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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1993)
P age A2 A ugust 18, 1993 • T he P ori land O bserver — r (Hfye JîttrU anh © beerüer S c h o o l D a z e : S t ill W ith Ils By Professor McKinley Burt Last week 1 concluded my article on education with a continent on the appalling' test scores for third grad ers in the northeast community What is even more appalling is that no one 1 talked to was surprised There was not that immediate expression of outrage we have had in prior y cars when the com munity has been fired up by media reports- -or should have been We hope th is is not an indication that the public in th is a re a h as been whipped into a sul len silence by years of cumulative educational and social events seemed destined to crush th e hopes th e m ost c o m m itte d parents for a good education for their children; Nor that our most strident activists have, like revolutionaries. grown older and quieter-just when they are most needed It could be the case, however, that the people are angry, just plain angry and s ick and tired of years of fnistrated attem pts to secure a decent edu cation for their kids The conver sations 1 have had with a num ber of parents, teachers and stu dents have not re v e a le d th a t usual tendency to leap upon the cla ssic ‘w h ip ping boys’o f the educational in stitution, accom panied by demands to "throw the rascals out”. Rather, one can detect a slow om inous had-it-up-to-here' bum. The kind of hard-nosed mindset that mav presage some long and bitter struggles ahead-quite possibly legal . . .one can detect a slow ominous ‘had-it-up-to-here’ burn It w ill be interesting to see where the first ‘revolts’ will break out, for we have intolerable situa tions all over the place, not ju st Albina And not just Portland, or Oregon For the present, the estab lishment (school administrations) has been able to keep the publics mind focused on the economic themes; “American education is going to hell in a handbasket', primarily because we refuse to fund it at a level worthy of a leading world power” . All over the nation we have the "Proposition 5” model for generating visions of absolute collapse of school sy stems. No one on either side in the education cost controversies seems to remem ber that all of these shortfalls were predicted y ears ago So it is that when there was no meaningful response from the pow ers that be—school districts and boards, city councils, state legislatures, con gress, etc. - fast-aging property own ers brought matters to a screeching halt The education establishment is fighting back with statistics; reams of them, but centering around (again) two prime economic themes underly ing what is called "school productiv ity” The May issue of “Oregon Edu cation” magazine brought this out very clearly . This is the official pub lication of The Oregon Education Association Theme No. 1 provides us w ith the popular (and fashionable) “Public School Expenditures Per Pupil: Comparison of Lowest and Highest Spending States” . On the left hand of a chart are listed in descend ing vertical order, first, the seven "lowest spending states” and below them the "highest spending states.” To the right, we hav e three col umns of corresponding performance: "School Expenditures per Pupil 1989- 90; Average SAT Scores, 1990' Percent of High School Seniors taking SAT, 1990". This type of chart, whether com piled for 14 states or for all the nation's states, has occasionally produced ab solute hysteria among protagonists on either side of the education contro versy, Why? Because we see that the seven states spending the least on education, averaging about $3200 per pupil per year, spend about half of what is spent by the seven states with the highest per-pupil expenditures. But when you look at the average SAT scores, you see that the lowest spending states show much higher achievement. But before you fall off your seat, be advised that the higher-spending, lower achieving schools had as many as ten times the number of high school seniors taking the SAT. This is also a state-wide and urban phenomenon and, according to school adm inistra tors, the cause derives from the "the kinds” o f students w ho nowadays take the SATs. Do you know who they are talking about? Y ou’ll find out next week. Mets Outfielder Surrenders New York Mets outfielder Vince Coleman surrendered to authorities and was freed on $5,000 bail for alleg edly throwing a powerful firecracker at a group of fans. Police said the 31-year-old out fielder surrendered to Los Angeles City Fire Department arson investiga tors about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and was booked at the Parker Center jail in downtown Los Angeles. He w as to be arraigned Wednes day in Los Angeles Municipal Court on one felony count of unlaw ful pos session of an explosive dev ice. Two children were injured and a w om an’s hearing was reportedly damaged when Coleman allegedly tossed a powerful firecracker near a g ro u p o f fans o u tsid e D odger Stadium last month. Coleman is on unpaid leave from the Mets Support For Child Care Workers "Worthy Wages” Grows Calling it a “w in” for this session to be the first state in the nation to have introduced "worthy wage" leg islation for child car workers, propo nents of Senate Bill 1089 plan to continue in their push for minimum wages and benefits for child care workers through the legislative in terim. SB 1089, introduced at the re quest of the Oregon Public Employ ees Union: Calls for a Hay & Associates wage and benefit comparability study of nonmanagement positions at a sam pling o f certified day care and resi dential facilities; Requires all certified day care facilities to pay comparable rates within five years; Encourages all certified day care facilities to prov ide a sliding scale to ensure that 10% of the facilities' cus tomers are low income indiv ¡duals or households; and Prov ides for 75% any new fed eral childcare and block grant money to be used for compensation during the fiv e-year phase-in period SB 1089 was approved in the Senate by a vote of 18-12 on June 2. “We got a win out of this session