In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville suggested that the central tensions in a democracy are between liberty and democracy and between freedom and equality. Today, this tension is manifested in education around issues concerning equality and excellence. Though "equality" and "equity" are not precisely the same, many of the current debates in education revolve around the question of whether we can have equity AND excellence in our public school system. This issue is central to arguments about "No Child Left Behind", single-gender schools, inclusion for special needs children, "gifted programs", bilingual education, Afro-centric schools, school choice, privatization of public schools, bond levies, magnet schools, automatic promotion, "mastery" programs, high-stakes testing, pay-to-play sports programs . . .

To help you begin to think about these issues, we have designed four options for investigating questions related to equity and excellence in public schools. Please read the following options carefully and decide which project you would like to work on. Pay attention both to the content and the style of the project.
 
 

OPTION 1: The objectives for folks who choose this option are to:

1. develop a sense of what it's like for schools and for children to be "poor" in a democratic society,
2. describe the affects of poverty on educational opportunities,
3. propose appropriate community actions, and,
4. share your discoveries with the program

A.  Videos on reserve in the library (Children in America's Schools; Ya Gotta Move)
B.  Children’s books that address what it’s like to be poor
C.  Articles in Section 2 of the "Anthology" on reserve in the library
D.  Books by Jonathan Kozol, Robert Coles, Herbert Kohl, Carolyn Persell, and James Comer
E.  Washington Multiethnic think tank web site or other appropriate websites
F.  Professional journals and newspapers.
G.  You could check the reserve shelf in the TESC library, consult with the children’s librarian at Olympia Timberland Library, and consult with Ernestine Kimbro, Sara Pederson, or Liza Rognas about resources in the TESC library.

a) Before you begin your research, write an individual journal entry that describes YOUR current understanding of "equity" and "excellence" in relation to public schooling.
b) Watch video tapes, and read children’s books, newspapers, current journals, articles in the Anthology on reserve, and books of your choice related to the topic. Keep track of what you’re finding out in a written log. (We HIGHLY recommend that you watch Children in America's Schools!)
c) Then discuss with others who chose this option what you learned from these sources, what was most meaningful to you and why, and how what you learned affected your understanding of equity and excellence in the public schools.
d) Individually, reflect in writing about what you think schools or communities as a whole could do to address inequities that exist.
e) Choose a way to share with other program members your realizations about the impact inequities have on students and your insights about how to address the inequities. You might do this through writing a short story or poem, creating posters, or leading a small discussion group of program members who are in other research groups. You need to decide with your group how you will share your findings with the whole program.

All work for this project is due on Tuesday, March 2 after group presentations.

1. Journal/log with pre-investigation entry describing your understanding of equity and excellence in relation to public schools.
2. Annotated bibliography or log of books read, movies watched, websites visited, etc., and the information you collected.
3. Individual reflection based on your investigation and group discussion about how schools and communities can address inequities.
4. Materials from final presentation. See e) above.
5. Assessment of each person's participation in the group aspect of the project, including a self-assessment.

OPTION 2: The objectives for folks who choose this option are to:

1. gather data about the distribution of resources among schools in the State of Washington,
2. draw conclusions about the relationship of school funding to excellence and equity in public schools, and,
3. share your discoveries with program members who chose other project options.

A. Washington Administrative Code
B. Ernestine Kimbro, Sara Pederson, and Liza Rognas in the TESC library
C. Data from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
D. Meetings and minutes from school boards
E. Various school district superintendents’ offices
F. Documents from the State Legislature
G. Offices of the Washington Education Association
H. World Wide Web, including this site on demographic information from Washington State school districts:
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/singlechoicepage.asp?state1=53

a. Attend school board meetings or site council meetings if this would be helpful
b. View Children in America's Schools (on Closed Reserve)
c. Contact appropriate organizations and individuals or use appropriate library or Internet sources to gather documents and information about school funding and how the State of Washington allocates money to schools.
d. Discuss what you discovered with the other program members who chose this option, and work together to:
 

1. list major sources of funding for public schools in the State of Washington,
2. create a chart that illustrates what percentage of school funding is from local, state and federal sources and the ways local districts raise money,
3. create a format to display differences in per pupil expenditure in selected districts with high, medium, and low income residents,
4. include in your display any connections between race and ethnicity and poverty and school funding,
5. develop information packets for other program members about the information you have learned, and,
6. decide how to present your charts to the whole program.

WHAT'S DUE AND WHEN

All work for this project is due on Tuesday, March 2 after group presentations.

1. Journal/log of sources of information, including informational notes
2. Group chart (see (d) above). One chart for the group.
3. Group information packet
4. Individual paper about the relationship of funding to equity and excellence.
5. Assessment of each person's participation in the group aspect of the project, including a self-assessment.

