Children on the Throne

Dr. Genevra A. Walters

Article

Children on the Throne

Introduction

Many educators worried that this global crisis would negatively affect school-age children. In fact, the overarching belief was that children would come out of the pandemic a year behind. Kankakee School District 111 found that (as we already know) in traditional schooling: some students did well and some did not. The idea of “one size does NOT fit all” was truly evident during the pandemic.

Some students improved educational outcomes during the pandemic while some students struggled academically and/or emotionally. The pandemic showed us the importance of Personalized Learning Plans that include flexibility in time, location, educational experiences, and opportunities.

When describing the model we are using, I use the throne as an analogy for who should be at the center of our decisions. If our decisions are driven by traditional methods of schooling then “Tradition” is on the throne. If our decisions are driven by finances, adults, or politics, then these are the issues that are at the center of how we make decisions. Therefore, these issues are sitting on the educational throne.

We have also found in this pandemic the “curse of knowledge” is a major barrier to change at a time when we had no other options.

“The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, communicating with other individuals, unknowingly assumes that the others have the background to understand.” (user testing, 2019).

Every career field suffers from the curse of knowledge. The educational system suffers because everyone has experienced “school” at some level even if only as a student. This prior knowledge of “school” drives decision-making rather than the needs of the children, the current societal conditions, or the essential skills needed in the future workforce. advances in technology and the skills of generation z and the new generation alpha, what was once impossible is a reasonable expectation for education.

A Task Analysis of a Successful School Experience

During the onset of the pandemic, Kankakee used a task analysis of a successful school experience to determine how “school” needed to happen during a pandemic. We implemented a plan that separated the process of school into six components: Attendance, work completion, social interaction, instruction, interventions, and quality of work/grades.

When children are on the throne, schools bring the individual student experiences, interests, knowledge, skills, and hopes for the future into the decision-making for learning.

When children are on the throne, schools bring the individual student experiences, interests, knowledge, skills, and hopes for the future into the decision-making for learning. Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs) become necessary. PLPs help students set goals based on personal, academic, and career interests (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). In the past, personalizing learning in public school would be near impossible. With We could not measure attendance by time in seats within the four walls of a classroom, in front of a teacher. We determined attendance by students checking in on a computer, interacting virtually/in person with the teacher, or completing assignments. Staff members contacted families through phone calls and home visits if the school did not have any contact with the student or family after a week. KSD reported students

truant after several attempts to contact the family that included phone calls and home visits.

In collaboration with the union, we defined completion of assignments as levels of engagement (LOE). Teachers reported to parents how students were performing on work completion through a percentage of assignments completed using a scale of 0-3:

0 40%;

1 41-60%

2 61-80%;

3 81-100%. Social interaction is an important part of the school experience. We created structured social time through opportunities for students to interact within supervised, common areas located in the school building. We also provided activities that were safe and organized through the school district. For example, the school district enhanced our Race Car program and partnered with a local organization around a Bike Riding program because of the ability for students to safely interact and socially distance themselves.

Teachers provided instruction and interventions in smaller groups than normal. Kankakee extended the school

It was important for everyone to understand that a failing grade because of poor work completion is very different from a failing grade because of the need for academic interventions.

Students who did not participate received a rating of NP (No Participation). The goal of the LOE rating was to communicate to parents whether or not a failing grade is based on the behavior of “assignment completion” or the need for academic support. day to provide more opportunities for students to receive instructional support and interventions. We also added Saturday school to extend additional opportunities and time for students to receive face-toface instruction/interventions individually or in small groups.

The actual quality of work translated into grades. The high school teachers and parents struggled the most with the separation of work completion and and intervention led to increased performance in all areas. In a traditional education setting, all exist at the same time in a classroom of 28-30 students

I was impressed with the 21st-century skills that Milana gained by having the flexibility to manage her own time.

grades. It was important for everyone to understand that a failing grade because of poor work completion is very different from a failing grade because of the need for academic interventions. During the pandemic, we realized how important it is to separate the two issues to provide the appropriate support.

