Meanwhile, City Seeks New Slogan

Baltimore public schools' CEO has ordered an evaluation of a controversial, dumbed-down reading curriculum in use there, called Studio Course, As I noted in this recent post, writing samples are drawn from teen magazine with articles on kissing and flirting, one lesson defines verbs as "stuff," and the curriculum failed to boost scores in Denver.

Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden says his office has been flooded with calls from angry parents since an article in The Sun on Sunday outlined the program, which uses teen magazines and places grammar on the back burner. One of the magazines used is CosmoGIRL!, whose current issue includes tips on making out. "It's an insult, and it must be discontinued immediately," said McFadden, the Senate majority leader. "As a member of the Budget and Tax Committee, I have to go down there and fight in Annapolis to bring back resources to the [city school] system. There is no logical way this can be defended."

...Sally Mentor Hay, director of Studio Learning Inc., said in a statement that the review team is "a great idea." "It's a strong curriculum," said Mentor Hay, who is working as a consultant to the city school system. "I'm confident they're going to be pleased and will recognize it's what they want the students in Baltimore to learn."....In Baltimore, one of the most controversial elements of the curriculum has been a worksheet, distributed at a school board meeting last month, that defines a noun as "stuff" and a verb as "what stuff does." "We don't need 'stuff' for our children," McFadden said this week. "We need a rigorous educational curriculum based on sound educational principles. Anything less is unacceptable." Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the curriculum "is dumbing down our children. You can't put it any other way."

Studio was implemented this fall in all 21 of Baltimore's traditional middle schools, plus two alternative schools and one K-8 school. School system officials said they were making a drastic change in instruction because of dismal middle school test scores. The school board approved the use of the curriculum in July for the school year beginning in August. The curriculum has a track record in only one other city, Denver, where Mentor Hay was chief academic officer until this year and reading and writing test scores have been flat in the four years since Studio was adopted. A new superintendent and chief academic officer there are also contemplating changes.

Seems like self-improvement is in the air in Baltimore. On another front, Baltimore still hasn't caught the drug addicts stealing lightpoles for scrap metal; but the city HAS has contracted with a San Francisco firm to develop a new city slogan (via Boston Globe, free reg. req.).

To search for just the right words, the city has formed a Repositioning Task Force and hired a San Francisco agency that specializes in ''branding" products. No doubt there's plenty to work with, including national-caliber museums, an immensely popular waterfront, and charming, old neighborhoods. The challenge is to tout the city's assets without ignoring its gritty, self-deprecating character. If it's too hyped up, officials worry, the promotion may become a punch line. Years ago, for example, residents disposed of one motto, ''The City That Reads," by making it ''The City That Bleeds." Even before the new catchphrase is unveiled, locals are forming ideas of their own:

''Baltimore: Duck!" a shopkeeper said.

''Baltimore: We're Not Gary, [Ind.]," an executive security consultant offered.

"Baltimore: Coming Right Along," a man atop a Fells Point barstool said.

Those three authors were quick to say they liked living in Baltimore.

The reading curriculum snafu suggests another possibility: "We Don't Put On Airs In Baltimore." If they ditch Studio Course, maybe, "The City That Learns From Its Mistakes." Then there's, "We Finally Caught Our Lightpole Thieves." Be nice if that last one would actually come true. Another option: "Baltimore: People Takin' Care Of Business."

TECHNORATI TAGS: BALTIMORE, READING CURRICULUM, STUDIO COURSE, CITY SLOGAN, LIGHT POLES

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at December 12, 2005 04:10 PM

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