first out” layoff clauses. Critics argued that these clauses reward longevity over teacher performance or quality (Goldstein, 2014). The Race to the Top program was significant for three reasons. First, it was the first large-scale attempt by the federal government to use a competition to foster educational reform. Second, like NCLB and ESSA, it purposely left the specifics of reform to individual states to avoid criticisms that the federal government was being heavyhanded. Third, it sent a clear signal that the federal government was squarely behind reform proposals, such as: (1) the use of student achievement data to evaluate schools, principals, and teachers; (2) a commitment to Common Core standards and more uniform assessment systems; and (3) a focus on low-performing schools, with charters and privately managed schools as alternatives. Each of these reform efforts is likely to influence you in your first teaching job. As with all reforms, the entire Race to the Top competition has critics, and many of these criticisms focus more on the criteria used to determine winners than on the competition itself. A major sticking point has been the requirement to develop a comprehensive system of standards and assessments, which for most states resulted in the adoption of Common Core standards. These standards have become a lightning rod for conservative critics who fear a national curriculum and the demise of local control of educational issues (Powell, 2014). As we saw in our earlier discussion, critics also argue that accountability and highstakes testing, two integral components of Race to the Top, are basically untested by thorough research, haven’t worked in the past, and are unlikely to succeed in the future (Gabriel & Woulfin, 2017). The development of viable teacher evaluation systems in the states that won grants also proved to be a problem (Hess & McShane, 2018). Two states-Tennessee and Florida-faced union lawsuits over their teacher evaluation systems, which critics described as arbitrary, flawed, and in violation of teachers’ constitutional rights (Sawchuk, 2014g).

432  Chapter 12 Other critics, which include professional organizations, complain that the program mandates top-down reform at the expense of teacher involvement, focuses too narrowly on testing and accountability, favors charter schools at the expense of support for public schools, and fails to address inadequate funding for all students (Goldstein, 2014; Weingarten, 2014).

School Choice School choice, programs that allow families to choose an option other than the school to which their children are assigned by geographical location, is a second way to reform schools. Promoted by political conservatives who bemoan the lack of alternatives to public education, and dramatized by popular movies such as Waiting for Superman (Guggenheim, 2011) and The Lottery (Sackler, 2010), the school-choice movement is transforming the face of education in our country. School choice includes the following options: • Attend an alternate traditional public school other than the school to which students would be assigned by their geographical location. • Attend a charter school (we discuss charter schools in the next section). • Attend a private school. • Receive vouchers to provide financial support for education outside assigned schools. • Receive tax credits and deductions for expenses related to schooling outside the public-school system. Advocates of school choice argue that the freedom to choose is a basic American value. We live in a democracy; for example, we can choose where and how we live, and the occupation in which we work. Shouldn’t we also have a choice in the schools our children attend? In much of our country, the neighborhoods in which they live largely determine where students go to school. And the schools across our country are remarkably similar. For instance, if we walk into most public schools across the country, we’ll see teachers basically teaching the same content in the same way. Even the boxlike architecture of school buildings is essentially the same everywhere. Critics of our existing system decry this uniformity and argue that we are a nation of 50 states with unique and distinctive histories and subcultures, and our schools should reflect this diversity. In addition, they assert, experimentation and innovation have been central to our nation’s progress, and conformity discourages innovation. The availability of alternatives would result in healthy competition and better schools. They also argue that the public school system has become bloated, bureaucratic, and unresponsive to individual citizens’ needs. Opponents of school choice counter these arguments by asserting that families already have choices. For instance, they can move to neighborhoods served by better schools, and the quality of schools is a major factor in parents choosing where to live (Verstegen, Knoeppel, & Brimley, 2020). Some families, desperate for better schools for their children, even falsify information to claim residency in another district (Darden, 2014). Also, if parents don’t like the schools in their neighborhood, they can move or send their children to private schools, and 5.8 million families currently participate in private schooling, comprising more than 10% of the school-age population (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018a). Districts already allow parents who believe their local schools are subpar to send their children across town to better schools with open enrollment and magnet school programs. Doing so requires time and expense, but families still have choices. Choice advocates counter these arguments by pointing out that many poor, minority, and inner-city parents don’t have the resources to vote with their wallets or their cars.

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They can’t afford to move to better neighborhoods with better schools, send their children to private schools, or even to drive across town each day to transport their children to a non-neighborhood public school. And parents often lack crucial information about better educational alternatives for their children (Schneider, Jacobsen, Gehlbach, & White, 2018). In addition, some school districts are so bad, critics contend, that other schools in the district don’t really provide viable alternatives. These families deserve the right to choose, just as much as more wealthy families do. But how can families be provided with options? School choice has resulted in two major forms of educational reform: charter schools and vouchers.

Charter Schools Charter schools are alternative schools that are publicly funded but independently operated. In other words, they’re public schools that are not subject to the same regulations that exist for traditional public schools. The charter school movement began with the belief that the best way to reform schools is to take a school out of the existing bureaucracy and completely redesign it. Charter schools typically begin when a group—teachers, community members, a private corporation, or a combination of all three—develops a plan for a school, including its curriculum, staffing, and budget. This plan, or “charter,” must then be accepted by the local school board or state office of education and serves as a contract with the state. Charter schools sometimes offer a different curriculum, or target special populations, such as low-income students, but they are still public schools. Most school districts already have alternative schools, including magnet schools with specialized programs and schools designed to meet the needs of students who cannot function well in regular schools and classrooms, such as young, unwed mothers or children with serious behavior or emotional problems. Charter schools are similar to other alternative schools in that they offer a different curriculum or target special populations, but they differ in that they’re independently administered public schools and are subject to less regulatory control from a district’s central administration. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have passed charter school legislation, and now more than 6% of public school students attend these schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018a). In Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Dayton, Ohio, over a third of students attend charter schools (Fuller, Dauter, & Waite, 2016). The focus of different charter schools varies, but most attract families seeking smaller schools and class sizes, better instruction, or alternatives to public school curricula and environments. About a third are designed by urban community leaders with the goal of meeting the needs of inner-city youth, and, nationally, more than 60% of charter students are members of racial or ethnic minority groups, compared to about half for regular public schools (Phi Delta Kappan, 2014). Some focus on developing students’ African heritage through language instruction, literature, and the arts (Shapiro, 2019). Others attract parents who want a return to the basics, and still others focus on Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages that parents want to preserve and pass on to their children. The charter school movement received a major boost from the appointment of Betsy DeVos, a strong advocate of school choice, as U.S Secretary of Education when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 (Klein, 2018b; Harris, 2016). KIPP Schools.  The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is one of the best known, and most effective, charter school organizations. This nonprofit charter school system consists of a national network of free, open-enrollment charter schools that usually target grades 5 through 8 and typically have enrollments of about 300 students. In 2018, 224 KIPP schools were operating across the country, serving more than 96,000 students, and the program recently expanded into early childhood education (KIPP Public Charter Schools, 2018).

Teaching and You When you look for your first teaching position, should you consider teaching in a charter school? What are the advantages and disadvantages of teaching in one?

434  Chapter 12 Almost all (98%) KIPP students come from Black or Hispanic families with incomes below the poverty line. The goal of KIPP schools is to prepare students for college and life after the school years. They attempt to reach this goal by changing the culture of schools through a “no excuses” approach to learning and a “no nonsense” philosophy of classroom management (Green, 2014). Its slogan is “No shortcuts, No excuses,” and it teaches students the acronym, SLANT (Sit up straight, Listen, Ask and answer questions, Nod if you understand, and Track the speaker) (Mead, 2017). KIPP schools also attempt to improve student achievement by lengthening both the school day and school year. For instance, school days are nine and a half hours long, students attend school on every other Saturday, and summer school is required. This translates into 45% more learning time than in traditional public schools. In addition, homework is required, hard work brings special rewards such as field trips, and principals in KIPP schools have a great deal of autonomy, such as the power to hire and fire teachers. Academic achievement of KIPP students is mixed; in some, evidence indicates that KIPP students perform well academically, outperforming their peers in traditional public schools, whereas in others they do not (Brighouse & Schouten, 2014; Cuban, 2013; Golann, 2018). But supporters laud the program as having “. . . provided alternative visions [of education] and proof that minority and poor children can succeed” (Cuban, 2013, p. 177). Questions remain about using KIPP as a prototype for traditional, non-charter public schools, however. For instance, not all low-income, inner-city parents want this no-nonsense approach to discipline and the heavy emphasis on basic skills (Rich, 2013). In addition, KIPP’s emphasis on teacher accountability, nonunion teachers, and principals’ ability to hire and fire teachers at will might not work in larger public school settings. And the policy of lengthening the school day and school year raises questions about whether time in school should be increased for all students and how much this increased time would cost taxpayers. Evaluating Charter Schools.  The number of charter schools and the number of students attending them are both increasing, and the charter school movement has received support from every American president since George H. W. Bush (Fuller et al., 2016). In addition, philanthropic organizations, such as the Gates and Walton Foundations, frequently support them (Hall, 2017). But are they truly successful, and can they become a model for positive educational reform? Evaluating charter schools is difficult because they vary dramatically in both mission and quality. Some are excellent. For example, one all-boys high school in Chicago serving urban African American students placed all 107 of its first graduating class in four-year colleges, and just 4% of these students were reading at grade level when they entered as freshmen (Paulson, 2010). Effective charters provide a coherent curriculum with excellent teachers, and the competition for these schools is often so great that lotteries are used. Desperate parents, searching for viable alternatives to dismal, inner-city options anxiously attend lottery meetings to see if their children can be admitted. Waiting for Superman, a documentary about a lottery for one inner-city charter, and one of the movies we mentioned earlier, received national attention and highlighted the plight of urban schools and their patrons. Charter schools provide one alternative in sometimes bleak and discouraging educational landscapes. However, multiple problems with charter schools have surfaced and fiscal mismanagement, particularly in charter schools run by for-profit organizations, is an important one (Vogell & Fresque, 2017). When education and money are mixed, money often takes precedence over the welfare of students. For instance, dozens of charter schools in Arizona were closed because of fiscal mismanagement and student underachievement (Philip & Cano, 2018). Similar problems plague cyber charter schools across the nation (Herold, 2018).

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Questionable educational practices can also be a problem. For example, Success Academy, New York City’s largest charter school network with 46 schools, regularly outpaces its public school counterparts on standardized test performance (Mead, 2017). In 2016, 84% of Success Academy students passed the state’s reading test and 95% passed the math test, compared to traditional public school passing rates of 38% and 36% respectively. And the network serves primarily poor, mostly Black and Hispanic students. But this success comes at a price. Extreme regimentation is a regular part of the school culture; students wear school uniforms and are taught to sit with their hands clasped during lessons. Questionable motivational practices are also part of the school culture. Calendars on classroom walls proclaim, “—days left until the test!” Performance on standardized tests is everything, and pressures are so great that students sometimes wet themselves because they’re not allowed to leave during practice tests. Shaming is used as a motivational tool. When students’ scores are reported, students with top scores (4’s) are asked to stand for recognition, followed by those earning 3’s and 2’s. Those getting 1’s are left sitting for all to see. Charts with students’ performance on weekly spelling and math tests are posted in hallways, and red is used to highlight the names of failing students. One teacher leader defended these practices, “This is serious business, and there has to be misery felt for the kids who are not doing what is expected of them” (Taylor, 2015b, p. A19). But another teacher who left the network reported, “I would cry almost every night thinking about the way I was treating those kids, and that’s not the kind of teacher I wanted to be” (Taylor, 2015b, p. A18). In spite of these controversial practices, parents, desperate for a quality education for their children, stormed schools’ doors to get in. In 2015, for instance, 22,000 applications were made for 2,688 available slots. These figures reflect the power of standardized tests to distort the goals of education, and many would argue that these practices are an indictment of the New York City Public Schools. Parents should not have to choose between humane classrooms with caring teachers and student learning. Both can exist, even under adverse conditions. And test performance should not be the only indicator of student success and the effectiveness of a school or a teacher. Whether charters can serve as viable prototypes for educational reform in regular public schools is uncertain. Charters—as originally conceived—were supposed to offer families alternatives and promote educational innovation by becoming models for reform in regular schools, but most charters are very similar to regular public schools in style and format (Cuban, 2013). And, as we saw earlier, charter schools that take a radically different approach to education, such as KIPP and the Success Academies, may not meet the educational needs of all families. Some critics also claim that charters succeed only because they receive extra funding from philanthropic organizations, such as the Gates Foundation (Ferrare & Setari, 2018). Significantly higher funding levels are unrealistic for regular public schools (but the successful charter schools that receive extra money do provide evidence that public schools need more financial support). Critics also contend that charter schools entice the best students away from poorperforming schools, leaving urban schools, in particular, in even worse shape (Fuller et al., 2016). And critics further claim that some charters turn away students with disabilities because of the greater cost of educating these students and the possibility that their scores would lower the school’s overall performance (Prothero, 2014b). Teachers’ roles are also issues. Originally intended as opportunities for teachers to become actively involved in site-based management, many charters—and particularly those run by for-profit groups—discourage teacher input and initiative, and many are antiunion because unions interfere with top-down management and alternative pay schedules (In-Perspective, 2018). And teachers in charter schools are paid less, have higher turnover rates—sometimes exceeding 50% in a given year (Ni, 2017), and they tend to

436  Chapter 12 be younger, less experienced, and less satisfied with their positions than teachers in traditional public schools. Student achievement is the ultimate test for any educational reform, and the same is true for charter schools. One comprehensive study, significant because of its scope and the fact that it was conducted by a neutral agency that neither advocated nor opposed charter schools, studied charters in 27 states that contained over 90% of the charters in our country (Raymond, 2014). The study found that student achievement in 17% of charter schools was superior to achievement in regular public schools, similar in about half of the charter schools, and inferior in 37% (Raymond, 2014). Results of other studies are similarly mixed (Ahn & McEachin, 2017; Brighouse & Schouten, 2014). Not all charter schools are effective and governing bodies need to evaluate each one carefully to ensure that families and students aren’t being shortchanged.

Charter Schools: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked if you should consider teaching in a charter school. In spite of mixed research results, the charter school movement is likely to increase because of public interest and political support. As a result, job opportunities in these schools are likely to grow. So, it’s important that you understand what will be expected of you if you consider a job in one of these schools. For instance, you may be expected to work longer weekday hours and some Saturdays, and whether you’ll be compensated for this extra time is uncertain. The curriculum will likely focus on basic skills, and you probably won’t have a great deal of input into school programs and policy. However, you are unlikely to have classroom management problems, and the school climate will be highly predictable. If you’re okay with these working conditions and this type of school culture, a job in one of these schools may be attractive to you. Whether you choose to work in a charter school is a personal decision, but it’s important to be well-informed before you make it.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 12.2: Assessing Charter Schools In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a school superintendent’s assessment of charter schools.

Teaching and You What would your education have been like if you had received a ticket to attend any school that you chose? What schools would you have chosen? What criteria would you have used to select a new school?

Vouchers Vouchers, checks or written documents that families can use to purchase educational services, are another form of school choice (Zhao, 2019). Vouchers are grounded in the belief that families are in the best position to know what their children need and should be free to purchase the best education wherever they can find it. Some voucher plans give families the choice of either a public or a private school, whereas others limit the choice to public schools. Political conservatives promote vouchers, arguing that public schools are a monopoly and that opening schools to parental choice will allow market forces to improve education. Instead of being required to attend schools in immediate neighborhoods, all schools become viable alternatives. Over time, advocates argue, the best schools will attract more students and flourish, whereas weaker schools will be shut down by informed consumers and market forces. Some advocates also promote the use of vouchers for private schools. Why, they ask, should parents have to pay for a quality education twice—once when they pay public-school taxes and again when they pay tuition at private schools? This raises a highly

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contentious issue because more than three out of four private schools in our country are religiously affiliated (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018a). Critics contend that using vouchers to attend these schools violates the principle of separation of church and state. However, in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a five to four decision, ruled that a program in Cleveland that allowed vouchers to be used for religious private schools didn’t violate separation of church and state because the voucher funds went to the families instead of directly to the schools (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). But in 2006, the Florida Supreme Court struck down Florida’s voucher system, ruling that the diversion of money not only reduced public funds for a public education but also used public funds to provide an alternative education in private schools that are not subject to the “uniformity” requirements for public schools in Florida’s constitution (Schimmel et al., 2015). Legal battles are likely to occur in other states, but winning them may prove difficult for voucher advocates because 37 state constitutions currently prohibit state aid to religious schools (Schimmel et al., 2015). Vouchers are controversial for additional reasons. For instance, critics, including the NEA and the AFT, argue that vouchers increase segregation, split students along socioeconomic lines, and drain students and resources from already struggling urban schools (Carey, 2017; Leonhardt, 2017). In general, the American public does not support vouchers. For instance, in one poll, 39% of the public supported vouchers, whereas 52% opposed them (Bushaw & Calderon, 2014), and in a more recent poll, 33% approved, with 65% opposed (Langer Research Associates, 2017). But a number of states with conservative legislatures continue to pursue vouchers despite this general public opposition. As with charter schools, the academic benefits of vouchers are unclear but generally trend toward the negative. One review of three comprehensive studies of achievement for voucher students called the results “dismal” (Carey, 2017). State tuition tax-credit plans are a variation of school voucher programs in which families are given tax credits for money spent on private school tuition. Tuition tax credits have emerged in some states as a more politically viable alternative to publicly financed school vouchers (Prothero, 2018). Research suggests, however, that these credits primarily benefit wealthy families who are already sending their children to private schools at the expense of poorer families. For instance, the eligibility limits for families receiving voucher aid in some states was $136,500 for a family of four, far exceeding the median family income in all states in our country. A separation of church and state legal problem connecting tuition tax credits to religiously oriented schools occurred in Arizona, where 91% of the funds collected went to private religious schools (LaMorte, 2012). A federal court found the law unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Given these problems, the continuation of state tuition tax-credit plans over the long term is unlikely. But the federal tax law of 2018 allows affluent parents to use 529 plans, originally designed for college costs, to be used for private K–12 school tuition (Gardner, 2018). This appears to be a questionable idea at best.

Homeschooling Homeschooling, an educational option in which parents educate their children at home, may be the ultimate form of school choice reform. Homeschooling has increased in popularity, and 2 million students, more than 3% of the school-age population, are being educated at home. This figure represents an enormous increase from 1970’s level of 15,000 (Ray, 2018). More than 9 of 10 families homeschool their children because of concerns about the environment in existing schools (Fuller et al., 2016). About 8 of 10 do so to provide a moral education for their children, and 7 of 10 homeschool because of concerns about the academic rigor of instruction in public schools. All seek alternatives to existing public schools. The governance of homeschooling occurs at the state level, and regulations vary greatly from state to state (Schimmel et al., 2015). Most have no minimum educational qualifications for parents who homeschool their children, and others only require a high

438  Chapter 12 school or GED diploma. In most states, parents must demonstrate that their instruction is equivalent to that offered in public schools, but oversight is often lax. An increasing number of families who homeschool their children are turning to cyber schooling by enrolling their children in online programs. Approximately half the states require homeschooled students to participate in regular standardized testing. Homeschooled students who take these tests typically do well, scoring, on average, higher than students in public schools (Ray, 2018). Whether these differences are due to the quality of instruction or self-selection (that is, better students are being homeschooled) is not clear. Despite its growing popularity, homeschooling has its critics. The greatest concern focuses on the lack of safeguards with respect to the quality of education provided for homeschooled children and the possibilities of neglect and even abuse. A California case involving 13 children who were shackled and abused over a number of years has heightened calls for greater oversight of homeschooled children (Thompson, 2018). Other concerns center on whether children schooled at home will learn important social-emotional and interaction skills and be exposed to alternative views and perspectives (Boyd & Bee, 2019).

MyLab Education Self-Check 12.3

LEARNING OUTCOME 12.4  Describe how current reform efforts that focus on the teacher will affect your life in the classroom. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 10, Leadership and Collaboration

Reform: Focus on the Teacher As reformers try to change our schools, they continually ask, “In order to improve our students’ learning, what aspects of our schools or schooling should be changed?” The answer to this question hasn’t always been obvious, and educational reformers have offered a variety of (largely unsuccessful) answers. For many years, educators searched for panaceas—technology, the right program, the right teaching strategy, the right curriculum. “They tried New Math, open classrooms, Whole Language—but nothing seemed to achieve significance or lasting improvements” (Thomas & Wingert, 2010, p. 25). The answer, however, is simple (but admittedly not easy to implement). “A stack of research suggests that all the classroom technology in the world can't compare to the power of a great teacher” (Farmer, 2015, para. 1). No organization, system, institution, or enterprise is any better than the people in it, and the same applies to schools. The quality of a school is determined by the quality of its teachers. You will be the most important factor influencing your students’ learning! Surprisingly, only recently have educational researchers and leaders begun to understand and appreciate this fact. How important are teachers? Research provides answers. One widely publicized, historical study found that students who had highly effective teachers in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades scored more than 50 percentile points higher on standardized math tests than those who had ineffective teachers in the same three grades (Sanders & Rivers, 1996). Another study revealed that five consecutive years of expert teaching was nearly enough to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students (Hanushek, Rivkin, & Kain, 2005). Additional research revealed that expert teachers resulted in increased student earnings of almost half a million dollars later in life (Springer et al., 2016). A massive longitudinal study goes even further. In a study that tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years, researchers found that, “Elementary- and middle-school teachers who help raise their students’ standardized-test scores seem to have a wide-ranging, lasting positive effect

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on those students’ lives beyond academics, including lower teenage-pregnancy rates and greater college matriculation and adult earnings” (Lowery, 2012, para. 1). The quality of the teacher is, without question, the most powerful influence on students’ learning (Araujo, Carneiro, Cruz-Aguayo, & Schady, 2016; Houkes-Hommes, Baster-Weel, & van der Weil, 2016). And the quality of a school is primarily reflected in the quality of its teachers (Goldhaber, 2016), and a compelling review of research found that students taught by expert teachers not only had achievement gains but also scored higher on noncognitive measures such as increased school attendance, better behavior, and higher graduation rates (Lee, 2018). One expert summarized this research succinctly, “The teacher matters a lot, and there are big differences among teachers” (Hanushek, 2011, p. 34). The importance of teachers has even caught the attention of then-President Barack Obama. In a speech, he declared, “From the moment our children step into a classroom, the single most important factor in determining their achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from  .  .  .  It’s who their teacher is” (Green, 2014, p. 290). Teacher quality has become a national priority. And the American public agrees. According to an annual poll of the public’s attitudes toward public education, Americans singled out improving the quality of teachers as the most important action education can take to improve learning (Bushaw & Lopez, 2011). As reformers began to realize that the teacher is central to improving our schools, they looked for ways to shape and improve the teaching force. Their efforts have focused on five areas: • Teacher evaluation • Teacher salaries • Merit pay • The role of professional organizations • A reexamination of teacher tenure

Teaching and You

We examine them in this section, beginning with teacher evaluation.

Teacher Evaluation Teacher evaluation is the process of assessing teachers’ classroom performance and providing feedback they can use to increase their expertise. Historically, teachers have been evaluated in a number of ways, many of which continue to be used today. We outline them in Table 12.2. As we see in the table, prospective teacher candidates, such

Did you have any ineffective teachers when you were in school? How did you know they were ineffective? Why didn’t your school do anything about them? What can schools do about teachers who aren’t performing adequately?

Table 12.2  Current Forms of Teacher Evaluation Type of Evaluation

When

Purpose

National (e.g., Praxis) or state competency tests

Before and after teacher preparation programs

To guarantee minimal levels of basic skills and subject matter knowledge

Grades and course work

During teacher preparation programs

To provide information about a candidate’s knowledge of content and motivation and aptitude for learning

Student teaching observations

During clinical experiences

To verify a candidate’s ability to perform in the classroom

Portfolios and teacher interviews

After teacher education program and before employment

To provide additional information on a candidate’s qualifications

Supervisor observation

First three years of teaching

To make decisions about tenure

Annual supervisory observation

Typically every year

To ensure continued teacher competence and performance

Student test scores

Typically every year in some content areas and states

To corroborate and add to the information provided by other evaluations

440  Chapter 12 as you and your peers, are evaluated during your undergraduate course work and are required to pass tests when you exit your teacher preparation program. You will also be evaluated by both your cooperating teacher and college supervisor during your internship, by prospective employers when you seek your first job, and throughout your career by school administrators. Critics argue that existing teacher evaluation procedures are grossly inadequate and do little to differentiate between good and mediocre teachers (Will, 2018b). For instance, in New York, the pass rate for the teacher certification exam in 2009 was 92%; for the cosmetology exam in the same year it was 59% (Green, 2014). In some New York districts, 96% of teachers received the top rating, and across the state, less than 1% were rated as ineffective (Taylor, 2015a). In fact, the vast majority of teachers nationwide (often more than 99%) receive “Satisfactory” ratings (Kraft & Gilmour, 2017). (When you were a student in school, did you think that 99% of your teachers were “satisfactory”?) Worse, current teacher evaluation practices rarely provide teachers with information they can use to improve their teaching. One teacher, who had initially been evaluated negatively and then later received positive evaluations, commented, “And for three years my scores were off the charts. I got a huge bonus and now I’m in the top quartile of all the English teachers. What did I do differently? I have no clue” (Berliner, 2014, p. 19). It’s difficult to improve without informative feedback. Because of statistics such as these, critics use a variety of terms to describe current teacher evaluation practices, including infrequent, inefficient, ineffective, haphazard and perfunctory (Koretz, 2017; Schneider, 2017). They also question whether the current instruments used are valid and can accurately assess teacher quality (Close & AmreinBeardsley, 2018). In our Teaching and You feature at the beginning of this section, we asked if you had any ineffective teachers. Most of us have, and inadequate evaluation systems that fail to weed out ineffective teachers is a primary reason. Current reforms in teacher evaluation are attempting to remedy this problem by creating more valid and reliable teacher evaluation systems and rewarding the most effective teachers (Hess & McShane, 2018). Teacher evaluation systems have three goals. Certifying that a beginning teacher has the skills needed to manage a classroom and to promote student learning is the first and most basic, and verifying that veterans are doing a competent job in their classrooms is the second. If teachers in either group are found lacking, these evaluations are intended to provide feedback that can help low-performing teachers improve their practice. Identifying and rewarding exemplary performance is the third and the most difficult and problematic goal of these evaluation systems. We look at these systems next.

Teaching and You Based on your experience with tests, how accurate are they for measuring what you’ve learned? How accurate do you think standardized tests would be to assess what your students have learned in your classroom? What other factors might influence your students’ test performance?

Value-Added Models of Teacher Evaluation The basic idea behind value-added models of teacher evaluation is simple: Assess the amount students learn—as measured by their performance on standardized tests— while in a particular teacher’s classroom and recognize and reward teachers for increasing student learning (Hess & McShane, 2018; Yeh, 2017). When using value-added models, researchers use statistical methods to accommodate extraneous factors, such as student background, ability, socioeconomic status (SES), and class size, in an attempt to determine how much an individual teacher contributes to students’ learning. This contribution is then considered the “value” the teacher added. For example, if a 2nd grader scores at the 50th percentile on a reading test at the beginning of the year and on the 60th percentile at the end of the year, researchers conclude that the gain is a result of the teacher’s expertise, and value had been added. This process isn’t as simple as it appears on the surface, however, and valueadded models are controversial (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). First, critics question the assumption that tests can accurately measure what teachers are accomplishing in their classes. A number of factors influence student achievement, including poverty,

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neighborhood composition, per-pupil expenditures, as well as school and district leadership (Amrein-Beardsley & Geiger, 2017). In fact, research suggests that these external factors account for 60% of the variance in student test scores, with teachers only accounting for 10 to 20% of any differences in student achievement (Berliner, 2014; Good, 2014). If the tests aren’t valid, that is, if they can’t accurately capture the learning gains resulting from being in one teacher’s classroom, then the value-added measure is also invalid. A second issue with value-added models questions whether test results can capture important learning outcomes, such as critical thinking, tolerance for others, and social development, that may not show up immediately, or on standardized tests at all (Blazer & Kraft, 2017; Goldhaber, 2019 )? We’ve all had teachers who presented intriguing ideas and asked thought-provoking and even puzzling questions that only made sense to us later, sometimes even years later. And we’ve also had teachers whose inspiration had a long-term impact on our motivation and even career choice. Value-added models can’t capture these important, long-term outcomes, critics assert. Also, value-added models fail to measure important dimensions of professional competence, such as collaborating with colleagues, demonstrating leadership, and working with families. Administrators are increasingly looking for these elements of teacher professionalism when they hire and evaluate teachers. Adding to the controversy is a movement to publish the results of teacher evaluations based on students’ test scores and to make these evaluations open to the public, with listings of the scores and names of individual teachers in local newspapers (Collins & Amrein-Beardsley, 2014). (How would you like to have your evaluations made public during your first year of teaching?) Currently, this is legal in 18 states under the mantle of parents’ rights to know who is teaching their children. However, experts caution that several years of data are often necessary to make valid conclusions about a teacher’s performance, and publishing these data indiscriminately could damage both individual teachers and schools (Lavigne, 2014). In addition, practical concerns about value-added evaluation procedures exist. One is the absence of valid and reliable tests for subjects other than reading, math, and sometimes science, which are the ones most commonly used to evaluate elementary teachers. Experts estimate that between 50 and 80% of teachers work in areas not currently covered by standardized tests (Goldhaber, 2019). The question of how to evaluate the large numbers of teachers who work in areas such as art, speech, music, physical education, and preschool programs, where no valid tests exist, remains unanswered. Further, many students transfer in and out of classrooms, so teachers have limited amounts of time to prove their effectiveness.

Value-Added Evaluation: Implications for Teaching Issues with value-added models have special significance for you as a beginning teacher. You will learn a great deal in your first year of teaching, and you will almost certainly possess more expertise at the end of your first year than at the beginning. How can a model that uses a standardized test to take a snapshot of student achievement provide an accurate picture of your developing expertise? And value-added models provide no information about how to solve problems—such as less-than-expected student performance on the tests—if problems are identified. In spite of these conceptual and logistical problems, value-added models are being implemented in hundreds of school systems across the country, including those in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Forty-three states have set up teacher evaluation systems based on student test scores, but the more recent trend is for states and districts to look more skeptically at this practice and to reduce the emphasis placed on student test scores (Loewus, 2017a). And the validity and reliability problems associated with value-added models are somewhat mitigated when other sources of data, such as classroom observations and student surveys, are added to the mix.

442  Chapter 12 Your students’ test scores are likely to be included in your evaluations when you begin teaching, but they are likely to be supplemented with other forms of evaluation, such as observations by your school administrators. Our recommendation is the following: Try to acquire as much professional knowledge and experience as possible before you begin your first job, and then continue your quest for professional growth as you gain additional experience. The way you’re evaluated will then take care of itself.

EdTPA and Teacher Evaluation for New Teachers EdTPA (Educational Teacher Performance Assessment) is a high-stakes teacher evaluation system for new teachers that employs performance assessments to measure whether new teachers meet minimal standards for teaching competence. It’s high-stakes because it can determine whether you become licensed after completing your college course work (Kissau, Hart, & Algozinne, 2019). It does this through videos and written work that attempt to capture a new teacher’s competence. Increasing numbers of states are requiring high-stakes assessments like edTPA for teacher licensure (Dover, Schultz, Smith, & Duggan, 2015). EdTPA employs anonymous reviewers to assess teacher candidates’ readiness to teach using three to five days of written instructional materials, two 10-minute video clips of their teaching, and approximately 25 pages of narrative analysis (Dover et al., 2015). As of the fall of 2016, 16 states either had adopted statewide policies requiring a performance assessment for aspiring teachers or were actively considering such a step. The long-term expectation of edTPA’s developers is that teacher preparation programs, states, and professional-standards boards will adopt edTPA as a standard requirement for a degree in education and/or for teacher licensure (Kissau et al., 2019). As with many attempts at teacher evaluation involving external high-stakes assessments, edTPA is controversial. For example, critics cite concerns about standardizing the assessment of good teaching that strongly depends on the context in which instruction takes place (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). For instance, teaching in a high-SES suburban elementary school is very different from teaching in a low-SES urban middle school. Critics also argue that underqualified scorers are used, and financial incentives exist to score a large number of assessments as quickly as possible. In summary, critics argue, “In its current incarnation, edTPA is neither educator preparation nor a comprehensive assessment of candidates’ readiness for the classroom” (Dover et al., 2015, para. 13).

Surviving Teacher Evaluation in Your First Year of Teaching: Implications for Teaching Teacher evaluation in its various forms has important implications for you when you begin your career. First, it is certain that your teaching will be evaluated throughout your career, so preparing yourself for the process is important. Second, thoroughly understand how you will be evaluated and learn to “play the game.” If you’re going to be observed, ask to see the observation instrument and familiarize yourself with its categories and weightings. For instance, if the instrument has a category saying, “Learning objectives are displayed for students,” be sure to write your learning objectives on the board before you’re observed. If student involvement is going to be evaluated, then plan a high-interest activity that will particularly ensure that your students are actively involved. In addition, talk to other teachers who have been observed and evaluated in your school. Research indicates that even though principals typically follow a prescribed rubric that focuses their observations, considerable variability exists in how principals interpret those guidelines, so it helps to know what your principal will be looking for (Donaldson & Woulfin, 2018). Think of teacher evaluation as an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and skills, and then do your homework so your evaluations will allow you to shine. And research also shows that well-qualified candidates do well on these observational evaluations and stay in teaching longer than their less-prepared counterparts

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(Vagi, Pivovarova, & Barnard, 2019). So study hard during your teacher preparation program and know that this work will pay off when you’re evaluated. It is also likely that you’ll be faced with value-added models when you begin teaching. In other words, the way your students perform on standardized tests will be considered in evaluations of your teaching. Even here, you can take steps to perform well. For instance, become familiar with the content measured on the tests, as well as test formats, and do everything you can to ensure that your students have mastered the content and are familiar with test formats and procedures. (This suggestion differs from “teaching to the test,” which focuses on specific test items and, instead, recommends practice with those item formats.) In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked about the ability of tests to capture how much students have learned. This is the essence of value-added models of teacher evaluation, and their ability to gauge teacher performance depends on the validity of the tests used; if the tests don’t accurately assess what students learn, then the system is invalid. In addition, you should remember that many other factors, such as students’ home backgrounds, as well as their past successes and experiences in school, influence test performance. Having considered how you will likely be evaluated when you begin your career, we turn now to pay for performance, the monetary rewards you might receive for exemplary performance.

Teacher Salaries: Using Money to Reform Teaching As a beginning teacher, you will certainly want to know how much you’ll be paid and how your pay increases over the years will be determined. Emma Harrison, our beginning teacher in the chapter’s opening case study, asked these questions early, and the answers influenced her actions during her first year of teaching. Historically, salary increases have largely been based on years of experience and the number of graduate and in-service credit hours that teachers earn (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). This is represented by the “traditional” wing on the left side of Figure 12.4. The goal of this type of pay schedule was to encourage teachers to remain in the profession while upgrading their skills through in-service and graduate work. If you’re involved in a typical traditional plan, for example, you can expect a “step” increase in salary each year that you teach, and you will receive an additional increase if you earn a master’s degree or even take extra courses.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the third question in What I Believe, “During my first years of teaching, classroom observations by my school administrators will be the most common form of evaluation that I will experience.” The truth of this statement depends on the state and district where you teach. Many states are experimenting with value-added models of teacher evaluation, but in other states, observation continues to be the most common form of teacher evaluation.

