Paces

What can we learn from the 9th drop?

Wonderful item on BBC Radio 4 Today. Report on an experiment begun in 1927 to test the viscosity of pitch. (at about 2hrs 18 mins in).

"At room temperature pitch feels solid - even brittle - and can easily be shattered with a blow from a hammer. It's quite amazing then, to see that pitch at room temperature is actually fluid!" 

"In 1927 Professor Parnell heated a sample of pitch and poured it into a glass funnel with a sealed stem. Three years were allowed for the pitch to settle, and in 1930 the sealed stem was cut. From that date on the pitch has slowly dripped out of the funnel - so slowly that now, 80 years later, the ninth drop is only just forming" ... and no-one has ever seen any of the previous 8 drops actually happen.

Today interviewer Justin Webb asked the current professor in charge of the project "What can we learn from the 9th drop?", a question that his fellow presenter John Humphries characterised as one of the most "profound" "meaningful" questions ever asked on the Today programme for which Justin Webb was to be congratulated. Big chuckles in the studio! And in my car, too, as I was listening while driving to work.   

What can we learn from the 9th drop? What it put me in mind of was the person at a child's annual review who, comparing two consecutive annual reports from the child's school, said that he could detect little progress over the year, was not happy with this and would have to report it. Mum and others present took a wholly different view, that despite the child's considerable difficulties progress had been made. 

Two views, seeming almost to be seeing things at different speeds. Yes and no. No-one saw the first eight drops fall. Anyone who cares to access the website can stand by to see the ninth drop. I'm reminded of the philosophic question "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound?"

If at the annual review, someone does not recognise the progress of the child, does it mean the child has made no progress?

The onus, of course, is on us in conductive education to find ways to describe and evidence that progress. Even if we all have to wait to discover what we can learn from the ninth drop. 

Can non-cognitive skills be measured? Are any skills 'non-cognitive'?

On Twitter, Sam Freedman (@Samfr) asked "Can non-cognitive skills be measured? Are any skills 'non-cognitive'?"

His questions arose in response to an interesting Summary of a Report on the Thomas B Fordham website:

Non-Cognitive Ability, Test Scores, and Teacher Quality: Evidence from 9th Grade Teachers in North Carolina

Andrew Saraf / January 24, 2013

The teacher-evaluation debate follows a well-worn path: Traditional evaluation systems (in which upwards of 99 percent of educators are deemed “effective”) are meaningless, argue reformers. New models that rely heavily on value-added test-score data are unreliable and unfair, counter others. This new NBER working paper from Northwestern’s C. Kirabo Jackson provides the debate new turf on which to tread: Based on data from the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study, Jackson channels Paul Tough to argue that students’ “non-cognitive” abilities (adaptability, self-restraint, motivation) help explain their success. Noting this, teachers should be evaluated on them; yet they are rarely considered by current metrics.

The report has two parts. First, Jackson shows that the “non-cognitive factor” (which he proxies with variables like absenteeism, suspensions, and grades) ispredictive of college enrollment and lifetime earnings—more so, in fact, than cognitive ability. Jackson then evaluates whether teachers can affect this “non-cognitive” factor. Using 2005-10 North Carolina data, he finds that teachers’ impact on student test scores is only weakly associated with their impact on improving youngsters’ non-cognitive abilities. In other words, evaluations that rely exclusively on test scores fail to capture the full breadth of teachers’ contributions to student outcomes. Jackson concludes: Other variables that assess ability to improve students’ non-cognitive skills, variables such as student suspensions and absences, should also be used in teacher assessments. And the debate marches on.

SOURCE: C. Kirabo Jackson, "Non-Cognitive Ability, Test Scores, and Teacher Quality: Evidence from 9th Grade Teachers in North Carolina" (Chicago, IL: Northwestern University, January 2013)

 

When is a community centre NOT a community centre?

A recent decision of the Valuation Tribunal in respect of Paces Campus raises a question which might have wider interest and application.

First, let me tell you a little about the Campus, as factually as I am able.

