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Show REFLEX Schools Arent As Good As They Were Davis Education Association representative Editors Note: This is the first in a series of education-relate- d columns to be presented on a regular basis.) I love going back to school in autumn, no matter how desperate I was to escape three months before. "Life starts all over again when things get crisp in the fall, wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald. The crispness of new school clothes, of the air during a night football game, and of the renewed pace of learning are all part of the unspoken joys of being a school teacher. BLT THIS time of year always brings a new round of criticism of the school system, picking up at a crisp clip on the nation s editorial pages and in the puzzlement of an older generation wondering why the schools dont seem the way they used to be in the good old days. Of course, the schools have changed its very instructive to compare todays system with that of the good old days, which seem in retrospect so disciplined, productive and virtuous. Let me respond to some of these nostalgic with the years, but with a few facts: head-shakin- 1. TEACHERS arent as good as they used to be. On the contrary, teachers now are much better than ever. A century ago, very few teachers had more than an elementary education themselves. Only recently have state certification requirements given us a college-trainecorps of public school teachers, with salary incentives to continue d work. 2. KIDS DONT seem to learn as much as they used to. Thanks to enlightened school laws and dedicated teachers, illiteracy has been nearly wiped out in the U.S. Where at the turn of the century percent of the adult 1 1 BULLETIN By TOM BL'SSELBERG - A WOODS CROSS teachers attitude and what she communicates to her students is the biggest contributor to a childs education or lack of it. THAT MESSAGE came from Dr. Curtis N. Van Alfen, former teacher, counselor and superintendent of schools w ho now serves as BYUs education college dean during the annual teachers convention Thursday. Speaking to about 1,500 teachers and other faculty in the new Woods Cross High School auditorium, he quoted population couldnt read, now only about 1.2 percent are considered illiterate and this is only half the number reported as recently as 1960. As for the phenomenon of decline in college entrance scores over the past decade, I tend to favor the dilution theory far more people are taking those tests now than previously. (In 1948, when the Scholastic Aptitude Test was initiated, only about 6,000 students participated nationwide, by 1960 a hundred times that number, and today well over two million per year). As statisticians know, the greater the cross section of the populace participating, the more the results will gravitate toward the mean. Therefore, the test score decline that alarms so many could be attributed to increased educational opportunity. well-know- philospher n Its said, 3. SCHOOLS ARE not as good as they once were. Not true. Schools today are much better than ever before at the task assigned them by law. Before mandatory attendance laws, the schools could pretty much pick and choose which students to educate; but now the schools are charged with the responsibility to educate everyone not provided for privately. In Utah, nearly 94 percent of the school-ag- e population is in class every day, and citizens educated in Utah schools have the fourth highest literacy rate in the United States (99.4 percent). Contrast these results with this observation by W.F. Phelps, one of the organizers of the National Education Association: Multitudes of the schools are so poor that it would be as well for the country if they were closed.. .They afford the sad spectacle of ignorance engaged in the at stupendous fraud of the public expense. These words were written 12 years ago, in 1870. So much for the good old days. (Breck England, a teacher at Bountiful High School, will be contributing this feature regularly. Readers comments or questions are invited.) 1 FARMINGTON the While countys youngsters scored above national test norms in all areas, math comprehension and related subjects were low for second and fourth grades and reading and spelling low for upper grades. THE BOARD of education received results of district testing from Dr. Dallas Workman, elementary curriculum director, in a recent board meeting. He noted testing gives means to get norms and provide a sound, reliable basis for improvement of instruction and lets district personnel know how students are progressing. Supt. Lawrence Welling called overall testing results positive." A breakdown of test scores for grades 1, 4, 6 and 8 shows: the national norm for second grade was 2.3, but district average was 3.4; math comprehension was lowest at 3.1 while word study scored est at 3.8. high- GRADE 4 the national norm