Pandemic Story of Larry and Milana

Two students, who were able to find their niche during the pandemic, are Larry, and Milan (real students using pseudo names). Larry is a student labeled with a mild learning disability. Larry is very participatory in school activities. He loves the social aspect of school but has anxiety when required to participate in math and writing instruction. During the pandemic, he was successful academically with targeted interventions in work completion in the areas of math and writing.

For Larry, the separation of work completion, social time, instruction, with limited support for the teacher. During the pandemic, Larry attended class for instruction, Saturday school for interventions, and was also able to participate in Covid safe activities. KSD 111 found it necessary to provide additional time for work completion during the winter break.

Milana was a student who chose fully remote as an option during the pandemic. After talking to Milana, I was amazed at her organizational and planning skills as well as her work ethic and entrepreneurship demonstrated and developed because of the pandemic. Milana explained that she chose fully remote to help her mother. Milana supervised her two younger brothers while her mother worked three jobs outside of the home. She described a well thought out plan that included using a personal calendar to keep up with her Zoom classes as well as her younger brothers’ classes. Milana found that after completing all of her work

and supporting her brothers, she had additional time to start her own business. I was impressed with the 21st-century skills that Milana gained by having the flexibility to manage her own time.

Barriers

We have learned through the pandemic that the achievement gap has numerous variables that affect achievement in a traditional educational system. The variables include opportunity, homework, and parental access. Schools struggle with closing these gaps because the traditional educational system does not consider ways to identify the gaps present in each individual family, determining the support needed, and allocating the necessary resources.

Equity is also at the root of the gaps that exist in the educational system. Even in a diverse community, we continue to struggle with inclusion (every voice is heard and valued) and equity (every student and family receives what they need to fully access learning to increase postsecondary opportunities). Barriers to change are further complicated by the voices (people) driving decisions about education coming from educators and educated parents who likely suffer from the curse of knowledge and fail to see that many families do not experience “school” in the same way they do.

Opportunity Gap

Equity issues became more apparent during the pandemic. Although the school had previously provided one:one technology, provided hotspots when needed, and had developed a plan for overcoming barriers, many students struggled in the area of work completion. Kankakee began working with an equity coach who coined the phrase “be true to what’s on paper” (Fisher, 2021). We found that many adults focused on trying to “survive” the pandemic and the details of how to implement the plan were not consistent across staff members. This perpetuated the already present equity issues related to accessing learning opportunities in a time where learning truly needed to happen “anywhere, at any time”.

Homework/Parental Access Gap

As much as we learned during the pandemic, we still have much to learn and improve. Schools are still extremely dependent on parental support. Although our system does not require parents to sit with their children and complete assignments in a quiet space at home—which can be a major barrier for many families—it does require parents to get their student onto a technology device for remote learning, physically into the school for in-person learning, or attend Saturday school for interventions.

...the voices that are speaking the loudest are those who understand how to access learning through the traditional system and cannot imagine or truly understand the barriers embedded in the system for many other students and families.

Children on the Throne versus Curse of Knowledge

The curse of knowledge is often in direct conflict with keeping students at the center of our decision-making. This bias occurs to the detriment of families who have been marginalized for generations by the education system and those educators and families who have historically benefited from it. The bias inhibits creating an educational system that supports equity because the voices that are speaking the loudest are those who understand how to access learning through the traditional system and cannot imagine or truly understand the barriers embedded in the system for many other students and families. To place children on the throne, the school experience must begin to structure educational experiences and opportunities that consider the knowledge and privileges of some families while creating a plan for the lack of experiences and challenges of others.

References

Fisher, Annice. (2021). Kankakee School

District 111 Equity Coaching, Kankakee, IL.

United States Department of Education (2017), Issue Brief; Personalized

Learning Plans

Usertesting (2019) https://www.

usertesting.com/blog/curse-ofknowledge

Dr. Genevra Walters is committed to the growth and development of life-long learners. She attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work. She completed an educational doctorate at Illinois State University with an emphasis on teacher education and research. Dr. Walters worked as a social worker and administrator in Kankakee School District 111 and became the new Superintendent on May 30, 2014. She is honored to be the Educational Leader for the Kankakee Community.