Book Review: The Discipline of Hope: Learning From a Lifetime of Teaching

Kohl, Herbert. The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching. The New York Press: New York, 2000

Summary

The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching is a part theory part autobiographical account of life long educator Herbert Kohl. In Discipline of Hope, Kohl recounts decades of experiences, pitfalls, and challenges he faced in failing school systems, racially charged classrooms, and politically unrepresented communities. He makes clear to assert that there’s no easy cure for the unhealthy American education system. He writes: "There is no one road to democracy, no single method for teaching reading, no pat solution to a discipline problem or a question of motivation or hope. There is no single, simple canon that represents the best of human effort, no absolutely clear list of things every child must learn to be a successful human being. I believe that children, guided and informed by self-respect, respect for others, confidence, and compassion, can find many roads to decent and rewarding adulthood, few of which we can reliably predict. In my teaching I'm as concerned with the values children take with them into the future as with the specific things they learn. I have never felt that science and technology will open the door to the solution of human problems without political and social struggle based on moral principles (p. 79).

Kohl offers no simple solutions for solving America's educational challenges, but he does assume enormous responsibility for the success of his students he has encountered throughout his career. The main concept that Kohl presents is every student can learn and every teacher must find creative ways to facilitate that learning. He suggests that success is about education “on the ground” about the daily, intimate, and complex interaction between teacher and student and the content and process of learning. He portrays himself as "hopelessly optimistic": "Never in my whole teaching career has it occurred to me that there are limits to what any student can do. The limitations I perceive are to do with how ingenious or sensitive I can be in devising the right situation or discovering the right materials to reach into my students. I am hopelessly optimistic when it comes to believing in people's capacity to grow and learn (p. 30)."

Within Discipline of Hope, Kohl provides helpful and useful thoughts he learned from his lifelong experiences in the classroom. He outlines his experiences and methods used in different circumstances such as: teaching well in a troubled system, teaching beyond school, teaching on the edge, and teaching as the discipline of hope. Kohl takes teaching very seriously and places enormous responsibility on our shoulders as educators: "One consequence of believing that every child can learn is that as a teacher you have to become a good improviser, adjusting, changing directions, and feeling your way - while maintaining order and projecting confidence when you may still be unsure of the direction you want to take with a particular group of students. The craft of teaching requires the habit of innovation. One of the most troubling aspects of many educational situations these days, especially those that claim to be innovative, is that craft is reduced to a set of abstract principles of learning or techniques for student management when it is a question of the personal development of teachers.

Analysis

The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching was very revitalizing to read as a teacher but more specifically as a first year teacher. As I enter my fourth term in my first year of teaching it was helpful for me to take a step back to recognize and accept that I share some of the same pitfalls, concerns, and attitudes that most first year teachers experience, and its OK to possess these feelings. Reading Discipline of Hope written by an educator who has been in the classroom longer than I have been alive provides a glimpse of light in this tunnel called education; he too had a first day of school, taught in a challenging school system, and was faced with political, racial, and social challenges.

Like Kohl I possess the quality to live and teach hope and faith. Without hope I would not be an educator, a candidate for a Masters Degree program, or live in Hawaii. A successful teacher must believe in their students’ future and strengths. It is not enough to just “care”. Education is the best gift a person can offer. I am honored to be a teacher. Teaching has completely shaped my view of the world. I now realize that success starts with knowledge and I have the opportunity to give the gift of success to every student, parent, and community that I come into contact with. In society teaching is not regarded as a trade or craft; meaning that anyone can come into a classroom and teach/control students. My favorite reflection made by Kohl is the following: “I have always thought of myself as a teacher the way other people think of themselves as gardeners, painters, composers, mathematicians, and poets. I am a craftsperson of learning, working to refine what I do with young people to the point where it is both free and structured, spontaneous and disciplined, innovative and classical, fun and very difficult (p. 10).” I kept reading this selection over and over again because this is how society including myself should regard teaching. We should be relentlessly improving, supporting, and funding our craft just as we would a CEO or painter. Furthermore, it saddens me that that the political, social, economical issues that Kohl faced in the classroom over 50 years ago still exist today. As Kohl reiterates throughout his book, change will only occur when all investors of school systems believe that every student can learn. More specifically teachers must instill hope in their students and find resourceful ways to facilitate learning.

History of Education in Hawaii

Cruz, Lynette. “Rethinking the United States in “Paradise”: A Course for Teachers".

Onikama Denise L, Hammond, Ormond W., Koki, Stan. “Family Involvement in Education: A Synthesis of research for Pacific Educators” Student Learning”.

Tavares, Hannah. “Reading the Wake of Postcolonialality: Constructing “Race” in Public Education in the U.S. Territory in Hawaii”. University of Hawaii, Department of Educational Foundations.

