Ethan Demme

Thoughts and Policy for Building a Better Pennsylvania

Book Review: From Pariahs To Partners

Recently, I read David Tobis’ book on child welfare entitled: From Pariahs To Partners: How Parents And Their Allies Changed New York City’s Child Welfare System. Tobis was the Executive Director of the Child Welfare Fund and has worked to reform child welfare in the United States for more than three decades.

In his book, Tobis tackles the issue of parents rights when it comes to dealing with child welfare agencies. In the first chapter he writes,

“Compounding the problems of separation, parents until recently had been excluded from participating in most decisions about their children while the kids are in foster care. They were not allowed to decide simple matters, such as whether their adolescent daughter should continue to see her pediatrician or should switch to a doctor nearer her foster home or what school their first grade son should attend.” (pg. 13)

At the core of this exclusion of parents by “the system” is misguided or incomplete perceptions. “Most child welfare workers, the press, and the public, whose views were shaped by the press, saw these parents as the primary cause of their own problems and failed to focus on the role played by poverty, unemployment, degraded communities, and racism.” (pg. 56)

In contrast, many parents actually overcome extreme obstacles out of love for their children:

“We hear how parents, all for the love of their children, actually beat long-term drug addiction, debilitating mental illness and life cycles of violence. Listening to these parents’ trials and ultimate victory restores one’s faith in today’s parents.

In that room, on that day, hearing their stories, seeing these parents with their children, witnessing their hugging, kissing and tears of joy as they celebrate their family’s being together evokes spontaneous cheers of support and admiration.” – Esmeralda Simmons, director of the Center for Law and Social Justice (pg. 58)

The book shines the most when it shares the painful but ultimately victorious journeys of parents being reunited with their children. One such story was the story of Sharwline Nicholson.

Sharwline’s children were taken from her after her boyfriend beat her. A judge ordered the state to return her children. Fearing for the well being of her children as social workers continued to make unannounced visits to her apartment, she sent her kids to live with family in Jamaica, at which point a warrant was issued for her arrest. After a lengthy court battle, judge Weinstein issued a landmark ruling in her favor, setting the statue that children can’t be removed from victims of domestic violence solely because they are victims. Today Sharwline’s two kids are doing well and preparing for college. Sarwline is a few credits away from a bachelor’s degree, is considering pursuing a masters, and is hoping to become a social worker.

The book cites a national bill of rights that, while not legally binding as of yet, is a manifesto for inspiring change. From Rights to Reality (pg. 147):

  1. I have the right to not lose my child because I’m poor.
  2. I have the right to services that will support me in raising my child at home.
  3. I have the right to speak for myself and be heard at every step of the child protective services process.
  4. I have the right to be informed of my rights.
  5. I have the right to a meaningful and fair hearing before my parental rights are limited in any way.
  6. I have the right to quality legal representation.
  7. I have the right to support from someone who has been in my shoes.
  8. I have the right to have my child quickly placed with someone I trust.
  9. I have the right to frequent, meaningful contact with my child.
  10. I have the right to make decisions about my child’s life in care.
  11. I have the right to privacy.
  12. I have the right to fair treatment regardless of my race, culture, gender, or religion.
  13. I have the right to services that will support me in reunifying me with my child.
  14. I have the right to offer my child a lifelong relationship.
  15. I have the right to meaningful participation in developing the child welfare policies and practices that affect my family and community.

Ultimately, through Tobis’ efforts in New York City, some important changes took place. These important changes include: reduction in the number of children in foster care, improved legal representation for parents, and the participation of child welfare-affected parents in child welfare programs, in shaping policies, and in their own cases. (pg. 169)

For me, the takeaway from the book is that parents need to be empowered in their parenting and even more so when they require help and support. We should always start with the premise that parents want the best for their kids and are willing and capable of being the best parents they can be. Let’s #TrustParents and help them be the best parents they can be.

Toward A Theory of Instruction (Bruner) – Book Review

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Jerome Bruner is one of the foremost education psychologists. A graduate of Duke University (B.A.) and Harvard (Ph.D.), Bruner has contributed greatly to the study of development, cognitive ability, and pedagogy. I recently read a collection of his essays published in a book entitled “Toward A Theory of Instruction.”

Jean Piaget is perhaps one of the earliest well-known child psychologists. Piaget theorized that children move through distinct stages and are limited in what they can learn and understand by the stage that they’re in. Rather than distinct stages Bruner sees stages that a child moves continuously through. Bruner’s research suggests that even young learners are capable of learning any material if the instruction followed a sequence of action to icon to symbol and is adapted to the learner. Bruner writes,

“. . . There is an appropriate version of any skill or knowledge that may be imparted at whatever age one wishes to begin teaching – however preparatory the version may be . . .The deepening and enrichment of this earlier understanding is again a source of reward for intellectual labors.” (pg. 35)

Regarding sequence of learning, Bruner identified three systems of representation: enactive representation (action-based), iconic representation (image-based), symbolic representation (language-based) – (pg. 10-11)  He writes that

“. . . the nature of intellectual development . . . seems to run the course of these three systems of representation until the human being is able to command all three.” (pg. 12)

