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The Little Red Schoolhouse Takes On New Dimensions
by
P rofessor M c K lm . ey B urt
Even the legislation and other
in itia tive s being advanced in hope o f
slow in g the erosion o f our education
system take on new shapes and forms
before our very eyes. A c irc u it judge
has agreed w ith the Gresham Execu­
tive C lub: The Nov. 9 Sales tax
A m endm ent is really “ four separate
amendm ents” and therefore is un­
constitutional. W ill this ru lin g be set
aside in time?
N either ch ild re n or the economy
o f our state w ill be well-served i f these
legal w ra nglings are born o f a situa­
tio n
so a p tly
d e s c rib e d
by
Shakespeare," W hat a tangled web we
weave, w hen firs t we try to deceive.”
Can it be that the architects o f the b ill
to save Oregon schools’ were fu lly
aware that A rtic le 17, Section 1 o f the
Oregon C o n stitu tio n requires that
when tw o or more amendments arc
submitted to voters, “ each amend­
ment shall be voted on separately.”
And. inconsequence, the b ill m ight
never make the Nov ballot
Those p o p u list’ in clin e d legis­
lators w ho did not want a sales tax
under any circumstances, but who
wanted to rem ain in good standing
w ith their education-minded constitu­
ency, could now say, “ sorry about
that, we tried, but we blew it.” A last
tim e?
O ther 'altered states’ loom be­
fore us The Associated Press reports
that the House has overw helm ingly
voted in favor o f President C lin to n ’ s
$420 m illio n School Im provem ent
Plan, w hich w ould esiablic! vo lu n -
tary national teaching standards.’ I f
you read my article last spring w hich
a n a ly z e d C -S P A N c o v e ra g e o f
C lin to n ’ s "E ducation S um m it” , you
should not be surprised to fin d this
legislative product as nebulous and
governors o f th e ir respective states.
C lin to n loves the "consensus” ap­
proach to decision-m aking o r design­
ing structures, and certainly it makes
h im look good, knowledgeable and
“ on top o f it.” T h is process is a
p o litic ia n ’ s dream w hen properly
staged Both Pres' and the Missus are
pretty good at it but problems do arise.
How w ould you like to spend a
h a lf a life tim e o r more becoming a
demonstrated expert in your profes­
sion, and then, at a sum m it said to be
“ T o w n H a ll” program on T V. C han­
nel 2. A nd that is a form at certain to
b rin g about absolute frustration ifo n c
had any idea o f m aking a m eaningful
input in to a process w ith a structured
objective—o r any objective at a ll. As
w e ’ re b e g in n in g to sec now , the
Clintonesquc theatrical productions
have the same theme, whether about
m inute decision to sp lit the b ill into
four separate measures w ould be d i­
sastrous. Suppose the voters reject the
sales tax and lottery section and then
vote fo r the property tax lim it and the
state spending cut. Can G overnor
Roberts send this w hole mess back to
a spineless legislature before election
uncertain as is the “ Health Plan” at
this point.
the most im portant education con­
clave o f the century be given 15 m in ­
utes o r so to make your input in to this
education, health or the economy.
Understandably, the most disap­
pointment among summ it participants
om nibus structure, “ Goals 2000: Edu­
has been generated by the vagueness
and the conventional rhetoric o f the
proposed legislation. It should be re­
membered that these people were
among the best in their fit'd , experts
H A IT I
Guy M alary, M in is te r o f Justice
in the tra n sitio n a l governm ent o f
President Jean Bertrand A ristide, was
murdered T h is assassination was the
latest in a series o f acts o f terror aimed
at d e ra ilin g the scheduled October 30
return o f President A ris tid e T h is la t­
est act must be pui in to historical
context.
H aitians were the only people to
stand w ith the U S. in our W ar for
Independence. H a iti, the w o rld ’ s firs t
independent B lack republic, gained
its ow n freedom in 1791. Yet we
betrayed the country, intervened, oc­
cupied and exploited H a iti—its people
and natural resources A fte r W orld
W ar II, the U S. used H a iti as a Cold
W ar pawn. We armed and funded a
corrupt business and m ilita ry elite,
supported the governm ents o f both
Papa and Babv Doc D u v a lie r—even
though they b ru ta lize d th e ir own
people—as long as they were staunchly
anti-com m unist. The H a itia n crisis is
100 years old. O rganized opposition
forces drove out the D uvaliers in the
80 ’ s, but not the corrupt sy stem. H ow ­
ever, it was fin a lly forced to hold
dem ocratic elections on December
16, 1990 The Bush adm inistration
supported the status quo candidate,
but the poor ra llie d around Jean
Bertrand A ristid e , g iv in g h im 67 per­
cent o f th e ir vote P ublicly, the Bush
a d m in istra tio n gave lip -se rvice to
democracy and A ris tid e ’ s popular
leadership and his economic program
T ry to im agine, ify o u c a n , fifty to
seventy five people s ittin g around a
huge square o f conjoined tables w ith
the president, at one, hip shooting
questions and one-liners to this panel
o f lop educators, adm inistrators and
A ris tid e under duress on July 3,1993,
the m ilita ry , police and senate re­
mained in place, sanctions were lifted,
and the sta tu sq u o o f power was m a in ­
tained in H aiti.