Teaching and You Do you think all teachers should receive the same raises every year? Should teachers in high-need areas, such as special education, receive higher salaries? Should teachers receive incentive pay for working in challenging schools? Would you be willing to be involved in a teacher reward system that is riskier but offers the potential for bigger raises if you qualify?

Figure 12.4  Different Teacher Compensation Plans Teacher compensation plans

Performance pay

Traditional

Years of service

In-service credits

District

College or university credit

To address teacher shortages

Content areas (math, science, special education)

Urban schools

Increased responsibilities

Mentoring

Team leader

Merit pay

Student achievement

Other measures (portfolios, principal observations)

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MyLab Education Video Example 12.3 Pay-for-performance plans offer teachers higher salaries and bonuses for taking on extra responsibility, working in high-need areas, or performing in an exemplary way. Here, Ed Pratt-Dannals, the superintendent of a large urban district in the Southeast describes his views of these plans and what is necessary for them to succeed.

Most districts also include pay-for-performance plans that offer teachers higher salaries and bonuses for taking on extra responsibility, working in high-need areas, or performing in an exemplary way, and these plans address the questions we asked in Teaching and You. For example, if a pay-for-performance system exists in your district, would you be eager to participate? In districts that use these systems, teachers receive a salary supplement for coaching, such as athletics or debate, serving as a team leader or grade chairperson in an elementary school, or a department head in a middle or secondary school. Some districts offer incentive pay for working in urban schools and other hard-to-staff environments as well as higher salaries for working in highneed areas, such as math, science, special education, or foreign language (Barnum, 2017; Feng & Sass, 2017). One innovative pay-for-performance proposal would pay effective teachers an additional $8,000 if they would take three more students in their elementary classrooms (Roza & Works, 2015). The money to fund this salary bump would come from the $11 million in district savings in salary and benefit costs. Proponents also claim the idea would improve student learning by exposing more students to effective teachers. Each is a form of pay-for-performance, as is paying teachers bonuses if their students perform well on standardized tests. As you move through your career, you will probably encounter some of these options, such as serving as a grade-level chair or department head, not only for the professional challenges but also for the extra pay.

Merit Pay Merit pay, a supplement to a teacher’s base salary to reward exemplary performance, is a type of pay-for-performance (see Figure 12.4). Why shouldn’t we pay good teachers more if they do a better job? This seemingly simple question is at the heart of a controversial and contentious reform proposal that is being considered across the country. Conservatives like the idea because it philosophically matches capitalist ideas suggesting that money is a major incentive for people; liberals question this assumption and cite research indicating that merit systems produce mixed results at best and aren’t so sure that it works or that it’s the best way to motivate teachers. Merit pay differs from other pay-for-performance plans in two ways. First, it is available to all teachers, not just those who take on extra responsibilities, such as being a team leader. Second, it is based entirely on exemplary performance that is usually determined by student test scores and/or observations by school administrators. Interest in merit pay has existed for many years, but it got a major boost when the Obama administration targeted part of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top funding to support its development. This funding required successful competitors to develop merit pay plans in their states (Goldstein, 2014). True merit pay, sometimes referred to as “differentiated pay” or “cash incentives,” takes several different forms (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). Some systems reward individual teachers based on their students’ performance on standardized tests; others reward them based on administrators’ observations or on teaching artifacts, such as exemplary lesson plans or student work. A third variation rewards entire schools for student test performance. Rewarding exemplary or meritorious performance is the common factor in each of these plans. The public has historically been in favor of most incentive proposals. In a 2008 poll, for example, 76% of the general public supported incentive pay for teachers; for those who had children in school, this figure rose to 79% (Bushaw & Gallup, 2008). Merit pay, however, is highly controversial. Proponents argue that rewarding exemplary teaching performance makes sense and money can provide incentives for teacher excellence. Advocates also claim that effective merit pay systems encourage brighter and more competent people to consider teaching as a career and encourage the best and brightest teachers to remain in the profession. Some advocates further argue that

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evidence from student achievement data supports the process of paying teachers more for increased student performance (Barnum, 2018; Hartney, 2018). Critics make precisely the opposite arguments. They contend that while superficial examinations suggest that merit pay systems make sense, a closer look shows that they are ineffective (Kozlowski & Lauen, 2019) For instance, a merit system in the New York City schools was permanently discontinued because research indicated that it failed to produce gains on student achievement (Green, 2014). Critics also contend that merit pay based upon student test scores encourages teachers to teach to the test and narrow the curriculum. They further argue that it’s divisive, damages morale, and makes teachers less likely to cooperate with each other (Meador, 2018). They also question the assumption that teachers will work harder for more pay. They argue that teachers are already working hard, and question whether they will try harder if offered a financial incentive. Merit systems also assume that teachers know how to perform better, but simply aren’t choosing to do so, and they’re more motivated by money than meeting their students’ needs (Greene, 2019). Critics go on to note that most teachers go into teaching to help people, not to make money, and most teachers find the idea of being paid more to help students is insulting, rather than motivating (Greene, 2019). Critics also contend that merit systems are often too complex and fail to address the need for higher base salaries for all teachers. In addition, critics assert that many merit-pay systems are put into place without clear guidelines, agreed-upon and objective measures of teacher performance, or effective processes for identifying high-performing teachers. They contend that teachers won’t buy into a system if they don’t understand it, if they believe it’s unfair, or if it doesn’t truly reward the best teachers (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). Finally, research on merit pay —in addition to the study in New York City schools mentioned earlier—has produced only mixed results for its benefits. Some research has found small, but positive student learning gains as a result of merit systems (Aldrich, 2017; Barnum, 2018), whereas other studies have found no significant increases in student learning—the ultimate criterion for any educational reform (Kozlowki & Lauen, 2019). Teachers’ attitudes toward merit pay have historically been mixed. For instance, a poll taken in the early 1980s found that 63% of teachers favored merit pay, but by the end of the decade, another poll indicated that 64% opposed it (Goldhaber, DeArmond, & DeBurgomaster, 2011). A 2003 poll found that more than 60% of teachers supported higher salaries for their colleagues who work in challenging schools with low-performing students, but only 38% supported merit pay systems based primarily on student test scores (Public Agenda, 2003). More recent surveys indicate that teachers’ attitudes toward merit pay continue to be mixed at best (Bowen & Mills, 2017). Although the public tepidly supports merit pay (37%), only 21% of teachers support it, with 45% of teachers completely opposed. Teachers’ concerns center on the reliability and validity of measures used to identify exemplary teachers, the narrowing of the curriculum, and the negative effects on morale and working conditions within a school. And significantly, even those teachers who received merit pay bonuses (the “winners”) were no more likely to support merit pay than other teachers. So if you consider taking a job in a school that has a merit pay system, be sure to talk with experienced teachers about how the system works and how to succeed in the system. In spite of mixed research results and widely varying attitudes toward the practice, the trend in our country was toward merit pay programs (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016), but recent developments in Denver suggest a seismic shift in this area. Fifteen years ago, the Denver district worked with teachers to develop an innovative merit pay system that was to serve as a prototype for other schools around the country (Will, 2019). But things went terribly wrong, and in 2019, teachers threatened to strike, with one of the major issues being merit pay. Teachers claimed the merit pay system was too complex and hard to both understand and implement, and that more money should go into base

446  Chapter 12 salaries for all teachers. In addition, experts believe that resistance to merit pay is part of a larger disenchantment with accountability and student testing (Will, 2019). To encourage the development of performance-based merit pay systems, the federal government has invested over $2 billion in a Teacher Incentive Fund (Aldrich, 2017). But research shows just how hard it is to implement a performance-based merit plan (Max et al., 2014). Designers of the fund envisioned a highly selective merit system that would reward only a small percentage of teachers, but when districts implemented their plans, more than 90% of applicants received merit pay. Even with these generous quotas, researchers found that teachers in schools with pay-for-performance plans tended to be less satisfied than counterparts in comparable schools. While it might be possible to identify teachers who clearly are not meeting their professional obligations (the often-mentioned bottom 10 or 20% of teachers), it is extremely difficult to make fine distinctions between the remaining teachers in terms of performance. Several important questions about merit pay remain unanswered: • Does it work? Will merit pay encourage teachers to work harder or differently? As we saw above, results related to this point are mixed. • Will merit pay based on student achievement encourage teachers to focus on some aspects of student learning that are tested and rewarded) while neglecting others? • Are individual or group awards, such as rewarding an entire school for achievement gains, more effective? • What are the long-term effects on student achievement, teacher morale, and teacher recruitment? Additional research is needed to answer these important questions, but reformers aren’t waiting for research results before implementing merit pay plans. Tennessee and Idaho are two examples of the rush to implement merit pay systems without sufficient thought and planning. Tennessee implemented a statewide system in the 2011– 2012 school year with only three months of field-testing (Heitin, 2011a). In addition to tightening tenure laws, the new legislation created a merit system in which half of a teacher’s evaluation would be based on student achievement measures and half based on principal observations. Teachers in non-tested areas, such as music and art, received value-added scores that were not based on their students’ performance but rather on school-wide math and reading scores. One 1st-grade teacher for whom no achievement scores were available used 5th-grade language art scores; a high school math teacher used her school’s writing scores (Winerip, 2011e). When no standardized scores were available for a specific teacher, he or she was given a choice, and the game became one of choosing an area where a teacher thinks the school will do well. Teachers were understandably upset, not only about being evaluated on the merits of someone else’s work but also for the extensive amounts of time required to prepare for principal observations. One experienced middle school principal commented, “I’ve never seen such nonsense. This destroys any possibility of building a faculty atmosphere. It causes so much distrust.” One of his teachers concurred, noting that, “ . . . morale (in the school) is in the toilet” (Winerip, 2011f, p. A16). In Idaho, the situation was even worse. Teacher bonuses in over two dozen districts were based to some degree on how well teachers engage parents (Bonner, 2011). One district required teachers to make contact with parents at least twice every three months; another based up to 70% of potential bonuses on parents’ attendance at parent–teacher conferences. Teachers who have taught for a number of years will tell you that many factors besides a teacher’s eagerness and receptivity to meeting with parents determine attendance rates at parent–teacher conferences. Low-SES parents who are required to work several jobs or who may not appreciate or value the importance of these conferences are much less likely to attend than their wealthy counterparts (Korsmo, 2014). Extracting funds for merit pay from the general funds available for

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education, resulting in fewer teachers and greater class sizes, became an additional problem for the Idaho system. The problem is that while states and school districts are experimenting with merit pay plans, they are also playing with teachers’ lives and careers. Experts are concerned that these hasty, ill-conceived experiments will poison the water for future merit pay efforts (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). In the long term, our schools need well-thought-out plans that actively involve teachers in their design and that address the multitude of issues and problems currently connected to merit pay plans. Teachers and their students can’t benefit from merit pay plans that they don’t understand, support, or trust (Aldrich, 2017).

Merit Pay: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked if you would be willing to forego automatic pay increases for the possibility of larger ones based on merit. This is the essence of merit pay systems, which depend on teachers’ confidence that effort and hard work can result in larger pay raises. In addition, their effectiveness depends on their ability to truly capture superior (and inferior) teaching performance. Our guess is that their acceptance by teachers will depend, in large part, on teachers’ beliefs that a system can actually do this. Despite all these problems, some form of merit pay may await you in your first teaching job. As with teacher evaluation, you need to understand what these plans are, how they work, and what it takes to succeed. Talking to experienced teachers to learn how the system works and what strategies they are adopting to function and succeed in them can be very helpful. As with teacher evaluation, the more thoroughly you understand these programs and prepare yourself, the greater the likelihood that you will succeed.

Professional Organizations and Collective Bargaining A professional organization is a group or association (usually nonprofit) seeking to advance a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest. The two major professional organizations in education, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), represent 70% of our nation’s public school teachers (Loewus, 2017b), and understanding their role in your professional life addresses the questions we asked in Teaching and You. For example, you could turn to the local chapter of your professional organization if you felt you were being taken advantage of and wanted to do something about it, and you would probably do the same in the case of a lawsuit. Professional organizations also sponsor staff development classes, hold conferences, and provide professional information about a variety of topics. Educators view these organizations as support systems for professional aspects of their jobs, but reformers and the popular press often use the term union instead. Educators try to avoid the term because it triggers the image of blue-collar workers and the sometimes negative perception of unions—corrupt, inefficient, and protection for incompetent or lazy workers. When we refer to unions in this section, we will be talking about the professional organizations in education—the NEA and AFT or their local counterparts. Reformers have taken steady aim at these organizations, claiming they are primarily concerned about teacher welfare, focusing on bread-and-butter issues, such as teacher salaries, pensions, and health care packages, instead of efforts to increase student learning. They also argue that these organizations are obstructionist and routinely block efforts to reward the best teachers and eliminate those who are incompetent (Fuller, 2018). In short, critics claim that teacher unions are major obstacles to reform.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fourth item in What I Believe, “Current proposals for merit pay will use my students’ test scores as a basis for judging whether I am eligible to receive merit pay.” This statement is likely to be true; most current proposals for merit pay include student test scores as a part of the process.

Teaching and You You’ve taken your first job, and you believe you’re being asked to perform duties not called for in your contract. To whom can you turn? Or who can you go to for advice if one of your students is involved in an accident and you’re being sued for negligence and liability?

448  Chapter 12 The NEA began in 1857 and quickly attracted members because of a number of inequities involving teacher pay and other forms of compensation (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013). Differentiated pay scales favored secondary teachers who were primarily male, and secondary teachers were often paid twice as much as female teachers working in elementary schools. Leaders rationalized this discrepancy by arguing that secondary teaching required more knowledge and expertise, and males needed higher salaries because they were the breadwinners in most families. Over time, and with a great deal of struggle, salaries were equalized, and the salary schedule based on experience and degrees, which exists in today’s schools, was the result. This salary schedule seemed to work well until reformers began to question whether this form of compensation was encouraging mediocrity and failed to identify the best (and worst) teachers. Collective bargaining occurs when a local chapter of a professional organization, such as the NEA or AFT, negotiates with a school district over the rights of teachers and the conditions of employment. This process is important because national figures show that, across the employment spectrum, jobs protected by collective bargaining pay 13% more than those that aren’t (Weingarten, 2018). One of the more acrimonious collective bargaining battles occurred in Wisconsin, where the conservative governor, tied teacher benefits to state budget shortfalls. Proposed budget cuts of nearly 10% to state education programs included reduced pension and health care benefits to teachers (Cavanagh, 2011). These cost-saving measures also attempted to limit teachers’ collective bargaining rights, shorten teacher contracts to one year, and restrict the size of future teacher salary increases. Teachers responded by calling in sick, fighting the new laws in court, and attempting to defeat reform supporters in subsequent elections. The conservative Wisconsin legislature approved a law barring unions from requiring workers to pay the equivalent of dues, making Wisconsin the twenty-fifth state to pass what advocates describe as “right to work” laws (Davey, 2015). In a repudiation of his actions, Walker, the governor, was voted out of office in 2018. In Ohio, the legislature passed a similar law limiting teacher collective bargaining rights, but voters overwhelmingly rejected it in a subsequent referendum. Experts predict similar battles in other states. Conflicts such as these come at a time when the public is requiring more information about schools’ and teachers’ performance. In one poll, for example, more than 70% of the general public wanted more information about both teachers’ performance and student academic achievement, and when parents were polled, this figure rose to 80% (Brenneman, 2011). Responding to this need for information, the Los Angeles Times published a database with the effectiveness ratings of 6,000 individual teachers in the L.A. district. Teachers and their professional organizations were outraged at this breach of professional information, but the paper defended its actions as part of the public’s right to information about its schools (Song & Felch, 2011). Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education in the Obama administration at the time, agreed, citing families’ rights to know about the effectiveness of their children’s teachers.

Professional Organizations: Implications for Teaching What are the implications of this professional turmoil for you as a beginning teacher? Does it suggest that you shouldn’t join a professional organization because they have failed to provide proactive leadership in issues related to teacher quality? Probably not. From a personal perspective, professional organizations can provide you with valuable assistance on a number of important issues that could change your professional life, such as liability insurance against student lawsuits, to professional help and advice when conflicts arise over work conditions. Emma Harrison, in the case study at the beginning of the chapter, realized this when she asked about professional organizations in her state; unfortunately, her state legislature had passed a law limiting the ability of professional organizations in her state to negotiate work-related factors, such as merit pay, tenure, and teacher evaluation. In the past, professional organizations played major

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roles in shaping decisions on these important dimensions of professional life and gave teachers a voice in the process. How recent legislation will affect both students and the teaching profession is the larger question. One view paints an optimistic picture and sees a new era in education in which teacher salaries are tied to teacher performance and student test scores. The best teachers will be paid more, and those at the other end of the spectrum will be identified, remediated if possible, and removed from the profession if not. A less cheery perspective views these legislative actions as threats to professional organizations, such as the NEA and AFT, and to the collective bargaining process itself. Teachers are in a unique position to understand and offer solutions to problems facing our nation’s schools, union supporters contend, and refusing to involve them in the search for solutions to these problems—essentially treating them like hired underlings—defies everything we know about making workers productive (Weingarten, 2018). Concerns are also being raised about whether these legislative changes will discourage bright young people from entering the profession and discourage good teachers from remaining in it. At this point, no one knows which view will prevail.

Revisiting My Beliefs This section addresses the fifth item in What I Believe, “Professional organizations, such as the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, have led the way in the process of educational reform.” This statement isn’t true, and professional organizations have been criticized for dragging their feet in current reform efforts.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Teacher Tenure Jack Kramer is a high school science teacher in a rural district.

heavy-handedness, and provide them with job security. Once

He has completed his second year of teaching and is looking

granted tenure, teachers can be fired only for gross incompe-

forward to achieving tenure after his third year. But he’s worried.

tence; felonies; immoral acts, such as physical violence or sex-

He has taught a unit on global warming and has criticized the

ual advances toward students; or insubordination. For instance,

process of strip mining coal and clear cutting forests in the local

if Jack were tenured, he would have the freedom to discuss

area. Members of the community have complained to his school

politically divisive issues, such as global warming, without fear-

board, and word of the community’s displeasure with his positions

ing for his job. The granting of tenure is being debated nationally, with

has filtered down to him through his principal. Business people in his community say he’s anti-growth and that his positions will

reformers calling for its elimination or radical transformation into

cost local jobs and hinder the local economy. He believes there’s

something more manageable. As of 2018, 16 states required

a good chance that if the controversy continues, he won’t receive

teacher evaluation data to be used in tenure decisions; 10

tenure at the end of his third year.

prohibited the use of tenure in making layoff decisions; seven allowed returning tenured teachers to probationary status if they

Teacher tenure, status granted to teachers after a probation-

were rated as ineffective; and four states eliminated or phased

ary period indicating that employment is essentially permanent,

out tenure altogether (Underwood, 2018). In a California court

has become a focus of reformers at every level of education,

case, a Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that existing California

from the president of our country down to local school districts.

tenure laws violated the constitutional rights of the state’s neediest

Modeled after the tenure process found at colleges and universi-

students by protecting weak and incompetent teachers

ties, it typically requires teachers to prove their competence over

(Sawchuk, 2014b). (Later this ruling was overturned by a higher

a three-year probationary period when they are subjected to

court.) By the time you take your first teaching job, it’s possible

increased scrutiny by their principal. It can also include student

that tenure, as we know it, won’t exist in your state.

test score results. The movement for teacher tenure began in the late 1800s,

The Issue

when local communities in Massachusetts decided that teach-

Should tenure protections continue to exist, and should teach-

ers needed protection from political reprisals and arbitrary dis-

ers continue to be protected by tenure agreements? Arguments

missals (Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). New Jersey, in 1909,

exist on both sides of the issue.

was the first state to establish statewide teacher tenure, and most states followed New Jersey’s lead by either guaranteeing tenure by law or allowing local districts to offer it to teachers. Tenure is designed to ensure that teachers enjoy academic freedom, protect them from political pressures or administrative

Pro • Tenure was instituted at a time when the teaching profession had limited prestige, and few safeguards protected teachers from arbitrary dismissal (Pulliam & Van Patten, 2013).

450  Chapter 12

Since that time, it has protected teachers’ rights during peri-

This allows too many incompetent teachers to gain tenure as

ods of political turmoil, such as the Communist witch-hunts

they enter the profession in the first place.

of the 1950s.

• Removing tenured teachers from classrooms is an enor-

• Tenure provides job security to millions of teachers, mak-

mously expensive and time-consuming process. In New York

ing teaching more attractive to young people considering a

state, for example, it costs an average of $313,000 to remove

career in education and encouraging practicing teachers to

an incompetent teacher, and the process can take between

remain in the profession (Procon, 2018).

one and six years for cases to be settled (Procon, 2018). Joel

• Removing tenure as a reform strategy doesn’t seem to work. When Florida removed teacher tenure, researchers failed to find a significant increase in student achievement (Carruthers, Figlio, & Farr, 2018). • Tenure isn’t the problem; legal procedures are currently in place to remove incompetent teachers (Schimmel et al., 2015). Instead of eliminating tenure, states and districts need to take responsibility for the problem of incompetent or immoral teachers and do a better job of eliminating or replacing them.

Klein, who at the time was chancellor of the New York City schools, famously stated that death penalty cases can be resolved faster than teacher misconduct cases (Rotherham, 2011). And teachers in question receive full salaries and benefits during the process. • The vast majority of teachers don’t need tenure. Jack Kramer’s experience, for example, is unique because secondary teachers seldom deal with controversial topics, and elementary teachers almost never do. Currently, our country’s Constitution provides sufficient safeguards to make tenure laws unnecessary.

Con • Earning tenure is too easy, and the timeframe (typically three

The Question

years) and criteria (infrequent principal evaluations and in rare

Now it’s your turn to take a position on the issue. Does tenure

cases student test scores) are too lax. Nationally, at least

provide a necessary safeguard for teacher security, or do the

95% (with some experts estimating a figure closer to 99%)

problems associated with tenure outweigh its benefits?

of teachers receive satisfactory evaluations and ultimately

What do you think?

tenure (Carruthers, et al., 2018; Kraft & Gilmour, 2017).

Diversity: Reform and Cultural Minorities Reducing the achievement gap between members of cultural minorities and their White counterparts is the goal of many current reform efforts. This gap was highlighted by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation in 2001, and its successor, ESSA in 2015, which required states to report achievement scores for different cultural and ethnic groups within each school and district. We examine the effect of different reform efforts on members of cultural minorities in this section. The standards movement has been the most pervasive reform movement in our country. As required by NCLB and ESSA, all 50 states created state-specific standards, and most have now adopted the national Common Core standards we discussed earlier in the chapter. Advocates argue that uniform standards and their corresponding assessments will provide more consistent information that can be used to compare the achievement of different groups of students (Cuban, 2012). In addition, advocates assert, accountability based on the standards will motivate students to master essential knowledge and skills. Critics, on the other hand, point to data suggesting that high-stakes testing is having a negative effect on precisely the students—members of cultural minorities— that this reform is designed to help. For example, high-stakes tests have resulted in large numbers of minority students being held back a grade, and high-stakes graduation exams, instead of encouraging higher achievement, have discouraged students and resulted in higher dropout rates (Glass & Berliner, 2014; Stipek & Lombardo, 2014). Other reform efforts have targeted the teachers of low-SES and cultural minority students. A paradox exists in our educational system: students from poor families and

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members of cultural minorities are often taught by the least-effective teachers and by teachers who are inexperienced and paid less than their suburban counterparts (Luschel & Jeong, 2018). Ineffective teacher evaluation systems that fail to identify and remediate substandard teachers add to the problem. Reforms targeting teacher evaluation, tenure, and merit pay are intended to address these inequities, but the effectiveness of these reforms is uncertain at best. Other reforms targeting low-SES and minority students are designed to use charter schools to bypass ineffective public schools altogether. Charter schools, advocates claim, can bypass the inefficient bureaucracies of large, monolithic school districts and create innovative learning environments for students. And a few achieve impressive results. But as we saw earlier in the chapter, charter schools vary dramatically in quality, and most perform no better than the schools they replace (Ahn & McEachin, 2017; Cuban, 2013). So, with respect to diversity, reform efforts are mixed. While many of the reforms have specifically targeted underserved groups of students, actual performance results have been spotty and inconsistent.

Diversity and You Reform Strategies and Your Work with Cultural Minorities You’re a new teacher in a large urban district in the Southeast.

the deck chairs on the Titanic. More standards and tests

Your district is under pressure to narrow the achievement gap

won’t change anything; teachers will teach to the test, and

that exists between more affluent and often predominantly White

both teachers and students will try to game the system when-

suburban schools in the district and inner-city schools serving

ever they can. Instead, we need to focus on the teacher and

poor and minority students. The school board in your district

create better teacher evaluation and tenure systems. Until we

is considering different reform proposals, and the professional

get rid of the poor teachers in our system, nothing else will

organization in your district is encouraging all teachers to attend

change.”

discussions of these proposals because the changes will affect their professional lives. You attend the first meeting, and after the meeting is called to order, the chair of the committee frames the debate. “We are here to consider proposals for changes to our district’s policies that will help decrease the differences in achieve-

“I agree with what you just said,” a third board member adds, “but I don’t think you’ve gone far enough. We need to identify the best teachers and pay them more. It’s crazy to pay the best teachers the same as the worst. We need to develop an effective merit pay system.” A fourth school board member weighs in. “I agree with

ment that we see among our schools and students. I believe

everything that’s been said so far, but I’ve sat on this board for

we all agree that this is a serious problem, and our district must

years and know that the changes you all are recommending

address it. However, considerable disagreement exists about

will take time—years to implement and even more years before

how to address the problem. I’ll open the floor to members of

we see any results. I think we need something now that will

the school board first, and then I’ll ask for opinions from other

change things immediately. And most of you know what I’m

members of our community.”

going to advocate: charter schools. Let’s free up the chokehold

“I believe we’re already on the right track with our new standards and tests,” one school board member begins.

of bureaucracy that is strangling our district and allow charter schools to innovate and lead the way in reform.”

“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into constructing standards for different subjects. Now we need to take the next step and

Consider These Questions

put some teeth into those standards. We need to make both

1. How would you respond to the school board member who

teachers and students accountable for these standards and basically say, ‘Pass the tests, or don’t advance to the next grade or graduate.’ Let’s send the message that we’re serious about learning.” A second school board member responds, “I’m sorry to disagree, but that approach is all wrong. It’s like rearranging

advocates more testing and accountability?

2. How would you respond to the two school board members who want to target teachers as the key to reform?

3. How would you respond to the school board member advocating charters as a reform strategy?

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Reform Revisited As Don, one of your authors, was working on this chapter, he ran into Linda, an old friend and teacher that he hadn’t seen in more than a year. Innocently, he asked, “How’s teaching?” He had known Linda since her undergraduate days, she had been a student in his classes, and he had observed her during student teaching. Linda was a good teacher. No, she was an excellent teacher. She was bright, knowledgeable, energetic, and, most of all, she cared about her students. She sponsored student clubs and was usually in her school from 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., working with students or preparing for the next day. So how did she respond when asked about her teaching? “They’re trying to kill us.” When he looked at her somewhat quizzically, she continued, “They are testing us to death, and teachers are sick of all the crap. They don’t pay us enough for all this,” she added with a wry smile. “then they publish the results so everyone can see. Teacher morale at my school couldn’t get any lower.” She went on to describe how she was organizing the teachers in her school to attend a rally at the state capitol to encourage the legislature to allocate more funds to education. Utah already had the dubious distinction of having the second lowest per-pupil expenditures for students in the nation (National Education Association, 2019).

So, how should we evaluate the recent efforts to reform our teachers and schools? Looking at results—student achievement data—is perhaps the most viable way of assessing these efforts, and these results are mixed at best. For example, comprehensive reviews of the effects of high-stakes testing on achievement have found that this approach to reform has had a minimal effect on student learning. And in some cases, the efforts have produced negative effects by increasing student dropout rates (Stipek & Lombardo, 2014). Invalid tests and inappropriate use of test results have been identified as major obstacles to the test accountability reform movement (Close & Amrein-Beardsley, 2018). Merit pay reforms have encountered similar mixed evaluations (Barnum, 2018; Firestone, 2014). For example, one rigorous and comprehensive study of teacher incentives on student learning in Tennessee found that this reform failed to “. . . yield consistent and lasting gains in test scores. It simply did not do much of anything” (Sawchuk, 2010b, p. 12). Critics argue that for an incentive system to work you’d need to have teachers who were saving their best strategies for an opportunity to be paid for them, an absurd proposition. Our experience working with classroom teachers supports this view. Teachers aren’t waiting for an incentive program to motivate their best efforts; most are already teaching as effectively as they know how. Other states, such as Texas, Washington, and Iowa, are scaling back performancebased teacher compensation plans. As with the Tennessee study, research from around the country has failed to find any major positive benefits for reform-based teacher incentive systems (Kozlowki & Lauen, 2019; Rowan & Raudenbush, 2016). In studies that resulted in beneficial outcomes, researchers found that teachers were less than enthusiastic about the results, group rather than individual rewards were most effective, and less than half of the districts involved in the experiment opted to continue (Aldrich, 2017; Barnum, 2018). We want to emphasize that we are not opposed to reform. Rather, we’re opposed to haphazard, ill-conceived reforms that damage both teachers and ultimately students. In fact, reforms are, without question, needed if schools are to improve. However, to produce long-term benefits, implementation of reform efforts must be based on sound research evidence and well thought-out pilot programs that involve teachers from the outset. Expert teachers are the key to successful school reform, so they must be involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of future reform efforts. To do otherwise will result in short-term changes that will ultimately fail to address the real problems facing our schools. Evidence is clear about one factor; the key to improved student learning is the quality of the teacher (Lee, 2018). This means you. As we said earlier in the chapter,

Educational Reform and You 453

no organization, system, institution, or enterprise is any better than the people in it, and the same applies to schools. You and others like you will determine how much students in our country learn. Teachers do matter. None of the reform efforts we’ve discussed—standards, accountability, and high-stakes testing, charter schools, merit pay for teachers, the elimination of tenure, or any other will work if students aren’t taught by excellent and committed teachers. Successful reform efforts must be aimed at and include you in the process of reform (Urbanski, Alves, & Bernstein, 2017). Successful reform requires intelligent, informed, motivated people who will become the professionals our schools and students need. Our goal in writing this book is to help you begin to acquire the professional knowledge that will guide your actions as you wrestle with these important changes in education. And, finally, an update on Don’s encounter with his friend, Linda. Don met Linda again, about a year after the first encounter. In the course of the conversation, he learned that she had been teaching for 25 years, after some dissatisfying careers in other fields. Remembering the discouraging conversation they had a year earlier, he asked, “Do you ever regret going into teaching?” Immediately and emphatically, she said, “Absolutely not. I love what I’m doing, I love the kids, and I feel like I’m doing my part to make the world a better place.” “But what about all the publicity we’re seeing and hearing about high-stakes testing, eliminating tenure, and other problems with the profession?” Don asked. “I don’t pay much attention to it,” Linda shrugged. “Nor do the other strong teachers in my school. We still have tenure, but it wouldn’t matter if we didn’t. If we’re doing the job, they aren’t going to fire us. There’s a big teacher shortage. They’re trying for all their worth to find teachers, not get rid of them. . . . As with everything else in life, if you’re good at what you do, everything else takes care of itself. None of this stuff has had any significant impact on me or my friends who are good teachers, and we don’t expect it to for the rest of our careers.”

Linda’s comments capture the essence of our goals in writing this text. If you acquire the expertise and become the professional emphasized in our book’s subtitle, any possible negative impact of an ill-advised reform will be essentially irrelevant to you. Remember, other than parents, you are one of the very most important people in children’s lives, and the world always has, and always will, need expert teachers. If you’re good, you’ll thrive.

MyLab Education Self-Check 12.4

Chapter 12 Summary 1. Explain how the current reform movement has been shaped by previous efforts at reform. • Educational reform involves changes to current practice intended to increase student learning. Current targets for reform include standards, testing and accountability, school choice, teacher evaluation, merit pay, teacher tenure, and limits on professional organizations. • The current educational reform movement began with the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983. This report linked U.S. economic growth to education and claimed that our current educational system was substandard. More recently in 2001, reform was promoted by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and in 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that required each state to formulate standards in basic skill areas and construct tests to measure each student’s attainment of these standards. 2. Explain how reform efforts focusing on standards, testing, and accountability are influencing the curriculum and classroom instruction. • The most far-reaching reform effort to date has been the standards movement. Spurred by NCLB, the standards movement has resulted in state-level accountability tests that are often high stakes for both students and their teachers. • Because of enormous variability on state standards and their assessments, national standards are being formulated and have been adopted by most states. Advocates hope national standards will provide greater uniformity between states and ultimately lead to increased achievement for all students. Critics fear that national standards will result in a national curriculum and test for all states. • Backlash against excessive testing signals that major segments of the population have major reservations about the use of testing as a reform vehicle. 3. Describe how schools are being changed as a result of reform efforts. • The federal government is taking a central role in reform. In the Race to the Top competition, states

454

were asked to address the following reform topics: national standards, more rigorous performance evaluations for principals and teachers, merit pay, and charter schools. This competition encouraged a number of states to pass legislation in these areas. • State efforts at reform have encompassed a number of different options. The most prominent of these has been school choice in the form of charter schools, vouchers, and homeschooling. Charter schools allow individual schools to govern themselves and create viable options to existing school practices. 4. Describe how current reform efforts that focus on the teacher will affect your life in the classroom. • Critics claim that current teacher evaluation systems are inefficient and ineffective and fail to differentiate between good and bad teachers. Reformers want to evaluate teachers on the value, or learning gains, they add in the classroom. • Advocates of merit pay reform believe that good teaching should be rewarded and poor teaching should be identified and dealt with, either through remediation or dismissal. Most current merit pay proposals use both classroom observation and student test scores to identify exemplary performance. • Tenure protects teachers from political pressures and provides job security to teachers. Critics claim that it also shields ineffective teachers and should be curtailed or eliminated. • Professional organizations such as the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have been thrust into the middle of reform debates in many states. Some states are attempting to limit the collective bargaining powers of these organizations. Critics claim that these organizations are obstacles to meaningful reforms and are placing teachers’ welfare above students’. • Reform has focused attention on the need for better teacher evaluation processes. edTPA is a new teacher evaluation system that attempts to assess the competency of new teachers.

