SOCIALIZATION OVER EDUCATION

Students demand advanced English (Theresa Harrington, June 05, 2003, Contra Costa Times)

In a 3-2 vote, the Mt. Diablo school board on May 27 decided against offering a pre-honors English course for freshmen. Board president Gary Eberhart and trustees Bill Leal and April Treece voted against the course, saying they did not agree with separating students based on academic abilities. Trustees Dick Allen and Linda Mayo supported the proposed class, which would have been an elective for students seeking more advanced instruction.

Parents and students upset about that decision, showed up at the board meeting June 3 to speak during the public comment period, asking for reconsideration of the class. Sandy Walters, a Concord parent, said the district should provide courses that meet the needs of both remedial and advanced students.

"We need to give students as diverse options as possible," she said.

Chris Stieger-Maguire and her daughter Megan, a Pleasant Hill Middle School eighth-grader in the district's Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program, also advocated for the class.

"It's important to consider the needs of GATE and high-achieving students," Stieger-Maguire said.

She stressed that a pre-honors freshmen English class could serve as an introduction to honors or advanced-placement classes offered to juniors and seniors. Some students who might not feel comfortable taking such classes could gain confidence by trying out an advanced class as ninth-graders, she said.

And Megan bluntly told the board she is often bored in her classes. A voracious reader, she said she would like to be able to take a class that discusses more than just plots and characters. Many of her classmates, Megan said, feel the same way.

"I have watched as other students have lost interest in school because they are not challenged," she said.

Pleasant Hill parent Lauren Unruh and daughter Julie said some bored advanced students are disruptive if not challenged.

"It's basically a fallacy that kids who are little faster are going to make a class better," Unruh said. "I have experience with gifted failures. A significant amount of intelligent kids drop out of school because they think it's stupid."

She said bright kids often feel isolated in basic classes, yet thrive when they are grouped with students who enjoy intellectual stimulation. And Julie said advanced students can sometimes intimidate students who don't catch on quickly, by rushing the teacher and implying that the material is easy.

You can't gear an educational towards keeping the least able students feeling good about themselves, including spending 25-30% of school budgets on "special education" kids, and expect to provide a decent education for the majority of students. But the politics is more important than the basic mission. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 6, 2003 8:33 AM