Being a new teacher is very difficult; being a new teacher in a location where the culture is extremely diverse brings added pressure to the experience. I decided to take a deeper look into the history of Hawaiian education. It was important for me to seek out the history to gain a better understanding of my students, their parents, and community. After countless searches of the topic history of education in Hawaii, I came to interesting conclusions. The first conclusion that I came to was there was very little literature on the history of education in Hawaii. I am not sure if this was an error on my search criteria or that the history of education in Hawaii has been swept up under a rug sort of speak. The next conclusion that I formed was in finding literature to support the search of the history of education in Hawaii. I found that everything that found about the topic was woven into the fabric of culture. What I mean by culture is, everything that I found was a personal or native group perspective. The three sources that I found had tones of anger, discrimination, racism, domination, and political, social, and economic oppression. I guess my narrow minded point of view was seeking out the history of education in Hawaii supported by facts, data, and a clear cut definition. After I thought about my readings, I realized that the culture and social and political structure of Hawaii forms the education system.

In the article, “Rethinking the United States in “Paradise”: A Course for Teachers”, the author outlines the personal experiences and mindsets of Pacific teachers. I thought it was interesting to see how the mindsets of teachers can change the structure of education. In the reading, “Family Involvement in Education: A Synthesis of research for Pacific Educators” Student Learning”, the authors highlight the importance of family in education and how family, school, and community interrelates with one another. Lastly, the final article, “Reading the Wake of Postcolonialality: Constructing “Race” in Public Education in the U.S. Territory in Hawaii”, took a political undertone highlighting the impact of post-colonialism and racial tensions in Hawaii.

Math Resource

Go to http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/

This resource is helpful to create worksheets and the corresponding answer keys. Click on the math concept of your choice.

Testing Stereotype Threat

Osbourne, Jason. (2001). Testing Stereotype Threat: Does Anxiety Explain Race and Sex Differences in Achievement? Contemporary Education Psychology, 26. 291-310.

Osbourne’s goal of his study was to examine whether anxiety will explain racial differences in academic performance and gender differences in math performance. His research is based on the Steele’s research or lack there of. Steele’s (1992, 1997) stereotype-threat theory attempts to explain underperformance of minority students and women in mathematics. Steele argues that internalization of negative group stereotypes in testing situations increases the anxiety that students experience and that these anxiety levels explain performance differences. Osbourne’s study confirms that stereotype threat is a viable theory.

I can really relate to the argument presented in this article because anxiety plays out everyday in my classroom. I believe that my students have internalized all of the negative stereotypes that come along with living in Kalihi and attending Farrington High School. Many people expect them to fail so they have internalized these negative stereotypes. It is not so much race or gender, but community association. It is my responsibility to address this failure/negative mentality. I have to motivate students who have done poorly in math. This is the biggest challenge that I face. Anxiety can be conquered through investment and confidence through achievement.

Gender Equity: Still Knocking at the Classroom Door

David Sadker

Educational Leadership, Vol 56 April 1999

The article address the underlying gender inequality that occurs in the classroom. The author asks vital questions. Is gender equity still a problem? Is it more "political correctness" than educational effectiveness? The article shines light on the fact the classroom maybe full of gender biases from a male and female standpoint. In addition, Sadker acknowledges that most teachers do not have an understanding or clear picture of what gender inequality looks like in the classroom.

I thought the article was very intriguing. I strongly agree with the claim that Sadker makes about the false sense of gender equality. Yes women have come along way, but we still face an up hill battle with gender inequality. Until women are offered high level positions, make the same amount of money as men, and truly treated equality we still have a battle. It has prompted me to look in my own classroom for unintentional gender biases. After reading the article I was able to reflect on my own teaching strategies and pinpoint where I could be unfair to my students based on their gender. It is important to reflect to make sure to make an effort to be as fair as possible whether it be based on race, class, or gender.

Are High-Quality Schools Enough to Close the Achievement Gap?

Will Dobbie and Roland G. Fryer, Jr.. (2009.) Are High-Quality Schools Enough to Close the Achievement Gap? Evidence from a Bold Social Experiment in Harlem.

The article examines the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ). HCZ is a social experiment to close achievement gap between low-income/minority students and their rich/White counterparts. The articles analyze the results of a study that focuses on charter schools looking at two identification strategies: school lottery and home addresses of students. Looking at both identification strategies, the results were the same. The charter schools involved were able to reverse the achievement gap in math and reduce it in English. The question now is how can these results be replicated in public schools? The results of this project confirm that all children are capable of achieving at high levels given the right circumstances. The most important to include from the study is high-quality schools or high-quality schools coupled with community investments generate the achievement gains.

This article was breath of fresh air. I thought this article was great because it show the power of human will and aspiration. It is also important to note that human will is not the only contributing factor to the success of Harlem Children’s Zone. Money, money, and more money also play a major role in the success of the program. The key point that I took away from the article is the power of community. It is important to not only look at community in the aspect of outside of the school. In order for our society to overcome this achievement gap it is important to build a strong community within the school walls. No matter race, religion, gender, or class we want our students to achieve.