fel - another look #1

Florida

Another Look

Electronic Edition # 3

Florida Educational Leadership Electronic edition

- Another Look -

In case you forgot, the cover on this issue of the

electronic edition of FEL is the picture that appeared on

the first cover of FEL—The Inaugural Edition in 2000.

This and future electronic editions of FEL

—Another Look will mostly be composed of articles

from past issues of FEL. Recent members will not have

had the opportunity to read these articles and those who

have will see how many of these writings have withstood

the evaluation of time.

We may also include new articles that may

not have fit in the annual printed edition of FEL

in the Fall.

We anticipate that FEL—Another Look will

be produced every quarter during the year beginning

with this first issue in July. Issues are planned for

July, October, January, April of each year.

Page 1

Items of Interest

Editorial Staff & FASCD Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back cover

FASCD Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 12

Writing for Florida Educational Leadership Journal . . .Page 6

Thanks to Johanna Lang, Broward County Schools, for the cover photo.

W. James Popham: Not Happy With Florida’s School-Grading System? Then Fix It ! P. 3 It is interesting that this article, written at the dawn of the FCAT is as pertinent today as it was when it was

published. Most of the suggestions that Dr. Popham presents in the article can still be initiated. Makes one

wonder what would have happened if Florida educators aggressively took the actions he suggested.

This first issue of FEL—Another Look features articles from the first issue of FEL in September, 2000. We

have selected several articles from this issue as well as a few current book reviews. Enjoy.

Susan Jones: Masterful Instruction: Wiring The Brain P. 7

Susan has presented her ideas for improving instruction at many ASCD conferences over the years. This arti-

cle deals with the content, process and product of learning. Contrary to the emphasis on passing the test, she

emphasizes the need for students to become actively involved in the learning process.

Jeffrey S. Kaplan: Are We Teaching Our Children to Play? P. 10

Dr. Kaplan has been an associate editor and contributor to FEL since the first issue. This article stresses the

fundamental of need to play as a vital ingredient to learning. What has happened over the years. Free play

time has diminished in the schools, with recess a major casualty. This article presents the need for children to

have structured creative lessons centered around playfulness.

Book Review: Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey Through the Dark World of

Compulsory Schooling. John Taylor Gatto In this book, Gatto takes on the established form of school-

ing. You won’t agree with all he says but there is much to think on. P. 18

Book Review: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. John Taylor

Gatto In the first of two books Gatto criticizes public education from the inside. He was a New York State

and City Teacher of the Year. P. 17

Jennifer Deets: Research Matters P. 15

Dr. Deets proposes a different approach to research saying that it need not always be the strict by-the-

book format required for a doctoral dissertation or a formal presentation of ca arefully controlled

study. Her primary suggestion is for all to maintain a journal. This will help provide a framework for

understanding curriculum change and educational reforms.

Mary Kay Morrison: Humor Is A Funny Thing P. 13

Research on humor in the classroom is not extensive, but compelling. Similar to other articles in this issue, the

author proposes that humor can be used to make the classroom more conducive to teaching and learning. That

is a large help in these days of drill, drill, drill.

Page 2

Not Happy With Florida's

School-Grading System?

Then Fix It !

FEL—Another Look From Issue # 1, September 2000

W. James Popham

F lorida's educators are currently saddled with an invalid school-grading

system. The chief determiner of a Florida school's annual A to F grade

is the performance of students on the Florida Comprehensive Assess-

ment Test (FCAT). Yet, based on students' 1999 performance, an

atypically high correlation exists between students' FCAT scores and students'

socioeconomic states (SES). Such a strong correlation constitutes prima facie

evidence the FCAT may be really measuring

what students bring to school, not what

they learn there.

A school-grading system based

primarily on a test that is signifi-

cantly confounded with students'

SES is certain to yield mislead-

ing estimates of a school-

staff's effectiveness. Teach-

ers who serve an affluent

group of students will look

good even if their instruc-

tional efforts are only so-so.

Teachers who serve a low

SES set of students will ap-

pear to be ineffective even

though they might be doing a superb instructional

job. If students' FCAT scores are heavily correlated

with factors such as their parents' income and educa-

tional levels, it is wholly inaccurate to grade school

using an evaluative model dominantly influ-

enced by FCAT scores.

Consequences of an Invalid

School-Grading

System There's little doubt that Flor-

ida's educators are under con-

siderable pressure to boost

their students' FCAT scores.

Few people like to receive

low evaluations, and educa-

tors are no exception. Be-

sides, there are meaningful

contingencies linked to a Florida

school's annual grade. As a consequence, in

most Florida districts the superintendent will usually

encourage the district's principals to boost their school's

FCAT scores. And, thereafter, most principals will

Page 3

encourage their school's teachers to boost FCAT

scores. It's only human nature. We all prefer to receive

high rather than low marks. But remember that the

FCAT is a heavily SES-linked test. This means that

educators in schools serving low-SES students will

really have to engage in extraordinary score-boosting

efforts to escape the grades of D or F that will almost

certainly be awarded to their schools on the basis of the

student's FCAT scores.

So what do such educators do? They drill, and

drill, and drill. They drill their students on content apt

to raise children's FCAT scores. Curricular content that

hasn't been Tallahassee-sanctioned by inclusion on the

FCAT will be deemphasized or abandoned altogether.

As a result, many of Florida's children are now being

forced to endure a dull, repetitious and devalued in-

structional experience.

Talk to almost any Florida educator about what's

going on in school to prepare students for the FCAT

and you'll hear tales that will make you squirm. Some

schools essentially shut down any instruction other

FCAT-prep for weeks, or even month, prior to the test's

February (now in April) administration. And in many

schools, truly worthwhile curricular content has long

since been elbowed out by FCAT-tested content.

What's taking place in many Florida's schools is a form

of instructional corruption seriously short-changes the

state's children.

All right, I've tried to suggest that Florida's school-

grading system is seriously flawed and, as a conse-

quence, is leading to FCAT-pressured instructional

practices that are doing educational harm to the state's

students. What's to be done about it?

