Banning the Bible (Again)

Each year the American Library Association (ALA) publishes a list of books that have been challenged or banned in school or public libraries around the country.

The ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom monitors the actions and prepares A “State of the Libraries” report. Over the years, challenged books have included The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Harry Potter Series, A Catcher in the Rye, and other books that have explicit sexual or violent content, like the more recent 50 Shades of Grey.

One book that is perennially on the list is the Bible. The question that comes up as to whether a school or public library purchasing a copy of the Bible is, in fact, a separation of church and state violation.

In a number of school districts, the use of the Bible has been acceptable in at least two circumstances. One- it is an appropriate text in a course in Comparative World Religions. Two- it is also an acceptable text to use in a course entitled "The Bible as Literature.” In either case, there is no proselytizing of religion in the classroom.

The academic community and the public at large must be diligent with regard to the dangers of censorship. Students need to be exposed to stories about diversity and the multi-cultural society that we live in.

This year Banned Books Week will be observed from September 26- October 1^st.

You can obtain more information about banned books from the ALA web site (ALA.org) You can also contact the Office of Intellectual Freedom directly by calling 

1-800-545-2433 ext. 2433 or email oif@ala.org.

C.2016 J. Margolis

Book Review- Crossing Broadway- Its’ Importance for Educators

I recently finished reading Crossing Broadway- Washington Heights and the Promise of New York City by Robert W. Snyder. This book traces the history of the various ethnic groups that inhabited this neighborhood –Irish, Jewish, Greek, Puerto Rican and Dominican. For many it was the first stop on the immigration train and became a springboard, for some, to a better middle class life in New York and its suburbs. Snyder, a professor of Journalism and American Studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey, takes a detailed look at this neighborhood near the George Washington Bridge, and the collage of cultures that made it both unique and familiar in the American immigration experience.

One topic, of particular interest to me, is the discussion of public education in Washington Heights. George Washington High School was the epicenter of public schools in the neighborhood and had a fine reputation. Not that far away, the public schools in Harlem, still a part of the New York Public School system, had a less stellar reputation. The schools represented the aspirations of the families that that sent their children there. Get an education- be the first in the family to go to college- get a good paying job- and move out of the Heights.

Crossing Broadway also traces the trials of the teachers unions, in this case the American Federation of Teachers, and their quest for better conditions for their students, reducing overcrowding and the defacto segregation that existed in New York public schools.

Readers  are also introduced to Mrs. Ellen Lurie, mother of two school-aged children, who became an activist for integration and the plight of minority children in the school system. She was also at the forefront of an effort for community control of schools.

Professor Snyder also weaves in the politics of the neighborhood and the city and the roles of its various mayors, Lindsay, Dinkins, Giuliani, and Bloomberg.

While much of this book deals with cultural, economic and political issues, it is a worthwhile read for educators to wish to understand the ongoing struggle for better public education in minority neighborhoods and what parents and teachers can do to empower themselves.

Crossing Broadway By Robert W Snyder

C.2015

Cornell University Press

C.2016 J. Margolis

Do Unionized Teachers Make a Difference in the Classroom?

A recent article that appeared in the NJEA Review, the magazine of the New Jersey Education Association, attempted to establish a correlation between student achievement and strong union membership. The article, written by Kathryn Coulibaly, an associate direfcto4r of public relations for the teachers association noted that nine of the top ten states for student performance were in places that were highly unionized. Those states were Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Colorado. The only state that was a non- unionized workplace (A “Right to Work” state) was Virginia. It should also be noted tat most of the successful states were located in the Northeast United States.

The author believed that states with a string union presence were more likely to be advocates for students and would champion school equity in funding schemes. Dedicated teachers/slash union members would fight against privatization, a policy many believe is detrimental to the education process.

It should be pointed out that this article was written before the recent US Supreme Court ruling regarding agency fees, which when enacted, require non- union members to pay a fee to the unions who provide collective bargaining for all teachers.

I had a difficult time in digesting this information. When I was teaching an introductory class in teacher education, one of text topics was about whether teaching was a white collar or blue-collar profession. Union membership, as opposed to professional association membership (Like the American Medical Association) tended to lessen the status of teachers. One need look no further than what Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has done to public employees, especially teachers, to see the highs and lows of union membership and its impact in schools.

If you can get a hold of this article, read it. I look forward to your comments.

(See New Jersey Education Review- April 2016 issue. (pp.21-25)

c. 2016 J. Margolis

High Octane School Choice

Imbedded in a 160-page education reform bill recently passed by the Florida state legislature is a proposal that would substantially change the school choice initiative, as it currently exists. If Governor Rick Scott signs this bill in to law, the net effect would be that any student-starting next school year- could attend any public school in the state as long as that school has openings. Parents would be required to provide transportation to the school. Also embedded in this legislation are guidelines regarding athletic eligibility. Under the new proposal, a transfer student would be eligible to participate in sports immediately- even if the season has already started- provided that the student did not participate in that sport at another school in the same year.

The Florida proposal could have a major impact on eighth graders who could decide where to attend high school much like selecting a college. This could also cerate a recruiting dilemma for athletic directors.  Many years ago, well before school choice became educational as well as a political issue, the City of Philadelphia public schools had a magnet school system. One high school had a premier music program. Another had a highly regarded science program. Then there were two single sex high schools that were designated college prep only and were highly selective.

Educators really need to focus on the true purpose on a school choice program. Is it to send students to underutilized schools?  Is it to force underperforming schools to close? Will such legislation create defacto segregation (again)?  School choice has merits but they need to be weighed carefully. Some pundits in Florida are expecting a chaotic situation should the governor sign the new bill.

The education community is anxiously awaiting the outcome.

C.2016 Margolis

Re-energizing Civics

If the current Presidential election debacle is any indication of the need for an educated electorate, then parents and community leaders should be running, not walking, to their schools and demanding a more rigorous and serious civics curriculum.  Two Declaration of Independence signers, Dr. Benjamin Rush and Thomas Jefferson, believed that in order for the fledgling democracy, known as the United States of America, to succeed and survive, then the country needed to have an educated populace.

In a recent article in RandReview Magazine, Anna Saavedra, a policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, noted, “ US democracy depends on citizens’ investment in the constitutional foundation on which the country stands.” We are not born with these skills- they need to be learned. Some of the latest examples are those Middle Eastern and African nations that were liberated from dictatorships and told- “ Now go form a democracy.” We have seen in the news what happens.

Unfortunately with the advent of school STEM programs and the Common Core State Standards, classroom teachers are focusing on what needs to be learned for the standardized tests and civics is not at the top of that list and has been relegated to the back of the classroom.

Author Saavedrea observed that student would do well to engage in civics on a project based curriculum and that classroom teachers need to obtain additional training. She also felt that the “Every Student Succeeds Act” signed by President Obama last year is a positive step to provide funding for social studies, history and civics.

There is no better time than now to get on this bandwagon.

C. 2016 J. Margolis