The Power of a Child’s Voice

Born and raised in Vancouver, Severn Suzuki has been working on environmental and social justice issues since kindergarten. At age 9, she and some friends started the Environmental Children"s Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They traveled to 1992"s UN Earth Summit, where 12 year-old Severn gave this powerful speech that deeply affected (and silenced) some of the most prominent world leaders. The speech had such an impact that she has become a frequent invitee to many UN conferences.

I encourage you to watch this with your favorite youth and use it as a valuable source of engagement for the power of voice for change. Promise the Children offers a program in lobby skills to youth in Massachusetts every April that teaches this very concept. Keep an eye open for the workbook soon to be up on our website that will help adults to bring this program to every state. As adults we need to pass on the knowledge for the power of voice for change.

To view the powerful clip of Severn Suzuki at the United Nations, please go to: KarmaTube: The Girl Who Silenced the World at the UN

The Expanded Learning Time Initiative

Expanded Learning Time (ELT) is the initiative in Massachusetts which promotes the expanded learning time theory. This initiative is open to all public schools to compete for grants that would enable them to extend the learning day by approximately two hours either on a daily or seasonal basis. The goal of this redesign will equip students with the skills, knowledge, and leadership abilities required for full participation in the economic and civic life of our 21st century global economy. In a time where we are assessing the negative ramifications of the unfunded mandates under No Child Left Behind, ELT offers an alternative to the constraints of current public school policy.

As we in the education field are painfully aware, it is becoming more and more difficult to do what we as teachers set out to do. Teaching is fast becoming frustrating and difficult in an atmosphere of high stakes testing and compliance demands of NCLB. The law as written by bureaucrats from outside the classroom makes little or no sense to the teacher who wishes to inspire and truly educate rather than pump out performance drones whose achievements are measured and weighted for school ranking and accreditation. While the foundation of NCLB is noble, it has been ill-funded and ill-supported at the federal level which has set heavy and unattainable demands upon states and districts that must comply with the mandates.

In the search for alternatives, ELT is a philosophy whose time has come. While the fight to overhaul NCLB must continue in order to bring public school back to that which educates the whole child in an equitable way that is fair to both students as well as those who educate them, the immediate action that can be taken is the restructuring of schools one at a time.

The premise behind this restructuring starts with the need for more time. While demands upon public education have been expanding through the decades, one thing has remained stagnant...time. The school day has remained unchanged in time but not in structure. Current assessment demands in most states have eroded the foundation of what we used to deem a good public education. In many schools, art, music, drama, and physical education are either non-existent or are offered after hours for a few students who choose to participate and usually with an added financial demand. These “extras” are disappearing as part of the required curriculum because time is given over to subjects that are assessed; math, language arts, and science. Creative stimulation is necessary for the development of critical thinking and problem solving. Physical education is vital to a healthy life. These subjects cannot be disposable if we are to fulfill our commitment to wholly educating our children.

Massachusetts schools have the ELT option as a viable alternative while still adhering to the constraints of current state policy. There are extensive considerations for this conversion but the possibilities for reform are exciting. The first consideration as always is cost. The Massachusetts FY08 budget includes $13 million for the program which includes planning grants. In FY09, the budget will be increased to $17.5 million. A school that is granted the ELT program receives a payment of $1300 per student. The structure of this program also utilizes community partnerships for the enrichment aspects of the day. For instance, there are funds for outsourcing a dance program, martial arts, drama, or foreign language for the entire school. The benefit of utilizing community partnerships is twofold. It involves the community in the success of the school and it frees up faculty to focus on collaborative teaching plans and development.

Now is the time for states and districts to get creative with education reform. Eventually, we all hope that the federal mandates of NCLB with be adjusted thereby bringing equitable public education back to American children. In the meantime, one reform policy to pay attention to is ELT. Is this program available in your State? Ask your state Department of Education if this progressive program is on their agenda and advocate for change and equity in public education.

For more information on the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative go to: www.mass2020.org

MCAS Reform Lobby Day

On February 13th I had the opportunity to participate in the MCAS Reform Lobby Day held at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. This event is organized by Citizens for Public Schools (CPS) and was attended by both supporting organizations and youth from the surrounding communities. The Hearing room was packed as students raised their voices against an exam that is devestating graduation rates in the state especially in urban communities. I had the privilege of spending time with five of these students as they made their way to Representative Haddad’s office, the co-chair on the education committee. These students met with Rep. Haddad’s aide and told their stories of how this exam has negatively impacted their lives and the lives of their classmates. They were then able to make the same case their Representative, Brian Wallace, who listened with great interest to what they had to say.

This day was important for numerous reasons. One, we brought attention to the negative ramifications of high stakes testing and the need for alternative assessment methods to combat the escalating dropout rate. Two, we gave these students the opportunity to not only use their voice, but the opportunity to learn the process of lobbying and actively engaging in the process. Finally, we were able to show in force that the tolerance for the inequity that comes from this method of assessment has reached a limit. We succeeded on all of these points. Please consider joining this effort to bring change to the students of this Commonwealth and for that matter, across the country. High stakes testing is a a by-product of No Child Left Behind. To take action visit the NEA website and follow the links. If you are in Massachusetts, you can do the same at the MTA website. Please join us in our effort to reform these educational policies.