Viva Voce

“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.” –Marcel Proust

Viva voce is a Latin phrase that means “with living voice” and represents an insightful way to describe one of the highlights of our school year. The dual reference of “with living voice” to signify both the concept of “word of mouth” and an oral examination, such as a thesis defense, accurately represents students’ experiences associated with our culminating International Baccalaureate (IB) Extended Essay experience.

The IB’s Extended Essay is an independent, self-directed work of research that is concluded with the writing of a 4,000-word paper. Through the process of investigating a topic of special interest, the IB highlights how students develop skills that include the formulation of a research question and the corresponding capacity to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate knowledge.

While the completion of an Extended Essay is an impressive accomplishment in itself, the American School of Brasilia extends the experience and learning through an event called Viva Voce. This special event may best be described as the verbal counterpart to the student’s written essay when our IB candidates literally talk about the passion and challenges they experienced when writing their essays. A three to five-member panel, usually comprised of parents, teachers, and students with expertise or interest in the subject, carefully read the essay and formally engage with the IB students during their presentations. The Viva Voce event is also open to our community to participate as a silent audience and, given the full attendance, there is clearly a high degree of support and interest.

Beyond this framework, what makes the Viva Voce experience so profound is the high degree of passion and engagement that students clearly convey for their research topics. It is not uncommon for students to write much more than the required 4,000 words. The following is a sample of some of the research focus areas:

Economics: Government’s Management of Brazil’s Electricity Sector
World Studies: Sustainable Fashion
Film: Alfred Hitchcock’s influence in film
Macro Economics. The effect of the Greek economic crisis in the EU.

This year, I had the honor of serving on Carolina’s panel, a student whose research question investigated the ballad structure in Oscar Wilde’s poem, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.” While Carolina spoke to the panel and audience about both her findings and her learning, I could not help but be impressed by her reflections on how her research changed how she sees literature, human relations, and the world in general, but also by her depth of knowledge and understanding of Wilde’s work, as represented by her concluding statements:

“The author uses a poetic method as a tool of offering palpable representation of life at Reading Gaol, which causes people to feel sympathy and sadness. The convicted men inside prison are hopeful, therefore although the initial feeling is that of pity, the author transforms it into a soothing, otherworldly environment, one that proved the human soul capable of conquering the harshness of reality.”

Well done Carolina! And, well done to all Viva Voce students!

The deep learning experiences demonstrated not only by Carolina but all of our students is not the only factor that makes Viva Voce such a special experience. It is also the fact that teachers, parents, students, and members of the greater community are also participating in the learning experience. As it was the first time I had read Wilde’s Ballad of Reading Gaol, I was grateful to Carolina for sharing her analysis and introducing me to such an important work of literature. I had similar feelings last year when serving on a panel for an outstanding economics paper and was seated with a talented economist from the British Embassy and the World Bank Country Director for Brazil. While I would like to think that I made some meaningful contributions to our conversation about economics, I have no doubt that I was also a learner on this day.

While these are my personal stories, I am confident that I speak on behalf of everyone who has participated in the Viva Voce event when sharing how meaningful and transformative the experience has been for students, teachers, and parents. To that end, Viva Voce is a good example of how learning can be personalized, relevant, and meaningful. In terms of school culture, Viva Voce also embodies and exemplifies the spirit of our mission statement: Learners inspiring learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character, and bold in vision.”

Our Human Tapestry

The most moving and important testimonials about learning and school culture also come from parents, whose voices are critical to our collective partnership in support of student development. To complement last week’s post, Our Obligation, which focused on inclusion from a student’s perspective, this post shares a poignant parent reflection on the same theme.

Alex Ellis is currently serving as the British Ambassador to Brazil. Following his son Thomás’ recent graduation from the American School of Brasilia, Ambassador Ellis published the following reflections, which focus on the culture of learning and inclusion in schools.

Tomás Finished School Last Saturday

There are parents all over the northern hemisphere who in these weeks have watched or will watch their child go through this ritual, in many different forms, in the case of our son through a flick of a tassel. Each family has its own memories and stories, both similar to those of others and peculiar to themselves.

Our story includes a moment, at an earlier time, spent in a still, grey room, with sensible Flemish doctors telling us in sensible, Flemish English that our son is on the autistic spectrum. There’s no number to confirm this, no blood test. It’s the product of observation and judgment, and that knot of anxiety which has sat inside our stomachs from when Tomas’ first kindergarten teacher wondered if he might be a bit different, the apparent difficulty in hearing (tested, unproven), his slightly awkward walk, his focus on a few toys but not his classmates.

Before he was diagnosed Tomás passed through a series of small schools, mainly with the help of kind teachers, next to whom he was often standing. The diagnosis came after, at very short notice, we had moved from warm, fun Madrid back to Brussels. He plunged into a large school which quickly declared him “ineducable”. It doesn’t sound much nicer when you hear it in French. Which I did, twice, for bureaucratic reasons which were legally impeccable, financially advantageous and inhuman.

I wondered, when Tomas was diagnosed, what would happen next. “Tomorrow” is the best answer. He hadn’t changed and we hadn’t changed. We fell, and then got up. Tomas carried on, much happier at a school that took him, rather than rejected him, for who he is. The labels — Asperger’s, on the autistic spectrum, he’s quite bright but different etc — helped in the first interaction with schools. They were ready to adjust before he walked in.

Tomas got from there to here, 11 years later, because of some things he was born with; confidence, a sense of humour and a good heart. Lots of other children have those characteristics, autistic or not. Tomas had a lot of help as well. Help in the form of classroom support, and crucially from teachers who “got” him. Who saw him as different, not special, as a person, albeit in teenage form, rather than a syndrome.

This, we learnt, starts at the top. Schools are no different from any other organisation in the importance of the leader in determining and living its values. We had luck, and a bit of choice, in the two schools where Tomas spent the best part of a decade. Both heads thought that a school would gain more than lose from a boy like Tomas in it, that this was part of the world of difference in which pupils should learn. Almost without exception the pupils shared this attitude. On a rare occasion when a classmate tried to bully him, his confidence and humour dealt pretty comfortably with it.

The head teacher at the ambitious, academic school where Tomas stayed longest told me, after chatting with him, that he would take him into the school, but there would be some who wouldn’t be so keen to have him there. So it proved. Some teachers welcomed him, some wanted him out of their class. This wasn’t determined by Tomas’ abilities, but by the teacher’s confidence. Over time some teachers excluded him from classes in which he was relatively strong, whilst others kept with him in subjects (maths) in which threats, tears and bribes could not move him — I know, having tried, and failed, with all three. As exams loomed bigger, some teachers, and in rare cases some other parents, wanted Tomas out of the class for fear that he might undermine the grades of other pupils. In such situations the real values of a school become apparent.

Tomas is not easy to teach. Like a lot of kids on the autistic spectrum, he’s pretty autodidactic (and I should thank The Simpsons, Futurama and Cartoon Network for their significant contribution to his education). And he tells it as he sees it, which can be uncomfortable. The new music teacher in one school, fresh from university, might have hoped for a different opening to his career than Tomas asking to see his qualifications.

But the good teachers, and there were a lot of them, got past this or better still embraced this as part of what Tomas brought to the classroom, to the school — and also knew that the second is a lot ore than just the first. Last week, after Tomás stepped up to get an arts prize, to his father’s bursting pride and his own mild indifference, a teacher referred to the support for him from “the school community”. She was quite right. It did, for our son, take just that community to help get him through his education.

So this one goes out, yes, to the son I love. But it also goes out to every member of those school communities, teachers, administrators, security guards, classroom helpers, who saw in Tomas not a potential spoiler of grade averages or a “special” pupil to be kept in a “special” place but rather saw him for what he was — another flavour in the very wide variety that is the human race.

