We have a big week ahead of us and I hope you are all preparing. There are decisions to be made, strategies to be set into motion and completed, and transitions to be planned. Yes, this week we celebrate Veterans Day.
You probably thought I was going to spend my blog discussing the election. Well, I figure there are plenty of other people already doing that, and I actually do all I can to stay out of the politics and simply focus on education and our students. Of course, the election will have a big impact on our lives both nationally and locally. The only thing I will say about Election Day is to remind you of how important it is to exercise your right to vote, and to thoroughly consider your vote for local school board members. Those races are not about party or politics, they are about who will make good decisions and policies for children.
Veterans Day is a big day this week – one of the most important holidays on the calendar, in my opinion. It is so much more than a day off work for some. It is a day to remember and reflect on how much we owe to our military members AND their families for the sacrifices that they have made for our country and our freedom.
Who does not love the videos on Facebook or the news that show a soldier’s homecoming? We love it because they are home safely, but I guarantee we do not love it nearly as much as their family, especially the children. As we observe Veterans Day this week, let us not forget that our veteran’s sacrifice is not theirs alone. It is their entire family that makes a sacrifice of time with their loved one and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice of their loved one’s life, which impacts that family forever.
I am pleased that for the past decade, all of our Kentucky public schools have devoted at least one class period to the observance of Veterans Day per KRS 158.075. I believe it is important that our students understand why we appreciate and honor our veterans – especially the young ones who may not understand why mom or dad must leave for long periods of time. They need to understand and see that we all appreciate what they are doing for our country. They need to see that while they are sacrificing time with that parent, they are doing so for a most noble cause.
I would like to express my personal heartfelt thank you to our veterans. We owe you more than we give you credit for and more than we can adequately express in just one day. The election we are having this week is because of you and your sacrifices. You have allowed us to disagree, to voice our opinion and to cast a vote of our own free will. Thank you for providing us with our freedom and without asking for anything in return. I hope you all know how much I appreciate you. And I hope that we will all take time to say thank you this Friday.
Yes, this is a big week not only because we are electing new leaders, but because we celebrate the special men and women who have given us that right and so much more.
Showing posts with label Stephen Pruitt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Pruitt. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
Courage in the face of adversity
October is a special month. There are lots of things that happen in October – Safe Schools Week; Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Learning Disabilities (LD) Month and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Month; the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opens; college football really takes off; and of course, Halloween.
I realize that this is an education blog, but I am going to go a slightly different direction this week. That’s the thing about a blog, it allows you to share messages important to the blogger, and this week is no exception. I suppose my topic does fit the education realm to some extent, as health education is an important part of each child’s education.
October is a special month for me because it is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I hope everyone knows this since there has been plenty of pink around, even NFL referees and players have been wearing pink accessories. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is special to me for very personal reasons. It became important for the first time around 2006. My dear mother-in-law had her first bout with breast cancer that year. It was a tough time. We had just lost my father-in-law to esophageal cancer the previous year. My family, my wife in particular, had more placed on her than any person should. It was hard and grueling. It was sad and draining. But, as hard as it was, as I look back I realize there was good that came of it.
My mother-in-law showed a courage in facing her battle that was more than admirable, it was inspiring. I knew virtually nothing about breast cancer – only that it was treatable if caught early enough. Unfortunately, she had a very aggressive type that returned too soon after she beat it the first time. Through it all, she and my wife faced the challenges head on. She fought and held it off for a long time. She was focused on being with her grandchildren, and focused on doing what she could to help us. She was funny. She was proud. She was loving. She was a great lady.
My wife is the most incredible person I know. After watching her and her mom deal with this horrible disease, I can see why. She came by it honestly. As hard as it was, our family was given the example of strength and courage and reminded of how important life is.
This month is also important to me because a valued member of my staff fought and beat the disease. She found out she had breast cancer on the day of my first interview to become commissioner. She has become a dear friend and I am not sure the agency could run effectively without her. But knowing what I know about fighting breast cancer, it is easy to see why she is so cherished by me and our state education agency – she possesses the same courage my mother-in-law did. I am honored not only to know her, but also to have been Wilma Cannon’s son-in-law.
I realize this is may seem a pretty sad blog. That is not my intent. I simply want to add my own words to the month that is dedicated to awareness of this terrible disease. In most cases, it is treatable if caught early. So I encourage everyone – women and men alike (yes, though extremely rare, men do get breast cancer too) – to be diligent in their own self-examinations and for women, regular screenings. I also want to encourage you to be inspired by these strong and courageous individuals. They are all around us – in our classrooms, in our board rooms and in our communities. They teach us how to live, they teach us what it means to value the important things in life.
