tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/elementary-schools-16611/articlesElementary schools – The Conversation2023-05-29T12:29:36Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2062472023-05-29T12:29:36Z2023-05-29T12:29:36ZKids missing school: Why it’s happening – and how to stop it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527824/original/file-20230523-3417-at7ssp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5919%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students who miss a lot of school are more likely to drop out.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/school-classroom-with-blackboard-royalty-free-image/637549064?phrase=empty+high+school+classroom">maroke/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Chronic absenteeism – defined as a student’s missing approximately 18 days of the school year – is on the rise. Compared with the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, almost three-quarters of U.S. public schools are now showing significant increases.</em></p>
<p><em>SciLine interviewed <a href="https://education.utexas.edu/faculty/joshua_childs/">Dr. Joshua Childs</a>, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin, who shared his thoughts on why students become chronically absent, the academic and social losses they incur by missing school, and the strategies available to boost student attendance, including the relationship between absenteeism and school athletics.</em></p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Dr. Joshua Childs discusses chronic absenteeism.</span></figcaption>
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<p><em>Below are some highlights from the discussion. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em></p>
<h2>What is chronic absenteeism?</h2>
<p><strong>Joshua Childs:</strong> Chronic absenteeism is missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason. That includes excused absences, like a doctor’s visit or a class field trip, and unexcused absences, such as skipping or being truant from school, and being expelled or suspended from school for behavioral reasons. </p>
<h2>How common is chronic absenteeism?</h2>
<p><strong>Joshua Childs:</strong> On average, around 7.5 million to 8 million students are chronically absent each year. That’s a significant number of students who are missing school for a variety of reasons. </p>
<p>But since the start of the pandemic in March of 2020, the latest national data from the U.S. Department of Education has shown that the number has increased to around <a href="https://edtrust.org/resource/5-things-for-advocates-to-know-about-chronic-absenteeism/#:%7E">10 million students</a> being identified as chronically absent from school. </p>
<h2>How does missing lots of school affect kids?</h2>
<p><strong>Joshua Childs:</strong> Academically, we know that students who are chronically absent are more likely to drop out and less likely <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html">to graduate from high school</a>. </p>
<p>Socially, for students who are chronically absent, they tend to <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/school/Pages/School-Attendance-Truancy-Chronic-Absenteeism.aspx">feel less connected to the school</a> and the overall school environment or community, less likely to build connections with the adults or educators within the school building, and also least likely to build connections with their peers. </p>
<p>Developmentally, we know that students who are chronically absent tend to <a href="https://www.attendanceworks.org/using-chronic-absence-to-map-interrupted-schooling-instructional-loss-and-educational-inequity/">fall behind academically from their peers</a>, and tend to be behind when it comes to math and reading or language arts testing outcomes. </p>
<h2>What barriers keep kids out of school?</h2>
<p><strong>Joshua Childs:</strong> When it comes to physical health, we know that asthma followed by obesity and dental issues are the leading cause for students to miss school. And so <a href="https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2023/02/01/child-uninsured-rate-could-rise-sharply-if-states-dont-take-care/">not having adequate access to health care</a> to be able to address some of those physical ailments can lead to students’ missing school consistently. </p>
<p>Mental health issues and concerns, particularly or specifically since the pandemic, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/25/health/children-mental-health-wen-wellness/index.html">have increased for students</a> and can lead to their missing school.</p>
<p>Next: the neighborhood context. Are there safe routes, safe transportation, adequate busing options for students to attend school? And attend school not only every day, but on time? </p>
<p>Then there’s the overall school environment. Is it welcoming and engaging for students? Is the school environment physically safe – not only in terms of interactions with peers and the adults, but are there <a href="https://www.mesothelioma.com/asbestos-exposure/jobsites/schools/">issues with asbestos</a>, or having <a href="https://aftvoices.org/when-students-have-neither-books-nor-desks-516a16309b18">adequate and reliable desks and textbooks</a> and safe infrastructure within the school building? If not, that can lead to chronic absenteeism rates increasing. </p>
<p>And finally … the family. Do families feel connected and a part of the school environment? Is there constant communication about the importance of attending school and being engaged with the overall school community? Do families understand the value of what the school environment can do for their child, and how consistently showing up can lead to outcomes that are beneficial?</p>
<h2>What’s the link between attendance and sports?</h2>
<p><strong>Joshua Childs:</strong> In many states, coaches have to be full-time employees of the district in which they’re coaching. And so many times coaches are teachers, whether it’s in science, history, math or reading. So they spend significant hours of the school day with students, and also before and after school and weekends over the summer due to the different types of sports that students could be involved in. </p>
<p>One of the most important aspects when it comes to improving student attendance is a connection that students make with adults, particularly those adults engaged with them on a daily basis. And so there’s a role for the coaches to play. </p>
<p><em>Watch the <a href="https://www.sciline.org/social-sciences/chronic-absenteeism/">full interview</a> to hear about how to reduce chronic absenteeism in schools.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.sciline.org/">SciLine</a> is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206247/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Childs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>About 10 million US children are chronically absent from school.Joshua Childs, Assistant Professor of Education Policy, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2011342023-03-22T12:38:51Z2023-03-22T12:38:51ZThis course uses ‘Abbott Elementary’ to examine critical issues in urban education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516705/original/file-20230321-2560-fsrmj6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C2%2C676%2C380&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The hit TV show 'Abbott Elementary' explores a variety of issues in education.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://deadline.com/2022/07/abbott-elementary-season-2-episode-count-full-season-abc-comic-con-quina-brunson-1235074396/">ABC</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>“Public Education’s Possibilities and Predicaments: Exploring Portrayals of Critical Issues in ‘Abbott Elementary’”</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>When the first episodes of “Abbott Elementary” aired in January 2022 and the show began getting widespread <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/arts/television/abbott-elementary.html">praise</a>, I started having interesting conversations with folks about schools and teaching based on what they had seen on the show. After episodes aired, colleagues, friends and neighbors all wanted to talk about issues like funding inequities, teacher shortages and charter schools.</p>
<p>I began thinking about how the show integrates commentary on these critical issues into its lighthearted “<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/abc-s-abbott-elementary-mockumentary-genre-are-match-made-tv-ncna1288793">mockumentary</a>” style, simultaneously entertaining viewers and inviting them to consider their own perceptions of urban public schools. As a show <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-01-11/quinta-brunson-was-a-scaredy-cat-then-she-met-the-teacher-who-inspired-her-sitcom">inspired by a Black female teacher</a>, created by a Black female writer, Quinta Brunson, and led by a predominantly Black cast, it also tells the stories of an urban school in a way that highlights the humanity of students, teachers and communities who have elsewhere been portrayed negatively.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman wearing a yellow dress stands at the microphone holding a trophy." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516446/original/file-20230320-2155-c7n9r5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Quinta Brunson, creator of ‘Abbott Elementary,’ accepts the award for Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series during the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards on March 4, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/quinta-brunson-accepts-the-best-lead-performance-in-a-new-news-photo/1471299603?phrase=Abbott%20Elementary&adppopup=true">Kevin Winter for Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>I wanted to design a course that would use the show as an entry point to critical conversations, connecting the issues in each episode to research and policy.</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>First, students are introduced to various education issues by reading selected academic book chapters and research articles. We explore how they have seen this issue portrayed in news coverage, television shows and movies. For example, we begin by taking a look at the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/12/10/americas-public-school-teachers-are-far-less-racially-and-ethnically-diverse-than-their-students/">racial demographics of teachers and students</a>, particularly in urban schools.</p>
<p>According to the National Center for Education Statistics:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Overall, only 7% of public school teachers are Black, whereas 80% are white.</p></li>
<li><p>In urban public schools, 12% of teachers are Black, compared with 69% who are white.</p></li>
<li><p>In public schools with more than 90% of racial minority students, 20% of teachers are Black and only 43% are white.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We also look at the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1020655307664">portrayal of urban teachers in film</a>. The teacher-heroes of these films are generally white, middle-class outsiders. They are new to the school – or teaching, in general – and, through individual effort and a positive outlook, are able to transform a group of troubled students whom all the veteran teachers had failed.</p>
<p>We also use relevant episodes to explore issues such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290807400302">gifted programs</a>, the <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/709513">charter school movement</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X12473125">school discipline</a> and more.</p>
<p>At the end of the course, students work in groups to craft a pitch for a future episode of “Abbott Elementary” that addresses an issue not yet addressed by the show.</p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.vulture.com/2022/11/abbott-elementarys-s2-premiere-breaks-records-for-abc.html">Millions of viewers</a> are tuning in each week to watch “Abbott Elementary.” It is a pop culture moment. However, the relevance of this course is not limited to the show’s popularity. Public education affects everyone. Education policies, such as <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/critical-race-theory-curriculum-transparency-rcna12809">what should or should not be taught</a> in schools, and <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/2_sc.asp">school choice</a> initiatives, including increasing the number of charter schools and providing vouchers for students to attend private schools, continue to be at the forefront of local, state and national politics.</p>
<p>This course is relevant because it creates a space for students to learn more about these issues and engage in informed, critical discussions through an accessible medium.</p>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>While many issues, like school funding or discipline, are central to a single episode, the issue of charter schools is an <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/how-abbott-elementary-takes-on-the-charter-school-movement">overarching plot line</a> throughout Season Two. Understanding how charter schools operate, why they are marketed as a solution to troubled public schools and how they affect communities are all critical lessons from this course. </p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>“<a href="https://www.routledge.com/Anti-Racist-Educational-Leadership-and-Policy-Addressing-Racism-in-Public/Diem-Welton/p/book/9781138596993#">Anti-Racist Educational Leadership and Policy</a>,” a 2021 book co-authored by University of Missouri education professor Sara Diem and University of Wisconsin-Madison education professor Anjale Welton. The book breaks down complex policy issues by analyzing how policies address or fail to address racial equity.</p></li>
<li><p>“<a href="https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/start-where-you-are,-but-don%E2%80%99t-stay-there-(1)">Start Where You Are, But Don’t Stay There</a>,” an award-winning 2020 book by Vanderbilt University education professor H. Richard Milner IV. The book deals with what teachers and school leaders must know to effectively serve students of color. </p></li>
<li><p>“<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/237679/for-white-folks-who-teach-in-the-hood-and-the-rest-of-yall-too-by-christopher-emdin/">For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood … and the Rest of Y'all Too</a>,” a 2016 book by University of Southern California education professor Christopher Emdin. Among the insights the book offers are those on how teachers can better relate to and motivate young students of color.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>When it comes to education issues, it can often feel like you have to be either for or against something – whether that something is charter schools, teachers unions, or zero-tolerance discipline policies. This binary thinking can’t accurately represent the nuance and messiness that is the reality of public education.</p>
