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Show Olflfllflfr&lfl't Review -- Wednesday, August 30, 1989 -- Page 2 Eliminate letter grades in elementary school of hundreds of other students. His grades improved and he had earned them. QramatiCa,v A few years and thousands of hours of effort later tV doing even better, but it has been a hard road past that Sn's premature judgment that instantaneously contradictediw efforts to let him know that he was intelligent, loved ai,j fl' while. worth. Ironically, his brother is easily nominated for the "ad or "gifted" programs. However, we find that the questin' we fill out for him often describe his brother just as ii'res especially in terms of abstract thinking ability, creative " solving and other "right brain" functions. Problem As one counselor told us, "It's good we don't grade four and year-old- s on their ability to tie their shoes. They all learn i motor skill development is quite varied." m So is language ability. And self-estee- particularly in i mentary school, is far more important than either. ele' I've read some studies that estimate that as many as 25 of all students have some type of learning disability. Mostd"1 either grow out of it (as their intellectual development catch with their physical development) or they learn to compensat "P I hope whoever makes these decisions for the district w:n prevent young students from making a premature jud?m about themselves by eliminating letter grades in the formati"' years of elementary school. A concerned father Guest Editorial I've thought of publishing this opinion off and on for two or three years. It's one of those topics I had intended to do some research on. However, as I watch another child enter elementary school this year, I decided a more personal point of view might be a better illustration anyway. I'm sure virtually every child enters kindergarten with a great desire to learn. Ours is counting the days until she can finally go to school with her brothers and sisters. It's a great adventure in growing up a milestone that says you are really somebody. Her older brothers entered the same way full of excitement and anticipation. However, we soon discovered that to one brother reading and language would come easily, but to the other it would be a much slower process. A mild learning disability and slower development soon set him apart from many of his classmates. His oral vocabulary was above average, but when it came to translating that to the written language of reading and spelling, his peers seemed far ahead of him. He attended the "special" classes designed for him and found other "slow" students with the same "problems." I don't think I need to explain how easily students label one another when they are segregated for such reasons. By the time third grade came, we were so concerned about his self-imag- e that we didn't think about trying to prepare him for letter grades. . We refused to let him go to "resource' and opted for a private tutor (and the accompanying expense) instead. Halfway through third grade, he and all his classmates received their first report card. It's easy to imagine these young students eagerly comparing notes. Our son had two "D's" and one "F". As far as we know, the extra credit he should have received for the work he did with his private tutor was never given any value. As far as he was concerned, the label he had first received from his classmates was now unquestionably true. He was a failure at reading. He was just too "dumb" to read and here was the proof right in his hand. At only eight years old the verdict was in. Within days, the teachers were instructed not to give "Fs" (as if "D"s and "R's" were much better). Even if that would have helped, it was too late for our son. The rest of that year we had to persuade and push him to get to school almost on a daily basis. Fortunately, he had one of the finest teachers in the district the next year someone who really took a personal interest in him. She really made a difference in his life and, I'm sure, in the lives Japanese students have great experience in P.G. For the last two years, Pleasant Grove residents have probably noticed some young Japanese stu-dents walking from all over town to the P.G. Recreation office building all during the summer months. Most residents, however have-n't realized the scope of what the young people have been learning not only in the classroom, but also from all that they have experienced. Marlene Simmons, the coordi-nator for AYUSA Pleasant Grove, said that the students have really had a great experience in P.G. She said that the 20 students attend school at the Rec building for seven and a half hours a day. Simmons also said that the cur-riculum includes learning about American history and culture, sev-eral speaking exercises, and more. She said that they all have to be exceptional students, with no less than 3 years of training in English before they arrive here. American Slang is difficult for the students, however, when they leave, they seem to have picked it up themselves quite nicely. Mar-lene observed that they not only are very bright, but that they are also very loving, and appreciate very much the warmth of the people in Pleasant Grove. She gave a couple examples in two of the students that went away to school out of state at the end of the summer, and cried for days because they missed people here so much. She said that one family came and stayed with the host family after their daughter had because they were so impressed with the care and kindness she had received. Marlene said that one mother wrote the host family that she appreciated so much the care she had gotten, but that they had, "stolen her heart." Many of the students havet,.. home in March because that's school year starts. Marie'" said that they don't get any s' credit for their year here, an. order not to get behind, most,,; attend until March. The year here with the AYUSf or Academic Year in the Unit States of America is very gous. She said that the Japanft! people are very interested inkan. ing to fluently speak English, to know all they can culture, many for trit purposes. There are only three AYUSl centers in the United States, i eluding the one in Pleasant Grat The other two are in Washing and California. The kids go all over the Unto: States when they leave here, b:. several of them tell Marlene the they will return to visit one day, Marlene then related a sto that happened when the stuks recently left for their new home She said that eight of the studer,; live in her neighborhood, andfe attended her LDS ward duringfc summer. She said that on their last Sr. day, they asked her if they cot!: sing in church. She told them tk they could, and they sang, "GoJE; With You Until We Meet Again,".: the congregation. She said that they sang a vers in English, and then a verse : Japanese. As she looked aw: the chapel, their sweet goodbye not a dry eye in the congregatior She said that she will be ass? ing homes around January, and: anyone is interested in being ate family to contact her before tier. Marlene promised that it is e excellent experience, and that ts host families will make a lastir; friendship with the student It's gotta be a whale of a tale! p.g. blab i 1 By MARCELLA WALKER