Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 31, 1995 TAG: 9503310093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And the teachers got a lot of support at a public hearing Thursday night in their opposition to proposed new academic standards for social studies, English, mathematics and science in Virginia's schools.
The proposed social studies standards came under sharp criticism at the hearing, which attracted an estimated 400 people, mostly teachers, to William Byrd High School.
A parade of educators complained that the standards are inappropriate for pupils in kindergarten through third grade.
In the second grade, for example, the pupils would be required to study the forms of government and religions in the Mediterranean, such as Athenian democracy, Christianity and Islam, and their impact on American political and religious beliefs.
David Turk, a Salem High School teacher, said the proposed standards are not appropriate for the early primary grades. He also was concerned that the new standards would de-emphasize geography.
David Wymer, social studies supervisor for Roanoke County schools, said the content and sequence of the standards in the early grades are out of step with the children's development.
The proposed social studies standards received the strongest criticism, but there also were complaints about the English standards and some broader concerns.
One speaker said some children won't be able to meet the new standards. Some teachers worried that the new standards would require new textbooks and additional resources.
The state Board of Education is holding 10 hearings across the state to get public comment on the new standards, which were drafted by teachers and other educators - the first time they have been revised since the mid-1980s.
Some teachers have suggested that conservative politics are behind some of the social studies standards, but Secretary of Education Beverly Sgro has denied it.
Several teachers said the new standards emphasize memorization and rote learning at the expense of analytical and critical skills.
But other speakers supported the standards and urged the Board of Education to approve them.
Preston Guynn said the hearing was packed with teachers who were Virginia Education Association members with an economic interest in maintaining the status quo.
"The students can't read and write, and all we hear is a big defense of what we have from the VEA," said Guynn, a Roanoke Valley resident. "There has been an erosion of standards, and the teachers worry that they will have to go to work."
One speaker who said she was a member of the Christian Coalition urged the board to adopt the standards. "The standards are low now. We are reaping mediocrity because that is what we have sowed," she said.
Lewis Nelson, vice president of the Board of Education, said he doesn't expect a quick decision on the standards.
Bob Lewis, president of the W.E. Cundiff Elementary School PTA, urged the board to "go slow" on the new standards.
"When we have teachers and other educators concerned as they are, it makes me concerned," Lewis said.
by CNB