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Civic Empowerment
"Let's tell young people
the best books are yet to be written; the best painting, the best government,
the best of everything is yet to be done by them." John Erskine,
US educator, musician, novelist, 20th century
HOW A TEEN STUNNED THE
CITY COUNCIL
It was a moment of profound
silence at the city-council meeting. Two of the city councilors, who had
been whispering to each other intermittently during the
meeting, stopped, strained, and when comprehension sank in, stared at one
another.
The police chief, sitting
in the "pit" below the semicircular council table, sat up in his chair
and looked quietly up at the mayor, hoping for a statement to cue him on
a position to take.
A perennial gadfly, who sat
in the front row of the public area, gave a clap and a stomp, and chuckled
in delight. There was a low buzz from the audience and
whispers from the high schoolers who had accompanied the speaker to this
meeting.
The speaker was Desafi'a
Pobeda. The mayor had thought, "What a strange name", but had not placed
any ominous significance to the name until a note was
passed to her: "Her name translates to 'challenge' in Spanish and 'victory'
in Russian". Now the mayor began to think otherwise.
In a bold, imaginative, and
by many accounts, totally impractical move, Desafi'a, a high-school sophomore,
had proposed a policy which had delighted some, irritated others, and made
yet others nervous. Desafi'a had come with two sets of paper. One set she
had given to The city clerk to pass to the city councilors. "I have a petition
here signed by four hundred students at our high school and by four hundred
of their parents."
"We are aware that in our
city a quarter million dollars is spent every year to clean up graffiti.
We are aware that most of this damage is caused by teenagers
and young adults, and that the problem is not going away. If anything,
with fewer resources, this problem is becoming worse."
"We, the petitioners, propose
to start a community-based program run by teenagers to reduce graffiti.
We ask for no funds, but, for every dollar saved every
month, compared with the same month last year, we ask our city to direct
fifty cents to us, so that we continue our work, donate
to school programs, and reward cooperating teenagers for a job well done."
"Through our program, not
only do we intend to reduce graffiti through education and positive peer
pressure, but, also, we will set up an alternative to our
burdened juvenile court system, so that offenses be dealt with quickly
and we discourage repeat offenses."
"The bottom line is that,
if we do not succeed, our city loses no funds, because no funds are asked
upfront."
From where I sat in the public
area, I saw a grimace on the face of the city administrator. As a traditional
policymaker, she did not like the idea of sharing
city money with residents, no matter that the money was, ultimately, the
property of the populace. One city councilor, realizing the
implication of what Desafi'a said, commented, "Our city does contract for
private services. Are you looking to start a business and get a contract?"
Desafi'a refused to be fit
into the traditional mold. "Not quite," was her reply. "We are starting
a community program, not business, and, yes, we do want to
get a contract. From our share of the money saved, instead of pay for employees
and profit for the owner, we will pay our expenses
and put money into our community."
This was becoming a bureaucrat's
nightmare--an all too reasonable assertion of resident rights. Had I not
been looking at the city administrator, I would not
have noticed the body language from her to the mayor, then from the mayor
to the city attorney. The city attorney reacted quickly. "Minors may not
enter into contracts. Your proposal is laudable, but our city cannot contract
with you."
Nobody in the city council
or among the staff in the pit had noticed that a prominent local attorney,
whose son was among the group of teenagers in attendance, had signed the
petition. Although the attorney was not at the city-council meeting, it
became apparent that he had been consulted
before the meeting. An adult stood up in the public area:
"Our sons and daughters and
we have formed a corporation. The adults will sign a contract with the
city and supervise as our sons and daughters plan and run
the program. While we are not a public charity, we are not a for-profit
corporation, either."
The director of public works
stood up to make a last stand for the city. "Think of the jobs which will
be lost. You will be taking away jobs." The mayor looked
at Desafi'a as if hoping that the city had just checkmated the young woman.
