EDU Trending: Good News Lens: Putting Kids First
In the swirl of politics, debate, and animus about what’s best for kids in school, some people are steering clear of the in-fighting. They are focusing their lens and their efforts on putting kids first by providing them with the academics, skills, and mindset to achieve the lives and careers they desire. Following are two stories of collaborative purpose, innovation, progress, and hope. They are two of many, rising up from coast to coast.
Essex North Shore Agriculture & Technical School
In September, 2022, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker awarded Essex North Shore a state Skills Capital Grant of more than $1.7 million, specifically to expand its Culinary Arts and Animal Science programs and help students to develop up-to-date knowledge and skills in two industries which offer multiple career options across the Commonwealth.
Located in a suburb north of Boston, the school prides itself on maintaining a “...balance between academic coursework and solving real-world problems through technical education…” https://patch.com/massachusetts/marblehead/s/iev6u/1-7-million-state-grant-to-help-essex-tech-modernize-expand-labs?utm_term=article-slot-4&utm
In addition to its track record, to be considered for the grant, Essex North Shore had to meet two qualifying criteria that advantage students whether they choose a career or college path: First, alignment of school curriculum with local growth industry needs. Second, productive partnerships with local businesses and organizations that provide mentored learning opportunities and work. experiences.
Essex North Shore has earned accolades for their real-world learning approach. For one example, check out this student narrated video on the importance of urban agriculture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnlRxYQqenk&t=80s&ab_channel=TheHechingerReport To learn more and see more: https://essexnorthshore.org/
Camden City School District
Camden, NJ, is one of the poorest, most dangerous cities in the U.S. Almost 30% of its families live below the poverty line. Academic performance and test scores for its approximate 15,000 students have been chronically low, but things are changing in Camden.
The School District motto - “Putting Students First” - is becoming a promise fulfilled. The non-profit Camden Education Fund (CEF) has worked to offer parents more choice in deciding the best learning environment for their children by creating an alliance between public, charter, and renaissance schools.
Yes, teachers are getting the respect and honor they deserve. On June 27, 2021, CEF held its first annual RISE (Resilience, Inspiration, Solutions-oriented, Educators) award, celebrating all Camden teachers and the 10 winners chosen from across the district. To experience the community excitement, joy, and pride, click on the link below: https://frontrunnernewjersey.com/2021/06/27/camden-education-fund-names-10-teachers-as-rise-awardees/
CEF and other non-profits, like the Camden Schools Foundation also work with community and business leaders to identify and fund educational needs throughout the city. In the following video, students, parents, and teachers speak more eloquently about Camden spirit and support than anyone else ever could: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brgww6mrHXQ&ab_channel=CamdenSchoolsFoundation
When everyone is pulling in the same direction, the odds for success are maximized from elementary school through high school:
Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School and the Camden City School District have given us a watershed moment in education. They prove what can be accomplished when people work with love, intelligence, and a singular purpose to ensure every child’s right to dream and succeed.
News and Views: HATE: Just Plain Nuts…
Even with all the love, there is hate. This is the face of hate.
There are countless others – that reveal a virulence, more deeply ingrained in the American psyche than we ever dare to imagine.
For months, I have been reading about, listening to, and watching things that are profoundly disturbing. Hateful, vicious examples of racism and bigotry spewed…
… into the public square for all of us to behold until we have to turn away in disgust. It is a sound and fury signifying a great deal indeed. Many of the people who rightly protest and march against the horrors, indignities, and prejudice they have endured are among those who are all too willing to inflict the same isolation and cruel discrimination on others.
