Helping Struggling Students: Repeat a Grade, or Socially Promote?

So you have a student who's flunking. What's the best solution for the student - repeat the grade or promote her anyway? Neither, according to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

Their well-written and compelling position paper sorts out the evidence from years of study of comparable students who were academically lagging. Some were failing, but promoted anyway ("social promotion"). Others were failing, but were held back. The ones held back may have done better for a few months of the following year, but eventually showed no more academic progress than the promoted students. And in many ways, the ones held back were worse off - they got into more trouble, were more likely to drop out, etc.

According to the article:

"Research examining the overall effects of 19 empirical studies conducted during the 1990s compared outcomes for students who were retained and matched comparison students who were promoted. Results indicate that grade retention had a negative impact on all areas of achievement (reading, math and language) and socio-emotional adjustment (peer relationships, self esteem, problem behaviors, and attendance)."

What does all this have to do with character? Plenty. As noted in the quote above, repeating grades impacts

"socio-emotional adjustment (peer relationships, self esteem, problem behaviors, and attendance)"

Spelled out more specifically,

"Retained students have increased risks of health-compromising behaviors such as emotional distress, cigarette use, alcohol use, drug abuse, driving while drinking, use of alcohol during sexual activity, early onset of sexual activity, suicidal intentions, and violent behaviors. "

Those are character issues. Why does holding back make such an impact? Perhaps it's because "failing" a grade is much more traumatic than we realize.

Social scientists once asked to rate "twenty stressful life events." Amazingly, "6^th grade students rated grade retention as the most stressful life event, followed by the loss of a parent and going blind."

So what does the NASP recommend to help failing students? Basically, detect the learning or behavioral problems as early as possible and address these issues in ways that have been proven to work. They may need tutoring, counseling or special classes designed to meet their needs.

So maybe a child has undiagnosed learning disabilities. Don't just hold her back to try it again, or socially promote her to see if things work themselves out. Rather, deal with the problems in specific ways to help her overcome her weaknesses and keep her moving through the system. The article recommends 13 ways to help these students, rather than holding them back.

Reaping the Most out of Summer

Often, it seems we start the summer with all these great plans for our children (our last two at home are our middle school twin sons), but end the summer mildly disappointed that they didn't accomplish more.

It's not that I want to impose some rigid schedule; I relished those long summer days growing up, playing and exploring and enjoying life. But we thought that this summer we might come up with a simple reminder to help our children set some priorities and learn the joy of accomplishing something each day.

Since the successful person "reaps" something out of each day, we'll use that as our acrostic:

Read Something
Exercise
Accomplish Something
Play
Serve Someone

We'll post this on the refrigerator, review it each day and let you know how it works as the summer progresses!

Learn from One Another: Filmmakers Help One Another to Success

This is an "intercom insight" I added this morning to our resources at www.character-education.info.

Julia Cameron was married to filmmaker Martin Scorsese in his early years. In her book, Finding Water, she recalls that Scorsese's friends included Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Coppola and Brian De Palma, all of whom would later become famous filmmakers. What's interesting concerning character and life skills is how they supported one another and sharpened one another's talents.

"They screened early cuts of their films for comments and input. I remember a sequence of New York, New York being reversed and revamped at George Lucas's suggestion."

As they became successful, they continued to help one another. Example: they would suggest actors for one-another's films - "Scorsese suggested De Niro to Coppola for The Godfather: Part II."

Today, these five filmmakers are numbered among the greatest ever. But you have to wonder if they could have ever become great in isolation. By sharing their ideas and lending helping hands, they paved one another's roads to success.

(Written by Steve Miller for www.character-education.info All Rights Reserved. Source: Julia Cameron, Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance (New York: The Penguin Group, 2006), p. 87.)

Here are some ways you could get interaction when following-up the story with a class, or your children:

For Discussion

1) What movies do you know of by these filmmakers? (Examples: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, The Aviator, The Rainmaker, etc.)
2) How did they help one another?
3) Why do you think we often resist getting and giving input to one another in our fields of interest?
4) How could each of us begin helping and encouraging one another in an area of interest this week?

Presenting Character to Faculty and Staff

I've had several people e-mail me for help preparing a talk to either their own faculty or for a district seminar. Here are a few ideas:

1. I spoke recently at a conference for literature teachers. If it's not exactly what you're looking for, you might find several parts of it useful. It also comes with a handout and Power Point presentation.

http://character-education.info/Articles/Teaching_Literature_to_Change_Lives_.htm

2. Here is a list of motivational quotes concerning character which may be useful for your presentation.

http://character-education.info/Articles/Motivational-Character-Quotes.htm

3. Two suggestions people gave me after the presentation were that a) I use more visuals and b) that I actually give an example lesson plan. Teaching at the St. Louis Character conference, I gave a demonstration with the last point of my sample lesson at

http://character-education.info/resources/lesson_plans_example_lesson.htm

I presented the last point about Tom Cruise (from the bold "Endurance" forward). While I was talking about his early life, I showed the video clip of Cruise free climbing the cliff toward the beginning of Mission Impossible II. The clip showed the cool, successful Cruise. My story showed the painful struggles he endured to get there.

