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--- Friday --- September 19, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 56 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
__________ __________
I CARE | SPOTLIGHT |
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) | |
is this year's recipient of | NO MORE PAPER, |
the "I Care" award presented by | NO MORE BOOKS |
the Association of School | |
Administrators' and American | ... is being seriously |
Association of Educational | considered in Texas. State |
Service Agencies. Kennedy is | Education Commissioner, |
being honored for his efforts | Mike Moses, and State Board |
on the Child Health, Insurance | of Ed Chairman Jack |
and Lower Deficit Act, which | Christie agree that the |
calls for a 43-cent-per-pack | time is right for giving |
increase in the federal | public school students lap- |
cigarette tax targeted to | top computers loaded with |
insure the health of poor | instructional materials on |
children and deficit reduction. | disks or CD-ROMs. One |
| reason: It could save |
FOR THOSE WITH WRITER'S CRAMP | money, says Christie. (#3) |
The College Board has | |
published a book for "every | The U.S. State Dept. also |
high school senior whose | has jumped on the computer |
computer screen stares blankly | bandwagon. It is giving |
back" when they are trying to | computers to two public |
write their college application | schools. (#2) |
essay. "The College | |
Application Essay" provide tips | However, computer critics |
for improving writing skills, | complain that the push for |
strategies for writing essays, | classroom technology is |
essay requirements of over 180 | "silicon snake oil." |
colleges and sample essay | Others caution that without |
questions. | adequate teacher training, |
The 142-page book is | there will be no computer |
available for $12.95 (ISBN: 0- | literacy even with |
87447-575-9). Call The College | computers. (#4) |
Board at 212/713-8000. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"What does computer literacy mean to a child who can't read at
grade level and can't interpret what she read?"
Clifford Stoll, author of "Silicon Snake Oil." (#4)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0124 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
TAKING STOCK
WE THE PEOPLE: Aren't sure what's in our Constitution. (#1)
BYTES AND PIECES
STATE DEPARTMENT DONATION: Computers to N.C. and D.C. (#2)
LAPTOP COMPUTERS: Replacing books in Texas? (#3)
COMPUTERS: "Silicon snake oil" or an education elixir? (#4)
SUBJECT MATTERS
WELCOME TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD: A new environmental project. (#5)
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===== TAKING STOCK =====
*1 WE THE PEOPLE: AREN'T SURE WHAT'S IN THE CONSTITUTION
The first ever national poll of Americans' Constitutional
knowledge discovered that while Americans "cherish" the U.S.
Constitution, they know little of what is included, and not
included, in the document. The survey was released this week by
the National Constitution Center at its annual celebration of
Constitution Week, held 17-23 September.
Some findings from the survey:
84% of respondents said the Constitution states that "all
men are created equal."
16% said the Constitution established America as a Christian
nation.
Based on a series of questions about the Constitution, only
only 19% of respondents were deemed very knowledgeable (8-10
correct answers out of 10 questions), 36%, somewhat knowledgeable
(5-7 correct) and 45% not knowledgeable (1-4 correct).
One in 5 do not know that the President is Commander-in-
Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
35% believe that the Constitution mandates English as the
official language.
Ed Sec Richard Riley, on the poll results: "This poll
suggests to me that most Americans seem to regard the
Constitution like a family heirloom that is kept protectively in
an upstairs sock drawer but never taken out and examined. I
believe that this lack of knowledge about how the Constitution
functions leads to many of the discontents in our nation and
current levels of distrust towards our national government."
Riley's press release also noted that the DoEd has earmarked
$4.5M each year to support the work of the Center for Civics
Education, the "We the People" organization and the "many efforts
by our nation's civics teachers to educate your young people
about our democracy." He concludes: "It is clear to me,
however, that we have to do much more to keep the spirit of the
Constitution alive for all Americans."
===== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*2 STATE DEPARTMENT DONATION: COMPUTERS TO N.C. and D.C.
The U.S. Department of State this week announced a donation
of Apple Macintosh computers to two public schools in N.C. and
Washington, D.C. According to a State Department press release,
the donation is in response to President Clinton's "Call to
Action for Education," which presents a challenge "to connect
every classroom and library to the Internet by the year 2000 and
help all students become technologically literate."
The Cape Hatteras School (K-12) in Buxton, N.C., and
Patterson Elementary in Washington, DC., each will receive
computers that were recently replaced in the State Department's
Bureau of Public Affairs. Additional computers will be made
available to schools as the department continues to upgrade its
own hardware.
In August, the department released "Digital Diplomacy for
Students," a web site designed for students that allows users to
learn about the State Department, its Secretary, Madelaine
Albright, and to discover career opportunities at the department
(www.state.gov/www/outreach_digital/.
The site is still under construction and eventually will
provide maps and other geography-based information that will
allow students to follow the Secretary's travel and other
regional issues.
*3 LAPTOP COMPUTERS: REPLACING BOOKS IN TEXAS?
In the future, students in Texas may be lugging home laptop
computers rather than a backpack full of textbooks. Mike Moses,
state Education Commissioner, and Jack Christie, chair of the
State Board of Education, are thinking seriously about providing
each students with a laptop that contains instructional materials
on computer disks or CD-ROMs as a more cost-effective way to
learn (Walt, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/12.)
"I think in the long run it will save money," said Christie.
"It's very imaginable. Why wait for the rest of the nation? Let
Texas ... be the example for the rest of the nation."
According to Moses and Christie, technology has advanced
enough and computer costs dropped enough for the state to get the
laptops for $100 apiece, assuming companies give substantial
price discounts for bulk rates, writes the paper.
Talk of replacing books with computers has emerged as the
board is planning to spend about $2B on textbooks over the next
six years, reports the CHRONICLE. The board is in the midst of
textbook adoption discussions. According to the paper, board
members in November will select textbooks in art, biology,
algebra and geometry.
Christie mentioned that he discussed the laptop-in-every-
backpack plan with Gov George Bush (R). According to Christie,
Bush suggested that the state try a pilot program in a large
school district. Bush: "I say if it works, let's try it
statewide."
*4 COMPUTERS: "SILICON SNAKE OIL" OR AN EDUCATION ELIXIR?
The DETROIT NEWS examined the current classroom technology
race, presenting pro and con views on the relevance of technology
in schools (Naylor, 8/24). While most districts have eagerly
jumped on the computer bandwagon, the paper notes that some
educators and parents are beginning to question the multi-million
dollar investment in technology that may or may not improve
student achievement.
"It's the ballpoint pen of the '90s," said West Bloomfield,
Mich. school Superintendent Seymour Gretchko. "The potential for
technology in education is enormous and will only continue."
However, author Clifford Stoll, a Calif. astronomer and
longtime Internet user, compares the promises of a "better
smarter world through computing to 'silicon snake oil' in his
book of the same name published this year," reports the paper.
>From his book: "If a child doesn't have a questioning mind, what
good does all this networked technology do? What does computer
literacy mean to a child who can't read at grade level and can't
interpret what she read? What does it mean to a teenager who
can't write grammatically, not to mention analytically?"
Ted Greenleaf, communications director for the National
Association of Elementary School Principals, agrees. "There's
been kind of an assumption that if you get a bunch of computers
and plug them in, something wonderful happens, and it's just not
true," he said. "We just don't see the demonstrable results yet
in terms of educational achievement."
The NEWS points out that several major studies have found
"no demonstrable proof that districts with advanced technology
have achieved higher test scores." Studies that suggest the
opposite have been conducted or supported by the computer
industry, writes the paper.
In order to get a handle on the impact of computers in the
classroom, the National Science Foundation has funded a $6M,
four-year study that will examine school-based technology
programs in major cities, including Detroit. According to the
paper, three Detroit middle schools will serve as a "hands-on
laboratory for deciding what is needed to make computers useful
learning tools in science education."
"The goals of the project are to actually integrate
technology into the science curriculum,' said Joe Krajckik, one
of the researchers at the Center for Learning Technology in Urban
Schools project. "Hopefully, in four years, we really will se
some changes in the classroom."
But integrating technology into the curriculum, rather than
simply using it as a word-processor, is most difficult. A
primary obstacle is the lack of adequate teacher training,
without which meaningful computer-based instruction cannot occur.
"The piece that has been left out in all this talk of school
connectivity is the very expensive part: retraining the
workforce," said LeBlanc of Marlboro College. His school is
offering the first master's degree teacher education program that
focuses solely on the Internet as a teaching tool and management
concern, reports the paper.
One driving force behind the computer revolution is the
demand from the business community to produce workers that can
manage on-the-job technology. LeBlanc noted that the high-tech
workplace "is a very powerful influence" on schools. "The
American classroom has very much come to mimic -- as it always
has -- the workplace of the future," he said. Schools that do
not make strides in developing computer literacy programs "risk
further criticism that they aren't keeping up with the needs of
industry -- or with the interest and skill level of their
students," writes the paper.
"The question I pose to [critics] is what's our
alternative?" said Jamey Fitzpatrick, acting director of
education technology for the Michigan DoEd. "If it's not the
schools, are we going to rely on the homes" for computer
learning?
The NEWS reports that a panel appointed by Gov John Engler
will update the state's technology policy. The group's
recommendations will be presented to the State Board of Education
in November, and most likely will include an emphasis on teacher
training.
=== SUBJECT MATTERS ====
*5 WELCOME TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD: A NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT
A new multimedia environmental project was launched this
month by a consortium of education, media and energy groups. The
goal of "Planet Neighborhood" is to highlight grassroots efforts
nationwide that are living examples of the saying, "Think
globally, act locally."
Sponsors of the project include WETA-TV in Washington, D.C.,
the National Academy Engineering, Association of Science-
Technology Centers, the National Community Education Association,
the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology and
the Public Television Outreach Alliance.
The outreach and education campaign includes a Teacher's
Guide, a Web site at www.weta.org/planet, a CD-ROM and a
Community Resource Guide. A three-part PBS series that airs in
September explores green technologies and sustainability
initiatives that affect American homes, jobs and communities.
The program is hosted by architect William McDonough, dean of the
school of architecture at the U of Virginia.
"Planet Neighborhood" is designed to be used by classroom
teachers who want to teach a unit on environmental awareness.
For more information on the Community Resource Guide and CD-
ROM, contact WETA at 703/998-2827.
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org