Austin at Issue: Help Wanted; No. 5; Cultural Values

<v Speaker 1>?inaudible? And cultural barriers in this heavily spent. <v Speaker 1>[music plays] Live from the studios of KLRU-TV, Austin At Issue, Primetime

<v Speaker 1>Public Affairs for Austin, featuring a special help-wanted Citizens <v Speaker 1>Education Project Town Meeting. <v Speaker 1>Tonight's program focuses on cultural values and what American society is communicating <v Speaker 1>to its youth about education. <v Speaker 1>Now, here is moderator Tom Spencer. <v Tom Spencer>Welcome to the la--fifth and last in our week-long series of Citizens' Education <v Tom Spencer>Project forums. <v Tom Spencer>The focus for this evening's program is on cultural values and education. <v Tom Spencer>We'll be asking a question that goes to the heart of the debate about American education, <v Tom Spencer>and that is how much does this society truly value our educational system? <v Tom Spencer>We'll examine the roles of families and parents as role models for youth. <v Tom Spencer>And we'll also talk about the often negative impact of television and the mass media. <v Tom Spencer>For these have truly become the dominant voices of American culture. <v Tom Spencer>And finally, when you discuss American culture, you really have to discuss American <v Tom Spencer>cultures, because we are a multicultural nation.

<v Tom Spencer>That multicultural heritage presents unique challenges, as well as opportunities, <v Tom Spencer>and is the focus of tonight's video report. <v Tom Spencer>We'll be going to one area's school that is overcoming the challenges. <v Tom Spencer>That is Sanchez Elementary School. <v Tom Spencer>Over 90 percent of the youth that attend Sanchez are Hispanic. <v Tom Spencer>Now, these are the kids that many would be tempted to write off as future dropouts. <v Tom Spencer>But by reaching out to parents, Sanchez is finding many partners in success. <v Tom Spencer>Following this report. We'll be taking your call-in questions and comments. <v Tom Spencer>Our telephone number is 476-1818, and tonight <v Tom Spencer>really is family night, uh in terms of the Citizens Education Project, this is your <v Tom Spencer>opportunity, the moms and dads who can't make it down to the university campus <v Tom Spencer>to participate in our live discussions. <v Tom Spencer>This is your opportunity to add your voice to our conversation Right <v Tom Spencer>now however, let's go to Sanchez Elementary School. <v Tom Spencer>We'll be taking your calls right after that. <v Tom Spencer>Failure in school is often the direct result of a poor home environment, but

<v Tom Spencer>what is meant by poor is a relative thing. <v Tom Spencer>Many families that live under great economic stress beat the odds by getting <v Tom Spencer>involved in their children's education. In East Austin Sanchez Elementary School, <v Tom Spencer>over 85 percent of the students qualify for some sort of public assistance. <v Tom Spencer>Yet, despite the poverty and cultural barriers in this heavily Hispanic neighborhood, <v Tom Spencer>the children are learning. <v Tom Spencer>The schools administrators credit parental involvement and reaching out to families <v Tom Spencer>as the keys to their success. <v Schoolchildren>...so now that you've heard about Sanchez School, just come and join us, and you too can be cool. <v Ed Leo>All of us here, the-the faculty and staff, make it a point to-to make parents uh <v Ed Leo>feel like they're-they're welcome. No longer can-can school be uh <v Ed Leo>just uh the basics. It has to-to be much broader. <v Ed Leo>We have to teach uh children and uh how to get <v Ed Leo>along with each other, and we work with parents to try to get this message across.

<v Ed Leo>And they're realizing some of the benefits that ca-that can come by them being uh <v Ed Leo>here in the school on a-on a daily basis or as frequently as they can get up here. <v Yolanda Maldonado>Research shows that there are certain factors that help show <v Yolanda Maldonado>us that a-a student will um achieve success, and that is if <v Yolanda Maldonado>the parents are involved in the-in their child's life. <v Yolanda Maldonado>If a parent comes into the school, places a lot of importance in that, they're going to <v Yolanda Maldonado>see that education is very, very important. <v Yolanda Maldonado>Um If they-if parents are involved like in PTA activities, again, <v Yolanda Maldonado>they're showing the student, their child, how important it is. <v Yolanda Maldonado>When you communicate with your child, there's a high chance, a high probability <v Yolanda Maldonado>that there will be success. You might have your-your bumps along the way because parents <v Yolanda Maldonado>uh will experience problems; it's difficult being a child. <v Yolanda Maldonado>But um with consistent uh discipline, if you talk about <v Yolanda Maldonado>the values that you have at home, uh again, your involvement,

<v Yolanda Maldonado>the degree of involvement, um all of those things will help ensure-ensure <v Yolanda Maldonado>their success. <v Tom Spencer>The Pardos, who have three children in attendance at Sanchez, serve as a role model <v Tom Spencer>for other families. Both parents work long hours and come from families where educational <v Tom Spencer>achievement was the exception, not the rule. <v Tom Spencer>But through their involvement, they have inspired not only their own children, but the <v Tom Spencer>entire school community. <v Carolyn Pardo>I'm involved with Sanchez Elementary. <v Carolyn Pardo>I'm vice president of the PTA. <v Carolyn Pardo>I am also in the Scouts program and I serve in several <v Carolyn Pardo>committees with the school, with the faculty, as well as in the PTA thing. <v Carolyn Pardo>Um I've been doing this for four years and <v Carolyn Pardo>I enjoy it and my benefits are...I first started for the benefit <v Carolyn Pardo>to my children, to better my kids. <v Carolyn Pardo>But in the long run, we all win. <v Carolyn Pardo>You know, the envir- the surrounding of the school, the children's, and every, <v Carolyn Pardo>you know um, I have a lot of friendship that I've grown

<v Carolyn Pardo>to really enjoy with the teachers, the faculty, I mean, the custodians, <v Carolyn Pardo>you know, we even know the custodians and personal basis, one to one on. <v Carolyn Pardo>You know an- and you come in here and you're not an outsider. <v Carolyn Pardo>You're welcome here. That's what I enjoy. <v David Pardo>Best I can accomplish, hope for my kids, is for them to see what their parents are doing. <v David Pardo>You know, they're getting involved and uh help out as much as they can. <v David Pardo>And hopefully when they get a little older, they want to do the same thing. <v David Pardo>You know, maybe first- my first goal is to put them through college, of course, uh <v David Pardo>especially nowadays. It's just kind of hard nowadays. <v David Pardo>You know, most spouse have to work to make it, and I just don't want them to work- have <v David Pardo>to work as hard as I do to accomplish what they want. <v David Pardo>But at the same time, I want them to feel that uh there's nothing they can't do, you <v David Pardo>know, especially when they get older, they see how involved we were at the school and <v David Pardo>they want to do the same thing and you know, just help other kids out. <v David Pardo>Just keep, you know, keep it going and just get involved and help other kids. <v David Pardo>That's one of the goals I hope for them to accomplish here at school by seeing me here at <v David Pardo>the school.

<v Carolyn Pardo>I want them to better their life so that they don't have to struggle as much as we did. <v Carolyn Pardo>I grew up as a migrant worker and up north. <v Carolyn Pardo>So it's a big difference versus my kids don't have to work in the fields. <v Carolyn Pardo>And this is something different, you know, the education and having the parent <v Carolyn Pardo>involvement, because when I grew up, my parents were always working and <v Carolyn Pardo>they were never around, you know, for my education. <v Tom Spencer>The kids at Sanchez Elementary are easily categorized as at-risk for <v Tom Spencer>many of the problems that plague our society. <v Tom Spencer>Just around the corner from the school, graffiti-stained <v Tom Spencer>buildings serve as a backdrop to gangs and idle, jobless youth. <v Tom Spencer>But for the moment, thanks to a caring school and involved parents, <v Tom Spencer>some of these at-risk students have learned to dream. <v Child 1>I wanna be a teacher. <v Child 2>I wanna be a doctor when I grow up. <v Child 3>I want to be a policeman. <v Child 4>When I grow up I wanna be a lawyer. <v Child 5>When I grow up I wanna be a nurse.

