Portland observer., January 11, 1979, Page 2, Image 2

P*9e2 Portland Observar Thursday January 11, 1979
School Board action: Desegregation
W? see the world
through Black eyes
Avoiding the issues
& The Portland School Board might as weil have
fctoyed home Monday night. Its responses to the
ttrio u s and specific recommendations of the
Community Coalition for School Integration con­
sisted of a senes of requests for Superintendent
to follow his intentions to decide how to respond.
The Board took no forthright actions — made
r»o decisions. They might as well have stayed
home and forgotten about it.
ticipation largely because of the race of its
residents. The issues are "taxation w ithout
representation," the principle that led to the
Revolution two hundred years ago, and the idea
that all people should have a right to elect their
rulers.
This issue, the King holiday bill, tax relief, and
many others that hold a special interest for Black
people will come before the 1979 Legislative
Assembly. It would be good to see Black people
taking an active part in the discussions and
hearings that lead to legislation.
Before the Legislature
A tim e tO help
The support of Black elected officials and
community leaders across the country was a
critical factor in raising the civil rights aspect of
political rights for the District of Columbia and in
getting a Constitutional Amendment through the
House and the Senate which, if ratified by the
states, will grant the citizens of the District of
Columbia full voting representation in Congress.
The success or failure of ratification by the 38
states required to ratify the amendment will be
determined by organized efforts and emphasis,
not on civil rights for Blacks alone, but on all the
issues raised by the representation issue.
Black leaders w ill play big roles in the
ratification efforts in many states, but successful
ratification will depend on bringing together bi­
partisan support from all walks of life. The issue is
not just that Washington has been denied par-
Weather is the topic of discussion this week as
many Portlanders find themselves stranded by
the ice, without food or fuel, without electrical
power for heat and lights.
Others see their property damaged by wind or
ice — trees and shrubs that have taken years to
grow killed, roofs blown off, pipes broken.
Those who have had it easier should remember
those in need — elderly people who cannot get
out to the store, who might need a hand with a
broken pipe or a mangled tree, or a hot meal.
Bad weather is rare in Portland — it brings
problems for everyone. It is too easy to worry
about bent fenders or personal inconviences and
forget those who are in serious need.
Those who are able to give services or
donations — and those in need — should call the
Red Cross or the Tri-County Community Council.
Focusing on the other economy
by Bayard Rusttn
necessary” social services for the
poor and non-affluent.
Tyler shows these myths for what
they are - simple myths. .All is not so
rosy, according to the study, and the
root causes of our social problems
won’t be found in bloated federal
budgets, fat workers, welfare
chislers. or a tax system which un­
fairly penalizes business activity.
Quite the contrary, many o f our
most serious social problems have
deep roots in the very economic
system which conservatives claim has
been so efficient, so egalitarian, and
so victimized by government “ inter­
ference” .
By illustrating the endemic and
almost radical inequality that charac­
terizes the American economic
system, Tyler reminds us that the
problem is so serious, and so broad-
based, tbt it requires a social
solution, not a “ tric kle -d o w n ”
strategy . By a social solution, 1 mean
far-reaching efforts directed toward
the transformation of our economy
from a system based exclusively on
private profit to a system far more
responsive to social needs.
A social solution, o f course,
presupposes the existence of a strong
political coalition — including Black
people - capable of mobilizing mass
support for fundamental change in
the American economic system. But
in light of recent political events (i.e.
California Proposition 13, the defeat
of Senator Case, etc.), 1 fear we will
face increasing difficulties in protec­
ting and enlarging the progressive
co alitio n , a coalition which is,
ironically, losing the votes of many
Americans who live in T y le r’ s
“ Other Economy“
Here is the central paradox arising
Anyone concerned w ith the
economic squeeze on workers and
poor people should read Gus Tyler’s
penetrating new study entitled “ The
Other Economy: America's Working
Poor” . Appearing in a recent issue
o f a small - bui spirited — magazine
known as The Aiew Leader, the study
lays bare the poverty, deprivation,
and glaring inequalities tht co-exist
with affluence and wealth.
Tyler’s study effectively challenges
two dangerous political trends that
seem to be sweeping America. The
first - which is especially popular
among some intellectuals and
politicans — is a curious and
premature celebration o f universal or
near-universal “ affluence.” Accor­
ding to the proponents o f this new
social myth, we need only “ mop up”
the remaining vestiges of poverty by
either motivating or quietly aban­
doning those who cling so stubbornly
to the nefarious “ welfare ethic” .
America, we are confidently told,
has achieved plentv in our own time.
This smug complacency has given
birth to a second disturbing trend -
the ever popular idea that social
problems are best solved by the nim­
ble fingers of the market's “ invisible
h an d ’ ’ . Neo-conservatives and
business figures solemly lecture us
about tbdimits o f government, and
the great untapped potential of ar.
expanding private sector (i.e. profit-
motivated enterprise) as it displaces a
parasitical, inflation-producing, and
morally corrupt public sector. For
conservatives then, affluence is best
preserved and expanded by a gradual
“ withering away of the state” and
the gradual elim ination o f “ un­
«
from T y le r’ s stydy: because o f
apathy, internal division, and simple
confusion, the political power of
“ The Other Economy” is either un­
der-utilized or unwittingly aligned
with forces committed to the con­
tinued subjugation of “ The Other
Economy” . In a very real sense,
“ The Other Economy” is its own
jailer and prosecutor. But it also has
the potential for becoming its own
liberator.
As I see it, those of us concerned
with the problems o f “ The Other
Economy” must once again become
the molders o f political debate m
A m erica.
