Voices of the Students

On Monday, March 15, three candidates for California Superintendent of Public Instruction faced questions from the Yolo County community in Freeborn Hall on the University of California, Davis campus.  The candidates were:

• Larry Aceves, former teacher, principal and superintendent
• Diane Lenning, educator, author and business owner
• Tom Torlakson, state legislator and former teacher

A fourth candidate, Gloria Romero, was invited but unavailable to attend.

The questions posed to the candidates by event co-hosts, the UCD School of Education and the Yolo County School Boards Association, were detailed in an earlier Davis Voice article.

Yolo County students participate in the California Superintendent of Public Instruction Candidate Forum. Click on image to view the forum.

In addition, students from Yolo County school districts and a student teacher from UCD were given the opportunity to address the candidates.  These students proved to be the highlight of the evening, raising questions of concern to all Californians.  Their presentations follow.

Ioana Seritan, 9^th grader, Harper Junior High, Davis Joint Unified School District

Davis is well known for its amazing school system.  One of the most alluring features of any Davis school is the sense of community.  Davis schools have many clubs and groups designed specifically for cultural outreach.  At Harper, we have the Muslim Student Association, Chicano Club, and Gay-Straight Alliance, as well as a Builder’s Club that focuses expressly on community fundraisers.

Incoming elementary students are greeted by teams of senior WEB Leaders, which stands for “Where Everyone Belongs.”  The new kids are led around campus and given advice for a successful junior high experience.  Whenever we have a school-wide event, we make sure that no cultures or religions would be offended by any of our games or jokes.  And you can be sure that if a new kid were to move in, there would be a stampede of helpful neighbors, classmates, and teachers.  Kids at Harper feel safe, and free to express themselves.  This feeling of acceptance and community should definitely be promoted at schools all over California.

One of the drawbacks at my school is a specific aspect of the pink slip system.  Pink slips, if they are necessary, should not be based only on seniority, but also on the quality of a teacher. There are many reasons why this change would be beneficial.  Not only do our students struggle in school when their teachers are cycling out every year, but young teachers have many good qualities that should be considered before their seniority.  In the past few years, I have seen some vivacious teachers full of fresh ideas be laid off before we get the chance to really know them.

For example, there was a math teacher at Harper who was pink slipped and left the year before I got to his class – but the students who had had him in the years before, including my brother, said that he was their favorite teacher on campus.  If this man had been judged on quality and not seniority, he would have remained at Harper, and everyone would have gotten the chance to meet him.  It is well known that more senior teachers have more experience, but that is not all that students need.  Students like to have a wide range of age in teachers, and the current pink slip system does not allow for this range.

How do you feel about evaluating teachers more on quality and less on seniority?

Estefanía Sanchez-Mayorquín, 6^th grader, Maxwell Elementary School, Woodland Joint Unified School District

Let me ask you something.  Have you ever stopped and thought about how many students get depressed and hopeless because they are obese and they don’t know how to deal with bullying from other students at school?

Studies have shown that children who do exercise are physically, mentally and emotionally healthier.  It has also been proven that students between ages 6 – 17 are obese because of lack of exercise and a poor diet.

During my research I found that healthy eating also helps your self esteem grow and lower your stress.  Right now our generation is the one with the most obesity.  If this continues we will be the first generation to not outlive our parents.

I interviewed some of the students at Maxwell and they all agreed that our school meals are not healthy, not served at the ideal temperature, greasy and it doesn’t look fresh.  There is a lot of wasted food because of these reasons.  Tests have shown that students who have healthy habits will concentrate more during class.

On the other hand, exercising is important too.  Having a gym in our school would be great!  We could have physical activities even during bad weather days.  Sports equipment is also a big need at our school, we are at least 500 students at Maxwell and there is never enough equipment to play with.   Our other concern is our black top, it’s cracked and rocky and it could sure use a fresh coat of paint and our ball wall is too plain and not safe.  If we could have all that fixed and new equipment then there will be more children playing and being active.

If we have active students, we have active listeners.  If we have active listeners, we would have better grades and happy parents!!!  It all comes down to one point.  Happy healthy students doing better in school!  Therefore, healthy eating and exercise have benefits.  They help us stay focused, have energy and be more relaxed.

