In This Issue:
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A student’s plea: SCHOOLS NEED MORE MONEY …BUT MAKE SURE IT GETS TO US |
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Transitional Kindergarten: NEW HOPE + YOUNGER STUDENTS IN LAUSD CATCH UP |
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A MESSAGE FROM A BLACK MOM TO HER SON |
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THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Article 26: The Right to Education |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but
not neccessariily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources |
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EVENTS: Coming up next week... |
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What can YOU do? |
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Featured Links:
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Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic
disaster. The media is in a frenzy of reminiscence+reflection - it is as
if the ghost ship has been raised from the seabed and refloated to
continue her4 journey a century later.
The story of the Titanic is not just epic but An Epic - as surely as
Gilgamesh and Beowulf. John Jacob Astor, Ida & Isadore Strauss and
Molly Brown; Rose and Jack: the lookouts, the dance band and the deck
chairs.
CLOSE UP: A life ring on the calm and frigid sea, floating from the
nineteenth into the twentieth century - from man's technological mastery
of nature into the unintended consequences thereof.
For those drawn like the curious passersby who slow to stare at a
roadside catastrophe, who try to make sense of the senseless: Ignore the
centennial outpourings and read or reread Walter Lord's 1955 A Night to
Remember - 150 thin pages of as good as non-fiction storytelling gets.
MILLSTONES+MILESTONES pull you down if you get too attached to them.
Last week's edition of 4LAKids marked the 400th issue to have been
posted on the 4LAKids.blogspot.com library/mausoleum of past issues.
Close to eight years of newsworthy-and-not-so accounts of goings-on,
nefarious and otherwise, at LAUSD and in the world of public education.
Before it was posted online 4LAKids existed as an e-mail newsletter -
those ruminations and meanderings were e-mailed into the ether and are
hopefully lost in that forgotten and chilly sea. In those years I ,
cleverly disguised as the editorial "we", have got it wrong and right,
telling it as it appears or appeared to be.
I worked my way from curious outsider to curious insider. On rare
instances I took Gandhi's advice and was the change. Mostly I listened
and took sketchy notes and read what others wrote and wrote my piece on
Saturday night or Sunday morning. A friend once asked if I ever stopped
to sober up before hitting the "send" button. I love that question …but I
refuse to answer.
I was at an event a few weeks back and a politician was being
complimentary. Afterward a friend chided me on how nice it is to have
one's past accomplishments recognized - especially when the failures and
the missed opportunities and chances lost seem so prominent. Thank you
Eric and Natalie.
Jackson Brown wrote a lyric when he was something like 17 years old:
"These days I sit on corner stones
and count the time in quarter tones to ten.
Don't confront me with my failures, I had not forgotten them."
In these pages I endorsed Mayor Tony in his second run for mayor. My
endorsement made no difference, but it galls me because he made me a
promise he did not keep. I had known Antonio Villaraigosa for years -
he was neighbor in our Jack Smith Wonderland/Cloud Cuckoo Land of Mt.
Washington. I knew him to be a somewhat self-serving/absorbed
politician …the enormity thereof has proved itself out. But enough about
him, let's talk about me.
I was sucked into the abyss of LAUSD well over a decade ago. The
principal of my daughter's elementary school volunteered me to sit on a
textbook adoption committee. It all seemed innocent enough. It had taken
me three semesters to pass Algebra I, with all that experience who
better to select the algebra text?
Linda Pacheco was an excellent principal, she came to our school as a
curtain call - to shore up an excellent program that had had a bit of a
rough spot. Not to reform, remake or reconstitute it …but to pilot it
through troubled waters.
She convinced me to serve as Mt Washington's School's PTA president …and
then announced she was retiring. When I balked at serving without her
she reminded me that it was she that was retiring - not me - and that I
didn't have a choice. Just like when she explained to my wife and I why
she had placed our daughter Alana in the fifth grade class that was best
for Alana and the school and the teachers …rather than in the class
with the teacher we thought we wanted. She was leaving because it was
time to - she had done all he could for us - and was off into the sunset
and glorious grandmotherhood. And because she had weathered the
Zacharias-to-Cortines I upheaval - the LAMP and LEARN reforms - and saw
the Riordan Reform Board/Romer/NCLB Reforms as something best avoided.
I rewrote and circulated on the internet and by email a well received
essay on How to Play the Magnet School Points Game - The hidden keys and
secrets of gaming the Options Brochure. I wrote a letter in the form
of a cautionary children's tale for adults ("The Brave Little Copier")
that made me (in)famous at the new LAUSD HQ on Beaudry Avenue. (The
story also got the school new copier!)
