Forum
4
"When I was your age../'
That's the phrase some par
ents use to prove a point,
whether it’s about ground
ing you from your phone or
scolding you about watching
too much television. As a
teenager, you may roll your
eyes and scoff. Tire stories
can be interesting, but most
of the time, it sounds like our
parents didn’t have any fun.
Let’s face it, most of us have
been a part of this conversa
tion at least once in our lives.
>ly enough, "back
in me days ’’ was much dif-
t than now. Over the 11
technol-
ogv
evolved—for exam ple, no
cellphones to bulky cellphones
to smart phones. Benefits of
this technology include easier
access to inform ation and
faster communication. It has
transformed the way we watch
movies and read books (Kindle,
eReader, Nook).
But, what happened to the
days when "hanging out" meant
April
phones and iPods. Commu
nication between friends used
to mean letters and postcards,
and now i t’s just a chain of text
messages sent with the push of
a button.
W hen our p aren ts and
grandparents were teenag
ers, they had planned ahead
is something we can learn from.
Instead of being constantly
plugged in to technology, there
was a slower pace to life; being
able to spend time with the
farm 1 y or pass the time togeth
er—in person and
undistracted.
As
teenagers, we often take tech
nology for granted. Par
ents and grand-
~
parents
didn’t have technology
and that
killing enemies in "Call of Duty"
or shopping at the mall. Back
we have
has
if
la }
to p s' or
•iting
grams to whip up an
a ff
b e
approached
i t h o u g h 11 L illy.
ess
of our la
reach a point in the future
calculators or the newest laptop
evolve. Being a teen in this
ir fin' s
imagine what would hap-
the chance to use
in gat
might see it as something
else that’s just complicated to
understand. One may symp a-
thize and feel sorry that the
n
suchhigh-tech gadgets to enter-
managed failed. It seems highly
unlikely, but it’s not impos
sible. WouId we have to rely on
brains and pencils? Our parents
chances are it’ll probably be
you.
Budget restrictions limit number of vocational opportunities necessary for life skills
y o e i l o i i l glasses________________
continued from page 3
"Those are all very
expensive programs.
And they're difficult to
fund," Bailey said. "We
need to do a better job
with internships, work
experience and other
vocational training. I don't
think we've explored all of
our options, and that's the
march I want to go down
with our counseling staff."
Streetcars have little
benefit to West Linn
con|inued from page 3
The city is already strug
gling with budget cuts
and funding the streetcar
project will make that even
worse. If there is a street
car, Metro taxes would be
slightly higher each month,
even though we already
pay an average of $24 in
Metro taxes each month.
Having to go to Lake Os
wego to catch the streetcar
could also lead to more
traffic on Highway B than
there is currently.
There are two alterna
tive options for West Linn
which could actually ben
«
efit the city. The first option
is not to build the streetcar
to Lake Oswego. Instead
TriMet could improve its
system in our city. The
other option is a high
speed bus. Either of these
would be a lot more ben
eficial to the city’s budget
and its people.
The not build option
would be the best one for
West Linn. West Linn rid
ers would only have to
make the one transfer with
this option and maybe
TriMet could improve its
service. We should refrain
from funding a streetcar
for now.
One possible solution
suggested by Bailey was a
half school day for students
who would be interested in
vocational training. In this
type of format, a student
would be able to take
regular classes for half of
the day at the high school,
and then go off campus to
a different site for specific
training.
These types of classes
are essential to the growth
of imperative life skills in
all high school students.
With places like Clackamas
and Portland Community
College offering job
training and transitional
programs, this may be
the solution that many
students are looking for.
The bottom line is that
with current budgetary
issues within the district,
WLHS is stuck between
a rock and a hard place
trying to sustain every
student's needs. But until
these classes are included
in the schedule of WLHS,
many students are left
asking: where do we turn?
Photo by Laurel Massaro
A student in Mylan Rakich's Introduction to Welding class watches
sparks fly while welding April 22 at Clackamas Community College. In
the past few years, schools like CCC and PCC have began offering more
specialized training classes similar to welding.