I EDUCATION Immausgammm'•
West Coast Putons
What's Up
Continued from preceding page
Natural Home Furnishings and Bedding
ANNOUNCING OUR
GRAND OPENING!
2544 Orchard Lk. Rd.
(between Cass Lake and Middlebelt)
(313) 681.5999
FIGHT
THE BIG "F"...
Ahhhhh!!
FURNITURE
FADING
STOPS
ULTRA VIOLET
the kids are back
in school.
Now's the time to not only have
your carpets cleaned, but have
them cleaned right. The Original
Hagopian way.
6 ft. Sofa
or 2 Chairs
5 Rooms
and a Hall
2 Rooms
and a Hall
$49 95*
$99 95*
$49 95*
HAG PIAN
up to
9 9 %
Seymour Zate
537.7900
tin
- Solar Sales, Inc
ai
—
Since 1969 —
The Original Since 1939
CLEANING SERVICES
14000 W. 8 Mile, Oak Park 399-2323
'Combined areas considered 2 rooms. Rooms over 250 sq. ft.. deicate or dry clean fabrics sight midi charge.
42
FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 7, 1990
Men's furnishings and accessories
19011 West Ten Mile Road
Southfield, Michigan 48075
(Between Southfield and Evergreen)
352.1080
Hours:
Mon.-Sal.
Thursday
9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
9:30 a.m -7 p.m.
PARKING AND ENTRANCE IN REAR
tain-climbing outing which
required students to learn
geology, geography and
biology; and a class on great
writers where students pro-
duced their own creative
writing and drawing.
"Kids learn when they're
excited and they learn when
they're involved," Dr. Littky
said. "They learn least when
they're just sitting and
listening to a lecture."
Dr. Littky's approach
means making students ac-
tive learners, he said. It
doesn't mean they have free
reign to do whatever they
want. Teachers at Thayer
accompany students to the
art museum or take them on
outings, but they also make
sure their pupils are learn-
ing the basics like reading
and math. If students don't
respond to a more informal
education structure, the
teacher is responsible for
trying other methods to help
them learn.
Dr. Littky's educational
programs had an immediate
effect on students at Thayer
High. The year before he
came, 270 of the 320
students received failure
notices and the absentee
rate was 17 percent. In 1982,
Dr. Littky's first year as
principal, the absentee rate
dropped to 12 percent; by
1984 it was down to 4 per-
cent.
Thayer also attracted na-
tional attention, bringing
educators from throughout
the area impressed by the
school's new approach.
Changes at the school were
noted in stories in national
magazines like Education
Timesand Executive Editor.
But some Winchester
residents were not pleased
with the new look at Thayer.
And once voted onto the
school's board, they made
their views clear.
Dr. Littky's opposition
came from board members
Susan Winter, Bobby
Secord, Allen Barton and
Francis Gutoski, who argued
that programs at Thayer
were costing too much
money, though in fact the
school brought new funds to
the community in the form
of awards and grants.
First, the four managed to
secure a cut in the Thayer
budget. Then they went
after Dennis Littky's job.
Disgruntled community
members joined the anti-
Littky campaign. Some
citizens insisted the prin-
cipal was a communist. An-
other said she was tired of
his teaching the -children
"new values" and compared
him to Hitler. Others cir-
culated fliers accusing Dr.
Littky of looking in the girls'
shower, and passed out
drawings showing the prin-
cipal wearing a yarmulke.
If some board and com-
munity members were
disturbed by Dr. Littky, the
students were not, School
board hearings to drop some
of his programs attracted
numerous students who told
how the new Thayer High
had helped them change
from troubled youth to col-
lege-bound students.
Reports of the battle in the
small New Hampshire town
began to appear in
Newsweek and Time and on
the "Today" show.
Eventually, the Thayer
school board members decid-
ed to offer Dr. Littky a
Board members
might step in on a
course where
students were in a
heated debate
about pollution and
come out saying,
"That class is too
rowdy," Dr. Littky
said "But to me,
that's really
exciting learning."
teaching position instead of
keeping him as principal.
But they never held a hear-
ing to discuss the proposal.
Dr. Littky fought back. He
hired a lawyer, Jon Meyer,
who argued the principal's
rights were violated when
the hearing had been cir-
cumvented.
"Nominating Littky as a
teacher was not done be-
cause the board was looking
for a teacher, but because it
wanted to get rid of him as a
principal," Mr. Meyer said.
At subsequent hearings,
board members voiced their
complaints about Dr. Littky.
These ranged from charges
that businessmen had
"comments" (no details were
given) about Thayer
graduates and that Dr.
Littky had conducted
himself inappropriately
when he sat on a dirt pile
during a softball game.
To this day, Dr. Littky re-
mains incredulous at the
anger shown him and his
programs. "I still don't
understand the fervor of
what happened," he said.
"These are people with
different values," Dr. Littky
said of his adversaries.
"They misunderstood what
was going on."
Board members might step
in on a course where students