“Changing Education Paradigms:” A Thought Worth Considering

By: Maria Wahlstrom (Instructional Coordinator)

Ken Robinson’s talk on Changing Education Paradigms has an excellent point for restructuring our schools. I highly recommend checking it out:

As Ken Robinson pointed out, rethinking HOW we teach is only one part of the puzzle to fixing education. I believe the other part involves questions of WHAT we teach, and HOW we empower our student to use their unique knowledge and skills to positively impact the world. Village Leadership Academy is excited to begin another school year as we continue to challenge current education paradigms and seek new ways to educate and move our students toward their fullest potential in the world.

I will leave these ideas for another blog coming soon…

Inescapably White

By: Miesha Ebacher (first grade teacher)

Yesterday I was reading about the universe in Bill Bryson’s book “a short history of nearly everything”. He was describing the space of space and the hugeness of the cosmos that we just barley exist within. As I read I couldn’t help but instantly understand my puny little push in this enormous monster of existence. Like a tiny warrior, a will much stronger than her own force, throwing pebbles at the giant in front of her who hardly notices the small pricks of my stones cast toward him.

Bill Bryson continues by entertaining the idea of life on other planets. While presenting the research on the very possible idea that there are other beings on other planets in our swirling, starry universe, he notes that the aliens on another planet would be so incredibly far away from us that it is laughable to think they would fly for thousands of years simply to puff out the flame of our little earthly planet. More interestingly, due to the MASSIVENESS of space, the world that these aliens would see through their advanced telescopes held to 1300 eyes on their elongated alien faces would be a much older one than the one we play in today.

It took astronauts over 12 years to reach Pluto with “The Voyager”, and Pluto is within our Universe! Because of speed of light, the aliens out there would look in their telescopes and peer into an Earth consumed by colonization, the French Revolution and wigs. They would watch as the boats landed on the shores of those beautiful lands and ruined us all in the international conquest of soul destruction. I wonder now what these aliens would say to each other.

In many ways, I feel as though that same telescope is up to my own eyes. I look down at my hand, covered with these marks of misery, covered with this clothing of colonizers and a message, sent so aggressively through silence that it echoes, apparently, faster than light as it is present then and consequently now.

Inescapably white, I largely thank the pain that I’ve experience this year due to the peach in my palms. I recognize, better than ever the privileges I grew up with as a girl and continue to benefit from today. The pain, the guilt I have been processing and beginning to understand is in many ways healthy for me as I learn more about the systems of oppression, racism, and discrimination that spin on and on in our society unquestioned, almost unnoticed by those who receive the benefits of her brainwash. At this same time, I cannot help but process in a parallel fashion my own whiteness within a school environment where white is definitely not a position of privilege and if anything, an enormous deficit.

I have taught the lesson of colonization to my students now 7 times. “Yes, we get it Ms. E” their eyes seem to say, “Europeans ruined the world”.
Yes! They get it! I rejoice, and falling silent we all sort of look around the room and remember quietly, “but wait…your one of them Ms. E”. Am I one of them? My students and co workers are proud to claim their African, Mexican, Filipino histories and culture as their own. With all the bloodshed, conquering, domestic abuse, slavery and all they accept that story as a whole and embrace the culture unrecognized within the current walls of our country. But me… European? No thank you! I don’t want my name on the
Mayflower. I don’t want that disease filled flag to be connected to me in any way. Me? That was me? Where is my African Queen I can look up at and see within myself? Where is my affirmation?

And I guess I had those, as lies, growing up when I was made to believe that George Washington (slave owner) and Columbus were the good guys in the happy stories of first beginnings and givings of thanks. I guess I have my affirmations in the propaganda that fills my commercials or in the biased books deemed “classics” by other white scholars. I guess I had my time to feel good.

