Fact or belief or truth?

As this week of importance for Jews and Christians begins-- Holy Week and Passover-- I've been thinking about belief, fact and truth. How do we help students prepare for the future beyond just ingesting information and building skills for citizenship or the workplace? Is educating the "whole child" a realistic option?

This week I heard an interesting exchange among students in my high school drama class who are normally not very engaged (just in the class because counselors told them they needed these credits). I had asked them to do a quick-write about one of the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The students at one table started talking about the right to freedom of thought. Two students said they believed that God made the Earth and its inhabitants. Another student said she was an atheist.

I didn't handle this the way I wanted. What I later wanted to do was to extend the discussion, to say, "Hey, I'm so glad you're looking at Human Rights and seeing how they apply to you personally. I applaud the fact that you are thinking. And by the way, do you think it's worth it to kill someone whose religion believes differently from yours?" I missed the chance to talk about Darwin and the history of this topic in our country, and the importance of respecting each other's beliefs, and the importance of separation of Church and State.

It reminded me of another incident that occurred in the early 1980's in my work in Oakland publc schools. We were doing a musical show that traced historical periods in the U.S. I happened to quote writers about early America, all of whom said that Native Americans immigrated to this continent many thousands of years ago. After the concert, I was confronted by a delegation of fifth grade Native American students, who accused me of prejudice and mis-information. For them, quoting various historians was quoting falsehood Native Americans were here from the beginning of history. There was no immigration from elsewhere. This was clearly a fact in their minds, not a belief. And perhaps it is a fact. I am grateful for what I learned from these passionate students.

As a drama and creative writing teacher in public schools, I find matters of belief come up fairly often. It seems important to allow students to talk about these things-- topics that are important to real lives. What is the truth? As long as we are not forcing our own belief system upon our students, I believe it's valuable to let the study of one topic bring up discussion about another, to respect different beliefs, and to explore choices. If we are so afraid of exploring beyond the prescribed subjects, we will miss opportunities for minds to flower.

Perhaps we can plant the seeds of tolerance, and learn the lessons of wars over religion. Perhaps this week I'll be able to make up for the opportunity I missed last week.

Education reform

A while ago I wrote about teacher/student burnout and the cuts to education in California.
Something connected happened in a second grade drama class I was teaching in Berkeley yesterday. We were playing a warm up game called "Brain P.E." in which kids have 10-20 seconds to make little lists, as a precursor to using spontaneous thinking for improvisation. When I asked for a list of 3 things they'd like to change about the world, one boy wrote, "No School," as well as "no violence." A few hours later, I read five brilliant essays by Mike Rose in Truth Dig online magazine (recommended!), titled "Why Send Kids to School?" His comments feel important, because with a new national policy under consideration for schools, I want to know how it will affect my students.

Remember, I also noted that teachers have been pegged as the problem in the high stakes education game. Recent studies reported that the schools that were "successful" when No Child Left Behind started are still successful, and many of those that were "failing" in the past are still not doing well, in spite of massive restructuring. Could it be that teachers are being asked to fix society's and the system's ills? Well, here's what Rose says:

Rose: "When children are raised in communities where economic opportunity has dramatically narrowed, where the future is bleak, their perception of and engagement with school will be negatively affected.... the business community has not thought deeply about the profound effect economic despair can have on school achievement.... (nor have people considered) the negative influence of commercially driven verbal and imagistic messages that surround our young people.. that work against the very qualities of mind the community says it wants schools to foster... our young people grow up on an economy of glitz and thunder. The ads that shape their needs and interests champion appearance over substance, power over thought... highlight glamour and poise over knowledge and blur fact as simulation."

Me: But why do we need school for our children? Why not agree with my second grader, who finds school unnecessary? Can we all home school? Can everyone study online and settle for occasional live contact with a teacher?

Rose: "The answer given for decades... is that education prepares the young for the world of work and enables the nation to maintain global pre-eminence... but the tendency in current social policy is toward magic bullet solutions that are simplified responses to complex problems... the current philosophy of education is an economic one: the primary goal of school is to create efficient workers."