<v Tom Spencer>Uh some beautiful faces and Sanchez Elementary School and kids, stick <v Tom Spencer>to your dreams, you can make it and everybody here in Austin hopes that you will. <v Tom Spencer>Right now, we-I'm going to open up the program to the folks who have come here to the <v Tom Spencer>studios this evening. And again, I'd like to remind the audience at home <v Tom Spencer>that tonight is your night. We understand at KLRU that often it's difficult <v Tom Spencer>for moms and dads and all the other folks who really do care about <v Tom Spencer>the children and who care about education, to make it down to the studios. <v Tom Spencer>So call in and express your comments. <v Tom Spencer>Now the- the subject for tonight that our partners in this <v Tom Spencer>media project are dealing with and we're dealing with here in the studios, uh <v Tom Spencer>is cultural values. And this year the word values comes <v Tom Spencer>very heavily-laden uh with political freight, <v Tom Spencer>and what we're going to be doing this evening maybe is uh touching on some subjects that <v Tom Spencer>uh might uh really cause concern for some individuals. <v Tom Spencer>But I think this is a subject that we all really need to think of, not necessarily as

<v Tom Spencer>one tha-where we can point fingers and say that these people over there have a problem <v Tom Spencer>and that these folks over there have a problem. <v Tom Spencer>But we need to look in a mirror and really think about what we are commuting- <v Tom Spencer>communicating as individuals and as families to <v Tom Spencer>the young people about education and the role of education and the choices they face. <v Tom Spencer>So that's what we hope to be talking about this evening. <v Tom Spencer>One gentleman who is uh joining us this evening is Dr. Norval Glen. <v Tom Spencer>He's a sociologist from the University of Texas. <v Tom Spencer>Uh Norval, you study uh, as your uh <v Tom Spencer>your profession, you scientifically study the value systems of American <v Tom Spencer>families. If you would, could you share with us some of the uh the <v Tom Spencer>changes that you have seen occur? <v Tom Spencer>Um the Pardos, uh the family that we just profiled, are rather exceptional, are <v Tom Spencer>they not? <v Norval Glen>Yes, they're very exceptional. <v Norval Glen>Um it's-it's hard to overemphasize the extent to which the values of the family impact <v Norval Glen>on the educational achievement of their-their offspring.

<v Norval Glen>What families have to do, they have to overcome the-the effects of the-the popular <v Norval Glen>culture, and that's-that's a very difficult job. <v Norval Glen>So the parents have to be uh highly-dedicated. <v Norval Glen>They have to be uh committed. They have to put in a lot of time and energy, and that's <v Norval Glen>something which a lot of parents have a dearth of these days, in order to <v Norval Glen>um uh encourage the educational uh attainments of their-their offspring. <v Norval Glen>And uh many families do this and many other families fail. <v Norval Glen>It's uh it's very variable. <v Tom Spencer>Very variable indeed, given the results that we see not only in the schools, but of <v Tom Spencer>failed lives throughout our community. <v Tom Spencer>Uh the-the value...one of the things that um I've--I had read about <v Tom Spencer>your work is, is that is it considerably less willingness on the part of <v Tom Spencer>uh moms and dads and families these days to make serious commitments <v Tom Spencer>of time, whether it's to each other, if it's the parents, uh obviously the <v Tom Spencer>divorce rate is something there. Um share with us a little bit of your findings. <v Norval Glen>Well, there's-there's been overall uh a trend toward uh adults being less

<v Norval Glen>willing to make sacrifices for the-the sake of children. <v Norval Glen>Now, it is, of course, true that uh that uh adults can make too much sacrifice. <v Norval Glen>If they sacrifice too much to the extent that they impair their own mental health, this <v Norval Glen>is certainly not good for the children. <v Norval Glen>But uh on the other hand, uh a lot of Americans today uh don't sacrifice enough. <v Norval Glen>They're-they're too much involved with their own self-actualization, their own private <v Norval Glen>goals, their quite-often materialistic goals, and uh they simply are not <v Norval Glen>willing to uh spend the time and the energy that's necessary to <v Norval Glen>uh ?hoister? the proper development of their-their children. <v Tom Spencer>I think that will certainly spur a reaction from some of the people at home. <v Tom Spencer>Uh thank you very much, uh Dr. Glen, for sharing uh your insight there. <v Tom Spencer>Another individual who's joining us uh right now is uh Wilson Andrews. <v Tom Spencer>Uh Wilson, welcome to the studios of KLRU-TV. Uh I know you're a leader <v Tom Spencer>with Austin Interfaith. Your reaction to the whole question of family values? <v Wilson Andrews>Usually when I think of family values, I have to consider the fact

<v Wilson Andrews>that we're talking about communities. <v Wilson Andrews>We're talking about neighborhoods. <v Wilson Andrews>And normally each individual in the neighborhood has a very important <v Wilson Andrews>part to play in making that neighborhood and community self-sufficient <v Wilson Andrews>as far as our families is concerned. <v Wilson Andrews>We don't feel a part of that dream-making and we don't feel a part <v Wilson Andrews>of being of that part of the ritual or <v Wilson Andrews>exercises that the community do normally. <v Wilson Andrews>But what we do, we try very hard to make our community and our neighborhood <v Wilson Andrews>acceptable. Number one, to our families, number one. <v Wilson Andrews>Number two, to our kids that's growing up. <v Wilson Andrews>Yes, the media, the radio and TV, does play a very important role <v Wilson Andrews>in uh community values. <v Wilson Andrews>But now each individual in that community has a very important role to play <v Wilson Andrews>while he or she must contribute as much as possible each day to the values

<v Wilson Andrews>that they consider good morals, good standards, so that our kids <v Wilson Andrews>livin' day by day would look at us and say, well, this is good. <v Wilson Andrews>So what I think personally is that uh we have to live in <v Wilson Andrews>such a way that we have to make our community such a great <v Wilson Andrews>place to be that we can say that we'll be very proud of our community <v Wilson Andrews>and everybody else will look on our community and say, well, we envious of it because <v Wilson Andrews>they've started as individuals first and then continued on to family. <v Tom Spencer>Thanks, Wilson. Uh Hector Montenegro's joining us. Hector, you're a principal at Johnston <v Tom Spencer>High here. Uh something that-that uh everybody has talked about this week as <v Tom Spencer>we've had these forums, and that is the importance of parental involvement. <v Tom Spencer>And ?inaudible? we just- we just highlighted that. <v Tom Spencer>But there are a awful lot of families out there that are not uh so <v Tom Spencer>caring, so loving as the Pardos. <v Tom Spencer>There a lot of bad parents, uh folks who either abuse <v Tom Spencer>or neglect their-their children.

