ASCD Inservice: Gaps Close When Whole Child Beliefs Are Matched with Actions

ASCD Inservice: Gaps Close When Whole Child Beliefs Are Matched with Actions:

Gaps Close When Whole Child Beliefs Are Matched with Actions

Wade Boykin of Howard University and Pedro Noguera of New York University presented a research-packed and passionate session titled, "Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap" at ASCD's Annual Conference on Saturday morning.

They wasted no time laying out their main issue: Achievement gaps are not sufficiently addressed in our work with schools.

Their Goals:

Challenge expectations: We have never before expected all children to achieve.

Change Beliefs: We have assumed that intelligence is an innate property. Schools must focus on cultivating talent in all children.

Strengthen Skills and Strategies: Many educators don't know how to serve ALL children.

While at first glance, this may sound like "schools are the problem" rhetoric that reduces education debates and dialogues to exercises in finger pointing; Boykin and Noguera made it clear that the responsibility for students is