Filling cracks in the classroom
He's spent decades in class, and he's reared his own big household of great kids.
Teaching is something Dave Eubanks knows. Cracks in the system are something he sees.
Contrary to the suspicions of some folks who voted against him in the last Coeur d'Alene School Board election, Eubanks isn't a radical liberal union stooge. In fact, his roots run Republican; he once worked on behalf of Ronald Reagan and he embraces many conservative values, like patriotism.
But none of that matters much compared to the message Eubanks delivered at Monday night's school board meeting. While acknowledging that getting every student up to minimum proficiency standards isn't something that will happen overnight - if it can be done at all - Eubanks did outline several things the district can do quickly to fill some of public education's most glaring cracks. What resonated with us isn't just the logic behind Eubanks' suggestions, but the price tag: Zero.
Most of these gaps in ability can be attributed at least indirectly to students' increasing dependence on devices like smartphones and even calculators. We won't worry now about the deeper, more troublesome causes but instead focus on solutions.
In case you missed it, here's Eubanks' short list of things kids need to know - things that could quickly be incorporated into the curriculum with no new costs.
* Read an analog clock. Because they've always relied on digital readouts, some kids as old as seventh and eighth grade can't tell time on a traditional clock or watch.
* Memorize times tables. Many students can rattle off 6 times 8 and 4 times 9, but enough can't without a calculator that Eubanks is worried. This is a fundamental learning building block without which students have diminished likelihood of making speedy computations in everyday life, never mind on timed exams.
* Make change. How many times have you handed a young cashier money for your meal and gotten quizzical or frustrated looks in return - and probably the wrong change? Even with a calculator, some kids just can't get it right.
* Read and write cursive. If you don't think this is a proficiency our students need, ask them to read the original Gettysburg Address or Declaration of Independence. Or how about their grandfather's letters to his beloved grandchildren?
* Learn to spell. Thanks to rampant texting and dependence on spell check, our country's tentative grasp on accurate spelling has slipped further. Eubanks likes the idea of 20 words a week, with students mastering both definition and spelling. As an extension of that fundamental lesson, he proposes making the 500 words from the Standard Achievement Test the basis for district spelling words. "It's the vocabulary of successful people," he says.
We strongly encourage the Coeur d'Alene District to ensure proficiency in these basic skills is required as quickly as possible. Many teachers do a great job with each item, but until all of them do, students will be at a disadvantage going forward.