FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2017
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
We support
the four-day
school week
We were pleased with the 5J
School District’s decision to con-
tinue the current four-day school
week, which has been in place for
the past fi ve or so years.
When it comes to education,
quantity does not necessarily
equal quality, and there is no good
evidence that the longer a child sits
in a classroom, the more academic
benefi ts present themselves.
We realize declining test scores
were cited at the last Board meet-
ing, but also see no direct correla-
tion between those and the four-
day schedule. Changes in the tests
themselves as well as the introduc-
tion of the confused and convo-
luted Smarter Balanced / Common
Core teaching and testing may also
be contributing factors, assuming
the data is accurate.
We also don’t believe that the
public school system is the be all,
end all of childhood development.
Call us crazy, but the time children
spend with their families at home,
with friends doing various activi-
ties, in other community clubs, etc.
is equally if not often more benefi -
cial in the long run. This is the time
children celebrate how they don’t
fi t inside the box that is the orga-
nized public school system. It’s the
time for parents and grandparents
and aunts and uncles to help shape
their character, teach them family
history, traditions, and skills they
The
won’t learn elsewhere.
For individuals who want or need
additional structured academic
help, there are resources available
here locally on Fridays, such as
Friday Academy.
With sixteen hundred or so kids
in our local school district, there’s
no way one schedule will ever fi t
everyone due to work, travel, and
so forth. However, we grew up
and/or raised kids within Baker
County’s 30J School District,
which has adhered to a four-day
week for decades now quite suc-
cessfully, with again no evidence
that the graduates from that school,
Burnt River to be precise, suffered
in any way as they went on to col-
lege or gainful employment.
We’ve heard the argument that
what works in more rural areas
doesn’t work in Baker City due to
the different demographic. We’ve
heard more than one person say
that having students out of school
on Friday only results in them be-
ing unsupervised that day, and in
some cases without the basics such
as three square meals on that day.
We’ve heard, again from more than
one person, reference to the num-
ber of juvenile-related police calls
on Fridays. We agree and can’t
dispute those facts—which is a sad
commentary on our community.
However, our school system
wasn’t intended to be a combina-
tion daycare and homeless shelter,
and when that’s what we try to
turn it into, the time well-cared-for
children get inside families that
are healthy can be infringed upon.
The answer to those societal issues
has to lie elsewhere, and the school
system needs to focus on its pur-
pose—education.
Four days achieves that goal just
fi ne.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
Baker County Press
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— Special Column —
So I was
thinking ...
Things men
shouldn’t be
in charge of
By Jimmy Ingram
Special to The Baker County Press
For the most part, grown men are a
capable bunch. We’ve built pyramids, set
foot on the moon, invented the internal
combustion engine, and peanut butter.
We’re also a proud bunch that like to
pretend we know the answer to nearly
every question and can maneuver through
the ins and outs of social situations with
the greatest of ease. But despite our good
traits there are lot of things men shouldn’t
be in charge of. Here are just a few.
Laundry. When I was a single man in
my 20s I easily separated my laundry into
one of two groups: things that were white,
and things that weren’t. Put detergent in
machine, hit button, transfer clothes to
dryer, done. It wasn’t until I was married I
found out there were all new categories of
laundry, allegedly created only to confuse
men like myself: Delicates, colors, hand
wash, hang dry, tumble dry low, dry clean
only. I was like a 12 year-old in an algebra
class saying to myself, “I thought math
was just adding and subtracting? This is
way too complicated for me.”
Now being a modern guy I do more than
my share of laundry in our home. Much as
I’d like to pat myself on the back for my
contribution, there are times I’ve done far
more harm than good. I’ve shrunk sweat-
ers four sizes, turned white T-shirts pink,
and overlooked “dry clean only” tags. I’ve
shrugged off the need for stain remover,
only to set spaghetti stains in my kids
clothes permanently (my argument for
them “adding character” to the kids’ shirts
didn’t work). I’ve loaded 105 pounds of
clothes in the washer and then wondered
why the machine walked itself four feet
away from the wall.
I’m sure there are many men like me
who make a noble effort to do laundry, but
ultimately end up wreaking havoc on their
family’s clothing. We’re learning. We’re
capable. But maybe men are not yet quali-
fi ed to be turned loose with the laundry.
Dinner Parties. Being asked to bring
an entree or dessert dish to a social func-
tion is a frequent request. Most women
seem to have a catalog full of specialty
dishes to bring to almost any event—dips,
casseroles, homemade desserts. Men, on
the other hand, have the tact of a prehis-
toric caveman when presented with this
formality. As far as we’re concerned, two
or three bags of Doritos and/or a 12-pack
of beer are perfectly acceptable to bring to
almost any occasion. Dessert social? We
see no reason to waste time with pesky
things like recipes, cookware, and ingre-
dients. A container of Safeway cookies
should fi t the bill. Simple minds, simple
Submitted Photo
Jimmy Ingram is a local farmer and
father of two who enjoys people
watching within our wonderful
community and beyond.
solutions.
Women may question our effort on this
issue but we like to call it “effi cient.” The
empty bags clearly show that the Doritos
were a hit and as a bonus, we don’t have
to worry about our Tupperware being
returned. I know, I know ... you’re not
buying it. We’ll leave the “bring a dish”
responsibility up to you ladies. A dinner
party with 40 bags of Cool Ranch Doritos
and 20 cases of beer doesn’t sounds more
like camping than a formal dinner party.
We probably shouldn’t be in charge.
Christmas Shopping. Sometime
around 6 a.m. on November 1, the women
of America set their wheels in motion for
holiday shopping. They search the internet
and stroll feverishly through shopping
malls, referring to year-in-the-making lists
they’ve constructed for each person they
need to shop for. Before the end of No-
vember, they have 99% of their Christmas
shopping done, left only with a few small
details to fi nish their holiday prepared-
ness. The effi ciency of women’s holiday
shopping is so high, they have time left
over to do things like bake cookies and do
holiday crafts.
Sometime around noon on December
23 men across America casually begin to
consider setting foot in stores, realizing
they have yet to fulfi ll any of their shop-
ping obligations.
We wander like lost puppy dogs through
the business districts and big box stores
of every town in America, hoping to
complete our mental shopping list before
the bell tolls. Card selections for the wife
are made easy, mostly because there are
only two left to choose from in the entire
county. One has a kitten in a Santa hat on
the front and the other is a money holder
that reads, “For you, Granddaughter.” At
last on the afternoon of December 24,
the man’s shopping duties are complete.
Five gift cards, two scented candles, and
a Santa Cat greeting card should do the
trick. We tell ourselves, “I’ll start shop-
ping sooner next year,” but we probably
won’t. We never learn.
When it comes to shopping for the
holidays, men should not be in charge. It’s
not that we don’t enjoy gift giving, we just
aren’t organized enough to navigate the
holiday waters.
The completed list of things men
shouldn’t be in charge of could fi ll up a
public library. We really do try, but in
many ways we don’t change. Now if
you’ll excuse me, I need to go pick up a
couple bags of chips for a dinner party.
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