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Social Studies Content
Expectations on Hold
Gongwer News Service, June 13, 2006
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Social studies high school content expectations will not be in
place in the fall as originally planned as a variety of
difficulties and controversies put the draft expectations back
to a study committee.
The August 1 deadline for implementing the content expectations
was unreasonable, as it would have required the draft
expectations be presented at Tuesday's meeting, said
Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. And he said
the target was further exacerbated by controversy over use of
the term "American", he said.
The department is going back to further develop the content
expectations, but this time will likely be looking at the full
K-12 content, not just the high school level the workgroup had
addressed up to now. And it is likely the workgroup will not
include a member of the State Board of Education.
The board had originally planned to approve the draft of the
high school social studies content standards Tuesday, but Mr.
Flanagan withdrew that item in favor of a discussion on
improving the process for developing those standards.
"I think I put a disproportionate amount of pressure on all
parties to get a product by today," Mr. Flanagan said. He said
in the end, particularly given comments from board members
Tuesday, that the original deadline he had imposed was
unreasonable. Statute requires that the standards be in place
for the 2007-08 school year and the plan was to have them in
place a year early.
The recent publicity over the use of the term "American" has
also been a setback for the process, both morally and in terms
of time spent on the work, Mr. Flanagan said.
He was particularly harsh toward Fox News, which broadcast a
story about the issue, launched last week by a letter by former
board member Judge Michael Warren. "This has hurt our state,"
Mr. Flanagan said of the national story. "We looked like a bunch
of nutcases."
Mr. Warren had raised concerns that the final version of the
content standards would replace "American" with "United States"
in many to satisfy some in the social studies community that
American should apply to anyone living in North America or South
America.
Mr. Flanagan has said that was a position raised by some but not
adopted by the workgroup, much less part of any final
recommendation to the board. But he said he and others spent
many hours the last few days going through the recommendation
checking the use of the terms to be sure they were not adding
fuel to those raising the concern that the term "American" was
being stripped from the document.
"What we've got to get across is we're not trying to
propagandize our kids," Mr. Flanagan said.
In the future, the workgroup also will not have members of the
board. He said in some cases lack of response by those board
members was taken by the rest of the group to indicate
acceptance of an idea.
"We were forcing the views of one or two board members on them
when we had never talked about it," said board member Eileen
Weiser (R-Ann Arbor).
Ms. Weiser also argued that the final plan should look at the
entire K-12 expectations, not just those for grades 9-12. While
the department on other standards has been looking at the
expectations for high school graduation and then working
backward to be sure the foundation was built for that in the
earlier grades, she argued in social studies that could result
in age-inappropriate expectations for the lower grades.
Board President Kathleen Straus (D-Bloomfield Township) said the
document as written did not provide sufficient guidelines for
teachers. "This was not as specific as I thought it was going to
be," she said. "That doesn't give the teachers enough guidance
or the test writers enough guidance."
Ms. Straus argued the companion document, designed to aid
teachers and others in deciphering the expectations, should be
included in the expectations rather than kept as a separate
document.
Board member Nancy Danhof acknowledged the need for the separate
document, but asked that it be presented, to the extent
possible, at the same time the expectations are. While she also
acknowledged that the companion document was dependent on the
standards as approved by the board, she said it would be helpful
to the board in examining the proposed standards.
She also argued that the companion documents should be revised
further as teachers use them and raise questions. "I would hope
that our companion documents, because they are not approved and
recommended, would be ever changing," she said.
Board members also raised concerns that the expectations had not
been nationally reviewed, as other standards had been. Officials
said they had sought such review but so far had been rejected by
those experts they had approached.
Preparations had been made to have the various subject areas
within social studies reviewed separately, but board members
said it was also important to look at the expectations as a
whole to be sure they are appropriate.
Based on the discussions Tuesday, "I think we're going to have
something we can be very proud of very soon," Mr. Flanagan said.
But he did not say when the issue would come back before the
board.
TRIBAL HISTORIES: Native American groups again asked that the
final social studies curriculum have a significant emphasis on
their history and their role in United States history. And as
part of that recognition, they renewed demands that schools
using Native American mascots end that practice.
But the discussion devolved into an argument over who should
carry the banner for change.
Sue Lepper of Union City, who has brought the issue of mascots
and logos to the board on several occasions, asked Mr. Flanagan
to write a letter to all schools in the state using such logos
demanding that they be changed and that he seek legislation
prohibiting their use.
