Archive for the ‘education’ Category

What does “rural” mean to you?

September 2nd, 2010

Have you ever asked a young adult, “What does ‘rural’ mean to you?”  Thanks to the GoTeach South Dakota program, I recently asked that question to a group of college students who have made the decision to teach in rural, high need schools in South Dakota.  To make the activity more interesting, I asked them to draw their thoughts on a map of South Dakota.  Their responses were very interesting.

What did they think?

The responses ranged from inventive to … interesting.  One respondent drew a lawn mower, suggesting that rural meant “slower traffic” and that it was ok to drive a lawn mower down the street because it wouldn’t be holding up traffic.  Another person drew a deer being shot by a stickman with a caption “Hello supper,” representing the opportunities of outdoor recreation offered by rural places.

There were some less flattering responses like, “I’m bored,” and “there’s no shopping.” Other responses were more positive including, rural community are made up of close-knit families and unique small towns. 

The most common response showed the cities of Sioux Falls and Rapid City being crossed out, representing that the entire state was rural except for these two communities. 

Overall, I thought it was great to see the diversity in their responses.  I see elements of each of them in the rural communities I have lived in. 

A few more thoughts

As I returned to work following the event, a quote that has hung on my office wall for the last 5-6 years caught my attention.  It originates from a study published by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation titled Perceptions of Rural America, and goes like this:

 This means that perceptions of rural America are centered on a series of dichotomies - rural life represents traditional American values, but is behind the times; rural life is more relaxed and slower than city life, but harder and more grueling; rural life is friendly, but intolerant of outsiders and difference; and rural life is richer in community life, but epitomized by individuals struggling independently to make ends meet. Rural America offers a particular quality of life including serenity and aesthetic surroundings, and yet it is plagued by lack of opportunities, including access to cultural activities.”  (source:  Perceptions of Rural America, W.H. Kellogg Foundation,  2002)

 

Dichotomies - both good and bad

I keep the phrase on my wall because it reminds me of the challenges of marketing and branding rural communities.  It reminds me that people react differently to phrases like “everyone knows each other in a small town.”  For some it conjures up images of safety and familiarity; for other, it suggests small towns are like Peyton Place.  The reality is that there’s a little of both in all rural communities. 

At the end of the session with the students, I offered two bits of advice:  (1) dig deeper into the stereotypes,  both positive and negative, that we hear about rural communities, and (2) reject the notion that all rural communities are the same.  I think that’s advice we can all benefit from. 

 

Note: The GoTeach South Dakota program is a federally funded Teacher Quality Partnership grant aimed at increasing student achievement and developing high quality teachers for high need areas. The program includes comprehensive education, training, support and professional development for teachers recruited to serve in qualifying school districts.

Photo Credit:  KTPUPP - Flickr

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Why rural communities need artists

August 20th, 2010

If I were in charge of giving out awards at the Midwest Rural Assembly, I’d give Becky McCray the “Best Tweet” award.  While listening to Deb Marquart speak about the role of artists in communities, Becky tweeted:

“Grow more artists, not just corn and athletes. Artists are the ones who reimagine a place, help create the future. Deb Marquart #mra10“

And if I were able to give out a “Most Insightful” award, I’d give it to Deb Marquart.  I’ve been thinking about the role of the arts as an economic development strategy lately, but Marquart tuned me onto another potential impact artists can make.  We need artists to help us solve the significant problems facing rural communities.

Marquart described artists as problem solvers, with a gift for looking at the world differently than the rest of us.  We need artists to bring those problem solving skills and perspective to the table as we deal with the economic and social challenges confronting our rural communities.  It’s key to helping us reimagine our futures. 

There was a lot of wisdom in Marquart’s words, so I attempted to recapture some of it in a short interview following her presentation.  You can watch that video below.

 

(Source:  “Deb Marquart on Why Rural Communities need Artists,” Youtube, Rural Learning Center, Aug. 16, 2010)

I think Marquart is right in her assessment of artists, especially if it includes a wide definition of the term.  Sadly, our communities don’t include artists enough in our community work.  Even worse, we make little effort to cultivate their development in our schools and communities. 

