Yesterday afternoon we were invited to speak to Pastor Vernon Jones, a community activist, school administrator, and education advocate, about innovation within the public school system. He delivered an enlightening perspective on future innovative initiatives in the system and gave me hope for what is next to come. More than just speaking professionally about the system, Pastor Jones spoke positively about life, and how everyone must respect and treat each other as equals. I, personally, appreciated his message and took it to heart.
After meeting with Pastor Jones, we took a trip over to Colorado Academy (CA), an elite, private college preparatory institution. What a contrast that was, let me tell ya. Just as Mr. Jones stressed the importance of seeing everyone as equals, I was thrown into a HUGE building filled with expensive resources and tools... I couldn't help but see inequality. To be honest, it was really tough for me not to be judgmental and bitter. I couldn't help but think about the lack of resources and support in my public high school and some of the schools I've seen during this class... It just wasn't fair. I thought if this was innovation, I didn't want any part of it. I knew that if wealth led to better resources and better resources led to academic success, there was no way that public school students, minority students, FRL students, and ELL students would ever succeed academically. That isn't social justice. This, in no way, was fair. It wasn't fair that, because these students' families had money, they were supplemented with amazing resources and thus, provided the opportunity for a better education. It disgusted me.
Then we sat down will Paul Kim, a history teacher at CA. Mr. Kim explained that despite all of these marvelous resources, exquisite features, and expensive material tools, some kids still don't succeed academically. Then, it all kind of hit me...
At the beginning of our discussion Pastor Jones stated that the problem with education is like a formula. He said, "there's an equality problem and there's an equity problem. That leads to an excellence problem." I agreed, and I certainly saw it first hand at CA. Then, I had to remember what Pastor Jones' true message was. Over and over, he stressed that "every life matters..." and we must recognize the fact that everyone, no matter what our background, is deserving of a good education. WE are all students. OUR main goal is to learn.
That's what innovation is for me.
After all of the speakers and visits and observations from the past two weeks, I've come to the conclusion that innovation in the school system is supposed to be centered around what works best for the student and community it is serving. For every community, for every classroom, and for every child, innovation will be something different for them. Innovation isn't necessarily about money or materials, innovation doesn't even have to be tangible. Innovation is whatever helps the student learn best. So maybe for CA, the technology and expensive material things in the classroom help the majority of the students learn. That doesn't necessarily mean those tools will support Whittier or Manual HS students' learning. With innovation, we have to look past all the glitter and gold, dust and darkness, the haves and the have nots. As long as whatever innovative practices are implemented work out of best interest for the students' being served, I think we are being fair. I think innovation can be our equalizer.
Initially, I got caught up in this idea that innovation is some material thing or idea that is always visible or tangible in the classroom, and this thing or idea helped everyone succeed academically. Now, I know that's not the case. In fact, I am content with the idea of innovation and I appreciate it's diversity and ambiguity and messiness. :)
(http://galleryhip.com/innovation-and-creativity-quotes.html)
Now the real problem I have with innovation in the education system, is the business-like systemic aspect of it. But I'll save that for next time!
Best,
Acelynn
Jones, V. (2014) Innovation discussion. Denver, Colorado.
Kim, P. (2014) Colorado Academy. Denver, Colorado.
Acelynn-
ReplyDeleteReally insightful post. For me our visit to CA was also slightly frustrating. I went into the innovation lab and felt like money was wasted. As cool as it might be, who needs a 3D printer in high school? In schools money for resources is crucial but I think the money can only go so far. I think often there are people who think money will solve the problems but I truly believe it is teachers who are the key. I am not trying to say money is irrelevant, it certainly plays a part but I think there is a threshold where money just doesn't matter anymore. to me the visit to CA really reiterated the importance of teachers and teacher training programs. I'm sure Paul Kim is a wonderful teacher but I also wonder how his teaching style would change in a different school culture. Thanks for your thoughts!
-Hannah
Acelynn,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this post. I too grappled with the dichotomy of seeing public schools in dire need of resources, and then a private school that has more than they know what to do with. It seems like the population that needs the most resources gets the least. But then again, I totally agree with your point that innovation doesn't necessarily mean more resources - so much of innovation is what happens inside the classroom between teachers and students. I wonder to what extent these resources help the student body learn, and how much of it is relationships...
Eliza
Acelynn,
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed seeing how your definition of education innovation has unfolded. I agree that the central message is that "every life matters". I also appreciated Pastor Jone's commentary on privilege, basically saying that "it's okay to have privilege, but it's what you do with it to change the world." I am hopeful that CA students are educated to truly know how fortunate they are, recognize their privilege and use it to help transform us into a more just society. This means, in part, our society changing from an individualistic culture to one that is more community orientated. I dream big, but hope keeps me going!
Tina
Ace, first I would like to stay how nice it was to hear you say the word dichotomy ;). Also, I'd like to acknowledge how your thoughts about innovation mirror some of the ideas I had been thinking about too. I really like the way you've embraced the ambiguity of the topic and how you're using it to inform your perception of innovation. The CA visit definitely pushed my thinking too and made really consider what Pastor Jones commented on concerning equity and equality. I vibed with a lot that he had to say and I love that you took away such a positive idea. Everybody definitely does deserve a good education and I'd love to unpack what that looks like to you. I really do wonder if innovation is just a fad or it's the source of being cognizant of your community's needs. It's definitely messy, but I like how we are all working with the ideas we've been presented with and sifting through them in order to produce something that makes sense to us. I love this post, because it touches on a lot of points that I've been thinking about and I would love to sit down sometime this week to really break down how your thinking has changed and bounce ideas off of one another to see where we're at and where we're going in this learning process! Happy Sunday!
ReplyDelete-Andy