Things led to others. I went to lots of meetings and served on lots of
committees mainly because I was asked (I didn't learn the expression
"voluntold" until much later). Sometimes I had an agenda - I wanted to
be on the Bond Oversight Committee because my daughter's elementary
school needed an auditorium and the ceiling tiles in her middle school
kept falling on the students. I wanted to be on the Facilities Committee
because of the candidates available I had an understanding of
Construction, Facilities and Instruction and the politics thereof.
I had studied Poli Sci in college - and for a brief time out of college
(before I succumbed to the siren call of the show business) I worked for
a builder/developer - right down the hall from the other new kid in
town: Eli Broad and KB Homes.
In the show biz I learned to drive a project and meet a payroll and stay
on budget and deliver a product. A mentor told me of THE FOUR "P"s OF
PRODUCTION - they are really the same in any enterprise.
-
PROTOCOL: Respect the work of others; Show up on time. Standing around
and waiting in case you are needed is a critical job skill. Hire the
best people and hope you don't need all their skills …because if you do
they'll raise their rate next time.
-
PACE: Keep moving forward, not too fast, not too slow. Anything worth
having is worth waiting for. Meet deadlines and set realistic deadlines.
Don't tell the art department the real deadline.
-
POLITICS: Always be aware of who's in charge and who thinks they are in charge. And who the client is.
-
PERIPHERY OF ACTION: Stay behind the camera.
IN MY EXPERIENCE AT LAUSD I've participated in the Councils of Reform.
I was on the Small School Learning Community Task Forces at Marshall
High School and at the central district - putting me in the unenviable
position of approving a plan I helped design (I abstained!)
I conspired with David Tokofsky and the superintendent's team to create
Full Day Kindergarten; we got it approved on the ballot and I worked on
the FDK Design and Implementation committee. We probably could've done
better, but we did well.
I worked with the committee to design and implement the A-G Graduation
Requirements - and wasn't alone in forecasting the inherent conflict
with Small Schools and Small Learning Communities (which by their themed
nature rely upon student elective classes) and A-G - whose rigorous
requirements pretty much precludes electives. I also warned that the
real CSU/UC A-G Standards (which don't accept "D" grades as passing) and
the LAUSD A-G standards (which accepts them) are not just incompatible,
they are mutually exclusive. In A_G Committee discussions this issue
was always put off for another time; now it is another time and District
leadership is prepared to eliminate electives (and Health Education) -
and by extension small schools with a themed focus - in favor of A-G
…with the "D" grade issue put off 'till next year.
When I was in high school we had majors and courses of study; recently
there has been discussion of Multiple Pathways and Career Technical
Education. Today we have only A-G. One size fits all; any color you
want as long as it's black.
Of all the flavors of "choice" debated in public education, I think the
ability of students to choose for themselves elective programs and
classes is the most important; Dr. Deasy and Dr. Aquino don't agree.
When a student is allowed to make an informed decision about his or her
course of study leading to a high school diploma it isn't tracking and
it isn't limiting - it's empowering.
A-G is a laudable goal - alongside 100% Graduation and No Child Lift
Behind. It relies upon the assumption that every student in the District
can, will and wants-to pass Algebra II with a "C" or better - and in so
doing will be whisked into the UC or CSU system and a college degree.
That every student should have that opportunity is the promise, premise
and guarantee. I agree with the superintendent that any employee who
doesn't believe in that opportunity for every student has no place in
LAUSD.
But that every student will is hogwash.
Kids will drop out.
Kids will run off and join the circus.
Kids will dream outside the walls of the school.
Kids will need to get jobs to support families - families they are a
part of and families they will purposefully or accidentally start.
ALONG THE WAY at my many meetings of many committees and task forces and
commissions I shared what I had learned and heard at one committee with
the other committees -- and with you on these pages - and in public
and in quiet private discussions with folks who would talk and with
folks who would listen.
Communications. Networking. Transparency. What a concept.
OF ALL THE MEETINGS I ATTENDED the most promising were of Romer's Focus
on Student Achievement Council - big picture open and frank discussions
of policy and programs and curriculum and challenges and issues between
staff and stakeholders, senior management and the occasional board
member. Central Office and Local District and school site and unions and
community members and private sector and (OMG!) students and parents -
with every meeting ending with "what do we want to discuss next time?".
The meetings were often contentious and always respectfully of other
folks opinions. Everything on the table with a great deal of give and
take. Nothing was ever decided - but the superintendent always heard
what was happening, who was thinking what. There was Development, it was
Professional.
