Aprii 7, 1999
Page A3
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OSU Students Learning
to Teach Portland’s
Diverse Student
not enough, especially w hen this is
connected to getting along in the
dom inant culture that m ay not be
giving them positive feedback. If
they don ’ t put into it, they may not be
m otivated to learn. W e need to make
learning culturally relevant.
“The best classroom s focus on
the strengths o f the children’s cul
tures w hile teaching skills to succeed
in the larger com m unity,” she added.
M oule said that there are some
differences in learning that can be
culturally based.
“For exam ple, there are some cul
tures that are m ore fam ily-based, or
some who are more respectful o f age,
or than encourage m ore hands-on
learning that the dom inant culture in
A m erica, and we need to incorporate
this inform ation when we teach,”
A group o f 13 O regon State U ni
versity m aster’s degree pre-service
teachers are heading to a northeast
Portland elem entary school for three
w eeks in April.
T h e u n i v e r s i t y p r e - s e r v ic e
teachers w ill be w orking as student
teachers in eight classroom s a, King
E lem entary on the best w ays to
teach m ath and science to culturally
d iverse students.
Jean Moule, an instructor in OSU ’ s
School ofE ducation, said teachers in
the Professional T eacher Education
Program hope to improve their ability
to establish a culturally ju st class-
room clim ate -co n d u civ e to learning
for all pupils - that recognizes the
effects o f a student’s hom e and com
m unity on learning.
The O SU student and two univer
sity professors will begin their pro
gram at K ing Elem entary April 12.
The pre-service teachers will observe
and help out in the classroom for the
first week. The second two weeks will
be spent putting their observations
to w ork as they teach a 10-lesson unit
o f m ath or science.
King Elementary was chosen be
cause “about 85 percent o f its 800 pre-
Kindergarten through fifth grade stu
dents are children o f color," Moule said.
“First w e have to go w here the
diverse students are,” M oule said.
“T hen w e need to adjust our strate
gies. T elling these students that they
may need to do w ell in school is often
w hat the school and the classroom is
M oule said.
King Elementary Principal Joseph
M alone said he decided to be part o f
the dom inant culture in A m erican,
and we need to incorporate this infor
m ation w hen w e teach,” M oule said.
King Elementary Principal Joseph
M alone said he decided to be part o f
the A lternate Placem ent and Math/'
Science Curriculum Development for
Pre-service Teachers ofM inority Stu
dents program because he saw it as a
w in-win situation.
“ It was an inform ation and growth
opportunity for our teachers, and also
a win situation to entice students
who want to become teachers to know
all about,” he said.
A ll o f O S U ’s 55 stu d en ts en
rolled in the teach er ed u catio n p ro
gram have p articip a ted in som e a s
pect o f this grant activ ity . A lso,
two K ing teach ers atten d ed m ath
and scien ce cu rricu lu m d ev e lo p
m ent w orkshops at OSU in O cto b er
and about ten m o re K ing teach ers
w ill have the o p p o rtu n ity to co n
tinue w ith them in A pril. Eight K ing
teachers serv e as m en to rs for the
u n iv ersity p re-serv ice teachers.
This program was made possible
by a $27,770 grant from the O regon
Eisenhower Professional D evelop
ment H igher Education G rant Pro
gram that is federally funded, a con
tribution equivalent o f $2,200 from
the Portland School District for teach
ers ’ tim e in this program and by grant
m anagem ent expertise from O SU .
M oule said that this project should
not only benefit the students and
teachers at King, but also the O SU
pre-service teachers who are expected
to gain their teaching licenses in June.
“ W hen these O SU students com e
out o f this program th ey ’ll teach sci
ence and m ath better. T h ey ’re going
to know how to treat students as
individuals. And, 1 expect the ex p e
rience will explode their stereotypes,”
M oule said.
M oule said she hopes to secure
another grant for further study the
next school year.
PCC’s Portland Teachers Program
Seeks Minority Applicants
Applicants m ust be o f African Ameri
can, A sian A m erican, N ative A m eri
can or H ispanic/non-E uropean d e
cent to qualify. L inda G ettm ann,
program coordinator and PCC C as
cade C am pus adm issions coordina
For the last decade the Portland
Teachers Program (PTP) o f Portland
C om m unity C ollege has helped eth
nic m inority students pursue a ca
re e r te a c h in g P o rtla n d ’s y o u th
through the Ethnic M inorities in
E ducation Award.