What will you do for the 6.3 million students that are counting on you?!

Alex Elfers, Senior, River City High School, Washington Unified School District

Will you take the lead? Will you act on behalf of the students? No matter what our future means to you, it means EVERYTHING to us.

When you make decisions for our future, make sure they are based on the best interest of the students, and what we know would benefit us, not on what politicians feel or think would be better. This means that when politicians advocate for scripted teaching in elementary schools, you should think carefully about the impact this style would have on students.

When a teacher is limited on how and what they can teach, students are also limited on how and what they can learn, and quality of teaching becomes a moot point, and we end up with a system of teaching and learning where one size fits all.  But one size does not fit all students.

This is detrimental to the achievement gap.  If a student is at a basic level in math at grade six and they are forced – not by their teachers who understand that they are behind, but by the state Politicians who think they know what is best – to move beyond this building block to harder tasks, they are left in the dust of those students that are fortunate enough to not have a “one size fits all” experience.

I attended middle school in my district before it was changed to a K-8 system, and I sit before you today a successful young woman.  The teachers I had helped me become who I am today because they were able to shape their style of teaching around my style of learning. This is why I excel at math instead of falling behind.

My teacher enrolled me into a fast paced math program over summer that taught me algebra. The next year she taught a rigorous course of geometry so that we would be able to enter into Algebra II as freshmen.  Had she been scripted, or had we been in a K-8 system, I would not be in front of you today.

We pay attention to these decisions you make, and stand up for those who cannot yet stand up for themselves.  While your decisions affect our futures now, your decisions will affect your futures later. The students in California’s school system are the people that will be making decisions in the future, and their decisions will be based on the unintended consequences of your decisions today. This is just another reason why you should heed our words today, so that we all can have a bright future.

What decisions will you make?

Rizpah Bellard, 11^th grader, Esparto High School, Esparto Unified School District

A famous man once said “education is the passport to the future,  for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”  That man was Malcolm X.  This still holds true today.  For those who wish to advance in life, education is their building block.  A solid and strong educational background will allow students the ability to succeed in life.  A strong educational background begins with the rigor of the curriculum, which is strengthened by the teacher, who is persuaded by the community.

A challenging curriculum is influenced by the statistics of the students at the school.  If a majority of the students show that they are not ready for a challenging academic curriculum, then no thought will be put into having a challenging curriculum. That means that those who do excel beyond their peers are not getting the challenge they need. They are not being pushed to their highest abilities.

Teachers have the power to enforce the rigor of the curriculum.  They are the main ones in the classroom having daily contact with the students.  There are counselors, and principals, but each are seen rarely.  The teachers prepare students for what is needed in life after college, giving them lifelong tools and skills needed as they grow older.  They know each students needs, because they know the students on a one-on-one basis.  Teachers enhance a stronger educational background.  They challenge the students, forcing them to think harder.  The education and the teacher that will enforce a strong education are influenced by the community the school is established in.

Esparto has a lower population and a lower average income than Davis.  Since Davis is a more affluent community than Esparto, they have a stronger educational background.  Their community members feed more money into their school district.  The teachers are chosen based on the community.  Better teachers go to more economically advantaged communities, and teach those students.

Students in all communities deserve to challenge themselves with a strong curriculum.

What will you do to prepare those students who excel beyond the rest, for their passport to the future?

To watch the students presentations and to hear the candidates’ responses, view the webcast online through June 8.

The forum was moderated by Jeffrey Callison, host of Insight on Capital Public Radio.  You can listen to his piece on the the forum at the Cap Radio website.

School Services of California and WestEd were major sponsors of this event.  Other sponsors included the California Association of School Business Officials, School Innovations & Advocacy, the UC Davis School of Education Alumni Council, the California School Employees Association Local 572, Leagues of Women Voters of Davis and Woodland, the Davis Teachers Association, and the Parent Organizations of the Davis Joint Unified School District.

The event was dedicated to the memory of Stuart “Stu” Greenfeld, who served on the Yolo County Board of Education and as president of the Yolo County School Boards Association at the time of his death last fall.  Stu had a lifelong commitment to public education and the students of California.