Click here to return to OFCN's Main Index Page.
--- Friday --- January 26, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 7 ---
D #### ##### #### ### #### #### ##### ### #### ####
A ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
I #### #### #### ## ## #### ## ## ##### #### ## ##
L ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
Y ## ## ##### ## ### ## ## ## ##### ## ## ## ## ####
THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
BLACK MALE MENTORING | SPOTLIGHT |
A Prince George's County | |
black-male-only mentoring | CRITICS' CORNER |
initiative was recently ruled | |
discriminatory by the U.S. | President Clinton's call |
DoEd's Office of Civil Rights | for a computer in every |
(Frazier, WASH POST, 1/26). | classroom by the year 2000 |
The heralded Black Male | is commended by some; |
Achievement Initiative emerged | condemned by others. |
from a 1990 report that found | Clinton referred to his |
black males at the bottom of | initiative most recently |
academic achievement and "over- | during this week's State of |
represented in special-educa- | the Union address. (#6) |
tion courses," notes the paper. | |
Ten steps were recommended by | Computer technology will |
the committee issuing the | either bridge or broaden |
report: reduce class size; | the gap between resource- |
adopt a multi-cultural | rich and resource-poor |
curriculum; hire more black | districts, say some back- |
teachers; and implement a | ers. Critics counter that |
mentor program. | without a strong education |
Donna Beck, the mother who | program in place, the issu- |
filed suit against the black- | ance of computers will do |
male-only program on behalf of | little to enhance learning. |
her daughter, said she found | |
the program was limited to | In Mass., Gov Weld is |
black AND white males. "It was | battling a barrage of |
such blatant discrimination | criticism over his call for |
against girls," she said. | vouchers, charters and |
County school board member | privatization. Attackers |
Marcy Canavan agreed: "The | claim his plan radically |
point here is that we were | deviates from the well- |
shortchanging female students, | established ed reform plan |
and we're not going to do that | underway in the state. (#4) |
anymore." |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"We let the schools get a year or two into an ambitious agenda,
and then we switch the agenda." -- Richard Elmore, a Harvard U
education professor, on why state governments cannot reform
education. (#4)
_______________________________________________________________
| A service of the National Education Goals Panel |
| Published by the Education Policy Network |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Wash, D.C.; 20037; 202/632-0952 |
| The DRC hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
"CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORRESPONDENTS:" A PBS special. (#1)
GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
IT'S ELEMENTARY: Atlanta bolsters science programs. (#2)
GIRLS JUST WANT TO LEARN MATH: But their own way. (#3)
STATESIDE
THE CRITICS' CORNER: Weld plan challenged. (#4)
TAKING STOCK
SOCIAL PROMOTION: Widespread in Texas. (#5)
BYTES AND PIECES
CLINTON'S COMPUTER PROMISE: Garners mixed reviews. (#6)
PROMISING PRACTICES
THE WALDORF WAY: Private school help for public schools. (#7)
CHOOSING SCHOOLS
GOING AN EXTRA MILE: D.C. Moms lobby for vouchers in Ver.(#8)
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*1 "CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORRESPONDENTS:" A PBS SPECIAL
The Public Broadcasting System this week announced a program
that teams selected high school classrooms around the country
with the nation's "premier" political reports as part of a
comprehensive civic education campaign known as the "Democracy
Project." (PBS/The Democracy Project press release) The new
initiative is called "Correspondence with the Correspondents."
Students from selected high school civics, English, social
studies and journalism classes will review political articles
written by fifteen journalists during the first half of 1996; and
the students will discuss the articles in class. On a monthly
basis, from January to June, students will write to the reporter,
asking questions about the articles or about the campaign in
general, writes the release.
The reporters will respond "to help enlighten the students
on the ongoing election process, the major issues being debated,
and the way the media covers a presidential campaign," notes the
release. "The students involved in this project will be able to
obtain -- literally -- a first hand education in the significant
role the media plays in the political process. It's a rare
opportunity for classes around the country to find out
journalists' perspectives -- unfiltered and unedited," said PBS
President Ervin S. Duggan.
Reporters participating in the program include: Dan Balz,
The WASH POST; Gerald Seig, The W.S. JOURNAL; Judy Woodruff, CNN;
Tom Baxter, ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION; Joe Klein, NEWSWEEK;
Ben Roth, HOUSTON CHRONICLE; Richard Berke, The N.Y. TIMES; and
others.
Classes were invited to participate based on the
recommendation of major national educational organizations, notes
the release.
PBS's "Democracy Project is an ongoing effort to provide
viewers with "innovative news and public affairs programming and
encourage citizen engagement in public affairs," writes the
release. The goal of the "Correspondence with Correspondents"
project is to stress to students the importance of citizenship
and democratic participation.
