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At
the end of the Turning Points National Institute in Portland
ME, July 18-22, 2005, a New York City principal wrote, “School
teachers in New York are a skeptical group. We’ve had hundreds
of programs go in and out of our schools. Turning Points, in my
mind, is the real deal.”
Such
endorsements were common at the July institute, the theme of which
was “Leading for Transformation: Creating Powerful Learning
Communities in the Middle Grades.”
Keynote speaker Mary Jo Bauen, of the Center for Participatory Research
at UC Berkeley, began by asking participants to look at their own
family assumptions about education, and then to exchange stories
with partners. The result was a lively, intense look at the differences
we start with as we look to improve the education of our children.
Then the National Turning Points staff stepped forth to lead strands
around some of the hardest challenges facing middle schools today.
One strand showed how to develop lessons that engage all the students
and develop their thinking ability and skills. Another strand looked
at faculty peer observation and directly addressed ways to combat
initial staff resistance to its use. A third strand focused on common
dilemmas faced by urban schools throughout the country, as participants
shared ideas and the solutions they had devised.
Participants
left energized at the end the week. Said one principal from South
Carolina, “You Northern folks just won back the South! I came
to this conference a little disheartened about the future of Turning
Points, and this conference really inspired me.” An Illinois
teacher summed up the feeling at the end of the institute, “I
feel like a kid in summer camp. I don't want to go home. It’s
just great that so many people care so much about their schools.
They don’t want to just put a band aid on the problems—they
really want to transform their schools.”
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