<p>By integrating the pop culture perspective of “Abbott Elementary” with interdisciplinary scholarly perspectives, students will learn how to take a more critical and nuanced look at education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201134/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An education professor explains how a hit TV show about a struggling school became a jumping-off point for a course about urban education.Sara Jones, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education—Literacy, Illinois State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1960222023-02-16T13:24:36Z2023-02-16T13:24:36ZDo elementary school students do better when taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity? New research finds: Not that much<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507919/original/file-20230202-7013-oi9sly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5484%2C3727&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many elementary school teachers in the U.S. are of ethnic or racial backgrounds different from their students.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/YearRoundSchool/2a073b6127e44837851a4faf1e83e30f/photo">AP Photo/Steve Helber</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>U.S. elementary school students <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.11.003">do not particularly benefit</a> from being taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity. That’s the major finding from our new study, published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly. We analyzed a nationally representative sample followed from the start of kindergarten to the end of fifth grade.</p>
<p>Our findings indicate that <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/recruiting-and-retaining-teachers-of-color-why-it-matters-ways-to-do-it/2020/06">calls to diversify</a> the teacher workforce are unlikely to meaningfully address large racial and ethnic <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/mathematics/nation/achievement/?grade=4">educational inequities</a> in U.S. elementary schools. </p>
<p>We compared the academic achievement, classroom behavior and <a href="https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/">executive functioning</a> of U.S. elementary school students across two naturally occurring conditions. </p>
<p>The first condition was when students were in grades taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity. The second condition was when the same students were in grades taught by teachers whose race or ethnicity differed. We also controlled for other factors including a student’s age, their family’s economic resources and the teacher’s level of education and years of experience.</p>
<p>We analyzed data from three individually administered tests of academic achievement, five teacher ratings of classroom behavior and two independently assessed executive functioning tasks. We also examined whether students were placed in either gifted or special education classes. </p>
<p>Overall, we observed that being taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity made little difference in whether students displayed greater achievement, better behavior or increased executive functioning or were more likely to be in gifted or special education classes. We occasionally observed positive as well as negative effects. Yet these effects were inconsistent and small in size. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Educational inequities including those in achievement occur <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182">as early as kindergarten</a> and continue throughout <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00169862221128299">elementary school</a>. One common suggestion to <a href="https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/teacher-diversity-and-student-success">address these inequities</a> has been to increase the frequency that Black and Hispanic students are taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity.</p>
<p>It is possible, for instance, that being taught by a teacher of the same race or ethnicity might help <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319853545">lessen biases and cultural misunderstandings</a>, increase access to role models and mentors, and foster student engagement in classroom activities. Rigorous studies repeatedly find that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/003465304323023750">students of color</a>, particularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102081">those who are Black</a>, benefit from being taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity.</p>
<p>Yet the observed effects are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.01.007">often quite small</a> and more often observed on subjective measures <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319853545">like classroom behavior</a> than on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2015.1048049">objective measures</a> of academic achievement. This is consistent with what we observed. </p>
<p>Our results also are consistent with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216635733">other studies</a> analyzing <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319853545">nationally representative samples</a> that find student-teacher racial or ethnic matching <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/003465304323031049">has only limited benefits</a> for students of color.</p>
<p>It may instead be that being taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity is particularly beneficial in specific regional contexts. For instance, in the U.S. South, this may occur because of the region’s history of segregation and discriminatory practices. Most of the benefits of student-teacher racial matching have been observed in studies analyzing samples of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4132809">students attending schools</a> in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319853545">U.S. South</a>. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Although we analyzed a nationally representative sample and examined for treatment effects across many student groups, our study has several limitations. The data was collected only for elementary school students. The experiences and performance of U.S. middle and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373719898470">high school</a> students <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737211032241">may differ</a>.</p>
<p>It is also possible that matching’s positive effects begin to emerge as students enter adulthood. For example, recent work finds that Black students taught by Black teachers are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20190573">more likely to graduate from high school</a> and enter college, particularly two-year colleges. </p>
<p>Long-term studies are needed that evaluate matching’s benefits. Additional studies are also needed of the potential benefits for students attending schools in the U.S. South. Preliminary work finds that matching’s effects may be specific to whether teachers attended <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-black-and-white-teachers-from-hbcus-are-better-math-instructors-study-finds/">historically black colleges and universities</a>, regardless of their race or ethnicity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul L. Morgan receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Hengyu Hu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Calls to increase the diversity of the teacher workforce are unlikely to meaningfully address large racial and ethnic educational inequities, at least not during elementary school.Paul L. Morgan, Professor of Education and Demography, Penn StateEric Hengyu Hu, Ph.D. Student in Educational Theory and Policy and Demography, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1919902022-11-10T13:43:35Z2022-11-10T13:43:35ZDisparities in advanced math and science skills begin by kindergarten<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492335/original/file-20221028-40936-xe5ijo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C18%2C5975%2C3992&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A child's family background has a lot to do with how advanced their math knowledge is in kindergarten.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/side-view-of-a-cheerful-african-american-4-5-years-royalty-free-image/1310735857">Nitat Termmee/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math and science skills occur far earlier in the U.S. than previously known. Our new study finds that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00169862221128299">13% of white students and 16% of Asian students</a> display advanced math skills by kindergarten. The contrasting percentage for both Black and Hispanic students is 4%.</p>
<p>These disparities then continue to occur throughout elementary school. By fifth grade, 13% of white students and 22% of Asian students display advanced math skills. About 2% of Black students and 3% of Hispanic students do so. Similar disparities occur in advanced science skills. </p>
<p>What explains these disparities? Factors that consistently explain these disparities include the family’s socioeconomic status – such as parental education and household income – and the student’s own understanding of math, science and reading during kindergarten. </p>
<p>We observed these findings in analyses of a nationally representative sample of about 11,000 U.S. elementary school students. The students were followed from the start of kindergarten until the end of fifth grade.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf19304/digest/employment">Fewer than 10%</a> of U.S. scientists and engineers are Black or Hispanic. </p>
<p>Racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math and science skills are constraining the country’s <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/134/2/647/5218522">scientific innovation</a> and <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12984/expanding-underrepresented-minority-participation-americas-science-and-technology-talent-at">economic competitiveness</a>. Students who display advanced math skills early are more likely to later obtain doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields – collectively called STEM – and to become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/aeri.20190457">scientists</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjy028">inventors</a>. </p>
<p>Yet little has been known about how early racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math and science skills emerge. This information could help inform <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986216673449">efforts to support students of color</a> at a <a href="https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/jgcc_stemstartsearly_final.pdf">key</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182">time</a> of child development.</p>
<p>Currently, most efforts by <a href="https://www.air.org/event/using-research-inform-policies-and-practices-stem-education">researchers</a> and <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/204/text">policymakers</a> to address Black and Hispanic underrepresentation in STEM begin in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9493-3">high</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2020.0004">school</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.029">college</a>. Yet minority students’ <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.12837">interest</a> in STEM careers begins to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21231">decline</a> by middle school, with many students viewing scientists as stereotypically white.</p>
<p>Recent work suggests that racial and ethnic disparities in advanced math skills are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X19864116">increasing in size</a> in the U.S. by the upper elementary grades. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We were able to identify the factors that mostly explained disparities in advanced math or science skills between Hispanic and white students during elementary school. These factors included the family’s socioeconomic status, the student’s emerging bilingualism, and the student’s early knowledge about math, science and reading. However, these same factors explained only some of the disparities between Black and white students.</p>
<p>Other factors we did not study could be involved, including the greater likelihood of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/003465304323031049">Black students</a> to attend <a href="https://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/FryerLevittFallingBehind2004.pdf">lower-quality</a> <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/poor-black-children-are-much-more-likely-to-attend-high-poverty-schools-than-poor-white-children/">schools</a>. The emerging bilingualism of many Hispanic students may help facilitate advanced STEM skills through greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.12.007">mathematical reasoning</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2014.07.005">procedural learning</a> and problem-solving. </p>
<p>To increase STEM representation in high school, college and the workforce, efforts by educators and policymakers to support talented students of color may need to begin by the elementary grades.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul L. Morgan receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. </span></em></p>By kindergarten, white and Asian students are three to four times as likely as Black and Hispanic students to display advanced math skills.Paul L. Morgan, Harry and Marion Eberly Fellow, Professor of Education and Demography, Department of Education Policy Studies, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1838842022-05-26T22:53:33Z2022-05-26T22:53:33ZMass shootings leave behind collective despair, anguish and trauma at many societal levels<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465370/original/file-20220525-16-debbng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The latest mass shooting, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has plunged the country into yet another cycle of collective trauma.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/texas-state-trooper-receives-flowers-for-the-victims-of-a-news-photo/1240894286?adppopup=true">Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An ever-growing list of mass shootings leaves families and friends of the victims gripped with grief, anguish and despair. </p>
<p>In addition to those who experience direct loss, such events also take a toll on others, including those who witnessed the shooting, first responders, people who were nearby and those who hear about it – yet again – through the media.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UDytFmIAAAAJ&hl=en">trauma and anxiety researcher and clinician</a>, and I know that the effects of such violence reach millions. While the immediate survivors are most affected, the rest of society suffers, too.</p>
<h2>First, the immediate survivors</h2>
<p>It is important to understand that no two people experience such horrific exposure in the same way. The extent of the trauma, stress or fear can vary. Survivors of a shooting may want to avoid the neighborhood where the shooting occurred or the context related to shooting, such as grocery stores, if the shooting happened at one. In the worst case, a survivor may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. </p>
<p>PTSD is a debilitating condition that develops after exposure to serious traumatic experiences such as war, natural disasters, rape, assault, robbery, car accidents – and, of course, gun violence. Nearly 8% of the <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/what/ptsd_basics.asp">U.S. population deals with PTSD</a>. <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/dsm5_ptsd.asp">Symptoms include</a> high anxiety, avoidance of reminders of the trauma, emotional numbness, hypervigilance, frequent intrusive memories of trauma, nightmares and flashbacks. The brain switches to fight-or-flight mode, or survival mode, and the person is always waiting for something terrible to happen. </p>