<v Tom Spencer>Where do you see the role of public institutions like the schools in <v Tom Spencer>terms of meeting the needs of those kinds of kids? <v Hector Montenegro>Well, first of all, I think it-it's very important that uh the parents do understand that <v Hector Montenegro>they are the first teachers that the children have there, and the fact, whether they <v Hector Montenegro>accept the role uh model or not, they are an example of values. <v Hector Montenegro>And this is where the cultural impact uh begins and that begins at birth. <v Hector Montenegro>Um looking at it from uh an educational standpoint, that what we saw at San- Sanchez <v Hector Montenegro>really is not um uh a kind of uh <v Hector Montenegro>example that exists uh in-in many cases, primarily because the educational <v Hector Montenegro>institution, in many cases, has not been friendly to certain <v Hector Montenegro>populations. And this is an example in which the institution has opened <v Hector Montenegro>the doors to the immediate community and accepted all parents in spite of their <v Hector Montenegro>background or socio-economic status. <v Hector Montenegro>And I think this is an example that I think the rest of the country needs to take a <v Hector Montenegro>serious look at, because we as educators need to understand that our relationship

<v Hector Montenegro>to the community and the community to ours, is one of a very close and <v Hector Montenegro>very delicate relationship. And we need to open the doors in education and accept <v Hector Montenegro>that community in. Uh the values of educational institution impact <v Hector Montenegro>on the values of the family. And in spite of the cultural differences, <v Hector Montenegro>I think if a school is receptive and sensitive to the different cultures and the <v Hector Montenegro>different values that the community has, I think you'll have a greater amount of <v Hector Montenegro>participation. And I've seen it across the country, that the more that the school reaches <v Hector Montenegro>out to the community, accepts the community into the school, it becomes more of a <v Hector Montenegro>responsive and I think a very uh a successful relationship, once <v Hector Montenegro>the schools learn how to do that, on a better-better scale. <v Tom Spencer>You know what you say; you're- you're obviously talking about the fact that, again, <v Tom Spencer>that we are a multicultural nation and we have- we have to respect the different cultures <v Tom Spencer>and make them fully participatory. <v Tom Spencer>And I was talking with an individual here in Austin about education <v Tom Spencer>um on the phone earlier this week, and this particular gentleman said...was talking about

<v Tom Spencer>um who's going to save the kids and who's going to save American education, and he said, <v Tom Spencer>"if you're talking about the kids in East Austin, Tom, it isn't gonna to be you, and it's <v Tom Spencer>not gonna to be me. It's gonna be somebody named uh Sonia Martinez <v Tom Spencer>or uh um something like that. <v Tom Spencer>You have to get those people and you have to make those folks the role models and give <v Tom Spencer>them the opportunity to lead those kinds of institutions and, you know, communities." <v Hector Montenegro>You know, the parents have to feel accepted into the school and the schools have to make <v Hector Montenegro>provisions for them to be involved. <v Hector Montenegro>It's not good enough just to say come and be involved with your child's education. <v Hector Montenegro>Uh the school systems and the individual schools really need- need to make provision such <v Hector Montenegro>as the volunteers at Sanchez. They give 'em a purpose. <v Hector Montenegro>They give them responsibility. And they also give 'em decision making power to impact on <v Hector Montenegro>the lives of their children as well. So it becomes a a partnership. <v Hector Montenegro>It-it can't be idle rhetoric saying that parents have to be involved, they have to be <v Hector Montenegro>involved. It really does have to be a design in which the parents are included.

<v Tom Spencer>Well, well, part of what we're trying to talk about this evening is, you know, why don't <v Tom Spencer>we recognize these facts? Why don't we act on, you know, uh <v Tom Spencer>these different kinds of things uh we...Throughout the course of the <v Tom Spencer>week, uh people have said, "We know what works. <v Tom Spencer>We know what works. We know what works. Let's highlight what works." And yet these things <v Tom Spencer>are not being done. The resources are not there. <v Tom Spencer>The will doesn't seem to be there. <v Tom Spencer>Why not? That's- when we talk about values, I mean, here we <v Tom Spencer>are an talking about our kids, all of our kids. <v Tom Spencer>Why are we not acting? Is there anybody who wants to respond to that <v Tom Spencer>challenge, talking about why American society has not found that will? <v Tom Spencer>Yes, ma'am. This is Robin Enes from St. Edward's University. <v Tom Spencer>Robin? <v Robin Enes>Well, I- like you said, I think it is happening all over the country. <v Robin Enes>It's happening uh, these innovative programs are happening in schools all over Austin, <v Robin Enes>really all over Texas, and all over the country.

<v Robin Enes>And uh what needs to happen now is <v Robin Enes>to reward those innovative programs uh <v Robin Enes>financially with um incentives, and it <v Robin Enes>really comes down to in terms of our cultural values <v Robin Enes>in our capitalistic society, that what we value <v Robin Enes>is where we spend our money. <v Robin Enes>And I think that um it's happening, <v Robin Enes>but it's happening very slowly. <v Robin Enes>I was disheartened earlier this year when the school <v Robin Enes>finance reform system was put in place. <v Robin Enes>And I heard people say things like, "you know, it really burns <v Robin Enes>me up to have to pay more taxes when I don't even have kids <v Robin Enes>in school, "and uh, "when this money isn't even going to schools <v Robin Enes>in Austin." I was taken aback when I hear things <v Robin Enes>like this, and ?you know?, my response is that every child

<v Robin Enes>in the state of Texas is my child. <v Robin Enes>I don't have any children of my own except for my goddaughter, Lauren. <v Robin Enes>But other than her, I consider every child in the state <v Robin Enes>of Texas to be my child, and I'm more than willing to <v Robin Enes>pay today for the education of all these children, <v Robin Enes>because they're the ones who are going to be the leaders in charge <v Robin Enes>and the decision makers in charge tomorrow when I'm in my <v Robin Enes>golden years and I need to be taken care of. <v Robin Enes>And I guarantee you, I want them to get the best possible preparation they can get right <v Robin Enes>now so that um <v Robin Enes>when that time comes, they will be ready. <v Robin Enes>Now, one more thing I want to say about, you know, why- why haven't we responded? <v Robin Enes>And that is uh I think that education for so many years in this <v Robin Enes>country was a luxury, wasn't really a necessity of life. <v Robin Enes>Uh we have rested on the bounty of our natural resources

<v Robin Enes>for, you know, literally the entire span of our history. <v Robin Enes>And we're now coming to the realization that those limit- <v Robin Enes>those resources are limited. Um you know, Japan has <v Robin Enes>had that realization for quite some time now. <v Robin Enes>They have no natural resources. <v Robin Enes>They don't even have any land. All they have are their people. <v Robin Enes>And so they have learned how to cultivate the minds of their people, which is <v Robin Enes>their only resource. And I think we're finally coming to the realization in this country <v Robin Enes>that our resource of the future are the minds of our children. <v Robin Enes>And I can see it happening in communities all over the country, that we're <v Robin Enes>ready to pay for it. But- but really, until every citizen is eager <v Robin Enes>to pay for taxes the way they pay for a <v Robin Enes>concert ticket or a baseball game ticket or a lottery ticket, <v Robin Enes>that it's not gonna happen on a widespread basis. <v Tom Spencer>Jeff Trevelyan, please jump in.