was 4.8, district average was 5.4; the high was word study at 5.9 and math concepts came in low at 5.2 along with math application. Grade 6 district average was 7.6 vs. the national norm of 6.8; spelling at 7.2 was the lowest subject area while science, at 7.9, was highest, equal with total reading. GRADE 8 the national average of 8.8 was well below the district average of 9.6. Vocabulary and total reading scored highest at 9.9 while spelling came in at 8.9. Among subjects tested in grades 1, 4, 6 and 8 testing were: vocabulary, reading compehension, word study, total reading, math concepts, math comprehension and plication, total math, dies indicating success in ghetto-proble- Reading test with contemporary counterparts and found improvement in todays students, as well, although todays are 1 Vi years younger for the same grade. WE HAVE a lot to improve on, and we cant shirk our responsibility but the key to the whole thing is the way we think, he emphasized, quoting from former LDS President David O. McKay, also an educator, who said, I will know what you are if vou tell me area m schools resulted through the school learning climate that reflected a positive climate and highest expectations students by teachers. for He noted studies comparing reading ability from a sample from across 63,000 the country in 1971 and 1975 and indicated improvement in the latter group. Another study compared students 30 years ago who took the Iowa Silent cantaloupe piece, milk. Sept. 10. pizza, buttered corn, tossed salad, water- The Secondary Menus for the week of Sept. are: SEPT. 7, enchiladas with shredded lettuce, buttered corn, Parkerhouse rolls and butter, choice of fruit, gingersnaps. milk. french Sept. 8, Deep fried fish with tartar sauce, fruit fresh rolls hot fries, buttered peas, milk. and bar pieces, Congo 7-- SEPT. 9, sliced turkey with w hipped potatoes and watergravy, buttered carrots, hot rolls with butter, milk. melon wedge, snickerdoodle cookies, chilled Sept. 10, combination pizza, tossed salad, milk. cake and cantaloupe, marble THE HIGH school and junior high schools have a choice of the salad line and burger bar each day. DEADLINE FOR PHOTOS THURS. 6:00 r, who showed him around Tooele after he'd been named superintendent. They had stopped for root beer and later, with Dr. Van Alfen at the wheel and Mr. Callister as guide, stopped abruptly at a light just as Mr. Callister was taking a drink. Instead of treating the deluge of root beer that covered his suit as a disaster he who performed during the Thursday program, including the Woods Cross Wildcat Band and musical numbers by Knowlton Elem. School fifth graders and Fremont Elem. student Emmett Ricks. commented. "Oh, how Wil- the actions of teachers in individual schools that carry out that difference. What teachers do in Oak Crest (or any) elementary think they should do is probably the most powerful influence on what children do." Noting his teaching career started in Weber School District under then superintendent Ted S. Bell, he noted innovation was the key to "really a wild, great professional experience" that involved everything from team teaching to carpeting on floors and walls. BUT WHEN he arrived at Huntsvilles Valley Elementary School as a young. principal, he thought the school had "made it" w ith installation of TVs in every room. Such innovations, added to his desire to present teachers with a one hour opening speech that ended up instead by teachers who reminded him he was young enough to be their grandson, led him to realize its relationship between principal and faculty and faculty and students that counts in the end. HE CITED two recent stu- - ap- lan- guage, spelling, social studies, science and listenine. TENTH GRADE testing completed in October, 1981, showed students scoring in the 57th percentile vs. national testing, 54th in language and 53rd in mathematics. We havent dropped anywhere," Dr. Workman said, indicating 8th graders are now tested vs. seventh graders. He noted testing can bring changes in programs based on results, using the implementation of the McGraw-Hil- l spelling program as an example. HE NOTED consenent are a low area for our district" but added thats normal for large districts nationally. He said study skills tested well and noted a lot of about phonics are inquiries received. He stressed, We Key Punch For Adults In conjunction with the Davis Adult High School a business machines IBM key punch class will be taught on Tuesday evenings for 12 weeks starting the evening of Sept. 7, 7 p.m. in Room 294, Davis High School. THE ELECTRONIC calculator, ten key adding machine and key punch will be taught SAC BOUGHT high school credit is available if desired, or the class can be taken for employment 'TRADEMARK THE OF LOWEST BRAND 3M CO. SAC SAAAAD HIGHEST QUALITY, VACUUMABLE, COST, FREEZER POUCHES REUSABLE & IN ALL HEAT SEALERS LIFETIME HEAT SEALERS $ ORDERS BY PHONE OR CALL Were having area of study and 1 FOR FREE LITERATURE a -- 7 Yarn toSole celebrate our 12th Birthday! of Dance Introduces Brunswick LISA LEAVITT 99 New classical ballet instructor j Lisa began training at the age of 3. Later she studied for 3 years in Madrid, Spain. Since returning to the U. S. she has been involved with dance and the U. of U. Lisa performed 5 years with Ballet West in the Nutcracker Ballet and recently taught In Ogden. NOW REGISTERING FOR CLASSES 99 MANY OTHER EXCITING DANCE CLASSES AVAILABLE FOR FALL SESSIONS. 