OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
After graduation, go forth with confi dence
D
ear graduating seniors,
Congratulations on reach-
ing this milestone. Your class
has faced a tough road through the
end of your high school journey, and
you should feel proud of what you’ve
accomplished despite
those setbacks.
As per tradition, I
would like to off er you
some advice as you set
off on your next adven-
Jade
ture, whatever that may
McDowell
be.
NEWS EDITOR
My fi rst advice would
be to believe in yourself. That may
sound cheesy, but I know that when
I graduated from both high school
and college, I felt intimidated by the
thought of all the people I would be
trying to measure up to in the future.
I envisioned college and the work-
force as an army of people smarter
and more accomplished than I
was, who had expensive tutors and
attended fancy private schools in big
cities and spent their summers build-
ing schools in Africa.
It’s true that in going from a
school with a graduating class of less
than 200 to a university with more
than 30,000 students, I had more
competition. I was rarely — if ever
— the smartest person in the room.
But I learned a lot, graduated in four
years and landed a job in my chosen
fi eld, and not once did any potential
employers ask me if I graduated at
the top of my class (I didn’t).
Believing in yourself doesn’t
have to mean feeling sure that you
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Hermiston High School graduates walk down Southwest Seventh Street in Hermiston during
the school’s Honor Walk on Thursday, May 27, 2021.
will someday be the best basketball
player or rapper or Instagram infl u-
encer in the whole world. Sometimes
it just means believing that you’re
going to be successful and happy —
even if it turns out you’re not the best
in the world at anything.
I promise you that if you are hard
working, dependable and respectful,
you will already be more qualifi ed
for the jobs you apply for than some
of the applicants.
I’ll even let you in on a lit-
tle secret: Job postings are often a
description of the employer’s ideal
candidate, not a list of absolute
necessities. And when employers
struggle to fi nd anyone who checks
all of the boxes, they will some-
times settle for someone who is only
75% of the way there but seems
like a hard worker who could be
trained. The real answer to the age-
old conundrum, “How do I get expe-
rience when all the jobs that would
give me experience require expe-
rience?” is often simply, “I applied
anyway and they still hired me.”
A second piece of advice I would
give you is to take time while you’re
young to make memories and build
relationships. The older you get,
the more everyone tends to become
entangled in responsibilities — being
in a management role at work, rais-
ing children, caring for elderly par-
ents, volunteering.
When people get to that point,
they often look back at their 20s and
wish they had spent more time travel-
ing, or taking other opportunities that
now involve much more pre-plan-
ning to be able to make work. It can
also be more diffi cult to make friends
when you’ve passed the age where
Friday nights involve a bunch of peo-
ple spontaneously piling into cars
and hanging out at a bonfi re until
2 a.m.
So don’t get so caught up in the
stress of fi guring out what you’re
doing with your life that you forget
to have fun. Go to that bonfi re on Fri-
day night and then wake up Monday
morning ready to do something that
will set you up for success. Life is
about balance.
Each generation has its own chal-
lenges — I graduated into a deep
recession that my generation has
never fully recovered from fi nan-
cially, and some of my ancestors
didn’t get a chance to graduate at all
before being shipped off to war. Your
generation will be working to shape
the world in the wake of a pandemic
that feels like it turned everything
upside-down.
That brings with it opportunity.
The future may seem daunting now,
but it’s full of possibilities. Go make
it your own.
COLUMN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Asking questions is the pathway to comprehension
U
nderstanding the world around us is
the goal we want all our children to
achieve. We want them to understand
and explain what they see, hear, and read.
It should be really simple. You see it,
you talk about it, and you can write about
it when you’re older. For some reason,
it just doesn’t work that way for every-
one. Problem solving is a natural ability
humans can accomplish. Yet, many people
need a little nurturing to become a master
at the skill of understanding (comprehend-
ing) and problem solving (vocal, written,
or demonstration).
One method for develop-
ing problem-solving skills
in children is through using
questioning.
Questioning activates the
part of the brain used for
problem solving. It doesn’t
Scott
matter what age, whether the Smith
child is 2 or 22, using ques-
tioning strategies aids in fostering every-
one’s ability to problem-solve when hav-
ing to face a situation they need to resolve
on their own.
Example: Which do you eat faster with,
a fork or spoon? This type of questioning
asks the brain to use existing information
to respond to a new problem.
Sounds simple, but it’s harder than you
think! Living in a fast-moving world, it
sometimes feels like we have to get things
done quickly. Therefore we often tell or
give the child resolutions to issues so
we are able to move on. We do the prob-
lem solving for the child, therefore they
quickly learn that in order to get the infor-
mation they need, they simply ask. Frus-
tration hits when a child has not had prac-
tice, is asked a question and expected to
respond orally or written, and is at a loss
for what to do. Hurried adults become
frustrated and often give a response some-
thing like, “Just fi gure it out!”
Have you provided the opportunities for
your child to know how to fi gure things
out or have you assumed they should
know? The child is showing they have
not developed their problem-solving abil-
ity and without prior practice, everyone
becomes frustrated. The teaching moment
is now.
Use questions to help them draw their
own conclusions, right or wrong, and learn
from the experience.
Starting with giving the child a simple
choice is best. Remember it is okay if they
choose something diff erent than what you
think is best. Many times they will but this
is where learning takes place. So if they
have a choice of pop or ice cream and they
choose pop, but others have ice cream,
they may change their mind after everyone
gets their treat. You just have to remind
them that it was their choice for the pop,
and next time they might be able to choose
ice cream.
I can almost guarantee there may be a
tantrum but remember, don’t solve it for
them. Don’t off er to trade. Now, if they
ask you to trade, they are starting to use
their own problem-solving, and it becomes
your choice whether to trade or not. This
method works no matter the child’s age.
Asking questions like, “Do you think
that’s the best choice?” or “Which do you
think would go faster?” or “What would
you do with all that money?” forces them
to trigger the thinking process and go into
problem-solving.
The struggle comes in guiding them
with questions in order to draw their con-
clusions. The world all of a sudden moves
into slow motion, and the child is faced
with questions. The number one thing the
child is fearing is making the incorrect
decision.
Thus, we move into the child’s world
of decision making using questions help-
ing them make their decision or draw their
own conclusions. When given more and
more opportunities to allow them to nur-
ture the skill of problem solving, they will
get quicker.
If you have a child you notice is strug-
gling with problem solving, choose a
time to work with them. Trying to have
a teaching moment when the whole fam-
ily is waiting might be diffi cult for every-
one. Seek out a time you are able to spend
time with them and guide them in devel-
oping their problem-solving skills. You
might consider starting with one situation
each day, allowing them to make their own
decision.
Start asking questions, and you’ll see
your child’s ability to problem-solve, dis-
cuss, and even write about situations make
remarkable growth and their ability to
answer school questions as well.
———
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 21
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
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length and for content.
Aff ordable housing
for seniors needed
I’m writing concerning the article
on senior housing. What we need is
aff ordable housing.
When I was seeking memory
care for my husband, the cost was
higher than we even made. There
was a waiting list at Guardian Angel
Homes. He would have been num-
ber 16. Then when I thought I might
be able to pull it off with help from
the veterans, they raised the price.
The other homes were too high also.
One wanted $1,300 a month for his
level of care. If you do not want to
go on Medicaid, assisted living at
these prices are not possible for most
seniors.
My husband passed at home, a
labor of love for me but really hard.
Aff ordable housing please!
Lin Starke
Irrigon
Editor’s Note
Do you have questions
about the Hermiston Herald
or feedback on its articles
and other features? Email
News Editor Jade McDowell
at editor@hermistonherald.
com.
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