--- Wednesday --- September 11, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 67 ---
D #### ##### #### ### #### #### ##### ### #### ####
A ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
I #### #### #### ## ## #### ## ## ##### #### ## ##
L ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
Y ## ## ##### ## ### ## ## ## ##### ## ## ## ## ####
THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
"FIXING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS" | SPOTLIGHT |
... is the primary topic in | |
the September/October issue of | WOULD YOU WANT THIS FOR |
THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE. | YOUR CHILD? |
See today's DRC (#6) for | |
summary of Bruce Goldberg's | ... is the question that |
article on "A Liberal Argument | guides Michael Johnson's |
for School Choice." Other | quest for a no-nonsense, |
topics covered: "The Politics | high-achieving public |
of School Reform," by Dennis | school. Johnson is |
Doyle; "Special Interests in | principal of the Science |
the Classroom," a piece by | Skills Center, where |
Charlene Haar, on the power of | students tackle a rigorous |
the teachers' unions; and | curriculum, geared around |
"After Busing, Milwaukee Turns | standardized testing.(#3) |
to Choice," by Daniel | Despite his students' |
McGroarty; "Family Education," | success, some education |
by Karl Zinsmeister, an article | reformers are aghast at |
on the importance of family on | Johnson's autocratic style |
student achievement. Other | and belief in the basics. |
articles cover issues of self- | |
esteem and higher education. | Howard Gardner's theory |
| of multiple intelligences |
FAMILY FRIENDLY | appears to counter John- |
What do Eddie Bauer, DuPont, | son's model. Gardner's |
Eli Lilly, Marriott, Motorola | theory is moving beyond |
and Hewlett-Packard have in | classrooms into corporate |
common? A study conducted by | boardrooms. (#1) |
BUSINESS WEEK and the Center on | |
Work & Family at Boston U rated | That's the beauty of a |
these businesses and others | voucher program, argues |
top-notch in the family- | Bruce Goldberg. Let par- |
friendly field (Hammonds, | ents decide where they want |
BUSINESS WEEK, September 16, | to send their child. (#7) |
1996). |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Harvard is still looking at scores, so that's what I'm going
with." -- Michael Johnson, principal of N.Y.C.'s Science Skills
Center, defending his traditional curriculum. (#3)
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 ==============
RESEARCH NOTES
HOWARD GARDNER: Taking intelligence beyond the school.(#1)
BYTES AND PIECES
HOME ON THE WEB: Policy.com. (#2)
PROMISING PRACTICES
BATTLE OVER REFORM: Principal Michael Johnson's war. (#3)
AN OFFER HE CAN'T REFUSE: Catholic schools tempt Crew. (#4)
THE BIG PICTURE
WANT TO SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION?: A five-step plan. (#5)
GOVERNANCE
EDUCATION LEADERS COUNCIL: Adds new member. (#6)
CHOOSING SCHOOLS
CHILDREN ARE NOT THE SAME: A rationale for school choice. (#7)
===== RESEARCH NOTES ====
*1 HOWARD GARDNER: TAKING INTELLIGENCE BEYOND THE SCHOOL
Harvard U psychologist Howard Gardner, renowned for his
theory of multiple intelligences, is moving from the classroom to
the corporate boardroom and beyond (Pennar, BUSINESS WEEK,
September 16, 1996). Business leaders nationwide have been
inspired to revamp management training programs to reflect his
human intelligences theory, reports the magazine. Many corporate
heads have discovered Gardner through his latest book, "LEading
Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership."
Next on his agenda is an international study of "humane
creativity" that he plans to conduct along with colleagues Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi of the U of Chicago and William Damon of Brown U
are launching a new international study of "humane creativity."
According to Gardner, the purpose of the study is to determine
how it is possible to work with creativity but "with some sense
of responsibility." The researchers will review changing values
in law, medicine, journalism, the creative arts, and the
sciences, notes BUSINESS WEEK.
