It's back-to-school season and the "dress code debate" is at the front of the minds of administrators, students, parents, and even local elected officials. Dress codes are a good thing, especially beginning in pre-adolescent years. But some officials are giving the wrong reason for the need to monitor students' apparel choices.
This article cites a driver for the need for dress code is to prevent "distraction" for the boys at school. That's a poor excuse that doesn't give our society's budding gentlemen enough credit, or insults their mothers' parenting abilities - possibly both. The point of a dress code is to help students learn to respect themselves and respect their environment. And they should apply to both young ladies and young men.
A dress code isn't something that you leave behind when you accept a high school diploma. Entering the ranks of your career, you'll likely be exposed to a dress code. Whether you work as a fry cook at McDonald's or as the CEO of Unilever, there's an expectation of what you'll show up to work in. Companies have entire manuals dedicated to how your hair can be styled, what appropriate length skirts are, and how your shirt has to be tucked in. Subjecting students to dress codes in school is preparing them for the real world.
Really, a student's performance in the classroom isn't likely to be impacted based on whether her tank top straps are two inches or three-and-a-half inches. But, there's a case to made for the dress code. Boundaries keep us safe. Boundaries teach us lessons. A dress code is a boundary that teaches students what is and is not appropriate. It's a seed that's planted at the middle or high school level and continues to grow throughout their lives as they make career changes, and eventually go on to dress their own children.
Often teenagers don't have the maturity or foresight to dress appropriately, and a school dress code is their first foray into determining what is and isn't acceptable.
Some critics might claim that students shouldn't be judged based on their appearance, or what they choose to wear. Many people see apparel as a form of self-expression, a notion that I wholeheartedly subscribe to. However, the reality is that our children don't get to live in an isolated bubble in the name of self-expression. Presentation matters. First impressions count. And what you're wearing speaks for you before you get the opportunity to open your mouth.
Implementing a school dress code is an opportunity to teach students, but school districts must be sure the lesson they are teaching isn't rooted in unacceptable behavior. It looks like too many people are getting it wrong.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Holistic Education and Integrated Learning
Uttering the words “Common Core” results in reactions something akin to what I imagine the wizard’s at Hogwarts in 1991 would produce after someone whispered “Voldemort.” This debate isn’t for sissies. So, it is with apprehension that I enter the fray of the Common Core debate.
This recent post shared on the Reason Foundation blog highlighted a math lesson that some early grade students might encounter when learning to add.
Yes, this break down of addition might be a bit more complicated than counting on your fingers, or rote memorization. (Seriously, do you actually REMEMBER anything you memorized in school? Think back to 9th grade trigonometry. Maybe you’ve got the Pythagorean theorem…but what about proofs?)
This technique for learning math is common sense because it’s the way we do it in the real world. How many of you tip? (I’m hopeful all of you do. Regardless of how you feel about tipping, your service workers are attempting to make a living wage and there’s no reason you should punish them. But I digress, another story for another time.) Most people, unless they whip out their calculator, do a fancy calculation where they break down the 15 or 20 percent tip into 10 percent sections. The same principal is applied when you're shopping and something is 35 percent off. We break down the 35 percent into more manageable pieces and add them together.
For those of you who went on to higher math levels and can calculate the tip by just looking at your bill, or determining how much that oh-so-adorable leather inset sweater that will look absolutely perfect with coated skinnies and lace-up booties costs on clearance, it's not because of rote memorization. It's because you understand how the numbers work together, fluidly.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t a stellar math student. Did I make good grades in math? Yes, but I had to put in a lot more effort and homework time to do well. Math didn’t come to me easily like reading comprehension, writing or science. Interestingly enough, I found that if I really understood the concepts at the core, the math was easy. If I knew the relationship of the numbers, especially when tackling word problems, I could recognize if the calculation result didn’t look quite right, and quickly identify the mistake.
