FYI from BSF, 10.13.23
Those of us who had to take attendance on September 12, 2001, wrote letters to families explaining safety procedures on December 15, 2012, opened a Zoom classroom on May 26, 2020, or had to reexplain the Constitution on January 7, 2021, know that educators often bear the responsibility of processing events beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Sadly, Monday was another one of those days. Welcoming children that morning, educators, true guardians of the community, had less time to prepare how to discuss the horror of last weekend than President Biden did (his address was the next day).
When American philosopher and psychologist William James wrote about the “moral equivalent of war” to peacefully develop virtue, service, and national unity through young people, no one could have envisioned the virtual equivalent of war we experience today. That acts and words of violence could be so widely transparent and available to young people that they would produce fear, animosity, and their own conflict, like the successive wars of words on campuses. Technology has increased the speed and the stakes, often dividing, rather than uniting.
With information sources often bent towards controversy or even misinformation, it can be hard to recognize that so many schools and school leaders quietly met the moment. Thoughtful communication. Counseling available. Historical context. Media literacy. Schools can talk about hard things. They can empower young people with information. The Massachusetts legislature overriding a veto to give more money to civics education last week now seems particularly prescient.
Educators and families can find helpful resources here.
As hard as it is, we can’t keep the world out of schools.
Notes in the Margin
The second story in a deep dive into literacy in Massachusetts highlights Boston Public Schools (BPS) and its transition to evidence-based literacy practices.
An incredibly helpful summary of the dense facilities assessment data that was released by BPS last week.
Birth rates appeared to level last year, but are still substantially down over the past fifteen years (-22.9% nationally).
What has been long known by educators and researchers got the NY Times treatment this week. The Department of Defense runs very good schools for its 60,000+ students; proficiency rates for Black and Latino students approach or surpass national averages, effectively the only “school district” to eliminate the achievement gap.
ACT scores hit a historical low last year.
Higher education is uniquely expensive in Greater Boston.