In the 10,h year o f PTP, the dream
is still alive for ethnic m inority teach
ers-to-be and students w ho benefit
from increased diversity in Portland’s
classroom . Program coordinators
are currently seeking up to 15 appli
ca n ts fo r the assista n c e aw ard.
tor, said the applicant interview p ro
cess should begin som e tim e in M ay,
so po ten tial applicants are encour
aged to contact her at 978-5291 for
inform ation on program req u ire
m ents and an application.
Spring 'Round Up' of
Kindergartners
A pplicants w ill have their PCC tu
ition paid for nine term s, for two
years at P ortland State U niversity
and a final year o f schooling in PSU ’s
m asters in education program so the
students can obtain his or her teach
ing certificate. All participants in the
Portland T eachers program will also
receive priority-hiring status in the
P ortland Public S chools district.
Portland School D istrict’s annual
K indergarten Roundup, set for April
19-30, offers early registration and
introductio n to K indergarten for
youngsters and their parents.
To register for Kindergarten, par
ents m ust provide docum ents estab
lishing their ch ild ’s birthdate (chil
dren m ust be 5 years old on or before
Sept. 1), up-to-date im m unization
records and other inform ation relat
ing to the ch ild ’s hom e address and
em ergency contacts.
While parents may register children
any time during and after the roundup
at every school, the following schools
have set aside special times forparents
and youngsters to tour school and
meet with kindergarten teachers.
Contact your neighborhood school
for information. To learn which school
yourchild will attend, call 916-3304.
FORMORE INFORMATION,Call
Lew Frederick, director o f Public In
formation and Com munication, Port
land Public Schools 916-3304.
Anne Kirkwood’s Message:
Open the Courthouse to all Oregonians
. . . . .»A-
... i
In March 1995, the Oregon Legis
lature passedaspecial law foraspecial
woman. In August, the previous year,
Anne Kirkwood had been horribly
burned w hen her vehicle was struck
by a 1976General Motors pickup truck
w ith side-saddle gas tanks. An imme
d ia te e x p lo sio n e n g u lfe d M rs.
Kirkwood’s vehicle. Not only was Mrs.
Kirkwood burned, but her grand
daughter next to her was consumed
and her grandson in the back seat was
burned. At the time, GM ’s side-saddle
trucks had been estim ated to have
burned or killed hundreds o f people
nationally. There was an effort under
way to recall them. However, in O r
egon, Mrs. Kirkwood had virtually no
remedy or recourse against General
Motors for the post-accident, special
care she required. A law know n as the
Statute o f Repose prevents O rego
nians from holding manufacturers
accountable for defective products if
the products are more than eight years
old. T he tru ck that stru ck M rs.
Kirkwood was 18 years old.
Anne Kirkwood and her support
ers began a campaign to change the
law. The GM trucks did not becom e
A o f rrtlcie«
r thf
defective v..........
because
misuse <->
or
the
passage o f time. They were designed
defectively from day one M oreover,
they were advertised to be built "like
a rock.” The Oregon Legislature re
sponded to Mrs K irkwood’s plight,
stood up to the megacorporation, and
am ended O regon’s Statute ofR epose
The Legislature did the right thing
in 1995, but it did not go far enough.
The Legislature refused to totally abol
ish the Statute ofR epose. The House
and Senate supported only a narrow
exception for cases involvingGM side
saddle trucks. O n three other occa
sions Oregon lawmakers passed sim i
lar narrow exceptions: for victims o f
asbestos, lUDs and breast implants.
It is an unreasonable burden that
O regonians should have to petition
the Legislature every time they are
injured by defective equipm ent more
than eight years old. Oregonians re
side in one o f only 15 states that have
som e type o f a statute o f repose.
H ow ever, O regon’s is the third most
restrictive. Citizens in m ost every
other state enjoy greater access to
the courts than Oregonians.
This session, the Legislature has a
rhani'i»
chance In to iiivn
open lilt*
the courthouse
courthouse doors
doors
Proposed legislation would allow the
useful life o f a product to be considered
in injury cases involving defective prod
ucts The existing eight year limit would
remain in place but the injured person
would have tlie o p p o rtu n ity to prove the
product has a longer useful life. Mans
products we use today are meant to last
much longer than eight years. The truck
that struck Anne Kirkwood’s car was
meant to last an average o f 18 years
Without the proposed change ui law .
