The Blue Blog

RJ’s writing can be found at: http://vellarya.edublogs.org/2006/02/02/washington-post-comment/

Response to RJ’s Washington Post Comment

            RJ’s description of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) on his blog caught my interest as I was browsing the recent entries everyone has made.  While much of the article deals with the numbers and statistics of the achievement tests in schools with the KIPP program, I would like to follow up on some of the points made by RJ that do not have to do with scores and test comparisons.  The fact that a few teachers took it upon themselves to devise a new approach to education shows commitment by those educators.  Ina time when many teachers are discouraged by things like test score numbers or students who cannot seem to make progress, a few people took it upon themselves to spend an enormous amount of time and energy into what others see as an unfixable situation; namely, the lower than average achievement of some of the disadvantaged groups in our country.  True, KIPP has not been 100% successful in every single school or community or for every single child, but the educators who devised the program see to be remembering one important thing.  In the words of my Tae Kwon Do instructor, “Sometimes you will be the teachers, and I will be the student in here.”  We all have to remember that as we are helping others along we should all be learning, ourselves, how to be better teachers.  I know it sounds like I may be about to write an inspiring screenplay starring Robin Williams, but really I just would like to point out that fact that sometimes, in the day to day work of teaching, it might be easy to lose track of what is really important. 

As for the structure of the KIPP program itself, I agree that it may seem exceptionally challenging for many new teachers.  A 7:30 to 5 pm workday, along with extra calls to parents and work during the summer, may not sound that appealing.  But perhaps if this unique approach were tailored to the needs of the particular community where it is being used, it could have some real benefits as students, parents and educators are all emphasized as important players in the educational process.  Though it may seem unlikely that there are teachers out there willing to participate, I think that may not be the case.  I have a friend who is, at this moment, doing his teaching internship for the MSU education program.  He leaves his residence at 6 am every morning and, with the extra programs after school where he teaches, sometimes does not leave until 5 pm.  He has been a role model for me ever since I came to MSU, and even if he never hears of the KIPP program I think he will always be the kind of teacher who is looking for something new to do to help students.  I also think that there are many more of us here at MSU who will strive to help our students in the same way.