"This time the letter needs to tell them the nicknames have to
change and the tomahawk chops have to change," Ms. Lepper said,
acknowledging a prior letter sent to districts after the board
adopted a policy discouraging such logos. The board, for
instance, does not award golden apples for school progress to
schools with Native American mascots and logos.
Mr. Flanagan agreed to send a second letter reminding districts
of the board policy. "I'll personally send out a letter
supporting the resolution to each district," he said. "There are
many districts that did take that resolution seriously, but
obviously not enough."
But he said much of the change is beyond his authority. "Part of
this is a national cultural issue that is more than Mike
Flanagan sending a letter," he said.
And he said it was as much tribal members' responsibility as his
to raise the need for legislation. "You have a responsibility to
give some of that same testimony to appropriate legislative
committees," he said.
Ms. Lepper said she had raised the issue with legislators, only
to be told it was a local school issue, not one for the
Legislature to address.
Ms. Lepper also took issue with an email sent to tribal members
by Yvonne Caamal Canul, director of the Office of School
Improvement, and Donna Budnick, American Indian Affairs
specialist for the Department of Civil Rights. She said many of
those intending to speak to the board on the mascot issued had
stayed home Tuesday under the urging of the email.
Ms. Budnick said the email said tribal members would probably
not need to testify on the social studies content standards
issue, instead urging them to volunteer for the committee
working on the standards.
And she said the board's actions, or lack thereof, Tuesday would
give additional time to have some of the tribal issues addressed
in the content.
Michigan Education Board Calls for Bullying
Bills
Gongwer News Service, June 13, 2006
A model anti-bullying policy is still under development, but the
State Board of Education officially called on the Legislature to
force districts to adopt a policy.
Board Vice President John Austin (D-Ann Arbor) said it appeared
anti-bullying legislation would not be moving through the House,
but he said it was needed to ensure action by local districts.
"We should call on the Legislature to pass legislation that
requires school districts to put in place a bullying policy
based on the model policy," he said. If the Legislature does not
act, he said the board should at least pass a policy directing
districts to adopt the policy.
He and others said the board, while it does have a policy
recommending local anti-bullying policies, did not put a
timeline on that original policy and may not, because it does
not hold the purse strings, have any authority to enforce the
policy.
Some board members raised concerns about calling for legislation
before the board had its model policy in place, but the motion
was worded to seek legislation calling on the department to
develop such a policy. That would allow the department to
complete the process of seeking comment on the draft policy.
Mary Ann Chartrand with the Office of Grant and School Support
Services said she still hoped for more public review of the
proposed model policy before bringing it to the board for
approval.
"We were not able to get the breadth and depth of outside input
we would like," Ms. Chartrand said.
Panel OK's Single Gender Schooling
Gongwer News Service, June 14, 2006
Legislation that would allow the Detroit Public Schools to open
two single gender schools this fall won divided approval by the
House Education Committee on Wednesday.
Sponsored by Rep. LaMar Lemmons III (D-Detroit), HB 4264 only
applies to Detroit schools, whereas a companion Senate bill (SB
1296) would allow for single gender schools on a statewide
basis.
Mr. Lemmons said he sponsored the bill to apply only to Detroit,
but does support the availability of single gender schools or
classrooms for school districts across the state of Michigan.
"Single sex education offers the best environment to learn," he
said, though added that its offerings by school districts "will
probably be the exception rather than the rule."
The House bill was opposed by two Democratic committee members
and one Republican - Rep. Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) and Rep.
Aldo Vagnozzi (D-Farmington Hills), along with Rep. Lorence
Wenke (R-Richland).
HB 4264 was supported by majority Republicans and Rep. Virgil
Smith (D-Detroit).
Four Democratic members abstained from voting: Rep. Gino
Polidori (D-Dearborn), Rep. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor), Rep.
Kathy Angerer (D-Dundee) and Rep. Brenda Clack (D-Flint).
The legislation is opposed by the American Civil Liberties
Union, along with several women's organizations National
Organization for Women and its Michigan chapter and the Michigan
Women's Hall of Fame, along with the Michigan Education
Association.
Opponents of the bill say that "separate but equal" didn't stand
up in court in terms of the segregation of races and it doesn't
hold water either when it comes to gender. While there are
single gender schools throughout the nation, the courts have
ruled that there must be exceedingly persuasive evidence that a
school of that type should exist, said Emily Mark of the ACLU.
