Foster Youth, Alexa in the Classroom, and Elon Musk’s School for Gifted Youngsters
Issue 4 of 7Plus, an education news and critical theory bulletin
This week’s issue covers support systems for foster youth, funding for school counseling programs, the use of smart speakers in the classroom, Elon Musk’s innovative school, and a study on boomerang children.
Local Education News
Helping foster youth attain college and persist there
July 3, 2018 | Paul Jablow | The Notebook | ^
Summary The Field Center’s Foster Care to College program is a partnership with eight area colleges and universities to support financial hurdles, lack of family support, and trauma that foster children face. Foster youth are up to eight times less likely to earn a college degree compared to the general population. The Promise Program at West Chester University, one of the partner universities, has started a food pantry staffed with social work graduate-student interns, and offers professional work attire and school supplies. Some have also stressed the need for more upstream programming in high schools to identify foster children and inform them of these opportunities at colleges.
Significance It would be worthwhile for college prep and access programs to identify foster children and point them towards these opportunities, as well as provide support to them from an earlier intervention point.
Regional Education News
Lily endowment awards more than $12 million for school counseling
July 4, 2018 | Jeanie Lindsay | WFYI | ^
Summary Indiana schools are receiving more than $12 million in funding from the Lily Endowment to bolster counseling programs. This follows the opioid addiction crisis, and schools’ requests for more resources to support student needs. As schools are understaffed, counselors do work outside their job description, such as proctoring AP tests or staffing field trips, in addition to college and career planning. Schools are also asking for resources to help support families of students.
Significance Organizations working students might want to consider and investigate programming and providing support for counselors. They may also want to incorporate functions that counselors are traditionally in charge of into their existing programming; the fellows certainly already provide some of these functions, and as mentioned in previous issues, a more fleshed out mental health framework and programming might be further beneficial given this increased need.
Teacher’s aide or surveillance nightmare? Alexa hits the classroom
June 26, 2018 | Benjamin Herold | Education Week | ^
Summary Smart speaker systems with digital voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa have begun to be used in classrooms, helping teachers with setting classroom timers and serving as proxy native speakers for practicing foreign languages, among other functions. While teachers had positive experiences in using these devices, technologists caution against the data collection and targeted advertising or law-enforcement and government surveillance that could result from it.
Significance It seems the small benefits that these smart speaker systems currently provide do not justify their use in classrooms, especially given the risks or harms it imposes upon students without their consent. Measures to protect the privacy of students and getting their informed consent should be a priority if organizations such as 12+ decide to use such technologies, and only after determining if they are value-adding.
DeVos presses pause on special education rule, highlighting ongoing discrimination debate
July 3, 2018 | Matt Barnum | Chalkbeat | ^
Summary The department of education has delayed an Obama-era rule designed to prevent over-identification of disabilities in students of color. The rule was crafted to address the overrepresentation of children with color among the special education population, leading to unfair segregation, suspensions, and expulsions. The rationale for putting the rule on hold is that a high number of identified minorities might not signal discrimination, and that the rule could result in schools keeping students out of special education to avoid financial penalties.
Significance Regardless of whether the rule goes through, schools will feel the impact differently, based on whether they do have a large proportion of minorities with special education needs, or do engage in discriminatory practices when identifying special needs students. Educational equity organizations should carefully consider the realities of their beneficiaries when involved with processes relating to identifying and supporting such students.
First space, then auto — now Elon Musk quietly tinkers with education
June 25, 2018 | Mark Harris | Ars Technica | ^
Summary Musk founded Ad Astra in 2014, when he was dissatisfied with how traditional schools were teaching his five sons. He sought to “exceed traditional school metrics on all relevant subject matter through unique project-based learning experiences” in a school of his conception that bears more resemblance to a venture capital incubator than a traditional school. Students in Ad Astra “undertake challenging technical projects, trade using their own currency, and can opt out of subjects they don’t enjoy”; they have “few formal assessments and no grades handed out”.
Significance Ad Astra is a privilege accorded to a handful of kids, and the financial resources needed to replicate even a fraction of its program elsewhere is almost certainly unavailable. Nevertheless, it may be worthwhile to examine facets of its program and consider implementing it in some creative financially viable fashion in other schools and programs, such as the topical projects and internal currency and economy, which seem valuable to building professional and entrepreneurial skills and mindsets.
Other Relevant News
Boomerang children can be good for family relationships — study
June 29, 2018 | Sally Weale | The Guardian | ^
Summary An LSE study suggests that children returning to live with their parents after university can lead to closer, more supportive relationships and increased contact between the generations, contradicting earlier findings that children returning would trigger a significant decline in parents’ quality of life and wellbeing. This could be a result of the reduced stigma surrounding moving back home given the different situation for graduates today. Authors also highlighted the “intergenerational inequality” that could arise between those with and without familial economic resources.
Significance Highlighting the benefits from staying with family post-graduation as an option might be valuable for ensuring students continue to have the most support they can after high school. As the realities of college graduates today are starker, there might also be a need to consider supporting and programming for alumni beyond their post-secondary plans, especially as they are further disadvantaged from not having access to familial economic resources.
Examining Education Critically
The challenges of curriculum materials as a reform lever
June 28, 2018 | Morgan S. Polikoff | Brookings | ^
Summary Following a prior report identifying textbooks as an inexpensive reform strategy, Polikoff investigates three challenges of using curriculum materials as a reform lever:
- The challenge of collecting and analyzing textbook adoption data to determine which books are most effective
- Educators fear data collection on adoption is a foot in the door to more prescriptive state control
- Unclear who to get the data from
- Schools use different editions, licenses, and materials that are not purchased but developed or free
- Hard to estimate textbook impact in isolation and given selection biases
2. The challenge of getting the most effective books in teachers’ hands
- Decentralized educational governance makes dissemination of the best books hard
- Complex and “ceremonial” school district textbook adoption practices stymies decisionmaking
- Lengthy adoption cycles and unstable standards not conducive to collecting and basing adoption on effectiveness evidence
3. The challenge of getting teachers to use these books once they have them
- Teachers often supplement textbooks with other material
- Teachers are critical of textbooks and publisher provided professional development
Polikoff then synthesizes further recommendations for addressing them, including:
- Routine data collection at time of purchase of at least basic publication information at the district level
- Routine analysis of data by qualified researchers or staff at the state level
- States should put out lists of quality materials with transparent and high-quality adoption processes
- States should collect and analyze data related to teacher adoption and use of curriculum materials
Significance Organizations that are supporting underequipped schools mostly provide support through non-textbook curriculum, which presents an opportunity to reform education by allowing deviation from cultural imperialism textbooks impose through its reproduction of culturally dominant ideas and values. It also creates a means of reeling up the level of education underfunded schools can provide, providing quality materials that are closely developed to cater to students. Nevertheless, in order to achieve a more systemic and widespread education equity, higher orders of governance need to be engaged to regulate curriculum quality. There could be more to gain in redirecting efforts toward influencing these macro changes.
Please share this with education equity actors you know that would find it useful; as always, feedback and comments on how I can make this more useful are much appreciated!
