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NEWS
New multivariable calculus class. A2
SPOTLIGHT
Students navigate complex 504 plan process. A4-5
LIFESTYLE
Elon Musk takes on Twitter. B2
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
The Campanile
Vol. CV, No. 8
Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
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To acknowledge its unique curriculum, Paly's Early Childhood Development program was presented with the Hoffmann Award for Curriculum and Instruction on May 10. The award gives more exposure to the under-recognized ECD program, director Hilary McDaniel said. McDaniel said fostering an interactive environment is a priority in her curriculum. “The Hoffmann award recognizes five (high school) programs in Santa Clara County,” McDaniel said. “The award recognizes two primary areas. Our primary areas were curriculum and instruction because it is so unique to have this hands-on learning portion built into the curriculum.” To engage students further, McDaniel aims to connect textbook learning to real-life experiences in the preschool classroom. “A key aspect of the ECD curriculum is thinking about how I can help (students) tie what they’re reading in the textbook to what they’re seeing in a (preschool class),” McDaniel said. “We’re really trying to bring to life what they’re reading.” Junior Samantha Mann, an ECD 1 student, said a significant part of the program is working with young children. “We go to the preschools two times a week,” Mann said. “It's different because we get to interact with children who don’t know as much about the world as we do. We get to teach them, and they teach us about how they learn and how they think. That’s really different from the other CTE classes.” Greendell Principal Nikole Manou said the ECD program benefits everyone involved. “I see it as a reciprocal relationship,” Manou said. “The younger students are getting something out of it, and the high schoolers are getting something out of it.” The ECD pathway branches into three classes: ECD 1, ECD 2 and Child Development. The classes follow the psychological development of children and focus on effectively teaching and interacting based on age. McDaniel said she hopes winning the Hoffmann award increases exposure for ECD. “I am hoping the ECD pathway will continue to attract as many students as possible because it’s a unique opportunity for anyone who doesn’t want to spend time sitting at a desk," McDaniel said. “You’re still learning, but you’re actively learning and you’re in the field working with children. It’s different. It’s unique.”
PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44
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ith COVID-19 waning, the district will alter the 2023-2024 PAUSD Promise by replacing the goal of Healthy Attendance with the goal of Innovation. The PAUSD Promise outlines the district’s priority areas with strategic plans and metrics to monitor progress. The current PAUSD Promise goals are: Serve and Celebrate Others, Mental Health and Wellness, Early Literacy, Equity and Excellence and Healthy Attendance. The Innovation goal states: “We strive to empower all PK12 students to become self-directed, lifelong learners with the skills, agency, and efficacy needed for positive self-transformation. PAUSD fosters an instructional approach that prepares students for a self-managed life, accurate self-reflection, and critical social awareness.” School Board member Shana Segal said community input is central to the PAUSD Promise. “We’re getting input hopefully from our students (and) our parents,” Segal said. “It is important to make sure all of the voices of our stakeholders are heard and the feedback that we get will really help improve education.” Assistant Superintendent of Innovation Jeong Choe said healthy attendance will no longer be a separate goal because it was introduced as a response to COVID-19 to increase online school attendance. “At that time, we were promoting students to be on campus so they can have social interactions,” Choe said. “And with academic challenges associated with virtual learning, that's when it got introduced.” Key strategies for the drafted Innovation goal include providing clearer information for programs such as dual enrollment, career opportunities, certifications and special education alternatives. Choe said one major aspect of Innovation that will be based on feedback is deciding how to use AI in classrooms. “Either we have to embrace it or we have to not use it,” Choe said. “We will have a committee, so it won't be one person's decision, but collective thought and a diverse perspective to figure out how we can incorporate technologies into our education practices.” Segal said adapting to new technology could be beneficial to current education practices. “It appears (AI) is being embraced, and I want to make sure there is a balance between authentic learning and the technology,” Segal said. “But I am certain that we will achieve that with community input and professional development.”
ART BY RACHEL LEE
Another aspect of Innovation is changing grading practices. Choe said the district plans to integrate systems it has introduced in the past. “The theme I've noticed on the curriculum is using evidence in our grading practices,” Choe said. “We worked on standardsbased grading before, and (we’re going to) revisit where we left off and (see) how we can do this better.” Choe said the grading changes along with improving CTE pathways are efforts to help students. “We've been implementing industry certification,” Choe said. “We want to prepare students not just for academics, but also careers and then higher employability because in the end, many students are going to go to university and try to get a job.” Superintendent Don Austin said at the April 18 Board meeting that Innovation can improve education practices. “One thing I’ve told our entire team: ‘You’ll be in big trouble if you talk about moonshots,’” Austin said. “That is not what Innovation is about. It’s about strategically stretching to the next places that make sense.” Ultimately, Segal said the goal of Innovation is to inspire students to learn. “I want students to love learning,” Segal said. “I want students to exit (high school) feeling like they can take on the next challenge and have the self-confidence and the resilience to go out in the world, both to fail and succeed and keep going.”