Link to Original Post: Tomás Finished School Last Saturday

Versão português:

Nossa Tapeçaria Humana

Os depoimentos mais emocionantes e importantes sobre a aprendizagem e cultura escolar também vêm dos pais, cujas vozes são fundamentais para a nossa parceria em prol do desenvolvimento do aluno. Complementando a postagem da semana passada, A Nossa Obrigação, cujo foco foi a inclusão de acordo com a perspectiva de cada aluno, a publicação abaixo compartilha a reflexão comovente de um pai sobre o mesmo tema. Alex Ellis está servindo atualmente como Embaixador Britânico no Brasil. Logo após a formatura do seu filho Thomas, na Escola Americana de Brasília, o Embaixador Ellis publicou a seguinte reflexão, que incide sobre a cultura de aprendizagem e inclusão nas escolas.

Tomás terminou a escola no último Sábado

Nessas últimas semanas, pais em todo o hemisfério norte foram ou vão assistir seus filhos passarem por esse ritual, de formatura, nas mais diversas formas; como no caso do nosso filho Tomás que passou a corda do capelo do lado direito para o lado esquerdo. Cada família tem suas próprias memórias e histórias, algumas semelhantes entre si — e outras completamente particulares.

Nossa história inclui um momento vivido alguns anos atrás, em uma sala ainda cinzenta, com sensíveis médicos da região belga dos Flandres nos dizendo, também de forma sensível, que nosso filho possuía um diagnóstico de espectro autista. Não há nenhum número para confirmar isso; nenhum exame de sangue. Essa conclusão é o produto único de observação e julgamento. É resultado daquele nó de ansiedade que tomou conta de nós, eu e minha esposa, quando a primeira professora de Tomás, no jardim de infância, nos chamou na escola e nos perguntou se ele era um pouco diferente; desde sua aparente dificuldade de audição (testada e não comprovada); ao caminhar um pouco desajeitado e o foco em alguns brinquedos, mas não seus colegas.

Antes de ser diagnosticado, Tomás passou por uma série de pequenas escolas, sempre com a ajuda de professores amáveis, dos quais ele quase sempre permanecia por perto. A comprovação veio logo depois que nos mudamos da quente e divertida Madrid de volta à Bruxelas, na Bélgica. Ali, Tomás foi matriculado em uma escola maior, que rapidamente o declarou como “ineducável”. Uma frase que não soa muito mais agradável quando você a escuta em francês.

Eu me perguntava, assim que ele foi diagnosticado, o que aconteceria em seguida. E o “amanhã” é a melhor resposta. Meu filho, assim como nós, não tinha mudado. Nós caímos, mas então nos levantamos. Tomás seguiu em frente, muito mais feliz em uma escola que o acolheu ao invés de rejeitá-lo por ser quem ele é. Os rótulos — Asperger, com espectro autista, “muito brilhante, mas diferente”… — ajudaram em sua primeira interação com as novas escolas. Elas estavam prontas a se adaptarem antes da nossa chegada.

Nesses últimos 11 anos, como fruto de várias características de sua natureza, Tomás adquiriu confiança, um excelente senso de humor e um bom coração.

Várias outras crianças também são assim — autistas ou não. Tomas também recebeu muita ajuda. Ajuda em forma de suporte com as atividades em sala de aula e, crucialmente, de professores que o conquistaram. Professores que o enxergaram como diferente, e não especial; como uma pessoa, ainda que adolescente, ao invés de uma síndrome.

Nós aprendemos algo desde o começo: escolas não são diferentes de qualquer outra organização no que se refere à importância de um líder que determine e estimule determinados valores. Tivemos sorte, e um pouco de escolha, com as duas escolas onde Tomás passou a maior da última década.Ambas as partes acreditaram que a escola iria ganhar mais do que perder recebendo um garoto como ele, parte de um mundo de diferenças que todos os demais alunos deveriam aprender. Quase sem exceção, todos os demais alunos compartilharam essa atitude. E na rara ocasião em que um colega tentou intimidá-lo, a confiança e o bom humor de Tomás lidaram confortavelmente com a situação.

O diretor da escola em que Tomás ficou a maior parte de sua trajetória me disse, depois de conversar com ele, que iria matriculá-lo, mas confessou que haveria algumas pessoas ali pouco ansiosas com a sua chegada. E assim foi. Alguns professores o acolheram, alguns o queriam fora de sala. Isso não foi determinado pela capacidade de Tomás, mas pela confiança de cada um dos professores. Ao longo do tempo, alguns professores o excluíram de aulas nas quais ele era relativamente habilidoso, enquanto outros continuaram com ele em disciplinas (matemática, por exemplo) em que as ameaças, as lágrimas e os subornos não conseguiam movê-lo. A medida que os exames foram aumentando, alguns professores e, em raros casos, alguns pais, queriam Tomás fora da classe — era o medo de que ele minasse os resultados dos demais estudantes. Nesses momentos, os reais valores de uma escola se fizeram presentes.

Tomas não é fácil de ensinar. Como um monte de crianças com espectro autista, ele é muito autodidata (e eu deveria agradecer Os Simpsons, Futurama e Cartoon Network por sua contribuição significativa para a sua educação). E ele diz as coisas exatamente com as vê, o que às vezes pode ser desconfortável. O novo professor de música, recém saído da universidade, talvez esperasse um início diferente para sua carreira: com certeza ele não esperava que Tomás pedisse para ver suas qualificações. Mas os bons professores, e havia um monte deles, apenas superaram essas dificuldades ou, melhor ainda, as abraçaram como parte do que Tomás trouxe para a sala de aula e a escola. Eles entenderam que os ganhos eram maiores que todos os desafios.

Na última semana, depois de Tomás ganhar um prêmio de artes, para o orgulho do pai e para sua própria indiferença, uma professora mencionou o suporte oferecido a Tomás por toda a “comunidade escolar”. Ela estava certa. Eles fizeram muito pelo nosso filho e se engajaram no desafio de ajudá-lo no caminho pela educação.

Então, sim, este texto vai para o filho que eu amo. Mas também vai para cada membro daquelas comunidades escolares, professores, administradores, seguranças e auxiliares que viram no Tomás não somente um potencial de notas medianas ou um aluno “especial” para ser mantido em um lugar “especial”, mas sim pelo que ele era — um outro sabor na variedade muito ampla que é a raça humana.

Link para publicação original: Tomás Finished School Last Saturday

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY 2.0) flickr photo by James Cridland: Crowd  https://www.flickr.com/photos/leecullivan/240389468/

Our Obligation

It was one of those emails that catch your attention. Mauricio, then a fifteen-year-old student in a Brazilian school, sent an elegantly worded statement about how he taught himself English so that he could realize his dream of attending a university in the United States. Mauricio had been studying our website and, as he believed our school’s values were aligned with his, was determined to join our learning community. What I did not know at the time was that Mauricio was going to forever change our community’s perspectives on learning and our understanding of the world around us.

Mauricio’s application for admission to our high school was the first we had received from a blind student. While Mauricio did not seem to be concerned that his blindness would limit his learning, a reflection of his indomitable spirit that I quickly learned to admire and appreciate, our faculty did raise several valid questions and concerns.

The consideration of Mauricio’s application was framed and guided by a mission and set of beliefs that highlighted diversity and different learning styles as essential values. Through dialogue, learning, and understanding, the high school faculty committed to admitting Mauricio and providing him with the best educational program within our capabilities. Mauricio also supported us through this learning process and was always quick to remind us not to think of him as a blind person, but rather a person who happened to be blind.

During one of our admissions meetings, I welcomed Mauricio to my office with the greeting, “It is great to see you…” but cut myself off as I realized the insensitivity of my words. Mauricio smiled warmly and replied in a manner that conveyed wisdom beyond his years, “It is also great to see you.” While it was a seemingly minor moment of learning, it was also emblematic of our own collective growth. I humbly shared with Mauricio how it was likely that we were going to learn far more from him than he would learn from us. And, this was in fact the case. Four years later, Mauricio graduated from Graded, the school where I previously worked, and he realized his dream of attending and graduating from a top university in the United States. It was also during this time that we grew the most as professionals and as a community.

While Mauricio was a student at Graded, we had the honor of hosting two very special people, Bill and Ochan Powell, who conveyed a similar spirit of promise and a unique ability to instill an intrinsic commitment in others to be the best professionals and people they can be. Bill and Ochan scheduled time after their professional learning facilitation to interview Mauricio as part of their work associated with inclusive schools. I remember clearly how our faculty and I beamed with pride and a sense of purpose when Bill and Ochan highlighted and congratulated the team for their work with Mauricio and their efforts to ensure Graded was offering a highly functioning inclusive learning program.

The following two videos present clips from Bill and Ochan’s work with Mauricio.

Interview with Bill and Ochan:

Learning in a Science Classroom:

The videos highlight Bill’s talents and concern for others and, correspondingly, one of the many reasons why there has been such an extraordinary outpouring of sorrow, love, and admiration from around the world to the tragic news of Bill Powell’s sudden passing. Bill was a remarkable individual whose impressive professional capabilities were complemented with a warm heart and deeply caring nature.

A recent exchange of emails with Mauricio highlighted the difference Bill’s vision and unwavering commitment to student learning and inclusion can make in a student’s life. The following is an extract from Mauricio’s note to me this week:

Needless to say, if it were not for my inclusion at Graded and before, I would not be where I am today. I have worked at internationally recognized corporations, attended top educational institutions abroad, learned the importance of adaptation and persistence, and demonstrated to others that blindness does not define ones capabilities.

It all began with education – an education that was inclusive, grounded, and rigorous. It all began with teachers and administrators who believed in my potential, and who required of me the same as was required of any other student. If one has education one still faces challenges, the difference being that without it we have no solution. Blind people must be able to make any choice they wish for their future, with blindness being only a circumstance and physical characteristic. As the Olympics are held in Brazil, so will the Paralympics. We apply the inspiration and values from all athletes into our lives as much as possible so that we may continue fighting for opportunity for all people.

The message of six years ago still stands: people must ask questions, so that their doubts may be resolved. On the other hand, those with disabilities must believe in themselves, strive for their best, and not for what seems comfortable, and never be let down by expectations by others. Others may not know our full potential, but I find that most people will be allies if we help them help us. And, schools cannot do it alone – families must understand that disabilities shall never define where one wishes to go.

~ Mauricio

I am deeply grateful to Mauricio and Bill and Ochan Powell for the real difference they have made in our lives. Looking ahead, we hope to honor Bill’s significant contributions to the field of education and his dedication to the lives of others by ensuring a collective commitment to furthering his vision of inclusive schools where diversity, difference, and all learning styles are valued within the context of a plurality of thought and perspectives. Next Frontier Inclusion’s mission must also be our own: “to promote and protect the interests of children who learn in different ways or at different rates.” This is our moral obligation to Mauricio and all of the students, families, and communities we have the privilege of working with at our schools.

Uma Obrigação Moral

Foi um daqueles e-mails que chamam a sua atenção. Mauricio, estudante de uma escola brasileira, quinze anos de idade, enviou um comunicado elegante sobre como ele aprendeu inglês sozinho para que pudesse realizar seu sonho de ir para uma universidade nos Estados Unidos. Maurício estudou nosso website e como ele acreditava que os nossos valores se alinhavam aos dele, ele estava determinado a se juntar à nossa comunidade. O que eu não sabia na época é que Maurício iria mudar para sempre as perspectivas de aprendizado da nossa comunidade e o entendimento do mundo ao nosso redor.

A solicitação de matrícula do Maurício para o ensino médio foi a primeira que recebemos de um aluno cego. Apesar do Maurício não parecer preocupado com o fato de ser cego, uma característica do seu espírito indomável que eu aprendi a admirar e apreciar, nosso corpo docente levantou muitas questões e preocupações válidas.

A possibilidade da matrícula do Maurício foi moldada e guiada pela missão e uma série de valores que destacaram a diversidade e os diferentes estilos de aprendizagem, como valores essenciais. Através do diálogo, aprendizagem e compreensão, o corpo docente do ensino médio se comprometeu em aceitar o Maurício e dar a ele o melhor programa educacional, dentro das nossas capacidades. Maurício também nos apoiou neste processo de aprendizagem, sempre rápido em nos lembrar de que não deveríamos pensar nele como uma pessoa cega, mas sim como uma pessoa que ficou cega.

Durante uma das nossas reuniões de admissão, eu o convidei à minha sala e disse: “É ótimo ver você…”, e parei ao perceber a insensibilidade das minhas palavras. Maurício sorriu calorosamente e respondeu de uma forma que mostrou a sua maturidade, apesar da idade: “Também é muito bom vê-lo”. Embora, aparentemente, fosse uma pequena lição, também foi um momento emblemático no nosso crescimento de forma coletiva. Eu, de forma humilde, disse ao Maurício que a probabilidade de aprendermos muito mais com ele era bem maior do que a dele de aprender conosco. E isso aconteceu de fato. Quatro anos depois, Maurício se formou na Graded, escola onde eu trabalhei antes, e realizou o seu sonho de estudar e se formar em uma universidade dos Estados Unidos. Foi nessa época que tivemos a oportunidade de crescer como profissionais e como comunidade.

Durante a época que o Maurício foi aluno da Graded, nós tivemos a honra de receber duas pessoas muito especiais, Bill e Ochan Powell, que transmitiram um espírito de promessa e uma capacidade única de incutir um compromisso intrínseco de sermos as melhores pessoas e profissionais possíveis. Após suas reuniões eles agendaram um horário para entrevistar o Maurício, como parte do trabalho associado com escolas inclusivas. Lembro-me claramente como o nosso corpo docente e eu estávamos cheios de orgulho e propósito quando Bill e Ochan destacaram e parabenizaram o nosso time pelo o trabalho feito com o Maurício e o seu esforço para garantir que a Graded estivesse oferecendo um programa de aprendizagem inclusiva altamente funcional.

Os dois vídeos abaixo mostram o trabalho de Bill e Ochan com o Maurício.

Entrevista com Bill e Ochan

Aprendendo na sala de Ciências

Os vídeos destacam os talentos e a preocupação de Bill com os outros e, consequentemente, foi uma das maiores razões pela onda de sentimentos de tristeza, amor e admiração do mundo todo sobre a trágica notícia da passagem repentina de Bill Powell. Bill era um indivíduo notável e sua impressionante capacidade profissional foi complementada com um grande e caloroso coração, além de uma natureza protetora.

Uma recente troca de emails com Maurício destacou a diferença que a visão e o compromisso inabalável de Bill com a aprendizagem e inclusão pode fazer na vida de um aluno.

Abaixo, segue uma parte da conversa do Maurício comigo essa semana:

Nem preciso dizer que se não fosse pela minha inclusão na Graded e antes disso, eu não estaria onde eu estou hoje. Eu tenho trabalhado em empresas reconhecidas internacionalmente, frequentei grandes instituições de ensino estrangeiras, aprendi a importância da adaptação e persistência e, mostrei aos outros que a cegueira não define a capacidade dos outros.

