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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories BLM eyes first phase of Jack-Ash non-motorized trail Since You Asked: Noise issues may have changed Ashland streets Snapshots in time Body found in creek north of Central Point Emergency services, Feb. 8 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Body found in creek north of Central Point Emergency services, Feb. 8 Emergency Services, Feb. 9 Man stabbed by wife during argument in Medford Saturday The Sovereign Among Us Politics and Elections Kent Bush: Fraud kept alive by the left and right Walden sets town halls on Friday Amid rising scrutiny, governor says fiancee won't have role in administration Ashland aims for diversity, but numbers show shortfall Kent Bush: The keys to decoding the State of the Union address Education Sharing black culture SOU board names officers, committees SOU students targeted in Drive Less campaign Parent files discrimination complaint against Ashland schools Some gains, some losses Environment Solar pavilion going up at Coyote Trails GMO opponents can join Jackson County in defending ban Jackson County won't set up wolf kill compensation program Commercial users can get rid of pesticide waste for free Jackson County looks at compensation for wolf kills State News Letter says Kitzhaber official fired after Hayes criticism Attorney general says Kitzhaber's ethics allegations 'troubling' Willamette football player pleads not guilty to manslaughter 'In God We Trust' leads to Klamath County debate Bill calls for relocation of Washington state wolves Nation - World Obituaries Helmut "Harry" Podlech Alson "Al" Velma "Ruth" Thornton Trudy Butler Jean Yvonne Baumer Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Sports Latest Stories Young, Oregon dominate Washington State Plum, Washington overwhelms Oregon Blazers take charge late in Houston Spartans come up short on road Perfect Fit Varsity 541 College Sports Young, Oregon dominate Washington State Plum, Washington overwhelms Oregon Perfect Fit No. 7 OSU downs WSU Beavers defeat Cal Poly, 26-10 Pro Sports Blazers take charge late in Houston Spartans come up short on road Great day for Day Mavericks rally, down Blazers in OT With Davis hurt, Bulls rout Pels Community Sports Local Events Business Latest Stories Erickson layoffs land hard in Jackson County People in Business Blog: Stay Calm Erickson announces 150 layoffs, mostly in Oregon 1-800-Flowers dumps Harry & David execs Real Estate News Housing prices climb 9 percent in Jackson County Big plans on the Butte Homes for the long haul New owners of Medford Center promise a hands-on approach: Home loan rates continue to fall, applications soar People In Business People in Business Transportation The heart of Brammo will remain Want to be an investor? 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GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Our public school system is a stew pot of clashing ingredients Comment By Betty R. Kazmin MailTribune.com By Betty R. Kazmin Posted Feb. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Betty R. Kazmin Posted Feb. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this topic? Send a letter to the editor at www.mailtribune.com/sendletter. » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this topic? Send a letter to the editor at www.mailtribune.com/sendletter . » Social News America's public school system is like a giant stew pot, filled with potent ingredients that clash rather than blend tastefully. Think funding, teaching, testing, data mining and experimenting, all consuming precious educational time, energy and money. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and President Obama both want to increase funding for education. How are such funds best spent ? Helping all third graders read at grade level? Giving students in alternative high schools needed support to graduate? Providing enriched courses for academically gifted high school students? Paying for two years of free community college? Effective teaching is a key ingredient in the education stew pot. Having taught math at both ends of the learning spectrum (those who struggle and those who excel) I know the challenges faced by teachers working with students of widely varying backgrounds, aptitudes and interests. What should be taught is as important as who is teaching it. Think of the battle between teaching evolution and creationism.. Deciding what aspects of American history are emphasized. Teaching "discovery math," "integrated math" or traditional methods. I taught algebra from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, with time-outs for child rearing and graduate studies. My last position was a Los Angeles magnet school that attracted students from all over LA County. The first year I taught a remedial math class for grades 10-12, students who had not mastered basic math nor proper classroom behavior. I also taught several honors-level algebra classes. I was the same teacher with the same preparation and determination to succeed. Judged solely by my remedial class, I was not effective. Yet my honors algebra students excelled, as measured by their results on the standardized Golden State Exam. How do we attract, prepare and keep good teachers who can help all our students succeed ? The new Common Core State Standards define what should be taught to America's schoolchildren. Apparently Common Core would return to the "integrated math" that failed two decades ago — combining the study of algebra 1, geometry and algebra 2 together over a three-year period. The National Council of Mathematics disavowed that in the 1990s; I'm told the Common Core will require this "reform" that already failed. The Common Core adds another powerful ingredient to the education mix: meta databases that will store every piece of information about our students, from when they enter kindergarten to when they finish college. Large for-profit companies will create and manage the costly databases. Data could be accessed by teachers, counselors, colleges, even prospective employers. Such data mining raises serious issues of student privacy. "President Obama Proposes Student-Data-Privacy Upgrade" is the headline in Education Week of Jan. 21, 2015. His proposed Student Digital Privacy Act "would aim to prevent companies from selling sensitive student information collected in schools and from using such data to engage in targeted advertising to children." California recently passed a similar bill, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. That bill prohibits online education services from "amassing a profile on students for a noneducational purpose," reports Education Week. How effective will such laws be ? Another element of Common Core is time-consuming standardized testing, starting in third grade, with all the results stored in the databases. Teachers may be evaluated, and paid, based on students results. Schools of education in various colleges may be rated on how their graduates perform, based on student test scores. Yet different states will set different scores for indicating proficiency. "Steep Drops Seen in Teacher-Prep Enrollment Numbers" is front page news in Education Week (Oct. 22, 2014). That's not a surprise. With so many clashing policies in public education, bright young people are not choosing a teaching. career. California "lost some 22,000 teacher-prep enrollments, or 53 percent, between 2008-09 and 2012-13, according to a (state) report." I see many threats to America's supply of effective teachers. "Judge strikes down California's teacher tenure laws" heads an AP story in the Mail Tribune (June 11, 2014). The judge found tenure and other job protection laws unconstitutional, "saying such laws harm students — especially poor and minority ones — by saddling them with bad teachers who are almost impossible to fire." Would I have been judged by my remedial math class, or my honors algebra students? Finally, the all-purpose seasoning in our stew pot: experimentation. The Mail Tribune just reported on graduation rates in Medford schools, "Some Gains, Some Losses" (Jan. 29, 2015). It describes a proposal to create a new " ''pathways' concept in which students declare a 'major' before entering high school and then pursue that area of interest over their high school career." Superintendent Brian Shumate says "students could choose from academic, artistic, career-tech and pre-professional pathways." Students enter high school at age 14. Their "pathway" choice would determine courses taken in high school and their choices available after graduation. I raised three children; none knew at age 14 what career they wanted. Shall we limit our children's choices so soon, or encourage them to taste the various flavors of educational pursuits? Betty R. Kazmin of Medford taught algebra for 20 years in Los Angeles public and private secondary schools, and served on the board of education in Willard, Ohio. By Betty R. Kazmin MailTribune.com By Betty R. 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