Tiffany He
Senior Staff Writer
Conservative judge Kyle Duncan escorted off Stanford campus after law students protest speech Julian Hong
News/Opinion Editor Controversy arrived at Stanford Law School on March 9 when students protested against a talk by 5th Circuit judge Kyle Duncan. Tim Rosenberger Jr., president of the Stanford Federalist Society, invited Duncan to discuss gun control and social media regulation. But during Duncan’s speech, students opposed to his views arrived and administrators intervened, leading to federal marshals escorting Duncan off campus. The incident has sparked an extensive debate on the future of free speech at Stanford and other college campuses. Rosenberger said he invited Duncan because of his status and legal knowledge. “This is a judge who sits one level below the Supreme Court, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate,” Rosenberger said. “This is a serious person with important things to say, and we wanted him to speak at Stanford. Specifically, we wanted to hear about some issues going through the 5th Circuit right now, namely gun control and social media regulation.” According to The Hill, Duncan is a prominent figure in the conservative legal movement, especially in anti-LGBTQ cases. He served as the general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty during a Supreme Court case against the contraceptive mandate in ObamaCare. On the day of the speech, Rosenberger said he discovered posters across campus with what he said were obscene messages directed at the Federalist Society and Duncan. “There were signs with headshots of everyone on my board saying we should be ashamed,” Rosenberger said. “Other posters listed supposed wrongs the judge had committed without any evidence or sources. One poster even implied that the judge’s decisions and work with the Federalist Society led to transgender suicides.” Rosenberger said Stanford did little to mitigate conflict besides setting up a location on campus for students who felt uncomfortable with Duncan’s visit.
BRAD YAC-DIAZ/USED WITH PERMISSION
5th Circuit judge Kyle Duncan addresses Stanford students on March 9 after being invited to speak by the Stanford Federalist Society. "We must protect the expression of all views," Stanford Law School Dean Jennifer Martínez said.
“The school had set up a safe space for students upset by the judge’s visit, but it became a rallying point for the mob,” Rosenberger said. “When the judge entered the building, a gauntlet of people yelled things at him. The comments became more aggressive as he moved closer to the event room.” As protests escalated, Rosenberger said Tirien Steinbach, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, approached Duncan with pre-written remarks about how his work upset students. Although Steinbach did not ask Duncan to leave, Rosenberger said her remarks failed to support free speech. Steinbach, though, said many students on campus felt unsafe with Dunan’s presence on campus due to his previous legal decisions and wanted Duncan to reconsider his speech. “Do you have something so incredibly important to say about Twitter and guns and COVID that it is worth this impact on the division of these people who have sat next to each other for years?” Steinbach said. Following the incident, Steinbach was put on unpaid leave by Stanford Law School. In addition, Stanford Law School
Dean Jennifer Martínez wrote a letter to the community outlining the future of free speech at Stanford. “I believe our commitment to diversity and inclusion means that we must protect the expression of all views,” Martinez said. “While some of you may disagree with my views, I look forward to continuing the conversation about how we can create a learning environment that both respects freedom of speech and ensures that we support all of our diverse community members on their path to becoming lawyers.” However, Gunn senior Paul Kramer, founder of the nonprofit Youth in Policy, said Steinbach’s actions have damaged Stanford’s commitment to free speech. “(Students were) trying to silence the conservative voice, which is dangerous to discourse,” Kramer said. “Discourse is incredibly important at Stanford Law School because those are the future people making our laws.” But English 10A teacher Lizzie Dekraai said she disagrees with the notion that students were silencing Duncan. They actually didn’t disrupt the speaker,” Dekraai said. “He went in, intending to give a speech, but then he just jumped straight into Q&A. There was a back-and-forth Q&A, and the judge called people idiots, morons and bullies.” Kramer said the root cause of the protest is that universities are incubating students in political bubbles and creating students who become close-minded to opposing opinions. “(Libreal organizations) on Stanford’s campus have hosted dozens of speakers just as polarizing,” Kramer said. “The only difference is that a much smaller population of conservatives is willing to protest, typically because they’re used to a majority liberal campus and not being exposed to differing opinions.” Regardless of the protests’ root causes, Rosenberger said he is hopeful that the incident will help Stanford reshape its policies surrounding freedom of speech. “I think there’s some plan in that letter to have a committee of faculty that looks into the culture of speech and policy around speech, and that’s probably worthwhile,” Rosenberger said. “The university has said that Steinbach did not follow the existing policy by scolding the judge rather than getting things back on track.”