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--- Wednesday --- March 13, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 25 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
COMMON GROUND | SPOTLIGHT |
The National School Boards | |
Association thinks there is | A PATH TO NOWHERE? |
much public school leaders need | |
to discuss with their Catholic | Newly released English |
counterparts. In a column by | language standards are |
SCHOOL BOARD NEWS, NSBA | taking a beating for being |
Executive Director Thomas | too general. The "very |
Shannon refers to a nine-page | vague and very general |
pamphlet on education recently | statements ... don't tell |
released by the U.S. Catholic | parents or students what is |
Coference (3/12). The | important to learn and |
document, "Principles for | don't tell teachers what is |
Educational Reform in the | important to teach and by |
United States," "deserves to be | when," complained the DoEd's|
read by everyone who is | Michael Cohen. Ironically, |
concerned about the future of | other critics charged that |
schooling," pens Shannon. | the recently released |
The principles include: all | American history standards |
persons have an "inalienable" | were too specific and P.C. |
right to high-quality | |
education; parents are the | The standards say every |
"first and foremost educators" | student should be able to |
and "have the right to choose" | speak, read and write |
the best education for their | standard English, know |
children; and government is | spelling and grammar rules, |
responsible for providing | and read a wide range of |
adequate resources for | literature. But they do |
achieving high-quality | not address phonics vs. |
education. | whole language or provide |
Shannon writes that the only | benchmarks or preferred |
"surprise" in the statement is | teaching methods stipulated |
the willingness to accept | in documents for other |
monitoring of Catholic programs | academic standards. (#3) |
in return for public funds. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"The other day I want into my classroom and I said, 'Evolution,
evolution, evolution, evolution," and then told my students that
I was saying it now because I might not be able to say it
anymore." -- Tenn. teacher Pamela Messick
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 |
Staff Writer: Elizabeth Gage |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION
HAWAII: Lowers legal dropout age. (#1)
GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
CREATION VS. EVOLUTION: Deja vu in Tennessee. (#2)
STANDARD BEARERS
GENERALITIES ONLY: English standards dodge conflict. (#3)
CHILDREN IN CRISIS
LATCH-KEY KIDS: A place to go in Massachusetts. (#4)
TAKING STOCK
ACADEMIC GAINS IN DALLAS: But problems still exist. (#5)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
CALL IN PROS: Judge calls on profs to testify on deseg. (#6)
HE SAID, SHE SAID
EXCELLENCE: The true path to integration. (#7)
===== GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION =====
*1 HAWAII: LOWERS LEGAL DROPOUT AGE
Hawaii's House Education Committee and Senate Education and
Judiciary Committees last week passed a bill to lower the state's
compulsory school attendance age from 18 to 16 (Ramirez, HAWAII
A, 3/3). The bill would allow students to leave school at age 16
if they have written permission from their parents, school
counselors and principal.
Sen. Avery Chumbley, education chairman and proponent of the
bill, said the new law "will deal with the few students who are
truly not interested in learning at age 16. The Family Courts
dealing with truants now cannot even force those students to come
back to school."
Opponents, including the Honolulu Police Department, view
the bill as a source of future problems rather than a solution to
student misbehavior. Rep Jim Shon, who voted against the House
bill, said the bill will lead to more car thefts, substance abuse
and competition among youth and welfare recipients for low-paying
jobs.
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*2 CREATION VS. EVOLUTION: DEJA VU IN TENNESSEE
The Tenn. Senate is considering legislation to fire any
teacher who presents evolution as a fact, a move that harls back
to the trial of John Scopes (BOSTON GLOBE/AP, 3/5). The bill is
expected to pass, but was sent back to committee where members
will debate six proposed amendments.
One amendment would protect teachers who want to teach the
biblical version of creation and the theory of evolution.
Another would change the bill's wording from a teacher "shall" be
fired to say a teacher "could" be fired, reports the paper.
Sen. Tommy Burks sponsored the bill because constituents
told him evolution was being taught as fact in Tenn. schools.