Paces, a charity founded by and working with children and adults with cerebral palsy and their families, first occupied the premises of the former High Green Comprehensive School in 1997, under a Licence to Occupy from Sheffield City Council.  Our expressed intent, by opening up the building to other charitable and non-for-profit groups, was to set our work in an inclusive community setting - as we thought of it, a perfectly ordinary community centre.

Mutuality was an important founding principle, eventually finding expression in the creation of High Green Development Trust, an association of all resident groups, to hold and to share in common the management of common services and costs. The Trust took over the Licence to Occupy in 2004 and in 2009 was granted a 40-year lease. In addition to groups sharing the premises, the Trust lets rooms and facilities (eg meeting rooms, IT and sports facilities) by the hour. 

In 2010, a question arose as to how Business Rates should be assessed which eventually led to a Valuation Tribunal hearing. The Trust had by then conceded that the previous practice, whereby the Campus was assessed as a single business should be replaced by each resident group being responsible for its own rates. At Tribunal, the question came down to whether or not Paces Campus was a "community centre": in the words of the Decision:

i to value the appeal properties in line with other community centres;

or

ii. to value the appeal properties in line with an adjusted open market commercial rate

In determing whether or not Paces Campus is a "community centre", the Valuation Officer "had turned to the dictionary definition which showed that a community centre was a meeting place where the local community may come together to participate in activities".  (One might find using a dictionary  definition rather than a statutory definition somewhat surprising, even irrelevant).

In reaching their decision, the Tribunal Panel made as a "finding of fact" that "a regular/usual Community Centre was expected to be occupied on a transient, temporary basis ....".

As Paces Campus "did not fit on all fours with the traditional community centres such as [A. B and C] ..." and although all resident groups are not-for-profit organisations, "an uplift in the basis normally attributable to community centres was required in order to reflect its quasi-commercial use".  In other words, instead of £25-£26.25 per sq metre, resident groups at Paces Campus, said by the Tribunal Panel to be, not a community centre, but a "hybrid", were assessed at £30 per sq metre; less, thankfully, than the £42 we had finally been assessed at before the Tribunal but the lack of recognition, as we see it, of our "community centre" status and the consequent 'uplift' was a disappointment.

So, when is a community centre NOT a community centre? If you manage a "community centre" or occupy space at a "community centre" are you sure it is indeed a community centre and not a "quasi-commercial" "hybrid"? How would you know? How are you assessed for Business Rates, collectively or separately and how much is the valuation?

Sometimes 'An Unexpected Ass-Kicking" is just what we need

Here's a cheering story about "potential" though the word isn't once used. So different from the view of potential as something that has to be "unlocked" or "untapped", as if potential is something we have inside ourselves: a view that has so debilitated the collective educational mind thoughout my professional lifetime.

There's much else but I particularly liked:

“That’s the problem with a lot of people”, he continued, “they don’t try to do stuff that’s never been done before, so they never do anything, but if they try to do it, they find out there’s lots of things they can do that have never been done before.”

Anyway, on a morning the weather is threatening torrential rain over Chatsworth House, where we are off to meet family, this story quite set me up for the day.

So here, for you to enjoy, too, and with thanks to the author, is Joe Runyin's account of his meeting with an elderly guy in cafe in Portland "An Unexpected Ass Kicking".

-----------------------------

Added later:

Although the word "potential" is not used in the article, it appears (inevitably?) in the Comments, such as that by Jana Burch on August 12 at 2.53pm who writes "Gifted students who are not challenged do not reach their potential."

Why so quiet, lately?

There's not been a lot I've felt inspired to comment on, to be honest.

Not the we've not been busy at Paces. Quite the contrary! On top of delivering excellent services (of course), there's an enormous amount of work going on overhauling the whole organisation (governance, financial systems, management), a constant questioning of what we do, why and how. Adults' services, particularly, is an area we are focused on. And supporting families. And trying to work out how we can reach all those families in South Yorkshire who've not heard of Paces - so we've been working on our Facebook page.

Then there's the regular stuff of writing grant applications - absorbs so much time. I emailed one grant funder recently to ask if our proposed project actually fitted their funding priorities. I'd read the guidelines and still wasn't sure. The reply was that it would be 'unfair' to other potential applicants to tell me - urging me to read the guidelines!