Educational Reform and You 455

Important Concepts accountability adequate yearly progress (AYP) American Federation of Teachers (AFT) charter schools collective bargaining Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) data-driven reform

ESSA high-stakes tests homeschooling Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) merit pay National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) National Education Association (NEA)

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) pay-for-performance plans professional organization Program for International Student Assessment Race to the Top reforms school choice movement standards

Portfolio Activities InTASC Core Teaching Standards 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Complete one of the following activities to add to your professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to gain insights into how national reform movements are influencing teachers’ lives in your state and region.

Reform and Your Life as a Beginning Teacher 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Locate a teacher who has been teaching for several years and ask the following questions: a. How has the standards and accountability movement influenced your life as a teacher? b. How are teachers’ salaries determined? Does the district you work in have any type of merit pay? If not, should it? If so, how well is it working? c. How are you evaluated as a teacher? Has this changed over the years? What advice do you have for a beginning teacher in this regard? d. Do teachers in this district have tenure? If so, how has it influenced your life as a teacher? If not, do you miss having this protection? e. Is school choice a major issue in your school or district? How has it influenced our life as a teacher? Write a short one or two-page paper, “Living with Reform,” in which you describe the pros and cons of the different reform movements that you discussed with your teacher.

Professional Organizations 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom The purpose of this activity is to acquaint you with the major professional teacher organizations in your state. Access both the NEA and the AFT websites. Compare them at the national level in terms of goals, activities, and issues. Then within each site, locate the state in which you’re likely to teach and investigate specific educational issues in that state. Does either organization seem right for you? Summarize your decision in a one- or two-page paper.

state tuition tax-credit plans teacher evaluation teacher tenure Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) value-added models voucher

Chapter 13

Developing as a Professional

fizkes/Shutterstock

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Learning Outcomes After you have completed your study of this chapter, you should be able to: 13.1 Describe the beliefs of beginning teachers and explain how these

will influence your finding a desirable job. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 13.2 Identify factors that contribute to a successful first year of teaching.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 13.3 Describe career-long professional development opportunities

available to teachers. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Hopefully, at this point in your teacher preparation program, you’re beginning to acquire a realistic picture of teaching and starting to decide whether teaching is really for you. In this chapter, we look at how you, as a beginning teacher, can enter the profession, find a job, succeed in your first year of teaching, and develop as a professional. Let’s begin by looking at one new teacher’s reactions to her first faculty meeting as she begins her teaching career.

(Shelley, a beginning 3rd-grade teacher, reflecting on her first faculty meeting) My first faculty meeting. Very interesting. Mrs. Zellner [the principal] seems really nice. She went on and on about what a great job the teachers did last year and how test scores were way up compared to the year before. She also extended a special welcome to those of us who are new teachers. Speaking of new teachers, there sure are a lot of us. I wonder if they’re all as scared as I am. I’m not sure what I would have done if Mrs. Landsdorp [the teacher in the room next door] hadn’t taken me under her wing. She made me feel much better about starting in an urban school. So many of my kids come from low-income homes, and English isn’t the first language for several of them. She said that some of the teachers tend to “write them off” and assume that they can’t learn, but that isn’t true at all. In fact, many of them are quite bright. They just need a lot of help and support. She’s wonderful. She’s sort of gruff, but Andrea (a new friend and second-year teacher) says she’s a softy underneath, and she really loves the kids. I can’t believe how much there is to do—IEPs, progress reports, CPR training, being responsible for spotting signs of abuse. When do I teach? I hope I can cut it.

When you finish your program and if you choose to teach, you’ll be joining others like Shelley. What challenges will you face, and what can you do to meet them? We address these questions in this chapter, but before you begin your study, please respond to the items in What I Believe. You will see how your responses compare to other beginning teachers as you proceed through the chapter.

458  Chapter 13

What I Believe Entering the Profession Consider whether you agree with each of the following statements. You will find a discussion of these issues in the next section. 1. When I begin teaching, I will be a better teacher than most of the teachers now in the field. 2. As I gain experience in teaching, I expect to become more confident in my ability to help children learn. 3. I will learn about most of the important aspects of teaching when I get into a classroom. 4. The key to finding a teaching position is to study hard and get good grades in my teacher preparation program. 5. The most important challenge in surviving my first year of teaching is understanding the content I’ll be presenting to students.

LEARNING OUTCOME 13.1  Describe the beliefs of beginning teachers and explain how these will influence your finding a desirable job. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Entering the Profession Entering the profession will mark a first major step in your new teaching career. Right now you’re taking a course that only introduces you to the field of education, so thinking about aspects of your preparation, such as making yourself marketable and finding a job, may seem far off and premature, but it’s not. The decisions you make in the next two or three years will influence both the likelihood of you finding a job and your satisfaction with your first teaching assignment. Let’s see how.

Teaching and You As a beginning teacher, how do your beliefs about education compare to those of other beginning teachers? How do they compare to those of experienced teachers? How will these beliefs influence your success as a teacher?

Beliefs of Preservice and Beginning Teachers Your beliefs about teaching will strongly influence how you teach and develop as a professional (Cochran-Smith & Villegas, 2016). Our goal in this section is to help you examine your own beliefs and the impact they can have on your professional growth. Let’s begin by looking at your responses to the What I Believe survey. If you agreed with these statements, your beliefs are consistent with those held by other students in teacher preparation programs. Let’s see what these beliefs tell us about your developing as a professional. Item 1: When I begin teaching, I will be a better teacher than most of the teachers now in the field. Preservice teachers are confident, idealistic, and optimistic about their ability to work with students, sometimes unrealistically so (Woolfolk-Hoy & Burke-Spero, 2005). The danger in this optimism occurs when the realities of classrooms shock beginning teachers, who then feel as though “nobody prepared me for this.” Your optimism may wane, and you may question your career choice; about one new teacher of four quits by the end of the second year, and 44% of new teachers leave within the first five years (Neason, 2014; Will, 2018c). This isn’t good for either the teachers or the profession because it is continually losing teachers who would be moving into their prime as professionals. If you agreed with the first What I Believe statement, don’t feel bad. Most beginning teachers are optimistic about their abilities and believe they will be better than teachers now in the field. And optimism is a positive; we all need to believe we can make a difference in our students’ lives. But be aware that your first year of teaching

Developing as a Professional 459

will be challenging, and even trying at times, and you should mentally prepare yourself for these challenges. Item 2: As I gain experience in teaching, I expect to become more confident in my ability to help children learn. As with Item 1, most preservice teachers expect to become increasingly confident in their ability to help children learn. Initially, however, the opposite often occurs, and when they struggle, many become less confident in their ability to overcome the limitations of students’ abilities, neighborhood environments, and family backgrounds. After the initial decline, the confidence of successful, compared to less-successful teachers diverges dramatically (see Figure 13.1). A significant increase in confidence occurs for successful teachers, and this confidence continues to grow as they become more knowledgeable and experienced (Goodwin & Slotnik, 2019). Many who leave the profession do so because they’re unable to survive the challenges of teaching in sometimes bewildering situations (Redding & Henry, 2018). They lose their confidence because their competence doesn’t increase. A major goal of this chapter is to help you avoid this trap. Item 3: I will learn about most of the important aspects of teaching when I get into a classroom. This is another common preservice teacher misconception. They believe that experience is all they need to learn to teach, and teacher education classes are little more than hoops they must jump through before getting into their own classrooms. Experience in classrooms is indeed essential, but it isn’t sufficient by itself (Goodwin & Slotnik, 2019). Unfortunately, in many cases, experience alone often doesn’t significantly increase teachers’ professional growth. For example, teacher preparation students often observe in classrooms but don’t know what to look for. They see a smoothly operating class, and the teacher’s actions seem almost effortless. They leave these classrooms believing that teaching is easy, but they acquire little understanding of the complex planning and sophisticated skills that have gone into making the class run so efficiently. The content of your teacher education courses will help you understand how to promote learning in your students, make you aware of the actions of effective teachers, and will help you acquire the professional skills needed to be successful when you begin your career. You are beginning this process by taking this course and studying this book. Item 4: The key to finding a teaching position is to study hard and get good grades in my teacher preparation program. That’s part—but not all—of it. Doing well in your classes and getting good grades are important, but they’re only the beginning.

Figure 13.1  Confidence Levels of More and Less Successful Teachers More Successful Teachers

Confidence in Ability to Help Students Learn

Less Successful Teachers

Years in Teaching

460  Chapter 13 You should also strategically plan to make yourself marketable and understand the process of getting a job. Making yourself marketable includes developing a professional reputation and also broadening your experiences so prospective employers believe that you understand schools and the students in them. It also includes building a portfolio, constructing a résumé, and writing an effective letter of application-all topics we describe in this chapter. Item 5: The most important challenge in surviving my first year of teaching is understanding the content I’ll be presenting to students. One of the most pervasive myths about teaching is the belief that knowledge of subject matter is all that is necessary to teach effectively. Knowledge of content is essential, of course, but learning to teach requires a great deal of additional knowledge—knowledge you’ll acquire in your teacher preparation program. For instance, if you believe that teaching is essentially a process of “telling,” or explaining content to students, your belief is consistent with the beliefs of many preservice teachers—probably because this is what most of your teachers did. Research suggests, however, that lecturing to students, especially those who are young or unmotivated, is often ineffective (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). Let’s look at one intern’s experience. (Isabella, an intern in 7th-grade geography class) My first lesson with the kids. Chris [her supervising teacher] said I was on my own, sink or swim. I hardly slept last night, but today I feel like celebrating. The kids were so into it. I brought my Styrofoam ball and had the kids compare the latitude and longitude lines I had drawn on it and then look at the globe. I thought the first period was supposed to be Chris’s lowest, but they did the best. He was impressed. Now I understand the stuff Dr. Martinez [one of her professors] stressed so much when he was always after us to use concrete examples and question, question, question. I know I have a lot to learn. I thought I could just explain everything to them, but they got confused and drifted off so fast I couldn’t believe it. As soon as I started asking questions about the lines on the Styrofoam ball, though, they perked right up. I think I can do this. It was actually a heady experience.

Teaching and You What do prospective employers look for in a new teacher? What can you do to make yourself more marketable? When should you start thinking about this future challenge?

As Isabella quickly discovered, teaching is much more complex than simply explaining. And surviving your first year of teaching involves much more than simply understanding the content you’re teaching. Survival skills for the first year of teaching also include becoming well organized, understanding how to manage a classroom, learning how to plan, developing skills such as questioning, getting to know your students, and learning about their needs and developing cognitive abilities. As you saw in this section, the beliefs of beginning teachers often reveal misconceptions about teaching and learning, and these misconceptions can influence your success when you take your first job. For instance, if you retain the belief that the most effective way to help students learn something is to explain it to them, you are likely to be disappointed when you see bored looks on their faces as you lecture. Similarly, if you believe that you will learn most of what you need to know when you go into classrooms, you are likely to benefit less from your college classes than you would if you were more committed to professional growth. Understanding the beliefs of beginning teachers, and recognizing that they’re often misconceptions, will help you better prepare yourself as you anticipate your first teaching position. Having examined these beliefs, let’s now look at how teachers enter the profession and how this will influence your future success.

Making Yourself Marketable Successfully navigating through your teacher education program and earning a license is an essential part of getting a job, but there’s more to it. In this section, we examine strategies to make yourself marketable.

Developing as a Professional 461

Developing a Professional Reputation Because you’re at the beginning of your teacher preparation program, it might appear that preparing for a job is well into the future. This isn’t true. The time to begin developing a professional reputation is now. And employers are increasingly looking to professional recommendations to verify a candidate’s expertise and experience (Goldhaber, Grout, & Huntington-Klein, 2014). Let’s look at one student’s experience.

(Jeremy, a recent graduate without a job) I really wish someone had reminded me of these things sooner. When I started, like a lot of others, I didn’t take it all too seriously. I’d blow class off now and then, and I didn’t always get there on time. I actually did study, but I guess not as hard as I should have. When I asked Dr. Laslow for a letter of recommendation, he declined. Actually, he said he didn’t know me well enough to write a good one. I couldn’t believe it. He was nice about it, but he wouldn’t write one, advising me to find someone who knew me better and was more familiar with my work. And several other college instructors were sort of lukewarm, especially in my major. I guess the classes were just too large for them to get to know me. Now it’s too late. My record is a little spotty and I feel bad about it now, but I can’t go back. I used to wonder why Jacob and Lucas always seemed to get all the breaks. Now I get it.

Do you know people who seem to get a lot of breaks? Do you get your share? Do your instructors know you, and do they respect and value your work? Students who get breaks do so for a reason. They attend all their classes, turn their work in on time, and attempt to learn as much as possible from their coursework. The quality of their work is consistently high. In other words, they behave professionally. Just as teachers in the field are expected to be professional, students are expected to as well. Professors value conscientiousness, and students like Jeremy trouble them. It’s easy to understand why Jacob and Lucas got breaks but Jeremy didn’t.

Developing a Professional Reputation: Implications for Teaching What can you do to develop a professional reputation? Here are several suggestions: • Attend all your classes, and be on time. If you must miss class, see your professor in advance, or explain afterward. (Don’t ever miss class and then ask your professor, “Did I miss anything really important?”) • Turn in required assignments on time, and follow the established guidelines or criteria. • Study conscientiously, and try to learn as much as possible in all your classes. • Participate in class; offer comments and ask questions. You will enjoy your classes more and also learn more from them. • Take every opportunity to learn something new. For example, travel, especially to other countries, provides opportunities to learn about other cultures and the ways they approach education. Trips like these also make valuable entries on your résumé (which we’ll discuss shortly). • Read and try to be well informed. Learn for the sake of learning. • Set the goal of being the best student you can. If you sincerely attempt to learn and grow, your professional reputation will take care of itself. But you need to begin now.

Broadening Your Professional Experiences Broadening your professional knowledge through school-related observations and work is one of the best ways of making yourself marketable. Observing and working

MyLab Education Video Example 13.1 You can take a number of steps that will help make yourself marketable. Here, a leader in early childhood education offers suggestions for preservice teachers interested in working with young children.

462  Chapter 13 in classrooms will help you gain insights into schools and students that will prepare you for your first job. Suggestions for broadening your professional experiences are listed in Table 13.1. Reflecting on and writing about these experiences will help make them more meaningful to you, and you can use the writings as entries in your professional portfolio. Then you can list the work you did in schools in your résumé as a summary of your qualifications. The first item in Table 13.1 is especially important, both for potential future jobs and for helping you decide whether teaching is a career for you. In making this decision, there is no substitute for actually getting into schools and working with students. If you have any doubts about whether teaching is for you or at what level to teach, go into schools and see what it’s like. And when you do, be strategic about the kinds of schools and classrooms you visit. Targeting schools with significant populations of minority students will not only give you a realistic taste of what teaching will be like, it will also provide you with valuable learning experiences that you can talk about in interviews and highlight in your résumé. In addition, research indicates that new teachers who do their clinical work in schools similar to their first teaching position have an easier transition because they are familiar with the schools and students they’ll work with later (Goldhaber, Krieg, & Theobald, 2017).

Substitute Teaching Substitute teaching is one of the best ways to learn about schools and teaching and demonstrate your developing competence. Most districts continually need effective substitutes, and substituting can provide you with valuable teaching experience and give you a foot in the door when you try to find a job. And you’ll be paid for your efforts. The application process for becoming a substitute teacher is similar to applying for a regular teaching job, complete with fingerprinting and a criminal background

Table 13.1  Broadening Your Professional Experiences Suggested Experience

Example

Professional Benefits

Target clinical work in diverse schools and classrooms.

Request to do your clinical work in schools with high concentrations of low SES, cultural minorities, and English language learners.

You’ll establish background and expertise to work in high-demand schools.

Develop a minor area of study in a high-need area.

If you’re a French major, consider a minor in Spanish. If you’re a biology major, consider a minor in chemistry.

You’ll have more options in the jobs you apply for.

Tutor a child.

Become a reading tutor at a local school. Most schools welcome volunteer tutors and may also share your name with parents interested in a private tutor.

You’ll gain direct experience working with children and may earn some extra money.

Seek leadership positions.

Run for a student government office.

Leadership positions on a résumé tell potential employers that you have effective human relations skills and the desire to be a lifelong learner.

Do volunteer work.

Spend a few hours each weekend helping out at the local food pantry.

Volunteer work can be enriching, and it indicates your desire to contribute to society.

Become an aide.

Ask your local school district about job openings for part-time classroom aides.

Working as an aide will give you valuable classroom experience and a part-time job.

Join professional organizations.

Join your university’s chapter of the National Education Association or a student chapter of another professional organization. (Professional organizations are listed in Table 13.5.)

You’ll stay up-to-date on issues in your field and expand your network of professional contacts.

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check. School districts want to ensure that their students are in good hands. But because you might be sent to any number of schools, you probably won’t be interviewed by a principal, as usually occurs with a regular application. Many districts will hire people before they’re licensed; others will hire substitutes who have a degree in an area but no formal teacher education coursework. Local supply and demand usually determines these qualifications, and the only way to find out if you’re eligible is to check with individual districts.

Substitute Teaching: Implications for Teaching But be forewarned: substitute teaching can be challenging. Teachers often leave only sketchy lesson plans, and you’ll be forced to fill in details and improvise on the spot (just like teaching). One substitute teacher, who had served in Viet Nam, crashed in a helicopter in the Pacific Ocean, and then spent 24 years as a firefighter, said that his firsttime substitute teaching scared him more than any of his previous experiences (Greer, 2014). You’ll probably feel the same way when you start your first teaching job; facing a class full of expectant students can feel overwhelming. That’s why being prepared is so important. We outline the major advantages and disadvantages of substitute teaching in Table 13.2.

Building a Portfolio and Résumé (Shelley, the new teacher at the beginning of the chapter) The interview was going okay, but I was uneasy. The principal I was interviewing with was cordial, but she certainly wasn’t enthusiastic. “I’ve had it,” I thought to myself. She even quit asking me questions after about 20 minutes. I really wanted the job, too. As I was about to leave, I happened to mention, “Would you like to see my portfolio?” She looked at it for a couple minutes, and then she started asking some probing questions. When she stuck my DVD in her computer and saw me teaching, she really lit up. I got the job!

Your professional portfolio, a collection of materials that represents your work, is an effective way to tell about yourself and document your competence and qualifications. Just as artists prepare a portfolio of their paintings or drawings, you can use your professional portfolio to document your developing knowledge and skills (Capella, Aber, & Kim, 2016). A digital portfolio allows you to compress large amounts of information into computer files, making it easy to edit and burn onto a CD that can be shared with prospective employers.We provide Online Portfolio Activities at the end of each chapter of this text to assist you in this process. Completing the suggested activities and including the information in your personal portfolio can be a valuable aid in securing your first position.

Table 13.2  Advantages and Disadvantages of Substitute Teaching Advantages

Disadvantages

1. Gain valuable teaching experience and insights into how schools work.

1. Working in a class that knows you’re just a substitute has its challenges.

2. Improve future job prospects through an enhanced résumé and professional contacts.

2. Pay is lower than regular teaching, and there are no benefits like medical coverage.

3. Learn about classroom management and students’ responses to you as a teacher.

3. Facing new content each time, as well as new students, presents continual challenges.

4. Get paid while you learn and grow as a professional.

4. You don’t get to establish meaningful long-term relationships with students and see their growth as individuals.

464  Chapter 13 The first item in your portfolio should be a résumé summarizing your strengths and accomplishments. A résumé is a document that provides a clear and concise overview of an individual’s job qualifications and work experience. It typically is the first thing a prospective employer sees, and it should make a clear and persuasive statement about your qualifications. An effective résumé has the following components: • Personal information • Professional goals • Education • Teaching experience • Other work experience • Extracurricular activities • Honors and awards • References When constructing your résumé, clarity and simplicity should be guiding principles. People reading your résumé want to be able to easily find each of the items listed above. The office of career planning and placement at your college or university will be able to help you prepare your résumé. A sample résumé containing these components is shown in Figure 13.2.

Creating a Credentials File Your college or university has a placement center designed to help graduates find jobs. In addition to providing information about job openings, this center also serves as a repository for your credentials file, the collection of important personal documents you will submit when you apply for a teaching position. It typically includes your résumé, background information about you, grades for courses you’ve taken, performance evaluations by your directing teacher and college or university supervisor during your internship, letters of recommendation (usually three or more), and the type of position you’re seeking. When you apply for a job, you notify the placement center, which then sends your credentials file to the prospective employer. If, after reviewing this file, the district believes there is a potential match, you’ll be contacted for an interview.

Writing a Successful Letter of Application You have written a résumé, constructed a portfolio showcasing your developing professional skills, and created a credentials file. Now, it’s time to actually apply for a teaching position. School districts typically have a number of positions open before the start of any school year, so your letter of application should clearly state the kind of position you’re applying for, such as elementary grades teacher or middle school language arts teacher. It should also highlight elements you’d like to emphasize in your résumé, and it should close with a statement detailing your availability for an interview (the topic of the next section). Using correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling is essential in a letter of application. The letter is the first thing people evaluating you see, and even minor errors create a negative impression. Be sure to read your letter carefully before sending it, and, if possible, have a friend read it with a critical eye. (See Figure 13.3 for a sample letter of application.)

Applying for Teaching Positions: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked what prospective employers look for in a new teacher and how you can make yourself marketable.

Developing as a Professional 465

Figure 13.2  A Sample Résumé

Melinda Garcia Personal Data Address: 2647 Bay Meadows Road Jacksonville, FL 32224 Home phone: 904-267-5943 Work phone: 904-620-6743 E-mail: [email protected] Professional Objectives: Elementary Teaching Position, K–6 Elementary Title I Reading Teacher, K–6 Education: B.A. Elementary Education, University of North Florida, June 2020 Major Area: Elementary Education, K–8 Endorsements: Reading, K–8 Teaching Experience: Student Teaching: Paxon Elementary, Duval County School District. Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Nola Wright. Worked in a 1st-grade urban classroom with seven students who were English Language Learners; assumed full control of the classroom for one eight-week grading period. Also worked with Mrs. Althea Walkman, First Grade Title I Coordinator. Administered reading diagnostic tests and developed specialized reading programs for groups of students. Math and Reading Clinical Experience: Mathew Gilbert Elementary, Duval County School District. Cooperating Teacher: Ms. Linda Gonzalez Served as a teacher aide in a 5th-grade, self-contained classroom. Taught both small group and whole class lessons in reading and math. Elementary Tutoring: Sandalwood Elementary, Duval County School District. Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Alice Watkins Observed and tutored 3rd-grade students in all subject matter areas. Tutored students in reading and math one-on-one and in small groups. Work Experience: Counselor and Tutor: YWCA After-school Activities Program. June 2018 to present. Worked with elementary students in both academic and recreation areas. Lifeguard, Duval County Recreation Program. Summers, 2018, 2019. Full-time summer lifeguard; also provided swimming lessons for young students (4–6 years old). Extracurricular Activities and Interests: Vice President, University of North Florida, Student International Reading Association. Senator, University of North Florida, Student Government Association. Member, University of North Florida Swim Team. Honors and Awards: B.A. with Honors, University of North Florida. Florida UTEACH Scholarship Recipient, 2016–2019. References: References and credentials file available upon request.

466  Chapter 13

Figure 13.3  Letter of Application

Melinda Garcia 2647 Baymeadows Road Jacksonville, FL 32224 June 20, 2020 Dr. Robert Allington Personnel Director Duval County School District 2341 Prudential Drive Jacksonville, FL 32215 Dear Dr. Allington, I am writing this letter to apply for an elementary teaching position in your district beginning this fall. I recently graduated with honors from the University of North Florida, with a degree in elementary education and an endorsement in reading. As my enclosed résumé indicates, I have had a number of rewarding experiences working with students in your district. Early in my elementary education program, I observed and tutored students in a 3rd-grade classroom at Sandalwood Elementary School. I then did extensive clinical work in 5th-grade math and reading classes at Matthew Gilbert Elementary, and during my internship at Paxon Elementary School, I was assigned to a 1st-grade classroom with significant numbers of Title I students and English Language Learners. During this clinical work, I learned a great deal about helping culturally diverse 1st graders become skilled readers. While working toward my degree, I focused on reading as my major area of endorsement. Reading is the key to success in all other subjects, and I believe I have the knowledge and skills to help young children become successful readers. Through my extensive experiences in classrooms at different levels, I have seen how effective reading programs build on the background knowledge and skills of developing readers. Please note that I have had formal coursework in reading diagnosis as well as hands-on experiences implementing different diagnostic tests. I would like to utilize this expertise in a teaching position in your district. I have arranged for my credentials file to be sent to you from the Placement Office at the University of North Florida. Please feel free to contact me at the telephone numbers listed on my résumé for any additional information. I am available for an interview at any time this summer. Thank you for considering my application. Sincerely,

Melinda Garcia

They’re looking for teachers who are knowledgeable and competent and who have done well in their teacher education program. In addition, they want candidates who have a broad background working in schools with a broad range of students. Notice that in Melinda’s letter she highlighted her work with students from diverse backgrounds and her expertise in reading instruction, two areas that will make her marketable. The time to start thinking about the future challenges of finding a teaching position is right now, as you plan the rest of your teacher education program. This is why we’re discussing these topics in this chapter.

Developing as a Professional 467

Finding a Job Your prospects for finding a job after you graduate are very good. Student enrollments are increasing across our country, with the greatest increases occurring in the South and West, and the nation as a whole is facing a teacher shortage (Passy, 2018; Will, 2018). Districts are hiring new teachers at a brisk pace, and some are also offering prospective teachers additional incentives such as grants, subsidized housing, and loan forgiveness programs (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Job prospects are particularly good in high demand areas, such as special education, English language learning (including bilingual education and English as a second language), foreign languages (especially Spanish), and math, physics, chemistry, and technology (Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2018; Klingner et al., 2016). Prospects are lower in areas, such as English, social studies, art, music, and physical education. Opportunities are also greater in rural and urban schools (than in the suburbs), and in districts with higher numbers of low-income and minority students (Ingersoll et al., 2018; Knoblauch & Chase, 2015). Shelley, our new teacher at the beginning of the chapter, experienced these trends. At first, I looked for jobs in two suburban schools, but there were no openings. However, I received offers from three different urban schools. I was a little hesitant at first because I had read about the challenges of working in urban settings, especially for first-year teachers. But one of the assistant principals was great. She talked to me about the job, what it entailed, and the kind of help I’d receive in an induction program at the school. I was paired with a wonderful mentor, [Mrs. Landsdorp], and I’m having a challenging but great year. I love these kids and think I’m going to make it.

Finding a Job: Implications for Teaching What implications do these job patterns have for you? First, if you haven’t already decided on a major, don’t select one based on job availability alone. To be effective (and happy), you need to be interested in and want to teach in the area you select. Don’t major in chemistry, for instance, if you dislike chemistry. But if you like chemistry and want to teach it, you now know that there is a high probability of getting a job in that area. Second, learn where teaching jobs exist in the areas you want to live; the career placement center at your college or university can help. You’ll increase your chances of finding a job if you’re flexible about where you’re willing to teach. Also, research suggests that many first-year teachers are hired in the same school where they did their internships, and the expertise of your cooperating teacher can have a significant impact on how much you learn during your internship and the ease of transition into your first year of teaching (Krieg, Theobold, & Goldhaber, 2016; Ronfeldt, Brockman, & Campbell, 2018). So put some thought and research into your request for student teaching placements. The website, State of Our Cities, can provide valuable information about cities and districts you might consider for your first job (Superville, 2016). It contains education data for 114 major cities in 49 states and the District of Columbia. In it, you’ll find information about graduation rates, per-pupil spending, student performance on state tests in reading and math, and child- poverty rates. Also, data on teacher salaries and percentages of new teachers in the workforce can provide you with additional information that can help you make a decision. This site can be a valuable resource as you consider alternate places to begin your career.

Interviewing Effectively You’re interviewing for your first job, and the principal at the school where you’d like to work asks, “You have a classroom full of unmotivated 4th graders. What would you do to increase their motivation?” How would you respond?

MyLab Education Video Example 13.2 School leaders have specific characteristics and attitudes they value in their teachers. Here, a middle school principal describes what she looks for when she interviews potential teacher candidates for positions in her school.

468  Chapter 13 Your interview is your best opportunity to show a prospective employer that you are a knowledgeable and committed professional. This is the setting that will probably determine whether you get a job (Mele, 2017). So, you need to be at your best. Guidelines for interviewing effectively are outlined in Table 13.3. Schools look for the following in new teachers: • A sincere interest in making a difference in students’ lives • Knowledge of content, an understanding of how students learn, and a commitment to lifelong learning • An understanding of how to organize and manage a classroom—beginning teachers’ number-one concern • The ability to create student interest and involve students in learning activities • An ability to convert Common Core and state standards into meaningful learning activities for your students • A variety of life experiences that can contribute to your work • The ability to work with others • Adaptability and flexibility If you are genuinely interested in working with young people, and if you’ve been conscientious in your teacher preparation program, the interview will largely take care of itself. Nothing communicates more effectively than a sincere desire to do the job for which you’re interviewing. And remember that the interview is a two-way street; you also want to find the right match so you can grow and develop in your first year of teaching. Additional preparation can increase the positive impression you make during your interview. For example, how would you respond to the following questions, all of which are frequently asked in teacher interviews? • Why do you want to teach? • Why do you want to work at this school? • How would you plan for classroom management? • How would you handle an incident of misbehavior? • How would you motivate a class of unmotivated learners? • How would you design your classroom for students of varying ability levels? • What is your philosophy of education? • How would you involve parents or caregivers in their children’s education?

Table 13.3  Guidelines for Interviewing Effectively Guideline

Rationale

Be on time.

Nothing creates a worse impression than being late for an interview.

Dress appropriately.

Wear an outfit appropriate for an interview, and be well groomed. Shorts, jeans, and T-shirts are inappropriate, as is an eyebrow ring. You have the right to dress and groom yourself in any way you choose, but if you are serious about getting a job, you won’t demonstrate your freedom of expression during a job interview.

Speak clearly, and use Standard English grammar.

Clear language is correlated with effective teaching, and your verbal ability creates an impression of professional competence.

Cell phone should be turned off.

You want to show the interviewer that this is important enough to warrant your undivided attention.

Sit comfortably and calmly.

Fidgeting—or worse, glancing at your phone or watch—suggests either that you’re nervous or that you’d rather be somewhere else.

Communicate empathy for children and a desire to work with them.

Communicating an understanding of learning, learner development, and effective instruction demonstrates that you have a professional knowledge base and care about students.

Developing as a Professional 469

We suggest that you keep these questions in mind and begin to form answers to them as you go through your teacher preparation program. If you’re prepared, you will also be more at ease during the interview. And know that everyone experiences a certain level of anxiety when they interview (Doll,2018). It’s completely normal, and if you somehow “mess up” and don’t get the job, use it as a learning experience, knowing it will help you in your next interview. Go home, reflect on the interview, regroup, and know that you’ll do better next time because you’ve got experience under your belt.

Interviewing: Implications for Teaching During your interview, be specific, and use concrete examples from your own work in schools to illustrate your answers (Mele, 2017). For example, here is a specific response to the question about teaching philosophy:

“I believe that all children can learn, and I would try my best to make that happen by ensuring that all students are involved in the lessons I teach. Research suggests that active involvement is essential for learning. During my student teaching, I tried to get all my students involved by calling on each of them as often as possible and I used group work to develop content knowledge and social skills.”

The answer communicates that you’re clear about what you would try to do and why, and citing research suggests that you are knowledgeable, something all school districts value. In contrast, a vague response, such as “I am a humanistic and learnercentered teacher,” leaves the interviewer with the impression that you’re just saying words you learned in a class, which is much less persuasive.

Assessing Prospective Schools Your interview is a two-way street: You are being interviewed, but at the same time, you’re interviewing the school. You want a job, but you also want to determine if this is the kind of place in which you want to work. The upkeep and physical condition of the school, as well as its professional culture, will have a powerful influence on your satisfaction with your job because they tell you things about the way the school is run. When you interview, you should ask specific questions of the principal and other people with whom you’ll work. Doing so helps you learn about the position and communicates that you are thoughtful and serious about the potential position. Factors to consider when evaluating a school as a potential workplace include: • Teacher morale and efficacy: Is teacher morale high, and do teachers believe they can make a difference in students’ lives? Research tells us when teachers believe, student learning increases (Donohoo, Hattie, & Fells, 2018). Teaching is challenging, and school morale can make a big difference in how you feel about your job. • Commitment and leadership of the principal: The principal’s leadership sets the tone for the school. Does the principal communicate caring for students and support for teachers? Lack of support from administrators is a major reason teachers leave a school (Brooks, 2018; Sergiovanni & Green, 2015). • School mission: Does the principal communicate a clear school mission, and do teachers feel as if they’re a team, all working for the benefit of students? • School climate: Does the emotional climate of the school seem positive, and do people communicate a positive and upbeat attitude? How do office personnel treat students? Does the support staff, such as secretaries, custodians, and cafeteria workers, feel like they’re part of the team? Emotional and physical workplace conditions strongly influence whether teachers remain in a school.

Teaching and You How can you tell if a school will be a good place for a beginning teacher to work? How important is the physical condition of a school? How important will the principal be? How important will other teachers be for your future success?

470  Chapter 13 • The physical plant: Are student work products, such as art and other projects, displayed in cases and on walls? Do posters and signs suggest that the school is a positive environment for learning? Are the classrooms, halls, and restrooms clean and free of debris and graffiti? • Students: Are students orderly and polite to one another and to teachers? Do they seem happy to be at school? • Community support: Do people in the community value education and support teachers? How does the school involve parents in their children’s education, and do parents support school functions? The support of families and the community strongly influences students’ attitudes, behaviors, and work habits. • An induction program for teachers: Does the school have a mentoring program for beginning teachers? First-year teachers who participate in mentoring programs are more likely to succeed and stay in teaching than those who don’t (Sailors & Price, 2015; Weisley, & Gardiner, 2018). (We examine induction and mentoring programs in more detail later in the chapter.)

Finding a Good School for Your First Year of Teaching: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked how you can tell if a school will be a good place for a beginning teacher to work? This is a difficult question to answer in one visit, but the answer to this question is important for your satisfaction with your first job and future development as a professional. Working conditions in schools vary dramatically, and they can make the difference between a rewarding first year and one that makes you reconsider your decision to teach.

Private School Employment Teaching in a private school is another employment option. Nearly six million P12 students attended private schools in the United States in 2017, a figure that is projected to increase over the next 10 years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018b). New hires are expected to increase by 16% in private schools between 2011 and 2022 (Hussar & Bailey, 2014). More than three out of four private schools are religiously oriented, with Catholic schools being the most common. Because of the cost of tuition, private schools attract more affluent students, and these schools generally have fewer learners with exceptionalities, members of cultural minorities, and non-native English speakers than do public schools. You are most likely to find private school employment in urban areas and the South. Starting salaries for private school teachers are usually lower than those in public schools, however, and private schools typically don’t provide the same medical and insurance benefits offered in public schools. Because of these financial issues, private school teachers are more likely to leave teaching than their public-school counterparts, and they often transfer to public schools.