H a iti is lin ke d to Somalia be­
cause o f racism. A fric a n Am ericans
have bled and died around the w orld
fo r the interests o f the m ajority popu­
lation, yet the m ajority population
wrestles w ith fig h tin g and dy in g for
B lack people and their interests w hen
th e iryo u n g men arc held hostage and
their dead arc dntg through the si reels
We have a national interest in
H a iti because i t ’ s in our hemisphere
We have a democratic interest in es­
ta b lish in g H a itia n democracy. Wc
have an economic interest in dev elop­
ing th e ir economy. We have a ora!
interest in raising the liv in g standard
o f Haitians, the poorest people in our
hemisphere.
The U nited States helped to cre­
ate the disorder in H a iti. The C lin to n
adm inistration must develop the Back­
bone to apply its sound principles.
President C lin to n made a c o m m it­
ment to restore order and democracy
to H a iti. It must be upheld. The H ai­
tian m ilitary must be told, “ T h is shall
not stand.” A IJN o il embargo and
freeze on assets w ill be restored. A
complete blockade o f H a iti must be
put in place, and m ilita ry interven­
tion must not be ruled out
to raise the m in im u m wage. A ristid e
w as overthrow n in a m ilita ry coup on
September 30, 1991.
T h c U N a n d U .S . responded w ith
an ineffective economic boy cott that
hurt only the poor. O il s till flowed,
assets o f the rich remained available,
and they were able to travel abroad.
C onditions o f pov erty and b ru ta lity
worsened fo r the poor. Thousands
risked drow ning at sea in rickety boats
rather than endure more hardship in
H aiti.
In December, 1991, Bush estab­
lished a policy o f intercepting H a i­
tians at sea and declared them “ eco­
nom ic” rather than “ p o litic a l" refu-
g c e s -w h ic h denied them temporary
asylum and returned them to H a iti
w ith o u t due process, a v io la tio n o f
international law. Candidate C lin to n
c ritic iz e d B u s h fo r this policy , c a llin g
it im m oral, callous, cruel and unlaw ­
ful. A week before assuming office.
C lin to n adopted B ush’ s policy, going
to the Supreme C ourt to defend it.
A ristid e called for the im m ediate
replacement o f the Arm y H ig h C om ­
mand. L ie u te n a n t G eneral Raoul
Cedras; the P o rl-A u-P rince C h ie f o f
Police. M ich e l Francois; his im m e d i­
ate return: and the annulm ent o f the
fraudulent 1992 senate elections. The
O A S -U N -U .S . le g itim ize d the m ili­
tary governm ent by m a kin g them
equal players w ith A ris tid e d u rin g
negotiations. In the G overnor’ s Is­
land. N Y , agreem ent, signed by
CU tc ^ aritan ir
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Tlvo Portland O b server-O reg on’s Oldest Atrlcan-Amerlcan P ubllcallon-
Is a m em ber ol the National Newspaper A ssociation-Founded In 1885,
I
by Judge Leslie Isaiah Gaines
“ Open the cash register! G ive me
a ll o f your money! I ’ve got a g u n !”
T h a t’ s w hat he told the s c n io r-c ili-
zen-grandm other to do as she worked
the cash register at the convenient
store.
W hen he reached, she reached
She reached over in the corner, not fo r
gun but fo r a broom. She grabbed that
broom and beat him all the way out o f
the store.
The gun to tin g bandit ran so fast
fro m the b ro o m -w ie ld in g grandma
that he ran out o f his shoes.
T h e p o lic e w ere c a lle d to the
scene and began to co m b th e area
fo r the w o u ld -b e -ro b b e r. T h e y
fo llo w e d h is k ic k e d o f f shoes to
the back d o o r o f the c h u rc h . T hey
fo u n d h im in th e c h u rc h , s h a k in g
and tr e m b lin g w ith fear.
rip-codo___________________ |
! T hank Y ou F or R eading J
I T he P ortland O bserver j
ground: Lots o f “ m odels...voluntary
national standards” (how can a stan­
dard be 'standard’ i f its is “ v o lu n ­
tary” ? asks one educator.
