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January 2015 IDRA Newsletter: School Perseverance & Grit

“We need to shift the conversation from student traits that are deemed by some as hindering student success to helping schools develop their own perseverance and grit in ways that ensure the success of every student.” – Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, IDRA President and CEO

Published 10 times a year, each edition explores issues facing U.S. education today and strategies to better serve every student. This newsletter is published in print and on the IDRA website, in addition to this eLetter format.

Grit and Non-Cognitive Skills – Framing the Narrative

by María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, Ph.D., and Hector Bojorquez

A growing chorus of academics, administrators and policymakers are steering educational research, money and the public’s imagination to conversations around resiliency and non-cognitive skills. Words like grit are now consistently being used to describe a student’s ability to persevere, to face challenges and to overcome failure.

One reason for looking into these non-cognitive skills may be rooted in a search for why – after years of high-stakes testing, standards reform and progressive pedagogy – flat academic results persist. It is, of course, necessary to reassess decades-long efforts. Maybe, the voices behind non-cognitive research say, we now need to look at social-emotional factors that contribute to success. Maybe, just as we teach addition, subtraction, decoding and writing, we need to identify non-academic skills that are necessary for success.

These may be fruitful paths. Too often though, questions are being framed in ways that yield little but negative attitudes, defeatism and deficit practices in the education of young people. – Keep reading

Institutional Grit and Perseverance – Valuing Students and Supporting Academic Success in the Era of the “Grit Gap”

by Laurie Posner, M.P.A.

Lately, almost everywhere you look, new research about children and “grit” crops up, like the proverbial rock in the shoe.

The global Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development cites research suggesting that 3- and 4-year-olds develop and follow play plans to foster self-regulation. Edutopia blogs that students should self-administer the grit scale that asks adolescents whether they’ve faced setbacks or been excited about an idea but gotten distracted. Angela Duckworth’s 2013 TedTalk on grit has attracted more than 5.5 million views. And author and journalist Paul Tough’s book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (2013), has been featured by the New York Times, NPR, the Washington Post and Forbes.

Deficit as Default
Concerning as some of the strategies may be, all this focus on children and grit is not surprising – or new.

An emphasis on character development for low-income children and children of color is baked into American history. Since the 1700s, American maxims on becoming a self-made man and the promise of industriousness have been in circulation (Swansburg, 2014) and have shaped social reform, child development and psychological treatment of children (Little, et al., 2007). – Keep reading

Gauging Grit – Gouging the Poor

by Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed.

Competing views of students and their families have great impact on education results. If one holds a culture-of-poverty perspective, the traits (and deficits) of students become the focus. But IDRA’s culture of possibility frame recognizes the assets of students and focuses on the responsibility of the institution. Similarly, when one looks at a poor neighborhood with an asset lens, they see the strength and potential that is there in talents, skills and funds of knowledge.

We expect schools to have grit, drive and prudence, to set high expectations for all students, and to support them to meet those expectations. And we can point to a school district that is doing just that (Bojorquez, 2014), as well as to examples within schools (Robledo Montecel, 2009).

From both a practical and pragmatic point of view, the asset-based approach does not ignore reality, but rather acknowledges the very real fullness of a community. And it yields much more positive results whether in organizing a community to help itself or in teaching the children in that community.

In order to be successful, our schools and our educators must value and nurture the gifts and strengths all children bring. And we as a nation must demonstrate that valuing by funding public schools fully and equitably and by expecting that our schools governed effectively. – Keep reading

Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program Winning Essay

by Nicholas Alderete

The IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program is a highly successful dropout prevention program that leads schools to shift to the philosophy and practices of valuing students considered at-risk resulting in tutors staying in school, having increased academic performance and school attendance, and advancing to higher education.

The Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program has helped me see people differently. In this program, I have seen that they actually care for me. I used to have a very bad attitude, and my grades are not the best. I have never been a good student. I have difficulty in math, reading, science, and basically mostly every subject there is. This program has made me realize that grades are important to keep up. The program is the reason my grades are passing, and my life has gotten better.

I had always heard about this program, but I have never would of guessed that it would be this life changing to me. The thing I do in this program is tutor kids, which is actually not bad. I would always think that it would have no effect, but it turns out that it does affect my life. The kids all love me because I help them succeed in school. I tell them that it is fun and not that bad as you think. This program is amazing. The best part about this program is that I get to tutor three tutees from the elementary school. They are the best when it comes to learning, they actually enjoy leaning when I tutor them. – Keep reading

Meet Hector Bojorquez

Director of IDRA’s Student Access and Success Department

(image, right, from Borderlands, directed by Hector Bojorquez)

This year, the IDRA Newsletter will highlight our staff’s varied and diverse talents and backgrounds. As of January 2015, Hector Bojorquez, was named to lead IDRA’s department of Student Access and Success. This department conducts and disseminates research to educators, policymakers and families concerning early child education, STEM, dropout solutions, and high school to college transitions. It also provides technical assistance to expand opportunities for systemic reform in our community schools. Mr. Bojorquez is the principal author of IDRA’s newest publication, College Bound and Determined.

His talents and background, however, also are deeply rooted in the arts. On October 31, 2013, Mr. Bojorquez put the final touches on his first feature film, Borderlands, which he co-wrote with his brother, Gerald Pettit. This was a major step along the path to a larger goal of seeing Borderlands become a cable television show. Mr. Bojorquez has been writing poetry, short stories and scripts for 20 years. His written work has been published in Viaztlan, a poetry quarterly, but it is the film work that has reached large audiences. Borderlands was accepted to be screened at the San Antonio Film Festival and Cinefestival. The film also won the 2014 Best in Show award from the Accolade Global Film Competition. – Keep reading

Classnotes Podcasts on Asset-based Solutions in Education

A Principal on Setting Expectations for College – Episode 126

Continuities with Lessons in Dropout Prevention – Episode 63

Busting Myths About Children of Poverty – Episode 50

Transformational Teaching in Math – Episode 36

Tool for Building Quality Schools – Episode 81

A Valuing Professional Development Model – Episode 143

Videos

Ensuring High Teaching Quality to Tap Into Students’ Strengths [18:18 min video]

Teens talk about how the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program has changed them [00:45 video]

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