As the demand for high school reform grows across the country, we all need to remember that until you have more pressure for change than resistance to change, you will never change your school. A comprehensive awareness program on the need for school reform needs to supersede attempts to make specific changes. The information in this Views You Can Use may help create that demand for change.

 Sincerely,    Bill Daggett

Biotechnology  

An Eye for Nanotech. Scientists at the Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore have invented contact lenses with micro-miniature channels – 100,000 times narrower than a human hair – that allow medication to reach the eye directly through and from the lens. Medication, such as an anti-glaucoma drug, is manufactured directly into each lens and is released only when eye fluid is applied to the lens externally. The result: the correct amount of medication reaches the eye efficiently and in an easily controllable manner; it cannot be washed away with tears; and unwanted medication is prevented from entering the nasal cavity. Next steps could be nano-particles of drugs embedded into the lens.  

The technologies behind vision correction have evolved so rapidly that today’s students assume that safe, comfortable, daily-disposable contact lenses have been available for a long time. It was only in 1995, however, that daily-disposable contact lenses came onto the market.  

Source: “Better Than A Poke in the Eye,” The Economist, Technology Quarterly, March 10, 2005. http://www.economist.com/science/tq/
displayStory.cfm?story_id=3713983  

Electrical Treatment for Epilepsy.  Neurosurgeons are using electricity to prevent seizures in epilepsy patients. Cranial implants detect the typical brain-wave patterns that precede a seizure, then immediately send tiny pulses of electricity to the identified trouble spots to interrupt the faulty synapses and restore normal brain activity. The devices kick into action before patients are even aware that a seizure is about to happen.  

Scientists are re-examining the many roles that electricity plays in working organisms – from thoughts to heartbeats - and how electrical neurostimulators – alone or in combination with biotech or nanobiotech solutions - may improve human health – including the treatment of such ailments as epilepsy, depression, post-stroke paralysis, migraines, sleep apnea, angina, obesity, and digestive tract disorders. Although there is still much to be learned, neurostimulation has no known side effects and may be able to treat conditions and diseases that drugs cannot effectively address.  

In the big picture, the sciences can’t be contained in airtight compartments. Biology, chemistry, physics, and the emerging nanosciences work together in complex and yet-to-be-fully-understood ways. Integration should be a goal of science education for our students.   

Source: Michael Arndt, “Rewiring the Body,” BusinessWeek Online, March 7, 2005. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/
05_10/b3923001_mz001.htm  

A Plague on Your Ancestors. About 10% of people who live in Europe today – with higher averages in Russia and Finland – carry a genetic mutation called CCR5-[delta]32, which prevents the HIV virus from entering and damaging their white blood cells. These fortunate people are, as a result, immune to AIDS. Biotechnologists at the University of Liverpool think that, ironically, the immunity may be the result of the Black Death, which killed 40% of Europeans between 1347 and 1350. It is estimated that one person in 20,000 had or developed an immunity to bubonic plague, a bacterial disease carried by rats. Over time and as more outbreaks occurred, the frequency of the immunity increased. Other scientists speculate that, because HIV is a virus, the inherited immunity developed in response to the virus-borne smallpox epidemics that ravaged Europe after 1600.  

In either case, genetic ancestry and history are providing clues that may someday help scientists find ways to protect everyone from HIV. Using history and geography to solve mysteries in bioscience shows us how even the liberal arts and humanities can be related to cutting-edge technologies and therefore more relevant for our students.   

Source: Michael Hopkin, “Did Black Death Boost HIV Immunity in Europe ?” news@nature.com, March 11, 2005. http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050307/full/050307-15.html  

State of Stem Cell Research. President Bush limited federal funding for stem-cell research in 2001, but left the issue of further public funding to the individual states, many of whom are now engaged in legal battles between pro- and anti-stem cell research groups. Massachusetts may be the current leader in the field, even though its governor, Mitt Romney, recently spoke out against a specific type of stem cell research. On the other coast, legislative approval of California's Proposition 71 (backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger) has generated $3 billion for stem cell research and has helped establish The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which plans to start dispersing grants by May - unless current lawsuits launched by anti-research groups prevail.   

As we explore the frontiers of science and technology with our students, we can never ignore the related ethical issues. Scientific rigor must always be balanced with the higher-level thinking skills of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation so technologically literate students will also be wise and discriminating learners and citizens.  

Source: Mary Carmichael, “Seducing Scientists,” MSNBC/Newsweek, March 7, 2005 issue. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7037226/site/newsweek  

Grow, Don’t Multiply. The loss of muscle mass in the elderly and as a result of certain diseases, including AIDS, is a major concern for doctors. Geneticists already know how to accelerate cell division to create additional muscle cells, but such treatments can result in uncontrolled cell growth. Biotechnologists are now discovering that the protein S6K1 kinase may provide a way to restore muscle tissue by enlarging – rather than multiplying – existing muscle cells, thereby reducing the possible side effect of cancer.  

Thinking outside of the box to find solutions to real-world problems is why today’s curricula and instructional methodologies must combine academic rigor with creativity and higher-order thinking skills.  

Source: “New Insights into Muscle Growth Regulation,” Nature Cell Biology, February 2005.  http://www.nature.com/ncb/press_release/ncb0205.html  

Information Technology  

Smile and Say “On.” Japanese firm Omron’s new OKAO Vision Face Recognition Sensor software prevents unauthorized use of camera-equipped cell phone devices through image recognition. After first taking a picture of his or her own face for reference, the owner can then set the device to prevent further use until another picture of that same face is taken. The software measures and stores such visual data as the distances between the eyes, nose, and mouth and takes about one second to perform the security match. The owner's face was recognized 99 out of 100 times in product tests.  

