Mirador 4/23/10 OPINION 7

Be Responsible, Vote on Measure A

Tensions over Tutoring Reveal Educational IssuesWho is to blame: students, teachers, or parents? Answer: none of the aboveby Craig Dathe

Tutoring can be a sticky topic for discussion. Some students swear by it, others won’t go near it and still others wish they had it but can’t afford it. On the other side of the desk are teachers who support tutors, teachers who couldn’t care less, and teachers who harbor hard feelings and bitterness toward the tutoring profession. With so much underlying tension, the tutoring scene at Miramonte must have something to tell us about our educations.

First, let’s look at the institution of tutoring itself. In a perfect world it wouldn’t exist; the education system would be effective enough that students wouldn’t need outside help. However, as we well know, the world falls short of perfection.

Public education in this country, and especially California, is terrifying if you allow yourself to think about it long enough. Public schools receive mandated curriculums from the state but they struggle to find the time and facilities to fulfill them. Even when the standards aren’t arcane and outdated, there is no way for one teacher with five 30+ student classes a day to fit those standards to each student’s individual learning styles.

It would then appear that tutors provide a necessary service. Students can get outside help to supplement the inadequate public education system. Whether we like it or not, high school grades are integrated into the college admissions game, a crap-shoot of an affair that needs as much revision as does public education. Scoring well on the SAT/ACT tests practically requires learning a new language, which is a feat that is much more easily facilitated with an expert on the subject.

It is almost impossible nowadays to get a substantial job without a degree, so for most students, getting good grades and scoring high on standardized tests are of the utmost priority. Tutoring can help make that priority a reality.

All this would be fine and dandy except for one thing: tutoring isn’t free. In fact, the best tutors can be very expensive. A month of services from a local tutor can range from $200 to $300. Like so many other conflicts, the money question is to blame for some of the tension. However, the true issue at hand does not concern the annual incomes of Miramonte parents at all.

I turned to Tom Clements, the most well-known local private tutor, for his opinion on the subject. He has the build of a former football player, the vocabulary of a

graduate school English professor, and the smarts to run an institution that, if the principles of capitalism are to be believed, generates great success for its clients.

Clements disregards the popular assertion that tutoring is simply a way for those unqualified to be teachers to make more money than teachers do, and to do so with minimal effort and societal contribution.

“Like everything else in life, there are good tutors and bad tutors,” said Clements. “Bad tutors don’t get much return business so market forces and subject-matter expertise combine to winnow out the less-knowledgeable and therefore less successful tutors. Moreover, just like good teachers, goods tutors spend a great deal of time preparing the material they present. For example, in my classes I don’t just ‘do homework;’ I actually teach the material, providing lectures on concepts and procedures for problem solving.”

From my own personal experience of a year and a half’s worth of sessions with Clements, this is the truth. You can ask just about any student that goes to Tom and they will give you the same answer. I loved Physics, but the course would not have been manageable for me without Clements helping me to learn the concepts.

So it should surprise no one that Clements is not a tutor without credentials: he was in pre-med as an undergrad

and studied applied mathematics in graduate school, and he taught English at St. Mary’s College before taking on tutoring full-time. So what do teachers have to say on the matter? I asked Jennifer Moore, who teaches Chemistry

and AP Chemistry, for her opinion. Chemistry courses are notorious for their difficulty, so predictably many chemistry students seek help from a tutor. Apparently this situation has caused friction between Chemistry teachers and Chemistry tutors in the past.

“I’m totally in favor of tutoring if the students need help,” said Moore. “But [I’m not in favor of it] when the student is like, ‘I’m not going to pay attention in class because my tutor’s going to teach me it later.’”

Considerable tension arises from this corner of the ring. Parents and students who are against academic outsourcing will nod in agreement with furrowed brows when reading the following sentence. Is it that in-class education isn’t enough and students need the outside help, or are Miramonte students too lazy and rich for their own good and can afford to have a tutor streamline the education process for them? Especially in a course like Chemistry, which is, as Moore describes it, “one of the

first classes that’s challenging even for the smart kids,” the temptation to shut down and find a back door to a high grade is incredibly high.

Academic purists believe that this backdoor is unfair. Wealthy parents should teach their children to work harder if they get bad grades, not medicate each bad grade on a report card with a tutor.