<v Jeff Trevelyan>Don't say lottery ticket [audience laughs]. But- but I think um <v Jeff Trevelyan>multi-culturalism oftentimes takes us out of our- out of our comfort <v Jeff Trevelyan>zone. I think it- it makes us realize that we've had some serious <v Jeff Trevelyan>inadequacies uh that have been with us for a long period of time that we <v Jeff Trevelyan>haven't corrected. Uh for example, uh the first African-American police <v Jeff Trevelyan>officers in Austin joined the force in 1871. <v Jeff Trevelyan>Yet this year, we were still fighting the battle of having <v Jeff Trevelyan>an African-American officer moved into a supervisory position for <v Jeff Trevelyan>the first time in seven years. <v Jeff Trevelyan>Uh we- we uh still have to deal with the problem that uh the <v Jeff Trevelyan>police department, and many other departments in the city, don't reflect the diversity <v Jeff Trevelyan>of the community. A lot of people that haven't read a lot about the city of Austin <v Jeff Trevelyan>don't realize that Sixth Street um in the early 20th century <v Jeff Trevelyan>was the black business district and that a deliberate city plan

<v Jeff Trevelyan>moved African-Americans in Austin to East Austin with the threat <v Jeff Trevelyan>of not getting city services if you didn't move. <v Tom Spencer>Premium among those education. <v Jeff Trevelyan>Exactly. Education, and your water, and lights, and whatever the case may have <v Jeff Trevelyan>been. And- and it tells us things about ourselves that <v Jeff Trevelyan>we aren't comfortable with. Uh at the risk of- of namedropping, <v Jeff Trevelyan>uh Lady Bird Johnson once said to me uh what the 60s did for <v Jeff Trevelyan>us, what the civil rights movement did for mainstream America, was it made <v Jeff Trevelyan>us realize some of our inadequacies and take steps to <v Jeff Trevelyan>deal with them, and- and we've got to realize what has happened to the educational <v Jeff Trevelyan>system over the last 12 years and take mo- and take steps, uh <v Jeff Trevelyan>make momentum uh to correcting those problems, and I think this is a part of that. <v Jeff Trevelyan>Looking at our resources, bringing in our human resources, and trying to find <v Jeff Trevelyan>real answers uh and develop substantive programs which <v Jeff Trevelyan>can be taken to the community for its benefit.

<v Tom Spencer>Thanks, Jeff. We have a lot of people now- at home and here in the studio- wanna jump in. <v Tom Spencer>Before we take that first call, we wanna recap a couple things and just <v Tom Spencer>make it common, if I may, Dr. Enes, you mentioned two things that I wanted to touch on. <v Tom Spencer>One was that, you're talking about your golden years, and I think that American society <v Tom Spencer>doesn't think about investments today, and they're not gonna be golden years for- for <v Tom Spencer>the generations growing up. Uh, quite literally, uh <v Tom Spencer>they talk about the Blade Runner future, that kind of nightmarish film, and <v Tom Spencer>it's- it's a possibility. <v Tom Spencer>Um also talking about, we've been kind of resting on the bounty of our natural resources; <v Tom Spencer>there is a joke I read that was circulating around um, in a <v Tom Spencer>nation abroad, saying that in the future, America will be our farm. <v Tom Spencer>I won't mention which nation this was being used in, but Europe will be our Disneyland <v Tom Spencer>and America will be our farm was that the idea that was being shared in one of <v Tom Spencer>the uh rapidly-growing industrial nations of the east, let's say. <v Tom Spencer>We do have some people at home right now. Let's go ahead and get some of those moms and

<v Tom Spencer>dads and other folks involved in our conversation. <v Tom Spencer>Please go ahead. <v Caller 1>Hello, Tom? <v Tom Spencer>Yes, good- <v Caller 1>Yes uh thank you very much for giving us this opportunity for parents that have not been <v Caller 1>able to make your uh, you know, your shows out there. <v Caller 1>We appreciate; we've been watching every one of them. <v Caller 1>And uh the comment that I would like to make, this is ?Raul Rosa?. <v Caller 1>I would like to make the comment because I was listening to Mr. uh Hector Montenegro. <v Caller 1>We were talking about the culture specifically here in the East Austin <v Caller 1>Hispanic side. One thing that I feel that we have lacked; the <v Caller 1>administrators have done a tremendous job for us here in East Austin, but <v Caller 1>again, in the community, we tend to look for the best-qualified <v Caller 1>volunteers to lead our PTA programs, while we <v Caller 1>have a culture here in Austin, keep in mind that we have some people from <v Caller 1>Mexico that have a stronger, stronger culture. <v Caller 1>That's what I compare simply because I'm from the border on this side of Texas, and we <v Caller 1>have failed to integrate those parents to come in to support our PTAs

<v Caller 1>and to support our classrooms. <v Caller 1>There is a tremendous amount of people out there that could participate, but because of <v Caller 1>the lack of uh the language, they tend to be left out from the community <v Caller 1>overall in the churches and the schools and everywhere else. <v Tom Spencer>That's ?right?. <v Caller 1>Our message is our PTAs need to be very strongly bilingual to reach <v Caller 1>to those people, because a tremendous amount of those kids are in our school systems <v Caller 1>at this time. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. <v Caller 1>I thank you very much, Tom. <v Tom Spencer>Alright, thank you, Raul. And I know Hector wants to jump in here real briefly <v Tom Spencer>[Montenegro laughing]. <v Hector Montenegro>No, he- he is correct, and I think he was just uh reinforcing the point that the school <v Hector Montenegro>really has to be community-friendly. <v Hector Montenegro>And that is, is that the- the kind of services, the kind of outreach that a school does, <v Hector Montenegro>has to be, uh um I think, irrelevant to the <v Hector Montenegro>parents' needs and the kind of things that- that are going on into- into the community. <v Hector Montenegro>Uh the school has a tremendous impact on setting the values of- of the home. <v Hector Montenegro>And I think that we in education need to continue to explore that reality,

<v Hector Montenegro>that we do have an impact on the values of home. <v Hector Montenegro>But when it comes to different cultures and languages, it's- it's uh an area that I don't <v Hector Montenegro>think we're doing enough. We're doing a lot, uh and Sanchez is an example of that. <v Hector Montenegro>But I don't think we're doing enough. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. We had a lady over who wanted to add a voice. Please stand up, ma'am. <v Misty White>Yes, my name is Misty White, and I'm the director of learning and literacy projects here <v Misty White>in Austin, and we do have a program to help parents become more involved with <v Misty White>their children's education. <v Misty White>Um two points that I have found with the parents um not becoming <v Misty White>involved is one, that mist- uh like Mr. Rios said is that <v Misty White>there is um a problem when it comes to having um students <v Misty White>come up to the school who are not fluent in the English language, and <v Misty White>it can often be very intimidating for the parents. <v Misty White>So because we have such a- a um regard for <v Misty White>the institution of education, most- a lot of parents are intimidated uh <v Misty White>and shy away from becoming involved.

<v Misty White>Another factor is that parents often aren't very well-trained <v Misty White>in effective methods of becoming involved with their children's education. <v Misty White>Um oftentimes their um educational uh experiences <v Misty White>have left them with limited abilities to be supportive and helpful <v Misty White>in their own child's education. <v Tom Spencer>Or their- their educational experiences have been negative and uh-. <v Misty White>Absolutely. <v Tom Spencer>Right. <v Misty White>Absolutely. <v Tom Spencer>And their- uh anything having to do with that is- is something that they don't really <v Tom Spencer>want to get involved with. We have another lady over here who wants to join the <v Tom Spencer>conversation. Let me move over there. As I'm coming over to you, I would like to take <v Tom Spencer>another phone call right now. We have another individual waiting. <v Tom Spencer>So please go ahead and ask your question or make your comment. <v Tom Spencer>Again, if you can hear me on your phone, you're next, so please go ahead. <v Caller 2>Okay uh, I'd like to address the issue of <v Caller 2>sports in public schools. I think at a time when uh Texas is having a difficult <v Caller 2>time coming up with the money to uh keep teachers on a payroll,

<v Caller 2>that we shouldn't be <v Caller 2>a farm club for professional and college athletics. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. Thank you for your comments, sir. Ma'am. <v Roberta Carnes>My name is Roberta Carnes and I have taught in Mexico, <v Roberta Carnes>so I understand the problem that Mr. Rios mentioned. <v Roberta Carnes>Um I would also like to say that uh ?Dell? <v Roberta Carnes>Valley School District employs someone who is bilingual <v Roberta Carnes>and who actually makes visits in homes in order to encourage <v Roberta Carnes>uh families who don't speak English to become active in their school system. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. <v Roberta Carnes>They go out and find people to make sure...I did have one more. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. Go ahead. <v Roberta Carnes>Alright. Um tonight, we're talking about our um cultural values <v Roberta Carnes>and um we seem to be um <v Roberta Carnes>pussyfooting around the idea of minorities, something that you touched on <v Roberta Carnes>or went into great detail Wednesday night, and I think that <v Roberta Carnes>caused a lot of us to understand better that we aren't different at all,

