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Creating Spherical Learning Environments
If one considers education as an act of learning that occurs minute by minute on a daily basis, then it can be said that everything in the universe that surrounds us is located in a learning space. In addition, when people learn from others, from textbooks, from nature, or from catastrophic events these collective varied experiences make education an on-going event within the universe. Taking continuous learning into consideration, it is my belief that learning is experienced in all facets of life and that there are multiple aspects of education that constantly nurture the core of the changing global society. Under this umbrella, education is omnipresent and consequently available to all in different ways through a myriad of evolving experiences. The intermingling of these circumstances, within the world of people “of color”, inevitably conjures up duel results, dominant deficit influences as well as occasional affirming influences.
Urgent questions about learning arise from the stark realization that education infringes its tainted tentacles on every walk of life in conjunction with minority youth. Mainly due to statistical data and rhetoric skewed toward hegemonic ideology, it is apparent that there are no filters in the education arena and nor should there be but what are the raw realities that are being transmitted in schools in the absence of critical thought? Is it acceptable to release information in its virginal state without arming young people with the necessary inner buffers needed as coping mechanisms? Education is not delivering what it promised, which is a first class education to all.
Children who receive a “second class” education acquire long lasting scars, which are often debilitating. Under these circumstances, human lives are at stake and often unfold from pre-packaged unkempt bundles that intermingle with all things and all people. These multiple outcomes trickle down into society. Therefore, it is up to every human being walking on earth to insure that all children reach their full potential.
We send young people on a daily basis to a building called school to get an education and in that isolated environment student minds are filled with the blatant realities of the world. Children are instructed in the intricacies and subtleties of racial inequities that are all too often mimicked in society. Students are separated by race, in classrooms and in sports, under the auspices of the school system and as a result, deficit education is fostered and condoned in these environments. Sadly, discrimination against skin color, religion, physical disabilities, and other considerations involving differences become a part of the accepted learning repertoire. Essentially, these circumstances are the norm. Should people who live in the world and help to perpetuate life, as we know it be responsible for the outcome/the norm?
Can the outcome/norm change? I say YES! A viable alternative to awakening hibernating minority student minds is to create Spherical Learning Environments (Joyce, 2008). Spherical Learning Environments are spaces that have been cleared of negative mind clutter in order for students “of color” to excel. They are positive spaces carved into existing student worlds that find learning opportunities in all aspects of life. These environments involve affirming mindsets, require contributions from self as well as school, and society, and emphasize “harmonious interrelation” of spheres of influence (Lawson and Lindstrom, 2004).
I researched multiple aspects of the life influences of high school students for ten years and devised this inclusive alternative plan. It does not require a massive amount of money. It can be implemented immediately. It involves students, parents, school personnel, and members of society doing their part to create interconnecting personal networks of affirming spheres of influence. Spherical learning spaces once established merge with student life experiences and provide safe and nurturing cocoon-like environments in which students flourish. This alternative plan is still in its embryonic stage yet in a short time effective affirming spaces have been created for many underachieving minority students.
I continue to have pressing critical questions, which I attempt to address in my book School Hazard Zone: Beyond the Silence/Finding a Voice (Peter Lang Publishing 2008).
• Will the chant within the education institution continue to be "follow the norm"?
• Should we dare to digress from the norm?
• Will educators finally be given the opening to speak and implement change in partnership with students?
• Will there always be a dominant higher power deciding the future of the "other" as it has been throughout history?
• Is it time to turn the tables and offer an alternative to the acceptance of hibernating minority student minds?
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School Hazard Zone
Pam,
Thanks so much for your wonderful blog. I hope everyone will take a look at your book, School Hazard Zone: Beyond the Silence/Finding a Voice. Your assertion that everything around us is part of a learning space is a key notion in any critical pedagogy--it is a form of radical contextualization. In mainstream forms of teacher education and teaching and learning in general this idea is ignored or rejected. As long as this is the case, many students from marginalized backgrounds will continue to fail because teachers and educational leaders will remain uninformed about the forces that shape academic performance. You do such a good job in your book addressing these forces and their impact in the lived world of school. Thanks so much for the care and effort you have put into the book and your contribution to the Freire Project. I'm looking forward to your next blog.