Carping or Correcting? If you share my concerns about Florida's ill-conceived

scheme for grading schools, it seems to me that you

have two basic options. Once choice is to sit back and

complain. You can bemoan the unsound evaluative

system thrust on the state's educators by misguided

policymakers. Go one step further, you can even ques-

tion the motives of the school-grading system's archi-

tects by asserting that this kind of accountability ap-

proach will (A) yield political capitol, (B) be a vehicle

to establish a statewide voucher system, or (C) both of

these.

But carping about a flawed enterprise, or the mo-

tives of those who created it, rarely leads to genuine

improvements. I suggest, therefore, if you believe that

Florida's school-grading approach is unsound, you set

out to correct its shortcomings. I'll be suggesting three

specific activities in which the state's educators might

engage that, if successful, could lead either to the elimi-

nation of Florida's school-grading program or to its

meaningful improvement.

A Modified Program School-grading systems are not intrinsically evil. In-

deed, if a defensible school-grading system is installed

in any state, then the citizens of that state will be able

to determine which school-staffs are doing a decent job

and which school-staffs are falling down on the job.

As a consequence, the state's students can then be more

effectively taught because successful school-staffs can

be applauded while unsuccessful school-staffs can be

supplied with instructional support.

So, my first suggestion is that those Florida educa-

tors who are dissatisfied with the state's current school-

grading system cooperatively develop (at the district,

regional, or statewide level) a more defensible method

of grading Florida's schools. There are many legitimate

indicators of a school's quality. Test scores, certainly,

must be an important component. But there are other

sorts of tests than that represented by the FCAT. And

there are numerous non-test variables that even skeptics

will regard as credible.

For example, suppose a school's staff collected

anonymously supplied student responses to attitudinal

inventories that, over the course of a school year,

showed students' interested in learning had increased as

well as their confidence in being able to read or to pre-

sent oral reports. Such evidence, if carefully gathered,

is one important indicator that the school's staff is per-

forming well.

Or imagine that a school's staff had collected start-

of-year and end-of-year writing samples, coded stu-

dents' responses so the pretests could not be distin-

guished from the posttests, mixed them together, then

had the writing samples evaluated by parents. If such

blind-scored writing samples indicated that students'

skills had substantially improved, in other words, the

pre-test-to-posttest data showed that teachers were

really helping children learn how to write well, that's

clear evidence of a school's success.

Page 4

And, of course, there are other non-test indicators

such as reduction in absenteeism, tardiness, and vandal-

ism. Important variables similar to these could be judi-

ciously incorporated in an improved school-grading

system.

The point I'm trying to make is that it is profession-

ally irresponsible to reject any kind of school-grading

model. But, after thoughtful consideration, significant

improvements can be suggested for Florida's school-

grading program. Actually, given the wretched quality

of the current program, significant improvements can

almost be suggested even without thoughtful considera-

tion!

The state's educators need to have one or more

markedly improved school-grading models ready to

substitute for the current system. Ideally, the more

educators who support any such improved models, the

better. Thus, relying on professional organizations or

some other collaborative entities, the states' educators

could devise one or more improved school-grading

models, then make them available to the state's legisla-

tors. Most of the state's policymakers really want

what's best for children. Any new proposal for a school

-evaluation model must be demonstrably superior to the

current FCAT-dominated model.

Nonpartisan Reviews of the FCAT Most of the concern with the state's school-grading ap-

proach stems from its heavy reliance on FCAT scores.

The high correlation between students' FCAT scores

and the SES certainly suggests that many of the items

on the test are more apt to be answered correctly by

high-SES children than by the low-SES counterparts.

But that's only an assumption.

The FCAT needs to be scrutinized, one item at a

time, by a group of citizens who have no axe to grind

regarding this issue. What proportion of FCAT items

actually contain content that is clearly SES-biased?

What proportion of FCAT items are actually intelli-

gence-test items concealed in an achievement-test cos-

tume? What proportion of the FCAT items truly meas-

ure the Sunshine State Standards on which they are

supposedly based? Do FCAT items reflect the state's

content standards well enough so that, if a teacher is

effectively promoting students' mastery of the content

stand on which an item is based, the teacher's students

are likely to answer the item correctly?

Florida Department of Education officials will con-

tend that the FCAT items have already been reviewed

by committees of Florida educators during the time that

the FCAT was being developed. But at what level of

intellectual rigor were those item reviews conducted?

The FCAT was created by a well-established commer-

cial test-development organization - but an organiza-

tion whose long suit is the creation of norm-referenced

achievement tests, not standards-based tests that the

original indented use of the FCAT was not to evaluate

schools. Thus, it is unlikely that any Department of

Education item-reviews were carried out in the context

of such an application of FCAT scores.

In December 1999, officials at Pinellas County

twice requested permission to carry out a nonpartisan

review of FCAT items, or even a sample of those items,

under state-monitored security conditions. In both in-

stances, Commissioner Tom Gallagher rejected the re-

quest for an impartial review of the FCAT items. If it

turns out that the FCAT is, at bottom, merely a proxy

measure of students' SES, then there needs to be some

sort of statistical adjustment procedure installed in the

school-grading system. Such adjustments are neces-

sary so low-SES and high-SES schools have an equal

opportunity to earn high grades.

So, my second suggestion is for Florida's educators

to corral sufficient support for an independent review

of the FCAT's items, but a review that will be rigorous

rather than self-serving. I do not know how such a re-

view would turn out, but in view of the available evi-

dence, I fear that a good many FCAT items would not

withstand such scrutiny. The state's policymakers need

to know whether this is so.

Promotion of Parents'

Assessment Literacy Educators who protest the use of a test-based ac-

countability system will be regarded by the public as

hopelessly partisan. Would educators have much con-

fidence in the protestations of any other profession

group that appeared to be dodging public evidence of

its members' competence?

Well, that's why it's time to provide parents with a

level of assessment literacy so that they can decide

themselves whether an FCAT-dominated method of

grading schools is good or bad for their children. What

I am suggesting is that Florida's educational commu-

nity provide many opportunities for parents to pick up a

reasonable degree of measurement moxie. In short,

Page 5

Florida's educators should encourage and nurture par-

ents' familiarity with the necessary nuts and bolts of

educational assessment.