OPTION 3: The objectives for people who choose this option are to:

1. accurately describe a number of options to traditional public schooling (home-schooling, vouchers, charter schools, church sponsored schools, magnet schools),
2. identify arguments for and against these types of schooling,
3. evaluate which, if any, could offer both excellence and equity in education for America's children and adolescents, and,
4. present the information to the program.

1. Ernestine Kimbro, Sara Pederson, and Liza Rognas in the TESC library
2. Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
3. "Essential Academic Learning Requirements" for Washington students (see link on our home page)
4. School boards
5. Governor’s ethnic commissions and other special interest commissions
6. Washington Round Table reports
7. Documents from the State Legislature
8. Offices of the Washington Education Association
9. World Wide Web
10. Olympia's Home-schooling Network
11. Local and national newspaper articles and editorials on vouchers, charter schools, home- schooling, etc.
12. TESC faculty with backgrounds in history and political economy,
13. Culture Wars, (on reserve in the library)
14. Professional education journals.

1. After reading or interviewing knowledgeable people, individually define in your journal or log the following terms: vouchers, charter schools, church sponsored schools, home schooling, magnet schools, and public schools. Then explain the underlying social and economic assumptions of each.
2. In small groups, identify some of the equity and excellence arguments made by the proponents and opponents of each of these types of schooling. As a group, answer this question: Is it possible to have excellence and equity in schools in a democracy? How?
3. Write a brief, INDIVIDUAL, position paper on your conclusions about which of these schooling alternatives, if any, is more likely to produce both excellence and equity in a democracy.
4. As a group, plan how to share the information about the different types of schooling alternatives AND your conclusions about issues of excellence and equity, with the program.

All work for this project is due on Tuesday, March 2 after group presentations.

1. Individual journal/log of defined terms and explanations of underlying social and economic assumptions of each.
2. Group answer to question in (b) above.
3. Individual position paper from (c) above.
4. Group plan for sharing information and conclusions with the whole group.
5. Assessment of each person's participation in the group aspect of the project, including a self-assessment.

OPTION 4: The objectives for people who choose this option are to:

1. LISTEN and HEAR what a variety of people have to say about their issues and concerns about equity, excellence, and equality in public schools,
2. Analyze and evaluate these opinions, and,
3. Share a range of voices and opinions with our program, along with your conclusions about what these opinions might mean for the future of public schools.

Teachers, staff members, administrators, community members, relatives, school board members, various commission members, politicians, popular and professional books, journals, newspapers, and resources on reserve in the TESC library.

OUTLINE OF PROCESS:

a. Questions about excellence, equality, and equity are at the center of many current debates about education. Given the time you have for this assignment, make a plan individually or with other members of your group to talk to people about their issues and concerns about equity, equality, and excellence in the public schools. You could bring up topics like charter schools, vouchers, high stakes testing, "No Child Left Behind," school uniforms, financial support for schools, current bond levies, etc. This could involve talking with teachers, community members, politicians, commissions, educational assistants, administrators, and folks walking past you in the mall, on campus, or in your town. However, you MUST talk with people from a variety of categories and school settings and with people who will not necessarily share your point-of-view.

b. You could watch the videos on reserve and read materials available in addition to talking with people.

c. After some time of exploration, conversations, reading, and journaling, create ways to report what you learned from the people you talked with.

1. Write a brief individual paper and create a supporting demonstration (slide show, video, quilt, dance, story telling, skit, oral interpretation, art exhibit...?) that demonstrates a variety of other people’s perspectives on the question of equity, equality, and excellence in the public schools, and the relationship of these opinions to the future of public schools. You may do this individually or with your group. HOWEVER, the group needs to decide how to share the time available for the presentation.

All work for this project is due on Tuesday, March 2 after group presentations.

1. A journal of your interviews with others.
2. A log of any books, websites, journals, etc., that you referenced.
3. An individual paper and materials for the demonstration that presents what you learned from others and what this information suggests about the future of public schools.
4. Outline of group plan for presentation.
5. Assessment of each person's participation in the group aspect of the project, including a self-assessment.

OPTION 5: Democracy of Demographics and NCLB

The objectives are to:

Research and gather information about:

-         What are the issues of equality and equity in urban, rural, and suburban settings?

-         In light of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), what are the ramifications to populations of individuals?

-         NCLB and resource allocations

POSSIBLE RESOURCES:

A.     Contact organizations such as National Rural Educational Association, NW Regional Educational Laboratory, etc.

B.     Professional journals and newspapers

C.     Internet sources

D.     Local school administrators

OUTLINE OF STEPS:

1.  Identify our individual paths of research and exploration around the issue.
2. Discuss and compare our findings.
3. Decide upon and prepare for presentation of our findings.

WHAT'S DUE AND WHEN

-         Annotated bibliography from our research

-         Individual reflection paper about our area of research

-         Group project displaying our findings

-         Assessment of each person’s participation in the group aspect of the project, including a self-assessment.