NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE SCIENCE
AND MATHEMATICS COALITIONS
News Brief #2358 Category: School Staffing & Governance
TITLE: "A rigorous way to teach"
A Soviet-schooled educator's proposal for a rigorous math and science academy in
Massachusetts has unleashed a torrent of unexpected criticism. At a recent forum
about Julia Sigalovsky's charter school proposal, audience members questioned
whether American children ought to be taught using methods favored by Russia,
China and Germany.
"She talked about Germany, how they teach in ...China and Japan. I don't want my
kids educated like Germans," said Tom Leveillee, a World War II veteran.
Anna Charny, who is the curriculum developer for Sigalovsky's school, says the
criticism is reminiscent of the treatment Soviet refusniks received. "This whole
thing, telling us 'these Eastern Europeans' is so reminiscent of what we fled,"
said Charny, a Cisco Systems computer scientist. "There we were called 'you
Jews!'"
Still under consideration by the state Department of Education, Sigalovsky's
proposal calls for a school in Marlborough serving about 276 students in grades
6-12. Students would attend classes in physics, chemistry, algebra, geometry and
biology every year. They would be drilled regularly on basic skills and
concepts. Nobody would be admitted after grade 7.
"If by the age of 13 they don't have the habits, the hard work, and logical
thinking, it's too late," said Sigalovsky, who attended school in Moscow and has
since founded her own environmental engineering firm.
Students in traditional American middle schools "are just wasting their time,"
she says. "They're capable of learning at a much higher level."
SOURCE: Boston Globe, 13 January 2004
WEBSITE: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/01/13/a_rigorous_way_to_teach/
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Comment:
My father is a World War II veteran too, who served in Germany. I think he would be puzzled by the comment "I don't want my kids educated like Germans." I certainly am. He knows that the Germans accomplished great things before and during the war, even if Hitler used those accomplishments for evil (and some of those Germans escaped and put their talents to work for America). But that's a long time ago. I don't know much about today's German school system, but I will say this --if somebody has a system that works, I don't care who it is--we should see if it works for us too. The name-calling, juvenile objections given are really masking the sinister truth--that a lot of Americans think that an effective, advanced education is a BAD THING. It just isn't fair if some people have more talent than others, and if some work harder than others, and so achieve at higher levels. It's Un-American. Oh, it's perfectly fine for some athletes to achieve at higher levels through incredible dedication and long hours of work combined with natural talent. But that's probably because athletics is "only a game." In something serious, like academics, such a thing is unacceptable. We can't allow some people to put on airs and act smarter than others. You never know, they might try to take over the country or something. It's also perfectly fine for some adults (adults, not teenagers) to work hard, apply their talent, and succeed in business. We give them honors and put them on magazine covers next to the athletes. But they had better not have started these successful habits in middle school! That wouldn't be fair!
Too many Americans, including many educators, are cheating the children as well as society by cutting off the children's educational potential at the feet--that is, in elementary and middle school. I agree that we should "leave no child behind." But while our efforts to bring the low achievers up are noble, we are indeed depraved if we deny our high achievers the opportunity to show us what they are capable of. Every time somebody comes up with a plan that will help our most talented students live up to their potential, the plan is attacked as "un-American" or "racist" or "classist." It will surely widen the achievement gap between the rich and poor, the black and white, etc. It is politically Dead On Arrival. Sigalovsky is right, and anybody who thinks seriously about these matters knows it.
There is one thing that is more damaging to educational achievement than any other factor. We have given up the work ethic. Most students never learn the lesson that long hours, hard work, and dedication are the key to success. Some learn this in athletics, and this is often a factor in their future success in the adult world of work. But precious few have the opportunity to learn it in academics. The trend has been going on for a long time, but in recent years the change has become overwhelmingly evident in higher education. Colleges see more and more students who are simply unwilling to do any work. They say they don't have time for homework, or they don't say anything--they just don't do it. They seem to believe that by occupying a seat in the class they should have earned the right to call themselves educated. "If by the age of 13 they don't have the habits, the hard work, and logical thinking, it's too late." Thus spake Julia Sigalovsky. I would call her a prophet if it weren't for the fact that her profound statement really ought to be self-evident.
Dr. Dwight Galster
Assistant Professor of Statistics
South Dakota State University