Me: Some truth here. For example, when I asked my high school students why they should finish school and go to college, the unanimous answer was, "to get a good job and make money." But somehow this idea (they've learned it from adults) results in school being perceived as a kind of holding pen before being released into an automatic High Paying Job, or the NFL, NBA, WNBA, etc. There's something missing. What about curiosity, the pure fun of looking up a new word to see what it means, or being able to imagine solutions and try them out? And how would an economic purpose for going to school relate to the experience my Chorus students just had, doing a solo song recital on Wednesday? Words escape me to describe the joy of hearing each individual voice, touching lyrics, beautiful melodies emerge, the sound so true and lovely, in spite of nerves and the stage of technique each singer showed. Can going to school to get a job result in the human experience of shedding tears in the presence of beauty and truth, or the excitement, pride, and opening of hearts of those singers?

Rose. "In the current talk about school reform, there is one phrase you will hear in every proposal: 21st century skills. These include the ability to use a range of electronic technologies ... to think critically and creatively and evaluate the product of one's thinking. The ability to communicate effectively and collaborate with others. .. what's new about these skills?.. Some of these you'll find in Aristotle. But there are topics you won't find in these lists: aesthetics, intellectual play, imagination, the pleasure of a subject, wonder. The focus of the 21st century skills lists is utility and workplace productivity..... But, the one thing that's become clear to me after 40 years of teaching is the multiple purposes and meanings that education can have. It provides intellectual stimulation.... protected social setting.... connections to adults... our world gets bigger... a place where we define who we are."

Me: Amen to Mr. Rose's conclusions. There are so many reasons for our young people to go to school, not the least learning to appreciate the rich, diverse cultures on our planet and our common humanity. Not to mention, building the values and character it takes to become a responsible, thoughtful, caring adult.

A while ago I wrote about teacher/student burnout and the cuts to education in California.

Something connected happened in a second grade drama class I was teaching in Berkeley yesterday. We were playing a warm up game called "Brain P.E." in which kids have 10-20 seconds to make little lists, as a precursor to using spontaneous thinking for improvisation. When I asked for a list of 3 things they'd like to change about the world, one boy wrote, "No School," as well as "no violence." A few hours later, I read five brilliant essays by Mike Rose in Truth Dig online magazine (recommended!), titled "Why Send Kids to School?" His comments feel important, because with a new national policy under consideration for schools, I want to know how it will affect my students.

Remember, I also noted that teachers have been pegged as the problem in the high stakes education game. Recent studies reported that the schools that were "successful" when No Child Left Behind started are still successful, and many of those that were "failing" in the past are still not doing well, in spite of massive restructuring. Could it be that teachers are being asked to fix society's and the system's ills?

But why do we need school for our children? Why not agree with my second grader, who finds school unnecessary? Can we all home school? Can everyone study online and settle for occasional live contact with a teacher?

When I asked my high school students why they should finish school and go to college, the unanimous answer was, "to get a good job and make money." But somehow this idea (they've learned it from adults) results in school being perceived as a kind of holding pen before being released into an automatic High Paying Job, or the NFL, NBA, WNBA, etc. There's something missing. What about curiosity, the pure fun of looking up a new word to see what it means, or being able to imagine solutions and try them out? And how would an economic purpose for going to school relate to the experience my Chorus students just had, doing a solo song recital on Wednesday? Words escape me to describe the joy of hearing each individual voice, touching lyrics, beautiful melodies emerge, the sound so true and lovely, in spite of nerves and the stage of technique each singer showed. Can going to school to get a job result in the human experience of shedding tears in the presence of beauty and truth, or the excitement, pride, and opening of hearts of those singers.

There are so many reasons for our young people to go to school, not the least learning to appreciate the diverse cultures on our planet and our common humanity. Not to mention, building the values and character it takes to become a responsible, thoughtful, caring adult.

