Central Point District 6 Redux

On his facebook page, son Jason reports that my oldest grandaughter, a sophomore student in the ever-progressive Central Point District 6, is not being issued textbooks this year. Instead, books are apparently handed out at the beginning class and then recalled at its close. Students are expected to take notes to refer to later, thus sparing them from the difficult tasks of carrying books home in their backpacks and being responsible for their condition at the end of the academic year.

What's so bad about this? Books, after all, are expensive, and budgets are tight. What's bothering me is that there are three major assumptions at work here. The first is that students at the sophomore level know how to take good notes… and that they will consistently do so. The second is that they can read effectively enough in a standard class period to grasp the essence of the printed word. The third is that the teachers are skilled and effective in lecturing. Setting aside the fact that if teachers are teaching, students aren't reading, and vice versa, it strikes me that the probability of all three of these stars aligning is somewhat low.

In my high school English classes, I was taught how to take notes. I doubt that happens today. Notes are simply ways of organizing key concepts as pointers back to the main information source... the text book. The problem with sole reliance on notes was dramatically revealed to me as a college prof. A student complained that I had asked a question that was not covered in my lecture. Confused, I pointed out that the material was in the text and that I could not possibly cover everything in class that was relevant. I pressed for an explanation, and the student declated that he never bought textbooks. “I’ve saved thousands of dollars that way, he told me. Voila. Education lite.

So now my granddaughter’s school is setting up for failure students unskilled in note taking and largely unmotivated to do so. In effect, it is also training students to disregard books and treat them as irrelevant while setting up huge obstacles to the development of effective study habits. When these same students reach college, the 30 to 50 page nightly reading assignments will simply blow them away. When cranky professors like me flunk them for producing fluff answers and superfical essays, they will feel crushed and betrayed.

My suggestion is that parents call the school and request a copy of the syllabus for each and every class. If that is too big a word for the staff’s vocabulary, break it down for them. If the teachers don't have lesson plans on file with the principal that include course objectives, home work due and test dates, and required reading and homework assignments, get other parents involved and escalate! And, oh yes. If the reply to your challenge is that “we supplement the book with internet assignments,” run, don't walk, to the school board. Yes, asynchronus learning has its advantages. But even at the collegiate level it demands extraordinary self discipline, a trait most second-year high school students are not particulaly noted for.

But what the hell. We know that District 6 has its priorities straight, as evidenced from its four day school week. This, coupled with text book savings, will allow administrators and community to concentrate on truly important issues - like whether or not the team will maked it to state this year.