So all in all, it just feels rather like the daily round, daily. Wouldn't want to bore you with that.

Anyone care to ask me a question - anything - about Paces and I'll post a response here.

Two phrases. Opposite poles. What do they mean for education and upbringing?

Two phrases have been rattling around in my head. I'm just going to share them with you - and maybe come back later to expand on my own thoughts.

The first is ... "educated beyond their intelligence";

The second is .... "the transformability of human potential".

To put them both into their immediate contexts (emphases mine).

The first is from an (otherwise forgetable) article in the Guardian "What's the point of social mobility?" by Zoe Williams:

" ... my new theory; just as privatised medicine leads to the over-treatment of the rich and under-treatment of the poor, private schools over-educate the rich. This leads to many of them being educated beyond their intelligence."

The second is from a posting on Andrew Sutton's blog:

"Take just these two, the transformability of human potential as product of upbringing and education and transfer of physical disability out of medicine and health. Together they take you beyond the weak notion of 'support'. Advocate instead that disabled children need to be brought up, educated, taught, as do all other children – though not always necessarily in the same way.

Dr Hari in Sheffield

Sarah's home for the weekend and wants to get out shopping. Of course. Just checked in to this blog account to find a mystery solved. Great!

But an insistent daughter gives me only a moment now for thanks for responses to an earlier post. The post was of a picture of Dr Hari at a Sheffield summer school. I wondered who the conductor was behind Sarah.

I'm delighted to be able to thank Zoltán Kósa and Krisztina Jankóné Szeredás (then Krisztina Szeredás) - who is indeed herself that very same conductor!  Many thanks.

Krisztina, if any of the names of the children come to you, please do let me know. Or if anyone else out there can help that would be great too.

The treasured photo sits on my desk - reminding me of a wonderful time and of what we set out to do in the first place!

 said...

"Moved, amused and entertained" - a Xmas thanks from our Chair of Governors

Because our Chair of Governors, Christine Goldsack, does not herself post on social media, I thought I would share with you her open email to all parents and staff of Paces School. They deserve every congratulation, compliment and celebration. In return, I am sure they would want to offer their thanks to Christine and the Governors. Well done everyone! Here's Christine:

"Dear All

"Most of the Governors attended yesterday's production of 'Noah's Ark' and 'Songs from the Sound of Music'. We were as moved, amused and entertained as all the children's families who attended and so pleased to see the children's very obvious enjoyment in taking part. Many of the children have made really good progress since we last saw them in action. We would like to thank all the staff for giving us and them so much fun, only achieved by a great deal of dedication and loving hard work by them and the pupils.

"Can I also take this opportunity to thank the Parents of Paces, in particular Darrel and Jane Mettam, Jill Wimpenny and Stacey Mitchell. Yesterday you saw them organising the Grand Draw and selling the promotional goods - I have sent more than 100 cards this year, very proud that each one was designed by a Paces' pupil. Interestingly, I am receiving many too from friends who attended the Garden Party and also bought some! The PoP team has done an amazing job all year; they have raised a great deal of money which has helped complete the new classrooms and will help further improvements to the school's facilities; Jill takes the lead on organising the excellent termly Newsletter which is so professional and interesting; Jane organises the photographs each year, and so on. Attending PoP's monthly meetings, or asking to be mailed with information so you too can contribute ideas and help, is a way of being involved and showing your appreciation. Why not come along and join us - Darrel will circulate everyone with the date and time of the next meeting.

"Well done everyone, and a very happy Christmas to you all.

"Christine Goldsack, Chair of Paces' Governing Body."

Duke of Gloucester opens new Paces School classrooms - loads of pictures

There are more pictures than I'm sure you've got time to look at to be found on the website of Chris Seaman, our photgrapher for the visit of HRH the Duke of Gloucester to Paces.

(On Chris's website, click on 'Events', then on '62106 - HRH Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester official opening of Paces. View album')

The picture of Sarah shaking hands with HRH is still my favourite. But then, I would, wouldn't I?

(Previously on this visit here)

Sarah gets to shake hands with a Royal Duke

So proud of her!

HRH the Duke of Gloucester visits Paces School.