Also the act provides broad c ri­
te ria ’ fo r students in E nglish, m ath­
e m a tics and o th e r subjects and
whether schools have qual ified teaches
and suitable textbooks. A national
panel w ould approve the proposed
standards and another w ould identify
essential occupational s k ills and cre­
ate a “ vo lu n ta ry” sy stem o f standards
and ce rtifica tio n fo r jo b tra in in g . Re­
member H um pty D u m p ly and his
s im ila r pronouncement, "Things arc
w hat I say they are!”
T h c e vid e n ce was n o t c le a r
on w h e th e r he was h id in g o r p ra y ­
in g . He may have been p ra y in g
t h a t s o m e b o d y w o u ld
s to p
g ra n d m a b e fo re she beat h im to
dea th w ith th a t b ro o m .
M o re and m ore c itiz e n s are
s ta rtin g to fig h t back a g a in s t ro b ­
b e rie s and o th e r v io le n t c rim e s .
Some fe e l th a t th e y have been
v ic tim iz e d to lo n g .
I do not re co m m e n d th a t you
ta ke the la w in to y o u r o w n hands.
T h e p e rso n w h o is in te n t on v io ­
la tin g y o u r p e rso n a l o r p ro p e rty
rig h ts m ay be m ore v io le n t and
b e tte r a rm e d th a n you are. Y o u
c o u ld s u ffe r se rio u s in ju r y o r even
death w h ile tr y in g to p h y s ic a lly
re sist a w o u ld -b e -ro b b e r, o r m u g ­
ger.
The advice from law cnforcc-
ment has always been to give up your
purse o r money w ith o u t needlessly
riskin g your life.
It ju st so happened that the w ould-
be robber, in this case, was more
stupid than violent. He was more
drunk than dangerous. W hen he was
arrested in the church, he d id n ’t even
have a gun
I hope grandma beat some sense
into that young m an’ s head and the
thought o f robbery out o f his m ind.
D o n ’ t you try that. I f you ever
have to face a robber, it may be the
real thing. Y o u r life is w o rth more to
your loved ones than the money.
T h in k About It.
Write:
Tell It To The Judge Leslie
Isaiah Gaines
1000 Main Street, Room 270
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
H ELP FOR P A R E N T S
by
H arvey L. R ick
H istory tells us that education is
the means to obtain freedom from
oppression. A cco rd in g to research
history w ill repeal its se lf ify o u do not
learn from history . Research and his­
tory te ll us our c h ild ’ s school success
is a goal o f every' parent. Both re­
search and com m on sense tell us that
ch ild re n have higher school success
w hen th e ir parents are actively in ­
volved in th e ir c h ild re n ’ s education
and school.
Education o f the c h ild docs not
start w ith the school but w ith the
“ parent as firs t teacher” in the home.
The parenting role contains many
tasks, such as m odeling and teaching
our ch ild re n c ritic a l th in k in g skills
Because ch ild re n absorb more be­
tween 0-3 years o f age perhaps the
most essential s k ill necessary fo r suc­
cessful parenting relationships is com­
m u n ica tio n E ffective teaches pa-
tic n tly listen and accept the idea and
feelings o f th e ir students. In turn,
when they talk, the ch ild re n listen.
U nfortunately, m any parents arc poor
com m unicators when they deal w ith
th e ir children. C h ild re n are not born
w ith social skills, but they are born
w ith a d efinite interest in people.
Parents help ch ild re n develop social
ski Ils by helping ch ild re n learn to get
tween the parent and the school. Re­
member the school d istricts and y ou
are responsible for your c h ild ’ s safety
from the tim e they leave home to the
tim e they return home. T h is brings us
to the questions: is the ch ild w a lkin g
to school, rid in g in a car w ith friends
, rid in g a bike, rid in g on pu b lic buses
o r school bus? W hat ever method the
c h ild should know the behavior that is
along w ith others. Social s k ills arc
more manners. Very young ch ildren
th in k only o f themselves. W ith expe­
rience they learn how to be accepting
o f o th e r’ s and th e ir point o f view.
Parents as firs t teachers help children
learn social s k ills by setting an ex­
ample, by m o d e lin g ", and by p ro vid ­
ing ch ild re n w ith social experiences.
A c h ild 's w o rld expands from
parents and sib lin g s s ig n ific a n tly
when they begin school The next
relationship that determines i f your
ch ild succeeds is the relationship bc-
expected in detail and you should
rem ind them using the broken record
technique ev ery monday m orning.
