"Joseph A. Erickson" wrote: > Core Curriculum > What is a core curriculum? Nearly 10 years ago, noted educator Ernest Boyer > asked that question of hundreds of parents, educators, school board members, > and others worldwide and developed a wonderful multicultural approach called > the "Basic School." In his book discussing this approach, Boyer outlines > several central forms of literacy (textual, numerical, artistic, and > social/emotional) and a number of key intellectual domains (the physical > world, the social world, etc.) that parents of children from all over the > world agreed they wanted their children to possess by grade 6. I believe > this approach is one of the most innovative and worthwhile "core curricula" > available today.
Basic Liberal Axiom: History and culture is biased towards the perspective of old White guys and it is the function of the schools to correct this injustice. Core curriculums reinforce outdated values and ethics. Negative Outcomes: An introduction of historical and cultural perspectives that are just as biased as the traditional ones, just in different directions. Has infused the schools with a fuzzy mix of platitudes and values that lack content, detail, and intellectual rigor. Students graduate understanding very little about American History and our political system. Conservative Assumption: Students should be taught about the history and culture of our country. My Perspective: American history and culture should be taught without glossing over past injustices and inequities, but in a manner that retains intellectual rigor and encourages critical review. I believe that one of the most positive benefits of the public schools is that they install a shared culture regardless of geographical region, race, or ethnic background. My Proposal: Require a basic core curriculum of basic math, literature, history, and science courses that is consistent for the public, charter, private schools, as well as home schoolers. (For goodness sake, people should know when the Civil War was fought and why). > Disability Services > One of the most troubling aspects of delivering services to special needs > learners is the financial headache it has created for school districts. Many > services were mandated by federal legislation (i.e., the Individuals With > Disabilities Education Act, IDEA), which in theory is good, but the > legislation is fatally flawed because it mandates services for our special > needs learners, but does not provide adequate funding for those services. > This federal funding shortfall affects all learners, because since these > services are mandated, they must be delivered. Money for "regular" education > is often used to pay for special needs learner mandates. We must all > mobilize and contact our federal legislators and tell them that full funding > for the special needs mandates must be forthcoming! Basic Liberal Axiom: Regardless of the type or severity of disability students should be mainstreamed in regular classrooms. Negative Outcomes: Distributing special services across all classrooms and schools is inordinately expensive and results in a lowering of the quality of education for the vast majority of students. Conservative Assumption: Students with disabilities should receive a quality education, but should not necessarily be mainstreamed. My Perspective: I don't believe that it's simply a shortfall in Federal funding, I think that law is incorrectly written and needs to be restructured; movement in that direction is already acknowledged as necessary by many in Washington. My Proposal: Do whatever we can under current law to centralize and make disability services more efficient. Lobby the state and federal governments to make changes in the financing and laws regarding disability services. > Diversity > Diversity is ubiquitous and is a treasure and a gift for Minneapolis Public > Schools. Diversity is an important element of any high quality education and > should be featured and promoted whenever possible. Diversity does not just > include race and ethnicity. It also includes gender, interests, > perspectives, attitudes, etc. By imbedding our curriculum with the wisdom of > many cultures and perspectives we will enhance our ability to reach all > children, especially those children who may not feel included in a more > narrow approach. Basic Liberal Axiom: A diversity of cultures has a significantly positive impact on education. Negative Outcomes: Many types of forced integration programs that try, artificially, to impose proportional representation in classes, schools, jobs, professions, sports, etc. The enactment of speech and professional codes that violate constitutional protections of free expression and thought. Multicultural programs that divert resources from the basic goals of quality education. Conservative Assumption: Individual choices, not government mandate should determine the proportion of ethnic groups in different areas. Ethnic and cultural diversity do not in and of themselves significantly improve the educational process. My Perspective: First off, Dr. Erickson's belief that Diversity as practiced in the schools necessarily includes different "interests, perspectives, and attitudes" is a minority one. Although advocates of diversity may pay lip service to divergent perspectives, they do not support a broad protection of speech and expression. I support the right of individuals not to be censured when their ideas, writing, art work, etc. is controversial. In other words, I support true diversity. My Proposal: Schools should encourage free expression, provide courses on different cultures, encourage respect for the rights of others, and enforce laws against discrimination. > ESL Programs > ESL (now more commonly called ELL for English Language Learners) is a fact > of life for Minneapolis schools. In some schools, upwards of 40% or more of > the children speak another language at home. We need to deliver high quality > ELL training for our teachers and other support staff to assist these new > English speakers in becoming proficient in English (contrary to some > right-wing critics, new immigrants desire English proficiency for themselves > and their children). The key will be training our teachers to deliver this > instruction. Basic Liberal Axiom: It is unnatural and cruel to force non-English speaking students to learn English. In some ways it is an attack on their cultural identity. It is best to allow these students to continue to learn in their own language. Negative Outcomes: Students do not become fluent in English, a skill they need to be successful in this country. It is immensely expensive to distribute bilingual education across schools, classrooms, and grade levels. When students are only partially fluent in English it limits their ability to do well in other content courses, weakening their educational outcomes. Conservative Assumption: English is the business language not only of the United States, but also the world. English fluency is one of the major tools for successful national and international communication. My Perspective: The more quickly students become fluent in English the more likely they are to be successful in school and in life. My Proposal: Centralize English instruction in a few schools where students will focus on learning English, while at the same time taking content courses in their native languages (bilingually). > Home Schooling > For several years the district has provided some support services for home > schooling parents and it provides other opportunities such as athletics. I > think these are reasonable and should continue. I would prefer these home > schooled learners spend at least part of their school week in the presence > of gifted scholars and co-learners in our public schools, but if that can't > happen, we can provide the kind of support these parents need to deliver > high quality learning to their children. One concern I have is the > mail-order worksheet curricula--which unfortunately is the approach employed > by many home schooling parents. Basic Liberal Axiom: Social interaction and cultural diversity in the public schools is necessary for a well rounded education. Home schooling is promoted mainly by the right wing religious fringe. Negative Outcomes: The public school establishment has unnessesarly lobbied against home schooling. Conservative Assumption: Ethical values are best established by families. My Perspective: Research on home schooled children has consistently shown that they are well adjusted, and perform as well or better academically as students in the public schools. Dr. Erickson and I seem to agree on this topic. My Proposal: The public schools should continue to support and involve home schooled children. Michael Atherton Prospect Park _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
