AV #262 - Season for grace is over. Time to push.

 

                August – The school year begins                         

 

“For everything there is a season.” Perhaps the season for grace is over.

This school year, time to push  

 

    Allow them some grace. This is what we said about our students’ backsliding during and shortly after the worst of the pandemic. We saw poor attendance, late work, and papers of lower quality than we were accustomed to. We experienced more disruptions in the classroom, many students who needed “to learn to do school” again, and more than a few parents who expected us to tolerate A LOT. 

    It tested teachers’ patience. Often (too often?) we told ourselves, it’s a tough time for the kids; don’t overreact; be sympathetic. Forgive what in a school B.C. (Before Covid) would have been unacceptable. If this led to grade inflation, to granting diplomas to seniors we knew full-well had not met the usual expectations to graduate[i]—in short, to lowering the bar—well, we ask, “What could we do?”

    It is August, 2023. Is that grace period over? I think it must be. Time to say so—and to act accordingly.

8 examples - pages 2-3

Addendum            Pre-Covid, GRIT was the four-letter word (and book) of the day. Angela Duckworth told us that grit grows when parents, teachers, and coaches push.

    I am aware of the grim reports on the long-term impacts of the Covid years.[ii] I realize our students have not “caught up.” To quote a phrase, “It ain’t over till it’s over”—and Covid’s impact ain’t over.  Nevertheless, I hope teachers can once again enter classrooms eager to do what they have long considered to be appropriate and necessary. What good teachers, coaches, mentors--and best friends--deem fair and, ultimately, kind. To push. (Pages 2-3 offer eight examples.)

    To push and to challenge. Meaning exactly what? Synonyms vary—from stern: demand, hold accountable, to friendly: nudge, encourage, expect more… Our actions will vary. The central point: if “anything goes” has been our theme song since March 2020, that must end.[iii] The season for grace is over. Starting now.

    An 8^th-grade teacher described 2022-23 as a “transition” year, following the previous two years when her students grew “used to laxer academic standards and doing school virtually.” “The transition has been tough,” she said.[iv] If true for many teachers, returning to the expectations we held four years ago will be equally difficult. But let’s ask ourselves: On the “laxer scale,” if you will, where should we be this fall? If we accept that the learning loss is all-too real, what now? We must be ready to push.

    Expect opposition. It will require courage to hold the line. The Covid years may have created a new normal for some. Don’t give us that old bromide about high expectations. Get real. Give our kids a break.

   Two key values come to mind: responsibility and respect. How do we help our students become responsible? We foster this character trait by saying to that high school junior: No, this two-page paper with run-ons or fragments in almost every sentence is not acceptable. Return it, but offer encouragement: I know you can do better. Let me see another draft. And if you need help, I am here.

    And how do we show respect? I asked an educator if she thought it too early for us to raise the bar. Not at all, she answered; students want to know we believe in them – and what they are capable of. 

   To expect too little may seem kind, but it can prove devastating. Oh, so they think this is the best I can do.  We do well to show our students that we respect their intelligence and their potential. Let’s be truly kind—and give them a much-needed push.

    **

 

To push, to raise your sights, to help you imagine who you can be - 8 examples

SCHOOLS, SCHOOL LEADERS, PROFESSORS, TEACHERS … 

“Temple Grandin on what makes a good teacher,” Youtube - US Autism Association, May 13, 2022

“A good teacher knows just how hard to push… This is where the good teacher has to kind of tailor how much they push by the child. You’ve got to stretch, because if you don’t push a little bit, you don’t get improvement. But a good teacher has the instinct to know just how hard to push.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ojsz6qNrck

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“APS band instructor named 2023 Colorado Teacher of the Year,” by Carina Julig, Sentinel Colorado, October 31, 2022

On Jimmy Day, music teacher at East Middle School, Aurora Pubic Schools

   “Day’s band students, who Day led in a rousing performance during the assembly, described him as an exacting teacher who wanted the best for his students and helped show them how much they could achieve.