N e x t get to k n o w y o u r c h i ld ’ s
teachers. L e t y o u r c h ild k n o w th a t
h o m e w o rk is im p o rta n t. L e t y o u r
c h ild kn o w they can succeed Read
to and w ith y o u r c h ild re n every
day. F in d o u t h ow you can get
in v o lv e d in y o u r c h ild ’ s sch o o l. I f
you h a v e n ’ t v is ite d sch o o l, do it
soon Y o u can m ake a b ig d i f f e r ­
ence in y o u r c h ild 's e d u c a tio n
now .
r
Nation Of Islam
^ l u r ii a i t b dDbocvUcr 5
T he P ortland
nothing so m uch as the tim e I was
silly enough to take part in the local
in the profession who have b u ilt their
reputations on clear and objective
th in kin g. The “ Goals 2000 A ct ’ has
lit tle n e w g ro u n d —o r even ‘ f i r m ’
T e ll I t T o T ire J u d g e
Scared Out Of His Shoes
IN CRISIS
Send your letters to the Editor to:
PO Box 3137, Portland, OR, 972108
I •
cate A m erica A ct.”
Y o u ’ re not going to be around
when lord-know s w ho sorts through
three days o f video tapes to determ ine
A m e rica ’ s educational future. T h is
surrealistic scenario reminded me o f
A young brother in our com m u­
nity had this to say, “ N o Justice Just
Us! They say wc young black teenag­
ers a re not suppose to 1 ivc pass the age
o f 21, but everywhere I go I see in te l­
ligent black men They say wc a ll sell
dntgs and destroy our own ra c c -b u l
yet I have not seen a b la ck-o w n e d
a irlin e . W hy must they e xp lo it us
every tim e wc act ignorant on the
avenue? Is the way we act the way our
mothers want us to be seen on national
television? Just because society wants to
fry us to prove that wc arc sausages ”
W ritte n by B ig g M itt-th is y o u n g
brother is a example o f g ro w in g dis­
satisfaction in the youth In Sept. 22.
1993 issue o f this paper there w as an
a rticle about teen suicide I t ’ s head­
in g was “ Y o u th Suicide Reaches
Record Levels In O regon." That ar­
ticle showed, in my view , how u n im ­
portant and unattractive the c iv iliz a ­
tio n and education o f this w o rld care
to the yo u th Teen suicide, teen
killin g s,te e n crim e and teen lack o f
'cspcct for elders is a sad reality now
They arc dissatisfied w ith the w orld
God has made us dissatisfied w ith
th is w o rld because he plans on b rin g -
ing in a new w orld through us Change
is necessary and change, most o f the
tim e, comes through the young 2 Pac
a rapper from Oakland, C a lifo rn ia ,
said that, “ They say there is no hope
in the youth, but there is no hope for
the future ” Spice 1, a rapper from
Oakland, C a lifo rn ia , said, " I ' l l be
damned i f I'm broke and old pushing
a shopping carl. “ The youth see much
pain and suffering com ing on the
planet, and this makes them not want
to accept the guidance or education o f
a fa llin g w o rld system T h is is why
Jesus said, “ Suffer the little children
loeome untóm e, and forbid them not.
for such is the kingdom o f G od." The
problem is that the goverm nents,
teachers and preachers o f the w orld
do not know the Jcsusof the Resurrec­
tion w Inch makes them unable to give
the youth the guidance wc need Wc,
N ation o fls la m . have made the asser­
tions for decades that the w o rld has
not know n the true identity and teach­
ings o f the Jesus that is prophesied to
come in the last days o f this w orld
system I f they (rulers) did they could
recognize the supreme wisdom taught
by th e m ost H o n o re d E lija h
Muham m ad through the Hon. Louis
Farrakalm . “ Hath not God made fo o l­
ish the w isd o m o f th is w o rld .”
C orinthians 1:20
A ll things must be made new.
But w itlio u t Supreme wisdom destruc­
tion societies w ill increase. “ The great
com m otion o f the governm ent md
people o f Am erica, the c iv il unrest,
insurrection, mental excitem ent, and
noisy co n fu sio n -th cre is no action
that is being taken, nor can 'here be
any action taken, that w ould b rin g the
people to a better condition o f c iv il
action." Fall o f Am erica page 219.
The above quote is sim ila r to the
B ib lica l statement that, “ W c w ould
have healed Babylon, but she is not
healed Why did Jesus say. “ Suffer
the little children to come unto me?”
Because the youth have to tolerate
and pul up w ith the ciders and lead­
ers For they w ill try ,o fo rb id them
from a tru th and w isdom that they arc
not fa m ilia r w ith Wc always want to
do His (G o d ’s) w ill, but wc arc not
always prepared to receive H is w ill
O ur Savior Has A rrive d Page 195.
Thank you for reading th is Y our
brother E lija h X.
I
H A 1 I - .J XA
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