T he P ortland O bserver • A pril 10, 1996
P age : A 7
(Elje |Jortlanh (Ob serlwr
Education System
Ready For Triage II
m P rof . M c K inley B i |RT
sure, volume, temperature, energy,
It was no surprise that many readers
spatial dimensions or surface areas.
agreed that the Portland School dis­
My, how we have fallen.
trict was a basket case. What was
A t a neighborhood meeting sever­
startling was the number o f teachers
al readers related the “T ria g e " article
w illing to concede that their profes­
to several learning m odels I ’ve pre­
sional organization could be held ac­
sented in the past. The H arvey A lu ­
countable for some o f the problems
minum C o .’ experience is one where
(seemy “ Perspectives” column on page
the w orkforce, drawn for a prim arily
2). What a switch from past attitudes.
rural population with few university
Conversation with several district
or trade school graduates and no
teachers who also are long-term
nearby com m unity college, was nev­
friends elicited comments I would
ertheless able to operate a sophisti­
not have heard a few years ago; “ I ’m
cated industrial enterprise in a suc­
not happy with acknow ledging the
cessful manner The time was the
fact, but that super-critical article on
1960’s and I enjoyed a hands-on
the National Education A ssociation
participation for six years in the
( N E A ) that appeared in Forbes
D alles, O regon; pup 10,000.
M agazine ’ a wh i le back was closer to
Lo c a l m anagers and human re­
the mark than most o f us were w i 11 ing
source people lick their lips and sigh,
to admit; I ’m not even surprised that
"I w ish” when I detail the operation
the Oregonian newspaper has gotten
and the key to it all. That w orkforce
around to chai lenging our 800-pound
had the benefit o f several good ele­
pedagogic g o rilla ” (4/1/96, pages I
mentary schools and a junior/senior
& 6).
high school par excellence (an insti­
The same newspaper used Sunday’s
tution where I was brought in to put
edition to give voice to high school
on several aw ard-w inning dem on­
student’s who paraphrased my critical
strations in mathematics and co m ­
assertion, “ ...the disastrous future (or
m unications). A n d m any other re­
lack o f one) faced by students who go
source people from the plant were
into the workforce without what used
sim ila rly engaged.
to be regarded as basic sk ills for sur­
And I have recounted here at other
v ival.” A further media revelation was
times how such a workforce, adequate­
how many students are very much
ly equipped with good basic skills in
aware of and highly resent in compe­
computation, language and comm uni­
tent teachers.
cations has no problem at all in follow ­
I certainly struck a responsive chord
ing com plex verbal directions or those
with older parents and with grandpar­
conveyed by the sophisticated texts
ents when I cited as earlier versions o f
and graphics furnished by the manu­
basic-skills-requirem ents, the 1937
factures o f the equipment and m achin­
edition o f “Elementary Physics and
ery used in the production o f goods
Chem istry for Airconditioning And
and services - or in their maintenance.
Refrigeration” (expected to be under­
I remember how surprised were
stood and used at the 11 th grade, or by
the engineers from B o n n eville Pow ­
high school dropouts). A s I said, no
er and the representatives o f m ajor
problems were anticipated with the
Am erican Com panies from General
basic formulas and equations for pres-
M otors, C a te p illa r, W estinghouse
and almost every firm listed in “ T h ­
omas Register O f M anufacturers”
when they came to this alum inum
plant in the m iddle o f nowhere and
found a huge process operation and a
self-contained city operated for the
most part (9 0 % ) by farmers and cher­
ry growers and truck drivers and
their sons an daughters, high school
graduates and dropouts
W aterworks, utilities, m echanical
and electrical shops, electrical trans­
m ission and sw itchyard facilities, air
pollution controls, weather forecast­
ing, fire department, Carpentry and
sheet metal shops, automated pro­
cess controls, accounting and data
processing/transm ission facilitie s.
And the workers happily took home
their s k ills to automate their irriga­
tion and other farm operations Those
west-side managers just drool when
I give my talks. “ H ow can we get
back to the future, they ask?”