5448947 5460042 270 No. Main, Kaysville - For n Apf Reg. 1.95 1 69 r 12 Balls - Baby Delf Reg. 1.50 p9 - Knitting Worsted O' JL Reg. 2.00 Reg. 4.00 3 59 Plus Savings on many more yarns Yarn Sale Ends Sept . 11 Extra Birthday Savings for 3 days only Sept. 4, 5, and 6 Plastic Canvas . 69 7Q 12 1.00 Reg. Ages 5 years and up. Special ladies ballet classes. 12 Balls 1 59 Tempo BEGINNING SEPT. 7TH CALL TODAY THAT WASNT R pho- nics, explaining we need to be aware that reading requires more than just one possible ballet at Dance Expression HEAT-SEALE- SCOTCHPAK pur- poses. Registration will be Tuesday evening as part of the first class at 7 p.m. Adults who have not completed high school graduation requirements are admitted free of charge. There is a $15 registration fee to all others no other books to buy. This three hour class is open to the public. stressing the touch system. Dictaphone equipment will also be available. One-hal- f A DMC Floss ' ' or 12 Coy for for and added he hoped it would be voluntary participation involving as many teachers as possible. THEN STRESSING academic excellence, he called that probably the most important need, not to just pound information in to students, but to set high expectations for high student achievement. Theyll (students) try to talk you out of the hard stuff but will come back and thank you for (making them do some of the hard things of life. Setting their sites on an interesting slate of activities for the 8th grade class at Kaysville Junior High School this year are new class officers Mandy Hansen, left, vice president; Brad Richins, president and Heather Jensen, secretary. GRADE OFFICERS concern. dont want to overdo opportunities KJH8TH IT WAS initiated in the 1976-7- 7 school year in elementary grades, he said, noting it has had a "very good affect on spelling scores it tells we just need to strengthen what weve been doing. He noted an item analysis is made for every subject and elementary grade and said the 8th grade scores were of some re- Speaking of teacher training opportunities he said the district anticipates expanded melon wedge, gingersnaps, milk. Menus: Secondary you dont have to think. He asked teachers to "think about what you think of when youre teaching? CONSTRUCTIVE thoughts can show in a persons face, he said, reflecting on the students freshing! It was Mr. Callister who his kids wanted to see when they visited the district office rather than their dad because this new friend always had surprises and showed such interest in them, Dr. Van Alfen recalled. DAVIS SCHOOL Board Members Sheryl Allen and Marda Dillree both stressed importance of parent involvement in schools and that theme was continued by Supt. Lawrence Welling. Volunteering parents could do everything from help publish a school bulletin to assist at back-t- o school nights. It'd be a chance for teachers to teach their "fellow citizens" what schools are all about, as well, he said. MOST (PARENTS) have gone through the system but many forgot what school is all about. They only remember the good old days and preceive its not that way now. Principals are challenged to involve parents and volunteers with the end result of "strengthening the program. He also asked teachers to expand expectations of writfor students, ing experiences indicating if "students can write effectively about auto mechanics, English and football they will do better in school. Menus: Elementary J & J School The following are menus for the week of Sept. The kindergarten snack is varied each day. SEPT. 7, stacked ham sandwich, oven fries, apricots and pineapple, peanut butter fingers, milk. Sept. 8. enchiladas, shredded lettuce, buttered white cake with pink icpeas, fruit cup ing. milk. SEPT. 9, Roast Turkey with whipped potatoes and gravy, buttered green beans, bismark A man with such a positive outlook who found the good in everything was Lloyd Callis-teDr. Van Alfen recalled, what you think about when liam James who said circumstances can be changed by changing attitudes and added, The mind is made up b w hat it feeds upon. AND AS another author Davis Students Score High: Some Weak Spots By TOM BL'SSELBERG LEADER SEPTEMBER 2, 1982 Teachers Attitude: Big Factor First In Series: Chalk Talk By BRECK ENGLAND JOURNAL 6" 359 Baby Batts Every one wins a discount on all regular priced items live jimd N. Main The Spinning Wheel 133Bountiful |