Volume 11, Number 1

tS?f..***78*315'- <*»44*1 Ail '26>9,4*:S -

:.Wi#:49. '

, 44#

"t f%§5' !526'.7 Be

Students are too

qften theforgottenheart Of schoolreform-its wholepurpose and itsmajor resource.How can their

power be nurturedand tapped asschools work

toward more active

learning, morepersonal anddecent school

climates, and

higher standardsand expectations?

BY KATHLEEN CUSHMAN

The Coalition of Essential Schools

.... 5*1..'fill#frf..'A.41#/RI..:..

. *t-

September 1994

't." M«/21*,

*:13:»*, » " f fit ' 2 *-Sf'»{., , 42*· r .

Empowering Students:Essential Schools' Missing LinkTHE KIDS PILED OUT OF VANS

into the May splendor of thesummer camp nestled in the NewHampshire mountains, a mix ofexcitement and shyness in the waythey stood about in clusters, battingaway mayflies and wondering whatto do next. From high schools as farflung as Zuni, New Mexico andAnchorage, Alaska, New York Cityand suburban St. Louis, they knewthey had come to blaze new trails.

But despite the idyllic setting,their business here was no outdoor

challenge. Instead, these partici-pants jn the third national confer-ence of the Coalition Student

Network would spend the nextthree days puzzling out their ownrole in the complex issues ofEssential School reform.

How might they take on a moreactive and independent role in theclassroom, using their teachers ascoaches and not deliverers of

knowledge? Did they have the rightto pursue their own interests in thecurriculum, or to follow fewer sub-

jects in greater depth? How couldthey obtain the democratic gover-nance that would give them a truevoice in school policy and decision-making? In their brief tenure as

students, how could they turnisolated instances of empowermentinto a unified nationwide move-

ment that represented their needsand concerns?

111 small groups over the nextfew days, 250 kids from 24 schools

began to trade information, sharestories of success and frustration,

come up with tentative suggestions.Hesitantly at first and then withgrowing confidence, they minedthejr common experiences andbegan to draft new goals. For thisolder onlooker, the process evokedpoignant memories of early feministconsciousness-raising groups. Willthey let us do this? What if we asked forthat? The very language emergedfrom a long history of disparage-ment and disenfranchisement-but

in this case the cause was not

gender but youth."Student voices are the missing

link in school reform," TheodoreSizer has said. Despite the rhetoricof change, students are too often itssubjects and not its agents, theirtenure too fleeting to accumulatereal weight. They come to highschool eager for the privileges ofyoung adulthood, but school struc-tures trivialize those privilegesinside the classroom and out. The

student council plans the seniorprom; the principal decides whogets expelled; the good studentfeeds back what the teacher wants.

But in Essential schools from

coast to coast, a growing impatiencewith the tension between theoryand practice has tent new energy toserious student involvement. If

Sizer's philosophy rests on the beliefthat all students deserve practice inthe habits of mind characterizing ademocratic citizenry, many school

STAGES OF STUDENT EMPOWERMENT: What's a Teacher to Do?by Nancy Mohr, principal, University Heights High School

Stage 1: The Honeymoon7103 is terrific;inally somebody Cmes What westudents thinkThis school is nothing th what rm „wd to-·you haugfreedom and you can do whatever you want.Do notbe lulled by the studeng euphoria. This will notbe easy; their joy will not last without some hard work insetting goals and parameters together, Students giveinput, but the hard job of designing the curriculum stillmainly belongs to the teachers (even if it aims to havestudents design curriculum). Listening to all voices is notthe same as giving all voices equal weight. Discusstogether what consensus means-a constant search for awin-win solution. Voting is never useful; it leads tounhappiness, and often to the teacher being outvoted.