Later in the day, I participated in a discussion about the importance of teaching entrepreneurship to young people.  It was at that moment that I began to think about potential connections between artists and entrepreneurs.

Similar to the way Marquart views artists, I’ve always looked at entrepreneurs as problem solvers; they see an economic problem and attempt to find a business solution.  It’s got me thinking there’s a connection between teaching art and teaching entrepreneurship.  Perhaps programs and classes that cultivate artists could help grow more entrepreneurs, and vice-versa. 

Whether it’s artists, entrepreneurs, or someone else, we need to harness the energy and skills of people who bring a different perspective to the table and are good at overcoming obstacles.  Our reimagined future depends on it.

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Brain Gain: calling on all “bright spots”

August 13th, 2010

I’ll be attending the Midwest Rural Assembly next Monday.  One of the aspects of the Assembly that I appreciate most is that in addition to the policy talk, it’s a great opportunity talk with rural leaders from around the Midwest.  This year, I’m particularly interested in learning about communities that are successfully addressing the issue often referred to as “brain drain.”  

By now, most everyone has heard about “brain drain.” Miner County, SD is a classic example of the phenomena:  for decades now, young people have graduated from high school, left for college, and settled in cities where opportunities appear to be more abundant. 

The phrase captures our attention today more than ever before because rural communities appear to be losing their “best and brightest” at a time when economists are recognizing the importance of “human capital” as a driver of economic development. 

But as Ben Winchester, a research fellow for University of Minnesota Extension , has noted this is only part of the story.  Many rural communities are experiencing a “brain gain” as people age 30 to 49 begin to move back to rural communities to raise families.    (source: “Rural Migration: The Brain Gain of Newcomers,” Ben Winchester)

We need to be intentional

I find Winchester’s research significant because this trend is occurring without most people knowing it.  Just think of the results if more communities decided to be intentional and work at attracting new residents.  I’m already aware of numerous efforts of this nature. For instance:

Clinton County, Ohio appears to be doing a nice of changing their community brand as a way of attracting young people. They’ve created the Clinton County Fellows program and are challenging young people to come back and do something special in their hometown.

I’ve also been very impressed with the work of the Next Generation initiative of the Gogebic Range of Iron County, Wisconsin and Gogebic County, Michigan.  They’ve developed a four pronged approach that includes youth retention, new resident attraction and new resident retention.  

While these Midwestern projects deserve attention as “bright spots,” I’m also interested in efforts further west as well.  My friends at the Strom Center have identified some good work in the oil country of North Dakota, and I just learned of another effort emerging out of the Upper Minnesota Regional Development Commission.  I’ll dig into these bright spots in the future. 

Look me up at the MRA

As I stated earlier, I’m hoping other people attending the Midwest Rural Assembly share my interest in the subject and will look me up.  I’ve even included a profile picture in case we haven’t met. 

If we don’t meet before hand, I think there’s an opportunity Monday afternoon from 3:00 - 5:00 for us to get together as well.  If I understand the agenda correctly, the session is intended as an opportunity for people to gather around topics of interest, identify what is working well, and then talk about policies that need further attention.  I intend to stand up and identify my interest in “people attraction and retention.”  If enough people are interested, I’m sure we’ll generate some good discussion.

I’m really looking forward to the event, and I hope you are as well. 

 

Note: I’ll be Tweeting (@Michael_Knutson) using the #MRA10 hashtag, and hopefully blogging from the event on Reimagine Rural.

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Schools: Design Effects Performance

June 9th, 2010

If you remember, last week I wrote a post on the health and learning benefits attributed to green schools.  I asked, is it that unrealistic to build green schools in rural areas, and can it be obtained by those who don’t have a lot of money to throw around?

I wanted to expand the statistics found in my last post.  Air Quality Sciences, Inc interviewed 667 executives involved in green and traditional educational facilities and this is what they had to say.

I think we now all understand the tremendous benefits of green schools for our students, teachers, and administrators, but not every district can afford a new building and I believe that doing something, no matter how small, is better than doing nothing.  This led me to seek out information on what others can do to improve the buildings they already have.

