Compliance = $$$

Outcome-Based Education and Goals 2000 incentive dollars dried up this year. However, we are now left with the ineffective, experimental programs, philosophies, and practices implemented as a result of going after those dollars.

Compliance with the state’s Outcome-Based Education or Goals 2000 objectives insured state and federal money would continue to flow into the district. The term education in the OBE context referred more accurately to developing good citizens, multicultural awareness, assuring group cooperation, and School to Work programs; academic achievement was not its main focus.

Our mission statement, in compliance with OBE, refers to preparing students for ‘a rapidly changing world.’ There is no mention of academics, nor does it make a commitment to grade level academic achievement. Displayed in school halls are beautiful group projects, DARE posters, etc. Although, these are admirable, we need to foster a learning environment focused on academic achievement. Why not display science and math tests with perfect scores; high quality student essays, names of prodigious readers.

Recently we implemented the Character Counts Program. Another well funded, empire building, seemingly honorable program that is not focused on academic achievement. We can not fool ourselves into believing that our students perform so well that we need not worry about implementing programs, philosophies, and practices which time and research have proven to increase academic achievement. In the fall of 2002, our middle schools face block scheduling. The newest educational fad. This program is very new at the middle school level. You would be hard pressed to find middle schools that have implemented it for five years or more providing data that would support or refute its effectiveness. Research that has been done at the high school level indicates block scheduling does not improve academic achievement an is more often detrimental to academic achievement.

The reality is on the 2001 ISAT tests only 10% of our 5th graders exceeded state standards in math. (A full 75% met state standard. But, keep in mind, meeting state standards is nothing to boast about.) 8th graders faired a little better in math with 26% exceeding state standards. However, when we look at 8th grade reading scores we drop to 20% exceeding state standards, and in writing only 12% exceed state standards. District 205 must recognize that academic core knowledge is essential to success regardless of how rapidly the world changes. We must implement proven programs, philosophies, and practices that are known to improve academic achievement.

Tax payers pay the salaries of school administrators and teachers. Yet, we have virtually no voice in what takes place in the classroom. The district should ensure an educational environment that reflects the philosophies of the tax paying community - not put our children at risk for the sake of incentive dollars. Taxes are very high in this community, in addition to the newly passed referendum. We should not be in a position that requires us to use our children as guinea pigs.

In compliance with OBE (aka: Goals 2000), cooperative learning is used daily to teach children to work together in everything from music to math. It has taken priority over individual achievement. This practice deprives gifted students the opportunity to excel and denies students who don’t understand the material their right to receive instruction from a qualified teacher. My son came home with a math worksheet completed with partners. Not only did his partner to all the work - he did it all wrong. His partner obviously had high self-esteem and was very confident of his ability, but had nothing to show for it and obviously did nothing to further my son’s understanding of the material.

Cooperative learning activities develop team-dependence not independence. Students are encouraged to depend on others for input and approval rather than developing confidence in their own abilities. It robs the student of the pride of a job well done. My basement is filled with group projects no one wanted - no personal pride or ownership was attached to the work.

By placing such high value on team work we have de-valued the individual. It frightens me to think of the consequences of this slanted value system as classroom groups turn to clicks, gangs, cults, etc. We’re teaching our children that group thinking is more highly regarded than individual thinking. Therefore, those who belong to groups will tend to follow group thinking. Those who do not belong will feel the pain of alienation even more acutely.

The ability to cooperate or be a team player is, no doubt,important. However, you can not be an effective participant in any group or an asset to any team, until you can first think and act for yourself. A group is only as good as the unique skills and knowledge each individual brings to the table. If all you bring to the table is an ability to cooperate, you are useless! You have nothing to offer that will bring the group any closer to resolution.

Group learning does not belong in academic instruction. It can be implemented in other areas such as plays, gym, unified arts, etc. Schools need to embrace a learning environment committed to highest possible individual academic achievement not one that is more concerned with how well students work together.

