Practical Education

Chapter 4 Regulations

and

Academic Standards

Testimony

before

Pennsylvania State Board of Education

February 24, 1998

by

Parents and Business Owners in the Norwin School District

Practical Education and Academic Standards

• What is a “Practical Education”?

• Do Academic Standards provide this direction?

• Does the Chapter 4 regulation address core academics?

• Can they be measured?

• Who are the consumers of the educational product?

Practical Education

Practical Education proponents believe that there exists a core body of academics, represented by nationalized testing, such as SAT and the Iowa Basic tests, a set of clearly defined and measurable knowledge and skills. This would include reading and writing instruction based on a phonetic intensive program; practical mathematics; Western Literature, as a means to both inspire and instruct; practical and exact sciences, unencumbered by popular politics or the most recent of contrivance of social engineers.

What We Were

Lead to Believe

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, June 17, 1997

New Standards

will replace Chapter 5

Or will they?

What Chapter 4 is really doing

Chapter 5 versus Chapter 4• Reading & Writing

• Mathematics

• Science & Technology

• Environment & Ecology

• Social Studies

• Arts & Humanities

• Career Education & Work

• Wellness & Fitness

• Family & Consumer Sciences

• World Languages

• Communications

• Mathematics

• Science & Technology

• Environment & Ecology

• Citizenship

• Arts & Humanities

• Career Education & Work

• Wellness & Fitness

• Home Economics

Why the need for change

• Pennsylvania ranked 45th on SAT’s *

• No early intervention for reading and math problems

• Inability to test standards in non-core areas

• Limiting local control of the education

• Accountability

*American Legislative Exchange council, Report Card on American Education 1994, pp 12-13.

SAT Scores• Verbal

• Math

Reading and Math

Problems

Is this early intervention?

The Purpose of Public

Education

(6) Honesty, responsibility and tolerance. Public schools should convey to students the need for honesty, integrity, individual responsibility and tolerance. Chapter 5 Regulation

Our elementary program enrolls students in kindergarten through fifth grade. This program concerns itself with character development, attitudes, knowledge, fundamental skills and health habits that make a well-integrated, useful youngster. Norwin School District

What Educators are being taught

Text book from California University

of PA’s Education Department

The struggle over Standards

Academic

Standards

Developmentalism

Humanism

Social

Meliorism

Social

Efficiency

Social Efficiency

“The social-efficiency curriculum has the greatest influence in America schools. Backed by those who want the schools primarily to serve the needs of the economy, it is designed to prepare students for the work force. Often, social efficiency curricula emphasizes vocational subjects and is associated with the educational goals of human capital…”

School to Work?

Spring, Joel. “American Education”,eighth edition(1998), pp. 240-241

Humanism

“...the humanist wants the curriculum to introduce students to the cultural traditions of society. A humanist spurns the idea of a vocational curriculum and favors the development of general intellectual skills. Often the humanist wants the curriculum to be organized around standard academics subjects like literature, history, foreign languages, the arts,and science.”

Spring, Joel. “American Education”,eighth edition(1998), pp. 240-241

Social Meliorism

“The social meliorist wants the curriculum to cause social improvement and change. Social meliorism reflects the reform element in American education. At the most extreme, the social meliorist will ask for courses to solve each new social problem. Sometimes this means the education of students to cause general political and economic changes.”

Spring, Joel. “American Education”,eighth edition(1998), pp. 240-241

Developmentalism

“...developmentalism is the most radical of the fourcurriculum types. The developmentalist wants the curriculum organized around the psychological development of the child. This means a curriculum focused on the needs of the individual child as opposed to the focus of social-efficiency educators, humanists, and social meliorists, respectively, on economic needs, the passing on of culture, and social reform.”

Spring, Joel. “American Education”,eighth edition(1998), pp. 240-241

The struggle over Standards

Academic

Standards

Developmentalism

Humanism

Social

Meliorism

Social

Efficiency

Parents

Students

Employers

Educational

Consumer

Norwin’s Science

(vii) All students evaluate advantages, disadvantages, and ethical implications associated with the impact of science and technology on current and future

life.Chapter 5 Outcome

“Social Meliorism”

Norwin’s Math

Do Standards

remove this from the

classroom?

“Developmentalism”

Norwin’s English

“Developmentalism”

Norwin’sCareer Days

Partner’s

in

Progress

“Social Efficiency”

Practical Education

Practical Education proponents believe that there exists a core body of academics, represented by nationalized testing, such as SAT and the Iowa Basic tests, a set of clearly defined and measurable knowledge and skills. This would include reading and writing instruction based on a phonetic intensive program; practical mathematics; Western Literature, as a means to both inspire and instruct; practical and exact sciences, unencumbered by popular politics or the most recent of contrivance of social engineers.

State Educational Direction

• Stick with the basics and only the basics

• Intervention at any early age (not grade 4)

• More local control

• Test only measurable standards

• Everyone accountable