Another possibility for a demonstration would be to hand out (or use as a PowerPoint or overhead) the "Success or Failure?" quiz in that same lesson, using the discussion following that quiz to make the impact.

4. I spoke in St. Louis on "The Power of People Stories." If you want to speak on that topic, here's my presentation:

http://character-education.info/Articles/PeopleStories.htm

Let me know how I can help you further!

Teaching Character in Math Classes

I've received several e-mails from educators regarding how to teach character in a Math class. One specifically asked for lessons that tie together character with Math. But every way I imagine tying the two together seamlessly appears rather artificial; e.g., lessons from the lives of great mathematicians, or integrating a moral into a math word problem.

Example Word Problem:

Problem: Henry was dating Sally. He was also cheating on Sally with Jane. How many girlfriends does Henry have now?
Answer: None. Sally and Jane found out about each other and talked.
Moral? Cheating gets you into trouble.

Hmmm...so maybe this relational triangle could somehow connect to
geometry!

Rather, I think the best way I've seen to integrate character and math was
modeled for me by Dr. William Craig, one of my graduate school professors. In a "History of Philosophy" class, the brilliant professor (two earned Ph.D.'s) would devote 3 to 5 minutes at the beginning of class to a sort of real-life moment. One day, he started class with something like this:

"You know, you can make A's in my class, while flunking in real life. I
remember a time when I was struggling with balancing studies with my
marriage. I was working on my Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of
Munich, Germany. The academic load was overwhelming me. But my teacher pulled me aside and advised me, 'Look around you. People around here with Ph.D.'s are a dime a dozen. But how many people do you see who have a really great marriage? Whatever the cost, don't neglect your relationship with your wife.' It really put things in perspective for me."

Well, that was 25 years ago, and I'm not sure how much today I remember from the history of philosophy. But I'll never forget that simple life story from a teacher who cared as much about my life as about my passing his class.

My advice for leading a Math class? Introduce what you're doing by saying,

"Class, I've been thinking...if I teach so wonderfully that all of you pass
my class with A's and B's, but you flunk out in life, I've not done much to
help you. The infamous Unabomber, who killed people by sending them bombs in the mail, was gifted at Math, having taught Math at a respected university. He made "A's" in Math, but flunked out in life, ending up in prison.

For what it's worth, I'd like to devote a couple of minutes at the first
of class (or on Monday of each week) to discuss some life lessons I've
either learned or am in the process of learning. I'm not saying I'm the
perfect model of these things, but I've come to realize that often my
character has meant more to my success than whether I made an "A" or a "C" in a class."

Then, either tell a story from your life about how you learned the
importance of telling the truth, not cheating, caring about others,
diligence, etc.; or, tell the story of another person whom you respect.
(I've got over 100 of such stories, which I call "Intercom Insights,"
categorized by character trait, with discussion questions, in our members'
section.) Even if you use the story of another person, I'd try to tie it in
to your personal life as well. Students like to know where you stand on
issues.

Of course, much character develop comes from how teachers respect students in class, how they deal with discipline issues, and how they treat students fairly, creating a culture of caring in the class, no matter what subject is being taught. Welcoming student input into the teaching process ("Tell me personally when you think I'm either unfair or teaching poorly.") shows respect for students' opinions and helps prepare them to get customer feedback when they later run a business.

Alternate Introduction to Character

In introducing character to a Math class, here's another introduction
that a teacher could use:

"Mastering this class and making "A's" won't guarantee your success. Studies by the Carnegie Institute of Technology found that "even in such technical lines as engineering, about 15 percent of one's financial success is due to one's technical knowledge and about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering -to personality and the ability to lead people." (How to Win Friends and Influence People, p. xiv)

Discussion: Does this mean that Math isn't important? (No. You wouldn't get the engineering job without doing well at Math.) What does it mean? (You need to know more than Math to be successful.)

With this introduction, you understand why I'll occasionally share a life
story or lead a discussion on a character trait or relational issue. In
addition to becoming better students, I hope we become better people."

Change Agent #9: Keep learning about teaching to change lives.

Recommended books:

Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility, by Thomas Lickona (Bantam Books, New York: 1991).

Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues, by Thomas Lickona (Simon & Schuster, New York: 2004).

