Show New Controversy Over Our Schools By Rebecca Larsen 1972 a mother brought her e con to the San Jocc office of Paul Copperman’s reading achool for help The boy was reading at only a low fourth-grad- e level and though he was getting B's and Cc in his courses the curriculum was hardly challenging: two physical education classes two study hab a sodal studies special project (budding a model of Africa with a kit) and English The mother had gone to her son’s school to complain on several occasions but each time it was suggested that she was overanxious She was assured that her son was doing fine But according to Paul Copperman her son — as well as many other students his age — was functionally iUtteratc It was his work with youngsters Bke this one that led Copperman to write his recently published book The Literacy Hoax an Indictment of our public schools The book attacks many educational innovations of the last 15 years: open classrooms the new math inninth-grad- dividualized Instruction Federaly funded protyams for the bilingual compensatory education for minorities ManuTactwH tuggMvd rwtM pridne Prices may vary by renter Men may not have w Nm ifxnm on sail 17 AT THESE RETAILERS: SALE ENDS SATURDAY NOV teaching machines and teacher aides Because of these changes and others Copperman charges that “for the first time in the history of our country the education skills of one generation will not surpass wi not equal will not even approach those of their parents” The average eighth-pad- e student of today reads writes and confutes only as well as the average sixth- - or seventh-paddid in the early 1960’s There has been some controversy over his statements and findings But there also has been support Since many who warmly embrace the book are parents and teachers with conservative views on education it’s surprising to And that Copbachperman Is a elor and graduate of a ’Innovative" California high school A native of New York State he moved to CaAfomia as a teen-age- r and earned a bachelor's degree from the er Preston Logan UT i ANDERSON UMBER CO ANDERSON LUMBER CO Gi rjun Gtruj! TZ'j I UT c-- -n 1 C I i 1 r" - -- 1 ' r r nw i : i£Pr " - ft f I c r r'9 I r r " ? 9 1 ID r I " - - -- H f i I :M I Hu - Rebecca Lamm a e reporter wHh the San Rafael Inaepcndcnt-Jouma- l ' ' ti 7i r mm : i i v i : 2S FAIMV WEEKLY Nommtar rS7S University of Caftfomia-Berkele- y and a master’s In education bom Lone Mountain Coflege In San Francisco In 1970 he borrowed $800 from his father to start his Institute of Reading Development which now has several California offices The first part of Copperman's book backed by educational studies contends that student performance rose from the 1800's to a peak period in the 1960’s when it began declining As has been widely noted the average verbal score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test or college board exam has dropped about 50 points since 1953 while the average math score has dropped about 30 points Many educators argue that scores fell because more students began finishing school who would have dropped out before Copperman rejects this decline is more likely he says to “a bewildering number of Innovations” in the schools and a loss of authority in the classroom Some of his strongest criticism is aimed at high schools During the youth rebellion of the 1960's according to the book: "Demands were made to make course work mote relevant by replacing history with current events biology with ecology social studies with psychology and sociology reading with poup discussion and term papers with group projects” Schools began giving A's and B's to the average student and Cs to the incompetent he says Copperman considers the core of his book to be a chapter on authority which criticizes g the permissive breakdown of school dtsdp&nc and the influence the Supreme Court and Federal Government have on schools Copperman wants to return to classrooms where the teacher Is boss Parents and educators who agree with him he says must tell local and Federal officials Teachers have to get their classes under control Principals have to support good teachers maximize the performance of marginal ones and make It so hard on lazy and incompetent teachers that they quit Most Importantly Copper-ma- n says parents must not be intimidated about letting their feelings be known at their UU children's schools The child-raisin- na |