According to the paper, Tenn Gov. Don Sundquist (R) has not
indicated how he will act if the bill reaches him. Last week,
the state's Attorney General, Charles Burson, said the bill was
unconstitutional.
It is not the first time the state has seen laws censoring
what teachers can teach. In 1925, John Scopes, a substitute
biology teacher, was convicted and fined $100 for teaching
evolution, writes the paper. The 1925 law prohibited teaching
"any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man
as taught in the Bible, and to teach again that man has descended
from a lower order of animals."
"Teachers will be afraid to teach anything about evolution,"
said Wesley Roberts, an ecology teacher at Hillwood High School
in Nashville.
The N.Y. TIMES reports that teaching creationism "has re-
emerged as a contentious issue recently in places as far flung as
Friendly, Nev; Paradise, Calif.; Moon, Pa; and Merrimack, N.H."
However, the "most concerted activity" is in the South, notes the
TIMES. Besides Tenn., a Ga. school district recently approved
the teaching of creationism and Ala. has agreed to a disclaimer
to be inserted in biology textbooks that states evolution is only
"a controversial theory."
Proponents of creationism claim teachers do students a
disservice by teaching only one theory about the evolution of
life. "If evolution is true, then it has nothing to fear from
some other theory being taught; the truth will prevail," said
Tenn state Senator David Fowler (R). "But if intelligent design
[creation science] is the truth, then God forbid we should not
teach it to our children."
However, recent court decisions have held that creation
science is "religion in the guise of science," writes the paper.
The 1968 Supreme Court decision in Epperson v. Arkansas struck
down an Ark. law that banned the teaching of evolution but did
not "explicitly mention the Biblical account of the origins of
life," reports the TIMES. In 1981, the Supreme Court in Edwards
v. Aguillard ruled unconstitutional a La. law that required any
public school teaching the theory of evolution to also teach
creationism as science. Although that law also did not
specifically mention God or the Bible, the court determined that
its intent was to teach religion as science, according to the
paper.
Tenn. teacher Pamela Messick: "I see this as a political
power play to insert Bible Belt beliefs into our educational
system. The other day I want into my classroom and I said,
'Evolution, evolution, evolution, evolution," and then told my
students that I was saying it now because I might not be able to
say it anymore."
==== STANDARD BEARERS ====
*3 GENERALITIES ONLY: ENGLISH STANDARDS TRY TO DODGE CONFLICT
New curriculum guidelines for English language instruction
issued earlier this week were criticized by some for offering
only general guidelines for what students should know and be able
to do (Tabor, N.Y. TIMES, 3/12). "The report contains very vague
and very general statements that don't tell parents or students
what is important to learn and don't tell teachers what is
important to teach and by when," said Michael Cohen, a senior
advisor to Ed Sec Richard Riley.
Christopher Cross, president of the Council for Basic
Education, a Washington, D.C.-based group involved in the
standards movement, echoed Cohen's criticism. "A document like
this should give people a benchmark against which to determine
whether they have covered the waterfront," he said. Cross added
that several states, including Colo., Del., Ohio and Va., have
"done a more thorough job of determining English standards,"
writes the paper.
However, Beverly Ann Chin, president of the National Council
of Teachers of English, which produced the standards jointly with
the International Reading Association, said that "decisions about
specific curriculums -- which books are read and studied, for
example -- should be made at a local level." Cheryl Sigmon, a
language arts consultant for the South Carolina DoEd said the new
English document "serves the purpose a national standards
document needs to serve. It's given us all some general sense of
direction. It provides the philosophical basis that we all need.
Then I think it's up to the states to do the rest."
For example, the first standard calls on students to "read a
wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding
of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States
and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the
needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal
fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction,
classic and contemporary works." However, no specific books are
mentioned.
The ATLANTA JOURNAL/CONSTITUTION writes that the new
standards do not "settle the controversial phonics vs. whole-
language debate in literacy instruction." (White, 3/12) Instead,
they simply call for students to be able to speak, read and write
standard English, know spelling and grammar, have computer skills
and think critically and strategically, writes the paper.
