Click Here to Read Full Article 

Opinion

Unfortunately, Old Heads Killing Progress

By Correspondent: C. Dwayne West

November 1, 2017

 

These are some of the saddest and most disappointing Works of Words that I've ever had to assemble. I knew this day would come when I had to acknowledge what many have told me but I refused to accept.....because I believed, actually, I've witnessed bits and pieces of what I'm gonna reluctantly share with you, but I assumed it was a few individuals who've lost their way over the years and have never returned mentally to themselves.

The first time I was privy to see old heads in actions was during Chicago's Mayoral election in 2014. I saw my respected elders choose sides that were not the right side, in my opinion. It's their choice to decide who to support and why, but don't try and persuade the hood to follow your lead, and support who you tell us is the best candidate. 

It was awful. Friends became enemies, wives and husbands have never realigned themselves, and young ambitious wanna be leaders were misled. Therefore, their judgment and wishful thinking about their elders have been damaged. It was a bad time. It brought out the real colors in most folks. I still feel the burn from that particular election.

Now here we are again, the next Illinois Governor will be selected in 2018, followed by the mayoral election in 2019. But I'm gonna stay on the current Governor's race and the other political operatives looking for victories in the March primary leading into the general election in November 2018. Let me accurately express how what I've seen so far has been sickening. And it's not the lack of voter participation that's predicted. It's not the lack of qualified candidates that we most times see.

It's about my elders who for some reason have this notion that they know what's best for their community.  We, in my generation and the generation behind mine acknowledge their fight, or as I've learned, their disguise of a fight for colored people. Some have been like the spook who sat by the door, but all the time trying to remain the only spook and not bringing back the goods from behind the door. It's quite sad to see. 

And this current Governor's race has demonstrated to me and others that it's the old head gatekeepers holding back not only my generation from progressing but the entire black community from building real growth.

What I've seen and heard over the past months---and going back to 2014--is so unfortunate. Because these old heads are killing black progress! And believe it or not, they know it! Until the next edition.....Peace and One Love.

I Write to Differ...

Click Here to Read Full Article

By  Victoria Flint

Oct 25, 2017

Many teachers across the country are working tirelessly to personalize learning for their students. Their efforts are often part of initiatives that are funded by grants which vary in size, length, applicant type, application process and evidence required to demonstrate success.

There is one thing that all of these grants have in common: they run out. And when they do, it can derail programs that are working.

At Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, which serves students in one of the fastest-growing regions of Alaska, we use grant funding to support a number of initiatives. Over the years, we've learned some tough lessons. We've seen programs lose momentum and vanish, devices break and practitioners lose their jobs because funding expired.

In what seems like never-ending times of financial crunch, practicing financially scrappy habits has become the norm for all of us. Our school district is encouraging teachers to be scrappy and sustainable when it comes to seeking alternative approaches to keeping successful programs afloat.

We're also constantly thinking about what issues we should consider when applying for a grant, to ensure that the work can be maintained after the initial funding runs out. Here are five questions we always ask ourselves when we're deciding whether to pursue a grant opportunity.

Our district has applied for a variety of grant types in the past, including large state-level grants, funding from nonprofit organizations, and funding from private companies. Some grants are specific to a particular student population, such as English Language Learners or students who receive free and reduced lunch; others support the entire student body. In addition to the grants we've applied for as a district, we also see individual schools and teachers apply for smaller funding opportunities through crowd-funding platforms such as Donors Choose.

These grants serve a number of efforts such as improved WiFi, increased devices, new curricular programs and new staff roles. Our district has had the most experience learning about grants that support instructional tools and new jobs.

Schools are starved for digital learning resources that are data-driven and support teachers in personalizing curriculum for their students. The market of viable tools is overwhelming and it's continuously growing as current research expands-but the tools are often expensive.

What Happens When Grants Run Dry?

So what does it look like when grant money runs out? In the worst-case scenario, a program dies, good people lose their jobs and the kids lose out. But sometimes the impact is less dramatic-devices start to break down one at a time, or a teacher needs to drop a lesson because there aren't enough materials for the whole class.

Classroom expenses can become black holes when it comes to materials, supplies, technology, and books; there is no escape from the ongoing costs involved with creating and maintaining engaging, organized, modern environments for learning. Many dedicated teachers take on these expenses themselves-but that isn't a sustainable solution.

Click Here to Read Full Article

Does Paying Kids to Do Well in School Actually Work?

Photo provided by The Black Star Project

By  Arianna Prothero

October 17, 2017
  

Technically, anything that motivates a student to do something is an incentive. That could be as simple as putting a sticker on an aced quiz or rewarding perfect attendance with a new bike.

Researchers, however, typically focus on how financial incentives affect student behavior, and even that of teachers and parents.

"This is something that every incentive paper starts with: the research is mixed," said Lucrecia Santibañez, an associate professor at Claremont Graduate University's School of Educational Studies.

That's true both in the U.S. and internationally, she said. How well an incentive program works depends on its design.

One of the primary architects of this work is Roland Fryer, an economist at Harvard University. In a series of experiments through the mid-2000s, he paid out more than $6 million to more than 18,000 low-income students in Chicago, Dallas, New York City, and the District of Columbia to try to improve their test performance.

The major takeaway from Fryer's research is that inducements are more likely to work if a program incentivizes things students feel they can control. In technical terms, that means rewarding inputs instead of outputs, said Jeffrey Livingston, an associate professor of economics at Bentley University. 

Why are incentives controversial?

Incentives have backfired for some schools.   In 2015, a New Jersey district came under fire from some parents when it announced plans to award gift cards to students for showing up to take the state's new standardized tests. The aim was to increase participation rates in the PARCC exams, at a time when parents across the country were protesting the standardized tests by refusing to have their children participate.

"If your goal is to instill a love of learning, paying students to read books doesn't really do that," he said. "It doesn't reflect a view of teaching and learning that most educators support. They don't want it to be transactional."

Incentives vary as much as the schools that use them-from modest to massive.   The Union R-XI school district in central Missouri offered as much as $100 to students to entice perfect attendance at its summer school program.   Tennessee's Shelby County district has offered Memphis Grizzlies tickets to students with good attendance. Success Academy, a charter school network, has offered small prizes, including Nerf guns, to encourage good behavior.   While the research may be mixed, some school officials say they are seeing success with their incentive programs.

Click Here to Read Full Article