Bok Criticizes Public Schools, Urges Changes in Teaching

President Bok called for changes in the U.S. public school educational system in a speech last night at the Boston Harvard Club's 75th Annual Dinner.

Bok said that in order to alleviate school systems' "severe problems," administrators should design more demanding curricula, assign more homework, lengthen the school year, and upgrade faculty training and salaries.

Bok's proposals are similar to statements released in a report yesterday by a special Federal Commission studying excellence in education. Bok said in an interview before the speech that his suggestions also resembled the findings of a Carnegie Foundation committee on which he serves and which will release its report later this spring.

Bok attributed the current problems in the schools to the declining quality of teachers as well as the increasingly burdensome administrative duties schools must perform--such as implementing equal opportunity assistance and health regulations.

Citing the work at the Graduate School of Education in retraining teachers as helping to reverse the problems, Bok said. "We all realize how important our education system is and how important it is that it improves."

Bok said that Harvard should concentrate on working with teachers because currently "teachers are in very poor shape."

He added that many talented women who might have in past years gone into teaching are entering other careers and that most students trained in education were shying away from the profession because of other more lucrative offers.

Teachers need greater public support, both financially and emotionally. Bok urged, to bring more talented and highly trained people into the field.

But the president said that he is optimistic that these changes combined with a new "gathering consensus to get behind public schools," will help reorder U.S. educational priorities, similar to what occurred after the Russians launched the Sputnik space satellite.

Last night's address was Bok's second public statement on a national issue in a week. In his annual report to the Board of Overseers, released last Thursday, he lashed out against the U.S. legal system. Bok, in an interview, said however that these were coincidents and did not signal any new outspokenness on his part.