California Education Reform
Separate and Unequal: Funding for Failure in California's Public Schools
Overview
This study guide is comprised of questions and graphic organizers intended to aid in the listening and learning process. It includes pre-listening prompts, listening points and note organizers, as well as companion questions for critical thinking and problem-solving discussions or writing.
Pre-listening
Before listening to this edition of A World of Possibilities, respond to the prompts below in order to ignite your background knowledge and connect the themes of this episode to your life experiences.
- What does social equity mean to you?
- Is it important to you that students in the California public education system receive roughly equal resources and opportunities? If so,why? If not, why not?
In this episode of A World of Possibilities, host Mark Sommer explores the growing achievement gap among students in California. Guests in this program are Mark Baldassare, director of research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California; Paul Bressoud, a high school teacher; Patricia Gandara, associate director of the Linguistic Minority Research Institute at UC-Davis; W. Norton Grubb, professor at UC-Berkeley’s School of Education; Rosita Martinez, parent and activist; and Sehba Zhumkhawala, principal of an elementary charter school.
As you listen, think about the following questions:
- What are we talking about when we refer to an “achievement gap” among
students? What are the causes of the achievement gap and what could be
the consequences in the future if the gap in California persists or grows?
- What strategies could be used to develop better education policy in
California? Is increased funding sufficient? What else is needed to improve
public schools?
- What teaching methods are being employed in some California schools to improve the performance of their students?
Listening Guide
Use the graphic organizer to record your thoughts as you listen to this
addition of A World of Possibilities. Use the left side of the
organizer to record the main ideas and supporting details presented during
the show. Then use the right side of the organizer to respond to these
points with questions, connections or applications that resonate with
your life or work.
Dr. Patricia Gandara – Professor of Education, University of California-Davis
List the main ideas and
interesting |
Respond with questions, connections or applications to your life or work. |
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Mark Baldassare – Demographer, Public Policy Institute of California
| Main ideas and interesting points | Questions, connections, applications |
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Dr. W. Norton Grubb – David Gardener Chair in Higher Ed. UC-Berkeley
| Main ideas and interesting points | Questions, connections, applications |
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Paul Bressoud – History Teacher, Eureka High School, Eureka, California
Main ideas and interesting points |
Questions, connections, applications |
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Sehba Zhumkhawala and Rosita Martinez, Principal and Parent at a San Jose, California Charter School
Main ideas and interesting points |
Questions, connections, applications |
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Discussion Questions
Dr. Patricia Gandara – Professor of Education at the University
of California, Davis
- How would you define the achievement gap?
- Patricia Gandara explains that Latinos and other immigrant minorities, as well as people of the underclass, are suffering most from the achievement gap. She believes part of the solution would involve addressing social isolation and the problems with middle class and white advantage? How do you think it would feel to be socially isolated? What would an educational system with social equity look like?
List the societal advantages enjoyed by the groups below:
| Underclass minority and/or immigrant |
Underclass white |
Middle class minority and/or immigrant |
Middle class white |
Upper class |
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Analyze the differences. What did you find?
- What strategies could be implemented in schools to bring about greater
social inclusion?
- The story of Alex is an example of a bright kid whose
social context hindered his college aspirations. Dr. Gandara suggests
that adequate counseling and more attention to dealing with the challenges
of his troubled community and home life could have provided a way for
him to attend an Ivy League school. What elements might more effective
counseling include?
- How can schools foster a more inclusive relationship between students of varied backgrounds?
Mark Baldassare – Demographer, Public Policy Institute of California
- As the demographics of California change, so too do the needs of this new population. What kinds of resources and facilities will help assure their educational success?
- Describe the cause and effect relationship between the people we fail to educate today and the society we will live in ten to twenty years down the line. What will be the consequences if we fail to provide equal and adequate education to the full range of students in public schools today?
- What is functional literacy? What is citizen literacy? How can we teach citizen literacy?
- List what you believe to be the most important components of each term:
Functional Literacy |
Citizen Literacy |
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Dr. W. Norton Grubb – David Gardener Chair in Higher Ed. UC-Berkeley
- How did Proposition 13, a 1978 voter-approved initiative that dramatically reduced local funding for public schools, affect the quality of California’s K-12 educational system? Where has the funding for public schools come from since that time? How has Prop. 13 affected California’s ranking in national ratings of per capita expenditures to fund public education?
- The dream of American education is an egalitarian system of schools across the country in which every student receives a quality education-- but enormous inequities remain. Dr. Grubb suggests that one of the greatest disparities is between what different schools demand of students. What should all schools require of their pupils? At the same time, what should their students expect of their schools?
- Why is equalizing spending not a sufficient solution to the inequities in our public schools? What else needs to be done?
- What is a learning community? How can learning communities facilitate citizen literacy?
Paul Bressoud – History Teacher, Eureka High School
- With current trends in test accountability and the growth of charter schools, competition between schools has dramatically increased. What are the positive and negative the effects of this competition?
- School accountability applies not just to administrators and teachers. What stakeholders in the educational system need to be held accountable for the outcomes of their efforts and how can their progress best be measured?
Sehba Zhumkhawala and Rosita Martinez, Principal and Parent at a San Jose Charter School.
- How is the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) redefining the roles of school?
- What should be the roles and responsibilities of public schools in the 21st century?