In fact, I do basic addition and division nearly every day while I’m working out at my local CrossFit affiliate. Loading a barbell with weights requires some basic math skills, and when I load the bar, I do it exactly like the teacher in the lesson above does. I shuffle around the numbers so they are easier to work with. Dealing in 2.5 pound plates can get a bit tricky.
Anecdotal evidence isn’t the best evidence, and just because it works for me doesn’t mean it works the same way for every student. However, making students show their work and communicate clearly their answer, as shown in the video, not only teaches students how to add, it also contributes to their understanding in other subject areas.
Let’s examine for a moment what the purpose of educating our students is. Taxpayers shell out billion of dollars each year to fund public education so our students can be ready to have a successful career. While you’re putting in your hours at your 9-5 (don’t worry I’m not under any disillusionment that you only work 9-5) do you split up basic skills? Or are you required to seamlessly transition between math, science, reading and writing all at the same time?
The point is, while it might take a few more minutes to arrive at the answer, learning basic math this way will save students’ time in the future as they are presented with more difficult problems. They won’t be required to memorize hundreds of number combinations just to have the right answers. This is an efficient and effective way to learn number crunching, while also teaching students to express themselves using other skills. Dare I say, Common Core is common sense?
This recent post shared on the Reason Foundation blog highlighted a math lesson that some early grade students might encounter when learning to add.
Yes, this break down of addition might be a bit more complicated than counting on your fingers, or rote memorization. (Seriously, do you actually REMEMBER anything you memorized in school? Think back to 9th grade trigonometry. Maybe you’ve got the Pythagorean theorem…but what about proofs?)
This technique for learning math is common sense because it’s the way we do it in the real world. How many of you tip? (I’m hopeful all of you do. Regardless of how you feel about tipping, your service workers are attempting to make a living wage and there’s no reason you should punish them. But I digress, another story for another time.) Most people, unless they whip out their calculator, do a fancy calculation where they break down the 15 or 20 percent tip into 10 percent sections. The same principal is applied when you're shopping and something is 35 percent off. We break down the 35 percent into more manageable pieces and add them together.
For those of you who went on to higher math levels and can calculate the tip by just looking at your bill, or determining how much that oh-so-adorable leather inset sweater that will look absolutely perfect with coated skinnies and lace-up booties costs on clearance, it's not because of rote memorization. It's because you understand how the numbers work together, fluidly.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t a stellar math student. Did I make good grades in math? Yes, but I had to put in a lot more effort and homework time to do well. Math didn’t come to me easily like reading comprehension, writing or science. Interestingly enough, I found that if I really understood the concepts at the core, the math was easy. If I knew the relationship of the numbers, especially when tackling word problems, I could recognize if the calculation result didn’t look quite right, and quickly identify the mistake.
In fact, I do basic addition and division nearly every day while I’m working out at my local CrossFit affiliate. Loading a barbell with weights requires some basic math skills, and when I load the bar, I do it exactly like the teacher in the lesson above does. I shuffle around the numbers so they are easier to work with. Dealing in 2.5 pound plates can get a bit tricky.
Anecdotal evidence isn’t the best evidence, and just because it works for me doesn’t mean it works the same way for every student. However, making students show their work and communicate clearly their answer, as shown in the video, not only teaches students how to add, it also contributes to their understanding in other subject areas.
Let’s examine for a moment what the purpose of educating our students is. Taxpayers shell out billion of dollars each year to fund public education so our students can be ready to have a successful career. While you’re putting in your hours at your 9-5 (don’t worry I’m not under any disillusionment that you only work 9-5) do you split up basic skills? Or are you required to seamlessly transition between math, science, reading and writing all at the same time?
The point is, while it might take a few more minutes to arrive at the answer, learning basic math this way will save students’ time in the future as they are presented with more difficult problems. They won’t be required to memorize hundreds of number combinations just to have the right answers. This is an efficient and effective way to learn number crunching, while also teaching students to express themselves using other skills. Dare I say, Common Core is common sense?
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