A Conversation with Our Readers                                                

Is there political will to help kids?

Readers:

Conventional wisdom has it that state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, the focus of our cover story, is one of the rising stars of the Republican Party in Illinois. She is energetic, blunt and not always on the same page as other Republican leaders. A more positive way of saying the same thing is that she doesn't mind speaking her mind. Our Statehouse bureau chief, Jennifer Halperin, spent some time with Topinka (the state's first woman treasurer) earlier this year and grafted a profile that begins on page 10.

Elsewhere in this issue, you'll find the theme of children. Beginning with the it'll-never-go-away issue of education funding, free-lancer Bill Steinbacher-Kemp examines why Illinois seems to lack the political will to solve the problem of education funding, even though it's among every politician's expressed priorities (see page 14). In other features, Mac Ryder, former director of the Department of Children and Family Services, reviews a book about the history of state policies regarding children (page 28), and essayist James Krohe contributes his usual provocative commentary with some additional thoughts about children and public policy (see page 19). Finally, Statehouse reporter Toby Eckert raises some of the larger legal and social questions regarding the controversial Baby Richard case (page 22).

Although we announced last fall that we would host a reception March 2 in Chicago to celebrate our 20th anniversary, I need to report to you that this reception has been postponed. So has the announcement of the recipients of our 1995 Illinois Issues Award for Extraordinary Public Service. Watch future issues of the magazine for further details.

Many thanks to all of you readers who responded last year to our request for donations, because as a publication of a state university, the gifts are increasingly important to us.

Finally, I have to comment on the record response we received to our January Question of the Month, regarding school prayer (see box below). We usually get between 40 and 80 cards returned, but this time we received more than 140 cards with strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Maybe you just have more time for these things in cold weather, but I suspect it was the issue itself that caused the large return. Many thanks to all of you for participating in the discussion.

School prayer issue draws record response; readers like 'moment of silence' idea better The Question of the Month we asked in January evidently hit a hot button among our readers. We asked: "Would you favor changes in the law that would allow public schools in Illinois to schedule times of prayer and/or a moment of silence?" And you responded: School prayer: Yes - 57      No - 80      Not sure - 4 Moment of silence: Yes-82      No-50      Not sure-10 So, responding in record numbers, you showed more support for allowing a reflective moment of silence than you did for structured prayer. While many respondents either supported both prayer or a moment of silence or opposed both concepts altogether, it was most interesting that many said "no" to prayer but "yes" to a moment of silence. Wrote one Chicago reader: "A moment of silence would allow individuals of all religions to silently honor their religion, while not imposing it on others." A couple of readers said that while formal prayer is never appropriate, schools should have the discretion in times of crisis or tragedy to allow students to pause for a time of silent reflection. At appropriate times, a Carrollton reader explained, "when deemed by administrators, such as after an accident of any kind," a teacher, or students either collectively or individually might be permitted a traditional moment of silence. Many readers raised the issue of separation of church and state. Many who responded "no" to both prayer and a moment of silence said our government should have no role in promoting religious exercises. "School-age children are particularly vulnerable to the possibility that a teacher, principal or other school official will try to impose his or her views on them," said one Springfield man. "Religious teachers and worship belong in the home, the church or synagogue, not in the public schools." A few readers, however, said our right to exercise religion freely is violated by not allowing students or teachers to pray formally in public schools. And there were many other comments. "If the legislature can start its day with a prayer, the public school children should be able to do it, too," one wrote. Said another who supports a moment of silence: "Schools teach the importance of training the mind and the body (gym classes), so a small gesture to the development of the spirit seems overdue." Ed Wojcicki

Aid to dependent children:
One child at a time

Last fall, employees of Oak Lawn's Christ Hospital and Medical Center volunteered to act as role models for boys in two classes at the Philip Sheridan Elementary School on Chicago's South Side.

With 26 employees representing all areas of the hospital, from nurses to administrative managers to housekeepers, the boys had a variety of experiences "going to work" with their mentors. One boy watched nurses care for babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. Another, whose mentor is the director of media services, got to make a video and go to the roof of the hospital to see the satellite dishes. Yet another got to see how x-rays are made.

"At first the men were nervous wondering what they would do with these boys to fill two hours," says Clare Winer, founder and coordinator of Men to Boys, a mentoring program between suburban men and inner city second- and third-grade boys. "When it was time for the boys to leave, it was all smiles, walking hand-in-hand and looking forward to the next visit."

That took place at Sheridan, a school of 1,700 pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade students, 94 percent of whose families live below the poverty level. The majority of the students come from single-parent households headed by women. The student body is 67 percent Hispanic and 32 percent African American.

As the volunteers approached the century-old building that covers a city block on South Exchange, "One of the first things the men noticed was the bullet holes in the stop sign outside the school," says Winer. However, John Hunter, a microbiologist and one of the mentors who made the school visit, says any anxiety was erased by the enjoyment of meeting with the boys. The men watched "their" boys perform in the holiday program and then joined them in a lunch prepared by the boys' teachers and mothers. "It was a blast," says Hunter.

Winer says after the school visit, the men asked for an additional meeting. An end of year picnic is already planned, but the men asked to go back to the school to paint a hallway mural with the boys. She says all of the hospital volunteers want to continue in the program next year.

The Rev. Richard James of Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn shares lunch with Mario, a third-grader at Chicago's Philip Sheridan school.

Mathline: teachers' aide

Mathline, an educational service of public television, offers a program aimed at raising the math skills of the nation's middle school students. The Middle School Math Project is a year-long "teachers' workshop" that uses videos, videoconferencing and online communications to help math teachers share new ideas and teaching techniques, WSIU/WUSI, at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, hosts the program. Thirty Illinois teachers are involved.

Austin Odom, a seventh-grade teacher at North Middle School in Mt. Carmel, is one of the participants. He says the videos show "hands-on" techniques that help students grasp abstract mathematical concepts. He adapted one method to teach graphing. Rather than assign his students a series of points to plot on an x-axis and y-axis, Odom set up a study with various size containers and water. The measurements, when plotted, created different curves on a graph, as well as a lot of discussion as to why.

Odom says the new teaching technique not only helped his students understand the concept of graphing, it also involved them in probability, statistics and higher levels of problem solving. A teacher for 25 years, Odom says he's found that the Mathline program gives him a fresh point of view, as well as access to 500 other teachers. "If one of the methods isn't working just right," he says, "I can get online and ask for help. Someone always comes back with suggestions."

Playing the Education Card

School districts strapped for cash are looking to a rebate from credit card purchases as a no-cost way to add to their coffers. Credit card companies pay to designated school districts from 0.4 percent to 0.6 percent of total purchases charged on the Education Card, whether the balance is paid off monthly or not.

Several school districts around the state are trying the credit card, but Jacksonville School District 117 is considering its own approach. Supt. Robert Freeman wants to use local banks, rather than joining the statewide program. And he wants to target the proceeds for new technology, including computers and software. Freeman believes the people of Jacksonville, a town of 19,000 in Morgan County, will respond more readily knowing funds are going to a specific purpose and that any questions they have can be answered by their local bankers. Freeman says if 5,000 people use the education credit card, the district would receive $60,000 for technology.

"Taxpayers are looking to school districts to find alternative ways to fund projects," says Freeman. "This one doesn't cost the consumer or the school district."

4/March 1995/Illinois Issues