K-12 Curriculum Development

Have you ever sat in a meeting with teachers and administrators and heard the term "those kids."  If you have heard someone utter, "those kids," then it is likely that you have also heard the following phrases:

"That group"; "They have been that way since elementary school."; "That side of town"; "They don't act like the other students."

As we begin the school year, I am frightened to think that a group of teachers would say "those kids" when referring to my own children.  If it is inappropriate to say about my children, then it is inappropriate to voice about other people's children.

In the book titled, Other People's Children, Lisa Delpit (1995) wrote, "If we do not have some knowledge of children's lives outside the realms of paper-and-pencil work, and even outside of their classrooms, then we cannot know their strengths.  Not knowing students' strengths leads to our 'teaching down' to children from communities that are culturally different from that of the teachers in the school.  Because teachers do not want to tax what they believe to be these students' lower abilities, they end up teaching less when, in actuality, these students need more of what school has to offer" (p. 173).

Questions for Educators to Consider:

1.  Do teachers in your school use the term, "Those Kids"?

2.  Is it addressed by the team, or do we all secretly feel like that is the best we
     can expect from "those kids"?

3.  Do students live up to the teachers' expectations?

4.  Do our perceptions of students impact curriculum planning and instruction?

5.  Do all students receive the (written curriculum) Key Concepts and Key Skills
     when teachers have lower expectations for one student or for a group of
     students?

6.  If we treat "other people's children" like our own children, does it change our
     views towards the curriculum, instruction and learning goals?

7.  How can we change our school culture to a culture where "those kids"
     become "our kids"? (See DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008).

       If teachers and principals believe the impetus for student learning
       remains outside of their influence and there is nothing they can do
       to overcome these external variables, the idea of school improvement
       will undoubtedly seem futile, if not downright ridiculous.
                                                           (DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008, p. 59)

Make a collective decision to eliminate the term "Those Kids".

References:

Delpti, L. (1995). Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom.
        New York: The New Press.

DuFour, R., DuFour, R. & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning
        communities: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution
        Tree.