If You’re Reading This It’s Not Too Late (Six culture / advisory / assembly ideas:)
1.) Almost two years ago we got rid of paychecks in sixth grade.
(I really wish we had done it sooner. We did it at the same time we got rid of the bench, decided that kids should be able to talk in the hall all the time,* and moved to make lunch reflection less punitive and more restorative.)
[To put it bluntly, we decided to remove oppressive systems / structures that we once used: systems / structures that you routinely see used with black and brown kids — but not other kids — because they “need it” when, quite honestly, they don’t and it’s probably racist to think that they do.]
For context, paychecks were used for minor misbehavior.
(Looking back on it I’m not sure how much of it I would even consider actual misbehavior now.)
A dollar off for talking out of turn. Two dollars off for not having a pencil. Three dollars off for being out of your seat without permission. (And so on.)
If your paycheck was less than $80 for a particular week, then you had to sit in silent lunch the entire next week.
When we looked at it closely we realized that the best teachers didn’t actually use the paycheck system.
They used better, more authentic teaching moves — proximity, positivity, strong voice, etcetera — as well as strong relationships, genuine investment, and amazing content to drive student learning.
The way we saw it — you can teach your teachers to use an artificial system (and discuss / think about / norm-up around that) or you can teach your teachers to make human moves in human moments (same parenthetical) but it’s pretty tough to do both well at the same time.
Instead of “that’s a dollar off your paycheck for talking, Rico,” we moved to “Rico, I know you’re excited to work with your partners. Let me finish first and then y’all can get to it.”
Instead of “that’s two dollars off your paycheck for not having a pencil, Javian,” we moved to “there’s plenty of pencils in the back, Javian. Go and grab one.”
Instead of “that’s three dollars off your paycheck for being out of your seat, Tyra,” we moved to “do you need something, Tyra? Cool. Just ask me next time.”
I’m not saying we do it perfectly (we don’t; there’s plenty of shades of grey to differentiate and discuss [quasi-related: the best teachers embrace the grey]) but I think our approach is more personal and contextual and real.
The counter-argument to this approach –
Kids will walk all over teachers because the teachers are soft and don’t have high expectations.
My counter-argument to that –
They won’t.
Kids want to learn. Kids want to be successful at school. Kids don’t want to get in trouble. They really appreciate when their teachers treat them (and talk to them) like people. They really respond to adults that are confident enough in themselves and in their craft and in their relationships with them not to rely on something so contrived. And also, just because you don’t use paychecks doesn’t mean that you don’t have high expectations.
Moral of the story #1 — paychecks aren’t the most equitable system.
Moral of the story #2 — there might be a different system at your school that isn’t equitable (or even good).
Change it.
As Shuri says in Black Panther (Rachel P. reminded me of this on a run the other day) –
“Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”
1a.)
2.) From Linai B. (2024) –
2a.) The actual article: He applied to 20 of the best colleges and got a full ride to all of them.
3.) From Kevin Durant Returns, Part One | The Bill Simmons Podcast | The Ringer @ 25:17 –
“Let me just focus on what I really want to do — master the game of basketball. You know what I’m saying? Instead of wanting to be loved by a certain group of people or not wanting to make anybody else mad. I just really want to be great at playing the game. You know what I’m saying? Once I came to Golden State and won a championship and you felt what that’s like — it’s like I know the fans, they matter, they come to the games and appreciate it but when it comes to perfecting my craft, they really don’t matter. My family and friends really don’t matter. You know what I’m saying? It’s really about perfecting the craft so I’m so focused on that it makes me look like I’ve changed.”
4.) These talented young women performed a chilling spoken word poem on America’s gun violence crisis.
DAMNNN.
(That’s going down the Monday after break.)
5.) From Steve Hartman (part one) –
A suspicious Facebook message from Liberia sparks an unlikely partnership.
5a.) From Steve Hartman (part two) –
Man answers email from questionable source and never imagined what would follow.
(We’re going to watch / discuss these with kids on the first day back from break as well. They are really f’ing powerful.)
6.) If you haven’t read this or looked at the visuals (or both) yet, please do so: Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys
Some of the most crushing parts (although the whole article was crushing) –
“One of the most popular liberal post-racial ideas is the idea that the fundamental problem is class and not race, and clearly this study explodes that idea,” said Ibram Kendi, a professor and director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. “But for whatever reason, we’re unwilling to stare racism in the face.”
The authors, including the Stanford economist Raj Chetty and two census researchers, Maggie R. Jones and Sonya R. Porter, tried to identify neighborhoods where poor black boys do well, and as well as whites.
“The problem,” Mr. Chetty said, “is that there are essentially no such neighborhoods in America.”
& –
The new data shows that 21 percent of black men raised at the very bottom were incarcerated, according to a snapshot of a single day during the 2010 census. Black men raised in the top 1 percent — by millionaires — were as likely to be incarcerated as white men raised in households earning about $36,000.
& –
The worst places for poor white children are almost all better than the best places for poor black children.
& –
Why is racism the only explanation for this phenomenon? Perhaps something happens to black boys while they are growing up that makes them less capable of succeeding in the U.S. economy. For instance, maybe cultural forces cause black boys — but not black girls — to focus on activities that leave them with poorer time management skills than those that boys of other races are developing. So, why do the authors take the easy way out and blame amorphous racism instead of exploring more subtle explanations that do not make the situation seem hopeless? (Michael Sundel, Falls Church, Va.)
Actually, the easy way out is to say there must be something wrong with these black boys. It is the easy way out that Americans have historically taken in trying to explain racial disparities in our society since the founding of the United States. Either there is something wrong with our policies, or there is something wrong with black boys (or black people). Either the United States is riddled with racist policies or inferior black boys. We have all sorts of evidence of racist policies. Where is the evidence that black boys as a group have “poorer time management skills” than white boys as a group? Personal observations of individual behavior is not evidence of group behavior. Racist ideas of black inferiority is the easy way out. (Ibram X. Kendi, History and international relations professor, American University, and director, The Antiracist Research and Policy Center)
Pointing to racism as the problem is not the same as suggesting that this is a hopeless situation. If we start honestly teaching about our racist history and make meaningful efforts to eradicate racist policies and practices, then this problem could be resolved. It took us hundreds of years of very concerted effort to have racism so ingrained in our culture, and we will have to work equally hard to undo all of the damage we have done as a society. (Noelle Hurd, Psychology assistant professor, University of Virginia)
(We’re going to read / discuss this at our next grade level meeting. I’m not exactly sure what will come of it but I think the conversation is necessary.)
Mark
* From a few weeks ago –
Our kids (especially from middle school on) should be able to talk in the hall / hallway.
I know there are some quasi-decent reasons why they should be silent but the way I see it:
A. Adults talk in the hall. Adults are people. Kids are people to. They can handle it.
B. If we can teach kids the level of rigor expected on the PARCC, then we can teach kids to talk in the hall appropriately (a way less rigorous task).
C. It’s actually easier to manage kids while they are walking and talking as opposed to if they’re silent. (The amount of consequences given out will decrease dramatically.)
D. People like to talk. Talking is fun. Being connected to others is an important part of being a human. It would make our kids’ days that much more enjoyable.
E. How cool would it be if kids left your class and then talked about it in the hall with their friends right after??