Market Economy Re-Interpreted

Alright, I am an artist and a teaching artist. I spend a lot of time interpreting texts and teaching others to do so. There are gigabytes of literary interpretation in the world but still, some mystery remains. For example, the old children's rhyme: "This little piggy went to market" (working title for all I know). It remains unexplained. In light of the current non profit and economic crisis, I will make an Attempt, hopefully with the creative rigor the work is due. Let me begin. Ahem.

The ancient rhyme, "This little piggy went to market," sheds light on early understandings of the economic forces inherent in Western capitalism and had a profound influence on Adam Smith. The first line, "this little piggy went to market," clearly refers to the small stratum of the population with purchasing power. This first piggy represents the gainfully employed, perhaps with health insurance. Underlying the text is the implication that this shopper also had transportation, as it does not say, "walked to market." We also see here a monopoly, there being only one Market. This piggy's primary position in the text means that the Purchaser with money has status in the applicable culture.

The second line, "this little piggy stayed home," raises serious questions. Was the piggy ill, unemployed, lazy, or an oppressed female required stay home to do the housework and take care of the children? (The gender of the two piggy's we've studied so far is not indicated.) Or perhaps this second piggy had to stay home to fix the plumbing, which had flooded the bathroom. Note that the word 'home' will be the rhyming word, anticipating its importance in the text. In actuality, here we have the first hint of the ups and downs of the Market. The population stays home in an economic downturn. The poor stay home because of no money; the rich stay home waiting for deliveries.

The third line, "this little piggy had roast beef," points to the essence of the Market Economy: lack of equity. Roast beef is a metaphor for the good life, the American Dream of being high on the food chain. And the next line brings it pitilessly home: "this little piggy had none," a fourth line that speaks volumes. No elaboration, too bad little guy, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, no bail-out or even food stamps for you.

The last line is the most challenging of all: "This little piggy cried, 'Wee, wee, wee, wee, wee!' all the way home!" Was he euphoric from his shopping trip, on drugs, lamenting his smallness (wee bitty thing) or needing to use the restroom? Perhaps he was looking forward to time on the internet and history has foretold a misspelled wii. Or he's lonely and wants to find the 4 other pigs, or being an intellectual, he has read the story about the 3 little pigs and knows the wolf is around the corner. I will boldly offer my own answer to decades of confusion among generations of children. The fifth line clearly refers to one of two things: the last piggy either just won the lottery or he/she works for a non profit arts organization.

Ah, what propaganda hath our nursery rhyme wrought? As with all good literary interpretation, the final choice is up to you, the reader.

Teacher Student Burn Out

The rallies and demonstrations on Thursday in behalf of public education came at the right time. This is the point in the year when teacher and student moods often reflect the gray weather -- thank goodness the sun came out today! We all feel as if we've been in the classroom for months and months and months (we have), but the end is not close. As an arts provider that is both in the class room teaching and also an observer of public education, I see and feel the pain.

Burn out. Students say they're bored, teachers say they're tired. It's common knowledge that teachers often leave a school after teaching for five years, and sometimes leave the field altogether after a few years. Why? Teaching is completely consuming: for some, it feels as if it takes every ounce of energy you have. And it's not just the actual hours spent teaching students or preparing lessons. It's calling the parents, grading, keeping up with the latest online charts, going to countless meetings, mentoring, student club advisor, senior project advisor, buying supplies out of pocket, etc.

So when bad things happen, like the recent round of thefts at a school, or students are fractious, we teachers are pushed over, beyond, under and around the edge. I spoke with one wonderful teacher who is leaving to explore the world of Not-Teaching. In fact, teaching is ruining her health. And when more money is spent on prisons than on education, when teachers are blamed for everything from poor test scores to student stealing, when chairs in classrooms have seats too torn and jagged to sit on, when parents threaten teachers for their child's bad grade, teaching looks indeed like a bad deal. Especially in winter.

But in the spring, when we can see the last day of school coming and students are starting to demonstrate that they've learned, teaching may once again look like the Noble Profession it really is and should be. In some countries people stand up when a teacher enters the room and the arts are considered essential to life! Can we just shift our own country's priorities and money back to the arts and to education? Perhaps then we'll see less winter burn out and fewer great teachers leaving the students they really love, to do something else.