In solidarity as always,
Joe L. Kincheloe
Canada Research Chair in Critical Pedagogy
Faculty of Education
McGill University
Collective Transformative Action
Thanks for your acknowledgement, Joe.
I am truly passionate about creating innovative and expanded learning environments as alternatives to help shape academic performance. I believe environmental change is key to transformative change in the traditional education arena of minority students. Reframing personal spaces and capitalizing on what works is critical yet there is resistence.
It is mindboggling to witness resistence to change when our present situation is not reaping the benefits that we profess to desire. If children are the priority, then educators should feverishly unite and create an upheaval in the existing system. I hope that collectively we can make that happen. I think this website is the start of collective transformative action.
Online/Offline Spherical Achievement Networks
Hello (name removed),
Online Spherical Achievement Networks (SAN) sound intriguing. I believe technology has a dominant presence in the environment in the 21st century and should be incorporated in the SAN. I agree, "offline" resources linked with "online" resources can result in powerful learning experiences. I envision my students tapping into local resources (offline), exploring information on (online), then comparing and contrasting the information by tapping into the global perspective, both offline and online. It is a multi-layered idea that requires much effort and navigation through real world as well as cyberspace experiences but how invigorating for the students. Students should have a part in the development of the assignment. They should also document through video "real world" participants they incorporate into the assignment. The idea of SAN's is to consciously recognize that aspects of school and society are enmeshed within self and that class lessons can reflect this connection. Therefore, offline and online activities should have seamless and natural connections. "Online/Offline spherical learning environments are spaces for transformational change! Thanks for helping to expand my vision.
I appreciate your interest in my work and I hope you enjoy the book.
Questions are welcome.
"harmonious thought-in process"
Pam J.
Jigsaw: Profiles -"Of Color"
(name removed),
Thank you for reading my book and for the great comments!
I am in the process of writing another book, Jigsaw: Profiles-"Of Color", that focuses on Spherical Learning Environments and I am very excited that you are benefiting from the SLE idea. The book highlights real and imaged spherical learning environments of students "of color" and creates pathways for reframing existing deficit student environments. I am in the beginning stages of this book but the writing and the research is extremely stimulating. I will be marketing the SLE idea in Paris, France this summer, attempting to explore the international sphere.
Your dissertation work sounds challenging but feasible. I would be humbled and honored for you to incorporate the idea of Spherical Learning Environments in your dissertation. You are wise to first consider the politics of your university because often it comes down to what "they" want. When you figure out what "they" want, I know you will be ready to choose an appropriate topic. In the mean time, if the university is up to it, I would suggest the online instructional model that incorporates SLE's but definitely the meta-analysis could be a chapter of the dissertation.
It was great to hear about you as a powerful advocate for your child. Effective parent advocacy is one of the components of spherical learning environments. My research shows that in the twenty-first century lack of parent voices has been a missing link in education. Often, not knowing how to navigate the system or a lack of funds deters parents from acting in the best interest of their children.
Thank you for your thoughts and questions. Please continue to ask me questions about SLE and share your life experiences.
Special Request: If you have any spare time would you consider writing a customer review for my book on amazon.com? Your first paragraph (above) would be great for a book review!
"harmonious thought-in process"
Pam
The Humanizing Aspect of Online Teaching
(name removed),
What a Fantastic review! Thank you for taking the time to help me. I am happy to hear that your direction is crystalizing. Please let me know the results of the meeting with your professors. I also thought you might want to view a website I am working on (911Educator). It is under construction but available to the public. It is a work in progress. Feedback is welcome.
