Modern Education

By Al Mayberry

You can learn about Hughes & Mayberry, and about the critical issues at stake in this election by visiting the Every Child Counts website: http://www.highschoolelection.com, and by tuning in the documentary "Tam Students Cry Out: the inside story" on Saturday, November 3rd, at 3:00 or Monday evening, November 5th, at 6:00, on Marin cable channel 26. This is a "must see" for anyone concerned with the situation of our local kids. Featuring Tam District students critiquing their schools and world issues.

Having been a teacher and researching these exact problems for twenty years I can see these problems and many possible answers. My opponents and the board majority insist on denying these problems because we have high test scores! I know that the board, students, teachers and parents can work together to keep the many great things we have in our schools that are working and upgrade the few things that are not working. School should be challenging and FUN for everyone!

I've been teaching for 21 years. Presently I teach the 'Integrated Subjects Projects Lab' at Marin Primary and Middle School. The Projects Lab was co-created by other teachers, the students and me. The long term projects involve research, design, and hands-on construction requiring math, real-life problem solving and teamwork. A report may be required, written or oral -- since the students choose the projects to begin with they are very tolerant of the accompanying assignments. This collaboration between teachers was able to satisfy the students, the teachers and the administration. It is rare to have an hour and a half class for students K - 8 where they are all working hard on task, above grade level for this long of a period. An interesting aspect of this program is that a curriculum was worked out and lauded by all factions of a school.

I think the central issue in high schools is student stress. A teachers' committee has reported to the board that increased academic expectations in the school program over the past ten years have created a stressful climate for a significant number of students. (Sue Maxwell's report to the board on 5/15/01) Counselors, students have also testified to the board describing this phenomenon in detail. The IJ, Pacific Sun, Redwood Bark and ABC Evening News have all had feature investigative articles that found noticeable stress among TUHSD students. A Marin County Grand Jury reported that student stress was a factor to keep an eye on. One counselor testified that she had eleven suicide attempts in less than a year in her files. The problem is that this testimony was given 18 months ago and the majority of the board has not responded. The only exception is Richard Raznikov, whose efforts to be sensitive to the students' emotional condition have been resisted by the rest of the board and he has been vilified for his concerns.

I think that we could design a process at each school where teachers, students and administrators come together to discuss ways that stress can be alleviated for everyone. This needs to be a special process designed to find real working solutions. I am aware of the amount of work and possible pitfalls this process may entail but feel that the alternative is so painful to a sector of the school community that it cannot be avoided. The following are my ideas for this process.

There is no reason to disrupt any aspect of the school district that people feel is working well. I would imagine that about 70 to 80% of the district would remain untouched, that 10 to 20% of programs could get some fine tuning and there may be 10 to 20% new programs depending upon how teachers and students decide to upgrade.

All requirements can be assessed and some requirements might be changed. I would question why every student in the district should be required to meet UC entrance requirements when not everyone is planning on attending that type of college. I think the students that plan to attend very competitive colleges can be advised of what classes they need for admission and that it is not necessary to require all students to submit to the same routine, especially when there has been such compelling testimony that many students are interested in other subjects than those chosen for requirements and that the mandating of too many requirements is the main source of stress in many students. Teachers I have talked to want to overhaul parts of the District Outcomes. Having a receptive board will make this review process effective and satisfying.

I feel that many teachers and students are asking for similar things. Some students want a richer elective offering. This is a perfect opportunity for teachers to offer some classes based on their teaching pas