This post is written in response to Dr. Alonso’s call to recruit 500 volunteers in the next two weeks (See “City schools seeking helpers” in the Baltimore Sun). This initiative was part of Dr. Alonso’s proposed solution to school violence, which the recent media exposure has brought to light. I appreciate that Dr. Alonso’s response was not merely to increase punitive measures, which is the loud cry that is coming from the BTU. Is it important to have high expectations for student behavior? Yes, but in my experience negative consequences have done little to encourage this behavior, and nothing to engage the hearts and minds of students in a way that will produce positive life change. However, I would like to see a little more concrete direction in the new call for volunteers. How are the new volunteers going to be trained and equipped to work with students in a difficult school environment? How are administrators going to support volunteers so that the feel valued and empowered when many parents already feel unwelcome and by the school system? I imagine that there will be some extraordinary volunteers who are able to effect students just by their personality, but I would guess that many volunteers would be overwhelmed by the experience, especially since they likely won’t receive the support that they need. I appreciate Dr. Alonso’s desire to increase community involvement, but I think if this initiative is hastily implemented without serious thought and planning that it could have disastrous results.
1 comment:
I think this idea is absurd. Student tend to respond to adults because of the relationships they have formed and not because of some general sense of respecting authority for the sake of respecting authority. For example, I can walk down the hall and tell students I've taught to remove their hats and most of them listen, but if I say it to students who don't know me, they ignore me. So how on earth are volunteers supposed to have an impact when they don't have pre-existing relationships with the students? If anything, they are going to make things worse. This plan terrifies me, to be hones.t
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