LETTERS.

No Role for the Bible?

As an Illinois public school superintendent of eight years, I would like to share a comment on the May issue of The School Administrator, which was devoted largely to character education.

Teaching good character, tolerance and civility without an authority upon which to base these outstanding virtues is futile, in my opinion. As the dollar is based on gold and freedom is based on a society with laws, so must character education be based on an authority. Until the 1960s, I believe that authority was the Christian Bible.

Today, it would be impossible to suggest that the Bible, or any other form of authority attached to a religion, be used as a reason to behave in a civil manner. That is so sad, for it would give children an authority (or a reason) to adopt virtuous behavior. I have found that students who exhibit the standards trumpeted in the May issue almost always come from families who have a religious base.

The connection has been obvious to me for years. I did not see even a mention of such a connection in any of the articles. Did I miss it?

DENNIS SMITH 

Superintendent,

Trico Community Unit School District No. 176,

Campbell Hill, Ill.

Anatomy Tale Worth Telling

I enjoyed Emilie Lonardi's article ("Anatomy of an Educational Failure" March 1998), which offered me an opportunity to relive some of my own experiences with block scheduling. We are completing our district's fourth year of operation with a 4x4 block schedule. I'm pleased to report that the quality indicators, including standardized test results, have improved considerably each year.

What prompted me to write is the response of some of Lonardi's teachers who were fearful of the change process. The faculty of our junior-senior high school, which has about 700 students, expressed similar fears and concerns, especially in the areas of foreign language and mathematics. (Someone once told me that the only person who likes change is a wet baby.) Unlike Lonardi's experience, our faculty voted to proceed with a 78 percent majority. Against my recommendation, the principal used a secret ballot vote.

That is all history. Today our faculty is united in its resolve to stay the course. Not one teacher (and we did have some healthy skeptics) would return to the old schedule. Teachers' fears about retention of subject matter, too much time between semesters in some subjects, less able students becoming bored and inattentive, etc. were not realized. We picked up much more instructional time--900 minutes per course or 22.5 4O-minute periods of instruction. We released teachers from mundane responsibilities and duties and let them concentrate on teaching.

I could go on and on! However, Lonardi's analysis of failure is an important lesson. My advice to her: Keep the faith and stay the course.

J. BRUCE McKENNA

Superintendent,

Dover Union Free School District,

Dover Plains, N.Y.

Emilie Lonardi deserves congratulations for a well-written and accurate account of her work in my school.

I especially admire her lack of vituperativeness, which she so easily and understandably could have expressed under the circumstances. Only a person of strong character and integrity could have managed it. Kudos!

KATHLEEN AVERY

Teacher,

Camp Hill High School,

Camp Hill, Pa.

A Radical Solution

As a community member who closely monitored the district restructuring program developed under the leadership of Emilie Lonardi, author of "Anatomy of an Educational Failure" (March 1998), I have a much different opinion for why this program was not implemented.

To many observers, the restructuring program was poorly conceived and fundamentally inappropriate for a small school district (1,050 students) with a tradition of high achievement, Of this year's graduating class of 61, with an average SAT score of 1140, nearly 90 percent will go on to higher education.

The development of the restructuring program was kept secret from the cornmunity and school board. Then it was presented to the public as a fait accompli. In response, the community voiced legitimate questions that were never answered adequately.

This attempt at schoolwide reform failed because it represented a radical solution in search of a problem that could not be found.

ROLAND B. HENRY

Camp Hill, Pa.

Simple Yet Useful Answers

Doug Johnson contributed a great article ("The Less Simple Answer to Evaluating Technology's Impact") to your April issue.

I especially appreciated the free use of the rubrics that describe levels of computer literacy among teachers that he developed. It is nice to find someone in educational leadership with such a willing and helping hand. We will make good use of them here at our three-county BOCES in upstate New York, and I will share them as part of our comprehensive planning effort across the state.

PAUL G. PREUSS

Assistant Superintendent,

Herkimer-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES,

Johnstown, N.Y.

I find myself at the point where Doug Johnson was several years ago in dealing with staff on their use of instructional technology. So I especially appreciated the great advice on rubrics he provided in the April issue.

After downloading the samples and rubrics at his Web site, I have begun using them to prepare and update our staff training plan for the 1998-99 school year. Many of our questions and concerns are dealt with in Johnson's resource material and will be put to good use.

TIM REYNOLDS

Technology Coordinator,

Gunnison-Watershed School District,

Gunnison, Colo.