A study found in the book Green Schools: Attributes for Health and Learning focused on rural high schools in Virginia.  School personnel surveyed the building based on topics, ranging from thermal comfort to the condition of the flooring and the color of the walls, in order to rate the building as substandard, standard or above standard.  The study found that there was a significant difference in student performance from students in substandard buildings compared to their peers in above standard buildings.  And, the students said the building’s cosmetics, like the condition of the floors and the color of the walls, were more important than the structure of the building.

Teachers from two similar elementary schools in rural Tennessee reported that students in the modern school had a lower level of discipline and health issues and a higher attendance rate than students in a building from 1939. 

These results are great news for rural schools that are feeling the pinch, but want to do some upgrading.  While more sunlight, better heating and cooling systems, and rain water reuse programs are great, brightly colored walls can make a huge difference on the way people perceive a room.  Nicer furnishings and classrooms also solicit more respect from students. 

I want to leave you with a video I found to be truly inspiring.  Imagine how much happier the world would be if all our students got to study in a place like this, and all of our office and retail buildings had these great characteristics.

Manassas Park Elementary School from Chesapeake Bay Program on Vimeo.

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Building the Case: Greening Our Schools

June 4th, 2010

Going to school at Howard High was pretty good.  The building was built in 1969 and in fairly good shape for a building now in its 40’s; almost every classroom had a window and the library had skylights, but the temperature controls weren’t quite right and often window blinds were shut tight.  I didn’t particularly enjoy the building, but it wasn’t bad and could have been much worse. 

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) says the average American spends 90% of their day indoors.  Often little thought is put into how the built environment impacts our daily routine.  As a socially minded architecture student, I think good buildings should enhance our daily lives and not only be available to those with a fist full of cash.  I start to wonder if it really is that unrealistic to build green schools in rural areas. 

Currently there are numerous schools being housed in what appear to be tin sheds or leftover trailers.  When I hear that “green” schools improve the health of teachers and students, raise test scores and decrease student absences, I ask myself why our schools aren’t doing more to help our students.

The USGBC defines green schools as, “… a school building or facility that creates a healthy environment that is conducive to learning while saving energy, resources and money.”

According to Air Quality Sciences, Inc, Turner Construction, and the USGBC-Green Schools, there are many reasons why schools should be built using “green” practices.

 In our rural school districts, it can be hard to find enough money for textbooks, let alone a new building.  But when given the opportunity, are we providing our students and teachers with the best possible opportunities to succeed?

 If the statistics I found are correct, this means our decision to build schools goes far beyond financial or environmental factors. 

 Stay tuned next week for a post looking at different case studies about rural “green” schools.

 Photo:  Howard High School in Howard, SD

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Cameron Herold on Youth Entrepreneurship

May 3rd, 2010

Let me preface this blog post by saying, I’ve got nothing against lawyers.  When a person needs legal advice, they are a guy or gal’s best friend.  But I have to agree with Cameron Herold when he says:

 I think we should be raising kids to be entrepreneurs, instead of lawyers.   And unfortunately, the school system is grooming this world to say ‘hey let’s be a lawyer or a doctor’…no one ever says, ‘let’s be an entrepreneur’.”  (Source:  Cameron Herold, TEDxEdmonton video presentation, embedded below)

Cameron Herold made the statement during a TEDx Edmonton  presentation back in March 2010.  Herold, a serial entrepreneur turned business coach, goes on in the presentation to say that he believes young people are capable of solving all the world’s problems if adults would only help them embrace entrepreneurial thinking. 

 

 

What skills do kids need to be entrepreneurs?

Towards the end of his presentation, Herold identifies the skills sets of entrepreneurs that he thinks need to be taught in schools.  I took a screen shot from the video and have embedded his list below. 

 

(Source:  TEDxEdmonton video presentation, embedded above)

It’s a great list because these are skills that can be taught across all academic disciplines - not just in business class. 

For instance, I think that any high school English class could include a unit on “personal branding.”  Students could learn to be creative and position their personal assets while improving their writing skills.  And to top it off, students could use what they learn about branding regardless of what career path they choose. 

Let’s share some stories

That’s just one example, and it addressed two of the skills Herold identified. And I’m sure there are better, more creative, examples of what some teachers are already doing.