<v Roberta Carnes>that we're very much alike in our values and in what we're trying to <v Roberta Carnes>accomplish. Um as an American, I feel <v Roberta Carnes>very embarrassed when I'm asked to fill out a form and fit myself <v Roberta Carnes>into one of the categories, and I was hoping someone here tonight might be able to <v Roberta Carnes>respond to that so that some day we could take advantage of our diversity <v Roberta Carnes>instead of our differences. <v Tom Spencer>Alright, thank you for your comments. Is there anybody who wanted to respond to that? <v Tom Spencer>Anybody in the audience here? Rosalie? <v Rosalie>I just want to say that I think we need to begin to look at differences as just being <v Rosalie>difference. That it's not wrong, it's not bad, and that's one of the values we must teach <v Rosalie>our young people. And I think what has happened is that our young people have this <v Rosalie>concept of that something is different is wrong, it's bad, and very often they ridiculed <v Rosalie>that. We have to understand that in our diversity, we bring different strengths. <v Rosalie>We diff- we bring different understanding of our world and our reality, and that's really <v Rosalie>important. Another thing I wanted to say was that sometimes we think because parents do

<v Rosalie>not come to schools, that they do not care. <v Rosalie>A lot of our parents cannot come to school, they're working. <v Rosalie>They have other things that they are obligated to do. <v Rosalie>And maybe they need advocates such as you and I, who can then speak on their behalf and <v Rosalie>be there for them on behalf of their kids. <v Rosalie>I do understand the importance of parents because I know that somehow when teachers <v Rosalie>see parents there, they are more likely to treat those kids a little differently, better <v Rosalie>than when parents are not there. <v Rosalie>And so perhaps we need to be advocates on behalf of those parents who cannot be there <v Rosalie>as opposed to say they don't care. <v Rosalie>We should, you know, they don't wa- they don't love their kids and all those things that <v Rosalie>we often put on our children. <v Tom Spencer>Rosalie, something that you said makes me think about a couple of different issues and <v Tom Spencer>it- you're talking about respect for diversity, and I was thinking about <v Tom Spencer>um teaching values in schools. <v Tom Spencer>And we know how explosive the i- the notion is of- of mentioning values <v Tom Spencer>and trying to teach values in schools. <v Tom Spencer>But recently I- I read a book about Japanese educational system and in every

<v Tom Spencer>class what they underscore is the im- the im-, you know, the importance of that <v Tom Spencer>individual's contribution to the group. <v Tom Spencer>In fact, that's the ut- the primary lesson in a lot of the classes and a lot of the <v Tom Spencer>academics come after-hours actually in catch-up classes. <v Tom Spencer>But it's your responsibility to your society in a certain ?hall?. <v Tom Spencer>Well that may not suit Americans very well, but it would seem to me that if we were going <v Tom Spencer>to talk about teaching values in schools and a lot of people are urging that we do that <v Tom Spencer>in one way or the other, what is more American than <v Tom Spencer>to perhaps teach the value of respect for diversity? <v Tom Spencer>If we can't agree that you should be teaching this particular value, at least we can <v Tom Spencer>teach the value of respect for the differences that exist <v Tom Spencer>in this particular nation. <v Rosalie>Well, I really think that a lot of times teachers and other people are not comfortable. <v Rosalie>I think that's what was already said. <v Rosalie>And so as we become more aware of the fact of our own prejudices and biases, <v Rosalie>of our own baggages that we bring to this arena, and then we can then deal with <v Rosalie>what's in front of us. But you can't do that if you gonna live in denial, that I'm not

<v Rosalie>prejudice, or racism doesn't exist, that we don't treat people differently <v Rosalie>as long as we say, oh, everyone is equal in words only. <v Rosalie>But the way we treat them really indicate that they're not o- not only are they not <v Rosalie>equal, but they are second-class citizens. <v Rosalie>And so we have to really deal with that front right on, right on. <v Tom Spencer>Well, we have a number of other folks who want to get involved. <v Tom Spencer>Folks at home, uh if you're waiting on line right now and you can hear me, please go <v Tom Spencer>ahead and ask your question. <v Caller 3>Well, I guess it's a combination of a question and a statement. <v Caller 3>Uh cultural diversity is something that I think America should be proud of, and <v Caller 3>we should realize that it's cheaper to educate our youngsters than to incarcerate <v Caller 3>a youngster. <v Caller 3>Uh the last time I looked at the figures, they were, uh it was 5 or 6 <v Caller 3>or maybe 10 times more expensive to <v Caller 3>incarcerate an individual than to educate this person, so this person could go into <v Caller 3>the workfur- force and be a productive individual in society. <v Tom Spencer>Right.

<v Caller 3>That's basically all I'd like to say. <v Caller 3>I really do think that the last two speakers spoke directly <v Caller 3>to, in my opinion, what is wrong with people <v Caller 3>uh as educators, and as parents, with youngsters in the schools today. <v Caller 3>We should pay attention to the fact that we are different and there's nothing wrong with <v Caller 3>it. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. <v Caller 3>There's a lot to be gained by being different, especially if you bring out the best in <v Caller 3>each and every one of us. <v Tom Spencer>Thank you for calling in. <v Caller 3>Thank you. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. Let's- let's move on to our next phone caller now as well. <v Tom Spencer>We do have a long line of folks who are waiting there. <v Tom Spencer>Again, if you can hear me on your phone at home, your next in line, please go ahead and <v Tom Spencer>ask your question or make your comment. <v Caller 4>Um hi, uh I wanted to um make um y'all aware <v Caller 4>of something that I think is real important. Um, I think a lot of the parents <v Caller 4>that want to get involved now, and I think the schools have done um <v Caller 4>a wonderful job, and even in the workplaces, you know, some of the employers have done a <v Caller 4>wonderful job of encouraging parents to get involved. <v Caller 4>And I think it's something that needs to be taken into consideration, is that a lot of

<v Caller 4>those parents have very low self-esteem and it's <v Caller 4>difficult for them to get involved uh in the school with educated <v Caller 4>teachers or even in PTAs and have to socialize with <v Caller 4>um anyone who has a degree, whether they're an attorney or a teacher, and <v Caller 4>they do need to be made to feel welcome, um and- and that does need to be <v Caller 4>taken into consideration. <v Caller 4>Um and, you know, when you're sorting, you know, whether the parent is a bad parent or a <v Caller 4>good parent, or whether they're- they're working or they have too many things to do, I <v Caller 4>really believe that self-esteem um has a lot to do with the parents <v Caller 4>getting involved. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. Thank you for your comment, ma'am. <v Tom Spencer>We have another person here in the studio. <v Gayle Timkin>Yeah, my name is Gayle Timkin. I'm president of Touchcare Systems Inc., and I'm in <v Gayle Timkin>partnership with a special education teacher at Becker Elementary School. <v Gayle Timkin>And today, we were talking about setting up a program at Meadowbrook <v Gayle Timkin>Projects that we could bring a health clinic in, we can do tutorials with the children,

