My head is still spinning. On Sunday evening I returned from Washington, DC and the Save Our Schools Rally. More than just a rally, it was four days of connecting with other educators, parents, students and activists who are ready to take a giant step towards reclaiming the [...]]]>  

My head is still spinning. On Sunday evening I returned from Washington, DC and the Save Our Schools Rally. More than just a rally, it was four days of connecting with other educators, parents, students and activists who are ready to take a giant step towards reclaiming the “public” in public schools.

In my mind I keep replaying moments – both big and small – and feel hopeful that we’re onto something here. Something really big. Something that will help bring attention to the harmful effects that corporate “reform” is having on students, teachers and communities. And give a voice to students who, for a decade, have been shut out of enriching and engaging curriculum and forced into single-purpose, short-sighted, test-driven curriculum.  This is a movement to bring curriculum control into local school communities. It is a call for equitable funding, and for our country to recognize that poverty affects life and learning.  Jonathan Kozol told us that the poorest districts spend $6,000 per pupil, while the richest districts spend $30,000 per pupil. Ouch! And as Deborah Meier (pictured above) pointed out, we are about even with Mexico in terms of our poverty rates – Mexico!  We are looking for equitable funding across public schools AND community support services.

In DC were heard powerful words from Jonothan Kozol, Deborah Meier, Diane Ravitch, Pedro Noguera, Linda Darling- Hammond and Matt Damon. We also heard important words from parent Karran Harper-Royal, an SOS organizer and leader from Parents Across America; along with  John Kuhn, an inspiring superintendent from Texas; and Taylor Mali, a teacher-poet. I sang along as we were treated to a gorgeous rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing; and more – much more! So much, that I didn’t get every speaker’s name. However…one thing is for sure, everywhere you looked in the sweltering heat of the midday sun, parents, students, teachers and concerned citizens joined together to help change the national narrative.

This isn’t about preserving the status quo, because the status quo isn’t anywhere near good enough. I am not out to defend chronically ineffective teachers or historically shoddy schools.  I am for making the public school system the best it can be for EVERY student – and for involving local communities in the process.

For sure it isn’t the end.  And for sure it was a great beginning.  In many ways, it made me wish I was a public school teacher once again, at the very democratic Mission Hill School in Roxbury, MA, which I am proud to have been a part of from the beginning. There, I was a teacher and union member – sharing responsibility and decision making with our founding principal, Deborah Meier, and the other classroom teachers. While in DC, I was thrilled to hear the ways in which the Boston Teachers Union has been a place where teacher activism has flourished. Again, for sure this isn’t the end – and for sure it is a great beginning.

And how does it all relate to Empowered by Play?

To quote Matt Damon:  “I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself— my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity— all come from how I was parented and taught. And none of these qualities that I’ve just mentioned— none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success— none of these qualities that make me who I am… can be tested.”

That’s so right. The qualities we value most – in the children of yesterday, today and tomorrow – qualities such as imagination and curiosity – can never be measured through a standardized test. These are the qualities that are getting squeezed out of today’s schools, and this has to stop.

~

Some related links of interest: The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman by Real Reform Studios (This is an amazing movie made by full-time teachers – using their own money. No big budget – but a real big message.)

Jon Stewart’s message to the teachers at the SOS March (Hopefully next time he will speak to the issues – but I am thankful for the support he is already showing.)

Save Our Schools Leaders Craft Next Steps from Education Week

Empowered by Play’s SOS March album on Facebook

The text of Matt Damon’s speech posted on Rethinking Schools’ website NOT Waiting for Superman

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I am going to Washington DC today to attend the Save Our Schools Conference, Rally, March and Call to Action.

I am going because I am tired of politicians, businessmen and billionaires making harmful decisions about our schools and our children; because high-stakes testing is not the answer to making better schools; and one [...]]]>

I am going to Washington DC today to attend the Save Our Schools Conference, Rally, March and Call to Action.

I am going because I am tired of politicians, businessmen and billionaires making harmful decisions about our schools and our children; because high-stakes testing is not the answer to making better schools; and one size does not fit all.

I am going because equality in school funding would go a long way in helping schools in poor communities meet the needs of our most vulnerable students; because arts, social studies, music and science matter (not just math and reading); because good character, strong ideals and respect for one’s self and one’s community can not be measured by a bubble test.

I am going to Washington, DC because quality play and playful learning belongs in school and because childhood is a journey, not a race to the top. (Tomorrow I will be presenting with Deborah Meier about the implications of our incessant and early demands for “performance” on young children.)

