Bill Belichick had a philosophy when it came to drafting or recruiting players. He would look at several key metrics that he thought were essentially important, and then would ask his scouts to tell him only good things about that player. He would then make decisions based on how different players' skills would make them valuable contributors to the team, rather than trying to measure or rank different players against each other. And while he was absolutely atrocious at selecting wide receivers, Belichick routinely found undervalued contributing players by focusing on their talents rather than their flaws.
In this week's reading, Shannon Renkly and Katherine Bertolini argue that by reorienting to an asset-focused model, schools could better serve all of their purposes by proactively focusing on student growth, community building, and staff development. Renkly and Bertolini note that an asset-based model necessitates a community-based approach, meaning that it must occur for all members of a school community. This approach also necessitates involving a larger community of parents, guardians, siblings, and the neighborhood to support student learning.
I teach 7th-grade Social Studies at Villa Nova Middle School in Woonsocket, and the article's argument that middle school years are essential years for this approach resonates strongly with me. American schools create a very harsh transition for students from elementary school to middle school, and one of the most difficult things I see is how negatively many of my students view school. They view it as a trap, a forced requirement, a place where they do not see any positive associations. My warm-up question when we return will be "What's one fun thing you did with all of this snow?" and I already know that many students will just write "Not going to school" and when pressed for more will write "sleeping." Despite their hatred of school, they are not finding creative employment outside of it. School is still largely the place where young people find (or don't find) the social, creative and intellectual interests that will propel their lives.
In noting the impact of this paradigm shift, Renkly and Bertolini bemoan the overly reactive nature of schools and how a deficit-focused mentality focuses on "fixing" a problem. In my experience, even when schools offer positive support, they come with a perogative to "fix" aspects of the student so that we can start offering that help to the next failure. I have an emerging bilingual student from Brazil who writes entire paragraphs and pages in English to my warm-up prompts and Exit Tickets. She despises her reading support class where she must progress through an online curriculum, answering multiple-choice, matching, and one-word answer questions until her ACCESS scores improve. Imagine her reaction if instead she was told that her brilliant effort and creativity had earned her a spot in a writing workshop. Imagine how much she would improve if she actually had the chance to work 1:1 with a teacher on her writing, instead of getting feedback from her Social Studies teacher on one piece a week. It wouldn't require any staffing changes, it would just require us to stop thinking that learning and creative interest are unrelated.
In the middle of the piece, Renkly and Bertolini note that asset-based models are also better at building community. By focusing on the strengths and growth of students we can better engage caregivers, connect students to opportunities, and bring in the external community to the school day. It provides a vision of what better schooling can be. It makes me think of the scene from the "Precious Knowledge" documentary where students watched lowriders bounce on hydraulic suspensions. Every student could have seen that moment differently. Some could have thought about wanting to be mechanics, some could have thought of future rap careers, some could have been excited to talk to their neighbors about their cars; the positive ripples are endless. That is the potential for an asset-based model in education.
Hi Tom, your post this week was spot on. I loved your intro about Bill Belichick. Although mostly awful at drafting wide receivers he is one of the most successful coaches in the history of the NFL. As you accurately noted, he looked at key aspects of players to fit the gaps in the team. Although they weren't always the most elite, they played their position well and did what was need for the team because the possessed an asset to improve the team. This directly links to the idea of identifying the assets of all of our students. What do they offer? How will they better support the 'team' (classroom)?
ReplyDeleteYour comment about your anticipated student responses when you get back to school resonated with me. There are a tremendous number of students who thoroughly dislike school. I will sometimes ask similar questions to my advisory students and I receive similar responses from many of my students. I am sure I was not the biggest fan of school at their age as well, but my response would normally have been something fun I did. It then looks at the perspective of what are kids doing on their time off? Are they enjoying the snow or doing something creative? Or are they scrolling through TikTok or playing video games? I am not saying that this is bad, but I think that there is a shift in the lives of many of our students because of technology. In return, I think this impacts their willingness for engagement and curiosity in the classroom. This may sound as though I am defending the deficit model which is no part true. I think that the use of the asset model will sway more kids to enjoy their school experience because the learning becomes relatable. I also want to push back marginally to what happens outside of school. How much of that is also a factor?