The adult who had spoken
had sat down, so Desafi'a provided an answer to the director. It was apparent
now that her group had rehearsed with questions
and answers to one another, as Desafi'a's reply came without delay: "The
impact will be minimal. The city will spend less on supplies
and equipment, and personnel will be reassigned to other priorities. In
fact, we are willing to allocate a portion of the money which
we receive for city personnel who lose hours through our program to earn
some of it through involvement in youth programs."
The mayor looked down and
flipped through the petition pages. Eight hundred signatures. Those signatures
would be the first wave in a larger petition to place an initiative on
the ballot to authorize the program. A delaying tactic would serve only
to anger residents.
The mayor made her decision.
"I make a motion to adopt the proposal. I direct the police chief to meet
with representatives of the petitioners and to come to council in one month
with a plan for implementation."
There was a second. The motion
passed four to nothing, with one abstention. The abstaining city councilor
was concerned because he would lose money through
the proposal, as he had the concession on selling exterior paint to cover
over the graffiti on Whittier Boulevard.
This story is meant to presage,
not pretend. In other words, if you like the idea, pursue it. If you choose
to pursue the idea, contact the public charity
Optimizing National Education, one@pacerpost.com , and mention this story.
The charity will help you.
"We live in an age when to
be young and to be indifferent can be no longer synonymous. We must prepare
for the coming hour. The claims of the Future are represented by suffering
millions; and the Youth of a Nation are the trustees of Posterity." Benjamin
Disraeli, English novelist, politician, reformer, 19th century
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Education News
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New Survey of California Teachers
Reveals Serious Problems in Classrooms, Starkly Unequal Conditions for
African American, Latino Students, and Broad Teacher Support for Transferring
More Control, Accountability from Districts to Schools
Fifty Years After Brown
vs. Board of Education, Students of Color
Still Denied Equal Opportunity
to Quality Education in California
Los Angeles, CA— As the 50th
anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling approaches, a new
Louis Harris survey of teachers across California, commissioned by the
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, offers a sobering look directly from
the classrooms: the public school system is struggling with textbooks shortages,
overcrowded classrooms, run-down facilities and a serious shortage of qualified
teachers. This crisis is especially bleak in schools with high concentrations
of African American and Latino students.
“This report from the
front lines is sobering: for school children, the California Dream is more
like a daily nightmare of crumbling, infested buildings, unqualified teachers
and missing textbooks,” said pollster Louis Harris, who directed the survey
of 1,056 teachers with the Peter Harris Research Group. “Huge numbers of
schools are failing to hire and keep qualified teachers. Textbooks are
so scarce kids can’t even take them home to do their homework. Classrooms
are severely overcrowded, and the buildings themselves are crumbling and
infested with rats and cockroaches.”
Harris noted that these trends
are magnified at California schools with a high concentration of African
American and Latino students. Compared to schools attended by mostly white
students, these schools are:
11 times more likely to have
a high percentage of under-qualified teachers; 73 percent more likely to
have evidence of cockroaches, rats or mice;74 percent more likely to
lack textbooks for students to use for homework;
·
More than 3 times more likely to report that teacher turnover is a serious
problem; and
·
Twice as likely that teachers rate the working conditions in their school
as “only fair” or “poor.”
“Fifty years ago, Brown v.
Board of Education promised a fair and equal opportunity to learn for every
American child,” said John Rogers, Associate Director of UCLA’s Institute
for Democracy, Education & Access (IDEA), who provided additional analysis
of Harris’s findings with funding from the Hewlett Foundation. “This survey
reveals that, here in California, this promise is being broken every day
and it’s African-American and Latino students whose opportunities to learn
suffer most.”
Based on the survey results,
researchers estimate that about 2 million California students attend public
schools without the essential tools for learning: textbooks to take home
and a school building free of vermin. One million students attend schools
unable to attract and retain an adequate number of qualified teachers.
Among the survey’s other findings:
Over half (54 percent) of
science teachers report that they do not have enough equipment and materials
necessary to do science lab work, such as lab stations, lab tools and materials.
