Almost 4 months after returning to the US, I am realizing and observing the long-term impacts of my time in England. Yes, I do have cravings for tea and yes, I do still say "mum" instead of "mom," but I am starting to realize and understand the nuances of our two cultures.

I heard a quote the other day that seems to sum it up fairly succinctly: "We are two nations divided by a current language." A great example is how I cannot refer to the things we wear on our lower bodies with legs as "pants" anymore. In England, "pants" are what Americans call "underwear" and because of my justified fear of accidentally talking about someone's underwear in a polite setting, I pause and say "trousers" every time. At one point in my trip, I completely forgot the American word for a place where you go to watch newly released movies. "Cinema" is the correct term there, "movie theatre" here. Click here for a comprehensive guide to American and British words.

What does this have to do with education? Besides the fact that I stood up in front of a crowd of 60 four- and six-year-olds and mentioned about how "some of our pants are white" (as I'm sure you can guess, there was a big giggle from them after that). British schoolchildren are taught a word that is not really in the everyday vocabulary of most Americans: sensible. From a very young age (three or four), students are reminded to "sit and act sensibly." For those Americans who know this word but are unsure as to the exact meaning, here you go:

As I've seen it used in British schools, "sit sensibly," I would define it as "don't be silly." Daniel Darkings, age 21, educated in the UK for his entire school life, defines sensible as "doing something that follows common sense." I asked him what it would mean if someone said "sit sensibly" and, without any prompting or guiding at all, he replied "to behave myself and not do anything silly." Clearly my observation was correct in regards to the silly/sensible continuum.

I have seen some great behaviour from English schoolkids during assemblies, whose only guidance in the matter was to "act sensibly" and "not be silly." Maybe we should try inserting the word into our American lexicon.....

After the 15 minute break time, I went to go see a Y12 (G11) AS-level sociology class, held in a classroom with computers around the back of the roo. Just after I had gotten the hang of the whole “everyone wears a uniform” thing, this class was wearing “street” clothes. Upon further inquiry, the teacher (Mr. Harrison) explained that most 6th-formers across the country don’t actually wear uniforms. The lesson, on China’s one-child policy, had an introduction, small-group work, then a whole-class recap and the assigning of homework.

Lunchtime lasted 55 minutes, after which I went to a Y7 (G6) math lesson. One interesting thing I noticed throughout the day was that teachers were referred to as either “sir” or “miss,” even by their co-workers. The students would stand for roll call, responding with a quick “good afternoon miss,” sitting after the whole list was read. They did an interesting lesson on scatter plots and as I said before, the kids acted the same as their American counterparts do in the same situation.

After the lesson I got to sit down with Phil Harrison, the aforementioned sociology teacher and Deputy Head, to discuss the ins and outs of the UK system of education. The notes from this discussion will come later, as the discussion was an hour long and the system is VERY confusing.

Today I got to visit St. Nicholas Primary School in Oxford! I was shown around by my mum’s cousin (my first cousin once removed) Harriet who I last saw when her family came and visited New York City a few years ago. It was great to see her again and I am very grateful she arranged the visit to St. Nicholas.

When the Base’s kids first walk in (on the 8-11 side), they do some individual work and then move into a bigger group to work on handwriting skills (this includes OT hand-strengthening exercises and other activities to focus and quiet the group). They put up the day of the week (along with other things) on a Velcro board, then moved to a dance activity (which they do every Tuesday). At least one student joined the mainstream class at this time, but most of the students combined with the other side of the CIRB and went into the assembly hall. Here they did some physical exercise, dance routines, and following of simple directions: the kids seemed to have a great time. Next was music with rhythm, memory, and singing games and songs. Some of the kids got very involved with the activities and looked like they were enjoying them! When the groups broke up again, I stayed with the younger kids and saw math and counting practice along with a size comparison activity. Then came lunch, break, and play time (students had an 30 min for lunch and 30 min for recess), at which point I moved back to the older group to observe and participate in silent independent reading, stations, board games and “choosing time” (kids get to pick their own activity). Finally, students were dismissed at 1450 (mainstream students left at 1515).

One of the more interesting things I got to see was the station time the older kids did towards the end of the day. Essentially they were puzzles or activities meant to challenge them, like “build a copy of this out of blocks” or “draw the mirror image of this design.” There was very little if any verbal instruction from the adults and it was fascinating because I could actually see their minds working as they solved the problems given to them. The board game time was also a valuable part of the day as the adults worked on social skills like being gracious winners and not getting too “bent out of shape” after a loss. There seemed to be a focus on social skills, which is extremely valuable for kids with Autism, and they made a point to go over how to behave in certain situations.

After the students had left for the day, I asked the adults some questions about their school and the system as a whole. The biggest thing they said needed to be improved was that the government and schools needed to begin treating students as individuals. For example, it would be unreasonable to require that students must pass English and math to leave school, since for many special education kids that is an unattainable goal. The adults also said that SNPS was very good at providing creative outlets for the kids and that often the school observes a week-long theme (this week was “Science Week”). Students also have the opportunity to participate in many extra-curricular activities, as well as having a fair amount of the day put aside for physical activity. Specifically, the kids in the Base went swimming once a week and horseback riding every 3 weeks, along with practicing dance routines and break times.

Overall I met some great teachers and assistants, whose patience and caring were boundless. I really did learn a great deal and I had a blast while doing it. I want to thank Harriet for arranging the opportunity, as well as the staff and administration of St. Nicholas Primary School for welcoming me into their wonderful school!!!

This week's tutorial paper posed a question which is at the heart of a heated debate: Who is responsible for school violence?