Your reference to “shovelware” brought to mind the need for a humanizing aspect to online teaching. Keeping within technological boundaries but expanding outside of traditional computer use might generate more personalized learning activites. In my high school the students text each other all day between classes, have MySpace pages, and are on U Tube. These are not the "norm" person to person activities but they diversify the experience and they are interactive on varying levels. (FYI - See article below) You might know about this article already.
Your paper, Speaking from the soapbox: A call for revolutionary critical pedagogy for online learning, seems like an interestinng topic. Do you have a publisher yet?
I will definately share Paris pictures and hopefully positive news about the International Literacy Initiative with you when I return in late July.
Study: Kids Are Master Multitaskers On TV, Web, Mobile
by Tanya Irwin, Monday, Mar 10, 2008 8:00 AM ET
TELEVISION IS NO LONGER GETTING the undivided attention of kids, according to a study released today on social networking by Grunwald Associates LLC, an independent research firm that specializes in new media market intelligence.
About 64% of kids go online while watching television, and nearly half of U.S. teens (49%) report that they do so frequently--anywhere from three times a week to several times a day. Multitasking on the Internet, cell phones and MP3 players suggests that companies must respond with much more creative, multimedia marketing campaigns for their messages to penetrate.
The study reveals that 73% of TV-online multitasking kids are engaged in "active multitasking," defined by Bethesda, Md.-based Grunwald Associates as content in one medium influencing concurrent behavior in another. This trend represents a 33% increase in active multitasking since 2002. While kids are using more media, their attention primarily and overwhelmingly is focused on their online activities.
According to the study:
• 50% of 9- to-17-year-olds visit Web sites they see on TV even as they continue to watch,
• 45% of teens have sent instant messages or e-mail to others they knew were watching the same TV show,
• 33% of 9- to-17-year-olds say they have participated in online polls, entered contests, played online games or other online activities that television programs have directed them to while they are watching.
At the same time, it is clear that online activities are the primary focus of TV-online multitaskers, and an increasing determinant of what they choose to watch:
• 47% of kids say they focus their attention primarily online while multitasking between TV and the Internet,
• 42% of kids say they focus on TV and online activities equally,
• Only 11% of kids say that TV holds their primary attention while multitasking, and
• 17% say they have chosen what to watch on TV based on what they are doing online--up from 10 percent in 2002.
"Active multitasking and social networking present a tremendous opportunity to inform, engage and empower kids more deeply than ever before," said Peter Grunwald, Grunwald Associates' founder and president, in a statement. "At the same time, it's important for commercial efforts to be credible and respect kids' intelligence--and the content they produce. Kids are using social networking tools to create personal content and share their opinions with great speed, passion and influence."
The study also examines how kids are using online and handheld social networking tools. Kids are more than passive consumers of media. About 27% of all 9- to-17-year-old kids are practiced online producers--maintaining blogs, pages or other online spaces of their own and uploading content such as articles, audio, video, polls, quizzes and site ideas that they have created to publicly available Web sites, at least three times a week.
About 27% of kids surveyed are heavy users of social networking sites and services. These heavy users are not just shaping Internet content, but also influencing the online activities of their peers. Of these heavy users:
• 66% recruit their peers to visit their favorite sites,
• 48% promote new sites and features online to their peers, and
• 37% recommend products to their peers and keep up with the latest brands.
The Kids' Social Networking Study is comprised of three parallel surveys conducted in the United States: an online survey of 1,277 9- to-17-year-olds, an online survey of 1,039 parents, and telephone interviews with 250 school district leaders who make decisions on Internet policy.
Tanya Irwin is Deputy Editor of MediaPost. She can be reached at tanya@mediapost.com.
"harmonious thought-in process"
Pam
Wonderful conversation
Pam and (name removed),
Thanks so much for such a wonderful and informative socio-educational conversation. This is exactly what I want the site to do--to promote connections and interactions like yours. It provides a model for how to develop an on-line community.