If you can’t join us for the Save Our Schools in Washington DC, please check here for a related event in your state or community.

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Recommendation 5.4: State and local educational agencies should be encouraged to promote recess for elementary students and physical activity breaks for [...]]]> The good news is, someone on the White House Task Force for childhood obesity was listening. This week, Michelle Obama sent an email releasing their report, and among the many recommendations, was restoring recess!

Recommendation 5.4: State and local educational agencies should be encouraged to promote recess for elementary students and physical activity breaks for older students, and provide support to schools to implement recess in a healthy way that promotes physical activity and social skill development.

Definitely a step in the right direction, and encouraging news. You can visit the Let’s Move website to read the report and recommendations. The Task Force received over 2500 public comments – so a big thank you to everyone who wrote in about recess and more. On the heels of this success – here is another way to get involved and make change for children and play:

The standardized test movement is one of the many factors that is squeezing play out of children’s lives – especially their school lives. Starting in kindergarten, our children are being turned off – instead of turned on to learning. Many folks ask me, “But what can I do?”  Here is one thing you can do…today I am spreading the word about an exciting campaign initiated by the folks at Time Out from Testing. Here are there words:

Dear Friends,

Parent and other assessment reform organizations and individuals from across the country are participating in a postcard campaign to First Lady Michelle Obama asking that she encourage the President to put an end to the use of High Stakes Testing. When she was on the campaign trail she had the following to say about the Bush Administration’s No Child Left Behind Program:

“No Child Left Behind is strangling the life out of most schools.”
“If my future were determined by my performance on a standardized test I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee that.”

THOUSANDS OF US AGREE WITH HER CRITICISM. WE NEED HER HELP TO END THE RELIANCE ON HIGH STAKES STANDARDIZED TESTS.

HERE IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO: On May 29th send a postcard to Michelle Obama with this message:

Dear Michelle Obama:

We want the same education for our children that you provide for Malia and Sasha.
Our child is not a test score.
Encourage the President to end the use of high stakes standardized tests!

Sincerely,

Name:
Address:
Signature

Mail to:
First Lady Michelle Obama
White House,
Washington DC

Some of you may want to tweak the wording a bit. All that we ask is that you don’t dilute the main message of ending high stakes testing. Remember that once she receives the first 50 postcards, she and her staff won’t be reading them but instead will be counting them.

One way to ensure the success of this campaign will be to go viral and use our listservs and Facebook. However, it requires that people go to the post office , buy a postcard and then write the message and address it. In this day and age we fear that will not happen in mass numbers. So we have designed some other ways to make sure we reach our goal of between 50,000-100,000 cards on May 29th.

FOR THIS WE NEED THE SUPPORT OF ALL OUR ORGANIZATIONS TO GO INTO THE COMMUNITY AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!

HERE ARE OUR SUGGESTIONS FOR SUCCESS:

1. SET UP TABLES IN YOUR SCHOOLS WHEN PARENTS DROP OFF AND PICK UP THEIR KIDS AND GET THEM TO SIGN THE CARD. YOU WILL NEED TO BUY THEM AND PUT THE MESSAGE ON YOURSELF. ASK FOR A 25 CENT CONTRIBUTION. SOME WILL GIVE A DOLLAR AND SOME WON’T GIVE SO IT SHOULD BALANCE OUT.

2. ASK TEACHERS TO CIRCULATE THE CARDS AND GET THEM BACK TO YOU.

3. SET UP TABLES IN FRONT OF THE BUSIEST STORES ON A SATURDAY/SUNDAY AND COLLECT SIGNATURES ON THE CARD

4. SET UP CARD SIGNING AT YOUR LOCAL CHURCH

5. REMEMBER TO TAKE THEM TO THE OFFICE, FAMILY GATHERINGS, BIRTHDAY PARTIES, SOCCER/BASEBALL GAMES

6. REMEMBER ANYONE CAN SIGN THE CARD—KIDS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES, RELATIVES

The important thing is that you keep a record of how many got sent due to your outreach. We will need a count sent to us at info@timeoutfromtesting.org so that when we hold a press conference on that day, we will have an accurate count.

