Show r r c tI ii t Notes ute Dr nr Wayne lly By Reid Held Superintendent Does your child know the basics Too frequently we attempt to solve today's problems with yesterdays yesterday's solutions Some values never change and hopefully never will But the world around us changes Consider for a moment that probably only third one-third of the population can personally remember World War II that only one one fourth fourth of us can remember the Great Depression and perhaps only eight or nine people in a hundred hundred hun hun- dred can recall World War I I. I In America today our worlds are many and are often very dif dif- lerent ferent THE TILE CHILDREN in today's Uintah schools have never lived in a world without television telephones automobiles transcontinental transcontinental tr tr- tr jets or rock music The public is saying schools should return to the basics from coast to coast This emphasis is supported by many teachers and justifiably for if we fail faU to help students master basic skills we will have made a mockery of education There are those however who argue Are basic skills of the media age different in form than those of the era before books were in competition with television before the written word was challenged by the telephone and before arithmetic arithmetic arithmetic arith arith- was almost replaced by bythe bythe bythe the pocket calculator We must redefine basic skills in terms of our changing world and we must teach those essential skills that will contribute contribute contribute con con- tribute to a fulfilling responsible responsible responsible sible and productive life in the twenty first century as well as asIn asin asin in this last quarter of the twentieth century I believe these skills still include reading writing arithmetic arithmetic- the hearts arts and personal discipline b e t sound values They may take different forms and they will certainly have to be taught with different methods that relate to the realities of today's world but they are still basic and the back to the basics movement can be a big step forward for education the nation and the children whose lives we hold in trust TillS THIS BACK to the basics emphasis must not become converted into a fad with bandwagons rolling for it and battlewagons rumbling against it and public debates conducted on MI it If this happens we will all get let bored and with boredom this regressive progressive ve movement will billow willow behind us use The teaching of the basic reading and writing skills is after all ail something that can and should be maintained throughout all the fads experiments experiments ex trials and efforts we suffer on public education Reading skills are seen as basic to all the rest in the Uintah School District One needs to kno know how to comprehend sentences pronounce correctly read to interpret history correctly read to understand times tables etc At school reading is being emphasized and not at the exclusion of the secondary schools either The schools however need the parental help in having their children read at home instead of spending as much time watching television Even h hour a 3 night would be encouraging encouraging en en- and provide terrific returns upon your investment NATIONAL tests have illustrated a basic monstrous educational problem Simply stated students the nation over just cant can't read as well as they used to It has become a national disgrace disgracer In addition employers constantly provide complaints The Uintah School District has gone on record demanding a philosophy to emphasize reading and the basics throughout the school system Our public can rest assured we dont don't want the national statistics to disgrace our fine educational system and more importantly to harm the youngsters who mean so much to us Our Board of Education might be more clearly understood understood un un- un if you know they emphasize the ABC ap ap- ap- ap Simply stated this is accountability to the public for forthe forthe forthe the nl e e il t t i ser f H ren secondly an emphasis upon upon upon up up- on the basic skills and a testing throughout our system to make certain we are getting the job done and finally career education wherein the child learns more than just information information information in in- formation about various jobs but learns study habits manners manners manners man man- ners etiquette ego building and self salesmanship The Board of Education encourages your input into our school system A series of PT PTA PTA- A- A meetings have been arranged to better inform you about our school system and to discuss your feelings about the present building program under consideration These schools are yours and we want your input h h I 3 x J e fig A A AYEARS A YEARS AGO the world of 0 education tried an experiment Flash cards replaced phonics and we reaped a crop of kids who could neither read nor spell John Keyser In the third grade at Maeser Elementary will not foil fall into this category thanks to Back to the Basics |