According to the release, all of the student and reporter
letters will be available on the PBS World Wide Web site, PBS
ONLINE (http://www.pbs.org.
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*2 IT'S ELEMENTARY: ATLANTA BOLSTERS SCIENCE PROGRAMS
Sixteen Atlanta, Ga., public schools are participants in the
Elementary Science Education Partners program, a $5.7M effort
funded by the Nation Science Foundation (Towns, Atlanta
CONSTITUTION-JOURNAL, 1/23). The program's goal is to make math
and science "more exciting, relevant and educational," reports
the paper.
According to the paper, millions of federal and private
dollars have been "poured" into math and science programs in
Atlanta to groom the next generation of scientists,
mathematicians and engineers. "If we can really change the way
science is taught and promulgate the idea, then it's part of a
movement and being at the ground level is worth doing," said
Robert DeHaan, an Emory U cell biologist and administrator of
ESEP.
Philanthropists and foundations also are jumping on the
bandwagon of funding math and science, write the paper. One $1M
contribution delivered to Spelman College by talk-show host Oprah
Winfrey was targeted for building new science facilities at the
school.
Teacher training programs also are popular projects for
funders. For example, Eunice Arnold, an Atlanta high school
teacher, spent the summer in a U of California laboratory
researching metal ions in aqueous solutions, writes the paper.
While money is critical to developing quality math and
science programs, it is not everything, said Abdulalim Shabazz,
the chairman of the Clark Atlanta U math department. "It has to
do with having the will to do it and with being prepared and
having high expectations for our children," he remarked. The
paper notes that five years ago no one at Clark Atlanta U
graduated with a math degree. However, after a $5M Navy research
grant and "hard-hitting recruitment efforts," the university last
spring graduated 13 math majors.
*3 GIRLS JUST WANT TO LEARN MATH: BUT THEIR OWN WAY
Girls' schools nationwide are an "untapped resource" to
discover ways to teach young women mathematics, science and
technology, writes Ann Pollina, Dean of Faculty and Head of the
Mathematics Department at Westover School (EDUCATIONAL
LEADERSHIP. Sept. 1995). Pollina claims that for too long
educators have blamed girls for not taking enough math and
science, or for doing poorly in the courses. Instead of asking
"How do we make girls more aggressive, more analytical, more
competitive, tougher, so that they will survive in these
disciplines?, Pollina goads educators to "study the ways they do
learn."
She presents several conclusions from three symposiums
sponsored by the National Coalition of Girls' Schools: two held
at Wellesley College, In June 1991 and 1995; and one at Tufts U
in March 1993. The recommendations include: connect math,
science and technology to the real world -- "connecting any
subject to the lives of real people and the good of the world is
a powerful hook for girls;" choose metaphors carefully, and have
students develop their own -- typically fractions are taught
using batting averages and presented parabolas as paths of
missiles and rockets; encourage girls to act as experts -- "when
the teacher is the touchstone for all knowledge and answers,
students rarely exhibit self-confidence and capitalize on girls'
verbal strengths.
Another recommendation calls on educators to experiment with
note-taking techniques, because girls often "can get so absorbed
in taking down every note and diagram that they're too
preoccupied to take part in discussions." Teachers attending the
symposiums suggested several techniques, ranging from a no note
taking rule to taking notes on reading material before coming to
class.
Pollina mentions the experiment at the Illinois Mathematics
and Science Academy in Aurora, where an all-girls' section on
mechanics became part of a yearlong calculus-based physics
course. Physics teacher David Workman "did not simply import his
usual classroom methods, but was willing to learn from the young
women." According to Pollina, Workman found that collaborative
processes, hands-on experimentation and connection of abstract
concepts with practical application, were successful approaches
for the girls.
However, Workman's efforts to carry these approaches to his
coeducational classes failed. Pollina reports that "many boys
tended to blurt out answers to questions posed to the class as a
whole, with predictable results. The other students were
suddenly diverted from collective problem solving and inquiry to
an explain-the-answer-to-me-mode." Workman observed that "in
this environment, all except the boldest and fastest hesitate to
be open, ask questions, and take risks."
Pollina concludes that "if we are willing to stop trying to
change girls and instead let a feminine approach to math and
science inform our pedagogy, we will benefit boys, girls, and
scientific inquiry."
For more information or a list of relevant publications,
contact Alicia DeNicola or Anne Rosenfield; the National
Coalition of Girls Schools; 617/254-7415; e-mail: KPIRI@aol.com
===== STATESIDE =====
*4 THE CRITICS' CORNER: WELD PLAN CHALLENGED
Mass. Gov William Weld's (R) proposals for revamping
education have met with severe criticism from business leaders,
teachers unions, superintendents and school committees (Cornell,
BOSTON HERALD, 1/23). "I'm saddened, mostly," said Jack Rennie,
president of the Massachusetts Business ALliance for Education.
