Communities of Color and PSCS

(From SM)

Hey everyone,

Anoo has asked me to post the letter I sent to some members of the group, so here's a modified version of it:

Andy and others have already spoken about the 21st century education model advocated by Dan Pink, which throws out the old rules. But as we explore the new rules, I want to shine a spotlight on one aspect that does not figure prominently in Pink’s analysis—the fundamental importance of multiculturalism.

It should be self-evident that, as we look to the future, preparing young people for a multicultural world is crucial. And I don’t mean “multicultural” in the politically correct way (which is more accurately labeled “anti-discriminatory.”) I’m not talking here about reminding students not to use the n-word. I mean creating a learning community that explicitly addresses ongoing internalized racism, within individuals and institutions, and seeks to undo it.

Edwin Nichols, who leads workshops on undoing racism in schools and businesses, calls diversity (roughly paraphrasing) the full utilization of the community’s talents. In short, if you’re a white person who runs a business that employs African Americans and you don’t understand how African American culture is different from white culture, then you’re probably not maximizing the talents of all your employees.

The merits of explicitly embracing multiculturalism are so numerous and so obvious, it’s difficult to know where to begin. As a white person, if I ignore the feelings of internalized superiority taught to me by my culture since I was in utero (visit implicit.harvard.edu to participate in an excruciating psychological experiment), I am less than who I can be. I am less confident, more insecure. I have fewer friends, more enemies. I have less wisdom, greater ignorance. Until I undo my internalized racism, I can’t fully self-actualize.

And remember, I’m the privileged one in this racialized society.

Activist groups in Seattle have been telling the school district for decades that schools are racist. They honor one way of being the world. They reward the behaviors common in white culture: individualism, external rewards, a focus on the parts instead of the whole, memorization, etc. A few years ago, I went to a neighborhood meeting run by Mary Bass when she was school board president, and a guy stood up and read off recommendations made by special task forces assigned to examine racism in schools. (Seattle has sponsored a task force on race every five years or so since the mid-1970s.) All the recommendations brought by each of these task forces were the same: provide opportunities for collaboration, build community, teach the whole child, build relationships, nurture intrinsic curiosity instead of threatening students with punishments and bribing them with rewards.

Any of this sound familiar?

My point is this: PSCS is already doing all the things that communities of color are demanding—and not getting—from the school district. The district will never give them those things because the public school model was designed for command and control. The politicians, principals and teachers who lead schools are, in my experience, insecure people who will never, ever undo the hierarchy on which they sit atop. PSCS, meanwhile, is a predominantly white school that is looking to grow. I think a conversation between these two groups—PSCS and communities of color—might prove fruitful.

(The best discussion I’ve read on race and education is Mano Singham’s “The Canary in the Mine.” You can find it here: http://lsc-net.terc.edu/do.cfm/paper/8108/show/use_set-l_equity. I’d recommend printing it out. It’s too long to read on screen, and is much too important to skim.)

I have a friend named Martin, a Jewish white guy, who has been doing anti-racist work for more than a decade. He’s a really good guy, with tons of experience helping groups that are predominantly white communicate with communities of color. I can ask him if he’s interested in working with us on this, if the PSCS community thinks it’s worth exploring.

I hope no one is offended by this line of discussion. My point is not to judge anyone or PSCS as a racist, but merely to raise what I think is a pretty important issue for all of us. Sorry for all the links, but here’s one (http://www.blackprof.com/archives/2007/04/vote_now_for_a_girl_like_me.html)
that illustrates just how young children are when they internalize society’s message about race. As I wrote earlier, racism is relevant to PSCS because it limits our students’ capacity for self-actualization and limits their ability to thrive in a world that is increasingly diverse.

You’ll figure this out eventually, but I guess I should tell you now. I’m always the guy in the group who dreams the big dream, and worries about what’s realistic later. Sometimes it gets me in trouble, but other times it works. Then, I get to be a part of something extraordinary. As we collaborate in the coming years, I can only hope that others in the group lean towards the practical side of things and together, we can balance each other out.

With that warning, here’s my long term vision: PSCS is a school with four campuses: north end, central, south, and eastside. Each campus runs K-12, and has 150 kids (there’s an interesting chapter in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point in which he shows how 150 seems to be a magic number). Upper school kids get the benefits of a bigger community, occasionally taking classes at different campuses and meeting new friends. The school benefits from economies of scale. The story we tell about who we are is so compelling that money flows in from donors. Our endowment campaign is a juggernaut. Tuition drops to $100 per month, while staff salaries match those at public schools. The waiting list is so long that impatient parents decide to start their own school, with a slightly different vision that more accurately represents what they want in a school for their children. The revolution is underway.

A few months ago I asked a parent of one my students if she would meet me for coffee. She is wealthy, and runs a foundation that supports a variety of environmental and social causes. I asked her if she would help me better understand the community of giving in Seattle, and how to raise lots of money for a completely radical education model. She said two crucial things: 1) she would give PSCS $2,000 to pay for a workshop with a consultant who specializes in helping non-profit groups make a plan for major fundraising, and 2) “Lack of money is never the problem.” There is no shortage of money in the private sector. There is more than enough money out there to make a great idea happen.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, this will spark a lively conversation. Please don’t censor yourself; my feelings won’t be hurt.

Best,

S

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog for the Puget Sound Community School (PSCS) Younger Program. PSCS is a contemporary junior high and high school that produces passionate, well-rounded, and intelligent 21st century adults. Founded in 1994 and based in Seattle, PSCS currently enrolls students ages 12-18. The PSCS Younger Program is an effort to offer the program to children ages 5 and older in the next 2-3 years. Still in it's formative stage, the PSCS Younger Program effort currently consists of a group of energetic and passionate individuals from the greater Seattle area striving to create the program.

If you're interested in this effort, do email us

For more information about PSCS, visit the school website

Learning for the 21st Century

PSCS offers 21st century education, empowering students to lead happy lives in an age of change. Only recently, has there been discussion in popular contemporary media on the society of the future and the kind of education that is required to live in the 21st century.

Daniel Greenberg, a revolutionary educator and founder of the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, MA wrote an article on Learning for the 21st Century in the now out of circulation Paths of Learning magazine. You can read a repost of the article on Bookworm blog.

Last summer, Time magazine ran an article on bringing schools out of the 20th century.

Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind projects that the future belongs to 'right-brained' people, those that have in the past been underserved by the education system.

These articles and book shake common beliefs about education and engage us in a dialog on revolutionizing education for our children. PSCS is leading the charge on this front. We invite you to join us.

First Meeting

The first meeting for the younger program was held on July 19, 2007. To read more about it, visit the August issue of the PSCS eNewsletter