Linda Pickett, Ph.D. • Assistant Professor Early Childhood Department
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UM-Flint Assistant Professor of Education, Dr. Linda Pickett, knows sweeping education reform is possible, she knows it is the key aspect of any sweeping social reform, and she knows it can be done successfully in areas ravaged by generations of violence, prejudice and uncertainty.
Last winter, five UM-Flint education students went with her to see the firsthand the achievements of Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Intergraded Primary Schools.
For many, Northern Ireland is known as a place of strife among Protestants and Catholics, Unionists and Nationalists. Dr. Picket and her students believe the success of Belfast's Integrated Schools is Northern Ireland’s new hallmark.
In the early 1980s, a small group of parents, teachers and other community-minded people came together around the idea that the violence, prejudice and ignorance long-plaguing their country would never stop unless their kids went to school together and stopped demonizing one another.
“Originally, parents and educators who decided they wanted this type of school had to go out and find funding themselves,” explained Pickett. “Then, once the school proved itself, they would receive funding through the state. But they also have site-based management so that the teachers, administrators and parents from a particular school decide how that school should spend that school’s money to best addresses their specific needs.”
Roughly 5 to 10 percent of the schools in Northern Ireland are now integrated. The social benefit of bridging such long-standing cultural divides cannot be denied. However, Dr. Pickett and her students contend that the practical, progressive advancements made by these Integrated Primary schools go even further. The philosophy, approach, structure and curriculum are as significant to the overall success story of the Integrated Primary schools as the tearing down of cultural barriers.
Courtney Castle, a senior from Grand Blanc, assisted the teachers at Belfast’s Cedar Integrated Primary. “The teachers, the entire school, focus on the children, nothing else,” said Courtney. “Everything revolves around the kids. There is more play. Teachers incorporate play, what the students are curious about, what they find fun and interesting, directly into the lessons, making them fun and interesting. The teachers see such a benefit in this that they are changing the curriculum for 2008 to include even more playtime. It is amazing. These kids are about a grade level ahead of children here. They aren’t doing more homework and assignments and listening to the teacher talk; they are doing hands-on activities, working together and having fun. They find real joy and take real pride in school.”
Not only are these schools integrated Catholic and Protestant, classes are also a mix of ages, and special needs students are taught alongside everyone else. According Corey Bellomo, a senior from Flushing who assisted at Oakwood Integrated Primary, “Fifteen of my thirty students had special needs. It wasn’t ‘give your kid this pill and everything will be OK.’ Or ‘just sit still.’ One of the main programs they used was called primary movement. They were going after the physiological aspects of what was causing the behavior. It was more proactive, rather than being restrictive and, you know, ‘fit into this mold.’ The entire curriculum is individualized. They are evaluated based on their individual strengths and weaknesses, how they are improving in certain areas and areas where they need more work. I thought that was phenomenal. They actually teach conflict resolution as part of the curriculum. What does it mean to be fair? What does it mean to be a bully? They embrace the importance of social lessons. How to get along is key to successful communities. Period.”
Nichole James, a senior from Capac, compared her Belfast experience to her student teaching in the states. “At the classroom I was in here, free time meant be quiet and sit at your desk. That isn’t free. Over there they are loud and singing and dancing and truly having free time. Time to be curious, energetic, enthusiastic, silly, creative, kids. But as soon as the teacher says it’s time to do something else, they quiet up and listen. They have respect because they have been shown respect. There is a lot of self-regulating that is infused into the combining of play and more structured exercises.”
Melissa Aseltine, a senior from Flint Northern, shared this example. “I had two little boys, 6 or 7, who came up with a song and dance and wanted to perform it. The teacher let them get up in front of the class and do that. Here, I think most teachers would say, “sit down and stop acting so silly.” They absolutely encourage creativity and self-expression. You’ve got to be a spontaneous teacher.
Dr. Pickett concurs, “It’s more fluid and incorporates their real life and real interests. We claim to be so individualistic here, but our education is completely uniform, completely cookie-cutter.”
All of Dr. Pickett’s students came back with a new appreciation for the possible, a sense that more daring, non-traditional methods of teaching are not only valid, but superior. If they can be employed successfully in a place with such a long history of divisiveness and bitterness, they can work anywhere. Said Dustin Palmer, a senior from Mt. Morris, “I’ve seen that it is possible to have effective progressive education. It can be done because there are actually passionate people out in the world doing it.”
