{"id":235,"date":"2021-05-06T13:07:27","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T20:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/?p=235"},"modified":"2021-05-06T15:52:51","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T22:52:51","slug":"a-conversation-with-dr-steve-cook-cont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/2021\/05\/06\/a-conversation-with-dr-steve-cook-cont\/","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with Dr. Steve Cook, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Q: Steve, what are 1-2 practices you would like to see embedded in every Bend-La Pine classroom?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would like to see a \u201cCulture of Warm Demand\u201d in every classroom – this is Zaretta Hammond\u2019s work.  Her approach is applicable in every classroom.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has a graph that illustrates this concept:\u00a0 on the X-axis, is expectations; on the Y-axis, relationships (see below).\u00a0 And you want to have a classroom that has both high relationships and high expectations – those are the most effective classrooms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re holding kids to high expectations, you set a standard for them that you won\u2019t accept anything less from them than their very best. But you also commit to pouring everything you have as an educator into that student as an individual person. It is because of that anchor in great relationship that you are able to ask for great things.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have that high expectations without that relationship, then you\u2019re a drill sergeant.\u00a0 If you have the relationships without the high expectations, then you wind up creating a culture of low expectations that can wind up being bigoted. You lose kids in those scenarios.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just loving kids is not enough.  That\u2019s the difference: we want to love them, but we also need to hold them to such high expectations, they activate their potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if nothing more, you have to make the commitment: I\u2019m going to get to know you and I\u2019m going to care about you.  If kids are struggling, that has something that may have to do with the state their world is in right now.  Recognizing that for what it is and not taking it personally as an educator, is an important step.  I have to decide that I am going to care about each student in all circumstances, and never give up on those expectations.  That\u2019s how you transform lives.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, that\u2019s the starting place.  You don\u2019t have to know specific strategies, you don\u2019t have to read tons of books – the starting place is the relationships.  We\u2019ve all had students triggers us emotionally, and we’ve all triggered students.  We have to be able to go back to that situation and see it for what it is, and then figure out how we can talk about it, how we can get through it so our relationship can still be established and move on. When I hold a student to high expectations, it can not be oppressive, but must still be based in the care I have for you as a human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Can you tell us a little more about the concept of bigotry?\u00a0 If both aspects of the Culture of Warm Demand are not in place, how does the relationship begin to possess the characteristics of bigotry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have high expectations and no relationships, Hammond describes you as a technocrat.  We\u2019ve all had teachers who demand and demand and demand.  But they don\u2019t reach out or try to connect with me.  I had a biology teacher during my sophomore year of high school that never ever – in 180 days of school – learned my name.   The feeling you get when someone doesn\u2019t even know who you are – your name, let alone any details about your life – is one that communicates both parties are not equally valued in this system.  If we aren\u2019t both equally valued, then the power imbalance is one of oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take it the other direction – if you have this culture that you\u2019re just going to love kids and be emotionally available to them, and be supportive, then you\u2019re only attending to the relationships and there are not high expectations. \u00a0 Those students are being oppressed similarly – they aren\u2019t achieving the potential they could.\u00a0 And you\u2019re creating an environment in which students may not know those opportunities exist for them.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t push them towards opportunities, that is its own version of bigotry.\u00a0 It\u2019s a balancing act on both ends of the spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I have high expectations AND strong relationships?  That\u2019s what we always have to ask ourselves with each individual student in our care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: These concepts are obviously very important to you. How have they played out in your own life?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With my children, I had to take a very different disciplinary approach with one son versus the other.  It was a delicate walk and, to nurture the relationship, I had to approach one on an adult level, with adult language.  If I did that with my other son, he would have been confused and wondered what I was doing.  That goes back to the platinum rule – I had to know and interact with my sons in different ways because they had different personalities; they were different people.  I was more effective if I treated them how they wanted to be treated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another example, I know that bigotry can come from a lack of engagement opportunities, or during instruction. One of the most offensive things I ever said to a student was a glib, sexist remark that she had the courage to call me out on later.  I had never thought about the moment through that lens,  but for me to do anything but be respectful, and apologize, and own it would have meant I failed.  She stepped up to her challenge – she came to me and told me I hurt her feelings and gave me the opportunity to grow from it.  My challenge was to be respectful and accepting, and honor her courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q:  We\u2019ve talked a lot about relationships and expectations.  Let\u2019s think about the larger educational systems in place that support or prevent those outcomes. What are the most important components of an educational system that is able to identify and act on inequities within?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just this morning, I was in two elementary schools and we were talking about Covid and how it has exacerbated so many of the systemic moves that inhibit a student\u2019s ability to succeed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about this interview environment between me and you – I\u2019m in a closed space with just my laptop; nobody is interrupting me, and we have the opportunity to fully engage with each other.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then we think about some of the environments our students are learning in.  When we quarantine kids and send them home, or we\u2019re in remote learning, what about those kids that have a lot of noise and interruption?  Or what about those kids that don\u2019t have anybody at home able to engage with them?  What happens to those kids and how do we as a system  start to recognize how our system perpetuates those inequities.  How do we set up our system so kids can be just as successful in their own environments as in ours?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think about the research on reading scores, conducted when essentially the entire country was remote.  Some of our most affluent students actually scored better than if they would have been in school.  It was actually beneficial for them to be in lockdown because their growth rate was higher.  Now compare that to some of our highest poverty students who lost so much ground during that time – their test scores regressed 1-2 grade levels.  How are we going to look at our systems during and after Covid to address those disparities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covid has shown us there is no more important time in the history of education to start looking at the moves we make so that no student is left behind, regardless of any circumstances about who they are racially, culturally, socio-economically, or what gender they identify with – none of it should matter.  We\u2019re starting to peel back these layers and say, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to do better.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think this is going to be a transformational time for us.  We\u2019ve got to start fixing some of these systems.  It\u2019s an exciting time for us and will continue to be so as long as we strive to take advantage of the opportunities here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q:  We\u2019re already seeing systemic responses that run counter to that thinking.  There is so much energy around wanting a schedule that enables teachers to serve students better, but the schedule has already been built for next year and there\u2019s a lot of reluctance to change that.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system of public education is built within hundreds of years of inertia.  A whole lot of people look at us and wonder why we want to change anything at all – they say, \u201cLook at me.  I turned out just fine.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the last year, so many districts have had to change so many things so many times.\u00a0 But Covid forced our hand.\u00a0 We\u2019ve proven that we can change quickly. Our biggest challenge is to elevate the reasons why we should change to the same sense of urgency as Covid gave us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the real question and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to have to keep demanding of ourselves.\u00a0 I know how I should eat.\u00a0 I know exactly how l should eat.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t always choose to do that.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve only been trying to make consistently better choices for half as long as the public education system has existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t let this opportunity get away.  This is the biggest chance we\u2019ve had in the recent history of public education to profoundly change the environments our kids experience every day.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Zaretta Hammond’s Graph<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: Steve, what are 1-2 practices you would like to see embedded in every Bend-La Pine classroom? I would like to see a \u201cCulture of Warm Demand\u201d in every classroom – this is Zaretta Hammond\u2019s work.  Her approach is applicable … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":638,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63485,48334],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-practices-for-instruction","category-students-as-leaders-of-their-own-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions\/245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}