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Vol.5. NO.1......................................................................cover and 1
Advertising Deadline for the February 2004 issue is January 19, 2003 For More Information call (505) 471-5177 or (505) 747-0589 No Child Left Behind …. “No child left behind” is the brand name or sound bite representing the spirit of public education today. I have a child in my school. I am the principal of a school. It is the fourth community on three continents that has entrusted me with the education of their children. He might fall into the category of “left behind”. Diagnosed as having learning difficulties, he is now writing a heroic adventure because his imagination of what is possible has been touched. Another child, abandoned in a children’s home, on the cusp of failure each year suddenly jumped to being an A student. Why did his grades soar? His girlfriend believed in him. Another student failed two grade levels at school. A few years later he was awarded his doctorate in political science. We all know these children. Mostly we know them because we know a part in ourselves that has excelled because somebody believed in us. That encouragement helped us to find our own mission. It is this mission that is core to our education. It is this mission that builds commitment. It is this mission that links our individualities to humanity’s future. This is the essence of spirituality. It is our identity. This is why I think that “no child left behind” tries to lead the dog by the tail, rather than by the collar. We do not improve over the long term because of the fear of being left behind. Rather, we improve ourselves by thinking better of ourselves. We think better of ourselves by following better models of what we could be. The private school I ran in London had an entire special needs unit. We were a dedicated staff, determined to leave no child behind. We changed “special needs” to “individual needs” because every single child on this earth requires special attention. Then we started a program for gifted children, and found this benefited the other children too. By raising children’s expectations of themselves and eliminating the fear of failure that causes negativity, children raised their own standards of achievement. My current school in Pojoaque takes the next logical step. It is a school based on turning children’s dreams into reality. The student writing a heroic novel has set it in the 1850’s during the period of westward expansion. The main character has to leave home and eventually after traveling up the Rio Grande becomes a mountain man. The student is reading and researching family life at this time, the geography, vegetation zones, interconnectedness of life as well as other literature on heroic adventures such as The Odyssey, Heart of Darkness, The Wizard of Oz, Where the Wild Things Are, etc. All these cover many of the grade 9 benchmarks he needs to achieve, that will lead him onto a college education. He is also going to draw up a business plan to take his book to local high schools. Most important though, is that he is impelled by what he could be. He is writing a real book, and it is this spark that is pulling up his skills in writing and reading, in researching content subjects and in appreciation of the work of others, of the commitment it takes to practice and improve his skills, and to present his dream to fellow high school students studying the same curriculum. He is no longer motivated by a fear of being left behind. He is concerned with making something he loves doing as good as he can. He is being what all children should be – imaginative, creative, and active in producing something for his community that will give him recognition for his heavenly aspirations, as well as his skill in achieving his earthly dreams. Children and students who reach out should not be given an education plan of “no child left behind.” They should be encouraged and assisted to grasp their aspirations and dreams. Finn Clark-Brown has been principal of four schools on three continents. He is the recipient of a fellowship on spirituality in education based at Oxford University and a doctoral candidate in education. He has recently opened Innésence School in Pojoaque/Nambé. He can be contacted at (505) 455 0004.
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Inside This About the Cover....... 3 Ad Sales Person Wanted.... 2 Armada of Terror...... 6 Book Reviews............... 15 Gathering: The Sacred Breath...... 5 GE-Free Northern California. 4 Good Sayings6 Homeless Assistance Monies...... Inside the Camper Shell............... 10 Local Organic Profiles... 12 Mad Cow Disease... 11 Movie Making in NM...... 7 No Child Left Behind..... 1 North Central NM Events 3 Pregnancy Q and A...... 15 Testing Faith............... 14 Urban Legend............... 14 What Bush Wants, Bush Gets........ 14 “What Does Love Mean?”.... 8 Why Can Tattoos Kill............... 11 |
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