Stage 2: 1 Want You to Take Con trolConsensus is sloppy,1 need more clarity and controt.Thisdoesn't looklike schoolissupposed to look and you aren'tdoing what twcheys are sitpposed to do. 1 want to get my waybut I 'm n ot sure 1 wmlt all these other people to take up classtime getting their way. You're the teacher; just give us assign-ments and homework and ters get mi with it.Just make sureth at you are doing the things 1 want you to do.The teacher has to be neither wishy-washy nor autocraticat this stage, instead helping students get comfortablewith new feelings and new values: discomfort as a goodsign; risk-taking as good; not knowing the answers as asign of intellectual integrity; being left with new ques-tions as a p<)sitive state of affairs. We cannot revert intotaking control because we are embarrassed or challengedby the students' expectations. Neither can we revert topassive behavior: Its up toyou, not me; what do youwant to do? Nor can we try to manipulate or talk the stu-dents into what we want them to do. Our best strategy isthe curriculum. Designing curriculum that engages stu-dents, gives them regular feedback and a sense of accom-plishment, a,Id gives them real choice (as opposed tovariety) is the teachei's strongest, most powerful tool.

Stage 3: I'm Feeling My CheeriosYou can't ttwch us that-we don't runnt it. We rmnt to learn

about things important and reieumil to us, but who are you totench them-you're so old, so middle-class, so white, so out ofit. We want to do what we want to do and yow fold us this isolir schoot, mi.. -And why don't uie have moremath, morethis, more that?

The teacher can get really confused right about now. It isessential to be centered and filled with conviction about

our direction. This makes it easier to be flexible enoughto respond to student reactions, yet not keep wavering sostudents feel we are not in control. We need to be not

controlling, but in control; kids pick up the differenceright away. Remain calm; be willing to modify plans; butdon't get sucked into endless discussions about what'swrong with this class. Better to get kids involved inthinking and working, and engaged intellectually. When

HORACE 2

we pay attention to all the cues, we are ahpad of thegame. If we insist that we know best well then...

Stage 4: DistrustSure, you say you u,Int my input, butyou hold adi themrds.You newr fok, through on dot we tami, so whyshould urbother? My did youask us in the j'irst place?The teacher has to really work at being histworthy andfollowing through. Don't ask for input if you have nointention of following through. Students much preferyour telling them clearly up front what is genuinelytheirs to negotiate. If these parameters come too late,they feel good reason for insurrection Of course, givingkids only what they want, not what they need, is not theanswer. We must insist upon the win-win solution-what they wantand need. Another major cause for mis-trust is the "loaded" curriculum, essential question, orclass discussion, in which the teacher already knows the"right" answers or approaches; students know when wedion't trust them to construct their own knowledge.

Stage 5, Don't Blame Me; I'm a Kid1 like to be heardaid participate in making decisions, but don'tblame me if I don't foll= through, get the,lssignment done, doa good job. After all, I haue problems at home, haue been sick,didn 't kitmo what 1 was supposed to do, cou!(in't find anythingin the library, tost it, and it was boring. Anyumy, it's sm,3/.However tempting it is here to point out students' lack oflogic and responsibility, it is not very useful. Kids startout without habits of responsibility and we have to buildthese habits in, keep good track of them, and keepencouraging students to make progress. As they get intouch with their fear of empowerment, they come closerto attaining it, The teacher's job is help them throughregular feedback and reinforcement, not by doing forthem, excusing them, and enabling them.

Stage 6: Finally, Genuine Empowerment1 finally feel like 1 have control over my own Imming. I know 1can't do it alone; 1 need teachers to coach and guide me, but Idon't need them to give me value. I know I have value; I canthink for myself, And when I am out on my own, I know I willbe ible to make smart decisions, use good judgment, and usemy mind weU. I also know that I can take what others thinkand use it and learn from it, not reject it. 1 am redy !0 go onlearning more...it'seven fun.The teacher cannot stop being vigilant; these stages donot move in orderly, predictable ways. Students willcycle through them; each student in a group will be at adifferent stage. The teacher will always be diagnosingwhat is going on, then prescribing. We will have a "senseof the group," and within that a sense of where eachindividual is. This may be difficult, but its rewards aregreat; this is why we became teachers. When studentsare genuinely empowered, no one is happier than weare. Then we know we have done our job well.