Having done so, however, educators simply need to

bring the attention of assessment-literate parents to the

specifics of the state's school-grading system. At that

point, educators should exit completely. If parents

choose, by themselves, to mount a meaningful political

protest against the current school-grading system, this

should be their choice alone. if they opt to leave the

school-grading system in its current form, then that's

their choice. If an assessment-knowledgeable parent

group is seen to have been co-opted by "self-serving"

educators, then the conclusions of the parent-group will

be (and should be) suspect.

In a June 19, 2000 article on high-stakes education

testing, Time magazine indicated that in at least 36

states there have now been stop-the-test groups estab-

lished. Perhaps Florida needs a formidable parent

group to protest the states' school-grading system. I am

confident that independent parent groups who are

knowledgeable about the uses and misuses of large-

scale assessments such as the FCAT will exercise war-

ranted political muscle to remedy an invalid evaluative

approach.

All of the Above Although an "all-of-the-above" option is never suitable

for multiple-choice questions, in this situation I think

there is sufficient merit in each of the activities so that

the state's educators may wish to tackle all three. I real-

ize that each of these three undertakings will require a

nontrivial expenditure of effort. But, if you agree that

the state's FCAT-based scheme for grading schools is

as educationally unsavory as I think it is, perhaps you'll

come up with that energy.

W.James Popham is an emeritus

professor in the UCLA Graduate

School of Education and Infor-

mation Studies.

E-mail: [email protected]

Footnote: Dr. Popham was the keynote speaker at the 41s

Annual FASCD Conference in Miami October 12 - 14,

2000.

Writing For

Florida Educational Leadership While this is an electronic issue of FEL featuring articles from previous print editions, we still publish a print issue in the

fall of each year. If you want to submit an article for the print edition, here is some helpful information.

Florida Educational Leadership is a peer-reviewed journal for its major articles. Articles are solicited for distinct

sections of the journal:

Perspectives: Articles which focus on contemporary issues and hot topics. We are looking for a variety of viewpoints on

these issues and topics, including historical perspectives. Some ideas could relate to the grading of pre-k-12 public schools,

new standards for teachers, new teacher induction, new standards for students, vouchers or charter schools.

Voices from the Field: Articles which share ideas, opinions, activities of teachers, administrators, or teach educators and

can inform others. Articles can be stories, perceptions, observations, or opinions. They can be essays on successes or failures,

but most importantly they share with others who are “working in the fields.”

Student Voices: Essays from students in K-12, college or universities are invited and will be considered.

Research in Practice: Articles which focus on research in classrooms, colleges, universities. What can we learn from re-

search activities? Both qualitative and quantitative studies on single subject or large population studies will be considered.

Writers should avoid standard formal research paper format. Instead focus on writing that will attract and interest all Florida

educators. Abstracts, complicated tables, figures and statistics or overly long articles are not appropriate.

Technology in The Schools: Articles focusing of the use of technology in classrooms, colleges and universities can

describe new ways to use technology to motivate students as well as frustrations and successes with technology.

Florida Educational Leadership will also accept book reviews and short informational items. The deadline for submission

of materials is July 1. All manuscripts, book reviews or other items should be sent to:

Florida Educational Leadership Editors

[email protected]

Page 6

Masterful Instruction:

Wiring the Brain

FEL—Another Look From Issue # 1 September, 2000

Susan Jones

H uman brains adapt to the environment in which they exist, meeting

challenges and coping with peculiarities. This adaptation is mani-

fested in the creation and strengthening of networks, memory

traces, and communication lines which empower the brain to func-

tion. Each time the human brain is forced to go beyond standard connections

existing within its architecture, it literally grows connections or synapses to

form the new lines of communication and intertwine networks to expand mean-

ing and ability. As orchestrators of environments, educators must create class-

room activities that grow brains for these new connections. . .

If futurists are correct, the 21st Century is indeed

going to be a thinking century. Projects and tasks will

reach levels of complexity requiring the collaboration

and creative solutions of many skilled people—so the

simple repeating of information to prove mastery is

no longer adequate. Workers will need to apply an

expanding body of information in new, unique scenar-

ios: to strategize and discover solutions to arising di-

lemmas. This takes skill to a new level: one of prob-

lem solving and collaborating.

How do we develop this ability in young people?

This intelligence that enables students to dig into a

deep repertoire of personal experiences, sort out those

with application, recombine them to solve the di-

lemma at hand? How do we impart to our students the

skills and abilities to function beyond the classroom,

and in the workplace of the 21st Century? How do we

turn-out students from our institutions that are

good problem solvers, flexible workers, plus effec-

tive in teaming and communication skills?

Professional educators must orchestrate learn-

ing environments that entrap children: from which

they cannot escape without learning. In the eyes of

the student, there must be authenticity and mean-

ingfulness to tasks. Processes and scenarios need

to engage the human brain, motivate human be-

havior, and cause it to learn because there is a rea-

son to do so. The entire process results from care-

ful approaches to instructional delivery, with an

acceptance of the role of content versus process

versus product. It is a classroom environment that

alters and sets the wiring of the human brain to

that which allows for desired cognitive function-

ing.

Page 7

Content The traditional classroom has too long focused on

a demonstration of mastery in formal assessments

of content, or application of knowledge and skills.

There is generally a pre-conceived notion of the

form, correct idea, proper manner of reasoning, or

appropriate appearance in teaching and assess-

ment. A consistent call for replication and uni-

formity exists. In such an approach, content is an

“end,” rather than a means to an end: there is a

commitment to a body of basic information and

skill to provide all components of solutions needed

to function in society. It is static and defined. Yet

with today’s exploding quantities of new informa-

tion, mastering information that can be quickly

obsolete is both futile and unproductive.

Brain Friendly Scenario In orchestrating extended learning scenarios in-

volving authenticity, there should be a defined

framework and plan that is clearly understood by

students. A task requiring a final product is as-

signed, and clear criteria for excellence of the final

product is set. This may entail the sharing of ex-

emplars, explanations, and rubrics governing as-

sessment; but in any case, the students will have

no doubt as to what mastery must include. Stu-

dents are given a specific time period for complet-

ing the work, as well as requirements and rules

that must govern their process in completing the

product. They are given the mandate that this

product can be in any form they choose, as long as

they follow the “rules” and demonstrate mastery of

the skills/content detailed by the teacher.

