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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2020)
A6 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, December 23, 2020 Vaccines and the chance for progress rees might be leafing out by the time most of us get to decide wheth- er to roll up a sleeve and have a needle pierce our skin and deliver a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. For some time the vaccines, the first batches of which arrived in Oregon last week, will be given, and for good reason, to health care work- ers, residents in long-term care facilities and others who are at higher risk for being infected with the virus. Naturally, we want to first protect those for whom COVID-19 poses by far the most significant health risk. For those of us who are younger than 60, that risk is exceedingly low. Accord- ing to the Oregon Health Authority, of the 1,161 peo- ple whose deaths are attributed to COVID-19, just 9.2% were younger than 60 (and 3% were younger than 50). Nonetheless, it’s still vital that younger people also are inoculated against the virus as soon as possible. Although members of that young- er-than-60 group account for a small percentage of Oregon’s COVID-19 deaths, they make up 84% of the state’s approxi- mately 96,000 cases. That’s a lot of people who could poten- tial infect those who are more vulnerable. The more people who are immunized, the more effective the vaccines will be. A recent survey by the Kai- ser Family Foundation, ask- ing Americans if they plan to “definitely or probably” take a COVID-19 vaccine, showed a promising trend. The survey results, released on Dec. 15, found that 71% of respondents will definitely or probably be inoculated. That’s up from 63% in a September survey. But it’s still troubling that nearly one-third of respon- dents aren’t eager, if not out- right ecstatic, that they’ll have a chance to protect them- selves, and potentially their T family, friends and neighbors, from this virus. Troubling, and not a little vexing. The record of vaccines is so voluminous, a history of sav- ing millions of lives and spar- ing many millions of others from the debilitating effects of bacterial and viral diseases that we were for so long pow- erless against, that it’s passing strange that skepticism persists to the extent it does. COVID-19 vaccines stand out, of course, because they were made so quickly. But that’s not because safety stan- dards were relaxed or testing protocols slighted. Rather, the rapidity of these achievements reflects the immense abilities of bril- liant scientists when they devote themselves whole- heartedly to one task and have robust support from the Trump administration. Considering that earlier generations of experts con- quered polio and measles and smallpox and other micro- scopic scourges, we ought not be surprised that, roused into action by COVID-19, the scientific community has pulled off another monumen- tal victory. Skepticism, of course, is not limited to the vaccine. There is widespread disbelief about the virus itself, and in particular about how dangerous it is. But even those who dis- count the death toll can’t ignore that the virus has had terrible effects on our communities, socially and economically. The fastest and most effec- tive way to end restrictions, to reach that light at the end of the tunnel or get back to nor- mal, to cite just two of the annoying and cloying clichés that have infested our national conversation, is to administer these wonderful vaccines as widely and rapidly as possible. We have been given a col- lective gift. We just have to unwrap it. EDUCATION CORNER Bring out the creativity of learning S chool this year looks like something we might have seen on the cartoon show the Jens- ens from the 1960s. Students of all ages are spending hours on electron- ics. One area many children need to have the opportunity to develop is imagination and creativity. These two areas have been found to aid young children in building the abil- ity to problem-solve and develop solutions and conclusions along with resolving situations as they become older. During a “normal school day,” students are often given time to expand their pathways in their brains during recess, music, art or science labs. With online education happening this year due to COVID- 19, many students are not having as many of those experiences. These activities provide children with the ability to problem-solve along with creating things we have possibly never thought about yet. The great thing is that it does not take much to provide children with these activities at home. You do not need a flashy kit or tech toy or inter- net connection. A big box and mask- ing tape might be all you need. The objective is to expand the creative thinking process and get them to think outside of the box. Have you experienced spending big dollars on a dream gift only to have your child be more interested in the big box? As frustrating as this might be, your child is demonstrat- ing their need to express their cre- ativity and imagination. By taking a box and turning it into a space- ship, the child is expanding their driver” as the child is exploring. (5) You might consider providing some additional material for them such as string, towels, pillows or a string of battery lights and see how they might use them. (6) Lastly allow the child to tell you about their cre- ations and explain it to you. Having them discuss