How often does one actually think about what is going on in our education system today? Unless you're a teacher or a parent with school aged children, the answer is probably never. It seems that our education system is talked about in the media, but are schools really getting the attention they need? Today we face bigger problems in the classroom like drugs, anorexia, gangs, guns, and many other things that are not related to school. Is our education system changing for the better, or is it getting worse? This is a question that I have often wondered about, because I have often thought about what it would be like to be a teacher.
The school that I am going to introduce to you today is my old high school, Leland High. Leland was founded in 1967 and just celebrated its twenty-ninth year last September. Leland is located in the Almaden Valley, thirteen miles south of downtown San Jose, California. The large majority of parents are college-educated, and the expectation is that most students will attend college. Leland has also been honored as a California Distinguished High School for academic success. This school stands out to me because of its reputation throughout the school district and its high academic standards. I am one of the lucky ones that was able to experience all four years of high school at Leland. Because of Leland's academic reputation, Leland has been consistently at capacity with a long waiting list. So what's the big deal about Leland compared to other schools in the district? Well, for starters, there are fewer drug and gang issues at this school. There is also a higher graduation rate, and studies at Leland have proven that 90 percent of Leland's graduates attend college after graduation. 55 percent of Leland graduates enter four-year colleges, 35 percent enter two-year colleges and 29 percent are enrolled in the UC System. The purpose of this paper is to see some of the problems teachers and students are facing at school today as well as taking a look at what makes Leland such a special school. While interviewing some teachers and students here at Leland, I realized that the reason why Leland is such a fantastic school is because parents, teachers and students work together as a team.
Now that I am a senior here at SJSU, I remember what it was like being a senior at my old high school. My senior year in high school was a memorable one. Party, party, party! I remember that I really never used to believe what my teachers told me. It sounds silly, but for some reason, I always felt teachers never knew what was really going on. How could any adult possibly know what's good for me? Looking back now, I know I was wrong. I'm kicking myself, because I wish I had taken my teachers and my years at Leland much more seriously. Not that I was a bad studentÑI just never really paid much attention. I started my interviews at Leland because I was familiar with the campus and the teachers. I was most interested in finding out the teacher's point of view on how they feel about their profession and what changes need to be made now - not "in the near future".
My first interview was with Mr. Norman Orloff. Mr. Orloff is a renowned social studies and U.S history teacher at Leland, and has been teaching for over thirty years. Mr. Orloff enjoys teaching. "It keeps me young, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else", he stated. When asked the question, "Do you think that teachers will be getting paid more?", his response was "yes, the economy is good right now. Our salaries are directly attached to tax revenues that the state gets, so I think this year we will get raises - not a whole lot more; probably two percent more or so." Leland's Principal, Dr. Robert Perez, a political science graduate from Cal Poly University, thinks that "teachers will always get raises...the problem is the cost of living here in San Jose. I've had more young teachers resign and move to Tracy or out of state because the cost of living is lower. It's too difficult for most people to live in the Silicon Valley."
Secondly, I asked Mr. Orloff if the class sizes are smaller than they used to be. I know that this is probably the biggest issue right now, because of the demand for students to be able to have more one-on-one attention. Surprisingly, his response was, "No. The class sizes this year are bigger than ever! I have 31 to 33 students in each class, which makes it difficult for me to help kids individually". I thought this was strange. For some reason I thought that class sizes were supposed to be getting smaller not bigger! (Maybe it's only in elementary schools; but what makes elementary schools any different from high school? We're still dealing with kids!) Of course, I then asked Dr. Perez what he thought about this problem. He explained to me that it is elementary schools that mostly deal with a smaller classroom size. "We have cut our freshmen English classes down to between twenty to twenty five students per class, simply because we think it's important for kids beginning high school to really understand the fundamentals that the first year of high school English teaches them."