WE HAVE VERY LITTLE TIME TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN BUT WE KNOW THAT IF ALL OF US PULL TOGETHER OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS IT WILL HAPPEN.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT,

TIME OUT FROM TESTING
COALITION OF ESSENTIAL SCHOOLS
THE FORUM FOR EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY
ADVANCEMENT PROJECT
RETHINK LEARNING
FAIRTEST

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Kindergarten has traditionally been a wonderful world of discovery and playful learning. It has been a place where young children grow in their independence, form relationships outside the family circle, and learn about the world around them in a thoughtful [...]]]> You know something is wrong when a kindergartner asks: “Mom, can I retire from school?”

Kindergarten has traditionally been a wonderful world of discovery and playful learning. It has been a place where young children grow in their independence, form relationships outside the family circle, and learn about the world around them in a thoughtful and inviting environment.

If you are a regular reader of Empowered by Play, if you have a child in kindergarten right now, or if you are an early childhood educator, you know about the current crisis in early childhood education. The pressures of our high-stakes testing world has encroached dramatically on early childhood classrooms, taking away playful learning and replacing it with incessant assessments and developmentally inappropriate expectations.  I’ve heard from experienced teachers who are leaving the classroom because they can no longer, in good conscience, be a part of a system that is harmful to children. This weekend I heard about a mom whose son is struggling in public preschool. She isn’t sure what is going on, though he has been sent home from school a few times. When the mom asked the teacher what exactly is going on with her son, the teacher admitted that she just didn’t know since she doesn’t have time to talk to her students. The teacher is too busy trying to “get through” all the lessons and assessments she is mandated to keep up with, and revealed that she has a conversation with each child about once a week. Once a week!!!

It truly is time to stop the madness. Read below the recent statement signed by hundreds of early childhood health and education professionals. A deep thanks to the incredible folks at Alliance for Childhood, Ed Miller and Joan Almon, for making this happen. Please check out the Alliance for Childhood website, where a complete list of signers will be available soon. I urge you to help spread the word to parents, teachers, the press and politicians.

Joint Statement of Early Childhood Health and Education Professionals on the Common Core Standards Initiative

Issued by the Alliance for Childhood

March 2, 2010

www.allianceforchildhood.org

We have grave concerns about the core standards for young children now being written by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The draft standards made public in January conflict with compelling new research in cognitive science, neuroscience, child development, and early childhood education about how young children learn, what they need to learn, and how best to teach them in kindergarten and the early grades.

We have no doubt that promoting language and mathematics is crucial to closing the achievement gap. As written, however, the proposed standards raise the following concerns:

• Such standards will lead to long hours of instruction in literacy and math. Young children learn best in active, hands-on ways and in the context of meaningful real-life experiences. New research shows that didactic instruction of discrete reading and math skills has already pushed play-based learning out of many kindergartens. But the current proposal goes well beyond most existing state standards in requiring, for example, that every kindergartner be able to write “all upper- and lowercase letters” and “read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.”

• They will lead to inappropriate standardized testing. Current state standards for young children have led to the heavy use of standardized tests in kindergarten and the lower grades, despite their unreliability for assessing children under age eight. The proposed core standards will intensify inappropriate testing in place of broader observational assessments that better serve young children’s needs.

• Didactic instruction and testing will crowd out other important areas of learning. Young children’s learning must go beyond literacy and math. They need to learn about families and communities, to take on challenges, and to develop social, emotional, problem-solving, self-regulation, and perspective-taking skills. Overuse of didactic instruction and testing cuts off children’s initiative, curiosity, and imagination, limiting their later engagement in school and the workplace, not to mention responsible citizenship. And it interferes with the growth of healthy bodies and essential sensory and motor skills—all best developed through playful and active hands-on learning.

• There is little evidence that such standards for young children lead to later success. While an introduction to books in early childhood is vital, research on the links between the intensive teaching of discrete reading skills in kindergarten and later success is inconclusive at best. Many of the countries with top-performing high-school students do not begin formal schooling until age six or seven. We must test these ideas more thoroughly before establishing nationwide policies and practices.

We therefore call on the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to suspend their current drafting of standards for children in kindergarten through grade three.

We further call for the creation of a consortium of early childhood researchers, developmental psychologists, pediatricians, cognitive scientists, master teachers, and school leaders to develop comprehensive guidelines for effective early care and teaching that recognize the right of every child to a healthy start in life and a developmentally appropriate education.