Private School Employment: Implications for Teaching Private schools sometimes waive the licensing requirements that public school teachers are required by law to meet, which can make them attractive to someone who doesn’t want to spend the time, money, and effort to earn a traditional license. In addition, teachers sometimes choose private schools because the schools are dedicated to religious or intellectual principles consistent with their beliefs. Communication between administrators and teachers can be easier because these schools are often smaller, and families whose children attend private schools tend to be more involved in school activities than those with children in public schools. Deciding to teach in a public or a private school will ultimately be a decision that only you can make.

Developing as a Professional 471

MyLab Education Application Exercise 13.1: Preparing for a Job and Interviewing Effectively In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a school principal's description of how preservice teachers can best prepare themselves to succeed in their first year of teaching.

Issues You’ll Face in Teaching Traditional or Alternative Licensure? All professionals—physicians, nurses, and lawyers, for

state-sponsored programs in colleges and universities.

example—must be “licensed” in order to work in their occupations,

Founded in 1989 and claiming more than 56,000 alumni, the

and this applies to teachers as well. In education, licensure

organization has an annual budget of $212 million and has

is the process by which a state evaluates the credentials of

20,000 teachers working nationwide, mostly in hard-to-staff

prospective teachers and certifies that they understand subject-

urban and rural schools (Curran, 2017; Teach for America,

area content, possess professional knowledge and skills, and

2018a). Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree and

are morally fit to work with young people. Teachers are required

commit to two years of teaching; while teaching, they receive

by law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to be licensed

modest federal grants and college loan deferments in addition

by a state department of education before they can teach in

to their salaries.

public schools. But there are different paths to licensure, so you will have options for becoming licensed. As you study this sec-

The Issue

tion, think about which option may be best for you.

Is alternative licensure a better option for you than the traditional route? Here are the arguments on both sides of the issue.

Traditional Licensure Traditional licensure programs are housed in colleges and universities and typically lead to a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Pro • Alternative licensure programs offer a shorter, less expensive, and more direct route to a teaching career (Curran, 2017).

They have a general education component that includes courses in history, English, math, and science, together with

• Because they already possess a bachelor’s degree, alterna-

education courses designed to help you develop your profes-

tive certification students have a solid content background

sional knowledge. If you are preparing to work in a secondary

and can concentrate on learning to teach. Also, candidates

school, you will also be required to earn a specified number of

don’t have to go back and worry about undergraduate

hours in the subject area you plan to teach, such as math or

degree requirements.

social studies. And you will be required to pass a content-area exam in this major.

• These programs are especially attractive to older, more mature candidates and to members of cultural minorities, all of whom bring unique assets to classrooms.

Alternative Licensure Alternative licensure provides a shorter route to teaching for those who already possess a bachelor’s degree. A person

Con • Alternative licensure training programs are often so brief that

seeking alternative licensure must hold a bachelor’s degree in a

they fail to prepare teachers for the rigors of classroom teach-

content area, such as math or English; pass a licensure exam;

ing (Redding & Henry, 2019; Zumwalt et al., 2017). Teach for

complete a brief, intensive teacher-training experience; and

America, for instance, has only a five-week intensive training

participate in a supervised internship. Currently, all 50 states

program before teachers are left on their own. And princi-

have alternative programs; currently fewer than one-fifth of

pals rate TFA teachers particularly low in some areas, such

new teachers enter the profession through alternative licensure

as leadership, understanding cultural issues, and long term

routes, although the figure is higher for high-needs areas such

professional growth (Teach for America, 2018b).

as science, foreign languages, math, and computer sciences (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018a). Teach for America is the best-known alternative licensure program, although most alt-cert teachers go through

• The intensive mentoring and support systems that are supposed to compensate for a shorter training period often don’t exist, resulting in a sink-or-swim approach to learning to teach (Schlitz, 2018).

472  Chapter 13

• Because of the short training period and lack of support, the attrition rate for alternative licensure candidates is con-

America teachers left after their required first two years of teaching (Hansen, Backes, & Brady, 2016).

siderably higher than the national average for new teachers (Redding &Henry, 2019; Zumwalt et al, 2017). For instance,

The Question

in one study only 4% of Teach for America alumni remained

So, is alternative licensure for you? Your answer to this question

in their initial school after five years of teaching, compared

will depend on your own unique circumstances as well as the

to 48% of traditionally trained teachers (Redding & Smith,

availability of quality programs in your state.

2016). In another, researchers found that most Teach for

What do you think?

MyLab Education Self-Check 13.1

LEARNING OUTCOME 13.2  Identify factors that contribute to a successful first year of teaching. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Teaching and You What are the biggest challenges you’ll face as a beginning teacher? What can you do now to begin preparing for these challenges?

Your First Year of Teaching What will your first year of teaching be like? Let’s see what one first-year teacher has to say. (Antonia, a first-year middle school teacher) Wow! Was I naive. I was tired of sitting in classes, and I wanted so badly to be finished and get out into the “real world.” What I never realized was just how cushy being a student was. If I was a little tired or didn’t study enough, I could just coast through class. Now, no coasting. You have to be ready every minute of every day. I’ve never been so tired in my life. You’re in front of kids all day, and then you go home and work late into the night to get ready for the next day. They have us filling out reports, doing surveys, and everything other than teaching, so I don’t get a chance to plan during the day. I can’t even make a phone call unless it’s during my lunch break or planning period. And then there’s my fourth-period class. They come in from lunch just wired. It takes me half the period to get them settled down, and that’s on a good day. Sometimes I just need someone to talk to, but we’re all so busy. Everybody thinks they’re an expert on teaching because they’ve been a student. They don’t have a clue. Let them try it for two days, and they’d be singing a different tune.

Approximately 6% of all public school teachers leave the profession each year, but the number of new teachers who leave is much higher—more than 12% after their first year, and about that amount in the second and third years (Neason, 2014). After the fifth year, 44% of new teachers have left the profession (Will, 2018c). As a new teacher, you’re likely to face some or all of the following challenges: • Disinterested and sometimes unmotivated students • Classroom management issues • Unresponsive parents • Poorly run and disorderly schools that aren’t conducive to teaching and learning • Working conditions that require so many nonteaching duties that you don’t have time either for planning or for your personal life • Isolation and loneliness

Developing as a Professional 473

But your first year can also be rewarding, even exhilarating. Let’s look at Antonia again:

Wow, what a day. We’ve been working so hard on solving equations, and all of a sudden Jeremy [one of Antonia’s weaker students] bursts out right in the middle of our discussion, “Hey, I get this. It ain’t all that hard.” What a rush. When you see the lightbulb finally come on in a kid’s head, it keeps you going for another month. And yesterday, Natalia [another struggling student] came up and said, “Miss Martinez, I used to really, really hate math, but now I actually look forward to coming to algebra.” I didn’t drive home after school yesterday; I floated and flew.

Many rewards exist in teaching, and Antonia experienced some of them. It is, indeed, a heady experience to see students understand something new and know that you helped make it happen.

Stages of Teacher Development During Don’s (one of your authors) first year of teaching, his principal visited his classroom for the first time. It was early autumn, and it was hot (his school didn’t have air conditioning)! His class had just come in from lunch recess, and students were sweaty and thirsty from running around on the playground. Seeing his principal in the back of the room, Don plunged into his lesson. The room was sweltering, and students were drooping. After about five minutes, the principal got up quietly and opened several windows. You could feel the difference immediately. We weren’t going to die in that oven!

Don was so preoccupied with making a good impression that he didn’t even notice that his students were dying from the heat. Research examining the stages that teachers progress through as they develop, helps us understand why he was so oblivious and didn’t even notice his students’ discomfort (Ginsburg & Kingston, 2014; Watzke, 2003, 2007). When teachers first begin their teaching careers, they are preoccupied with survival and making a good impression (see Table 13.4). Student behavior is uppermost in their minds, and beginning teachers often worry about losing control of their students. Paul (your other author) remembers a recurring dream he had in anticipating his first year of teaching. He dreamed that his principal was watching from out in the hall, his students were out of control, and nothing he did could bring them back. (Other teachers we’ve worked with have admitted the same disconcerting dream.) If Freud is right, our dreams provide insights into our fears and concerns. So, if you’re uneasy about your first year, you’re not alone. We were, and most new teachers are.

Table 13.4  Stages of Teacher Development Stage

Focus and Concerns

Survival

• Primary focus on classroom management and control and getting through each day • Pleasing both students and supervisors is important • Anxiety and fatigue are common

Consolidation

• Confidence increases • Shift from survival to beginning competence • Classroom management becomes routinized

Expertise/Mastery

• Patterns emerge and effective strategies develop • Shift to focus on student learning and development • Big picture starts to develop

474  Chapter 13 If you’re typical, during this survival stage your primary goal will be to make it through each day with minimal disruptions. Forget long-term learning goals, such as making students independent learners. Forget concerns about students’ social or personal development. Beginning teachers focus narrowly on getting through the day and can’t wait until, exhausted, Friday comes. TGIF! During the second stage, your confidence increases, and your focus shifts from you to your students. Classroom management is no longer your primary concern, and the content you’re teaching becomes more familiar. You start to develop teaching strategies that work, and some of the ideas you encountered in your teacher education classes make more sense now than they did then. You’re not yet an expert, but you don’t wake up each morning with an anxious feeling in your stomach. Gradually, as you enter the third stage, you begin to notice patterns—both in your students and the effects your teaching has on them. You start to figure out what is working for both you and your students. For example, when they give you blank looks, you quickly realize you’re talking too much; you change the direction of your lesson in midstream and take steps to involve your students in your learning activity. Your focus shifts to student learning and development. Your horizon is no longer surviving the next day; instead, you start to think about long-term goals, not only for them but also for you. You’re starting to figure out who you are as a teacher and where you want to go in the future.

Beginning Teacher Development: Implications for Teaching Most beginning teachers go through something like this progression. We did when we worked in P–12 schools. Although they’re generalizations, our students find them both reassuring and comforting. They begin to realize that they’re not going crazy when they have strange dreams, and being uneasy about beginning teaching is completely normal. And they know that the first year is always the toughest, and things get better after the first year. These stages also provide guidance for your professional development. For instance, knowing that being preoccupied with classroom management is completely normal can both reduce stress and lead you to make an extra effort to understand what works with classroom management and develop an effective system of your own. This perspective on teacher growth also reminds us of factors that produce healthy development in general. For example, your development as a professional will largely depend on your professional knowledge and skills, so the harder you study, and the more closely you work with and talk to experienced teachers, the more prepared you will be for your first teaching position. And as with development in general, the teaching experiences you encounter as you develop as a professional will contribute to your growth. Your courses, work in schools, and the support of your instructors and teachers in the field will all help you “hit the ground running” when you take your first job.

Survival Skills for the First Year You can also prepare for your first year of teaching by developing the following “survival skills”: • Organization: Use your time and energy efficiently. • Classroom management: Create a welcoming and orderly classroom environment. • Effective instruction: Involve students in meaningful learning activities. MyLab Education Video Example 13.3 With careful planning and hard work, you will thrive in your first year. Here, a middle school principal describes the professional knowledge that successful teachers possess.

• Relationships with students: Connect with students at a personal level. Let’s see how these skills can help you survive—and even thrive—in your first year of teaching.

Organization Lack of time is one of the first and most pressing challenges you’ll face as a beginning teacher. You’ll feel as though you don’t have a second to yourself.

Developing as a Professional 475

As Antonia commented, “I’ve never been so tired in my life. You’re in front of kids all day, and then you go home and work late into the night to get ready for the next day.” And earlier in the chapter, Shelley commented, “I can’t believe how much there is to do—IEPs, progress reports, CPR training, responsibility to look for signs of abuse. When do I teach?” Although a simple solution to this problem doesn’t exist, careful organization can make a major difference. Effective teachers are well organized—both in their classrooms and in their daily lives. A student in one of our classes observed the following in a firstyear teacher he visited:

His desk was a mess. Books and papers piled everywhere. He couldn’t find anything, and he was constantly shuffling through papers looking for something. He always acted like he wasn’t quite ready for what was coming next.

If he couldn’t find “anything,” you can bet he wasted time looking for important materials, such as lesson plans and student papers. If you frequently, or even occasionally, lament that “I need to get organized,” now is a good time to start changing your habits. Thoroughly planning your lessons, having instructional materials stored and readily accessible, starting your lessons on time, creating procedures for routine tasks, such as turning in, scoring, and returning papers, and establishing policies for absences and making up missed work are all essential for using time effectively (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). These skills are automatic for expert teachers; for beginning teachers, they need to be learned.

Classroom Management Classroom management has historically been the primary concern of beginning teachers, it’s a major reason that teachers leave the profession early in their careers, and disruptive students are an important source of stress for beginners and veterans alike (Weinstein & Romano, 2019). Learning effective classroom management strategies will be one of the most important aspects of your teacher preparation program. When you begin teaching, you may want to review Chapter 10, where we describe effective strategies for managing a classroom.

Teaching Effectively Classroom management and instruction are interdependent; it’s virtually impossible to have a well-managed classroom without effective instruction and vice versa (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). If instruction is boring or if students don’t understand what they’re supposed to be learning and why, the likelihood of classroom management problems increases dramatically. We examine effective instruction in Chapter 11, and, as with classroom management, you may want to review the chapter again when you begin teaching. Your methods courses will also help you acquire strategies for involving students in your learning activities and increasing their interest in the topics you’re teaching.

Relationships with Students Your personal relationships with your students are essential for a successful career in teaching. Positive relationships with students affect students’ behavior in a number of healthy ways and help to minimize behavior problems. Your students need to know that you care about their learning and about them as people, and knowing your students allows you to adjust your instruction to meet their needs and interests (Brooks, 2019). You can begin establishing personal relationships with your students in several simple ways. For example, learn all your students’ names quickly and pronounce their names, or preferred nicknames correctly. We all notice when people know our names, and being addressed by name communicates caring. Construct a seating chart and use it to help

476  Chapter 13 ensure that you’re calling on and involve all your students during lessons. If you miss some students one day, make it a point to call on them the following day. When you observe teachers in the field, notice the striking difference between teachers who know and address students by name and those who don’t. Knowing students’ names is important, but it’s only a first step. Experienced teachers often begin the school year by having students fill out a questionnaire, such as the following, that will help you get to know your students: • Describe three important things about yourself as a person. • What do you hope to take away from this class? • What are some of your favorite hobbies or activities? • What are your favorite subjects, such as math, science, or history? • Do you like group work, or do you prefer working alone? • Do you like it when teachers call on you? Why, or why not? More important than the actual questions is the fact that you care enough to ask them. It communicates that you and they are in this together, which is essential for your relationship with them. With respect to this topic, it’s important to make a distinction between establishing positive relationships with students and being their “buddy” or “pal.” You are neither. You are a caring adult who is committed to their well-being and development. This includes setting standards for acceptable behavior and intervening when the standards aren’t met. It also includes establishing high expectations for achievement and providing the support that helps them meet the standards. “A convincing accumulation of research has shown that students who feel supported by their teachers tend to be more engaged in academic work and have fewer disciplinary interactions with adults in school, relative to their peers who experience less support” (Gregory, Skiba, & Mediratta, 2017, p. 261). In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked about the biggest challenges facing you as a beginning teacher. A learning curve exists for any new job, but because of the complexities of classrooms, teaching is more challenging than most. Working with 25 to 30 young people in one room all day, every day, presents challenges that don’t exist in other occupations. Being well organized, developing an effective classroom management system, teaching effectively, and developing relationships with your students are essential for a successful first year; this is why we call them survival skills.

Teaching and You

Capitalizing on Your First Day of Teaching

As a student, what do you typically think about on your first day of a new class? What kinds of things are most important to you at that point in time? What do you want to hear from your instructor?

First impressions are important, and your very first day of teaching is essential because it sets the tone for the rest of the school year. If you’re well organized and clearly communicate what you expect, students notice and conclude that you have your act together, which makes them more receptive to your academic activities and less likely to be disruptive. The opposite is also true. You want to “hit the ground running” and communicate to students that you are in charge and know what you’re doing.

Capitalizing on Your First Day: Implications for Teaching You can use the survival skills we discussed in the last section as a checklist for your first-day preparations. Get organized. No, get over-organized. Have your room set up to maximize learning. Make sure desks are arranged so students can enter and exit efficiently and can see you and the board. Decorated bulletin boards and walls send subtle, positive messages; this is your room, and it communicates who you are and what you’re about. Spend time the first day explaining your classroom management system and what you expect from your students. For instance, explaining—and, with young children,

Developing as a Professional 477

even practicing—how they should enter and leave the room, hand in assignments, and complete other routine tasks help get you off to a good start. If you decide to involve students in creating classroom rules, begin the process on the first day. This communicates shared responsibility for your classroom and how important classroom rules are to you and your class. Teach a topic that promotes interest and high levels of student involvement. For instance, if you’re a science teacher it could be asking students to explain the results of an eye-catching demonstration; in math a simple puzzle, such as “Identify the next number in the series—1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, . . . ”; in language arts or English, share an interesting poem and ask students if they like it and why. Beginning the school year in this way communicates that learning is your highest priority and helps set the tone for your instruction throughout the year. Resist the urge to lecture; design an activity that actively involves individual students, so they know that you are serious about learning and care about every one of them. Finally, immediately begin the process of learning your students’ names. You might have them fold a piece of paper or hand out index cards, and have the students write their names on it in large print, so you can call on them by name. Both you and your students will experience some anxiety on the first day. Students want to know who you are and what is expected of them, so they’ll be attentive and alert. Overpreparing will reduce your anxiety, and it will help you capitalize on this essential beginning of the school year.

Thriving in Your New School Thriving in your first year involves more than teaching. It also involves collaborating with other teachers and working as part of a team. The help and cooperation you receive from people around you will influence your success and happiness as a beginning teacher. Teachers often joke that the people really running a school are the support staff, such as administrative assistants. And they’re probably right. If you want to know how things are done and where supplies are hidden, ask someone in the front office. They’re also the people visitors first meet, so they create an immediate impression of the school. And as with all of us, they want to feel respected and appreciated. Take time during your first days on the job to meet the support staff, and get to know them as people. Don’t just sign in first thing in the morning and run; take a minute to say hello and greet them as human beings. A few moments spent establishing a relationship with them will pay dividends throughout the year. The same applies with other support staff, such as custodians. If they like you, they’ll bend over backward to be helpful. They’ll let you into your room when you’ve lost or misplaced your key; they’ll come to your room and help when there’s a spill during a science experiment or a student vomits on the floor. (Oh, the joys of teaching!) As with other support staff, they react well to being treated with dignity and respect. Learn their names, find out about their lives outside of school, and above all, treat them as integral parts of the school team. Your colleagues are the third essential part of your school team, and they collectively represent decades of experience, not only teaching but also teaching at that particular school. They can provide invaluable insights about teaching in general as well as how things work at your school (Johnson, Reinhorn, & Simon, 2018). What are the kids like? How about parents? What kind of support can you expect from the principal, and what does it take to make her happy (or at least get her to evaluate you positively and leave you alone—more on that in a moment). You’ll quickly find out which teachers are approachable and friendly. Many, knowing that you’re a first-year teacher, will introduce themselves and offer advice and assistance. Most will be supportive. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Most experienced teachers remember what it was like during their first year.

478  Chapter 13 Principals play a unique role in your school’s team. In addition to being professional colleagues, they also are responsible for supervising you and ensuring that you’re doing a good job. They are also very busy people who wear many hats. Their primary responsibility is to ensure that their school operates efficiently and students are learning. They will expect you to be competent and professional. This leads us to the topic of teacher evaluation.

Teacher Evaluation

MyLab Education Video Example 13.4 Evaluation of your performance will be part of your experience as a first-year teacher, and evaluation experiences will vary. Here a principal and a high school math teacher are involved in a conference in anticipation of a classroom observation.

Being evaluated is another fact of professional life. You will be required to pass competency tests before you’re licensed, and you will be observed several times during your first year by an immediate supervisor—principal, assistant principal, or another qualified administrator. These observations are an essential part of the evaluation process for teachers, and most states require regular evaluations of all teachers, new and experienced alike. Teacher evaluation exists in two forms. Formative evaluation gathers information and provides feedback that you can use to improve your practice, and summative evaluation gathers information about your competence for decisions about retention and promotion (Brookhart & Nitko, 2019). You will encounter both in your first years of teaching. Evaluation processes vary, so you should check to see how they are handled in your school and district. Typically, they are based on research that examines the relationships between teacher actions and student learning; observation instruments are then created based on these research findings. For example, research indicates that effective teachers have well-established classroom routines, use instructional strategies that produce high levels of student involvement, and quickly identify and eliminate sources of disruption (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017). Observation instruments then have observers assess elements such as the extent to which: • classroom routines are in place and used effectively; • students are attentive and involved in the lesson; and • teachers can correctly identify sources of misbehavior and deal with them quickly. Observers use a similar process to evaluate skills in other domains. Most states ground their evaluation instruments in principles outlined by professional organizations, such as the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC). The objectives at the beginning of each chapter of this book are linked to these principles.

Being Evaluated in Your First Year: Implications for Teaching Before being observed, you should ask to see the instrument that will be used. If you’re uncertain about the meaning of any of the categories, ask an administrator or an experienced teacher to explain them. It always helps to know how you’ll be evaluated, and knowing this also helps reduce the stress and anxiety that are always there when someone observes your teaching. In addition, after you are observed, make sure you understand all the comments and points made, and whether you agree with the observer’s conclusions. If you don’t agree with the results, legal channels that allow you to dispute the results exist. Experienced teachers or representatives of your local professional organization will be able to advise you in this process. If your students’ performance on standardized tests is included as part of your evaluation, effective instruction that ensures that your students are well prepared is also essential for maximizing the likelihood of positive evaluation results.

Developing as a Professional 479

Induction and Mentoring Programs (Shelley, first-year, 3rd-grade teacher talking about her mentor) Mrs. Landsdorp is wonderful. She is so supportive, and she is the person I always go to when I want a straight answer about what’s really going on in the school and the district. She’s also been very helpful in giving suggestions about how to deal with difficult parents and how I should handle myself in situations where I’m uncertain. She hasn’t helped me a whole lot with nitty-gritty stuff, like planning lessons or watching me teach, but that’s not her fault. She has a full teaching load, too, so she really doesn’t have time. I guess what it really amounts to is that she’s been a real source of emotional support, and this year is going better than I could have hoped for.

The transition to teaching is rarely as smooth as Shelley’s. Teachers are sometimes hired at the last moment, left isolated in their classrooms, and given little help—the sink-orswim experience of many beginning teachers. As we saw earlier in the chapter, more than a third of new teachers leave the profession by the end of their third year, and more than 4 of 10 leave within the first five years (Neason, 2014; Will, 2018c). Isolation and lack of support are major reasons for this attrition. To address this problem, many schools provide induction and mentoring programs for new teachers. Induction programs are professional experiences designed to help beginning teachers make the transition into teaching. These programs include structured staff development activities, such as workshops that focus on problems that first-year teachers commonly encounter; systematic efforts to provide new teachers with crucial information; and mentors, experienced teachers who provide guidance and support for beginning teachers. Ideally, mentors are sources of both emotional support, as Shelley described, and technical support in planning and conducting lessons and assessing student learning. The most effective mentors match a new teacher’s specific teaching assignment, so they can provide information that is both grade-level and content-area specific. Research shows that mentoring helps beginning teachers and also contributes to learning gains in their students (Schwartz, 2018). Effective induction and mentoring programs that significantly reduce the failure rate for beginning teachers include the following elements (Weisley & Gardiner, 2018): • A systematic attempt to provide beginning teachers with opportunities to observe and talk to experienced teachers • Help with preparing their classes • Feedback based on classroom observation • Special help in linking their instruction to state and district standards • Support with everyday problems and the process of developing a reflective professional attitude • Professional development activities designed to increase mentors’ effectiveness • Compensation and released time for mentors Actual classroom observations with feedback are essential; beginning teachers provided with this help significantly improve in organizing and managing their instruction, and their students are better behaved and more engaged during lessons (Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018). Many beginning teachers, however, don’t participate in anything more than perfunctory school orientations, and many mentoring programs are like Shelley’s; they provide emotional support but little specific help in the process of learning to teach. Time and funding are the major reasons. In most cases, mentors also teach full time, so they have little extra time to help beginning teachers. Many mentoring programs don’t compensate mentors, either financially or with release time; and with nationwide cutbacks in education, increased funding for mentoring programs is unlikely.

Teaching and You Where can you go for advice during your first year of teaching? What makes a good mentor? Does gender matter? What about matches with your grade level or content area?

480  Chapter 13 So, you are most likely to have a mentor who will be emotionally supportive and will offer general suggestions. If your school has a well-designed mentoring program, you will be one of the lucky ones, and, if you have options, it is an important factor for you to consider as you make decisions about accepting a teaching position.

Finding a Mentor: Implications for Teaching In Teaching and You at the beginning of this section, we asked what makes a good mentor? Someone you can trust as a colleague and someone who will take the time to help you is the answer. Being similar in age, gender, and background is less important than their willingness to give you their time and provide help and advice when you need it. Like finding a partner in life, there are no magical formulas because, if there were, people wouldn’t spend all the time and energy in the dating scene trying to find the ideal mate. Don’t be afraid to ask other teachers if you have questions; research indicates that the best teachers actively seek out help and advice when they encounter problems in their classrooms (Spillane, Shirrel, & Samrachana, 2018). As you talk with experienced teachers, you’ll soon find out who you can trust, both for their answers and for their support (Sun, Loeb, & Grissom, 2017). And, not surprisingly, research indicates that many professional dialogues result from proximity, allowing teachers to share ideas with their neighbors (Spillane, Shirell, & Sweet, 2017).

Diversity: Preparing to Teach Every Student Diversity has always been a challenge for beginning teachers, and the challenge becomes even greater as our classrooms become more diverse. In 2016, over half of the students in our nation’s schools were members of cultural or ethnic minorities (Geiger, 2018), this trend is especially pronounced in urban centers and fast-growing states such as California, Florida, and Georgia, and it’s projected to increase across the country (Hussar & Bailey, 2014). In 65 of the 100 largest cities in our country, cultural “minorities” are now majorities (Macionis, 2019). You will, without question, work with students from diverse backgrounds when you begin teaching. Concern over these changing demographics has resulted in efforts to recruit more teachers who are members of cultural minorities. Research indicates that only 20% of our nation’s teachers are members of cultural minorities, and this figure is lower in rural and suburban schools (Geiger, 2018). Minority teachers (and you might be one of them) bring with them several potential assets. Students need role models who share their cultural backgrounds, and minority role models increase minority learner motivation because students can identify more closely with them (Miller, 2018). Minority teachers can also provide culturally relevant instruction by helping bridge differences between schools and minority students’ homes and cultures. Also, they can enrich a school’s faculty by providing additional perspectives on effective teaching and learning practices for minority students.

Preparing to Teach Every Student: Implications for Teaching So where does this leave you as a beginning teacher? If you’re not a member of a cultural minority, or if you are not a member of the same culture as your students, does it mean that you can’t effectively teach minority students? Of course not; many teachers who are culturally different from their students do an excellent job of helping minority students learn and develop. But how exactly do they do this, and how can you learn to do the same? Experts suggest a three-pronged approach to the problem (Banks, 2019). First, learn about your students, including the homes and communities in which they live. Talk to your students, and make a special effort to connect with them in non-classroom settings, such as lunchrooms, playgrounds, and after-school programs. Make a special effort to reach out to parents and other caregivers. This begins with back-to-school night but

Developing as a Professional 481

can also include more active outreach efforts, such as spending time in the community and perhaps even home visits. A second way to learn about the different cultures your students will bring to your classroom is through formal course work and readings. While not as direct as handson experience, books and articles can provide insights into the out-of-school world of your students. Clinical experiences in schools that serve low-income and cultural minority students are a third and perhaps most effective way to learn about these students. If possible, try to arrange at least some of your classroom observations and clinical work in these schools. There you can observe directly what works and doesn’t work with these students. In addition, these classroom experiences also allow you to personalize this information and answer the question “How do I want to teach when I have my own classroom?” As you work in these classrooms, talk to the teachers about what they’re doing and why. Both minority and nonminority teachers can provide valuable insights into effective teaching practices for cultural minority students. A major question you’ll need to answer is whether you need to teach in fundamentally different ways to meet the needs of minority students. Research suggests no; the same basic strategies and approaches that work with other students also work with students of color (Good & Lavigne, 2018). However, research also suggests that you might have to use different motivation strategies, manage your classroom differently, and even adjust your instructional strategies to maximize learning (Emmer & Evertson, 2017; Evertson & Emmer, 2017; Schunk et al., 2014). For example, using examples from your students’ own backgrounds and relating content to their own lives can significantly increase motivation. From a management perspective, you might need to be more structured and explicit in your expectations for classroom behavior. And from an instructional perspective, actively involving students in learning activities is even more important when working with members of cultural minorities. Realistically, the only way to know about these adjustments is by seeing them in action and trying them out in your own classroom.

MyLab Education Application Exercise 13.2: Thriving in Your First Year of Teaching In this exercise you will be asked to analyze a school principal’s assessment of the characteristics that will help you thrive in your first year of teaching.

Diversity and You How Can You Become Effective with All Students? You’re ecstatic! You’ve just been offered a contract to teach in

Over the summer, you work on the problem. You talk to a

a large urban district. Jobs are hard to find, and you think you’ll

friend who is in his third year of teaching in an urban school.

like living in a large city. But after the initial euphoria, reality sets

During the week-long orientation for new teachers, you talk with

in. How will you prepare to teach in a school where the major-

other new teachers, both minority and nonminority, about their

ity of your students will be members of cultural minorities? To

expectations for the school year. During your first month on the

compound the problem, you are not a minority, and you went to

job, you talk to some of the veterans in the school. Here’s what

schools where cultural minorities were only a small percentage

they tell you.

of the student population.

482  Chapter 13

One teacher, a 20-year veteran at your school, has this advice, “Don’t do anything differently. What works best with students will work with the students here. Organize your content,

learning and are actively involved, the learning takes care of itself.” A third teacher recommends talking to and observing

and be clear in your instruction. Use clear lectures and outlines

expert teachers in the school who are members of cultural

to make sure they understand ideas. Tell them from the first day

minorities. “Find out what they do, and then use them as

that you expect them all to learn, and then teach like you mean

models. Do the same in your classroom. If it works for them,

it. You won’t reach everybody, but you’ll reach those who came

it’ll work for you.”

to learn.” Another teacher, in his second year of teaching at that school, emphasizes different learning styles. “These kids are

Consider These Questions 1. How do you reconcile the differing opinions of the first two

different, and they learn differently. You have to adjust your

teachers? Will you need to drastically alter how you teach

teaching to their different learning styles. I do a lot of cooperative

when you work with cultural minority students?

learning, role-playing, and independent projects that allow them to explore topics they’re interested in.” When you ask him how he keeps track of each student’s learning progress, he replies, “I don’t. If they’re excited about

2. Should teachers who are not minorities imitate or try to act more like their counterparts who are members of cultural minorities? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?

MyLab Education Self-Check 13.2

LEARNING OUTCOME 13.3  Describe career-long professional development opportunities available to teachers. InTASC Core Teaching Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Career-Long Professional Development Finding your first job and succeeding in your first year of teaching is only a start. Now is also the time to begin thinking about your career three to five or more years down the road because long-term professional goals can guide you during your teacher preparation program. In this section, we examine four aspects of career-long professional development: • Membership in professional organizations • Using technology for your professional development • Action research • Attaining certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Teaching and You How will you keep current and up-todate on changes in the profession after you graduate? What avenues exist for you to learn about changes and trends in education?

Membership in Professional Organizations Involvement in professional organizations in education is one of the first steps you can take to promote your professional growth. These organizations support a variety of activities designed to improve teaching and schools: • Providing professional-development activities for teachers • Disseminating up-to-date research and information on trends in the profession through professional publications • Providing resources teachers can use to find answers to questions about professional issues and problems

Developing as a Professional 483

• Holding yearly conferences that present research examining recent professional advances • Providing politicians and policymakers with information about important issues facing education Table 13.5 presents a list of the major professional organizations in education, their websites, and descriptions of their missions and goals. We recommend that you join a professional organization as an integral part of your professional growth; many organizations have student memberships that allow you to become involved while still in school. The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are the two largest professional organizations in education. Founded in 1857, the NEA is the largest, enrolling approximately two-thirds of the teachers in this country (National Education Association, 2019). Most of its members are teachers, but guidance counselors, librarians, and administrators also join. The AFT was founded in 1916 and has more than 1.5 million members who primarily teach in urban areas

Table 13.5  Professional Organizations for Educators Organization

Organization Mission or Goal

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

To promote and foster the study of languages and cultures as an integral component of American education and society

American Federation of Teachers

To improve the lives of our members and their families, to give voice to their legitimate professional, economic, and social aspirations

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

To enhance all aspects of effective teaching and learning, including professional development, educational leadership, and capacity building

Council for Exceptional Children

To improve educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted

International Literacy Association

To promote high levels of literacy for all by improving reading instruction, disseminating research and information about reading, and encouraging a lifetime reading habit

Music Teachers National Association

To advance the value of music study and music making to society and to support the professionalism of music teachers

National Art Education Association

To promote art education through professional development, service, advancement of knowledge, and leadership

National Association for Bilingual Education

To recognize, promote, and publicize bilingual education

National Association for the Education of Young Children

To promote excellence in early childhood education

National Council for the Social Studies

To provide leadership, service, and support for all social studies educators

National Council of Teachers of English

To promote the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

To provide broad national leadership in matters related to mathematics education

National Education Association

To fulfill the promise of a democratic society, NEA promotes the cause of quality public education and advances the profession of education

National Science Teachers Association

To promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all

Phi Delta Kappa

To promote quality education as essential to the development and maintenance of a democratic way of life by providing innovative programs, relevant research, visionary leadership, and dedicated service

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

To improve the teaching of English as a second language by promoting research, disseminating information, developing guidelines and promoting certification, and serving as a clearinghouse for the field

484  Chapter 13 (American Federation of Teachers, 2019). The AFT doesn’t allow administrators to join and is noted for its emphasis on higher salaries and better working conditions.

U.S. Supreme Court Changes the Rules for NEA and AFT In a stunning 5–4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled a four-decades-old precedent and ruled that nonunion members do not have to pay union dues to defray the costs of collective bargaining (Liptak, 2018). In this decision, conservative members of the Court argued that requiring nonmembers of the public employee unions to pay union fees violated the First Amendment, which protects citizens’ free speech rights. The decision affects five million teachers in 22 states, including those in California, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, which allowed unions to assess the fees on nonmembers who benefited from collective bargaining agreements forged by unions (Davidson & Bomey, 2018). The other 28 states are right-to-work states where these fees can’t be collected or collective bargaining is prohibited anyway. The close 5–4 ruling immediately brought both praise and scorn from critics and supporters of teacher unions (Goldstein & Green, 2018). Critics praised the move, saying it limited the power of unions to defend the status quo; supporters of teacher unions and of labor unions, in general, saw the decision as further deterioration of workers’ rights and an overt slap against collective bargaining. The effect on the two major professional organizations in education could be severe. Union membership in the U.S. has fallen from 35% of the workforce during World War II to less than 11% today (Davidson & Bomey, 2018). About 70% of the nation’s public school teachers currently belong to a union, usually NEA or AFT, down from 79% in 2000 (Goldstein & Green, 2018). Experts predict that the Supreme Court decision could mean a loss of up to 200,000 members and $28 million less in union coffers. As union leaders debate future directions, experts paint two very different directions (Reville, 2018). One is to become more militant, hoping to attract more members through promises of better benefits and protections for teachers. The other is more ambitious and focuses on unions becoming advocates for the children they serve. This focus would emphasize the need to protect children’s health and safety through legislative actions that place children—instead of teachers—first. We believe this second approach has merit and could produce a wave of public support for teachers and their unions.