September 1994

people argue, schools must structurethemselves to provide that. Ifstudents are to reason things out ontheir own, we must ask them to

come up with the questions, not justthe answers. Individual Essential

schools have led this movement bychanging their attitudes and prac-tices in small ways and Large. And agrowing national network is emerg-

ing to encourage such changes; the1994 New Hampshire student con-ference folk)wed two like forums in

Hartford and St. Ii,uis in 1993.

Curriculum and Instruction

How can students begin to take amore meaningful role in their own

schix,ling? Paradoxically, even thoseeager for change often resist theirteachers' attempts to transferresponsibility for learning in newways, teachers note. "As we give upthe totalitarian power structure inour classrooms," says RandyWisehart, who teaches humanities at1 libberd Middle School in Rich-

mond, Indiana, "we must recognize

HORACE

HORACE

HORACE is publishedfive times yearly at BrownUniversity by the Coalitionof Essential Schools, Box

1969, Brown Univemity,Providence, RI 02912.

Beginning with Volume 10,individual subscriptionsare $20 a year (payable toBrown University); backcopies are $1.50 each.Publication of HORACE

itwiffatediapatlay agrantfrom theGeraldine RDodge Foundation.

Editor:

Kathleen Cushman

Managing Editor,Susan Fisher

the responsibility of providing scaf-folding. If we don't teach studentshow to use their new authority, weshouldn't be surprised by theirdifficulty in reaching high expecta-tions."

Many Essential school teachershave created such scaffolding byinviting kids to help decide whattheir studies will include and why,how they will learn, and how wellthey are progressing. "The entireconstructivist tradition is predicatedon the idea of student autonomy,"argues Alfie Kohn in "Choices forChildren: Why and How to LetStudents Decide" (Phi Delta Kappan,Sept. 1993), "the chance for studentsto view learning as something undertheir control rather than as disem-

bodied, objectified subject matter."Sometimes this means finding

connections between required sub-jects like history or mathematics andreal-world projects that interest stu-dents. Seventh-grade students atThayer High School in Winchester,New Hampshire, for instance,launched a voter-registration drivewhen they realized a minority ofresidents were making decisions forthe town. Seniors studying Long

Island history and culture at NorthShore High School in Seacliff, NewYork actually built a wooden boatover several years, confrontingdozens of mathematical problems inthe process, then used the vessel toexplore the natural history andgeography of the nearby Sound.Harmony School middle-schoolersin Bloomington, Indiana conducteda year-long publicity campaign tosave a local work of sculpture thathad been threatened by vandalism.Any student at Parkway South HighSchool near St. Louis can devise an

independent "mastery project"springing from course studies butaddressing an individual interest.

Other students exert influence

oii the cozirse offerings themselves.At Brimmer and May, a small schoolnear Boston, student requests led toa calculus course and one on the

Holocaust. At Bronxville (NY) HighSchool, seniors formally proposed to

3

the school board a five-week intern-

ship or community-service projectduring senior spring, to relate theirhigh school years to the broaderworld beyond. (The petition wasdenied pending further study.)Students can create courses not

offered at School Without Walls in

Rochester, New York by findingsomeone in the community to teachthem or signing up at a local college,as long as the school approves awritten proposal including learninggoals and evaluation criteria.

Once in the classroom, teachers

can help students take ownership oftheir coursework by discussmg withthem at the start of a unit what theyalready know about a subject andwhat they would like to find out. Askids explore why someone wouldconsider a topic important enoughto require, they not only make newconnections to their own interests

but can also begin to define criteriaof excellence based on examplesdrawn from their own experience.

"I call this 'giving the kids thekeys' because it helps kids learn todrive their own education in a sup-

portive context," says Bil Johnson, aCES National Re:Learning Facultymember who has created an adviso-

ry curriculum aimed at increasingstudent ownership of their studies.(See sidebar, page 4.) "If we caninvolve students routinely in articu-

lating the criteria for excellent work,we go beyond top-down, beyondbottom-up, to 'inside-out' reform."