Stealing from this week’s AALA newsletter: “Thoughtful decision making
on such issues must be grounded in research and incorporate
recommendations from all those who must implement or are otherwise
affected by the policy. The challenge is that not everybody will agree
on what the policy should be despite everyone’s best efforts.
“Here is where transparency, flexibility and trust are so critical.
“In a truly collaborative culture, staff members and parents are willing
to try something new if they believe they will be heard and their views
respected. Taking the time to build such a culture often means the
difference between schools’ long-term success or minimal improvement, at
best.
“Decision making at all levels has a direct impact on students in ways
that are both obvious and not so apparent. Students carefully observe
adult behavior. Adult treatment of others—adults and students
alike—affects how students think, behave and treat each other.
Therefore, District and school leaders must be deliberate in making
nonemergency decisions and always be sensitive to how they communicate
the decisions they have made.” | http://bit.ly/IUoXWZ
COMPARE AND CONTRAST THIS with last week's meeting of the Parents as
Equal Partners Committee at the Parents Community Services Branch Office
- with all the parent reps hand picked, pre-selected and appointed; the
bylaws subject to approval of the powers-that-be, no troublemakers need
apply. The presentation presented was about A-G and getting rid of
electives and Health Ed and [sometime in the future] the grade of "D".
The Parents as Equal Partners Committee members were told that their
previous recommendations (keep Early Childhood Ed and Adult Ed) had been
heard - but rejected. And what was discussed today could be neither
approved nor voted upon - it was for information only - please share
with your constituents.
Roberts Rules of Order and the Brown Open Meetings Act were used to
stifle rather than facilitate debate. Uniformed school police patrolled
in the hallway lest anything untoward happen - or should the audience
step out of line or speak beyond the allotted two minutes or cross the
barrier into where the appointed+approved sat. Outside there was a
ruckus and a demonstration - some parents are no so compliant for
compliance sake. It was all very Chicago '68 …as produced by Pee Wee's
Playhouse.
P3 of 4: Know who the client is. The District has never been good at
engaging parents; this was parent engagement by invitation only. I don't
know what these parents were being equal partners in - but the ones
outside were not buying into it.
Please put on your life belts …and women and children to the boats.
Gentlemen - if you'll join us in Hymn 528:
…..still all my song shall be,
nearer, my God, to thee;
nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!
¡Onward/Adelante! -smf
A student’s plea: SCHOOLS NEED MORE MONEY …BUT MAKE SURE IT GETS TO US
By Tara Kini , Thoughts on Public Education/TOPEd | http://bit.ly/IbZSnt
3/13/2012 :: M’Kala Payton, a junior at Fremont High in Oakland, has
seen her teachers set rat traps in her school and throw away the
corpses. Her football team plays on a field that is only 90 yards long.
She is learning videography on an outdated camera that takes cassette
tapes – and that’s at a so-called specialized “media academy.”
The obstacles M’Kala faces are all too common for low-income students of
color. That’s why she joined Youth Together, an East Bay youth
leadership organization that is among dozens of groups in the Campaign
for Quality Education. And that’s how we met; I am one of the attorneys
representing M’Kala and her peers in Campaign for Quality Education v.
California, a suit challenging California’s inadequate and inequitable
system of school finance as unconstitutional.
M’Kala and I had lunch together at the State Capitol last month. We were
there for a Senate hearing on Gov. Jerry Brown’s education budget
proposal, which includes a recommendation to switch to a new weighted
student funding formula. Later that day, M’Kala and 13 other students
and youth organizers bravely stepped up to a Senate hearing room
microphone and addressed their legislators face to face, providing
compelling testimony before the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review
Committee.
She did a great job, but she only had one minute to explain why she and
six million other California students need the Legislature’s help – and
need it now. I’m sharing our conversation so others can hear more of her
story.
Question: What evidence have you seen that low-income schools like yours aren’t getting adequate or equitable funding?
M’Kala: We’re broke and other people aren’t. As part of Youth Together, I
once got to compare our school, Fremont, to a school a few miles down
the road, Piedmont High. We visited and the environment there was
completely different. There was some care put into that school. They
have music classes and we don’t, even though we have a whole bunch of
rappers and singers at my school who would love to have music. Our
creativity is not being utilized. I also saw garbage bins full of books
at Piedmont. We don’t have enough books for everybody at my school, and
the ones we do have are really old and beat up. Our school facility is
garbage compared to theirs, our bathrooms are filthy. I realized that
the conditions that are part of my every day are not normal.
