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Show C M C M Y K Y K A8 Sanpete Messenger-Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Wednesday, September 10, 2008 In the Interest of Children Education legislation By Courtney Syme North Sanpete School Superintendent Over the course of my career, back-toschool has become my favorite time of year. The opportunity to start anew with fresh goals and high expectations is affirming to me. The wonder and excitement in the faces of young students confirm the need to learn and know. The school season also provides a sense of structure and order in our society. Life settles into a more reasonable schedule. One poll even shows the public’s attitude toward public education is most favorable at this time of year. The beginning of a new school year brings with it an ongoing debate regarding the value of homework. Many parents feel that children are overburdened with homework while many educators see homework as a way to improve student achievement and mandated test scores. Two recent polls indicate that a majority of parents remain satisfied with education’s homework practices. A poll conduced for the Associated Press early in 2006 found that about 57 percent of parents felt that their child was assigned about the right amount of homework. Another 23 percent thought it was too little, and 19 percent thought it was too much. A Met Life survey in 2007 found that 87 percent of parents saw helping their children with homework as an opportunity to talk and spend time together. More than three-fourths (78 percent) did not think homework interfered with family time, and nearly as many (71 percent) thought it was not a source of major stress. But opinions cannot tell us if homework works; only research can. An analysis of dozens of homework studies conducted between 1987 and 2003 (Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006) suggests that homework can improve students’ scores on class tests that come at the end of a topic. Across five studies, the average student who did homework had higher unit test scores than students who did not do homework. However, many less rigorous (correlational) studies suggest little or no relationship between homework and achievement for elementary students. But the average correlation between time spent on homework and achievement was substantial for secondary students. Studies suggest that younger students who are struggling in school take more time to complete homework assignments simply because the assignment are difficult for them. It also could be that younger students have fewer fully developed study skills and might be more easily distracted. So, what does it mean and how much homework is appropriate? The National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the National Education Association (NEA) have a parents guide called “Helping Your Child Get the Most Out of Homework.” It states that homework for students in grades K-2 is more effective when it does not exceed 10-20 minutes each day; older students in grades 3-6 can handle 30-60 minutes a day; in junior and senior high, the amount of homework will vary by subject. Many high school students can expect about 30 minutes of homework for each academic course they take. These recommended times are supported in the analysis by Cooper. Some homework, appropriately structured, can help younger students build study skills. Ninety minutes seems to be enough for middle grades, while high school students may benefit up to a couple of hours of homework each night. Practice assignments do improve scores on class tests at all grade levels. It seems reasonable that homework has beneficial effects for student learning. The development of good study habits will serve students throughout their lives. It also provides the opportunity for learning beyond the school setting. One of the strongest points is the opportunity for parents to interact with their students about school and learning. I also think it is a powerful tool in helping young people to become responsible. Thirty plus years in education has led me to believe that homework can enhance student learning. In most classrooms students have the opportunity to complete a large portion of the assignments that become homework. The block schedules in the middle and high school in North Sanpete will undoubtedly provide additional time for students to complete assignments with teacher help and enhanced learning. Many students may have less homework. However, I continue to support appropriate homework as a valuable tool to build study habits, provide responsibility and self-discipline, and enhance student learning. Balance is the key. Homework should provide the opportunity for students to practice learned skills and explore emerging skills and knowledge. Homework should not create confusion or pressure on student learners. In the best case, students would appreciate homework for the opportunity to demonstrate learning and thinking. Parents should work with their student and teachers to find the most effective balance for the use of homework, keeping in mind that research confirms that homework does provide for better student achievement. The winning architect’s rendering of what Gunnison and Ephraim Elementary Schools will look like for entranceway. Board chooses outside design for two new elementary schools By Lloyd Call Associate Publisher GUNNISON—The South Sanpete School Board reviewed plans for the new elementary schools in Gunnison and Ephraim at its meeting Wednesday, Sept. 10. The board chose a modern entrance with an extension wall coming straight out, and a curved media center in the front. “It reminds me of an In-and-Out Burger building,” joked Paul Gottfredson, school administrator, who actually liked the design better than two others presented by the architects. Both Ephraim and Gunnison schools will have the same exterior, which will save costs in planning and construction. Now the board has the task of interviewing and hiring a construction manager-general contractor, while the architects work this next month with principals and teachers to design the interior details of the school. “The manager you choose will be critical,” Ross Wentworth of Wentworth and Associates told the board. “Hand-pick managers who have solid, quality experience behind them, and bring them on board as soon as you can,” he said. The board will put out request for proposals to construction companies to begin the bidding process. Now that site details, such as location of the schools themselves, parking arrangements, road and sidewalks, and in the case of Ephraim, a new access road, have been approved, the board can focus on interior design elements. “Just how open do you want your group activity room to be?” “Do you want translucent glass or open areas in extensive presentation by Tina Roberts and Lorna Larsen on the English as a second language (ESL) program. Roberts explained the progress the district has made over the last six years in training teachers and improving the language skills of students whose native language is not English. “We use a program called sheltered instruction, a three-year program, to emphasize English in all teaching,” Roberts said. “It is not just important to be able to communicate in English, but also to develop an academic depth of the language so students can succeed in higher educa—Paul Gottfredson jokes tion.” about new school design Students come to the (which he really does