Who you know : unlocking innovations that expand students’ networks

Description

Relationships matter. Who You Know explores this simple idea to give teachers and school administrators a fresh perspective on how to break the pattern of inequality in American classrooms. It reveals how schools can invest in the power of relationships to increase social mobility for their students. Discussions about inequality often focus on achievement gaps. But opportunity is about more than just test scores. Opportunity gaps are a function of not just what students know, but who they know. This book explores the central role that relationships play in young people’s lives, and provides guidance for a path forward. Schools can: Integrate student support models that increase access to caring adults in students’ lives Invest in learning models that strengthen teacher-student relationships Deploy emerging technologies that expand students’ networks to experts and mentors from around world Exploring the latest tools, data, and real-world examples, this book provides evidence-based guidance for educators looking to level the playing field and expert analysis on how policymakers and entrepreneurs can help. Networks need no longer be limited by geography or circumstance. By making room for relationships, K-12 schools can transform themselves into hubs of next-generation learning and connecting. Who You Know explains how. Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations That Expand Students’ Networks......Page 1 Contents......Page 7 Foreword......Page 9 Introduction......Page 15 Why Are We Ignoring Students' Networks?......Page 17 The Potential to Disrupt Opportunity Gaps......Page 19 Innovating toward Relationships......Page 22 The Purpose of This Book......Page 25 Meritocracy's Mythical Origins......Page 31 Opportunity by the Numbers: A Tale of Two Childhoods......Page 32 Relationship Gaps: Hidden Disparity......Page 34 How Schools Can Address Relationship Gaps......Page 40 A Glimpse at the Consequences of Relationship Gaps......Page 41 Investing in Students' Social Capital......Page 44 Notes......Page 45 Cosmic Coincidences......Page 49 Valuing Relationships......Page 51 Strong Ties Make Us Stronger......Page 52 The Surprising Strength of Weak Ties......Page 53 The Spectrum of Our Connections......Page 54 Homophily's Stronghold on Networks......Page 56 Institutional Designs Can Make-or Break-Our Networks......Page 57 Integrating Social Capital into the Architecture of School......Page 59 Why Schools' Modular Architecture Costs Students......Page 61 Notes......Page 64 Love Leads the Way......Page 67 Transcending Challenges with Care......Page 68 City Connects: Constructing an Individualized Network of Care......Page 69 Relationships at the Core......Page 73 Covering the Costs of Care......Page 74 Integrating Forward to Address Opportunity Gaps......Page 76 Tools Expanding Access to Opportunity......Page 77 Notes......Page 78 Reaching beyond Your Inherited Network......Page 83 Networks as a Gateway to Opportunity......Page 84 Is Technology Disrupting Our Social Networks?......Page 85 New Technologies Disrupting the Limits of Inherited Networks......Page 88 On-Demand Advice: Multiplying Access to Relatable Guidance......Page 89 More Supports: Increasing Academic Help and Spurring Motivation......Page 91 Charting a Disruptive Path Forward......Page 93 Improving Quality, Monitoring Safety......Page 95 Diversifying on the Basis of Similarity......Page 96 Designing Tools with Homophily in Mind......Page 98 A New Design for Schools......Page 100 Notes......Page 101 ``How Do I Slot In?´´......Page 103 The Current Architecture Closing Off School......Page 104 Innovations Reshaping School Architecture......Page 105 Transitioning away from Batch-Processing Students......Page 106 Going Online to Get Offline......Page 108 Awarding Credit for Real-World Experiences......Page 110 Opening Up to Out-of-School Learning......Page 111 Can Innovations in Learning and Connecting Work Together?......Page 112 Strengthening Teacher-Student Ties......Page 113 Other Ties in Students' Lives......Page 114 The Next Phase of Schools: Walled Gardens for Learning and Connecting......Page 115 Tools to Curate Walled Gardens......Page 117 Building a Networking and Opportunity Hub......Page 121 Notes......Page 122 ``Boom, Boom, Boom!´´......Page 125 Getting at the Job to Be Done......Page 126 A Milkshake Is More Than a Milkshake......Page 128 Mentors' Various Jobs to Be Done......Page 130 Jobs Transcend Demographic Categories......Page 132 ``Unbundling´´ across Jobs......Page 133 What Are Students Hiring For?......Page 136 Why Teachers Hire Schools and Tools......Page 139 Defining the Metrics of Success......Page 141 Notes......Page 143 Pulling Back the Curtain on Network Gaps......Page 147 The Power of Transparency to Drive Change......Page 148 Taking Stock: Relationships as Outcomes......Page 149 Relationships Can Keep on Giving......Page 150 Preparing for the Unknown......Page 151 How Schools Can Measure Webs of Relationships over Time......Page 152 Measurement Approaches for System Leaders and Policymakers......Page 155 Enabling Conditions-Policies That Will Open Up Schools and Ensure Safety......Page 157 Extended Learning Opportunities......Page 158 Competency-Based Learning Policies......Page 159 Privacy and Infrastructure Policies to Secure Students' Networks......Page 161 A Relationship-Rich Future......Page 163 Notes......Page 164 Zuckerberg Goes Analog......Page 167 Schools' Role in a Networked Future......Page 169 Shifting Social Capital to Match Our Needs......Page 170 Notes......Page 172 About the Authors......Page 175 Acknowledgments......Page 177 Index......Page 181 End User License Agreement......Page 195