Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 1982)
Portland Observer, May 6 1982 Page 7 Multicultural curriculum in the PPS (Editors note: This is the first o f a series o f articles provided by the Portland Public School d 1st I i d Io explain the progress o f its desegre gation plan.) by James Fenwick, Deputy Supt. Portland Public Schools Enriched instructional programs designed to give Portland’s children a better sense of their "roots” and their identities in contemporary so ciety and in the world will be firmly in place in all Portland Public School classrooms when school opens this fall. For the past two years, school ad ministrators. teachers, consultants and scholars have combined their energies and skills in writing, field testing and revising multicultural curriculum materials to complete the task by September of 1982. These materials in six subject areas— language arts, math, social studies, science, o il auu music—arc intended to convey better under standing o f American history and culture and higher appreciation for the rich contributions made by per sons from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Achieving this goal— total inte gration of an enriched multicultural curriculum into the 3,000 class rooms in the Portland school system — has been a major goal of the dis trict since adoption of the Compre hensive Desegregation Plan in April of 1980. W hile expanding m ulticultural education programs has long been an essential component of the dis trict's curriculum planning, the em phasis to achieve this goal has been measurably increased the past two years. Teachers and staff have committed thousands o f hours to building a stronger m ulticultural curriculum . The district has also committed substantial dollar re sources to realize this goal. The district curriculum depart ment approached the assignment with creativity and innovation. Traditional response to renewed interest in multicultural education in most school districts has been to ap propriate funds and order new text books. The Portland Public School curriculum department staff, how ever, did not feel the improvements mandated by the comprehensive plan could be accomplished merely by acquiring additional texts. Instead, the curriculum staff de cided to adopt a process that re quired extensive changes, revisions and additions in the district curricu lum documents which define what teachers are to teach. It was gener ally fel, that by taking this direction greater control of the re-emphasis on m ulticultural education pro grams would be retained at the local level where it could be most easily adjusted and modified by the com munity and the schools. The first step in this revitalization campaign was to revise for each sub ject the general education plan which defines the nature and extent of the subject matter to be taught and describes how the content is in terrelated. A fter prelim inary revisions of curriculum materials were made, experts with specialized knowledge in the field of multicultural educa tion were called in as consultants. Foremost among these resource persons was Asa Hilliard, nationally recognized expert and prime consul tant for all aspects of the Compre hensive Desegregation Plan. Dr. H illiard made immense contribu tions to the final plan. One expert for the local commu nity was Darrell Millner of the Port land State University Black Studies Department. A major contribution of Dr. Millner was a report recom mending content additions in the social studies curriculum. Another resource person was Car los Cortes of the University of Cali fornia at Riverside. Dr. Cortes is a widely published author in the field of multi cultural education. Concepts relative to the contribu tion of Hispanic Americans to American society were provided by Luis Machorro, then a staff person with Committee of Spanish Speak ing People of Oregon (COSSPO). Significant input for the music curriculum was provided by Bar bara Lundquist, ethnomusicologist at the University of Washington. Other contributors to the revision process were personnel from the In dian Education and ESL Bilingual departments o f the Portland schools. S ta ff members from the Sex and Race Desegregation Center at Portland State University were also actively involved. The first curriculum plans were field tested in the fall of 1981 in the district by all teachers o f social studies, history, language arts, art and music. In addition, community members who had contributed input and members of the Desegregation Monitoring Advisory Committee re ceived copies of the materials. A t the recommedation of Dr. H il liard, additional nationally recog nized authorities on the contribu tions o f blacks and other minorities to the mainstream of American life were invited to participate in the curriculum development program. His recommendation that the pro cess be broadened to include the contribution o f minorities to the curricular areas of math and science was followed, also. These authorities worked with the district, starting in 1981: Ivan Van Sertima, professor, Rutgers Univer sity (social studies); Harold Cour- lander, scholar in the fields of A fri can and A fro -A m erican folklore (language arts); John Henrik Clarke, professor, Hunter College (social studies); Clyde Taylor, pro fessor, M ills College (language arts); Julian Euell, director o f edu cation, Smithsonian Institution (music); Nelson Stevens, University o f Massachusetts (a rt); Michael Harris, Morehouse College, Atlanta (art); McKinley Burt, independent consultant, Portland (mathematics); Hunter Adams I I I , Argon Labora tories, Chicago (mathematics); Bea trice Lumpkin, Malcolm X College, Chicago (science). Their testimony has been gathered and now the weighty pro cess of transferring the input of con sultants into the materials and into the classroom is underway. The first field-tested documents are being