<p>When the trauma is caused by people, as in a mass shooting, the impact can be profound. The rate of PTSD in mass shootings may be as high as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.151.1.82">36% among survivors</a>. Depression, another debilitating psychiatric condition, occurs in as many as <a href="https://theconversation.com/syrian-refugees-in-america-the-forgotten-psychological-wounds-of-the-stress-of-migration-96155">80% of people with PTSD</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three community members with grief-stricken faces hold their hands up toward the sky at a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465378/original/file-20220525-22-pay8wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grief-stricken community members attend a prayer vigil following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-become-emotional-at-the-city-of-uvalde-town-square-news-photo/1240886339">Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Survivors of shootings may also experience <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/types/mass_violence_help.asp">survivor’s guilt</a>, the feeling that they failed others who died or did not do enough to help them, or just guilt at having survived. </p>
<p>PTSD can improve by itself, but many people need treatment. There are effective treatments available in the form of psychotherapy and medications. The more chronic it gets, the more negative the impact on the brain, and the harder to treat.</p>
<p>Children and adolescents, who are developing their worldview and deciding how safe it is to live in this society, may suffer even more. Exposure to horrific experiences such as school shootings or related news can fundamentally affect the way people perceive the world as a safe or unsafe place, and how much they can rely on the adults and society in general to protect them. </p>
<p>They can carry such a worldview for the rest of their lives, and even transfer it to their children. Research is also abundant on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/howard-stern-talks-childhood-trauma-and-a-trauma-psychiatrist-talks-about-its-lasting-effects-118027">long-term detrimental impact</a> of such childhood trauma on a person’s <a href="https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/long_term_consequences.pdf">mental and physical health</a> and their ability to function through their adult life.</p>
<h2>The effect on those close by, or arriving later</h2>
<p>PTSD can develop not only through personal exposure to trauma, but also via exposure to others’ severe trauma. Humans have survived as a species particularly because of the ability to fear as a group. That means we <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-fright-why-we-love-to-be-scared-85885">learn fear and experience terror through exposure</a> to the trauma and fear of others. Even seeing a frightened face in black and white on a computer will make our <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00154">amygdala</a>, the fear area of our brain, light up in brain imaging studies. </p>
<p>People in the vicinity of a mass shooting may see exposed, disfigured, burned or dead bodies. They may also see injured people in agony, hear extremely loud noises and experience chaos and terror in the post-shooting environment. They must also face the unknown, or a sense of lack of control over the situation. The fear of the unknown plays an important role in making people feel insecure, terrified and traumatized. </p>
<p>A group whose chronic exposure to such trauma is usually overlooked is the first responders. While victims and potential victims try to run away from an active shooter, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-aching-blue-trauma-stress-and-invisible-wounds-of-those-in-law-enforcement-146539">the police</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-aching-red-firefighters-often-silently-suffer-from-trauma-and-job-related-stress-164994">firefighters</a> and paramedics rush into the danger zone. </p>
<p>Many of these first responders might have their own children in that school or nearby. They frequently face uncertainty; threats to themselves, their colleagues and others; and terrible bloody post-shooting scenes. This exposure happens to them too frequently. PTSD has been reported in up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.06.015">20% of first responders</a> to mass violence. </p>
<h2>Widespread panic and pain</h2>
<p>People who were not directly exposed to a disaster but who were <a href="https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.19709">exposed to the news</a> also experience distress, anxiety or even PTSD. This happened <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.5.581">after 9/11</a>. Fear, the coming unknown – is there another strike? are other co-conspirators involved? – and reduced faith in perceived safety may all play a role in this. </p>
<p>Every time there is a mass shooting in a new place, people learn that kind of place is now on the not-very-safe list. People worry not only about themselves but also about the safety of their children and other loved ones.</p>
<h2>Is there any good to come of such tragedy?</h2>
<p>We can channel the collective agony and frustration to encourage meaningful changes, such as making gun laws safer, opening constructive discussions, informing the public about the risks and calling on lawmakers to take real action. In times of hardship, humans often can raise the sense of community, support one another and fight for their rights, including the right to be safe at schools, concerts, restaurants and movie theaters.</p>
<p>One beautiful outcome of the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in October 2018 was the solidarity of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2018/10/28/respond-evil-with-good-muslim-community-raises-money-victims-synagogue-shooting/">Muslim community with the Jewish</a>. This is especially productive in the current political environment, with fear and division being so common.</p>
<p>Sadness, anxiety, anger and frustration can be channeled into actions such as becoming involved in activism and volunteering to help the victims. It is also important not to spend too much time watching television coverage; turn it off when it stresses you too much.</p>
<p>Finally, studies have shown that exposure to media coverage for several hours daily following a collective trauma <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1316265110">can lead to high stress</a>. So check the news a couple of times a day to be informed, but don’t continue seeking out coverage <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-protect-your-family-from-horrific-news-images-and-still-stay-informed-181818">and exposure to graphic images and news</a>. The news cycle tends to report the same stories without much additional information.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of an article originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com/mass-shootings-leave-emotional-and-mental-scars-on-survivors-first-responders-and-millions-of-others-157935">March 26, 2021</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183884/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arash Javanbakht does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People who are directly affected by mass shootings may develop PTSD and depression. But those who are indirectly exposed to these tragedies can also experience profound and long-lasting grief.Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1733152022-01-18T13:40:06Z2022-01-18T13:40:06ZMore than masks and critical race theory – 3 tasks you should be prepared to do before you run for school board<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440547/original/file-20220112-35588-1rkswn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C0%2C5500%2C3691&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">School board elections are increasingly contested. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/chris-tough-reacts-in-objection-during-a-portland-public-news-photo/1236153993?adppopup=true">Nathan Howard/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When people run for school board these days, they often are motivated to <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Conflicts_in_school_board_elections,_2021-2022">campaign on a controverisial topic</a>. That’s according to Ballotpedia, a nonprofit that tracks political elections in the U.S.</p>
<p>In an analysis of school board elections in <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/School_board_elections,_2021">463 school districts in 2021</a>, the organization found elections that were once uncontested had drawn candidates who were “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-school-boards-e41350b7d9e3662d279c2dad287f7009">galvanized by one issue or another</a>.”</p>
<p>Three issues came up the most. The most oft-cited issue was race in education, more specifically, the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/11/03/school-board-races-show-mixed-results-critical-race-theory/6271364001/">teaching of critical race theory</a>. The second most frequently cited issue was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/03/politics/school-board-elections/index.html">school policies on the pandemic</a> – that is, requirements to wear masks or get vaccinations, or school reopening. The third most-cited was <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Conflicts_in_school_board_elections_about_sex_and_gender_in_schools,_2021-2022">sex and gender in schools</a>, such as gender-specific facilities.</p>
<p>As of January 2022, Ballotpedia discovered 287 school districts in 25 states where candidates took a position on race in education; 199 school districts in 23 states where candidates took a position on responses to the coronavirus pandemic; and 144 school districts in 18 states where candidates took a position on sex and gender in schools.</p>
<h2>A worrisome trend</h2>
<p>As a former school board member – and as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6gc1wl0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researcher who studies educational leadership and policy</a> – I find it worrisome when polarizing issues generate so much attention from candidates. The reason I worry is that I know from firsthand experience that being an effective school board member is never just about taking a stance on a few hot-button topics. Rather, it’s about much broader issues, such as meeting the educational needs of all students in the school district.</p>
<p>Too often, support for candidates hinges on the positions they take on the most controversial issues. For instance, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking on behalf of his state’s Republican Party, <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/434128-political-apparatus/">pledged</a> to withhold support from “any Republican candidate for school board who supports critical race theory in all 67 counties or supports mandatory masking of schoolchildren.” </p>
<p>As impassioned as people may be about issues like mask requirements, keeping schools open or confronting issues of race in the curriculum, running a school district is about much more than any one of those single issues. With that in mind, here are three actions that future school board candidates should be prepared to take.</p>
<h2>1. Set district policy</h2>
<p>A primary function of the school board is to develop, review and approve district policy. These policies can include implementing state mandates – such as establishing <a href="https://www.ecs.org/high-school-graduation-requirements/">high school graduation requirements</a> – or formulating a <a href="https://kappanonline.org/mapping-teacher-evaluation-plans-essa-close-amrein-beardsley-collins/">plan to evaluate teachers</a>.</p>
<p>Some policies take on broad issues that affect all students. For instance, a policy might express a goal to make sure <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/making-sure-every-child-has-home-internet-access-8-steps-to-get-there/2020/09">all students have access to the internet at home</a>. Other policies might deal with smaller matters, such as whether <a href="https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2017/01/25/should-homeschooled-kids-be-able-to-participate-in-all-school-clubs/">home-schooled students can participate in extracurricular activities</a> at the local public school.</p>
<h2>2. Make tough budget decisions</h2>
<p>One of the most difficult tasks that school board members must do is decide how to spend the school district’s limited revenue.</p>
<p>The vast majority of a district’s budget – about <a href="https://www.aasa.org/uploadedfiles/policy_and_advocacy/files/schoolbudgetbrieffinal.pdf">80% to 85%</a> – goes to personnel costs, such as salaries and benefits for school staff. Paying for these employee expenditures is becoming more challenging because of the <a href="https://www.asbonewyork.org/news/407485/School-District-Health-Care-Costs-Rise-Faster-than-Inflation-and-Total-Spending.htm">rising cost of health insurance</a>. </p>
<p>To stay within budget, school board members may have to cut positions or programs. It’s usually a matter of assessing tradeoffs: Do we cut our gifted and talented program to keep our school safety officer? Do we cut teaching positions to make the budget, and if so, which ones? </p>
<p>Each decision comes with consequences. For instance, cutting a gifted and talented program would make some families upset. Continued funding of a night school program might require a series of budget reductions in other areas, such as field trips or late buses.</p>
<p>A tough budget choice I remember facing as a school board member was deciding whether to renovate an outdated and undersized school theater. The board members all agreed the theater was in desperate need of an upgrade but decided to put off the theater upgrade to deal with other needs. The high school would soon need a new roof and boiler that ultimately took priority.</p>
<h2>3. Select a superintendent</h2>
<p>Selecting a district leader is critically important. So is deciding whether to keep or get rid of one. A good superintendent can make or break a district. The superintendent is the face of the school community and the district’s instructional leader.</p>
<p>Superintendents work with the school board to set the vision and goals for the district and then make sure they are achieved. They also hire and manage principals and other district leaders. Superintendents are expected to provide for the safety of children and staff and be good stewards of district finances.</p>
<p>Finding a good superintendent involves looking for leaders who have a proven track record in the areas of importance. Do they have a history of improving student achievement? Have they created a positive school climate and culture? Are they effective communicators? </p>
<p>If a school board chooses an ineffective superintendent, it usually sets a district back and the board ends up having to spend time and money to replace them.</p>
