Confirming the complaints outlined in a letter signed by 75 Springfield Public Schools teachers, a recent judgment by the Oregon Department of Education ruled that the district has been out of compliance with state requirements for teaching elementary science and social studies.

According to Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s reporting, state education officials will confirm that the district’s new curriculum is brought into compliance “only when the plan is fully in effect.” A district official stated that the district-imposed instructional schedule allows an hour a day, plus 45 minutes of flexible time, to teach science, social studies, health, P.E. and art.

That would allow, at best, a puny average of 17½ minutes per day for teaching each of these six subjects. Yet each is just as important to students’ learning and well-being, as are reading and math.

The district is already moving toward a solution to this time-crunch problem with its planned science curriculum. Lookout’s article states that it “combines its English language arts curriculum with a hands-on science curriculum and teacher-created materials.”

This shift toward integrating the subjects is laudable. It would be far likelier to succeed if the district would also relax its restrictive instructional schedule for classroom teachers. It should allow them the freedom, the flexibility and especially the time they need to create and deliver lessons and projects that integrate all the subjects. Teachers can be trusted to tailor these to best meet the needs of their unique class groups.

John T. Osgood
Springfield