Health Education Crisis & Educational Reform

                With the rate of childhood diabetes and heart disease increasing at an alarming rate, public health advocates have joined the national debate on education.  Their mission is to ensure that any reforms being considered include health and nutrition measures that reduce childhood diabetes and heart disease.  Currently, more than 23 million youth have been diagnosed as obese or overweight.  For a large number of these youth, their diagnosis has affected their academic performance[i]. 

The loss of instructional time due to illness related to diabetes or heart disease places students’ academically and socially behind their peers.  The loss of instructional time could prevent students’ from being promoted to the next grade or it can prevent a school from meeting federal requirements such as Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP).  The loss of instructional time also makes the academic experience inconsistent.  Each time a student returns to school from their illness related to diabetes or heart disease, the student has to re-adjust to the school routine, the teacher and other students have to re-adjust to a peer who they may not have developed a relationship and the returning student may have to go through the “new kid” in the class experience each time the student returns.

Health advocates are equally concerned about the affects hunger and poor nutrition have on a students’ instructional time in school and their behavior.  When students come to school hungry, they may exhibit low energy, the inability to focus, pay attention, or they may be irritable.  The same symptoms could be seen in students who do not have a balanced breakfast.  If a students’ breakfast consists of chips and beverages with high fructose syrups (soda, juice, etc), things that have no nutritional values, they will come to school amped up on sugar and become tired, irritable and unable to focus when the sugar high wears off.

Unfortunately, as these behaviors manifest themselves, most teachers are unaware these behaviors are caused by hunger and poor nutrition.  The same behaviors can occur with diabetic students who do not monitor their blood sugar.  Instead, students are wrongly reprimanded or suspended for their behavior.  To rectify this problem, health advocates and educators must work to develop a national training model for teachers and administrators to recognize the symptoms of diabetes, hunger, and poor nutrition and how student behavior is affected.

There is a lot that can be achieved if health advocates and educators work together for the benefit of children.  By working together students’ can be taught how to develop a healthy lifestyle, how to prevent diabetes and heart disease, and learn how to manage their illness.  Teachers can be taught how to discern behavior that is caused by illness from behavior that is disruptive.  Finally, administrators can learn how to ensure their school provides healthy and nutritious meals, create school-wide awareness among staff, parents, students, and partner with agencies to provide resources to parents and students on diabetes, heart disease, hunger, and nutrition.

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-hysell/education-health_b_1400715

Protesting for Their Future

            Last week students in a Detroit high school walked out of class demanding to be educated.  While their act of protest should have been applauded for their pleas to be educated, fifty students were suspended for their action[i].

            The student protest was sparked by concerns over lack of consistent teachers, the reassignment of the principal, staff who abuse sick time, and shortage of textbooks.  According to one senior:

                        “We’ve been wronged and disrespected and lied to and cheated.

                        They didn’t listen to us when we complained to the administration.

                        They didn’t listen to the parents when they complained to the

                        administration, so I guess this is the only way to get things solved[ii].”

            At a time when youth, specifically youth from economically distressed communities are labeled as not taking their education serious, these students as well as students across the country have exercised their rights to protest and express their concern for the injustice happening to them.  Understanding the importance education will play in their adult lives, the students stepped up and took the responsibility to demand their education, just as their grandparents (or great-grandparents) did during the civil rights movement.  It is unfortunate the adults in the building did not feel the need to listen.

            School Districts across the country should use this opportunity and listen to what students have to say.  School Districts should include students in the discussions on student engagement, education for a global economy, improving school climate, and elements of an effective teacher.  Student knowledge is often underutilized by legislators, educators, and reformers when it comes to improving schools.  Students’ have a unique knowledge about what works in school, what does not work in school, and what factors outside of school create barriers to learning in school. 

            It is time for the adults to stop trying to figure out what might work and learn from the insight of the students to develop strategies that could remove barriers to learning and increase academic achievement.  By doing this, students will have taken ownership for the direction of their education and become empowered to hold themselves, their peers, and their teachers accountable for teaching, learning, and academic achievement.  By demanding to be educated, students in Detroit and across the country have informed their districts, low expectations, inequitable funding, antiquated infrastructure, and lack of textbooks will no longer be tolerated.  Their demands also inform the federal and sate governments that students expect more from legislative and school leaders.

