“It's been a struggling school for many, many years, and [that's] not surprising since it's serving some of the most disadvantaged kids in the city. It wasn't the only one by any means, but it was among those. It shows that things like good, steady, stable leadership makes a huge difference; focusing on the culture of the schools as a place where kids feel supported and want to be; supporting the teachers, so they want to stay and work hard.” WantFeelsYearsMeanHardShowsKidsSchoolCultureDifferencesCitiesStruggleTeacherHard WorkHugeServingSteadySurprisingStableDisadvantaged Author:Pedro Noguera
“You don't see a positive culture, stability among teachers, or leadership. We don't focus enough in our policies on creating conditions to educating kids with the greatest needs. There is no state that does that.” NeedsDoeStatesEnoughKidsCultureFocusTeacherConditionsPolicyCreatingStability Author:Pedro Noguera
“Most departments of education are set up largely to regulate schools and hold them in compliance. They don't really help schools. When a school is struggling with certain kids, they can't go to the state and say, "Can you help us with resources and training?" That should be their role.” ShouldStatesHelpingKidsSchoolCertainRolesStruggleTrainingResourcesDepartmentCompliance Author:Pedro Noguera
“New York rushed to get students into early childhood programs, but the research is clear that it has to be high quality. What we are giving poor kids now in early childhood is nothing like what we are giving middle-class kids in most places.” GivingKidsPoorQualityClassClearChildhoodMiddleNew YorkStudentsResearchProgramMiddle ClassHigh QualityEarly Childhood Author:Pedro Noguera
“Middle-class kids get to play, develop their thinking ability. Poor kids are much more likely to get regimentation under the guise of socialization. On top of it, we have huge segregation in early childhood programs. I don't see these patterns changing anytime soon, and that's a big obstacle.” ThinkingPlayBigsKidsAbilityPoorClassChildhoodMiddleHugeProgramPatternsObstaclesMiddle ClassSegregationGuiseEarly ChildhoodSocializationRegimentation Author:Pedro Noguera
“All kids are different, even when they come from you and theoretically have the same culture. Some of my kids had been more outgoing and had an easy time at school. Others were more shy and needed more support. As a parent you are very aware of these differences and are not treating them all the same, given who they are as people.” PeopleDifferentKidsSchoolCultureGivenEasyParentDifferencesSupportNeededShyOutgoing Author:Pedro Noguera
“That's at the core of equity: understanding who your kids are and how to meet their needs. You are still focused on outcomes, but the path to get there may not be the same for each one.” NeedsMayChildrenStillsKidsUnderstandingEducationPathFocusedCoreOutcomesEquityNeed YouPedagogy Author:Pedro Noguera
“We need to create schools that are organized to meet the needs of the kids they serve instead of what we've been doing. We expect kids to adjust to the schools and if they can't, we say something is wrong with the child - instead of focusing on engagement and nurturing the love of learning in kids.” IfsNeedsChildrenKidsSchoolEducationLearningFocusOrganizedEngagementExpectingEngagingAdjustmentNurturingChildren LearningLove Of LearningJoy Of Learning Author:Pedro Noguera