Studies that show single gender schools to increase students'
productivity and achievement do not show there are other factors
in play, she said, including the fact that most of those schools
offer smaller class size, more attention to core subjects,
increased parental involvement and higher funding levels.
"Single sex is a quick fix that does not address all the
problems," she said.
While hormones may be a distraction to students in the
classroom, as proponents of single gender schooling suggest,
there are other distractions that occur and students of both
genders need to deal with a real world environment in order to
succeed.
"I'm shocked at this radical proposal to go back," said Mary
Pollock, of Michigan NOW. "There are conflicting studies on
whether there is any benefit to this."
Though William Coleman, superintendent to Detroit Public
Schools, said that single gender schools are already available
in the private arena and have shown to significantly improve
student test scores, attendance, confidence levels and
aspirations toward higher levels of learning.
The school district is planning on opening two college
preparatory schools with enrollment of 500 students for each in
the upcoming school year, he said. "We believe Detroit Public
Schools can replicate these successes. This is about parental
choice."
Mr. Vagnozzi questioned whether the district would mandate
whether teachers would be assigned to schools based on their
similar genders, to which Mr. Coleman said that was not a
mandate and that principals would have the authority to select
teachers.
Rep. Tom Meyer (R-Bad Axe) asked whether the districts' federal
funding would be in jeopardy, but with changes being made to
Title IX on the federal level, Mr. Coleman said that shouldn't
be the case.
And Ms. Angerer said that there should be benchmarks for the
state to judge whether single gender schools are successful. Two
amendments to that effect that were offered by Democrats failed.
The bill was amended to change wording regarding "comparable"
schools to say "substantial and equal," as well as specifying
that districts could not require students to attend single
gender schools.
In support of the bill, though not testifying, were Grand Rapids
Public Schools, the Michigan Catholic Conference and Wayne RESA.
The Detroit Federation of Teachers, Michigan Federation of
Teachers and School Related Personnel and the Department of
Education is neutral on the bill.
In the Senate, the chamber moved SB 1296 into position for final
passage. The chamber is expected to act on the bill on Thursday.
Michigan Senate Passes Single Gender School
Bill
Gongwer News Service, June 15, 2006
The drive to allow single-gender schools in Michigan started
down the expressway Thursday when the Senate overwhelmingly
approved a bill letting all school districts open all-boy or
all-girl schools.
Meanwhile, the Senate Education Committee on Thursday reported a
second bill that amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to
clarify that single-sex schools do not violate the state's
anti-discrimination law.
But in sending that second bill, SB 1305, to the full chamber,
legislators were urged to take steps to change the bills to
avoid a lawsuit.
Passed on a 33-5 vote Thursday was SB 1296 that will allow a
school district to set up gender-specific schools that
supporters say could help students, especially boys, focus on
learning and less on the opposite sex.
Sen. Michael Switalski (D-Roseville) made that point as clear as
possible when he said that when in high school "90 percent of my
attention was focused on a tall, blonde girl." Had he put more
effort into his studies he may have gone further in life, Mr.
Switalski said.
And the bill's sponsor, Sen. Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit) said the
measure was intended to help maximize the chances of academic
success for Michigan students.
A myriad of studies into brain development show significant
differences into how males and females develop, Mr. Thomas said,
and by allowing single gender schools educators can take
advantage of teaching techniques that focus on those
differences.
That could be critical especially to young boys, who often have
greater difficulties in school than do girls, Mr. Thomas said.
"I believe this Legislature should move heaven and earth to
anything to help schools improve," he said.
So far, Detroit Public Schools are the only looking to open
single gender schools, specifically one high school for boys and
one high school for girls, if the legislation is approved.
In the House, HB 4264, was approved by that chamber's Education
Committee on Wednesday, and specifically deals permitting single
sex schools in Detroit. SB 1296 amends the state's school code
to allow any school district to establish single gender schools
or classes.
The Senate added an amendment to the bill clearly specifying
that no student would be required to attend a single-gender
school.
But Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) said the legislation is flatly
unconstitutional. Plus, it seemed like taking a step into the
past by proposing separation of the sexes, she said. "As we
learned from the ugly days of racial separation, separate but
equal can never be equal," she said.
And Sen. Bruce Patterson (R-Canton) said for all the vaunted
advantages of single-gender schools, a primary question
remained: is it constitutional? Mr. Patterson said he concluded
that the bill violates the equal protection clause of the 14th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Voting against the bill along with Ms. Brater and Mr. Patterson
were Sen. Laura Toy (R-Livonia), Sen. Gilda Jacobs (D-Huntington
Woods) and Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing).