"The last thing the system needs is to throw in a puzzling group
of other proposals."
Rennie and others noted that the state is in the midst of
the third year of a seven-year education reform plan passed by
the state Legislature. They find it disheartening that the
governor's plans for education include expanding the charter
schools program, vouchers for disadvantaged students to attend
private schools and giving cities and towns the authority to
dissolve school committees and make it "easier for the state to
put sub-standard public schools in the hands of private
organizations," writes the paper (Connolly, 1/23).
"I always thought the governor's philosophy was libertarian,
yet this is a foray into greater government control with a
politburo and education czar in charge," said Meline Kasparian,
vice-president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
Kasparian referred to the post of "education czar," or president
of the state board of education, which soon may be taken over by
the controversial John Silber, president of Boston U. Some
observers contend Weld included the array of proposals to please
Silber and "enhance Weld's upcoming campaign for the U.S.
Senate," writes the paper.
However, the proposals may find a tough road in the
Legislature. "It's absolutely the wrong time to completely
redirect our school structure," said Sen David Magnani (D),
chairman of the Education Committee.
Harvard U education professor Richard Elmore remarked that
Weld's plan illustrates why state governments cannot reform
education. "We let the schools get a year or two into an
ambitious agenda, and then we switch the agenda."
===== TAKING STOCK =====
*5 SOCIAL PROMOTION: WIDESPREAD IN TEXAS
Two recent surveys revealed that Texas teachers feel
pressured to promote undeserving students to the next grade (Walt
and Markley, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/23). The studies were
conducted last fall by the Houston Federation of Teachers and the
Texas Federation of Teachers.
"There's an unbelievable amount of pressure on teachers to
pass the students," explained Nelson Brown, a high school
teacher. "The message is,'If you have a lot of failures, there's
something wrong with you,'" he added. Brown said he has failed
nearly 70% of his ninth-grade students. Yet, he concedes that
one-third of freshmen at his Houston high school were "placed in
ninth grade," which the paper notes is a euphemism for "social
promotion."
The CHRONICLE reports that "of the 2,832 Houston teachers
who responded to the HFT mail survey, most said they were
pressured to inflate grades and more than two-thirds said
students in their school were promoted despite failing grades."
Statewide survey results were similar: 69% of the 2,132 teachers
who responded to the TFT survey admitted to being pressured to
inflate grades.
Other findings: 68% of Houston teachers who responded said
students were promoted even though they had not mastered the
subject; and 57% said there was no remedial program at their
school to help failing students. HFT President Gayle Fallon
reported that a "staggering" 90% of Houston teachers conceded
that they have some students in class who began the school year
academically unprepared. Fallon: "If I've got a child in 12th-
grade government reading on a fifth-grade level, I might as well
not even issue that child a textbook because that book is written
on grade level and, at best, he can look at the pictures."
TFT President John Cole complained that "school
administrators override teachers' grades and simply promote
students from one grade to the next even though those students
have failed their classes." He called for a halt to the
"deplorable practice" of social promotion.
Both teachers' unions support legislation that bans all
social promotions, requires all children to be able to read
before they leave third grade, provides intervention for failing
students and "restores a teacher's authority in grading and in
determining if a child is retained or promoted," reports the
paper.
Texas Gov George Bush (R) intends to address the issue next
week when he delivers a speech on illiteracy. "I am absolutely
convinced that we can teach children to read in Texas, and much
of what they're referring to is the promotion of children who
cannot read," he said. "Yes, I think it's a problem, and, yes, I
want it addressed."
===== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*6 CLINTON'S COMPUTER PROMISE: GARNERS MIXED REVIEWS
A key component of Clinton's education program is to place a
computer linked to the Internet in every American classroom by
the year 2000 (Applebome, N.Y. TIMES, 1/25). Proponents laud the
PResident as a visionary; but critics charge that the program is
a "shallow attempt to find a technologic cure-all rather than
addressing the real needs of the nation's schools," writes the
paper.
Arthur Levine, president of Teachers College at Columbia U
called Clinton's plan critical, admitting that he "would not have
said that a few year's ago." Levine elaborated: "What's
happening in this country is that the wealthiest school districts
in the country are getting the technology and the poorest are
not, and they're falling further and further behind." He added
that "technology like this can open an incredible array of
opportunities to these kids." For example, even the most
disadvantaged schools can have access via computer technology to
the same resources as the most advantaged.
