| Board eliminates Driver's Ed requirement (5/08) | | Print | |
| Written by Angela M. Chen | |
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The Board of Education unanimously voted to abolish the Driver’s Education graduation requirement for all district schools.
Student delegate senior Jason Siu’s proposal, which came in response to the district’s worsening fiscal situation, passed at a May 13 Board of Education meeting with the support of superintendent Carlos Garcia and Siu’s peer Nestor Reyes. “We’re in a budget crisis, so we need to use the money wisely,” Siu said. “Eliminating Driver’s Ed will save our school district money and provide flexibility to individual school sites and their budgets.” Siu’s proposal states that because the school district continues to experience a significant budget crises that limits classes and programs, reallocating teaching staff from Driver’s Ed to other courses and programs such as visual and performing arts and elective courses could save the district money in the long run. “I’ve always wanted to eliminate the not-so-necessary graduation requirements, because from my experience working on Student Site Council, I know that most students are not interested in Driver’s Ed class,” Siu said. Siu met with the legal counsel and superintendent’s office to confirm that the elimination of this graduation requirement would not violate education codes. Both agreed that the state requires Driver’s Ed to be offered in schools, but the option of making it a requirement is left up to each district. Driver’s Ed will be offered as an elective course next year. Principal Andy Ishibashi said he believes that enrollment in Driver’s Ed will decline next year and current Driver’s Ed teachers may move to teach College and Career or Health Ed courses. Ishibashi explained that students who have signed up for Driver’s Ed but wish to drop the course must speak with their counselors. The elimination of the graduation requirement may cause scheduling problems. “By not making Driver’s Ed mandatory, there will be a hole in the schedule because College and Career is only nine weeks, and there will be a nine week break without Driver’s Ed,” Ishibashi said. As a result of this resolution, Siu and the other counselors believe that students will be able to take more courses that interest them. “From a convenience standpoint, it will free up time for students to take another class,” counselor Jeff David said. “It will be good to open up another section for highly demanded classes like Ceramics and shift the students from overcrowded classes.” David, however, worries about the safety of driving without taking a formal Driver’s Ed course. “As a citizen, I might be kind of nervous on the road because less people will have a formal driver’s education,” he said. He explained that some people may wait until they turn 18 and take the permit test without having taken a course beforehand. Several students are also concerned about the issue of driving safety. “I feel like a lot of people would not be motivated to read the DMV booklet themselves,” junior Jessica Kung said. “If the class is required, you’d work harder to get a good grade and it’d reinforce what you learn.” Student Advisory Council representative for Balboa High School senior Lewis Geist also views the removal of the requirement as a loss. “Even though many students are in favor of (eliminating the requirement), it’d be a loss of a class that teaches real world applications,” he said. Ishibashi agreed. “I feel sad because this is one class that students do need,” he said. “Students will have to learn to drive regardless and will have to study the booklet, but the booklet doesn’t teach you things like defensive driving.” He explained that a Driver’s Ed course offers tips and advice for driving not available in the booklet. “When I took Driver’s Ed, I remember learning about ‘MSMOG,’ which is Mirror, Signal, Mirror, Over the shoulder, Go,” Ishsibashi said. He explained that the acronym helped him remember what to do before making a turn. “The booklet doesn’t teach you things like that. It basically teaches you only the rules and laws,” Ishibashi said. Counselor Doug Morales feels differently about the elimination. “I’m in favor of it,” he said. “I believe that students should have the option of taking the course or not. It shouldn’t be a graduation requirement, but it should be available. I don’t believe removing Driver’s Ed from the graduation requirement will affect safety records of teenage driving.” Board of Education commissioner Norman Yee is also in favor of the proposal. “I voted for eliminating (Driver’s Ed) and I feel supportive of it. The school can still offer it as an elective,” Yee said. He explained that many students are not getting a license after taking the course and end up having to relearn the material. “Having to take Driver’s Ed limits your time to take more relevant courses,” he said. “Many of the things you learn (in Driver’s Ed) is something that you can read on your own. Driver’s Ed is very different from Driver’s training.” Driver’s Ed teacher Michael Prutz emphasized the difference between those two courses. “It’s written versus practical. Eliminating the written part is not hurting the safety issue because the real issue is the experience behind the wheel,” Prutz said. “Students will still have to pass the driving test both written and practical, so it won’t be a problem by not having it taught in school.” Siu first wrote the resolution in February after reading an editorial article in The Lowell that urged the school district to eliminate Driver’s Ed as a graduation requirement. “I thought I would take the editorial and bring it to a further degree by offering a resolution to make it happen,” he said. While the proposal did face opposition from some SAC members who argued that Driver’s Ed was an important course because of the traffic skills that it teaches, he managed to persuade the majority of the council to further pursue his resolution. For three months, Siu met with the SAC, the rules and curriculum committee and the Board of Education until the resolution was finally passed. Success was sweet for Siu who will be leaving his position on the board this year. “When I first campaigned for student delegate, my goal was to reexamine our district expenditures and allocate available funding, so I’m happy that I’m really fulfilling my promises,” Siu said. The resolution’s success also demonstrates the power of the students’ voices, according to Siu. “A lot of times students think their voices are shadowed, but this (resolution) was initiated by the students and it was passed,” he said. “It’s making positive changes in our district, showing that students have the ability to look at what is necessary.” |
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