Once they internalize these stan-dards for excellence, students can

practice them by helping evaluatetheir own and others' work. In San

Diego, CYFarrell Community Schoolstudents turn in self-evaluations

with every math quiz in ClydeYoshida's classes, outlining whatthey still need to learn in order to dobetter. Randy Wiseharfs students atHibberd Middle School routinely

participate in their own assessment,even going so far as to suggest theircourse grades and support the sug-gestion with evidence. (See sidebar,page 6.) At New York's UniversityHeights High School, students sit as

September 1994

Giving the Kids the Keys:An Advisory Plan that Involves Students in Setting Standards

by Bil Jo}mson, National Re:Learning Faculty

Just as a learnerfs permit allows students todevelop the skills of driving under the tutelage of aresponsible adult, this advisory curriculum givesthem a framework m which they take gradualresponsibility for their own success--a system ofperformance tasks, initially in a coached andguided environment, but finally on their own.Students can be handed the keys to their ownfuture, encouraged to investigate and reflect onwhat their schooling is about and prove themselvesin the "road test" of a graduation exhibition. It is anmside out" strategy for change, in which students

and teachers collaborate to systematically investi-gate topics that question the nature of schooling-its patterns, its connections, its disciplines.

Since the advisory program is not in thepurview of any one department or discipline, it isthe ideal setting for such inquiry and reflection. Itcan draw methods, styles, and activities from allthedisciplines, putting knowledge from contentarea courses to use. The advisory becomes a placewhere students analyze, evaluate, and synthesizetheir discipline-based course work, looking forconnections between courses and content areas,

seeing how the knowledge applies or transfers toother ("real-world") situations, and so on. At the

same time, they develop awareness of the school'sexit outcomes and the requirements of the gradua-tion exhibition. In the advisory students weeklypractice demonstrating the concepts identified inthe exit outcomes through inquiry, activity, andassessments.

The framework has four components:1) A series of proposed topics and/or themes.2) Essential questions designed to provoke

collaborative inquiry by students and teachers,driving the program forward and focused onconstructing knowledge.

3) An activities "menu" from which advisorygroups can pick and choose how they want toinvestigate ideas and pursue essential questions.

4) Assessments connected to the activities-

pushing the inquiry deeper and requiring studentsto reflect critically and demonstrate understanding.

The framework divides into four five-topic.sequences, each of which can be the advisorycurriculum during one school year. Each topicextends over four to eight meetings encompassing

HORACE 4

a minimum of 200 minutes; depending on theadvisory group sdhedule, the sequence canbecompleted over a semester or a full year.

In the ninth-grade sequence, students exploresystems, patterns, and connections in an academiccontext and begin to investigate what the school'sstated exit outcomes (such as "complex thinker"and "effective communicator") might look like Inthe tenth-grade sequence, they continue investigat-

.tzeN' "S€M-ing outcomes (such as "involved adirected achiever," and "collaborative contribu-tof), and they take a first look at the purposes ofthe graduation exhibition for which they will pre-pare during the years ahead. The eleventh-gradesequence examines the curriculum itself and beginsto devise performance standards in each area. (Anexample follows.) The twelfth-grade sequencefocuses on the graduation exhfbition, generatingperformance standards in research and writing,preparing and presenting a proposal creating avisual and oral component, worldng with a men-tor, and using a peer critique team. The finalsemester of senior year is devoted to carrying outthe graduation exhibition in a timely manner sothat it meets the standards agreed upon.

A sample unit in the eleventh-grade sequence:

The Purpose and Nature of the Disciplines:Language Arts, Social Studies, andForeign Languages

Essential Questions: • How does language limitand liberate people? • What can be learned about aculture by simply studying its language? • Are·social sciences really "science"? • What is thesignificance of studying "the history of [anylanguage, culture, etc.]"?Activities/Assessments: Each of two student

groups will conduct a timed debate (in a "fish-bowl" setting) for the other group. Group memberswill divide into "pro" and "con" positions for eachof the issues raised by the Essential Questions (e.g.,"Language does liberate people us. Language doeslimit people"; "Little/much is learned about a cul-ture from studying its language"). Each group willcritique the other's arguments.

