A thinking space for common sense interventions

in the high school student non engagement situation

December 8, 2007

The context

Attendance can be viewed, in some circumstances, as an indicator of the value of engagement by High School students. At the bottom of the pyramid, the norm of "going to school" every day and on time is not strong enough for a some students to overcome the resistance to engage.

Non attendance behavior has at least two components. One are the daily inconveniences that make getting to school more difficult - the block to behavior aspect. Sometimes this is the result of difficult family issues. Often it is not. The other is the perceived value of attending as inferred by the students  behavior - the pull to behavior aspect. An effective intervention has to take both into account.

The legacy approach assumes the saliency of the "going to school" norm. In the era when the primary purpose of school was to socialize students into the appropriate behaviors for a industrial society this was appropriate. Since another important function of the legacy education system was to separate out those who will fit in, from those who won't, this approach served the system well. In an information society this is no longer appropriate. The democratic political pressure to serve all coupled with the economy's need for a culture of continous learning has changed the rules.

How to get from here to there

Identify and contact the disengaged.

Given the normal behaviors at a bottom of the pyramid high school, this can take considerable effort on the ground. The necessary condition is buy in by top local management. The required behaviors are unique to each situation.

Get the appropriate information from the disengaged.

Once engagement has been established - with student and parent - it is plausible to use survey web tools to get the information needed to develop a strategy that will work. College Bound thinking space By transferring the data collected into a student centric view, it's possible to look at each students interests and situation. sample sites presently contain private data.

"Block to behavior" situations are brought to the attention of  the School Counselor.

While solutions to the "pull to behavior" are in the domain  of the class room teachers and school management, a good place to start the intervention is in dealing with "block to behavior" obstacles. If the classroom offering is attractive the problem can be solved there. If the classroom offering is not attractive enough, additional interventions have to be be crafted.

Use a reframed notion of internships to create an alternative "activity space" for disengaged students

Internships can be reframed as mentored opportunities for learning.   If one of the necessary behaviors for succes is setting a goal, playing by the rules, and playing to win, a well managed internship can become an integral part of the learning process. "Well managed" is not trivial, but it is well defined. More details upon request.

Monitor behavior closely and use it create the pressures to learn.

Since non engaging students usually have a long practice of sub optimal behavior, monitoring behavior closely is necessary for success. There are a number of tools that make real time monitoring now possible. Once the students email and cell phone number is accessible, real time information can create the stress that will encourage appropriate behavior. A timely message to parents should usually be enough. Details about tools in development upon request.

Possible Admin to do's 

Change the allocation of time and space

11am-2pm student engages with internship.

3pm - 5pm student participates in a mentored face to face activity in the school building.

If an entrepreunerial approach is deemed appropriate , it could look something like:

1.if students express an interest in the music industry, they would engage in an internship some place in the music industry from 11 to 2. Then, from 3 to 5, they work to establish their own record label at the school site.

2. if they express an interest in design, they intern at a design studio or advertising agency, while they are working at start up "advertising agency" or "publishing company" at the school site. An "advertising agency" could serve the communication needs of the school community. A "publishing company" could publish books, calendars, posters, etc that students in the school would produce in their classroom projects.

Why this might work

1.It is plausible to believe that industry professionals would find the prospect of mentoring entreprenuerial students a great way to manage the time necessary to engage with Bottom of the Pyramid High School students. There are many programs already in place that have this as their mission, and most industry organizations have this in their mission statements.

2. The web tools and processes are the same as those being tested and finetuned in the course of building Professional Learning Teams in the staff.