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PPS Puts Black Teacher on Leave
Stay strong, Erica Jones, you display an inner strength and sound like an excellent teacher ["The Recruit," WW, Oct. 7, 2015].
Unfortunately, you were a victim of an increasingly worrisome trend in education to lower the bar of expectation where everyone succeeds regardless of achievement or effort. Kudos to you for not playing that game. Portland Public Schools continues to produce students ill-prepared for the real world, but, wow, do they ever feel good about themselves!
Teachers get beat upon (figuratively, of course) regularly over various issues, but I believe that most simply want to help kids grow and succeed. Until administrators (and voters) remove the social-engineering aspect out of education, this lunacy will continue with the same results. Sadly, I don't see that change coming anytime soon and, honestly, think it will advance further before improving.
The "Keep Portland Weird" slogan was meant as a joke; to many it has become a way of life.
—"Clayman"
Thank you, Erica Jones, for sharing your experience. It's not always easy to do, and I'm sorry PPS was such a poor employer to you. Hearing stories like this will hopefully bring some accountability to the PPS human resources and administration teams.
—"nw.mc"
This is even messier than it looks. Another factor influencing the behavioral issues that teachers like Ms. Jones dealt with is that PPS has quietly and without the public knowing disbanded most behavioral-contained classrooms where children who need more and specialized behavioral support can receive it.
General-education classrooms are being held hostage, and teachers are given an impossible job. In the past couple of years due to this policy change, classrooms have been flooded with children who need things they are not getting and who are abusing others in the process. Between that and the no-discipline policy, it's Lord of the Flies.
—Dana Brenner-Kelley
As a former Portland black resident, I would have warned this black teacher to stay clear of PPS and Portland, period. It is the whitest [major] city in America, and its school system was not designed for inclusion but exclusion—for white students to succeed and nonwhites to fail.
The district's handling of black students especially continues to worsen. PPS has no interest in these students succeeding.
I am so grateful I no longer live there.
—Boss Amanishakhete
As a fifth-grade teacher in a smaller public district in Portland, the fact that Ms. Jones' transition into PPS was not a smooth one doesn't surprise me at all. There is a lot of talk about how we need a more racially diverse staff, how beneficial it would be for our students of color to have at least a few teachers who are not white, but the reality is that we may not be ready for the culture clash that would result.
We might assume that nonwhite teachers hold similar views about how to best talk to kids and manage kids' behavior, but both communication and discipline look and sound very different depending on race, culture, even geographic location.
—"An observer"
Rent Hike at City-Owned Apartment
Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention ["A Part of the Problem," WW, Oct. 7, 2015]. I hope the people who were already displaced at Headwaters Apartments will receive some kind of compensation from the city.
And I hope the individuals who are responsible for the mysterious rent hike are set straight and given more oversight in the future. The average person cannot comfortably absorb a 20 percent rent increase, whether they live on a fixed income or not.
Greed may be the prevailing force in the open market, but this is totally unacceptable in public/social/subsidized housing.
—Chloe Eudaly
"Mayor Charlie Hales…pledged $20 million in city money to fund shelters and affordable housing."
Let's be clear: If you fund it, it's not "affordable" housing, it's public housing, which has not worked out well anywhere.
—"Gnuut"
School Choirs and Religion
So, why should we force non-Christian or non-Catholic children to choose between maintaining their faith and performing with their friends and fellow choir members? [Murmurs: "No More Preaching to the Choir," WW, Oct. 7, 2015.]
That doesn't seem very fair, and saying "it's a tradition" isn't a valid reason.
—"Dutchess"
Oh, please. It's a school choral program. No parent lets their kid join a choir just to sing secular music. Educated parents are aware of this.
—"Singerar"
Portland Pizza War
This is a bummer for Slice owner Adam Huskey [Starters: "Two Slices," WW, Oct. 7, 2015].
The pizza shop also called Slice in the Zipper food pod has pretty poor-quality pizza, especially considering the price.
I can see why Huskey wants to disassociate his business from it, but the damage is done.
He should call his spot Homeslice—[the name he registered his business with the state]. It's a good name anyway.
—"Bill Lumberg"
Correction
Last week's review of Artist Repertory Theatre's Cuba Libre incorrectly identified the item the protagonist was bartering for in the "Barter Dance" scene. It was a trumpet, not a truck. WW regrets the error.
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