Jefferson High: Many ideas, no agreement

Source: The Oregonian

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Proposals for Jefferson High School bring educational racism, elitism and "blame the victim" to a whole new level.

No Child Left Behind made it possible for those being denied a [satisfactory] education at their neighborhood schools to transfer to different schools. Susan Nielsen's Sunday opinion piece, "Last chance for Jefferson" (Jan. 8), pointed out that students have left Jefferson in large numbers.

Poor and minority children are most often faced with the least effective instruction and poor curriculum in their neighborhood schools. Research also shows that, unlike children from more affluent families, poor children do not have the advantages of private tutors for reading and math, trips to the museum, vacations to experience the wider world, and so on, to generate awareness of life's possibilities.

A simple conclusion from all the research might be to provide poor and minority children the most effective instruction, preparing them for ever-more challenge and rigor as they progress through school.

Provide opportunities to experience museums, performances, classes and trips that may otherwise be out of reach due to resource constraints.

Learning [is taking] a back seat to superficialities such as the proposed uniforms and separating the sexes.

DEBORAH L. ANDREWS, Oak Grove