   “'He’s passionate and he always pushes us to try our best,' said Josue Carillos, a seventh grade student who has played trombone at East for the past two years.

   Margarita Gomez Barban, an eighth grade percussion player, said that some other students had left the band program because they thought Day was too strict, but she stayed because she knew he would push them to live up to their potential.

https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/aps-band-instructor-named-2023-colorado-teacher-of-the-year/?

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“How One School’s Mentorship Program Paid Off Big,” by Madeline Will, Education Week, March 1, 2023

On Kimberly Radostits, a Spanish teacher, Illinois Teacher of the Year (Mrs. Rad) – and her colleagues

“Caelyn Langley, 17, went through Hawks Take Flight [in Oregon, Illinois] as a freshman. She had struggled in middle school, and she didn’t expect to do well in high school—but the educators in the program pushed her to keep on top of her assignments and put effort into her work.

“Someone who means something to you is telling you that you can do it and is pushing you to do your best,” Caelyn said. “Mrs. Rad was the first teacher I’ve had a relationship like that with. She really gave me advice and helped me figure stuff out.”  https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-one-schools-mentorship-program-paid-off-big-in-academic-gains/2023/02

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“Teens share vision for schools,” by Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News, Nov. 20, 2004

   “So what do students want? Teachers who are knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects … But the most common desire has less to do with academics than with relationships. Students, over and over, talked about a need for personal relationship with a motivating adult at their school.

   “‘Someone who is pushing you, paying attention to you, holding you accountable,’ one group of students said.”

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Martha Urioste and Adrianna Abarca

“DPS Voice interviews Adrianna Abarca, Founder of the LCAC, for Hispanic Heritage Month 2020.” In this 2020 interview, Abarca recalled being in high school – and the lady who gave her a push.

“There was a Chicana Vice Principal at North High School, Martha Urioste, who was big into education, and she pushed me. She said, “You need to go to college.” And thank god I did go to college because college is where I was able to take Chicano and Latino Americano Studies, that is where I was able to learn about my cultural identity, about my people’s history, and that totally changed the game for me, 100%.” https://www.lcac-denver.org/single-post/dps-voice-with-adrianna-abarca

Abarca is the founder and board chair of the Latino Cultural Arts Center, Denver, and Latino Community Foundation of Colorado. When Martha Urioste (1937-2022) passed away last year, no doubt many of us who knew her reflected on the wonderful ways she encouraged, challenged, and raised the bar.

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“Denver Urban Spectrum editor, MSU Denver journalism professor Alfonzo Porter dies,” by Bruce Finley, The Denver Post, March 14, 2023.

“Upon his death, Alfonzo Porter received much praise, including from one of his students, Metropolitan editor Sara Martin, 22. Porter, she said, ‘pushed us to do our best… He would tell us to be bold, check power, follow the money. He pushed us to be better. He was also our friend.’” https://www.denverpost.com/2023/03/14/denver-urban-spectrum-editor-msu-journalism-professor-alfonzo-porter-obituary/ 

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At WORK and at PLAY

Professionals

Trish Hall, Writing to Persuade (Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2019). Hall is the former editor of The New York Times Op-Ed page. Hall writes of her first editor, Michael, when she was beginning her reporting career. On her first assignment she conducted an interview. Upon returning to write up her story, she realized she had lost her notes. This editor made her set up and conduct the interview a second time.

“Michael made me transform that failure into a success and turn out my first story…  If he hadn’t forced me to do that, I might have just left… To some degree, finding people like Michael who can push you is simply luck.”

Teammates, Colleagues

Where else do we get that push? Often it can be our own classmates and teammates, those with whom we learn and play. Sometimes their higher expectations of us can become our own.

Eric Johnson, long-time Colorado Avalanche defenseman. He signed with the Buffalo Sabres in early July. But before departing, he took out page in The Denver Post to say farewell and thank you to the Avalanche community. Among his words:

“To my teammates, thank you for pushing and supporting me over the last decade plus.