For that reason, I’d like to issue a little challenge.  If you know of creative educators who are already teaching entrepreneurial skills, please take a moment and share their stories.  And if you don’t have time to write about it, just post a comment or send me an email.  I’ll try to uncover the story. 

I’m convinced that sharing stories of talented educators who teach entrepreneurial skills is the first step in convincing rural community leaders and educators that teaching entrepreneurship is possible-even in small schools with limited resources.  

As Herold infers, our world may depend on it.

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ReImagining a more creative rural educational system

February 9th, 2010

Yesterday I highlighted a video interview of Richard Florida on Big Think, emphasizing the movement of creative workers to careers in industries not usually associated with creative types. 

But the bulk of his message, which I left untouched yesterday, is that we need to reimagine our educational system.  You may listen (or re-listen) to the interview in the video below. 

 

 (video source:  “Reinventing the way Workers Learn,” Big Think

Florida’s emphasis on the lack of social skill training in education reminded me of the advice Jim Beddow offered college students when he was the President at Dakota Wesleyan University back in the 1980s and early 1990s.  He encouraged students to develop skills that enabled them to: 

Jim still offers this advice to young people, and has since added a forth key; learn to network (both in personal and online).  To support his advice, Jim often cites successful individuals who embody these skills.  Two things strike me about his list of examples.  First, a great many create success outside of their chosen field of academic study.  And second, these individuals are incredibly entrepreneurial and creative. 

As regular readers recognize, I’m a former high school teacher, and am often a critic of the educational system in our rural communities.  My primary grudge is that our current educational model was developed for the industrial economy, which means we trained them to be successful in urban communities with stronger industrial economies. 

In the video interview, Florida tells us that “nibbling around the edges” of the educational system won’t develop the types of change that our country needs to grow our economy.  I would agree. 

But what does that mean for our rural communities?  Do we have to wait until business and political leaders are ready to transform education?  I hope not.

Instead, I would call on rural educators to look within their classrooms, and figure out ways that they can teach these skills to their current students.  Not only will students benefit as individuals, but I think our rural communities will benefit as well.

 

Note:  Readers may be interested in  these additional video interviews of Richard Florida on Big Think

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Is your community ready for social media?

February 2nd, 2010

Last night Lindsey and I engaged in a little social media training for residents in Miner County, SD.  During our session, we noted the changing landscape of advertising, and cited Pepsi’s withdrawal from its traditional advertising during the Super Bowl in favor of sponsoring a community grant program called the Pepsi Refresh Project as an example.  Marketing and advertising is definitely going “social.”

This morning, I hopped onto Facebook to find an update from Mark Rembert at Energize Clinton County who recommended people support a project in the Pepsi Refresh grant contest called Studio H. Learning of the project has inspired me to include the video explaining the project below.  

 

Combine design thinking, vocational trade training, and community citizenship in a youth engagement project — all within a high school setting.  The image of design:SD on steroids comes to mind.  If you agree, I hope you will vote for the project on the Pepsi Refresh page.

Reflecting on this project has created a couple thoughts that I’d like to share.

First, I hope rural communities are inspired by the Studio H project to develop their own youth engagement projects.  I love the idea of combining design and construction training in a community project.  But each community is different, and youth engagement projects need to meet the needs of both young people and the community.     

Second, I hope the Pepsi Refresh Project helps people see how marketing is becoming “social.”  The idea of taking money that previously directed at advertising and using it to engage your customer base is a great way to build a stronger brand.  It’s caused me to think more about how small, rural communities might use online contests as a part of their branding efforts.  (Note:  There are issues with “crowdsourced” contests of this nature, as is highlighted here.) 

And finally, I hope that the Pepsi Refresh Project helps rural residents and community development practitioners understand the importance of delivering social media training to people in rural communities.  I loved the idea advance by David Becker at the Friend of the Farmer blog to develop a social media training program for rural farmers.  (I shared my thoughts in greater detail in this post.)  The idea, along with support from local extension educator Jim Krantz, caused Lindsey and I share the presentation (which I’ve embedded below) with Miner County residents last night.      

Social Media 101
View more presentations from Rural Learning Center.