revised, utilizing the mass o f expert testimony and advice the process has yielded. The final plans will be completed in time for use this fall. The final step, integrating the new curricula into the classroom, is the responsibility o f a team o f indivi- duals already designated in each building. Each elementary school team includes the principal, a teach er and the lib rary/m ed ia person. They have been trained in the use of the new curriculum documents and will conduct staff orientation. High school department chairmen will conduct the orientation at that level. We believe we have met the chal lenge mandated by the communi.v and by the Board o f Education to provide a curriculum that is multi cultural. The district has done much pioneering along the way these past two years, blazing trails which we expect other school districts nation ally to follow. Our new curricular materials will be models of others to emulate. But more important than the in novations in education is our expec tation that ail students will have a better understanding of the histori cal, scientific and cultural contribu tions o f black people and other minorities in American society today. Bartlett Berlin is pleased to announce the establishment of Tuxedo Catering Offering formal trained service, appoint ments, and classically prepared French cuisine for your next at-nome dinner party. Be it business, friends or romance, your evening should be yours to enjoy. Competitive rates; special fee for newlyweds or newly-in-iove. Etiquette or wine consultation by phone at no charge. Formal/lnformal Service Classic French Cuisine Wine Consultation Butler Services Bartending Tuxedo Catering BARTLETT BERLIN 503-226-4606 D in n er for 2-12 PEOPLE WHO DONT ATTEND DUS SCHOOL MAT GET THEIR OWN PRMDE The best time to learn about the coming changes in Tri-Met is now* Before they happen. And where might one ac quire this valuable knowledge, firsthand? Aboard one of the big yellow Bus School buses Tri-Met has set up throughout ¿ 3 ? s the greater Portland area. - " Five or ten minutes at Bus School and you’ll learn things that will take you far in life. M EET OUR FRIENDLY NEW FARE INSPECTORS. One of the most important lessons taught at Bus School is that, after Septem ber 5th, our drivers will no longer keep tabs on everybody s fares and tickets. Does this mean our new Self-Service policy relies completely < on the honor system? Uh, not quite. (While we know you wouldn’t consider trying to sneak a free ride, we do worry a little about the other guy.) Enter the Fare Inspector. And he or she will enter every bus now and then just to make sure all riders are paying their fare. Fair and square. 30 DAYS OF BREAD AND WATER? Here’s how it will work. After Sep tem ber 5th, all passengers will have to have proper “Prtxrf of Payment" with them at all times. In simpler term s, this just means a valid ticket or Monthly Pass. (At Bus School you’ll learn about some handy new ways to pay.) When the Fare Inspector strolls by, you'll simply show him your "Proof of Payment." No big deal. As for the few folks who try to fudge, well, they won’t exactly be sen tenced to hard labor, but they can be as sessed a surcharge fare of $20. For repeat offenders, it may go up to $250. Not to mention (but we will) the considerable embarrassm ent of being "nabbed” in front of a busload of paying passengers. Tsk, tsk, tsk. THINGS WILL MOVE SMOOTHER FOR EVERYONE. EXCEPT THE CHEATERS. About this time, many of you may be calmly asking yourself, "Why in the *!@ # are they doing all this?” The answer, in a word: Efficiency. After studying similar system s in Europe we know self-service will make boarding and riding our buses more con venient, more efficient for you. And, by allowing us to move more riders on and off the buses more quickly, it will also ATTEND TH E TEN-MINUTE BUS SCHOOL NEAREST YOU. TUESDAY. APRIL 27-M AY 1 1. Fred M eyer— Beaverton 2. Lloyd Center TUESDAY, MAY 4 MAY 8 1. Fred M eyer— Tigard 2. Jantzen Reach Mall TUESDAY, MAY 11 MAY 15 1. Fred M eyer— Gresham 2. Clackamas Town Center TUESDAY, MAY 18 MAY 22 1. Natl. Trans Week Swan Island •2. Pioneer Square TUESDAY, MAY 25 MAY 29 1. Fred M eyer— Stadium 2. Oregon City Shopping Ctr. TUESDAY, JUNE 1-JUNE5 1. Fred M eyer— Hollywood 2. Tanasbourne Mall I ' I M ' W H NB 8 JUNE 12 1. Fred M eyer— Thalatin 2. Rose Festival TUESDAY, JUNE 15-JUNE 19 1. Fred M eyer— Gltsan 2. Washington Square H 'F>UAY, JU N E 22-JUNE 26 I F le d M eyer Raleigh Hills 2. Lloyd Center TUESDAY, JUNE 29-JULY 3 1 F. Meyer— 39th A Hawthorne 2. Clackamas Town Center TUESDAY, JULY 6-JULY 10 I Fred Meyer — Oak Grove 2. Jantzen Beach Mall I I I M>AY, JULY 13 JULY 17 1 Fred Meyer — Interstate 2. Tanasbourne Mall IU FS D A Y . JULY JULY 24 1 Fred M eyer— G resham 2 Washington Square TUESDAY, JULY 27-JULY 31 1. Fred M eyer— Gltsan 2. Beaverton Mall * Pioneer Square u bedulcd 11 am-A 30 pm Tbr» Sat All other location» 12 noon 7 :30pm TW » Sat make things more efficient for us. Which, in the long run, will save both of us money. Because the more we can economize, the more we can keep fu ture fare increases to a minimum. (Some studies say w e’ll be able to trim our operating costs by about $2 million in the first year of operation alone.) YOU’RE GONNA LIKE WHAT YOU LEARN. Fare Inspectors aren’t the only im provement we’re making. There will also be new zones, more convenient tickets and improved Eastside routes. Entirely too much to cover in one newspaper ad. Just right, however, for a brief ses sion at Bus School. So check the schedule and plan to attend. The tuition is free, the course takes about ten minutes and you’ll graduate with honors. Best of all you’ll be able to pass the September 5th final exam. Without any private tutoring. TRI-MET ON SEPTEMBER STH TRI-MET GOES A WHOLE NEW ROUTE. SPEEDY SELF- SERVICE ■ HANDY NEW TICKETS MORE FAIR FARES • DIRECT EASTSIDE ROUTES t t