Will HELPS Help?
The title of Robert Rothman's article, “Linking Standards and Instruction—HELPS Is on the Way” (Exemplary Curriculums, May 1996), should have ended with a question mark. Although HELPS suggests ways to craft units that meet local and state standards, the reader is left pondering some questions: How did teachers change the school structure to gain more collaborative planning time? How much money does it take to implement HELPS? Can poorer districts afford to use it? While parents assist in writing units of study, what happens to those who are not fluent in English, not highly educated, or for other reasons may feel intimidated about visiting their child's school?
The ultimate goal of such a program should be an improved learning process for every school, affecting every single student. As Rothman describes it, the HELPS process would not achieve this goal.
—Lori Butterworth, Fourth Grade Teacher, El Paso, Texas
Remember Montessori
I noticed with no surprise that Montessori education was not included in your Exemplary Curriculums issue (May 1996). As a long-time observer of educational trends and the editor-publisher of a quarterly newspaper on Montessori education, I'd appreciate some response from ASCD members as to why Montessori education has never been taken seriously by the vast majority of educators.
There are now about 3,000 private Montessori schools and 200 public Montessori schools in the U.S. The approach really did integrate several ideas well before their peak popularity—multiage grouping, open education, self-directed learning, cooperative learning, manipulatives for math education, the importance of early education. Yet there is almost no dialogue between Montessorians and mainstream educators. Although many parents and teachers are passionate advocates of the approach, there is little mainstream research on its effectiveness. Anyone willing to offer explanations why?
—Dennis Schapiro, Publisher, Public School Montessorian, Minneapolis, Minnesota, e-mail: jolapub@aol.com
Recognizing Girls in Science and Math
As a prospective mathematics teacher, I recognized many myths explored in “Gender Balance: Lessons from Girls in Science and Mathematics” (Strengthening Student Engagement, September 1995). I often come across the attitude that girls need to be made “more aggressive, more analytical, more competitive, and tougher so they will survive” in male-dominated fields. I appreciated Ann Pollina's positive approach in suggesting that educators study the way women learn math and science and capitalize on their verbal strengths. The “ten Tips from Girls' Schools” should help educators do this.
—Amie S. Symens, Coon Rapids, Minnesota
No FLARE for the Arts
“A FLARE for the Arts” (Exemplary Curriculums, May 1996) reflects the current popularity of extolling the arts' positive influence on everything from self-concept to sensitivity to diversity. Paradoxically, this trend compromises the longstanding effort to sustain substantive arts education in schools.
Pamela Aschbacher indicates that in FLARE, “art is not an add-on that interrupts the existing curriculum,” but a “tool” to make learning more enjoyable. Not surprisingly, students feel better about themselves, broaden their understanding of cultures, grow in expressiveness, and increase their appreciation of the arts. But do these experiences lead to lifelong engagement with the arts and the values the arts bring to the human experience? Or, are they mainly enrichment, absolving the schools of responsibility for curriculums that integrate the arts and provide depth in the artistic disciplines?
Instead of promoting themselves as alternative providers of arts education, arts organizations ought to be lobbying their communities to hire certified arts educators to provide substantive arts experiences. Otherwise, the lack of quality and depth that characterizes many programs will reinforce the perception that the arts are, in fact, not central to learning but a nice “add-on.”
—David E. Myers, Associate Professor and Chair, Music Education Division, School of Music, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