<p>A key distinction of American democracy is that candidates can develop platforms as they see fit, and it’s up to voters to decide if a particular candidate will represent their concerns. But when it comes to running a school system, it’s important to keep in mind that it involves much more than taking a stance on a few controversial issues. It’s also about making sound financial decisions and implementing policies that ensure all students get the education they deserve.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Casey D. Cobb is affiliated with the National Education Policy Center.</span></em></p>School board elections are becoming increasingly fractious and political events, with candidates focused on one or two issues. An education policy scholar explains why that’s a worrisome trend.Casey D. Cobb, Neag Professor of Educational Policy, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1446742020-08-25T12:22:17Z2020-08-25T12:22:17ZReopening elementary schools carries less COVID-19 risk than high schools – but that doesn’t guarantee safety<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354218/original/file-20200822-16-914mkk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C14%2C4754%2C3234&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Safety precautions like wearing face masks and leaving space between desks are also important to limit the coronavirus's spread.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/first-grade-teacher-dianna-accordino-puts-out-erasers-at-news-photo/1267680262">Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/school-districts-reopening-plans-a-snapshot.html">only a fraction</a> of the country’s <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372#PK12_enrollment">50 million public school</a> kids headed back to school in-person this month, many have already found themselves back at home. </p>
<p>Within two weeks of opening, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-are-reopening-then-quickly-closing-due-to-coronavirus-outbreaks-11597700886">multiple states</a> reported school-based COVID-19 outbreaks, and thousands of students and school staff have been quarantined following possible exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.</p>
<p>Many of these districts are in areas with <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map">high community spread</a> of COVID-19, and some didn’t enforce social distancing or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/us/georgia-school-coronavirus.html">require face masks</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/">Our team</a> of infectious disease epidemiologists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.06.20169797">collected data in the San Francisco Bay Area and ran computer simulations</a> to examine how school closures and reopenings can affect the spread of COVID-19.</p>
<p>What we learned points to three key strategies for minimizing the risk of coronavirus transmission while allowing kids to get back to learning, socializing and thriving in their classrooms. Those strategies involve lowering community transmission, minimizing interaction between students and teachers of different classrooms, and focusing on elementary schools.</p>
<h2>Lessons from spring’s school closures</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2020/coronavirus-timeline/">mid-March</a>, the Bay Area was one of the first places in the U.S. to close its school buildings and switch to remote classes. By the end of the spring semester, it had <a href="https://usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/">confirmed</a> more than 14,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths. </p>
<p>Our model used data from the Bay Area, including on social contacts among children and adults during shelter-in-place, to estimate how much the virus is expected to spread. We estimate that if all K-12 schools had remained open for the full spring semester, the region would have had an additional 13,000 cases – nearly doubling the case count – and added more than 600 deaths to the devastating toll of the pandemic. </p>
<p>Clearly, school closures made an important contribution to slowing the coronavirus’s spread, but not all schools contributed equally. </p>
<p>We found that closing elementary schools averted just 2,000 cases, compared with more than 8,000 cases prevented by closing high schools. To put that in perspective, our model showed that workplace closures averted about 16,000 cases.</p>
<h2>High schools and teachers face the highest risk</h2>
<p>What does all this mean for the prospects of K-12 schools reopening this fall? </p>
<p>If community transmission remains high – as it has in the Bay Area – in-person classes carry substantial risks.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students cheering at a high school football game." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354253/original/file-20200823-18-1q7nz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354253/original/file-20200823-18-1q7nz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354253/original/file-20200823-18-1q7nz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354253/original/file-20200823-18-1q7nz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354253/original/file-20200823-18-1q7nz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354253/original/file-20200823-18-1q7nz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354253/original/file-20200823-18-1q7nz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fans cheering at a high school football game in Alabama illustrated the challenges high schools are facing with social distancing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/thompson-fans-cheer-after-a-score-as-they-follow-guidelines-news-photo/1267795415">Butch Dill/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We estimate that an additional 1 in 3 teachers, 1 in 8 students, 1 in 12 family members, and 1 in 16 community members in the Bay Area would get infected and experience COVID-19 symptoms during the fall semester if area schools reopened without safety measures. More than 1 out of every 100 Bay Area teachers would be hospitalized. </p>
<p>The risk to teachers would be especially concerning in the area’s high schools, where we estimate nearly half of teachers would develop COVID-19 symptoms.</p>
<p>The predictions also show that risk is not the same across all levels of schooling. </p>
<p>Our models show that the excess risk to elementary school teachers is five to 10 times lower than the risk to high school teachers. Our findings, released in August as a <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.06.20169797v1">preprint study</a>, reinforce what <a href="http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMms2024920">other researchers</a> <a href="https://globalepidemics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pandemic_resilient_schools_briefing_72020.pdf">have concluded</a>: that elementary schools have the best chance of reopening with the least risk.</p>
<p><iframe id="gVWQH" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/gVWQH/11/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why do elementary schools have a lower risk?</h2>
<p>Elementary schools have fewer students than high schools, so it’s less likely that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/31/us/coronavirus-school-reopening-risk.html">an infected student will enter</a> the classroom. Since elementary students don’t move between rooms as often, there also is less opportunity to seed a school-wide outbreak.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.19.20157362">studies</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0962-9">suggest</a> that younger children may be half as likely to get COVID-19 after exposure to the virus than adults, potentially because children have <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.8946">fewer of the receptors</a> that the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to infiltrate cells in the body. If infected, children are more likely to have <a href="http://doi.org/10.3345/cep.2020.00535">mild symptoms or no symptoms</a> at all. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.03.20121145">Some</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.14.20153643">studies</a> have suggested that younger children don’t transmit the virus as easily, but that children over 10 years may pass on the virus <a href="http://doi.org/10.3201/eid2610.201315">as efficiently as adults</a>. Scientists’ understanding of how susceptible children are to the virus and how infectious they can become is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30249-2">rapidly evolving</a>. </p>
<p>If schools are closed, elementary school students are also more likely to be exposed to other people in the community, particularly through day care and running errands with their parents. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.06.20169797">surveyed hundreds of Bay Area households</a> to see how students and families were able to shelter in place during long-term school closures. Before the pandemic, older children ages 13-17 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005697">were found</a> to have more contacts than younger children, ages 5-12. We found that during school closures, however, younger children had twice as many interactions with other people as teenagers.</p>
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<h2>More precautions are needed</h2>
<p>To safely reopen schools, communities must reduce their transmission rates. That alone isn’t enough, though. Safety precautions, such as wearing face masks and social distancing, are also necessary. </p>
<p>Our models predict that even if community transmission is moderated, opening a Bay Area elementary school of 350 students without safety measures would result in 1 in 25 teachers becoming infected. The risks balloons to nearly 1 in 5 if young children are found to be as efficient at acquiring the virus as adults.</p>
<p>We found that the following safety measures would allow schools to keep the number of school-attributable infections among teachers below 1%:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Keep children in small class groups of no more than 20 students.</p></li>
<li><p>Sharply reduce interactions between class groups, including keeping teachers apart from each other.</p></li>
<li><p>Require everyone to wear a mask. </p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.03.20165589">South Korea is one example</a> of how these measures can be successfully implemented. In many schools, students eat lunch at tables with plastic barriers, and lunch times are different for each grade. Hallways are one way, and arrivals are staggered. Teacher-to-teacher socializing is limited. Everyone wears a mask.</p>
<h2>Which neighborhoods to focus on first</h2>
<p>In deciding whether to reopen schools or keep classes online, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30084-0">impact on students’ learning</a> is also <a href="http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMms2024920">important</a>. In communities with the highest rates of COVID-19 transmission, schools often have fewer resources that would allow them to reduce class sizes, provide masks and find space for distanced lunches and recess. At the same time, their students may lack support at home during the day to help them succeed in an online learning environment. </p>
<p>That and our findings suggest that communities should focus first on developing <a href="https://globalepidemics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/pandemic_resilient_schools_briefing_72020.pdf">pandemic-resilient classrooms</a> in elementary schools in high-transmission neighborhoods, particularly those with low-income families.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144674/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research points to why reopening elementary schools is the safest bet and what else needs to happen for schools to have the best chance of staying open.Jennifer Head, Ph.D. Candidate, University of California, BerkeleyJustin Remais, Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, BerkeleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1077772019-01-18T14:08:42Z2019-01-18T14:08:42ZAmerica’s public schools seldom bring rich and poor together – and MLK would disapprove<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253739/original/file-20190114-43541-m9l1fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">America's public schools were meant to bring together children from all walks of life.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pupils-class-using-digital-tablet-141206683?src=WoG6QCrmGh7bBfJiX06xgA-4-49">Monkey Business Images/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than five decades after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., many carry on his legacy through the struggle for racially integrated schools. Yet as King put it in a <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/mlk-our-struggle-genuine-equality-which-means-economic-equality/">1968 speech</a>, the deeper struggle was “for genuine equality, which means economic equality.” Justice in education would demand not just racially integrated schools, but also economically integrated schools.</p>
<p>The fight for racial integration meant overturning state laws and a century of history – it was an uphill battle from the start. But economic integration should have been easier. In the mid-18th century, when education reformers first made the case for inclusive and taxpayer-supported education, they <a href="http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/nmsmithpages/irex2012/Readings/Barry/Barry_Public%20Schools%20and%20the%20Elusive%20Search%20for%20the%20Common%20Good.pdf">argued that “common schools”</a> would ease the class differences between children from different backgrounds. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horace-Mann">Horace Mann</a>, the most prominent of these reformers, argued in <a href="https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/democrac/16.htm">1848</a>, such schools would serve to counter the “domination of capital and the servility of labor.” Learning together on common ground, rich and poor would see themselves in common cause – a necessity for the survival of the republic.</p>
<p>More than 150 years later, the nation has yet to realize this vision. In fact, it has been largely forgotten. Modern Americans regularly scrutinize the aims and intentions of the Founding Fathers; but the early designs for public education – outlined by Mann, the first secretary of education in Massachusetts, as well as by leaders like <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED541144">Henry Barnard</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thaddeus-Stevens">Thaddeus Stevens</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caleb-Mills">Caleb Mills</a> – are mostly overlooked. Today, the average low-income student in the U.S. attends a school where <a href="https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/brown-at-62-school-segregation-by-race-poverty-and-state/Brown-at-62-final-corrected-2.pdf">two-thirds</a> of students are poor. <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2017/05/31/433014/isolated-and-segregated/">Nearly half</a> of low-income students attend schools with poverty rates of 75 percent or higher.</p>
<p>Education historians, like <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d-pest4AAAAJ&hl=en">myself</a>, have generally focused their research and attention on racial segregation, rather than on economic segregation. But as income <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/the-new-gilded-age-income-inequality-in-the-u-s-by-state-metropolitan-area-and-county/">inequality continues to deepen</a>, the aim of economically integrated schools has never been more relevant. If we are concerned with justice, we must revitalize this original vision of public education.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253745/original/file-20190114-43529-1392x97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Horace Mann (1796-1859) was an early advocate of public education in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/MSIndex/Horace-Mann-vintage-illustration/224488362/2/0">Fotolia/AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shared community</h2>