The absence of letter grades (vague assessments of progress) follows the OBE plan. We have finally reinstated letter grades in 4th & 5th grades. School to Work, has been renamed to make is more appealing to professional parents. It is now known as Education to Careers. This program also in compliance with the OBE objectives. ETC encourages teachers to begin tracking student interests and abilities as early as elementary school.

In 2000, the 5th grade career program at Lincoln School made the papers. It appears to be a wonderful experience for the students, however, 23% of previous year’s District 205 5th graders received ISAT Reading scores below state standards; 21% were below in math. How can we squander academic time on career programs and block scheduling when these children have not been provided the core knowledge necessary to succeed in school or in the real world? The time committed to this program would be better spent insuring these 5th graders enter 6th grade with grade level skills and knowledge that will serve them for a lifetime.

Block scheduling in the middle schools will provide the necessary time to guide students into the Education to Careers curriculum in high school. By its very nature, it will reduce the amount of time available for academic instruction, thereby reducing the number of students qualified to choose the college prep curriculum. Education to Careers is sold to parents as a tool to expand opportunities available to their children. In fact, ETC effectively narrows opportunities. As less time is spent on academic instruction to pursue Education to Careers, academic achievement suffers and it is less likely a student will be eligible for a high school college prep curriculum. The only way to insure optimal opportunities is to pursue the highest academic achievement possible for every student. A student prepared for college has both higher education and vocational doors open to him/her. A student who reduces time spent in academics to explore Education to Careers may very well have only vocational doors open. There is no contest - to insure optimal opportunities we must pursue avenues that have proven to increase academic achievement.

The state sets guidelines for districts - like the one asserting special needs identification should not take place until a child is two grade levels behind, which means 3rd grade. By 3rd grade the substantial benefits of early identification and intervention are lost. Districts suffer repercussions from the state if it is determined children not yet two grade levels behind have been identified. We need to implement screening tests to be administered (currently available) in Kindergarten to identify students at high risk of reading and writing deficits. We need effective K-2 curriculum focused on direct, explicit, systematic, sequential instruction, ensuring a reduced population of students requiring special ed intervention by grade 3.

Per OBE, District 205 adopted child centered/learner directed classrooms where teachers play the role of facilitators encouraging students to learn from each other and infer meaning from exposure to material and casual presentations of concepts. Often, homework is assigned containing concepts barely mentioned in class. Homework should be a review of materials thoroughly covered in class to fine tune skills; an exercise the student can complete as independently as possible to develop confidence, independence and mastery.

It’s time for the pendulum to swing back toward teacher directed classrooms with well defined standards of achievement and clearly stated benchmarks where teachers play the role of educators providing direct instruction using proven, researched based strategies in an atmosphere where the teacher is clearly in charge conducting lessons in a logical, sequential manner. What’s happened to respect? We are so busy teaching respect that we have forgotten to command it. We’ve turned classrooms over to students - put them in charge - they’re simply acting on the authority we’ve given them.

Teachers are not the cause of this misguided system. They are at the mercy of the curriculum and philosophy adopted by the district and the institutions that trained them in teaching approaches. I think our teachers are doing an exemplary job given the constraints in which they work.

Ineffective curriculum and block schedules that do not increase academic achievement are unacceptable. Whole Language produced generations of reading and writing disabled students. Everyday Math will prove to have the same disabling effect. We have adopted a new, hopefully more effective, Language Arts curriculum. The future continues to look grim for math. External experts should be brought in to serve on curriculum review committees. Organizations like IDA (experts in research based language arts strategies), or founding members of Mathematically Correct (one is a retired Elmhurst College math professor) would be invaluable assets to our committees. We would increase the odds of implementing effective programs.

We must inundate school administration with our demands for the kind of environment in which we will entrust the education of our children. Paul Vallas recently said, ‘We live in a participatory democracy. You’ve got to participate if you want it to work.’

If you agree with what you’ve read here or have concerns of your own, I implore you to voice your opinion..

If you would like more information, visit suggested readings..

Thank you.