By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/KYdCRr
5/10/2012 08:15:24 PM PDT :: The lessons read like those from UC Berkeley, Wellesley or another top-notch liberal arts college.
The principles of Confucius, Sartre and Freud. The theme of social conscience in the classic "Les Miserables" or "The Painted Bird." The effects of class, race and gender on the evolution of democracy.
Those discussions aren't taking place on a university campus, however, but at the Cleveland Humanities Magnet in Reseda, where high school students are taught to pursue the truth in themselves and the world around them.
In the 30 years since it opened, the humanities program has become one of the most successful magnets in Los Angeles Unified, with enrollment of 850 and a waiting list of 400-plus students. Its
Teacher Ray Linn lectures during a philosophy class at the Cleveland Humanities Magnet in Reseda. The program, now 30 years old, has a waiting list of 400-plus students. (Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer)>>
popularity is a testament to the creativity of founder Neil Anstead of Northridge, whose contributions were recognized Thursday when a classroom building was named in his honor.
"This is a way of teaching through a different lens, which provides a wonderful education," said Anstead, who taught at the magnet until his retirement in 2008.
"It took us a while to sell it, but we broke down so many stereotypes. We insisted that teachers had to be students themselves, and we learned that we can teach students the most sophisticated concepts if we study them ourselves."
The award-winning magnet integrates four subjects - English, history, philosophy and art - around a common theme or time period, exploring the fascinating twists and turns of human development.
Freshmen study world cultures, while sophomores tackle the development of western civilization. Juniors focus on U.S. history, and seniors delve into the history of modern thought.
Magnet instructors coordinate their lessons, so a history class may learn how Chinese laborers built the transcontinental railroad and philosophy students exploring the roots of discrimination may discuss the treatment of the workers.
"Students are engaged in a way they believe education is relevant," said Jennifer Macon, who began her teaching career at the magnet and is now its coordinator.
"There's nothing that connects to a student more than, `What does your life mean? What does it mean to the people you know? What do other people's lives mean to you?"'
Instead of traditional textbooks, teachers write resource material using their own expertise and research. Most instructors also rely on the Socratic method, posing probing questions to stimulate classroom discussions and bring opposing viewpoints to light.
"The only way we give ourselves a sense of purpose is to minimize the influence of others," philosophy teacher Ray Linn tells a class of 12th-graders during a discussion of human behavior. "Now, who among you is hungriest to be the top rat?"
Students attend magnet classes for two periods each day, and they must take Advanced Placement history in 11th grade, and AP English in 12th. They spend the rest of the school day in traditional classes, although most are enrolled in several other AP or upper-level courses.
"This isn't for every student," Macon said. "We do a really good job of creating a culture where not doing your homework is not the cool kid ... If you are one of those students who may not have the experience with writing that some of our kids do, there's still a place for you here if you're willing and want to work.
"We set the bar very high," she said. "That's
<< Ric Posito teaches 10th-grade English at the Cleveland Humanities Magnet. Instructors often pose probing questions to stimulate classroom discussions. (Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer)
because we figure, the higher they reach, the higher they'll get."
The hard work seems to pay off, as 80 percent of the magnet's graduates go on to four-year universities.
Senior Evan Lowell of Northridge will be heading this fall to Boston University, where he expects to use his humanities lessons as he pursues an engineering degree.
"A lot of engineers aren't socially aware of the impact of what they're designing," he said. "I want to incorporate the humanities and make a difference on the world."
With a ninth-grade son in the humanities magnet and a daughter who graduated and is now at UC Berkeley, parent Bonnie Goodman is an unabashed advocate for what the program can do.
"I know that when they finish, they're going to come out as human beings - not just smarter or having learned more facts or the ability to recite or spit things back on a test," she said. "We're helping kids develop into the potential that they already have within them and bringing that out of them and showing them that they can become something they didn't think they could."
Cleveland is one of two humanities magnets in Los Angeles Unified - Hamilton High is the other - although an interdisciplinary, writing-based approach is the basis for humanitas programs at 31 other district schools.
"Neal instilled in us the idea that you're a student first and a teacher second," Macon said. "You're on a journey with your students and together you're learning from one another ... We don't have to know the answers, but we have to want to know the answers."
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