Tudo começou com a educação – uma educação que foi inclusiva, apoiada e rigorosa. Tudo começou com os professores e administradores que acreditaram no meu potencial e exigiram de mim o mesmo que era exigido de qualquer outro aluno. Se você recebe educação, você ainda enfrenta desafios, com a diferença de que sem ela não temos solução para os nossos desafios. Pessoas cegas devem ser capazes de fazer qualquer escolha que desejam para o seu futuro, com a cegueira sendo apenas uma circunstância e uma característica física. Assim como os jogos olímpicos estão acontecendo no Brasil, as paraolimpíadas também irão. Nós aplicamos o máximo possível a inspiração e os valores de todos os atletas em nossas vidas, para que possamos continuar a lutar por oportunidades para todos.

A mensagem de seis anos atrás, ainda é: as pessoas devem fazer perguntas, de modo que suas dúvidas possam ser respondidas. Por outro lado, as pessoas com deficiência devem acreditar em si, esforçar-se para dar o seu melhor e não para o que parece confortável, e nunca se colocar para baixo por expectativas dos outros. Os outros podem não saber o nosso potencial, mas eu acredito que a maioria das pessoas serão nossas aliadas, se nós as ajudarmos a nos ajudarem. E as escolas não podem fazer isso sozinhas – as famílias devem compreender que a deficiência não deve definir onde se quer ir.

~ Maurício

Eu estou profundamente agradecido ao Maurício, ao Bill e Ochan Powell pela diferença real que eles têm feito nas nossas vidas. Olhando para o futuro, esperamos honrar as contribuições significativas do Bill na área da educação e sua dedicação para com a vida de terceiros, assegurando um compromisso coletivo com a promoção da sua visão sobre escolas inclusivas, onde a diversidade, a diferença e todos os estilos de aprendizagem são avaliados dentro do contexto de uma pluralidade de pensamento e perspectivas. A missão do Next Frontier Inclusion, também deve ser a nossa: “promover e proteger o interesse de crianças que aprendem de formas diferentes ou em ritmos diferentes.” Essa é a nossa obrigação moral com o Maurício e com todos os alunos, famílias e comunidades que temos o privilégio de trabalhar em nossas escolas.

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC 2.0) flickr photo by lee: like a record… https://www.flickr.com/photos/leecullivan/240389468/

Future of Education

We recently hosted an evening event with parents and teachers entitled, “The Future of Education.” The workshop was more of a discussion about the factors that are currently disrupting and redefining education rather than an articulation of what education will look like in the future.

To begin the discussion, each participant was asked to describe the most effective learning experience in his or her life. While there was a wide range of responses, there was one common theme: All but one of the learning experiences occurred outside of a K-12 school setting. The one parent whose experience took place in school shared that his Grade 2 teacher allowed him to extend his learning in an area of personal interest that developed well beyond the level required in the syllabus.

The participants were then asked to explain why they believed the learning experiences they described were so effective and meaningful. What emerged from the ensuing discussion was the concept of relevance – when the learning represented a high level of relevance to the learner, the result was usually an effective and deeply meaningful learning experience.

Relevance

So, is the concept of relevance as a basis for our educational programs the panacea we have been seeking to significantly improve K-12 educational programs and, in turn, student learning and development? While we know there is no simple “one solution fits all” solution to improving schools, we are seeing an increased focus on relevance and personalized learning. If forced to use one word to describe the future of education, many would agree that the word would be relevance.

The research of Lee Jenkins (2013) highlights why this discussion is important. Jenkins worked with 3,000 teachers from Kindergarten to Grade 12 to determine how enthusiastic students are about school. The result of the study was that 95% of kindergarten students are enthusiastic about school. However, this percentage drops significant each year until Grade 9 when the percentage of students enthusiastic about school drops to a low of 37%. The small increase between Grades 10 to 12 is attributed to the focus of some students on graduation and beyond (see graph below). It seems that we should all be concerned with the results of this study.

Source: The New Meaning of Educational Change, Fifth Edition, by Michael Fullan

It is believed that a greater focus on relevance in education will contribute to ensuring a higher level of student enthusiasm for school. To that end, relevance can be defined in many ways, including the framework of preparing students for life beyond school.

Future of Jobs

In Future of Jobs, published by the World Economic Forum, the report lists the top ten skills needed to thrive in a 2015 work environment. Looking ahead five years, it is believed that over 35% of the skills considered important for work today will have changed, resulting in a different list of top ten skills in 2020.

Top 10 Skills in 2015:

Complex Problem Solving
Coordinating with Others
People Management
Critical Thinking
Negotiation
Quality Control
Service Orientation
Judgment and Decision Making
Active Listening
Creativity

Top 10 Skills in 2020:

Complete Problem Solving
Critical Thinking
Creativity
People Management
Coordinating with Others
Emotional Intelligence
Judgment and Decision Making
Service Orientation
Negotiation
Cognitive Flexibility

In comparing the two tables, it is interesting to note that five of the skills in 2020 are relationship based: People Management, Coordinating with Others, Emotional Intelligence, Service Orientation, and Negotiation. It is also interesting to note that Creativity moved up the list from tenth place in 2015 to third place in 2020.

Creativity

George Land was responsible for developing a creativity test for NASA to determine how innovative potential scientists and astronauts were as part of the candidate assessment process. In 1968, Land used the same test to evaluate children over a ten-year period. The results were astonishing, as displayed in the chart below.

Source: Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing our Kids for the Innovation Era, by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith

The test was given to 1,600 students with a resulting score of 98% for five-year-olds. The same students were tested five and ten years later, scoring 30% and 12% respectively. The same test was given to 280,000 adults, who scored an average of 2%. The conclusion of the study was that non-creative behavior is learned.

The significant drop in levels of creativity has been attributed, in large part, to, an educational system that was developed on a premise established 200 years ago during the Industrial Revolution to train students to follow instructions and be good workers. Education has of course evolved since that time, though it can be argued that the framework associated with the original premise continues to limit reform in education.

Returning to the title of this post and the Future of Education, some of the questions that will guide future educational reforms will need to include issues relating to creativity, future work skills, enthusiasm for school, and, perhaps most importantly, the concept of relevance and the learning process.

O Futuro da Educação

Recentemente nós promovemos um evento para pais e professores chamado “ O Futuro da Educação”. O workshop foi mais uma discussão sobre os fatores que atualmente estão perturbando e redefinindo a educação do que uma articulação sobre o que a educação virá a ser no futuro.

Ao começarmos a discussão, pedimos que cada participante descrevesse a experiência de aprendizado mais eficaz em sua vida. Em meio uma variedade de respostas, notamos um tema em comum: Todas as experiências, exceto uma, aconteceram fora do ambiente escolar. O pai que contou sobre a sua experiência na escola disse que a sua professora do segundo ano permitiu que ele estendesse sua aprendizagem em uma área de interesse pessoal que se desenvolveu muito além do nível exigido pelo programa.

Em seguida, pedimos aos participantes que explicassem por que eles acreditavam que suas experiências de aprendizado compartilhadas ali foram tão eficazes e significativas. O que emergiu do debate que se seguiu foi o conceito de relevância – em que o aprendizado representou um alto nível de importância para o aluno e o resultado foi uma experiência de aprendizado efetiva, profunda e significativa.

Relevância

Sendo assim, será que o conceito de relevância como base para nossos programas educacionais é a panaceia que temos buscado para melhorar significativamente os programas educacionais K-12 e, por sua vez, o aprendizado do aluno e seu desenvolvimento?

Apesar de sabermos que não há uma simples “solução para todos” para a melhoria das escolas, estamos vendo que existe um foco maior na relevância e aprendizagem personalizada. Se nos esforçarmos para achar uma palavra que descreva o futuro da educação, muitos irão concordar que a palavra seria relevância.

