| It's the first day of registration at West High School. The hallways are abuzz with students and their parents. There is a freshness in the air and a sense of optimism that comes with a new school year. As we walk down the hallways lined with the flags representing the countries of origin of the students, Ed Holmes, the principal at West High School since 2004, is greeted by students -- Euro-American, African American, Asian American and Latino. Some merely say hello while others give him elaborate handshakes or hugs. Holmes greets them back, oftentimes by name -- a pretty remarkable thing given that West High School has 2,100 students. Holmes is a big man and self-confident in a reserved way as he walks these halls. He is also a kids' man. Holmes has worked with children almost his entire adult life whether as center director of Neighborhood House, director of Ebony Expressions, assistant principal at West or principal of Wright Middle School before returning to West as its principal. As Holmes greets the students as they return, it is readily obvious that he is sincerely interested in each of the students regardless of their background. Holmes is a principal for the global village. Holmes has seen this global village begin to take root in the classrooms and hallways of West. "I think the kids recognize that their friends are from different cultures and different backgrounds," Holmes said as he took a break from a hectic registration week. "I think that is our changing world and changing society. It's definitely a global marketplace. Our kids' connection on the Internet, the technology and the way the kids interact with people from all walks of life and all over the world has changed how they perceive one another and the perception of what is necessary for them to be successful and be able to navigate any institutional structure whether it be school, work or community. I think our kids are very cognizant of the changing society." Students of color, particularly African American students, have also had to make an adjustment to succeed in the academic world, while maintaining their connections in their communities. And in some ways, this biculturalism has given them a perspective by which they can navigate the global village. "Generally, kids want to be cool," Holmes said. "They want to hang out with their friends and they still have challenges and issues associated with what happens in the community. Our kids are bicultural. They have this one culture they have to live in the community in order to survive and fit in and be comfortable in the community. When they come to school, they recognize this is what they have to do to survive in this educational setting. So what this positive peer group, the PEOPLE Program, has done is it has created a sense of understanding about what they need to do as an African American student to be bicultural in terms of understanding what they need to do in the various settings that they find themselves in. If something is going on over at the south transfer point and your boy is over at the south transfer point, you're going to go over there and get his back. At the same time, when you come to school, if you do the same thing, the culture doesn't permit that. You can't be involved in that. You have to approach it and problem-solve and cope with and deal with it in a different way. I think the kids definitely recognize that and that positive peer group has created that mindset for kids and has really helped." Students across the board -- and teachers too -- have had to adapt to increasingly rapid cycles of change brought on, in large part, by the rapid advances in technology. "Another trend that I see is just trying to keep up with technology, trying to make sure we are preparing kids for critical thinking. Our society is evolving so fast. We're preparing kids for a society that we have no clue about in terms of what the skills are that they are going to need. We don't know the types of problems or issues that these kids will see once they leave high school and maybe college and go into the work world. So we have to keep in mind that we are preparing kids for a world that we don't know. If you think about it, our structure is based on an industrial model. And the industrial model is completely different from a technological age. If you look at the advances in science and technology, we can't keep up. It's impossible. So what we can do is teach kids higher order thinking skills, how to problem solve. We have to teach them some of the traditional skills and some of the rote types of skill base, things that they need. At the same time, we have to teach them critical thinking. 'How do I get these kids in my class to think critically about this issue?' That is different from two plus two equals four." Holmes and the staff at West have had to move quickly too to keep up with the change. Lengthy summer vacations are a thing of the past for Holmes for he always has to stay focused on the future. "If you can stuck on what is happening right here and right now and you have a myopic view of what is happening in the school and you don't look beyond the walls of the school, then you get lost," Holmes observed. "You fall behind so incredibly fast. And with the restrictions in terms of resources and budgets, it's impossible to keep up. But if you put the initiatives in place and start looking forward to what kids need and what teachers need in order to educate kids, you don't fall too far behind." It's an increasingly brave new world out there with today's school children already living in a world and educationa environment that baby boomers hadn't really dreamed of. And they, in turn, may not recognize the world that evolves into tomorrow. While Holmes and the West High staff can not tell their students what that world will be, they are giving them the critical thinking skills to navigate the world that they end up finding themselves in. It is a brave new world. |
| Principal Ed Holmes of West High School Teaching for Tomorrow By Jonathan Gramling Part 2 of 2 |
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