In history class, we talk about how there should be no second-class
citizens. But at Fremont, we totally feel like second-class citizens.
Why can’t we have what the kids at Piedmont have?
What do you think of Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal to fund schools according to a weighted student formula?
M’Kala: I have one big problem with it. I want to make sure that the
money actually gets spent on us. The way the budget proposal is now,
districts with more low-income students and English learners will get
more funding – true – but there is nothing in there keeping the
districts from using that money however they want. What if they get it,
and then don’t end up using it to help the schools with low-income
students and English learners? Accountability for how the districts
spend the money needs to be in there somewhere, or we won’t make any
progress. Low-income students and English language learners will still
be at a disadvantage.
Overall, I do think it makes sense to give more to the students who need
it most. At Fremont, there are huge numbers of students from low-income
backgrounds or who are learning English who have more needs. Weighted
student funding would help us catch up – but again, only if the
districts actually use the extra money on us.
No matter what, our schools need more funding. We have one counselor for
over 160 students. Students are behind on credits, but they are not
able to take the classes they need to graduate or to get to college. Our
librarian was fired because of the budget cuts.
That’s an interesting take on the governor’s proposal. We’ve heard him
say that districts will be held accountable – but he is referring to
measuring outcomes after the fact. Seeing if low-income students and
English learners have improved on the back end isn’t the same as holding
the districts accountable for how they spend the money on the front
end. So if your school were to receive additional funding, what do you
think it should be spent on?
M’Kala: Besides more counselors, I would spend it on a more rigorous
curriculum. I’m a junior, and there’s only one AP course I can take.
Also, I think we should hire a school psychiatrist. The things we have
to see and deal with every day are kind of crazy. I’ve had multiple
classmates killed in the past two years in shootings and drive-bys. It’s
hard to come in and focus on your classes after that.
I’d spend money on a whole new facility. When I come to school every day
and it’s dirty and not well taken care of, it doesn’t feel like school.
It feels like a jail cell, and I have the urge to walk out.
Why did you get involved with Youth Together?
M’Kala: I feel like some people believe education is a privilege, but
it’s not. It’s a right. I shouldn’t have to fight for an education just
because I go to Fremont, but I do it because otherwise things are never
going to change.
My older sister got a 4.0 all through high school. But when she got to
college, she found it difficult to keep up, because Fremont didn’t
prepare her for the workload. I know, because I went to 7th grade in
Fairfield. When I moved back to Oakland in 9th grade, I was learning the
same things I learned in Fairfield. We’re two years behind kids in
those places! How are we supposed to succeed?
What are your goals for the future?
M’Kala: I want to be an English teacher. I’ve only had one teacher who
had any empathy for me. She taught ethnic studies, and made school feel
relevant to me. She’s black like me, she grew up in Watts, and I call
her my second mother.
I think that understanding is one of the most important things about
being a teacher, and that’s something I want to pass along. In Youth
Together, I get to be a part of solving the problem, and that’s
something I want to keep doing.
Tara Kini is a staff attorney at Public Advocates Inc. and a former
high school teacher. She is part of the team litigating Campaign for
Quality Education v. California, a state constitutional challenge to
California’s inadequate and inequitable school finance system.
M’Kala Payton is a junior at Fremont High School’s Media Academy and a member of Youth Together.
Transitional Kindergarten: NEW HOPE + YOUNGER STUDENTS IN LAUSD CATCH UP
►TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN SUPPORTERS FIND NEW HOPE
By Tami Abdollah/KPCC | http://bit.ly/Ik2SgT
April 12, 2012 | The California Senate Budget and Fiscal Review
Subcommittee on Education voted today to reject the governor's proposal
to eliminate transitional kindergarten in his budget.
The party-line vote — with Democrats rejecting the governor's plan and
Republicans against or absent — matches a March 13 vote by the state
Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. Gov. Jerry Brown's
2012 budget proposes to save the state $224 million by pulling the plug
on the new program that begins this year. Such a change, however, would
require the Legislature action to change the current statute.
"It's good news for California kids, families and schools," said
Democratic Sen. Joe Simitian, of Palo Alto, who authored the
Kindergarten Readiness Act, which provides for the program.
"...Unfortunately, I think the proposal has created a lot of anxiety and
uncertainty around the state."
In 2010, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law the Act, which works
to ensure California's kindergarten entry date aligns with new
development data and the cut offs in most other states across the
country.
Since 1951, California has had its kindergarten cut-off date set at Dec.