<p>Early advocates of taxpayer-supported common schools argued that public education would promote integration across social classes. They thought it would instill a <a href="https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/democrac/16.htm">spirit of shared community</a> and open what Horace Mann called “a wider area over which the social feelings will expand.”</p>
<p>And, generally speaking, it worked. The ultra-rich mostly continued to send their children to private academies. But many middle- and upper-income households began to send their children to public schools. As <a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo22340580.html">historians have shown</a>, economically segregated schools did not systematically emerge until the mid-20th century, as a product of exclusionary zoning and discriminatory housing policies. Schools weren’t perfectly integrated by any means, particularly with regard to race. They were, however, vital sites of cross-class interaction.</p>
<p>Many prominent Americans – <a href="https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/spring/schoolhouse.html">including U.S. presidents</a> – were products of the public schools. Commonly, they sat side by side in classrooms with people from different walks of life.</p>
<p>But over the past half-century, students have been increasingly likely to go to school with students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Since 1970, residential segregation has <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/news/new-paper-residential-segregation-income-1970-2009">increased sharply</a>, with twice as many families now living in either rich or poor neighborhoods – a trend that has been particularly acute in urban areas. And segregation by income is <a href="http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/upload_documents/2014-04-09%20Owens.pdf">most extreme</a> among families with school-age children. Poor children are <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2017/05/31/433014/isolated-and-segregated/">increasingly likely</a> to go to school with poor children. Similar economic isolation is true of the middle and affluent classes. </p>
<p>Contemporary Americans commonly accept that their schools will be segregated by social class. Yet the architects of American public education would have viewed such an outcome as a catastrophe. In fact, they might attribute growing economic inequality to the systematic separation of rich and poor. As Horace Mann <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=MC1cAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA18&dq=horace+mann+%22guilty+of+the+most+far-reaching+injustice%E2%80%9D&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1-s_fvMfeAhUSUt8KHR7qBE0Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=horace%20mann%20%22guilty%20of%20the%20most%20far-reaching%20injustice%E2%80%9D&f=false">argued</a>, it was the core mission of public schools to bring different young people together – to consider not just “what one individual or family needs,” but rather “what the whole community needs.”</p>
<p>Many parents do continue seek out diverse schools. A number of school districts have worked to devise student assignment plans that advance the aim of integration. And some charter schools are reaching this market by pursuing what has been called a “<a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/diverse-design-charter-schools/">diverse-by-design</a>” strategy. As demonstrated by research, diverse schools can and often do <a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/how-racially-diverse-schools-and-classrooms-can-benefit-all-students/">improve achievement</a> across a range of social and cognitive outcomes, such as critical thinking, empathy and open-mindedness.</p>
<p>Largely overlooked, however, has been the political benefit of integrated schools. One rarely encounters the once-common argument that the health of American democracy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/06/07/to-really-integrate-schools-focus-on-wealth-not-race/?utm_term=.b35a2338b4fa">depends on rich and poor attending school together</a>. This is particularly surprising in an age of tremendous disparities in wealth and power. Members of Congress, on average, are <a href="https://qz.com/1190595/the-typical-us-congress-member-is-12-times-richer-than-the-typical-american-household/">12 times wealthier</a> than the typical American. Moreover, lawmakers are <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B">increasingly responsive</a> to the privileged, even at the expense of middle-class voters.</p>
<p>If elites are isolated from their lower- and middle-income peers, they may be less likely to see a relationship of mutual commitment and responsibility to those of lesser means. As scholars <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iidYa3gAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kendra Bischoff</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LKx7rDsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Sean F. Reardon</a> <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/sites/all/files/logan/logan_diversity_chapter7.pdf">have argued</a>, “If socioeconomic segregation means that more advantaged families do not share social environments and public institutions such as schools, public services, and parks with low-income families, advantaged families may hold back their support for investments in shared resources.”</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Today <a href="https://tcf.org/content/commentary/updated-inventory-socioeconomic-integration-policies-fall-2016/">more than 100</a> school districts or charter school chains work to integrate schools economically. Cambridge, Massachusetts, for instance, has four decades of experience <a href="https://www.cpsd.us/departments/src/making_your_choices/about_controlled_choice">balancing enrollments by social class</a>, seeking to match the diversity of the city as a whole in each school.</p>
<p>This, of course, is only possible in a diverse place. Median family income in Cambridge is roughly US$100,000, while 15 percent of city residents live below the poverty line. It is also made possible through heavy investments in public education in the city. After all, it is far easier to convince middle-class and affluent parents to send their children to the public schools when per-pupil expenditures rival the highest-spending suburbs, as they do in Cambridge.</p>
<p>But not every district has Cambridge’s advantages. Nor does every district have similar political will.</p>
<p>The latter of those two constraints, however, may soon begin to change. Faced with a growing divide between rich and poor, Americans may begin to demand schools that not only serve young people equally from a funding standpoint, but also educate them together in the same classrooms. </p>
<p>Common schools by themselves are not enough to solve the problem of economic inequality. Yet if Americans seek to create a society in which the rich and the poor see themselves in common cause, common schools may be a necessary – and long overdue – step. We must come to see, in the <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/letter-birmingham-jail">words of Martin Luther King</a>, that, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Schneider's research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and the Massachusetts State Legislature.</span></em></p>Public schools were originally envisioned in the 19th century as ‘common schools’ where rich and poor kids could be educated together. MLK wanted the same thing – but it’s not happening.Jack Schneider, Assistant Professor of Education, UMass LowellLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1040392018-10-02T10:06:51Z2018-10-02T10:06:51ZKids with cellphones more likely to be bullies – or get bullied. Here are 6 tips for parents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238457/original/file-20180928-48665-8wqs87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cellphones carry certain risks for elementary school students.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pupils-using-mobile-phone-elementary-school-1088478797?src=vi7mDrXCq1nv_16ZMpqFXg-1-6">Rido/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/la-relacion-entre-el-acoso-escolar-y-el-uso-de-telefonos-moviles-en-el-colegio-seis-consejos-para-evitarlo-104460"><em>Leer en español</em></a>.</p>
<p>Each year, <a href="http://www.aappublications.org/news/2017/09/15/NCECellPhone091817">more parents</a> send their young child to elementary school equipped with a smartphone.</p>
<p>For instance, the percentage of third-graders who reported having their own cellphone more than doubled from 19 percent <a href="https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=marc_reports">in 2013</a> to 45 percent <a href="https://www.healio.com/pediatrics/developmental-behavioral-medicine/news/online/%7B45514b95-fe30-455b-801f-3567720f8de3%7D/cell-phone-ownership-linked-to-cyberbullying-in-younger-schoolchildren">in 2017</a>. Similar increases took place for fourth-graders and fifth-graders. About half of fourth-graders and 70 percent of fifth-graders went to school with a phone in 2017.</p>
<p>Parents <a href="https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/children-and-cell-phones#1">often cite</a> the ability to easily reach their child as the major advantage of giving them a device, which they view as a safety issue. “Stranger danger” and sexual predators are often the first risks that occur to parents. Some public schools are <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-chicago-schools-texting-social-media-teacher-student-policy-20180821-story.html">adopting policies</a> that limit personal contact between students and teachers. But bullying and cyberbullying are more common concerns, and in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RzBpB7MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">my 2017 research</a>, I found that that giving a young child a cellphone increases the likelihood that the child will either become a victim of bullying or a bully themselves. This <a href="http://www.aappublications.org/news/2017/09/15/NCECellPhone091817">study of approximately 4,500 elementary school children</a> in the U.S. found that having a cellphone in elementary school was associated with being involved with both bullying and cyberbullying, both as a bully and as a bully/victim. A “bully/victim” is a child who is, at different times, both a bully and a victim of bullying.</p>
<p>The research found that while more than half of third-grade bullies carried cellphones, only 35 percent of children who were uninvolved in bullying did. Even more dramatically, three-quarters of third-grade cyberbullies carried cellphones, compared to only 37 percent of third-graders uninvolved in cyberbullying. Results were similar, but a little weaker, for fourth- and fifth-graders. </p>
<p>It may be that results were strongest among the youngest children because of their relatively more limited ability to understand how communications works in a digital setting. For example, in my field work at the <a href="http://www.marccenter.org">Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center</a>, I’ve learned that teenagers are wary of emotions escalating quickly online, realizing that such emotions can lead to fights and bullying. However, younger children typically haven’t yet learned this lesson. It was this gulf that motivated me, with a colleague, to create <a href="https://eenglander.wixsite.com/smartkidsguide">a children’s guide</a> to getting their first cellphone. </p>
<p>Kids can learn to use cellphones safely, and there are practical steps that parents can take to minimize their young child’s odds of involvement in bullying and cyberbullying, along with cellphone practices that can help ensure the overall well-being of their child. </p>
<p>Here are a few tips:</p>
<h2>1. Establish ownership</h2>
<p>The phone is not your child’s – it’s yours. Thus, you always have the right to look at it. By checking your child’s phone, you may detect messages or posts that can suggest involvement in bullying or cyberbullying. A 2012 MacAfee study found that half of kids <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/98269655/The-Digital-Divide-How-the-Online-Behavior-of-Teens-is-Getting-Past-Parents">changed their online behavior</a> if they believed their parents were checking. </p>
<h2>2. Take cellphones out of dinnertime</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238759/original/file-20181001-195256-1hl8y9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238759/original/file-20181001-195256-1hl8y9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238759/original/file-20181001-195256-1hl8y9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238759/original/file-20181001-195256-1hl8y9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238759/original/file-20181001-195256-1hl8y9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238759/original/file-20181001-195256-1hl8y9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238759/original/file-20181001-195256-1hl8y9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Family dinnertime has been shown to protect kids against bullying.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multigeneration-family-sitting-around-table-eating-184851899?src=PdSPDGYOvlEIPTOddNKcBw-9-94">Monkey Business Images/www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A 2014 study from researchers at McGill University found that <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/family-dinners-and-cyberbullying_n_5755250">family dinners helped protect kids from bullying</a>. Dinnertime can be a time to connect emotionally, even when no conversations of deep importance take place. It can also be a time to discuss challenges and difficulties, and to debate solutions and strategies, with input from the people who love you. Unfortunately, family dinners can be easily interrupted by notifications or messaging from cellphones. For that reason, a “no devices” rule at the dinner table can help promote family connections that are protective against bullying. </p>
<h2>3. Limit use during homework</h2>
<p>Listening to music can be OK, but watching videos and TV shows or playing games shouldn’t happen while homework is being completed. Studies that look at multi-tasking agree that it <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2009/08/24/multitask-research-study-082409/">degrades memory</a>, learning and cognitive performance. </p>
<h2>4. Don’t allow use before bedtime</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238760/original/file-20181001-195260-djibg2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Looking at a cellphone just before bed can disrupt sleep.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/digital-modern-device-addiction-gadget-night-1107513398?src=C4XUUopDnJZYx-JoPwUEuw-1-53">kryvoshapka/www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s been well documented that bright screens right before bed can <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/why-electronics-may-stimulate-you-bed">delay or interrupt sleep patterns</a>. Sleep problems, in turn, have been <a href="https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/the-school-bully-is-sleepy/">linked to becoming involved in bullying</a>. To promote healthy sleep and reduce the odds of bullying, help your child practice good sleep preparation habits by putting away digital devices an hour before bedtime. If they want to read from their device, use an app that has a UVB filter or dim and “flip” the screen to a black background.</p>