<v Gayle Timkin>we can work with the parents, because a lot of times the wo- parents are too scared to <v Gayle Timkin>leave. I mean, they're intimidated. <v Gayle Timkin>So someone has to go in and work with the parents to know <v Gayle Timkin>that they're wanted and they're cared for, whoever they are and whatever they're doing, <v Gayle Timkin>to work with that. That's one thing. <v Gayle Timkin>But there I was reading a book today that just shocked me into facing reality. <v Gayle Timkin>And it's very- I- I can't recall your name, but you were just talking about Sixth Street. <v Gayle Timkin>I didn't know the history of Sixth Street. <v Gayle Timkin>And I can't remember if I got this place right. <v Gayle Timkin>It's either sum-zero or zero-sum marketing, and it talks about the polarization <v Gayle Timkin>of America, that the middle class is diminishing. <v Gayle Timkin>And yesterday or the day before, there was a woman who was here who was the first <v Gayle Timkin>person to integrate one of the schools. <v Gayle Timkin>And she ?says? what's happened, we've been here how many years and we're still in the <v Gayle Timkin>same problem. Well, when you look at it in an historical perspective, <v Gayle Timkin>maybe there's a plan here. <v Gayle Timkin>Maybe there's something going on that we're not ahead, because if we know what to do

<v Gayle Timkin>and it ain't being done, something's wrong. <v Gayle Timkin>The money is not going where we need it to go. <v Gayle Timkin>And it scares me. And I think maybe this is something that we really need to address <v Gayle Timkin>as a coalition to really make this thing work now, because if we don't, we're <v Gayle Timkin>all down the tubes, except- I know ?to stop? <v Gayle Timkin>in a second- [Spencer laughs] that the polarization is, is that there's the very rich and <v Gayle Timkin>the very poor, and if you've ever lived in India, that's where we're headed for, and <v Gayle Timkin>that's not where I want to be in America. <v Tom Spencer>Alright, the lady next to you in the shirt. Thank you for your comments. <v Tom Spencer>Ma'am. <v Isabel Wheeler>I'm Isabel Wheeler. I work with Delta Kappa Gamma, an organization of ?continuing? <v Isabel Wheeler>educators, 487 members in Austin. <v Isabel Wheeler>I would like to say that in a poll of one of our chapters, the <v Isabel Wheeler>tet- teachers express themselves as being concerned with overcrowded classrooms <v Isabel Wheeler>with business within the school day actually robbing them of teaching time <v Isabel Wheeler>and then a desire for a partnership with parents.

<v Isabel Wheeler>I think teachers who are overworked and underpaid really show their value <v Isabel Wheeler>in their students because they invest their life in them. <v Isabel Wheeler>And I'd say that a mentoring program that certain educators <v Isabel Wheeler>do have really worked wonders, and that we do feel <v Isabel Wheeler>that the future looks bright because of community, the students <v Isabel Wheeler>developing self-esteem, teachers working together. <v Tom Spencer>Alright, ma'am, if you would share the microphone with the gentleman there, and sir, <v Tom Spencer>before you speak, le- I would like to work in another phone call. <v Tom Spencer>Again, if you can hear me on your phone at home, you're next in line, so please go ahead. <v Caller 5>Hello? <v Tom Spencer>Yes, please go ahead. <v Caller 5>Uh yes. Um I'm a teacher and also a parent, and I had a couple <v Caller 5>of comments. One is that um in addition to the teachers <v Caller 5>and the employees of schools reaching out to parents, <v Caller 5>I think that other parents need to really make a concerted effort to reach out, <v Caller 5>because when you have someone new coming in to any group,

<v Caller 5>organization, whether it's a church, a school, a community, a city, a street, a <v Caller 5>neighborhood, sometimes they don't feel comfortable coming forward <v Caller 5>first. And so I think one of the things that the parents coul- can <v Caller 5>do is to get to know the other parents in their child's classroom <v Caller 5>and get to know the people in the schools and uh <v Caller 5>maybe take advantage of any and all opportunities to go to the school <v Caller 5>and do that. You know, the other thing I wanted to say is a comment ?uh?. <v Caller 5>Two or three people have mentioned valuing schools and education <v Caller 5>by putting resources there, and I think that our- our society is <v Caller 5>only beginning to understand that we need to <v Caller 5>put some resources into training our people, giving them the time resources, because <v Caller 5>we're dealing with a lot of change, and change is not an easy thing to deal with in <v Caller 5>society, in schools or any other way.

<v Caller 5>And to do that, we need to uh educate and <v Caller 5>just re-educate even the teachers and the people who are working with the students, and <v Caller 5>you can't do that after 3 o'clock, and on weekends <v Caller 5>and in, you know, mini workshops in the summer. <v Caller 5>You need to really have a plan for doing that, and I don't think we have that yet. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. Thank you for your comment. But I would like to throw out <v Tom Spencer>an- an uh kind of a reaction to that and to a lot of the things I've heard this week, and <v Tom Spencer>that is that we've heard about getting parents involved, getting them into the <v Tom Spencer>classrooms, making the schools welcome, letting the parents get, you know, have bilingual <v Tom Spencer>PTAs, all these different things to involve the families, and yet, it seems to me <v Tom Spencer>that there's so many families out there where folks have just kind of abdicated <v Tom Spencer>even the simple day-to-day responsibilities. You- we talk about <v Tom Spencer>uh latchkey kids and things like that. <v Tom Spencer>Sometimes this is forced by economic necessity. <v Tom Spencer>But there are a lot of people out there in the United States, it seems to me, that let <v Tom Spencer>the mass media, for example, raise their children, that do not really get involved on <v Tom Spencer>a daily basis. You know, a lot of the times when we- we talk about these problems, we

<v Tom Spencer>think of folks in dire economic straits. <v Tom Spencer>But in- in everyday households where moms and dads <v Tom Spencer>really don't get involved on a basic level and get involved in their children's <v Tom Spencer>education, seems to me there's- there's- there's something fundamentally wrong there <v Tom Spencer>and we haven't really begun to address it, and I think that may be the toughest thing to <v Tom Spencer>address, and that is that moms and dads and what they're communicating, <v Tom Spencer>even the best quote-unquote households might be value- with the <v Tom Spencer>values their kids might be learning, might necessarily be materialism and those <v Tom Spencer>sorts of things and not necessarily any kind of commitment to a larger whole. <v Tom Spencer>Sir, if you don't mind, if you would share your microphone with the gentlemen here and <v Tom Spencer>then I'll have uh we'll come right back to you. <v Tom Spencer>Mr. Glen. <v Norval Glen>Uh yes, I agree very much with what you're saying. <v Norval Glen>We've been talking so far about the um uh the children of the <v Norval Glen>underprivileged, and uh we have made some progress in that respect in recent years. <v Norval Glen>But uh what has happened in recent years also is that the academic achievements

<v Norval Glen>of children from privileged families uh have gone down. <v Norval Glen>So here we have uh not a matter of uh parents not having the resources <v Norval Glen>to be involved, which is certainly the case with many of the underprivileged, it's people <v Norval Glen>who uh apparently lack the will. So I think this is another part of the- the total <v Norval Glen>picture. <v Tom Spencer>Now, talking about lacking, ?well?, I think that's really critical. <v Tom Spencer>We have with us a couple of people who would like to get involved in the conversation, <v Tom Spencer>some individuals who are visiting from abroad, and I just want to ask a couple of <v Tom Spencer>short questions, if I may, some of the folks who are here with us. <v Tom Spencer>We have David Myllet uh from France, <v Tom Spencer>um bon soir [Spencer laughs]. Uh David, if you would, tell us a little bit about <v Tom Spencer>your own family in France and what your mom and dad communicated to you about education <v Tom Spencer>and the importance of education, and maybe some of the things that you picked up from <v Tom Spencer>French society about that same subject. <v David Myllet>Um, in France, um the school it's um very important <v David Myllet>because um the teacher um wants uh to do

