May 2010  

An argument for a Paradigm Shift in Public Education – One in a series

Posted By CotoBlogzz 04-25-2010 | 05:00 PM 

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - Arguably, there is a need for a paradigm shift in public education. That is, a radical transformation, as opposed to the continuous partisan bickering, such as the one going on in CAPO.

To be clear, “radical transformation” means different things to different people - not in the "words must mean something" demagoguery sense: visionary leaders see what others can’t see, for example.

The Internet is an example of a disruptive technology, a paradigm shift. In the mid-1980’s business computer manufacturer Convergent Technologies was selling “breakthrough technology” – an ability to connect some 128 business workstations together! - not the world, as we can do today.   Just try to remember what it was before the Internet, to what you can do now, and you get the idea of what a paradigm shift may look like.

Recently, lawmakers, the First Lady and even Military Brass have gone public claiming that obesity is a national security threat – We argue that while an important issue, obesity is merely a symptom and not the root cause.

The root cause is killing the country not unlike death from 1,000 cuts - in this instance is  “death by millions of analphabets"

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In a series, I will make and support the argument that public education is a national security issue worthy of a paradigm shift, which needs to be addressed immediately.    In this context, I will make the argument that the Department of Education must be disbanded and replaced by the Department of Common Sense, under the Secretary of Homeland Security, with one dictum: Given that education is a national security concern, the Department of Common Sense will work with other states to prepare US Students to compete in the current age of globalization: US students must be world leaders in math, science and liberal arts – no excuses!

Knowing that for any paradigm shift to work requires trust, the Department of Common Sense will recruit a mediator of the stature of Senator George Mitchell (negotiated peace in Northern Ireland) and or Prime Minister Blair (current Middle East peace envoy for the quartet, the U.S., Russia, the U.N., and the European Union) to mediate between teacher demands and administrators.

Watershed Moment - BTU

A sub-remise is that there is a watershed moment in the history of public education in California referred to as Before Teachers Union (BTU) and After Teachers Union (ATU). With the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, the California Teachers Union (CTA)  and others created an Education Coalition that has waged constant war in political and legal arenas to protect its share of the state budget. As opposed to prepare students to be competitive in a global economy

While CTA supporters consistently argue that local school district issues are non-partisan, these supporters are either uninformed or trying to mislead: Every single school district, from San Diego County to San Francisco, is a microcosm of what is going on at the state and national More on this later. 

Teachers circa BTU:

These High School teachers are not paradigm shifters, however, I remember them fondly for their professionalism and desire to mold young minds:

Mr. Moses: “High School newspaper advisor and teacher. If you ever see any of the members of the English department carrying a picket sign, don’t; be surprised, They aren’t protesting any of the administration’s policies or any chemical corporation. ..Their protest is a consequence of devotion to teaching students about the finer things in life.   Awareness is the key word in the goal of the English department New worlds wait to be opened – mind expansion – a super trip” The Glass Menagerie. Hemingway, Faulkner, Shakespeare, Byron, Sophocles, hippies and all those other great artists.  Not all with bare feet or long hair, but all with something to say.” – so reads the schools year book in the section depicting Mr. Moses conducting a discussion in his Advanced Composition Class. Mr. Moses taught high school students to enjoy and love Shakespeare – not a small feat.

Coach Smith coached the 1967 highest scoring high school varsity football team in Los Angeles , while he also taught physical education.   That year, he led the school to the city playoffs only to lose to Westchester 19-14.   Late in years, Mr. Smith could related to the young minds, simply by leading by example. I often wondered why he would leave a 90-pound weakling “in charge” of his senior physical education class while he attended to administrative matters. But he did, and I enjoyed it.

USC graduate Mr. Albano, a native of Los Angeles, taught mathematics. Brings back vivid memories since I almost failed the first semester of his Algebra class, only to witness a light go on at some point, and from then on, math was not a problem. I remember the class, but do not remember Mr. Albano doing anything special to help – and perhaps that is what I needed then.

Simply known as Mrs. Kelly, she taught French and sponsored the French Club. A native of Canada, Mrs. Kelly also taught Spanish. Her French class were always lively and seem to go too fast.

Ms. Montelius hailed from Illinois and was and English teacher. She instilled love of the arts by taking contemporary artists, such as Simon & Garfunkel.

Mr, Okui  earned his degree from UCLA, teaching social studies – quiet and unassuming, I do not recall falling asleep during any of his classes. On the other hand, Mr. Schultz graduated from USC and had been teaching social studies at the school for some 18 years. I use the Mr. Schultz's Syndrome to refer to those afraid of public speaking, in fond remembrance of Mr. Schultz.

I even remember Ms. Lieberman, my Jr. High School biology teacher.

Teachers (ATU) – A paradigm shifter

Fast forward some 15 years circa ATU. We find Jaime Escalante. Often Escalante's is merely characterized as " the East Los Angeles high school teacher who taught the nation that inner-city students could master subjects as demanding as calculus, " largely misses the point. Mr. Escalante was a paradigm changer. More on this later

Jaime Escalante joined Garfield High roughly at the time its accreditation was threatened. But instead of gearing classes to poorly performing students, Escalante offered AP Calculus classes. Mr. Escalante had a number of run in with colleagues, administrators, parents and at the end, the teacher’s union. He was even threatened with dismissal by an assistant principal because he was coming in too early, leaving too late, and failing to get administrative permission to raise funds to pay for his students' Advanced Placement tests.

However, Mr. Escalante saw what others could not see.   Escalante was a paradigm shifter: He argued with colleagues and the teacher’s union that Maslow’s Laws and self-bounded rationality are not mutually exclusive: That is, socio-economic status does not dictate what an individual is capable of doing, with the right support mechanism.

In 1982, 18 of Mr. Escalante students passed the Advanced Placement calculus exam. However, the Educational Testing Service found these scores to be suspicious, because all of the students made the exact same math error on problem #6, and also used the same unusual variable names. Fourteen of those who passed were asked to take the exam again. Twelve of the 14 agreed to retake the test and did well enough to have their scores reinstated. In 1983, the number of students enrolling and passing the A.P. calculus test more than doubled. That year 33 students took the exam and 30 passed. That year Escalante also started teaching calculus at East Los Angeles College.By 1987, 73 students passed the A.P. calculus AB exam and another 12 passed the BC version of the test.

In his final years at Garfield, Escalante received threats and hate mail. By 1990, Escalante's math enrichment program had grown to 400+ students. His class sizes had increased to over 50 students in some cases. This was far beyond the 35 student limit set by the teachers' union, which in turn increased criticism of Escalante's work. In 1991, the number of Garfield students taking advanced placement examinations in math and other subjects jumped to 570. That same year, citing faculty politics and petty jealousies, Escalante left Garfield.

The math program's decline at Garfield became apparent following the departure of Escalante and other teachers associated with its inception and development. In just a few years, the number of A.P. calculus students at Garfield who passed their exams dropped by more than 80 percent.

The comparison of the teachers BTU and ATU is in a small part, an indicator that when left to their own devices, teachers can be very effective – perhaps not as creative as Mr. Escalante, but good enough to leave their own imprint on a young person’s mind. Conversely, when the union gets involved, even the paradigm shifter is forced out.

What is going on at CUSD is no different than what is going on in every other school district in the state, all the way up to the Department of Education. In other words, if this issue is not treated as an important national security issue, we will continue to see the same partisan bickering every time there is an election.

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