The Lost Medium In The Montgomery County Public Schools As Reflected In Sherwood High School

Abstract

It is the intent of this report to examine in an exploratory fashion the complex of problems troubling educators across the nation: degradation of the environment; loss of faith in institutions; alienation of youth; and the rejection of traditional values. At first glance there are seemingly divergent parts but, all have three characteristics in common: they occur to some degree in all schools; they contain social, psychological, economic, and political elements; and, most important of all, they interact. It is the dilemma of educators that they can perceive the complex of problems, yet, despite their considerable knowledge and skills, they do not understand the origins, significance, and interrelationships of its many components and thus are unable to devise effective responses. This failure, it is felt, occurs in large part because we continue to examine single items in the complex of problems without understanding that the whole is more than the sum of its parts, that change in one element means change in the others. This report will show that a complex of problems does exist within the more sophisticated and affluent educational systems as well as the less sophisticated and less affluent educational systems. It will attempt to show that even with a powerful medium, such as exists within the Montgomery Public Schools, that there exists an unpardonable impounding of information concerning these problems. The setting in which this report was conceived is a comprehensive secondary high school located in Sandy Spring, Maryland. Its problems are not unique. It is a crisis situation which is existant in any other educational setting. Specifically stated and applicable nationally is the question of who will ultimately control the schools. How can the message of the medium become an actuality and just what role should educators seek to play so that they can assist in the resolution of the complex problems facing the human community through education.