But now, more aware of the lies and truth than ever before, now where do I go?
I feel so thankful to a be a part of my school, blessed in fact to have been able to be around such incredible people who know and think and wonder and dream up a better world. Really, I feel surrounded by growing activists ready to improve this world. They are passionate, they are pissed and they are pushing me, hard. I can honestly say that this is where I want to BE. This is where I want to be. At times though, I’m not sure if I’m invited.

There seems to be this message, unspoken and maybe imagined through insecurity that speaks to me saying, “Who are you to teach black kids about injustice? Who are you to stand in front of them and arm them correctly for the mental war they will enter as oppressed people? Who are you to be here?” There is a movement, a revolution, and as I chase the protest down, breathless, the participants seem to look back at me and laugh and point back to “where I should go.”

Where should I go? Wanting a world where my extra two cookies are given equally to others. Wanting a world where people are not forced into a make believe pyramid and people forced into positions that they hate no matter what the levels. Wanting a better world that I thought you wanted too…can I not fight beside you? Is my armor not fitting? Can the history in those telescopes back in time continue to hold me back for a limitless time?

I can’t sink quietly back into the lies and let it, like quicksand envelop me up back to the bubbles and clouds of naiveté. I cannot, though blanketed by this apparent benefit, breathe easier with my television shows and government officials staring back at me with common flesh. This doesn’t settle me, this doesn’t calm me. I am not affirmed. I am not okay with that. But with you I am also cast out, with you I am also outside. It as if the revolution has hung a sign out saying, “Don’t ring and wake the baby” while they speak loudly just inside the door. Seeming to say, “Thanks for the thought. We are glad that your not one of them. But no no you are definitely not one of us, find your own movement.”

Left without place and without pride, I sometimes feel alone. So where do I go? Must I create a white revolution to fight oppression for colored people? Should we not be stronger bound by ideas and principles than by the tones of our skin given at birth?

I know I am white. I am starting to learn what that means in relation to my world. Sometimes I don’t know my part in this movement and I’m confused why my piece of the puzzle has to be defined due to my skin color.

Sometimes I don’t know if my little pebbles on the giants foot make any difference at all. And I think back to Bill Bryson and the hugeness of this universe and wonder how my students and my classroom can feel so massive to me. When I am such a tiny speck in the scatterings of stars, how can one objective or one tear or one broken pencil mean and feel like so much?

How can any us spend our few short hours (650,000 if we are average) on earth in any respectable way? A way that the aliens above us might not look down on us in 200 years and laugh? Is there a way back from the wrongs of the universe before my time? How can I impact it now without my time machine and without my trust? Alone we are not seen in the space of space. Alone I am too small. But together, if we organize enough people, enough ideas, enough dreams that are harbored within the soul of every human of every color we may stand a chance to be seen in that telescope and be written in a new history of world change. Where’s that movement? Sign me up.

Another Perspective

Kindergarten Blogger

VLA students have finished the Latin America Unit, and now they are learning American History and contemporary issues. Check out the Student Voice section of the blog to see this Kindergartner’s ideas on the perspective of Native Americans during colonial times. As early as Kindergarten, students learn that every story has a point of view. Here is one perspective-taking piece written by a Kindergarten student. All voices–even if they are young–should be heard.

ABCs, 123s, and Social Justice

By: Jasmine Patrick (Kindergarten Teacher)

When I first heard that I was going to teach “social justice” to my Kindergarten class of 5 year olds back in August, I wondered “Really? What in the world is that going to look like? I mean, I am still trying to teach my kids how to sit down in a chair and stay still.”  I expected blank stares and frustrated tears, which seemed typical for any little kid. I knew best practices in reading, writing, and math…but teaching social justice? I imagined my kids saying

in Reading: “C-A-T says /cat/.”

in Math: “3 + 3 = ….6!”

Social Justice: “uhhh…what is that word again?”

