Walk into Rachel King-Davis’ classroom and you’re not likely to see desks all in row. In fact, when her classes are in session at the Parkway Peace and Social Justice High School you’re not likely to see "order", or hear it, at all.
But, then, you probably don’t know where to look. Here’s a hint: try the students. They're usually running the show.
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King-Davis (center in photo) began teaching at Simon Gratz High School in 1993 after stints as a social worker and probation officer for the Juvenile Justice Center. Maybe ‘the bad kids’ made her sensitive because from day one she refused to teach in any way that supported the attitude of school being “only for the kids who can do it.”
She wanted a different message to fill her classroom.
“It would be amazing if you can actually put that seed in their head that says, ‘I believe you can do it,’” she explained.
And over the years, whether at Gratz or at Parkway, which she came to in 2005, what her students have done will surprise most observers of the Philadelphia schools - of schools in general. Consider this partial list: student run social justice teach-ins, fundraisers for charities, peer-to-peer tutoring groups, a school recycling program, a healthy school lunch program, co-blogging with a classroom in South Africa, five years of class trips to England, a planned service learning trip to South Africa and the upcoming genocide and Holocaust museum at Temple’s Liacouras Center on Martin Luther King Day. This is not teaching to the test.
Several traits have been central to King-Davis’ teaching all along. Inquiry-based learning where students build their own understandings by getting deep into a subject, activist approaches that encourage students to engage their community or help improve it and, above all, student centered curriculum, which lets young people determine the direction a class goes in.
Given that, her main criticism of typical approaches to public education may not be surprising. “I just think that more people need to believe that our kids need to be part of it,” she said.
Since 1996 King-Davis has focused a growing portion of her history classes on the Champions of Caring curriculum developed by local educator Barbara Shaiman. By focusing on groups that have experienced oppression at various times, encouraging students to identify systems of oppression and join the fight against it, King-Davis has found the curriculum useful in planting that ‘you-can-do-it’ seed.
With such constant focus on student action it makes sense that Parkway would ask King-Davis to head up the school's student center last year.
“So when they told me I would be the leader of the student center I said, ‘OK, great. That’s nice. But you do realize I’m going to put students in charge,’” she said.
Increasing student involvement was the mandate. Well, they asked for it. One of the first things King-Davis did was put the center’s name up for student referendum to underscore student ownership of the space.
Her reasoning was simple. “No one wants to be in a place where they feel like they don’t belong or they’re not part of.”
Seventeen-year-old Jalissa Dickerson, a junior at Parkway, is an excellent example of why this kind of in-your-face student presence is important. On a recent cold and rainy day Dickerson, an alumna of King-Davis’ ninth grade class, stayed late in the Student Community Development Center (yes they picked that name) trying to work out the final draft of a proposal to the school’s principal for a Student Speak Out to be held December 10. She skipped her lunch to work on the proposal too. The subject of her Speak Out? Oppression in education at Parkway.
“We have students at Parkway who don’t have a voice when we have classes, and we’re learning but we’re not having fun,” Dickerson explained. “And oppression is to find out how we’re in a cycle and how we can change that.”
Dickerson, who sees her main mission in high school as learning to be a leader by the time she graduates, freely admits she would not be involved in this kind of thing if not for King-Davis. Her former teacher feigned surprise that she would say so within her earshot, but the pride was unmistakable.
Activism, leadership, commitment, analysis of a complex social situation and, most of all, courage - clearly Dickerson has the seed King-Davis was talking about. And while some could worry about a forum designed by a student and meant to harness students' critiques of their own school, others see much more going on. You might call it learning.
“I still believe in drill and kill but there has to be hands on,” King-Davis said. “Just like the only way to teach someone to farm is to let them get in the dirt.”
For more information, or to support class trips to England and South Africa call the Parkway school at 215-248-6220.
Comments
When sages use the spiritual way to set up education the whole world follows. An example of the true characteristics of effective pedagogy. This is why it is important to have teachers and especially administrators who have years of experience in the field of education both in theory and practice to be the ones who will continue to improve not only our schools but more importantly our communities. This nonsense of imposing the business model on our schools needs to be challenged by those such us who like to work on the farm and get dirty. Teachers like King-Davis are the models of effective education. How does standardized testing and all the time wasted on preparing even touch the knowledge and hands on experience these professionals impart to their students.
This is truly amazing! Rachel King-Davis is an inspiration for all teachers to engage our kids with student-centered social justice curriculum. She is planting the 'you-can-do-it' seeds in our next generation of leaders. King-Davis gives hope to parents like me with three kids in the public school system that we can advocate for an activist approach to learning at our schools. King-Davis has modeled a social justice Champion of Caring Curriculum blueprint for success!
I absolutely couldn't agree more, Yvette and Guy. She's great, and I'll be posting more about some of the stuff she does in the next few days. Plus I'm on the lookout for more cool stuff going on in the Philly schools, so please stay tunned.
Mrs. King this article is lovely. I couldn't agree more and I am so happy that you are being recognized for all that you do. You touch people's lives in a way that changes them and inspire them to be better and I'm just amazed and glad that I had a teacher like you.
Thank you for the lovely comments. IT means so much to be appreciated.
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