“The iPod came from two people, Steve and Jonathan. The Zune came from 250. Which product would you rather own?” – Seth Godin
I participated in NBC’s Education Nation this week, and was again reminded and impressed by the passion and creativity of educators, and the desire to do right by our kids. The need for more learning time was a consistent theme, and there are dozens of excellent examples of innovative, comprehensive summer programs that already deliver more learning time while offering kids options and fun outside the traditional school setting. Yet there is a dearth of large-scale implementation.
Am I alone in my impression that the public sector is behind the curve on innovation and speed to market? The public agency culture often ties our hands on innovation because of a pre-disposition for universal consensus, buy-in, and validation. There’s a tension inherent in the structure that we need to get past. Does the apparent need to be democratic and politically appropriate preclude the innovation and the autocracy it often requires? Are we missing the opportunity to innovate while we wait for consensus?
How can we recognize the compromise necessary in serving the public good, but still rapidly deliver desperately needed innovation in education?
September 30th, 2010
How many of you have ever had someone say to you, “Field trips would be great, but we just don’t have the budget for them. We’ll have to do without (or with less) for this summer.”? Given the current economic climate, I imagine this is an all-too-familiar refrain. Yet, field trips play an important – and often underappreciated role – in a young person’s education. I was reminded of the essential role of field trips while presenting at a community meeting on Summer Learning (link http://www.stoplearningloss.org/#Workshop) in Grand Rapids, Michigan earlier this month.
Another presenter told the audience a story about a young man in his afterschool program. He realized, through conversation, that this young man had never been to the zoo, even though he was almost in high school. After reflecting on the rich experiences he personally had had at the zoo with his own son, who was much younger, he encouraged the young man to attend an upcoming field trip to the local zoo. Unfortunately, the young man wasn’t able to make it.
I’ve always appreciated that field trips expose youth to new places and experiences they might not otherwise have. But it had been a while since I really focused on how we learn, and the importance of building background knowledge. Your health, emotions, surroundings and actions while learning all figure prominently into how well you will recall information. And we all know how important recall is, particularly when you’re sitting down in front of a standardized test. Let me provide an example similar to the one the presenter offered to me:
Juan is 5th grader from a middle-class family, who enjoys summers filled with family trips, library visits, and a few weeks of camp. One of his favorite camp field trips last summer was to the zoo. Juan had been to the zoo several times before – but each trip helps Juan think about his dream career when he grows up, which is becoming a veterinarian. He is intensely interested in how the zookeepers care for the animals, and whether the animals seem happy in their habitats.
Jennifer is a 5th grader from a family living below the poverty line. During the summers, Jennifer helps her mother by taking care of her younger sister while her mom is at work. A neighbor checks in on Jennifer and her sister a few times each day, but Jennifer’s mom prefers that she and her sister stay indoors until her mother gets home from work each day around 6:30 p.m. Jennifer’s neighborhood has a reputation for being unsafe, and her mom’s first concern is that she and her sister are safe. Jennifer’s dream is to become a doctor when she grows up. She loves taking care of others and wants to learn how to help people stay healthy.
Juan and Jennifer both attend 5th grade at schools in the same city. Both are good students who typically try their best. Spring standardized testing is nearing, and both of their classes are reviewing science lessons on predator/prey relationships. When they sit down to take the standardized test, one of the questions is related to these science lessons; it reads:
Which of the following birds is the best example of a predator?
a. Seagull
b. Hawk
c. Sparrow
d. Macaw
As Juan reads the question, he pictures each of these birds in his mind. He’s seen sparrows in his neighborhood, seagulls at the shore, and both hawks and macaws at the zoo. He’s relaxed because the answer comes easily to him. Jennifer, on the other hand, is trying to think back to a time when they talked about birds at school. She thinks she’s seen a TV special about birds, but doesn’t have any personal experiences or references for any bird other than a sparrow. She’ll have to make her best guess, and she’s anxious that she doesn’t know the answer.
While this may be an oversimplified example of the power of field trips, it illustrates the point that we can’t view field trips as expendable – especially for youth living in poverty. It is only through experience, action, and emotional connections that our brains are wired for recall of information. If you don’t believe me, hang out with a few neuroscientists who focus on learning and the brain. A former neurologist turned middle school teacher, Judy Willis (link http://www.radteach.com/index.html) discusses exactly how the brain works in a recent ASCD article called What You Should Know About Your Brain (link http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el200912_willis.pdf). Not only can learning through action produce better and deeper connections, but it can also be more efficient. Without context, a young person may have to be taught the same concept over and over again before the information will stick.
So what does this mean for programs and their budgets? Perhaps a redefinition of field trips. Rather than extra niceties, field trips are really laboratories for learning. And they need to be treated as such. The National Summer Learning Association (perhaps we can link to a recent presentation Erin has done on this topic? Or to our planning guide, if it addresses field trip?) has exciting professional development workshops that help summer providers make the most of their field trips experiences. There are also great reference guides available for educators interested in designing learning-rich field trips.