A pesquisa de Lee Jenkins (2013) destaca por que esta discussão é importante. Jenkins trabalhou com 3.000 professores do jardim de infância ao 12º ano para determinar como alunos entusiasmados se sentem sobre a escola. O estudo mostrou que 95% dos alunos do jardim de infância estão entusiasmados com a escola. No entanto, esse percentual cai de forma significativa a cada ano, até a 9ª série, quando a percentagem de alunos entusiasmados com a escola cai para 37%. O pequeno aumento entre os 10º e 12º anos é atribuído ao foco de alguns alunos na graduação, entre outros (ver gráfico abaixo). Parece que todos nós devemos nos preocupar com os resultados deste estudo.

Fonte: The New Meaning of Educational Change, Fifth Edition, by Michael Fullan

Acredita-se que um foco maior na relevância em educação contribuirá para assegurar um maior nível de alunos entusiasmados com a escola. Para isso, a relevância pode ser definida de várias maneiras, incluindo a abordagem de preparar alunos para a vida além da escola.

O Futuro dos Empregos

O artigo “O Futuro dos Empregos”, publicado pelo Fórum Econômico Mundial, lista as dez principais habilidades necessárias para prosperar em um ambiente de trabalho de 2015. Olhando cinco anos para frente, acredita-se que mais de 35% das habilidades consideradas hoje importantes para o trabalho, irão mudar resultando em uma lista diferente das dez melhores habilidades em 2020.

As 10 melhores habilidades em 2015:

Resolução de problemas complexos
Interação com os outros
Gestão de Pessoas
Pensamento Crítico
Negociação
Controle de Qualidade
Orientação de Serviços
Julgamento e Tomada de Decisão
Escuta Ativa
Criatividade

As 20 melhores habilidades em 2020:

Resolução de Problemas Completa
Pensamento Crítico
Criatividade
Gestão de Pessoas
Interação com os outros
Inteligência Emocional
Julgamento e Tomada de Decisão
Orientação a Serviços
Negociação
Flexibilidade Cognitiva

Na comparação das duas tabelas, é interessante notar que cinco das habilidades para 2020 estão ligadas a relacionamento: Gestão de Pessoas, Interação com os outros, Inteligência Emocional, Orientação a Serviços e Negociação. Também é interessante notar que a criatividade subiu na lista de décimo lugar em 2015, para o terceiro lugar em 2020.

Criatividade

George Terra foi o responsável pelo desenvolvimento de um teste de criatividade para a NASA para determinar o potencial e quão inovadores cientistas e astronautas eram, como parte de um processo seletivo. Em 1968, Terra usou o mesmo teste para avaliar crianças em um período acima de dez anos.

Os resultados foram surpreendentes, conforme mostrado no gráfico abaixo.

Fonte: Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing our Kids for the Innovation Era, by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith

O teste foi aplicado a 1.600 alunos com uma pontuação de 98% para crianças de cinco anos. Os mesmos alunos foram testados cinco e dez anos mais tarde, marcando 30% e 12%, respectivamente. O mesmo teste foi dado a 280.000 adultos, que marcaram uma média de 2%. A conclusão do estudo foi que o comportamento não criativo é aprendido.

A queda significativa nos níveis de criatividade tem sido atribuída, em grande parte, a um sistema educacional que foi desenvolvido em uma premissa estabelecida há 200 anos, durante a Revolução Industrial, para ensinar alunos a seguirem as instruções e serem bons trabalhadores. A educação vem, naturalmente, evoluindo desde aquela época, embora se possa argumentar que o quadro associado com a premissa original continua a limitar a reforma na educação.

Voltando ao título deste artigo e ao Futuro da Educação, algumas das questões que irão orientar as futuras reformas educacionais terão de incluir questões relacionadas a criatividade, habilidades de trabalhos futuros, o entusiasmo para a escola, e, talvez a mais importante, o conceito de relevância e o processo de aprendizagem.

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) flickr photo by Nelson de Witt:Child's Play; https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcescobar1/4826861354

Realistic Fiction

Last week’s blog post highlighted the Bold in Vision element of the American School of Brasilia’s (EAB) new mission statement – Learners inspiring learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character, and bold in vision. As a follow-up to this post, one of our amazing teachers, Caira Franklin, shared the following story about one of her talented students and how her student made a natural connection with the new mission statement.

Caira’s Email to EAB’s Leadership Team:

I have been working with my students on the new EAB Mission Statement since the beginning of the school year. Though I’ve tried my best to explain and have my students connect to each part of the Mission Statement, the most challenging part to make clear is “Bold in Vision.”

I read a blog on this very topic, written by Barry a couple of days ago, that gave me new hope around how to explain this in class again at some point. But today, unexpectedly a 3rd grader made the connection all on her own during reading.

We’ve been working on Realistic Fiction as a genre by analyzing character traits, asking good questions about the books we read, etc. Valentina read a book today and completed her realistic fiction form as seen below. Pay close attention to the section on character:

Yep. That’s right! She said “bold in vision.”

I asked Valentina to take over the class for 10 minutes and read the story to us all. What came out of it? A great discussion about how the character in this book was bold in vision because…

she paints the sky the colors she sees in her dreams because she didn’t have the color blue in her paint set
she paints about things she believes in and shares them with the world
she believes all people are artists

All this is to say, I think I am out of job. She knows the Mission Statement better than me!

Caira Franklin

P.S.- Matt Hajdun, thank you for getting me started on this whole in class empowerment related to the Mission Statement last year in Grade 3!

Thank you to Caira for sharing this story and for her work towards making the new mission statement come alive in her class.

And, thank you to our very talented student, Valentina, for making such a creative and wise connection with the mission statement.

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) flickr photo by Peter Durand (Brushes Painting: Batestown City Limits) https://www.flickr.com/photos/alphachimpstudio/5619737553/

Bold in Vision

“Use your unique gifts and talents to make a difference in the world.” Lailah Gifty Akita.

After a yearlong review process, involving regular feedback and contributions from parents, students, and teachers through surveys, retreats, and focus group meetings, the American School of Brasilia’s new mission statement was officially introduced at the start of this school year:

Learners inspiring learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character, and bold in vision.

As part of an ongoing analysis of EAB’s new mission statement, this week’s post looks at the fourth and final element of the mission: Bold in Vision.

Bold in Vision highlights the aspiration that our students and community members will make a positive difference in our community and the greater world around them. In one sense, Bold in Vision is the outcome that brings the other elements of the mission together towards a higher aim. While it is imperative to support and empower a community of learners to inspire each other and foster a lifelong love for learning (Inquisitive in Life), knowledge and learning can be further enhanced in the context of values systems (Principled in Character). Taking this progression a step further, it seems to be a loss if all of this learning and character development are not applied in some manner to improve, not only ourselves, but our communities and the lives of others.

To further the goal of making a positive difference, the Bold in Vision aspect of the mission also focuses on the strategic approaches to implementing effective change. These strategic changes and the ability to effectively address many of our current challenges will require creative and innovative approaches. To that end, our schools must assume the fundamental responsibility towards ensuring learning environments that support creativity, innovation, empowerment, and engaged learning.

In his book, From Master Teacher to Master Learner, Will Richardson highlights this responsibility of schools, with a particular focus on the role of teachers:

“Our job as educators is to understand deeply what it means to be a modern learner more so than a modern teacher. Our goal should not be to learn new technologies in order to become better teachers in the traditional sense. Our goal is to develop expertise in powerful new technologies to become better learners for ourselves and for our students, who may lack other learning models.”

It is hoped that EAB’s new mission statement embodies the ideals associated with Richardson’s words.