The product assigned includes evidence of

mastery as defined by the teacher through those

rules. The educator must first have a clear under-

standing of curriculum requirements appropriate

for the grade level or discipline being taught. Per-

haps these are drawn from

state standards, benchmarks, or

school district mandates. But

they are not negotiable, and

there is accountability on the

part of educators that their student master them.

They form the framework for the accomplishment

of an assigned task — in the form of expectations

or guidelines toward the accomplishment of some

product or demonstration. These can be content-

based or skill based, but they are essentials. As-

sessment of the final product will be based upon

the mastery of these, via a pen-andpencil summa-

tive assessment, a rubric, a performance rating or

a combination of means.

The process or “work stage” of an effective

learning scenario, on the other hand, is multi-

faceted and evolving. It is here that real instruc-

tion, real manipulation, and real learning occurs.

Students must strategize to determine a way to

meet all teacher-demands in order to produce the

assigned product. There will be a need for infor-

mation and resources (obtained through acquisi-

tion of research skills or practice of skills already

mastered, building and reinforcing earlier learn-

ing), instruction from the teacher and information

acquired from primary and secondary sources

other than the teacher. Inherent in the process will

be:

generation of new ideas

creative, divergent thinking to determine

what “pieces” are needed to accomplish the

task

collaboration between the student and others to

acquire knowledge and skill

the “putting together” of pieces in a workable

fashion

manifestation of the work in a desired product

(displaying the assigned evidence of

mastery).

The importance of Product In doing this, students go well beyond the lower

level thinking skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy of the

cognitive domain—far beyond simple application.

They must take information and analyze it, deter-

mine which bits and pieces are applicable to the

dilemma (assignment) at hand, and arrange these

through synthesis into a new combination appro-

priate to a chosen solution. The final product must

then be viewed in its totality

—to determine its worth

and value, according to the

criteria set in the initial

teacher mandated rules.

Accessing content, thinking with con-

tent, and manipulating with content is

the skill combination of the future.

. . . Humans tend to engage

themselves with things that have

importance for them . . . .

Page 8

Now the student has carried thinking and action

through all higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: to

create a product using content as a vehicle, skills

as an enabler, strategizing as a planning tool, for-

mative assessment to “diagnose” progress and al-

low for fine-tuning along the way, and evaluation

of mastery. Does any of this belittle the product, so

long held in high esteem by educators as the most

important part of the learning process? No: it only

recognizes its role in the entire scenario. Product is

the snapshot proof, the manifestation of all trials in

the process. Most importantly, product grows self-

esteem: for self-esteem comes from accomplish-

ment.

Keys to Excellence But as professionals engaged in the empowerment

of young people, the process segment of the learn-

ing scenario is far more important. Inherent in this

process stage is choice. Choice is foundational to

any creative process that involves strategizing and

divergent thought. Its presence improves positive

brain activity, with cognitive processing in the

frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex, as well as emo-

tional centers of the brain. It increases problem

solving ability, as it is in reality the practicing of

problem solving — sculpting the brain through

formation of connections enhancing proper

communication of appropriate networks. And it

increases intrinsic motivation, as selfselection

of avenues for such processing reflect the emo-

tional and attention preferences of the person(s)

involved. Such bonuses for learning in the class-

room!

Choice, then, becomes the springboard for the

brain’s creativity — to enable one to become a

problem solver, to think divergently with a chal-

lenge that limits resources and/or time. It requires

more than simple imagination; it requires knowl-

edge -- plus judgment based on teacher/student-

generated criteria. This is where the brain is forced

to grow beyond standard neural connections, to

form new connections and networks to compre-

hend and solve. This is where the brain’s architec-

ture is changed through adaptation to demands of

the environment. This is how a human’s repertoire

of experience becomes a deep pool from which to

draw new components for novel combinations to

solve problems. From an environment orchestrated

by the teacher to grow intelligence!

Accessing content, thinking with content, and

manipulating content is the skill combination of

the future. Note that all three have to do with pro-

ducing — with doing: not the replication or repeat-

ing back of content. And it is all possible in a

learning scenario that forces brains to grow new

connections while producing within the confines

of a rigid framework. It is a scenario that forces

brains to go beyond standard connections and rote

memory -- to develop and demonstrate mastery!

References Walker, Decker, “Technology and Literacy: Raising the Bar,” Edu-

cational Leadership, Volume 57, No. 2, October 1999, p, 18.

Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development,

Alexandria, VA.

Brooks, Jacqueline Grennon and Martin G. Brooks, In Search of

Understanding the Case For Constructivist Classrooms.

ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1993.

DeLisle, Robert, How to Use Problem-Based Learning in the Class-

room. ASCD, Alexandria, VA 1997

Harris, Douglas E. and Judy F. Carr, How to Use Standards in the

Classroom. ASCD, Alexandria VA, 1996.

Herman, Joan L., Pamela R. Aschbacher, and Lynn Winters, A

Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment. ASCD, Alexandria,

VA, 1992.

Lewin, Larry and Betty Jean Shoemaker, Great Performances: Cre-

ating Classroom-Based Assessment Tasks. ASCD, Alexandria,

VA, 1998.

Sternberg, Robert J., Successful Intelligence. Simon and Schuster,

NY, 1996.

Torp, Linda and Sara Sage, Problems as Possibilities: Problem-

Based Learning for K-12 Education. ASCD, Alexandria, VA,

1998.

Wiggins, Grant and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design.

ASCD, Alexandria, VA,1998.

Choice, then, becomes the springboard for the brain’s creativity . . . .

Susan Jones is an independent consultant.

She was a member of the FASCD board

of directors and was elected president of

FASCD for 2002-2003. She currently

lives in Little Rock, AR.


Page 9

Are We Teaching Our Children to Play?


Jeffrey S. Kaplan

"I want to be a tree."

"Can I be the horse?"

"Want to see me bark like a dog?"

Are these the voices of crazed souls? Or happy children at play?