2. (Only Michigan Vermont and Connecticut allow children into school as
late as Dec. 1; a handful of other states do not specify the cut-off
date in statute, but those districts typically line the date up with the
first day of school.) If your kids are 5 years old after that date,
they enter kindergarten a year later.
Under the new law, the date is moved forward to Sept. 1 gradually over
three years. This year the cut-off will be Nov. 1. Next year it will
Oct. 1. And in 2013, the cut off will be Sept. 1. The roughly 125,000
children born each year between Sept. 1 and Dec. 2 would instead be sent
to a "transitional kindergarten" class structured to be more
developmentally appropriate before entering traditional kindergarten the
following year.
The law was written so that the cost savings of roughly $5,740 the state
pays out per child for attendance would instead pay for their
transitional kindergarten class. And because the law is phased in and
results in smaller classes, the program offsets its own costs for 15
years.
Supporters of the program say keeping 125,000 kids in school prevents
ripple effects on teacher staffing and parents' work schedules that
would result from simply leaving the kids out of school for an
additional year.
The governor's budget proposal anticipates a cost savings of nearly $224
million n 2012 by cutting the transitional kindergarten program. The
money would then be used to support the general cost of education.
But H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the governor's Department of Finance,
said the governor's proposed cut is necessary during tough economic
times. Republicans have also expressed concern over beginning a new
program when existing fiscal needs can't be met.
"At this particular time, when we're dealing with the state's overall
fiscal challenges, now is not the time to implement a brand new program
with the attendant costs associated with it," Palmer said. He said the
governor's office has heard anecdotally that a number of districts were
concerned about the details of accommodating a new program.
California allows parents to request a school board allow their child
early admission to kindergarten before age 5. Children who have
completed kindergarten are automatically eligible for first grade unless
their parent requests the child remain in kindergarten for an
additional year.
Meanwhile, LAUSD and other districts have already begun pilot programs
in preparation for the law's implementation this year; the expansion of
the program is on hold because of the governor's proposal.
Simitian said he found it "a very good sign" that both houses'
subcomittees had decided to reject the proposal, but also said anything
can happen.
"In budget lore there's an old phrase," Simitian said. "A governor proposes, the Legislature disposes."
►LAUSD'S TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN HELPS YOUNGER STUDENTS CATCH UP
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer dailynews.com | http://bit.ly/HUbXuS
April 14, 2012 5:37 AM GMT: Ask the parents of a youngster born late in
the year about enrolling their not-quite-5-year-old in kindergarten, and
they'll likely describe the dilemma about whether to send their kid to
school or hold him back.
That quandary will be resolved this fall under a new state law that
gradually moves up the date that kids are eligible to enroll in
kindergarten. The Dec. 2 milestone that has been in place for decades
will be Sept. 1 by 2014.
The law also mandates the creation of transitional kindergarten, giving
those younger students an additional year to master the academic, social
and developmental skills required of today's kindergartners.
"It's an amazing, amazing, amazing program for children who aren't
developmentally ready and need that extra year to grow," said Michelle
Adams-Fix, who teaches TK at Winnetka Avenue Elementary School, one of
109 Los Angeles Unified schools participating in a pilot transitional
kindergarten program.
"We follow the kindergarten curriculum, but the students aren't required
to master the skills," she said. "They can proceed at their own pace."
The kindergarten of finger-painting and sandbox play that most baby
boomers remember has evolved over the years to an academic class with
math and English-language standards and even homework.
As the goals grew more rigorous, the developmental differences became
more obvious between youngsters who turned 5 early in a calendar year
and those who mark their 5th birthday 10 or 11 months later.
"We used to say that kindergarten was the 'get-ready year' for real
school," said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who authored the
Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010. "Now, kindergarten is real school."
Since 1987, California has required children to turn 5 by Dec. 2 in order to enroll in kindergarten.
Under the new law, the cutoff shifts to Nov. 1 this year, to Oct. 1 in
2013 and Sept. 1 in 2014. Youngsters whose birthdays fall between the
cutoff date and the previous threshold of Dec. 2 will be eligible for TK
- an estimated 125,000 statewide by 2014.
"It's not that there's anything wrong with these kids," said Winnetka
Elementary Principal Annette Star. "The idea is that they get another
whole year of readiness."
Star said she's been tracking the youngsters who were enrolled in last
year's TK class at Winnetka Avenue Elementary, part of the pilot program
that Los Angeles Unified launched in anticipation of the new law.
Nearly all of them, she said, are now at the top of their traditional
kindergarten class.