The magazine points out several criticisms of Gardner's
work. According to BUSINESS WEEK, some psychologists fault
Gardner for not conducting experiments to prove the existence of
his eight intelligences -- linguistic, logical-mathematical,
musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, intrapersonal,
interpersonal and naturalist. Yale U's Robert Sternberg, who
also promotes his own notions of intelligence, would like Gardner
to produce measures for his different intelligences. "If you're
going to talk about intra- or interpersonal skills as
intelligences, you're going to have to know how to index them,"
said another psychology professor, David Lubinski.
Gardner counters that such an assessment is "inconsistent"
with his theory and would serve to exacerbate what Gardner
considers to be the "sins of intelligence and achievement
testing" -- cultural bias that favors linguistic and logical-
mathematical intelligences, reports the magazine.
Some education reformers complain that Gardner's theory
gives "teachers license to indulge their students to overlook
learning deficiencies -- at a time when academic standards and
performance in the U.S. desperately need to be raised," writes
the magazine. For example, Diane Ravitch, a senior research
associate at New York U, holds that implementation of Gardner's
theory in schools could lead to "an invidious tracking" that
accepts children who cannot academically compete. Gardner's
theory also runs counter to the national-standards movement,
"whose objective is to figure out the best education for the
nation's children and give everyone the best access to it,"
according to Ravitch, writes the magazine.
Gardner's theory continues to move beyond the classroom.
Products for children, including software like "Thinking Things"
by Edmark Company, incorporate the multiple intelligences.
BUSINESS WEEK also notes that the writers for "Sesame Street"
also have been influenced by Gardner. They decided last year to
present information "to appeal to different intelligences through
language, music, artwork and the manipulation of forms," writes
the magazine.
Saturn Corp. recently developed a new course for its workers
on multiple intelligence, notes the magazine. The company
requires all employees to take at least 92 hours of instruction a
year. Gardner, when asked what other workplace applications
there are for his theory, replies that "The sky's the limit."
=== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*2 HOME ON THE WEB: POLICY.COM
An on-line forum for exchange of public policy ideas has
found a home on the Web. Policy.com, also known as Policy Street
on The Microsoft Network (MSN), operates as a "locus for opinion
leaders," writes a release from A2S2 Digital Projects, Inc.,
owner and operator of Policy.com.
Think tanks and advocacy groups, including the CATO
Institute, Democratic Leadership Council, The Heritage Foundation
and the Center for National Policy, are the core content
providers of Policy.com. From the release: "Policy.com's strict
non-editorial position, full and clear attribution to the content
providers, and non-partisanship maintain the forum's integrity."
Policy.com offers an "Issue of the Week," which this week
focuses on education reform. Papers are presented by Chester
Finn and Diane Ravitch, Education Excellence Network, Dennis
Doyle and Christine Olson, The Heritage Foundation, and numerous
other authors, researchers and educators. The page also includes
sections on charter schools and vouchers, education positions of
Bob Dole and Bill Clinton and a link to the White House. Other
features on Policy.com are issue forums, daily news and
calendars, and live chat sessions. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. (est)
Christine Olson of The Heritage Foundation and Shelia Simmons of
the National Education Association (tentative) are scheduled to
"chat" on education issues. On The Microsoft Network, go to "Go
Policy" to participate in the chat.
Policy.com is offered free-of-charge. Find it on the World
Wide Web at www.policy.com, or "Go Policy" on The Microsoft
Network.
==== PROMISING PRACTICES ====
*3 BATTLE OVER REFORM: PRINCIPAL MICHAEL JOHNSON'S WAR
Michael Johnson is the philosopher king and principle at New
York City's thriving Science Skills Center (Mosle N.Y. TIMES
MAGAZINE, 9/8). He promotes basic skills, high standards and
discipline at the school that enrolls primarily disadvantaged,
minority students from around New York City. And his students
succeed in performing well on the state's Regent exams, a series
of achievement tests students can choose to take to demonstrate
mastery in several academic subjects.