Toshio Ohsako (1997) took ten separate studies on school violence from countries on every continent. While they all had different types of violence depending on certain factors, Ohsako (1997, p. 12) classified violence into three broad groups:

Similarly to Ohsako, I determined violence can be caused by five different sources. Depending on the country, state/province, and community, these factors can vary in degree and applicability. Many of these come from Ohsaka (1997, p. 13-4), although some other studies by Oliver and Candappa (2007) and Yaakov Iram (1997) are represented.

I would largely blame society and bad parenting for American school violence. Here's why:

Like I said, there are many different causes of school violence, all unique to certain communities, cultures, and societies. I think the absolute worst thing we can do is blame violence on one thing (like gun control) and widen our scope, looking at all possible causes and solutions. I also think we can realize that many districts take preventing violence "to the max" and adopt useless and ridiculous "zero tolerance" policies which do nothing but encourage overreaction and knee-jerking. For their part, the media should not rile the public up about how one thing is causing the destruction of our schools when clearly that's not probable: it will always be a multitude of causes which impact schools.

My tutorial paper this week answered the following prompt:

This brought me into the world of higher education, an area in which I most certainly do not specialize. However, it was interesting to read about many different options that institutions of higher education have in facilitating socio-economic mobility. Lois Bibbings (2006, p. 83) separates "widening participation policies" into two separate types:

The key term I focused on here is the "positive discrimination," mentioned in the definition of "hard options," which unfairly discriminates against applicants from good schools" (p. 75). I think it does much more than that and discriminates against hard work and determination!

I concluded in my paper that any kind of discrimination should be penalized, either "positive" or negative. What good is "eliminating" discrimination by substituting one type for another?? All it does is promote and even create tension amid the population!

Removing all discrimination would prompt universities to use more merit-based selection methods which treat students as individuals, not just a set of test scores. They should take students' situations into account and take those who have strong work ethics and who have the potential to excel in college. At the same time, colleges and universities should lower the cost of attendance and provide equal amounts of merit- and need-based financial aid. According to the College Board, the cost of attending any kind of higher education has tripled and in some cases almost quadrupled in the past forty years. Talk about not facilitating socio-economic mobility!

This burden does not just fall on the "institution[s] of higher learning," oh no. Secondary schools can begin the process much earlier than universities can. One big problem among students of low socio-economic status (SES) is that there is a certain level of mystery about higher education: they tend to think they are not “good enough” nor is it “for the likes of them,” regarding it as “highly risky and/or impossible” (p. 77). Schools need to demystify higher education and explain to both parents and students the options available to them upon graduation. They also must remind the student that in many cases, not going to post-compulsory education is an option as well! This is what guidance counselors are for!

I propose that universities pair up with struggling schools and provide outreach activities to all students (visits, tutoring, etc.). The key is to bring low SES students into the fold, demystifying higher education while also providing more services to every possible applicant.

Do you fundamentally disagree?
Want to "let me have it"?
Comment! I'd love to hear about it!

Schools have always been 'in' the center of communities, but in recent years, with the many additional demands and expectations placed on them, some schools have shifted their focus to in fact become 'community centers' in their own right.

Elementary schools in particular have partnered with doctors, mental health, Children and Family Services, child-care providers, and local service organizations to provide the many needs and enrichment opportunities that often go unanswered for today's children.

In my own experience, I saw the impact of what bringing pediatricians and mental health/social workers into the school on a regular basis did for our students and their families. In a rural setting in a rural county, a trip to the pediatrician from "my neck of the woods" was often a 40-50 mile round trip, and to see a specialist in the next county over could be over 100 miles. By partnering with the local pediatrics group, our students could be seen by a physician's assistant right at the school, and prescriptions were called into the local pharmacy in the next town over. We used the same system for mental health workers/social workers from the county's Human Services division. Parents were much more comfortable in the school setting where they were comfortable to tackle issues of abuse, homelessness, custody with a partner on their side.  Our school also hosted a food-bank and clothes closet supported by local churches and service organizations that families were free to "shop" at without having to travel directly to these organizations. GED classes, adult education courses, and family fitness activities were also offered at the school after school hours. In effect, we became the 'one-stop-shop' for families in our isolated community.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a very simple diagram and, when I first learned about it, I thought it was just another stupid theory that I had to memorize.

Oh boy, was I wrong.

I think the future of schools lies in this very pyramid (yes, including the "WiFi" addition to the bottom).

What Maslow says in a nutshell is that physiological, safety, "love and belonging" and self-esteem needs must be met before any substantive learning can take place. If one comes from the 10th richest county in the United States, chances are one probably will not be affected by the bottom blocks (food, water, shelter, safety, etc.), although one never knows...

Here's where schools need to step in! Children who are missing these basic necessities in their lives can be provided them at school. For example:

• A school breakfast program, coupled with a normal school lunch (and possibly even a late lunch after school) would fix a large portion of their food needs.
  
• Extra-curricular activities and sports are a must, especially as many parents work from 9am to 5pm (or later) and have difficulty finding and paying for someone to watch their children. Activities also keep kids out of trouble, allow students to explore topics that interest them, and create friendships so the more activities the better!
  
• A medical and dental service, and not necessarily only for its students! Some schools have a nurse full time and have a doctor come and do check-ups once or twice a week, for both students and families.
  
• Student Resource Officers are police officers from the community who either visit or work in schools during regular (and/or afterschool) hours. SROs are common in many schools and serve a crucial community-outreach role necessary for students to feel safe and have someone they can talk to specifically about safety issues.

What I'm trying to say is that it's possible and necessary for schools to become community centers, pulling multiple cultures and backgrounds of students together in order to care for their neighborhoods, towns and/or cities. Once we provide for a student and a family's physical well-being, real progress in educating and uplifting individuals and communities can commence!