A Benjamin Rush Retrospective

Thank you Dr. Rush

For those of you who don’t know your colonial American history, you should learn about Dr. Benjamin Rush. He was a physician who lived in Philadelphia and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. A graduate of Princeton and the University of Edinburgh, Rush was concerned about the education of the inhabitants of the newly formed United States of America.  In 1786, Benjamin Rush produced a plan of education that he hoped would meet the needs of our fledgling democracy.  He wrote an essay, "Thoughts Upon the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic,” which consisted of 20 main points.

Some of the included points are:

• Education must take place in the United States.  (rather than in a foreign country).“A general, uniform system of education needs to be established that would be adequate for all of the essential purposes of citizenship.”
• He believed that it was important for women to be educated.
• Rush noted that the  more traditional and classical education, prevalent at the time, was not appropriate  for a new country with new  and progressive ideals.

Interestingly enough, as critical and timely Dr. Rush’s observations were, nothing was written into the Constitution of the United States regarding the education of Americans.  No mention of years of education required, or what subjects were to be taught. Also missing was information about competencies and teacher preparation. (It should be pointed out that the only job requirements specifically mentioned in the Constitution are for the position of President and members of Congress. Even here there is no mention of education required for the job!). Consequently under the Tenth Amendment, public education became the province of the individual states. Thus today we have 50 state departments of education, 50 sets of requirements for teacher certification and 50 official state curriculum specifying what is to be taught in each academic subject at each grade level. ( 51 including Washington, DC).

So here we are, 236 years later still wringing our hands and debating the importance and relevance of education. What should every American Citizen know? How much education should a person have? Should education be compulsory? Where should the money come from to fund public education? And so on. Dr. Rush got the conversation started and his message is still extremely important today. We are continuously bombarded with magazine and newspaper stories about students who graduate from college with majors that are totally unsuited to find a job in this current market. We are exposed to prolific documents showing how far American school children have fallen behind their peers in other countries. We need to return to Dr. Rush’s original treatise and define how we as a nation education our children so that the democracy that Rush’s countrymen fought for will continue to prosper.

Copyright J. Margolis 2012

Revisiting the Paper Clips Project

Revisiting Whitwell, Tennessee 2012

Whitwell, Tennessee is a rural community of about 1600 people about 25 miles from Chattanooga. If the name doesn’t mean anything to you, it should. For it was here that the ambitious and fantastically successful “Paper Clips Project” was launched by teacher Sandra Roberts and her students at the Whitwell Middle School. The project was designed to teach her students (who all volunteered for this after school program) about the Holocaust. The story gained national attention when investigative reporters Peter Schroeder and Dagmar Schroeder- Hildebrand were able to get the students story on the NBC Nightly News and in the Washington Post.  Roberts’ students were on a mission to collect 6 million paper clips to symbolize all of the Jews who were slaughtered during the Holocaust. The students were inundated with paper clips, memorabilia, and letters from around the world.  Over 11 million paper clips were collected. But the project did not end there. The Schroeders were able to go to Germany and convince a German Railroad club to sell them a cattle car that was used to transport victims of the Holocaust to their deaths at concentration camps.  In September, 2001 the box car was shipped from Bergen to Baltimore. Upon arrival, the car was loaded on a CSX rail freight car and was shipped free of charge. Thus was born the Children’s Holocaust Memorial at Whitwell Middle School. I am leaving a great deal of information out. You need to get the DVD,"Paper Clips" or the book “Six Million Paper Clips” written by the Schroeders.

I had the opportunity to visit Whitwell this summer. Since I had used the DVD in my college class to teach future teachers about engaging students, parents and community in a critical project, I had always wanted to visit the place. A great deal had changed since 1999. Whitwell has a new middle school and a wonderful permanent site for the rail car. The school also created a resource center with hundreds of books about the Holocaust, donated artifacts and pictures, as well as computers to access information.

Our tour guides were former middles school students, now at Whitwell High School. They were quite knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the project. They were quite proud of the Box Car and all of the attention the project had garnered. Admission to the site is free. All that students and staff wish is you buy a post card, book, pin, or other items from the school office. Incidentally, if the school is closed and the box car is locked, you can pick up a key from city hall or the police station and tour yourself.

As you begin the new school year, there are two things that I wish you to gain from this post. One- as appropriate to your students’ grade level, it is imperative to teach them about the Holocaust. Hatred and prejudice should never be allowed to triumph. Second. The “Paper Clips” project is a classic example of how to bring your students, their parents and the community together into something meaningful.

Useful websites:

www.whitwellmiddleschool.org

http://oneclipatatime.org/

Welcome Back to School

Back to School

“Even on your WORST DAY as a teacher

 You are some student’s best hope.”

As I was driving through Tennessee last week, I saw a sign in front of a school building that stated that the fall term begins on August 1^st. Is it that time already? Many of us have not yet cleaned out our book bags from the end of the last school year. We hope that your summer was a productive one. Whether you relaxed and recharged your batteries at the beach or the mountains, or if you attended a workshop or graduate program, now is the time for preparing for the new year. Aside from the micro – issues at you own school and in your own classroom, there are issues in contemporary American Education that take on a more global importance. Here is a brief list of some of those issues that educators will have to deal with during the coming school year:

1)      Politics and Education. As I have mentioned in previous articles, 2012 is a presidential election year and public education in this country will be impacted in some way no matter who is elected. Review the issues. Scrutinize the candidates. Don’t forget to vote!

2)      School violence. Unfortunately this summer glaringly illustrated that no public venue is safe- not a movie theatre, a Sikh Temple, or a retail store. Schools are not immune.  Familiarize yourself with your school’s policy regarding school emergencies and what programs are in place (or should be) to reduce violence in schools.

