The Educational Triage Podcast

Book Review: One Size Does Not Fit All: a student‘s assessment of school by Nikhil Goyal

Episode 1.6 - One Size Does Not Fit All:  A student’s assessment of school  by Nikhil Goyal
 
We discuss elements from the rich text of Nikhil Golyal’s book on education, which creates many insights and outbreaks of epiphanies. 
 
Why do we foster a fear of failure despite knowing how important it is?
 
What happened to curiosity? How have we crushed it?
 
Should students invest in the stock market rather than in university?  
 
How are we teaching? 
 
Do we really need to group students by grade? Or should we do it by interest? 
 
Why do we regiment children? 
 
How much of what we do is about optics rather than about context and action? 
 
“Let my tombstone be my diploma.” - Ertha Kitt
 
Why does the educational system remain static while society moves ahead? 
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources! 
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
 

Who Does Alternative Education Serve?

Episode 1.5 Who Does Alternative Education Serve?
 
This is really a loaded question.  
 
For the most part, alternative education tends to be a melting pot that specializes in more focused education for the students served.  OR is it really a dumping ground for the hopeless students that nobody wants to work with? 
 
Newsweek article Demographic Breakdown of the 2021 Best High Schools
 
The odd finding in our search for numbers of students in the alternative setting finds that there is nothing beyond 2007, and then there were growing numbers of students in every state that were enrolled in some form of alternative education.  I was greeted with a wonderful response from Dr. Amy Schlessman-Frost, Ph.D. who gave me more information that may guide us.   Unfortunately, though, the following information came through after we’d recorded our session.  However, you may sift through and use some of it. 
 
States define what is alternative education, and because of this, the numbers begin to vary.  Here is a document that helps understand the definitions between states and Alternative Education:
https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=366
 
Dr. Jody Ernst has done the most current research on Alternative Education Campuses.    (AECs)    Much of her work is found in AEC data visualizations.    
 
It’s quite interesting to understand just how wide the net is cast in working with students, families, and communities for the greater good.  Alternative programs/schools/campuses serve anyone who was not attended to at the mainstream, for whatever reason. 
 
This is a great conversation starter for parties!  
 
Be sure to subscribe and tell others about us.
 
We want your comments and input!  Please help us and respond! 
 
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources! 
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home

Why Are There No Alternative Education Training Programs for Teachers?

Episode 1.4 - Why Are There No Alternative Education Teacher Training Programs? 
 
In this episode, we discuss the often overlooked abyss of Alternative Education Training.  
 
Too often, districts and schools place teachers in alternative education schools/programs without any regard to best practices, let alone having faculty/staff who understand or lean into any of the pedagogies that best serve students in that environment.  
 
Are you trained in best practices that covers:
Severely traumatized students?
School Phobia?
Students with high anxiety?
Students who have become disenfranchised?
Students on the brink of dropping out?
Students who are under suspension?
Students who are expelled?
Students who require Drug and Alcohol services?
Students in residential treatment?
Court Adjudicated students?Students who are talented and gifted?
Students who require more intellectual challenges?
Students who do not fall into the regular categories of the typical student? 
Surely, there are so many more to list than we can put here. 
 
Are you trained in Open Mindset? 
Can you teach from a student-centered approach? 
 What are the aspects you wish you’d been given some training in?
Are you familiar with the various pedagogies and philosophies? 
 
Not all Alternative Education programs/schools are alike.  Every one of them has its own purpose and personality.  
 
Why do districts take students who cannot find a place in their schools, and react to their finding only failure, by placing them into an “Alternative Setting” - note the negative connotation) where they are told to stay until their “sentence” is served, or they graduate?  In other words (probably not very eloquent), why do districts use alternative education settings as a punishment for students they claim to want to serve better?  Is the irony lost on them? 
 
According to the American Statistical Association (2014) schools have a 1-14% impact on student learning outcomes.   Has that truly changed?  This means that the majority of the learning the student encounters is from their own personal environment outside the school system. Where do your students fall on that scale? 
 
Let us know your thoughts!  
Also, be sure to check out your Alternative Education rules and definitions for your state by searching in your state’s Department of Education database.  
 
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources! 
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home

- Foundations of a Good Alternative Program pt 2.

We are continuing our discussion of what we understand to be the solid foundations of a good alternative program - from strategies, philosophies, pedagogies, types of curriculum; everything truly matters. 
We would love to have you join in our conversation either in the comments below, or email us at: educationaltriage@gmail.com. 
Do you want to share your ideas with us via the blog?  We're just getting started, and would love to be able to take your contributions and share them on the blog pages!  Perhaps your sharing can lead to a podcast idea, or even you joining us! 
Subscribe! 
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources! 
And, visit AERO for more resources.
https://www.educationtriage.net/home

Foundations of a Solid Alternative Program pt 1

Hey there!  
 
In this Episode, we discuss what we believe to be the foundations of a solid alternative program.  We tend to agree on many items, but we were able to jigsaw components together and realized that although the ideas came easily - implementation was another story. 
 
So, if we left anything out, please let us know in the comments section! 
 
And, if you’d like to visit our webpage, https://www.educationaltriage.net . 
 
IF you have ideas, or would like to contribute, please send us something we can share on the blog!  This is going to be a community!  So, let’s share. 
   Contact us at: educationaltriage@gmail.com. 
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources! 
And, visit AERO for more resources.

What are the Perceptions of Alternative Education and Why?

Hello!  This is our inaugural episode, and we’re happy to be here.  
 
In this episode we begin with a quote from Chase Mielke: 
 
https://affectiveliving.com/2017/07/09/we-have-a-problem-with-alternative-education-and-we-need-to-talk-about-it/
 
Why does Alternative Education have such a negative context?  What gives anyone in the mainstream context to demean those students, rather than provide them with the best education they deserve? 
 
These are the questions we discuss in our conversation.  
 
“Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards?” - Kierkegaard
 
What did we learn from COVID, if we strive to return to pre-Covid structure and rules? 
 
Why did schools fail to access the Alternatives in their buildings to help construct viable means by which to continue to educate their students while using Trauma-Informed structures? 
 
Nikol Goyal - One Size Does Not Fit All
 
Dr. Lateshia Woodley - Transforming Alternative Education
 
Sharon Deloach, Ed.D. - An Answer to Disenfranchised Students
 
How do we face our challenges every day?  How do we explain to others what it is we truly do, and how much of an impact do we truly make?  
 
Why do our peers and our mainstream “supervisors” speak of the importance of our work, and then discount everything we do and also gloss over our students - is it all smoke and mirrors? 
 
Be sure to catch us every week with a new topic.  
 
Let us know what you’d like us to explore - you are important to us, as are your ideas and your feedback!  Talk to us in the comments below!
https://www.educationtriage.net/home
 
Also, don't forget to join the new podcast, Alternative Jigsaw, A podcast that helps newer teachers begin to access the use of their instrument and talents in working in Alternative Education.
Please do visit the National Association for Alternative Education for more resources! 
And, visit AERO for more resources.