Professional Organizations: Implications for Teaching What implications does all this have for you as a teacher? When you become a teacher, you’ll have to decide whether to support union efforts by joining and paying union dues. Union leaders point out that workers covered by union contracts earn 13% more than comparable workers in nonunion workplaces. They also note that teacher unions played a critical role in supporting teacher walkouts, which resulted in higher teacher salaries in several states (Garcia, 2018; Weingarten, 2018). In addition, professional organizations are becoming increasingly involved in the issue of student test scores being used in teacher evaluations, and the results of court cases focusing on the issue will influence how you will be evaluated when you begin teaching (Schimmel, Stellman, Conlon, & Fischer, 2015). The choice is yours. Discuss the issue with other teachers at your school and know that the benefits involve more than teacher salaries. For instance, union members typically enjoy professional liability insurance as part of their membership dues (National Education Association, 2019; American Federation of Teachers, 2019). Teachers have told us that this insurance is valuable in our present litigious society. Teachers support the work of these organizations, with 94% of members, and 74% of nonmembers believing that these unions perform an essential or important role in their schools (Will, 2018b). You are likely to encounter representatives from one or both organizations in your first year on the job.

Developing as a Professional 485

Technology and Teaching: Using Technology for Your Professional Development Staying current as a professional will become increasingly important as our educational landscape changes ever more rapidly. In the past, professional development often consisted of after-school workshops that looked like this:

Teachers, who have been on their feet all day, enter the classroom (usually one of their own), sit in desks designed for 2nd graders, and listen to a speaker drone on about a topic that some already know about and others don’t care. The presenter spends a considerable amount of time talking because no one has read about the topic. At the end of the workshop, the presenter encourages the teachers to apply the information to their own classrooms. Some try, but many simply ignore the suggestions. Participants drive home tired after the workshop and think about what they’ll need to do to fix dinner that night. They’re tired and hungry.

But professional development has changed, and technology is the key to this change.

During the summer break, the professional development team gives teachers a relevant and topical book to read. For some, the book is on hard copy; for others, it’s on tablets, making it easy to read while they have a break from their summer, family, or job responsibilities. As they read, they’re encouraged to share their thoughts with other teachers in an online discussion forum. When they return in the fall, a follow-up meeting addresses questions and concerns teachers raised in the online discussion. As they return to their classrooms, the online discussion continues and allows them to share successes and frustrations in trying to implement the changes with their students.

Professional development attempts to give teachers the tools they need to improve their teaching. It has received increased attention as educational reformers realize that the key to improving education is to improve our teachers. But in the past, professional development was almost a dirty word for many teachers, characterized by workshops similar to our example at the beginning of this section. They were top-down, trendy, and failed to meet the actual learning needs of teachers who were at different points on their professional development (Kraft et al., 2018; Schulten, 2018). Some needed and wanted it; others already knew about the topic or didn’t think it applied to their own unique teaching situations. Elementary teachers were thrown in with high school teachers, and math and science with art and music. These professional development sessions sometimes were effective; more often they weren’t. Technology has changed that by addressing many of the concerns about ineffective professional development that teachers have raised (Fleming, 2018; Killion, 2015). Technology has given professional development organizers the tools to customize topics to the specific learning needs of teachers and to provide ways of allowing teachers to ask questions, raise concerns, and also share successes as they implement changes in their classrooms. Perhaps the most important technological change has allowed the creation of online professional learning communities, groups of teachers who periodically meet online to discuss and improve their teaching (Killion, 2015). The Internet provides a mechanism in which teachers can learn about new ideas, see them actually being used in other teachers’ classrooms via recorded lessons, and raise questions and concerns, both with colleagues in their school or district and with teachers across the country. When teachers then meet face-to-face, they can discuss how the specific reform works with their own unique teaching situations and students. Experts call this blended mix of technology and face-to-face formats “hybrid” learning because it combines the best of both forums.

486  Chapter 13 Another version of professional development presents teachers with case studies of teachers and teaching and asks them to analyze the cases and discuss them with other teachers (Sawchuk, 2015a). Although not high-tech, these case studies require teachers to read relevant research studies and then apply this information to the cases. Challenge makes these applications motivating; discussions with other teachers turn these exercises into professional learning communities in which teachers can examine their own practices.

Professional Development and Technology: Implications for Teaching When you begin your teaching career, you will probably encounter these hybrid professional development activities in your own district. If you’d like to see what they look like, several, such as Edmodo (www.edmodo.com) and Edutopia (www.edutopia.org) are available free of charge to both teachers and their students. Teachers can access the sites and join in on professional conversations about teaching. Twitter and Facebook have also added teacher networking sites. In addition, Edmodo provides a mechanism allowing teachers to link their students into online discussions with other students around the country about the topics they are studying. For example, a world civilizations website asks students to vote for the most important contribution of ancient Greek society together with its most influential figure (for example, Alexander the Great vs. Socrates). Experiencing firsthand what it’s like to learn through these technologies is another dimension of professional development using these formats (Fishman & Dede, 2016). Placing themselves in the roles of learners can provide teachers with insights into both the potentials and problems involved in online learning. Technology has also impacted access to information we need, to accurately teach different topics. In the past, teachers struggled to find up-to-date information about the topics they were teaching. Trips to the library often resulted in armloads of books that teachers consulted as they planned next week’s lessons. Sources were often dated or unavailable. The Internet has changed all that. Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo Search now provide a multitude of resources for teacher planning. What are the implications of all this for you as a beginning teacher? Take the time to familiarize yourself with these teacher-networking sites, and use them to learn more about the topics you’re studying in class. Confused about the national Common Core standards and how they’ll influence your teaching? Simply Google “Common Core Standards” and you’ll be able to find out essentially anything you want to know. Talk to the experienced teachers you work with, and find out which sites they like and why. A world of professional growth is literally at your fingertips.

Action Research

MyLab Education Video Example 13.5 Teachers can use action research to improve their instruction and increase their students’ learning. This teacher explains how she used action research to examine the influence of weekly quizzes on her students’ test anxiety, motivation to learn, and attitude toward the assessments.

Understanding and critically applying research to your classroom is one effective way for you to develop professionally; another is for you to conduct research in your own classrooms. Action research is a form of applied research designed to answer a specific school- or classroom-related question (Clarke & Bautista, 2017; Mills, 2018). The primary goals for action research are to encourage you to become more reflective about your work and ultimately to improve your own teaching. In a sense, all expert teachers are action researchers because they’re continually examining their teaching effectiveness and seeking ways to improve. Action research formalizes and provides structure for the process. Action research typically occurs in four steps: 1. Identify a problem. 2. Plan and conduct a research study. 3. Evaluate and implement the findings. 4. Use the results to generate additional research.

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Let’s see how Tyra Forcine, an 8th-grade English teacher, implements these steps in her classroom.

Tyra and a group of her colleagues are discussing the problems they are having with homework. Kim Bransfield complains that her students often “blow off” assignments, and Bill McClendon reports he has so much trouble getting his students to do homework that he has stopped assigning it. “I’ve heard teachers say that homework doesn’t help that much in terms of learning, anyway,” Selena Cross adds. “That doesn’t make sense to me,” Tyra counters, shaking her head. “It has to help. The more kids work on something, the better they have to get at it.” Tyra consistently gives her students homework and checks to see if they have done it, but because of this conversation, she decides to take a more systematic look at its effectiveness. She can’t find a satisfactory answer on the Internet or in any of her college textbooks, so she decides to find out for herself. Beginning her study at the start of the third grading period, Tyra collects homework every day and gives students two points for having done it fully, one point for partial completion, and zero points for minimal effort or not turning it in. Each day, she discusses some of the most troublesome items on the homework. On Fridays, she quizzes students on the content covered Monday through Thursday, and she also gives a midterm and final exam at the end of the grading period. She then tries to see if a relationship exists between students’ homework averages and their performance on the quizzes and tests. At the end of the grading period, each student has a homework score, a quiz average, and an average on the two tests. Tyra calls the district office to ask for help in summarizing the information, and together they find a positive but fairly low correlation between homework and test averages. “Why isn’t the correlation higher?” she wonders in another teacher lounge conversation, as she informally shares her results with other teachers. “Well,” Kim responds. “You’re only giving the kids a two, one, or zero on the homework—you’re still not actually grading it. So I suspect that some of the kids are simply doing the work to finish it, and they aren’t really thinking about it.” “On the other hand,” Bill acknowledges, “homework and tests are correlated, so maybe I’d better rethink my stand on no homework. . . . Maybe I’ll change what I do next grading period.” “Good points,” Tyra responds. “I’m going to keep on giving homework, but I think I need to change what I’m doing, too. . . . It’s going to be a ton of work, but I’m going to do two things. . . . I’m going to repeat my study next grading period to see if I get similar results, and then, starting in the fall, I’m going to redesign my homework, so it’s easier to grade. I’ll grade every assignment, and we’ll see if the correlation goes up.” “Great idea,” Kim replies. “If the kids see how important it is for their learning, maybe they’ll take their homework more seriously, and some of the not-doing-it problem will also get better. . . . I’m going to look at that in the fall in my own classroom.”

Let’s see how Tyra applied the four action research steps with her students. First, she identified a problem central to her own teaching: To what extent does homework contribute to my students’ performance on quizzes and tests? This personalized approach increases teachers’ motivation to do action research because it answers questions that are important to them. Second, she systematically designed and conducted her study, and third, Tyra and her colleagues immediately implemented the results of her project. Bill, for example, planned to give homework during the next grading period. Action research is rewarding because it addresses issues and problems that teachers really care about. Finally, like most research, Tyra’s project led to reflection about her teaching and to further experimentation with her students. She planned another study to see if scoring the homework more carefully would increase the correlation between homework

488  Chapter 13 and tests, and Kim planned to investigate the question of whether more careful scoring would lead to students’ more conscientiously doing their homework. In addition to answering questions about real classroom issues, conducting action research increases teachers’ feelings of professionalism (see Figure 13.4). Contributing to a body of knowledge and making decisions based on research can help you grow both personally and professionally. Engaging in action research projects can also contribute to teachers’ perceptions of autonomy and efficacy; as teachers investigate their own teaching, they feel more personally able to change classroom events to increase their students’ learning (Yin & Buck, 2019).

Long-Term Professional Growth: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Licensure is the process states use to ensure that teachers meet professional standards. In comparison, certification is special recognition by a professional organization indicating that an individual has met rigorous requirements specified by the organization. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is one important form of certification. Created in 1987, the board is composed mostly of classroom teachers but also includes union and business leaders and university faculty (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2018e). NBPTS seeks to strengthen teaching as a profession and raise the quality of education by recognizing the contributions of exemplary teachers, compensating them financially, giving them increased responsibility, and increasing their role in decision-making. National Board certification is based on standards that grew out of the board’s policy statement, What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2018d). The NBPTS summarized the professional standards contained in this report into five core propositions that describe the professional teacher competencies of expert teachers: • Teachers are committed to students and their learning. • Teachers know the subjects they teach. • Teachers can manage and monitor student learning. • Teachers reflect on their practice and learn from experience. • Teachers are members of a learning community (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2018d).

Figure 13.4  Conducting Action Research Enhances Professionalism Action Research (Emphasizes)

Professional decision making

A specialized body of knowledge

Autonomy

(Enhance)

Teacher Professionalism

Reflection

Developing as a Professional 489

National Board certification has five elements. 1. It is designed for experienced teachers, and applicants must have graduated from an accredited college or university and must have taught at least three years. 2. Applying for National Board certification is strictly voluntary and independent of any state’s licensure; the certification is intended to indicate a high level of skill and professionalism. 3. National Board certification requires that teachers pass content exams in their area of specialty, such as math, science, early childhood, or physical education and health. 4. Additional evidence, such as video recordings of teaching and a personal portfolio, is used in the assessment process. 5. The primary control of the NBPTS is in the hands of practicing teachers, which increases the professionalism of teaching. Research suggests that teachers who become board certified are more effective, and these differences are greater for minority and low-income students (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2018a). In addition, board certified teachers are more likely to assume leadership positions in their schools, such as working as team leaders, department chairs, and staff development facilitators and coaches. Because certification by the NBPTS is for veteran teachers, you may be wondering why we provide information about it at this early point in your teacher preparation program. We give you the information now for two major reasons. First, professionalism is a theme of this book, and the NBPTS is a national effort to professionalize teaching. The NBPTS propositions emphasize the different kinds of professional knowledge teachers need to excel. The NBPTS recognizes that increasing professionalism requires teachers who are both highly knowledgeable and skilled in their areas of specialization. Second, National Board certification can be a long-term career goal. As of 2017, more than 118,000 teachers in all 50 states were board certified (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2018c). The popularity of National Board Certification has declined in recent years because of two trends. First, tight finances at the state level have resulted in fewer states offering rewards for recipients; between 2005 and 2017 the number of states offering financial incentives decreased from 39 to 25 (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2018c). Also, the national focus in identifying exemplary teachers has shifted from selfidentification, as is the case with NBPTS, to student test scores in value-added models of teacher evaluation. Currently, the National Board is examining ways of adding student test score data to the total evaluation process. National Board certification is something for you to keep in mind as you move into your career. Earlier we asked in Teaching and You how you could keep up-to-date on changes in education after you graduate. Professional organizations can provide you with current information about recent trends in education through their publications and workshops. Hopefully, you’ll make teaching a career, and many changes will occur over the years. Professional organizations provide a way of staying current.

MyLab Education Self-Check 13.3

Chapter 13 Summary 1. Describe the beliefs of beginning teachers and explain how these will influence your finding a desirable job. • Beginning teachers are idealistic and optimistic. They believe they will be more effective than teachers now in the field. They also expect to become more confident about their ability to promote learning as they gain experience in the classroom. Unfortunately, the opposite may occur. Beginning teachers also tend to believe that they’ll learn most of what they need to know to be an effective teacher from their work in classrooms. They also think that the key to finding a job is to get good grades in professional classes, which is just a start in the process. Finally, beginning teachers believe that the key to effective teaching is to thoroughly understand the content they are teaching. The beliefs of beginning teachers are often naive and frequently run counter to research about good teaching. Understanding these beliefs can help beginning teachers avoid potential pitfalls. • Making yourself marketable requires developing a professional reputation, broadening your professional experiences, building a portfolio and a résumé, creating a credentials file, and writing a successful letter of application. The sooner you begin thinking about this process, the better equipped you will be to find a job when you graduate. • Finding your first teaching job requires knowing where teaching jobs are available, interviewing effectively, and finding a school that will encourage professional growth. 2. Identify factors that contribute to a successful first year of teaching. • Teachers often proceed through three stages as they develop as professionals. In the first stage, survival is uppermost on teachers’ minds; during the second, teachers develop effective instructional and management skills; and in the third stage, as teachers continue to develop expertise they begin to focus on student learning and development.

490

• Survival skills for your first year of teaching include getting organized, developing effective management and instructional strategies, and getting to know your students. • Capitalizing on your first day of teaching involves systematically applying these survival skills in the classroom. • Surviving and thriving in your new school requires that you establish professional relationships with the people in your school who help make it run. • Evaluation is also a part of every beginning teacher’s experience. Formative evaluation is designed to provide helpful feedback to teachers; summative evaluation is designed to ensure adequate performance by teachers. Research-based teacher evaluations analyze teaching in terms of the best we know about how teachers promote student learning. • Induction and mentoring programs can help you make the transition from being a student to being an effective teacher. The best mentoring programs provide systematic help for beginning teachers, help teachers link their instruction to state and district standards, provide teachers with support in dealing with everyday problems, encourage teachers to develop a reflective professional attitude, and provide feedback based on classroom observation. 3. Describe career-long professional development opportunities available to teachers. • Professional organizations provide a variety of services for you throughout your career. These include publications detailing current research, professional development activities, annual conferences, and resources for teachers’ questions and concerns. • To professionalize teaching, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has established rigorous standards and assessments for teachers who have completed at least three years of successful service. Substantial financial rewards are available in some states for teachers who have completed national board certification.

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Important Concepts action research alternative licensure American Federation of Teachers (AFT) certification credentials file

digital portfolio formative evaluation induction programs licensure mentors

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) National Education Association (NEA) professional development

Portfolio Activity Professional Organizations InTASC Core Teaching Standards 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice Complete one of the following activities to add to your own professional portfolio. The purpose of these activities is to acquaint you with the major professional teacher organizations in your state. 1. Activity for Students with Access to a Classroom Locate a teacher who has been teaching for several years and ask the following questions: a. Do you belong to any professional organizations? Which one(s), and are you satisfied with them? If not, why not? b. How much are the annual membership dues? Do you feel you are getting your money’s worth? c. Who is the local professional representative? Do you ever interact with them about professional issues? d. What advice do you have for a beginning teacher in terms of joining and participating in professional organizations? In a short paper, describe how professional organizations can assist new teachers. 2. Activity for Students without Access to a Classroom From Table 13.5, select an organization that interests you. Locate the organization’s website and explore the different services described there. Find out the membership costs and benefits. Report your findings in a one- or two-page summary.

professional learning communities professional portfolio résumé summative evaluation Teach for America

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526 References Weingarten, R. (2018). ‘We are in a race for the soul of our country.’ Education Week, 37(37), 27. Weinstein, C., & Romano, M. (2019). Elementary classroom management: Lesson from research and practice (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Weisley, N., & Gardiner, W. (2018). Making mentoring work. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(6), 64–69. Will, M. (2018a). Teachers unions go on offensive to stem losses. ­Education Week, 37(36), 1, 12. Will, M. (2018b). “Voices from the classroom: A survey of America’s educators.” Education Week, 37(35), 4. Will, M. (2018c). Teaching force continues to grow. Education Week, 38(11), 5.

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Glossary A Academic freedom.  The right of teachers to choose both content and teaching methods based on their professional judgment. Academic learning time.  The amount of time students are both engaged and successful. Academy.  An early secondary school that focused on the practical needs of colonial America, offering math, navigation, astronomy, bookkeeping, logic and rhetoric to both boys and girls. Acceleration.  A gifted and talented program that keeps the regular curriculum but allows students to move through it more quickly. Accountability.  The process of requiring students to demonstrate mastery of the topics they study as measured by standardized tests, as well as holding educators at all levels responsible for students’ performance. Action research.  A form of applied teacher research designed to answer a specific school- or classroom-related question. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  A provision of No Child Left Behind that requires students to demonstrate progress in statewide tests toward meeting state standards. Administrators.  People responsible for the day-to-day operation of a school. Advanced placement (AP) classes.  Courses taken in high school that allow students to earn college credit, making college less time-consuming and expensive. Allocated time.  The amount of time a teacher designates for a particular content area or topic. Alternative licensure.  A shorter route to licensure for those who already possess a bachelor’s degree. American Federation of Teachers (AFT).  The nation’s second largest teacher professional organization, founded in 1916 and affiliated with the AFL-CIO, a major national labor union. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Legislation providing new federal aid to education and designed to provide economic stimulus to the U.S. economy. Assessment.  The process teachers use to gather data and make decisions about progress in student learning and development. Assimilation.  A process of socializing people so that they adopt dominant social norms and patterns of behavior. Assistive technology.  A set of adaptive tools that support students with disabilities in learning activities and daily life tasks. Autism/autism spectrum disorders.  Formerly thought of as a single disorder (autism), now thought of as a cluster of problems (autism spectrum disorders) characterized by communication deficits, impaired social relationships and skills and often associated with highly ritualized and unusual behaviors. Autonomy.  The capacity to control one’s own professional life.

Bilingual maintenance language programs.  Language programs that place the greatest emphasis on using and sustaining the first language while teaching English. Blended learning.  Instruction that combines elements of both face-to-face instruction and online learning. Block grants.  Federal monies provided to states and school districts with few restrictions for use. Block scheduling.  A high school scheduling option in which classes are longer but meet less frequently. Buckley Amendment.  A federal law, also called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, that describes who may have access to a student’s educational records. Bullying.  A systematic or repetitious abuse of power between students.

C Career academy.  An alternative to large, comprehensive high schools that places students in small, career-oriented learning communities. Career technical schools.  Schools designed to provide students with education and job skills that will enable them to get a job immediately after high school. Caring.  A teacher’s investment in the protection and development of the young people in his or her classes. Categorical grants  Federal funds targeted for specific groups and designated purposes such as Head Start. Censorship.  The practice of prohibiting objectionable materials from being used in academic classes or, in some cases, from being placed in libraries. Certification.  Special recognition by a professional organization indicating that a person has met certain rigorous requirements specified by the organization. Charter schools.  Alternative schools that are independently operated but publicly funded. Classroom management.  Comprehensive actions teachers take to create an environment that supports and facilitates both academic and social-emotional learning. Classroom organization.  A professional management skill that includes preparing materials in advance, starting classes and activities on time, making timely and smooth transitions, and creating well-established routines. Closure.  A form of review occurring at the end of a lesson designed to help students organize what they’ve learned into a meaningful idea. Collaboration.  Joint communication and decision making among educational professionals to create an optimal learning environment for students with exceptionalities.

Axiology.  The branch of philosophy that considers values and ethics.

Collective bargaining.  The process that occurs when a local chapter of a professional organization negotiates with a school district over the rights of the teachers and the conditions of employment.

B

Commercialization.  Corporations using schools as avenues or arenas for advertising and other business ventures.

Behavior disorders.  The display of serious and persistent ageinappropriate behaviors that result in social conflict, personal unhappiness, or school failure.

Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI).  A reform effort designed to establish a single set of clear educational standards for all states in the major subject areas.

527

528 Glossary Common school movement.  A historical attempt in the 1800s to make education available to all children in the United States.

Desists.  Verbal or nonverbal communications teachers use to stop a behavior.

Communication disorders.  Disorders that interfere with students’ ability to receive and understand information from others or to express their own ideas or questions.

Detention.  Similar to time-out, the taking away of students’ free time by keeping them in school after regular dismissal times.

Compensatory education programs.  Government attempts to create more equal educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Competence.  Our beliefs in our abilities to accomplish specific tasks. Comprehensive high school.  A secondary school that attempts to meet the needs of all students by housing them together and providing curricular options (e.g., vocational or college-preparatory programs) geared toward a variety of student ability levels and interests. Conspiracy theories.  Explanations for events that invoke plots or schemes by governments or other powerful actors for nefarious motives. Cooperative learning.  A set of instructional strategies used to help learners meet specific learning and social-interaction objectives in structured groups. Copyright laws.  Federal laws designed to protect the intellectual property of authors, including printed matter, videos, computer software, and various other types of original work. Corporal punishment.  The use of physical, punitive disciplinary actions to correct student misbehavior. Creationism.  A religious view suggesting that the universe was created by God as described in the Bible, framed in terms designed to make it appear scientific. Credentials file.  A collection of important personal documents teachers submit when they apply for teaching positions. Critical thinking.  The ability to make and assess conclusions based on factual evidence. Cross-age tutoring  A peer tutoring arrangement that involves older students helping younger ones. Cultural diversity.  The different cultures encountered in classrooms and how these cultural differences influence learning. Culturally responsive classroom management.  Approach to classroom management that acknowledges and capitalizes on cultural diversity. Culture.  The knowledge, attitudes, values, customs, and behavior patterns that characterize a social group.

Development.  The physical, intellectual, moral, emotional, and social changes that occur in students as a result of their maturation and experience. Developmental delays.  Individual differences due to differing rates of a child’s developmental progression that may need instructional interventions. Developmental programs.  Programs that accommodate differences in children’s development by allowing them to acquire skills and abilities at their own pace through direct experiences. Differentiating instruction.  The process of adapting instruction to meet the needs of students who vary in background knowledge, skills, needs, and motivations, Digital portfolio.  A collection of materials contained in an electronic file that makes personal information easy to edit and share with prospective employers. Direct instruction.  An instructional strategy designed to teach essential knowledge and skills through teacher explanation and modeling followed by student practice and feedback. Discipline.  Teachers’ responses to student misbehavior. Discrepancy model of identification.  Identifying students with exceptionalities by looking at differences between performance in the classroom and scores on standardized tests, scores on intelligence and achievement tests, intelligence test scores and classroom achievement, and subtests on either intelligence or achievement tests. Distance education.  Organized instructional programs in which teachers and learners, though physically separated, are connected through technology. Dual enrollment.  High school courses in which students are enrolled in college classes while still in high school. Due process.  A set of legal guidelines, based on the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, that must be followed to protect individuals from arbitrary or capricious actions by those in authority.

E

Curriculum.  Everything that teachers teach and students learn in schools. Also may include unintended outcomes from school experiences.

Early childhood education.  A general term encompassing a range of educational programs for young children, including infant intervention and enrichment programs, nursery schools, public and private pre-kindergartens and kindergartens, and federally funded Head Start programs.

Cyberbullying.  The use of electronic media to harass or intimidate other students.

Effective school.  A school in which learning for all students is maximized.

D

Effective teaching.  Instruction that maximizes learning by actively involving students in meaningful learning activities.

Dame schools.  One of the few examples of women teaching in colonial times; women taught small groups of children in their homes, funded by parents. Data-driven reform.  Reform efforts that use information from student test scores to guide efforts to improve teaching and learning. Data mining.  The collection and analysis of large quantities of information intended to identify patterns in people’s lives. De facto segregation.  Segregation resulting from individuals’ private decisions, primarily from housing or where people choose to live. De jure segregation.  Segregation resulting from laws, such as those existing in many states that created schools that were supposedly “separate but equal.” Departmentalization.  The organization of teachers and classes into separate academic areas.

Emotional disorders.  See Behavioral disorders. Emotional intelligence.  The ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions in ourselves and others, and to use this knowledge to enhance our lives. Engaged time.  The time in classrooms in which students are paying attention and are actively involved in learning activities. Also called time on task. English as a second language (ESL) programs.  A wide variety of language programs emphasizing rapid transition to English through content-area instruction with no efforts to maintain students’ native language. English high school.  Once called the English Classical School, this free secondary school was designed to meet the needs of boys not planning to attend college.

Glossary 529 English learners (ELs).  Students whose first language isn’t English and who need help in learning to speak, read, and write in English (also called English language learners – ELLs). Enrichment.  A gifted and talented program that provides richer and more varied content through strategies that supplement usual grade-level work. Epistemology.  The branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge and questions of how we come to know what we know. Equitable distribution.  The practice of calling on all students—both volunteers and non-volunteers—as equally as possible. Essential teaching skills.  Abilities that all teachers, including those in their first year, should have in order to help students learn. Essentialism.  An educational philosophy suggesting that specific knowledge and skills exist that all people should possess, such as basic skills in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Establishment clause.  The clause of the First Amendment that prohibits the establishment of a national or state-sponsored religion. Ethics.  Sets of moral standards for acceptable professional behavior. Ethnicity.  A person’s ancestry; the way individuals identify themselves with the nation they or their ancestors came from. Exceptionalities.  Learning or emotional needs that result in students’ requiring special help to succeed and reach their full potential. Explicit curriculum.  The stated curriculum found in textbooks, curriculum guides, and standards, as well as other planned formal educational experiences. Extracurriculum.  The part of the curriculum consisting of learning experiences that go beyond the core of students’ formal studies. Extrinsic motivation.  Motivation to engage in a behavior to receive some incentive. Extrinsic rewards.  Rewards that come from the outside, such as teacher job security and vacations.

F Fair-use guidelines.  Policies that specify limitations in the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes. Fake news.  Deliberate misinformation that uses exaggerated and attention-grabbing headlines for political, economic, or social gain. Feedback.  Information about existing student understanding used to enhance future learning. Focus.  Concrete objects, pictures, models, materials displayed on a document camera, or information written on the board that attract and maintain attention during learning activities. Formative evaluation.  The process of gathering information and providing feedback that teachers can use to improve their practice. Free exercise clause.  The section of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from interfering with individuals’ rights to hold religious beliefs and freely practice religion.

Gifted and talented.  Students at the upper end of the ability continuum who need special services to reach their full potential. Grade recovery.  A controversial district policy where failing students are allowed to improve their grades by using online programs designed to improve their understanding and skills. Grade retention.  The practice of requiring students to repeat a grade if they don’t meet certain criteria, which is often a standardized test. Grievance.  A formal complaint against an employer alleging unsatisfactory working conditions. Guided discovery.  An instructional strategy designed to teach concepts and other abstractions by presenting students with data and assisting them in finding patterns through teacher questioning.

H Head Start.  A federal compensatory education program designed to help 3- to 5-year-old disadvantaged children enter school ready to learn. High collective efficacy.  The belief by teachers in their schools’ ability to promote student learning regardless of external conditions; a pervasive factor in effective schools. High-quality examples.  Representations of content that ideally have all the information students need in order to learn a topic. High-stakes tests.  Standardized assessments that states and districts use to determine whether students will advance from one grade to another, graduate from high school, or have access to specific fields of study. Homeschooling.  An educational option in which parents educate their children at home.

I Ideology.  The beliefs and faiths of a certain social institution. Immersion programs.  Language programs that emphasize a rapid transition to English by exclusive use of the English language. Implementing instruction.  The second phase of effective instruction; the process of putting the decisions made during planning into action. Implicit curriculum.  The unstated and sometimes unintended aspects of the curriculum. In loco parentis.  A principle meaning “in place of the parents” that requires teachers to use the same judgment and care as parents in protecting the children under their supervision. Inclusion.  A comprehensive approach to educating students with exceptionalities that provides a total, systematic, and coordinated web of services. Individualized education program (IEP).  An individually prescribed instructional plan collaboratively devised by special education and general education teachers, resource professionals, and parents (and sometimes the student).

Full-service schools.  Schools that serve as family resource centers to provide a range of social and health services.

Individualized family service plan (IFSP).  A comprehensive service plan, similar to an IEP, that targets the families of young children (birth to 2 years) who are developmentally delayed.

G

Induction programs.  Professional experiences designed to help beginning teachers successfully transition into teaching.

Gender bias.  Discrimination based on gender that limits the growth possibilities of either boys or girls.

Informal assessment.  The process of gathering information and making decisions during the course of learning activities.

Gender-role identity.  Societal differences in expectations and beliefs about appropriate roles and behaviors of the two sexes.

Information literacy.  The ability to formulate a question, use appropriate technologies to seek meaningful information related to the question, and critically evaluate this information to create an answer to the question.

General pedagogical knowledge.  General principles of teaching and learning, such as the ability to maintain an orderly and learningfocused classroom and guide student learning using skilled questioning.

Instruction.  The strategies teachers use to help students reach learning goals in the curriculum.

530 Glossary Instructional alignment.  The match between learning objectives, learning activities, and assessments. Instructional strategies.  Prescriptive approaches to teaching designed to help students acquire a deep understanding of specific forms of knowledge. Instructional time.  The amount of time left for teaching after routine management and administrative tasks are completed. Integrated curriculum.  A form of curriculum in which concepts and skills from various disciplines are combined and related. Intellectual disabilities.  Disabilities that include limitations in intellectual functioning indicated by difficulties in learning and problems with adaptive skills, such as communication, self-care, and social interaction (used to be called mental retardation). Intelligence.  The ability to acquire and use knowledge, solve problems, reason in the abstract, and adapt to new situations.

Licensure.  The process by which a state evaluates the credentials of prospective teachers to ensure that they have achieved satisfactory levels of teaching competence and are morally fit to work with youth. Local school board.  A group of elected lay citizens responsible for setting policies that determine how a school district operates. Logic.  The branch of philosophy that examines the processes of deriving valid conclusions from basic principles. Logical consequences.  Outcomes that are conceptually related to misbehavior, linking students’ actions and their consequences. Looping.  The practice of keeping a teacher with one group of students for more than a year. Lower class.  The socioeconomic level composed of people who typically make less than $25,000 per year, have a high school education or less, and work in low-paying, entry-level jobs.

Intelligent design.  A theory suggesting that certain features of the universe and of living things are so complex that their existence is best explained by an intelligent cause, rather than by an undirected process, such as natural selection.

M

Internet censorship.  The process of controlling or suppressing what can be viewed, accessed, or published on the Internet.

Mainstreaming.  The practice of moving students with exceptionalities away from segregated services and into general education classrooms, sometimes for selected activities only.

Intervention.  A teacher action designed to increase desired behaviors or to eliminate student misbehavior and inattention. Intrinsic motivation.  Motivation to be involved in an activity for its own sake. Intrinsic rewards.  Rewards that come from within oneself and are personally satisfying for emotional or intellectual reasons. Involvement.  The extent to which students are actively participating in a learning activity.

J

Magnet schools.  Public schools that provide innovative or specialized programs to attract students from all parts of a district.

Mentors.  Experienced teachers who provide guidance and support for beginning teachers. Merit pay.  A supplement to a teacher’s base salary used to reward exemplary performance. Metaphysics (ontology).  The branch of philosophy that considers reality or what we know. Middle class.  Socioeconomic level composed of managers, administrators, and white-collar workers who perform nonmanual work.

Junior high schools.  Schools designed for early adolescents that are similar in form and focus to high schools.

Middle schools.  Special schools targeting grades 6 through 8 and designed to meet the unique social, emotional, and intellectual needs of early adolescents.

K

Modeling.  The tendency of people to imitate others’ behaviors and attitudes.

Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP).  A national network of charter schools that targets at-risk students and that stresses academics and features extended school hours and mandatory homework.

Montessori method.  An approach to early childhood education that emphasizes individual exploration and initiative through learning centers.

L

Moral education.  A curricular approach to teaching morality that emphasizes the development of students’ reasoning about issues of right and wrong.

Latchkey children.  Children who go home to empty houses after school and who are left alone until parents arrive home from work. Latin grammar school.  An early college-preparatory school designed to help boys prepare for the ministry or a career in law. Learner-centered instruction.  Instruction involving a teacher guiding and supporting students as they develop their own understanding of the topic being taught. Learning community.  A classroom environment in which the teacher and students work together to help everyone learn. Learning disabilities.  The most frequently occurring exceptionality, involving difficulties in acquiring and using listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. Learning style.  Students’ personal approaches to learning, problem solving, and processing information.

Motivation.  The energizing force behind student learning that initiates and sustains efforts to reach a goal. Multi-ability tasks.  Learning activities that allow all students to succeed and develop their own learning strengths. Multicultural education.  A general term that describes a variety of strategies schools use to accommodate cultural differences in teaching and learning. Multiple intelligences.  A theory that suggests that overall intelligence is composed of eight relatively independent dimensions.

