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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2017)
LET TERS the least sustainable city on the continent. Piercy’s greenwash rhetoric distracted from ugly sprawl (Capstone, et al.), widen- ing I-5 and Beltline, and the growing num- ber of warehouses on farmland (Envision Eugene). Mark Robinowitz Eugene UNITED WE RESIST In The Wretched of the Earth (1961), Martinique-born Afro-Caribbean psychia- trist and philosopher Frantz Fanon argues that the major weapon of colonizers is the imposition of the image of the colonized on the subjugated people. Recognition forges identity, and domi- nant groups — whether the usual suspects of rich, white, Anglo Saxon, Protestant, male or American — tend to entrench their hegemony by inculcating an image of infe- riority in the subjugated. People or society mirroring back to us a confining, demeaning or contemptible pic- ture of ourselves inflicts suffering, damage and distortion. Non- or mis-recognition can inflict real harm, oppress and imprison someone in a false, distorted and reduced VIEWPOINT way of being. Fanon recommended violence as a response. In response to the reactionary populism of Trump, I’d recommend non- violent resistance. Most important is a seri- ous political strategy. The Women’s March on Washington (Eugene Weekly, Jan. 5) strives to be “di- verse” and “better allies and listeners.” The Left’s crucial task is to forge a coalition of women, LGBTQIA, labor, Latinos, Native Americans, African-Americans, Jews and environmentalists. For it is just that scatter of left politics that allows neo-capitalism to dominate our society. To the extent each left group focuses on its own single issue, the left will remain impotent in the face of soft fascism. As Deanna Eisinger said, we have to make sacrifices “to advance society as a whole.” Sam Porter Eugene DON’T BE A FLAKE If you were a kid in the town where I grew up, a snow day wasn’t just an oppor- tunity for sled riding and snowball fights, it was also an economic opportunity. Kids could work all day shoveling walks for dough, since property owners in upstate New York where I lived were ob- ligated by law to clear their sidewalks. If you didn’t, you could be ticketed and fined. You could also be held liable if someone slipped and fell on your sidewalk due to un-cleared ice or snow. To my knowledge no laws like this exist here, but they should. When there is snow and ice, people should be able to get around with some reasonable level of safety. Whether you are elderly, disabled, poor, young or old, you should be able to walk to the store, the library, the doctor or a friend’s house with- out hiking boots and ski poles. One of the reasons school was canceled on Jan. 9 was because of the terribly dangerous condi- tions of the sidewalks. I respectfully ask my fellow Orego- nians to consider expanding their idea of personal responsibility and civic duty. Be- gin clearing your sidewalks when needed, keeping them open and safe no matter how much snow or ice we get. Joshua Welch Eugene UNSAFE SPRAYING There have been a number of op-eds lately about how safe and well regulated the spraying of pesticides and herbicides is in Oregon. I see “industry” flacks using both pesticide and herbicide interchange- ably, which continues to confuse the public about what is really going on in our forests. I believe that is deliberate. The real issue that should be debated is how “safe and well-regulated” these poisons are. Whatever you call them, they are de- signed to kill. Both federal and state forests here have not used aerial spray for years! All work is done by hand directly where it’s needed, providing forest jobs. How can gov- ernments grow trees this way, but not private companies? And if it’s all so well regulated and safe, why can’t we find out what exactly was in that “proprietary” spray? People and animals are sickened by drift, but without knowing the chemicals involved, doctors are helpless. Some people say to leave the area when you know there will be spraying. There is no advance notification except vague notices that there might be a spray event in future … maybe. More corporate harms inflicted on citizens, with absolutely no redress! State regulators do nothing, and state legislators BY DE A NN A CH A PPELL BELCHER A ND GEOFF BA RRE T T Dear CAPE LETTERS ABOUT SMARTER BALANCED STANDARDIZED TESTING Dear Community Alliance for Public Education: Every year we hear about this “opt- ing out” business. We aren’t big fans of standardized tests, but we don’t want our child to lose out. It says on the opt-out form that we will be missing “valuable information” about our child’s progress if she doesn’t take the test. Would I be preventing her teachers from knowing how she’s doing academically? Sincerely, A Curious & Cautious Parent Dear C&C: The Smarter Balanced assessment used in Oregon now is only one possible measure of students’ work in school, and it is by no means the best. It measures a very limited slice of the whole delicious pie of your child's total learning experience. We suggest that if you want to know how your child is doing in school, talk to her teachers. Teachers work closely with kids day after day (snow permitting!) and rely much more on class work, performance tasks and chapter tests, which are more authentic and accurate indicators of how a child is progressing academically. You want a complete picture of your child as a student, not just a score. 6 Dear CAPE: Dear CAPE: Dear CAPE: I do not understand why so many people are refusing Smarter Balanced assessments. My kids do just fine on the tests! They’re not stressed out, plus it’s good practice for them when they have to take the SAT to get into a good col- lege. Why can’t other kids just study harder and then do well on the tests too? From, Parent of an Achiever I don’t like standardized tests and would prefer to opt my child out, but other parents tell me that opting could harm my school’s rating and its stature in the community. This in turn could im- pact my property value. Is that true? Signed, Gimme an A! I took standardized tests in school, and I turned out fine. We need to know whether our teachers and schools are do- ing their job and testing is the only way to objectively measure school quality! Sincerely, Data Junkie Dear Achiever: It’s great that your kids are success- ful and work hard. But this struggle is about all kiddos. Large numbers of children, who are as valuable and im- portant as your special snowflakes, are suffering under this test-driven model of schooling — kids who are not natu- ral test takers, have special educational or emotional needs, are learning English as their second language, have cultural and financial backgrounds different from yours or don’t own a computer for prac- tice, and who therefore may not be as successful on the tests. They can’t just “study harder” because the test is not about learning, it’s about test taking. Ul- timately, all students — our whole soci- ety — will suffer if our children grow up to be effective test-takers but not critical and creative thinkers. January 19, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com Dear A: Imagine you live in a neighborhood where the elementary school has an “A” on its state’s report card. Much of that grade is made up of students’ scores on standardized tests. It doesn’t reflect the wonderful teachers, the dynamic prin- cipal, the garden program, its language immersion program, the wonderful tal- ent show every year, or its annual school wide immersive study of the ocean eco- system. Imagine what would happen if folks started refusing to participate in the sys- tem by which these grades are assigned? What if your school’s grade went from “A” to “C” and the only thing that had changed was the refusal to take the tests? Would you move? Would you transfer your child to a different school, one with an “A” from the state? Why would prop- erty values go down when everything that means anything is still in place? Dear D J: Standardized tests are only one type of measurement, and if they are used as the be-all and end-all, they can be misleading at best, and devastating to schools and students at worst. Our kids average 112 standardized tests in their school careers — 25 times as many tests as you did! Clearly, they are dominating all other types of measurement by mo- nopolizing time, attention and money. We recommend a more balanced assess- ment for Oregon students. By opting out, parents can join a real conversation about the kind of education we want. Deanna Chappell Belcher is a teacher, learner and a parent. Geoff Barrett is a high school teacher and parent. Both are members of CAPE, The Community Alliance for Public Education, a coalition of parents, teachers, professors, students and community members who challenge the many assaults on public education and who believe in a strong public education as the foundation for American democracy. We meet most Wednesdays at 4:30 pm at Perugino in Eugene. Visit CAPE’s Web site at.oregoncape.org.
