President Bush was a man on a mission when he toured the Saturn School of Tomorrow here last week.
In scheduling the trip the day before his Administration鈥檚 education package was sent to Capitol Hill, the President hoped to ensure that the nation鈥檚 attention would be focused on education.
But he also used the trip--the first of what is expected to be many in the name of education reform--to highlight an example of a 鈥渘ew American school.鈥�
The Saturn School--an unconventional, high-tech magnet school launched in 1989--would qualify, he said, as the kind of innovative, 鈥渂reak the mold鈥� school the Administration hopes to support as part of its America 2000 education strategy. (See 澳门跑狗论坛, May 1, 1991.)
鈥淵ou may not believe this,鈥� Mr. Bush told students in each of the three classrooms he visited, 鈥渂ut I learn from talking with you.鈥�
But he also acknowledged the political and public-relations purposes of his visit.
鈥淕ood examples will inspire others,鈥� Mr. Bush said. 鈥淚 would like people across the country to see this and learn from it.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e on the cutting edge,鈥� he continued. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e revolutionizing4education, and we have to do this across the country.鈥�
The President, accompanied on his trip by Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander, even made a direct reference to his desire to send a message via the news media.
鈥淭hese guys,鈥� he said, gesturing toward reporters gathered in the back of the classroom, 鈥渢hey won鈥檛 say it, but they鈥檒l be impressed by what they see here, and that will help other schools.鈥�
鈥楨xploring New Frontiers鈥�
Later last Wednesday, in a speech delivered in front of the downtown branch of the St. Paul Public Library, Mr. Bush said he came to Minnesota because the state--which theoretically allows students to attend any of its public schools--is 鈥渁 pioneer, leading the nation in educational choice,鈥� and the Saturn School is 鈥渆xploring new frontiers in American education.鈥�
鈥淟ike any new idea, we don鈥檛 know what tomorrow holds for the Saturn School,鈥� Mr. Bush said. 鈥淎nd there may be aspects of its approach that generate controversy.鈥�
鈥淏ut when we say 鈥榖reak the mold,鈥濃�� he added, 鈥渨e鈥檝e got to give communities the power to experiment, think anew, be daring.鈥�
鈥淚 like what works. I鈥檓 confident about the prospect of new American schools in communities across this country,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith more accountability and choice in our schools, with a national commitment to lifelong learning, with the active engagement of our business community in the business of education, we will embark on a new voyage in the American experience.鈥�
The school Mr. Bush and Mr. Alexander chose to highlight was inspired by a speech given by Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, in which he urged schools to adopt educational models that emulate the General Motors Corporation鈥檚 Saturn automobile plant. (See 澳门跑狗论坛, June 7, 1989.)
The plant, where workers and managers have collaborated to redesign the workplace, is often cited as a model by Mr. Alexander as well.
The Saturn School, which is located in downtown St. Paul, serves students who would be in grades 4 through 7 in a more traditional school. They are chosen by lottery and are a heterogenous group. Some of their teachers receive substantially higher pay than others in the district--a fact that has generated some controversy in the community.
Making Use of Technology
The school employs a variety of unusual instructional techniques and organizational principles.
The school uses individualized programs for each student, is orgael10lnized into classes that include students at multiple grade levels, de-emphasizes grades, uses cooperative-learning techniques, assigns independent student projects, has a longer-than-standard school year, and makes extensive use of educational technology.
The first classroom Mr. Bush visited, for example, contained computers recessed into desks with clear tops and lap-level keyboards that pull out like a drawer. The students were studying different topics at different levels on a system their teacher said automatically increases the difficulty of the work as a student progresses.
In another classroom, Mr. Bush was introduced to a computer system called Discourse, which consists of small computers for each student and a central terminal for their teacher.
Because the central computer is linked with the students鈥� computers and a television set above the teacher鈥檚 desk, the teacher can 鈥渂roadcast鈥� a question on the TV screen and have the students transmit answers, which can also be selectively displayed on the screen.
Jane Barton, the class鈥檚 teacher, said the system is used most often to conduct surveys of student knowledge, attitudes, and instructional preferences. Students said they also use the system for instructional purposes, such as writing exercises and math drills.
Mr. Bush used it to ask students whether they think they will go to college and where, and whether they prefer math or English.
鈥楢 Big-Picture Thing鈥�
Brandon Seeger, 11, who occupied the teacher鈥檚 chair during the demonstration, typed for the President: 鈥淲ill you go to collage someday, and if so witch one.鈥�
Mr. Bush then learned a lesson about the unpredictability of computers when an answer he typed in response to a student鈥檚 question stubbornly refused to appear on the television screen.
He fielded several questions orally, ranging from whether the Secret Service follows him to the bowling alley to why he wanted to be President.
He talked about 鈥渄oing good things for the country,鈥� and 鈥渃ontributing to world peace,鈥� adding, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big-picture thing.鈥�
In the final classroom Mr. Bush visited, two students demonstrated miniature robotic devices they had designed, including cranes and vehicles. The motile projects, which look like Lego toys, are controlled by computer.
鈥淔rankly, I was a bit surprised by the place,鈥� the President said after his tour. 鈥淪uch high tech and such young kids.鈥�
Asked by a reporter how schools in poor communities would pay for such innovations, he said they should redirect their existing resources by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy.
