The educational system: What the public needs to know

Spectrum, by Sydney Jacobs

My name is Sydney Jacobs; I am taking this opportunity to introduce myself to the Mat-Su Borough voters through the filters of experience, information and observation. You can learn more about me at www.sydneyjacobs.com.

I am running for the Mat-Su school board because I think I can help parents regain confidence in their schools. Moreover, having been a teacher in special education for 23 years, and having found similar needs in other districts and boroughs across the nation, I am certain I know the needs of the teachers and administrators in the Mat-Su. I am also aware of the pitfalls and limits of so-called research-based instruction.

August 1972 was both disappointing and unforgettable. It was my first day as a teacher in the public school system. I had just met 19 students in one hour and learned that none could read or write. Many did not know their alphabet. They were high school freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

What would account for the dreadful evidence of illiteracy? Poor teaching? Perhaps, but how was it that suddenly all teachers became inept at the art of teaching reading and writing?

Some of the answers resided in the literature. Phonics had fallen out of vogue and where its proponents published evidence of its effectiveness, the evidence was ignored by the big names in progressive education. Tradition was in dispute. Repetition was heresy, and anyone who said otherwise was relegated to persona-non-grata status.

The colleges controlled research and advised (coerced) principals and new teachers to accept their new doctrine that said there were better ways to teach reading and writing. Yet, there was no continuity or post-testing that allowed an unbiased assessment of their views.

The power of community-based schools was circumvented by government schools. Consequently, the unquestioning acquiescence of progressives' falsities has been perpetuated down through the years.

Little has been published about the collaborative role that publishing companies, universities, indifferent legislators and unions have played in the dumbing-down of America's children.

Works that have been published exposing their roles are not finding their way to public libraries. Nonetheless, it is time to examine the collaborative role of the above entities in the dumbing-down process. Whether it was accomplished by design or ignorance, parents who have given schools unprecedented power are justifiably concerned.

When parents and the public at large are told that all programs must be research-based, such as the new "No Child Left Behind" law does, they should question the source.

What you don't know is that research entities form a powerful monopoly that is controlled by a few who network and dominate editorial boards. Consequently, they have the power to quash any research that comes before them. The peer-review process holds sway in all professions. Teachers are unwitting victims of this process -- some against their will and others with their cooperation.

Some will eventually join the network, and are awarded powerful positions within the system. Sooner or later, they will replace the power brokers, while teachers of conscience are left unsupported and, worse, bullied.

Oct. 5, 2004, I hope that unprecedented numbers of the community will vote in the borough elections, as an expression of unity with our troops and all others who are sacrificing life and limb to protect our freedoms.

We cannot be apathetic or indifferent. Do the right thing! Vote! Please get involved. Blood is being spilled this day, so that your children and my grandchildren may be free to reach their full potential. Good teachers everywhere need our support.

Sydney Jacobs is a candidate for the Mat-Su Borough School Board.