F or the sake of this column, they are the

sound of happy children at play. And the

reason I bring these voices to your atten-

tion is that they are voices that are often

unheard in Florida's public schools. Or, at least,

according to our state's accountability laws.

True, the Florida State Standards speak about

the value of creative play in our public schools.

There is mention of the need to make imaginative

learning an integral component of our students'

instruction. The Florida State Standards for theatre

lists as one standard the ability for students "to cre-

ate imagined characters, relationships, and envi-

ronments using basic acting skills." Still, students

are not tested on these skills.

Instead, the Florida Comprehensive Test of

Basic Skills specifically addresses students' ability

in reading, writing, and mathematics. Thus, Flor-

ida's teachers and students are left to assume that

imaginary instruction is something that is best

taught when everything else has been accom-

plished. When our students have learned to read,

write and figure, - then, and only then, - should

there be time to play.

Wrong.

Play is a vital ingredient to learning. When

people love what they do, they do it well. The key

to loving your work is a passion for your job.

Dedicated teachers speak long and intensely about

their work with their students, often discussing

their students as if they are members of their own

family. The legacies of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky,

Feuerstein, Gardner, and Diamond reflect ele-

gantly the significance of the teacher as the crea-

tive, inclusive, and compassionate architect of in-

struction. Dewey advocates learning in experience

(Dewey, 1938). Piaget's work influences construc-

tivist practices through discovery learning (Piaget,

1970). Vygotsky proposes learning occurred

through social interaction and the internalization of

experiences (Vygotsky, 1978). Feuerstein's work

with Holocaust victims reveals that emotional de-

Page 10

velopment depends on intense and guided inter-

vention through discovery learning (Feuerstein,

1980). Gardner defines intelligence as multidimen-

sional involving all of the senses (Gardner, 1983).

Finally, Diamond, a neurobiologist, speaks of the

richness of the environment in engaging develop-

ment of "magic trees of the mind" (Diamond &

Hopson, 1988).

Similarly, polished professionals devote their

time to their tasks and commitments with a fervor

that is often unheralded and unnoticed by the ordi-

nary passerby. And in each instance, this unbridled

passion or devotion to their life's commitment is

underscored by a fierce and intense desire to make

their tasks a playful and joyful expression of them-

selves.

Too often, though, play is

relegated to the back room.

We push aside any aspects of

joy and playfulness in a valiant

attempt to say to our better

selves, "Hey, this is important.

Listen up!" Rigidity and stan-

dards replaces easiness and

flexibility, confining our stu-

dents' understanding of know-

ing to the memorization of fac-

tual material.

When Florida students take

the FCAT - the Florida Com-

prehensive Achievement Tests - they are held ac-

countable for their basic knowledge of reading,

writing, and arithmetic. For. months on end, ele-

mentary and secondary students spend hours in

preparation for examinations that, as of this writ-

ing, are used to determine graduation requirements

and teacher performance. Yet, when testing is tied

to accountability, many ethical and educational

dilemmas result. And Florida is just beginning to

see the windfall of problems associated with such

rigid regulations. But more to the point, the time

devoted to studying for the state examinations

takes away from the time that young people can be

learning about "real life."

Young people need to learn those skills that

will not only provide them with comprehension of

the basics, but also a fundamental understanding of

what it means to express their whole being. They

need to know what it feels like to stand before

their peers and express who they are and what they

want. This active working of their imagination is

vital to their maturing into whole human beings.

And when educators dismiss casual and imitative

conversation as frivolous, they ignore the richness

of creative and imaginative learning.

As scientists study learning, they are realizing

that a constructivist model reflects their best un-

derstanding of the mind's natural way of making

sense of the world (Feldman, 1994). Progressive or

constructive educational practices believe that in-

struction is basically an active process. New learn-

ing involves combining new and previous experi-

ences to the foreground. "Each new fact or experi-

ence is assimilated into a living web of under-

standing that already exists in that person's

mind" (Abbot & Ryan, 1999,67).

Often, teachers, especially sec-

ondary, are afraid to let stu-

dents leave their seats and "act

goofy" or even, "speak in front

of the class," in fear that they

are inviting chaos. Yielding

control of the classroom

means that teacher-centered

instruction becomes student-

controlled and the next thing,

you know, some kid is playing

with the light switch and "all

hell breaks loose." But, it need

not be that way.

Structured creative lessons can center around

playfulness as easily as they focus on conformity.

Teachers can establish times in their daily lessons

where students stand before their classmates and

talk about their work. An excellent resource is

"How to Use Creative Dramatics in the Class-

room," (Johnson, Childhood Education, Fall,

1998). In this informative piece, Johnson argues

for teachers to set aside time for students to read

their papers aloud or engage in lively and engaging

class discussions.

If students are studying the American Revolu-

tion, could they not pretend to be central figures in

that struggle between American patriots and Brit-

ish soldiers - and improvise a scene whereby these

two historic figures meet and discuss their imme-

diate concerns? Or, better yet, if they are studying

a math problem, could not students rise from their

seats and become the math problem? "You be 'x,'

you be 'y,' you be the 'plus sign,' and you be the

Page 11

answer ' 12.' Now, students, what could 'x' and 'y'

be?" The possibilities for using creative play in the

classroom are endless: The potential benefits are

limitless.

Instead, Florida teachers trudge along, dili-

gently preparing students for paper and pencil ex-

aminations, designed to measure their intellectual

knowledge. The intention is to make every Florida

student literate and proficient. Yet, along the way,

we ignore that our students prime method for

learning is not paper and pencil or abstract figur-

ing, but just plain talking.

Young people talk endlessly to parents, teach-

ers, friends and the rest of the world, all in their

daily struggle to define themselves. They laugh,

argue, tease, and shout in their valiant attempt to

come out of themselves and address their true and

unassuming nature. Thus, students and teachers

together need to create an environment where they

feel safe, respected, and free to be themselves

(Calkins, 1991). When teachers realize the power

of simple talk, they will begin to set aside time in

their hectic schedules to allow students to come

into their own, by speaking in personal and power-

ful voices that can both inform and amuse. This is

the power of true instruction. This is teaching chil-

dren how to play.