N

Lecture-discussion.  An instructional strategy designed to teach organized bodies of knowledge through teacher presentations and frequent questioning to monitor learning progress.

National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP).  Also called the “Nation’s Report Card”, this battery of achievement tests, that is administered systematically and periodically to carefully selected samples of students, and is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of achievement for students across our country.

LGBTQ.  An acronym that originated in the 1990s and replaced what was formerly known as “the gay community,” refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and individuals who are exploring or questioning their identities.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).  A professional organization that sets voluntary standards for experienced teachers to recognize those who possess extensive professional knowledge.

Glossary 531 National Education Association (NEA).  The nation’s oldest and largest teacher professional organization, founded in 1857. Negligence.  A teacher’s or other school employee’s failure to exercise sufficient care in protecting students from injury. No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  A 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that mandates statelevel standards, testing in reading and math for grades 3–8, and holds individual schools accountable for student achievement in these areas. Nonexclusion time-out.  Seating a student near the teacher or on the edge of the classroom, with the goal of preventing the student from receiving attention from classmates. Normal schools.  Two-year postsecondary institutions developed in the early 1800s to prepare prospective elementary teachers, especially targeting women. Normative philosophy.  A description of the way professionals ought to practice. Notoriety.  The extent to which a teacher’s behavior becomes known and is controversial. Null curriculum.  Topics left out of the course of study.

O Old Deluder Satan Act.  A landmark piece of legislation designed to create scripture-literate citizens who could thwart Satan’s trickery. Open-ended questions.  Questions for which a variety of answers are acceptable. Organization.  The set of teacher actions that maximizes the amount of time available for instruction. Overlapping.  A teacher’s ability to attend to two issues simultaneously.

P Pay-for-performance plans.  Plans that offer teachers higher salaries and bonuses for taking on extra responsibilities, working in highneed areas, or performing in exemplary ways. Pedagogical content knowledge.  A part of teachers’ professional knowledge that includes the ability to represent abstract concepts in ways that students understand. Peer tutoring.  An instructional strategy in which one student teaches another. Perennialism.  An educational philosophy suggesting that nature— including human nature—is constant and that schools should teach classic knowledge. Personal teaching efficacy.  Teachers’ beliefs in their own ability to help all students learn, regardless of the conditions of the school or students’ home lives and backgrounds. Personalized learning.  Technology that attempts to adjust online instruction to accommodate students’ academic strengths and weakness as well as their interests and what motivates them to learn. Philosophy.  The study of theories of knowledge, truth, existence, and morality. Philosophy of education.  A framework for thinking about educational issues, and a guide for professional practice. Positive classroom climate.  An environment in which learners feel physically and emotionally safe, personally connected to both their teacher and their peers, and worthy of love and respect. Poverty thresholds.  Household income levels that represent the lowest earnings needed to meet basic living needs. Principal.  The person who has the ultimate administrative responsibility for a school’s operation.

Problem-based instruction.  An instructional strategy that uses a problem as the lesson focus and that teaches content, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills by immersing students in solving the problem. Procedures.  Management routines students follow in their daily learning activities. Productive learning environment.  A safe and inviting classroom that is orderly and that focuses on learning, and provides opportunities for social and personal growth. Professional development.  Programs designed to give teachers the tools they need to improve their teaching. Professional ethics.  A set of moral standards for acceptable professional behavior. Professional learning communities.  Groups of teachers who periodically meet online or in person to discuss and improve their teaching. Professional organization.  An organization, usually nonprofit, seeing to advance a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest. Professional portfolio.  A collection of materials representative of a teacher’s work that provides a concrete and effective way to document professional competence and qualifications. Professionalism.  Trait of an occupation characterized by a specialized body of knowledge with emphasis on autonomy, decision making, reflection, and ethical standards for conduct. Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).  An international testing program designed to provide a comprehensive picture of student achievement in different countries across the world. Progressivism.  An educational philosophy emphasizing curricula that focus on real-world problem solving and individual development. Prompting.  Providing additional questions and cues when students fail to answer correctly. Property taxes.  Taxes on properties that are used to support education and determined by the value of property in a school district. Punishment.  The process of decreasing or eliminating undesired student behavior through some aversive consequence.

Q Questioning frequency.  The number of questions teachers ask during lessons.

R Race to the Top.  A competitive federal reform effort by the U.S. Department of Education designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education. Competing states were awarded points for satisfying certain educational policies. Reciprocal tutoring.  Peer tutoring in which pairs of students of comparable ability work together, with students taking turns being the tutor. Reduction in force.  The elimination of teaching positions because of declining student enrollment or inadequate school funds. Also known as “riffing.” Reflection.  The act of thinking about and analyzing your professional actions. Reforms.  Suggested changes in teaching and teacher preparation intended to increase student learning. Resilient students.  Students who are at risk who have been able to rise above adverse conditions to succeed in school and in other aspects of life. Response to intervention model of identification (RTI).  A method of identifying a learning disability that focuses on the specific classroom instructional adaptations teachers use and their success.

532 Glossary Résumé.  A document that provides a clear and concise overview of a person’s job qualifications and work experience.

State board of education.  The legal governing body in a state that exercises general control and supervision of the schools in that state.

Rules.  Guidelines that provide standards for acceptable classroom behavior.

State office of education.  Organization within a state responsible for implementing education policy on a day-to-day basis.

S

State tuition tax-credit plans.  A variation on school voucher programs in that parents are given tax credits for money they spend on private-school tuition.

Same-age tutoring.  Peer tutoring that employs students from the same grade level as tutors when students are at different levels of learning. School choice movement.  A term describing a variety of programs designed to give families the opportunity to choose the school their children will attend. School connectedness.  The belief by students that adults and peers in the school care about them as individuals and their learning, an important protective factor against drug and alcohol abuse. School district.  An administrative unit within a state, defined by geographical boundaries, and legally responsible for the public education of children within those boundaries. Schools within schools.  Smaller learning communities within larger schools where both teachers and students have increased opportunities to get to know each other. Separate but equal.  A policy of segregating minorities in education, transportation, housing, and other areas of public life that assumed or claimed that opportunities and facilities were equal to those of non-minorities. In education, the policy was implemented by creating separate schools with different curricula, teaching methods, teachers, and resources. Service learning.  An approach to character education that combines service to the community with content-learning objectives. Sexting.  The use of a cell phone to transmit sexual photos, videos, or texts; an increasing problem with students. Sexual assault.  A form of sexual violence involving non-consensual sexual touching or a forced sex act, such as rape, forced oral sex or sodomy. Sexual harassment.  Unwanted and/or unwelcome sexually oriented behavior that interferes with a student’s life. Single-sex classes and schools.  Classes or schools where boys and girls are segregated for part or all of the day. Social-emotional learning.  The ability to recognize and manage emotions, understand and establish positive relationships with others, and make responsible decisions. Social justice.  A movement in education that emphasizes human rights, fairness, and equity in the opportunities available to all members of society. Social promotion.  The process of promoting low-achieving students to the next grade so they can be with their peers, even if they’re failing academically. Social reconstructionism.  An educational philosophy asserting that schools, teachers, and students should be agents of change and take the lead in alleviating social inequities in our society. Social systems.  Organizations with established structures and rules designed to promote certain goals. Socioeconomic status (SES).  The combination of family income, parents’ occupations, and level of parental education. Soft skills.  Personal and interpersonal skills that allow students to understand and control their actions and emotions and how they influence their happiness and interactions with others. Special education.  Instruction designed to meet the unique needs of students with exceptionalities. Standards.  Statements specifying what students should know or be able to do upon completing an area of study.

Stereotype.  A rigid, simplistic caricature of a particular group of people. Students with exceptionalities.  Learners who need special help and resources to reach their full potential. Student-teacher ratio.  A measure of class size found by dividing the average number of students in classes by the number of classroom teachers. Summative assessment.  The process of gathering information used to make conclusions about the level of learner achievement and academic progress. Can also apply to gathering information about a teacher’s competence, usually for the purpose of making decisions about retention, tenure or promotion. Superintendent.  The school district’s head administrative officer who, along with his or her staff, is responsible for implementing policy in the district’s schools.

T Teach for America.  An alternative licensure program that enables recent college graduates without state licensure to teach in hard-tostaff schools following a short period of training and supervision. Teacher-centered instruction.  Instruction involving a teacher strongly directing the flow of lessons, with students following the teacher’s guidance. Teacher efficacy.  Teachers’ beliefs in their ability to promote learning and make a difference in students’ lives, regardless of background or home conditions. Teacher evaluation.  The process of assessing teachers’ classroom performance and providing feedback they can use to increase their expertise. Teacher tenure.  A legal safeguard that provides job security by preventing teacher dismissal without cause, usually granted after a probationary period (typically 3 years). Teaching contract.  A legal employment agreement between a teacher and a local school board. Tenure.  A legal safeguard that provides job security by preventing teacher dismissal without cause, usually granted after a probationary period (typically three years). Theory.  A set of related principles that are based on observation and used to explain the world around us. Title I.  A federal compensatory education program that funds supplemental education services for low-income students in elementary and secondary schools. Transgender students.  Students whose sense of personal identity does not correspond with the gender assigned to them at birth. Transition programs.  Language programs that maintain the first language until students acquire sufficient English to succeed in English-only classrooms. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).  An international testing program designed to provide an accurate picture of student achievement in math and science in countries across the globe. Twenty-first Century Learning.  A curriculum reform movement focusing on the development of students’ technological, analytical, and communication skills that are needed to function effectively in the twenty-first century.

Glossary 533

U

W

Underclass.  People with low incomes who continually struggle with economic problems.

Wait-time.  The period of silence after a question is asked and after a student is called on to answer.

Upper class.  The socioeconomic class composed of highly educated (usually a college degree), highly paid (usually above $170,000) professionals who make up about 5 percent of the population.

War on Poverty.  A general term for federal programs designed to eradicate poverty during the 1960s.

V

Withitness.  A teacher’s awareness of what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times and the communication of this awareness to students, both verbally and nonverbally.

Value-added models.  A form of teacher evaluation that recognizes and rewards teachers based on the amount students learn, as measured by students’ performance on the differences between standardized pre- and post-tests. Virtual schools.  Schools offering comprehensive K–12 courses that connect teachers and students over the Internet. Voucher.  A check or written document that parents can use to purchase alternative educational services.

Weighted student formula.  Funding that allocates resources within a district to schools on a per-school basis according to student needs.

Working class (also called lower middle class).  The socioeconomic level composed of blue-collar workers who perform unskilled manual labor.

Z Zero-tolerance policies.  Policies that call for students to receive automatic suspensions or expulsions as punishment for certain offenses, primarily those involving weapons, threats, or drugs.

Name Index A

Aber, J., 186, 277, 288, 429, 463 Acosta, M., 77 Adjei, J., 46 Adnot, M., 286 Afterschool Alliance, 42 Aga, M., 319 Ahn, J., 436, 451 Akar, H., 347 Akcaoglu, M., 406 Akert, R., 58, 154 Alber, R., 329 Alberto, P., 358 Alder, N., 348 Aldrich, M., 445, 446, 447, 452 Alejandro, E., 343, 381 Algozinne, B., 442 Allanson, P., 338 Allen, R., 283 Alltucker, K., 51 Almasy, S., 360 Alonso, G., 78 Alves, T., 453 Amanti, C., 72 Amendum, S., 29, 97, 101 American Academy of Pediatrics, 63 American Educational Research Association, 429 American Federation of Teachers, 484 American Psychological Association, 60, 429 American Society for the Positive Care of Children, 61 AMN Healthcare, 102 Amrein-Beardsley, A., 440, 441, 452 Anderson, C., 56, 170 Anderson, D., 302 Anderson, J., 310 Anderson, L., 75, 327, 391 Anderson, M., 58, 61, 95, 330, 360 Andrews, D., 154 Andrews, G., 312 Angier, N., 102 Araujo, M., 439 Araujo, M. C., 9 Aritles, A., 116 Armstrong, T., 108 Arndt, K., 277 Aronson, E., 58, 154, 356 Ash, K., 98, 100, 145 Ashcraft, C., 1–4 Associated Press, 49, 249 Association for Middle Level Education, 301 Atteberry, A., 286

534

Avery, P., 404, 405 Ayers, C, 22, 26

B

Babinski, L., 29, 97, 101 Bacher-Hicks, A., 31 Backes, B., 472 Bacon, J., 59 Bailey, M., 153 Bailey, R., 338 Bailey, T., 470, 480 Baird, M., 411 Baker, A., 237, 330 Baker, D., 93 Banks, J., 84, 85, 92, 184, 480 Banning Books in Miami, 323 Banse, H., 101 Barnard, M., 443 Barnhart, T., 22 Barnoski, L., 77 Barnum, M., 141, 216, 444, 445, 452 Baroody, A., 402 Barrington, C., 86 Barshay, J., 148, 154, 176, 291 Bartlett, C., 56, 170 Barton, K., 404, 405 Bas, G., 396 Baster-Weel, B., 439 Batalova, J., 85, 86 Baughn, S., 97, 110, 117, 119 Bauman, K., 147 Baumert, J., 21 Bautista, D., 486 Beadle, A., 320 Becarro, T., 207 Bee, H., 438 Bell, C., 26 Bempechat, J., 396, 413 Bennett, C., 44, 84, 147, 330 Bennett, W., 17, 18 Berk, L., 19, 22, 42, 43, 44, 45, 50, 51, 54, 56, 57, 60, 62, 63, 70, 102, 103, 109, 152, 257, 268, 270, 271, 274, 291, 307, 308, 320, 338, 339, 348, 357, 361, 396 Berkowicz, J., 49 Berliner, D., 64, 440, 441, 450 Bernstein, E., 453 Berri, D., 156 Biag, M., 170 Bialik, K., 85 Bian, L, 103 Bidgood, J., 303, 304 Biesta, G., 165, 166, 168, 172, 176, 179, 186, 187 Bird, J., 203, 205 Blackboard, 352

Blad, E., 49, 55, 58, 59, 61, 160, 231, 239 Blagg, K., 215, 216 Blazer, D., 441, 479 Blinder, A., 54 Bloch, S., 283 Blokhuis, J., 238, 243 Blow, C., 241 Blythe, T., 343, 381 Boada, D., 101 Boda, Z., 104 Bode, P., 85, 184, 330 Bokas, A., 59 Bolt, S., 108 Boluk, K., 321 Bomey, N., 484 Boninger, F., 51, 53, 217, 218 Bonner, J., 446 Bonnet, J., 35 Borgonovi, F., 5, 220 Boroson, B., 111, 146, 155 Bos, C., 97, 110, 117, 119, 339, 409 Boser, U., 23 Bosman, J., 30, 54 Bosworth, R., 284 Bowen, D., 445 Bowers, A., 286 Bowsher, A., 20 Boyd, D., 438 Boyd-Zaharias, J., 292 Boyle, O., 35, 98, 100, 148, 186, 390, 391, 429 Bracey, G., 429 Brackett, M., 56, 57 Bradbury, B., 66 Brady, V., 472 Bray, L., 106, 112 Brennan, C., 229 Brenneman, R., 448 Brighthouse, H., 434, 436 Brimley, V., 31, 68, 132, 196, 267, 269, 432 Brody, J., 43, 52, 71 Brookhart, S., 186, 288, 376, 377, 393, 478 Brooks, D., 19, 59, 76, 95, 205, 221, 469, 475 Brooks, S., 24 Brophy, J., 345 Broton, K., 68 Brown, C., 90 Brown, E., 428 Brown, J., 253, 284 Brown, T., 36, 73 Buchholtz, N., 22 Buchs, C., 406 Buck, G., 488

Name Index 535

Buettner, C., 286 Bullough, R. Jr., 6 Burke, A., 41 Burke, K., 61, 143, 183 Burke-Spero, R., 458 Burkhauser, S., 285 Burnette, D., 198, 215, 220, 312, 420, 421, 430 Burton, J., 97 Bushaw, W., 35, 183, 206, 210, 233, 266, 428, 437, 439, 444 Busteed, B., 343 Button, H., 145 Byrne, A., 165, 169, 170, 172 Byrne, D., 372

C

Cabrera, N., 316, 317 Calderon, V., 35, 437 Calfas, J., 221 California State Board of Education, 176 Callingham, R., 370 Camaroto, S., 97, 245 Camera, L., 214, 215, 424 Campbell, C., 317 Campbell, F., 271 Canaviccio, D., 50 Canché, M., 101 Cano, R., 434 Canter, L., 96 Cantor, P., 424 Cao, Q., 219, 308 Capella, E., 186, 277, 288, 429 Caplinger, D., 18 Cappella, E., 463 Cardinali, D., 76 Carey, B., 63 Carey, K., 437 Carjuzaa, J., 141, 275, 276, 277 Carlson, S., 419 Carmichael, C., 370 Carneiro, P., 439 Carnicelli, S., 321 Carnine, D., 396 Caroll, K., 204 Caron, C., 256 Carruthers, C., 450 Carter, P., 90, 93, 347, 406 Carver-Thomas, D., 10, 467 Castleman, B., 71, 72 Castro, E., 154 Catling, J., 77 Cavanagh, S., 104, 218, 448 Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 45, 53, 55, 359 Center for Education and Employment Law, 231, 232, 252 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 209 Chaffee, J., 168 Chandler, M., 62 Chang, R., 281, 398

Chappuis, J., 376, 392 Chase, M., 467 Chekles, K., 108 Chen, G., 86, 210, 251, 315, 319, 320, 420 Cheng, A., 204 Cheng, T., 86 Chetty, R., 9 Child Trends, 359 Child Welfare Information Gateway, 61 Chingos, M., 215, 216 Chinn, P., 92, 126, 131, 148, 330 Cho, C., 154 Cho, J., 385 Choi, B., 394, 421 Chokshi, N., 54 Chong, E., 361 Chronister, G., 143, 399 Chung, S., 109, 328 Cilluffo, A., 40 Cimpian, A., 103 Cisse-Egbuonye, N., 218 Clark, A., 180 Clark, L., 151 Clarke, A., 486 Clarrer, R., 145 Cleary, M., 324 Clement, S., 428 Clinton, A., 310 Close, K., 440, 452 Cochran-Smith, M., 33, 308, 458 Code.org, 303, 304 Cohen, J., 165, 169, 170, 172 Cohen, P., 40, 207 Cohn, D., 40 Coleman, J., 64 College Board, 103 Collins, C., 51, 441 Common Core State Standards Initiative, 177, 199, 267, 310, 315, 338, 368, 375, 427 Compayre, G., 270 Conant, J., 276 Condie, C., 105 Conlon, C., 18, 44, 50, 58, 61, 98, 105, 126, 148, 154, 158, 219, 231, 320, 359, 360, 437, 484 Cooc, N., 246 Cook, A., 73 Cooper, K., 405 Cooper, L., 360 Copeland, W., 360 Corak, M., 66 Corbett, H., 381 Corcoran, C., 105 Cordova-Cobo, D., 68 Cortez, M., 219, 221 Costello, E., 360 Council of Chief State School Officers, 7 Council of the Great City Schools, 31 Couwels, J., 360 Covington, M., 372

Cowan, R., 358 Cox, A., 72 Crawford, E., 87, 245, 246 Croft, J., 208, 215 Crowley, M., 328 Cruz-Aguayo, Y., 439 Cuban, L., 136, 143, 267, 277, 284, 399, 434, 435, 450 Cunningham, S., 53 Curran, C., 62, 254, 471 Cushman, K., 321, 391

D

Dabakis, J., 208 D’Agnese, V., 174 Dalton, J., 71 D’Amico, D., 303 Daniel, J., 76 Danziger, J., 19 Danziger, S., 153 Darden, E., 432 Darling-Hammond, L., 10, 21, 90, 93, 347, 406, 467 Dastagir, A., 319 Datnow, A., 393, 394, 421 Dauter, L., 157, 279, 433, 434, 435, 437 Davey, M., 448 Davidson, P., 484 Davidson, T., 319 Davies, E., 155 Da’vila, D., 318 Davis, B., 286 Davis, E., 309 Davis, G., 114, 115 Davis, L., 266 Davis, M., 411 Davis, N., 50 De Castella, K., 372 de Montlaur, B., 98 Dearing, E., 351 DeArmond, M., 445 DeBurgomaster, S., 445 Dede, C., 142, 143, 181, 486 Dee, T., 88, 286 Delisle, J., 410 DeLuca, C., 270 DeMatthews, D., 179 Denny, K., 10 Depaepe, F., 22, 26 Deparle, J., 152 DeRoche, J., 204 DeSilva, D., 315 Devaney, J., 54 Devereux, P., 57, 249 Dewey, J., 172, 174, 179 Dicke, T., 335 Diepenbrock, W., 216 Dines, G., 330 Dixon, T., 52 Djamba, Y., 319 Doble, J., 285 Doddington, C., 174 Doll, J., 469

536  Name Index Domoff, S., 28 Donaldson, M., 442 Donohoo, J., 286, 469 Donohue, J., 55 Dorner, L., 87, 245, 246 Doty, J., 49 Dougherty, D., 109, 328 Dover, A., 442 Driver, J., 229 Drolet, J., 85, 86 Druckerman, P., 320 Duggan, T., 442 Duke, N., 71 Dumont, H., 72 Dunbar-Ortiz, R., 145 Duncan, A., 265 Duncan, G., 71, 284 Durlak, J., 338 Dusenbury, L., 328, 338, 339 Dworsky, A., 69 Dynarski, S., 281

E

Echevarria, J., 35, 90, 98, 100, 101, 116, 131, 148, 186, 390, 391 Eckert, S., 310 Eckholm, E., 46 Education Commission of the States, 198, 229, 230, 232 Education Corner, 315 Education Trust, 423 Educational Testing Service, 34 Edwards, S., 143 Edwards, T., 77 Eger, E., 104 Eggen, P., 10, 105, 107, 169, 288, 306, 310, 342, 384, 386, 402, 460, 475 Eiland, M., 402 Eisner, E., 304 Elliott, A., 68 Elmes, J., 304 Emmer, E., 77, 157, 288, 306, 337, 338, 344, 345, 346, 354, 358, 359, 475, 478, 481 Endres, J., 218 Eng, S., 351 Engel, M., 337 EPE Research Center, 74 Eskildson, L., 15, 17 Essex, N., 235, 239, 242, 243, 248, 250, 254 Esteban-Guitart, M., 72, 73 Evertson, C., 77, 157, 288, 306, 337, 338, 344, 345, 346, 354, 358, 359, 475, 478, 481

F

Fairbanks, A., 279, 281, 322 Fallace, T., 174 Faltis, C., 33 Fantoi, V., 174 Farkas, G., 116 Farkas, K., 324 Farmer, B., 438

Farr, T., 450 Federal Bureau of Investigation, 103 Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 66 Federal Safety Net, 66, 67 Feeding America, 70 Felch, J., 448 Feldman, C., 15, 18 Feldman, J., 238, 243 Feldman, R., 103, 268, 270 Fells, R., 286, 469 Feng, L., 444 Fenn, L., 54 Fernandez, M., 54, 210 Fernbach, P., 325 Ferrare, J., 435 Fessler, P., 66 Fialka-Feldman, E., 112 Fialka, J., 112 Figlio, D., 450 Figuero, E., 206, 217 Filippou, D., 406 Fine, S., 308 Finn, J., 292 Firestone, W., 452 First Amendment Center, 244 Fischer, L., 18, 44, 50, 58, 61, 98, 105, 126, 148, 154, 158, 219, 231, 320, 359, 360, 429, 437, 484 Fischer, M., 14, 289, 349 Fisher, D., 59, 60 Fisher, J., 411 Fishman, B., 142, 143, 181, 486 Fite, K., 343, 381 Fleischer, V., 172 Fleming, L., 280, 485 Fleming, P., 86 Floden, R., 154 Flores, N., 101 Florez, A., 147 Florez, F., 304 Fogarty, J., 51, 53, 217, 218 Foley, R., 54 Folk, A., 73 Fong, T., 184 Fontenot, K., 64, 66 Fox, L., 68 Frakt, A., 51 France, L., 48 Fraser, M., 307 Freire, P., 179 Frejd, P., 172 Fresque, H., 434 Frey, N., 59, 60 Friedman, J., 9 Friedman, O., 253 Friend, M., 112, 114, 115, 118 Friess, S., 283 Fuller, B., 157, 279, 433, 434, 435, 437, 447

G

Gabriel, R., 312, 431 Gaddis, S., 429

Gagné, N., 406 Galinsky, A., 374 Gallup, A., 35, 209, 444 Gallup-Purdue, 8 Gallup Student Poll, 7 Gamson, D., 310 Gan, M., 387 Gansen, H., 106 García, A., 116 García, D., 97 Garcia, L., 320, 321, 484 Garcia-Moya, I., 52 Gardiner, W., 470, 479 Gardner, H., 108 Gardner, M., 437 Garrett, T., 338 Garza, R., 343, 348, 381 Geary, S., 218 Gebeloff, R., 18, 221, 234 Gehlbach, H., 433 Geier, B., 140 Geiger, A., 204, 480 Geiger, T., 441 Gentile, D., 56, 170 Genzlinger, N., 154 Gerber, S., 292 Gershenson, S., 88 Gertler, P., 271 Gewertz, C., 15, 72, 74, 278, 289, 291, 328, 341, 352, 425, 427 Ghahraman, V., 406 Ghose, T., 319 Gibb, Z., 57, 249 Gibson, C., 322 Gibson, S., 92 Gil-Hernandez, C., 72 Gillies, R., 407 Gilmour, A., 440, 450 Ginsburg, R., 473 Gitomer, D., 26, 35 Glass, G., 450 Glazer, G., 323 Goddard, R., 286 Golann, J., 23, 434 Gold, H., 54 Gold, M., 240 Goldhaber, D., 9, 88, 171, 266, 439, 441, 445, 461, 462, 467 Goldin, S., 341 Goldrick-Rab, S., 68 Goldsmith, P., 94 Goldstein, 54 Goldstein, D., 17, 18, 158, 195, 431, 432, 444, 484 Goleman, D., 328 Golinkoff, K., 71 Gollnick, D., 92, 126, 131, 148, 330 Gonzalez, N., 72 Good, T., 26, 35, 73, 78, 88, 110, 119, 175, 309, 369, 370, 382, 385, 387, 388, 391, 429, 481 Gooden, M., 286 Goodenow, C., 46

Name Index 537

Goodlad, J., 24, 264 Goodwin, B., 326, 459 Goodwin, J., 7 Gordon, E., 146 Gordon, W., 267, 273, 299, 300, 304 Gottfried, M., 213 Gould, E., 195 Governing the States and Localities, 196, 208, 212 Government Accountability Office, 54 Gran, J., 77, 219 Grant, A., 286 Grayer, A., 15 Green, E., 59, 361, 434, 439, 440, 445, 484 Green, R., 203, 205, 269, 285, 469 Greenberg, J., 110 Greenberg, M., 328 Greene, J., 418 Greene, P., 15, 253, 445 Greenhouse, L., 248 Greer, K., 463 Gregory, A., 343, 361, 476 Greve, J., 44 Griffith, B., 97, 245 Grigorenko, E., 107 Grissom, J., 480 Grout, C., 461 Gsalter, M., 54 Guerra, N., 57 Guerriero, S., 5, 220 Guggenheim, D., 432 Guttmacher Institute, 43, 44, 319, 320 Gyan, E., 385

H

Hachfeld, A., 21 Hall, L., 434 Hallahan, D., 107, 121 Hallett, R., 69 Hallock, J., 85, 86 Halpern, D., 105 Hamer, E., 89 Hamilton, L., 411 Hammons, K., 327 Hampson, R., 249 Han, E., 351 Han, S., 5, 17, 220 Handy, E., 221 Hanna, R., 23, 46 Hannon, K., 278 Hansen, M., 472 Hansot, E., 158 Hanushek, E., 35, 177, 212, 424, 438, 439 Harbaught, A., 57 Hardin, J., 69 Harmon, A., 312 Harris, D., 433 Harris, E., 68, 69, 115 Harris, M., 53, 217 Harry, E., 116 Hart, C., 362 Hart, L., 442 Hart, R., 430

Hartney, M., 201, 445 Hartwell-Walker, M., 249 Harvey, J., 423 Harwin, A., 116, 256, 361 Hatch, T., 108 Hattie, J., 286, 387, 469 Hawk, C., 50 Haynes, C., 244 Haynes, M., 336 Haynes-Maslow, L., 218 Healthy YouVending, 218 Heilbronn, R., 174 Heins, E., 105 Heiten, L., 176, 181, 283, 318, 398, 427, 428, 446 Heller, r., 199 Helms, J., 179 Henderson, Monica, 125 Henly, J., 42 Henry, G., 459, 471, 472 Hernández, L., 343 Herold, B., 28, 72, 94, 95, 121, 242, 254, 304, 325, 411, 434 Hess, F., 177, 420, 427, 431, 440 Heward, 114 Heward, W., 114 Hewitt, B., 327 Hextall, I., 180 Higham, R., 174 Hill, J., 204 Hillemeier, M., 116 Hilton, J., 429 Hinton, M., 271 Hirsch, E., 172, 310, 330 Hirsh-Pasek, K., 71, 307 Hobbs, R., 325, 326 Hobson, W., 49 Hodges,M., 45, 47 Hoffman, J., 44, 45 Hogan, D., 479 Hohli, S., 153 Holland, C., 10 Holmes, J., 398 Holmes, M., 158 Holson, L., 53 Holt, S., 88 Holzberger, D., 286, 381, 382 Homma, Y., 46 Hood, B., 110 Hopkins, G., 14 Hopkinson, A., 100 Hopson, L., 86 Horn, M., 398, 399, 411 Houkes-Hommes, A., 439 Hovell, M., 218 Howard, T., 29, 362 Howell, W., 431 Howes, C., 271 Howley, A., 362 Hoy, A., 286 Hoy, W., 286 Hoyer, K., 20 Hsu, T., 62, 63, 183

Hu, W., 59 Huang, S., 391 Huetteman, E., 17, 18, 195, 234 Hughes, J., 28, 29, 58, 94, 120, 121, 142, 143, 160, 176, 182, 183, 219, 253, 279, 280, 281, 301, 302, 304, 308, 322, 324, 352, 397, 398 Hughes, L., 221 Hulse, C., 98, 149 Human Rights Campaign, 44, 45, 49 Humez, J., 330 Humphreys, K., 51 Huntington-Klein, N., 461 Hussar, W., 470, 480

I

Iasevoli, B., 268 Igielnik, R., 86 Im, M., 184, 219, 308 Imber, M., 238, 253 Immerwahr, J., 285 In-Perspective, 435 Ingersoll, R., 11, 158, 467 Institute for Educational Leadership, 76, 289 Irvin, V., 218 IXL Learning, 397

J

Jackson, P., 12 Jackson, S., 53 Jacla, V., 321 Jacob, B., 160 Jacob, R., 338 Jacobs, B., 290, 291, 428 Jacobsen, R., 14, 76, 289, 433 James, J., 409 Janjigian, L., 250 Jensen, N., 186 Jeon, L., 286 Jeong, D., 221, 429, 451 Jervis, R., 317 Jiang, J., 61, 183 Jiménez-Castellanos, O., 97 Jofferth, S., 96 Johnson, D., 59, 360, 406 Johnson, J., 285 Johnson, R., 59, 277, 292, 360, 406 Johnson, S., 199, 477 Johnston, K., 268 Johnston, L., 50 Jones, D., 328 Jones, L., 338 Jones, S., 57, 65, 74, 116, 249, 250, 271, 304, 338 Jones, V., 338 Joseph, M., 19, 30 Ju, S., 116 Juneau, D., 144, 145 Justice4All, 62

K

Kafka, J., 24, 33, 129, 134, 135, 142, 146, 152, 157, 158, 159, 270, 277, 313

538  Name Index Kahlenberg, R., 68 Kahn, E., 45, 46 Kain, J., 438 Kame’enui, E., 396 Kamenetz, A., 75 Kane, T., 28, 394 Kang, C., 303 Kantor, J., 47 Karrer, P., 40 Kassem, N., 218 Kaste, M., 62 Katsiyannis, A., 116 Katz, J., 46, 51 Katz, V., 286 Kauchak, D., 10, 105, 107, 169, 288, 306, 310, 342, 384, 386, 402, 460, 475 Kauffman, J., 107, 121 Kaufman, F., 52 Keenan, B., 144, 147 Keller, B., 428 Kellough, R., 141, 275, 277 Kerman, S., 386 Khazan, O., 110 Killion, J., 485 Kim, A., 103, 106, 304 Kim, H., 186, 277, 288, 429, 463 Kinder, D., 396 King, K., 379, 381 Kingston, N., 473 KIPP Public Charter Schools, 433 Kirbas, A., 406 Kirp, D., 76, 428, 429 Kirylo, J., 430 Kissau, S., 442 Klein, A., 14, 420, 421, 433 Klein, D., 325 Klein, R., 68 Kliebard, H., 141 Klinge, D., 72 Klinghoffer, D., 318 Klingner, J., 467 Klosser, M., 64, 401 Klusmann, U., 21 Knoblauch, D., 467 Knoeppel, R., 31, 68, 132, 196, 267, 269, 432 Knotek, S., 29, 97, 101 Ko, A., 304 Ko, S., 374 Kobe, J., 409 Kohli, S., 233, 303 Kollar, M., 64, 66 Kolluri, S., 277 König, J., 22, 26 Konstantopoulos, S., 285 Koretz, D., 440 Korsmo, J., 446 Kostelnik, M., 112, 118, 119, 299, 300, 313 Kotesky, T., 216 Kounang, N., 51 Kounin, J., 338, 358

Kozleski, E., 116 Kozlowski, K., 445, 452 Kozol, J., 94, 137, 156, 179, 214, 289 Kraft, A., 441 Kraft, M., 346, 349, 440, 450, 479, 485 Krieg, J., 462, 467 Krishnamachari, A., 420 Kristoff, N., 42, 58, 71, 87, 320 Krogstad, J., 86 Krugman, P., 17, 18, 19, 30, 67, 207, 220 Kucirkova, N., 411 Kucsera, J., 156 Kuhl, R., 343 Kula, S., 184 Kunter, M., 21, 286, 381, 382

L

Lack, C., 325 Lack,B., 408 Lacoe, J., 62 LaGrone, K., 35 Lah, K., 15 Lahitou, J., 54 Lam, L., 76 LaMorte, M., 244, 254, 437 Lanford, M., 279 Langer Research Associates, 8, 9, 15, 62, 76, 186, 195, 206, 210, 278, 308, 311, 328, 337, 428, 430, 437 Lareau, A., 72 Larner, J., 405 LaRue, J., 323 LaSalle, R., 277, 292 Lauen, D., 445, 452 Lauermann, F., 22 Lauren, D., 429 Lauritzen, S., 8 Lavery, L., 88 Lavigne, A., 26, 35, 73, 78, 88, 110, 119, 175, 309, 369, 370, 382, 385, 387, 388, 391, 429, 441, 481 Lavy, V., 379, 381 LBJ Presidential Library, 150 Leachman, M., 206, 217 Lee, J., 87, 88 Lee, M., 282, 285, 351 Lee, S., 171, 182, 439, 452 Lemov, D., 78, 79, 287, 306, 380, 384, 385, 386 Leonhardt, D., 271, 437 LePage, P., 347 Lereya, S., 360 Lesaux, N., 65, 74, 116, 271 Leslie, S-J., 103 Lester, R., 338 Lever-Duffy, J., 29, 121, 142, 143, 182, 183, 279, 323, 324, 325 Levy, S., 91 Lewinand, D., 249 Lezotte, L., 289 Li, A., 14, 289, 349 Libby, K., 51, 53, 217 Liles, S., 218

