All Children Are All Our Children

Description

What would schools and communities look like if the health and well-being of all our children were our highest priorities? More important than test scores, profits, or real estate values? What actions would we take if we wanted to guarantee that all our children were growing up with what they needed to be healthy, happy, and successful―and not just some of them? The United States was once among the healthiest countries in the world. As of now, it is ranked no better than twenty-ninth. Those who bear the brunt of our worsening health are the poor, people of color, and, most of all, our children. All Children Are All Our Children situates our ongoing health crisis within the larger picture of inequality and the complex interplay of systems in the U.S. based on class, privilege, racism, sexism, and the ongoing tension between the ideals of democracy and the realities of corporate capitalism. Public education is caught in the middle of those tensions. All Children Are All Our Children begins by defining what we mean by health, looking at the many factors that support or undermine it, and then identifies steps that can be taken locally in our schools and in our communities that can support the health and well-being of our young people and their families, even as we work towards necessary change at the state and national policy level. Cover Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Front Row Seat at a Train Wreck Taking Initiative Getting Our Priorities Straight What Do We Owe Our Children? Unexpected Research: My Own Story Sam’s Story References Chapter 1. Defining Health Lea’s Story Population Health References Chapter 2. Inequality Income Inequality Is on the Rise Inequality in Schools What We Are Talking About When We Are Talking of Inequality More Equality Means Better Health and Education Poverty Poverty and Schools Out of School Factors Related to Poverty Race Consequences of Racism on Health Race, Poverty, and Schools Political and Social Power Gender Why Inequality Matters and What We Might Do Support Programs That Support Children and Families Other Steps We Can Take References Chapter 3. Chronic Stress What Is Stress? Stress at the Earliest Age: Pregnancy Through Age 2 Race and Stress Schools, Race, and Stress Gender and Stress Sexual Assault and Violence Self-Esteem Economic and Career Disparity Stress and Status Academic and Testing Stress The Impact of Chronic Stress on Students References Chapter 4. Environmental Factors Flint, Michigan Lead Poisoning Where Does It Come From? Corporations Dump Waste on the Poor Mining What’s Wrong With Coal? What Can We Do? Our Children’s Trust References Chapter 5. Corporate Capitalism v. Democracy and the Common Good What Is Corporate Capitalism? What Is a Democracy? Democracy and Capitalism The Impact of U.S. Capitalism, Racism, and White Supremacy on the Larger World Seeing the Connections and Taking Action References Chapter 6. The Purpose of Education The Purpose of Education and the Role That Schools Play Within That Schools Are Not the Same Thing as Education A Brief History of Schools An Excess of Democracy Education for Freedom or Conformity What Is the Purpose of School? Schools and the Status Quo Aligning Policies With Values What Do We Value? References Chapter 7. High Stakes Standardized Testing How Did We Get Here? There Is No Such Thing as a Standardized Child There Is No Such Thing as a Standardized Neighborhood: Test Scores and Zip Codes There Is No One Assessment That Measures Intelligence There Is No Such Thing as Standardized Development or Maturation Intelligence Testing and Standardized Testing Are Based on Racist Theory From the Eugenics Movement No Expert in Research Would Support Making High-Stakes Decisions on Taking a Single Test The Tests Are Culturally Biased, Favoring Students With Certain Kinds of Experiences and Knowledge Students With Special Needs Must Take the Tests Some Students Do Not Test Well The Silence at the Heart of the Education System Loss of Local Control Narrowing Curriculum Privateers Publishing Companies Resistance to the Testing: Opting Out References Chapter 8. Denying Our Children Language Language and Culture Home Values and Expectations Conflict With School Values and Expectations Denying Point of View Denying the Reality of Maturation and Development Denying Play Denying the Ways That People Learn Multiple Intelligences IQ and the Eugenics Movement Standardized Education: Working on the Assembly Line If It’s 10:30 It Must Be Math Students Are Denied Hope, Meaning, and Joy References Chapter 9. What Can Schools Do? Relationships Connections Between the Schools and the Community Home Visits Cautions Picnics or Before School Gatherings Orientations at the School Middle and High School Welcoming Students to School Getting to Know Students as Learners and as People Advisory and Parent Involvement Being Available, Being Accessible, and Reaching Out Lunch With Tracie Attending Events Physical Health Food and Nutrition Connecting Schools With Farms Snacks Backpack Programs Cooking Classes Just Roots Creating Gardens at School Recess and PE Teaching Children to Play Opportunity to Learn and Grow Democratic Education, Internships, and Individualized Instruction Learning to Learn References Chapter 10. It Takes a Village to Change a Village Working in Community An Asset-Based Approach Working With the School Community Teachers Working With Teachers Parents, Families, and Staff Immigration Stories Growing a School Community Garden Our Day in Court Natural Helpers: Assets in the School Community Acting Together Teacher Walkouts Doing Nothing Is a Political Act Black Lives Matter in Schools School Boards Once the School Board Is Elected Involving the Larger Community Community Health Improvement Plan for Franklin County and North Quabbin Communities That Care/Collective Impact Model Community Development Corporation Working at the State and National Level References Conclusion: What Will We Do? References Index