Half of social studies teachers
report that they do not have enough maps, atlases, and reference materials
for their students to use or take home.
Nearly a third (32 percent)
of teachers who use textbooks report that there are not enough copies of
textbooks for all students to take home.
·
Nearly a third (29 percent) of teachers report that they have seen evidence
of cockroaches, rats, or mice in their school.
·
Thirty-nine percent of teachers rate their facilities as only fair or poor.
Conditions in the classroom
have deteriorated in many areas since 2002 when Harris conducted a similar
poll, despite the increased emphasis on accountability through standardized
testing mandated by the federal and California governments.
For the first time, the survey
also shows that two-thirds of California’s teachers support a new proposal
being discussed in Sacramento that would improve public schools by setting
budgets based on individual student needs and giving local schools both
authority and accountability, not only for student achievement but also
for the opportunities the school provides for teaching and learning.
The Harris survey, conducted
between February 12 and March 7, 2004, consisted of 1056 telephone interviews
with teachers in California. Additional analysis was provided by the Institute
for Democracy, Education, & Access (IDEA) at the University of California
at Los Angeles. IDEA is a premier expert on California’s K-12 education
system.
According to further analysis
by UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education, & Access, Los Angeles
County schools with 90 percent or more students of color are 2.5 times
more likely than schools with a majority of white students to experience
3 to 4 of the following critical opportunity problems:
Quality Teaching: More than
20 percent of a school’s teachers lack a full credential Stable Staff: Teachers report
that turnover is a problem, positions can’t be filled, or school has difficulty
finding substitutes Essential Instructional
Materials: Teachers report a lack of textbooks and materials in their classroom,
insufficient textbooks for students to take home, or lack of access to
fully useable computer Adequate and Safe Facilities:
The state identifies a school as critically overcrowded, or teachers rate
their facility as poor or only fair, or report evidence of cockroaches,
rats, and mice.
Southern California schools
outside of Los Angeles County with 90 percent or more students of color
are 3.4 times more likely to experience 3 to 4 of the above problems compared
to schools with a majority of white students.
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Lincoln High School Class of 1964 is holding its' 40th reunion on October 16, 2004 at the Pasadena Sheraton. Tickets are $75/person. We are looking for alumni from that era including classes of 1963 and 1965 to attend this event. Is it possible to post this type of information in your webpage. For further information, you may contact me thru email at ACALDERETE @ AOL.com.
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Health News
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Spotlight
Journey of a Dream
American Family returns
on PBS, April 4
By Lynn Elbers
At a theater screening of
''American Family,'' creator Gregory Nava got the reaction he wanted -
and the one he hopes to draw from TV viewers.
The audience of about 900
weighed in as two characters, a pro-Iraq War father and his anti-war daughter,
exchanged angry words about the conflict in which another relative is serving.
''They went crazy. Some people
supported Jess and they were applauding him,'' Nava recalled. ''Some people
supported Nina and they were applauding her. You could see the division
in the country right there in the audience.''
When the argument ended in
a seemingly irreparable rift between the two, ''the theater turned stone
silent,'' Nava said.
That told him he had made
his point.
''Because that's really what
the show is about. The show's not about the politics of it, it's about
the human emotion and how that affects people,'' he said. ''Here are these
two people that love each other and they're going to be torn apart by political
events.''
Using real events as a catalyst
for the second season of PBS' ''American Family,'' about a Mexican-American
clan in East Los Angeles, made sense to Nava.
In fact, he's confounded
by how television and pop culture in general steadfastly ignore the world's
cauldron of conflict.
''Here we are in one of the
most momentous changes the country's gone through since World War II and
all of our lives are being changed forever,'' he said.
Artists have an obligation
to address that, said Nava, who speaks with the same vibrant enthusiasm
and openness that infuses his work.
''It's something that people
in the country need because that's something that drama's about, right?
It's to entertain us, but in doing that to help us get through what's going
on. It needs to be a healing experience, doesn't it?''
