Robert Cook is managing director of Teach For America’s Native Achievement Initiative.
Today federal and state workers are taking the day off in honor and celebration of Columbus Day. Retail and department stores are marking items off for their annual Columbus Day Sales and our nation’s school children are enjoying the end of a 3-day weekend.
Beginning in 1934 when President Roosevelt signed Columbus Day into law as a federal holiday, we take the second Monday in October off as a nation to honor the historical discovery of the “New World.” At least that is what I learned as a young boy in school. Today, as a grown man and an enrolled citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation here in South Dakota, I have another take on this national holiday and the education myths of Christopher Columbus. I am proud to say I do not honor this day as Columbus Day.
Columbus wasn't the first European to land in America; in fact he didn’t even “land” on any of the main lands of the Americas. Historical evidence points to Leif Erickson, as the first European to land and settle a Norse village on Newfoundland some 500 years earlier. When Columbus did reach land in 1492, he “discovered” islands in the Caribbean already inhabited by scores of diverse and indigenous Native tribes.
Photo credit: Native American dancers at the Pie Town Pie Festival, New Mexico. jclarson via Wikimedia Commons
Five links that made us think this week:
Give me an O! Give me an M! Give me a G! Let's hear it, OMG! God is indeed the newest member of a cheerleading squad in a small East Texas town, where cheerleaders' decision to use Bible verses in banners has caused much controversy over the past week. The school superintendent has opposed the squad's actions, citing a law that bans religious expression at public school events. But the cheerleaders are saying "Goooo First Amendment rights!" and cheering their freedom of expression.
World Teachers’ Day is celebrated across the globe every year on October 5th, and this year’s slogan is ‘Take a stand for teachers!’ UNESCO’s Director General, Irina Bokova, released a YouTube video saying, “Each of us remembers our favorite teacher, each of us recalls the feelings of wonder and curiosity they fueled in us.” What teacher does this video make you remember? Personally, I will never forget my World History professor in high school, Blanca Facundo, who taught her students with a relentless drive to shape us into critical thinkers.
Wednesday’s first presidential debate on domestic issues left the audience wanting to hear more on the candidates' education policies. President Obama stood by his position to support education spending, while Gov. Romney claimed that he would eliminate all programs that didn’t pass this test: “Is the program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it?"
Photo via World Teachers' Day.
Bailey Hampton (Eastern North Carolina '04) is the Manager of District and School Partnerships for Teach For America—Houston.
On October 5, 1994, UNESCO celebrated the first World Teachers' Day to commemorate the 1966 signing of the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers by officials from the United Nations and the International Labor Organization.
Interestingly, it is not just in the United States that the profession of teaching is under-respected. UNESCO, with this year’s subtle slogan “Take a stand for teachers!” hopes countries will recognize the day by drawing attention to and discussing the profession and what we can do to support and celebrate our teachers. In that vein, I’d like to tip my hat off to efforts from around the globe to lift this holiday.
Photo by enixii via WikiCommons
Marcus Williams (Chicago ‘03) is on the Talent Recruitment Team at Teach For America.
Watching last night’s Presidential Debate, I heard references to Race to the Top, the success of schools in the state of Massachusetts, and inexplicably, “poor and disabled children.” If I had to choose a title to depict what I observed, I would go with Jay-Z’s “Politics as Usual.” Missing from the dialogue was the fundamental question of the status of the teaching profession and the value this country places on teachers.
Photo credit: Lionelt via Wikimedia Commons
Listening to the presidential candidates on education last night was like listening to two friends talk about how they intended to fix up their house. President Obama intends to throw new shingles on the roof with 100,000 new math and science teachers. Governor Romney wants to replace the plumbing and let federal funding “follow the child.” And they both agree that the new wood floors installed by their Race to the Top contractors look better than the old ones.
Except the house isn’t just in need of a fix-up. The house is on fire.
Photo credit: KoS via Wikipedia Commons
Jennifer Davis is the Co-Founder and President of the National Center on Time & Learning. Check out the NCLT blog, Time Matters.
Over the last few years we have seen a revolution in public education reform in America. One antiquated education structure that is undergoing dramatic change is the standard American school schedule of 180 six-and-a-half hour days. The long summer breaks and short school days are not meeting the needs of today’s students—especially those living in poverty. Exciting new school models are emerging all over the country.
For example, the Orchard Gardens K – 8 School in Boston is in the midst of a remarkable turnaround. Established in 2003, the school suffered from seven years of dismal student performance. Then, two years ago, with a new principal, the infusion of new staff—recruited with the help of TFA—an expanded school schedule, and “turnaround” funding from the federal School Improvement Grant program, the school began experiencing a renaissance. The teachers are talented, passionate, and relentless in their drive to transform their students’ education. Today the school can boast of rapidly rising student achievement, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recently singled the school out for praise during his speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Photo by David Schubert via WikiCommons
Vanessa Descalzi is manager of national communications for Teach For America.
I recently had the privilege of attending Education Nation, NBC’s annual summit about improving education in America (several TFA alums were also in attendance). Former Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the high school dropout crisis, while Condoleezza Rice shed light on what an uneducated workforce could mean for our country’s global competitiveness. San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro explored the broader challenges of poverty and education, and former first daughters Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager both shared their experiences with forward-thinking schools.
Looking back at this experience of a lifetime, I’m astonished by how many game-changing arguments I heard. But one proposition that still troubles me is one presented (l believe unintentionally) by Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney: that a parent’s presence in school is the single determining factor in a child’s educational success.
Photo credit: United States Navy ID 070222-N-4014G-098
Melissa Serio (St. Louis Corps '08) is a manager of teacher leadership development and real-time coach with Teach For America in Los Angeles.
Spoiler alert: Won’t Back Down ends with hope. Literally, the last word of the movie is “hope.” And you know what? I left the theater feeling just that.
As a former public school teacher who now coaches and supports teachers in both traditional and charter public schools, I know all too well the challenges our kids and teachers face every day. But the bottom line is: We have to have hope to work in public education, and it can’t hurt to be reminded of that.
Sure, there are some things the movie might exaggerate, glorify, and even demonize for effect, but a fair share of scenes reflect what I’ve seen and experienced firsthand. I’ve seen teachers scream at students and then sit back and do nothing. I’ve experienced the power parents have when they team up with teachers to provide better opportunities for their kids. And these are only a few small glimpses of the problems within education.
Photo by Walden Media via WBDToolKit
Masharika Prejean Maddison (Bay Area Corps ’08) is the executive director of Parents for Public Schools—San Francisco.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s a critical piece of the education equation.
I’m talking about parent-school partnerships.
Decades of research has proved the connection between student academic outcomes and parental support. The new movie Won’t Back Down provides an entry point into the dialogue on the role of parents in schools, but it could do a better job of highlighting critical ways that this group can be a supporting force for positive change. Rather, the movie perpetuates an often-repeated non-truth: that parents, unions, and school and district administrators are in a constant state of disagreement and misalignment. It’s not productive, nor is it an accurate depiction of how our nation’s public school systems operate.
Photo by Walden Media via WBDToolKit
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