New Horizons for Learning Journal: October, November, December 1999

New Horizons for Learning's Online

Journal
Vol. V No.2 * October, November, December, 1999
(Links were valid through March 2000)

In This Issue

Fall is a time for reflection -- especially this year as we take time to celebrate and to contemplate the end of the century. The rapid pace of change in society has not lessened, and learning environments must adapt to meet new realities. We've been talking to people who are building for the future in the midst of this rapid change, and we've asked them to share their ideas about restructuring schools, educational leadership, and building for tomorrow in this issue.

Fall also brought renewed attention to the special needs of adolescents in schools and several of our articles offer ideas and strategies for this age group. We'd like your feedback on this topic and on the issue of pressure to teach to standards assessments.

View from the Observation Deck: Looking at the Future ... and Asking Tough Questions Dee Dickinson: Dee Dickinson shares news of the Foundation for the Future conference which she attended recently. She also poses some questions to you, our readers, about how teachers are preparing their students for the future. A regular feature in the New Horizons' Online Journal.
The two areas on which we ask your input are:
1. How are the higher standards affecting how you teach and how your students learn?
2. We are looking for information on new trends in middle school. Please let us know what you are doing.

Reflections on Leadership
John Stanford

John Stanford, former Superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools, was a remarkable leader who inspired students, teachers, and school administrators to set and meet the highest goals they could envision. "If you can imagine it, you can do it!" he often said. He rallied the entire community to become involved in helping to build the finest possible educational system for Seattle's children. His work continues, under the direction of Joseph Olchefske and June Rimmer. The new book Victory in Our Schools: We CAN Give Our Children Excellent Public Education, outlines his vision for excellence.
Please see the review of Victory in our Schools in this issue.

You Can't Teach An Old Dogma New Tricks
Fred Mednick, Ed.D.

Great teachers ask great questions. Fred Mednick, Director of the Upper School at the Bush School in Seattle, Washington, has done his homework. After reviewing the literature on worldwide educational reform, analyzing global reports, holding two conferences on the qualities and conditions for educating teens for the 21st century, and surveying educators in 31 countries, he poses some thought-provoking questions about the future of education, the role of the Internet, and the qualities of an educated person. As always, Fred invites comments from readers.

Why Every Child in America Deserves a School Where She/He is Known and Valued
David Marshak, Ph.D.

David Marshak, a member of the New Horizons for Learning Board and a professor at Seattle University, writes about the power of personalization in schools. He proposes a paradigm for American schools where personalization is the core principle.

The Plural of Leaf is Tree
Michael Meyerhoff

Michael Meyerhoff writes about the different types of intelligences of two girls. One is an A student and one is an average student; however, the average student possesses incredible curiosity and motivation to learn. He wonders how schools can restructure themselves to value the curious learner, instead of just valuing the learner who can parrot back information.

An Innovative Project for Chilean Education
Colegio Amancay de La Florida
Ximena Gundian and Carlos Anriquez

Ximena Gundian and Carlos Anriquez write about the innovative Colegio Amancay de La Florida, a school in Santiago, Chile that is using Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory and Reuven Feuerstein's Theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability to provide inclusive, individualized learning to students in a child-centered, parent-involved educational environment. The Colegio Amancay reflects changes that are taking place in Chile's approach to education, and hopes to be a model for other schools in the nation.

Inclusion of Students with Special Needs: Do You Sense a Difference?
Alice Abrash, OTR/L

Alice Abrash, an Occupational Therapist at the Ivymount School near Washington, D.C., describes Sensory Processing Disorder, and the profoundly uncomfortable affect it can have on children. She tells the story of a student with a hyper-reactive tactile system. Normal touching is uncomfortable and even threatening to him and he goes to some lengths to avoid it. She offers strategies for working with hyper-reactive tactile system students him and provides a Sensory Processing Difficulties Checklist to help parents and teachers begin to identify and find help for these children.

Play and Language: Developmental Complements Lucy L. Cohen, M.S., M.A., CCC-A: Lucy Cohen, special educator at the Ivymount School in Rockville, MD, discusses the importance of play for all children in the development of language. Play and communication enable youngsters to socialize, explore, experiment, pretend and problem-solve. Language enriches and embellishes play and offers an opportunity for children to develop pragmatic language skills. Play and communication develop effortlessly for most children, but may pose significant challenges for youngsters with special needs.

Inclusion of Students With Special Needs: Social Skills and The Special Needs Child
Sherrie M. Vavricheck, L.C.S.W. -C., B.C.D.: Sherrie M. Vavricheck, coordinator of social work services at the Ivymount School, offers a number of strategies that can be used to help children control their impulses and tolerate the demands of social expectations. The strategies include providing modeling, instruction, rehearsal, motivation, and support in teaching a child social skills.

Inclusion of Students with Special Needs: ADD/ADHD: Ritalin Alert!
Gretchen LeFever: Current research on the high incidence of ADHD medication prescribed for elementary school children has uncovered some disturbing trends. We asked Gretchen Lefever, a nationally recognized expert in ADHD and other child behavioral disorders to give us an overview of this important issue.

An Interview with Robert E. Horn: Robert E. Horn, a visiting scholar at the Program on People, Computers, and Design at Stanford University for the past few years, has written a new book, Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century, (MacroVU Press-- http://www.macrovu.com) In this interview, Bob talks about his research on visual language and the implications for curriculum development and teaching.
Please see the review of Visual Language in this issue.

World's First Wilderness Technology Summit Demonstrates New Model for Education
Dee Dickinson: This summer, at a lodge in the foothills of Mount Rainier, thirty at-risk students and their mentors created a CD-ROM documenting their experiences and research on the mountain's centennial over the past school year. The project is the brainchild of Lou August, President of Trinity Technologies, who helps underserved students become successful learners and productive citizens.

Speaking Circles Applied to Adolescents
Leslie Medine and Edd Conboy: The HOME Project puts Erik Erikson's theory that the search for identity is the primary developmental task for adolescents into practice. Peer relationships provide a natural framework for teens' explorations of identity, and the HOME Project uses a process called Speaking Circles to help adolescents learn effective listening and communication skills.

Speaking Circles Applied to Attention Deficit Disorder
Dr. Marilyn Kroplick: Dr. Marilyn Kroplick, medical director of the Center for Attention Deficit Disorder in Los Angeles, California, uses speaking circles with attention deficit order students. Speaking circles teach students to have better eye contact, to enjoy conversation, to connect with other listeners, and to develop a greater sense of time.

Campaign Against E-Partheid
Timothy Jenkins: Timothy Jenkins is waging a campaign against what he calls "Artificial Ignorance" (AI). AI can be defined as the indifferent, willful or negligent failure to address Information Technology access and training for at-risk youth, who are ready, willing, and able to join in the exciting potentials of our networked society but are excluded from the benefits of connection to it. To combat AI there is a need for radically different educational interventions, and a redirecting of education dollars from anti-crime and drug programs to positive skill-building and access opportunities for all children.

Aging With The Story Engram, The Greatest Gift
Dr.Renée Fuller: What really happens to intellectual ability as we age? The accomplishments of the mature students in Dr. Renée Fuller's study bore little relation to their IQ scores. She suggests that the lack of context in IQ testing limits subjects' ability to display the wisdom they have accumulated over many years. She questions the validity of IQ testing to measure intelligence in older people.

Reading, Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities, and Assorted Miseries
Dr. Renée Fuller: Dr. Renée Fuller examines the Reading Readiness Test -- a test that she failed after she received her doctorate in psychology and after she had spent a decade in libraries reading medical journals in several languages! The Reading Readiness Test is used to determine whether or not a child is ready to enter the first grade. The test's assessment determined that reading would not come easily for Dr. Fuller, but it did not predict that she might be able to achieve literacy through other means.

Book Reviews in This Issue:

Review: Victory in Our Schools:We CAN Give Our Children Excellent Public Education John Stanford. New York: Bantam Books, 1999. ISBN 0-553-37973-7
Review: Washington: A State of Learning Bruce and Linda Campbell. Stanwood, Washington: Campbell and Associates, Inc. 1999
Review: The Creativity Force in Education, Business, and Beyond: An Urgent Message Berenice D. Bleedorn. Lakeville, MN: Golde Press. 1998
Review: Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and Your Life Spencer Johnson, M.D. New York: GlP. Putnam's Sons, 1998
Review: The Disciplined Mind: What All Students Should Understand Howard Gardner, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999. ISBN: 0-684-84324-2
Review: Visual Learning: Robert Horn. Bainbridge Island, WA: MacroVU Press, 1998
Review: Math for Humans: Teaching Math Through 8 Intelligences Mark Wahl, Langley, WA: LivnLern Press, 1999 ISBN: 0-9656414-8-1
Review: Positive Parenting from A to Z Karen Renshaw Joslin, NY: Fawcett Columbine, 1994. ISBN: 0-449-90780-5
Review: Positive Parenting Your Teens Karen Renshaw Joslin and Mary Bunting Decher NY: Fawcett-Columbine, 1997. ISBN: 0-44990996-4

New on the Bulletin Board:

Announcements: Courses Offered for Credit in the Building
Environmental Action Projects: Children Can Make the Difference, a year-long self-paced course offering 5 graduate level credits from Seattle Pacific University. Join teachers who are using this curriculum in schools all over the world.
Unreasonable Expectations?
Dee Dickinson asks the question: Do you feel pressure to have your students perform? and asks for your comments.
Is This A Trend?
We have wondered why there is not more application of the research and evidence that students--especially at the middle school level--need to be actively engaged in the learning process. We would like to compile a list of schools that practice this.
Opportunity: Vice President Al Gore Announces Grants to Train 400,000 New Teachers to Use Technology in the Classroom
Information on all of the grants is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ed.gov.

Have You Seen . . .

Links to announcements, interesting reading and great resources.

Website: Japanese Education at the Crossroads: Why Are Children "On a Knife's Edge"? Hidenori Fujita, Professor, University of Tokyo

Professor Hidenori Fujita shares thoughts on the increase in the number of children who suddenly "lose control" and the growing tendency toward impulsiveness and violence in Japan.

Website:Ask Jeeves for Kids

An awesome resource for students. Ask a serious question, get an incredibly useful answer-- check it out!

Booklets: Free Federal Resources for Educational Excellence

Hundreds of education resources supported by agencies across the U.S. Federal government. Free resources in the arts, education technology, foreign languages, health & safety, language arts, mathematics, physical education, science, social studies, and vocational education. Check this out!

Website: Multiple Intelligences (MI) Lesson Plans from the Multiple Intelligences News

Some MI lesson plan ideas, a new feature to the MI News.

Website: Garbl's Writing Resources Online

An annotated directory of web sites focusing on English grammar, style and usage, words, active writing, reference sources, word play, plain language, online writing experts, books on writing and favorite fiction writers.

Website: M.U.S.I.C. Musicians United for Songs In the Classroom, Inc.

M.U.S.I.C. is a non-profit, publicly supported organization that promotes the educational use of songs by teachers in all subject areas.

Booklet: Taking Responsibility for Ending Social Promotion: A Guide for Educators and State and Local Leaders

A guide for Educators, State and Local Leaders released by the Department of Education. This 72-page guidebook is designed to help schools find ways to end social promotion.

Website: The Albatross Project

Join the scientists to track ocean-going albatrosses in Hawaii. This site is loaded with class activies and lesson plans.

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