Have you ever actually tried to drive a square peg through a round hole? It is not fun, easy, or ever successful. But all too often we try to pound it through, disfiguring the peg.
How often as teachers do we know there is a fit lacking between disengaged students and the traditional path through high school? And how often to we unsuccessfully try to force the student through?
We don’t need more powerful hammers; if it’s not a fit, it’s not a fit.
Thankfully Bruce Umpstead, in a recent article in Eschoolnews.com, highlights some recent initiatives undertaken by the Michigan Department of Education looking to go beyond a “hit em harder” approach and are presenting high school completion to students who have dropped out, as a different fit.
While a recent change in legislation raised the legal dropout age from sixteen to eighteen, this only appears to keep more kids in high school longer, perhaps delaying the issue. I’m skeptical whether this actually solves the fit problem or hopes to wear down the pegs more. This move also seems to increase the already present challenge faced by teachers when dealing with increased numbers of disengaged students.
A second legislative change on the books brought to the light by Umpstead is “a state takeover of the bottom five percent of struggling schools”. I’m rather certain that this threat from the top approach would do nothing to motivate students, and more likely only result in the hammers striking harder, not necessarily a better result in driving those unique pegs through.
I see the most promising work being done in the area of reshaping the traditional holes, or should I say ‘reconstructing’ them. Umpstead shows that initiatives such as Michigan’s Westwood Cyber High School pilot program present online learning opportunities that go beyond traditional classroom tasks while still maintaining academic standards. The cross-curricular projects present an educational experience more tailored to the individual, thus (in my mind) reducing the force required to drive them through.
Many students succeed in fitting through our education system’s traditional holes; some do not. Emerging technologies allow us to create more accommodating but equally valid passageways to move through. If the tools exist to make this fit, why use a hammer?
I have to say that I really enjoy reading your blogs because of the analogies that you use.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that raising the age limit may not be the best solution and that it just keeps someone where they don't want to be a little longer. It is really hard to reach out to someone when they obviously hate where they are.
When I see the ruling on the state takeover of the bottom five percent of struggling schools, I see it more as an accountability thing. If the majority of the students at a school are failing, then maybe there needs to be some intervention. However, you are right when you say that this will not motivate students. It won't, but maybe it will motivate others to try to re-engage those students or at least teach at a level that the students can understand and with the tools that are being created.
I see Terri agrees with you that increasing the dropout age from 16 to 18 may not be a good solution, but I look at it a little different. Students can be 16 when they are in the 10th grade and 18 when they graduate. That to me is still young enough to try and mold an at-risk student into an alert student. I feel by increasing the age it will give teachers more time to find alternative methods to reach out and teach kids that are considered at-risk. If teachers are trained to notice warning signs of potential at-risk students early on, problems can be nipped in the butt sooner. I do agree with you though, you will never get a round peg to go through a square hole, just like some kids will slip through the cracks. Cyber school for the kids that absolutely can not be molded to stay in the classroom is the best alternative we have. I do have one problem though. What if all of our students decide they want to complete high school on-line? It would be crazy to go to your computer while at home and teach high school kids.
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