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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1988)
- -* x'L .x-e— F e b r u a r y 2 4 , 1 9 8 8 , P o r t la n d O b s e r v e r , P a g e 3 NATIONAL NEWS UPDATE Tracking Hurts MinorityStudents But System Can be Altered Says Experts W ashington , D C. — An increasing number of education professionals and parents oppose tracking as un fair to minority students, Jeannie Oakes writes in the premier edition o i "Issues '88 ", a new publication o f the National Education Associa tion. The annual magazine, with a cir culation of over 1.9 million NEA mdpibers and education leaders, de b ite d in January. Qakes, a social scientist with the Rand Coporation of Santa Monica, California, says tracking — which segregates schoolchildren by per ceived ability level — creates un- evfen classroom opportunities and uhequal access to knowledge. A disproportionate number of poor and minority students are put in "low-ability” classes early in their school careers, Oakes points out. These students develop a low self esteem, and the longer they remain in such classes, the further behind they fall. Students in lower tracks, Oakes explains, are taught mostly by work books, kits, and easy-to-read stories, while learning tasks usually consist of memorizing and repeat ing answers back to the teacher. ■ Students placed in high-ability groups have far richer schooling ex periences than either low-ability or average-ability groups. "They have access to different types of knowledge and intellectual experiences," writes Oakes. "They are expected to learn vocabulary that would eventually boost their scores on college entrance exams . . . Their teachers tend to be more enthusiastic (and) use criticism and ridicule less frequently than teach ers of low-ability classes." What can be done to eliminate the inequities? "N o ready-made staff-develop ment packages or teaching formulas exist to help schools and teachers move smoothly toward less track ing," notes Oakes, who also ac knowledges the difficulty of mixing within traditional competitive class rooms students who have different knowledge levels. But Oakes does offer some im portant new recommendations for overcoming the problems inherent in tracking. Schools, she argues, need to take a concept-based ap proach to curriculum and design active learning tasks rather than passive ones — team activities that require thinking, discussing, w rit ing, and visualizing. "Classrooms will probably neeo to be organized far differently, pro viding a diversity of tasks and in er- actions with few 'public' compari sons of students' abilities," writes Oakes. In these new classrooms, adds Oakes, teachers would "function like conductors, getting things start ed and keeping them moving along, providing information and resour ces.” Grades would be based on improvement, progress toward a learning goal. Where tracking isn't immediately eliminated, Oakes recommends that new placement criteria be consider ed that ensure racial and ethnic balance at all track levels and in special programs for the gifted. The present system "where the richer get richer and the poor get poorer” is usually vigorously de fended by those few who benefit from it, says Oakes, but it can be altered if school staffs and commu nities work together. "B ut unless teachers have the time and the professional autonomy to deliberate about, develop, and experiment with fundatmental changes in school organization and classroom practices, alternatives to tracking are unlikely to be intelli gently conceived, enthusiastically endorsed, or successfully imple mented," she concludes. Black Soviet Journalist Enjoying America Yelena Abdulavena Khanga, a 25-year-old reporter for the Moscow Weekly News, is currently on a three-month exchange program working at the Boston-based Chris tian Science Monitor. Yelena is in most ways a typical Russian,with one exception, however, she is Black. This fact has made her the subject of a lot of news reports recently. She has told numerous in terviewers that she is proud of her racial heritage but she considers herself a Russian first. English is her second language. She is grand daughter to a Black Mississippi man who married a White New York woman and moved to the Soviet Union in the 1920 s. FBI Head Denies “ Systematic Racism” In Agency Newly appointed FBI Director William Sessions last week, denied charges that racism is systematic in the FBI. The charges were promp ted by the recent revelation that a Black FBI agent was harassed, by White agents in an apparent bid to drive him from the FBI, the nation’s highest law enforcement organiza tion. Fewer than 5 percent of the bureau’s 9,443 special agents are Black. PORTLAND OBSERVER "The Eyes and Ears of the Community” 288-0033 I by Norman Hill Black History Month 1988 Traditionally, Black History Month has been a tim e when we acknow ledge and celebrate Black achievement and Black culture and the many contribu tions of Black America to this country’s character and growth. This election year, however, we must do more than recognize past gains, people and events; we must endeavor to broaden the impact of Black history and the influence of Black America. And this must be done in two im portant areas: education and politics. To date, our public schools and universities have, to a large extent, been woefully deficient in incorporating Black history and culture into existing cur ricula. The de-emphasis on core subjects over the last two de cades has served to further relegate Black history to virtual obscurity. How many students, for example, know about Joshua Johnson, the 19th-century Black artist whose work recently sold for $660,000 in New York? How many have heard of A. Philip Randolph or Bayard Rustin? Or that Admiral Perry, the famous polar explorer, had a Black as his right-hand man? It is little solace that today many Ameri can students don’t know who Admiral Perry was. The point is that the contributions of Black a rtis ts , d o c to rs , s c ie n tis ts , writers, social thinkers and ac tivists are not taught in our classrooms. Clearly, Black in s titu tio n s , com munity groups, unions and parents’ organizations need to continue to press educators and the education establishm ent to revise curricula to include more material on all facets of Black American culture and history. A critical first step in stemming the rising tide of racial polariza tion and stereotyping in this na tion is better education. Black History Month this year must also be a time when the Black com munity gears up for the important national election this fall. In the last decade, the Black vote has become a potent force in this nation’s political dynamic. Not only are more Blacks being elected to public office, but Blacks are providing the crucial swing vote in close elections, particularly in the South. This growing influence is perhaps the most significant development in contemporary American political life. There fore, voter-participation must be a top priority for the Black com munity to further broaden our increasing political clout. So as we proudly celebrate our accomplishments and our place in enriching this country’s development, we must look be yond the past and ensure that, through education and politics, our concerns will be voiced and heard, and our future secure. Norman Hill is President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. BONDED NOTARY J & M TAYLOR & ASSOCIATES BOOKKEEPINCÎ & INCOME TAX SERVICE LICENSED TAX CONSULTANT • TAX PLANNING • • PROFESSIONAL TYPING JOE T A Y I OR Tax Consultant Never settle for less 3833 N E. K illinsw orth Portland. OR 97211 OPEN: 9-4:30 & 6-9:00 it’s got a style all its own. M ore looks as cool as it sm okes And looks d o n ’t lie. It’s one beautiful cigarette. 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