I feel equally inspired and devastated by your story about your amazing middle school MLL writer. Oh what if her assets were the center of her learning? Reference to Precious Knowledge was great. Yes, that is what is might look like to DO this in real life.
ReplyDeleteHello! Your evaluation of this week was a great read. I remember in elementary school after break our teacher asked us to write a 3 paragraph (crazy request in current day) essay on what we appreciated during the time off. I haven't thought about writing those until your blog reminded me and although I hated doing it because I was a lefty and was smudging the paper the whole way through, it was a positive exercise because I remember I wrote about missing school friends.
ReplyDeleteAs morbid as it is and I'm unsure what unit you're in for History, but as a lover of history maybe you can include photos of the snowball fight (before the Boston Massacre), the Christmas Truce from WW1 (although I'm unsure if there was snow) or even the iconic Blizzard of '78 with shoveling to engage students with historic cold events and how they could have done the same thing over their break.
Love this idea! We're starting a unit comparing/contrasting three revolutions (American, French and Haitian). Incorporating the snowballs from the Boston Massacre is a phenomenal idea.
DeleteHi Tom, I also liked your introduction with Bill Belichick and his philosophy. I wasn't fully aware of him telling scouts to only tell him the good attributes, which makes sense as part of their criticism is to overlook the negative aspects of recruits (Aaron Hernandez particularly comes to mind). I know that part of the "Patriot Way" mindset was that they felt that they could get players to buy into their system. With your teaching 7th grade in Woonsocket, I also have seen that many students feel that school is a trap or forced. By having an asset based approach this helps, as it's easy to fall into a trap as a teacher to remind students of the things that you don't want to see particularly with their behavior, verses what you want to see.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated the way you opened with Bill Belichick’s philosophy. The idea of asking scouts to highlight only the strengths of a player is such a powerful metaphor for asset-based thinking. It shifts the question from “Who is better?” to “How does this person contribute?” which feels so aligned with what Renkly and Bertolini are advocating for schools.
I also connected deeply to your reflection on middle school. I teach 7th grade math, and I see that same harsh shift in how students talk about school. Many of my students describe school as something they just have to “get through,” rather than a place where their strengths are recognized. Your warm-up example felt so real. sometimes the negativity isn’t about laziness, but about disconnection. Thank you for such a thoughtful reflection!
Hey Tom! Your students not liking school really resonated with me. I teach 5th grade, and I can see a very big different in attitude towards school from my 5th graders and 8th graders. The younger kids are more excited when they come to school. However, I always like to ask all students what they did over the weekend. And I always get the same response you do, sleeping. I think for many students, like you said, school has become an imprisonment. A place where they might not necessarily feel the most welcomed or comfortable.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom! I really enjoyed this post. Your intro about Bill Belichick sparked a great discussion with my husband...He was unaware of this... I had to keep redirecting him back to the point being he wanted the scouts to report ONLY on the assets! I appreciated how you said each was valued for their contributions. I've never really understood how players are ranked. If it's a sport played as a team, rather than individual effort, how can one player be singled out and designated the MVP? Shouldn't they all be valued since it is a team effort?
ReplyDeleteI work at an elementary school...actually it's the best school in Cranston! I like to think that my students enjoy being there as much as I do. I will often make small talk while rendering care and like Susana, will ask about their weekend. Although many will report on activities such as playing sports, spending time with family or friends, there are those who spent the entire weekend consumed by electronics and video games or worse yet those who report doing "nothing". They are the ones I worry about most...the ones who probably find the greatest joy while they are at school. Our staff is exceptional and led by a principal whose leadership is unmatched creating an environment where student engagement is a top priority. My daughter attended school in this same district and I can attest the experience and culture here are remarkably different. I worry about how some of my students will cope with the loss of this nurturing community when they move on to middle school and how it will impact them.