The image recognition technology – or a more advanced 3-D version of face recognition – may eventually lead to additional applications, such as secure banking and preventing identity theft.  

Source: Will Knight, “Camera Phones Recognize Their Owner,” NewScientist.com, March 4, 2005. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7099  

Watching American Idol When You’re Not Idle? Some forecasters predict that the next breakthrough in cellphone technology will be access to real-time TV. Despite the fact that some fledgling applications of mobile TV are currently available – Idetic has been providing slow-speed, slide show-style downloads from cable TV through its MobiTV services to Sprint since November 2003 – over 70% of U.S. respondents and nearly 45% of Europeans say they have little or no interest in such a service. Believers, however, think that that the average consumer’s love affair with TV will eventually drive demand much higher.  

Unlike many other technological innovations, consumer technologies are driven by broad-based demand. Students need to be given the chance to develop the skills and attitudes that will allow them to become discriminating consumers and productive citizens.     

Time Online. The average U.S. Internet user spends three hours a day online, primarily at work and mostly in communications activities such as e-mail. Internet use is also cutting into TV viewing with that same average Internet user watching television one hour and 42 minutes per day versus the average of two hours. The research also indicates that one hour of Internet use reduces contact time with humans – co-workers, family, and friends – by 23.5 minutes and sleep by 8.5 minutes. Fifty-three percent of Internet use is typically devoted to communications activities and 43% to browsing, shopping, and playing games.  

In our wired world, we must ensure that information access does not preclude human interaction and strong interpersonal skills that today’s students will need in the workplace.   

The study, released in January, 2005, is available at http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/   

Changing Workplace  

They’re Number One! Singapore has knocked the U.S. from top spot in a ranking of the world’s economies that make the best use of information and communication technology (ICT). The annual World Economic Forum’s index placed Singapore, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark, respectively, at the top of the rating, with the U.S. dropping to fifth place. Sweden, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, and Canada rounded out the top ten.  

Singapore was judged the best in a number of categories, including quality of math and science education, affordability of telephone connection charges and Internet access, and government policy on ICT.  

An analysis of the new rankings, which shows that the gains were attributed to dramatic recent advances by other nations rather than to a decline in the American economy, underscores why we must continue to emphasize the teaching of math, science, and applied technology in our high schools and colleges. Education remains America’s best investment in the future of our global economy.  

Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2004-2005 can be found at http://www.weforum.org/  

Education Trends  

My Language, Your Language. America’s preK-12 students speak more than 450 languages. About 12% are designated as English language learners. That number – which anecdotal evidence suggests is understated – is expected to rise to as high as 50% by 2015. Since ELL students are a subgroup under No Child Left Behind, their progress directly affects school ratings under AYP provisions. While there are no short-cuts to English literacy, experts recommend employing simple language in classroom instruction, using body language and facial expression as well as visuals and graphics, cooperative learning, home-school connections, and sensitive but consistent correction of errors.  

Too many students who are capable of high levels of achievement are hampered by their lack of command of spoken and written English. Literacy for all may be the single most important investment we can make in our schools.  

Source: Educational Leadership, December 2004/January 2005, Vol. 62, No. 4.  

High-level High School Coursework. Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia require four math courses for high school graduation. Thirteen states require only two math courses, and 24 states and DC require three. Twenty-two states do not specify which math courses are required and eight specify only Algebra I. Just one state, Arkansas, has a graduation plan – beginning in 2006 – that requires four high school math courses, including one course beyond Algebra II, such as calculus or trigonometry. Nationwide, 41% of high school students take such advanced courses voluntarily.    

This information comes from “The Expectations Gap,” which examines high school graduation requirements. The study was conducted by Achieve, Inc., a bipartisan, non-profit organization sponsored by governors and business leaders.  

To prepare students for college and the competitive workforce of the 21^st century, we must continue to raise the bar and encourage higher achievement by more students through taking academically rigorous coursework.

Source: http://www.achieve.org/achieve.nsf/StandardForm3?
openform&parentunid=
115B991162FC680D85256F7000599761  

America’s Most Successful High Schools  

Many of the high-performing schools that were studied by the International Center for Leadership in Education in 2004 have already implemented – or are in the process of implementing – creative models of small learning communities. The approaches were innovative and varied, but the goal was the same: find ways to re-structure larger high schools into more intimate and personalized learning environments.  

• McFatter Technical High School assigns a guidance counselor to each cohort of entering freshmen. That counselor moves up grade by grade with the students – and their families – through graduation.
• David Douglas High School uses the same mentoring approach, but with a designated vice principal assigned to each cohort.
• Brockton High School uses a house system served by the same 20-25 teachers.
• Kennesaw Mountain High School offers school-within-a-school magnet programs in advanced math, science, and technology; a Naval ROTC program; and a National Academy of Finance - along with several other informal learning communities.
• Kenwood Academy High School offers a Freshman Academy.    

Read about these and other high-performing high schools in America’s Most Successful High Schools – Case Studies and Resources on Best Practices ©2004 Successful Practices Network of the International Center for Leadership in Education.  

By the Numbers:  

High school graduation rates across the nation vary by geography and ethnicity.  

The data are part of a larger study on high school completion and college readiness rates from 1991-2002, which found that, while graduation rates are essentially flat, college preparedness increased from twenty-five to thirty-four percent. The trend is promising, but with only one in three high school graduates deemed college-ready, our work is clearly cut out for us.   

Source: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research at http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_08.htm  

Correction. In its Vol. IV, No. 4 issue, Views You Can Use referenced an excellent Web site on voting machines that we credited to Jeffrey W. McClurken of the History and American Studies Department of Mary Washington College. Jeff wanted us to know that, in fact, the site was authored by one of his students, Rachael Deane.  

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