Oregonians will remain at die mercy of
dangerous and defective products. Indi
viduals will have no recourse for their
injunes when they use poorly made ve
hicles,power tools, farm equipment, elec
tronic equipment or manufacturing ma
chinery that are more than eight years old.
A nne K irkw ood co n tin u es to
struggle with her injuries. She has had
thirty surgeries. However, because o f a
special exception to Oregon law, she
had her day in court. The Legislature did
the right thing for Anne Kirkwood. Law
makers have before them House Bill
23111, the useful life proposal. Bypass
ing this legislation, they will do the right
thing again, this time for all Oregonians
OSU Host College Outreach Event
CORVALLIS - Oregon State Uni
versity will host its second annual
“U jim a N ig h f’on M onday, April 19,
at Self-Enhancement, Inc. in Portland.
The outreach event for African Ameri
cans is designed to provide inform a
tion to students and their families
about OSU programs and admissions.
T he free p u b lic ev en t w ill run
from 6:30 p . m . to 8 p . m . at S elf-E n
hancem ent, Inc., Inc., located at 3920
N. K erby A ve.
Speakers will include O SU Presi
dent Paul R isser and Paul Jam es, co
ordinator o f the Ujim a Education O f
fice at OSU. K eynote speakers Leon
M cK enzie, a counselor at Benson
high school in Portland, will discuss
the im portance o f attending college.
“One o f the primary goals ofU j ima
N ight is to expose high school stu
dents to college - and particularly
O SU , as a resource to get higher
education,” Jam es said. “The event
was very successful last year, and we
w ould like to continue to build rela
tionships with students in Portland.'
Last year, 200 people attended the
inaugural event.
There is a growing interest in OSU
am ong A frican A m erican students,
Jam es pointed out. The num ber o f
A frican A m erican freshm en who
have applied to the university and
have been accepted has risen nearly
70 percent since last year.
T here will be separate “breakout
se ssio n s” for p aren ts and students
at U jim a N ight. Both sessions w ill
include inform ation on financial aid.
Out Of
Public Charter Schools
House Committee
A Public Charter Schools bill has
passed out o f the House Committee on
Education and is headed to the floor o f
the House for a vote.
Committee Chairman, Ron Sunseri,
R-G resham . says, “this bill gives par
ents alternatives to how their children
get a public education. It cuts red tape
for teachers and adm inistrators and
allow s them to concentrate on class
room instruction.”
The Public Charter Schoolsbill allows
a group to apply for a charter within their
current school district with either the
districtorStateDepartmentofEducation
acting as sponsor. No religious schools
ad m issio n s, stu d e n t life, student
reso u rces, and “ how to b e su c ce ss
ful at O S U .”
A student panel, featuring A fri
can A m erican students enrolled at
O SU , will answ er questions and de
scribe their experiences at the U ni
versity. It will facilitate by Louan
Johnson, program coordinator with
the adm issions office at Oregon State
R epresentatives o f a num ber o f
cam pus organizations will be avail
able, including the Black Student
Union, the Black Cultural Center, the
U jima Education Office, and the Edu
cational O pportunities Program
D in n er w ill b e serv ed at the
ev e n t, an d n u m b e r o f O SU s tu
d en ts w ill be av a ila b le to talk and
an sw e r q u estio n s.
or private schools receiving tuition may
apply and no more than 10 percent o f
students within a district may be enrol led
in a Public Charter School.
At least fifty percent o f the teachers
and administrators must be certified. A
collective bargaining unit at the Public
Charter School, the school district or the
State Department ofEducation may rep
resent employees.
The funding formula for grades K-8,
gives Public Charter Schools 80 percent
o fthe district' s normal per student am ount
95 percent for grades 9 through 12.
If the bill passes the House, as ex
pected, it will go back to the Senate for
concurrence on several amendments that
were made by the House. If the Senate,
which passed the bill in February, ap
proves the amendments, the bill could go
to the governor sometime in April.
H ouse M ajo rity L ead er S tev e
Harper, R-Klamath Falls, called thebill's
passage, “the result o f hard w ork and
p e rse v e ra n c e b y su p p o rte rs an d
lengthy public input from educators,
parents, students andcom m unity lead
ers. After three legislative sessions o f
trying for a Public Charter Schools bill,
this is one the governor should sign.”
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