and explain is where understanding and learning really take place for the child. Following with questions allows them to con- tinue their ability to problem-solve. Remember there is a high proba- bility that what they created is not possible in life, but let them come to that conclusion on their own because imagination and ideas are what spark new inventions. It does not have to be a card- board box. Grab some blankets and let the tent construction begin. Pose the question to them, “How could we make a tent?” Let the learning begin, and your only job is to ask questions and allow them to dis- cover and problem-solve. Let the discovering begin! Set out some boxes and blankets and let their imagination go wild. Enjoy your holiday season. Who knows, you may have the next design for a hover car happening in your liv- ing room. Dr. Scott Smith is a Umatilla County educator with 40-plus years of experience. He taught at McNary Heights Elementary School and then for Eastern Oregon University in their teacher education program at Blue Mountain Community College. He serves on the Decoding Dys- lexia — OR board as their Parent/ Teacher Liaison. cognitive under- standing and abil- ity to apply infor- mation they have gained during their lives. Giving chil- dren the freedom Dr. Scott and chance to cre- Smith ate and fail allows them to develop the process of problem-solving for sit- uations they may face in the world around them. We adults are able to help chil- dren take these processes to a higher level by posing questions to them like, “Where are you going?” Your job then becomes going along with whatever they might respond with, reasonable or not. It is also import- ant that you do not need to point out when there is no possible way their creative answer will happen. In time they will come to that conclusion as they better understand and apply the information they gain. Allow them to experience, discover and make adjustments. Just a couple of things to remem- ber as you take on this challenge: (1) Let the child lead the processes. If they smash the box flat, that’s OK, just ask them to explain. Remem- ber the project does not have to be finished for the child to learn some- thing. (2) You are the encourager. Keep comments moving the cre- ativity and exploration forward. (3) Asking questions is your job in order to expand their imagination and creativity with the materials. If they are silent, it does not mean they are not thinking and process- ing. (4) Avoid being the “backseat LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ... protection of religious Editor’s note: Attorney Gen- A Christian defense choice eral Bill Barr, appointed by Presi- freedoms.” dent Donald Trump, said Monday He, further (as reported in World of President Trump To the Editor: A recent letter to the editor criti- cized the pastor of a vibrant church here in Mt. Vernon for recognizing election fraud in some of the bat- tle ground states, and for support- ing a man like President Trump. The writer believed that evangeli- cal Christians should not support a “liar” like President Trump. Wayne Grudem, Ph.D., profes- sor of theology and biblical studies at Phoenix Seminary, summarizes our evangelical position as follows: “If in a second term Donald Trump acts in the way he has acted in his first term, this will bring a continued strong economy, a strengthened mil- itary, better trade terms with other nations, a secure border, more orig- inalist judges, stronger protections for unborn children, strong employ- ment and wage growth, greater energy independence, greater school Magazine), has studied “20 or 30” lies listed on a website that suppos- edly keeps track of every lie of Presi- dent Trump. He could not find a legit- imate lie in those 20 supposed lies. President Trump has surrounded himself with evangelicals on his cabinet: Secretary of HUD, Dr. Ben Carson; Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo; and Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany — who was pre- ceded by Sarah Huckabee Sanders — solid evangelical Christians all. So far as I can tell, Joe Biden has not chosen one evangelical Chris- tian to his cabinet; they are all secu- lar progressives. We have gotten used to politi- cally incorrect statements, coupled with beneficial policies. What we are going to get is politically cor- rect statements, coupled with ruin- ous policies. Reg LeQuieu Mt. Vernon there was no basis for seizing vot- ing machines and that he stands by his previous statement there was no widespread voter fraud that could have affected the out- come of the presidential election. In an interview with World Mag- azine, Grudem said, “...I looked at The Washington Post’s list of what it calls 16,000-some ‘lies’ Trump has spoken and examined 20 or 30 of them. They’re what I’d call conclusions drawn by a hos- tile interpreter of words that a sympathetic listener would under- stand in a positive way. Presi- dent Trump is often not careful in some of the things he says. He is given to exaggeration. Sometimes he’s made a statement after being given inaccurate information. I’m not sure he’s ever intention- ally affirmed something he knows to be false, which is how I define a lie ...” L ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank- you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. We must limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. 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