Among those youngsters is Krystal Sanchez, whose mother, Angelica, raved
about the play-based math and English-language lessons taught in TK
that helped her daughter excel in traditional kindergarten.
"In kinder, she already knows her numbers, her sounds," Sanchez said,
"Her self-esteem is high because she's prepared with what she learned in
the transitional program."
She's so impressed with TK, Sanchez said, she hopes to enroll her younger daughter, Jasmine, in the class in the fall.
But the future of transitional kindergarten - in Los Angeles Unified and statewide - remains uncertain.
Gov. Jerry Brown wants to eliminate transitional kindergarten, saying
that would save the cash-strapped state some $224 million this year
alone. The Assembly subcommittee on education finance voted last month
to reject Brown's efforts, a move that was matched on Thursday by a
Senate panel.
However, Brown said in a radio interview Friday that the state budget
deficit will likely exceed the $9.2 billion shortfall his administration
predicted earlier this year.
And Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said the Legislature may
reassess the future of the program when updated revenue figures become
available in mid-May.
But Simitian maintains that TK essentially costs taxpayers nothing extra
since the money the state pays local districts for student attendance -
about $5,209 per elementary student in LAUSD - would be spent on
transitional rather than traditional kindergarten.
"You take the savings from the date change and reinvest those savings in the same kids," he said.
Despite the funding uncertainty, LAUSD hopes to continue operating the
109 existing programs and add 100 more each of the next two years, said
Nora Armenta, the district's executive director of Early Childhood
Education.
First priority will be given to youngsters within a school's attendance
boundaries, with any vacant seats open to students in surrounding
neighborhoods, she said.
The new law does not apply to private schools or to most charter
schools, meaning they'll still be able to set their own enrollment and
curriculum criteria.
Van Nuys-based OneGeneration child-care center anticipates increased
demand and plans to add a TK kindergarten class to its preschool
offerings for the fall semester. Monthly tuition cost will be $890.
"We'll be taking children to the next level, bridging the gap between
preschool and kindergarten," said Beth Finney, director of child care at
OneGen.
A MESSAGE FROM A BLACK MOM TO HER SON
By Dyan Watson, Rethinking Schools - Spring 2012, Volume 26 No.3 | http://bit.ly/GFJJaf
Dear Caleb,
When you were almost 2, we would drop off your cousin, Sydney, at her
K-8 elementary school. The ritual went something like this:
“OK, Syd, have a good day.”
“OK,” she’d groan as she grabbed her backpack. “Bye, Caleb.”
“Bye,” you’d wave and grin with your entire body.
“Bye,” Sydney would say one last time as she shut the door. I’d roll down the car window.
“Byeeeee,” you’d sing.
“Bye,” Sydney would laugh as she caught up with friends.
I’d roll up the window as you said “bye” a few more times, then start to
whimper. “It’s OK, sweetie, she’ll be back before you know it. And
you’ll be off joining her before I know it.”
And it’s true. Before I know it, Caleb, you will be throwing your
backpack on and waving goodbye as you run off across the playground. I
think about that moment often and wonder about the condition of schools
you’ll enter. I worry about sending you, my black son, to schools that
over-enroll black boys into special ed, criminalize them at younger and
younger ages, and view them as negative statistics on the dark side of
the achievement gap.
Son, my hope for you is that your schooling experiences will be better than this, that they’ll be better than most of mine.
For three years of my K-8 schooling, from 7:40 a.m. until 3:05 p.m., I
was black and invisible. I was bused across town to integrate a white
school in Southeast Portland, Ore. We arrived at school promptly at 7:30
and had 10 full minutes before the white children arrived. We spent
that time roaming the halls—happy, free, normal. Once the white children
arrived, we became black and invisible. We were separated, so that no
more than two of us were in a class at a time. I never saw black people
in our textbooks unless they were in shackles or standing with Martin
Luther King Jr. Most of us rarely interacted with a black adult outside
of the aide who rode the bus with us. I liked school and I loved
learning. But I never quite felt right or good. I felt very black and
obvious because I knew that my experience was different from that of my
peers. But I also felt invisible because this was never acknowledged in
any meaningful way. I became visible again at 3:05 when I got back on
the bus with the other brown faces to make our journey
home.
Caleb, I want your teachers to help you love being in your skin. I want
them to make space for you in their curricula, so that you see yourself
as integral to this country’s history, to your classroom’s community, to
your peers’ learning. I want your teachers to select materials where
blacks are portrayed in ordinary and extraordinary ways that actively
challenge stereotypes and biases. Most of all, Caleb, I want your
teachers to know you so they can help you grow.
