Schools and Civil Rights Fifty Years Later

 The year 2014 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. This law and the subsequent Voting Rights Act were both watershed events in the struggle for equality in the United States. Unfortunately, this notion of equality has not yet trickled down to America’s public education system. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently commented that “it is clear that the United States has a great distance to go to meet our goal of providing opportunities for every student to succeed.”

Recent studies have indicated that black and Latino students do not have equal access to courses like Algebra II or chemistry. The situation is bleaker when you consider the lack of opportunities for these students to enroll in Advanced Placement courses.

The situation is not much better when it comes to minority students being taught by experienced and fully certified classroom teachers. Often the most veteran teachers get the best classes and the best prepared students while the novice teachers get the less motivated and less academically prepared students.

Discipline policies as well have been called into question by the Obama administration noting the disparity in school suspension rates between schools that are predominantly black and those that are mostly white.

While the emphasis on STEM and Common Core has been taking center stage in the education dialogue, the opportunity for all students to get an equal education, promised by the Brown vs. Topeka Supreme Court decision must not be overlooked.

c. 2014 J. Margolis

Preparing for New Science Standards

The National Science Teachers association will be holding a very important conference in April in Boston, MA.  The program is linked to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). As many of you who teach science are aware, the initiative is part of STEM program to improve student understanding of science and technology as well as encourage students to pursue career paths in these areas.

The conference, which will be held from April 3-6 will include information al program on a number of themes including- Science and Literacy, Teaching elementary Science, and Engineering and science. There are several participating hotels. More information can be obtained at the webs site www.nsta.org.

Several states are taking a critical look at their current K-12 science programs to see where they fall short. School districts may want to obtain a copy of “Translating the NGSS for Classroom Instruction” by Rodger Bybee. According to a recent article in the NJEA Review, “Implementing the NGSS will require a paradigm shift in how our students learn and how teachers assess their learning.”

In addition to the April conference, teachers should begin researching and planning for appropriate summer programs to help prepare for next year. Programs exist nationwide- some for professional development and others for graduate credit. A web search can point you in the right direction.

C.2014 J. Margolis