A controversial high school class known as Living in A Contemporary World may finally become an optional, half-year course rather than a year-long requirement for 9th graders, according to Harford County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Roger Plunkett.
Living in a Contemporary World (LICW) was originally billed as a class that would help freshmen learn how to be successful in high school, but it veered off into strange territory for an audience of 14-year-olds, like how to write a resume and fill out a tax return. Not surprisingly, the course has been widely scorned as irrelevant and/or redundant and a general waste of time, yet it inexplicably remains in the curriculum. So making the course optional would be happy news for the thousands of new high school students who endure the class each year, not to mention their teachers.
In fact an external consulting firm, hired to gather feedback on LICW and other aspects of high school reform, noted in a report to the school board that all stakeholder groups found the class “extremely problematic”. In polite consultant-speak, those are some pretty strong words.
Here’s an excerpt from the report dated April 21, 2008:
One component of Concept 3 was extremely problematic in the eyes of every stakeholder group: implementation of the 9th grade transition course Living in a Contemporary World. Only 7% of the teachers, 13% of the students, 17% of school counselors, 22% of parents, 24% of administrators, and 28% of supervisors and coordinators agreed or strongly agreed that this course helps students adjust to high school expectations. [Emphasis added.] Slightly larger percentages of each group indicated that the course includes important information and skills for 9th graders to learn.
In other words, you had to go all the way up the chain of command to supervisors and coordinators to find a stakeholder group where only 72% of the respondents thought LICW was a failure.
The report continues:
In group discussions, the course was portrayed by stakeholders as lacking appropriate resources and sufficient professional development as well as having goals and instructional activities that were inappropriate for 9th grade students’ developmental needs. Many teachers, students, and parents called it a “waste of time.”
Comments from all groups reflected two apparently opposite perspectives on the course’s curriculum. Some content – such as note taking and organization skills – was perceived to have been studied (or should be studied) in elementary and middle school or to be content that could be acquired in a short period of time. Other course content – such as income taxes, the stock market, how to balance a checkbook, and how to write a resume – was indicated by stakeholders as more appropriate for juniors and seniors about to enter the workforce, at least on a part time basis.
In the three years since LICW was implemented, many teachers have tried to add value to the 80-plus minutes every other day that freshmen spend in this class. But why have these teachers been stuck putting lipstick on a pig in the first place? It’s up to the administration to set this right and it’s long overdue.
Whether or not Roger Plunkett, who joined HCPS last June, can stop the madness remains to be seen. That’s because the need to add classes like LICW to the high school curriculum was used to justify the need for an 8-credit block schedule. And the 8-credit block schedule is the underpinning of a series of reforms implemented in the fall of 2006 known as CSSRP.
The sad part is, in high schools that had been operating under a 6 or 7-credit schedule prior to CSSRP, the time needed for an 8th credit had to be carved out of time spent in core classes like English, math, science and social studies. In the case of LICW at least, that time turned out to be largely wasted.
Plunkett says he is in the process of meeting with principals and other administrators to consider shortening the class from a full year to a semester and to make the class more relevant to a targeted group of 9th graders – those who want or need help transitioning into high school – and allowing others to opt out in favor of an elective. What’s interesting is that students may have had that power all along.
The consultants’ report notes that LICW is not a graduation requirement. Nor is LICW listed as a graduation requirement in the HCPS Student Education Planning Guide for 2009-2010. A call to the Maryland State Department of Education confirmed LICW is also not a requirement of the state. And the “requirement” itself is unevenly applied – students in the Aberdeen Science & Math Academy don’t have to take the class at all.
So it’s hard to imagine how a diploma could be denied to a student in the general program who wanted to opt out of the course. And if students can skip the course and still graduate, how many would choose to take the class in its current form? Meaning that one way or another, it looks like changes are coming for LICW.
Well Hats off to Mr. Plunkett for not only listening to an outside consultant group with absolutely NO hidden agenda in their study, but also using common sense.
I always say common sense is not so common, but for once common sense persevered! How any high school educator can justify taking time away from integral classes like English, math and history to offer a yearlong class that is as invaluable as this one, is beyond me.
The unfortunate teachers who had this curriculum shoved down their throats also deserve some credit for speaking their minds and trying to make the 80 minutes constructive. Furthermore some HCPS high schools already offer a class in balancing a check book, learning about financial responsibility and prepping for real world..I believe it is called Independent Family Living, so redundancy is obvious. Thank you for informing us of this intended change, it can’t happen soon enough.
It sounds like this is a step in the right direction, it is too bad we had to waste 3 years of freshmen students time taking this class. Their time would have been better spent in a study hall.