By now I was getting a little more creative with my questions. I then asked Mr. Orloff what the best and worst things about teaching are. The best of course, was the answer I was expecting, the students. What bothered Mr. Orloff the most about teaching (I thought it was going to be the money) is the politics involved; "There's three levels; the state government, the Board of Education, and the teachers administration. All the politics involved in teaching get in the way of my teaching style. Just let me teach the kids without any interruption, my way. Now there's all this stuff about new teaching techniques we need to learn and new ways of teaching. The worst is when there's an announcement over the intercom about a lunch activity or so on - right in the middle of my class discussion! Just ask the kids, I throw pencils at the speaker in my room!" (He was on a roll, so I told him to continue with his thoughts and give more examples!) "Another problem I have with politics, as far as the government goes, is that there's always "strings attached" every time the state spends money on education." When Dr. Perez was asked this same question, I asked him to give an example of some of the "strings" that are attached. "Well, a prime example would be that the state will give you a lump sum of money. The catch is that it can only be used for a specific thing, like, for ninth graders only. We are in desperate need for a full time librarian. I would love to use that money to hire a full time librarian, so the kids can have the education they deserve. It's educationally immoral to have a half-time librarian for 1800 students."
Next, I asked a touchy, but very important question to Mr. Orloff. How do you feel about tenure? Do you feel that teachers really need this job security? His response was honest, and to tell you the truth I think others feel the same way about this topic. "Tenure is job security for weak teachers. Good teachers don't need tenure. People that work in other professions don't have that kind of job security. Just because you have worked at the same place for three years doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to get fired for being a crummy teacher." I totally agree with this statement. My aunt is a principal at an elementary school in Illinois and she wishes she could fire a few of the teachers that work at her school. Some teachers have lost motivation to teach, and end up screaming at children for not having a long attention span, or for asking a "stupid" question. Dr. Perez responded in a similar way. "This is the only profession [that I know of] that gives you a raise just for breathing. It does protect weak teachers and it's an unfair advantage that teachers have." My personal view on tenure is that if the President of the United States can't have it, then why do teachers? Until I get a rebuttal, my opinion stands.
I really liked how my interviews were going. So far it seemed I'd gotten a more personal point of view on things; it was interesting to get a feel for what teachers actually deal with on an everyday basis. When I asked what some of the problems with students are today, I got what I expected. Mr. Orloff told me that on more than one occasion he has had a student walk in on the first day of class and tell him, "Don't bother with me, and I won't bother with you. I always get F's and I don't pay attention or do homework, that's just the way it is, when I turn 16 I'm dropping out anyway." I couldn't believe a kid would actually say that to a teacher! "Well, what can you really do?" said Mr. Orloff. I then asked Dr. Perez how he felt about students like this and he stated, "Fortunately, here at Leland, we have a special program called 'Leland Plus' that is separate from a normal classroom and allows students extra high school credits so that they can graduate on time, and is mainly for our problem students." Dr. Perez explained, "Kids are different these days - you don't have the typical 'Leave it to Beaver' household kids. Schools are different now and more complex. There's special education, sexual harassment issues, drug problems, etc. It's particularly tough for females these days because they have this notion that they have to have an overly slender body. So, one of the major problems we are dealing with right now are girls using drugs to get super skinny. Today's peer pressure issues in general are more complex. Even guys have similar drug issues. It's often a popularity thing."
With all of this information I don't think I want to become a teacher unless things get better. I just can't imagine all of the different kinds of issues that teachers deal with inside and out of the classroom! It seems to me that there is more of a focus on "peer pressure" issues than on school. In a way I can understand. There is a lot more going on in the world today, and along with that we should expect the attitudes and opinions of students to change. The bottom line is that it's not just school anymore; its life happening away from home. As participants of this school we have to understand the needs of schools today. I think that we need a school psychologist on staff to help kids deal with today's troubling issues. Teachers and parents by themselvescannot tackle these kinds of issues.
As we all know computers are the hottest way of communication these days, and in every class you are required to submit typed essays and homework. Assuming that the funding for schools will get increasingly better, I asked Dr. Perez if he thought that computers would eventually take over the students' desks in the near future. "Definitely not. Computers are a tool that people use. Technology is very seductive. You always hear what it's going to do but not what it's done. Nothing will replace direct human interaction and be effective." I agree with what Dr. Perez has said. I hope that there will be more computers available for students to use, but at the same time I hope that the advantage of having more computers will not be abused.
