Katie Nuss
“Mobilizing the Community to Help Students Succeed”
Hugh B. Price
In the introduction chapter, author Hugh B. Price almost immediately gives his readers a warning – while quite knowledgeable in urban affairs, Price has never actually worked as a teacher in a K-12 classroom setting. His words should not be viewed as absolutes from an educational expert, but rather as an educational advocate and an expert in community and urban affairs.
1. Why is it useful – and perhaps even necessary – to listen to thoughts and advice from advocates who work closely with education but are not necessarily “educators,” such as Hugh B. Price?
Price mentions his reaction to an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal which was later turned into a book entitled A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League. I actually read this book last year, a recommendation from my roommate who had it assigned in an anthropology class. In it, the author describes a school in which academic achievement is so looked down upon, the students receiving awards will refuse to go to the assembly for fear of extreme ridicule and/or physical violence. Price states that “as [he] read the article, [he] kept muttering to [him]self, ‘This is utterly unacceptable. We just can’t have this. We must not let our children turn their backs on academic achievement.’” He then used this article and his own personal reaction to figure out what he could do as president of the Urban League to help close what he refers to as the “so-called” achievement gap.
The introduction does not give many (well, any) concrete suggestions for community mobilization/activation – however, it does give a fantastic insight into Price’s experiences and motivations. He writes with a voice uniquely his own.
Why listen to an outsider?
ReplyDeleteSomething we have touched on in a few of our discussions from our reading assignements, PERSPECTIVE!!
Too often we are satisfied with a one dimensional view of our challenges. Human nature is such that we always seek the less complicated. Additional perspective causes our view to become ever more complicated. While someone outside our circle cannot see all we see, they very likely are seeing something WE don't see. Though a rational and logical approach to outside perspectives, we can filter it for any nuggets truth. Bill_H
I agree with Bill.It is so good to get an outside opinion and a fresh perspective.
ReplyDeleteI too like Bill's comment that we are often unable to see the 'whole' picture from either the inside or the outside, and therefore a balanced perspective is helpful. I do think that there are great benefits to be had by collaborating with non-educators. As educators, we should all be child-advocates in the greatest sense, but we are only a small portion of child-advocacy in society. We, and especially our students, can benefit from these community/societal connections, ultimately providing more services, resources, and opportunities for our students. One thing that I am always cautious about however is letting non-educators go too far in dictating the actual education portion of child-advocacy. A brilliant business mind may have many wonderful ways of providing opportunities and resources for students, but may not be the best person to establish best practices in schools or determining appropriate professional development opportunities for teachers, for example. Just my thoughts...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mieke, it is good to have an outside opinion, but like Dean says, "we need to be cautious as far as letting them dictate." We need some advice, guidance but not dictatorship. We face these kids everyday and we when we bond, trust begins to build.
ReplyDeleteI think that bring a non-educator inside the classroom can be good at time. I think we need to get a different perspective. Sometimes we have people who are worried too much about standards and don't do a good enough job of just teaching and connecting with students. That is why I don't think its a bad thing to do this.
ReplyDeleteBill,
ReplyDeleteGood call on the perspective comment. I think our feathers get ruffled when "outsiders" come in and put their two cents in but I think their comments can be valuable because sometimes we are too close to a situation to see it clearly.
I think that any outside input is useful. I think it is a great way for ideas to start getting kicked around and eventually put into action if enough people contribute to the cause. Everyone is part of that community even if they don’t have children in the school system. It is a classic example of people with good hearts reaching out to help just for the sake of helping others succeed.
ReplyDelete