Hurray Mr. Plunkett! Perhaps Career Clusters could be next on Mr.Plunkett’s hit list. I wonder how long it will be before people start figuring out that the career track classes are also a burden on teachers who really have no knowledge of subjects promised–law, engineering, or medicine, for instance? Too late for my kids.
AMEN!!! This class is a total waste of time to educators and students. It nice that someone has enough guts to speak some truth.
It is sad that this only gets 3 responses! This is a major news article as far as school curriculum!!!!!!
I would say something about this but it speaks for itself… The school system has known for years that this class was a bust and made it the gateway course for secondary school reform.
Unfortunately I have learned over the years that the decisions made by the Director of Secondary Education and many of the Board of Education members has little or nothing to do with the best interest of the children. I have heard them say repeatedly over this Red Pump vs. Campus Hills site, that they want what is best for the kids. Unfortunately, secondary school reform was never about student achievement and you have to wonder with all of these issues what their real motivation it.
If you look at the consultant report from last year there are many “concepts” that are in serious trouble. How many Board of Education meetings have focused on the findings in this report. Answer ZERO! They paid $50,000 to be told that they need to reexamine many of these elements and not one bit of attention paid by the people who instituted it in the first place. One of the Board members told our PTA that it was already talked about. I hope the new superintendent really cares about taking an objective look at the mess that was made over the past several years.
There are two reasons (at least) that so few people comment: One, they aren’t paying attention, or two, they are tired of beating their heads against the wall.
This course is in its third year, so this was a pretty quick change. The block schedule is also in the third year, but (and this is too bad for the people) no figures seem to come out about how or if test scores have changed. I am always a bit apprehensive about test scores from year to year anyway because some year groups score higher ( and if the schools’ scores jumped around the way my kids’ scores jump and dip, people would get interested).
Harford County parents need to really look at what the schools are doing. Many, many, many students are making it through high school without basic skills. Part of the problem is that people think that their kids will be fine. Because as we all know, our own kids are smarter and better than everyone else’s kids. Parents see A’s and B’s on report cards and think their little angels are learning what they are supposed to be learning–and some are–but a large number are not. I ramble….I wish the new superintendent the very best. He or she will have a lot of work to do if Harford County is ever going to be progressive in educating a scientific and technical workforce.
LICW will probably be offered in its current form for at least one more year. This year’s 8th graders have already registered for 9th grade and LICW was typed into the scheduling form as a required course for 9th graders. Somehow I don’t see the guidance counselors sitting down with all those kids to rework their schedules. Besides what would they take? Great, another elective like Food Prep or Caring for Children. Those will look great on those college applications. When I worked out the “4 year plan” with my child, the biggest problem we had with the 32 credits was that there weren’t enough meaningful classes to fill the schedule.
A current 8th grader who wanted to opt out of LICW for next year could request a waiver from their high school principal now. Such waivers have been granted in the past and student schedules can be changed up to and including the first day of school.
But Margaret is right, this change would have to be requested by the student and there is still the question of what can be substituted now.
LICW is currently a full year course, offered on alternating days. So a student who was allowed to opt out would have to choose another elective (music, fine art, etc) offered in the same format as LICW is now.
If LICW is made into a semester course for 2010, other course offerings would have to be developed in a semester format to match up with LICW to fill out the year. And the students who didn’t need to take LICW at all could get a study hall or another elective.
Or better yet, get rid of the block schedule and students won’t end up fishing around for an 8th credit to take, which comes at the expense of instruction time in core classes.
Do you think it occurred to the powers that be that even though they get teachers to teach six classes instead of five with the block schedule, they still have to find 32 classes for each student to take rather than 28? I thought that I had thought of many angles for the block schedule, but offering all the extra (relevant) classes did not occur to me. The students who are finishing 11th grade now will be the first class to go through four years with the block schedule. I wonder what kind of filler classes they will be taking as seniors?
To be fair some schools had an 8 credit per year schedule before the reform.
If LICW was made a semester course for next year that would be an easy fix. The student could get their other .5 Physical Education Credit in. If it was eliminated it would be an easy fix for some students who are taking Algebra A and B they would get to take an elective.
I do not remember seeing Study Hall as an approved course being offered at any school; although the “Yellow Book” is 128 pages thick and reads like stereo instructions so I could have missed it. Could someone point me to it? Why would a kid need to study at school? Shouldn’t they be doing that at home with their parents?
I think an 8 period day can offer lots of meaningful courses along with a balance of other courses to help make a well rounded kid. It all depends on what you think is meaningful.
Just my 2 cents.
