Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

CHAPTER 6Commonly Asked Questionsabout Smart & Good High SchoolsHow does the Smart & Good High Schools model helpus meet the challenges of No Child Left Behind?In several ways. First, if you want kids to achieve, theyhave to be motivated to achieve. As Ron Berger says, youcan test kids till the cows come home, but you won’t getanywhere unless you can get them to care.What motivates students to care are teachers and peerswho care about them and show that by pushing them todo their best work. That, plus the actual experience ofdoing excellent work. When students find they can do qualitywork, it changes them. They have a new self-image—and they want the experience of excellence again.Second, the research tells us that achievement is a functionof effort, not just talent. That’s true in school, andit’s true throughout life. Look around; who succeeds?Lots of people have ability; it’s what they make of theirability that matters. That’s determined by our performancecharacter—our work ethic. That’s what studies of talentedteenagers tell us; those adolescents with a strongwork ethic develop their talent to a higher level thanequally gifted peers who lack a strong work ethic. If wecan teach kids good work habits, how to get the most outof their ability, we’ll see the payoff in greater learning,higher test scores, and more fulfilled, productive lives.Achievement is a function of effort, notjust talent. Effort is a function ofperformance character.Third, look at schools that are working well. Where arestudents—regardless of socioeconomic level—doing qualitywork, testing well, going to college, or getting decentjobs after graduation? In schools that are essentially puttinginto practice the principles of a Smart & Good HighSchool—schools where there’s a strong professional ethicallearning community, where faculty and staff worktogether closely to help kids do their best work and bethe best persons they can be in all areas of their lives.Finally, there’s published research showing that implementationof quality character education is connected toincreases in academic achievement. Check out the fall,2003 issue of the new Journal of Research in Character Education(www.infoagepub.com). It contains a comprehensiveliterature review by Jack Benninga and colleaguesreporting the research on the relationship between academicperformance and implementation of high-qualitycharacter education. At every developmental level—elementary,middle school, and high school— students whoexperienced quality character education programs outperformedcomparison groups not only on measures ofsocial behavior but also on measures of academic learning.So there’s an emerging body of hard evidence thatwe’ll get an academic payoff when we invest in developingcharacter as the foundation for excellence and ethics.Research shows a positive relationshipbetween implementation of qualitycharacter education andacademic achievement.I’m a principal of a high school. What would you recommendas the first thing to do if I wanted to implementyour model?There are two things we think are helpful in getting started:study and alignment. Study what the report contains,and as you do, align it with your existing needs andschool improvement initiatives. Consider, How can thebig ideas and promising practices in Smart & Good HighSchools meet needs your school has already identified andextend school improvement initiatives you already haveunder way?This study and alignment process should, ideally, involveall four groups that make up the ethical learning community:staff, students, parents, and the wider community. Aswe stress in the report, if we want students to develop theThe journey of a thousand miles beginswith a single step.—LAO-TZU211Smart & Good High Schools