Missing the point in education reform

I had a conversation in the grocery aisle yesterday with a guidance counselor. She bemoaned the fact that schools are so focused on test scores that they're losing students. Kids who have varied learning styles are being ignored in favor of left brained math scores. Writing scores are going up because students are being taught to fill ina template that matches the testing. Programs that allowed non traditional students to thrive are being elminated either because of cost cutting or the fact that schools want to devote more time to prepping for tests.

What??? All of this makes no sense. Certainly we want our students to be able to compete in the world by havig them be successful in math and english. But times have changed and we need creative thinkers, people who will solve the problems the world presents, who will design the next inventions, find the newest cures. If we don't foster creativity in schools, if we don't allow kids to have classes that are worth coming to school for, then we don't present the kind of enviroment from which these new developments will arise. Noted author Daniel Pink in his book "Whole New Mind" says we MUST allow creativity because many of the jobs that are structured and left brain will either be done by a computer or will be done oversees.

Kids already have a low opinion of schools from the archaic methods used to teach - the pop quiz, putting kids on the spot, the lack of humor and warmth. If we take away music, the arts, the tech courses, there is no reason for students to get up in the morning. Would we want to work in an environment where nothing is to our liking? Or to our talents? Yes, we may have jobs like that but that's our own choosing for the most part. And we get to have other lives without homework adding insult to injury.

The other piece of this horrible puzzle is the bullying component. Everyone keeps saying that the answer to fighting bullying is education but not the kind of education described above. We need to create a nurturing enviroment and give kids the tools to cope. We need to treat them like the precious people they are. We need to create safe, empowering, inspiring classrooms where kids love to come to school.

Sound impossible? It isn't. We did it in my school. And years later, kids are still talking about it. We need to act and act now. We don't need disconnected, uninspired robots who can pass tests but have no enthusiam, no joy, no creativity. If you're an educator, please think about adding fun, creativity and inspiration to your class. If you're a principal, make that a part of your school's mission statement.

Bullying solutions

Well I didn't win the Pepsi grant to donate my program to 100 schools. But I did get to see one of my goals materialize. As a contributor and actor in Kaleidoscope Theatre's play "High School BULLY", I was wondering if we were doing enough with the play and my Strategies for Success anti-bullying leadership/success curriculum. We knew our programs were reaching the students exposed to the material. But could we do better? Could we reach more students? Could be encourage our state to be more proactive in fighting bullying rather than reactive?

My goal was to gather interested parties from around the state - teachers, administrators, parents, students, community members, police, social workers - to communicate, brainstorm solutions and in general let the kids in the state know that adults were working hard to find solutions to the bullying problems that plagued them.

We were told that maybe 10% of the state would show up. Instead we had an overwhelming response and great interaction within the individual communities and between all the participants. They are about to form a statewide coalition to move forward.

Everyone did a great job to make this vision a reality and hopefully, we can provide more and more solutions to protect our precious children from the ravages of bullying. If you know of a school that can benefit from these programs, please check them out. They are making a difference in lives every day.

Help me stop bullying

It's been a very long time since I've written. I've been working on the major update of the Strategies for Success curriculum for high schools. I taught the course to a group of college freshmen this summer (they raved about it!!) and I reprised the role of the Fairy Godmother again in Cinderella on tour this summer. Busy, busy, busy! But I love it and am very grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way.

But the biggest thing is the journey to end bullying. As many people know, I wrote my program after the suicide death from bullying of one of my students. The program changed my school and the lives of the over 85% of the students who took it. But bullying continues in our country. And we need to do something...all of us.

I'm working with a group on putting together an Anti-Bullying Summit for my state where we gather people from all communities with a stake in bullying and brainstorm solutions. Better to gather solutions and put them into practice than wait til another student is harmed.

I also applied for a grant from Pepsi and this is where I could use your help. You see the grants go to those people who have the most votes. Now lots of people have voted for American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. This time I need you to vote for my proposal which would get my program in 100 schools, train the teachers, turn the two bullying shows from Kaleidoscope Theatre into DVD's so they can be seen world wide and much more....

Please vote...every day in August...and tell everyone you know to do the same. We can do this..if we take the time to save a life...

Here's how: Text message 101886 to Pepsi (73774) or go to: http://pep.si/bDCjyz


Thanks!!!