<p>To help your child stay asleep, devices should be kept outside the bedroom overnight. Even if your child intends to sleep, a buzzing sound or vibration can wake him or her up. It can represent a strong temptation to send messages, chat or play games.</p>
<h2>5. Set a good example as a driver</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238761/original/file-20181001-195256-56usx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238761/original/file-20181001-195256-56usx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238761/original/file-20181001-195256-56usx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238761/original/file-20181001-195256-56usx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238761/original/file-20181001-195256-56usx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238761/original/file-20181001-195256-56usx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238761/original/file-20181001-195256-56usx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Texting is a leading cause of distracted driving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-using-her-smartphone-while-354899549?src=hi7Nw-0E1dZT64G-PwHP0A-2-22">Ekaterina Pokrovsky/www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Encouraging kids to put down the phone when they are in a car can literally be a lifesaving habit that can begin in elementary school. A review of statistics noted that cellphone use is the <a href="https://www.teensafe.com/distracted-driving/100-distracted-driving-facts-and-statistics-2018/">second-leading cause of distracted driving</a>. Each day, <a href="https://www.teensafe.com/distracted-driving/100-distracted-driving-facts-and-statistics-2018/">11 teenagers are killed</a> as a result of texting and driving. To lessen the risks of this happening in the future, parents can teach young children to not use their device in the front seat of the car; it can be a place to talk, instead of a place to text.</p>
<h2>6. Instill responsibility</h2>
<p>Carrying a cellphone isn’t a right – it’s a privilege. As a parent, encourage responsible cellphone use by linking digital privileges with responsibilities. Show children how to budget internet time with apps like <a href="https://www.unglue.com/">unGlue</a>. Teach your kids that discussing social problems is part of being mature enough to carry a cellphone. And consider having your kids pitch in around the house to “earn” their digital privileges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Englander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While many parents believe equipping their young child with a cellphone is a matter of safety, research shows the practice comes with certain risks.Elizabeth Englander, Professor of Psychology, and the Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), Bridgewater State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/874792017-11-29T22:41:35Z2017-11-29T22:41:35ZThe ‘new math’: How to support your child in elementary school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197013/original/file-20171129-12027-1r1wfrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents find new methods for learning math challenging, as they are different. But they work for children, building upon what they have learned about numbers and reinforcing the strategy they use for reading.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is likely no topic in Canada at the moment that is more acrimonious than elementary school mathematics education. The entire country, it seems, is divided. </p>
<p>On one side, there are those who are enraged by the so-called “new math” that has been held simultaneously responsible for a) diminished achievement by students and b) frustration among parents who feel helpless in the face of unfamiliar strategies. </p>
<p>On the other side are those who insist that math must make sense to today’s students — children who have grown up in a digital age, are adept with multiple technologies and will likely never be required to perform long division.</p>
<p>As a researcher who is deeply committed to engaging parents as partners in mathematics education, I spend many evenings on the road. I work with school staff and school councils across the province of Ontario to support parents in their efforts to help their children learn and love mathematics. </p>
<p>In communities from Chesterville to Picton, Guelph to Thunder Bay and Courtice to Fort Frances, I have encountered the same question repeatedly: What are you teaching my child?</p>
<h2>Arithmetic from Mexico to Japan</h2>
<p>The question is always sincere. The rationale differs considerably, but in most cases, the question arises because the computational strategies that the child is using to perform multi-digit calculations look very different from those learned by the parents, resulting in confusion and mistrust.</p>
<p>Experience has taught me to give a quick mini-lesson on arithmetic around the world to emphasize that there is no one global set of rules for calculations.</p>
<p>For example, I show a method that was used in Mexico, called “llevamos uno” — <em>we carry one</em>. Instead of noting ones or 10s to be “carried” at the top of the next column, students were taught to note those figures to the right side of the problem.</p>
<p> 1 9 4<br>
<u>+ 3 9¹¹</u><br>
2 3 3</p>
<p>I share a method that I learned from the Philippines, where students use dashes to indicate groups of 10. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196772/original/file-20171128-28888-1ey6wb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196772/original/file-20171128-28888-1ey6wb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196772/original/file-20171128-28888-1ey6wb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196772/original/file-20171128-28888-1ey6wb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196772/original/file-20171128-28888-1ey6wb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196772/original/file-20171128-28888-1ey6wb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196772/original/file-20171128-28888-1ey6wb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elementary students in Baybay City, the Philippines, December 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, I share a Japanese “scratch method” that is similar to the one used in the Philippines, but instead of dashes, overstrikes are used to keep track of groups of 10s. In addition, the leftover amounts are indicated by the use of subscripts.</p>
<p> 2 6<br>
<strike>7</strike>₁ <strike>6</strike>₂<br>
<u>+2 <strike>8</strike>₀</u><br>
1 3 0</p>
<p>Again, we begin at the right, at the top of the column: six plus six is 12, which is 10 (strike through the six) and two is left over (subscript two); two plus eight is 10, (strike through the eight) and zero (subscript zero). Write the zero under the ones column, and carry two groups of 10; two (10s) and two is four, plus seven (10s) is 11. Strike through the seven (to represent 100) and record one (subscript one). One plus two is three. Write the three in the 10s column and carry one group of 100. The answer is 130.</p>
<h2>We read left to right</h2>
<p>Having made the point that there is no universal set of rules to add multi-digit numbers and that all unfamiliar methods (including those used by their children) seem complex and incomprehensible at first glance, I am able to emphasize two important reasons to support new strategies for multi-digit addition.</p>
<p>When I ask parents to reflect on how they read to and with their toddlers, the answer is immediate and consistent: From left to right, using their index finger to trace the direction of the words.</p>
<p>Then I ask them what happens when we introduce children to the task of adding two-digit numbers. The light bulbs go on. We teach them to work right to left. </p>
<p>“Why?” I ask. </p>
<p>Dead silence or: “Because.”</p>
<p>In our number system, the value of a digit depends on its place, or position, in the number. So, for example, the number 4,276 is made up of 4,000 + 200 + 70 + six. Children who understand place value, i.e., that the value of a digit (zero to nine) depends on its position in a number, can easily decompose a number — an important strategy for mental math.</p>
<p>It’s ironic that after months of teaching the importance of place value, a fundamental concept in math, we do not apply that knowledge in practical ways to simplify multi-digit addition. As soon as we introduce questions like …</p>
<p> 8 7<br>
<u>+ 6 5</u></p>
<p>… we instruct students to begin at the right. This is in conflict with everything that children have been taught about reading from left to right and the importance of place value, i.e., that we read numbers from left to right, in order of magnitude. The algorithm, in fact, leads children to “unlearn” everything they know about place value.</p>
<h2>Building on children’s understandings</h2>
<p>Multi-digit arithmetic makes sense when we add from left to right, applying what we know about place value and reading.</p>
<p> 6 7<br>
+<u> 2 4</u><br>
8 0<br>
<u>1 1</u><br>
9 1</p>
<p>In this case, we add the 10s column first, 60 plus 20 to get 80. Next, we add seven to four to get 11. Add 80 and 11 to get the sum. This eliminates the need for “carrying” because the numbers align according to their value. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196671/original/file-20171128-7465-1xx65e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196671/original/file-20171128-7465-1xx65e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196671/original/file-20171128-7465-1xx65e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196671/original/file-20171128-7465-1xx65e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196671/original/file-20171128-7465-1xx65e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196671/original/file-20171128-7465-1xx65e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196671/original/file-20171128-7465-1xx65e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><br></p>
<p>Children respond positively to this strategy because it makes sense. It builds on their understanding of place value and how numbers are made. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196670/original/file-20171128-7458-1educix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196670/original/file-20171128-7458-1educix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196670/original/file-20171128-7458-1educix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196670/original/file-20171128-7458-1educix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196670/original/file-20171128-7458-1educix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196670/original/file-20171128-7458-1educix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196670/original/file-20171128-7458-1educix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why are parents so resistant to such strategies? The traditional algorithms are used by adults in their peer group and come from adults whom they respect. This may attach an aura to the traditional methods as the “real” or ultimately correct way to compute. </p>
<p>As mathematics education giant <a href="http://www.pearsoned.ca/highered/divisions/hss/vandewalle/index.html">John van de Walle</a> once noted, it’s difficult to ignore the power of adding “the way my dad taught me.”</p>
<p>But it’s time to ask: Are the traditional algorithms really necessary? Or are we holding our children back by our own fears and lack of understanding of the alternatives?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87479/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynda Colgan receives funding from SSHRC, NSERC, The Council of Ontario Directors of Education, The Ministry of Education for the Province of Ontario, The Mathematics Knowledge Network (The Fields Institute for Research in the Mathematical Sciences) </span></em></p>You may not know it, but the elementary math wars are raging. Our expert explains the ‘new math’ - why it works for kids, and how to do it.Lynda Colgan, Professor of Elementary Mathematics, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/828902017-09-07T23:29:52Z2017-09-07T23:29:52ZA new way to reduce playground bullying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185004/original/file-20170906-9862-il178m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As kids head back to school this week across Canada, many will be victims or perpetrators of bullying. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For some teachers, back-to-school excitement comes with jitters over how best to address new curriculum mandates. And for many parents, there are other worries, including concerns about their children’s social interactions and fears of playground bullying. </p>
<p>As a researcher in children’s literature, I have developed a literary mentorship program that tackles both of these challenges. <em>Read for Your Rights!</em> uses children’s fiction to engage young children on the concepts of rights and responsibility, and with the content of the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/crc/">United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child</a> (UNCRC). </p>
<p>The program also aims to reduce bullying at school. And preliminary data from a pilot at a Chilliwack elementary school in British Columbia during 2017 shows success. </p>
<p>Participating teachers observed fewer instances of negative social behaviour after their students participated in <em>Read for Your Rights!</em> They also observed scenarios in which an altercation broke out and children made specific references to the program in attempts to elicit better treatment of one another. </p>
<p>Can you imagine hearing the words: “Remember to ‘Choose Kind’!” or “We’re like the Bully Blockers!” ring out over the playground? That’s what happened in Chilliwack after the children participated in the program. </p>
<h2>Teaching rights and responsibilities</h2>
<p>In B.C., teachers are wondering how to meet <a href="http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/curriculum">new requirements</a> to cover human rights within social studies lessons. Teachers are now expected to teach treaties such as the UNCRC beginning in Kindergarten. But how can such a complex legal document be made accessible for the youngest learners when even adults find it nebulous?</p>
<p>The key to making human rights real for children is making them concrete. Connecting some of the UNCRC’s abstract principles with familiar, everyday situations allows even kindergarteners to begin to grapple with concepts of rights and responsibilities. Using children’s books is an effective way to make it work.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185123/original/file-20170907-9573-mw2uau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185123/original/file-20170907-9573-mw2uau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185123/original/file-20170907-9573-mw2uau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185123/original/file-20170907-9573-mw2uau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185123/original/file-20170907-9573-mw2uau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185123/original/file-20170907-9573-mw2uau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185123/original/file-20170907-9573-mw2uau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grade 5 kids working with undergraduate mentors on the Read for Your Rights! pilot in a Chilliwack elementary school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s exactly what we did in <em>Read for Your Rights!</em> We piloted the program at a Chilliwack elementary school in February 2017. Students from my <a href="http://www.ufv.ca/english/">University of the Fraser Valley English</a> course <em>Children’s Literature and Children’s Rights</em> were involved in mentoring students in Grade 5 and then helping those children mentor kindergarteners.</p>
