Abstract #268 Resilience, Agency, and Democratic Education Presenter: Michael Peacock Abstract: I am interested in creating an educational setting that promotes resilient attitudes for educational options. Research has identified educational variables that motivate students to learn, yet schools are not or cannot implement these recommendations with fidelity, especially those in the urban American cores (Brophy, 2010; Smith, 2009; Kozol, 2012) Currently, I work in an alternative public school that serves students in grades kindergarten through nine who have been referred out of their traditional public school environments due to significant behavior issues. My interest in starting a school outside the traditional system stems from: observing how patterns of intergenerational social exclusion affect students and their families (Foster & Hagan, 2007) ; learning about various forms democratic and progressive educational environments and their outcomes (Neill, 1960; Kozol, 1972; Gray & Chanoff, 1986; Meier, 2003; Knoester, 2012); and, from living and working in an area where marginalized groups from various intersecting social constructions struggle to attain agency (Sugrue, 1996). Social, economic, political, and educational issues that have plagued urban metropolitan centers for over fifty years continue to crush youth with the ill effects of abuse, neglect, imprisonment, and broken networks of support (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954; Lempert, 1996; Burton, 2007; Sarchiapone, Carli, Cuomo, Marchetti, & Roy, 2009; Masten, Hubbard, Gest, Tellegen, Garmezy, & Ramirez, 1999). My intent is to bridge resilience theories with progressive/democratic educational practices and offer possible solutions that traditional public schools cannot or will not provide.