Building Character in Schools: Practical Ways to Bring Instruction to Life, by Kevin Ryan & Karen E. Bohlin ( Jossey-Bass, San Francisco: 1999).

Also see our collection of articles at www.character-education.info and share your ideas and ask questions on our new forum.

The Character Education Partnership has a blog that many people contribute to. Join the discussion at www.character.org and click on “Join the Discussion on Performance Values” on the left column.

Conclusion

Everyone can be a life-changer. Here’s an example that I wrote for an inner city group:

Who Could Tame George Foreman?
(Or, Security Guards, Hippies, Lunch Room Ladies and Other Life-Changers)

Younger people may know his name from advertisements for the George FOREMAN Grill. Older folks remember him as one of the greatest boxers of all time. In his remarkable lifetime record, he fought 81 times, winning 76 times, 68 of them by a knock out. (1)

At age 19, he fought his way to an Olympic gold medal. In his early 20's, he defeated the seemingly invincible Joe Frazier, knocking him down six times in four rounds to become the heavyweight champion of the world. In his first fight to defend his title, he knocked out his opponent in under a minute, the fastest-ever knockout for a heavyweight championship bout.

Later in life, he needed to raise money for his youth center and decided to show everyone that middle-aged men weren't over the hill. Few believed that he could fight seriously against younger fighters, but he stunned the world by winning fight after fight and finally knocking out the reigning champ at age 45.

Yet, his incredible career may have never gotten off the ground had a few people not believed in him. You see, it wasn't easy to believe in George as a youth. He grew up in a poor home in a poor neighborhood and lived by the law of the jungle, constantly getting into fights to try to prove himself. To get money, he'd mug people on the streets. His friends were so bad that he thought of himself as one of the good boys. After all, he never knifed any of his victims. But anyone who looked at him wrong had better run away fast, or they'd get a taste of the FOREMAN fist. He was was a big bully with a terrible temper. (2)

Fortunately, George ran across people who cared. As a teenager, he moved from Texas to Oregon with the Job Corps, a government program to give young people a chance to work and learn a trade. While he was there, Doc Broadus, who worked with security, saw potential in him as a boxer and helped him to begin training. A fellow Job Corp worker, a hippie from Washington state, shared his Bob Dylan music with George, encouraging him to think about the lyrics, exercise his mind with reading, and to learn to engage people with his words rather than his fists. His teacher reinforced his new zest for learning. For the first time, George fell in love with reading, opening his mind to new worlds. (3)

Then there was Mrs. Moon, the lunchroom lady. You might think, "What kind of influence could a lunch-room lady have on a mean, tough bully? Surely only a tough coach could get through to a person like him." But you see, George had grown up hungry. His mother was so poor that she couldn't afford to give her children enough food. He was too embarrassed to tell anyone and ask for a handout. So back during his school days, he would often blow air into his brown paper sack so that other students would think he had something to eat. If the sack held anything, it might be a mayonnaise sandwich.

So you can see why food was important to George. And the lunch lady controlled the food. So when she told him to straighten up, he listened. She noticed what foods George liked and scooped out a bit extra into his plate. She smiled at him and talked to him. She even invited George home to eat with her family, once a month, every month for six months.

How did this make him feel? According to George,

"Mrs. Moon just made me feel that I was special. She liked me for me. ... Her words echoed in my ears: 'You watch that temper.' The way she said it, smiling and cheerful, I believed she knew something I didn't. And I wanted to do as she said. Most of all, I wanted to please her." (4)

In the final paragraphs of his autobiography, after his huge early success in boxing, establishing a youth center to help young people, and regaining his title late in life, he looked back to remember Mrs. Moon:

"As vividly as if it happened the day before, I remembered the look on Mrs. Moon's face that first time I passed through the lunch line at the Oregon Job Corps center. She smiled at me. That was the moment I decided I was special." (5)

So never say, "I’m just a lunch lady,” or “I’m just a literature teacher,” or “Nobody cares what I think around here.” You never know who's waiting for someone, anyone, to show that they care. A few caring students or staff are today smiling at someone who needs a smile, and in the process are inspiring the next George Foreman or Albert Einstein or Martin Luther King. Never underestimate the power of kindness.

Sources

1) Wikipedia on George Foreman.
2) George Foreman and Joel Engel, By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman (Villard Books, New York: 1995) pp. 3-24.
3) Ibid., pp. 25-41.
4) Ibid., pp. 27-29.
5) Ibid., p. 262.

Change Agent #8: Choose texts that lend themselves to life change.

Here’s a good source:

Books That Build Character, by William Kilpatrick and Gregory and Suzanne M. Wolfe – Three hundred books, from elementary through the teen years, that are especially useful for instilling character.