Our presentation is intended as an overview of social media.  Beginning February 15th and continuing each Monday through March, we will offer hands on training for specific tools like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.  If you are a Miner County resident and are interested in this training, I’d encourage you to contact the Miner County Extension office. 

If you are a rural community outside Miner County, I’d encourage you to answer the question:  Are people in our rural community interested in using social media?  If the answer is “yes,” I hope you find a way to bring training to your community.

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School lunch programs gone “local”

January 4th, 2010

While grocery shopping for Christmas, I picked up some delicious looking strawberries.  It’s difficult to grow fresh strawberries during South Dakota’s harsh winter, and I suspected these strawberries had been grown on a hydroponic farm in some distant land. Unfortunately, their flavor fell far short of my already low expectations, and I suspect their nutritional value wasn’t far behind. 

With this disappointment fresh in my mind, I caught a tweet from Deb Brown at DebWorks.  She shared an interesting article describing how the Independence (IA) School District has embraced the local foods movement in an effort to both improve the nutritional value of their school lunches and to education young people about healthy living.    (Source:  “School lunch goes local,” Iowa Farmer Today, 12-23-09)

The school district is a part of the Iowa Farm to School Initiative.  They purchase locally grown produce, and prepare it at their kitchen.  In an effort to help young people understand what healthy eating is all about and where their food comes from, the school has also developed an educational component. 

Not only am I impressed with the efforts because it should lead to healthier eating for young people, but also because it stimulates the local economy.  Granted it must take a little extra effort to prepare the fruits and vegetables, but I’m sure the school’s kitchen workers appreciate the extra hours and accompanying wages.

There’s been a growing movement lately to discredit local foods initiatives.  The theory goes that mass producing foods and shipping them across the country leads to greater economic efficiencies.  But as a recent Business Week article titled “Entrepreneurs Keep the Local Food Movement Hot” reports, local foods initiatives play a more critical role in economic development than most people realize. 

After conducting a quick internet search for the Farm to School Initiative, I’ve concluded there’s not much happening in South Dakota’s schools.  If true, that’s disappointing. 

Good nutrition and a little economic development.  That’s something that could benefit all of our rural communities. 

Photo credit:  back_garage - Flickr

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Mistakes of a first-year Teacher

November 17th, 2009

I have a confession to make.  When I started my teaching career at Tripp High School in 1990, I had no idea what it meant to teach in a small rural school.  Having grown up in Hartford, SD, a small town just outside of Sioux Falls, I always thought of myself as a rural kid.  But in reality, my high school experience was closer to that of a suburban school than a rural school.  And more importantly, nothing in my college teacher preparation courses suggested that teaching in rural schools was any different than teaching in urban settings.

Case in point:  During my first year of teaching, I introduced a personal finance unit into my micro economics class.  Hoping to show my students how they could be “smart shoppers,” I demonstrated how they could save money by switching from buying individual cans of pop from the school’s pop machine to buying pop in bulk. And if they were really smart, I suggested, they would drive to Sioux Falls to buy at a discounter like Sam’s Club — because that’s where the real savings could be realized. 

If you’ve lived in a rural community, you recognize the stupidity of my example.  But for those who don’t, let me explain:

First, I did not factor in the cost of driving the 90 miles to Sioux Falls.  (Boy would my green friends today have a problem with this.)

Second, it did not consider the importance of patronizing a business in one’s community.  Our local grocery story displayed good community citizenship, while Sam’s Club didn’t know (or care) that Tripp, SD even existed. 

And finally, the model for saving money I shared didn’t factor in how the city council would need to ask residents to pay more in property taxes to make up for the declining sales tax revenues resulting from out-of-town purchasing.   

I’ve been thinking about examples like this a lot lately as I work on the South Dakota Partnership for Teacher Quality.  One of the roles the Rural Learning Center will play in the grant is to help first year teachers learn how to live and teach in rural communities.  In some ways, this will involve similar concepts offered by Kyle Ezell in Get Urban.  (see post for more info.)

Teaching and living in rural communities is different from teaching in urban communities. I learned that the hard way.  I wonder how many teacher education programs acknowledge these differences as they prepare teachers?  If they did, we might see young teachers become life-long rural educators.

Photo Credit:  FXR - Flickr

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