As for Grand Rapids, they’re also doing their part to ensure summer program providers can transport young people to and from field trips at a low cost. The Rapid field trip program offers students and teachers transportation to and from key community institutions at a rate of $0.25 per child each way (Link http://www.ridetherapid.org/contactus drop down “Field Trip Request”.) Even better, transportation for parents and their children to and from the public library is FREE through the Ride to Read program (link http://www.grpl.org/blog/?p=1578).
What does your community or school do to support learning-rich field trips for all youth? What can we do better, or differently, to show the difference a field trip can make?
How many of you have ever had someone say to you, “Field trips would be great, but we just don’t have the budget for them. We’ll have to do without (or with less) for this summer”? Given the current economic climate, I imagine this is an all-too-familiar refrain. Yet, field trips play an important – and often underappreciated role – in a young person’s education. I was reminded of the essential role of field trips while presenting at a community meeting on Summer Learning in Grand Rapids, Michigan earlier this month.
Another presenter told the audience a story about a young man in his afterschool program. He realized, through conversation, that this young man had never been to the zoo, even though he was almost in high school. After reflecting on the rich experiences he personally had had at the zoo with his own son, who was much younger, he encouraged the young man to attend an upcoming field trip to the local zoo. Unfortunately, the young man wasn’t able to make it.
I’ve always appreciated that field trips expose youth to new places and experiences they might not otherwise have. But it had been a while since I really focused on how we learn, and the importance of building background knowledge. Your health, emotions, surroundings and actions while learning all figure prominently into how well you will recall information. And we all know how important recall is, particularly when you’re sitting down in front of a standardized test. Let me provide an example similar to the one the presenter offered to me:
Juan is 5th grader from a middle-class family, who enjoys summers filled with family trips, library visits, and a few weeks of camp. One of his favorite camp field trips last summer was to the zoo. Juan had been to the zoo several times before – but each trip helps Juan think about his dream career when he grows up, which is becoming a veterinarian. He is intensely interested in how the zookeepers care for the animals, and whether the animals seem happy in their habitats.
Jennifer is a 5th grader from a family living below the poverty line. During the summers, Jennifer helps her mother by taking care of her younger sister while her mom is at work. A neighbor checks in on Jennifer and her sister a few times each day, but Jennifer’s mom prefers that she and her sister stay indoors until her mother gets home from work each day around 6:30 p.m. Jennifer’s neighborhood has a reputation for being unsafe, and her mom’s first concern is that she and her sister are safe. Jennifer’s dream is to become a doctor when she grows up. She loves taking care of others and wants to learn how to help people stay healthy.
Juan and Jennifer both attend 5th grade at schools in the same city. Both are good students who typically try their best. Spring standardized testing is nearing, and both of their classes are reviewing science lessons on predator/prey relationships. When they sit down to take the standardized test, one of the questions is related to these science lessons; it reads:
Which of the following birds is the best example of a predator?
a. Seagull
b. Hawk
c. Sparrow
d. Macaw
As Juan reads the question, he pictures each of these birds in his mind. He’s seen sparrows in his neighborhood, seagulls at the shore, and both hawks and macaws at the zoo. He’s relaxed because the answer comes easily to him. Jennifer, on the other hand, is trying to think back to a time when they talked about birds at school. She thinks she’s seen a TV special about birds, but doesn’t have any personal experiences or references for any bird other than a sparrow. She’ll have to make her best guess, and she’s anxious that she doesn’t know the answer.
While this may be an oversimplified example of the power of field trips, it illustrates the point that we can’t view field trips as expendable – especially for youth living in poverty. It is only through experience, action, and emotional connections that our brains are wired for recall of information. If you don’t believe me, hang out with a few neuroscientists who focus on learning and the brain. A former neurologist turned middle school teacher, Judy Willis discusses exactly how the brain works in a recent ASCD article called What You Should Know About Your Brain. Not only can learning through action produce better and deeper connections, but it can also be more efficient. Without context, a young person may have to be taught the same concept over and over again before the information will stick.
So what does this mean for programs and their budgets?
Perhaps a redefinition of field trips. Rather than extra niceties, field trips are really laboratories for learning. And they need to be treated as such. The National Summer Learning Association has exciting professional development workshops that help summer providers make the most of their field trips experiences. There are also great reference guides available for educators interested in designing learning-rich field trips.
As for Grand Rapids, they’re also doing their part to ensure summer program providers can transport young people to and from field trips at a low cost. The Rapid field trip program offers students and teachers transportation to and from key community institutions at a rate of $0.25 per child each way. Even better, transportation for parents and their children to and from the public library is FREE through the Ride to Read program.
What does your community or school do to support learning-rich field trips for all youth? What can we do better, or differently, to show the difference a field trip can make?
March 26th, 2010