<p>First of all, the students read the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/rightsite/files/uncrcchilldfriendlylanguage.pdf">UNCRC in child-friendly language</a>. The UNCRC alone is too abstract, so we made it more tangibly real by bringing in a work of children’s literature and drawing connections between the story and the document. </p>
<p>The Grade 5s then read <a href="http://rjpalacio.com/book.html"><em>Wonder</em></a> by R. J. Palacio, while the kindergarteners read <a href="https://www.albertwhitman.com/book/the-bully-blockers-club/"><em>The Bully Blockers Club</em></a> by Teresa Bateman. My students, who read both stories, identified the most relevant UNCRC articles relating to each book and used them to create program activities. When that was done it was finally time to bring everybody — and everything — together. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185002/original/file-20170906-9202-kdgqcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185002/original/file-20170906-9202-kdgqcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185002/original/file-20170906-9202-kdgqcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185002/original/file-20170906-9202-kdgqcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185002/original/file-20170906-9202-kdgqcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185002/original/file-20170906-9202-kdgqcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185002/original/file-20170906-9202-kdgqcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Wonder’ by R. J. Palacio.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To deliver the program, my students supported the Grade 5 children in various activities ranging from group discussions, to literature circles, to skits, to making a (paper) friendship quilt. During four of these hour-long sessions, the children worked to connect <em>Wonder</em> and <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwj4y_eHrJPWAhUM3GMKHUvjCYoQFggmMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unicef.org%2Fcrc%2Ffiles%2FRights_overview.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFqFlwsmxaTAjRz3TWm34ednn-CRw">Articles 2, 12 and 29 of the UNCRC</a>. These relate to non-discrimination, respect for children’s views and the right to an education that helps them develop their talents and live peacefully.</p>
<p>Using a similar approach, my students and the Grade 5 children spent two sessions working with kindergarteners to find common ground between Articles 15 and 19 — which include the right to protection from all forms of violence — and <em>The Bully Blockers Club</em>. During this portion of the program, activities included small and large group discussions, skits and friendship bracelets.</p>
<h2>‘We’re like the Bully-Blockers!’</h2>
<p>The program also aimed to reduce bullying at school. There are plenty of studies suggesting that children’s literature can <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ664307">help children understand bullying</a> behaviour and that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2015.1095100">school-based programs might be effective</a> in reducing it. However, none bring in the UNCRC. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185001/original/file-20170906-9823-1oc2rx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185001/original/file-20170906-9823-1oc2rx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=761&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185001/original/file-20170906-9823-1oc2rx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=761&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185001/original/file-20170906-9823-1oc2rx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=761&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185001/original/file-20170906-9823-1oc2rx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=956&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185001/original/file-20170906-9823-1oc2rx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=956&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185001/original/file-20170906-9823-1oc2rx9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=956&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The Bully Blockers Club’ by Teresa Bateman.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since I have argued that the <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/628009">UNCRC is the foundation to developing a more child-centred approach to children’s literature</a>, I brought together various well-established practices — mentoring, literature circles, artistic activities and rights education — into a brand new program. My theory was that by linking rights and responsibilities, and at the same time inviting children to observe the emotional consequences of bullying through the “neutral” medium of story, they would begin to take responsibility for treating one another more kindly at school. </p>
<p>But does it work? Can reading for their rights really help children to better understand both the UNCRC <em>and</em> a work of literature — all leading to reduced bullying?</p>
<p>While the pilot was admittedly small, preliminary data collected through questionnaires and field observations does clearly indicate children’s increased understanding and application of their rights and responsibilities. </p>
<p>For example, before participating in <em>Read for Your Rights!</em> only eight per cent of the Grade 5 children who responded to the questionnaires reported knowing about the UNCRC or children’s rights. After the program, 96 per cent said they knew about these things. </p>
<p>Before the program, only 46 per cent of Grade 5 children believed that bullying relates to children’s rights; after the program, 64 per cent believed this. Before the program, 92 per cent of children didn’t know how to stop bullying. Afterwards, only 72 per cent reported not knowing. kindergarten results were similar (although less pronounced). </p>
<h2>In the classroom</h2>
<p>Any teacher can use elements of <em>Read for Your Rights!</em> You don’t need two dozen eager university students to begin enjoying some of the program’s benefits. Teachers can tick off a tricky item on the new curriculum To Do list anytime by:</p>
<ol>
<li>Identifying an area of human rights that relates to a behaviour observed in your classroom. </li>
<li>Finding a children’s book that focuses on that behaviour (a work of literature rather than a didactic tale or non-fiction). </li>
<li>Reviewing the UNCRC to select relevant articles. </li>
<li>Designing activities and projects that bring together the book and the articles. </li>
<li>Following up with discussion questions to ensure that children are taking away points of key importance.</li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82890/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Superle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new mentorship program uses fiction to teach children’s rights, and to help kids understand and prevent bullying.Michelle Superle, Assistant Professor, University of The Fraser ValleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446432015-08-17T09:43:37Z2015-08-17T09:43:37ZWhat does it take to become an elementary school teacher? Not just passion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91841/original/image-20150813-21409-10l8b23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are teacher certification programs placing too many requirements on prospective teachers?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/santacatalinaschool/5409100988/in/photolist-9eZ4gS-9eZ3yA-9eVVyR-9eZ4Rj-9eVWsr-qgFew9-9TnCwJ-7eic4T-7ei8wP-7eidHn-7eiaB6-7ei7Y2-7en3mG-7eiaba-7eifq6-7emZtW-7eidS4-7en8FY-7ei5Dr-7en1ko-7eigyz-7enaGW-7en17W-7eig7K-7en6hC-7eibDt-7en86j-7en5um-7en7iN-7en8V3-7en1yC-7ei5qe-7eifP8-7eifAR-7ei8Ki-7eigjD-7ei63B-7ei8mc-7eibQg-7eifda-7eibgR-7en3Kw-7eib44-7eianV-7emZGb-7eid5P-7en6UU-7ei89x-7eicFp-7ei6Vp">Santa Catalina School</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Often, people think that becoming an elementary school teacher can’t be that difficult. Many assume that primary school teachers don’t need to know too much beyond basic reading, writing and arithmetic. </p>
<p>Nothing could be further from the truth.</p>
<p>I was a Boston public school teacher for 12 years. And today, I am a teacher of teachers. I think about how hard teaching is almost every day. </p>
<p>And I know that becoming an elementary teacher today is difficult – as it should be. After all, the impact a teacher has on a child’s life can be everlasting. </p>
<p>But, the question is, are the requirements we place on prospective teachers the right ones? </p>
<h2>The daunting process</h2>
<p>For many, there is nothing more satisfying than to watch a child understand something for the first time. To know that you had something to do with it can feel powerful and gratifying all at once. </p>
<p>The passion and influence of teachers have been captured through many a literary work. Even Yeats, one of the most celebrated Irish poets, described teaching as “the lighting of a fire.” </p>
<p>But passion alone is not enough. You also need a bachelor’s degree; you need to complete a teacher preparation program; and you need a state license or national certification to teach in a public school. </p>
<p>And the path to this certification <a href="http://www.teachercertificationdegrees.com/degrees/">varies</a> from state to state. Forty-four states require candidates to take a test or series of tests as part of their preparation; 25 states require students to have a specific <a href="http://www.nctq.org/statePolicy/2014/policyIssueFindings">grade point average</a> before entering a teacher preparation program. </p>
<p>The process is often long and expensive.</p>
<p>Here’s how it happens in Massachusetts, one of nine states in the US that earned a B- from the <a href="http://www.nctq.org/siteHome.do">National Council of Teacher Quality (NCTQ)</a> in 2014 for “delivering well-prepared teachers.” </p>
<p>A bit of context: the NCTQ <a href="http://www.nctq.org/statePolicy/2014/statePolicyGrades.do?goalAreaName=Area+1%3A+Delivering+Well+Prepared+Teachers&stateId%5B0%5D=&stateId%5B1%5D=&stateId%5B2%5D=&yearId=7">grades</a> ranged from a B+ (given to Indiana, Rhode Island and Florida) to F (Alaska and Montana), with 11 states earning a D+. </p>
<p>In Massachusetts, students who want to become elementary teachers combine an elementary teaching major with a second major in, for example, math, science, or the humanities. They must also learn how to effectively teach <a href="http://www.doe.mass.edu/retell">English Language Learners</a>, a growing demographic in this state.</p>
<p>In addition, the state recommends that prospective teachers work in the field as early in their programs as possible. This <a href="http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr7.html?section=04">pre-practicum</a> is integrated into seminar courses that the students take at their college. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91616/original/image-20150812-18088-1uwbbkn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91616/original/image-20150812-18088-1uwbbkn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91616/original/image-20150812-18088-1uwbbkn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91616/original/image-20150812-18088-1uwbbkn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91616/original/image-20150812-18088-1uwbbkn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91616/original/image-20150812-18088-1uwbbkn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91616/original/image-20150812-18088-1uwbbkn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Becoming a teacher takes passion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjoanne/6276586123/in/photolist-ayD9o8-6LYK34-4AtAEA-aKzvE4-7w3m72-MgvVQ-3XGgjQ-9i3DWM-5kzy8s-6CpLqT-7h5L6Z-oHuNrS-9CNCeQ-qrtqd2-7ei7LP-6Bx6iN-5wwMRG-8NP75V-MJiWX-fQoUzT-dLrhCw-9C7ADt-8vArz2-8aXTwH-9NY6K6-dQSify-6bB8S4-uoShNb-uoSmFU-tJBrSB-uoS7SQ-tJBEAH-tJBrtR-uF1Ev1-uFGeWv-uD8Gfq-tJBqk8-uFG5NR-3U4afV-6ewhzE-5cDf39-kCcGsr-kCcG1p-dYZv4o-6uG9H-8d7YgK-bjuCD1-fCXrhQ-85J9gn-c7k4zU">Joanne Johnson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is followed by a 300-hour practicum, when a student works alongside a licensed teacher for a semester. The student teacher passes a practicum by demonstrating that she has met the state’s teaching standards. Her progress is monitored by a college supervisor who formally observes the student three to five times during the semester to document growth and to address challenges.</p>
<p>As the semester continues, the student teacher gradually assumes more responsibility for the operation of the classroom. But this requires that she balance those responsibilities with coursework back on campus. </p>
<p>But wait…there’s more.</p>
<h2>The teacher tests</h2>
<p>Look at what it takes to get a teaching license or certification.</p>
<p>Again, requirements <a href="https://www.teach.org/teaching-certification">vary</a> from state to state and are always being refined. But in Massachusetts, prospective elementary teachers are currently required to pass three state exams in order to teach elementary school children.</p>
<p>Combined, these tests consist of answering a total of 288 multiple-choice questions that together take between 16 and 24 hours to complete. But that’s if the candidate takes each test only once. </p>
<p>Pre-service teachers can take them as many times as needed to pass, and they do. Many students report that it took them between one and three tries to pass each test. Colleges offer test preparation courses to help students pass, but they’re in addition to the required courses of study.</p>
<p>These tests also turn out to be quite expensive. The pre-service teacher ends up spending between US$620 and $730 on registration and testing fees, or more if the subtests are taken separately or more than once.</p>
<p>Most students spend about $1,000 or more trying to pass the tests. </p>
<p>In the past, teacher certification was issued for life. Today, teachers must demonstrate that they are continuously learning in order to renew their teaching license. </p>
<p>And this, in many ways, is a good thing.</p>
<p>In Massachusetts, teachers can start teaching with a bachelor’s degree, but they must earn a master’s degree within five years from their date of employment. This will advance their initial license to a professional one. </p>
<p>After working for three years, a teacher may also apply for a national board certification. This is a different process from the state’s certification, which was “created by teachers for teachers.”</p>
<p>There are currently 110,000 teachers in the US with <a href="http://www.nbpts.org">national board certification</a>. Research shows that these teachers have more of an impact on <a href="http://www.nbpts.org/advancing-education-research">student learning</a> – more so, when it comes to minority and low-income students.</p>
<h2>Costs of testing</h2>
<p>But here’s the problem with this system.</p>