You are my friends forever.”

Addendum – “demanding but supportive mentors”

Grit – Why passion and resilience are the secrets of success, by Angela Duckworth

Most of us are familiar with Duckworth's focus on “Growing Grit from the Inside Out,” found in Part II. But educators know she is speaking to us in Part III, “Growing Grit from the Outside In.” She examines the people and factors that contribute to developing this character trait: family members, teachers, and coaches, and even the culture of teams and organizations. 

From chapter 10, “Parenting for Grit.”

It’s not just mothers and fathers who lay the foundation for grit.

   There’s a larger ecosystem of adults that extends beyond the nuclear family. All of us are “parents” to young people other than our own children in the sense that, collectively, we are responsible for “bringing forth” the next generation. In this role of supportive but demanding mentors to other people’s children, we can have a huge impact. (216-217)

Duckworth includes a figure capturing how some psychologists speak of “parenting styles.” (212)

Undemanding      <	Permissive parenting	Wise parenting	>       Demanding
	Neglectful parenting	Authoritarian parenting

She writes:                                                                                                                                                 Bold mine

    … emerging research on teaching suggest many uncanny parallels to parenting. It seems that psychologically wise teacher can make a huge difference in the lives of their students.

   Ron Ferguson is Harvard economist who has collected more data comparing effective and ineffective teachers than anyone I know. In one recent study, Ron partnered with the Gates Foundation to study students and teachers in 1,892 different classrooms. He found that teachers who are demanding—whose students say of them, ‘My teacher accepts nothing less than our best effort,’ and ‘students in this class behave the way my teacher wants them to’—produce measurable year-to-year gains in the academic skills of their students. Teachers who are supportive and respectful … enhance students’ happiness, voluntary efforts in class, and college aspirations. (218)

 

She observes:

   Not every grit paragon has had the benefit of a wise father and mother, but every one I’ve interviewed could point to someone in their life who, at the right time and in the right way, encouraged them to aim high and provided badly needed confidence and support. (219-220)

She then recounts the story of Cody Coleman, one teenager without a parent supporting him. It was his older brother who gave Cody the initial push, and it grew from there.

     … What he did have was a brother who said the right thing at the right time, an extraordinarily wise and wonderful high school math teacher, and an ecosystem of other teachers, mentors, and fellow students who collectively showed him what’s possible and helped him get there. (222)

Endnotes

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[i] “New York City’s graduation rate rose during the pandemic. Why?,” Chalkbeat, July 10, 2023,  https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/10/23777035/nyc-schools-pandemic-learning-grading-policy-nx-failing-courses-college-readiness. 

“When schools first shifted to remote learning in March 2020, it quickly became clear that students were struggling to log on to their classes and complete assignments. Thousands lacked access to devices, WiFi, or a quiet place to work. As worry spread that many could get left behind, education department officials announced new academic guidelines. Attendance and testing requirements would be waived for the remainder of the year. No student would fail a course…. 

“The education department promised that this would provide greater flexibility and extend empathy to students who were struggling in the face of a major public health crisis. 

“Reflecting back on the policy, many educators worry it misleadingly inflated graduation rates and left some kids academically unprepared. Many teachers felt their hands were tied and that the system — which they were a part of — failed to support the most vulnerable students.”

[ii] “Recent school year saw little academic recovery, new study finds,” by Matt Barnum, Chalkbeat, July 10, 2023. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/7/11/23787212/nwea-learning-loss-academic-recovery-testing-data-covid#:~ 

[iii] From “Anything Goes,” Cole Porter, 1934

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking
But now, God knows anything goes
Good authors too who once knew better words
Now only use four-letter words
Writing prose
Anything goes

 

[iv] “The teaching profession is facing a post-pandemic crisis,” by Matt Barnum, Chalkbeat, June 27, 2023, 

https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/27/23774375/teachers-turnover-attrition-quitting-morale-burnout-pandemic-crisis-covid