Claudia Moorad
the new Metro
Crisis Volunteer
Coordinator (right)
takes time out to
attend her niece's
birthday.
Obituary
Armster White, Sr., December 8, 19/8 - March 30,. 1996
M r White came to Portland from
M onroe, Lo u isia n a in 1944. He
w o rk e d as a fo rem a n fo r the
Burlington N o n hem Railroad. He
retired in 1979 after w orking for
Burlington Northern since. 1946.
He served for a short time in the
U .S. A rm y during W W 2. H eand his
late wife, Portie W hite were mar­
ried on M arch 16, 1940. Portie
passed away O ctober 6, 1995.
Arm ster was a member o f M a­
sonic Lodge, Scottish Rite and was
a Honorable past Grand Master.
Survivors:
Daughter Portia J. M oye Port­
land, O regon; son Arm ster White
Portland, O regon; son M itchell
White Portland, O regon; daughter
Jacqueline W hite Joe Portland, O r
e go n ; son W a lte r L e e W h ite
B a rsto w , C a lif o r n ia ; d a u gh te r
Darlene Bow les Portland, Oregon;
on Darnell W hite Portland, Oregon,
Sister Lo uin a Whtie Bron x, New
York; sister A m ce Johnson M on­
roe, Louisiana; brother M ack W hite,
Monroe, Louisiana. A lso survived
by 20 G randchildren — 9 Great
Grandchildren and a host o fN ie ces,
Nephews and other fam ily mem­
bers. Preceeded in death by his wife
Portie on O ct. 6, 1995, his son
Samuel W hite on Oct. 7, 1988 and
another son, Anthony Wade White
on Dec. 16, 1995. B u rial followed
at W illam ette National Cem etery,
Portland, Oregon.
Officer Focuses On Cultural Awareness
B y M arcus M yers
The U .S. N a v y is a reflection o f
society and its Sa ilo rs represent al­
most every ethnic group. H ispanic
Sa ilo rs have long been successful
throughout the fleet and continue to
be m odels o f success in to d ay’s
changing N avy.
N a v y Lt. Joana G . P u rvis, the 3 1 -
N a v a l A i r S t a t io n L e m o o re ,
Lem oore, C a lif., where she oversees
the maintenance personnel repairing
the F/A 18 Hornets.
P u rvis recently attended a confer­
ence for the A sso ciatio n o f N aval
Se rvices O ffice rs ( A N S O ) . A N S O is
a professional organization o f naval
o fficers from the U .S . N avy, M arine
year-old daughter o f Joe and Prisci Ila
G arcia o f K e n n ew ick, is a prime ex­
ample o f H isp anic leaders in today’s
N avy.
Purvis feels her heritage is im por­
tant to her and that it is a m otivational
factor in her naval career.
“ M y heritage is important to me
because it is a part o f me M y fam ily
taught me never to forget your roots,”
said P u rvis, a 1982 graduate o f
Rich land H igh Scho o l.
Purvis is an airfram es o fficer at
C o rp s and C oast G uard that focuses
on the professional developm ent o f
H isp an ics in the sea services. Purvis
believes that program s like A N S O
are an important part o f today’s N avy.
“ A N S O is the type o f organ ization
that can help you find the hidden
doors. U nity is knowledge and know l­
edge is power,” said Purvis.
A N a v y success story, P urvis has
a secret behind her accom plishm ents.
“ M y secrets have been perfor­
mance and dedication,” said Purvis,
Service Recognition
P a t r ic k F . O ’ L e a n y has been prom oted in the U .S. A i r F o rc e to the
ra n k o f s ta ff se rge an t. O ’ L e a n y is a c o m m u n ic a tio n s co m p u ter
syste m s jo u rn e y m a n at R a m ste in A i r B a s e , G e rm a n y . H e is the son
o f La rry F. O ’Le an y o f 3835 N .E . H ancock, and Sharon K . Hecht o f 4005
N. W illam ette B lv d ., both o f Portland. The sergeant is a 1984 graduate o f
Central C ath o lic H igh School, Portland.
