Dateline Sacramento (9/3/2009)
Dateline Sacramento
News with a View from the California Capitol
September 3, 2009
President Obama Is Scheduled to Address the Nation’s Students
In an unprecedented move, President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak to the nation’s children in their classrooms on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. For many students, this will be the first day of the new school year. According to the White House media advisory, the speech will focus “on the importance of [students] in taking responsibility for their success in school.” The scheduled speech will be broadcast live on the White House Web site and C-SPAN. In addition, the Obama Administration has provided teachers with classroom lesson plans and activities to be used to prepare and engage students regarding the President’s comments.
However, not everyone is pleased with the President’s plan. While many Americans are supportive of President Obama’s efforts to encourage students to strive for academic success, critics are very concerned about the suggested lessons plans (K-6 and 7-12) and correlating activities teachers are encouraged to utilize. Some of the activities include:
1. Having students “write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the President,”
2. Requiring students to “build background knowledge of the President of the United States by reading about previous presidents and Barack Obama,” and
3. Having teachers ask students leading questions regarding how President Obama inspired or challenged them.
Critics quickly point out the inherent dangers that arise when classroom time is used for potentially political motives. According to Neal McCluskey, an associate director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, the program “essentially tries to force kids to say the President and the presidency is inspiring, and that’s very problematic.” McCluskey warns that, “there are some troubling hints in this [effort], both educationally and politically.”
While there is general support among teachers regarding the President’s speech and lesson plans, parents have also expressed concern about the potential political nature of the suggested activities. Parents are rightly concerned about potentially making the classroom a political playground, rather than a center for academic learning. Academic classroom time has seen dramatic decreases in recent years. Parents and students must contend with lawmakers, school districts, teachers and special interest groups who continue to incorporate non-academic activities into classrooms, resulting in decreased student performance. .
According to research, the more time students spend in the learning process (or actively learning), the more their academic performance increases. In an article written earlier this year, California Family Council staff shared a 1998 policy brief by H.J. Walberg, which discussed the negative impact on student performance resulting from the erosion of instructional time. The use of classroom time for non-academic and potentially biased political programming is inappropriate.
The Cato Institute’s McCluskey points out that the president may use his “bully pulpit” to encourage students to work and study hard, but the corresponding messages and classroom activities are questionable and very problematic.
California Attempts to “Race to the Top” for Federal Education Funds
On July 24, 2009, President Barack Obama outlined the eligibility requirements states must meet to compete for $4.35 billion in “Race to the Top” (RTTT) education funds. The program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The eligibility requirements that states must fulfill are based on the following three criteria:
- States must have received approval for the second-round of State Fiscal Stabilization Funding (i.e., funds provided to states to help stabilize state and local government budgets in order to minimize and avoid education reductions).[i]
- To be eligible, states must meet 33 specific data and reporting requirements.
- States must not possess any legal barriers linking student achievement data to teachers’ or principals’ performance for purpose of evaluation.
- States must have a coherent and comprehensive plan for addressing four specific reform areas:
- High-quality standards and assessments
- Data systems that support instruction
- Effective teachers and principals
- Support for struggling schools
In response to President Obama’s official release of the “Race To The Top” eligibility requirements, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on August 20, 2009 convened a special session of the Legislature to “ensure” California would be eligible to compete for the RTTT funds. He also introduced several education reform measures that he hopes the Legislature will approve by October. These proposals include:
- Removing the California provisions that prohibit California from linking student achievement to teacher performance data
- Creating measures to help the turn-around of failing schools –
- Repeal California’s cap on the number of charter schools allowed to operate in the state.
- Give parents greater freedom to choose the school that best serves their child, by removing the cap on “district of choice” so any student can attend a public school in a participating school district; and allowing open enrollment for students in low-performing schools so they can attend any public school in the state.
- Increase state focus and resources on the five percent of schools that consistently underperform.
- Creating measures to help recruit and retain good teachers and principals –
- Reward teachers who serve in more challenging environments and create additional incentives for student and teacher improvement.