For a completedescription ofthis advisory curriculumcontact Bit Johnson, Education Dept., Box 1938, BrownUniversity, Providence, At 02912 (tel,:401-863-3116).

September 1994

peer evaluators together with teach-ers and parents in regular "round-table presentations" that cap studyunitsatevery grade level. Andwhen exit exhibitions take place atschools like Walden m in Racine,Wisconsin and Heathwood Hall

Episcopal School in Columbia,South Carolina, students are mem-

bers of each graduation committee.Inviting students to help set and

evaluate their goals leads naturallyto the next step: having decidedwhere they're headed, students canparticjpate in shaping the route theywill take tc, get there. For Essentialschool teachers, this means aban-

doning the lectureks stance at thefront of the class in favor of a broad

choice includ jng individual, small-group, and whole-group activities.

Orienting a course around"essential questions" helps this

process. As students break a subjectinto specific questions, sort them-selves into groups to explore thesequestions, plan and conduct aninvestigation, and figure out how toshare what they have learned withthe rest of the class, they exertconsiderable power over their ownlearning path and master valuableskills like cooperation and research.

More important still, Ted Sjzerpoints out, is that students gainpractice in learning on their own."The most important reason to givekids authority in the classroom is sothey acqujre the habit of reasoningout for themselves the intellectual

problems we a 11 face," he says. "Aska group to come up with a solutionfor the Israeli-Jordanian conflict, forexample, and eventually they willdiscover that the dilemma is about

not just religion but water resourcesas well." In situations likethis,

teachers can serve primarily ascoaches, continually proddingstudents to question and make senseof the material they work with.

Virtually every Coalition mem-ber school has made real changesalong these lines, aiming toward amore active and student-centered

classroom practice. At Indiana's

HORACE

Harmony School, students fromkindergarten through high schoolroutinely mix in groups exploringdifferent topics, and iCs common forkids to coach each other. In one

striking example, junior MaribyParsons and sophomore ChrisEvilore wrote and performed amini-opera that laid out for youngerchildren the rudiments of scientific

notation. 'They say you learn 10percent of what you hear, 20 percentof what you see, 30 percent of whatyou read, and 95 percent of whatyou teach," Chris says. Hibberd kidsalso frequently take on the role ofteacher before their classes, with

peers suggesting what else mighthelp them learn better.

Whatever the pedagogicalmethod, to honor and developstudent questioning skills involves arevolution in long-entrenched class-room habits. Jen Prileson, who

teaches at Catalina Foothills HighSchool in Tucson, Arizona, describesan "air traffic control" exercise she

uses when she consults with schools

as a National Re:Learning Facultymember. "Four participants stand ina high place and try to direct a largegroup of blind folded people withtheir arms outstretched to 'land' on

a narrow runway," she says. "It' samazing how few of the 'planes'ever ask a question of the trafficcontrollers-a perfect metaphor fortraditional classroom practice."

Governance and Students

Such shifts in attitudes and proce-dures about curriculum and instruc-

tion go a long way toward empow-ering students in academic matters,but they may not address the socialand behavioral areas that play an.equally large part in a young per-son's development. When studentshave the chance to practice makingresponsible decisions as a group,they take another major step towardadulthood in a democratic society.

In the classroom, this can beginby regular practice in the processesof group problem-solving, whetherin academics or not. As they use crit-

5

ical dialogues to evaluate variouspoints of view, students learn how

to productively disagree, how toreach consensus on general princi-ples or guidelines, and how oneperson's freedom to choose islimited by obligations to the group.