Recently, at U.C. Berkeley, several groups of law students are participating in blatant anti-Semitism, stating that any Jewish person who supports Israel’s right to exist will never be invited to speak to: Women of Berkeley Law, Law Students of African Descent, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Middle Eastern and North African Law Students Association, and the Queer Caucus. https://www.newsweek.com/uc-berkeley-law-schools-jew-free-zones-latest-progressive-trend-opinion-1748218
Self-appointed hate mongers can be found on other college campuses. Last year a guest speaker at Yale - a medical doctor, a psychiatrist - leveled a chilling threat in her condemnation of all White people: https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2022/09/07/how_blatant_anti-white_racism_won_acceptance_in_elite_america_850879.html?mc_cid=8d30259acf%25
In 2020, at Princeton, a student group demanded that a respected tenured professor lower his grading standards for Black students to rectify alleged systemic racism. The professor refused stating that such action would itself be discriminatory as it presumed that students of color could not measure up. The group’s Black members agreed with the professor, but the group persisted. In the end, the university and its president found reason to fire the professor. https://quillette.com/2022/06/10/free-speech-and-due-process-at-princeton-the-case-of-joshua-katz/
Such incidents are now commonplace and increasing exponentially. In every case noted above, those who foment hate and violence, have the temerity to hide behind their proclaimed right of free speech. Hate is a coward after all. College leaders who defend and appease miscreants, yet demonize and even fire those who stand up to bad actors should be ashamed.
Nor should we forget the long-standing denial of college acceptance for deserving members of the AAPI community as well as the threats of personal violence aimed against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 outbreak. Perpetrators of hate seem to believe that if they point the finger at someone else, they will deflect the focus from themselves. They are wrong. No one is immune.
Hate speech cannot be allowed to masquerade as free speech. No where. No how. Not now. Not ever.
It is beyond dangerous. It is crazy. Completely, certifiably NUTS!
If we do not respect each other and stand together, if hate is what drives and defines us, then American democracy will splinter into warring factions for generations. Worse, we risk devolving into fascism whose autocratic leaders will have us all in their sights, one group at a time.
The only nuts I want are in a bowl on a coffee table so that we can all nibble while enjoying a movie, a football game, or just goofing around with our kids.
How can we square what is happening in the adult world with our attempts to establish tenets of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our K to 12 schools? The answer is: We can’t. We have to choose.
We have to act. Think Essex North Shore and Camden..
Nuts, anyone?
(As an aside, we wonder why these serious issues and stories are not headline news for in-depth discussion on network and cable TV. The sorry lack of media attention and responsibility will be addressed at a future date.)
Question of the Day: A Warm Fuzzy.
The words “a warm fuzzy” evoke a feel good sense of delightful softness and happiness. We could all do with a warm fuzzy to make us feel loved and safe, cocoon-protected from the duplicity and meanness so quick to sting us in today’s uncivil discourse. To be clear, even if the world were perfect, a warm fuzzy will always be welcome. The phrase was coined by a children’s book author, one of the five below:
Beatrix Potter
Claude Steiner
Eric Carle
Beverly Cleary
Mo Willems
For the answer, please go to https://www.merleschell.com/taking-care-of-you/ and see the article “Oh, To Be A Child Again.”
For a real life warm fuzzy, see what one teacher in Hawaii does to make her students feel loved and ready to take on the world. Every one of us can follow her lead. It is more good news for you to enjoy in the October blog:
From Me to You: A Little Inspiration
The Inspiration Pencil® is something you might consider for that token holiday gift - guaranteed to bring a smile to friends, family members, or your students. It is not the big “WOW” gift. But whenever someone picks one up, the pencil will deliver a message of hope and a reminder that everything is possible. Pretty good for a pencil.
To find out how The Inspiration Pencil ® came to be, check out the story “A LittleInspiration” at https://www.merleschell.com/taking-care-of-you/ Whether you are a teacher or parent, I think you will nod in recognition.
This is a happy time of year. It is a time to draw close to those we love, to connect with ourselves, to be grateful and pay it forward. It is a time to refresh and renew. Better times are coming if we do our part in making it so.
So, we offer you these pencils. Neither they nor their sayings have the power to effect positive change. However, they may inspire recipients to try, to write something, say something, do something that will make a difference for someone else. Here’s to good intentions and more good news than bad in 2023.
You can order individual pencils by the dozen or a mixed dozen of all three. For prices and details: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScObyNP1TqolApsvYDKl3-TchJLO2RnKNPvbRJz-Gs_GH6tbQ/viewform