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.