I think the study hall reference was supposed to be funny. Free periods are great for kids who are taking very heavy course loads and want to participate in activities; unfortunately, as far as I know, this is not a Harford County policy (study halls would make sense–the college prep schools have them).
And my comment about meaningful courses is in reference to hearing about kids taking advanced health and child development to fill out junior and senior year schedules. My concerns are for the top achieving, university-bound kids who are looking at top-25 colleges and universities. I am sure there are plenty of kids who would benefit from all kinds of different courses, but traditional college prep curriculum is what I want for my kids.
HCPS doesn’t currently offer study hall, so it was more of a suggestion and mostly because I think it would be a better use of time than LICW for a lot of kids. I do agree with “Sinne”, there are benefits of study hall too.
Study halls–or free periods– are great for kids. They give them some down time or time to do homework or read. They can do research in the library or in some schools they can use the computer lab. In our huge public schools, supervision may be an issue. A few kids getting into trouble ruin it for the kids who would benefit.
And Cindy is right, free time is much more valuable than a class that simply fills time.
Disagree about study halls. Homework starts with HOME! That said let’s say 25 freshman are enrolled in a study hall. Smart kids do HW at home. That is 5 unoccupied children. Then 7 kids who never do homework. 12 more kids with nothing to do. So what do 12 kids with nothing to do actually do……Talk. 4 more kids who want to study can not. 3 more join in. Sounds like a baby sitter, chance to get in trouble and social hour to me. Lunch is a good time to decompress. Just my opinion
College kids have plenty of classes to take. extra foriegn language, AP sciences not to mention doing a half day schedule and going to HCC your senior year and get english 101 and basic requirements out of the way at a much cheaper price tag then a 4 year institution.
If you want your kid to have a “low stress” class, maybe an extra phys ed. Something the kid is interested in. Some schools have more options then others.
Cdev:
Where does your child attend high school? You are right in that there were a few schools in Harford County that had the 8 period schedule before it went countywide – North Harford and Joppatowne. When this schedule was implemented, the only schedule the Board ever considered was the 8 period schedule. For many years at Harford Community College, the most 12 graders who attended were students from North Harford because they had very few options/classes to take in their senior year and now other students in the county are facing the same thing.
I have 2 kids who have gone through this schedule and both of them have had difficulty in their senior year getting classes. Many of the students end up being office aides or tutors. Now take small schools like Havre de Grace, Patterson Mill and Joppatowne and they have very few course offerings. It is very very unfair to the students because colleges look at what you take in your senior year and if you are not taking something academically challenging, it goes against you in the admission process. There are also schools that do not look favorably upon kids leaving college to attend a community college or work study. Also, you are assuming that a student has the ability to transport themselves to the college which many do not.
There should be a large offering of AP classes at all schools. If the smaller schools can’t offer them, then maybe there should be teachers that rotate to these schools and teach them so the kids can take AP courses at their home school. It is a lot cheaper than college and some of the schools already have lots of options. My daughter would love to take more AP classes but she has no choices – very very sad.
Cdev–
You and I are coming from very different directions. Here’s the situation: a very bright child is enrolled in a school–private or magnet–that is a one-hour ride from home and is taking four or five AP classes. That child also wants to do a sport that takes two hours of practice that starts at 4 p.m. and then has the hour drive home. It is now 7 p.m. and time to eat, shower and do three or four hours of homework. Hmmmm. Sure would have been nice to have had an hour at school to work. Really smart kids taking really tough classes need to decompress. People just don’t know it because there are so few of them out there.
A student who takes AP English in 11th grade doesn’t need to take a half a day senior year to take English 101 at the college because AP English in 11th grade is English 101 and if you blow the SATs out of the water, the 11th grade AP English will give you six credits at some colleges. And you might want to look in to what the high schools are offering in the foreign language area before you suggest that as an option–there’s not much out there in HCPS. I am waaaay too involved in this issue right now.
Going to HCC part time isn’t really an option because HCPS has A and B days, but HCC classes are MW or T,TH. The “A” days don’t alway fall on Monday and Wednesday.
Study halls are a great way to decompress or get some homework done. It’s a way to learn some time management. But I don’t see it ever being an option for High Schooler at Patterson Mill. They are too concerned about high school and middle school students being together to ever allow the high school students the freedom to decide what to do with their free time.
HCPS students do take classes at HCC. I think they schedule afternoon blocks or morning blocks and go Monday through Thursday to the college. Again, it is not a great option for athletes.
Elaine Mine do not yet! But will go to Joppatowne! I have had family at Joppatowne, Edgewood and Fallston. I know some schools do not have the AP offering of other schools.