This habit takes on new dimen-

si(ms as students begin to play amore active role in their own gover-nance. Several Coalition member

schools have put into place student-faculty legislatures complete withconstitutions and judiciaries, wherestudents have a powerful voice indetermining policy and practice. InNew York alone, Bronxville HighSchool, Scarsdale Alternative HighSchool, Ithaca's Alternative Com-

munity School, School Without

Walls, and University Heights HighSchool are thriving examples of the'lust community" model developedby Harvard University's LawrenceKohlberg. Indiana's Harmony HighSchool, Souhegan High School inAmherst, New Hampshire, andBoston's Fenway Middle CollegeHigh School also have representa-tive systems that honor every voice.

Governance systems like thesetend to put a high priority on havingstudents take responsibility as agroup for their own and others'behavior. For example, students metin "town meetings" to address anincident at Fenway, which is locatedon the campus of an urban commu-nity college, in which a peer's offen-sive language had upset relationswith the college clerical staff. Theupshot, says Fenw«s LindaNathan, was a "powerful letter tothe campus newspaper," a newsystem of students policing eachother's behavior, and a dramatic

improvement in school climate.Democratic student governance

systems can also foster the habit ofinvolvement in the larger communi-ty's affairs. At Bronxville, a studentprotest over the town's decision toput parking meters on the streetwhere students parked led to a newpolicy that one student wouldroutinely attend town council

September 1994

meetings. Bronxville students havebecome so accustomed to a politicalvoice, in fact, that in 1993 one senior,Patrick English, ran for mayor ofthis town of 6,000, garnering 42percent of the vote and substantialcoverage in the national press.

When students experience realpractice in the democratic process,school becomes a political laborato-ry for democracy, nota benevolentdictatorship, says CES Director forSchools Bob McCarthy, who headedBrookline (MA) High School and1 fanover (NH) High School duringthe 19705, when each instituted a

system of citizenship education."We aimed to encourage a sense ofcollective responsibility on the partof the student body for the school,"he says, "and to develop the skills ofbargaining and analysis within thisframework."

Interestingly, establishing suchdemocratic systems does not have towait until things are going smoothlyina school, according to a new book,Preparing for Citizenship: Hmu to'I'each Youth to Live Democratically,byRalph Mosher et al. (Praeger, 1994).In fact, a time of turmoil may posean unique opportunity, the authorsargue, to improve the situation byrealk)eating power in the system toinclude both faculty and students.

But providing the necessaryresources--particularly regularscheduled in-school time for meet-

ings-is vital. So is the willingnessto let the system evolve over thecourse of years, growing andrestructuring in pragmatic ways."School democracy is a learningprocess," the authors contend."Confusing democracy witli short-term, efficient school managementcan heighten the frustrations of bothstudents and educators."

A Network of Students

As students begin to take ownershipof their learning both in the class-room and in governance, they lookfor support to others in the sameposition. Some Ess*ential schoolshave created a formal arena for

HORACE

Coaching Students to Assess How They Are Doing

Rmdy Wisehart and his taam p,Triner at HIBberd Middle Scf:oolin AWnnond,Indiana ak their eighth-grodg Humonities studenis to suggest and d*nd their otoncourse grade, using a number of instruments induding this fimi exercise

Pl# indicate your self-assessed grade of . and support youropinion with your work from the nine weks-specifically, your writtenwork, book reviews, daily assignments, tests/assessments, and projecls.

You must attach two pieces of your written work (one of which can beyour project). You must complete this self-evaluation with your guardian oranother adult. Your guardian's signature is required at the bottom of thedocument.

As yOu discuss with your guardian what your grade should be, have thefollowing available to support your decision:

• Book reviews • Spelling and vocabulary list• Writing folder • Book tjst

• Final drafts • Writing list

• Daily assignments • "How am I doing?- sheet

Use these questions to guide your discussion with your guardian:• What were your writing goals? Did you acconplish them?• How do you learn best? Do you arrange given assignments so you can

build on your strengtils and weaknesses? Do you need to make anyadjustments in your study habits?

• What are the most important things you do as a reader?• What connections have youmadebetween people andevents in your

study of U.S. history?• Are you always pleasant, cooperative, and helpful?• Do you always try to do your best?• Do you turn everything in on time?• Do you use your time well (teachers almost never remind you to get

work; you never bother other students)?