Defne Apul, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH

Cara Armstrong, Curator of Education, Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA

Ray Bacchetti, Vice President, Planning and Management, Emeritus, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Lyda Beardsley, Director, Child Development Programs, College of Marin, Kentfield, CA

Laura M. Bennett-Murphy, Associate Professor, Psychology, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT

Karen D. Benson, Professor, California State University, Sacramento, CA

Eugene V. Beresin, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Wendy C. Blackwell, Director of Education, National Children’s Museum, Washington, DC

Wil Blechman, M.D., President, Docs for Tots Florida; Past President, Kiwanis International, Miami, FL

Lila Braine, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY

Michael Brody, M.D., Chair, Media Committee, American Academy of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry, Washington, DC

Stuart L. Brown, M.D., Founder and President, National Institute for Play, Carmel Valley, CA

Blakely Bundy, Executive Director, Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood, Winnetka, IL

Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA

Catherine Carotta, Associate Director, Center for Childhood Deafness, Boys Town National Research

Hospital, Omaha, NE

Sherry Cleary, Executive Director, NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, City

University of New York, NY

Colleen Cordes, Executive Director, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Washington, DC

Milly Cowles, Dean, Principals’ Academy, Mobile, AL

Ellen F. Crain, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

William Crain, Professor of Psychology, City College of New York, NY

Sara McCormick Davis, Associate Professor, University of Arkansas Fort Smith; President Elect,

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, Fort Smith, AR

Diane Trister Dodge, President, Teaching Strategies, Inc., Bethesda, MD

Georgianna Duarte, Professor, University of Texas, Brownsville, TX

Barbara Dubitsky, Director, Mathematics Leadership Programs, Bank Street College, New York, NY

Sean Durham, Director, Early Learning Center for Research and Practice, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

David Elkind, Professor Emeritus of Child Development, Tufts University, Medford, MA

Ann S. Epstein, Senior Director of Curriculum Development, HighScope Educational Research

Foundation, Ypsilanti, MI

Beverly Falk, Professor, School of Education, City College of New York, NY

Stephanie Feeney, Professor Emerita of Education, University of Hawaii; Chair of the Advocacy

Committee, National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, Honolulu, HI

Margery B. Franklin, Professor Emerita of Psychology, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY

Doris Fromberg, Professor and Director of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Hofstra University,

Hempstead, NY

Joe L. Frost, Parker Centennial Professor Emeritus, University of Texas, Austin, TX

Ellen Galinsky, author and work life researcher, New York, NY

Suzanne Gellens, Executive Director, Florida Association for the Education of Young Children, Tampa, FL

Roberta Golinkoff, H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education, Psychology, and Linguistics and Cognitive

Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Elizabeth N. Goodenough, Lecturer in Literature, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Rachel Grob, Director, Child Development Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY

Marcy Guddemi, Executive Director, Gesell Institute of Human Development, New Haven, CT

Darell Hammond, CEO and co-founder, KaBOOM!, Washington, DC

Jane M. Healy, educational psychologist and author, Vail, CO

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Professor of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Craig Holdrege, biologist, educator; Director, The Nature Institute, Ghent, NY

Carla M. Horwitz, Lecturer, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Carollee Howes, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, CA

Kim Hughes, Therapeutic Teacher, Trainer, and Consultant; 1999-2000 North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Project Enlightenment, Wake County Schools, Raleigh, NC

Olga S. Jarrett, Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

Candace Jaruszewicz, Director, N. E. Miles Early Childhood Development Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC

Jim Johnson, Professor-in-Charge of Early Childhood Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

Constance Kamii, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL

Lilian G. Katz, Professor Emeritus and Co-director, Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting,

University of Illinois, Champaign, IL

Ethan H. Kisch, M.D., Child Psychiatrist; Medical Director, Quality Behavioral Health, Warwick, RI

Robert H. Klein, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH

Tovah Klein, Director, Center for Toddler Development, Barnard College, Columbia University,

New York, NY

Edgar Klugman, Professor Emeritus, Wheelock College, Boston, MA

Alfie Kohn, author and lecturer, Belmont, MA

Linda Kroll, Professor, School of Education, Mills College, Oakland, CA

Linda Lantieri, Director, The Inner Resilience Program, New York, NY

Diane E. Levin, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Wheelock College, Boston, MA

Yeou-Cheng Ma, M.D., Developmental Pediatrician, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

Fran P. Mainella, Co-Chair, U.S. Play Coalition, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

David Marshak, Professor Emeritus, Seattle University, Seattle, WA

Milbrey McLaughlin, David Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Gillian D. McNamee, Professor and Director, Teacher Education, Erikson Institute, Chicago, IL

