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Show y THE SAN JUAN RECORD Wednesday iFebruary 26, 1986 Page -- 2 School funding up by 196 percent Utah has provided increases . in education funding over the last 10 years which surpasses student growth and inflation combined, according to the Utah Taxpayers Association. While student enrollments have jumped 27 percent and the Consumer Price Index has increased 97 percent, total school spending in Utah has jumped 196 percent, the tax watchdog organization reported. The UTA said it challenges the reports of the Utah Education Association and other school special interests which have portrayed education funding in Utah as declining and inadequate. They point to statistics about our growing student population, and claim that the state legislature has not provided adequate funds to keep up with this growth. They refuse that to acknowledge Utah allocates a greater percentage of state and local spending to education than any other state. Utah spends 45 percent of combined state and local budgets on education while the 50 state average is only 35 percent, the group reported. This is what happened tween 1975 afid 1985: be- Student enrollments have increased from 306,388 to 390,141 or 27 percent. The number of classroom teachers jumped from 12,521 to 16,229 or 30 percent. The Consumer Price Index (inflation) moved from 166.3 to 327.4 or 97 percent. Total instructional costs skyrocketed from $180 million to $520 million or 189 percent. Instructional costs per stu- dent in average daily attendance advanced from $628 to $1,419 or 126 percent. Total annual school operating costs jumped from $275 million to $790 million or 187 percent. Total operating costs per student in average daily attendance went from $960 to $2,154 or 124 percent. Total spending, including capital outlay and debt service, climbed from $357.9 million to $1.06 billion or 196 percent. School property taxes have increased from $108 million to $363 million or 235 percent. School employee Kindergarten children having fun developing perceptual motor skills in Linda Shumway s class. Courtesy photo Learning perceptual motor skills by Peter Henderson Linda Shumway, who teach- es kindergarten at Albert R. Lyman Elementary School in Blanding, is very pleased with the improvement children in her class are making with their perceptual motor skills. The program she is using is titled Perceptipn Motor Development and offers children a wide variety of experiences including basic movements, balancing and rhythm activities. Bean bags, hoops, ropes, balls, balance beams, ramps, tires, and parachutes are part of the equipment she uses in teaching. The program is based on the premise that children need to move and explore and that the interaction between the child and the stimulant produces appropriate forms of expression. As a child begins to walk, he spends a large part of his time learning to control his movements. As children become more skillful, they become more confident in the control of their bodies. Shumway believes that as children add one small success or skill to another, they become alert, confident and sharing individuals. Parental job stress and children Although most parents report that their job stresses have no negative effect on their children, the children disagree. At least thats what a Yale researcher found after studying 83 working class families for three years, reports USU cooperative extension service. Boys were reported to be more vulnerable to the job related stresses their parents bring home. They are more likely to suffer upper respiratory problems, depression, low selfesteem and difficulties with their peers. On the positive side, when mothers work in satisfying At every opportunity I watched the two little boys in their quest for knowledge. They were ever seeking answers for this problem or that, and wanting to know the whys and wherefores of many things thay came in contact with. They would query anyone available to find out: Where does the wind come from? Why is the sky blue? How does a bumblebee fly? What makes an apple red? But as time came by it became apparent, in my infrequent encounters with the little fellows, that there was quite a difference between the two in their determination to acquire the knowledge they sought. They both had many questions, and were anxious to learn the answers, but that seemed to fill the need for one of the boys. When the answers came he was content to move on to something else. Not so with the second, a simple answer would not do. He wanted to know all the details of who, why, when , where and how. He would spend hours contemplating the direction and sound of the wind and its impact on those things affected by its force. Or he would watch the sky, taking note of the varying shades of blue and the conditions that might affect them. Peoples answers were often unsatisfactory, so he gleaned understanding from his own observations and experiments. When he started school and was introduced to reading, he jobs, there is no negative effect on children. In fact, sons benefit, according to the Yale research. The more their mother worked, the more support the boys received from their fathers and the higher their ratings of Mothers absence may offer the opportunity for father to be with his son more and provide a strong bond. This study shows that the interaction of work and family life is complex. Parents may be able to help their children if they are more sensitive to how their jobs affect their childrens realized how many doors it could open for him. He was enthralled with the prospects CLASSIC and took full advantage of the opportunities it offered. With such and insatiable thirst for knowledge he needed no teacher to offer him challenges or help him over stumbling blocks, for those in themselves were challenges to him. His only need was for guidance in the right direction. But it was a different situation for the first boy. He enjoyed learning, but he was content to slide by with what came easily. His need was for a teacher, a real teacher, who would make the challenges and exciting vistas of accomplishment seem worth whatever effort it took to achieve them. I enjoy learning, its an exciting thing for me, but I definitely do not have the driving desire to overcome all obstacles to learn the things Id like to know. I have been blessed with some real teachers so that I learned, sometimes in spite of myself. Ive tried to analyze what it is that sets apart the real teachers from those not in that category. Ive come to the conclusion that, aside from the knowledge of the subject they teach, they share certain characteristics or attributes. They are sincere, dedicated, and each has, though not always readily discernible, the ability to care for and to really love people. I am indebted to and greatful for the real teachers who enriched my life. Thanks to the California gold rush, thousands of travelers in the 1850s crossed Nicaragua, first boating up Rio San Juan and across Lake Nicaragua, then going by coach isthmus across the that divides the lake from the Pacific, says National Geographic. Wed, Feb 26 ($1 nite) 101 Damnations 7 pm Head Office 9 pm (last nite) Thur, Feb 27 self-estee- 7 pm 101 Damnations r Sat Feb 28, 29 Damnations (Sat last nite) . . Fri, 10 7 pm 9 pm Troll Tue, March 4 7 pm Troll No Show Monday Wednesday $1 Nite SAN JUAN THEATER BLANDING lives. ""The San Juan Record retire- ment contributions paid by taxpayers have jumped from $18.4 million to $58.8 million or 219 percent. Average teacher salaries have increased from $10,056 to $21,170 or 111 percent, and this does not include some of the recent career ladder salary increases. - i Published weekly at Monticello, Utah, 84535. Second class postage paid at Monticello, Utah Address changes: The San Juan Record is a member of the Utah Press Association. (USPS 480-400- ). Box 879, Monticello, Utah. PUBLISHERS J. Martin I. Adams SUBSCRIPTION RATES MONTICELLO .... Monday Family Kite $8 . Wednesday $1 Kite Closed Thursday . |