Bruner also used blocks to teach mathematics to children. He found that allowing them to build (action), and giving them imagery (the blocks illustrated the math problems and concepts), helped the kids learn the language (symbolism) of mathematics. He writes that,

“The children always began by constructing an embodiment of some concept, building a concrete model for purposes of operational definition. The fruit of the construction was an image and some operations that ‘stood for’ the concept. From there on, the task was to provide means of representation that were free of particular manipulations and specific images. Only symbolic operations provide the means of representing an idea in this way . . .”, the children “not only understood the abstractions they had learned but also had a store of concrete images that served to exemplify the abstractions. When they searched for a way to deal with new problems, the task was usually carried out not simply by abstract means but also by ‘matching up’ images.” (pg. 65)

One last really important contribution by Bruner in regards to education is his emphasis on sequential learning. He rightly points out that we learn at different paces and that there are personalized factors that are at play in determining the speed at which an individual can master a new concept.

“Instruction consists of leading the learner through a sequence of statements and restatements of a problem or body of knowledge that increase the learner’s ability to grasp, transform, and transfer what he is learning. In short, the sequence in which a learner encounters materials within a domain of knowledge affects the difficulty he will have in achieving mastery.” (pg. 49)

Our philosophy of education at Demme Learning, as seen in our Math-U-See and Spelling You See curriculum, is very similar in these regards to the research of Bruner. We too place importance on sequential learning that is student-paced and individualized, builds concept on concept, and moves from enactive (action, building the problem), to iconic (looking at the problem via the blocks), to symbolic (language, which is why have the children build then say or teach back.)

Towards the end of the book, Bruner writes with insight on the necessity of mastering the two major tools of thought, mathematics and the deployment of language.

“It was Dante, I believe, who commented that the poor workman hated his tools. It is more than a little troubling to me that so many of our students dislike two of the major tools of thought – mathematics and the conscious deployment of their native language in its written form, both of them devices for ordering thoughts about things and thoughts about thoughts. I should hope that in the new era that lies ahead we will give a proper consideration to making these tools more lovable. Perhaps the best way to make them so is to make them more powerful in the hands of their users.” (pg. 112)

Bruner’s book, “Toward a Theory of Instruction” is an excellent foray into his thoughts on education theory and is a must read for anyone interested in education. If you don’t have time for the book here is a five minute interview with Jerome Bruner to get you started.

The Secret of Childhood (Montessori) – Book Review

Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori

Few people have had as dramatic an influence on modern ideas of child education as Maria Montessori. Born in 1870, Montessori was an Italian physician and educator. Maria drew on her own experiences working with children as well as insights from her Roman Catholic faith to pioneer a new way to help children learn. Her approach, known as the Montessori method, continues to be used with great success today.

In the preface to Maria Montessori’s treatise on childhood learning The Secret of Childhood, Maria’s son Mario clearly articulates the vision that his mother shared. In the first words of this preface, he writes:

“Today’s problems with regard to youth and childhood are the most patent proof that teaching is not the most important part of education. Yet the delusion persists that adults form the man through their teaching of the child.”

Montessori begins her book exploring the roots of child psychology. She shares some gleanings from psychoanalytic theory but is quick to mention the limits of Freudian psychology, writing that “it was from treating the sick that Freud deduced his psychological theories. The new psychology was, as a consequence, largely based on personal experiences in dealing with abnormal cases. Freud beheld the ocean, but he did not explore it, and he portrayed it as a stormy strait.”

At the center of the Montessori way is an understanding of the child as a person worthy of respect. She writes, “I have come to appreciate the fact that children have a deep sense of personal dignity. Adults, as a rule, have no concept of how easily they are wounded and oppressed.” (pg. 126-127)

Of course, it is equally true that a child, while a person, is still at the beginning of their journey of development, a journey that unfolds over the whole human life span. It is in childhood that personality begins to develop and reveal itself. Maria calls this a “secret work of ‘incarnation” and comments that “the child is an enigma. All that we know is that he has the highest potentialities, but we do not know what he will be. He must ‘become incarnate’ with the help of his own will.” (pg. 32)

After laying the pedagogical foundation in Part 1, Montessori moves on to the education of the child in part 2. Here, what stands out to me, is two key insights:

1. Repetition of exercise. Activities where the child is completely absorbed in an activity that is repeated over and over (like stacking and unstacking cups.) Montessori found this to be a natural part of the way children explore, learn, and grow.
2. Free Choice. This is what we might call student-directed exploration. Montessori understood that while external rewards rarely are effective motivators for learning, autonomy in exploration taps into the child’s intrinsic sense of joy in learning.

Towards the end of the book, Montessori turns attention on teachers/parents. In order to be effective in teaching children, Montessori writes, adults must prepare themselves through self-examination and reflection on their inherent weaknesses and vices. In particular, adults must specifically address their own anger and pride because these two vices will subvert the efforts of an adult to teach a child.

Did you know that the founders of Google attribute their success to their Montessori education? Watch the short 1.5 minute video below to hear their interview.

Montessori’s insights along with the pioneering work of Anna Freud and John Bowlby build a clearer picture of how children develop, attach and learn.
Click here to read my book review of John Bowlby’s A Secure Base
Click here to read my review of Anna Freud’s Infants Without Families

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