American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community

185 Pages·2009·2.481 MB·English

by  Sam Chaltain

w w w w w w w w w w w w w w EDUCATION • LEADERSHIP C w w w w w w w w w w w w w w
h
Sam Chaltain a
In American Schools, Sam Chaltain inter-
is the director of “Our country’s ongoing commitment to democratic principles can be actual-
l
t
weaves the leading ideas from the edu-
the Forum for Education and Democracy, ized only if democracy lives in our public schools. This book reveals how schools a
i cation, business, and scientifi c communi-
a national education “action tank” de- can help students and teachers see and hear one another, create a strong com- n
ties to outline a framework for leadership
voted to restoring the purpose of public munity, and develop the sensibilities and skills for democratic life. It provides a
that helps educators and organizational
education. A former teacher, he is also the framework for democratic leadership that is accessible, actionable, and grounded
leaders create the optimal conditions for
founding director of the Five Freedoms in good pedagogy.” —LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND, Charles E. Ducommun
transformational change. By pairing a rich
Project, a national program that helps Professor of Education, Stanford University
A
theoretical framework with the stories of
K–12 principals create more democratic
learning environments. Sam’s writings “Sam Chaltain expects schools to do more than merely give their students M THE ART OF CREATING communities that have, over several years,
A DEMOCRATIC tried to create more democratic learn-
about public education have appeared in knowledge of the world. By helping them to make themselves known to the
E
LEARNING COMMUNITY ing communities, Chaltain does what any
both magazines and newspapers, includ- world, he believes that they will be able to meet the democratic goal of taking
ing Education Week, the Huffi ngton Post, responsibility for it. This book off ers ideas and practical examples.” R AMERICAN reader of this book will have to do—provide
enough structure to empower people to do
and USA Today. This is his third book. —TED SIZER, founder, Coalition of Essential Schools,
I
SCHOOLS their best work and enough freedom so
and former dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education
C
that each person’s inherent creativity can
Sam has a master’s degree in American
A
be unleashed.
Studies from the College of William & “A powerful concept provides the organizing theme of this refreshing book:
Mary and an MBA from George Wash- Our nation’s school leaders must strike the right balance between freedom and N Sam Chaltain
ington University. He received his under- structure in order to create healthy, high-functioning learning environments.
Foreword by
graduate degree from the University of But there is a pervasive, more subtle theme that slips along with the turning S
Sandra Day O’Connor
Wisconsin at Madison, where he gradu- of the pages: The curriculum provides knowledge and skills relevant to daily
C
ated with a double major in Afro-Ameri- functioning, but the persona of the teacher powerfully shapes the becoming of
H
can studies and history. He lives in Wash- each unique being.”
ington, D.C., with his wife Sarah, son Leo, —JOHN GOODLAD, president, Institute for Educational Inquiry O
and French bulldog Rufus.
O
“Sam Chaltain has written a provocative, daring book, one that tangles with
how best to create community and tolerance within the walls of a school. Chal- L
tain is onto something—that an understanding of freedom is essential to creat-
S
For orders and information please contact the publisher ing active, engaged citizens, and that supporting individual freedoms need not
Rowman & Littlefi eld Education
negate an orderly, structured environment. I urge you to read American Schools.”
A division of Rowman & Littlefi eld Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefi eld —ALEX KOTLOWITZ, author of There Are No Children Here
Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200
Lanham, Maryland 20706
1-800-462-6420 • fax [phone]
www.rowmaneducation.com
Cover art is the collaboration of a community art project 90000
facilitated by Wendy Ewald and Brett Cook.
For more information see p. ix. 9 781607 092537
Jacket design by Neil D. Cotterill
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American Schools
The Art of Creating a
Democratic Learning Community

Sam Chaltain
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD EDUCATION
A division of
RROOWWMMAANN && LLIITTTTLLEEFFIIEELLDD PPUUBBLLIISSHHEERRSS,, IINNCC..
LLaannhhaamm •• NNeeww YYoorrkk •• TToorroonnttoo •• PPllyymmoouutthh,, UUKK
Published by Rowman & Littlefield Education
A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
http://www.rowmaneducation.com
Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2010 by Sam Chaltain
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chaltain, Sam.
American schools : the art of creating a democratic learning community / Sam Chaltain.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-60709-253-7 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-60709-255-1 (electronic)
1. Educational leadership—United States—History—21st century. 2. School
administration—United States—History—21st century. 3. Schools—United States—
History—21st century. I. Title.
LB2805.C427 2010
371.200973—dc22 2009022689
 ™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for
the United States of America.
—Preamble, United States Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
—First Amendment, United States Constitution
Only the educated are free.
—Epictetus

For Vic

Contents
About the Images ix
Foreword Sandra Day O’Connor xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Prologue Ways of Seeing (and of Being Seen): The Art
of the Democratic Learning Community 3
PART I: THEORY 13
Chapter 1 Reflect (or, take the time to know “who’s there”) 15
Chapter 2 Connect (or, make the connections that let you “see the
whole board”) 33
Chapter 3 Create (or, recognize that “people support only what
they create”) 51
Chapter 4 Equip (or, equip people with the understanding, motivation,
and skills they need to see their new ideas through) 69
Chapter 5 Let Come (or, practice “urgent patience” to let the
school’s shared vision come naturally into being) 85
PART II: PRACTICE 97
Chapter 6 Fairview Elementary School (Modesto, California) 99
Chapter 7 Nursery Road Elementary School (Irmo, South Carolina) 115
vii
viii Contents
Chapter 8 Monadnock Community Connections School
(Swanzey, New Hampshire) 131
Epilogue Ways of Seeing (Teec Nos Pos, Arizonia) 147
Index 155
About the Author 163
About the Images
The images on the cover and in the prologue and chapters 1–5 come from Am-
herst College: Building Community Through Learning Project (2006–2008),
a community art project facilitated by artists Wendy Ewald and Brett Cook.
A multifaceted process that included the collaborative development of
eighteen large-scale portraits made by students, faculty, and staff, the Am-
herst project culminated with the public mounting of the works across the
college community and an exhibition at the Mead Art Museum. A full set of
images and narrative about the project can be found in Who Am I in This Pic-
ture: Amherst Community Portraits (Amherst College Press, 2009). To learn
more about the Amherst collaborative art project, visit http://www3.amherst.
edu/~ccsp11/collaborative_art/.
To learn more about Brett Cook, a creative person who engages in indi-
vidual and collaborative processes of expression to promote community, and
to celebrate the interconnectedness of all things, visit www.brett-cook.com.
To learn more about Wendy Ewald, an artist who has collaborated with
children and adults around the world for forty years, encouraging them to use
cameras to create self-portraits and to articulate their fantasies and dreams,
visit www.wendyewald.com.
The images at the beginning of chapters 6–8 and the epilogue were taken
by the author.
The photographs in chapter 8 were taken by Cassandra Carland, the student
whose story is featured in that chapter. To see more of Cass’s images, visit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smugglerkiss.
ix