Page 2 Portland Observer, November 17, 1982
Paideia proposal: Education for the few?
tizenry that can think critically, is
acquainted with the broad spectrum
o f knowledge in science, literature
and the arts, and has a grasp o f the
S A N F R A N C IS C O , C A — A 10-
ideas on which the society was built.
year-o ld student in a city school
The program sounds lofty and ad
where children come from 30 coun
mirable, but even a brief discussion
tires and only 20 percent are o f Eu
exposed some im portant vulerabil-
ropean background was trying to
ities.
explain to a classmate why she did
W h a t about child ren who drop
not agree that Jesus was the world’s
out early? “ I don’t have the answer
savior. “ I f G od had meant him to
on dropouts.” said Adler. “ I think
b e,” she argued, “ don’t you think
the dropout is symptomatic o f the
he would have sent him to Asia and
dullness
o f the educational process.
A frica looking more like the people
I f this (proposal) is started in grade
who live there?”
one, there should be fewer
W hatever the theological merits
dropouts. ”
o f that question, it reflects the think
However, theres should certainly
ing o f a child growing up in a multi
be
“ throw-outs,” he said. “ We can
c u ltu ra l, po lyg lot city that is in
not allow delinquent children to in
many ways a microcosm o f the glo
terfere w ith the learning process.
bal village o f the w orld. The inci
They should be put in some other
dent came to mind while reflecting
place.” •
on a recent meeting with M ortim er
W h a t o f the curriculum ? The
Adler at which the popular scholar
manifesto
is nonspecific, aside from
and philosopher talked about his
suggesting a list o f eight possible
proposal to reform public e d u c a
foreign languages, seven o f them
tion by returning to a uniform, clas
European. “ W ould the great tradi
sical, 12-year lib e ra l arts c u rri
tions o f Asia be included?” some
culum. For as much as the 10-year-
one
inquired. Adler replied: “ It has
old was a child o f our time, so the
not yet been determ ined whether
Paideia proposal seems an anachro
history is to be taught with the glo
nism.
bal perspective or from the narrowly
The educators who came to listen
Europeaqn perspective.” His own
were reverent. A palpable sense o f
inclination was that “ we better start
relief was in the air, a sense o f being
at home.”
among one’s own. Almost all those
But is the European perspective
present were Caucasian, and all
any more "hom e” than the African
were concerned about the deteriora
or Asian world to many children in
tion o f public education in this
today’s American classrooms?
country.
“ I f they come here to live, they
The Paideia proposal— named for
should adopt us,” was A d ler’s ans
the Greek word meaning "upbring
wer. “ I resist the n otion that we
ing o f a child” — has been drafted by
have anything but English as the
academic lum inaries including
language o f the country.” He added
Jacques Barzun, former provost o f
that “ i f they d o n ’ t want to ” read
Columbia University, author Doug
the basic documents on which the
lass Cater, o f the Aspen Institute for
society is based— he named the Dec
Hum anistic Studies, and proinent
laration o f Independence, the Cons
education administrators.
titu tio n , the G ettysburg Address
W h a t is proposed is a u n ifo rm
and the Federalist Papers— " th e y
study program for all students, total
should go home.”
elimination o f electives and o f voca
There was som ething in the
tional and career-specific courses,
phrase “ they should go home” that
instruction only in English, with one
evoked an emotion remote from the
other language taught.
lofty words o f th Paideia proposal.
In v o k in g John D ew ey, H orace
America has always been a melting
Mann and Robert Hutchins as great
pot,
said Adler. When someone re
educators and champions o f the lib
marked that it was not one now, he
eral arts, the “ educational m a n i
insisted that “ it should be.”
festo” declares that specialization
It became clear, at least to this lis
before com pletion o f 12 years o f
tener, that the Paideia proposal rep
schooling is inimical to the cause o f
democracy. It says democracy can
resents the defenders o f the E u ro
pean classical trad itio n mounting
survive only w ith an educated ci-
Aaron Mitcheft and
Son Plumbing
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Have lived in the Portland Area for 40 years
WE STAND BEHIND ALL JOBS
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A Portland Public School atudant receive* special attention in hi*
conquest of writing.
the ram parts fo r the sake o f sur
v iva l. In d eed , it is frig h te n in g to
some to realize we are no longer a
m elting p o t, that the country is
more and more a kaleidoscope o f
cultures. For better or worse, the
melting pot is gone and it is not clear
what will keep the kaleidoscope ele
ments from spinning out and crash-
Analysis
ing into multicolored shards. What
is clear is that saying the melting pot
“ should be” will not bring it back.
I, too, felt nostalgic, hearing
M o rtim e r A d ler. I could envision
my own child reading Plato, engag
ing in Socratic dialogue, studying
L a tin , being questioned by wise
teachers in examinations that sharp
ened her th in kin g and made her
mind supple.
But for that I would have to un
plug her from her environment, put
her in some monastic retreat, send
her alm ost in to a tim e -w a rp . It
might be w onderful, but practical
only for the select few.
It is p arad o xical that w h a l-’
Paideia offers as democratic educai
tion opposed to specialization is, in
fac t, a specialized, e lite , prep-
school-type program.
“ We should have a one-track sys
tem o f schooling, not a system o f
tw o or m ore tracks, only one o f
which goes straight ahead while the
others shunt the young o f f onto
sidetracks not headed tow ard the
goals our society opens to a ll,” the
Manifesto declares. But why tracks?
Why not different paths? Tracks are
laid out by the powers that be. Paths
are made by people who walk on
them.