''Me, personally, I couldn't
see it any other way. I have a family, an American family, and this is
what American families are going through right now. It was obvious.''
Nava gained attention as
a writer-director in 1984 with the acclaimed ''El Norte,'' about oppressed
Guatemalan teenagers seeking haven in the United States. In his varied
career, he has written and directed ''Selena'' and wrote the screenplay
for ''Frida.''
''American Family,'' Nava's
rare television foray, reaches back in 13 new episodes (debuting 7 p.m.
EST Sunday) to relate the history of the Gonzalez family as well its present-day
joys and sorrows.
With a year's gap between
the first and second seasons, Nava uses a Los Angeles wedding scene to
reintroduce the characters of the saga, which also takes place in Iraq
and revolutionary-era Mexico.
Edward James Olmos (''Miami
Vice,'' ''Stand and Deliver'') stars as family patriarch Jess Gonzalez,
along with Constance Marie (''The George Lopez Show'') as activist daughter
Nina and Yancey Arias (''Kingpin'') as eldest son Conrado, an Army doctor.
Esai Morales (''NYPD Blue''),
Rachel Ticotin (''Total Recall'') and young Parker Torres play other Gonzalez
children, with Raquel Welch upping the series' glamour quotient as Aunt
Dora.
Sonia Braga is another family
member, an ephemeral one: Her character, Jess' wife, died last season.
That's part of the Latin American literary tradition of magical realism
infusing the drama, and which Nava calls true to the tone of such novels
as ''One Hundred Years of Solitude'' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
''If you take the hard social
reality out of it, it just becomes like a fairy tale type of thing,'' he
said of the art form, which can open ''the doors to the past'' and fuse
it with the present.
''We start to question what
this country's about. What are we going to do, what's our future going
to be?''
Nava tips his hat to another
literary lion, Charles Dickens, as an inspiration. Dickens detailed society's
shortcomings in novels including ''Oliver Twist'' and published them in
serialized form.
As Nava sees it, ''American
Family'' is a complete tale, a movie offered up in 13 parts. Does that
mean the series itself, the first broadcast drama about a Hispanic family,
is over after two seasons?
''Obviously, anything can
be continued,'' said Jacoba Atlas, PBS' co-chief programming executive
who doesn't preclude a third year if the creative and financial stars align.
''This is a very rich family experience and Greg is a very creative person.
But there is a conclusion to this storytelling.''
Originally published by AP
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Technology News
Hispanics Going Online In Record Numbers
According To America Online/Roperasw's
First Annual U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy Landmark Study, Hispanic Online Consumers
Are More Active Than General Market in Online Entertainment Activities
including Downloading Music Files, Listening to Music Online,
Watching Video Clips Communication
Key with Hispanics Sending/Receiving Photos and More Using Online Instant
Messaging
* The size of the online
Hispanic population is growing rapidly, with nearly half of those surveyed
(48%) having first gone online at home in the past two
years - compared to 21% for total U.S. online consumers.
* Hispanic consumers report
spending more time online than total U.S. online consumers - nearly 10
hours a week at home (9.5) vs. 8.4 hours for all U.S. online consumers and 13.8 hours a week at work vs. 9.6 hours for all U.S. online
consumers.
* Hispanics surveyed spend
16% more time online per week (15.7 hours home/work combined*) vs. total
US online adults (13.5 hours home/work combined). Hispanics surveyed spend
12% more time online per week from home (9.5 vs. 8.4 total US online adults)
and 44% more time online per week from work (13.8 vs. 9.6 total US online
adults).
* Hispanic online consumers
surveyed want bilingual online service -- with 83% saying access to English
content is very or somewhat important, and
58% saying the same of Spanish content.
To see the full article,
click:
Web Site
Luis E. Rodriguez
Access Technology Coordinator
Centro Cultural of Washington
Co.
<www.centrocultural.org>
Ph (503) 359-1106
Fax(503) 357-0183
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