Your Arlington, your views

The following was written by Andrew O’Brien of Arlington, who was a candidate for state representative this winter. His comments are posted with his permission. He submitted them to YourArlington after he missed the deadline to get his letter to The Advocate for its March 27 edition. He wrote that he believes the current School Committee debate is overly focused on rebuilding school buildings and the character of the candidates. Scarcely little has been mentioned about the importance of curriculum, he says. Anyone seeking to present another view about a different candidate is welcome to do so.

At this time within the School Committee, I believe it is critical that we have someone with Leba Heigham’s qualifications and experience serving on the committee. Everyday new discoveries are being made in brain science and human development. Promising new research suggests that we can improve a student’s ability to concentrate and process information. Some researchers are making claims that we can change student attitude and behavior. Medical researchers claim that when children with dyslexia, ADHD, and Asperger’s establish certain new brain pathways, many of their symptoms disappear. Entrepreneurial education companies are all too willing to push products based on this research.

But because something works in a research lab does not mean the same results will play out in the classroom. I was a student during Arlington’s 1970s failed experiment with open-classroom education. While some students benefited from this program many of us fell behind academically.

Leba is very familiar with the latest educational theories and is a math curriculum expert. Because she has been a teacher she understands the challenges and the learning curve teachers face when adopting new texts, curriculum, and methodology. If elected, Leba would use this knowledge to advise the school committee on curriculum issues. Right now school curriculum is catching up with the latest research. While curriculum catches up with research we need to be careful not to adopt the wrong programs. Because the state and federal government threatens to base school aid on performance standards, adopting the wrong program will not only hurt students academically but it could be costly for taxpayers. I believe Leba will help us strike the balance that is needed to keep the Arlington schools advancing but at the same time prevent us from adopting unproven hype-driven, wasteful programs. I believe that a vote for Leba is a vote for putting qualified individuals on the School Committee during a most challenging time.