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Experts Wary Of SpringBoard

Ohanian Comment: I
strongly agree with Carol Jago that students
should read full-length novels and that there
are no shortcuts to something called thinking
skills, but I hate to see "literature" as
synonymous with survival. In short, I don't
think students should have to endure Beowulf.
It's long been my battle cry that no one under
40 should be subjected to Moby Dick. I
survived it in college and then tried it again
when I was 42 and discovered that it is a
wonderful book. Some things really are wasted
on the young. [I have not tried Beowulf again
and somehow doubt I ever will.] But so what?
There is plenty of room--and plenty of
literature--so that professionals can disagree.
The real point here is that teachers should not
allow their professional skills and judgment to
be handed over to the College Board.

By Marilyn Brown

Hillsborough County school officials' plan to
build critical thinking skills in students
through fun, engaging activities may not be as
simple as it sounds, some experts say.

"More is more when it comes to reading real
literature," said Carol Jago, president-elect
of the National Council of Teachers of English.

"My 10th-grade students read 20 books a year -
10 in class and 10 more engaging books on their
own," said Jago, a California high school
English teacher for 32 years and co-director of
the California Reading and Literature Project
at the University of California at Los Angeles.

"When you create the curriculum to pander to
what students are interested in - pop culture -
you stop doing what schools were intended to
do," Jago said.

This year, Hillsborough schools switched to new
math and language arts curriculum for most
middle and high school students that focuses on
specific hands-on lessons. Most dramatic is the
shift away from yearlong studies of British,
American and world literature in high schools.

Replacing them are themes with fewer novels,
short readings, film clips and popular music.
Contemporary literature has replaced many
classics.

Shift A Cause For Concern

SpringBoard, sold by the College Board, is
intended to prepare more students for Advanced
Placement classes in high school. The AP
classes also are a product of the College
Board, a nonprofit membership association best
known for its SAT and PSAT exams.

A recent report about the changes sparked
responses from teachers and parents about the
shift from a classic English curriculum to new
materials with more hands-on learning that
stresses critical thinking skills.

Some English teachers are worried that students
taking language arts classes won't be prepared
for college.

So are some parents.

"My daughter's required reading is at a fourth-
grade level," said Joyce Brown of the eighth-
grader's honors language arts class at Liberty
Middle School. "My daughter's an avid reader,
and I've noticed a drop in her vocabulary
skills. Parents just are clueless."

But district officials say students don't
realize they are learning because the lessons -
designed to improve critical thinking - only
seem easy.

There is more than one approach to teaching
critical thinking skills, but all require
challenging content, said Joyce VanTassle-
Baska, professor and executive director for the
Center for Gifted Education at the College of
William and Mary in Virginia.

Hands-on learning is stressed more today, she
said. But, she said, "High-level learners don't
need a lot of hands-on activities in order to
learn a concept. It's catering to students who
are less able."

Classical literature endures for a reason,
VanTassle-Baska said. "The reason they are
called classic is because they have meaning
across cultures and across time. Students
exposed to the entire text are going to be
exposed to the language, the complexities of
language, the beauty of language."

Richard Paul, director of research at the
Center for Critical Thinking at Sonoma State
University in California and chairman of the
National Council for Excellence in Critical
thinking, said that in 28 years his
international foundation has worked worldwide
in 18 languages.

"It's not what you think about - it's how you
think," Paul said. "Even the worst thinkers
among us do some critical thinking. ... It's a
matter of degree."

Deep, Analytical Thinking

Paul estimates that less than 1 percent of the
population engages in deep, critical,
analytical thinking because "they don't have
role models to do this."

The way to get students thinking critically, he
said, is "make sure teachers have learned it
themselves."

Learning to think critically involves defining
a purpose, questioning, gathering information,
interpreting, reflecting, evaluating and
correcting.

"This is really an old problem," Paul said.
"Educators started talking about critical
thinking, calling for this in the late '30s ...
. It's a long-term process. We find again and
again teachers and educators are looking for
the quick fix."

The skills Paul refers to are similar to those
Hillsborough school officials say they are
aiming for. Whether SpringBoard is the vehicle
that will improve students' critical thinking
skills is yet to be seen.

"The reason the critical thinking skills never
gained traction is the lack of content," Jago
said. "What is it you want students to be most
critical about? The place where that lives is
challenging, rigorous text. It's not in the
movies. Our students are pretty good at
critical thinking when it comes to the movies.

"Would students rather watch a movie or read
'Beowulf'?" she asks. "Literature class isn't
easy - it's hard."



— Marilyn Brown
Tampa Tribune
2009-03-15
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/15/na-experts-wary-of-springboard/

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