The TIMES also notes that the standards specifically endorse
bilingual education and the study of both classics and
contemporary literature. "The key thing is that we use language
in order to communicate and think," said Chin. "We want all
students to be able to use language effectively. This document
furthers our vision of what literacy means. For example, in many
classrooms today, children are on computers talking and e-mailing
people around the world."
===== CHILDREN IN CRISIS =====
*4 LATCH-KEY KIDS: A PLACE TO GO IN MASSACHUSETTS
Local and national foundations in conjunction with the city
of Boston and the Mass. state government granted $310,000 to fund
1,500 new child care seats for "latch-key" kids (Cornell, BOSTON
HERALD, 3/5). The grant is part of Mayor Thomas M. Menino's (D)
push for more after-school programs.
The grants are a response to grim statistics about
unsupervised children, reports the HERALD. For example, only one
Boston child in 17 has a place to go after school if his parents
are not home, according to child-care experts.
Some children and parents welcome the availability of more
child-care arrangements. "Instead of staying outside where it
isn't safe, I can go and get my homework done," said Mary Lou
Blas "Thanks to this, parents working and coming home late don't
have another problem to worry about," exclaimed Renea Bernard, a
parent in the Alexander-Magnolia housing co-operative in
Dorchester.
Elaine Fersh, president of Parents United for Child Care,
said that while the grant is "a drop in the bucket compared to
the need," it still is a "huge help."
===== TAKING STOCK =====
*5 ACADEMIC GAINS IN DALLAS: BUT PROBLEMS STILL EXIST
Dallas schools Superintendent Chad Woolery used computer
animated graphics to present improved test scores and declining
drop out rates at his "state of the district" address on the
first of the month (Lopez, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/1).
However, he neglected to mention recent controversies that have
plagued school board meetings, writes the paper.
Woolery addressed approximately 300 business and community
leaders, who he challenged to get involved in education. He
noted that standardized tests scores have never been higher for
any ethnic group since 1976, and more students are attending
school and fewer are dropping out. He reminded the audience that
the Dallas school district's tax rate is the second-lowest among
the county's 15 districts. Information about the district's
changing demographics also was presented by Woolery. For
example, by next year, the majority of students will be Hispanic
with limited English proficiency.
After the presentation, Woolery said, "Yes, we have problems
we are addressing, but we also have significant growth happening
in a number of areas. I'm frustrated by the emphasis on the
negative. We had eight students who scored perfect scores on the
SAT test last year, but I didn't see one story about that."
A recent controversy focused on accusations waged by
African-American leaders that school officials exclude black
trustees from decisions regarding the "supermagnet" Talented and
Gifted High School known as Townview Center, notes the paper.
When the magnet program was relocated to Townview last year,
parents and students claimed it had been watered down. According
to the paper, their protests led to the transfer of the center's
executive principal, Ora Lee Watson, who is black. In turn,
Wilson's move led to more protests and charges of racism and
elitism, pens the paper. Dallas NAACP head Lee Alcorn led
protesters to a school board meeting on 25 Jan, notes the paper.
Fearing violence, trustees then postponed a 13 Feb. board
meeting.
Alcorn criticized Woolery's presentation. "He acted as if
the activities that have been going on these last two, three
months never even happened," Alcorn said.
However, Adlfa Callejo, a Hispanic community leader, felt
Woolery's comments were appropriate. "What's been going on is
not an educational problem. It's an administrative problem. It's
a political problem."
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*6 CALL IN THE PROS: JUDGE CALLS ON PROFS TO TESTIFY ON DESEG
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright has called on
three professors to help evaluate school desegregation plans in
Pulaski County, Ark. (Howell, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT GAZETTE, 3/1).
The professors all have national reputations in education and
sociology; although they espouse divergent views on school
desegregation and student achievement.