References Abbot, J., & Ryan, T. (1999, November). Constructing knowledge,

Reconstructing schooling. Educational Leadership, 57(3), 66-

69.

Calkin, L. (1991). Living between the lines. Portsmouth, N.H. :

Heinemann.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Macmil-

lan.

Diamond, M., & Hopson, J. (1998). Magic trees of the mind: How

to nurture your child's Intelligence, creativity, and healthy

emotions from birth through adolescence. New York: Penguin

Putnam.

Feldman, D. (1994). Beyond universals in cognitive development.

Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Feuerstein, R. (1980). Instrumental Enrichment: An intervention

program for cognitive modifiability. Baltimore: University

Park Press

Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). http://www.

Firm.edu/doe/sas/facta.htm

Florida’s Sunshine State Standards. Theater. http://www/firm.edu/

doe/curric/prek12/thester3/htm

Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple Intelli-

gences. New York: Basic Books

Johnson, A.P. (1998,Fall) How to use creative dramatics in the

classroom. Childhood Education, 75(1), 2-7

Piaget,J. (1970) Piaget’s theory. In P. Mussen (Ed.) Carmichael’s

manual of child Psychology. New York, Wiley

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in society: The development of higher

psychology processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University

Press

Jeffrey S. Kaplan is asst. prof. of

Educational Foundations, College

of Education, UCF.


FASCD Membership This issue of Florida Educational Leadership: Another Look is being sent to all members of FASCD as part of their membership

benefit. We have also distributed this issue to other leaders in Florida education. If you have a colleague who is not yet a member

they can join the many Florida educators in the one organization that is “For all who teach and learn.” If you are a member, just

print this page and give to your colleagues. Help FASCD grow !

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This coupon entitles the above to a one-year membership in FASCD at the introductory rate of $35. (Purchase orders are not

valid with this offer.) Mail To: FASCD 11511 Pine St Seminole FL 33772

Page 12

Humor Is A Funny Thing


Mary Kay Morrison

T he movie "Patch Adams" portrays the true story of a medical

student who believed in the importance of humor in the heal-

ing process. There is a growing body of research in the

medical field about the benefits of using humor.

The Humor and Health Journal is dedicated to

"humor and communicating its relationship with

health and well being."

One of the first humor research studies

was done by Norman Cousins. In his book,

Anatomy of an Illness "Cousins (1979) re-

lates that when he was diagnosed with a

life-threatening collagen disorder, he

checked out of a hospital and into a motel

room to watch funny movies and to

LAUGH! The disorder disappeared.

Additional research from the medical

field supports the relationship between the

use of humor and improved health. Some

research shows that humor can boost the im-

mune system and other studies indicate that humor

can even provide an aerobic workout.

But does humor have a role in the educational

process?

The research on humor in the classroom is not

as extensive, but nevertheless compelling. Recent

work in the field of brain research indicates the

critical role that emotions play in the learning

process. There also is a growing body of re-

search in the area of culture and climate

that supports the importance of using hu-

mor to create a positive learning envi-

ronment. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bul-

letin (Volume 65-3) devotes most of the

Spring 1999 issue on the "Impact of Humor

on Education and Learning".

How often do we see humor used as a skill in

the educational process? If we observe humor

in the classroom, is it a purposeful use of humor or

is it considered just happenstance? Humor not only

makes a classroom more enjoyable, it makes a

classroom more conducive to teaching and learn-

ing. This is what I have learned:

Page 13

Humor can facilitate learning.

Humor can change behavior.

Humor promotes healing.

Humor reduces stress.

Humor increases creativity.

During the past several years, I have facilitated

many workshops on humor. I often ask educators

to describe how and when they use humor. The

responses have been varied. Many use humor fre-

quently, as part of their teaching style. One educa-

tor uses humor as part of a celebration before state

standardized testing.

Students tell their favorite jokes or prepare a

humorous skit before the assessment to relax the

mind and body, increasing the likelihood of opti-

mum performance on the assessment. The purpose

is to eliminate as much tension as possible. State

testing is considered a celebration of student learn-

ing. When assessments are completed, there is a

party with balloons and food!

Humor can be used when there is a behavior

problem. Laughing together can decrease the ten-

sion and open the door for creative problem solv-

ing. Some teachers have found that humor can be a

strategy to diffuse tense situations and minimize

behavior problems. Humor allows everyone to

win. It is not always appropriate for discipline

situations, but it can be an effective tool that teach-

ers can use.

Some educators feel uncomfortable using hu-

mor. They admit not knowing how to use it to fa-

cilitate learning. Others have expressed fear that

administrators will hear laughter and assume that

the students are not "working" -- and therefore not

learning.

The Laughing Classroom written by Diane

Loomans and Karen Kolberg (1993) is a great re-

source on the topic. Included in this book are many

humor techniques for use in the classroom, as well

as a wonderful section devoted to understanding

humor style. Identification of personal humor style

is an important beginning step to understanding

how educators can further develop their own hu-

mor skills.

Positive emotion can, and does, play an inte-

gral role in enhancing learning. As we continue to

gain an understanding of the impact of all emotion

on learning, surely we will find humor a critical

tool to foster the process.

As comedian Steve Allen has said: "It is bad to

suppress laughter, it goes straight to the hips!"

References Cousins, Norman.(l979). Anatomy of an illness. Bantam Books.

Cousins, Norman. (J 990). Head first: The biology of hope and the

healing power of the human spirit. New York and London,

England: Viking Penguin.

Dunn, Joseph. (1999). "What is a Sense of Humor?" Humor and

Health Journal. Dunn: Publisher. Marchi April, 1999 (p.p 1-

8).

Loomans, Diane, & Kolberg, Karen J. (1990). The laughing class-

room: everyones guide to teaching with humor and play. Tibu-

ron, California: H.J .. Kramer, Inc. 1993.

Mary Kay Morrison Mary Kay

is founder and director of Humor

Quest. She has doen many training

sessions for the Illinois State Board

of Education. In 2008 she worte a

book “Using Humor to Maximize

Learning” (Rowman and Littlefield).

E-mail:

[email protected].

