Guest Blog: What Should We Expect From Public Education?

by Sue Khalaieff, Democracy Schools Network Manager

Over the past school year, the Illinois Humanities Council has sponsored a statewide series of free public programs called Continuing Ed, which have focused on the future of Illinois public schools. Events have been held in Chicago, Elgin, Decatur and Southern Illinois throughout the year. On Thursday, April 20th, I attended their discussion in Elgin which focused on what we should expect from public education. The roundtable discussion featured Tony Sanders (CEO of U-46), Rev. Nathaniel Edmond (Second Baptist Church), Julia McClendon (YWCA of Elgin), Karen Merchant (Bartlett HS parent), Tish Calhamer (Gail Borden Library), Madeline Villalobos (Parent Leadership Institute alumna), Tracy Occomy (Community Organization and Family Issues), and Mike Demovsky (Bartlett HS principal). The roundtable discussion was led by Denise Ahlquist of The Great Books Foundation.

I left that session feeling invigorated, inspired and better equipped to do battle with the forces that challenge the schools in our state. The diverse panel, the engaged audience, and a roomful of stakeholders who are so deeply committed to public education provided compelling evidence that bringing people together for this kind of conversation is a powerful civics lesson. There was great Democracy School representation in this round table as U-46 includes both Bartlett High School (a 2006 Democracy School) and Streamwood High School (a 2016 Democracy School).

“What should we expect from public education?” almost could have been entitled "Why every school should be a Democracy School?” as our themes were consistent throughout the discussion. Voice, equity, participation, civil discourse, developing citizens in a democratic society, getting feedback from stakeholders, empowerment, and community partnerships were all mentioned as key factors in what we should expect from our schools.

The format allowed the audience to interact with the panel; in fact, the actual “presentation” part of the evening took up only about one-third of the time. The majority of the ninety-minute program encouraged community members to comment on the remarks of the panel, as well as voice their own concerns and recommendations. What became very evident is that this combination of dedication, innovation and communication is allowing Elgin schools to positively address their issues and create a more positive future for their students.

Chicago is sponsoring their last session of the series, titled, Our School II- What the City’s Done, What it Can Do, on May 17 at the Union League Club. If you are looking for an upbeat and constructive ending to your school year, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let's Talk About the "Required" Constitution Test

Image
by Mary Ellen Daneels, Lead Teacher Mentor As I have traveled around the state of Illinois to support implementation of the high school civics requirement and pending middle school civics legislation , one of the biggest concerns I have heard is, “How will we have time to prepare students for the required Constitution test? I will never have time to cover all 200 questions on the test if I have to make time for student-centered inquiry, discussions, simulations, and service learning!” The Illinois State Board of Education states: American patriotism and the principles of representative government, as enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the proper use and display of the American flag, shall be taught in all public schools and other educational institutions supported or maintained in whole or in part by public funds. No student shall receive a certificate
Read more

Resources to Respond to Tragedy and Violence

Image
by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist All educators are civics teachers. Teachers send messages to students about power, justice, and representation by the content we select, the way we engage student voice, the norms we employ, and the stories included in our classroom. We have a responsibility to prioritize our students’ lived experiences, putting Maslow before Bloom , to inform the essential questions we address in our curriculum. When violence or tragedy occurs, classrooms provide a safe venue for students to process, ask questions and be given context to understand current events as they happen. While current events unfold, it is not the time to debate policy. Educators will not have all of the answers to the questions students pose. Teachers can create a classroom space where we can be present, listen, and create a safe environment for our students to do the same. Start with Reflection Your students may be wrestling with a range of emotions. We cannot assum
Read more

Strengthening School Climate through Inclusion

by Sue Khalaieff, Democracy Schools Network Manager Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education has been partnering with several Democracy Schools across the Chicago metropolitan area for the past two years to develop and implement strategies to strengthen school climate through inclusion. This cohort of schools worked closely with Loyola University to identify an intervention that each school wanted to explore and develop and implement an action plan and support each other to move forward. In our final session of the Civics Across the Curriculum series on April 22nd, 2021, participating schools shared their perspectives and learnings from the experience. View a recording of the session. To begin the session, Jon Schmidt , Clinical Assistant Faculty, Loyola University, provided some contextual framing for the cohort’s work by sharing components of multicultural education from James Banks : Inclusive curriculum Equity pedagogy Empowering school culture Knowledge constru
Read more