<v David Myllet>a selection of the best student very early. <v David Myllet>My si- sister ?inaudible? <v David Myllet>and uh it's um her teacher want to know <v David Myllet>who i- the best um student. <v Tom Spencer>Right. <v David Myllet>And uh so um... <v Tom Spencer>What was- how did your mom and dad get involved in your education? <v Tom Spencer>Did- were they, we- did they let you know that this is the most important thing in your <v Tom Spencer>life? <v David Myllet>Um from my parents, yes <v David Myllet>?the school is very? ?inaudible?. My mother helped me very every day. <v David Myllet>Um not now, but um fewer ?years? <v David Myllet>ago. Yeah. <v David Myllet>Very. My grandparents helped me, um all the family <v David Myllet>um is uh with the student, help him, and uh <v David Myllet>from...from

<v David Myllet>?he do the best?. <v Tom Spencer>Right. And in France, it's my understanding that really school is the key to unlock <v Tom Spencer>of careers for the future, is it- is it? <v David Myllet>Yeah it's uh the French school, it's just study, nothing else. <v David Myllet>?Here? I'm in ?SNI? and there is um uh <v David Myllet>team- sport team. <v David Myllet>We have a lot of fun. <v David Myllet>It's very ?inaudible?. And in France, no, you come at school <v David Myllet>and you must study, that's it. Nothing else. <v Tom Spencer>Well it- I think that's a contrast in itself. <v David Myllet>We don't have um relationship with a teacher, it's just student and teacher. <v Tom Spencer>Very formal--. <v David Myllet>Yes. <v Tom Spencer>--compared to the United States. <v David Myllet>And uh I- I like the relationship between the student and the teachers because it's- <v David Myllet>it's not friendly, but um, it's very ?sympatic?. <v Tom Spencer>Mhm. Very good.

<v Tom Spencer>Alright. Thank you so much, David, for coming in, and don't feel awkward about your- <v Tom Spencer>your language. According to a lot of studies, American students don't do [Spencer laughs] <v Tom Spencer>that much better with their [Spencer laughs] the Am- the English language. <v Tom Spencer>Another uh- uh f- uh individual that we have with us is <v Tom Spencer>uh ?Greta Naci?, who is joining us from Italy this evening. <v Tom Spencer>Greta, um you're in school here in the United States. <v Tom Spencer>Now, I know that you find a lot of things that you like about American schools. <v Tom Spencer>But uh tell us what the biggest differences between school in the United States and in <v Tom Spencer>Italy. <v Greta Naci>I think that the biggest difference is <v Greta Naci>just here, people thinks more <v Greta Naci>about having fun in high school than studying. <v Greta Naci>I think that in our high school we have to study like <v Greta Naci>you are in college here, and you have to be really prepared every <v Greta Naci>morning, and uh you have to...hm ?inaudible? <v Greta Naci>but you have to be

<v Greta Naci>involved and you have to participate every morning in <v Greta Naci>all your subjects. And it's not the kind of fun, but <v Greta Naci>you have a ?nicer vocation? <v Greta Naci>when you get out from high school. <v Tom Spencer>All right. Yes, if you- go share your microphone with the lady sitting next to you. <v Maria Wells>Yes. Uh my name is Maria Wells. I'm a professor, curator and also the president <v Maria Wells>of the Fulbright Association of Central Texas. <v Maria Wells>I've been education all my life and I have seen a great deal of the foreign system. <v Maria Wells>And what we see here tonight, I which- quite a coincidence we have these two student from <v Maria Wells>Europe. And uh what I think it is very important for us <v Maria Wells>to understand, to try to reach out, to try to really question. <v Maria Wells>Uh these student are good. <v Maria Wells>They are very bright. They have discipline. They have uh good study habits. <v Maria Wells>Uh you heard how s- how hard they study. <v Maria Wells>But one question that we should ask ourself is what kind of education system <v Maria Wells>has produce this kind of student and why can't we have the same

<v Maria Wells>kind of education system? They education system, it's based on a lot of things. <v Maria Wells>But two very important things are a consolidated education uh <v Maria Wells>academic program. That is how it uh organize and mandate by the Ministry of Education. <v Maria Wells>And another thing is choices. Now, it seem to be a contest uh here, but it is <v Maria Wells>not. What I mean by choices is that a student, after he or she has <v Maria Wells>completed their third year of uh middle school, has the choice <v Maria Wells>of about six different kind of high school. <v Maria Wells>By different I mean high school that offering different training, six of <v Maria Wells>them, uh technical high school, uh nautical marine science high <v Maria Wells>school, business and uh high school, teacher-training high school, and then the classical <v Maria Wells>high school and their ?scientifics? high school. <v Maria Wells>They are college oriented, but important thing is, in my opinion, choices <v Maria Wells>everywhere. Give the student a sense of sel- uh self-respect. <v Maria Wells>Give the student the possibility of making his own decision.

<v Maria Wells>And if he doesn't want to go to school for a very long time or if he can't, he knows <v Maria Wells>that after those five years of this special high school, he's going to have a degree, a <v Maria Wells>diploma in his hand. <v Maria Wells>It's going to put him directly into the work force, and this is extremely important. <v Maria Wells>Also another thing, ?too?, there is a class. <v Maria Wells>The student can change the high school, preferably within the first or second year. <v Maria Wells>Let's say somebody has aim too high and want to do something different and he can do <v Maria Wells>that. You know, frankly, as a parent and as ?a educator?, I'm very <v Maria Wells>tired of being told every day that our school, our ?inaudible? <v Maria Wells>at our school are bad- are bad, our student are poor achiever, their score are bad, <v Maria Wells>and ironically, the people who tell us those things are the very one who have it in they <v Maria Wells>power to change this. I think we should give a very close look of some of <v Maria Wells>the system that produce this kind of student. <v Tom Spencer>Wonderful. Thank you for your comments. <v Tom Spencer>And uh we have a young gentleman over here who'd like to say a few words. <v Deshaun Wingate>Um yes, my name is ?Deshaun Wingate?, uh I'm a graduate of ?Stanford?

<v Deshaun Wingate>University. I spent uh a year or so overseas in uh- in France and <v Deshaun Wingate>different countries. Uh and a- after observing the different the- their <v Deshaun Wingate>education system, it's kind of hard to- to compare their education system with ours <v Deshaun Wingate>because our cultures are so different. <v Deshaun Wingate>Um I've listened t- listened to the discussion tonight, and there's been a number of <v Deshaun Wingate>different issues touched, and I want to emphasize that the uh the cultural value <v Deshaun Wingate>in America has- is- is so rich in- in the- in the diversity of <v Deshaun Wingate>its cultural value, and- but they- they need to realize that it's diverse. <v Deshaun Wingate>They need uh the teachers and- and the parents need to take a more active part, uh <v Deshaun Wingate>especially the parents. I can't emphasize enough, my- my mother, Docto- Dr. Rosie <v Deshaun Wingate>Wingate, uh he- helped me, foster me, and my- both my parents <v Deshaun Wingate>work. So I can't uh emphasize enough the importance of parents out <v Deshaun Wingate>there to- to- to uh reach- reach out to their kids, even if they're working two jobs <v Deshaun Wingate>to uh help them along. And uh in terms of- in terms of comparing systems, <v Deshaun Wingate>I think that it's a somewhat difficult.