When you have completed your evaluation, please turn these things in toyour teachers:

• Complete written evaluation • Writing list• Spelling-vocabulary list • Book list

• Your two best pieces of writing • Your"How am I doing?" sheet

What have we forgotten?

Comments from your guardian:

Guardian signature Student signature

Teachers complete this section:

We are pleased to support your self-assessed grade of -, as you havepresented and supported it in this document. We think this grade isappropriate because:

We are unable to support your self-assessed grade of _, as you havepresented and supported it in this document. A more appropriate grade, webelieve, is . We think this grade is appropriate because:

6 September 1994

10

kids to share their ideas, either in

advisory groups or in regujar classessuch as the Networking class TomMcGuire offers at Thayer HighSchool. To visit that class is like

walking into a busy organization'sconference room«students sendingand collecting e-mail from peersaround the country, meeting to plana national conference of Coalition

students, and coming and going toother classrooms to speak withyounger students about the school'.5skill-based graduation outcomes.'The rcxim fairly crackles with energyand purpose; McGuire serves mere-ly as a resource for these youngadults with an agenda of their own.

Thayer students and others atParkway South High School, CentralPark East Secondary School in NewYork, and elsewhere gatheredEssential school students from

acri,ss the LY,untry at three well-attended conferences in the last two

years; they aim to hold regularregkinal meetings to share ideas andinformation about schcxol change. Atthe 1993 meeting in St. Louis,students interpreted the Coalition'sNine Common Principles to reflecttheir own c<,ncerns. (See page 8.)'This November, at the Coalition's

annual Fal! Forum in Chicago, theStudent Network will join over 3,000educators to hold its own conference

in parallel.Unless the structures exist in

their schools to support studentinvolvement in change, however,young people often experience thesame problems teachers face whenthey return home inspired with newideas. "I always leave all pumpedup about the changes we can makeback home," David Loberistine, a

senior at Central Park East, said atthe recent New England conference.

"But then we iwt trapped back into

the old routines, Kids lose interestand don't bother to cnme to meet-

ings. You think, hey, I'm about tograduate anyway. You lose heart."

To cumbat this tendency,1.obenstine believes, schools mustformalizeand institutionalize

student involvement. "Kids should

HORACE

see it as a duty and responsibilityeven if it might not be the first thingthey want to do," he says 'The staffis a huge part of it-we really needteachers to help us keep on top ofgoals and turn our brilliant ideasinto the daily life of the school."

"With the right school structure,kids can have a really strong voice in

school change," Tom McGuireagrees. "You need to create a settingin which they can engage in anongoing conversation with their

teachers and principal, not justfifteen minutes here and there." The

most important part of Coalitionstudent conferences, observes

Thayer principal Dennis Littky,takes place in schools both beforethey occur and afterward. "That'swhen the ideas get moved intoaction," he says.

The Coalition Network students

ended their New Hampshire retreatby presenting skits and putting forththeir own action plans, team byteam, before the crowded room.

Invariably they included the sameelements: workshops, student men-toring systems, networking classes,newsletters, real-world challenges,alternative assessments, more voice

in decisions affecting them.But inevitably they used the

same tentative vocabulary: Talk tothe oflters. Ask permission. lf they willM us. No matter how supportivetheir individual schools, they knew

all too well what constraints the

system had in store for them. If

schools are para«clesiastical andpara-military institutions, as politi-cal scientist Ted Kolderie has said,

these young people occupy theirtrenches and their catacombs.

Yet the irreverent energy oftheir tongue-in-cheek presentationsjust as clearly revealed the conta-glous excitement generated whenone's reach exceeds one's grasp innew-found and inspiring ways.When his turn came around, a burlystudent who introduced himself as

"Reverend Samuel" and who is the

son of a Baptist preacher rose tospeak for his group from SalemHigh School in upstate New York.