Deborah W. Meier, Educator and Senior Scholar, New York University, New York, NY

Mary Sue Miller, Lead Educator for Early Learning, Chicago Children’s Museum, Chicago, IL

Lowell Monke, Associate Professor of Education, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH

Mary Ruth Moore, Professor, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX

Dorine Morese, Instructional Coordinator, NYC Office of Early Childhood Education, New York, NY

John Nimmo, Executive Director, Child Study and Development Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH

Nel Noddings, Lee Jacks Professor Education Emerita, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Pedro A. Noguera, Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education and Executive Director, Metropolitan Center

for Urban Education, New York University, New York, NY

Susan Ohanian, Fellow, Education Policy Studies Laboratory, Arizona State University, Charlotte, VT

Sharna Olfman, Professor of Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Point Park University,

Pittsburgh, PA

Linda Olivenbaum, Director, California Early Childhood Mentor Program, San Francisco, CA

David Osher, Vice President, Education, Human Development, Workforce, American Institutes for

Research, Washington, DC

Vivian Gussin Paley, author and teacher emerita, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Chicago, IL

Kim John Payne, director, Center for Social Sustainability, Antioch University, Northampton, MA

Helene Pniewski, M.D., Developmental Pediatrician and Child Psychiatrist, Providence, RI

Ruth Prescott, Professional Development Director, Chicago Metro Association for the Education of

Young Children, Chicago, IL

Baji Rankin, Executive Director, New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children,    Albuquerque, NM

Fretta Reitzes, Director, Goldman Center for Youth and Family, 92nd Street Y, New York, NY

Mary S. Rivkin, Associate Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD

Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., Child Psychiatrist; Lecturer, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

A. G. Rud, Head, Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Eliza Russell, Director of Education, National Wildlife Federation, Reston, VA

Susan Riemer Sacks, Professor of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY

Lawrence J. Schweinhart, President, HighScope Educational Research Foundation, Ypsilanti, MI

Dorothy G. Singer, Senior Research Scientist, Dept. of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Jerome L. Singer, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Mary Stone, President, Missouri Association for the Education of Young Children, Springfield, MO

Maurice Sykes, Executive Director, Early Childhood Leadership Institute, University of the District of

Columbia, Washington, DC

Molly Thompson, Director, Early Childhood Programs, Breakwater School, Portland, ME

Arlene Uss, Director, Center for Early Care and Education, Bank Street College, New York, NY

Rosario Villasana-Ruiz, Faculty, City College of San Francisco, CA

Macy Welsh, Director, National Lekotek Center, Chicago, IL

Donald Wertlieb, Professor, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development, Tufts University, Medford, MA

Frank R. Wilson, M.D., Neurologist (retired), Stanford University School of Medicine, Portland, OR

Marie Winn, Writer, New York, NY

Lisa Witkowski, Director, Future Workforce Unit, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, Fort Worth, TX

Chip Wood, Author and educator, Courage and Renewal Northeast, Wellesley, MA

George Wood, Principal, Federal Hocking Middle & High School, Amesville, OH

Note:  Signers’ affiliations are listed for identification purposes only and do not signify the organizations’ endorsement of this statement. For a full list of signers, see www.allianceforchildhood.org. For more information about this statement and the Alliance, contact Executive Director Joan Almon (joan.almon@verizon.net) or Senior Researcher Edward Miller (ed@allianceforchildhood.org).

The above letter was mailed to all 50 state governors, 51 chief state school officers, and 88 state early childhood specialists. It was also hand delivered last week to the following offices:

At the National Governors Association–

Raymond C. Scheppach, Executive Director

Dane Linn, Director, Education Division

Ilene Berman, Program Director, K–12 Education

Rachel Demma, Senior Policy Analyst, Early Childhood Education

Kathleen Nolan, Director, Health Division

Mary Jo Waits, Director, Social, Economic and Workforce Programs Division

At the Council of Chief State School Officers–

Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director

Lois Adams-Rodgers, Deputy Executive Director

Scott Montgomery, Deputy Executive Director

Thomas Schultz, Director of Early Childhood

Melissa Zack Johnston, Director of Strategy and Implementation

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Here is an update…my letter to the editor was published. Check it out at http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090526/OPINION/905260305/-1/OPINION03 ?alt=rss ]]> On May 14th I wrote about preparing children for life versus preparing them for standardized tests. http://empoweredbyplay.blogspot.com/2009/05/are-we-preparing-children-for-life-or.html

Here is an update…my letter to the editor was published. Check it out at http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090526/OPINION/905260305/-1/OPINION03

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