Archive for June, 2008

Personal Democracy Forum

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

I’m blogging from the 2008 Personal Democracy Forum in New York City. From the conference website:

“Technology and the Internet are changing politics — now more than ever. Over the last five years, Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) has become the seminal gathering place for the growing community of people who understand the effects underway, and want to make sure they stay on top of what’s coming next.”

In addition to focusing on the internet’s growing role in politics and elections, the conference will delve into the effect on civic action and advocacy movements. This is why I am here, looking to learn more about the decentralized, equalizing tools of the internet (such as wikipedia, youtube, blogs, social networking, etc.), and how they are impacting and will grow to impact advocacy efforts – most especially for use in advocating for education based on our human rights and our democratic values.

This can be especially powerful because young people themselves are the leaders in our new internet age, and because young people can and ought to be important leaders in the fight for a more democratic education system and practice.

Education based on the same values as the decentralized and democratic nature of the internet mean s greater voice for young people to direct their own learning, democratic decision-making processes in schools, and an ending to hierarchical curricular and assessment policies, and that’s just a start.

More soon…

Posted in Democratic Education, Education Advocacy, Technology and Youth Democracy, Youth Voice/Youth Rights | No Comments »

School Success in NYC!

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

New York City’s School Chancellor Joel Klein has just announced a tremendous sign of educational success. It appears that Mr. Klein and Mayor Bloomberg’s approach of increased high-stakes standardized testing, assessing schools with a single letter grade, and bribing teachers and students with money for good test scores is really proving beneficial. Are you ready for the evidence?

Here’s close to a direct quote from Mr. Klein on Up Close with Diana Williams on Sunday, June 8, 2008, in response to Ms. Williams’ question about whether the teacher and student award program is working:

“There’s a great story, where a student says excitedly, ‘When’s the next test?!’ That’s not something you hear a whole lot.”

Hmm. So, first create an alienating and damaging situation for young people and teachers by mandating tests that narrow the curriculum, disengage students and teachers from learning, and create stress and unnecessary competition. Then add financial rewards to those who score high on the tests, and we should be surprised and confident in our educational approach and policies because suddenly instead of hating the tests young people wonder when they’ll have another chance to earn some extra money?

Am I missing something??

Mr. Klein completely misunderstands young people, parents, and the general public if he believes that the ability to develop external motivation in response to a potential reward (better known as behavioral training) is really the success sign we are looking for in our schools.

Instead, if you ask most folks what skills they believe young people ought to develop for success in their future lives, the most common answers will include creativity, critical thinking, self-confidence, empathy, responsibility, determination, self-awareness, openness, and internal or self-motivation. Those are the qualities and skills that will enable young people to achieve their personal goals, strengthen our communities, and develop a more just and sustainable world.

It’s time to stop thinking of education as behavioral training and standardization and realize that we are talking about the lives and learning of young human beings, each of whom is unique and deserves a whole lot more respect and support than that being shown through the policies of Klein and Bloomberg.

Posted in NYC Education | No Comments »

Colorado Youth Advisory Council

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Colorado joins a growing list of states that are giving young people a much-needed voice in legislative discussions through Youth Advisory Councils. As with councils in other states, Colorado’s council will bring youth together from across the state to discuss issues specifically relating to youth as well as other issues. The Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s office drafted this press release, and the full text of the law is located here (thanks to ECS for the news update).

Colorado’s law established one of the largest councils, with 40 young people age 14-19, 35 of whom are nominated by Senators from each of the 25 Senate districts in the state, with an additional 5 appointed by the Speaker of the House. Very importantly, once the council is up and running, the council itself must approve new youth council members, giving young people a real voice. This is certainly better than continuing a legislator or other adult-directed appointment approach, though a more empowering process would include local youth advisory councils and youth gatherings to choose their own representatives.

We can also hope that Colorado will implement this council in a way that lets it be directed by the young people, who ought to be able to set their own agenda, create their recommendations, and deliver them directly to state legislators. One additional improvement would be to allow the council to draft its own legislation and search for legislative sponsors, as the Maine Youth Advisory Council is empowered to do.

Yet even as is, the Colorado council is an important boost to youth empowerment in the state, and hopefully will continue laying the groundwork for greater recognition of the need to honor and hear the voices of young people – in schools, communities, and legislatures, at the local, state, federal, and international levels.

Youth deserve a meaningful and an equal voice, and I give a hearty congratulations to the legislature and governor of the state of Colorado.

Posted in Youth Voice/Youth Rights | No Comments »