Learning: Innovation
Community Connections

A curriculum uses oral histories and other local resources to teach children about their world.

Sweet maple syrup. Valleys dotted with dairy cows. Quaint villages where generations live side by side. You couldn't ask for a better setting than Vermont to develop an interdisciplinary curriculum that draws from a community's natural and cultural heritage, says former middle school teacher Mark Skelding.

Luckily, adds Skelding, Vermont is just one of many places rich in the kinds of living traditions that students everywhere can use to better understand their world. And so he's written a 200-page, step-by-step guide to show teachers how to help forge the connection between students and their community.

With co-authors Martin Kemple and Joseph Kiefer, Skelding has stuffed the book, Living Traditions, with sample projects, unit outlines, and sample forms that can be photocopied, so teachers don't have to reinvent the wheel.

Part of a series of place-based curriculum guides, Living Traditions gets its inspiration from "the very authentic learning opportunities" in our own backyards, says Skelding. "From the aspect of child development, it makes sense to start there."

It particularly makes sense to include local residents because, ultimately, they "drive the curriculum--they're not add-ons," says Skelding. The manual recommends identifying a community coordinator, perhaps a parent or elder volunteer, and offers suggestions for preparing students and community members for their time together.

Even simple activities like gathering for tea and cookies can start to bridge the gap between young and old. And this, says Skelding, makes activities such as building a watershed model, storytelling by elders, or producing documentaries--all noted in the book--meaningful and fun.

Skelding concedes the curriculum may work better in rural areas, where youngsters grow up with a sense of place. But "even in highly transient areas, students can explore the connection between cultural and natural heritage," he says. Because most teachers don't hail from the communities where they work, the guide also includes tips on researching local history.

Elementary and middle schools are the curriculum's biggest users, but Skelding says high schools are drawn to its service-learning component.

For more:
Contact Food Works at 800/310-1515 or foodwork@together.net.

Hard Facts About Achievement

It's not enough to set high standards and test students, says Educational Testing Service researcher Paul Barton. Student behavior and social attitudes also must be addressed before American students begin to do better academically. Barton explores these issues in the recently released ETS publication, Facing the Hard Facts in Education Reform.

What is the trend in student behavior?
Student behavior that is disruptive to the learning environment is growing. Gang presence at schools has also increased, and there's been a disproportionate impact on Black and Hispanic students. Research shows that this not only compromises student achievement but also likely reduces the number of people willing to enter or continue in the teaching profession.

Is academic achievement sufficiently valued in our culture?
Teachers want the best from their students, and they deliver strong messages to try hard. But they need more help from the other players in students' lives--parents, peers, even characters in sitcoms. The hard fact is that right now American culture is not really a learning culture, at least not in the K-12 period of life.

Does this mean there is little we can do?
Opinion polls put education at the top of the list of public concerns. But this has to translate into improving the quality of education by paying professional wages and advancing professional development. We need a strong signal from the public that education really does matter.

For more:
Visit www.ets.org/research/pic/facingfacts.pdf.

Learning to Help Kids Who've Seen War

Inspired by two sisters from Sierra Leone, bilingual teacher Pat Quinteros is following her heart: She's creating a video to help educators meet the special needs of immigrant students from war-ravaged countries.

"We weren't prepared to serve these children," says Quinteros, remembering her first staff meeting after the two girls arrived a couple years ago at Pine Grove Manor School in Somerset, New Jersey. "We didn't really understand the situation they were coming from."

Like other immigrants in the K-3 school, the sisters ended up in Quinteros' small bilingual class. But their trauma, and that of others from Sierra Leone, seemed particularly severe.

"We have students who hide under their desks or run into a closet when a teacher raises her voice," says Quinteros. "Some are orphans who, before coming to New Jersey, were living on the streets, witnessing murder. They've never been in school; some don't know how old they are."

With a $1,000 learning grant from the NEA Foun-dation for the Improvement of Education in hand, Quinteros and several colleagues set out to capture the real-life stories of students who escaped the brutality of their native lands.

Because her own students were too young to interview, Quinteros found local high school students and family members willing to talk about their torment: firebombed homes, weeks fleeing through the bush and eating roots, years living in refugee camps.

Quinteros intends to use the tape and written resource materials--all available this spring--in professional development workshops. And she wants regular teachers and guidance counselors--not just bilingual or ESL teachers--to use them.

"I want to create awareness and spark a dialogue," says Quinteros. For these children, she adds, "We just have to keep in mind what they've been through. We need to be extra kind."

For more:
E-mail Quin-teros at patkry@aol.com. Go to www.nfie.org for information on NFIE grants.

Shoulders to Lean On

The school year started off especially rough at Burlington High School in Iowa. A senior died in an alcohol-related death just before classes started, and about three weeks later, the school was devastated by a fatal accident involving the girl's volleyball team. Then came the events of September 11, adding anger to a school already dealing with sadness, remorse, and confusion.

Things started to change, though, when the school group, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), led by teacher James Upton, held an assembly in September that ended with students and staff joining hands. What started out as a simple gesture of solidarity and strength soon became a small phenomenon: Lean on Me, a school-based support group for staff and students, was born.

Now once a month, Burlington High students have a place to talk about whatever might be troubling them, and staff is always there for guidance. "I think the kids get a feeling of comfort knowing people are always there to help," says Upton.

So far, about 300 of Burlington's 1,450 students have joined the Lean on Me effort. Many wear red T-shirts on the 11th of each month; some wear them on other days to signal they are available to talk.

The results have been so encouraging that students are now spreading the word to other schools and colleges that are considering support groups of their own.

For more:
Contact James Upton at 319/753-2211.

Mentoring by the Book

For years, the Massachusetts Teachers Association has supported the mentoring of new public school teachers by their veteran peers. So it was great news last year when the state passed a law requiring all school districts to institute mentoring programs. Unfortunately, many didn't take up the call, and the state failed to enforce the new regulation.

That's when the MTA's Center for Educational Quality and Professional Development (CEQPD) stepped up to the plate to make mentoring a reality.

"Our view was that no one knows what's truly needed in a mentoring program like front-line teachers themselves," says Kathleen Skinner, director of CEQPD. "Our new teachers wanted mentoring, and plenty of long-time teachers were willing to volunteer their time. But the state mandate wasn't going anywhere." So, she says, CEQPD decided to design a handbook that might nudge school districts along. The idea: Don't just talk about it, show administrators how to create mentoring programs they can adapt to their individual needs.

The result was Charting a Course: a Mentor Program Handbook, a user-friendly book published this year by MTA. The step-by-step guide includes everything from background research to the fine points of actually building a mentoring program.

The book, says Skinner, was a collaborative effort of the MTA staff, and the excitement over it is is palpable. "Administrators and district representatives are calling us to express their enthusiasm--as are teachers, who want to take part as mentors," she says.

Nora Todd, chief author, says the idea for the book came from a New Jersey Education Association handbook on the basics of mentoring.

"We wanted to go further--to produce a tool that could get mentoring programs off the ground," she says. "I think we truly succeeded."

For more:
E-mail Todd at ntodd@massteacher.org or call 617/878-8232.