<v Deshaun Wingate>It's good to look at it from maybe a uh a plan, but I think that it needs to be uh um uh <v Deshaun Wingate>uh drawn out for more for our particular culture. <v Tom Spencer>Alright. Thank you very much for being here, Deshaun. And I'm gonna pass the microphone <v Tom Spencer>over here. As I do that, I'd like to just turn to our home audience for a moment <v Tom Spencer>and address them. Unfortunately, we are running out of time for this program <v Tom Spencer>and for the whole series of forums that we've been holding throughout this week on <v Tom Spencer>Citizens Education Project. <v Tom Spencer>Uh we'll be saying good night to you in a moment. I'm sure the discussion will continue <v Tom Spencer>as it has every single evening here in the studios, uh and <v Tom Spencer>we'll get some good interaction, some networking going on. <v Tom Spencer>We would like to thank you for watching this evening. <v Tom Spencer>And we'd also like to alert you to some things that are gonna be taking place over the <v Tom Spencer>course of uh the next few hours and the next few weeks. <v Tom Spencer>Starting later this evening on the commercial affiliates here in town, uh <v Tom Spencer>Channel 7, CBS, is going to be running a feature on parents <v Tom Spencer>at risk, and uh reaching out, and involving parents, and giving them skills they need.

<v Tom Spencer>On KVUE 24 tonight on their 10 o'clock report, they're going <v Tom Spencer>to be talking about an- some of the very same issues that we have here in our studios. <v Tom Spencer>KXAN is doing a piece on citizenship class, which is one of the subjects we talked <v Tom Spencer>kind of briefly about here earlier this evening. <v Tom Spencer>Of course, we are not going to be on the air tomorrow night with Austin at issue, <v Tom Spencer>but we are going to have uh several more programs where we follow up on the whole <v Tom Spencer>help-wanted project. The next program is one that I'm tremendously excited about. <v Tom Spencer>This is gonna be happening on October the 17th. <v Tom Spencer>It's going to be kind of the conclusion for this whole project, and it's going <v Tom Spencer>to be simulcast by all of Austin's television stations at once. <v Tom Spencer>You won't be able to escape. It's going to be happening on 8 p.m., and it should <v Tom Spencer>uh look very intensely at the issues that have been discussed in the community- hopefully <v Tom Spencer>have some re- uh some news to report about results in the community as well. <v Tom Spencer>Uh tomorrow here in Austin, Saturday, uh the 26th,

<v Tom Spencer>there's gonna be a pep rally for education that you can attend at the convention center. <v Tom Spencer>It's happening from 10 to 1. <v Tom Spencer>Uh there'll be a lot of speakers, uh Wilhemina Doko, one of the keynote speakers there, <v Tom Spencer>uh well-known figures like Willy Kaseric and Jake Pickle, I believe will be on hand as <v Tom Spencer>well. And I hope that you will attend that. <v Tom Spencer>Very important that you do. And finally, if you'd like to get more information about the <v Tom Spencer>whole project, the Citizens Education Project, there is a speakers bureau that will <v Tom Spencer>send somebody to your club or organization and a telephone number with an <v Tom Spencer>office if you're interested. <v Tom Spencer>838-2437 is that telephone number. <v Tom Spencer>We have some time left here in the studios again. <v Tom Spencer>Good night to the folks at home. We're going to continue our conversations, ma'am. <v Tom Spencer>We have a couple of people waiting. So if you don't mind, briefly, uh go ahead and make <v Tom Spencer>your comment. <v Nancy Puentes>My name is Nancy Puentes. I work for a educational research laboratory here in <v Nancy Puentes>Austin. Uh I wanted to say two things real quickly. <v Nancy Puentes>One is that one minority we haven't touched on is Native Americans, and I've had <v Nancy Puentes>the good fortune of doing some research.

<v Nancy Puentes>And in particular, I wanted to say that the U.S. <v Nancy Puentes>Department of Education funds a whole network of Indian educational- Indian <v Nancy Puentes>education technical assistance centers, and for Texas and Oklahoma that <v Nancy Puentes>center is located in Norman and is called the American Indian Research <v Nancy Puentes>and Development Incorporated. <v Nancy Puentes>And I wanted to do this over the air, because uh one problem in Texas <v Nancy Puentes>is that Native Americans tend to be scattered. <v Nancy Puentes>But uh that center informed me that there are moneys going <v Nancy Puentes>under-utilized in Texas uh under what's called Title 7. <v Nancy Puentes>The second thing I wanted to say was sort of to repeat a point I heard on one of the <v Nancy Puentes>radio stations yesterday, which is uh that I think our society <v Nancy Puentes>is making a mistake to put so much emphasis on requiring a college degree. <v Nancy Puentes>And one of the points was made that uh one woman was saying <v Nancy Puentes>she had a college degree, but she learned so much more on the first year of a job <v Nancy Puentes>than she did in four years of college, and I would just like to say, as a person that has

<v Nancy Puentes>a PhD, that I would have to reiterate that uh it seems like every job <v Nancy Puentes>I've had, I've had to learn so much on the first year of the job anyway. <v Nancy Puentes>And uh I've also supervised people that do not have a college degree that I think are <v Nancy Puentes>just excellent. And maybe that's uh one thing we should consider. <v Tom Spencer>Thank you for your comments. All right. We have a gentleman over here who's been waiting <v Tom Spencer>quite some time. And sir, I haven't been trying to avoid you, ?is? <v Tom Spencer>trying to juggle things around. Thanks for being here. <v Larry Abram>Thanks. My name's Larry Abram and I uh work at the University in the Kinesiology <v Larry Abram>Department and also I'm active at Blanton Elementary School here. <v Larry Abram>[music begins] And you asked much earlier a question about why is it that the situation <v Larry Abram>is the way it is. Um and I think that there's a strong historical <v Larry Abram>um that we need to look at um- historically, our education <v Larry Abram>has been uh very different. <v Larry Abram>It's been controlled by uh people who um have really <v Larry Abram>run schools for less than all of the people in our country. <v Larry Abram>And uh classrooms are much more homogeneous.

<v Larry Abram>And uh the uh workforce was, I think, <v Larry Abram>to some extent exploited, and uh we're looking at change- [music ends] <v Larry Abram>Um in uh bringing more and more uh concern about <v Larry Abram>educating everyone, and so we see teachers with classrooms of much more diverse students, <v Larry Abram>it's not surprising that they have more difficulty. <v Larry Abram>Um and we have uh- I think that we need to keep in mind that when we talk about <v Larry Abram>multicultural situations, that uh we're not just talking about [music begins] ethnic <v Larry Abram>differences, but uh there are cultures within ethnicities that are strong. <v Larry Abram>We see that in the city. <v Larry Abram>And uh- when whenever people that are so diverse are tryin- being <v Larry Abram>educated, it presents new problems. <v Larry Abram>And yet, for the most part, education is still being run by people who either [music <v Larry Abram>ends] um overtly believe in a [music begins] much more limited

<v Larry Abram>system or perhaps uh because of their own background think what should education be like <v Larry Abram>when they think back to their own experiences? <v Larry Abram>?inaudible? be like when I was in school, we were all in school. <v Larry Abram>It was very different for very different reasons, and to make it be like that again would <v Larry Abram>be uh wrong. <v Tom Spencer>A teacher I spoke with um last week um <v Tom Spencer>referenced this. <v Larry Abram>Can I just? Can I- <v Tom Spencer>Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. <v Larry Abram>The last thing I want to say was that um a major problem that our schools face <v Larry Abram>today is uh a lack of resources. <v Larry Abram>And yet, if we would all come together and recognize that we need to <v Larry Abram>change things and to make things, make a new kind of school for a new kind of society <v Larry Abram>with new goals, uh there are resources available. ?inaudible? <v Tom Spencer> <v Tom Spencer>?inaudible? And I'm as guilty of that as the next person.

<v Tom Spencer>But if you think if we'd spent- invest- just the amount we spend on athletic footwear, on <v Tom Spencer>our youth, we'd be in good shape. <v Speaker>[inaudible discussion and music continues]