Take time this month to be informed and renew your commitment to taking care of yourself. In honor of these and other brave women, I will wear pink each day I can this month, I hope you will too.
I realize that this is an education blog, but I am going to go a slightly different direction this week. That’s the thing about a blog, it allows you to share messages important to the blogger, and this week is no exception. I suppose my topic does fit the education realm to some extent, as health education is an important part of each child’s education.
October is a special month for me because it is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I hope everyone knows this since there has been plenty of pink around, even NFL referees and players have been wearing pink accessories. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is special to me for very personal reasons. It became important for the first time around 2006. My dear mother-in-law had her first bout with breast cancer that year. It was a tough time. We had just lost my father-in-law to esophageal cancer the previous year. My family, my wife in particular, had more placed on her than any person should. It was hard and grueling. It was sad and draining. But, as hard as it was, as I look back I realize there was good that came of it.
My mother-in-law showed a courage in facing her battle that was more than admirable, it was inspiring. I knew virtually nothing about breast cancer – only that it was treatable if caught early enough. Unfortunately, she had a very aggressive type that returned too soon after she beat it the first time. Through it all, she and my wife faced the challenges head on. She fought and held it off for a long time. She was focused on being with her grandchildren, and focused on doing what she could to help us. She was funny. She was proud. She was loving. She was a great lady.
My wife is the most incredible person I know. After watching her and her mom deal with this horrible disease, I can see why. She came by it honestly. As hard as it was, our family was given the example of strength and courage and reminded of how important life is.
This month is also important to me because a valued member of my staff fought and beat the disease. She found out she had breast cancer on the day of my first interview to become commissioner. She has become a dear friend and I am not sure the agency could run effectively without her. But knowing what I know about fighting breast cancer, it is easy to see why she is so cherished by me and our state education agency – she possesses the same courage my mother-in-law did. I am honored not only to know her, but also to have been Wilma Cannon’s son-in-law.
I realize this is may seem a pretty sad blog. That is not my intent. I simply want to add my own words to the month that is dedicated to awareness of this terrible disease. In most cases, it is treatable if caught early. So I encourage everyone – women and men alike (yes, though extremely rare, men do get breast cancer too) – to be diligent in their own self-examinations and for women, regular screenings. I also want to encourage you to be inspired by these strong and courageous individuals. They are all around us – in our classrooms, in our board rooms and in our communities. They teach us how to live, they teach us what it means to value the important things in life.
Take time this month to be informed and renew your commitment to taking care of yourself. In honor of these and other brave women, I will wear pink each day I can this month, I hope you will too.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Time to flip the script on thinking about achievement gaps
I was attracted to Kentucky by its groundbreaking history of education reform and the tremendous gains it has made in graduation rates and college and career readiness over the past decade. I want to build on those accomplishments and take our Commonwealth even higher, providing each and every child with a world class education that puts them and our state on solid economic footing for the future.
But for all its academic gains, our Commonwealth has fallen short when it comes to addressing disparities in learning among different groups of students. Far too many children are not getting the education they need and deserve to be successful in life. This disparity is called the achievement gap and, despite decades of well-meaning efforts aimed at closing these academic divides, it has not closed in Kentucky or nationally.
We have a moral and ethical obligation to rectify this situation for the well-being of our children, our Commonwealth and our society. A problem this large, this long standing, this entrenched, this so seemingly unsolvable, is understandably overwhelming. Where do we start? What solutions do we employ? Before we can even begin asking and answering these questions, however, I want to suggest that we all – as a state, as parents, as teachers and as community members – undertake what may be the most difficult, but undoubtedly in my mind the most critical step: We must shift how we think about the achievement gap and we must do it in two very specific ways.
First, we need to recognize it is all of our problem, and all of our responsibility to remedy this disparity in student achievement. In this age of accountability, the blame for the achievement gap has often been laid at the school house and classroom door. In turn, educators and others have pointed to out-of-school factors that contribute to gaps and are out of their control. It is time we stop the blaming and finger pointing and acknowledge we all have a dog in this fight. We all contribute to it, and to solve it, we must all share in it and take ownership. I take my part in that ownership and I invite all of you to join me in doing the same.
Secondly, if we are to close gaps, we must own the fact that in the past, we did not offer opportunity or a vision of success to all students. To me, the achievement gap is really an issue of expectations and opportunities. We have to admit that while our standards our good, individual district and school curriculum may be lacking. We’re not holding students to the same level of accountability.
We also have not given our students the same opportunities. For example, a very small percentage of African-American students took an Advanced Placement course last year. We’re not giving equal access to challenging classes for all of our students in the Commonwealth. That is quite simply shameful. Whether that’s because we’re trying to shelter students from the possibility of failure or because educators are trying to shelter their schools from lower passing rates, it isn’t acceptable.
If students are not given a chance to test their limits, then they will never be able to reach their full potential. In this case, it is not the children who are failing; it is the adults who are failing our children by sending the message to some students that, “This is not for you.” It is that kind of thinking and messaging, be it direct or indirect, conscious or not, that creates inequity and disparity in our schools, and until we begin to challenge it and replace it with new thinking and a message of high expectations and equal opportunities, we will never find solutions to the achievement gap.
There is no one size fits all to the achievement gap. Different approaches will work for different students. Before we can begin to try these solutions or create new ones, we need to change our culture and thinking around this issue. As shareholders for Kentucky’s public schools, you are in a perfect position to assist in shifting Kentucky’s thinking about the achievement gap. You can begin sharing the message of shared responsibility and high expectations and equal opportunities for all students at your schools and in your communities. Please join me in helping to spread this message. Together I know we can begin to address these longstanding disparities and inequities, and make a difference for the children of our Commonwealth.
But for all its academic gains, our Commonwealth has fallen short when it comes to addressing disparities in learning among different groups of students. Far too many children are not getting the education they need and deserve to be successful in life. This disparity is called the achievement gap and, despite decades of well-meaning efforts aimed at closing these academic divides, it has not closed in Kentucky or nationally.
We have a moral and ethical obligation to rectify this situation for the well-being of our children, our Commonwealth and our society. A problem this large, this long standing, this entrenched, this so seemingly unsolvable, is understandably overwhelming. Where do we start? What solutions do we employ? Before we can even begin asking and answering these questions, however, I want to suggest that we all – as a state, as parents, as teachers and as community members – undertake what may be the most difficult, but undoubtedly in my mind the most critical step: We must shift how we think about the achievement gap and we must do it in two very specific ways.
First, we need to recognize it is all of our problem, and all of our responsibility to remedy this disparity in student achievement. In this age of accountability, the blame for the achievement gap has often been laid at the school house and classroom door. In turn, educators and others have pointed to out-of-school factors that contribute to gaps and are out of their control. It is time we stop the blaming and finger pointing and acknowledge we all have a dog in this fight. We all contribute to it, and to solve it, we must all share in it and take ownership. I take my part in that ownership and I invite all of you to join me in doing the same.
Secondly, if we are to close gaps, we must own the fact that in the past, we did not offer opportunity or a vision of success to all students. To me, the achievement gap is really an issue of expectations and opportunities. We have to admit that while our standards our good, individual district and school curriculum may be lacking. We’re not holding students to the same level of accountability.
We also have not given our students the same opportunities. For example, a very small percentage of African-American students took an Advanced Placement course last year. We’re not giving equal access to challenging classes for all of our students in the Commonwealth. That is quite simply shameful. Whether that’s because we’re trying to shelter students from the possibility of failure or because educators are trying to shelter their schools from lower passing rates, it isn’t acceptable.
If students are not given a chance to test their limits, then they will never be able to reach their full potential. In this case, it is not the children who are failing; it is the adults who are failing our children by sending the message to some students that, “This is not for you.” It is that kind of thinking and messaging, be it direct or indirect, conscious or not, that creates inequity and disparity in our schools, and until we begin to challenge it and replace it with new thinking and a message of high expectations and equal opportunities, we will never find solutions to the achievement gap.
There is no one size fits all to the achievement gap. Different approaches will work for different students. Before we can begin to try these solutions or create new ones, we need to change our culture and thinking around this issue. As shareholders for Kentucky’s public schools, you are in a perfect position to assist in shifting Kentucky’s thinking about the achievement gap. You can begin sharing the message of shared responsibility and high expectations and equal opportunities for all students at your schools and in your communities. Please join me in helping to spread this message. Together I know we can begin to address these longstanding disparities and inequities, and make a difference for the children of our Commonwealth.
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