As with any focus on a Bold in Vision statement, technology will play a key role in the future of education. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report in 2015 entitled, Students, Computers, and Learning: Making the Connection, which frames the role that technology will play in education. Specifically, the report stresses that, “information and communication technology (ICT) has revolutionized virtually every aspect of our life and work. Students unable to navigate through a complex digital landscape will no longer be able to participate fully in the economic, social, and cultural life around them.”

The work of teachers is key to leveraging the opportunities associated with ICT. However, the report cautions that, “technology can amplify great teaching but great technology cannot replace poor teaching.” This is an important quote in that it clarifies that technology is not driving our work nor replacing poor teaching but rather providing teachers with an additional, important, and ubiquitous resource to support the learning process.

Finally, when considering our commitment to the Bold in Vision aspect of our mission statement, the OECD report emphasis the role of schools and educators on the future of learning:

“We need to get this right in order to provide educators with learning environments that support 21st century pedagogies and provide children with the 21st-century skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s world. Technology is the only way to dramatically expand access to knowledge. Why should students be limited to a textbook that was printed two years ago, and maybe designed ten years ago, when they could have access to the world’s best and most up-to-date textbook? Equally important, technology allows teachers and students to access specialized materials well beyond textbooks, in multiple formats, with little time and space constraints.”

Returning to EAB’s new mission statement, the last element of the mission – Bold in Vision – was purposely designed to be less prescriptive and focused as compared to the other elements of the mission. The reason for this design is to frame the American School of Brasilia’s future work in the context of dynamic and changing environments. Bold in Vision is an open-ended premise that challenges us to use our collective learning and development to make a positive difference in the world through personalized, innovative, and creative approaches.

Learners inspiring learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character, and bold in vision.

Previous Posts about Mission Statement:

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) flickr photo by Chase Elliott Clark (Binoculars V) https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasblackman/8502151556/

Inquisitive in Life

“There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” ~Jiddu Krishnamurti

This quote highlights the spirit of EAB’s educational philosophy and mission statement:

Learners inspiring learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character, and bold in vision.

The Inquisitive in Life focus of the mission statement speaks to the ideal of supporting students to develop a lifelong love of learning. It also emphasizes the important role adults play in the lives of students in terms of modeling this lifelong focus on learning, a process that wonderfully embodies an infinity of possibilities.

The old adage “the more I learn, the less I know” articulates how many of us feel as we continue to learn about the world within and around us. It is tantamount to accepting the premise of another adage: “I often don’t even know what I don’t know.” In an essay entitled, The Big Test, David Brooks coins a term that highlights these adages and may capture the the spirit associated with an “inquisitive in life” approach to our learning: epistemological modesty. Brooks uses the term in reference to the writings associated with important historical philosophers and their own sense of epistemological modesty:

“They knew how little we can know. They understood that we are strangers to ourselves and society is an immeasurably complex organism.”

This concept can naturally be extended beyond ourselves and our society to the world and universe beyond us. It therefore seems appropriate for an individual to approach this branch of philosophy called epistemology – the theory of knowing that investigates the origins, nature, and limits of human knowledge – with at least some degree of modesty.

While the “immeasurable complexity” associated with everything to learn can feel overwhelming, this is not the point. When considering our own learning and the role of schools, what is important is the degree to which a lifelong love of learning is instilled in students and modeled in our communities. Through an “inquisitive in life” approach to learning, it is hoped that our students will learn enough about the world around them to be in a position to identify their individual passions, which will further focus their lifelong learning.

There is indeed no end to education and the process of learning and it is this process that can enrich our lives in immeasurable ways.

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) flickr photo by Raymond Bryson https://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron/9647972522

Learners Inspiring Learners

The first three words of the American School of Brasilia’s (EAB) new mission statement – Learners inspiring learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character, and bold in vision – were on full display this week. In the Lower School, approximately 300 parents participated in workshops focusing on several different aspects of the learning process. Through the act of working in the classrooms with teachers, parents were modeling the learning process for students and inspiring our students to make the most of their own learning. To further highlight this ideal, students, parents, and teachers were also meeting and working together during the Welcome Back BBQ and the Middle School trips planning meetings.

Looking ahead to the coming weeks, parents and teachers are invited to attend the Family Education Workshop with Dr. Gini Rojas, the Upper School Open House , and the Environmental Stewards Sábado Legal at Brasilia’s Botanical Gardens.

Teachers have also been modeling the ideal associated with “learners inspiring learners” in several different ways. In addition to engaging in professional development opportunities during the school break and Professional Wednesdays, EAB’s teachers have been working together during professional days to collaboratively improve their practices. Teachers will also be spending several days next week, including Saturday and Sunday, working with Dr. Gini Rojas, who is a specialist in differentiation. Looking ahead to the following week, several faculty and staff members will be taking CPR and First Aid classes as part of EAB’s ongoing effort to ensure the highest levels of safety and wellbeing at the school. Other teachers will be working with another external consultant, Erma Anderson, with a focus on assessment using Common Core math. Teachers will also be attending a retreat with IB students to collectively continue to learn about the International Baccalaureate diploma program and plan for the year ahead.

These are a few of the examples from the month of August in which teachers are bringing to life the idea of “learners inspiring learners”. EAB is committed to working as partners towards to education of our students, which includes an expectation that all members of our community are active and continuous learners. Given the rate of change in today’s society, in conjunction with technological advancements, we all havean obligation to be active and continuous learners, inspiring and inspired by other learners.

EAB’s new Technology Director, Mr. Rod Narayan, shared a quote from a former student that provides for a thoughtful summary of these ideas and the expectations for adults in support of student learning:

“Educate me for my future, not your past.”

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) flickr photo by Mark Brannan https://www.flickr.com/photos/heycoach/1197947341

Culture and Learning

Imagine being part of a large family whose members are from fifty different countries and with each member’s unique experiences, norms, and value systems contributing to form a rich cultural tapestry. While there is no doubt that this family will likely face some significant challenges and conflicts due to their inherent differences, a diverse family of this nature also represents a special opportunity to learn from other cultures and expand our understanding of ourselves, our communities, and the world around us. How fortunate we are then to be part of an extended family like the American School of Brasilia where this hypothetical family structure is a reality.

In the landmark book, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, culture is defined as the, “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another” (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010, p. 6). A less academic definition may be to view culture as consisting of the, “unwritten rules of the social game” (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010, p. 6). In what is arguably one of the most comprehensive studies of culture ever conducted, the authors go on to highlight the statistical analysis of responses to questions in the GLOBE project about values, which revealed how countries used different solutions to address similar problems. Specifically, the data revealed differences in the areas of social inequality and authority (power distance), the relationship between the individual and the group (individualism vs. collectivism), the social implications of having been born as a boy or a girl (femininity and masculinity), and how people deal with uncertainty (uncertainty avoidance) (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010).

The statistical data from the study resulted in a set of indices for each country linking the focus areas mentioned above. This data has since been proven to be statistically valid and, perhaps more importantly, to be very helpful in understanding differences among cultures. By way of example, we can examine Uncertainty Avoidance in more detail. The authors of Cultures and Organization define Uncertainty Avoidance as, “the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations and try to avoid such situations. This feeling is, among other things, expressed through nervous stress and in a need for predictability: a need for written and unwritten rules” (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010, p. 191). The indices associated with Uncertainty Avoidance range from a rating of 112 for Greece, where uncertainty is more of an accepted part of life, to a rating of 8 for Singapore, where uncertainty is a cause of stress and subjective feelings of anxiety. The rating for Brazil is 76 while the USA received a rating of 46, representing a fairly significant difference in how the two countries view uncertainty. Translating this into education, the study implies that teachers in countries with a high uncertainty rating are more likely to feel comfortable saying, “I don’t know,” in response to student questions, as compared to a low uncertainty rating country where teachers are expected to have all of the answers.