Last winter, five UM-Flint education students went with her to see the firsthand the achievements of Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Intergraded Primary Schools.
For many, Northern Ireland is known as a place of strife among Protestants and Catholics, Unionists and Nationalists. Dr. Picket and her students believe the success of Belfast's Integrated Schools is Northern Ireland’s new hallmark.
In the early 1980s, a small group of parents, teachers and other community-minded people came together around the idea that the violence, prejudice and ignorance long-plaguing their country would never stop unless their kids went to school together and stopped demonizing one another.
“Originally, parents and educators who decided they wanted this type of school had to go out and find funding themselves,” explained Pickett. “Then, once the school proved itself, they would receive funding through the state. But they also have site-based management so that the teachers, administrators and parents from a particular school decide how that school should spend that school’s money to best addresses their specific needs.”
Roughly 5 to 10 percent of the schools in Northern Ireland are now integrated. The social benefit of bridging such long-standing cultural divides cannot be denied. However, Dr. Pickett and her students contend that the practical, progressive advancements made by these Integrated Primary schools go even further. The philosophy, approach, structure and curriculum are as significant to the overall success story of the Integrated Primary schools as the tearing down of cultural barriers.
Courtney Castle, a senior from Grand Blanc, assisted the teachers at Belfast’s Cedar Integrated Primary. “The teachers, the entire school, focus on the children, nothing else,” said Courtney. “Everything revolves around the kids. There is more play. Teachers incorporate play, what the students are curious about, what they find fun and interesting, directly into the lessons, making them fun and interesting. The teachers see such a benefit in this that they are changing the curriculum for 2008 to include even more playtime. It is amazing. These kids are about a grade level ahead of children here. They aren’t doing more homework and assignments and listening to the teacher talk; they are doing hands-on activities, working together and having fun. They find real joy and take real pride in school.”
Not only are these schools integrated Catholic and Protestant, classes are also a mix of ages, and special needs students are taught alongside everyone else. According Corey Bellomo, a senior from Flushing who assisted at Oakwood Integrated Primary, “Fifteen of my thirty students had special needs. It wasn’t ‘give your kid this pill and everything will be OK.’ Or ‘just sit still.’ One of the main programs they used was called primary movement. They were going after the physiological aspects of what was causing the behavior. It was more proactive, rather than being restrictive and, you know, ‘fit into this mold.’ The entire curriculum is individualized. They are evaluated based on their individual strengths and weaknesses, how they are improving in certain areas and areas where they need more work. I thought that was phenomenal. They actually teach conflict resolution as part of the curriculum. What does it mean to be fair? What does it mean to be a bully? They embrace the importance of social lessons. How to get along is key to successful communities. Period.”
Nichole James, a senior from Capac, compared her Belfast experience to her student teaching in the states. “At the classroom I was in here, free time meant be quiet and sit at your desk. That isn’t free. Over there they are loud and singing and dancing and truly having free time. Time to be curious, energetic, enthusiastic, silly, creative, kids. But as soon as the teacher says it’s time to do something else, they quiet up and listen. They have respect because they have been shown respect. There is a lot of self-regulating that is infused into the combining of play and more structured exercises.”
Melissa Aseltine, a senior from Flint Northern, shared this example. “I had two little boys, 6 or 7, who came up with a song and dance and wanted to perform it. The teacher let them get up in front of the class and do that. Here, I think most teachers would say, “sit down and stop acting so silly.” They absolutely encourage creativity and self-expression. You’ve got to be a spontaneous teacher.
Dr. Pickett concurs, “It’s more fluid and incorporates their real life and real interests. We claim to be so individualistic here, but our education is completely uniform, completely cookie-cutter.”
All of Dr. Pickett’s students came back with a new appreciation for the possible, a sense that more daring, non-traditional methods of teaching are not only valid, but superior. If they can be employed successfully in a place with such a long history of divisiveness and bitterness, they can work anywhere. Said Dustin Palmer, a senior from Mt. Morris, “I’ve seen that it is possible to have effective progressive education. It can be done because there are actually passionate people out in the world doing it.”