Regarding TIME's "education issue" of October 27, there were some postings which I haven't read because of intent to get the magazine anyway. What I found was a lot of column footage and cute photos, some good lines on phonics vs whole language, but also some sneaky distortions and outrageous sins of omission!
To wit: Though the phonics vs W-L piece came out in favor of phonics, along the way it indulged in some typical mainstream- press distortions: The W-L advocates got plenty of space to plug their snake-oil as being considerate and fun for children. But no such consideration was given any serious phonics advocate, and the descriptions of phonics classes were of "dull drill and worksheets with kids forced to stand with their noses in the corner if they failed to correct a mistake on a worksheet." I know of many phonics programs and practitioners, but that description fits NONE of them. Phonics classes are givers of decoding power which kids find an enthusiastic turn-on.
Then the piece about Baltimore starts with the sentence, "Everybody knows that money is a crucial ingredient in a school's success." Then it proceeded to explain why lots of money in Baltimore DID NOT produce successes, and carried on about other factors:
Most of you have probably seen Al Shanker's columns (e.g., NY TIMES, Aug. 20,'95) or Diane Ravitch's writings, about the 94%- minority-mostly-poor-African-American inner-city Barclay Elementary School whose principal fought for years 'til she was allowed to use the conservative, time-proven curriculum of the prestigious Calvert School (also supplies home-teaching material). The results have been outstanding: Four years produced gains from 30th to 60th-plus percentiles, and reduction in special-ed referrals by a factor of four. BUT THE TIME ARTICLE MADE ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION OF THE BARCLAY SUCCESS STORY!
Further: Today I talked with the Barclay principal, Gertrude Williams, an articulate black lady who has made TV appearances hereabouts. The school is still going strong, and has recently been cited as among the 76 best elementary schools in the Baltimore area; and there were only four PUBLIC schools cited -- all the rest were private schools!
Further: The school's percentage of kids on free lunch is now up from 82 (Shanker's article) to 91. I asked about costs and -- get this -- she describes the Calvert as a "frugal" curriculum, such that her costs went DOWN initially about 25 - 30 percent. Then they lost their Title I funds because they didn't need them, and the city "keeps cutting them" to where they're now operating on ABOUT 50 PERCENT of the funds they used to get!
And TIME's only mention (p.92) was, "When the Calvert School, a costly Baltimore private school, tested its . . curriculum in one of the city's elementary schools, it produced startling advances in achievement [drawing] visitors from as far away as Japan. But the superintendent . . branded it a 'rich man's' curriculum . . and 'the system resisted it to death.'"
Diane Ravitch has written in glowing terms of the academic wonders in the Barclay School, and commented that "everything was being done opposite to conventional wisdom in our teachers' colleges!" It is impossible for TIME not to know the real Barclay! So much for mainstream media integrity! Ms. Williams says she plans to retire next year and become an activist! She wants to stay in touch, and get my article on how whole-word teaching makes black kids disproportionately dyslexic. We have our work cut out for us!
EDUCATIONAL ENGINEERING Charles M. Richardson, B.S., M.S., P.E., cmr1234@aol.com 133 Lodge Avenue, Huntington Station, NY 11746-2808, 516-427-7058; FAX 424-1039
October 24, 1997 Time01.txt