White Dog hosts talk on Phila. schools

City Superintendent of Schools David Hornbeck was one of the speakers. Three people with a lot to say on the state of Philadelphia's troubled school system and public schools in general spoke at a dinner at the White Dog Cafe last night, arguing that more state funding and more-effective methods of teaching could improve the system. More than 50 people packed the restaurant at 34th and Sansom streets for a "table talk" on public-school reform, paying $30 a head for the dinner which proceeded the 1 1/2 hour talk. Speakers included Ted Hershberg, professor of public policy and history and director of the University's Center for Greater Philadelphia; David Hornbeck, superintendent of schools for the School District of Philadelphia; and Eric Braxton, lead organizer of the Philadelphia Student Union, a youth-run group that aims to educate young people on how they can help improve society and education. "We are at a time right now when we can make huge strides toward making our schools into that ideal school that students described [as part of Braxton's student union]," he said. Hershberg began by discussing the center's project, "New Standards in Education," through which 16 area school districts have joined to form the Southeastern Pennsylvania Standards Consortium. The group is attempting to implement standards-based education in their school districts and provide an equal and quality education for all of their students. Hershberg stressed the need for a good education, saying that ordinary kids can learn at high levels if taught appropriately. He said that while students learn concepts in the classroom, they do not always learn how to apply these concepts to practical situations. "The four walls of the classroom are just one venue where learning takes place," Hershberg said, explaining that mentoring programs and programs where students go into the community to learn are also important resources for education. Continuing with Hershberg's emphasis on better learning, Hornbeck said the school district has "increased enormously the amount of teacher training. We now spend more on instruction and less on administration." The money the school district has to spend, however, is limited. Philadelphia has one of the highest tax rates in Pennsylvania, yet its public schools receive $2,000 less per student than the average suburban schools, according to Hornbeck. The city has been involved in a long-running legal dispute with state legislators over how much state funding the schools should get. While the schools are working hard with what they do have, "there will come a time when hard and smart [work] will no longer substitute for an adequate work base," Hornbeck said. Braxton, the last speaker, also addressed the lack of funds. As part of the Philadelphia Student Union program, Braxton took 200 students with him to Harrisburg to tell state legislators themselves that they had just as much right to funding as suburban students. Acknowledging that funding is needed, Braxton added that student participation is also necessary to improve Philadelphia's public schools. "Schools can't get better until students are an active part of the changing process," he said, stressing that students need to be seen as active stakeholders and not as passive recipients of their education. Last night's talk was one of a series of similar weekly events at the restaurant. Brian Atwood, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development -- a government agency that provides economic development and humanitarian assistance overseas -- will give a talk on October 5 on the future of democracy.