Show The MrroM Joi"nvi Ip si" Uh' Sp'U'iv Ji'npP IW6- - ? Educator says IQ tests unfair to Indian cliildren By Linda Keith USU lnprmaticn Services If a fire breaks out in your house what should you do first? This is a tj pical question to be found on any of the standardized achie ement or IQ tests used in the United States The correct answer is B: “Run to a neighbor's house and call the fire department" Rickjr is a Native American who has lived all his life on the Navajo lands of northern Aritona southern Utah and northwestern New Mexico “B" never occurred to Ricky Eight-year-ol- d because: ta) he doesn't have a telephone tb) he lives tw c miles from the nearest neighbor tc ) there isn't a fire department w ithin 95 miles of his house Daily experiences play a bis part in how well a child does on standardi?cd tests says Carolyn Martin a Navajo Indian who has spent the past five years learning turn to do something about the problem of administering "white man's" tests to Native American children Martin became aware of the need for native American diagnosticians in 1981 while she was working as a special education coordinator for the child development agency in the remote Borrego Pass School in New Mexico “We didn't have any qualified Navajo diagnosticians to test children who weren't doing well in school People from outside were diagnosing our students and their findings weren't valid" Martin says "How can you test a child with the Stanford-Bine- t intelligence test when the child can't even speak the language?" Having her eyes opened to what she believes is a serious void in services on the reservation led Martin to enroll in a new master's degree program she saw advertised by the department of psychology at Utah State University While continuing to work In this tiny northwestern New Mexico town Martin took the first step toward filling that void Five years later she is the first of the original 18 students enrolled to complete the program She graduated Saturday ‘How can you test a child with the Stanford-Bine- t intelligence test when the child can’t even speak the language?’ With funding from the US Office of Education USU offered a master's program at the Navajo Community College in Tsaile Arlz to train people in the diagnosis and referral of Navajo children w ith special education needs The Tsaile campus was home base for students who travel up to 200 miles to attend class and equally as far to work in a school clinic or group home to gain practical experience The Many like Carolyn worked full time at other jobs students spent summers at the campus in northern Utah campus Carolyn brought her daughter Khristina with her "Khristina attended summer school at Edith Bowen ta laboratory school on campus) from the time she was 6 years old It was good for her to experience university-operate- d different religions to use computers take piano lessons and go swimming every week Those were things she couldn't do at home" her mother points out The USU based director of the project for the past year is Carol Barcus a member of the Blackfeet Nation from a reservation near Glacier National Tark ir Montana Barcus spent six years as a mental health specialist and administrator of the health center at lntermountain Tribal School in Brigham City Utah She concurs with Martin: "We use standardized achievement or IQ tests as a place to begin Our students go back to their own area to rewrite questions into native language and to establish the guidelines tor testing children from a particular tribe or culture "The skill of diagnosiuc children with problems comes from For example" Darcu says ‘it would be observation considered very impolite for an Indian child to look directly at the adult administering a lest Unless the tester knows the culture he or she might draw the wrong conclusion about why the child refuses to make eye contact " In the case of Kicky a diagnostician might conclude that he is sullen or painfully shy whereas he is actually using his best manners and try ing to make a good impression Unless Native Americans redefine what is "normal" for the population they serve Barcus points out they cannot make proper diagnoses of learning problems and pi escribe Ihe best therapy "We are just beginning to cet a large enough pool of Native Americans who can begin bachelor's degree-leve- l are very short of trained specialized training" she added staff and have no shortage el jobs w ailing to be filled" Some el the positions awaiting trained diagnosticians are in public schools Bureau of Indian Affairs schools contract schools on reservations and in Indian Health Services clinics and hospitals "Carolyn is tenacious and bright ti c fact that she is the first to finish the program speaks well lor her1 Karens says "She speaks Navajo very well and has fcncivvid well in the while man's culture She already i usrc bet expertise to improve education on the resen alien" Martin presently is working for the I'niversity of Oregon health sciences department on a longitudinal research project in Fort Defiance and Borrego 1'ass to determine why some Indian children fall behind in grade lev el each ear “Is it the school the teacher or is it self concept and the heme situation"" Mattin asks 'e She has the insight into the crltvu and a valid contribution to this roeuch environment to make Hr expertise is in high demand throughout the Navajo nation and she frequently works with children and school disiticis to identify learning problems from a Navajo point of view Martin is the daughter of Alberta and Carl Thomas of Bed Va'ley Ari and daughter make their She and her husband Hamo home in Crow npoi'P N M Reagan's task foree erltos complaints on liS hunger WASHINGTON tUPI) -Cabout the governomplaints ment's poor job of monitoring Americans' nutritional status go back at least to 1969 and President Reagan's hunger task force is echoing the criticism years later The House 15 Agriculture Committee vowed Thursday to try to rectify the problem by sending the full House legislation to coordinate scattered federal efforts to monitor nutrition and hunger in America The measure approved without dissent is a response to complaints that federal efforts to collect dietary and nutritional information are untimely and give too little attention to high-risgroups Rep George Brown said several hundred million dollars are spent on nutrition monitoring but “we don't see the results from it that we think we ought to get for that amount k if of money" on "We've had annual hearings th:s problem for seven years' hesad "The situation right new is said Rep " chaos Facetu lif the House Leon chairman of Agriculture sub- committee that handles nutrition programs "Every time we deal with the hunger issue over snd over again there are con" flicting reports Parer a said there are IS different gov emmeut studies on nutrition and neither the Agriculture Department nor the Health and Human Services Department can keep track of all of them The bill would establish a plan with continuous morvtorxg of nutritional status and an annual nutritional re10-ye- ar It port publication guidelines In also of a would require federal dietary White House con- ference recommenced im- plementing ' na- comprehensive cutriror monitoring tion a ('hi Omegnn amII attend comention The 4f:h biennis! convention Omega Fraternity at the Cameitick Inn in ScotArea tsdale Arir Jure 2 Ch: Oregans who will amend are Christine Eliott chapter presinent Jori Atcersc-pledge trainer: Party Halaufia advisor an: Lee Ann Pcwers advisor According :: Chris Eliott local CL Omega spokesperson of Ch: e 17-2- n speakers from across the a variety and special country will conduct of workshops training sessions She said Ch: Omega is die women's largest raiirnai !6£ fraternity with collegiate chapters in 42 ‘"ares and ever Of slur use chapters nationwide The organization irvoive: ir philanthropic deavors an: make many is en- con- tributions to soo t service projects according to Eliott Chi graduate and Omega offer undergraduate scholarships as veil as leadership training Local chapters have presenteu dotations v various organirariors in the Logan area sessions 752-212- 1 NEWSPAPER POWER GO FOR (7 |