The data for individualism and collectivism was particularly interesting. Again, the authors define Individualism as pertaining to, “societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010, p. 92).

On the scale of indices associated with individualism ranging from a high of 91 to a low of 6, Brazil has a rating of 38, while the USA has the highest rating of all participating countries at 91. Translating this data back to schools, the authors state that students in a collectivist tend to learn to think more in terms of “we”, as compared to students in an individualist society who tend to learn to think more in terms of “I”. This may be a little contentious but is, nevertheless, an important focus for debate and reflection.

So, what should parents and educators take away from this research? If culture is learned from our social environment and is not inherited, then what is the impact on the cultural development of students who are raised in an American-international school environment? Values, which are directly linked to culture, are among the first things children implicitly learn. If it is true that most children have their value systems firmly in place by the age of ten, as is the belief of development psychologists, then how does living in a multicultural environment influence the values of children (recognizing that values are usually primarily established in the home)? While these are, undoubtedly, difficult questions to answer, though there does seem to be agreement that living in an international, multicultural setting offers students substantial and important developmental benefits.

As we reflect on the American School of Brasilia’s Character Counts week and this Saturday’s culminating Sábado Legal event, it is important to consider EAB’s core values. Specifically, it is essential to remind ourselves of how we – students, faculty, staff, and parents – are all responsible for doing our best to live up to the ideals associated with EAB’s core values of caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness. It is also important to remember how cultural norms, such as individualism and uncertainty avoidance, represent important factors, which are connected to these values, and that it is normal to experience some level of culture shock when encountering other cultures. The authors of Cultures and Organizations state that, “studying culture without experiencing culture shock is like practicing swimming without water” (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010, p. XIV).

There are indeed challenging but important issues for schools and communities. While clear answers may not be readily available, Dr. Michael Thompson once shared some helpful advice. During a professional development session, Dr. Thompson was asked to define a “moral school”. He responded by quoting another author (whose name I cannot recall) who stated something to the effect of, “a moral school is a school that is always talking about what it means to be a moral school.” It is an accepted fact that we do not have all of the answers all of the time but what we do have is the opportunity to always engage in deep and meaningful conversations about key issues that will hopefully make a difference in the lives of our students, our families, and our communities.

Please join us for tomorrow’s Character Counts Sábado Legal event, from 10:00-12:00.

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Cultura e Aprendizagem

Imagine fazer parte de uma grande família cujos membros são de cinquenta países diferentes, com experiências exclusivas, normas e sistemas de valores que contribuem para formar um rico mosaico cultural. Enquanto não há dúvida de que essa família provavelmente enfrentará alguns desafios e conflitos significativos devido às suas diferenças inerentes, uma família diversa, desta natureza, também representa uma oportunidade especial para aprender com outras culturas e expandir a nossa compreensão sobre nós mesmos, nossas comunidades e do mundo que nos rodeia. Quão felizes nós somos ao fazermos parte de uma família extensa como a Escola Americana de Brasília, onde esta estrutura hipotética de família é uma realidade.

No livro, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mindque, a cultura é definida como: “programação coletiva da mente, que distingue os membros de um grupo ou categoria de pessoas das outras.” Uma definição menos acadêmica pode ver a cultura como a consistência das “regras não escritas em um jogo social”. Sem dúvida, um dos estudos mais abrangentes da cultura já realizados, os autores passam a destacar a análise estatística das respostas às perguntas sobre valores, que revelaram como os países utilizaram soluções diferentes para resolver problemas semelhantes. Especificamente, os dados revelaram uma diferença significativa nas áreas de desigualdade social e autoridade (distância do poder) da relação entre o indivíduo e o grupo (individualismo vs. coletivismo), das implicações sociais de terem nascido menino ou menina (feminilidade e masculinidade) e, como as pessoas lidam com a incerteza (aversão à incerteza).

Os dados estatísticos do estudo resultaram em um conjunto de índices associados a cada país e as áreas de foco mencionadas acima. Esses dados já foram provados serem estatisticamente válidos e o mais importante, são muito úteis para compreender as diferenças entre as culturas. Por exemplo, podemos examinar a Aversão à Incerteza de forma mais detalhada. Os autores de Cultures and Organizations definem Aversão à Incerteza como “a intensidade em que os membros de uma cultura se sentem ameaçados por situações incertas ou desconhecidas e tentam evitar essas situações. Essa sensação é, entre outras, expressa por situações de estresse e em necessidade de previsibilidade: necessidade de regras por escrito ou não.” Os índices associados a Aversão à Incerteza variam sua classificação de acordo com o local, de 112 para a Grécia, onde a incerteza é mais aceita como parte da vida, para 8 em Singapura, onde a incerteza é uma causa de estresse, sentimentos de subjetividade e ansiedade. A classificação no Brasil é de 76, enquanto que nos Estados Unidos a nota é 46, o que representa uma diferença bastante significativa na forma em que os dois países lidam com a incerteza. Traduzindo isso para a educação, o estudo constata que os professores em países com um alto índice de incerteza, têm uma probabilidade maior de se sentir confortável em usar “Eu não sei” como resposta aos questionamentos dos alunos, comparado com países que têm um baixo nível de incertezas, no qual existe a expectativa dos professores terem todas as respostas.

Os dados para o individualismo e coletivismo foram, particularmente, interessantes. Mais uma vez, os autores definem individualismo como pertencentes às sociedades em que os laços entre os indivíduos são mais soltos: espera-se que todos cuidem de si mesmos e de suas famílias imediatas. O coletivismo, por outro lado, pertence a sociedades onde as pessoas, desde o seu nascimento, estão integradas em grupos coesos, fortes, onde ao longo da vida das pessoas, estes continuam a protegê-las em troca de lealdade inquestionável.

Em uma escala de índices associados ao individualismo, que varia entre um máximo de 91 e um mínimo de 6, o Brasil tem uma classificação de 38, enquanto os EUA tem a mais alta classificação de todos os países participantes, 91. Traduzindo esses dados de volta para as escolas, os autores afirmam que os alunos em uma sociedade coletivista tendem a aprender a pensar mais como “nós”, se comparados com os alunos em uma sociedade individualista, que tendem a aprender a pensar mais como “Eu”.

Então, o que os pais e educadores devem tirar dessa pesquisa? Se a cultura é aprendida no nosso ambiente social e não herdada, qual é o impacto no desenvolvimento cultural dos alunos que foram educados na Escola Americana de Brasília? Os valores que estão diretamente ligados à cultura estão entre as primeiras coisas que as crianças aprendem implicitamente. Se considerarmos verdade que a maioria das crianças tem os seus valores definidos até os 10 anos de idade, conforme a crença de psicólogos especialistas em desenvolvimento, então, como viver em um ambiente multicultural influencia nos valores de crianças (levando em consideração que valores são, geralmente, primariamente estabelecidos em casa)? Essas são, sem dúvida, perguntas difíceis de serem respondidas, no entanto, parece haver um consenso de que viver em um ambiente internacional e multicultural oferece aos alunos benefícios substanciais e importantes para o desenvolvimento.

Ao refletirmos sobre a semana do Character Counts, na Escola Americana de Brasília, culminando com o Sábado Legal dessa semana, é importante considerarmos os valores fundamentais da EAB. Especificamente, é essencial lembrarmos que – alunos, corpo docente, funcionários e pais – somos todos responsáveis por dar o nosso melhor para vivermos de acordo com os ideais associados aos valores da EAB de: confiança, respeito, responsabilidade, justiça, cuidado e cidadania. Para isso, também é importante lembramos como as normas culturais, assim como individualismo e aversão à incerteza, representam fatores importantes que estão conectados a esses valores e que é normal haverem choques culturais quando nos deparamos com outras culturas. Os autores de Cultures and Organizations, afirmam que “o estudo da cultura sem a experiência do choque cultural é como uma aula de natação sem água”.

