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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2021)
OPINION READER’S FORUM Founded in 1906 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021 A4 EDITOR’S DESK A return to pre-pandemic life will take everyone I n early January, I wrote a col- umn explaining the reasons I planned to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as I was able. I’m pleased to share that since that time, I have been able to receive the Pfi zer vaccine. I’ve also been thrilled to see members of my family and many of my friends receive their own protec- tion through vaccination, along with three quar- Jade McDowell ters of a billion people NEWS EDITOR worldwide. All three vaccines off ered in the United States continue to prove safe and eff ective. On April 1, Pfi zer released updated results from its initial Phase 3 trial partici- pants, showing that six months out, the vaccine continues to strongly protect participants, who also con- tinue to see no long-term side eff ects. Moderna is seeing similar results. While a small percentage of peo- ple in the vaccinated group have tested positive for COVID-19, none have had a severe case, which is defi ned by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention as a case resulting in hospitalization or death. Studies are also forming a clearer picture that the vaccine greatly reduces the chances of transmitting the virus to others. While the Food and Drug Admin- istration announced this week it was temporarily pausing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to six peo- ple out of about 7 million develop- ing blood clots after vaccination, the fact the problem was caught and addressed after such a miniscule per- centage of people had it shows what careful monitoring the vaccines are going through. And the risk of blood clots from the vaccine, if there does Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File Doris Pitzer, 90, receives her fi rst dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Jessica Marcum during a vaccination clinic at Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston on Feb. 12, 2021. prove to be a link, is tiny compared to the risk of blood clots from the hormonal birth control pills that mil- lions of women in the United States take daily, and also tiny compared to risks of blood clots from COVID-19 itself. Despite these successes, we still have a long way to go. Only about 20% of the United States population is fully vaccinated so far, and scien- tists estimate we’ll need about four times as many people who are vacci- nated or have at least already had the virus before transmission becomes rare enough to safely return to “nor- mal” life. Unfortunately, in the United States, this eff ort to make gathering safe for everyone again as soon as possible is expected to be hampered by the estimated one-fourth of Amer- icans who say they won’t get vacci- nated. Vaccine hesitancy is partic- ularly high in rural areas, including Umatilla County. It may be easy to state that those who want protection can receive it and those who would rather take their chances with the more dangerous virus have a right to do so. But like the rest of this pandemic, vaccination is also a refl ection on our willingness to protect others as well as ourselves. Not leaving the house when you have a cough or other symptoms doesn’t protect you, because you’re already sick. But other people who must leave the house for work or school or buying groceries are at the mercy of those who know they may be a carrier of COVID-19 but decide to go out anyway. Similarly, with masks, the science is clear that the mask protects people from the wearer’s germs more than it protects the wearer from other peo- ple’s germs. This doesn’t matter if everyone in the room is masked, but again, people most at risk of compli- COLUMN LETTER TO THE EDITOR The myths and facts of testing in school settings T esting has become quite contro- versial in education. We often hear about students’ test scores or teach- ers reporting test results. Then in social groups, you might experience people dis- cussing that there is too much testing imposed on our children in schools. Is there a misconception? Depending on your generation and where you attended school, per- spectives on student testing have probably changed dramat- ically. Testing in schools in the past was most often for deter- mining grades in classes over material taught by the instruc- tor. Often those tests were Scott teacher-developed or may have Smith come with the curriculum, cov- ering the information taught during the instruction. As we have moved to a more mobile society we have come to expect stu- dents to learn the same material, whether in a little country town or a large city, and no matter what geographical location, educa- tion looks diff erent than 25 years ago. Pub- lishers created curricula for all subjects along with creating tests to ensure that all students receive the same instruction. Testing/assessment in education has changed over the years and we have also been able to learn more about how our brains learn and develop, thanks to science. We have learned that waiting for a stu- dent and allowing additional time for them to catch up may not be the best, and may make it even harder for the child to learn because of what we now know about brain development. Then borrowing from the sci- ences and using the scientifi c process of gaining a baseline, applying theory, and then checking for change means education takes a diff erent path. In education, if the child is not showing understanding we are now able to provide specifi c instruction at their level and check for understanding by monitoring, which is often referred to as testing. If the child understands the concept, they