Page 14

Research Matters


Jennifer Deets

I borrow the title

for this column

from Cornel

West who, in

1993, wrote Race Matters

and from Ruth Franken-

berg, who wrote (also in

1993) White Women,

Race Matters. The playful

seriousness of these titles

appealed to me, as did

their assertions that race

does, in fact, matter in

America. I would like to

assert here that research

matters to people inter-

ested in education. In or-

der to support that assertion, in this space I will

offer for consideration educational research mat-

ters that arise from the practical experience of

teachers, administrators, and future teachers en-

rolled in courses that I teach.

I also assert that all educators have occasion to

be both research users and research conductors.

W1l3.t distinguishes credible research from that

which yields doubtful results is the care with

which a project is conceptualized and conducted.

Good research starts with a question, a concern, a

problem, or an issue, not a

purpose or an agenda. Good

research continues by ex-

amining what is already

known about the question.

Many readers probably

have conducted these two

steps numerous times. Of-

ten we find our answer with

no further inquiry. Occa-

sionally, however, the exist-

ing knowledge about a par-

ticular question is inade-

quate or non-existent. Then

we turn to more experi-

enced colleagues or to

"experts" in our field as

well as in other fields. Asking these people about

their understanding is one way of gathering data.

Observing them in action or observing our own

contexts with newly-informed eyes are other ways

of gathering data. More data can be gathered by

examining photographs, archival records, meeting

minutes, movies, television programs or commer-

cials, all varieties of printed matter, audio and

video recordings, and internet-based materials.

As we grapple with extant knowledge as well

as the data generated from interviews, observa-

Page 15

tions, and documents and other materials, we be-

gin to make sense of all that we have uncovered -

we analyze our data. Finally, we bring our new

understanding into our classrooms, our offices, our

living rooms, our kitchens, into our very selves.

This is interpretation and coming to conclusions.

Although coming to conclusions based upon

systematic inquiry is important, it is also important

to share with colleagues what you have discov-

ered. Florida Educational Leadership is a journal

for Florida educators who care about the profes-

sion and the students whose lives they touch. I en-

courage readers to engage in research and to write

what you have learned so that others interested in

creating the richest educational opportunities for

school children and the most exciting educational

environments for all school personnel can benefit

from your discoveries. Certainly, research pro-

jects· vary with regard to their scope and sophisti-

cation, but good projects begin with real issues,

issues like you and I and other Florida educators

grapple with on a daily basis.

Another aspect of this column will be to sug-

gest easy to-implement strategies to make research

a routine part of daily practice, whatever your re-

sponsibilities. My first, emphatic suggestion will

be to maintain a journal. Your journal need not be

fancy, a spiral notebook will do. If you write en-

tries regularly and enthusiastically, your journal

often provides a framework for understanding cur-

riculum change or other educational reforms with

the kind of clarity that memory ten years later

tends to obscure or leave out altogether. As a pro-

fession, we need to be more mindful of our collec-

tive and individual histories. Our journals become

data as we examine our own practices or seek to

understand other changes over time.

Another way to capture the sense of history

that we miss by only focusing on the most recent

educational "innovations," is to talk to veteran col-

leagues about their experiences. More important,

however, is to record these conversations. At the

University of Central Florida, we have a growing

collection (currently more than 250) of audio-

taped interviews with Florida educators (teachers

and administrators) who each have more than 25

years of experience in education. These tapes soon

will be available for circulation. Because I and a

fellow professor assign an interview as a require-

ment for each graduate-level course that we teach,

the collection continues to grow. And, I invite you

to consider using the tapes as you investigate edu-

cation in Florida. And I invite you to contribute

any taped interviews that you may conduct as you

investigate local histories. In fact, many students,

some who are themselves grandparents, have cho-

sen to interview their elderly parents or other fam-

ily members. These interviews are especially sig-

nificant: they contribute to a general educational

history, but they also contribute to family history.

My major professor, the person who introduced

me to the importance of oral histories and the per-

son who supervised my doctoral work, waited too

long to interview his father - let's not wait any

longer to make research part of our day-to-day

lives.

A final dimension of the column will be a brief

recommendation from the many excellent books

available on educational research. My recommen-

dation this time is Reading and Understand Re-

search by Locke, Silverman and Spirduso, pub-

lished in 1998 by Sage. This book reads as though

the authors are sitting with you at a coffee shop

talking. They talk about the reasons we should

read more research, while acknowledging why so

many of us avoid it at all costs. They outline logi-

cal, systematic steps readers of research reports

can take to minimize wasted time and to maximize

understanding of the results and of the methods -

so that we can critique what we read, not just take

it at face value. Although the authors discuss how

to read and interpret both statistically-oriented

studies as well as more naturalistic, ethnographic

studies, they are a bit more thorough in their cov-

erage of quantitative studies. Nevertheless, they

acknowledge the growing literate in qualitative

research and offer very helpful suggestion on how

to read it and use it.

So, until next time, read a few studies, get go-

ing (or continue) with your journal, and give

someone the gift of an hour's time to talk about

themselves and their experiences.

Jennifer Deets currently teaches at the

University of North Carolina at Wilming-

ton. She is currently writing an ethono-

graphic history of the first 30 years of the

NC School of Science and Math.


Page 16

Weapons of Mass Instruction:

A Schoolteacher's Journey through the Dark

World of Compulsory Schooling

Book Review

“G atto draws on thirty years in

the classroom and many years

of research as a school re-

former. He puts forth his thesis

with a rhetorical style that is passionate, logical,

and laden with examples and illustrations.” Fore-

Word Magazine

“Weapons of Mass Instruction is probably his

best yet. Gatto’s storytelling skill shines as he

relates tales of real people who fled the school

system and succeeded in spite of the popular wis-

dom that insists on diplomas, degrees and cre-

dentials. If you are just beginning to suspect there

may be a problem with schooling (as opposed to

educating as Gatto would say), then you’ll not

likely find a better expose of the problem than

Weapons of Mass Instruction.” Cathy Duffy Re-

views

"In this book, the noisy gadfly of U.S. educa-

tion takes up the question of damage done in the

name of schooling. Again he touches on many of

the same questions and finds the same an-

swers. Gatto is a bold and compelling critic in a

field defined by politic statements, and from the

first pages of this book he takes even unwilling

readers along with him. In Weapons of Mass In-

struction, he speaks movingly to readers' deepest

desires for an education that taps their talents and

frees frustrated ambitions. It is a challenging and

extraordinary book that is a must read for anyone

navigating their way through the school system."