Frustration of some of the opponents to the concept began to
break at the Senate Education Committee as that body sent SB
1305 to the full chamber.
Mary Pollock of the Michigan Conference of the National
Organization for Women infuriated committee chair Sen. Wayne
Kuipers (R-Holland) when she said if schools were going to be
separated by sex then why couldn't they be separated by race or
national origin.
Mr. Kuipers said Ms. Pollock was inflaming the issue, but she
shot back that the Legislature was inflaming the situation
simply by bringing up the issue.
While there has been research showing differences in brain
development, it has not been applied to school settings, Ms.
Pollock said. Problems young urban males have with learning can
be dealt with in a co-education way, she said. And young women
complaining about sexual harassment can be best helped by
teaching people not to harass in a co-educational setting.
And Shelli Weisberg of the American Civil Liberties Union urged
lawmakers to strictly define how the Elliott-Larsen act would be
applied in this circumstance to minimize the chance of a legal
challenge to same-gender schools.
Ms. Weisberg has previously indicated that the organization
would likely sue if the laws pass. In the early 1990s, a lawsuit
blocked the continued operation of a single-sex school in
Detroit.
Governor Jennifer Granholm has indicated she could support the
bill.
Michigan Gov
Likes Same-Sex Schools
MIRS, June 13, 2006
Put Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM down as a supporter of segregating
boys from girls in an academic setting because she favors "the
things that causes children to learn better."
The governor told reporters that any constitutional difficulties
could be resolved. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and
the National Organization for Women (NOW) has opposed earlier
legislative efforts to put this idea into law.
"I think it would have to be done carefully, but it can be done
in a way that does not violate the constitution," she said.
Putting girls in a classroom with no boys is a "good idea," the
governor added.
"The choice (for parents) is something worth pursuing," she told
Lansing reporters on Monday.
The governor said getting students to focus on learning is
preferable to all the other messages they get from the mass
media.
Other backers of the idea say girls in particular do better in
science and math when boys are not around. Sen. Mickey SWITALSKI
(R-Roseville) has been pushing the idea for six years and
recently got the tentative endorsement of some key Senators. The
Senate Education Committee reported out a bill last week that
gives school districts the option to separate the kids (See
"Same-Gender Bill Leaves Committee," 6/8/06).
The State Board of Education will not wade into the controversy
surrounding the creation of so-called single-sex or same-sex
schools, but the state superintendent said he believes schools
should explore the option.
"I think 'explore' is an OK word. I don't want to leave the
feeling that I think it is the answer, but people need to
explore everything that might move kids," Mike FLANAGAN told
MIRS.
He said he thinks this is a local control issue, but cites
research that suggest young girls do better in science if boys
are excluded from the classroom. "There are distractions,"
Flanagan said about the sexes learning in the same environment.
"Women get more involved … they answer questions and are more
active" when the boys are not around, he continued.
The chair of the House Education Committee said he expects to
move a measure out of his committee on Wednesday.
Rep. Brian PALMER (R-Romeo) said, "I've been a fan of this for
some time."
He said he believes single-sex classrooms have worked in the
private and religious schools around the state and "It's a
parent's choice … it's not a mandate. It's voluntary."
Palmer credited the new Detroit School Superintendent Dr. Bill
COLEMAN for helping to move this measure along. The two
discussed the issue on Mackinac Island during a recent
conference.
The House Education Committee chair said he does not see a mass
movement to this alternative, but he does expect some urban
schools to push the idea.
Sen. Liz BRATER (D-Ann Arbor) is a likely no vote when the
Senate votes on this on Wednesday. She agrees with NOW that
"separate but equal" did not work for civil rights and it may
not work in education.
"I don't think it necessarily discriminates … but separate but
equal didn't work very well … we worked hard for gender equity,"
she said.
Brater said mixing the sexes is part of the education process of
learning how to live together.
NOW put out a press release going after SB 1296 and HB 4264.
They noted that Judge George WOODS ruled in a 1991 suit by NOW
and the ACLU against same-sex academies in the Detroit Public
Schools because they violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution and the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
"While the purpose for which the male academies came into being
is an important one, the objectives, no matter how compelling,
cannot override the rights of females to equal opportunities,"
Woods said.
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