Lindsey, C., 362 Lipka, M., 89 Liptak, A., 46, 231, 484 Lipton, M., 75 Liu, S., 379, 381 Livingston, G., 41 Lo, C., 86 Lo, M., 321 Loeb, S., 286, 480 Loewus, L., 178, 441, 447 Logsdon, A., 290, 291 Lombardo, M., 291 Lopez, G., 148 Lopez, S., 183, 206, 210, 233, 266, 428, 439 Losen, D., 116 Louis, K., 282, 285 Lovett, K., 160 Low, J., 69 Lowery, A., 439 Lowrey, A., 17 Luo, R., 71 Luschel, T., 221, 429, 451 Lynch, M., 28, 73, 322, 325

M

Maaz, K., 72 Macionis, J., 29, 30, 31, 40, 43, 44, 64, 65, 69, 70, 71, 73, 85, 93, 144, 150, 152, 153, 347, 480 Maczuga, S., 116 Madkins, T., 64, 401 Magnuson, K., 284 Mahaffey, R., 14, 76, 289 Mahoney, J., 338 Mahony, P., 180 Maier, A., 76, 77 Malone, P., 29 Maloy, R., 143 Manjoo, F., 183 Manning, A., 240 Manning, D., 136 Manona, L., 73 Mansell,, 252 Mansell, J., 47 Manzo, K., 250 Maranto, R., 204 Marcus, M., 249 Marinell, W., 31 Martin, A., 101 Martin, D., 420 Marucco, T., 279 Marx, R., 316, 429 Maslow, A., 288 Massey, W., 307 Masta, S., 145 Masterson, K., 206, 217 Mastropieri, M., 410 Mathis, W., 292 Maughan, E., 71 Max, J., 446 Maxime, F., 62 Maxwell, L., 30, 64, 74, 145, 246

Name Index 539

Mayer, R., 404, 405 McBride, A., 109, 328 McCadden, B., 343 McCarthy, P., 385 McCarty, T., 144 McClatchy-Tribune, 216 McClellan, J., 251 McCoy, D., 65, 116 McDevitt, T., 45, 357 McDonald, J., 29, 121, 142, 143, 182, 183, 279, 323, 324, 325 McEachin, A., 436, 451 McFadden, C., 63 McIntyre, L., 326 McKinnon, M., 250 McLaughlin, M., 19, 46, 68 McNeil, M., 215 McShane, M., 177, 418, 420, 427, 431, 440 Mead, R., 174, 434, 435 Meador, D., 21, 445 Means, S., 60, 323 Medina, J., 104, 105, 233 Mediratta, K., 343, 361, 476 Meece, J., 22, 23, 275, 278, 337, 369 Mehta, J., 308 Mele, C., 468, 469 Meng, L., 379, 381 Merrill, L., 11, 158, 467 MetLife, 413 Meyer, M., 156 Meyers, B., 408 Milem, J., 316 Miller, A., 326 Miller, C., 158, 159, 303, 304, 480 Miller, J., 251 Miller, R., 17 Mills, G. E., 486 Mills–J., 445 Milner, H., 357, 358 Milner, H. R., 307 Minchin, J., 57 Mitchell, C., 86, 98, 104, 247, 429 Mittleman, J., 45 Modecki, K., 57 Modica, M., 140 Moffit, D., 47, 252 Moises, E-G., 73 Molina, B., 63 Moll, L., 72 Molnar, A., 51, 53, 217, 218, 280, 281, 292, 398 Molnar, M., 254, 411, 428 Moon, U., 96 Moore, A., 74, 325 Moore, D., 244 Moran, S., 108 Morgan, H., 186, 429 Morgan, P., 116 Morley, J., 155 Morones, A., 256 Morsy, L., 88, 116 Morton, M., 69

Moses, E., 308 Mosle, S., 10 Moulton, K., 30, 251 Mozur, P., 183 Muñoz, J., 14, 76, 289 Muñnoz, M., 379, 381 Murnane, R., 71 Murray, F., 12 Murray, K., 217 Murray, O., 44 Musu-Gillette, L., 359, 360 Myers, A., 49

N

Naik, S., 341 Nakamura, B., 74 Naresh, N., 410 Nasir, N., 343 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), 65–66 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 318 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 88, 422, 423 National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, 69 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 488, 489 National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 43, 320 National Center for Children in Poverty, 66, 67 National Center for Education Statistics, 15, 17, 29, 57, 73, 74, 86, 87, 88, 94, 97, 103, 106, 113, 116, 138, 151, 160, 170, 199, 206, 207, 212, 217, 220, 292, 422, 423, 424, 432, 433, 437, 470, 471 National Commission on Excellence in Education, 33, 153, 419 National Council for the Social Studies, 316 National Council of Measurement in Education, 429 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 425 National Council on Teacher Quality, 26 National Dropout Prevention Center, 74 National Education Association, 5, 15, 25, 452, 483, 484 National Federation of State High School Associations, 156 National Health and Nutrition Survey, 52 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 213 National Institute on Drug Abuse, 50

National School Boards Association, 201, 202 National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 15, 322 National Student Clearinghouse, 104 NBC News, 357 Neal-Jackson, A., 191 Neff, D., 72 Nelson, A., 458, 472, 479 Nelson, K., 253 Netcoh, S., 411 Neuhaus, B., 28, 398, 399 New York Times Editorial Board, 428 Newkirk, V., 54 Newton, P., 110 Ni, Y., 5, 7, 23, 26, 221, 435 Nickerson, A., 360 Nieto, S., 85, 184, 330 Nitko, A., 186, 288, 376, 377, 393, 478 Noblit, G., 343 Noddings, N., 342, 429 NoKidHungry, 65 Norman, J., 88, 89 Norris, C., 221 Notar, C., 338, 361 Noveck, J., 47 Nussle, K., 17, 18 Nutter, S., 53

O

Oakes, J., 75, 76 Odenbring, Y., 75 Oder, N., 323 O’Donnell, J., 59 Office of Educational Technology, 411 Ogbu, J., 92 Oh, S., 246 O’Hara, J., 218 Ohlheiser, A., 47 Okely, A., 307 Oliva, P., 267, 273, 299 Olson, S., 218 Onaga, E., 112, 118, 119 O’Neill, M., 341 Oppel, R., 59 Ordoñez, D., 72, 73 Oreopoulus, P., 28, 398, 399 Orfield, G., 156 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 66, 68, 103, 176, 271 Ormrod, J., 45, 357 Ornstein, A., 329 Ornstein, S., 329 Ott, A., 285 Otten, R., 204 Otto, B., 101 Owens, A., 212, 215 Ozon, J., 316

P

Pace, A., 71 Padgett, S., 361

540  Name Index Page, L., 31, 71, 72 Paih, S., 184 Pajak, E., 329 Pajares, F., 106 Palacios, N., 101 Palmer, E., 54 Pane, J., 411 Papageorge, N., 88 Papay, J., 31 Parillo, V., 31, 64, 65, 69, 70, 144 Parise, L., 171, 430 Park, K., 40 Park, V., 393, 394, 421 Parker, A., 277 Parks, S., 406 Parrish, A., 307 Parry, E., 77 Parsons, C., 19 Parsons, S., 24 Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 140, 178 Passy, J., 10, 467 Patten, E., 148 Paulson, A., 434 Pavlakis, A., 69 Payne, A., 361 PayScale, 203 Pear, R., 66 Peery, D., 155 Peiser, J., 248 Penner, E., 88 PeopleKeep, 66 Percy, S., 292 Peregoy, S., 35, 98, 100, 148, 186, 390, 391, 429 Perez-Gualdron, L., 179 Perez, J., 240 Perez-Peña, R., 86 Perrin, A., 95, 183 Petchauer, E., 154 Peter, E., 144, 145 Peters, J., 242 Peters, M., 326 Peterson, V., 31 Petrilli, M., 362 Pew Research Center, 88, 89, 95, 241 Pfanzl, B., 22 Phi Delta Kappan, 328, 433 Philip, A., 434 Philipp, A., 286, 381, 382 Phillips, D., 116, 271 Phillips, K., 331 Piaget, J., 270, 288 Piechura, K., 105 Pintrich, P., 22, 23, 275, 278, 337, 369 Piopiunik, M., 35 Pitofsky, M., 59 Pitts, L., 323, 325 Pivovarova, M., 443 Poirier, T., 399 Polis, J., 322 Pomerance, L., 110

Pope, N., 97 Popham, W., 131, 185, 186, 278, 311, 393, 394 Porter, E., 30, 66, 67 Portes, P., 101 Poteat, V., 361 Potochnik, S., 86 Potter, H., 155 Powell, D., 431 Prakash, A., 282 Praxis, 34, 35 Preston, T., 309 Price, L., 63, 183 Procon, 450 ProCon.org, 232, 313 Prooijen, J., 326 Prot, S., 56, 170 Prothero, A., 48, 74, 435, 437 Provasnik, S., 424 Public Agenda, 284, 445 Public School Review, 283 Pulfrey, C., 406 Pullen, P., 107, 121 Pulliam, J., 127, 128, 130, 134, 140, 142, 147, 149, 150, 157, 158, 174, 219, 272, 448, 449 Purcell-Gates, V., 71 Purpura, D., 402 Putnam, R., 64, 70, 72 Pyne, J., 62

Q

Qin, D., 351 Quick, K., 155

R

Raabe, E., 104 Rabb, N., 325 Rader-Brown, L., 362 Rahman, Z., 184 Rai, A., 282 Rakes, L., 277 Ramey, D., 116 Rangel, V., 203, 204, 205 Rank, M., 19, 68 Raudenbush, S., 204, 440, 442, 443, 444, 445, 447, 449, 452 Ravitch, D., 279 Ray, B., 437, 438 Raymond, M., 436 Ready, D., 70 Reagan, E., 30, 31 Reardon, S., 88 Redding, C., 459, 471, 472 Redford, K., 121 Redlener, I., 71 Reese, W., 139, 146 Reichert, M., 103 Reid, E., 402 Reinhorn, S., 477 Reville, P., 13, 484 Reynolds, A., 271 Reynolds, G., 53 Rice, A., 186

Rich, M., 233, 434 Richards, C., 86 Richardson, P., 5 Richmond, G., 154 Richter, D., 21 Ridgers, M., 307 Riley, J., 399 Riley, N., 28, 53, 62, 96 Rimm, S., 114, 115 ripley, A., 424 Rispoli, M., 335 Rivers, J., 438 Rivers, S., 56, 57 Rivkin, S., 438 Roberts, C., 265 Roberts, E., 116 Robertson, A., 109, 328 Robertson, S., 176, 177, 187 Robinson, C., 351 Robinson, T., 429 Roblyer, M., 28, 29, 58, 94, 120, 121, 142, 143, 160, 176, 182, 183, 253, 279, 280, 281, 301, 302, 304, 322, 324, 352, 397, 398 Rochkind, J., 20, 285 Rockoff, J., 9 Rockwell, R., 218 Rodriguez, L., 74, 429 Rodriguez-Scheel, A., 14, 362 Rogers, D., 343 Rogers, T., 349 Rohde, B., 112, 118, 119 Rolf, K., 396 Romano, M., 264, 341, 345, 348, 349, 357, 475 Romero, E., 100 Romero, S., 17 Rorrer, A., 5, 7, 23, 26, 221 Rose, L., 209 Rosen, G., 165, 169, 170, 172 Rosen, R., 171, 430 Rosenthal, D., 232 roseth, C., 406 Rosin, H., 102 Rotherham, A., 450 Rothstein, R., 88, 116, 156 Rousseau, J., 325 Rovira, I., 216 Rowan, B., 204, 440, 442, 443, 444, 445, 447, 449, 452 Rowe, P., 26, 63 Royal, C., 92 Roza, M., 444 Ruiz, N., 148 Rullo, J., 250 Rumberger, R., 70 Runions, K., 57 Rupiper, M., 299 Rural School and Community Trust, 30 Russ, A., 47, 252 Russ, R., 21 Russell, J., 106, 112

Name Index 541

S

Sackler, M., 432 Sadler, M., 374 Saewyc, E., 46 St. John, E., 394, 421 Saint Louis, C., 57 Saito, L., 184 Saks, M., 21 Salam, M., 50 Salary.com, 203 Salvia, J., 108 Samrachana, A., 480 Samuels, C., 51, 62, 69, 86, 116, 117, 270, 271, 358, 361, 412 Samuels, G., 69 Sánchez, M., 29, 97, 101 Sanders, W., 438 Sangsuvan, K., 323 Santos, J., 73 Sargrad, S., 217 Sass, T., 444 Saulfeb, S., 54 Savage, C., 46 Sawchuk, S., 17, 75, 104, 178, 233, 315, 316, 320, 382, 386, 431, 449, 452, 486 Schady, N., 439 Scheer, J., 361 Scheff, J., 50, 51 Scheiber, N., 18, 21, 23, 26 Schenker, L., 208 Schimmel, D., 18, 44, 50, 58, 61, 98, 105, 126, 135, 148, 154, 158, 219, 231, 232, 234, 236, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 256, 257, 320, 321, 322, 324, 359, 360, 437, 450, 484 Schindler, H., 284 Schlitz, H., 471 Schmitz, A., 59 Schmitz, K., 218 Schneider, J., 433, 440 Schneider, M., 418, 424 School Superintendents Association, 202 Schouten, G., 434, 436 Schrimpf, C., 111 Schrumm, J., 409 Schulten, K., 280, 485 Schultz, B., 442 Schumm, J., 97, 110, 117, 119, 339 Schunk, D., 22, 23, 275, 278, 337, 369, 372, 373, 382, 481 Schwartz, E., 112 Schwartz, J., 318 Schwartz, S., 479 Scott, J., 343 Scott, K., 104 Scott, M., 183 ScratchJr., 304 Scruggs, T., 410 Sebolt, S., 72, 73 Segal, K., 360

Seiocus, 44 Selig, R., 50 Selwyn, N., 398 Semega, J., 64, 66 Semuels, A., 129, 134 Sergiovanni, T., 203, 269, 285, 469 Seriki, V., 90 Setari, R., 435 Seyranian, V., 103, 106 Shafer, L., 87, 88 Shah, N., 248 Shang, D., 116 Shantz, N., 106 Shapiro, E., 69, 115, 433 Sharkey, J., 109, 328 Sheridan, S., 358 Sherin, B., 21 Sherin, M., 21 Shields, J., 85, 86 Shiferaw, M., 112 Shiffrin, S., 165, 169, 170, 172 Shircliffe, B., 155 Shirrel, M., 480 Shober, A., 201 Shogren, K., 395, 410 Shogren, K. A., 97, 103, 107, 108, 111, 112, 114, 118, 119, 120 Short, D., 35, 90, 98, 100, 101, 116, 131, 148, 186, 390 Shriberg, D., 310 Siegle, D., 114, 115 Silbert, J., 396 Simmons, A., 170 Simon, N., 477 Simpson, G., 86 Sinatra, G., 103, 106 Singal, J., 44, 45 Singer, N., 253, 303, 304 Siqués, C., 72, 73 Sirotnik, K., 24 Sithole, A., 385 Siwi, R., 48 Skiba, R., 116, 343, 361 Skiba, R. J., 476 Skrla, L., 69 Slavin, R., 407 Slocum, T., 396 Sloman, S., 325 Slotnik, W., 459 Smith, C., 19 Smith, K., 442 Smith, L., 148 Smith, M., 199 Smith, P., 292 Smith, T., 472 Snider, M., 63, 183 Snow, A., 18 Snow, K., 63 Snyder, K., 289 Soccio, D., 167 Soder, R., 24 Soderman, A., 299 Soland, J., 186

Solanki, S., 106 Sommers, C., 330 Sommers, S., 58, 154 Somoza-Norton, A., 156 Song, J., 448 Sorhagen, N., 382 Sparks, D., 20 Sparks, S., 31, 50, 55, 56, 102, 153, 180, 213, 256, 271, 315, 319, 357, 358, 409 Spillane, J., 480 Spring, J., 31, 129, 130, 139, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149 Springer, M., 429, 438 Squire, K., 96 Stadtfeld, C., 104 Stanberry, K., 105 Stancil, W., 149 Standen, A., 104 Stanford History Education Group, 326 Stanley, R., 307 Stark, L., 186, 429 Statista, 65 Steele, J., 98 Stein, M., 396 Steinberg, M., 62 Steiner, E., 411 Steinkuehler, C., 96 Stellence, M., 307 Stellman, L., 18, 44, 50, 58, 61, 98, 105, 126, 148, 154, 158, 219, 231, 232, 234, 235, 236, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 256, 257, 320, 359, 360, 437, 484 Stengel, S., 165, 166, 168, 172, 176, 179, 186, 187 Sternberg, R., 184 Stewart, G., 53 Stewart, N., 68 Stiefel, L., 112 Stillman, J., 75 Stipek, D., 291 Stoddard, L., 14 Stone, B., 318 Stouffer, J., 71 Strassberg, D., 250 Strauss, V., 24, 178, 218, 428 Strickland, J., 322 Stroeker, R., 321 Stross, R., 96 Stuckey, D., 11, 158, 467 Subbarro, E., 88 Success For All, 151 Sun, M., 480 Superville, D., 75, 203, 217, 317, 467 Suppe, R., 63 Sustaita, M., 250 Sutcher, L., 10 Swain, W., 429 Swanson, E., 15, 18 Swars, S., 408 Sweet, T., 480 Swift, J., 396 Szmodis, W., 351

542  Name Index

T

Taboada, A., 86 Taines, C., 321 Tamimy, M., 406 Tanel, R., 381 Tang, T., 18 Tanner, C., 208 Tarlau, R., 179 Tate, E., 292 Tavernise, S., 64, 152 Taylor, K., 204, 283, 435, 440 Taylor, R., 267, 273, 299 Teach for America, 471 Teich, A., 328 Teodoro, M., 204 Texas Education Agency, 177, 426 Theobald, R., 88, 462 Theobold, R., 467 Thomas, A., 103 Thomas, E., 438 Thomas, M. D., 14 Thompson, C., 438 Thompson, D., 246 Thrush, G., 278 Tice, K., 321 Tichenor, M., 105 Tichy, M., 77 Tierney, W., 45 Time Magazine U.S., 319 TIMSS, 424 Toch, 33 Toch, T., 419 Tomlinson, C., 409, 410 Tompkins, G., 72 Toppo, G., 59 Tran, Y., 289 Travers, P., 396 Tritt, A., 45 Troutman, A., 358 Trujillo, T., 343 Tucker, C., 351, 352 Tucson Unified School District, 316 Tugend, A., 105 Tures, J., 177 Turkewitz, J., 17, 56 Turnbull, A., 97, 103, 107, 108, 111, 112, 114, 118, 119, 120, 257, 395, 410 Turnbull, R., 97, 103, 107, 108, 111, 112, 114, 118, 119, 120, 257, 395, 410 Twohey, M., 47 Tyack, D., 158

U

Ubben, G., 221 Ujifusa, A., 30, 46, 76, 98, 202, 210, 215, 217, 312, 421, 430 Um, S., 187 Underwood, J., 89, 199, 232, 250, 251, 253, 449 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 102 Urban, W., 134, 146, 149, 158 Urbanski, A., 453

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, 144 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15, 204 U.S. Census Bureau, 30, 86, 147 U.S. Department of Agriculture, 53, 67 U.S. Department of Education, 116, 138, 157, 247 U.S. Department of Education and Rehabilitative Services, 116 U.S. Department of Labor, 102, 104, 158 U.S. English, 98, 100 Uzun, L., 165

V

Vagi, R., 443 Valdes, G., 33 Valenzuela, K., 85, 86 Van Daal, V., 396 van der Linden, D., 109, 328 van der Wiel, K., 439 van Es, E., 22 van Geel, T.238, 253 Van Patten, J., 127, 128, 130, 134, 140, 142, 147, 149, 150, 157, 158, 174, 219, 272, 448, 449 Vara-Orta, F., 13, 14 Vatzke–J., 473 Vaughn, S., 339, 409 Verbruggen, R., 44 Verock, R., 143 Verstegen, D., 31, 68, 132, 196, 267, 269, 432 Victoria, A., 21 Villa-Torres, L., 86 Villareal, L., 14, 76, 289 Villegas, A., 33, 308, 458 Violence Policy Center, 54, 55 Vogell, H., 434 Vogt, M., 35, 90, 98, 100, 101, 116, 131, 148, 186, 390 Volpé, Y., 406 Voss, T., 21 Voter Demand, 271

W

Wagoner, J., 134, 146, 149, 158 Waite, A., 157, 279, 433, 434, 435, 437 Waldfogel, J., 66 Walker, T., 23 Walsh, B., 264 Walsh, K., 110 Walsh, M., 46, 155, 156, 229, 247, 253 Wang, V., 250 Ward, J., 45 Ward, K., 399 Ward, R., 59 Ward, S., 254 Ware, L., 361 Warner, J., 49 Warnick, B., 248 Warren, J., 140 Warren, S., 179 Warren, W., 312

Washbrook, E., 66 Wasserman, M., 186 Watson, R. J., 46 Watt, H., 5, 370 Waxman, H., 391 Webb, J., 283 Webster, C., 53 Wehmeyer, M., 395, 410 Wehmeyer, M. L., 97, 103, 107, 108, 111, 112, 114, 118, 119, 120 Weilbacher, G., 275 Weingarten, R., 432, 484 Weininger, E., 72 Weinstein, C., 264, 341, 345, 348, 349, 351, 357, 475 Weinstein, T., 391 Weisley, N., 470, 479 Weiss, B., 158 Weiss, L., 323 Weiss, R., 328, 338, 339 Weissberg, R., 338 Weissert, W., 199, 317 Welch, K., 361 Wells, A., 68 Welsh, A., 105 Whatley, M., 101 Whiren, A., 112, 118, 119, 299 White, R., 433 Whitebook, M., 271 Wiedeman, R., 325 Wiederhold, S., 35 Wiley, D., 429 Wiley, J., 6, 7, 9 Wiley, K., 155 Wilkes, A., 179 Wilkinson, G., 218 Will, M., 9, 54, 61, 104, 195, 198, 204, 206, 210, 231, 312, 336, 408, 421, 428, 440, 445, 458, 472, 479, 489 Wille, D., 69 Williams, H., 396 Williams, J., 153 Williams, K., 396 Wilsey, M., 64, 401 Wilson, B., 381 Wilson, S., 35 Wilson, T., 58, 154 Windschitl, M., 64, 401 Winerip, M., 216, 446 Wing, C., 420 Wingert, P., 438 Witenstein, M., 184 Witsil, F., 148 Wittrock, M., 405 Wolke, D., 360 Wong, V., 420 Wood, B., 251 Woolf, B., 143 Woolfolk-Hoy, A., 458 Woolston, R., 184 Works, A., 444 Worley, J., 410 Woulfin, S., 312, 431, 442

Name Index 543

Wright, D., 70 Wueller, J., 325 Wulsow, M., 351 Wykoss, J., 286

X

Xu, D., 106

Y

Yada, A., 286 Yang, L., 370 Yeh, S., 440

Yell, M., 111 Yettick, H., 215, 342 Yin, S., 488 Yogman, M., 307 Yoshikawa, H., 284 Youngs, S., 35 Ysseldyke, J., 108 Yu, F., 424

Z

Zaccarelli, F., 341 Zahorik, J., 292

Zeigler, K., 97, 245 Zeldin, A., 106 Zellner, A., 406 Zernike, K., 19 Zhao, X., 409 Zhao, Y., 436 Zimmer, C., 102 Zong, J., 85, 86 Zubrzycki, J., 244 Zumwalt, K., 471, 472

Subject Index A

A Nation at Risk, 33, 153, 419 Abington School District v. Schempp, 242 Absenteeism, and compulsory attendance, 159–169 Academic freedom, 234–235 definition, 234 Academic learning time, definition, 341 Academy, definition, 139 Academy of Philadelphia, 139 Accountability and alignment implications for teaching, 377 definition, 185, 310, 425 influence on curriculum, 304, 310–311 redefined by Every Student Succeeds Act, 421 and school principals, 204 test-based, 33 Accumulated knowledge of children, 72 “funds of knowledge”, 73 Action research, 486–488, 488f definition, 486 Adequate yearly progress (AYP), definition, 420 Administrators, definition, 265 Advanced Placement (AP) classes, 277 African-American education impact of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), 146 limits to pre-Civil War, 146 “separate but equal” post Civil War, 146 See also Dubois, W. E. B.; Washington, Booker T. African cultures, philosophical views of education, 184 Afrocentric curriculum, 330 “Age of the Common Man”, 134 Aggression. See Violence and aggression (responses to) AIDS rights of students with, 257 rights of teachers with, 239–240 Alcohol and drugs (changes in students) implications for teaching, 52 opioid crisis and schools, 50–51 statistics, 50 Algebra, and perennialism, 172 Allocated time, definition, 341 Amendments. See U.S. Constitution

544

American education for cultural minorities ambivalent federal policies, 148–149 See also African-American education; Asian-American education; Hispanic-American education; Native-American education federal influence on curriculum, 311–312, 312t high school (evolution of). See Comprehensive high school historical roots, 137t See also Colonial period in American education; Common School Movement; Early National period in American education; European influences on American education; Progressive era junior high and middle schools development, 140–141 modern era, 149, 149f “the standards movement”, 153 See also Cold War and education; War on Poverty/Great Society and education secondary school implications for teaching, 141 teaching and gender, 157–159, 158f uniqueness, 125 See also Equality in education/ federal role in American Federation of Teachers (AFT), 231 and reform, 447 and Supreme Court decisions, 484 See also Professional organizations The American High School, 276–277 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 210 Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, 59 Asian-American education, 148 Asian cultures, and philosophies of education, 184 Asperger’s syndrome, 114 Assessment, 23 as a learning tool, 392–393, 392f and data-driven instruction movement, 393–394 definition, 376 formative definition, 392 example, 393 planning for, 376

and standards, 425–426 implications for teaching, 426 summative, definition, 393 “Assessment-centered” teachinglearning process, 288 Assistive technology, 120 “At-risk” students. See Vulnerable students Attendance, compulsory, 159–160 Autism spectrum disorders, 114 Autonomy, 23 Axiology, 170

B

“Back to basics”. See Essentialism “Balanced Treatment Act”, 243 Basic needs fulfillment and school success, 70–71 Behavior disorders, definition, 113–114 Beliefs role in philosophy of education, 187–190, 190t self-examination tool, 188–189 Berkeley, William, 130 Bethel School District No. 403 v Fraser, 247 The Bible and Public Schools guidelines, 244 Bilingual Education Act (1968), 98, 100 Bilingual maintenance language programs, 99, 100 Blended learning, 280 Block scheduling, 277 Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, 253 Board of Education of the Westside Community School v. Mergens, 243 Board of education (state), 198 The Boston Latin Grammar School, 138–139 Brameld, Theodore, 179 Brown, Linda, 154 Brown v. Bathke, 239 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), 146, 154 Brush, Suzanne, 297–298 Buckley Act. See Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Bullying, 56–57 definition, 360 implications for teaching, 57, 360 See also Cyberbullying Bureau of Indian Education Act (1995), 145

Subject Index 545

Bush, George H. W., 419 Businesses, coordination with, 15

C

Calculators (handheld), 143 California Multilingual Education Act (2016), 100 Calvin, John, 129 The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, 140 Career academies, 279 Career technical schools, 278 Caring communication of, 342–343 definition, 342–343, 381 Censorship issues, 322–324 Certification definition, 488 See also National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Chalk v. U.S. District Court Cent. Dist. of California, 240 Challenges in teaching, 10 job prospects, 10–11 politics and education, 19–20 salaries, 15, 16t, 17–18 working conditions, 11–15 Charter schools definition, 433 See also School choice Cheating, and the Internet, 324 Chicano/Chicana, definition, 147 Child abuse, 60–61 Childcare costs, 41–42 quality and impacts of, 42 Childhood hunger, 67–68 See also Poverty Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA) of 1998, 253–254 Choice, 33 Civil Rights Act of 1964, 154, 229 Civil Rights Movement, 147 Class size, 284–285 and cultural minorities, 292 and education budgets, 206 Classroom management, 335 for beginning teachers, 475 consistency, 356 culturally responsive, 362 definition, 337 goals, 337 academic learning increase, 337–338 social–emotional (SEL) learning increase, 338 importance of, 337 problem prevention, 338 community of learners, 339 learner responsibility development, 339–340

maximize learning opportunities, 341–342 positive classroom climate, 338–339 problems, misbehavior responses. See Interventions problems. See Violence and aggression (responses to) punishments, 357–358 and teacher turnover, 336 in urban environments, 347–348 See also Productive learning environment; Time/dimensions of Classroom organization, 343–344 definition, 344 Classrooms, 267 characteristics of, 12f complexity of, 12–13 multidimensionality of, 12 Clementi, Tyler, 57, 183 Clinton, William J., 419 Closure (of lessons) definition, 388 example, 388–389 Code.org, 303–304 Cold War and education, 150 Collaboration, teacher’s role in, 118 Colleagues, collaboration with, 14 Collective bargaining, 231–232 definition, 231, 448 See also Professional organizations Collective efficacy definition, 286 elements frequent monitoring of learning progress, 288 interactive instruction, 287–288 safe and orderly learning environment, 288–289 strong parental and community involvement, 289 requirement for effective teaching, 287 Colonial period in American education, 127f differences in colonies, 127, 128f Middle colonies, 128 New England colonies, 128–129 Southern colonies, 127–128 foundation of contemporary controversies, 127 legacy of/implications for teaching, 130 roots of public support of education, 129 teaching, 129 Comenius, John Amos, 130 Comer, James, 75 Commercialization of schools, 217–218 definition, 217 implications for teachers, 218–219 Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education, 140 The Committee of Ten, 139

Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), 177, 375, 427–428 perspectives on, 315 Common School Movement, 133, 134f “Age of the Common Man”, 134 contributions of, 135 definition, 134 initiatives to improve education normal schools for teacher preparation, 136 student separation by age/grade level, 136, 137 teaching challenges, 135–136 universal access to education legacy, 136 See also Horace Mann Communication disorders, definition, 113 Community resources, 14–15 Compensatory education programs definition, 151 evaluation of, 152 Head Start, 151–152 Title I, 151 Competence, definition, 372 Comprehensive high school, 276–277 alternatives to, 278–279 criticisms of, 278 definition, 138 historical roots, 138–139, 138f Latin grammars, English High Schools, and Academies, 139 mission definitions/confusion, 139–140 urban, teaching challenges, 140 Computer-based instruction, 143 Conant, James, 276 Conspiracy theories definition, 325 implications for teaching, 326–327 Content, knowledge of, 21 Contracts, 231 Cook, Timothy, support for coding in schools, 303 Cooperative learning, 174 definition, 406 See also Learner-centered strategies Copyright laws, 235 Corporal punishment, 256, 357 implications for teaching, 256–257 Correspondence courses, 280 Crime and violence (changes in students). See Bullying; Child abuse; Gun control issues; School violence; Suicide; Technology/ addiction to Critical thinking definition, 325 and students, 326 Cross-age tutoring, definition, 409

546  Subject Index Cultural diversity (educational responses to), 90 accepting/valuing cultural differences, 91 accommodating cultural interaction patterns, 91–92 ambivalent federal policies, 149 building on students’ backgrounds, 92–93 culturally responsive teaching, 90–91 and representation in special ed programs, 115–117 See also African-American education; Asian-American education; Hispanic-American education; Native-American education Cultural Literacy, 172 Cultural minority, definition, 93 Culturally responsive classroom management, definition, 362 Culturally responsive teaching, definition, 90 Culturally sustaining instruction, 91 Culture (dimension of diversity) definition, 84 ethnicity and race, 85 immigrants and schools, 85–87, 87f influence of on schooling/ achievement, 87–88 religious diversity, 88–89, 89f implications for teaching, 89–90 Curriculum and accountability movement, 304 collaborative decisions about, 14, 18 components, 299–300 See also Explicit curriculum; Extracurriculum; Implicit curriculum; Null curriculum controversial issues in, 316 See also Diversity/in the curriculum; Internet issues and controversies; Science curriculum; Service learning; Sex education; Social studies curriculum; Soft skills definitions, 267, 299 of the home, 71–72 influencing forces on, 309, 309f See also Accountability; American education/federal influence on curriculum; Politics; Standards; Teacher; Textbooks integrated/interdisciplinary, 302 and principals, 205 and school boards, 201 standards determining organization of, 267 See also Instruction; Organization of schools; Reform Cyberbullying, 57–58, 183, 249 definition, 360 implications for teaching, 58, 250

D

Dame schools, 157 Data-driven reform definition, 421 See also Reform Data-driven instruction components, 393–394 definition, 393 Data mining definition, 253 and student privacy, 253–254 De jure segregation, definition, 154 Deductive reasoning, 170 Defiance, responses to, 358–359 Department of Education, 150 Departmentalization, in comprehensive high schools, 277 Desists, definition, 358 Detention, 358 Developmental differences considerations when planning, 344 delays, 114 Developmental programs, 270 DeVos, Betsy, support for charter schools, 433 Dewey, John as center of Progressive education movement, 174 and decline of perrenialism, 172–173 influence on Theodore Brameld, 179 DeWitt Clinton High School, 283 Differentiating instruction definition, 408 See also Learner-centered instruction Digital portfolio, definition, 463 Direct instruction definition, 395 See also Teacher-centered strategies Disciplinary actions (students’ rights in), 255–256 Discipline, vs classroom management, 338 Discrepancy model of identification, 117 Dismissal (of teacher), 233 and reduction in force, 233–234 Distance education/learning blended learning, 280 definition, 279 growth of, 280 implications for teaching, 281 options, 280 purposes, 279 virtual schools, 280 District office, 197f, 203 Diversity, 29–30 in the classroom fighting bias, 361–363 See also Effective teaching; Instruction implementation in country/schools, 83 and high school curriculum challenges, 140

in the curriculum controversial issues, 330–331 proposals for ethnic-group based curriculum, 330 underrepresentation of contributions of women and minorities, 329 dimensions of, 83, 84f See also Culture (dimension of diversity); Exceptionalities (dimension of diversity); Gender (dimension of diversity); Language (dimension of diversity) “melting pot” concept, 90, 91 “model minority” stereotype, 148 philosophy and cultural minorities, 183–184 and representation in special education programs, 115–117 rural, suburban, urban teaching contexts, 30–32, 32t school organization and achievement of cultural minorities, 291–293 in technology access/usage, 94–95, 95f implications for teaching, 95–96 See also Cultural diversity (educational responses to); Equality in education/federal role in Doe v. Renfrow, 252 Dress code issues, 250–251 Dropout problem, 73–74, 74f and compulsory attendance issues, 159–160 implications for teaching, 74–75 See also Vulnerable students Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), 51 Drugs. See Alcohol and drugs (changes in students) Dual-enrollment courses, 277 Dubois, W. E. B., 146–147 Due process, definition, 255 Duncan, Anne, 448

