SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENT

Signature Assignment

Leandra Pasion

Chaminade University of Honolulu

ED 790 Peace, Social Justice and Educational Transformation

The Rev. Dale, M.Div., M.A.

Winter 2013
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What is change?

Change means to make something different. The results can either improve things or

make them worse. Change can also mean how an act can be altered, shifted, converted or

transformed in segments. Change occurs in how we apply it to ourselves, daily lives, in work, in

school, and most of all as a society. But we must focus our efforts the most on the changes

that our public school system need most, in order to better educate all of our young people of

tomorrow.

In order to improve our American schools, we first need to make changes toward: 1)

Securing housing, food, and health care, so that children can some to school ready to learn, 2)

Creating supportive early learning environments, 3) Equitably funded schools which provide

equitable access to high-quality teaching, 4) Well-prepared and well-supported teachers and

leaders, 5) Standards, curriculum, and assessments focused on 21st-century learning goals, and 6)

Schools organized for in-depth student and teacher learning. (Darling-Hammond, Pg.26)

Second, we need to find ways to help our students change their outlook, about school and

themselves, for their betterment. We need to guide them to find connections, compassion, and

character in their own learning as well as in the learning environment they are in. According to

Sarason (Pg. 114) during many interviews, the students complained that the classrooms, the type

of learning in the classrooms and the school work being taught were all boring. One boy

mentioned that School is so boring because you had to go to many classes and there was no fun

in it but to skip class or doing something wrong. You would have to create your own adventure

in life. We need to change the attitude of our students coming to class, making them feel

excited and happy instead of bored, and make them realize that one of the greatest adventures is

the adventure of learning. According to Kessler (Pg.5), the body of a child will not grow if it is
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not fed; the mind will not flourish unless it is stimulated and guided. When young people are

guided to find positive ways to express their spiritual longings, they can find purpose in life,

do better in school, strengthen ties to family and friends, and approach life with energy and

vision. We need to overall change our young peoples thinking to think constructively and to help

them find their inner spiritual nature. Teach them that part of life is building healthy

relationships with others. We listen and learn together in the classroom and in other outside

settings.

The third change is in our socioeconomic government. Schools that are in need of more

help should be given extra aide. We need to be looking at schools that are in low-income

districts and invest more efforts in improving their educational system. More funds need to be

allocated into teacher education programs to help prepare teachers for teaching in urban and low-

income teaching areas, early learning centers, and also implemented on the curriculum content,

provide updated resources and materials, invest in highly qualified teachers and leaders, and

improve on state policies.

What are the causes of the needed changes?

According to Darling-Hammond (Pg. 30), there are five major building blocks of unequal

and inadequate educational outcomes: 1) The high levels of poverty and the low levels of social

support for low-income childrens health and welfare, 2) The unequal allocation of school

resources, which is made politically easier by increasing resegregation of schools, 3) Inadequate

systems for providing high-quality teachers and teaching to all children in all communities, 4)

Rationing of high-quality curriculum through tracking and interschool disparities, 5) Factory-

model school designs that have created dysfunctional learning environments for students and

unsupported settings for strong teaching.

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Because of high-tech jobs in the United States being filled with educated individuals

from overseas, lots of our own citizens are unemployed and fall into the welfare system. Many

other individuals end up in the prison system, causing personal tragedies and consuming lots of

the nations economy and social well-being. (Darling-Hammond, Pg. 23) Since there is a huge

demand on highly educated individuals, the effects of dropping out have gotten worse. In

addition many of these uneducated or unskilled individuals are linked to crime, drugs, and

welfare reliance. According to Darling-Hammond (Pg. 24) women who have not finished high

school are much more likely than others to end up on welfare, while men are much more likely

to be in prison. Most inmates are high school dropouts, and more than half of the adult

population is functionally illiteratewith literacy skills below what is required by labor markets.

This makes me wonder if the educational system had anything to do with these individuals

downfalls in life. Were they not given the appropriate educational foundation to meet their

needs?

In addition, 30% to 40% of our kindergarten students enter without social and emotional

skills and the language experiences needed to be initially successful in school. (Darling-

Hammond, Pg. 33) Compared to 50 years ago, a greater fraction of American children is being

born into disadvantaged families where investments in children are smaller than in advantaged

families. (Darling-Hammond, Pg. 33) With less and less investment in early childhood

education and health care, the future success of our schools and the adult development and

outcome will be affected.

Overall, we need to change the inequality of education that our students are receiving.

We need to help them with their reading, comprehension and math skills in order for students to

be able to attain scores closer to the national proficiency standards.

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What processes would you need to make the change; and what personnel would be

involved?

First, I would work on improving child poverty by providing them with more social

support and resources. We need to help these low-income families to find the aide to supplement

their resources for food, rent, and health care. Many of our low-income families are uneducated,

so we need to provide training for them in the areas they need help in, whether it is training to

get a job, where to seek health care for their family, etc. In addition the government needs to

create more minimum wage jobs so our low-income families have a chance to enter and

contribute to the workforce.

Second, I would invest in early learning opportunities for our young people. We need to

allocate more funds to allow high-quality preschool programs in elementary schools. These

classrooms should consist of small class sizes and have lost of hands-on learning materials, and

parent outreach education programs. In addition, we need to hire highly-qualified teachers in

Early Childhood Education, preferably with either a bachelor's or a master's degree, or both.

