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news:
Noguera draws
attention at K-16 Conference
By Stephine
Michrina
Summer Forty-Niner
When Pedro Noguera
stepped up to the podium in the University Student Union of
Cal State Long Beach, in front of a crowd of more than 1,000
educators and administrators last Wednesday, he said with
a chuckle, "California leads the nation in bad ideas
in education."
Pens stopped scribbling
and silence spread throughout the multipurpose.
Noguera, the keynote
speaker at the K-16 Partnerships and Student Success Conference
is himself an educator. He is the Judith K. Dimon Professor
of Communities and Schools at the Harvard Graduate School
of Education and no stranger to California's educational system.
He was once a student
and professor at UC Berkeley, where he tackled collaborative
research with several large, urban school districts and devoted
his efforts to burning issues like youth violence and race
relations within schools.
"We have a
state that has chosen to starve its public schools,"
Noguera said last Wednesday.
Noguera addressed
the common dislike of school by recalling a story about a
boy who didn't want to go to class.
One morning, his
mother asked the boy why he didn't want to go to school. The
boy retorted, "No one likes me there." The mother
countered with three reasons for making the child go to school:
"No.1, I'm your mother and I say so. No. 2, you're 48
years old. And No.3, you're the principal of the school."
The point drew
laughter from the crowd, but the reality of dissatisfaction
in public schools was apparent.
"It's not
just the kids that don't want to go to school," Noguera
said. "The challenge in California and the nation is
creating more schools where children learn at high levels
and like learning."
Noguera cited several
observations he's made over the years as an educator and a
student.
"We take the
instrumental approach to education," he said. "We
do it because we want to get something like a degree or a
job. We need to get students to develop curiosity for life
that goes beyond school.
"We have first-class
universities and third-class public schools."
Stephen Dublin,
a Millikan High School teacher who attended the conference,
pounded his fists on the banquet table in disapproval as Noguera
commented on the poor quality of public schools and the teachers.
He believed the blame fell on the university.
"Where do
we learn to teach? From the university," Dublin said.
Noguera talked
about the issue of equity in schools and the need to offer
education to everyone regardless of race or income.
"Equity is
an ongoing process. We're trying to make it so your background
doesn't determine your education."
Noguera wrapped
up his presentation addressing the need for local universities
to enter public schools and work closely with secondary and
elementary schools.
"We have a
society that undervalues the importance of a good education,"
Noguera said. "It's education that opens doors and transforms
lives."
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