De fato, existem questões difíceis, mas importantes para escolas e comunidades. Enquanto ainda não temos respostas claras disponíveis, o Dr. Michael Thompson uma vez compartilhou alguns conselhos úteis. Durante uma sessão de desenvolvimento profissional, o Dr. Thompson foi convidado a definir uma “escola moral”. Ele respondeu citando outro autor (cujo nome não me lembro), que declarou: “uma escola moral é uma escola que está sempre falando sobre o que significa ser uma escola moral”. É um fato aceitável que nós não temos todas as respostas em todos os momentos, mas o que temos é a oportunidade de estarmos sempre envolvidos em conversas significativas sobre pontos-chave que venham a fazer diferença na vida dos nossos alunos, nossas famílias e nossas comunidades.

Bibliography:
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind : Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance for Survival (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) flickr photo by Fredrik Alpstedt https://www.flickr.com/photos/alpstedt/13339786034

Digital Fluency Project

“It is in changing that things find purpose.” ~Heraclitus

During a recent school governance conference, the attendees, who include school directors and board members, reflected on how schools of the future will be different from what we know today. Our facilitator, Lee Crockett, invoked the often used but, at times, little understood concept of a “21st Century School” to challenge our current thinking (If you are interested in learning more about these concepts, Lee Crockett overviews his book, “Literacy is not Enough,” in an informative video interview).

While I was interested in the substance of the discussion, I was also intrigued by our collective reactions and discomfort as we struggled to predict the future of education. Given the rate of technological change, few people, if any, are likely able to accurately predict how technology will ultimately influence the traditional nature of schools. What we do know is that schools and learning will look very different from what we experienced as children.

So, how do we move forward? Fortunately, educational and technological theorists are thinking deeply about the future of education and the result is the emergence of several frameworks. The Global Digital Citizen Foundation and its 21st Century Fluency Project represent one such framework that articulates an educational focus on ensuring that learning continues to be meaningful. While there are indeed other helpful models, the 21st Century Fluency Project presents a framework that will challenge all of us to reflect on the role technology plays in the learning process, both at home and at school. In summary, the model complements traditional learning with a concentration on attaining five related digital fluencies: creativity, collaboration, solution, media, and information.

EAB is strategically addressing these changes in several different manners, ranging from the implementation of a 1-to-1 program, to a shift from one traditional library to three iCommons (Information Commons), to weekly technology training workshops for teachers, to a change in instructional practices and collaboration expectations. On a personal note, I am teaching a high school Leadership class this year, which includes experimenting with a blended learning model, meaning that learning is taking place both in person and through an online setting. We are using an infrastructure called Haiku, which is a digital K-12 online platform. An exciting element of the course is that this platform enables us to learn, in collaboration, with students from two other international schools, one in the U.S.A, and one in Mumbai. Through the power of the Internet and technology, our class has been expanded and enriched through the inclusion of students from other parts of the world. This has taken the learning experience of our students to a higher level of interest, diversity, and engagement.

A question: If you were asked to highlight the most important skills students will need for future success, what skills would you list? How does your list compare with the following list of the most important skills generated by professional educators and researchers?

• Problem Solving

• Creativity

• Analytical Thinking

• Collaboration

• Communication

• Ethics, Action, Accountability

Now, let’s examine these skills in the context of Bloom’s taxonomy:

The list of skills generated by professional educators and researchers correspond directly with the higher level thinking skills of Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating associated with Bloom’s taxonomy, rather than the lower level skills of Remembering, Understanding, and Applying. It is these higher-level thinking skills that guide the ongoing development of EAB’s educational program.

As EAB continues its work towards the continued implementiation of effective and relevant teaching and learning practices, we will also continue to be guided by the approaches presented above in conjunction with Lee Crockett’s guiding concepts of relevance, creativity, and real-world application.

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“É na mudança que as coisas encontram o seu propósito.” – Heraclitus

Nesse momento eu estou na Conferência da Associação das Escolas Americanas do Brasil (AASB). Os participantes, que incluem diretores e membros do conselho, refletiram sobre como a escola do futuro será diferente da escola que conhecemos hoje. O nosso facilitador, Lee Crockett, abordou um conceito muito usado, mas mal compreendido, sobre as escolas do Século XXI, para desafiar o nosso atual pensamento (Caso tenha interesse em aprender mais sobre esses conceitos, Lee Crocket dá uma visião panorâmica do seu livro, “Literacy is not Enough”, em uma entrevista). Enquanto eu estava interessado no assunto, eu também fiquei intrigado com a reação coletiva e desconforto enquanto nos esforçávamos para previr o futuro da educação. Devido à taxa de mudança tecnológica significativa, poucas pessoas, se é que existe alguma, são capazes de prever com precisão como a tecnologia irá influenciar a natureza tradicional das escolas. O que sabemos é que as escolas e o aprendizado serão muito diferentes do que experimentamos quando éramos crianças.

Então como evoluirmos? Felizmente, os teóricos em educação e tecnologia estão muito focados no futuro da educação e o resultado é o aparecimento de vários frameworks. A Global Digital Citizen Foundation e o seu projeto 21st Century Fluency Project representam um marco no foco educacional para garantir que o aprendizado continue a ser significativo. Enquanto existem outros modelos, o 21st Century Fluency Project apresenta um framework que irá desafiar a todos nós para refletirmos no papel que a tecnologia tem no processo de aprendizado, tanto em casa, como na escola. Resumindo, o modelo complementa o aprendizado tradicional com a concentração em alcançar cinco fluências digitais relacionadas: criatividade, colaboração, solução, mídia e informação.

A EAB está, estrategicamente, abordando estas mudanças em diversas maneiras que, vão desde a implementação de um programa individual, até a mudança da biblioteca incluindo 03 I-commons para oficinas de treinamentos semanais de tecnologia para os professores. Eu estou dando aula para uma turma de Liderança esse ano que inclui um modelo de aprendizado experimental que, significa que o aprendizado tem sido presencial ou online. Nós estamos usando uma infra-estrutura chamada Haiku, que é uma plataforma on-line digital K-12. Um elemento interessante do curso é que esta plataforma permite-nos aprender em parceria com os alunos de outras duas escolas internacionais, uma nos EUA e outra em Bombaim. Através do poder da Internet e da tecnologia, a nossa aula tem se ampliado e se expandido para incluir alunos de outras partes do mundo, levando a experiência de aprendizagem dos nossos alunos para um maior nível de interesse, diversidade e engajamento.

Pergunta: Se lhe pedissem para destacar as habilidades mais importantes que os alunos precisam para o sucesso no futuro, quais habilidades você colocaria? Como é que a sua lista de habilidades se compara com a seguinte lista das habilidades mais importantes geradas por educadores e pesquisadores profissionais?

Solução de Problemas

Criatividade

Pensamento Analítico

Colaboração

Comunicação

Ética, Ação, Prestação de Contas

Agora, vamos examinar essas habilidades no contexto da taxonomia de Bloom:

As habilidades listadas acima correspondem diretamente com o alto nível de pensamento como: analisar, avaliar e criar, associados à taxonomia de Bloom, ao invés do uso de técnicas de baixo nível como: memorização, entendimento e aplicação. São esses altos níveis de conhecimento que nos guiam ao programa de desenvolvimento educacional da EAB.

A EAB continua a trabalhar para implementar práticas de ensino e aprendizado efetivo e relevante. Nós também continuaremos a nos orientar através das abordagens apresentadas acima juntamente com os conceitos do Lee Crockett sobre relevância, criatividade e mundo real.

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Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-ND 2.0) flickr photo by Johan Larsson: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johanl/6966883093