' MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
WEDNESDAY. APRIL 19. 19S1
A 5
BY LOUIS CASSELS
UPI Correspondent
' What do you call a poor
kid from a wretched home,
who enters school with two
strikes against him.
If you're an educator, you
call him a "disadvantaged
child."
We might as well learn the
term now, because we're go
ing to be hearing it often dur
ing the next few years. The
problems of the disadvan
taged child and the prob
lems he creates for schools
are engaging the attention of
many national leaders, includ
ing President Kennedy.
Kennedy displayed his con
cern by making special pro
vision for these children in
his program of federal aid
grants. for public schools. He
proposed that 10 per cent of
the funds allocated to each
state be earmarked "to help
meet the unique problems" of
schools serving slum neigh
borhoods and depressed areas.
The Educational Policies
Commission, sponsored Joint
ly by the National Education
association and the Ameri
can Association of School Ad
ministrators, also worried
about the children who come
to school with unwashed ears
and no lunch money.
It has launched a special
study project to determine
how schools can do a better
job of helping them to
overcome their environmen
tal handicaps.
' Dr. James E. Russell, the
commissions secretary, esti
mates that America's urban
school systems are now trying
to educate about one million
children who clearly belong
in the "disadvantaged" cate
gory. And the proportion of
such children in city schools.
he adds, "appears to be
rising."
: Educating these children is
a formidable challenge, Dr.
Russell notes, because "the
stability and well-being need
ed for effective learning are
generally absent" from their
lives.
They come from "homes
, characterized by poverty,
meager educational back-
ground, lack of privacy,
emotional instability, shifting
personal relationships, per
sonal conflicts and mobility;"
' "Such homes" he says
"tend to produce children
who are indifferent to respon
sibility and unable to concen
trate on learning, who have
physical defects, poor health
habits, inadequate communi
cation skills, socially unaccep
table behavior, limited aspi
rations and little experience
of cultural participation."
v To send a disadvantaged
child into a typical public
school is like transporting
him to a foreign country. The
values which the teacher is
trying to convey, the content
of the courses, the very mus-
Ay
It " ii ' " 1 i Warn -i fcua
By
Marguerite W. Wright
A bill has been introduced
in the 1961 legislative ses
sion to appropriate $35,000 to
get the 1963 session started.
That was another of the
signs that the hectic 51st as
sembly is about to wind up
and go home after considering
a record number of bills.
It missed its goal of a lOOv.
day session, but it seemed cer
tain to quit far short of the
longest-128 days in 1957-and
of the 115-day session in 1959.
Legislative action has been
accelerated in the home
stretch drive which has also
brought into play the power
of the governor's veto for the
first time. His threat of a veto
added controversy on top of
controversy.
As the end approached, this
was the legislative picture on
major issues:
Taxation The bill to re
model Oregon's income tax
law on a "net receipts" basis
had passed the House, but was
precariously resting in the
Senate Taxation Committee
where it had considerable op
position. The proposal, which
Gov. Mark Hatfield first
brought to the Legislature in
his 1959 message, was expect
ed to stay there through the
end of the session.
A compromise timber tax
bill, at this writing, is expect
ed to pass the House and go
to the Senate, where it will get
favorable ' reception in the
Senate Taxation Committee,
This bill, sponsored by Rep.
W. O. Kelsay (D-Roseburg),
was approved by the House
Taxation Committee,- because
'it would bring in a little more
money than timber taxes now
produce, provide a little relief
for the slow cutter (operators
who hold their timber until
it matures), and add a little to
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trations used in the reading
and arithmetic books, are com
pletely alien to his way of
life. His experience at home
and. on the streets has iu.t
prepared him to fit into an in
stitution which reflects the
mores of an advanced Indus
trial culture.
Thus it is hardly surpris
ing, Dr. Russell says, that
schools serving under-
privileged ..areas encounter
poor I classroom response'' to
traditional teaching methods,
low achievement, spotty at
tendance, serious disciplinary
problems, and high rates of
failure and drop-out.
Must Overcome Hostility
Before a school can edu
cate a disadvantaged child,
Dr. Russell says, it must over
come his natural hostility to
the school environment, and
establishe "effective contact'
with him.
To do this, "teachers need
to be highly skilled and
understandings." They need
to work with "smaller-than-
normal classes" and to have
time for a good deal of indi
vidual attention to each
child. They need the support
of a wide variety of special
school services in the areas of
tutoring, remedial education
home visitation, health and
psychology. They must be
"ever aware of the circiim
stances which handicap their
pupils" and have enough hu
man warmth and sympathy to
avoid being "shocked or re
pelled" by them.
Dr. Russell warns that the
kind of schools needed "will
not be cheap." Highly-skilled
teachers, small classes and
special school services all cost
money. But they do not cost
as much as society will have
to expend on social welfare
services, law enforcement,
and prisons, if it lets ' these
children grow up without an
education, to perpetuate
the despair and delinquency
of their own lives the condi
tions from which they came.
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It comes from outsiders who should
know. We hear it constantly.
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'Disadvantaged Child' Getting Attention of Leaders in Education
Kennedy Makes
Special Provision
In Aid Program
trim-
the
addl-
the tax load of the fast (cut
out and get out) cutter.
