How to Make a Student ‘School Smart'
Q. Kids
come to school with such incredibly diverse backgrounds. When they are from an
"academic family," they have what they need – books in the home, parents who
value school highly, high expectations, clear rules about homework, and good
role modeling for getting along with teachers and other students. Kids from
chaotic homes and low-income homes often are at an incredible disadvantage
because they lack those things. How can we as a society help level the playing
field without holding back the kids who are "school smart"?
Author Jim Burke has come up with the "four C's" for
students who want to build up their "cultural capital" for educational success,
and educators who want to help them:
1.
Commitment: how much students
care about their schoolwork, and consistently try to succeed, with the help of
their parents and their school. It really helps students stay committed to
academic effort if they have allies, guides and coaches, he says. They must
consider school a haven where they are cared about and understood.
2.
Content: it has to be a
solid mixture of classic academics, and what is relevant, engaging, and
practical for today's students and tomorrow's citizens. The content of the
curriculum should not be narrowly limited to intellectual knowledge, but also contain
the rich depth of moral, social, personal and practical strands of study as
well.
3. Competencies: these are the skills students
need, starting with reading, writing and figuring. Keys include the ability to
communicate ideas, evaluate and make decisions, and generate ideas, solutions,
and interpretations. Specific competencies run the gamut from organization to
developing allies and mentors.
4. Capacity:
beyond the basics, but starting with them, students build their capacity for
learning. They need reading skill at a level that gives them confidence,
dexterity, fluency, joy, memory, resiliency, speed, and stamina. Tolerance of
risk and complexity are factors identified by Burke as affecting capacity.
Homework: The book is available on www.amazon.com:
"School Smarts: The Four C's of Academic Success," by Jim Burke (Heinemann,
2004).
Copyright 2005 • Susan
Darst Williams, www.DailySusan.com, is a writer, wife and mother of four who lives at the base
of Mount Laundry, Neb.