of the Legislature by being the first in the nation to have gotten as far as we did in the legislative process,” said B Dan Enos, O PEU 's lead person on this issue. “It seems absurd to me that in tim e o f war, like World War 2, we can have national support for afford able, quality child care while in time of peace vvc do not have national support for ' Worthy W ages' for child care workers.” And the problem still remains that child care workers arc paid pea nuts; tending elephants pays more. Using die Hay & Associates point sy stem that SB 1089 calls for to deter mine which jobs are comparable, the state Executive Department 1993 sal ary survey found that: A priv ate sector Early Childhood Assistant was paid $8.855 while a private sector Office Assistant was paid $ 16,572. oran 87. l%difTercnce. The same surv ey show ed that an Early Childhood Associate Teacher w as paid $10,710. By contrast, other comparable jobs, their pay, and the difference betw een them and the Early childhood Associate Teacher are: A c c o u n tin g T e c h n ic ia n , $22,356, 108.7%; O ffice S p e c ia list, $ 2 3 ,3 6 4 , 118.2% and L ic e n se d P ra c tic a l N u rse, $22.956, 114.3%. The average disparity among all of these jobs with the child care work ers is 107.05%. In other w ords, work ers in those comparable jobs are paid more than twice as much as those to whom we entrust our very youngest children. Based on the educational back ground required for the job and sala ries in comparable professions (such as K-12 teachers' salaries), a reason able salary would be between $20,000 and $25,000 per year “A colleague of mine,” Enos said, "an experienced child care worker at the Waverly Children ’ s Home in Port land. s a id ,' I must decide whether to quit the work I love or elect never to have a child because 1 can’t afford to raise one.’” And, the salary range is hurting our children. The annual turnover ratefor child care workers is more than 60% in child care centers in Oregon -- It’s 50% nationally. “We are aware of the inequities of compensation for child care,” said Arlene Collins, chair of the Oregon Commission on Child Care appointed by the Governor. “Our experience this with SB 1089 this year and other factors has led the Commission to believe that total compensation issues will be one of our leading priorities during the interim and at the next session.” Catherine Tetriek. legislative spokesperson for the Portland Wor thy Wage Coalition, was another leader in the campaign for the w orthy wage bill this session “The coalition vv c put together to push this bill will stay together ov er the interim,” Enos said “We will keep working during the interim and w e expect to win next session because we hav e built the strongest coalition of its kind on this issue." For more information, please contact BD an Enos, at 252-4688; A rlen C ollins, at 228-421 1, or Catherine Tetriek. at 774-8459. We Must Think How We Define Diversity On Campus by M o rris Price More black students than ever before will be on American college campuses when classes begin this fall But many o f these institutions will not be truly diverse. In fact, it s time to change our thinking about what diversity on campus is really about As the result of aggressive re cruiting campaigns, many tradition ally white colleges attracted a greater number ofblack students and achiev ed their goal of diversify ing their cam puses The majority of the n ation's 1.3 million black students will be on traditionally w hite campuses However, congratulatory hand shaking on some of those campuses has turned to concerned handw ringing over what is perceived as segrega tio n -m o re precisely. self-segregation There is the understandable ten dency of students, many away from home for the first time, to grav itate to other students with whom they have alike—began expressing the fear that Report cover story proclaimed that something in common. This is even diversity wasn’t working well on cam campuses arc more segregated than more true for black students vv ho are pus. The news media covered the ever. There arc numerous stories about thrust onto the traditionally white issue heavily but with an inaccurate black students sitting together to eat in college cafeterias rather than miss slant college campus. ing with white students. A m ongtheprom inent mediasto- In the unfam iliar world of the Despite the racial ov ertones sug mostly white campus, black students gested in the news media, the situa are naturally going to seek out each tions above are examples of what other for support. Under that tress, in happens when y ou havedifTerentkinds addition to academic demands, black of people from different kinds ofback- students need to draw strength from grounds together on campus. They the familiar aspects of their culture. simply liav c different needs and ideas, The usual academic stress is in and college communities must make creased for black students because room for them. This is not racism on they also are asked to educate the rest campus. This is div ersity on campus. ries last year were reports that black of the campus community to w hat is Colleges wanted black students students at Duke University study black culture This w as made clear to to bring diversity to their campuses, primarily with black students and me by a black student who, while involved in a student organization whites study mostly w ith whites. Black and they are doing that. Black stu was dealing with the frustration of students at the University of North dents don't want to be just like white planning a black arts program. Exas Carolina-Chapel Hill were engaged students. They don't think just like perated, she said. “I came here to get m a heated debate w ith the adminis white students and they don't do ev- tration about getting a more central erythingjust like white students That an education, not give one.” Last year some college students location on campus for the black cul would be denying their own culture and adm inistrators—black and w hite tural center. A U S. News & World and differences. t A ---------------- I came here to get an education, not give one --------------------JJ M M H an ■■ m u ia a S ubscribe ! tUljc ^ lu r iia u i» (D bocrU cr j • (USPS 959-000) OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 by Alfred L. Konderson I T he P ortland O bserver i can be sent DIRECTLY TO YOUR HOME Joyce Washington Publisher FOR ONLY $30.00 PER | YEAR. P lease The PORTLAND OBSERVER Is located at 4747 NE Mardn Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 503-280-0033 • Fox 200-0015 fill out , ENCLOSE CHECK OR Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5:00 pm—Ads: Tuesday, noon POSTMASTER; Send Address Changes to; Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97200. Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon. , The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will bo returned II accompanied by a sell addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property ol the newspaper and can not be used In other publications or personal usage, without the written oynsenl ol the general managor unless the client has purchased the composition ol such ad. © 1993 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS I J I J | If black students blended com pletely with w hite students we w ould be promoting homogeneity, not di versity'. Colleges, and the public, have to recognize diversity for what it is by definition: differences. Different opin ions, different ideas, different cul tures. A college's efforts to diversity its student body should NOT be judged by whether the process is smooth or bumpy. Any successful diversity ef fort will certainly be bumpy, maybe even v ery bumpy Admittedly , overtly racial inci dents do occur at colleges from time to time Those things will happen, but they have to be dealt with in the appropriate manner. Colleges have long been chided by the general public as being places where students "don’t live in the real world." On the other hand, colleges feel they aspire to b ein g ju stalittleb it better than the real world Packwood Lunches With Timber Group Oregon Senator Bob Packwood took a tour of Oriental Hinoki Prod ucts in Molalla, had lunch with mem bers of the Molalla Timber Action committee, and interviewed at the Molalla Pioneer newspaper Oriental Hinoki, which m anu facturers cedar tubs, could be clob bered by the recently announced Clinton timber plan The company employs craftsmen vv hobuild the tubs bv hand Ovv ner Eugene Jackson origi nally intended to manufacture the tubs for export to Japan, but has found a growing market in the United States The tubs are built from Port Orford cedar, which grows only in Port Orford. Oregon, and in Japan The company is concerned that the President s timber plan will make Port Orford cedar unavailable, or much more expensive. "Here is another Oregon example of an entrepreneur w ho has dev el oped an idea into a profitable enter prise.” commented Packwood "Now the President’s timber plan may make it impossible for Eugene Jackson to stay in business " After the tour, Packwood an swered questions from Portland area media covering the event Later Packwood had an informal lunch with members of the Molalla Timber Action Committee (MTAC), and brought the group up to date on President C lin to n 's tim ber plan The plan will dramatically reduce the traditional timber harvest level in Oregon, and cost thousands of jobs W hen the President held the Forest Conference." Packwood noted, “he claimed he wanted to find a bal anced' solution to our problems I though he meant that people and jobs Continued From Front ASB Proud PROHIBITED. SubscrlpUons;$30.00 por year. should be particularly proud of its continued ability to merit our highest rating, five-stars,” said Paul A Bauer, president of the research firm Bauer Financial Reports. Inc analy zes, compiles data on and rates Tho Portland Obsorver-Oregon's Oldest AlrIcan-AmerIcan Publlcallon- ls a member ol the National Newspaper Association-Founded In 1005, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., Now York, NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver all U S. banks, thrifts and credit unions To find out your bank or credit unions' rating, call Bauer's Bank Ratcat 1 -800-388-6686 between 8:00am and 8:(X)pm. Monday thm Friday, Eastern tunc » • • ».* » J - ' In either case, we must still ac count for 300 years of history It is unreasonable and impractical to think that people in the "real world" or on campuscan mov e smoothly into black- and-white relationships. It hasn’t happened in the real world, and colleges arc part of the real world So don't expect to look out across well-groomed campuses and see a stream of students alternating lack, then white, then black, then white. And we haven't even considered His panic and Asian students Just because black students sit together in the cafeteria, congregate together at dances, or w ant their own fraternities and sororities, it doesn’t mean we have failed to achieve our ideal of div ersity. In fact, it means we hav e been successful This is the goal that colleges-and our society, for that matter-are striv ing to reach We all need to recognize it for what it is. diversity 1 and schools would count in the bal ance The plan he has dev ised, how ever. is a recipe for economic disaster in the Pacific Northwest ” Packwood predicted that the President's plan would be thrown out by the courts, and that the President would then hav e to come to Congress for a solution Packwood vowed to fight for Oregon timber jobs when the new plan is developed After the luncheon, Packwood answ crcdqucstions from Portland area media who were covering the event. Packwood also met with the edi tor of the Molalla Pioneer Packwood answered numerous questions about the P re sid e n t s tax p la n , the President's timber proposal, and vari ous other issues Packwood will meet with the media throughout his August recess trip to Oregon. The Black Press lx’!ieves that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonism s when it accord' to every person, regardless of race, color or i reed, hill hum an and legal rights Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black Press strives t o help every person in the firm beliefthat all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.