The bill to cut taxes on
heavy trucks by $1 million a
year was pulled back off the
governor's desk (after it had
been passed by both houses) by
the Senate as a result of Hat
field's threat to veto the biU.
The governor, in . a rare ulti
matum, gave legislators thel
choice of reierrlng the Dill to
the voters or having it vetoed.
The governor said he
wouldn't sign a bill to reduce
highway revenue when .nearly
every part of the state wanted
highway construction projects
in its area. Also he noted that
authoritative facts about wear
highways by big trucks
would be known after Illinois
road tests now being conduct
ed are concluded.
Senators accused Hatfield of
political blackmail," "lack of
intestinal fortitude" and so on.
Sen. Walter Pearson (D-Port-
land) noted that he had been
nicknamed "Three-Way Pear
son for his support of the
Three-Way" workmen's com
pensation bill, and that Hat
field ought to be known as
One-Way Hatfield his way
or none."
For all the sound and fury,
it looks like the truck-tax bill
is a long way off.
The House-passed bill .to
substitute a 2.7 per cent tax
on business income to replace
the present personal property
tax on inventories was in a
similar position . . . dead, or
at least in a deep coma.
So was the bill to defer
property taxes on homes of
people over 65 years of age.
Some of the proposals might
be salvaged in the last days,
but there was no change in
the session-long view that lit
tle major tax legislation would
come from the 1961 session.
Reapportionment Two Is
sues were in the bill, one to
reapportion the Legislature, as
required on the basis of the
1960 census; the other to
amend the constitutional basis
for the requirement to guar
antee more representation for
less-populated areas of the
state. t"
On the first problem, It
seemed certain that no -widespread
changes - would be
forthcoming. Eastern Oregon
Democrats and Republicans,
both in danger of losing repre
sentation if the reapportion
ment law was strictly com
plied with, had joined together
behind proposals calling lor
minimal changes.
If they don t come up with
constitutional plan, the re
apportionment problem will
land in the lap of Secretary of
State Howell Appling Jr.,
andor, eventually, the State
Supreme Court. -'
Reorganisation - Legislative
opposition continued to chip
awav at the governor's plan
for establishing a cabinet form
of government for Oregon.
The proposal for a Natural
Resources Department was
killed by Senate votes against
including Fish and Game com
missions, Forestry depart
ment, Department of Geology
and Mineral Industries, De
partment of Agriculture, and
the Marine board in the new
department.
Some observers declare that
as long as the present genera
tion of vested interests re
mains in control in such areas
as fish and game, no effective
reorganization is possible. Evi
dently, changes in administra
tion, with wholesale bloodlet
ting, are prerequisite to any
drastic reorganization.
Only one minor change now
is assured, but several others
of the least-cont roverslal
moves may be added before
the session, concludes. Already
signed into law is a bill to
abolish the Hydroelectric com
mission and turn its duties
over to the state engineer,
who was a member of the
commission already.
Establishment of a Depart
ment of Commerce, and De
partment of Revenue, and
some changes In the mental
health administration could
still make the reorganization
grade.
Way. and Means No one is
particularly concerned about
revenue this session, but the
Ways and Means Committee
has shown great concern about
how to divide it up.
Some of the fiscal experts
believe Gov. Hatfield's esti
mates for income for the gen
eral fund in 1961-63 are about
$10 million low. So Ways and
Means may recommend appro
priation on that level rather
than the governor's. At any
rate. It appears the Legisla
ture's final budget will be
slightly above the $358,000,-
000 figure the governor recom
mended, though they have
found some rbom . for
ming from his budget.
Appropriation for
Boardman project, and
tion of some new services in
other areas has so far more
than counterbalanced the sav
ings they have been able to
make. ' '
Education Showdowns are
near on two of the big money
items of every session-basic
school support and the budget
for Oregon's public-supported
colleges. In addition, a com
munity college bill which
would cost some S3 million, is
in the legislative mill.
The outcome of votes on
several other budgets and
money matters will be the de
termining factor in how much
the state's support to -public
school districts is increased.
The House Education com
mittee gave approval to a $15
increase to $120 per child a
year. This could be cut back
$5 depending on the availabil
ity of funds. The fate of the
governor's proposals for some
$5 million in raises for college
faculties rests on the same
considerations. Otherwise, the
higher education budget prob
ably will go through essen
tially as recommended by
Gov. Hatfield.
Salaries - Also on the shelf
while Ways and Means makes
final division of the pie is the
proposal for a ten per cent
increase for state employees.
This would cost the general
fund some $9 million in the
next two years.. Substantial
raises for the governor (from
$17,500 to $20,000 a year) and
for the secretary of state,
state treasurer, attorney gen
eral, superintendent of public
instruction and labor commis
sioner passed their first tests
in the House without much
problem.
Miscellaneous - The track
has been cleared of many con
troversial issues. Apparently
dead for this session were bills
to curb trading stamps and
advertising dentists, provide a
Three-Way workmen's com
pensation law, to keep the
governor from moving the
State Public Welfare commis
sion from Portland to Salem,
and to shorten the Capitol
Mall by some three blocks.
The welfare move issue took
its death rap from the gover
nor who used his veto power
for the first time last week.
He also vetoed a bill which i cal party conventions from en
would have prohibited politi-1 dorsing candidates.
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