A r m y Pfc. M a rc u s W a sh in g to n has been decorated w ith the A rm y
A ch ieve m e nt M e d a l. The medal is awarded to soldiers for meritorious
service, acts o f courage, or other outstanding accom plishm ents. He is a
combat m edical specialist a, Fort W ainw right, A laska. W ashington is the
son o f T o n y R. W ashington o f 6808 N. C ongress A ve ., Portland
a 12-year N avy veteran.
A s a role model in the N a v y, her
advice to younger H isp anics is to
continue to stay positive and strive
for success.
“ M y advice w ould be to never
give up and i f you can ’t go in one
door go in another. B e proud o f your­
s e lf and never take no for an answer.
There is alw ays a w ay,” said Purvis.
Purvis is proo f that H isp anics con­
tinue to make a positive impact in the
N avy and strive for positions ofgreat-
er leadership and responsibility.
A m e rica's strength is drawn from
its cultural diversity; the N avy is no
different. H isp an ics like Purvis con­
tinue to provide new and innovative
ideas that keep the N avy and Marine
Corps m oving in the right direction.
Boys and Girls Club Name
Scholarship Winner
Flo r Botello, a H illsb o ro H igh
School Sophom ore, is Portland ar­
ea’s B o ys and G ir ls C lu b Youth O f
The Year.
The w innerofthe $2000 scholar­
ship is a Smart M oves Peer trainer.
K e ysto n e R e g io n a l C on fe re n ce
President and G irl Scout assistant
At school she is active in basket­
b a ll, M esa, Peer M ediator and
H ispanos U nidos C lu b .
She is part o f the Adopt a G rand­
parents program and w orks on
canned food drives.
Flor Botell
D ouglass C larities
I n O regon H istory
BY J. M. GATES, MBA
A n n u a lly omen’s Convention
(A three-decade summary
o f Frederick Doulass Themes)
For further information, please contact Missionary P. Adams at
284-3482.
>
Color or BLsck & W liit c
AfforSixblc P a c I i a ^ cs
N o T im e L im it»
W c SpeciAlize iw Driî»c &- G room PorfrAits
St wi» io o r LocAtion
Its mu kind
of face!
Íp eeia fítih } ih t r ip le
C o tti
503-284-9570
Octavia Oshanique Brawn
Oregon 1st Jurisdiction, 26th
A p ril 15-18, 1996
W alker Tem ple Church O f G o d In C h rist
5023 N . M ichigan
Portland, O R 97217
Prayer 7 PM nightly. N ight Service 7:30 PM
We are in vitin g everyone to attend this great Convention in honor
o f Supervisor L u la M. C o o k.
W EDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
(c) 1996 JMG
An Independent Scholar Project
Circle Forum, P.O. Box 176, Portland, OR 97207
S e x: Female
D ate o f B ir t h : 3/21/96
F a th e r’ s N am e: D avid M alone Brow n Jr.
M o h te r’s N am e: Sharon Denson Brown
W e ig h t: 7 lbs 15 o z Length 21 inch.
B ro th e r: D av id Marquis Brow n
P a te rn a l G ra n d p a re n ts : L u c y and D avid Brow n o f New O rleans
.M a te rn a l G ra n d p a re n ts : Rochester and Barbara Denson o fN e w O rleans/
Alonzo Camp hell, Jr.
P a re n ts: A lo n zo and Danita Cam pbell
o f Portland, O R
G e n d e r: M Date o f Birth: 2/13/96
L e n g th : 21 inches W e igh t: 7 L b s 15 oz
B ro th e rs & S iste rs: Imani B C alh o u n -R ile y (5 )
M o th e r’s P a re n ts: Beatrice M cM illan, Portland, O R
F a th e r’ s P a re n ts: Jeremiah & Lo la Cam pbell, Colum bus, O hio
Great-Grandparents: M ary D a v is, M alvern, A rk
Advertise For Diversity
In (Elie ^lnrtlaub (iDb semer
Call: 503-288-0033