are ready to move on; if not, some reteaching is nec- essary. Past practice often was to assume students had it because we taught it to the whole group, or they will catch up and some will, but many don’t and fall behind. This is true in both math and reading. Mov- ing on and hoping in time they will catch up is more of a myth than reality. Back in the 1970s publishers were creat- ing reading materials as fast as they could. Then they set out to show how their pro- grams were superior to teacher-based pro- grams. These curricula provided instruc- tional materials along with assessments. During the 1980s studies were completed showing if teachers used and followed their programs students scored higher. They took their results to the U.S. Department of Edu- cation, getting them to sign off that teachers needed to follow the programs with fi delity. We have all experienced changes in the medical fi eld and the impact on our health and lives. Look at diabetes for exam- ple: Twenty years ago the way we tested sugar levels is much diff erent than today. ISchools that have embraced using data to inform education rather than teaching what a teacher feels is best have experienced greater student learning growth. There are not many people who would want the doc- tors to treat their cancer as they did 40 years ago. The same should be true with how we educate our youth. Students are assessed more in today’s schools than in the past. In the younger grades, the short screeners used can deter- mine if the student knows the skill or needs additional support and are usually less than 10 minutes. As a teacher, having to screen each student can seem overwhelming and feel like all they do is test, but the students are not spending all that time testing. The teacher can use that information to adjust their lessons to give additional instruc- tion on skills a student might be struggling with within the curriculum. This allows the student not to fall behind and keeps their skills moving forward, whereas in the past students often fell so far behind that it was hard for them to catch up with their classmates. ——— Dr. Scott Smith is a 40+-year Umatilla County educator and serves on the Decoding Dyslexia-OR board as their parent/teacher liaison. CORRECTIONS Printed on recycled newsprint VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 14 Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673 Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536 Kelly Schwirse | Multi-Media consultant • kschwirse@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. cations from COVID-19 are at the mercy of those who decide not to wear a mask around them, increasing the chances they will catch an infec- tion from that person. With vaccines, the person who is vaccinated is protected the most. However, evidence continues to increase that vaccinated people are far less likely to spread COVID-19. That directly protects those around them, including children, people with allergies and others unable to receive the vaccine. It also helps stop the spread throughout a com- munity, making it safer to do things like indoor dining in restaurants or having children in school. Finally, every infection prevented takes away another opportunity for the virus to mutate into a variant that makes peo- ple sicker or can evade the protection of the vaccines. If you’re unsure about getting vac- cinated, please reach out to your primary care physician, Umatilla County Health Department, Oregon Health Authority or another knowl- edgeable source to talk through your concerns. How many people get vac- cinated in this county and world- wide will have a signifi cant impact on what the next year looks like for all of us. If you’re not interested in get- ting vaccinated for yourself, do it for your neighbor whose fi nancial sit- uation depends on their restaurant being able to fully reopen this year. Do it for your immunocompromised cousin whose allergies don’t allow him to get vaccinated. Do it for your grandmother who could be vulner- able to “breakthrough” cases after vaccination. Do it for your niece in FFA who wants to be able to show her hog at the fair this August. Do it for all of us. We need you. 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 ©2021 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. Hansell keeps children at the forefront This letter is to introduce Mrs. Sally Anderson Hansell, who is running for a position on the Hermiston School Board. Mrs. Hansell grew up in Hermiston, graduated from Hermiston High School, and went on to get her degree in law. She is a practicing attorney in Hermiston. She has three children in the Hermiston schools at this time; she also has to school her husband, Tyler Hansell, occasionally. Mrs. Hansell has seen what COVID has done to her children’s education and believes your children have been aff ected too. She believes that school is more than learning to read, write and mathematics — it is a place where discipline and respect are taught. School is a place where chil- dren see old friends and make new ones. In Hermiston, some children eat two meals a day at school. In a way, school is a mirror of society where children learn to deal with the same problems that Mom and Dad do every day. Many of these things have been taken from our children during the COVID era. How and when will these losses be replaced? I haven’t read or heard of any con- crete plan to do that. I don’t believe this is the fault of the local schools, educators, board or administration. I do believe that if you elect Mrs. Hansell, she will abso- lutely make sure that these problems will be solved for our children. Please join me in voting for Mrs. Hansell in the May 18 election. Mike Mehren Hermiston 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.