- Measure student progress to ascertain what teaching mechanisms work in the classroom.
- Modifying current data processes to more effectively measure performance and accurately track the progress of students, teachers, principals and schools.
While Governor Schwarzenegger is hopeful the Legislature will approve his proposals, opposition from education groups and teachers unions will make passage extremely difficult.
For more information on the “Race To The Top” funds and state reforms click here.
Wait No More: Finding Families for California’s Waiting Kids
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."– Matthew 19:14
There are 127,000 children in America’s foster care system waiting for adoptive families.
On Saturday, September 19th, you and those from your church are invited to join others who love and care about children for a very special event. Wait No More is a conference designed to encourage families to start the process to adopt California’s waiting children.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27
California Family Council and Focus on the Family, along with adoption agencies throughout the state, will join the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Orange County Social Services to encourage Christians to heed the call of God and open their hearts and homes to these precious children.
You’re Invited! The event will take place at Calvary Chapel, Downey on Saturday, September 19th from 1 to 5 p.m. We encourage you to attend this important life-changing event. The conference is free, but attendees need to pre-register. Click here to register.
“Our message is simple,” said Kelly Rosati, senior director of the Sanctity of Human Life division at Focus on the Family. “California’s waiting kids deserve permanent homes. If even a portion of California’s more than 10,000 churches got involved, this problem could be solved.”
Focus on the Family President Jim Daly knows what it feels like to be an orphan. After his mother died and his stepfather walked out, Jim and his siblings were left alone. Watch this video in which Jim shares his heart behind Focus on the Family's Orphan Care Initiative.
Please plan to attend Wait No More: Finding Families for California’s Waiting Kids on Saturday, September 19th from 1 to 5 p.m. at Calvary Chapel, Downey. The conference is free, but attendees need to pre-register. Click here to register.
Wait No More Resources: Link
For more information visit iCareAboutOrphans.org.
Together, we can make a difference for the kids in our community.
Local Links
SAN FRANCISCO – The phrase "at risk" gets tossed around a lot by educators and social workers. Nowhere is the buzzword more applicable - and more poignant - than in its description of foster youth who are "aging out" of the system at age 18. One recent study revealed that 54 percent of young men and 25 percent of young women are incarcerated within 18 months of leaving the foster-care system. Another survey showed that 70 percent of California prison inmates have spent time in the foster-care system. Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle.
OAKLAND – A judge has denied a motion from City of Oakland officials to permanently prevent a pro-life pastor from presenting abortion alternatives to women outside an abortion center. Pastor Walter Hoye has been fighting with the city over the black minister's efforts to reach out to local women. Hoye had appeared outside the Family Planning Specialists abortion center until the city council approved an ordinance that targets the free speech rights of pro-life advocates. It created a “bubble zone” disallowing pro-life individuals within eight feet of women entering any local abortion business. Read more on the Free Republic website.
SAN DIEGO – The State Bar of California's Annual Meeting will convene in San Diego without a slew of LGBT members and allies. This year's meeting is scheduled to be held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel in San Diego, which is owned by key Proposition 8 proponent Doug Manchester. The hotel magnate gave $125,000 to ProtectMarriage.com to restore traditional marriage in California. After a boycott was launched by several organizations, including Californians Against Hate and Unite Here Local 30, a hotel workers' union, several conferences and meetings were moved to other locations. Read more in the Advocate.
Truth Project Opportunities
RIVERSIDE – California Family Council continues to expand its offerings of the acclaimed Truth Project group leader training seminars. Training in biblical worldview is a prerequisite to living out authentic Christianity in today’s postmodern culture, with its subjective claims of truth.
The next Truth Project group leader training seminar:
Saturday, September 12, 2009
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Host Church: Arcadia Presbyterian Church
121 Alice Street
Arcadia, CA 91006
For more information on attending or hosting a seminar, call the California Family Council at 951.354.8362 and ask for Trudy. Register online for seminars at: www.californiafamily.org.