However, some challenged the usefulness of computer
technology in schools. "The idea that you put computers in
classrooms and kids learn better is just not the case," said
Edward Miller, editor of the Harvard Education Letter.
Stone Wiske, co-director of the Educational Technology
Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, issued a
cautionary note. "One of the enduring difficulties about
technology and education is that a lot of people think about the
technology first and the education later, if at all." He added
that while it is a good idea to put computers in classrooms, it
only works if "we've started with a clear set of educational
priorities and then make a selection of technologies to advance
that clearly defined purpose."
Under Secretary of Education Marshall Smith said Clinton
planned to release details about his proposal sometime next
month. Smith estimated that the cost of the plan, including the
purchase of computers, software and teacher training, is about
$10B. He explained that $2B of federal funds would "augment
about four times as much raised by the states or school
districts," reports the paper. Smith also said the plan is based
on corporations wiring schools for Internet access.
However, a study conducted by McKinsey & Company, an
accounting firm for the National Information Infrastructure
Advisory Council, said the cost of providing computers for all
classrooms would range between $11B for a computer laboratory
used by groups of students to $47B for Clinton's program. Smith
attributed the differences in costs to falling computer prices,
not having to finance the wiring and other assumptions, notes the
TIMES.
Smith: "I don't see this as new, grandiose spending by any
means. This is an important priority for education, and it's
worth trying to figure out where the money can come from."
==== PROMISING PRACTICES ====
*7 THE WALDORF WAY: PRIVATE SCHOOL HELP FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Sacramento, Calif., is poised to become the second urban
public school district nationwide to adopt the Waldorf method of
teaching (Schmidt, EDUCATION BEAT, 1/12). Waldorf private
schools base their teaching on the theories of Rudolf Steiner, an
Austrian, who in 1919 conceived and developed the Waldorf
teaching method, writes the newsletter. The method incorporates
music, movement, drama, and drawing to teach mathematics,
reading, grammar and other basic subjects, explains EDUCATION
BEAT. In 1991, Milwaukee was the first public school system to
adopt the Waldorf method.
A U.S. DoEd grant of $230,000 will fund the three-year
project, with nearly $100,000 targeted to Waldorf's Rudolf
Steiner College in nearby Fair Oaks to pay for staff development.
The remaining funds will be used to purchase classroom materials
and compensate teachers for time spent in training.
Oak Ridge Elementary Waldorf Method Magnet School teachers
will attend classes every Tuesday plus one or two Saturdays a
month, notes Oak Ridge Principal Irma Jue. The college also
plans to send "grade level coaches" to Oak Ridge classrooms to
provide additional assistance.
Jue explained that "several years ago the district felt it
had to do something about children whose school work was below
their grade level." A task force was formed to review various
private school curricula. The Waldorf method "fit our students
beautifully," said Jue.
Jue added that evaluation of the program's success is easy.
"Our children will have to take the same district-wide test all
other district children take each year, so we'll be able not only
to compare our kids to the kids in other schools, but we'll be
able to see the progress they're making." Oak Ridge offers
classes from pre-school to sixth grade.
EDUCATION BEAT reports that while the "partial embrace of
the Waldorf method may be unique in California, development of
closer ties with the private sector is not." The newsletter
points to Hiram Johnson High School's banking program, a joint
effort between the school and the banking industry, and Burger
King "Academy," aimed at keeping potential dropouts in school.
"I think there is an awareness that students need to be
better prepared for the state's work force than they have been,
and so there is a growing sense of cooperation between schools
and industry," said Sacramento district spokesman George Medovoy.
==== CHOOSING SCHOOLS ====
*8 GOING THAT EXTRA MILE: D.C. MOMS LOBBY FOR VOUCHERS IN VER.
Two Washington, D.C., mothers traveled to Burlington Ver.,
this week to urge U.S. Senator James Jeffords (R) to support a
voucher program for the nation's capitol (Nathans, THE BURLINGTON
FREE PRESS, 1/23). Jeffords, who chairs the Senate subcommittee
that oversees appropriations for the District, is inclined not to
have Congress force a school choice bill on the District.
"My goal is to do the best we can to improve the D.C. public
education system to benefit the most children," Jeffords
explained. "I have no objection to setting up a structure for
private funds to be used to look at other educational
alternatives, but public funds should be used to improve the
public school system."
House members already passed legislation that sets aside $5M
to give some District parents vouchers to send their children to
private schools, including religious ones, or public schools in
neighboring Md. and Va., reports the paper. However, Jeffords
contends the bill is "too restrictive and puts a mandate on the
District of Columbia to disperse grants," writes the paper.
Jeffords and Rep Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.) are negotiating on
a bill that satisfies both houses.
Click here to return to OFCN's
Academy Program
Click here to return to OFCN's Main Index Page.
John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org