On a more positive note, about 90 percent of students that graduate from Leland that are attending college today. I thought that was pretty impressive! It also makes me proud to see that the high school I once attended is motivating their students to be better and go farther. I asked Dr. Perez what he thought makes Leland High different from other high schools, and he said, "We have great parent and teacher support! Our faculty, parents, and teachers do an excellent job teaching and motivating our kids."
I took a wonderful class last semester here at SJSU, called "Communications in the Classroom", and the professor who taught this course told me that there is a new kind of class that the state has to implement in high school classrooms. (We will leave this professor anonymous) The new class that teachers are beginning to teach is a class called Speech Communications. This, of course, is my major here at SJSU, and I believe that a Speech Communications class should definitely be integrated into every day teaching. In fact, the professor who told me of this said that this new class would be mandatory for students in order to graduate. I asked Mr. Orloff what class he would make mandatory for students to have in order to graduate. Mr. Orloff responded, "Skills for life; kids need to know how to balance a check book, apply for a job, buy a car, house, etc. It would be beneficial for students to learn the skills of everyday life before they get out of high school." Although Dr. Perez agreed with this idea, he felt that the class he would like to see on his campus is Speech Communications. "Speech Communications is important for every student to learn because it's how we present ourselves that is most important, and it's the power of a better argument that leads to the truth." It's sad to hear your parents talk about school when they were younger. My step-mom remembers classes in cooking, auto mechanics, sewing, and even drivers education! Now, you have to practically beg for a librarian! Where did all the money go? (Probably somewhere with the interest of today's schools.) It's a sad concept, but it seems we are working harder than ever to get the classes needed to educate the people that will be running our business and country in ten years, and educating them less. Ironically, San Jose is right in the middle of Silicon Valley, which is known for its technology. So why is it that we have such a backward education system?
Leland faces some of the normal problems any other school faces here in San Jose, but nevertheless, Leland still has the brightest students! In 1998, 289 Leland students took a total of 495 Advanced Placement tests. Seventy-nine percent of the scores were three or above, with 16 percent receiving the highest score of five. In 1997-98, 296 students took the SAT (76 percent of the senior class). The mean SAT verbal score was 551, and the mean SAT, math score was 591. As a result of the 1997 PSAT/NMSQT Competition, 12 students were named as National Merit Semi-Finalists, and 26 more were awarded commended status! Leland also has exemplary programs that students can take as electives. Lelands Speech and Debate department ranked fifth in the nation by the National Forensic League, and Leland is the only high school broadcasting a FM radio station in Santa Clara County. Leland also has the only accredited high school tutor program in the nation.
I asked a few students what they thought of their school compared to other high schools around. The results were great - honest, but great. One student, who wanted to remain anonymous, said, "I like Leland because it's very diverse, and the people here are friendly." Another said, "I was on a waiting list to get into Leland - I'm glad I'm here because Leland takes their academic programs seriously, as well as sporting events." I was interested in the statistics of Leland's football team and discovered that as of November, they are 6-3. Andrew McLaughlin says, "Leland's varsity football team made it to CCS again this year, which couldn't have been done without our defense." Leland is a very diverse school that takes pride in the different ethnic groups that attend. To check on the correct statistical ethnic groups that attend Leland I found that it was pretty well integrated. There are 39.8 percent of students that are considered "white" or Caucasian, 38.3 percent are Asian, 17.4 percent are Hispanic, 1.1 percent is "Black" or African American, 1.9 percent is Filipino, and 1.5 percent is Native American. (Included in this population is a substantial number of Persian, Assyrian and East Indian students.) The total number of students that attend Leland high is 1,816.
Not every person is as lucky as the ones who have the opportunity to attend Leland High. Even though Leland suffers from the lack of funding that most schools do, there still seems to be something special about Leland: maybe it's the parent and teacher support, or maybe it's the atmosphere that Leland gives to its students. One thing's for sure, and that's the loyalty the students, teachers, parents, and faculty give to the school. I could not have received a better secondary education anywhere.
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