Later in the day, Jen and I presented some material on Attachment Theory and the way that underformed parental attachment plays out over the lifespan. One of my favorite exercises for the staff is to write all the students' names on index cards and spread them out on a large table. We then organize them into rough groups, for instance, according to which students have what type of language difficulties, or have suffered trauma, or know how to use free time productively. We do not seek definitive answers, but rather use it to stimulate discussion about the well being of our students and our efforts to make their lives better.
What emerged in our conceptualization of attachment difficulties is that many of our students (historically speaking- yesterday we included the names of many past students in the exercise) have or had significant trauma, attachment, and seperation issues that seriously impacted their school careers. We also observed that the vast majority of them become quite well adjusted over time. Our earliest students are now in their mid-twenties. Most seem to be doing pretty well.
Our mix of students is always changing, and always presents a powerful challenge to teaching orthodoxies. Our students learn how to be in relationships of various intensity, complexity, and type. They also develop a significant fund of general and specific knowledge. Where many seem to be less accomplished is in the execution of complex academic tasks. Part of this is an artefact of the kind of kid who comes to TAS. Some of it is the program itself falling short.
It is sobering to assess our work. Overall, we should be pleased that the vast majority of our students are moving towards happy, productive, interesting lives. Yet we may still be failing them in significant ways. There is real danger out there in the "real world" for underskilled adults. I think we are taking steps to address this. But the ultimate question is a complex one: what are the core skills a thirty year old American will need in 2020?
Is that question even answerable?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Academic Developments
Yesterday was a productive day for the teachers at TAS. We began with working out the schedule for the fall term and started looking at some significant problems with the way we approach academics. The question is always: are we challenging our students enough? The answer is always mixed.
It is easy to provide a glib answer. We try to meet our students at least halfway. Some of them are excellent students who have recently left a very stressful school environment. Of these, the younger ones tend to get a little complacent. More mature students find their way and work diligently on the work they deeply care about, and are good sports about the stuff they don't particularly like.
Other students have very patchy academic skills and on top of this, have highly disrupted family lives and emotional development. Few of these kids see hard work as an escape, of course. With them we are always swimming against the tide.
One thing we are considering is replacing the trimester with the semester. It would give teachers a little more time to get into subjects, and might open up other opportunities as well. One possibility is to institute a three week period after Christmas break dedicated to intensive projects like theater and film, music, the winter fundraiser, and writing workshops.
The semester meets another important need. More and more of our students are going to college. Colleges find our transcripts and the multitude of classes coded therein to be difficult to follow. Semesters would simplify this. We would sacrifice some variety, but there would be ways of building variety and student choice into the courses themselves.
The Science and Mathematics curricula seem to be working out well. Our English and Social Studies curricula need to be streamlined and pointed in a clearer direction. Hopefully the fall term will see the beginnings of the Contemplative Education program coming into focus, with retreats and meditation training, as well as stress reduction classes. One wonderful idea was suggested by Jen Fusco-Perry, TAS' therapist: a storytelling class. Learning how to tell one's own story.
The importance of this is something I will follow up on later. It fits perfectly into the larger frame of self-awareness and self-development.
It is easy to provide a glib answer. We try to meet our students at least halfway. Some of them are excellent students who have recently left a very stressful school environment. Of these, the younger ones tend to get a little complacent. More mature students find their way and work diligently on the work they deeply care about, and are good sports about the stuff they don't particularly like.
Other students have very patchy academic skills and on top of this, have highly disrupted family lives and emotional development. Few of these kids see hard work as an escape, of course. With them we are always swimming against the tide.
One thing we are considering is replacing the trimester with the semester. It would give teachers a little more time to get into subjects, and might open up other opportunities as well. One possibility is to institute a three week period after Christmas break dedicated to intensive projects like theater and film, music, the winter fundraiser, and writing workshops.
The semester meets another important need. More and more of our students are going to college. Colleges find our transcripts and the multitude of classes coded therein to be difficult to follow. Semesters would simplify this. We would sacrifice some variety, but there would be ways of building variety and student choice into the courses themselves.
