Congressional Record, Education, 1967

EDUCATION Impact of Elementary and Secondary Education Act upon Individual Children - Jan . 19 National Teacher Corps - April 12 Commencement Address @ Kansas State College, Pittsburg, Kansas - June 16 Commencement Address @ Anoka Ramsey Junior College - July 25 Appropriation for Teacher Corps - Aug. 2 Adult Vocational Training - Aug 9 Development of Teacher Aid Programs - Jan. 30 8584 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE January 19, 1967 Heroism, and carnage, did not end then at One of our most gratifying projects made make a sound Thus the inception of a plan! Ashau. That a.fternoon the Special Forces possible by 89-10 Title I cannot be measured Let's put these four children In one class survivors got orders to evacuate the camp. or evaluated by any testing device known to and maybe with the security of their siblings That day and for the next two days choppers us. We submit the following teacher ob they will respond. Faced with the problems scoured the area and picked up scattered servation type of evaluation as evidence of of not having the time or a teacher for a groups of survivors. progress in the project. The project evolved special class, he could not put his plan in Bernie Fisher and Jump Myers landed at with and revolved around a family of four operation untll the advent of 89-10. Pleiku just after 1 p.m. on March 10. Myers educationally deprived children. The chil On March I, 89--10 brought a new di was whisked off to the fiight surgeon, who dren will be referred to as "A" (a girl, age mension to the lives of these little sUent gave him some drops for his red eyes and ten). "B" (a girl, age ntne) , "C" (a boy, age ones. I was given time each day to have told him that otherwise he was in splendid eight). and "D" (a boy, age seven), supplemental reading classes so I reserved a shape. Then they were both ushered in to CONCERN BEGINS EARLY special time for these four. They were a see the deputy commander of the 7th Air bit fearful of the situation at first but We first became concerned about "AH dur gradually the shell of that snent world Force. By the next day Fisher's recommen 1961-62. Ing the school year of As a klnder cracked I I read to them, talked about pic dation for the Medal of Honor was alrelWy garter student, she did not respond to any of being dra.fted. tures and dlrected my questions to "B" and the activities presented to the class. She "C" because I was sure they would respond. Before going back to fiylng missions in did not experience the Joy of counting out their A-IE's, FIsher and Myers took a leave They did so I asked about their farm ani in Bangkok. brightly colored objects, responding to like mals. "A" 'wanted to get In on the con nesses and differences in sounds, creating a versation but found she couldn't get my at "What can you do with a guy like Bernie?" work of art at the easel, modeling an object says Jump Myers. "I would 11ke to furnish tention untll she spoke aloud. Atter that from clay, being a story character in a drama first awful moment of uttering a word aloud him with a year's supply of whiskey. But tization, Sharing a favorite possession or ex he doesn't even drink coffee. So I bought In my presence, she continued to speak in perience during Show and Tell, dashing her harsh, raspy, and unused voice. "D" him a Nlkon camera.--he's the biggest camera across the playground to be first in 11ne, gig buff in the squadron-and had it engraved, also spoke his first words that day, also harsh gling over a shared secret, or any of the other in quality. It was a bit difficult to under Asahu, March 10, 1966. For the first few countless things that kindergarten chlldren days I felt Hke a dead man walking. I stand them because they'd developed their find so del1ghtful. own jargon in communicating at home. I couldn't beHeve it. Then I got over that, and In fact, she was the most pathetic looking it's great to be alive." dismissed them, and I'm not ashamed to ad chlld I had even seen. She entered the class rntt that I wept my thanks to God for hav room every morntng wearing the same sad ing had the opportunity to break down the faced, mask-11ke expression. Her expression barrier. I had known "A" for almost five IMPACT OF ELEMENTARY AND remained the same all day long all year long. years and to my knowledge this had been the SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT We never knew if she enjoyed an activity be first time she'd uttered an audible sound. UPON INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN cause she never uttered a word or sound and Now we knew that there was hope In be never smiled. If attention was focused upon Ing able to teach these chllden to read and Mr. MONDALE. Mr. President, we her, she seemed to "freeze" and look at you have heard much in the past 20 months to learn In the other areas of the curriculum. with the helpless look of a trapped animal. They continued to respond, relax, smlle, of the new Elementary and Secondary All efforts to bring "A" out of her little silent laugh, and tease. When they left my room, Education Act, and of the vital new re world seemed futile. We never knew how they would revert to silence so we knew sources that it has made available to much she had absorbed during that year. that we would have to bring another person schools throughout America to attack "A" was put in a first grade classroom the into the picture gradually. Our llbrarian one of our most urgent educational following year under the assumption that was the next person that they accepted. she would perhaps respond in .the presence They would not respond to any children I problems-the teaching of deprived of her classmates where she might not with children Unfortunately, too often the brought into the room. I worked mainly a strange group of chlldren. "A" began to with instruction in reading and even "D" was impact of this new program is measured respond with a ~rely audible whisper in the able to read in a pre-primer by the end of the by the amount of money which is being first grade. school year. One of the last days of school, spent. Seldom do we hear of its impact We enlisted the help of a psychologist he read ora.lly while the 11brarian was In the on the individual children whose very from a nearby mental health center. Several room. lives hang in the balance. classroom observations were made by the SUMMER PROGRAM A SUCCESS psychologist and conferences were held with I am, therefore, most happy to be able the classroom teacher. The parents were During summer school, I was given the to bring to the attention of the Senate contacted and agreed to take "A" to the opportuntty to work With these children for a recent article entitled "A New Dimen mental health center for consultation and three hours dally for six weeks. We worked sion for the Silent Ones," published in testing. We noted no Improvement in "A" In various areas of the curriculum with em following these sessions. The mother told phasls on reading and math. A -lesson In the Minnesota Journal of Education for handwriting was practiced dally. I tried to January 1967. It is an anonymous ar me during a parent-teaCher conference that she terminated the sessions at the center Include many self-expressive activities such ticle, written by a teacher who describes because during the questioning she suspected as the retelllng of the story the librarian her work to help four children, ages 7 that they were putting the blame on her alld had read to them, explaining a painting through 10. Far from being able to par her husband and the home environment. they'd created at the easel, describing how a ticipate normally in school activities, the character from a record looked or perhaps She said they would never go back or have walked, making up a story, acting out epi children were unable even to speak in anything to do with the center in the sodes from their reading book story. We the presence of their classmates. The future. sang and played records, keeping time to the teacher tells how, through patient effort, Each year, following "A" 's enrollment In music by bouncing a ball, skipping, walking, these children gained the confidence, our school, another member of this family hopping, or Jumping as ·the rhythm de enrolled in kindergarten. They came with manded. Much time was spent trying to one after another, to communicate and varying degrees of "silentness." "B" would to learn. correct their pronunciation of words they answer with a "ya" or "no" and was not as had learned Incorrectly. They seemed to Mr. President, I think this article tells passive as "A" had been. She would not take enjoy every minute of it and were so sur more about the meeting and potential of part in a conversation or answer any ques prised when It was time to go home for the this new legislation than any graph or tion that couldn't be answered by a "ya" or day, "no." "C" was the least silent of the group table of statistics that has yet been pro We had such a time getting the chUdren duced.

Load more