- Ria Julien - Winnipeg Free Press

John Taylor Gatto’s Weapons of Mass In-

struction focuses on mechanisms of familiar

schooling that cripple imagination, discourage

critical thinking, and create a false view of learn-

ing as a by-product of rote-memorization drills.

Gatto’s earlier book, Dumbing Us Down, put that

now-famous expression of the title into common

use worldwide. Weapons of Mass Instruction

promises to add another chilling metaphor to the

brief against schooling.

Here is a demonstration that the harm school

inflicts is quite rational and deliberate, following

high-level political theories constructed by Plato,

Calvin, Spinoza, Fichte, Darwin, Wundt, and oth-

ers, which contend the term “education” is mean-

ingless because humanity is strictly limited by ne-

cessities of biology, psychology, and theology.

The real function of pedagogy is to render the

common population manageable.

Realizing that goal demands that the young be

conditioned to rely upon experts, remain divided

from natural alliances, and accept disconnections

from the experiences that create self-reliance and

independence.

Escaping this trap requires a different way of

growing up, one Gatto calls “open source learn-

ing.” In chapters such as “A Letter to Kristina, my

Granddaughter”; “Fat Stanley”; and “Walkabout:

London,” this different reality is illustrated.

John Taylor Gatto taught for thirty years in public

schools before resigning from school-teaching in the op-ed

pages of The Wall Street Journal during the year he was

named New York State’s official Teacher of the Year. Since

then, he has traveled three million miles lecturing on school

reform. He was a teacher in New York for 26 years before

quitting in 1991. He is a tireless advocate for school reform,

has won numerous awards and his earlier book, Dumbing Us

Down, has sold over 100,000 copies.

Review and information courtesy of Amazon.com

John Taylor Gatto—New Society Publisher, 2008.

Dumbing Us Down:

The Hidden Curriculum of

Compulsory Schooling

Book Review

A fter 26 years of teaching in the New

York public schools, John Taylor

Gatto has seen a lot. His book,

Dumbing Us Down, is a treatise

against what he believes to be the destructive na-

ture of schooling. The book opens with a chapter

called "The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher," in

which he outlines seven harmful lessons he must

convey as a public schoolteacher: 1.) confusion 2.)

class position 3.) indifference 4.) emotional de-

pendency 5.) intellectual dependency 6.) provi-

sional self-esteem 7.) constant surveillance and the

denial of privacy.

How ironic it is that Gatto's first two chapters

contain the text of his acceptance speeches for

New York State and City Teacher of the Year

Awards. How ironic indeed, that he uses his own

award presentation as a forum to attack the very

same educational system that is honoring him!

Gatto describes schooling, as opposed to learning,

as a "twelve-year jail sentence where bad habits

are the only curriculum truly learned. I teach

school and win awards doing it," taunts the author.

While trapped in this debilitative system along

with his students, Gatto, observed in them an over-

whelming dependence. He believes that school

teaches this dependence by purposely inhibiting

independent thinking, and reinforcing indifference

to adult thinking. He describes his students

as"having almost no curiosity, a poor sense of the

future, are a historical, cruel, uneasy with inti-

macy, and materialistic."

Gatto suggests that the remedy to this crisis in

education is less time spent in school, and more

time spent with family and "in meaningful pursuits

in their communities." He advocates apprentice-

ships and home schooling as a way for children to

learn. He even goes so far as to argue for the re-

moval of certification requirements for teachers,

and letting "anybody who wants to, teach."

Gatto's style of writing is simple and easy to

follow. He interlaces personal stories throughout

the book to bring clarity and harmony to his views,

while also drawing on logic and history to support

his ideas about freedom in education and a return

to building community. He clearly distinguishes

communities from networks: "Communities ... are

complex relationships of commonality and obliga-

tion," whereas, "Networks don't require the whole

person, but only a narrow piece."

While Gatto harshly criticizes schooling, we

must realize that his opinions do come as a result

of 26 years of experience and frustration with the

public school system. Unfortunately, whether or

not one agrees with his solutions, he has not out-

lined the logistics of how these improvements

would be implemented. His ideas are based on ide-

alism, and the reality of numbers and economics

would present many obstacles. Nevertheless, it

gives us a clear vision and a direction to follow for

teachers and parents who believe in the family as

the most important agent for childrearing and

growth.

Reviewed by Patricia Bratton Originally published in http://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-

Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling/dp/0865714487/

ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books#_

John Taylor Gatto New Society Publishers Second Ed. Feb 2002

Available in Paperback from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling/

dp/0865714487/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books#_

Page 17

Officers and Board of Directors of FASCD

Directors:

Ralph Barrett, Dona DePriest, Jason Flom,

Marcy Kysilka, Lois Lee, Michael Mizwicki,

Kelley Ranch, Paul Terry,

Shelia Windom

Alina Davis President

Kim Pearson Executive Director

Johnny Nash Past President

David Magee Treasurer

Editorial Staff

Sherron Killingsworth Roberts is Associate Professor at UCF. She

may be reached at

[email protected]

Associate Editor: Student Voices

Vicki Zygouris-Coe is profes-

sor at UCF. She may be reached at

[email protected]

Associate Editor: Perspectives

Editor

Marcy Kysilka is Professor Emerita at UCF.

She may be reached at [email protected]

Mark Geary is asst. prof. at Dakota State

University, Madison, SD. He may be reached at:

[email protected]

Associate Editor: Technology In The Schools

Associate Editor: Voices From The Field

Jeffrey Kaplan is Associate Professor

UCF. He may be reached at

[email protected]

Ann I. Nevin, is Professor Emerita, Ari-

zona State University. She may be reached

at: ann.nevin@ asu.edu

Associate Editor: Research in Practice

Pat Melvin President-Elect

Sallie Payne Vice-president

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