Cal State Remedial Classes Face Tough Test : Teaching: Cal State Northridge instructors say they avoid attaching any stigma to the courses. ‘This is giving me self-esteem,’ a student says of a remedial class.

Cal State Northridge administrators and teachers can’t afford to dwell on the reasons why so many college freshmen are packed inside their classrooms to learn high school English and math skills.

They have a job to do.

In one or two semesters, they will show students who have trouble with sentence structure how to write long essays. They will teach algebra and geometry to those who struggle with solving equations and understanding graphs.

And they will teach with sensitivity because some of their students are embarrassed about repeating subjects they should have mastered in high school.

“These are our students,” said Pamela Bourgeois, coordinator of the English department’s developmental writing program. “We have to find out where they are and start from there.”

Added math professor Elena Marchisotto: “It’s naive to try to assign blame. There is no one factor we can point to. There are so many things--the general attitude toward math, the state of high schools under siege, the qualifications of teachers.”

A recent California State University report showed that in the 20-university system nearly half the 1993 freshman class was unprepared for college-level math and English courses. At Cal State Northridge, more than two-thirds of the freshmen were unprepared.

If an incoming student scores low on a standardized placement exam--designed to test high school-level skills--the next stop is remedial education. In remedial math, students progress from basic arithmetic to intermediate algebra. In English, they begin with essay writing and then learn how to refine their sentence structure.

But perhaps just as important as the content in remedial classes is the atmosphere.

Instructors aim to create a respectful college environment.

“You can’t talk down to them,” Marchisotto said.

In weekly faculty meetings, she added, they talk a lot about the language teachers should use with remedial students.

“There are things we don’t say, like, ‘This is basic,’ or ‘You should have known this,’ ” she said. “This is very important.”

Still, some students, at least initially, find it hard to overcome their embarrassment.

When a friend asked Blanca Azar, a remedial English student, for her course list this semester, Azar recalled how without hesitation she quickly recited her schedule.

“But when I got to this class,” she said, referring to remedial English, she lowered her voice. “I’m ashamed to say what English I have. It makes me feel I should be higher.”

Remedial education students generally prefer to keep a low profile. A few years ago, for example, Marchisotto noticed that her math students often neglected to bring their thick textbooks to class.

“They were embarrassed to be seen on campus carrying it around,” Marchisotto said. “Now they have these small notebooks, which isn’t a big advertisement that they’re in remedial math.”

In English classes, instructors use pencils instead of red markers to evaluate writing samples.

“Red is symbolic of failure and fault,” said Pat Murray, director of composition in the English department.

Remedial English teachers start the semester by trying to instill as much confidence as possible in their students. Dharma Hernandez, an English instructor, doesn’t correct every grammatical error in early writing assignments.

“I don’t want them to feel defeated early,” Hernandez said. “It takes away their anxiety. . . . Students come into these courses with a self-defeating attitude.”

Her approach seems to work. Many students appreciate the second chance.

“This is giving me self-esteem,” said Norma Islas, a remedial English student.

Although the simple rules of sentence structure, grammar and word usage are taught to remedial English students, the program emphasizes writing skills by requiring students to write essays.

In one class last week, Hernandez asked her students to take their journals outside for a few minutes and record their observations.

Some wrote about the sounds at the adjacent softball field. Others made notes about what they saw and smelled.

Hernandez said students find that one of their biggest obstacles is letting go of their inhibitions.

“Don’t be so uptight,” she told one student. “We’re going to do it.”

The pep talks from their instructors give both English and math students the vote of confidence they often need.

“I’ve known my whole life that I have no math skills,” student Nancy Greenberg said. “But this is good review.”

Some remedial students, however, have a false sense of security about their skills because in high school they always managed to get a passing grade, said Jane Pinkerton, a remedial math coordinator.

Pinkerton phones students who fail their initial math exams, encouraging them to seek assistance at the campus math lab.

“They’ve always had miracles, and they’re expecting another one here,” Pinkerton said.

But college is not high school.

“We teach them to take responsibility for themselves,” Murray said. “If Johnny doesn’t show up in class, nobody calls to check up on him.”

In math classes, the curriculum calls for giving students a firm footing in elementary skills so they can advance to more complex problems. Their studies include ratios, percentages, factoring, decimals, geometry and algebra.

Michelle Erickson, a graduate assistant who teaches remedial math, spends only a few minutes of each class at the blackboard. The rest of the time, students work in small groups.

“There was some resistance in the beginning to group work,” Marchisotto said. “Students weren’t accustomed to it. But you have to get in there and work every day. That’s how you learn it.”

At first, Erickson conceded, she was concerned about the math capabilities of some of her students. “I thought, ‘Oh, my God, are these people at this level?’ ” she said. “But there are a lot of different reasons why they’re here, and they are not stupid people.”