The Science Skills Center began as a Saturday afternoon
program led by Johnson and funded by the National Science
Foundation. In 1991, Johnson responded to a request for new
programs by Naomi Barber, head of New Visions for Public Schools,
a Manhattan organization that works with the private sector and
the Board of Education to promote school reform. Johnson
received one of 16 start-up grants from the Fund for New York
City Public Education, writs the magazine.
He runs the no-nonsense school with an autocratic style. "I
don't believe in minority rule, and I'm not talking about South
Africa. I'm talking about 1 or 2 students being able to stop the
education of 30, 32 kids." Johnson's school boasts a tough
school suspension policy and a strict dress code, according to
the magazine.
Yet, some education reformers fundamentally disagree with
Johnson's hard-nosed approach to academic excellence, writes the
magazine. Lisa Delpit, a black educator and author, describes
the disagreement as a "growing rift between black and white
progressive educators," writes the magazine. Delpit quotes a
black teacher: "These people keep pushing this fluency thing.
... They ought to read some of the rap songs my students write.
... Our kids are fluent. What they need are the skills that will
get them into college. I've got a kid right now -- brilliant.
But he can't get a score on the S.A.T. that will even get him
considered by any halfway decent college. He needs skills, not
fluency. ... I'm sick of this liberal nonsense."
The magazine describes Johnson as a hybrid -- a progressive
educator concerned with social justice, holding a conservative
view that supports a back-to-basics curriculum. From the
magazine: "Many reformers continue to view the schools as agents
of social change -- they'll change the world by changing the
children who attend them -- but Johnson wants to prepare his
students for the world that already exists." Johnson summed up
what motivates his views: "Harvard is still looking at scores,
so that's what I'm going with."
*4 AN OFFER HE CAN'T REFUSE?: CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TEMPT CREW
Five years ago, the Catholic Archdiocese of New York offered
to educate the city's lowest achieving students. New York City
Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) this
week expressed interest in transferring 1,000 failing students to
Catholic schools, provided no public funds are involved
(Steinberg, N.Y. TIMES, 9/10).
According to the paper, the program would be voluntary and
apply to families of children in the bottom 5% of their class.
The Catholic schools would receive full tuition for each child,
which runs $2,000 to $3,000 a year.
However, two critical points remain under contention by the
School Board, the Catholic schools and City Hall: the use of
public funds to pay tuition and the "extent of religious
instruction for students transferring to Catholic schools,"
reports the TIMES. While the Mayor acknowledged he would
consider using public funds to sponsor the program, Crew stood
firmly behind a plan to tap private funds only. The TIMES notes
that Crew's notion to use private funds is based on Milwaukee's
experience in sending students to religious schools. Last year,
the Wisconsin Supreme Court "abruptly" stopped a program to allow
public funds to be used for tuition at religious schools, writes
the paper. A private fundraising effort successfully raised
enough funds to keep the students, who already were attending
religious schools, in class.
The paper also notes that Cleveland's voucher program, which
allows public funds to pay for private and religious schools, was
upheld last month by an Ohio state court. It will be appealed in
Federal Court.
As expected, much of the debate is over the constitutional
issue of separation of church and state. Guiliani, a lawyer by
training, is confident a plan can be devised that would pass
constitutional muster. Stephen Sugarman, a visiting law
professor at Columbia U, holds that even if public dollars were
used, a transfer of public school students to Catholic schools
would be legal because "the most important question the courts
would ask, would be whether the program was intended to benefit
the religious schools involved," reports the paper. The
standards used by the courts, explains Sugarman, has been the
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits
Congress from making any law "respecting an establishment of
religion."
Stephen Arons, a legal studies professor at the U of
Massachusetts, disagrees, noting that the plan provides a
"financial benefit to the schools involved and a tacit
endorsement of what was being taught," reports the paper
==== THE BIG PICTURE ====
*5 WANT TO SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION: A FIVE-STEP PLAN
Joshua Wolf Shenk offers readers a five-step platform to
reform public education "before it's too late." Shenk writes in
THE WASHINGTON MONTHLY (March 1996) that America's public
education system is poised to plummet into the abyss if change
does not occur soon.
He laments that the demise of public schools would come at a
cost to society. According to Shenk, "the purpose of education
is not just to prepare successful workers and citizens, or to
ensure equal opportunity. ... But public schools at their best,
do something more. They provide a common space where, in a
country fissured along lines of race and class, children of all
backgrounds meet, interact, and learn to understand each other."
Consequently, Shenk has devised an agenda to put public
schools back on the path toward the 21st century. He details
five "fundamental characteristics" essential for public schools.
First Shenk calls for the hiring of a strong principal, who is
given the authority and support needed to succeed, but also is
held accountable for results. He describes Helena Jones,
principal of Roper Middle School for Science, Mathematics and
Technology in Washington D.C. as illustrative of a "dynamite"
principal. Jones, "with the physique of Grace Jones and the
spirit of Eleanor Roosevelt," excels at instilling a sense of
discipline in her school and is adept at securing corporate
financial support to cover budget gaps.
A successful school also requires "recruiting energetic and
effective teachers," writes Shenk. According to Shenk, superior
teacher training is critical. The more a teacher knows about the
subject she teaches, the better off are the students, notes
Shenk. However, he complains that often "would-be teachers are
blocked by bogus certification requirements." Shenk: "Requiring
education degrees for teachers makes as little sense as
blackballing actors who didn't go to acting school."
The flip side of recruiting good teachers is firing bad
ones, writes Shenk. Yet, the problem "runs deeper than just bad
teachers. Even good ones have no outside incentive to do their
job well, because they can't be fired or even seriously
disciplined."
"Great Expectations" is Shenk's third recommendation for
public schools. He points to Baltimore's Barclay School. A holy
war waged by Barclay's principal with the city school
superintendent finally resulted in Barclay adopting the "rigorous
curriculum and methodology of a nearby private academy, the
Calvert School." Superintendent Richard Hunter resisted the
Calvert curriculum, saying it is a "rich man's curriculum." But
Barclay's disadvantaged, minority students proved him wrong by
significantly out-performing the school's past academic record.
Involving parents and "enough money to do the job" are
Shenk's final points. However, he comes close to endorsing
school vouchers. "In theory, vouchers would reward the best
schools and force marginal ones to close. In practice, vouchers
could mean a government subsidy to wealthy parents with kids at
Exeter." Shenk claims that one voucher scheme could work -- one
that would provide public funds to low-income students that could
"only be used at schools that would accept it as full payment,
and so those rich parents couldn't use it to help pay Exeter
tuition." However, he quickly adds that this is not a permanent
solution: "It still carries the danger of balkanization and does
not solve the problem of kids whose parents are either too busy
or too uncaring to 'shop' for schools." And such a voucher
program would serve as a "warning to all who defend the status
quo," pens Shenk.
Back issues of THE WASHINGTON MONTHLY are available for
$5.00. Contact the magazine at 202/462-0218.
==== GOVERNANCE ====
*6 EDUCATION LEADERS COUNCIL: ADDS NEW MEMBER
Va.'s Board of Education recently joined the Education
Leaders Council, making it the second full state board of
education to adopt membership in ELC (EDUCATION LEADERS COUNCIL
press release, 8/22). N.H.'s state board of education joined
earlier this year.
"The Virginia Board's decision to join the Council reflects
not only their reform-mindedness for the children and parents of
the Commonwealth, but also their desire to work with other
education leaders to help improve their schools," said Lisa
Graham Keegan, ELC chairwoman. Keegan, who also is
superintendent of Public Instruction for Arz., added that "The
board's successful efforts to introduce reforms in Va.'s schools,
and to formulate and implement sound academic standards, has made
Va. a leader in education reform."
Virginia Board President Michelle Easton: "The ELC offers
us something than no other education association in this country
has every been able to provide: a national network of people who
share the Virginia State Board's commitment to improving the
academic achievement of students and schools. Other groups say,
'Oh, that won't work.' ELC members say, 'Hey, that's interesting,
and if it's effective in raising academic achievement, maybe I
can use it for schools in my state.'"
According to the release, ELC produces a quarterly magazine,
"Opportunity," and last spring published "The Standards Primer:
A Resource for Accelerating the Pace of Reform."
For more information, contact ELC at 202/822-9000, or visit
the ELC web site: edreform.com/elc
==== CHOOSING SCHOOLS ====
*7 CHILDREN ARE NOT THE SAME: A RATIONALE FOR SCHOOL CHOICE
School choice that includes private schools will spur
competition among public schools and give parents more control
over the education of their child, claim many pro-voucher
advocates, most of whom would label themselves conservative. But
Bruce Goldberg offers a liberal support for private school choice
in his article, "A Liberal Argument for School Choice," published
in the September/October issue of THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE.
The individual learning style and interests of each child is
the basic tenet underlying Goldberg's endorsement of choice.
Goldberg holds that one reason public schools are failing is that
"despite its lip service to diversity, [public education] is
fundamentally at war with individuality." He argues against
Horace Mann's belief, interpreted by his biographer Jonathan
Messerli, that "all children everywhere were essentially the same
.. [and therefore] could be taught, once the correct techniques
and goals were determined." Specifically, Mann proposed that
instruction that would work for some children, would be effective
for all.
Goldberg counters Mann's premise with an anecdote from Pete
duPont, former governor of Del. Dupont explained that each of
his four children had strikingly different education needs -- one
was extremely bright, one dyslexic, one scientifically inclined
and the other more artistic. His children were sent to different
schools, a luxury he noted his family was lucky to be able to
afford.
Today's public schools are not prepared to handle individual
student needs, strengths and weaknesses, according to Goldberg.
"Parents who are dissatisfied with a school policy are virtually
powerless," he writes. Goldberg adds: "When [parents] try to
act on behalf of their children against a school policy, they are
regarded as a nuisance." However, "if a school in a competitive
atmosphere were to respond that way, the parents could take the
child elsewhere." Goldberg: "Under a scheme of competition,
schools' own survival will require them to be sensitive to
parental concerns, with the result that greater attention will be
given to the individuality of children. The school system will
begin to recognize that different children have different needs."
Besides offering a wider choice of programs to meet student
needs and responding better to consumer (family) concerns,
Goldberg describes another advantage of school choice. "Instead
of a stagnant, monopolistic regime that prevents others from
trying to do better, a competitive environment exists that
invites and encourages innovation," he writes.
Goldberg also presents arguments against several objections
to choice. For example, many voucher detractors point to the
potential violation of the constitution. Goldberg notes that
those who fear that government could be subsidizing religion also
should be against anyone who would use a portion of their welfare
check as a contribution to his church. He also notes the
parallel with the G.I. Bill, which put veterans in college, even
private and religious universities.
For Goldberg, the "fundamental objection to choice rests on
the idea of parental choice itself." Those who adhere to this
principle claim that schools should not be responsive to parents
because they are not the education experts. Goldberg challenges
this premise. "There is no such thing as education science," he
writes. Goldberg: "Those who have wanted to control the lives
of others have always claimed to know exactly what others need.
They have always believed that their plans represent order and
public-mindedness, as opposed to the chaos that would ensue
without them." Yet, according to Goldberg, schools have been
"imposing on children just the opposite of what the professional
educators claim." Goldberg cites David and Micki Colfax who say
the public school curriculum is "nothing more than a hodgepodge
of materials and assumptions resulting from the historical
interplay of educational theories, political expedience,
education fads and fashions, pretensions to culture, demagoguery,
and demography."
Goldberg sums up his argument with a quote by John Stuart
Mill, who wrote, "Human beings are not like sheep; and even sheep
are not indistinguishably alike."
Click here to return to OFCN's
Academy Program
Click here to return to OFCN's Main Index Page.
John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org