The Science and Mathematics curricula seem to be working out well. Our English and Social Studies curricula need to be streamlined and pointed in a clearer direction. Hopefully the fall term will see the beginnings of the Contemplative Education program coming into focus, with retreats and meditation training, as well as stress reduction classes. One wonderful idea was suggested by Jen Fusco-Perry, TAS' therapist: a storytelling class. Learning how to tell one's own story.
The importance of this is something I will follow up on later. It fits perfectly into the larger frame of self-awareness and self-development.
Monday, May 4, 2009
If there was one drug...
that I would dedicate hours to exposing as dangerous and pointless, it would be Abilify:
(from Furious Seasons) A recent conference call with financial analysts by executives with Bristol-Myers Squibb, makers of Abilify--the antipsychotic that will cure your non-psychotic issues--is revealing. Over 10 percent of Americans now take an atypical antipsychotic for depression, according to the company. Much of that prescribing has got to be off-label as Abilify is the only approved antipsychotic for the condition, all of which makes me damn suspicious of how Seroquel's bipolar depression approval in 2006 may have been turned into a proxy approval for major depression.
(from Furious Seasons) A recent conference call with financial analysts by executives with Bristol-Myers Squibb, makers of Abilify--the antipsychotic that will cure your non-psychotic issues--is revealing. Over 10 percent of Americans now take an atypical antipsychotic for depression, according to the company. Much of that prescribing has got to be off-label as Abilify is the only approved antipsychotic for the condition, all of which makes me damn suspicious of how Seroquel's bipolar depression approval in 2006 may have been turned into a proxy approval for major depression.
Forget about Prozac Nation, this is Atypical Nation. Think I'm joking? Antipsychotics are now the top revenue producing class of drugs, topping even statins.
This is so grim, so cynical...even as real progress is being made on the disclosure and bribe front in the journals and medical schools, the big drug makers are pushing harder and harder.
Keep your kids off of this drug.
But in the interest of clarity, I am going to ring up a psychiatrist I know and trust and get his take on it.
Welcome to Monday
The school year hurtles forward...a weekend trip to the Jersey Shore at the end of the month, mid-term reports this week, a prom-like dance in a couple of weeks, and most importantly, the planting of two large and just about ready to bear paw-paws.
Paw-paw? A native tree, resistant to most pests, that produces large amounts of banana-tasting fruit. The swallowtail subsists on its leaves. It was George Washington's favorite dessert, served frozen, from what I understand. We need to raise two hundred more dollars to pay for the trees.
Thanks to our Mr. Garza, ace kid-motivator and verbal buggy whip, the grounds are coming along nicely. A wet spring means success for tree planting.
A couple of weeks ago we had an interesting seminar on Quality Schools, the concept long advocated by William Glasser. Judith Clapp gave the presentation. It was gratifying to note that we already have in place much of what Glasser considers to be requisite for a school that meets our students' developmental needs.
Tomorrow we have another staff day. We will be pulling together the course offerings for next year, as well as planning for the summer, including the possibility of summer camp. Later in the morning, our school therapist, Jen Fusco-Perry and I will be presenting some material on attachment syndromes and developmental/relational issues.
Enjoy the day. This week a consistant posting schedule will be tightened up.
Paw-paw? A native tree, resistant to most pests, that produces large amounts of banana-tasting fruit. The swallowtail subsists on its leaves. It was George Washington's favorite dessert, served frozen, from what I understand. We need to raise two hundred more dollars to pay for the trees.
Thanks to our Mr. Garza, ace kid-motivator and verbal buggy whip, the grounds are coming along nicely. A wet spring means success for tree planting.
A couple of weeks ago we had an interesting seminar on Quality Schools, the concept long advocated by William Glasser. Judith Clapp gave the presentation. It was gratifying to note that we already have in place much of what Glasser considers to be requisite for a school that meets our students' developmental needs.
Tomorrow we have another staff day. We will be pulling together the course offerings for next year, as well as planning for the summer, including the possibility of summer camp. Later in the morning, our school therapist, Jen Fusco-Perry and I will be presenting some material on attachment syndromes and developmental/relational issues.
Enjoy the day. This week a consistant posting schedule will be tightened up.
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