Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today's Youth for Tomorrow's World, by James P. Comer. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004. 352 pp. $28.00, hardcover, $18.00 paperback. "...we all but ignore child and adolescent development issues. This is largely because the professional identity of teacher as instructor, rather than as child and youth developer in the service of teaching and learning, is established first in schools of education and then reinforced in practice with colleagues who were similarly prepared" (Comer, 2004, p. 273). In their book, Supplementary Education, Gordon, Bridglall and Meroe so often cite James Comer's earlier work, Waiting for a Miracle: Why Schools Can't Solve Our Problems, that some people worry that they and Comer, one of our most distinguished psychiatrists, believe that schools are unimportant in the development of our children. Comer, Gordon, Bridglall, and Meroe are advocates of "supplementary education'-the importance of the teaching and learning that occur outside of school- but they do not think that school and what happens in school are any less important. Children and our society need well-resourced and well-functioning schools. In his book, Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today's Youth for Tomorrow's World, Comer reasserts his claim about what he feels that schools can do and should be about. Based on more than thirtyfive years of hands-on work in public schools and in the promotion of the idea that facilitating human development is a central function and instrument of schooling, Comer describes his experience with a model for school reform. It is an informative and inspiring story. Marian Wright Edelman, who coined the phrase "leave no child behind," has observed: "How different our schools and our nation would be if every child were a 'Comer Kid'" (Comer, 2004, reviewer's comments). Professor Howard Gardner claims "James Comer is one of the sanest and wisest educators of our time" (Comer, 2004, reviewer's comments). Waiting for schools, alone, to solve our problems is like waiting for a miracle, but not because schools are superfluous. Well-resourced schools and stable communities and families that support the holistic development of children are, in Comer's and our views, essential if we are indeed to leave no child behind. Comer's book is both biographical and documentary. In the foreword, the distinguished Henry Louis Gates helps us to understand who James P. Comer is, the course he has traveled, and the context in which Comer has lived his remarkable life. In the chapters that follow, Comer provides more details of his own lived experience, and the ideas and values that have shaped his work. About one third of the way through the book, Comer introduces the conceptual and organizational framework that provides the scaffold for the Student Development Program or the Comer approach. This nine element model consists of three mechanisms-a governance and management team (now called the School Planning and Management Team [SPMT]), a parent team, and a mental health team (now called a Student and Staff Support Team); three operationscomprehensive school plan, staff development, and assessment and modification; and three guidelines-no fault problem-solving, consensus decision-making, and collaboration or no paralysis. Comer claims that the framework enables the staff and parents to manage the three critical areas of work in schools-governance and management, student and adult development, and teaching and learning. However, as is true of most functioning systems, while such structures are important, it is often the culture and the processes that really make the difference. One does not have to read many pages before one realizes that at the core of Comer 's conviction is that essential to the process of educating children is a culture that supports child and adolescent development. Fundamental to the creation and maintenance of such a culture are the relationships between the teaching persons, the learning persons, and between those who are teaching and learning. …

Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today's Youth for Tomorrow's World

Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importa...

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Attachment Predicts College Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills for Working With Infants, Toddlers, and Families

This action research study analyzed the creation and implementation of a professional development about trauma, informed by Arwood’s Neuro-semantic Language Learning Theory and Noddings’ ethic of care. The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first was to create a professional learning experience for teachers on trauma to include perspectives from neuroscience, psychology, and language research. The second purpose was to determine if participation in that professional learning experience shifted educators’ beliefs about trauma and learning. I completed two cycles of action research to address each purpose. In the first cycle, I collected qualitative data from five expert panelists’ evaluations on content and process of the professional development presentation. Findings from this cycle indicated that expert panelists from the fields of neuroeducation, trauma, and professional development saw this experience as effective. Using content analysis, I determined changes the expert panelists recommended making to refine the presentation. In the second action research cycle, I refined the professional development and implemented it with 13 participants (6 preservice and 7 inservice educators) over three one-time sessions. Data came from participants’ responses on a needs assessment, case studies, a belief survey, transcribed audio recordings, silent conversations, reflective journals, an evaluation of the experience, and a follow-up survey. Data were analyzed

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When Trauma Disrupts Learning: A Neuroeducation-Informed Professional Learning Experience

“This chapter describes the need for mental health professionals to support teachers in addressing student mental health and effective strategies for providing that support. The chapter begins with a discussion of deficits in teacher training in topics pertinent to student mental health including child and adolescent development, identification and early intervention for students with mental health difficulties, and behavior management. Teachers want to promote mental health for their students, and are eager for the mental health community to help them overcome these training deficits. To that end, the second half of the chapter is focused on school mental health consultation as a means for supporting teachers. This section includes a description of consultation models, the consultation process, and unique aspects of consultation in the school setting.”

Supporting Teachers Through Consultation and Training in Mental Health

Teaching as a profession

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Robert C. Pianta

Papers

Increasing the Application of Developmental Sciences Knowledge in Educator Preparation: Policy Issues and Recommendations.