Prose and Purpose

Serving on a school board has increased my exposure to acronyms. I started my board service already understanding STEM, and have now gained a familiarity with (but not a respect for) the APPR evaluation system. I am also familiar with ELA, especially when it involves an added emphasis on testing, and have now added LOTE to my acronym assortment.

Three years ago, when I first ran for the local school board, I was one of two people running for two seats. The campaign was easy and winning was never in question. My total expenses for that campaign consisted of one first class postage stamp. Three years later, I debated long and hard whether I should run for another term. What finally convinced me to run for reelection was that we are in a critical time for public education and I felt I could make a positive difference.

My older daughter came home last week, after taking a New York State ELA (English Language Arts) statewide exam. Normally after she takes a test, she mentions whether the test was easy or hard and what, if any, were the areas that give her difficulty. This time it was different. She complained about a reading passage concerning a race between a pineapple (that did not move) and a hare.

On the same day a few weeks ago, I happened to be looking at a Hofstra Alumni newsletter and an article that I had clipped from The New York Times. To digress for a moment, “clipped” is the right expression since I was reading the actual newspaper, not the online version. I only read the paper version on weekends. During the week, I read my paper online and am very efficient in reading only those articles that I identify as of great interest. On the weekends, and at a more leisurely pace, I look through the entire paper and just by skimming find additional interesting articles to read. There is clearly a role for both, though it will be interesting to see if the economics of printing a paper, in an online world, is viable.

It is clearer and clearer that incorporating active learning and incorporating experiential learning enhances the learning experience. And I believe that any robust assessment program will underscore the importance of more such learning opportunities. It is also clear to me that experiential or active learning shouldn’t take place only in higher education. It should in fact be built into as much of the k-12 learning experience as possible.

My older daughter came home last week, after taking a New York State ELA (English Language Arts) statewide exam. Normally after she takes a test, she mentions whether the test was easy or hard and what, if any, were the areas that give her difficulty. This time it was different. She complained about a reading passage concerning a race between a pineapple (that did not move) and a hare.

This is the season. Winter gray is replaced by the color of spring and the blank spots on my schedule are filled with more and more end of the semester, as well as end of the academic year, activities. Plus my school board activities also escalate as the Board works to provide a clear understanding of the proposed budget before the community votes and hopefully approves the budget.

I’m was not at all surprised when Santa Monica College abandoned their proposed two-tier fee schedule. Charging more for more popular courses alienates both students as well as faculty. And if one three credit course earns as much credit toward graduation as another three credit course, how can there be a differential pricing mechanism?