E

Early childhood education, definition, 270 Early childhood programs, 270 “academic” focus, 270 developmental programs, 270 universal preschool initiatives, 271 Early National period in American education, 131, 132f impact of Land Ordinance of 1785, 133 impact of U.S. Constitution, 132–133 implications for teaching church and state separation, 133 federal government involvement in education, 133

Subject Index 547

Economic impact of teaching, 9 Economics and politics in school organization, 269 EdTPA (Educational Teacher Performance Assessment), 442 Education and politics, 19–20 See also Teacher education Educational law limitations of laws, 227 precedent-setting cases, 226 school law (definition), 230 See also Religion and law; Students/and the law; Teachers’ professional responsibilities; Teachers’ professional rights; U.S. legal system Educational reform. See Essentialism Educational revenues. See School funding Educational Teacher Performance Assessment. See EdTPA Effective schools characteristics, 282f collective efficacy, 286–289 leadership, 285–286 optimal size and class size, 282–285 definition, 281–282 implications for teachers, 289, 290t Effective teaching, 412–413 for beginning teachers, 475 classroom management plan, 346–347 definition, 367 implications for teaching, 413 phases of, 374, 374f See also Assessment/as a learning tool; Instruction implementation; Planning/for instruction requirement of collective efficacy, 287 sample lesson, 367–368 in urban classrooms, 347–348 attention on structure and stability, 348 caring/supportive teachers, 348 clear standards for behavior, 348 See also Instruction implementation See also Instructional strategies; Student motivation Eisenhower, Dwight D., 154 EL/ELL. See English learners Eldridge-Sandbo, Mary, 7 Elementary schools, 271–273 sample teachers’ schedules, 272t teaching implications of grade level selection, 273 EMOs (education maintenance organizations), 218 Emotional and psychological rewards of teaching, 5–7 Emotional disorders, definition, 113

Emotional disturbance/disability/ handicap, 113–114 Emotional intelligence, 109 implications for teaching, 109–110 Emotional intelligence, 328 Engaged time, definition, 341 Engle v. Vitale, 242 English High School/English Classical School, 139 English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act (2001), 98 English learners (ELs)/English language learners (ELLs) definition, 97 statistics about, 97 Epistemology, 168–169 Equality in education/federal role in, 153–154 Civil Rights Movement, 154–155 gender equality issues, 155–156 implications for teaching, 155, 157 results of federal intervention, 156–157 Equitable distribution (of questions) definition, 386 effectiveness with urban students, 391 ESL (English as a second language) programs, 99 Essential teaching skills, 380, 380t definition, 380 See also Instruction implementation; Organization skill; Questioning skill Essentialism, 175–178 definition, 176 and educational reform, 176–177 changes in teacher preparation, 178 Common Core Standards Initiative, 177 Twenty-first Century Learning, 177–178 implications for teaching, 178 role of technology, 181, 182 Establishment clause of First Amendment, 241 Ethics and axiology, 170 professional, 24–26, 226 and teaching, 227–228 See also Educational law Ethnicity, definition, 85 European influences on American education, 130 Every Student Succeeds Act (2015)/ ESSA, 98, 153, 420–421 accountability changes, 421 and curriculum influence, 312 and graduation rates, 74 implications for teaching, 421 Evolution, as a contentious issue, 243

Exceptionalities (dimensions of diversity), 106–107 categories of, 112–115, 113f culturally/linguistically diverse student in special education, 115–117 disciplinary actions for students with exceptionalities, 257 intelligence, 107–110 “people-first” mindset, 107 role of teachers, 117 collaboration with other professionals, 118 identification, 117–118 modification of instruction, 119 special education and the law, 111–112 Explicit curriculum, 300 in elementary schools, 300–301, 300t integrated/interdisciplinary, 302 in junior high and high schools, 301–302 in middle schools, 301 technology role in, 302–303 implications of coding for teachers, 304–305 teaching students to code, 303–304 Extracurricular policies, and school boards, 201 Extracurriculum benefits, 308 definition, 308 implications for teaching, 308 Extrinsic motivation, definition, 369 Extrinsic rewards of teaching, 5, 9 job benefits, 10 as parents/teachers, 10

F

Faculty psychology, 139 Fair-use guidelines, definition, 235 Fake news definition, 325 implications for teaching, 326–327 Families (American) changes in, 40–42 childcare, 41–42 family patterns, 41 latchkey children, 42 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, and student record accessibility, 254 Family stability, SES-related impact on student success, 71 Federal government. See American education Feedback, during learning process, 387–388 Fighting responses to, 359 implications for teaching, 359–360 Filmstrips, 142

548  Subject Index Fleischfresser v. Directors of School District No. 200, 244 Formal curriculum. See Explicit curriculum Formative assessment, definition, 392 Franklin, Benjamin, Academy of Philadelphia, 139 Free exercise clause of First Amendment, 241 Freire, Paulo, 179 Full-service schools, 75, 76t

G

Gardner, Howard, theory of multiple intelligences, 108–109, 108t “Gateway cities”, definition, 93 Gender, and teaching, 157–159, 158f Gender bias, definition, 103 Gender (dimension of diversity) and career choices, 104 and classrooms, 103–104 implications for teaching, 105–106 single-gender, 104–105 and curriculum issues, 330 federal involvement in gender equity issues, 155–156 gender-related differences, 102–103 single-gender schools, 104–105 societally-based stereotypes, 102, 104 Gender-role identity, definition, 103–104 General pedagogical knowledge, 22 Gifted and talented learners, 114–115 definition, 107 implications for teaching, 115, 115t methods to identify, 115 Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994), 419 Goleman, Daniel, influence of, 328 Goodlad, John, goals for schools, 264 Grade recovery, 290–291 Grade retention, 290–291 Grading, and academic freedom, 235 Great Society. See War on Poverty/ Great Society and education Grievance, definition, 232 Guidance counselors, 265 Guided discovery, 174 definition, 402 See also Learner-centered strategies Gun control issues, 59 Gun-Free Schools Act (1994), 62

H

Hampton Institute, 146 Harris, Kamala, 15 Head Start, 151–152 funding, 209 research on effectiveness of, 271 See also Compensatory education programs Hidden curriculum. See Implicit curriculum

High-quality examples, definition, 371–372 High schools, 276 alternatives to comprehensive high schools, 278 career academies, 279 career technical schools, 278 See also Comprehensive high schools High-stakes tests controversies, 186 and curriculum, 425 definition, 185, 310, 425 See also Standardized testing Hispanic, definition, 147 Hispanic-American education, 147–148 Historical roots of American education. See Colonial period in American education Homelessness, 68–70 exacerbations to, 70 government provisions for children, 69 implications for teaching, 70 school responses, 69 Home–school cooperation, 14 Homeschooling definition, 437 See also School choice

I

IDEA. See Individuals with Disabilities Act Identification of students with exceptionalities, 117–118 Ideology, definition, 169 IEP. See Individualized education program IFSP. See Individualized family service plan Immersion programs (for ELs), 99 Immigrants definition, 85 educational rights of children, 245–246 implications for teaching, 247 See also Culture (dimension of diversity) Immigration and Nationality Act (1965), 85 Implicit curriculum, 305–306 implications for teaching, 306–307 In loco parentis principle, definition, 236 Inclusion individualized education program (IEP) for, 112 movement toward, 111–112 Individualized education program (IEP), 112 Individualized family service plan (IFSP), 112

Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)/1975, 111, 151 influence on curriculum, 311 provisions for assistive tools, 120 provisions for disciplinary actions, 257 Induction programs, 479–480 Informal curriculum. See Implicit curriculum Infrastructure of schools, and school boards, 201 Instruction, definition, 299 Instruction implementation closure and application, 388–389 feedback, 387–388 focus, 384–385 organization (essential teaching skill), 380, 380t, 383, 384t questioning (essential teaching skill), 380, 380t, 385, 386f equitable distribution, 385–386 frequency, 385 implications for teaching, 387 prompting, 386–387 wait-time, 387 review, 384–385 teacher beliefs/interactions and success, 380–381 caring, 381 high expectations, 382 modeling and enthusiasm, 382–383 personal teaching efficacy, 381–382 in urban classrooms, 389 adaptations for English language learners, 391 considerations, 392 feedback and application, 391 interactive instruction requirement, 391 need for examples, 389–391 See also Effective teaching; Instructional strategies Instruction modification (for students with exceptionalities), 119 Instructional alignment, definition, 377 Instructional leaders, and school principals, 205 Instructional strategies, 394–395 definition, 394 See also Learner-centered strategies; Teacher-centered strategies Instructional time, definition, 341 InTASC, 27–28 Core Teaching Standards, 27t Integrated/interdisciplinary curriculum, definition, 302 Intellectual disabilities, definition, 113 Intellectual rewards of teaching, 7–9 emotional intelligence, 109 implications for teaching, 109 Intelligence definition, 107 learning styles, 110

Subject Index 549

multiple intelligences theory, 108–109, 108t range in classroom, 107–108 Intelligent design curriculum controversies, 318–319 definition, 243, 318 Interaction patterns in the home, SES differences, 71–72 Interactive instruction, 287–288 Internet issues and controversies, 322 access, 322 conspiracy theories/fake news, 324–326 implications for teaching, 326–327 and poor critical thinking, 326 content screening, 322–323 implications for teaching, 324 plagiarism and cheating, 324 Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. See InTASC Interventions definition, 353 emotional factors in, 354–355 example, 354–355 goals of, 354 punishments, 357–358 steps to teach students about, 355, 355f apply logical consequences, 357 congruent verbal and nonverbal behaviors, 356–357 consistency, 356 overlapping, 356 withitness demonstration, 355–356 Intrinsic motivation, definition, 369 Intrinsic rewards of teaching, 5 economic impact/social contribution, 9 emotional and psychological, 5–7 personal and intellectual, 7–9 Intuitive reasoning, 170–171 Involvement, definition, 373

J

Jackson, Andrew, 134 Jamestown colony, 127 Job Corps, 150 Johnson, Lyndon B., 66, 150 See also War on Poverty/Great Society and education Jolie, Angelina, 47 Junior high and middle schools content acquisition and developmental needs of children influences, 273–274 junior high development, 140–141, 274 middle school development, 141, 274–276 implications for teaching, 276

K

Kernan Middle School, 284 Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District, 319 Klein, Joel, 202 Knowledge, specialized body of in teaching, 21–23 Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), 433–434 See also Charter schools Kounin, Jacob, 338 Kozol, Jonathan, 137

L

Land Ordinance of 1785, 132–133 Language (dimension of diversity), 96–97 adaptations for teaching ELs, 391 EL school population, 97 and representation in special education programs, 115–117 government response to, 97–98 implications and strategies for teaching, 100–101 schools’ responses, 98–99, 99t Latchkey children, 42 Latin grammar school, definition, 138 Latino/Latina, definition, 147 Lau v. Nichols, 98, 100, 148 Law. See Educational law Learner-centered strategies, 401–402 cooperative learning, 406–407 example, 406 steps to begin, 407 strategies, 407, 407t strengths and weaknesses, 407–408 differentiating instruction, 408 implications for teaching, 410 multi-ability tasks, 409–500 peer tutoring, 409 small-group support, 408–409 strengths and weaknesses, 410–411 guided discovery, 402 example, 402–404 strengths and weaknesses, 404 learner-centered instruction, definition, 394 personalized learning, 411 implications for teaching, 411–412 problem-based instruction, 404 example, 404–405 strengths and weaknesses, 405–406 See also Instructional strategies Learner responsibility, development of, 339–341 Learners/learning, knowledge of, 22 Learning communities, definition, 339 Learning disabilities, definition, 113

Learning styles, 110 Lecture-discussion definition, 399 example, 400–401 strengths and weaknesses of, 401 Lee v. Weismann, 242 “Lemon” test, 243–244 Lemon v. Kurtzman, 242 LGBTQ. See Sexuality (changes in students)/sexual orientation and LGBTQ youth; Teachers’ professional responsibilities/ private lives Liability insurance, 237 Liability issues for teachers. See Teachers’ professional responsibility Licensure, 230–231, 471–472, 488 alternative, 137 extended training for, 23–24 by state office of education, 198 Local school councils, 217 Locke, John, 130 Logic, 170–171 Logical consequences, definition, 357 Looping, definition, 268 Lotteries, and school funding, 207 Lower-middle class. See Working class (SES)

M Magnet schools, 157 Mainstreaming, 111 Mann, Horace, 134 Marshall, Thurgood, 154 Masiello, Joseph, 7 Massachusetts Act of 1647, 129, 130 Medication for students, restrictions on administration, 265 “Melting pot” concept, 90, 91 Merit pay controversies, 444–445 current trends, 445–446 definition, 444 implications for teaching, 447 open questions, 446–447 vs. pay-for-performance plans, 444 teachers’ attitudes toward, 445 Metaphysics, 169–170 #MeToo Movement. See Sexuality (changes in students)/sexual harassment Middle class (SES), 65 Middle schools. See Junior high and middle schools Milano, Alyssa, 47–48 Misbehavior, responses to. See Interventions “Model minority” stereotype, 148 Montessori, Maria, 270 Montessori method, 270

550  Subject Index Morrison v. State Board of Education, 239 Motivation of students and effective teaching, 369 intrinsic and extrinsic, 369 and learning, 369, 370 strategies to increase, 373f attract/maintain attention, 370 challenge, 372–373 promote success, 371–372 real-world applications personalize content, 370–371 Mozart v. Hawkins County Public Schools, 244 Multi-ability tasks definition, 410 See also Learner-centered instruction Multiple intelligences, definition, `08, 108t

N

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 422–424, 423f, 424f National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 147 National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), 488–489 National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST), 419 National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958, 150 influence on curriculum, 311 National Education Association (NEA), 24, 231 attempts to standardize high schools, 139–140 Code of Ethics, 25f, 227 and collective bargaining, 448 and reform issues, 447 and Supreme Court decisions, 484 National Education Summits, 419 National Science Foundation, 150 “Nation‘s Report Card”. See National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Native American education history of, 144–145, 145f philosophies of education, 184 reservation vs public schools debate, 145 Negligence, definition, 236 New Jersey v. T.L.O., 252 No Child Left Behind Act (2001)/NCLB, 51, 153, 419–420 adequate yearly progress (AYP) concept, 420 and graduation rates, 74 influence on curriculum, 311 provisions for homeless children, 69 Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, 51, 62

Nonexclusion time-out, definition, 358 Normal schools, 136 Norman, Brad, 165 Notoriety, in teachers’ private lives, 238 Null curriculum, 307 recess and implications for teaching, 307

O

Obama, Barack dropout rate concerns, 74 focus on teacher quality, 439 Obesity (changes in students) causes and guidelines, 53 health risks, 52–53 statistics, 52 Occupational status of teaching, 8–9 Office of education (state), 198 licensure, 198 state standards, 198–199 textbook approval, 199 Old Deluder Satan Act, 129, 130 Open-ended questions, definition, 371 Opioid crisis. See Alcohol and drugs (changes in students) Optimism, and teaching, 170 Organization of schools determining factors economics and politics, 269 students’ developmental characteristics, 268 typical levels, 268, 268t Organization (teaching skill), 383 for beginning teachers, 474–475 components, 384t definition, 383 Overhead projector, 142–143 Overlapping, definition, 356

P

Paltrow, Gwyneth, 47 Parent triggers, 217 Parental attitudes/values by SES, and school success, 72 Parental involvement in schools, 289 barriers to communication, 351 benefits of, 349 implications for teaching, 289 steps to encourage, 349–351, 350f strategies for minority parents, 351–352 using technology to communicate, 352–353 Parents/caregivers, home–school cooperation, 13–14 Pay-for-performance teacher salary plans, 444 Pay-to-play practices, 219–220 Pedagogical content knowledge, 22 Peer-tutoring, definition, 409 “People-first” mindset, 107 Perennialism, 171–173

definition, 172 implications for teaching, 173 technology as instructional system, 182 Perry Preschool Program, 152 Personal rewards of teaching, 7–9 Personal teaching efficacy definition, 286, 381–382 See also Effective teaching elements Personalized learning definition, 253, 411 See also Learner-centered instruction Personnel of schools, 265 administrators and support staff, 265–266 implications for teaching, 266 teachers, 266 Pestalozzi, Johan, 130 Philosophies of education, 171, 181t applications of branches of philosophy, 168–171 and diversity/cultural minorities, 183–184 essentialism, 175–178 importance of, 166 perennialism, 171–173 personal development of, 166–167, 186–187 role of beliefs in, 189–190, 190t in urban environments, 190–191 progressivism, 173–175 role of beliefs in, 187–188 social reconstructionism, 179–180 and teacher professionalism, 167–168, 167f Philosophy branches, 168 axiology, 170 epistemology, 168–169 logic, 170–171 metaphysics, 169 definition, 165, 167 and theory, 168 Physical plant of schools, 266–267 Piaget, Jean, 270 Plagiarism, and the Internet, 324 Planning for instruction, 374f, 375 in a standards-based environment, 375 alignment/accountability issues and implications, 377 assessment considerations, 376 problem prevention with, 344 creating procedures and rules, 345–346, 345t developmental differences considerations, 344 Plessy v. Ferguson, 147 Politics and education, 19–20 and education, influence on curriculum, 312–313

Subject Index 551

school safety issues, 59 See also Curriculum; Economics and politics in school organization Positive classroom climate, definition, 338 Poverty causes, 66–67 and dropout rates, 74 effects on students, 65 hunger, 67–68 influences on, 66 statistics on, 65–66, 67f, 67t Poverty thresholds, definition, 66 PraxisSeries™, 34 influence of essentialism, 178 Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978), 158 Premises (major and minor), 170 Principal and accountability, 204 in an effective school, 285 curricular and instructional leadership responsibilities, 205 definition, 203, 265 implications for teachers, 205 implications for teaching, 285–286 profile of, 203–204, 204t teacher evaluation, 204 teacher selection, 204 Private school employment, 470 Problem-based instruction, 174 definition, 404 See also Learner-centered strategies Procedures (classroom), definition, 345 Productive learning environment, 13 creation steps, 342, 342f See also Caring/communication of; Classroom organization; Effective teaching; Planning ideas about, 336 See also Classroom management Professional development definition, 485 See also Teaching/professional development Professional ethics, 24–26 definition, 227 Professional organizations, 447–448, 483t implications for teaching, 448–449, 484 See also American Federation of Teachers (AFT); National Education Association (NEA) Professional portfolio, definition, 463 Professionalism characteristics, 21, 21f autonomy, 23 emphasis on decision-making and reflection, 23–24 and philosophy in teaching, 167–168, 167f professional ethics, 24–26, 226, 227

specialized bodies of knowledge, 21–22 extended training for licensure, 22–23 and teaching, 26–27 understanding profession’s legal aspects, 226 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 424 Programmed instruction, 143 Progressive era, 174 Progressivism, 173–174 implications for teaching, 175 role of technology, 181, 182 Projectors, 142 Prompting, definition, 386 Property taxes, definition, 208 Proposition 13 (CA), 208 Proposition 227 (CA), 98, 100 Psychological and emotional rewards of teaching, 5–7

Q

Questioning (essential teaching skill). See Instruction implementation/ questioning Questioning frequency, definition, 385

R

Race, definition, 85 Race to the Top Program (2009), 311–312 criticism of, 431–432 goals, 431 Ray, Randy, 257 Ray v. School District of DeSoto County, 257 Recess, importance of/implications for teaching, 307 Reciprocal tutoring, definition, 409 Reduction in force, 233–234 Reflection, 24 Reform, 417–418, 452–453 and changes in educational practices, 417–418 and cultural minorities, 450–451 curriculum focus, 424–425 See also Accountability; High-stakes tests; Standards data-driven, 421–422 definition, 421 See also Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP); No Child Left Behind Act (NCLP); Programs for International Student Assessment (PISA); Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMSS) definition, 418 impact of international comparisons, 424

movement (historical overview), 418–419 school focus, 431 See also Race to the Top; School choice in teacher education, 33–35 teacher focus, 438–439 See also Merit pay; Professional organizations (role of); Teacher evaluation; Teacher salaries; Tenure Refugees, definition, 85 Relationship skills, definition, 328 Religion in Colonial period of America, 127 legacy/implications for teaching, 130 Middle colonies, 128 New England colonies, 129 Southern colonies, 127 in Early National period, separation of church and state, 132, 133 Religion and law First Amendment implications for teachers, 241 prayer in schools, 242–243 “Lemon” test, 242 religion in curriculum, 243–244 religious clubs and organizations, 243 teaching about religion vs. advocating a religion, 244 Religious diversity, 88–89, 89f implications for teaching, 89–90 Resilient students building on diversity as an asset, 77 effective instruction and support, 78–79 effective schools, 77 effective teachers, 77–78 definition, 77 Response to intervention (RTI) model of identification, 117–118 Responsible decision-making, definition, 328 Résumé, definition, 464 Rewards of teaching. See Extrinsic rewards; Intrinsic rewards Rickover, Hyman, 150 Ridges, Jeff, 159 “Riffing”. See Reduction in force Roberts, John, 155, 229, 248 Rodriguez, Demetrio, 214 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 130, 270 Rules (classroom), 345–346, 345t definition, 345 Rural schools, teaching in, 30–31

S

Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, 51, 62 Safford Unified School District v. Redding, 253

552  Subject Index Salaries of teachers, 15, 16t, 17–18 See also Walkouts Savage Inequalities, 137, 214 The Scarlet Letter, 173 School components, 264 See also Curriculum; Personnel of schools; Physical plant of schools definitions/perspectives, 264 goals of, 264, 264f “good”. See Effective schools levels, 269 See also Distance education; Early childhood programs; Elementary schools; High schools; Junior high and middle schools size, 277, 282–284 School board (local), 200 composition of, 202 functions, 200–201, 201f selection process, 202 School Board of Nassau County, Florida v. Arline, 239 School budgets, and school boards, 200 School choice charter schools, 433 criticism of, 435–436 evaluation of, 434–435 implications for teaching, 436 Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), 433–434 definition, 432 homeschooling, 437–438 options in, 432 pro and con arguments about, 432–433 vouchers, 436–437 state tuition tax-credit plans, 437 The School Development program, 75–76 School districts, 199–200 definition, 199 district office, 203 local school board, 200–202, 201f school principal, 203–205, 204t size variation, 199–200 implications for teaching, 200 superintendent, 202–203 School funding educational revenues distribution, 210, 211t–212t, 212f effects of, 212 See also Transportation expenditures for schools equity challenges, 214–216 impact of, 196, 206 and class size, 208 implications for teaching, 210 inadequacy of, 195 pay-to-play practices, 219–220 recent trends, 210 sources, 206, 207f federal funding, 209

local funding, 208 state revenue, 206–208 variations over time, 209–210 weighted student formula, 216 School governance challenges, 213 commercialization, 217–219 funding equity, 214–216 local governance structures, 217 takeovers vs. local control, 216–217 impact of, 196 state administrative organizational structure, 197, 197f, 198 board of education, 198 office of education, 198–199 state’s legal responsibility, 196–197 School law definition, 230 See also Educational law School newspapers, and freedom of speech issues, 248 School personnel, and school boards, 201 School principal. See Principal School psychologists, 265 School-related experiences, SESrelated impact on student success, 71 School success factors related to SES, 29, 70 basic needs fulfillment, 70–71 family stability, 71 implications for teaching, 73 accumulated/“funds of” knowledge considerations, 72, 73 interaction patterns in the home, 71–72 parental attitudes and values, 72 school-related experiences, 71 School takeovers, 216 implications for teaching, 217 School uniforms, 251 School violence, 53–54 arming teachers issue, 54–55 implications for teaching, 55–56 See also Bullying School-wide safety programs, 59 See also Gun control issues; Zerotolerance policies Schools within schools, definition, 284 Science curriculum political controversies in, 318 intelligent design, 318–319 Scopes, John, 243 “Scopes Monkey Trial”, 243 ScratchJr, 304 Search and seizure in school, permissibility issues, 252–253 Sedwick, Rebecca Ann, 57, 183 Self-assessment, 24 Self-awareness, definition, 328 Self-esteem, strategies to help struggling students, 78–79 Self-management, definition, 328

“Separate but equal” policy and the Civil Rights Movement, 154–155 and court challenges, 147 and inequality, 146 Serrano v. Priest (1971), 215 Service learning, 321–322 voluntary/required controversy, 322 SES. See Socioeconomic status Sessions, Jeff, 46 Sex education controversies regarding, 319–320 implications for teaching, 321 influence of sexual harassment issues, 320–321 status in U.S. education, 319 Sexting definition, 250 and student’s free speech issues, 250 Sexual assault. See Sexuality (changes in students)/sexual assault Sexual harassment definition, 252 influence on sex education, 320–321 and student’s rights, 252 in teaching, 48 See also Sexuality (changes in students)/sexual harassment Sexuality (changes in students), 43 sex education, 44 sexual assault, 49 implications for teaching, 50 sexual harassment, 47 implications for teaching, 49, 50 #MeToo movement, 47–48 and students’ freedom of speech, 248 sexual orientation and LGBTQ youth, 44–45 implications for teaching, 46–47 transgender students, 45–46 sexually transmitted diseases (STD), 44 teenage pregnancy, 43–44 Sheltered English programs, 99 Single-gender classes and schools, 104–105 Small-group support, 408–409 Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 244 Social awareness, definition, 328 Social contribution of teaching, 9 Social justice, 179 Social promotion, 290 Social reconstructionism, 179 implications for teaching, 180 technology as tool for communication/creating social change, 182–183 Social studies curriculum controversies over influence on future voters, 316–317 defined goals, 316 implications for teaching, 317–318

Subject Index 553

Social systems, schools as, 264 Social–emotional learning (SEL) and classroom management, 338 See also Soft skills Socioeconomic status (SES) characteristics, 64t, 65 definition, 64 impact on school success, 29, 70–72 school integration-by-income programs, 68 See also Dropout problem; Homelessness; Poverty; School success factors related to SES; Vulnerable students Soft skills definition, 327 implications for teaching, 328–329 movement to include in curriculum, 327–328 social-emotional learning program goals, 328 Speech, student’s rights, 247–248 Sputnik, space race and education, 133, 150, 174 Standardized testing advocates for, 430 backlash against, 428–429 implications for teaching, 430 resistance to, 430 See also High-stakes tests Standards, 23, 33 and assessment, 425–426 implications for teaching, 426–427 Core Teaching Standards (InTASC), 27t definition, 310, 375, 419 impact on planning, 375 influence on curriculum, 267, 310–311 movement, 153 controversies in, 428–430 national. See Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) set high by teachers, as demonstration of caring, 343 state standards, 198–199 in today’s schools, 425 Stanton, Sharon, 159 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), sample standard, 425 State revenue sources of school funding, 206–208 State tuition tax-credit plans definition, 437 See also School choice STEM subjects definition, 102 and gender, 102 Stereotypes, definition, 104 Stone v. Graham, 242 Student-teacher ratio, definition, 284 Students changes in, 43, 43f

See also Alcohol and drugs (changes in students); Crime and violence (changes in students); Obesity (changes in students); Sexuality (changes in students); Socioeconomic status (SES) decisions regarding and school boards, 201 developmental characteristics of, 268 and the law, 245, 246f educational rights of immigrant children, 245–247 freedom of speech and technology, 248–250 implications for teaching, 251 rights in speech and dress, 247–248, 250–251 search and seizure, 252–253 sexual harassment, 252 student privacy, 253–254 student rights in disciplinary actions, 255–257 students with AIDS, 257 See also Motivation of students Substitute teaching, 462–463, 462t Suburban schools, teaching in, 31 Suicide, 59–60 Summative assessment, definition, 393 Superintendent, 202–203 definition, 202

T

Teacher burnout, 335 development stages, 473–474, 473t efficacy, 286 influence of legal issues, 225–226 influence on curriculum, 309 adapting to external forces on, 313–315 philosophical positions, 309–310, 310t multiple professional roles, 13–15, 14f private life of. See Teachers’ professional responsibilities quality and students’ learning, 438 and school quality, 266 Teacher-centered strategies definition, 394 direct instruction, 395, 395t developing understanding phase, 395–396, 409 introduction and review phase, 395 practice phase, 396 strengths and weaknesses of, 396 use of technology/drilland-practice software, 396–398 lecture-discussion definition, 399 example, 399–401 strengths and weaknesses, 401 lectures, weaknesses of, 399 See also Instructional strategies

Teacher churning, definition, 286 Teacher education changes in teacher preparation, 33–34, 178 comprehensive teacher testing, 34–35 reform in, 33 Teacher employment assessing prospective schools, 469–470 beliefs of pre-service and beginning teachers, 458–460 credentials file, 464 job interview, 467–469, 468t job search, 467 implications for teaching, 467 and the law, 230 collective bargaining, 231–232 contracts, 231 dismissal, 233–234 tenure, 232–233 See also Licensure letter of application, 464, 466f and marketability, 460 portfolio and résumé, 463–464, 465f professional experiences, 461–462, 462t professional reputation, 461 substitute teaching, 462–463, 463t in private schools, 470 Teacher evaluation, 439–440 criticism of current practices, 440 forms of, 439t goals of, 440 implications for new teachers, 442–443, 478 and school principals, 204 systems. See EdTPA; Value-added models of teacher evaluation Teacher Incentive Fund, 446 Teacher salaries compensation plans, 443f pay-for-performance plans, 444 traditional, 443 Teacher selection, and school principals, 204 Teacher shortage, 10–11 Teacher training, normal schools, 136 Teachers’ professional responsibilities, 235, 236f child abuse reporting, 237–238 private lives implications for teaching, 239 LGBTQ issues/sexual behavior, 239 relations with students, 239 as role models, 238 teachers with AIDS, 239–240 teacher liability, 236–237 implications for teaching, 237 technology (prudent uses of), 240–241 Teachers’ professional rights, 230f See also Academic freedom; Copyright laws; Teacher employment and the law

554  Subject Index Teaching beliefs about for pre-service and beginning teachers, 458–460 career selection challenges, 10–20 financial considerations, 220–221 implications of grade level selection, 273 narrative, 3–4 rewards, 5–10 survey of reasons, 4–5, 5t contract, definition, 231 essential skills, 380, 380t See also Instruction implementation first year, 472–473 challenges of diversity, 480–482 collaboration and involvement with staff, 477–478 development stages, 473–474, 473t and first day/first impressions, 476–477 induction programs, 479 mentoring programs, 479–480 survival skills, 474–476 profession, 26–27 ethical dimensions of, 227–228 and gender, 157–159, 158f influence of technology on, 28–29 and stress, 336 See also InTASC; Professionalism characteristics professional development, 482 action research, 486–488, 488f professional organization membership, 482–484, 483t and technology, 485–486 See also Certification; Effective teaching Technology access issues, 94–95 differences among ethnic groups and income levels, 95, 95f implications for teaching, 95–96 “new digital divide”, 72 addiction to, 61–63 implications for teaching, 63–64 assistive technologies, implications for teaching, 121 coding for students, 303–304 implications for teaching, 304–305 to communicate with parents, 352–353 definition, 142 distance education, 279–281 drill-and-practice software for direct instruction, 396–398 failure as “magic bullet”, 143 and freedom of speech issues, 248–250 historical perspective on, 142–143 influence on teaching profession, 28–29 and philosophy of education, 181–183

for learners with disabilities, 120 adaptations to computer input devices, 120–121 adaptations to computer output devices, 121 for professional development, 485–486 prudent uses of by teachers, 240–241 roles in teaching, 181 communication and creating social change, 182 controversies about, 398–399 delivering information, 181–182 instructional system, 183 tool for technologically-literate citizens, 181 See also Internet issues and controversies Teenage pregnancy, 43–44 Television (educational), 143 Tenth Amendment, 132, 196–197 Tenure, 232 definition, 232, 449 issues regarding, 449–450 legal challenges to, 232–233 Test-based accountability, 33 Textbook approval, 199 Textbooks, influence on curriculum, 313 Theory, and philosophy, 168 Time dimensions of, 341 examples, 341 implications for teaching, 341–342 Tinker, Mary Beth, 247 Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District, 247 Title I, 151 funding, 209 See also Compensatory education programs Title IX of Education Amendments of 1972, 49, 155, 229 To Kill a Mockingbird, 171, 172 Tracking in comprehensive high schools, 277 and members of cultural minorities, 292 Transgender students. See Sexuality (changes in students)/sexual orientation and LGBTQ youth Transitional programs (for ELs), 99 Transportation expenditures for schools, 213 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 424 Trump, Donald J., proposal to arm teachers, 54 Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), social studies curriculum controvesy, 316–317 Tuskegee Institute, 146 Twenty-first Century Learning, 177–178

U

Underclass (SES), 65 Universal preschool initiatives, 271 Up From Slavery, 146 Upper class (SES), 65 Urban schools and cultural diversity, 93–94 effective classroom management in, 347–348 and philosophy of education, 190–191 takeovers vs. local control, 216–217 teaching in, 31–32 challenges in large high schools, 140 U.S. Constitution amendments First, 234, 241, 243, 247 Fourteenth Amendment, 228, 232, 255 Fourth Amendment, 228, 252–253 impact on education separation of church and state, 132 Tenth Amendment, 132, 196–197 and the Supreme Court, 229 U.S. legal system, 228 federal influences, 228 constitutional amendments, 228–229 federal law, 229 overlapping levels and conflicts, 229–230 state and local systems, 229 See also Educational law; School law

V

Value-added models of teacher evaluation, 440–441 implications for teaching, 441–442 Vergara v. California, 233 Videocassette recorders (VCRs), 143 Violence and aggression (responses to), 358 bias management, 361–362 implications for teaching, 362 bullying, 360 implications for teaching, 361 defiant students, 358–359 fighting responding to, 359 implications for teaching, 359–360 Virtual schools, 280, 398 Vouchers definition, 436 See also School choice Vulnerable students, 75 building on diversity for resilience/ success, 77 effective instruction and support, 78–79

Subject Index 555

effective schools, 77 effective teachers, 77–78 community-based approach to remove obstacles, 75–76, 76t self-esteem issues and strategies, 78–79

W

Wait-time (for responses to questions), 387 Walkouts, 17–19 The War Against Boys, 330

War on Poverty/Great Society and education evaluation of, 152–153 initiatives, 150–151 See also Compensatory education programs Washington, Booker T., 146 Weighted student formula, definition, 216 Weinstein, Harvey, 47 “White flight”, 156 Why Knowledge Matters, 172

Withitness definition, 355 demonstration, 355–356 Working class (SES), 65 Working conditions of teachers, 11–15

Z

Zero-tolerance policies, 59 issue for teachers, 62 and student suspensions, 255