"I was at the top of the moun-tain in New Hampshire," he intonedin gospel rhythms to the clapping,swaying crowd of high school stu-dents. "And the Almighty said tome, Let my people go! And I said,How? Teach me how/And He said,

Go down to the people, and teachthem the Coalition ways! And so Isay, Get everyone, get the little ones,get the teachers, get the older ones,get everyone in the communityinvolved-come on, can I get an

'Amen'? If you want to be aCoalition, get everyone involved!" Indelighted unison, the assembledstudents from Essential schools

across this country called out theiranswer: Ariten, 0

What a Democratic Education Looks Like

• Equity. Democratic education raises issues of equity and deals withstructural inequality.• Political engagement. Democratic education raises political and socialissues and sees the global in the particular• Patticipatory classroom processes. Democratic education providesstudents with choice and authority in the classroom, both individual and col-lective choice.

• Community. Democratic education is concerned with the nature ofrelationships in the classrcmm. It aims to develop a commitment to the com-mon good and to foster caring relationships.• Democratization of knowledge. Democratic education values studentknowledge and the co-construction of knowledge.

Gliidelilies produced by Educators for Social Responsibility, 23 Garden Street,CambrWge, MA 02138.

7 September 1994

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:

Students Rewrite the Nine Common Principles1. The school should focus on helping students learn to

use their minds well This includes helping students to.make connections between subje¢tB; understandinstmd of memorize; go beyond set expectations (doextra credit work because they want to!); and developlife skills (think critically and logically and communi-cateclearly). Academics should be the top priority ofthe school and "other activities" should not interferewith a studenfs education.

2. The schoors goals should be simple that each studentmaster a limited number of essential skills and areas of

knowledge. The program' 3 design should be challeng-ing to students, yet not beyond their capabilities. Itmust be shaped by the intellectual and imaginativecompetencies that students need, rather than necessari-ly by "subjects" as conventionally defined. In achiev-ing this goal it 15 important that teachers work togetheras a team Curricular decisions should be guided bythe aim of thorough student mastery and achievementmther than by an effort merely to cover content. Anydecision designed to benefit the students should andmust incorporate student input.

3. The school must realize that each student is uniqueand that learning styles of students often differ.Consequently, teachers need to adjust their teaching tomeet all students' needs so that every student is able tomeet the school's goals and expectations.

4. Teaching and learning should be person,1,7ed to thebest of the school's ability. Classes should be smallenough to provide the personal attention each studentneeds. To better utilize time and materials, parents,students, staff, and administration should togethermake the important decisions for the school.

5. The school should encourage students to work and

HORACE Coalition of Essential Schools

Box 1969, Brown UniversityProvidence, Rl 02912

*,rhers to coach students in their work as opposed toteachers lecturing and students listening (ar not listen-ing) like vegetables. Stiwionts will then learn to *ke theinitiativeand witt be motivated to becomemoreinvolved in their educations.

6. Upon entering high school, general knowledge ofmath and language should be completed. The majorityof the high school year should be spent learningessential skills. A diploma will be awarded when thestl,rimt can successfully exhibit knowledge of theseskills to the school's community.

7. The school should be a place which js comfortable andinviting to all students. There should be a feeling ofrespect, trust, and partnemhip between students,parents, and teachers. In such an environment,students will be given the opportunity to expressthemselves, and their self-determination will rise,knowing that they can make a difference.

8. The teacher should be a generalist first (a teacher and ascholar of life) anda specialist second (an expert in oneparticular discipline). Specific classes may then dealwith numerous disciplines. Staff will need to expectmultiple obligations, including, but not always limitedto, teaching, counseling, and managing. As theycommit toa studenfs entimeducation, they should nolonger be viewed as an object of intimidation, but as amodel of a lifelong learner.

9. Teachers and students need time to make thesechanges happen and happen well. Some more tradi-tional programs may need to be sacrificed in order tomake the changes work financially and logistically.

Produced by Essentiat school students attending the 1993national Student Forum in St. Louis County, Missouri.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAID

Providence, RI

Permit No. 202