One day a teacher was trying to figure out why I was so angry since I
was generally a calm, fun-loving kid. She said to me: “I know you, Dyan.
You come from a good family.” But did she know me? She knew that I
lived on the other side of town and was bused in as part of the
distorted way that Portland school authorities decided to “integrate”
the schools. But did she know what that meant? My mom—your grandma—got
us up at 6 a.m. in order for me to wash up, boil an egg just right, fix
my toast the way I liked it, and watch the pan of milk so that it didn’t
boil over, so I could have something hot in my stomach before going to
school. You know Grandma, she doesn’t play. We had to eat a healthy
breakfast before going to school, and we had to fix it ourselves. Maybe
that’s what that teacher meant by “good family.” My teacher didn’t know
that we had to walk, by ourselves, four blocks to the bus stop and wait
for the yellow bus to come pick us up and take us to school. It took us a
half hour to get to school. Once there, I had to constantly code switch,
learn how not to be overly black, and be better than my white
counterparts.
Caleb, I want your teachers to know your journey to
school—metaphorically and physically. I want them to see you and all of
your peers as children from good families. I don’t want you to have to
earn credit because of whom you’re related to or what your parents do
for a living. And I don’t want your teachers to think that you’re
special because you’re black and have a family that cares about you and
is involved in your life. I want them to know that all children are part
of families—traditional or not—that help shape and form who they are.
The summer before beginning 4th grade, I started teaching myself how to
play the clarinet. It was the family instrument in that both of my older
sisters played it when they were younger. For years I wanted to be a
musician. It was in my blood. My grandfather was a musician, all of my
uncles can sing very well, and my dad—your grandfather—was a famous DJ
in Jamaica once upon a time. At the end of 5th grade, my band director
took each member aside to provide feedback on whether or not she or he
should continue music in middle school. My teacher told me that I just
didn’t have it and should quit. I was devastated. I had dreams of
becoming a conductor and I loved playing music. I learned to read music
and text at the same time before entering kindergarten, so I couldn’t
understand what my teacher saw or heard that made him think that I, at
the tender age of 11, didn’t have what it took to pursue playing in a
middle school band. He knew nothing about me. Had never asked any
questions about me, our family, my aspirations. He didn’t seek to make
me a better
musician.
Caleb, I hope that you will have teachers who realize they are
gatekeepers. I hope they understand the power they hold and work to
discover your talents, seek out your dreams and fan them, rather than
smother them. I hope they will see you as part of a family, with gifts
and rich histories that have been passed down to you. I hope they will
strive to know you even when they think they already know you. I hope
your teachers will approach you with humility and stay curious about who
you are.
When I was in 4th grade, my elementary school held a back-to-school
night that featured student work and allowed families to walk the halls
and speak with teachers. In each classroom was a student leader, chosen
by teachers. I’m not sure what my role was supposed to be. But at one
point, a couple came in, desiring to speak with Mrs. S. She was busy, so
I thought I’d chat with them while they waited. As I approached them,
they recoiled in fear and, with panicked looks, turned away from me and
said, “Mrs. S.?” My teacher looked away from the folks she was working
with and said, “It’s OK, she’s not like the rest.” I don’t remember what
happened next. All I remember is that this seemed to be one of the
first in a long line of reassurances that I was special and not like
other black boys and girls. For many years afterward, I was told on more
than one occasion, “You’re not like other blacks.” This was supposed to
be a compliment.
Caleb, I pray that your teachers will not look at you through hurtful
racial preconceptions. I pray that they will do the work necessary to
eliminate racist practices in themselves and in those around them. I
pray that they stand up for you in ways that leave you feeling strong
and capable. I pray that they will nurture your spirit, and that you, in
turn, will desire to be a better you.
Son, I end this letter by sharing a story that Grandma has told me many
times, that I hope will one day resonate with you. On the first day of
kindergarten, many of the kids were crying and clinging to their
parents. But not me. I was ready! I wanted to be like my three older
siblings and go to school. So I gave my mom a hug, let go of her hand,
waved goodbye, and found my teacher. And remember how I told you that my
oldest sister taught me how to read before I went to school? The
teacher found this out and used this skill, along with my desire to be
at school, to teach the other kids the alphabet and help them learn how
to read. I believe, in part, that is why I became a teacher. She saw
something in me and encouraged me to develop my passion—even at this
young, sweet age.
