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“And people we are the system. So we get
to change the system.”
Education has been set up based on a bell-
curve model that says 50 percent of students
succeed while 50 percent fail. That doesn’t
serve students or our society, he said. He
also talked about disparities in special edu-
cation, saying he simply doesn’t believe
that children of color need to be in special
education more than other children.
“We have a system right now that pro-
duces Yale to jail outcomes,” Crew said.
“And that bell curve is designed to do that.
It’s designed to
say 50 percent
of you are not
going to be able
to do it and 50
percent of you
will. We built a
system
that
essentially puts
people through
a spin rinse and
wash cycle to figure out who’s who. That
tells you it’s a badly flawed and inequitable
system.”
Following Crew, a panel discussion fea-
tured education leaders from school dis-
tricts around the state. Talking about ways
to improve education, they touched on
everything from building stronger partner-
ships with community organizations, listen-
ing to parents, and building bridges between
teachers of different age groups.
For example, Matt Coleman of the
Springfield School district, said his district
had looked at a group of students from the
moment they entered elementary through
high school.
“Our class of 2000 had a graduation rate
of 62 percent,” he said. “Often when that
happens we ask what’s going wrong in high
school.
“The reality is we need to look at the
whole system.”
Springfield found that as early as the first
3rd Grade testing, some students were 7
points behind the others. And that gap
remained throughout their school careers.
So in 9th
grade, 30 per-
cent
didn’t
earn six cred-
its. And they
spent
20
fewer days in
school. Once
students fell
behind, they
began failing
and many eventually did not graduate with
their group. Elementary and middle school
teachers began to see their own role in
school dropout, he said. Now everyone is
thinking differently.
“In Springfield 62 percent was our return
on $1 billion spent on education,” he said.
“Shame on us if our return on investment
continues to be 62 percent.”
Rob Saxton, Oregon’s Deputy Superin-
tendent, said being a parent made him think
about all the things we do to advantage our
own children. Teachers understand what
Teachers read to their own
children every day because
they know it matters
Merkley
continued from page 1
plain language of statute, but what does that
really mean? Just to give you an example,
there is plain language that says information
can be collected relevant to an investiga-
tion. Well depending on what the rulings on
the language have been, that could be
license to do almost anything. And that’s
why this matters.
TSN: Senator did you get calls or pressure
from your constituents to take this on or was
it something you personally took it on your-
self to do? Where did the impetus to do this
come from.
JM: In my Town Halls, which I hold in
every county every year, this comes up peri-
odically. Concern about the overreach of the
federal government in spying on Ameri-
cans. And I think the concern is accentuated
by the modern world in which personal
information is compiled in vast databases,
information through your cellphone calls,
your billing records, so on and so forth. And
so it’s very tempting for any law agency to
say let’s just sweep up all that i9nfortmation
to see what’s going on and not have the tra-
ditional protections of warrants.
This is essentially a conversation closely
related to the issues of warrantless searches
that the administration has had in the past. It
The country also needs to tackle a “cul-
ture that all to often glorifies guns and vio-
lence,” he said.
“And any actions that we must take must
begin inside the home and inside our
hearts.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has
said she will introduce legislation to rein-
state the assault weapons ban that expired in
2004.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said
Tuesday that the president supports that
Rosa Parks Elementary students and their families had the chance to see
their original writing adapted for stage and perfomed by professional
actors.. Teacher Julie Sparling’s third graders worked with Curious
Comedy Theate to write their own true stories. Parents joined the children
to watch the work performed at the school last week.
gives children a leg up when they get to
school, he said. So most teachers read to
their children every day from the time they
are babies, teach them letter sounds and
numbers, make sure they are ready to listen
and take turns. Teachers do that because
they know it will help their children get
ahead in school, he said.
“We need to teach every parent that that’s
what you do for your kid,” Saxton said. “So
when they arrive at the kindergarten door
they are ready to learn.
“The bottom line is we all work to advan-
tage our own children and we need to work
to advantage every child.”
was a big issue under the Bush Administra-
tion and that basic core concept – that
Americans have a right to privacy, that any
investigations that collect information on
Americans should go through a warrant
process is at the heart of this.
