Letters to the Editors
Failing our children
To the editors:
I am a concerned parent who has two children in the Philadelphia public school system. My son was beaten by three boys during recess at his elementary school. The School District transferred him to another elementary school, said to be one of the top public schools in the city.
My son has a hard time keeping up with schoolwork as a result of coming from a low-performing school to a high-performing school. A teacher at his school admitted to me that the curriculum speed is fast and that she and her colleagues have no choice but to do as they are told.
I spoke to Paul Vallas about the teacher's concern, but he offered me plenty of excuses.
He mentioned the need for my son to attend Extended Day. After 6 hours of schooling, my son is tired. He is bussed from Center City to Kensington where we reside. If he stays for Extended Day, he has no way to get home.
The curriculum seems to be taught at a fast pace to intentionally fail some students. During slavery Black children were forbidden to learn to read and write. The legacy of dumbing down Black children is alive and well.
We need a District CEO who is willing to give
and
receive ideas as to how to make public education in Philadelphia
excellent.
Christine Wilson
Philadelphia
Senior volunteers could provide guided reading help
To the editors:
I am writing in response to your Winter 2003 article "District gets an earful about new curriculum." One inherent difficulty with the new mandated curriculum for teachers seems to be the "guided reading groups," during which the teacher needs to work with several simultaneous groups on different levels while also managing the classroom as a whole.
As your article indicates, this situation is more manageable when there is another experienced adult in the classroom.
So far this support has been provided only sporadically, either through the presence of a Literacy Intern Teacher or by rearranging the schedules of other staff members. I wonder if the District could develop a program to train literate senior citizens from the community to supervise small reading groups and place them in lower-grade level classrooms during the guided reading time. Ideally such a program would offer, at minimum, a small stipend for participating seniors.
If children were learning to read with an older person from their neighborhood, this could help to connect the school with the community, as well as assisting teachers through the presence of another mature adult. It might make sense to test the idea with a pilot program in a small cluster of schools that already have strong connections with community associations in their area.
Rachel Mausner
Philadelphia
Teachers and special needs
To the editors:
I am writing in response to your well-written Eye on Special Ed column, "Teacher vacancies a problem for special education students." I am a 74-year-old concerned parent of an adopted 12-year-old son who was diagnosed with ADHD at age five.
Teachers do not understand legal issues concerning IEPs. I know this, due to so many IEPs, due process hearings, and being a member of Parents Involved Network (PIN). It should be mandatory for teachers to attend at least a one-day seminar on special education children and children with disabilities.
Your column should be a call to arms.
Doris Loftin
Philadelphia
Views expressed in "Letters to the editors" are not necessarily those of the Notebook.