That, my son, is my hope for you. I hope your teachers will love you for who you are and the promise of what you’ll be.
Love,
Mama
Dyan Watson (watson@lclark.edu)
is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education and
Counseling at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore. She is an
editorial associate of Rethinking Schools and co-editor of Rethinking
Elementary Education.
THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Article 26: The Right to Education
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 | http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
ARTICLE 26
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at
least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education
shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to
all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall
further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of
peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
____
NOTE: 48 countries originally ratified the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (of the 58 countries that were members of the UN at the
time), including the United States. Essentially all of the world's
countries have ratified it since then, but in any event its core
provisions are binding international law regardless of the existence of
treaty ratification or state of war.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not neccessariily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
SANTORUM LIVES (IN PA)! Allentown Schools could ax
6th grade social studies classes to free up more time to learn math. http://bit.ly/It2BWH
EXPERT SEES CONFLICT IN CONSULTANT'S TIES BETWEEN SACRAMENTO CITY SUPERINTENDENT AND BROAD FOUNDATION: By Diana ... http://bit.ly/ICIT08
GOVERNMENT CONCERN FOR RACIAL DISPARITIES IS 'BACK IN BUSINESS': Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA Week of April 9... http://bit.ly/J0NPuc
A student’s plea: SCHOOLS NEED MORE MONEY …BUT MAKE SURE IT GETS TO US: By Tara Kini , Thoughts on Public Educat... http://bit.ly/IX7ScZ
The Road to Learning 2.0: STUDENT PUBLISHING AS AN INCENTIVE TO PRACTICE WRITING: by Charles Taylor Kerchner, mi... http://bit.ly/IQgJiG
CALIFORNIA TEACHERS UNION OPPOSES QUICKER DISMISSAL PROCESS: by Chris Megerian, LA Times | http://lat.ms/IiLGrZ ... http://bit.ly/IXVIwZ
UTLA protests at charter school so CCSA threatens to sue LAUSD: CHARTER SCHOOL ASSOCIATION ACCUSES FRANKLIN TEAC... http://bit.ly/I9Qnlv
FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL SAYS CHARTER CO-LOCATION WOULD DISRUPT STUDENTS: The move would displace students in the sc... http://bit.ly/IfR1mT
Responding to Joel Klein & Condi Rice II: PUNDITRY AND THE ART FAILING UPWARD: by Eric Alterman | This article a... http://bit.ly/ImfW4U
“Super attendant or not…”: A TEACHABLE MOMENT FOR DEASY, TEACHER: The superintendent's tiff last year with a su... http://bit.ly/IfoNds
Performance Manglement: GOOD DATA WON'T GUARANTEE GOOD DECISIONS + smf's 2¢: “At this very moment, there’s an od... http://bit.ly/HVzn2s
Tiered Tuition: TUITION MODEL QUIETLY SPREADING + TUITION PLAN THAT WENT TOO FAR: Tuition Model Quietly Spreadin... http://bit.ly/IbWKdr
Q&A: SCHOOLS SERVICES OF CALIFORNIA CHIEF ON EDUCATION FINANCING ISSUES: By Diana Lambert, Sacramento Bee | http... http://bit.ly/IvVXTi
Long Beach: CONSTELLATION CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL FORCED TO CLOSE BEFORE END OF SCHOOL YEAR: By Kelly Puente Staff... http://bit.ly/IndcrJ
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
TUESDAY APRIL 17: CIA MEETING
The Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee of the Bd of Ed
debates the future of the A-G Graduation requirements, student electives
and Health Education in LAUSD. 10AM in the Beaudry Boardroom. | http://laschoolboard.org/03-27-12CIA
FAMILY ARTS SUMMIT APRIL 28, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012 8:30a.m. - 12:00p.m. Cortines School of Visual
and Performing Arts 450 North Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012The Arts
Education Branch, in conjunction with Parent Community Services Branch
and Special Education, will sponsor a Family Arts Summit for Elementary
Schools. The Family Arts Summit will provide an opportunity for the Arts
Education Branch to inform parents and community about the importance
of quality arts instruction in a student’s education, how to identify
quality instruction in LAUSD schools, and how to bring more arts
experiences into their homes. Additionally, the event will allow all
families to participate in arts learning, engage families of differently
abled students and provide families information that will support the
Parent Community Services Branch’s goal of increased parent and
community involvement. Workshop leaders will include selected
community-based presenters and District and school site arts personnel
with exemplary
instructional or parent involvement models. | http://bit.ly/HLmBdY
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress,
senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find
your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these
thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.
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