TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/062689/06268900.020

Text File | 1990-09-22 | 6KB | 111 lines

EDUCATION, Page 51

Help for At-Risk Kids

An ambitious report calls for an overhaul of U.S. middle schools


    Television calls them the wonder years, but for millions of
youths between the ages of ten and 15, the years of early
adolescence are anything but wonderful. No longer children, not
quite adults, they are bombarded by dizzying physical changes,
reeling emotions and raging hormones. Today's youngsters, however,
face problems far more formidable than acne or gangly limbs.
Drinking, drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and teenage
pregnancy, once the province of high schools, have drifted into the
lower grades. Add to this the crippling effects of broken homes and
ill-equipped parents, and it is easy to see why nearly 7 million
children ages ten to 17 are considered "at risk" of becoming
troubled, unproductive, even dangerous adults.

    The nation's middle and junior high schools -- encompassing
Grades 6 through 9 -- play a potentially crucial role in shaping
the future of young adolescents. Yet these institutions have
largely been left out of a flurry of educational reforms that have
focused on U.S. elementary and secondary schools over the past six
years. That may soon change, however. This week the spotlight will
be squarely on the middle grades, as more than 200 educators,
lawmakers and health specialists gather in Washington to discuss
an ambitious report sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New
York. Titled "Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st
Century," it calls for a sweeping middle school overhaul aimed
especially at helping "those at risk of being left behind." Among
other things, the report recommends:

    Creating smaller communities for learning. This would be done
by restructuring schools into "houses," or "schools within
schools," each consisting of 200 to 300 students; grouping teachers
and students together in teams; and assigning an adviser to each
student, so that every child is well known by at least one adult.

    Teaching an interdisciplinary core curriculum that would
include English, fine arts, foreign languages, history, literature,
math, science and social studies. The emphasis would be on critical
thinking -- making connections between ideas -- rather than rote
learning. To promote positive values and encourage good
citizenship, the curriculum would include health instruction and
community-service activities.

    Eliminating the practice of tracking students according to
their achievement level. Instead, schools should promote
"cooperative learning" in which small groups of students of varying
abilities work in teams under the supervision of one or more
teachers.

    Boosting academic performance through better health and
fitness. Schools should ensure access to health-care and counseling
programs, preferably through a "health coordinator" or on-site
clinic. Specifically, the report calls on middle schools to provide
family-planning information to young adolescents.

    The Carnegie recommendations add up to a middle school that is
part classroom and part social-welfare agency, a combination that
is bound to make some educators uneasy. "Middle school
administrators have got their hands full just trying to educate
kids, let alone creating warm, caring environments," says Samuel
Sava, executive director of the National Association of Elementary
School Principals.

    But in a world where a great number of children arrive at
school undernourished, neglected and in poor health, many feel that
schools have little choice but to try to fill the gap left by the
collapse of families and other social supports. "Parents just
aren't there today," says David Lawrence, principal of the Thomas
J. Quirk Middle School in Hartford, Conn. "We still are. The kids
can't be left to founder."

    Besides the recommendations on sex counseling, perhaps the
report's most controversial proposal is the elimination of
tracking. While it is true that minority and at-risk students are
often warehoused in low-level classes, a blanket insistence on
cooperative learning may motivate parents of gifted children to
abandon the public schools. "We need to be careful," says Stanford
education professor Michael Kirst. "We certainly don't want to slow
down kids on the fast track."

    One problem with carrying out the Carnegie proposals is that
they will require a corps of instructors specialized in teaching
early adolescents. But only 23 states offer a credential for
teaching in the middle grades. Those on the front lines "will need
help and training," says Chester Finn, former Assistant Secretary
of Education under William Bennett. "It's not everyone who can
teach a 14-year-old."

    The best argument in favor of the foundation's suggestions is
that many of them have already been tried successfully: according
to one study, 63% of middle schools provide health instruction, 40%
assign adult advisers to students, 33% use team teaching, and 28%
offer sex education. Breaking up large, impersonal schools into
smaller units is also starting to gain acceptance. "It's a lot more
work, but it's very stimulating," says Elizabeth Ophals, a
social-studies teacher at the Louis Armstrong Middle School in New
York City, where houses and team teaching were adopted last year.

    The price tag for transforming the country's middle schools
will doubtless be higher than the federal, state or local
governments want to pay. But, warns Carnegie, the real choice is
whether to fund health clinics, counseling and teacher training
today or pay the far higher cost of dropouts, an ill-prepared work
force and swelling welfare and prison rolls tomorrow. "The nation
cannot afford to continue neglecting these youth," concludes the
report. Lorraine Monroe, director of the Center for Minority
Achievement at Manhattan's Bank Street College of Education,
agrees. "We can't hold school the way we used to hold school," she
says. "Some educators may say, `I didn't sign on for that.' Well,
that's the job now."