“Teachers do the best they can burdened with large class size and bureaucratic constraints,” said Clements. “Tutors are free of that and students who come to tutors do so because they want to excel and succeed, not because they’re lazy. Academic excellence is the goal. It’s absolutely criminal to criticize kids for trying to enhance their understanding of difficult subject matter and improve their grades at school. Kids who put in extra time each week with tutors should be applauded, not denigrated.”

We live in a capitalist society, and in capitalist societies services are offered where there is a need for them, and are sold at the highest price that the market will accept. Some of us can meet that price, and others can’t. Capitalism is not fair.

All this ignorant money tension is also given steam by the misconception that Orinda is a NorCal version of Beverly Hills. We probably received the richer-than-God stereotype because Orinda started out as a vacation-home area for San Francisco urbanites, but it hasn’t been that way since the Caldecott Tunnel was built. Lazy kids can be found in every socioeconomic stratum, so banish accusations against character from your mind. It is horrible to criticize someone for using all the means at his or her disposal to conquer this beast called public education.

What’s more, teachers and student peers offer free tutoring in the library after school. This service is terribly underutilized, and hopefully more students will use the help right here on campus in coming years. If you believe that the current education system is adequate, then you need to take a big step back into reality.

And perhaps most important of all, the local tutors are compassionate, supportive members of our community. They really care about students; otherwise they wouldn’t spend hours every day with them, and students wouldn’t keep returning for their help. They should be the last subjects for your criticism.

The education dilemma is a much greater problem than any puny drama over tutoring. After all, we the students, parents, tutors and teachers are all on the same side.

So let’s stop throwing rocks across the fence at each other and confront the issues that face all of us. Hey, voting yes on Measure A would be a great place to start. Students, tell your parents to vote yes for it; parents, stuff that ballot box. I hope I’m preaching to the choir here, but if that measure doesn’t pass, then another very large nail is going into the coffin of the rising generation’s future.

Vote for change with Measure A and help the future of Miramonte by Katherine Doyle

Biting your nails. Bad habit. Forgetting your homework. Bad habit.Chewing gum with your mouth open. Bad habit. Voting. Good habit.

If you turn 18 before May 4, vote on Measure A. Whether you support or oppose the added tax proposition, it’s important to start a routine of awareness, motivation, and action when it comes to local, state, and national issues.

Too many Americans fall into the practice of blank ballots. The most effective and efficient way to influence district policies is by voting. Another plus: it’s easy.

You have a responsibility to yourself, your community, and the generations to come.

Just because this phrase has resounded in your ears ever since you were no longer the “younger generation,” repetition should not undermine its message: your vote can change public policies. But usually when you hear the phrase, the effort or deeds required on your part are vague, demanding, or for the long term.

However, nothing could be easier than checking a box to fulfill your civil obligations. You can only hope giving back to others will always be so simple.

Don’t wear the nametag of adult without consciousness: turning 18 offers the key to significant rights and sets you on par with every other voter in terms of individual power. If you are so inclined to further participate in the Measure A scene, there is plenty to do, 18 or not. Anyone

can volunteer for the phone bank, a group that calls individual homes to get a sense of the numbers for and against as well as sway votes.

In fact, a few students have already engaged in this activity, including those in Leadership such as sophomore Sarah Brovelli, who has donated five hours of her time.

“Not many people want to put in the effort,” said Brovelli. “But, being a sophomore, my future is Measure A.”

Although some students may hesitate to offend residents with calls, Brovelli assures that most receive the calls with interest, or at least consideration.

“There has only been one guy who was actually mean to me [on the phone].”

Other students and parents have collaborated on awareness events, such as an exhibition of visual and performing arts that took place in Lafayette on March 28. This week students are hanging reminder fliers on the doors of “yes” voters.

Proactive efforts can even be as simple as a dinner table discussion with parents - tossing opinions back and forth while becoming familiar with other arguments and demonstrating your own understanding.

Participate in the Measure A debate, and not only launch your career as an active and perceptive citizen, but initiate the practice of being a self-advocate. At 16, you take advantage of driving; at 18, take advantage of voting. It is pivotal to excericse your duty as a citizen

and an active particpant in our community to. Help future Miramonte students achieve the education you have been given. Give back and vote for the next generations.

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Kids who put in extra time each week with tutors should be applauded, not denigrated.

Students show support for Measure A at school.Photo: D. Louie