This is about an appropriate and correct
balance between security on the one hand
and privacy on the other. These two are not
in competition. If there’s a security issue,
the government just has to demonstrate that
before it rummages around in our personal
information.
TSN: Senator please talk about the other
major hot button issues you’ve been push-
ing this year and start with HUD.
JM: This issue regarding HUD is really
one of those things that happen in the field
with things that go awry with the red tape of
government and it’s important to step in and
fix it. In this case a number of Oregon’s
housing authorities utilized a government
database that was in error, and because they
used the government data they were penal-
ized in their grant applications — and
denied funds for critical housing programs
in five regions across Oregon. I took the
case to HUD and said, that is outrageous,
that you’re penalizing them for using the
wrong information that you put in your
database. They have now agreed with that
and the way in translates in that these
regions should get more funding for critical
housing programs. That’s the bottom line.
TSN: And you’ve done so much this year
around foreclosure. What do you think are
the three most crucial issues that you’re
going to be working on in 2013 and that
your constituents should know that you
we’re now working with the administration
to get that program approved and imple-
mented. So it’s both fighting unfairness in
the foreclosure process but also working to
enable families to refinance, who are
trapped in high interest loans.
I mean that is a powerful, powerful force
in the financial stability of our families and
communities. It’s part of getting out of this
recession.
A second major issue is addressing job
creation in America. That is tied into the fis-
cal cliff, but it’s going to be tied into major
legislation we consider all year in 2013. We
must, as we look at the sequestration pro-
posal, the fiscal cliff issues, we have to be
very careful to defend programs for work-
ing Americans, that the budget is not bal-
anced on the backs of working Americans,
and that we create living wage jobs, not
destroy them as we wrestle with our budget
decisions.
A third piece that I’m deeply immersed in
– this is a battle that will play out in January
of next year – is reforming the Senate and
ending the abuses of the filibuster that are
paralyzing the Senate. So that has an impact
on every other substantive issue in terms of
what the Senate is able to consider and get
done. If we don’t fix the broken Senate we
won’t be able to fulfill our responsibility to
the American people to take on the major
issues we face as a nation.
effort.
Obama also wants to close
“the so-called gun show loop-
hole which allows people to buy
weapons without going through
the background checks that are standard
when you purchase “ them retail, Carney
said.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder echoed
those remarks Wednesday. “There’s a range
of things we need to do,” he said, adding
that any one measure would not be ade-
quate.
The proposals necessary will involve peo-
ple who “aren’t always thought of in the law
enforcmeent sphere,” including the depart-
ments of Education and Health and Human
Services, he said.
Newtown United, a newly formed group
in the stricken town, scheduled an open
meeting for Wednesday evening to discuss
what it calls “sensible gun legislation.”
Meanwhile, heartbreaking funerals con-
tinue. Those being buried Wednesday
include several more students and a beloved
teacher.
They are among those killed when gun-
man Adam Lanza shot his mother four times
in the head before shooting his way into into
Sandy Hook Elementary, opening fire on
staff and students no older than 7. Lanza
then killed himself.
Authorities are working to determine a
motive.
Gun Violence
continued from page 1
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
continued from page 1
have at the top of your list of things to get
done?
JM: Foreclosure is a huge continuing bat-
tle. Related to that, enabling families that
are underwater to be able to refinance out of
high-interest predatory loans and into
appropriate, fair-interest loans. So I’m still
immersed in that. I met with the President’s
team and they put it into the State of the
Union a year ago. I spent this last year
designing a program to make it happen,
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So far, they have been unable to retrieve
data from a computer in Lanza’s home, a
law enforcement official said Tuesday.
The gunman apparently smashed the com-
puter and extensively damaged the hard
drive, the official said, adding that the FBI
is assisting Connecticut State Police.
Authorities have said the shooter took
three of his mother’s weapons — two hand-
guns and a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle — to the
elementary school.
There are no records of any police inci-
dent calls to the Lanza home in the past,
state police said Wednesday.
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December 19, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 3