Through
our
own
programmatic sloppiness and in­
tellectual exhaustion, we have vir­
tually abandoned the field to the
slick “ a n ti-ta x ” hucksters who
contend that every decent social
welfare program of the last twenty
years has somehow been a disaster
for the economy . And the fact that
so many in “ The Other Economy”
eagerly buy these new economic
fallacies is, in large measure, our
own fault.
I f we are to succeed in reversing
the conserv ative trend, a trend which
will perpetuate and aggravate the
problems of Black workers in “ The
O ther
Econom y” ,
we
must
vigorously confront the essentially
regressive policies o f the so-called
New Right We must unmask the
blatant injustices o f the present tax
system, and advocate meaningful
reform. And, most importantly, we
must intelligently counter the in­
creasingly popular belief that any
and all public action inevitably wor-
sons economic and social problems it
sets out to solve.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
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3rd Placa
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OMPA 1979
proportion o f m inority students
(currently 20 per cent), as the long­
term goal o f a “ reasonably balan­
ced” s taff; that goal should be
reached in five years; the Board
should establish an internship for
training potential minority principals
and a program to assist minority
aides to become certified teachers
(Continued from Page 1 Column 6)
nation and community.
B. The competent teacher and ad­
m inistrator is aware o f and ap­
preciates cultural diversity and the
importance o f communication skills
reflecting sensitivity to the feelings of
nil persons regardless of their race,
color, religion, sex. age or national
origin and docs such preparation and
takes such training as is necessary to
develop such awareness and ap­
preciation in herself or himself.
C . The competent adm inistrator
takes appropriate steps within his
responsibilities to cause the elements
in A and B above to be reflected in
the school instructional program and
evaluates those teachers and ad­
ministrators subject to his evaluation
and supervision with respect to their
performance regarding A and B
above The level of competent per­
formance required shall be deter­
mined by the professional judgment
of the supervisor of the teacher or
administrator.
Board response:
Placed language in the affirmative
aaion hiring policy stating that the
percentage o f minorities in the city
work force (7.5) will not be con­
strued as a maximum for district
hiring.
Minority Teacher Placement
Coalition recommendations -The
Distria should use more imaginative
placement o f minority teachers, em­
phasize placing minority teachers in
classrooms, prevent placing only one
minority teacher in a school, place
minority teachers in a manner that
w ill not racially identify certain
schools.
Teacher Training
Coalition recommendations - The
office responsible for District-wide
desegregation should develop a long­
term plan to assure that all teachers,
administrators. School Board mem­
bers, and any personnel whose
responsibility requires daily interac­
tion wth students have training in
group dynamics in an integrated set­
ting, multicultural perspective, and
Black culture. The office should
develop an in-serveie training
program based on the particular
needs of minority and white students
in an integrated setting.
Board response:
Coalition recommendation -T h e
School District should be an out­
spoken advocate o f fair housing
practices, participate with other
agencies in developing long-term
marketing to promote fam ily
liveab ility in the city, sponsor
seminars for real estate agents and
others to make them aware of
educational opportunities available
in the schools, promote incentives
that would lead to integrated
housing.
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Resolved, that
1) m ulti-ethnic education and
minority culture and the develop­
ment of skills to teach and work ef­
fectively in integrated classrooms
and schools have a high priority
position in the District's inservice
programs, including skills o f
working with individuals o f, and
groups composed of, different races
and backgroudns;
2) the Superintendent is directed to
prepare a plan for Board con­
sideration which includes
a) provision for furnishing
student teachers experience in in­
tegrated classrooms,
b) meeting the standards of the
District with respect to multi-ethnic
education: such plan shall deal with
whether such training should be
mandatory for any such staff.
The Board requests the Superin­
tendent to repon back to the Board
with respect to the foregoing.
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Student Discipline
Coalition recommendations - The
distria should develop categories of
suspensions - class exclusion, minor
suspension, major suspension - use
expulsion as a last resort, hire more
minority social workers and coun­
sellors, develop regulations for
school bus behavior, publish the
student handbook at fifth grade
level.
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Board response:
Resolved, that the Board requests
the Superintendent to submit
recommendations to the Board
which deal w ith the recommen­
dations o f the Community Coalition
for School Integration on student
discipline. Such recommendations
should cover at least the following
subjeas:
1) Categories o f disciplinary ac­
SFECIAL
SMITH FRICE:
»298
Floaty of Off-Stroot Forking. . . EASY TERMS
tion;
Minority Hiring
Housing
(Please turn to page 3 col. I)
Board response:
2) Reporting o f disciplinary ac­
tions to the Superintendent;
3) Involvem ent o f parents in
disciplinary procedures;
4 ) R e g u la tio n s g o v e r n in g
homework of students under suspen­
sion;
5) Bus rules and bus aides, and
special provisions if any for children
who are bused to and from school;
6) Any additional requirements to
improve procedures applied;
7) Analysis
of
types
of
disciplinary problems and methods
of response.
The Superintendent is requested to
prepare and distribute a popular
edition of the Student Rights and
Responsibilities handbook to be
made available to students, parents
and staff not later than commen­
cement of the 1979-1980 school year.
Resolved that the Board
1) encourages efforts o f the
Superintendent to place minority
employees in regular classroom
teaching assignments;
2) directs the Superintendenl to
maintain the Distria in compliance
with federal requirements respecting
staff assignments;
3) endorses the Superintendent’s
willingness to consider alternatives to
the present practices; and
4) directs the Superintendent to
report to the Board respecting the
foregoing.
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Coalition recommendations - The
School Board should sa as a priority
the hiring of minorities in positions
that have daily contad with students;
the Board should establish the
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