This was all new to me. I’ve heard of social justice programs in only a few schools, but I knew they were usually taught to kids much older than mine. Wasn’t there a reason for this? Were Ms Brakwa and I the only Kindergarten teachers teaching this along with world history? Could my kids get themes of race, privilege, and social movements? How in the world was I going to teach them these things in a global and national context and then relate it to their own lives? How could I break it down in ways they can understand? I am sure any Kindergarten teacher would wonder at first. But I was up for the challenge and pleased to find out that it is possible.

We have traveled through histories and current events in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and now- in April- we are in Latin America. Although each story and perspective has potential to come off sophisticated, I realized that the big messages are still simple and usually the same: “is that fair? Who benefits (or gets more)? Who’s voice dont we hear in the story? If you were them, what would you want to say?  How can things be better for everyone?”  This week, we have been talking about modern day Latin America with a focus on Brazil and how it’s history has affected current systems today.  Where can I find books about the current race and class inequalities in Brazil for 5 year old students? Frankly, due to lack of kid resources on the topic, we have to make kid friendly stories by adapting the information from more advanced text. In a new school with little funds, you have to be resourceful. Where there are no resources, you just have to make them or improvise and share with teachers. So, for this unit, I have been using a lot of books that one of the first grade teachers, Mr Macias, makes for his class. We take turns reading and discussing lessons.

So are the concepts really hard? Well, I actually have learned that it can be very simple. Five year olds are still five and crazy sometimes. But, they DO have the basics of a social justice education: they understand fairness. They can identify “that’s not fair” when someone takes more crayons, and they can identify it when a land owner in Brazil gets a lot more money than his coffee workers who actually work the field. They can also identify who benefits (or “gets what they want”) and who doesn’t. A bigger concept, yes– but the same idea.  The trick is a Kindergarten teacher must relate everything in the world back to things that the kids understand conceptually. You always open up with something that happened to them first and then extend it to the event in history. Kids can see parallels in life lessons if you give them the chance to do it. They can see injustice anywhere, and believe me, they have their own ideas of “what to do.” I let them explore these thoughts and draw pictures of the world they want to see. We talk about how to treat our neighbors in the classroom. So why not talk about how to treat our neighbors in the world? The complicated detail will come in later grades. I just want them to get the basics. I just want them to feel comfortable questioning things.

Everyday, I try to read stories about different events and from different perspectives. Like I said, many of the books are made, since we can’t always  find already printed books discussing these specific events for young children. My kids sit on the carpet, still wiggly, but eager to find out what happens next. After spiraling these “main lessons of fairness over and over again” no matter what region or time period we study, my class has evidently began to apply fairness to these “what-seems-to-be adult concepts.”  The other day we were reading a story about oppression of races in Latin America. As I read, one of my female students raised her hand and asked, “Ms Patrick, why don’t we see women in any of these stories? Why is it always men coming over to having everything?”  In this lesson, I didn’t even teach gender inequality, but this little one got it with her smart 5 year old question. I was in awe that this 5 year old little girl could identify the forgotten voice in history without any prompt: WOMEN!

I believe something important is happening in their little minds, even if it is just the questioning what they hear. They should never loose this ability. These questions are the foundation of working for a better world. So what did I learn? Never downplay the mind of a 5 year old. I think I was the one who learned the most that day.

A Growing Classroom

By: Aaron Kaczmarek (Second Grade Teacher)

A garden is a growing classroom. It is also a path to sustainability and self-reliance.  In many neighborhoods around Chicago, residents do not have access to healthy food.  Having healthy food accessible is a privilege, but my second graders have responded to this situation with a solution. “It doesn’t have to be this way. If we grow food, we can share it with people who don’t have it. We can make things better.” With this in mind, the second grade students and I have decided to take over the second story roof of the building that houses VLA to create our first school urban garden as a service learning project.

Self-reliance in food production is reconnecting many people to family farming methods through urban gardening. There is so much to learn from a garden.  From measuring plant growth in math to writing about life-processes in Science, a school garden opens up a variety of curriculum options.

