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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2020)
OPINION READER’S FORUM Founded in 1906 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020 A4 EDITOR’S DESK Protecting children starts at home he evils of human traffi ck- ing and child abuse have seen increased attention in recent weeks, including a march in Hermis- ton last weekend to raise awareness of the issue. Increased aware- ness of such problems is good, because myths and misconceptions abound. I frequently see posts Jade online cautioning women McDowell NEWS EDITOR that sex traffi ckers are using tactics, such as placing a fl ier on their windshield while they are in the grocery store, so that kidnappers can nab them when they remove the paper. While it is always good to take safety precau- tions against kidnapping, the truth is that few victims of human traffi cking are forced into a van in a busy park- ing lot. Instead, traffi ckers often lure people in through tactics, such as a false romantic relationship, an offer of a modeling contract or job. In the documentary “Chosen,” one sex traffi cking survivor tells of how as a teenager she felt fl attered by the attentions of a man in his twen- ties. Eventually, she lied to her par- ents about a sleepover to in order to spend the weekend with her “boy- friend” and he convinced her to do him a huge favor by dancing a night at a strip club to make the money he supposedly needed to pay his rent the T HH fi le photo A Hermiston High School student uses a computer at school in this 2018 fi le photo. According to law enforcement, it is important for parents to have conversations about online safety with their children. next day. He used photos from the night to blackmail her. Polaris, the nonprofi t that runs the the U.S. Human Traffi cking National Hotline, states on its web- site that the most pervasive myth about human traffi cking is that traf- fi ckers use physical force to kidnap their victims. “In reality, most traffi ckers use psychological means such as trick- ing, defrauding, manipulating or threatening victims into provid- ing commercial sex or exploitative labor,” it states. Such predators used to have to hang out at malls or parks to build a relationship with their victims, but these days the internet provides easy access into almost every home in America. And unfortunately, many parents are unaware of large portions of their child’s online life. Police have the ability to retrieve photos and messages from phones after they have already been deleted, and last year, when I interviewed Umatilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce Detective Kasey Ward about online safety, he told me that parents are often shocked to learn what fi les or browsing history he retrieved from their child’s phone in the course of an investigation. COLUMN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Reading advice to start the school year H ave you seen the preschooler or kindergartner who reads without a problem? Over the years I have seen many of these great little readers head off to school appearing as readers. Quite often they are very smart and are very aware of their surroundings. But are they really readers? How’s their spelling? More often than not they are fooling the adults. What has happened is Scott that they are smart, there Smith is no question. And what they have been able to do at their age is memo- rize enough words that, within their level of books, they had no diffi culty reading. Parents get frustrated when their teachers are teaching the letter sounds and blending because they feel their child is already a reader. Without the understanding of how the words are made, once they hit more diffi cult reading materials with increasingly higher vocabulary levels, they may begin to struggle. With most children, they are able to memorize roughly 70 to 80 words and be able to understand how they are used. By the middle of second grade, we often see students begin to strug- gle. This is because they are unable to decode unknown words or multisyl- labic words. Now, they have to step back and learn the skills their kinder- garten and fi rst-grade teachers were presenting, which may cause them to slow down. By no means am I saying to stop encouraging your preschooler from reading, but make sure they also know the letter names and sounds. By build- ing those passageways in your child’s brain they will be able to transfer them later in their decoding of words with strong foundational skills they will be applying as their reading increases. Increasing reading comprehension Reading comprehension is a trans- fer skill that happens after the devel- opment of language comprehension. It is the ability to remember things and explain things through retelling. This process begins building pathways in the brain early in life. Understanding what we read is so important in our culture, but compre- hending starts long before we learn to read. Growing up in the 1960s in a very traditional home, it was common to have dinner together. I can remem- ber my parents asking about our day along with them sharing about theirs. Without really realizing it, they were teaching my sister and me how to use our memories to recall and retell infor- mation we had gained during the day. Such an easy thing to do — having your child tell you about something they did during the day — can have an immense impact on your child’s abil- ity to build an understanding of what they read later. If a child cannot tell about events in their lives there is a strong probability they will struggle with reading comprehension later. Take the time to have your children tell