like). district at all ages, many speaking only Spanish, meeting areas?” were some and Roberts and Larsen exquestions the architects asked plained to the board the chalthe board to think about as the lenges such students face, and next steps in planning. the challenges teachers face in Both school sites have been overcoming those difficulties. carefully examined for function Board members expressed and safety, with separate bus and appreciation for the efforts of parent drop-off locations. Roberts and Larsen, and pledged The board also decided their support for the program. to start testing to see if either The board approved the or both schools can make use funding request for $20,000 and of geothermal heating, which another $10,000 for three more costs more to set up but yields years to buy instruments for economic savings in the future. the Gunnison Middle and High “Hopefully, both sites can School band programs. use this system,” said WentThe board also discussed a worth, adding that Ephraim plan to include local pharmacists would probably have more rocks in the district’s Medco mail order than Gunnison underneath the prescription package. school because the Ephraim site The board would like the is on an alluvial fan. “We can call plan to allow school employees it off if the future savings don’t to use and support local pharjustify the expense,” he said. macies when ordering medicaThe board then heard an tion. “” It reminds me of an In-and-Out Burger building War journalist says rights must be exercised to be retained EPHRAIM—It was difficult to miss the irony in Iraq-war veteran Marshall Thompson’s presentation last Thursday at Snow College’s weekly convocation. As might be expected on the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, Thompson, a native of Logan, spoke about the importance of the fight to protect American freedoms. But what was somewhat unexpected among audience members who did not know beforehand who Thompson was, the former Army journalist said the fight was misplaced. For him, his fellow Americans posed a greater risk to the free exercise of his rights than the Iraqis did. “Do you love freedom?” he asked those attending. “Think about the freedoms that you have, and particularly the freedoms that you’ve exercised. Who guarantees the Constitution? We do, and as we exercise those rights, we retain them.” Thompson related his own experience of trying to exercise those rights, particularly the right of free speech, after returning from the Iraq war. In the fall of 2006, Thompson walked the 500-mile length of Utah to bring attention to the message he brought home with him from Iraq in July of that year. That message was something many in Utah did not want to hear, especially from an Iraq vet: end the war and bring the troops home. And though Thompson shared that message at Snow’s convocation last week, his main focus was showing that the fight for freedom wouldn’t be won on foreign battlefields, but would be won as regular American citizens insist on their right to use that freedom at home. Prior to the war in Iraq, Thompson was serving in the Army in Kosovo. When called upon to serve in Iraq, he did so dutifully. “I didn’t like the war. I didn’t think they had weapons of mass destruction, so I didn’t understand why we’re there,” he said. As an Army journalist, he had opportunity to speak to many other soldiers, many of whom were conflicted about the U.S. presence in Iraq and their own roles personally. “The most frustrating thing I saw was that we had no clue what we were supposed to do. The insurgents were all Iraqi, so were we supposed to attack the Iraqis or protect them?” he said. He was also aware of an apparent flip-flop in U.S. policy toward detainees. In Kosovo, he said, the U.S. went to great lengths to see that enemy detainees were not mistreated in any way, sometimes even sacrificing their own meals so that prisoners could eat. Such was not the case in Iraq, he said. “What a couple years ago seemed completely un-American, was now okay to do.” He cited among other things the infamous example of Abu Grhaib prison, the media coverage of which “just touched the surface,” he said. Also, he saw that the U.S. occupation “is a terrible burden for the Iraqi people,” he said. At a farewell send-off for him as he finished his year of duty, he was happily grinning as he talked of going home. But then another soldier said to him starkly, “When you go home, please don’t forget about us.” “It took the grin right off of my face,” Thompson said. All of those things had a profound impact. “Because of my experiences in Iraq, I felt like I had to speak out against it when I got home. ... I was going to exercise my right of free speech ... and call for a responsible withdrawal from Iraq.” And that’s where Thompson’s real fight to protect freedom began. He decided to walk the entire length of the state of Utah from the Idaho border on the north to the Arizona border in the south in an attempt to draw awareness to his protest of against the war. (See “Convocation” on A11) Inside our Schools Compiled by Alec Barton Ephraim Elementary School Journaling builds writing skills at Fountain Green Elementary Teya Smith (back left), Rylie Wright (back right), Brianne Shaw (front left) and Kaylee Taylor (front right) take part in a writing workshop for fourth grade students at Fountain Green Elementary. A workshop held at Fountain Green Elementary was designed to improve student’s writing skills and get them interested in various subjects. Students are busy writing about the journals kept by renowned explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and keep daily entries in their journals. The topic varies by day. Rotary Club International delivered personalized dictionaries to Ephraim Elementary third graders last week. Parent-teacher conferences will be held Thursday and Friday, Sept. 25-26. Individual conference times have been sent home with students. Sept. 25 will be a half-day of school, and no classes are scheduled for Sept. 26. Parents may call the school with any questions at 283-4171. Gunnison Elementary School Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Sept. 25-26. Individual conference times will be sent home with students. Gunnison Middle School Manti Elementary School Parent-teacher conferences will be held Thursday and Friday, Sept. 18-19. Students will be dismissed from classes on both days. Parents of sixth grade students have been given appointments to meet with teachers from 3-7 p.m. on Thursday and 8:30-11:30 a.m. on Friday. Parents of seventh and eighth grade students may meet with teachers in the commons area of the school at their convenience during the same scheduled times. During the conferences, the middle school library will hold its book sale. Parents and students are encouraged to attend the sale. Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Individual conference times have been sent home with students. Sept. 18 will be a half-day of school, and no classes are scheduled for Sept. 19. Parents may call the school with any questions at 835-2271. Gunnison High School School Community Council meeting will be held at 3:15 p.m. today. Picture retakes are scheduled for Monday, Sept. 22. Homecoming week is scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 4. Moroni Elementary School The bookmobile will visit Moroni Elementary on Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mt. 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