The urban oasis is still in its starting phases,  and we expect for the garden to be operating by the weekend after next.  In the process of planning and building the garden, some very exciting partnerships have been forged. Village Leadership Academy students just began partnering with Whitney Young Magnet High School and their freshmen biology class to build our own school garden. To start off, we visited Whitney Young’s greenhouse to learn about aquaponics and participate in a freshman biology class.

After writing letters and talking to various people for support and ideas, we have started to receive generous donations of soil, wood, and outside funds to produce our own self-sustainable food garden. We have used math, science, and art to design the garden and estimate the things we will need. With the materials for two garden beds already committed and student families signed up to help us build and plant, my students and I are excited to see how this garden grows to be integrated into the VLA curriculum. Check out some more pictures of our second graders learning at Whitney Young.

A Teacher Makes All Things Possible

By: Maria Wahlstrom (Instructional Coordinator)

Who taught reading to professors? Who taught science to doctors?  Who taught writing to authors? Who taught social studies to lawyers? Who taught math to engineers? Who teaches the next generation? 

Who taught you?

Teachers! There is no doubt that teachers make up an important part of the society’s backbone: teachers make all other jobs possible. They guide the development of our thinking and inspire the discovery of our opinions and interest. Yet, the teaching profession is still widely recognized as a “lesser status job.”However, if you have ever taught, you may understand the intense planning, data analysis, creativity, intrapersonal skills, patience, leadership, innovation, discipline, emotion, energy, and work that accompanies excellent teaching. Teaching is far from easy, but more than necessary. A teacher has to be ON every moment of the day, despite his/her’s actual state of mind. If students notice one sign of fatigue or disengagement from their teacher, then rest of the day will undoubtably resolve in chaos. Most of a great teacher’s workload is outside of the classroom, which includes late afternoons and nights of intense data collecting and analysis, after school counseling and tutoring sessions, lesson planning and grading (which last all evening and parts of the weekend and summer)… just to name a few. It saddens me that America still does not currently give teachers enough honor and respect they deserve (New York Times: US is Urged to Raise Teacher’s Status).  We should recognize and honor the extremely challenging and important profession of teaching! I suggest checking out Letter to a Young Teacher (by Rick Ayers, Huffington Post) for a reminder.

Never Too Young to Make an Impact

Maria Wahlstrom (Instructional Coordinator) and Miesha Ebacaher (First Grade Teacher)

Project Darfur, led by Miesha Ebacher and her first grade class, has led me to question popular assumptions about youth: Are “growing up” and “gaining experience” the only prerequisites for becoming important individuals who inspire others? Or do kids already have the power to lead and inspire? The answer–kids have more abilities than we give them credit. They are, in fact, highly capable of creating new ideas, inspiring, and motivating others. The only thing most kids lack is opportunity. Therefore, the more opportunities we give them to shine, the more kids WILL shine, and most importantly…the more they will believe in their own abilities.  For a service learning project, Ms Ebacher’s first graders have been seeking justice by educating high school classrooms across Chicago on the injustices in Darfur. They have been sharing their ideas on war and peace and have inspired 5 classrooms of high school students to learn more about the world.

Last week, our first grade students presented Project Darfur to high school freshman at Urban Prep Academy for Young Men. It was truly powerful to watch young children learn about the world, speak up for the world, and actually be heard. Our kids reminded me of an important lesson that too many adults overlook or ignore: They are never too young to make an impact.

“I loved the kids and the way they explained and talked so clearly. It made me happy because I’ve never seen a group of 1st graders do so well and they’re really smart. These kids will have a very bright future and these types of things put a smile on my face.” -Urban Prep Academy Freshman

“I am so incredibly impressed by your clear passion and energy for this great cause. I want you to never stop believing that the world can be a better place- with people like you, how could it not?” -Urban Prep Academy Freshman

“You guys have influenced me to be a better person.” – Senior at Youth Connection Leadership Academy High School