Many, many thanks,
Joe
Joe L. Kincheloe
Canada Research Chair in Critical Pedagogy
Faculty of Education
McGill University
Intellectual Breathing Space!
Hi Joe
I look forward to communicating with (name removed). Our conversation has touched on many issues surrounding education and it helps to keep me focused and on my toes!
Thank you for providing this space to breathe intellectually.
"harmonious thought-in process"
Pam
21st Century Literacy Creates Broken Pieces
(name removed),
I totally agree with you about your stance on literacy. I witness 21st century problems related to literacy every day not only in the school environment but also in society (ex. lethargic staff at fast food restaurants, all computerized, no higher level thinking skills required). The fallout from a steady diet of lower level thinking skills has finally taken its toll.
I believe progress in the improvement of literacy in the U.S. has been sidetracked due to a variety of reasons two of which are the dumbing down of America and education policies such as No Child Left Behind. The impact of NCLB has set progress in education back significantly and affected minority communities in full force. The new literacy, which encompasses the component of technology, has tipped the level of the education playing field and left a large percentage of the population at a deficit. The multiple aspects of the new literacy are daunting and play a part in the “lack of progress” phenomenon.
One effective way to-date is to get grant monies to payroll innovative ideas and create the appearance that progress is in the making. Essentially, these intermittent attempts to rectify literacy problems are short lived and inadequate. When it comes to grants and education, the problem usually needs to be FIXED in an accelerated pace but in contrast, when it comes to children and education, warp speed is not the way to go! Now educators are left with the broken pieces of today’s youth.
Today’s society requires educators to go the distance. Maybe, online services coupled with offline services can be effective in the 21st century.
I observed over the past several school years that non-academic issues are often responsible for academic problems. Following is an informal report I made based on observations of my students during the 2007-2008 school year.
Non-Academic Issues:
• Parents perpetuate non-productive student behavior and "Bail Out" the childen
• Lack of motivation – students avoid tasks and exhibit a lack of responsibility
• Family crisis – death, illness, etc.
• Transient students – sketchy history of students not shared with teachers
Academic Issue:
• Learning difficulties
One alternative is to create a Spherical Learning Environment for these students!
ACTION STEPS!
SELF – (student)
1. Students should acquaint themselves with their strength areas
2. Students should have a space to vent their problems on a regular basis
3. Students should have workshops in personal responsibility
4. Consistently flood curriculum with positive images that portray people “of color”
SELF – (parents)
1. Keep in touch with the school on a regular basis – provide multiple ways for parents to accomplish this (timetables)
SCHOOL (teachers, parents, administrators, staff, and supervisors)
Teachers
2. Build effective teacher achievement networking support Teams based on input from self, school, and society (various departments represented)
3. Start a Spherical 3D Journal - grant money
4. Initiate teacher book study groups - grant money
Staff
5. Include all staff members in brainstorming about alternatives
(Secretaries, security, etc.)
Administrators/Supervisors
6. Ask school committees for support in addressing pressing issues (ex. SEL, Students Council)
7. Introduce new courses and more culturally responsive text
8. Implement “in-school” suspension programs
9. Start student leadership programs (include disengaged students)
10. Include motivational school assemblies throughout the year to
address some of the issues mentioned above
11. Ask administrators to provide a forum for teachers to present new ideas about achievement
School (for parents)
12. Parents need to know what information to share with the school about their children
13. School should sponsor a night for parents where community organizations present information (available job opportunities)
14. Set up parent support groups for underserved parents
SOCIETY – (local community)
1. Critically analyze popular culture – public forum
2. Access community opportunities – after school jobs, apprenticeships, volunteer opportunities, etc.
3. Co-sponsor town meetings for parents at off-site locations about some of the issues mentioned above (motivation, disrespect, etc.)
Be mindful - work inside and outside school walls!
"harmonious thought-in process"
Pam