November is usually all about gratitude, but to be honest I’m not sure educators are collectively finding a lot to be grateful for right now. We’ve been dealing with what @matteicheldinger called “The Change” and we’re finding that what used to take us six weeks at the start of the year is now taking up exponentially more time. Even if you know that our brains are hardwired to assume the negative, it doesn’t feel like a moment to be optimistic, does it?
Mary Pat Champeau, one of my colleagues in the Humane Education program here at Antioch, introduced me to the idea of Evidence-Based Optimism recently and I’m low-key obsessed with it. She suggested I read The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres & Tom Rivett-Carnac and I’m finding Chapter 5 to be mindblowingly affirming! She also recommended this great piece about Rosling’s “Ten Instincts” that block our ability to think freely and critically about our world and she even recorded the short video explanation included below!
So this month, I’m sharing some resources to help you not only see what you have to be optimistic about but also some reasons why optimism is actually good for you. Sure, we have challenges, but the data say we’re also making strides in the right direction.
- in the 54th Annual PDK Poll of the public’s attitudes toward public education, support for public schools reached a “new high” dating back 48 years. 54% gave their local schools a grade of “A” or “B”
- As of 2021, the national graduation rate is currently 85.3%, an all-time high. 52% of states’ graduation rates increased. 79% of Black students, 81% of Hispanic students, and 89.7% of Caucasian students graduated on time. Technology has the potential to improve education in many ways, such as providing access to online resources and enabling personalized learning
- Nationally, public school spending per student experienced the largest fiscal year-to-year increase since 2008
- interest in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is on the rise. Research by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) demonstrates the positive impact of SEL programs on students’ emotional well-being and academic performance
Sometimes, hope (and evidence-based optimism) can be the most radical act we can undertake, you know? I’d love to hear from you about the good things happening in your world- just reply to this message or make an appointment to talk in person (or by Zoom)!
- What are the small (and not-so-small) wins in your school, classroom, or community?
- Where do you see things getting just a bit better?
- Why should we believe that better days are ahead?
Yours in radical, unapologetic, unflinching (evidence-based!) optimism-
Ideas and tools you’ll want to CONNECT with this month:
- Pollyanna Principle: The Psychology of Positivity Bias | Positive Psychology
- Op-Ed: There’s a rational, evidence-based argument for optimism for humankind. Really | Jonathan Salk
- Taking Time to Tend to the Good | Betty Bisplinghoff Educational Horizons
- Reasons for Optimism, Even at a Complex Moment in Education | Jeff Wexler
- 4 Reasons for Optimism About Public Education | Middleweb
- Video: Positive Leadership: Strategies for Extraordinary Performance | Kim Cameron
- Success Analysis Protocols | CLEE/School Reform Initiative
- Appreciative Inquiry | CLEE/School Reform Initiative
- How to Overcome Negativity Bias in the Workplace | Emindful.com
- How to Overcome Your Brain’s Fixation on Bad Things | Greater Good