Last year, Wright pledged that she would invite experts to
present their views on the success and failure of various
desegregation programs. Their testimony will be used in the 13-
year-old school desegregation case to decide what changes should
be made in local desegregation plans, writes the paper.
Currently, the county's three districts each have their own
desegregation plan and an interdistrict desegregation plan.
However, the plans are not interrelated. The goal is to improve
desegregation plans and to move the three districts toward
independence, and away from federal court supervision.
The three experts have different opinions on the
desegregation issue. Dr. Gary Orfield, director of the Harvard
Project on School Desegregation at Harvard U, supports federal
court involvement in mandating school desegregation. Wright has
asked him to testify on one-race special program schools --
similar to Little Rock's incentive schools, reports the paper.
Orfield describes one-race special program schools as a way for
school districts and states "to serve a temporary and superficial
punishment for prior intentional segregation."
Orfield conducted a study in 1993-94 entitled "Still
Segregated, Still Unequal," which examined all-black schools
that receive extra money from their districts for special
programs and additional staff. Researchers found no evidence
that extra money and special programs equalized education for
black children or ameliorated harm caused by years of
segregation, writes the paper. The study claims that school
districts and courts have failed to plan and implement programs
tied to specific goals for educating black children.
In 1984, Dr. David Armor, research professor at the
Institute of Public Policy at George Mason U in Fairfax, Va.,
conducted research on military manpower and education issues. He
claims that racial integration of students has a marginal effect
on student achievement and fails to eliminate the gap between
white and black levels of achievement.
The third professor appointed by Wright is Dr. Herbert J.
Walberg, research professor of education at the U of Illinois at
Chicago, who will testify on the effectiveness of incentive
schools and on the effects of desegregation and socioeconomic
differences upon learning.
John Walker, who represents black parents in the case, said
that Walberg and Armor are "re-segregationists," that is they do
not object to single race schools, according to the GAZETTE.
Walker maintains that since neither party in the case asked for
the witnesses, Wright should reconsider the proposed testimony.
However, Sam Jones, an attorney for the Pulaski County
Special School District, does not object to the proposed
testimony. He said all parties were invited to select professors
to give input in the Ark. case.
==== HE SAID, SHE SAID ====
*7 EXCELLENCE: THE TRUE PATH TO INTEGRATION
The recent decision by the Orange County (Fla.) School Board
to cut back on busing will lead to segregation, writes Clarence
R. Keller, a retired junior high school English teacher (ORLANDO
SENTINEL, 3/1). And furthering segregation runs counter to 20
years of experience indicating that separation of the races leads
to unequal educational opportunities for minority students, he
pens.
According to Keller, political solutions to segregation fail
to achieve both integration and school improvement because it
causes some parents to choose private schools over public
schools; a choice that entrenches segregation by race, class and
religion.
Keller pens that parents and administrators apparently have
renounced the goal of integration: to raise the academic
achievement of poor, minority students. Although parents want
high quality neighborhood schools, they will send their children
elsewhere if they feel that they can get more than what is
offered locally.
The Board has proposed increasing money and staff in order
to counter the potential effects of increased segregation.
Keller asserts that these proposals are meant to appease parents,
but they have not been effective solutions in the past.
"Integration should be a byproduct of excellence rather than
the other way around," writes Keller. Disadvantaged
neighborhoods can have successful schools with high achieving
students, he claims. These schools will capture the attention of
parents from all over who want to send their children there;
"even taking them out of private school to do so," writes Keller.
He cites the New York City school district he taught in for 31
years as an example of such excellence.
Several strategies can be adopted to help other districts
increase student performance, according to Keller. First,
several mini-schools could be established under one roof.
Second, math, science and reading programs that have been proven
to work in similar districts should be adopted, and teachers
should be trained how to use them. Third, some "master teachers"
should be available to help teachers in need. In addition,
districts must find, inspire and empower parents, teachers and
administrators. Community, local and state support also is
needed to improve schools.
"Maybe now that the school board has cut back on busing as a
solution to segregation, it will finally take a direct approach
and concentrate on improving the schools," concludes Keller.
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