Students are more likely to succeed in a place
where they feel known and cared about
I realize there are people whose impulse is to sneer when
talk turns to how kids feel, and who dismiss as “soft” or “faddish” anything
other than old-fashioned instruction of academic skills. But even these
hard-liners, when pressed, are unable to deny the relationship between
feeling and thinking, between a child’s comfort level and his or her capacity
to learn.
Here, too, there are loads of supporting data. As one
group of researchers put it, “In order to promote students’ academic
performance in the classroom, educators should also promote their social and
emotional adjustment.” And yet, broadly speaking, we don’t. Teachers and schools
are evaluated almost exclusively on academic achievement measures (which, to
make matters worse, mostly consist of standardized test scores).
If we took seriously the need for kids to feel known and
cared about, our discussions about the distinguishing features of a “good
school” would sound very different. Likewise, our view of
discipline and classroom management would be turned inside-out, seeing as how the primary
goals of most such strategies are obedience and order, often with the result
that kids feel less cared about -- or even bullied -- by adults.
Michael Wacker on 25 Jan 11Unit One: "Creative What?"show This unit explores the general topics of intellectual property, creative content, and creative rights. Using the backdrop of a high school's Battle of the Bands, the unit will help students define intellectual property and creative content by relating it to a common scenario they might encounter. Students will begin to recognize and internalize the importance of respecting creative rights, conduct their own research to better understand the relevance of creative content to their lives, and help clear up confusion about the rights that apply to them and their peers. Unit Two: "By Rule of Law"show Intellectual property is a valuable commodity, and thus, those who develop creative content are protected by laws in the United States and around the world. In this unit, students explore creative content copyright and learn about the rights they have as creators and the laws that exist to protect the creative process. The unit's activities encourage students to form opinions about what's right, what's wrong, and how the laws affect them as creators, consumers, and good digital citizens. Unit Three: "Calling All Digital Citizens"show Copyright and other creative rights empower the artists, musicians, and writers who produce creative works. But how does the prevalence of online media - and its ease of access - change the conversation about those rights? With social media as the backdrop, this unit explores that very question, as the students learn more with the Digital Citizenship in Schools curriculum. Students analyze the use of creative content on social media Web sites, recognize the responsibilities involved with using these media, and form their own opinions about what makes a good digital citizen. Unit Four: "Protect Your Work, Respect Your Work"show This unit explores the theme of protecting creative content through a series of experiential activities. Students learn how to protect their own creative works and how to use o