Third, we need to improve on our teachers well-being, so they can strive to be highly-

qualified teachers, professionally and personally. We need to promote and support teacher

preparation, so that teachers can meet 21st century learning needs and develop more highly-

developed skills. Teacher recruitment and retentions must also be promoted, so our classrooms

can get enough well-qualified teachers. We must also be able to keep and sustain these qualified

teachers and build stable effective teaching forces and to provide equitable, competitive salaries

and benefits for these teachers. Freire (Pg 68.) believes that the education workers union should

add a new, long-term item to their agenda of salary increases and the improvement of working
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conditions in teaching; demand for analysis of all bonuses and commissions that may become

incorporated in a workers salary after any given period of time. We need to also continue to

provide ongoing professional and personal learning and mentoring. Freire (Pg. 5) also believes

that teachers need to commit to the development of teaching and learning. They must find love in

their vocation and courage within. It is impossible to teach without courage to love, without the

courage to try a thousand times before giving up. (Freire, Pg. 5) I believe that we continuously

need to encourage our teachers to not give up on their teaching.

Fourth, we must work on creating a high-quality curriculum and learning environment.

We need to revise national standards and curriculum to focus the learning goals on higher-order

thinking inquiry and innovation, as well as integration of technology throughout the curriculum;

keep our schools well-maintained for our students to learn and be in. Provide all schools with

lots of adequate and updated materials and supplies for higher learning. (Darling-Hammond,

Pg.193)

Fifth, we need to help our students find their inner self through the process of learning

and socializing. May they also find the spiritual connection through their experiences and

socializing with others? We need to help guide the spiritual development of our young people.

Kessler (pg. 17) founded the Seven Gateways to the Soul of Education. They are: 1) the

yearning for deep connectionrelationships that are profoundly caring and the feeling of

belonging or being truly seen. Students could experience deep connection to themselves, to

others, to nature, or to a higher power, 2) the longing for silence and solitudean unsure domain

that is filled with both fear and urgent. This is a relief from the oppression of busyness and

noise. This is a realm for reflection, for calming and an avenue of stillness and for rest, and to

pray or reflection on others, 3) the search for meaning and purposeconcerning the exploration
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of big questions such as, Why am I here? Does my life have purpose? What is my destiny?

What does my future hold? and Is there a God? 4) the hunger for joy and delightit can be

through experiences of simple play, celebration, or gratitude. Students will feel beauty, power,

grace, brilliance, love, or the steer of joy bring alive, 5) the creative drivedevelop new ideas in

work of arts, in scientific discoveries, or entirely a new lens of life. Students will feel the

wonder and mystery of creating, 6) the urge for transcendencedescribes the desire of young

people to go beyond their perceived limits, and 7) the need for initiationdeals with rites of

passage for the youngguiding adolescents to become more conscious about the irrevocable

transition from childhood and to adulthood. These gateways offer both a language and a

framework for developing practical teaching strategies to invite soul and learning into the

classroom. There is no teaching without learning, and by that I mean more than the act of

teaching demands the existence of those who teach and those who learn. (Freire, Pg. 31)

I feel that change requires everyone to participate activelyfrom the government and

those individuals who create our laws and policies to the Department of Education; from the

Principals and Vice-Principals of each school district to the teachers who work directly with the

students; from those who support educators who work with our students to the parents, families,

and outside support groups and companies. I decided to include a wide range of personnel

because I truly believe that creating equality in the education system and making and keeping it

effective requires the help of everyone involved. We need spacesfor expression, for

freedom...a public space where living persons can come together in speech and action, each free

to articulate a distinctive perspective, all of them granted equal worth. (Giroux, Pg. 101) I truly

believe we need everyones voice in the reformation of equality in education.

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What benefits and outcomes will be made if the change is implemented?

If these changes are implemented, I believe that our students will receive the education

that they are entitled to. Students will get to experience schooling as a process to which they

are willingly attracted to, not a compulsory one they see as confining and boring. (Sarason, Pg.

4) I believe that there would be a decrease in drop-outs and an increase in young people

graduating from high schools; many of these young people will be better prepared and inspired

to continue their education by going to college. This will acquaint students with the domain of

career options and how schooling relates to these options in a fast-changing world of work.

(Sarason, Pg. 4) Our young people will be ready and educated to work in jobs that require highly

educated employees. The poverty level should decrease and families will live a little better due

to better job opportunities. They will be able to get off of welfare and contribute to the

workforce.

Our students reading and math scores will improve to meet proficiency due to the

implementation of standards, curriculum, and assessments focused on 21st century learning goals.

All of our students learning needs will be met, according to their learning level. The learning

environment will be a place where a variety of learning successes can occur. We will have

highly-qualified and trained teachers to teach in our classrooms; they will be happy and

dedicated in working with our students. Our school facilities will be greatly maintained, students

and teachers will be surrounded by an environment that is rich in learning and comfort. Our

schools will have many materials and resources to go around for every student to use. In

addition, the schools will also have new technologies in every classroom. Overall, our public

schools will provide equal learning for all of our young people.

I believe that future plans for education reform need to be continually examined, setting
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new goals and equalizing and improving the education system, and then these goals should be

gradually implemented. There is also the need to continue to make thoughtful investments in the

quality of our education workforce and in school curriculum and teaching resource. (Darling-

Hammond, Pg. 193)

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References

Kessler, R. (2000). The soul of education. Helping students find connection, compassion,

and character at school. Alexandria, Virginia USA: ASCD Learn. Teach. Lead.

Palmer, P.J. (2007). The courage to teach. Exploring the inner landscape of a teachers

life. 10th Anniversary Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education. How America commitment

to equity will determine our future. New York: Teachers College Press.

Freire, P. (2005). Teachers as cultural workers. Letters to those who dare teach. Boulder,

Colorado: Westview Press

Giroux, H.A. (1988). Schooling and the struggle for public life: critical pedagogy in the

modern age. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press

Sarason, S.B. (1990). The predictable failure of educational reform: can we change

course before its too late? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers