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what i meant to say was....

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"I am a gardener." Chance, the gardener.

November 22, 2005

so long, farewell...thank goodness

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-te.smith22nov22,1,2535418.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Arundel superintendent putting in his last day
Achievements of school system chief are acknowledged, along with friction


By Anica Butler
Sun reporter

November 22, 2005

More than three years after arriving in Anne Arundel County as one of the state's highest-paid educators, schools Superintendent Eric J. Smith steps down today, amid public discord, to take an unpaid job and face an uncertain future.

"The reason I decided to resign is there obviously is a difference of opinion about where the school district is headed," said Smith, 55. "I was hired by one board and it's a very different board today. ... I'm not a superintendent that molds myself to the political whims."

Smith, a nationally known educator, is credited with raising test scores in Anne Arundel, narrowing the achievement gap between white and black students, and boosting participation in advanced placement courses.

But Smith faced a rapid erosion of support last summer, publicly feuding with school board members over a critical audit of the schools' human resources practices. He announced his resignation a day before the county teachers union, upset about workload issues and his management style, was to decide on a no-confidence vote. Even after Smith quit, the union passed the motion of no confidence in him this month.

Smith said he plans to stay in the Annapolis area, commuting to Boston occasionally for a yearlong position with Harvard University's Urban Superintendents Program starting next month. He also plans to consult. He doesn't discount the possibility of one day serving as superintendent somewhere else.

"Anything's possible," he said, shrugging. Then, more pointedly, he added: "The thing that drives me is working to build systems that provide greater opportunity for all children."

Smith arrived in Anne Arundel in the summer of 2002 from Charlotte, N.C., where he also received high marks for raising test scores, including among low-income and minority students.

The board gave Smith a $197,000 annual salary, plus a bonus and benefits valued at $100,000. He was charged with turning around an underperforming, system of 75,000 students - Maryland's fifth-largest.

From the beginning, he shook things up. Within months, Smith and the board set specific goals for student achievement and higher academic expectations, to be reached by 2007. Last September, school leaders and civil rights activists resolved a federal discrimination complaint against the system by agreeing to extend those goals to all students.

Under Smith, the rigorous International Baccalaureate program was introduced at two county high schools; the number and selection of Advanced Placement courses was expanded; and uniform curriculum and textbooks, along with block scheduling, were put in place. He also emphasized the teaching of phonics.

Asked what he considered his top successes, Smith pointed to increased expectations and improved academic achievement. For example, all elementary schools met state targets on standardized tests this year, including a previously "underperforming" school.

"He is someone with lots of vision and academic insight," said Sam Georgiou, a parent who heads the county's citizens advisory council. "And I think he brought forth lots of change that may not have occurred if the board had not opted to seek out someone so aggressive."

But getting there wasn't always smooth. Accused of being dictatorial by some, uncommunicative and unreasonable by others, he admits he ruffled some feathers.

"Radical change, like we've done here, you don't do that without some pretty lively discussion," Smith said. "That's to be expected. That's healthy."

One of Smith's most vocal critics has been Sheila Finlayson, president of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County.

"I respect what he's done as far as programs are concerned, and new textbooks," she said. But Finlayson said that teacher turnover is considerably higher than it was three years ago, in part because of changes instituted by Smith.

She said the union still held its no-confidence vote because Smith was "still causing harm to teachers."

Anne Levin Garrison, a parent of two South River High School students, echoed those concerns.

"His ongoing and rapid changes have caused good teachers to leave in droves," she said. "That, coupled with the lack of communication and lack of relationship with them, left teachers very unhappy."

Smith doesn't deny he has asked teachers to do more. But everyone, he said, is being expected to work harder, including students, parents and school administrators.

Criticism from the teachers union is not what prompted Smith to leave, he has said.

A rift between Smith and some school board members opened this summer over an internal audit of human resources practices that described missing background checks on school system employees. The report also highlighted inconsistent compensation policies. Board members - only one of whom remained from the board that hired Smith - fumed that he didn't adequately communicate with them.

By early September, Smith had announced his plan to resign, citing "recent public disputes" that had distracted from work.

The depth of the breakdown was evident at Smith's last board meeting.

Smith said he planned to say very little. But as the board discussed an expansion of the International Baccalaureate program - a program that Smith brought to the county three years ago - Smith interjected with a lecture, then an admonishment of the board for its inaction.

That led to sniping, raised voices and one board member refusing to address Smith directly.

Konrad Wayson, the board president, said he "absolutely" agrees with Smith on what he has accomplished here. But, he said, he doesn't agree with Smith's characterization of his departure.

"I don't know where the different opinions occurred. Every time he put something before us he always got it, except this last thing, the I.B. expansion ..." Wayson said. "I'm not going to say there weren't any differences, but it was not anything that couldn't be worked through."

Smith said last week that the board is a good one and that he wishes them well. He also said he would encourage others to apply for his former job.

"I've learned a great deal here," Smith said. "I learned that a large school district does have the capacity to make dramatic and radical transformation in a short period of time."

Asked whether he had any regrets, Smith initially said that he did not. But later, he said, "I regret I can't retire here. I regret I won't be here to see this through completely."

November 21, 2005

an incredible piece...and perfect for Thanksgiving....

Paul Beare / Kremen School of Education and Human Development, California State
University, Fresno

(Updated Saturday, November 19, 2005, 6:05 AM)

Teachers have been under continual assault from federal and state government. A
refreshing and learned response came from David Berliner in his presidential
address to the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Berliner's research has done an excellent job of debunking the value of
high-stakes standardized testing and demonstrating that testing does not result
in improved achievement for students based on any of our traditional measures but
does lead to dramatically increased dropout rates and drastically lowered
graduation rates.

His address meticulously verified that school achievement problems, while not the
result of "too little accountability" are also not the result of a teaching force
that is poorly trained or insufficiently motivated. The true culprit is poverty.
According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF),
of the 26 richest nations in the world, the United States is 25th in the
percentage of children living in poverty with 21.9% so classified.

Sticking point

This is a disgrace. This figure stands in comparison with 2.4% in Denmark, 7.5%
in France, 8.8% in Hungary and 13.3% in Spain. These figures apparently do little
to either upset or motivate the policy makers in control in Washington. The
UNICEF report also points out that there is a charter about the rights of
children to which 192 of the 194 U.N. members have agreed, all but Somalia and
the United States. The sticking point is that our current administration does not
"recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the
child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development."

Data successfully demonstrate that our teachers can teach effectively. When you
rate children's achievement across countries, our children are near the top in
reading, math and science, when you consider only children above the poverty
level. Our teachers know how to teach, but they cannot be expected to overcome
the devastating effects of childhood poverty, a lack of nutrition, medical care
or even shelter.

Pork projects

Instead of addressing poverty, policy makers blame teachers, give enormous
contracts to political contributors such as McGraw-Hill, or fund pork barrel
projects such as the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence ($40
million) to develop an alternative test to credential teachers without training
them in pedagogy.

Instead of addressing poverty, the administration proposed cutting food stamps by
$86 a month. Cutting food for hungry children while further enriching the
super-rich has the same logic as most federal education policies. It is time for
policy makers to address the real problems instead of blaming the group trying
most to help children.

The Smithsonian American History Museum currently has a display celebrating the
50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Topeka Supreme Court desegregation decision.
This is ironic, for as Jonathan Kozol aptly demonstrates and describes in his new
book, "The Shame of the Nation," absolute apartheid now prevails in thousands of
our schools. The segregation of black children has reverted to a level that the
nation has not seen since the 1960s. Instead of a rounded education, children in
public schools receive a regimen of test preparation in reading and math,
followed by testing, followed by more test preparation. The result is a lack of a
real education.

Health problems

Poverty's foremost effect is on children's health and environment. Directly
related to poverty are rates of asthma, lead and mercury poisoning, birth weight
and brain volume, hearing and vision problems and lack of resultant treatment or
remediation. Poor children live in poor neighborhoods. Research data has
demonstrated that neighborhood deprivation has serious effects on educational
attainment. Gang membership, street crime, negative role models and a lack of
mentors for impoverished youth depress achievement, while exposure to higher
expectations, expanded educational/career options and the positive peer culture
found in more affluent neighborhoods accelerates learning.

Schools alone cannot do what is needed to help all children achieve at high
levels. Instead of finger-pointing and blaming those who try the hardest to help,
business must provide employment and communities must fight the concentration of
poverty in a single area.

Fresno, according to the Brookings Institute, is the single worst city in the
nation on this measure. Policy makers must be sure no child is hungry or without
health care. Teachers should be allowed to teach as they have been trained and as
they know best, not forced to teach meaningless standardized tests. We will not
achieve the ideal, currently given only lip service by Washington, unless
everyone takes responsibility for children and their learning.

Paul Beare is dean of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development,
California State University, Fresno.

November 18, 2005

broadening your dedication

The following are excerpts from an academic (electronic) discussion. Every single one of these eloquently spoken individuals understands the urgency of setting a course of change in our schools.

Who is it up to to follow the goals set forth by this group who have already defined the issues ten-fold times to each other and in print and in research in acdemic journals...

OKAY, let's say it is up to the parents...

WOW...what a great idea. Funny thing is--the parents have no way to understand as completely and astutely as these academics do WHAT EXACTLY THE ISSUES ARE AND WHAT EXACTLY THE FACTS AND SUPPORT OF THE ISSUES ARE....THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON...You read the Kaplan survey, you KNOW the reality of the media reports, you know the strength of the business community....

You educated and accomplished people who have devoted your careers to these issues now, have forgotten that you need to BRANCH OUT from your own captive and private clublike places and enter into the real world....

WELCOME TO THE FRONTLINES...welcome to ground zero.

I am asking, no pleading, in my following letter to give it a try back in the places that need your voices right now...Come home to the towns and cities that NEED YOUR VOICES, NEED YOUR KNOWLEDGE...You have already reached agreement among yourselves.....


Here are your words:

A campaign to get members to educate parents would be a good
idea - some of that has probably been done. But that also leads to, what
will people do? It is a lot easier to get people to pay attention if they
believe there is action connected to it - otherwise it is often just
depressing or overwhelming.

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 15:43:49 -0600
arn2-strategy
Subject: How to Talk to Parents About NCLB

We need to spend more time on helping teachers take appropriate action
against NCLB. The problem is, of course, that they risk being fired.
Ultimately, I believe teachers need to educate parents on the facts of
NCLB. It's up to parents to get pissed off and take action in relation
to administrators, school board members, and state legislators.

With that in mind, how about putting together a kit for teachers on
"How to Talk to Parents About NCLB"? It would provide suggestions for
communication strategies as well as specific language they can use to
talk about the law without getting into trouble.

Thoughts?

Peter

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 18:18:10 -0500
Subject: Re: [ARN-state] How to Talk to Parents About NCLB


I would start from various existing things:

FairTest has 1 and 2-page fact sheets on our website.

PURE in Chicago combined some of their stuff with FairTest stuff into a
packet.

Harvard Civil Rights project has a guide - dvd/VHS and booklet - not sure
they have anything short.

Advancement project has stuff. PEN has OK descriptive stuff but lacks
critical analysis. Center for Community Change.

NEA probably has stuff - could look at their website.

I think NCTE does as well.

In short, there is a lot of stuff out there; perhaps none perfect - but much
I would say that is pretty good and pretty accessible, ranging from very
short things that get those without deep interest, to progressively more
detailed and complex materials for those with progressively greater
desire/need for ideas, facts, etc.

But a critical problem is how to disseminate - Harvard CRP is having
trouble, for example. We do get quite a few hits to our NCLB stuff on the
web, but we've no other vehicle for mass dissemination.

In theory the PTA would - but they are staying hands off on NCLB.

The NEA can disseminate widely to teachers - what I do not know since I do
not get it, is what have they done especially in NEA Today which goes to
every member. A campaign to get members to educate parents would be a good
idea - some of that has probably been done. But that also leads to, what
will people do? It is a lot easier to get people to pay attention if they
believe there is action connected to it - otherwise it is often just
depressing or overwhelming.

The AFT can also, and they are taking some steps, certainly as compared with
a year ago - and I've no detailed knowledge on what they are doing or how.

CCE just published their fall Education Organizer newsletter - it is not yet
on their website - and it has a strong piece on local organizing linking
NCLB, high-stakes testing, privatization and gentrification.

Any means to get on widely-listened to TV or radio would be a great hook -
but how to do that?

Monty
_________________________________

Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 17:32:22 -0800
Subject: Re: How to Talk to Parents About NCLB

I have done a bunch of such workshops, but mostly as an "expert
outsider" who was invited in by teachers or parents, or who did the
contacting myself and got myself invited. It was safe for me because
I was not a district employee. We usually did the presentations in
non-school facilities or in private houses in order to avoid school
district interference or harassment directed at the teachers or
parents. I have overheads I can send as attachments to private
individuals. They're pretty self-explanatory. Nothing
complicated. Mostly about the bogus nature of the "scientific"
research on reading and the invalidity of using single measures to
evaluate teachers.

My recommendation: we academics must do some "praxis" by providing
such workshops as invited experts where teachers are scared or
intimidated. Lots of folks are still unduly impressed by the PhD, so
we might as well serve as hired guns for the downtrodden teachers.

Pete Farruggio

Here are mine:

This is an interesting but frustrating conversation to read. Especially since I have written this recent e-mail to fairtest and received no response, not even automated...

"I am fighting a battle that I am afraid I can not win without help. What would it take to have the opportunity to have members of your organization come to our community to alert and inform the community about the urgency of the harm being done in our schools.

Please respond,"

I have also written to several more of you on this list...but it seems to me that you are so busy in the debate of the issues that you have gotten lost in a place where you reach a closed audience of other like-minded academicians and although your editorials and opinions are eloquent and absolutely crucial, they are being read by your peers and have little chance of reaching the very people who need convincing...

My children are schooled in a large county system just outside of Washington, DC. The superintendent, who is a perfect inoculate and example of the manner in which this very edu-cancer in discussion metastasizes, has resigned. The county board of education seems squashed between the very strong voice of the business community and the very fragmented desires of an uninformed public.

The public or the parents are innocently stranded by the media-perpetuated statistical campaign; the only way they half-way know ( if they even know, ) how to discuss school issues is in the language of the NCLB. That is, they are stuck on debates of proof of progress with details of expanded advanced placement enrollment and ayp scores and standard test scores. They have no reference with which to leap into understanding that tests are unsound or teachers are asked to manipulate their outcomes or that testing limits the scope of learning or curriculum. They have no way to understand or accept the rapid destruction being perpetrated in our schools by all of the details and issues we understand; and I understand because I spend hours making a point of understanding, you understand because it is your career...

As you well know, the teachers are pertrified. They also have no time or energy left after accomplishing the mandated requirements of meeting goals and battling test and measurement protocol. Their unions and associations are busy with the often defeated battles of salary increase and work load and disciplinary crisis'.

The time is here and ripe, it seems to me, to come into a community in such an opportune moment and at such a crucial regional presence in relation to Washington and apply some of your academic passion to a real-life situation calling out with opportunity.

I am one voice, I am one parent. Tell me how you will help me. This is our chance...

November 14, 2005

the long and the short-sightedness of it...

As it turns out, no one even called us. So, we called and met with the Vice Principal...( why does it matter who we speak with, really.) As is sadly the case more often than not, he knew exactly what our concerns were based on and underscored the total control of the county, their policy, their curriculum, their tests, their utter and complete control over the teachers and administration. IE: "We understand and agree but there is not a thing we can do."

Tonight the scheduling person called to provide an offer from the principal. They would change our daughter's schedule. Amazing, isn't it. I have to be thankful that they did try to offer something but good grief, in our county and with the state and county demands, the teachers are simply interchangable; nothing at all would change but the worker-bee who reads the script...

The teachers are not at fault here, I clearly feel their pain and dissatisfaction. Collecting my daughter's homework, one of them whispered her own pressing goal: " I am looking for any way out of teaching..." And, I am guessing the feeling is a reality for any teacher experiencing this horror...

So, where, how does it go from here? When is it safe for the teachers and administrators who obviously share our urgent concerns to speak out?

I am tapping my fingers--we HAVE to do SOMETHING....

more of our nightmare

Nov. 14, 2005

Dear Ms. Director of Science Curriculum:

Below you will find a copy of the letter I sent to our HS principal. I have not yet heard back from him. We would like to get to the school today to find a reasonable manner to resolve the horror that has been my child's experience in this class. If you would like to be a part of a cooperative effort to examine the effects of this curriculum and its demands on the students, and teachers, and plan to join us in a dedicated plan focussed on action to stop the suffering, please contact us immediately.




RE: XXXX
Nov. 13, 2005

Dear Dr. Principal:

I have been in regular contact with my daughter XXXX's honors biology teacher Ms. Biology teacher this year. I am extremely concerned about the amount of work, especially homework, that this class demands. I realize that these demands are a function of the county determined science curriculum, the pacing guide, the testing mandates of the county, and state, and the county mastered course. I understand also that under this control neither the teachers nor the students are allowed any leeway for professional input nor individual needs.

I am writing to you now to request your assistance. My daughter is a bright and ambitious student who maintains a determined and regular dedication to her schoolwork, her homework and her studies. I am appealing to you to take seriously and stand up for her and her teacher's need for some adjustment to the pace and demands of this class.

I am asking you to understand that the volume of work has my child pushed beyond her limits to cope. It is not that she has one difficult class at all or that she is not interested or willing to do her best. It is rather that on top of the demands of this class, my daughter has 3 other honors classes, band, art and other activities that she wants and needs to do well in. Last week, my daughter went on the freshman field trip. She also went on a required band trip. Missing the classes has her workload crushing. This is a regularly occurring event. Several weeks ago, asked to go on a field trip because of her exceptional dedication, she declined. She was fearful of the extraordinary load that would result if she missed another day. Her situation was a catch 22. The teacher left piles of work for the students who did not attend the field trip.

My daughter worked hours on end to meet the demands of this class and also continued her efforts toward her other classes. As a result, she has been hours every single night on her homework and there is no chance that this pace will lessen. My daughter begins her day at 5:30 a.m. and is consistently up until midnight doing her school work. This situation is stressful and is having a negative effect my daughter's health. She is also very sad.

My daughter was asked to join the Orchestra this year, an honor and certainly something she wanted to consider. She cannot fathom adding yet another 2 hour rehearsal to her week because of homework. She hardly has time to practice her instrument as it is. My child, Dr. Principal, is not unique in her sense that her time and her life and the demands of her school work are impossible and endless. We are aware that the stress and demands have several of her friends pushed beyond their tolerance as well. The children are choosing to miss school now because of the stress and impossible grind and then struggle as additional work piles up.This has to stop.

Today, my daughter worked the entire morning on her Science Fair project. With the exception of meals, she has worked on nothing else but the required homework, completion of schoolwork, and additional demands of Biology. It is now 12 hours since this child began her day. I estimate that if she worked 12 more hours, she might be prepared to begin her week, having all of her work completed. This, again, is too much.

Please consider this request for you to investigate the value of this kind of stress on a 13 year old child. My child who is extremely healthy and sound has already experienced the impact of this amount of stress on her health. We are asking you to talk with the teachers and investigate for yourself the exact conditions of this course and it's toll on these students. This is not by any means personal to our daughter alone, it is a condition of every student in this class and the teachers as well.

With the standardization of curriculum, the county pacing guides, their test schedule, and the state testing demands, the nature and process of the teacher's position has changed dramatically. I am aware that this has been a source of frustration and stress for the teachers. I hope that with the changes in administration at the county level, you will soon have an opportunity to advocate for changes where policy has interfered with quality. And I hope that when you consider the impact of these dramatic changes in our school over several short years, you will think about my daughter, her friends, her teachers, and calculate whether what they gained statistically was really worth what they lost in reality.

This situation is urgent. I am asking you to provide us with a plan to resolve the impossible amount of work and resulting stress for our child. She is not willing, neither is it appropriate for this child to move into the Matter and Energy science class and there is no alternate Biology class for her this year. This student, I remind you, is ambitious and capable; the problem is the curriculum, and the teachers, should you consult with them, surely can support that analysis.

I would like to meet with you as soon as is possible so that these concerns can be discussed and a plan implemented to deal with them. I am available Monday and Friday this week before, during, or after school, and Tuesday, before or during school. I am also prepared to address these issues with the county department of science curriculum staff.

I would like to hear from you today.

Sincerely,
Ms. XXXX

November 08, 2005

Teachers make their voices heard...

ARNOLD -- The Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County has voted no confidence in outgoing Superintendent Eric J. Smith, the union president said.

About half of the union's 4,200 members weighed in on the decision made at Severn River Middle School Wednesday night, union President Sheila Finlayson said. About 70 union representatives personally voted for the no-confidence motion.

"He is still putting things in place that are causing harm to teachers and students," Ms. Finlayson said.

Dr. Smith, who's leaving the school system Nov. 23, declined to comment on the vote. He pointed to a survey of parents and staff members last spring that indicated increasing satisfaction with his work and with the Board of Education.

Even though he's leaving in a matter of weeks, the vote was still needed, Ms. Finlayson said.

"Anyone who calls this petty doesn't understand what teachers do every day," she said.

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/11_04-26/TOP

November 04, 2005

read the whole stunning piece

This is an excerpt from:
The Education Reformation of NCLB and the Crusade to Kill Public Schools
Jim Horn, PhD


"To those who continue to support an educational policy of false promises that threatens psychological and intellectual genocide against our children, and thus our future, let me ask you to go into the schools and see what has already happened there before you continue down this road. Ask elementary teachers and students about what has happened to the joy of teaching, learning , and of coming to school. Ask principals about what has happened to recess and field trips and civic purpose. Ask curriculum coordinators what has happened to the social studies, health, and the arts. Ask counselors about student behavior and teacher morale. Ask the public what it means when their local schools’ Title I dollars are used to pay private tutoring firms who are accountable to no one except their own Washington lobbyists and the insiders at US DOE that shovel them their millions. Ask parents about what it means when their children pass their subjects and are left behind because they did not pass a test. Ask them and listen, and you will begin to hear a rumble, steady and getting stronger, moving upward—signaling that the American public will not go so gentle into that night of the corporate socialists."

http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2005/10/education-reformation-of-nclb-and.html

what have they done????

November 02, 2005

Understanding the elite schools...

From Sunday's Post, a book review:

The Ivy Curtain
How meritocracy in higher education arose from a system built to keep WASPs in and Jews out.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kittay

(Sunday, October 30, 2005; Page BW03)

THE CHOSEN

The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton


By Jerome Karabel

(Houghton Mifflin. 711 pp. $28)

an excerpt from the review:

Proof of extracurricular activities, leadership qualities, letters of recommendation -- we take all these as natural, necessary and even enlightened elements of the college application process, though they cause us endless anxiety. Actually, they don't resemble in the least the way people in Europe or Japan get into college. They're a result of a particular American challenge at the turn of the 20th century, which President A. Lawrence Lowell of Harvard then characterized as follows: how to "prevent a dangerous increase in the proportion of Jews."

Prior to the 1920s, Harvard, Princeton and Yale accepted all applicants who met their academic requirements. Adjusting the size of each university's incoming class was not a problem since there were very few such qualified candidates, mostly because only a handful of elite northeastern private schools -- such as Groton and Andover and St. Paul's -- provided the kind of classical education (including Latin and some Greek) that the universities required. Since admissions were not "selective" in any substantial sense, none of the Big Three needed an admissions department.

The Chosen is an exhaustive account of how we got from that efficient and cozy arrangement to where we are today. It's particularly fascinating because there is such a growing stake -- and so many stakeholders -- in the process of selecting who gets access to higher education in general and elite education in particular.

But beware and rejoice. Beware because this story, alas, is not one about a group of presidents and deans steadily becoming enlightened to the virtues of equal opportunity. And rejoice in the details that Berkeley sociologist Jerome Karabel reveals and the patient analysis that he deploys; he shows how, in spite of an applicant's proven academic performance, the Big Three favored in overwhelming numbers the sons of the Protestant moneyed class because the institutions determined that it was in their self-interest to do so. The way these universities have sometimes answered but mostly resisted societal demands to open their doors turns out to be a juicy story indeed. And "juicy" is not the kind of adjective one customarily uses to describe a book with 557 pages of text and almost 3,000 footnotes.

By the end of the 19th century, Harvard, Yale and Princeton were committed not primarily to refining the intellect but to welcoming the well-bred, athletic, public-spirited and sociable scions of the privileged -- young men who may not have performed well academically but were destined to be the leaders of the next generation. "By the 1890s, 74 percent of Boston's upper class and 65 percent of New York's sent their sons to either Harvard, Yale, or Princeton," Karabel notes. Things took a new turn when Harvard president Charles W. Eliot, concerned that his school was educating just the wealthy, and his successor, A. Lawrence Lowell, took measures to attract more boys from good public schools. Though hardly egalitarians, Eliot and Lowell modified the university's entrance requirements -- including dropping Latin and Greek requirements -- to encourage more schools to prepare their students to compete for Harvard slots.

The result of such measures, at Harvard and elsewhere, was a horrific surprise: too many Jews! Jewish enrollment jumped to then historic highs of 4 percent at Princeton (1918), 9 percent at Yale (1917) and a distressing 20 percent of the freshman class at Harvard (1918). Though most of these students were more than academically competent, they didn't fit the usual definition of "gentlemen." And their numbers were continuing to increase. A meeting of New England deans in 1918 put the question squarely: How could they limit the growing Jewish presence?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102701733.html

and a live online discussion with the author:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/10/31/DI2005103100369.html?sub=AR

When standardization is engaged, everyone suffers the same indignities

As heart-breaking as Peter Campbell's report (A Visit to a Corporate Welfare School ) is..I would like to point out, that in many districts that are clamoring to meet the mandates of their district and state's compliance with NCLB, the atmosphere is very similar.

The environment in our public school classrooms is similarly regimented and oppressive, the teachers are under pressure and, even if they recognize the horror of what they are required to accomplish, they have little choice but to comply...Do you think they are often irritable and short with the students--You bet!

Are the students beat down by such a system? In my daughter's AP lit. class, class discussions are non-existent; How in the world does one learn about literature without an opportunity to discuss it? It doesn't really matter anymore, since the objective is locked in by the standard test.

What do the parents understand about these suburban classrooms and schools? For the most part, they are simply responding to surface, media-dispensed statistics about state or district "progress" and they are bought into the "lake woebegone" myth of advanced placement and other programs providing their child-product "accelerated" opportunity.

The fact that the movement is so tied in with other voices of propaganda--the business world, the faith-based groups, the military...creates a lobby strong enough to pre-empt any voice of dissent...

Sometimes, it seems like an adult version of The Lord of the Flies, and the steady growth of this mentality will leave only the shrewdest, most cold-blooded warriors intact.

I have to say that this article has my attention because I believe that it is an accurate, informative and important look at the life inside of a school and classroom. I understand and agree that the indignity of teaching a minority child or ANY child in the manner described is horrid. I have to correct several passages because I believe that these accurate corrections are the other half of the story. You see, more of the truth has to be included in this very important narrative.

In the following section, I will follow the author's words with my comments, in red. I have used numerals to label each excerpt for the purpose of this discussion.

excerpt I: "This is even more troubling given the fact that no white, wealthy, suburban district would ever consent to a school that controlled its students and its teachers in this way. Indeed, these schools pride themselves in their individuality, their creativity, and the professional autonomy of their teachers, who are viewed as experts in assessing what is best for each student."

comment: My children are schooled in a "wealthy, white, suburban neighborhood." Although I would not call it "consent," because I am alarmed about the extent to which parents are unaware, the dynamics described in the paper closely follow the dynamics in our public school classrooms. In fact, while "these schools pride themselves in their individuality, their creativity, and the professional autonomy of their teachers, who are viewed as experts in assessing what is best for each student," the school board, appointed by the governor in our state, has employed a superintendent who created scripts, pacing guides and a grueling testing program, in compliance with our state and federal mandates and in accord with the NCLB act. Our teachers have no autonomy and, as experts, have no ability or time to assess anything of the kind; no individual student matters to any extent, except to the degree that they will support a desirable statistical outcome on tests.

excerpt II:..."he's being taught to read through Open Court. In Reading the Naked Truth, Gerald Coles writes, "Putting an excessive emphasis on word skills might result in beginning readers not achieving competence in a variety of additional strategies of reading, strategies especially necessary for high-level material in later grades. An excessive skills emphasis that encourages children to see reading as 'word work' rather than as an experience that informs and excites them and fires their imagination could discourage enthusiasm for reading and thereby encourage aliteracy, that is, students who know how to read but have no interest in reading."

excerpt III: "In classrooms such as these at Edison, I see this deadening effect at work. Low-income minority children are being given the lowest of the low when it comes to a rich curriculum. The reading program is designed for one thing: to help kids pass the state standardized test. The rationale is understandable: these kids need help in "the basics" because they don't get it at home. But this then leads to the creation of a curriculum that is nothing but the basics. No white, wealthy school - not a single one in the country - uses the Open Court curriculum."

comment on excerpts II and III: "No white, wealthy school - not a single one in the country - uses the Open Court curriculum." Ours does.

excerpt IV: "It's little wonder why this is the case: no wealthy, white parent would stand for these dumbed-down curricula. Not for a minute."

comment on excerpt IV: "It's little wonder why this is the case: no wealthy, white parent would stand for these dumbed-down curricula. Not for a minute." Ours do.

excerpt V: "If he lived in my suburban district, he would have a different educational experience, thus a different life, and thus a different future."

comment on excerpt V: "If he lived in my suburban district, he would have a different educational experience, thus a different life, and thus a different future." If he lived in ours, he might have a nicer house, more open space to run and play in, more personal safety, and more opportunity to grow up healthy, but don't believe for a moment that his educational experience, at this moment in time, would even be marginally different from the oppressive and lackluster atmosphere that was so accurately described in this article.

I include the following log to substantiate my comments about our "white, wealthy, suburban" school district and hope to illustrate that while the rhetorical phrases are in place, (Advanced Placement, Honors,) the application of these "opportunities" are corrupt.

I have identified my children as 1a=first child, and 1b=second child...
this way, no child is number 2.

Back-to-school night this year:

I went to "back to school night" last night at our childrens' high school. Let me tell you what a dramatically changed situation this is over the course of three years time.

In biology, for example, and 1a is in AP and 1b is in honors, these two teachers are incredibly dedicated to their craft and their specialty, BOTH expressed outrage over the scripted, limited, test-oriented, handicapping of the county control of their classrooms. The honors teacher held up the pacing guide and apologized profusely and said she could no longer accept being forced to follow a program that insists she race through material in a classroom where they can not learn. She also picked up a huge manual and said: "and look at this: this is my SCRIPT." She was not expressing a reaction to change; she was expressing a tangible fact of her classroom. She is 5 days "behind" and her entire class already failed one test, which she planned to exclude. The depth of teaching that takes place under these restrictions is, as you can imagine, quite compromised. Racing through sections of material, important concepts covered only by a demanding, abbreviated worksheet with contents dictated by the selected references from the test is not the kind of learning experience I had in mind for my children.

1b, being the super-type-a student that she is, got a 50 something on the test and she is only one of several very capable students in the class. You see, the pacing guide and testing program just doesn't work! ( and if it doesn't work for students of 1b's ability, you should just imagine for a minute what is going on in classrooms of children who are at lower levels.) I happen to talk to them too; it breaks these teacher's hearts and my heart. They showed me their pacing guides and stood there, eye's brimming sometimes, and asked me how in the world these kids can be expected to deliver on these inappropriate curriculum guides. The point is that they can't. The children are falling farther behind and the teachers' spirits are dying. No one is learning. Everyone is miserable.

My children are robbed of hour after hour of time outside of school with endless, mindless, worksheets and assignments that have them up until midnight before they slump into a mere 5 hours of sleep and wake up to do it all over again. They race to their school busses in the dark of the morning and wake up to yet more of the endless looming standards and measurements that will hallmark their academic careers and continue to leave them little time to read a book for enjoyment or participate in an art or music class for enjoyment or personal growth.

In 1a's AP science class, the teacher happened to love her science and teaching and had basically the same remarks, except, in this case, it was all about the college board approach to the classroom: the entire class is dedicated to the test. The good teacher, the good scientist, can't possibly function with this sort of harness...But their principal and most importantly, their superintendent demands that these courses be taught this way; IE: the goal is the test score ( the statistic that the press will more than likely write an article about. ) The AP class has a guidebook and a test-orientation just like the other classes. The difference is, this time we buy it from a vendor that has a phenomenal monopoly on the educational services circuit. Do you get my point?

1a is taking 5 AP classes. She did that because these were classes she really wanted to take, subjects that she wanted to learn about. Learning in our schools now means learning what is on the test. Apply that to 5th year french. This class is only taught as an AP class now. This entire class is devoted to test taking skills. I have to tell you that the teachers, bound by the superintendent's pacing guides and scripts, his dedication to expanding AP, his block schedules, have destroyed the teaching and learning that could be the legacy and essence of our schools for the teachers and for the students.

1b is miserable, and so are her teachers. She is working for hours on assignments and worksheets the teachers have to get done, even if the material being delivered is way too complicated for homework, and even if it is a waste of time; there just isn't time in class for it all and the county dictates the plan; period. The teachers know it, 1b knows it, but the papers continue to report the "progress." neither 1b nor 1a, or their teachers experience it as progress; do you?

1b is 13 years old. Her life right now is full of dread.

Conclusion:

The situation is horrendous; definitely. Be aware, however, that this time, it is bad for ALL of us.




A Visit to a Corporate Welfare School: Peter Campbell, instructional designer and reform activist, visited an Edison School today. Assessment Reform Network listserv.( accessed Oct. 25, 2005 at http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/ http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2005/10/visit-to-corporate-welfare-school.html )

November 01, 2005

what I NEVER meant to say....

We have an epidemic here...The newspapers have it. The community members who consistently speak at our school board meetings have it. Our key school administrators have it. Matter of fact, most everyone who merits the attention of the news industry has it.

I am considering catching it.

It is called the I SPEAK FOR EVERYONE syndrome.

It goes like this: Someone wants to make a strong statement about the success of our schools under NCLB; they buy into the test-mill approach to beefing up academic progress and the general "how can you expect improvement without placing a high-powered weapon at someone's head" method of compliance and progress evaluation.

...and they proceed to inform you.

The "truth" is delivered like this: "As president of ( insert: the local PTO, the Business Coalition, the Military alliance, etc.) I speak for the entire community ( or the parents, or the nation) in support of the progress we have made in our schools. They go on to quote rising test scores, or describe expanding AP programs or accelerated math policies...and blah, blah, blah...

...you read and hear it a lot.

The problem is: they DON'T speak for me. Neither do they speak for my children, their peers, or their teachers. They hardly speak for my neighbors or my community when according to my own unofficial tabulations, and Kappan's formal survey, over 50% of parents and various community-members don't even know what NCLB is about yet, ( and why on earth would they NEED to understand it, since they are already "spoken for," ) let alone understand the insidiousness of the resulting changes in our community schools.

The "universal speaker's virus," it occurs to me, opened with the file containing various financial opportunities created for entrepreneurial and political development in the master NCLB file. Suddenly, and the HIGH STAKES moniker applies here, it is not just children and our future we are talking about here, it is MONEY and POWER and INFLUENCE.

...such esteemed potentials require the creation of imaginary support.

For instance, when my children are in tears over nightly continued editions of the torturous county-inspired curricular demands to do more worksheets and reading and prepare for the next onslaught of testing ( which is the core of their classroom experiences and the pacing guides that define them, ) can it be that the businessman who eloquently spoke at the last board of education about the success and progress in our schools be the representative of our voice? Is the pain really worth the dollars and influence he will cash in on? Does he really "speak for us?"

Well, let me see...how much money, since he is proposing a partnership, would make my childrens torment acceptable...

And the president of the PTO, or the CAC, or various other "representative voices" in my community...they do get their names in the paper a lot. Okay, how much notoriety would equal the value of the sleep and laughter and pursuit of enjoyable activities lost in this treadmill approach to academic progress. I am at a loss for what they might owe the children and me...power? popularity?

Certainly I have a right to speak for everyone too. And I have to say, speaking for everyone, that I don't appreciate the way my children's ( or their teacher's ) lives are being ravaged by the rapid changes and delivery of the imposed, harmful, academically lacking, destructive forces mandated by this act. As a matter of fact, and I speak for everyone again, I want to have our lives and our volition back.

I want my children to stop hurting...and I want it owing no one a penny.

The problem is, and I am speaking for us all again, the microphone has (coincidentally) been disconnected.