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/detroit-high-school-prote_n_1392436

[ii] ibid

Overhauling Head Start

            The cornerstone of the War on Poverty, Head Start has been a federally funded program that comes under continuous scrutiny and its relevancy debated.  Marred by mismanagement of funds, poor record keeping and mediocre results in academic achievement, the Obama Administration is seeking a major overhaul of the program.  According to President Obama:

“too many children aren’t learning, and too many education programs

are mismanaged..we are not going to put money into programs that

 don’t work..We are going to take money and put it into programs that do[i].”

            The administration released a list of 132 Head Start programs across 40 states it has rated as deficient.  Unlike past administrations, that gave low performing Head Start programs funding, the Obama Administration is going to make these programs compete for federal funding[ii].  The Administration believes that competition will raise the level of academic performance and increase accountability among the deficient programs. 

Conservatives are calling for Head Start to be managed by the states or privatized in order to generate competition.  Citing research from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, that argues for “new thinking” when it comes to early childhood education, they claim that state management or privatization will generate new ideas which will lead to better approaches that will benefit children. [iii]. 

            While state management and privatization may sound like viable options for overhauling Head Start, the architect of Head Start, Edward Zigler argues that inadequate funding is responsible for the quality of Head Start.  Zigler argues:

                        “…inadequate funding has hurt the quality of the Head Start program

                        more than anything else.  It’s always a matter of money.  It’s been a

                        matter of money for 46 years.  With enough money, you can hire

                        good teachers and competent administrators, and pay for top-notch

                        health services and facilities[iv].”

Since funding has been a controversial topic that is fiercely debated each time Head Start funding comes for renewal, Zigler’s argument has merit.  However, if fraud and mismanagement are resolved and strict accountability measures are in place, a small increase in funding may only be needed.  As an incentive to keep programs competitive, additional funds could be given to programs that demonstrate innovation, producing results that exceed federal measurements in academic and social arena, or fiscal responsibility.

            Head Start is vital to children and families who live in economically distressed communities.  Head Start was supposed to equalize the achievement gap that divides the “haves” and “have not” when they began compulsory education.  As with many programs aimed at economically distressed citizens, under-funding, mismanagement, waste and fraud become another obstacle to be removed in their journey to achieve the American Dream.  We must not forget these are children who no fault of their own are in untenable situation and their only way to achieve the American Dream is through education.

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[i] www.npr.org/2012/4/03/149687163/under-scrutiny-some-head-start-programs-in-limbo

[ii] ibid

[iii] Ibid

[iv] ibid

Reforming the Evaluation & Tenure Process of Teachers

            In this current era of educational reform, the focal point of discussion has been how to fundamentally change the evaluation of teachers and how they obtain tenure.  Calling for uniformity and transparency, legislators at both state and federal levels, parents, and educational advocates are examining ways to infuse weightier evaluation processes to measure effectiveness on student achievement.  The proponents of reform may have found a new ally for their cause.

            According to a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Scholastic Education, 10,000 pre-K-12 teachers were questioned about their satisfaction, environment, and views on school policies.  The results of the report found that a large number of teachers support fundamental changes to the evaluation of teachers and tenure[i].

            The report found that when surveyed about tenure, most teachers felt tenure should take up to five years to obtain.  Over 90 percent believed that tenure should reflect teacher effectiveness and not protect ineffective teachers.  The report also found that when surveyed about the evaluation of teachers, most teachers were supportive of more frequent and rigorous evaluations.  Over 85 percent supported the use of student achievement data in the overall evaluation process.  However, only 26 percent felt that standardized test scores were a true reflection of student learning[ii].

            This unlikely ally may provide the opportunity to bring meaningful reform to the evaluation and tenure process.  Utilizing the expertise of teachers in the development of an evaluation and tenure system will generate the “buy” in needed to successfully implement reform.  Traditionally, teacher voice has been an undervalued resource in the history of educational reform.  However, teacher voice is critical the piece to moving towards an effective evaluation and tenure system that will benefit children.

            The Gates/Scholastic report provided some very promising data that can be used to develop an effective teacher evaluation and tenure system.  If teachers are invited to the reform table and their voice is utilized, a successful, sustainable evaluation and tenure system can be achieved.

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[i] www.huffintonpost.com/2012/3/26/teachers-reform-experience-gates-scholastic_n_1381037

[ii] ibid