about activities and events during their day. If they are like many kids they will begin by saying, “Oh, noth- ing,” or “I don’t know.” That is a cue they may be struggling with the skill and you will need to give them some guided assistance. Stay calm, and use questions: “Well, didn’t you have lunch?” Help them trigger memories so they can talk about the day. They will build the brain pathways and soon they will be able to tell you all about their day. Today’s kids have access to so many devices, so use them. Give them your phone and send them out to make a video about an object, fl ower, ani- mal, or the beach. Have them watch it and try not to give feedback other than things like, “What a great job.” They will see faults and take the initiative to make changes. Even if they do some- thing different they will build their skills. You can have them give you feedback about their video. Ask “What did you like?” or “What bothered you about your video?” Along that same line, have them retell a story in selfi e-style. Preschool- ers love to retell stories you read to them; just have them record/video it. You will be building stronger path- ways in their brain, so they will be able to apply them later when they start reading. Asking students simple questions about their day or having them tell you about a family event will quickly give you an idea of their language compre- hension. Until their language compre- hension is strong, they will struggle with reading comprehension. ——— Dr. Scott Smith taught at Umatilla at McNary Heights Elementary School and for Eastern Oregon University in their teacher education program at BMCC. He serves on the Decoding Dyslexia — OR board. CORRECTIONS Printed on recycled newsprint VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 32 Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673 Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536 Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531 Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St. • visit us online at: hermistonherald.com The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN 8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838, (541) 567-6457. Some parents don’t check their child’s phone, but others thought they were doing a good job of checking up on their child. Their teen was two steps ahead of them though — using apps like Snapchat that delete photo messages after a few seconds, using incognito mode on their web browser or using messaging apps meant to fool parents by appearing to be some- thing innocuous like a calculator. Having conversations with your child about online safety is vital. A friend recently had to have that con- versation with a child in her fam- ily, letting him know the “12-year- old girl” she discovered was asking him for explicit photos through the video game Fortnite may not be 12 or a girl. Just as crucially, it is important to remember that unfortunately the vast majority of all sexual abuse cases come not from strangers met online, but from people that the child (and their parents) know and trust. Con- versations about appropriate touch- ing, consent, and talking to you about anything that doesn’t feel right are as important as conversations about the fact that once you hit “send” on a photo or video you have no control over where it might show up next. These aren’t easy conversations to have, but solving the world’s prob- lems usually starts at home. Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR. Postmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838. Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2020 It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in the online versions of our stories. Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report errors. SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters should be kept to 250 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. The president ignored the warning signs At the beginning of this pandemic I wrote the White House to President Donald J. Trump at the beginning of his plan to reopen the states. I wrote him a long suggestion letter to not open up all states, and open up two states at a time each month. This way all medical personnel can be deployed to these, opening up states from across the United States. This would have avoided many unwanted deaths across our nation. I wrote the White House twice recommending this method, and opening up two states every month or two, so that hospitals do not get overrun by this virus. I warned the administration twice about what would hap- pen, and I was ignored. I had the gut feeling we needed to open up at least two states maybe every month or two. Now can you see if we would have taken this route? But most likely, because I am another incarcerated person, I was ignored. Jose Castro Umatilla CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 whitehouse.gov/contact/ ——— OREGON GOV. KATE BROWN 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-4582 Email: www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/ share-your-opinion.aspx Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be published. OBITUARY POLICY The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include small photos and, for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be published at no charge. These include information about services. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at hermistonherald.com/obituaryform, by email to obits@ hermistonherald.com, by fax to 541-276-8314, placed via the funeral home or in person at the Hermiston Herald or East Oregonian offi ces. For more information, call 541-966-0818 or 1-800-522-0255, x221.