3)      Bullying. Bullying on school grounds or cyber-bullying has reached epidemic proportions in this country. What is your school doping about it? When crafting policies, be sure to include the voice of the parents. They are an essential key in eliminating bullying.

4)      Teacher Quality and Compensation. You may be going back to school without a contract. You may also be returning to the classroom with a new set of guidelines for teacher evaluations and rules for obtaining tenure. Be sure that you familiarize yourself with these changes. Discuss and issues with your administrator as well as union representatives.

5)      Bilingualism. This is an issue that is ongoing. As the percentage of the US population who do not speak English increases, the need for bilingual education becomes more critical. We must continue to develop literacy programs that will reach all children. Classroom teacher do not have to be reminded that they are obligated to teach every child who walks in the door.

6)      Poverty. You have students who went hungry this summer. Without school lunch and after school snack programs, many student whose families live below the poverty line did not have sufficient nutrition. In some states, summer program were able to provide food to needy students. This situation is not going to improve even as the school year begins. The current drought in the Midwest is bound to cause a hike in food prices making a healthy diet even less affordable to many families. Food banks around the country are already reporting shortages.

Schools are more than places for learning. They are also place for socialization and social action. What has made America’s school great in the past- so great that people flee other countries to get their kids in American schools- is that schools were a haven  with thoughtful and compassionate professionals who have the best interest of their students at heart. Please keep this in mind as you begin the new year. Best wishes for a successful school year!

Bank Street Bookstore

 A Visit to the Bank Street Bookstore

The other day I as was walking on the upper west side of New York City when I came upon the Bank Street Book Store. Readers of this blog know that I cannot pass an opportunity to visit a book store-whether they sell new or used books. But here I found A TRUE GEM. While most independent booksellers have gone out of business due to competition from chains and online sellers, this store was unique. This store sells exclusively children’s books, as well as educational toys and games.  The two story store situated on the corner of Broadway and W 112th street housed more children’s books than I have ever seen in any bookstore!

What makes this shop even more unique is that is part of a college.  Bank Street College of Education has been in existence since 1916 and although it is just down the street from the more well known Columbia University School of Education, it has a rich tradition and reputation of its own. Bank Street provides professional development courses for teachers in the New York City Public Schools. It also offers Masters Degree programs and on line courses. Since its focus is on early education and literacy it is not surprising that the book store specializes in books for young children, from wonderfully illustrated picture books to chapter books for more advanced learners.

One of the unique activities of this store is its summer reading program for children. The store prints out playing cards each week with recommended books. (The week of July 14-20 the topic was “Animals and Monsters’) When the student completes the activity on the card, the results are then validated by a parent or guardian and approved by a member of the bookstore staff. The student is then entitled to a free Dover mini-activity book of his or her choice from the store (limit one per week).

As resourceful classroom teachers, I am sure you can modify this and similar projects for use in your classroom for the upcoming school year. For information about the bookstore visit their website at www.bankstreetbooks.com. You can contact the store at 1-800-724-1486.

For more information about Bank Street College of Education, check out their web site at http://www.bnkst.edu/m.  Be sure to check out their Center for Children’s Literature.

 Don’t forget to look for area retailer “Teacher Appreciation Days”. There will lots of giveaways, discounts and coupons for teachers.  Take advantage of these offers as you prepare for “Back to School.”

No Gold Medal for Education

Those who have followed this blog may know that I rarely been in agreement with Michele Rhee and her philosophy for changing public education in America.  However, an article by Ms. Rhee appeared in the August `1^st edition of USA Today that I concur with. Rhee believes that if we in America would put forth as much effort in striving for excellence in education as we do toward training our Olympic athletes, then the academic performance of our school students would also improve significantly. She goes on to cite reports from both the Council on Foreign Relations and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that point to the fact that American students have been falling behind on their performance in internationally rated assessments, most pointedly in science and mathematics.

Who is to blame for this? Is this not reminiscent of the US in the 1950s when the Soviet Union grabbed the lead in the “space race” and exposed our inadequacies for the world to see? Obviously the priorities of a nation are in a different place.

One does not have to look any further than the recent debacle at Penn State University. The voluminous amount of press coverage has focused on Jerry Sandusky and the impact of the recent NCAA rulings that will affect the football team. We heard about the reduction in athletic scholarships. We heard about the bowl game participation ban and we also have been reading about current student athletes who have been deserting the Penn State football programs for other opportunities.

The one thing we have not heard word one about is ACADEMICS. The primary focus of a university must be to educate students and teach them how to become independent thinkers. A college education should also prepare graduates for life-especially career preparation. All of this has been lost for the sake of football-at least in the stories of the last several months.

Coincidentally, an article appeared in the August 6^th issue of Sports Illustrated about the Israeli Olympic team. The author noted that “Israel takes far greater pride in its ten Nobel Laureates and the multitude of Israeli tech start-ups on NASDAQ- than it does of its 7 Olympic medalists.”(SI. P. 73)

America cannot expect to narrow the achievement gap merely by conducting studies or appointing commissions. Nor can the expenditure of money alone fix the problem. Methods of teacher preparation, the crucial importance of parental involvement, a rigorous curriculum are all importance. Additionally, students need to know the importance of going to school and the value of obtaining an education. The blasé attitude of students toward learning and lack of seeing education as important is a further impediment of getting America back in the education game. The stakes are high. If we expect to remain competitive in the global economy, if we expect to have a population who will be able to guide the country, provide health care to an aging population, be at the forefront of the w world stage, then we must be more serious and focused on improving education. And No, we cannot afford to wait until November!