Joppatowne has worked kids schedules senior year so they have no classes after 2nd block and take college courses all week. Some of them go to college with AP credits and courses at HCC a sophmore. Sounds like a deal saving money on a whole year of college. Sinne Cal I was just suggesting courses. Obviously any student would need to tailor their classes to their needs. Statistics, Calculus, Modern Civ., etc…
Elaine colleges look at freshman year too. Taking Study hall is just as much of a joke as the courses you suggest. Additionally one period of student Aide senior year is not a killer. Your kid has options.
Sinne Cal, Your child and you should have understood what was involved in a magnet school. The bus ride and time should have all been factors in your decision as to which school you choose. If the sport is too much then maybe drop the sport. Student comes first in Student Athlete. I went to a magnet school in MD myself very similar to Aberdeen. We had an 8 period day and I played a sport. I did not have a study hall and was accepted to a very well known college. It can be done if you want it. But you have to give things up and takes work.
Thanks for the advice Cdev. I just offered an example. My children are not at the SMA. However, the young people who are graduating this year from the SMA are only the second class to graduate. When they signed up, they took a huge risk because the SMA had only been in operation for less than a year when they applied. Since then, our annointed school board made the decision to start school even earlier for high school students and I am guessing that some of them catch the bus around six in the morning.
And dropping sports is exactly what kids are doing. Unfortunately, sports teach many things that classrooms do not: working as a team, losing and winning gracefully, etc. They also provide a great stress relief.
I wish you the very best with your little ones, but many of the people on this site are living (or have lived) the nightmare of HCPS–especially at the high school level.
First off, it is important to know that students at the SMA are not required to take LICW. It isn’t even offered to them. That should tell you something about the importance of the class.About the discussion of taking a 1/2 day of classes at HCC, there is a better option. Have your studennt take all necessary classes in 9-11 grade.
Make sure they double up in English, 11th and 12th grade, and get them the waiver to graduate a year earlier. They will be considered, assuming they have enough credits, a senior in what would be their junior year, so they don’t miss out on prom and other activities. But they have to have all required classes and the proper number of credits.
And just think about how much money Harford County would save if we could just get all of the kids to graduate at the end of 11th grade. Another option is dropping out at age 16 and taking the GED. That would be great for HCPS too.
Sinne Cal
You seem very active and that is good. But I think you miss that not all students are the same. Some students are not college bound …and that is alright. They will be productive member’s of society and have a job. You may hire these people some day. There is nothing wrong with that. But these kids need to learn skills and a slow down before jumping into High School full tilt. They will get C’s and D’s sometimes but that too is OK. Their needs are totally different. Part of the problem is you want all of the options of large schools in the small school atmosphere. Unfortunately you can’t have both.
I think part of the problem with the course when I talk to teacher’s who are friends of mine that have taught it is that it had a very well planned out curriculum until the “Chacolate War” fiasco. When it was removed mid year it never got replaced and then teachers had 4 less weeks of material. That material never got replaced and teachers got told to be creative. Other aspects of the original curriculum got sacrificed too. That left a very chaotic mess to fill.
“The Chocolate War” is a book about bullying that was removed from the LICW curriculum in September 2006 because some parents found the book objectionable. It was replaced by another book on bullying, “Inventing Elliott”, in November of 2007.
Whatever disruption the removal of a book may have caused, the book was replaced over two and one-half years ago, so it’s hard to see why this would still be causing problems now. And in some ways, that misses the point.
Whatever the reason, a course that is such a work-in-progress should not be forced on students in HCPS.
When you debut a course and in the middle of it remove 4 weeks of lessoms that is a huge disruption. Yes it got replaced by Inventing Elliot but that was not the only change that got added in the name of “objectionablitity”
Cdev, rest assured, you know nothing about me. Believe me, I have a really good idea of what the HCPS schools are producing. Also know that my main motivation is for my own kids while I understand very well that an educated populace is good for our community. We have a huge employer in this county that will only grow over the next decade and that employer needs educated employees.
Actually having to remove the “Chocolate War” is symbolic of many of the problems with the class.
The reason the book had to be removed wasn’t because of the nature of the book but the fact that it hadn’t gone through the proper “review channels” before it was selected to be the novel for that particular unit. Regardless of whether or not it was appropriate wasn’t the issue but it ended up being a procedural error.
Other problems are that this class doesn’t fall into any particular subject area (although it is supposed to be social science). Several years ago this class was not being taught be content certified teachers and more teachers than not, had never had professional development for this class. Additionally, the assessments for this class are questionable because of the way the class is structured and if your student attended Patterson Mill this year, they decided unilaterally to make up a new homework policy that was really difficult in a class like this.