I have an idea that won't go away - whaddya think? (cross post)

[Nicole M]

Ever since I heard Dr. Michele Foster give a brilliant and funny talk about the achievement gap, I have not been able to shake this idea. (She wrote a book called Black Teachers on Teaching:

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Teachers...4928413&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Teachers-Teaching-Press-Education/dp/156584453X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204928413&sr=8-1)

I'm sorry I don't know how to do those fancy links.)

I wondered if you would let me think out loud about this?

Do you remember a few years back there was a study that came out that indicated that high schoolers who shared at least three meals a week with any adult, didn't have to be a parent, that these kids did better in school and had fewer issues with drugs and drinking? And then there was another study a few years back that indicated that kids who were scr*wing around with drugs and each other were not doing it late at night but between something like 3 and 6pm? I got to wondering what it would be like to offer a home-like environment (not a school or institutional environment) to high schoolers, where they could learn to cook and interact with adults in a casual way, over a meal and also get tutoring or homework assistance, and have a space to practice their musical instruments.

Working on a college campus, I realize that student here come in with a broad cultural knowledge that has nothing to do with the cultural deficit that we have discussed here on this board in recent weeks. Kids who come from middle class families have a certain degree of comfort, based on exposure, to things like, but not limited to, concerts and lectures. Students who do not have this comfort level would not feel that they fit in here. (I know there is data to back this up, but I don't have sources right now. But you get my drift.)

What if there were a way to give HS student the kinds of experiences that would broaden their comfort zone, and therefore increasing their chances for future academic success?

I wonder if there is a model for this type of program already?

I wonder if there would there be funds for available, grants, to support this kind of alternative program?

Like all the rest of you, I've been working my dang butt off to get my oldest, 16, ready for college. And like all the rest of you, in the process have acquired many skills and a broad knowledge of curricula and educational trends, etc. I've been thinking about how I can apply that knowledge to help other kids.

So I'm just full of wondering these days.

Does this make sense? Does it seem like something worthy of pursuit? I would love to hear your responses!

[mcconnellboys]

I think it sounds like a wonderful idea. But how would you get the very kids who most need it into the program? Because I'm thinking that they would fight to keep staying home alone in the afternoon when they could do inappropriate things, instead. And if you're getting the courts to require it of those who have come before them, then you might be getting a group that has more severe underlying problems than you'd want to deal with. Now, maybe if you started it with pre-teens who might be more open to it, and continue them on from year to year, adding in older teen friends as word of mouth spreads...... I'm just trying to help think through this, not trying to discourage you from it at all, as I think it sounds like a really good idea......

Regena

[Kimber]

This is a great idea! You might try to work with another organization that is already in the high schools. Also, you could target initially 9th and 10th graders that have not yet gotten involved in hard core stuff but are *at risk*

Communities In Schools (http://www.cisnet.org/) is an organization that I worked for between engineering and homemaking. They are a wonderful organization and they could help you write grants or even find other organizations that you might be able to work with.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Like all the rest of you, I've been working my dang butt off to get my oldest, 16, ready for college. And like all the rest of you, in the process have acquired many skills and a broad knowledge of curricula and educational trends, etc. I've been thinking about how I can apply that knowledge to help other kids.

So I'm just full of wondering these days.

Does this make sense? Does it seem like something worthy of pursuit? I would love to hear your responses!

Here's my favorite line from Babe, the Sheep Pig:

"It was at that time that Mrs. Hoggett began to worry about her husband.

But Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas -- ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away -- should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny."