| News
& Views
- Oct, 1994 Issue #30 |
The Three Requirements for Good Schools
by: Dr. George J. Posner
Professor of Education, Cornell University
Director, Educational Consulting Services
Ithaca, New York
E-Mail Address: gjp3@cornell.edu
607-273-5400
What basic qualities should we
look for in a school for a particular young person? How should
schools change to accommodate particular needs? Why do some
schools succeed and others fail with certain students? These
questions suggest a consideration of the requirements that
schools must satisfy, if they are to serve the needs of young
people. Although this is an age-old question, recent research
on youth at risk and the recent development of special? purpose
schools open new lines of thought. By attempting to reconcile
studies of youth at risk (see especially Wehlage et al 1989)
with professional experiences of management consultants (see,
especially Covey, 1990), psychotherapists (see especially
Glasser, 1965; Glasser and Powers, 1981; Peck, 1978, 1993),
family therapists (for example, John Bradshaw), emotional
growth schools (e.g. Rocky Mountain Academy), rehabilitation
centers, outdoor educators (e.g. Outward Bound), and character
based boarding schools (see especially Gauld, 1993), three
requirements for good schools emerge. The extent to which
a school does not address one or more of these requirements,
it will be less effective with all students. To the extent
that the students it serves are at risk in some specific sense,
the school will fail to provide an environment in which these
students can function at even a minimal level. In these cases,
the school will find itself eventually asking the student
to leave, unless the student preempts the school in this decision
by dropping out. Alternatively, the student might stay at
the school (if there are no other options), but might drop
out in spirit (e.g. by not participating in school functions),
might exercise passive resistance to the school (e.g. invoking
the "code of silence" for anyone witnessing a violation of
school rules), and might go underground in order to meet his
or her needs (e.g. by abusing substances).
In order to meet the needs of
young people, schools must satisfy the following three requirements:
1. A Constructive Community.
Ideally a community provides a sense of belonging and connection,
support during difficult times, something beyond oneself to
which one is responsible, and a collective set of values to
which one can commit oneself. Most public schools and many
independent schools do not provide one or more of these elements.
Without a sense of belonging and connection students may feel
alienated. Without support students may experience loneliness
and despair. Without responsibility to something beyond themselves
students may become narcissistic. Without commitment to a
set of values students may never develop integrity. Schools
that are too large for all students to know each other, too
competitive and obsessed with performance, too preoccupied
with political correctness and ethical relativism, or staffed
by adults who can't or won't develop close, caring relationships
with young people are unlikely to provide the kinds of cohesive
and principle based communities that students need. The community
should be guided by a clear sense of mission or purpose, since
the commitment of all members of the school community to this
purpose is what holds the community together. Most public
and independent schools operate on the basis of at least two
communities, the students and the school staff, typically
working at cross purposes to each other.
2. Educational Engagement.
Unless the student is engaged educationally, programs and
schools run the risk of serving primarily a custodial function
at best. There are two aspects of educational engagement,
cognitive and motivational. In terms of the cognitive, instruction
should employ methods that accommodate individual differences
in abilities and backgrounds of the students and thereby facilitate
the student's learning. Many students can learn regardless
of the methods used. Learning disabled students typically
cannot. The narrower the spectrum of students for whom the
instruction is effective, the narrower is the effective scope
of the school. Teaching students with special cognitive needs
how to compensate for their special conditions, as well as
remediating weaknesses that have accrued from past experiences
are two accommodations that schools need to make. In terms
of the motivational aspect, getting students to see the reason
for learning school subject matter and to take ownership of
their education is difficult with traditional teaching methods
for most students, especially for those students who have
not bought into college admission as a top priority goal.
Experiential approaches appear to be more successful with
a broad spectrum of students. Wilderness programs, sports,
community service, clubs, vocational education and the arts
all seem to have the power to engage otherwise academically
unmotivated students. Whether this engagement is turned toward
educational purposes depends upon how these programs are conceptualized
and implemented. If they become preoccupied with a tangible
product (e.g. a yearbook), a public performance (e.g. a play),
or winning a contest (e.g. an athletic team), rather than
on student growth, they run the risk of undermining their
educational benefits for those students who need those benefits
the most.
3. Character/Emotional Development.
Schools are places where children need to grow up, that is,
to develop emotionally, to learn to make constructive choices,
and to develop the attitudes and habits necessary for ethical
and productive living. This is especially true for young people
whose families, for one reason or another, have not sufficiently
promoted this development. Character/emotional development
requires students to experience the consequences of their
decisions, to learn to express themselves, and to reexamine
their attitudes, responsibilities, behaviors and goals. Some
schools use a highly structured program with clear rewards
and punishments, while others use consequences of the natural
environment (e.g. wilderness experiences) to teach students
to make good decisions. Many schools use athletics to teach
leadership, cooperation and courage, or the arts to help young
people express themselves. Some special purpose schools use
ranch work, farm work, or school maintenance to teach a work
ethic and cooperation. Schools emphasizing therapy use counseling
groups and quasi-family units to develop trust, self
examination, risk taking, and concern for others. Many schools
use school governance and community service to help students
learn to take responsibility for others. Most special purpose
schools use a combination of these approaches to teach character
development. When students admitted to the school have a serious
lack of character and emotional development, these two goals
must take precedence over everything else. Schools differ
on their attention to each of these components and with regard
to the intensity that they address each of them. At one extreme
is the high intensity (or jolt) approach. A less intense approach
uses the component as the fabric on which the school's program
is woven (e.g. Hyde's counseling groups). At the other extreme
is the marginalized use of the component (e.g. weekends only
or special events). Many schools use a combination of intensity
levels, depending on the needs of the student or the stage
of the program. Schools also differ with regard to the extent
to which they integrate or meld these components into a program,
rather than keeping them as discrete program features. If
one of these components dominates the school, the school takes
on a special form. If the cognitive aspect of educational
engagement dominates, special education results. If emotional
development dominates, an emotional growth school results.
If a narrow view of community dominates, a cult can result.
If the motivational aspect of educational engagement dominates,
the school might be providing recreation rather than education.
A sense of balance is necessary in schooling, as in most other
enterprises.
References:
Covey, W. The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character
Ethic. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
Gauld, J.W. Character
First: The Hyde School Difference. San Francisco, CA:
Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1993.
Glasser, W. Reality
Therapy. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
Glasser , W. and Powers, W.T.
Stations of the Mind: New Directions for Reality Therapy.
New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
Peck, M.S. The Road
Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values,
and Spiritual Growth. New York: Simon & Schuster,
1978.
Peck, M.S. Further
Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Toward
Spiritual Growth. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.
Wehlage, G.G., Rutter, R.A.,
Smith, G.A., Lesko, N., and Fernandez, R.R. Reducing
the Risk: Schools as Communities of Support. New York;
Falmer Press, 1989. !
Copyright
© 1994, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper
publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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