The Paideia proposal is much to
the point in stressing that learning
must take place not only through di
dactic instruction but also through
“ coaching,” akin to tutoring, and
practice. Perhaps it will be these as
pects that attract schools in Chicago
and A tlan ta, where pilot programs
are planned. But if the cultural bias
reflected in the meeting with Adler
and in the proposal itself permeates
its practice, it is likely to become a
vehicle accelerating the strong trend
toward educating the select few and
abandoning the rest. T h a t would
hardly serve the great new emerging
tra d itio n that draws on all the
w o rld ’s cultures and that speaks to
children o f kaleidoscopic America.
TALK
TO THE BIG
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FOR LITTLE
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ÎXI2
Between 5pm and 8am, !< >ng distance
nites hike a big dive. Which means you can
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UM <» \ H.XM\| h t M I
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•V« • 11 •
1 37
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©
Pacific Northwest Bell
• R ilr , appi, to m lrr.lalr ikroft dui work A., loHaanlnw «ary lu Akalta and H n a a
t twu P* f t
I
© PACIFIC NEWSSERVICE. 1982
Students learn from theater production
Students learn more than how to
sew a costume, paint a face, or how
to sing a song when they are in
volved in a theater production. A
sampling o f the im portant lessons
students learn is evident in the con
versations one overhears at rehear
sals or by talking to the adults re
sponsible for Jefferson’s production
o f The Wiz which runs December 2-
4 and 10-11.
Lessons in self-discipline and
commitment are everywhere. M ary
Folberg, one o f the show’s choreog
raphers, reports that one o f the
leads is really under the gun to per
form academically. Before casting,
this student was just one o f many,
but now everyone knows he’s in the
show. As a result, his other class-
work has improved.
Agreeing to take a part in The
Wiz was a decision not to be taken
lightly by cast members. Prior to au
ditions, students were asked to com
plete a “ Perform ance C o n tra c t”
which was to be signed by their par
ents. In order to take a p art, they
agreed to an exhaustive rehearsal
schedule which was attached to the
co n tract. One clause— “ I u n d er
stand that suspension from school
or failure to attend classes or keep
my grades up w ill also result in
losing my position as a member o f
this cast” — has helped students rec
ognize the im portance o f their
classes. This show is all business. AH
key roles have understudies, and the
director wouldn’t hesitate to replace
students who aren ’ t keeping their
commitments.
Brian Biggs, the technical direc
tor, believes the theater experience is
a good way to teach youngsters to
work together. “ They learn to be
depended on and to depend on
others. W ith o u t the tech crew , a
show couldn’t come o f f ,” he said.
I t ’s a demanding experience with the
regimen o f deadlines and schedules.
For some students, this is a new ex
perience. There is evidence that stu
dents improve in some o f their aca
dem ic classes as a result o f what
they have learned in theater. Biggs
Actor* and dancer* aren’t the only one* tuning
up for Jeffercon'* production of Broadway'* The
Wiz. Sonda Strong, Danis* Thomas, Lisa St. Clair,
reports, “ I ’ve had many who have
worked building sets whose math
performance has improved.”
Confidence is another thing stu
dents gain, and not just those on
stage who have conquered their jit
ters to perform in front o f crowds.
“ W h a t I want my students to
le a rn ,” insists M a ry R ichm an ,
costume designer, “ is m ore than
learning to sew. You can do a n y
thing you want just come up with a
w ay.” She proudly points to the ef
forts o f A llen Jenkins, one o f her
students. He demonstrated a deep
understanding o f a character and
the staging o f a dance when he was
asked to design the head pieces for
the Munchkins. “ He came up with a
wonderful piece that fits right in and
what he accom plished shows the
kind o f thinking skills he is learn
ing.”
Director Carolyn Gratton believes
the intensity o f the experience o f
getting ready for a show is valuable.
Students learn there’s a start and a
finish and a product is the end re
and Tammy Anderson, string student* with Viola
Pruitt, practice their parts in the musical score.
(PPS Photo: Larry Mills)
suit. “ Along the way they learn to
share this experience with others
she says.
In a school where so many per
forming arts classes are offered and
students c an ’ t fit everything into
their schedules, a show like The Wiz
gives students an opportunity to be
come multi-dimensional. Randy Da
vis, who plays the Scarecrow, is a
talented dancer and has performed
extensively with the Jefferson D an
cers. But he’s never had to use his
voice. In his role he needs to develop
a character. This is giving him a
chance to examine other aspects of
performing.
Auditions were an eye opener for
many who turned out. “ Hey, I wish
I ’d taken music” or " I f I could only
dance, I could get that part.” Being
a multi-purpose performer is an im
p o rta n t s k ill, not just in the p er
forming arts, and The Wiz is help
ing students to learn that.
One student is learning that
there’s more to performing arts than
being the lead. Ellen Simpson is the
O regon State Thespian president
and has had several m ajo r roles in
other productions. But this time, as
a M uncl.kin, she is learning the im
portance o f the supporting cast.
“ This is an in tercu ltural exper
ience for students,” says Folberg,
“ and I ’m getting an education my
self.” T o choreograph she asks for
suggestions from the cast. Pieces o f
th e ir own dances w ill appear in
some o f the show’s numbers. Re
gardless o f color, size, shape, or sex,
to succeed in this show ’ s dance
num bers, the cast has to feel the
“ s o u l.” “ I t ’s good fo r all o f our
students to feel that kind o f move
ment, no matter what their heritage.
I t ’s hard for some students, white
and black, but the in te rc u ltru a l
train in g and experience is in v alu
able,” she emphasizes.
I t ’s unlikely that the students real
ized ail they would learn from be
coming a cast member. But it ’s the
belief o f the staff that the students’
experiences are valuable and they
will learn a lot. The show opens De
cember 2 for five nights December
2-3-4, and 10-11.
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