<p>Most people who choose to become teachers are from <a href="http://www.academia.edu/257521/Teacher_Preparation_and_Diversity_When_American_Pre-service_Teachers_Aren_t_White_and_Middle_Class">middle-class backgrounds</a> who often put themselves through college or work two to three jobs to earn a college degree. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91625/original/image-20150812-18077-1izvjrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91625/original/image-20150812-18077-1izvjrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91625/original/image-20150812-18077-1izvjrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91625/original/image-20150812-18077-1izvjrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91625/original/image-20150812-18077-1izvjrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91625/original/image-20150812-18077-1izvjrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91625/original/image-20150812-18077-1izvjrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prospective teachers are unnecessarily burdened by the increasing costs of standardized testing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/santacatalinaschool/5408492195/in/photolist-jCmF8V-8DVCji-5M1uAd-37ofKA-4KZYK-eJQL5-qgFew9-fwrtr2-aECovQ-fCEK9p-q7UYXp-8xRS91-9JoKbu-8vu2ZE-6sYy6B-9RAc95-6evqyh-6erhzV-dCyydS-cpcbFU-EwLv1-dCyyFo-6xiuCH-6erhQc-c2XWeS-c2Y22q-c2XZnU-dCtbNk-eK2dN-dCtecZ-bK4pea-6rEET9-6rAvQx-6rEE2m-9eVWir-9eZ4gS-9eZ3yA-9eVVyR-9eZ49N-9eZ42d-9eVWKP-9eZ3t7-9eVVqR-9eZ4Rj-9eVWsr-9eZ3K9-48xbLc-5ajdte-5aofEL-9TnCwJ">Santa Catalina School</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These teachers are unnecessarily burdened by the increasing costs of standardized testing. And this is even before they have an opportunity to enter a field in which the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/15/how-much-teachers-get-paid-state-by-state/">national average salary</a> was $56,383 in 2014.</p>
<p>In any case, the more important thing for a prospective elementary teacher is to develop a deep and sustained knowledge of the disciplines that she will be teaching. </p>
<p>Unlike the middle school or high school teacher, whose expertise is often within a single subject, the elementary teacher is expected to master all of them. </p>
<p>History, math, science and technology, English, reading and the arts all have their own unique structure, tools of inquiry, and ways of producing knowledge that cannot be explored sufficiently through repeated multiple-choice tests. </p>
<p>Understanding a subject or concept well enough to teach it is harder than most people think. Teachers report that they learn more from pursuing their own questions and from each other than from <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/study-billions-of-dollars-in-annual-teacher-training-is-largely-a-waste/2015/08/03/c4e1f322-39ff-11e5-9c2d-ed991d848c48_story.html">professional development</a>.</p>
<h2>Problem with testing</h2>
<p>I support the partnership that higher education, the federal and state government, and local communities must have to produce high-quality teachers.</p>
<p>But sometimes in our quest to improve, we create something else entirely – a maze of technocratic processes and procedures that replaces common sense and removes the human element from our work as teachers. </p>
<p>Preparing to become a teacher should not be reduced to a checklist of standardized tests and a mandated program of study with little room for electives. Prospective teachers need the time and space to delve deeply into subjects repeatedly and over time, to develop pedagogical approaches specific to those subjects and to use them effectively and creatively with children. </p>
<p>As Jonathan Zimmerman, Professor of Education and History at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University, so aptly explains in his provocative 2014 New York Times article, “<a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/dec/04/why-american-teaching-so-bad/">Why is American Teaching so Bad</a>?” </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Indeed, the biggest insult to the intelligence of American teachers is the idea that their intelligence doesn’t matter.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Elementary teacher preparation is no longer elementary. It’s been hijacked by the standardization movement.</p>
<p>We want intelligent, creative and enthusiastic teachers teaching our children. This requires allowing our teachers to think for themselves. And that can’t be measured by a standardized test.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Banks-Santilli is an Associate Professor of Education and an Interim Dean for Graduate and Professional Programs at Wheelock College in Boston, MA. </span></em></p>Teacher shortages have become severe, especially in certain parts of America. Here’s a close look at the often unnecessary and expensive teacher preparation programs.Linda Banks-Santilli, Associate Professor of Education, Wheelock CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/403652015-05-04T08:20:32Z2015-05-04T08:20:32ZWhat can the US learn from South Korea’s testing pressures?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80158/original/image-20150503-23842-1ykndjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students in South Korea are under extreme testing pressure.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=2xw4pw4ZUu99hNRaaw5LCg&searchterm=Korean%20%20exam&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=141647254">Students' image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Korea is often upheld as a model of educational success by policymakers and <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/07/25/3464167/south-korea-education/">commentators</a> in the United States. </p>
<p>This is not without reason. </p>
<p>Korean students have consistently performed well on global standardized <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm">tests</a>, while US students fall <a href="http://neatoday.org/2013/12/03/what-do-the-2012-pisa-scores-tell-us-about-u-s-schools-2/">somewhere in the middle</a>. </p>
<p>The question is whether South Korea is a good model to emulate? </p>
<p>With American education policy moving towards more standardized testing, we need to understand the steep costs that countries such as South Korea are paying due to high-stakes testing.</p>
<p>During my five years in Seoul, two of which were spent working with students as an AP US and World History teacher at Hanyoung Foreign Language High School and my seven-plus years working with US schools, I have observed intriguing parallels between these two dynamic educational systems. </p>
<h2>Families under immense pressure</h2>
<p>South Korea is a <a href="http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/south-korea-overview/">Confucian-inspired</a> society that places an immense value on education, which is both admirable and exemplary. </p>
<p>The passion and energy that students and families put into schooling is extraordinary. From kindergarten onward, Korean students are shuttled off to private academies for <a href="http://qz.com/311360/students-in-these-countries-spend-the-most-time-doing-homework/">additional instruction and studies</a>. This continues even after the end of each school day and frequently extends to weekends and holidays as well. </p>
<p>Families frequently <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-s-korea-the-best-education-means-a-sacrifice-for-parents/2012/11/05/6adb0564-256f-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story.html">divide</a> themselves geographically, with the mother accompanying the child for the purpose of taking advantage of far-flung educational opportunities, even as the father stays behind.</p>
<p>Failure is never due to a lack of effort or resource allocation. </p>
<p>In fact, the emphasis on educational achievement is such that it drives a massive amount of <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2014/01/high-performance-high-pressure-in-south-koreas-education-system/">spending on private tutoring</a>. </p>
<h2>What have been the outcomes of testing?</h2>
<p>An unfortunate fallout of this overwhelming emphasis on educational attainment is the <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/04/15/393939759/the-all-work-no-play-culture-of-south-korean-education">high suicide rate</a> among high school students. Suicide is the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/03/20/poll-shows-half-of-korean-teenagers-have-suicidal-thoughts/">leading cause of death</a> for youth in Korea in the age group, 15 to 24. </p>
<p>The Korean government has been trying to address the situation in innovative ways. For example, a new <a href="http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-korea-smartphone-app-curb-student.html">smartphone app</a> has been developed to warn parents if their children are at risk based on key words they use in text conversations or on social networks.</p>
<p>Elementary and secondary education in South Korea is focused on preparing students for the all-important College Scholastic Aptitude Test, commonly known as <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/11/test-taking-south-korea"><em>suneung</em></a>. Although the test itself only takes one day, students prepare for it over the entirety of their pre-college schooling. </p>
<p>Performance on the <em>seneung</em> is the primary factor that determines <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21588373-there-are-perils-country-having-all-your-children-working-too-hard-one-big-exam">university admission</a>, which in turn strongly impacts whether graduates will secure a position in a desirable area of the economy. </p>
<p>The entire nation comes to a standstill on the morning of this eight-hour exam. Banks and government offices open an hour later than usual in order to ensure that students will be able to make it to their exam sites on time.</p>
<p>Flights are prohibited from taking off or landing during the English listening portion of the exam. In the days leading up to the exam, temples are filled with parents, almost exclusively mothers, making prayers and offerings on behalf of their children. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80159/original/image-20150503-23871-1a16k8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/80159/original/image-20150503-23871-1a16k8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80159/original/image-20150503-23871-1a16k8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80159/original/image-20150503-23871-1a16k8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80159/original/image-20150503-23871-1a16k8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80159/original/image-20150503-23871-1a16k8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/80159/original/image-20150503-23871-1a16k8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Curriculum in South Korea is overwhelmingly focused on standardized test preparation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=-s7C6AxGVX95cO1juD7MhQ&searchterm=%20Korea%20schools&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=193078202">Student image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The test <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-koreas-dreaded-college-entrance-exam-is-the-stuff-of-high-school-nightmares-but-is-it-producing-robots/">emphasizes memorization</a> over analytical thought. Consequently, pedagogy throughout primary and secondary schooling is dominated by direct instruction and objective forms of assessment. </p>
<p>Korean students have thus come to excel at learning and assessment tasks that prize memorization and recall. They thrive in answering the “what,” but are rarely asked to engage with the “why.” </p>
<p>It is imperative that we address a fundamental question: What is purpose of education? </p>
<p>The goal of education cannot simply be to perform well on a standardized test and get into a prestigious college. In trying to “catch up” to the test performance of nations such as Korea, the U.S. could be making a grave mistake.</p>
<h2>Kids in the U.S. are under testing pressure</h2>
<p>Statutory requirements of <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml">No Child Left Behind (NCLB)</a>, in addition to the institution of <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/">Common Core State Standards</a>, have led to a <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/11/17/362339421/testing-how-much-is-too-much">similar trajectory</a> for standardized testing. </p>
<p>Narratives of work-readiness and global competitiveness are being used to legitimize the instituting of a ludicrous number of standardized tests in the United States.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ccsso.org/Who_We_Are/Our_Promise.html">Council of Chief State School Officers</a> and the <a href="http://www.cgcs.org/site/default.aspx?PageID=1">Council of the Great City Schools </a> recently released a <a href="http://www.ccsso.org/News_and_Events/Press_Releases/Chief_State_School_Officers_and_Urban_School_Leaders_Announce_Joint_Effort_to_Improve_Student_Testing.html">survey</a> that showed the average large district student in the U.S. is taking 113 standardized tests from K-12th grade. </p>
<p>The loss of instructional time due to standardized testing is staggering. An <a href="http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/news/testingmore2013.pdf">American Federation of Teachers (AFT) study</a> estimates a loss of instructional time of three days per year for elementary school students and two weeks per year for middle and high school students. </p>
<p>This has led to the narrowing of the curriculum, with <a href="http://www.cep-dc.org/displayDocument.cfm?DocumentID=309">literacy and math education</a>) occupying a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0305764X.2011.607151">rapidly increasing</a> proportion of the average elementary school day. Severe <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar11/vol68/num06/High-Stakes_Testing_Narrows_the_Curriculum.aspx">cuts</a> in art, music, and physical education programs are the norm. </p>
<p>Teachers are being forced to <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar11/vol68/num06/High-Stakes_Testing_Narrows_the_Curriculum.aspx">teach to the tests</a>. Additionally, teachers are also being assessed through the <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/05/13/32value-add.h33.html">misguided</a> use of standardized test-based <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/12/23/the-fundamental-flaws-of-value-added-teacher-evaluation/">value added evaluation</a>. </p>
<h2>Testing systems strip away humanity</h2>
<p>Even as the US moves toward a narrow, standardized test-focused curriculum, Korean education policymakers are working to increase <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/01/12/16ahn.h31.html">space for creativity and an appreciation for diversity</a>. </p>
<p>It is not without reason that a rapidly increasing number of American parents and students are choosing to [opt-out](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/10/as-students-opt-out-of-common-core-exams-some-say-movement-is-not-about-testing of standardized the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/new-york-common-core-stress_n_4747863.html">stress and anxiety</a> of standardized tests. </p>
<p>Students must be engaged in extracurricular activities and the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/22/top-10-skills-children-learn-from-the-arts/">arts</a>, in addition to acquiring a solid grounding in reading, writing, math, science and social studies. </p>
<p>An over-emphasis on objective outcomes leads to excessive stress and strips away the humanity of young people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Owenby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Korean students have consistently been at the top of global standardized tests. But the high grades have come at a tremendous cost.Thomas Owenby, Visiting Instructor, Education and Youth Studies, Beloit CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.