I was so sorry to read about the death of Kandu, the killer whale, which died at Sea World last week. The big animal attacked another female in the holding tank, appar-ently in a dispute of territorial rights, and came out with fatal injuries. The other whale was only slightly injured. All this happened just four days after we had been to Sea World in San Diego and saw the killer whales perform. When we decided to go to south-ern California for our vacation this summer I was really excited be-cause I wanted to see the new Baby Shamu which was born last Sep-tember at Sea World. I had seen on the TV that the baby was now being trained to perform with the other whales and felt that this would be a special thing to see. It was. However, when the trainers tried to get Baby Shamu to do his solo act, he was not fully cooperative and kept fleeing to his mother's side. Finally the trainers gave up and went on with the show. I wanted to get back for another performance during the day while we were there to see if the baby would perform another time, but we did not get back. My maiden name was Whaley, a name not too common around here but which is more common in the Georgia-Sout- h Carolina area and in England. The family crest has whales on it and so I have kind of had a special love for whales although I collecting them so that if they see any unusual ones they can bring them to me. Collecting has not been one of my big things. When I was young I had a collection of matchbooks. I don't know what ever happened to them. Then I had a collection of but-tons and I still have a few around but not the big collection I once had. An aunt on my mother's side recently donated a bunch of but-tons and I did not have the nerve to tell her that I did not collect them any more. I kind of started a collection of plates when I received a really special bicentennial plate in 1976. A few years later my oldest daugh-ter began giving me a small mini-ature plate with cute children painted on it every Mother's Day. Since then I have received a couple of other nice plates and I do display them in my one knickknack cupboard. Now my emphasis is on whales so we will see how that works out. There are a variety of spellings of my maiden name. In addition to Whaley, there is Whalley, Whale, Whalle, and so on. The most notorious of us all, at least as far as I can determine, was Edward Whaley, the regicide. He was a nephew of Oliver Cromwell. Edward was a general in the English Army at the time and was one of the judges who decided that old King Charles should not be king any longer. Oliver Cromwell and his follow ers did not want there to be a king in England anymore. So he was killed. After King Charles' son rallied some troops and was able to.retake the throne, the judges fled for their lives and Gen. Whaley and another man fled to the American colonies. This was in the late 1600's. They had to remain hidden most of their lives as there was still a price on their heads but they found many sympathetic souls in the colo-nies who kept them out of sight. Their families came to America and hid out with them. They began in the Massa-chusette- s area but eventually moved down into Maryland and finally into South Carolina. There are a few Whaley families around, there is one right here in Pleasant Grove in fact, but when I was growing up the n ame was quite rare. When I was a kid some of my friends called me "Whalebones" and I know my brothers had similar nicknames' at times. Since the whale is supposed to be a pretty smart creature I guess that is alright. Now the big discussion among the zoologists is whether the big killer whales should even be kept in captivity at all. I don't know the answer to this but I sure did enjoy seeing them at Sea World. However, we will miss seeing Kandu the next time we go there. do not know any personally. All ofmy cousins and I had started giving one of my aunts a miniature whale knickknack when we saw her. We had some Avon necklaces . which had a whale on it for all of us and we wore them at family reun-ions and stuff. My aunt died last winter and I inherited a bunch of those mini-ature whales that we had given her. Now I am starting a collection and while we were at Sea World I bought a carved wooden whale to add to it. I don't know where I am going to . put all these lovely whales. I guess 111 have to go see Steve Peterson and get a lovely cupboard for them all. I have told my family that I am Sept. is Library Card Sign-u- p Month September is National Library Card Sign-U- p Month. The campaign, which is sponsored by the Ameri-can Library Association and the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, received strong support from Governor Norman Bangerter last year when he signed a proclamation declaring September Library Card Sign-U- p Month throughout the state of Utah. The proclamation stated in part, "Whereas, parents and schools are important partners in the effort to give the wonderful gift of a library card, wmcn cannot is good for a lifetime ofW ing and enjoyment,. to every: in America; Now, therefore resolved that September of year, beginning in 1988, shaP designated as 'Library Card&ij-U-Month." Pleasant Grove City Library Jean Gifford, encourages you sters and their parents to si v city library in September d up for a library card. At m ; braries, children obtaining library card will receive a sp sticker. I ..r, .... i ' i i l . , ' .,.. - Look what followed me home, Mom! When Jon Ackerman tells about the monster fish he caught at Deer-cree- k Reservoir last week he will not be telling the proverbial fish tale. The Pleasant Grove boy was fishing with his father when he caught a 13 pound six ounce Walleye. The big fellow is 32 inches longandmeasures 18inches around the middle. Knowing that there was a chance it was of record size, Jon took his fish to the Department of Wildlife Resources where it was determined that it was a new record for Wall-eyes at Deer Creek. The previous record setting Walleye was caught in 1988 and weighed in at five ounces less than Jon's fish. Jon said he was trolling, using a frog flat fish when he hooked the big guy. He reeled the fish in by himself with his dad only helping with the net when Jon had the Walleye over to the boat. So that everyone will know that Ten-year-o- ld Jon Ackerman can barely lift this fine record-settin- g walleye which he caught at Deer Creek last week. he is not telling a fish story, Jon will have his trophy Walleye mounted for display by a taxider-mist. Jon is an avid fisherman and goes fishing as often as he can. He also enjoys hunting and baseball. A fifth grader at Grovecrest Elementary School, Jon was the only one in his family who caught a fish that evening. Jon is the son of Kent and LuAnn Ackerman. Alpine School District adopts 'mission statement' With the adoption of an official District "Mission Statement," Alpine School District has become one of the first school districts in the state to endorse philosophi-cally a plan to restructure public education. The statement outlines in broad terms the official educational goals of the district, officials said, and parallels a similar document formulated by the State Office of Education. The policy has been under con-sideration since July when it was presented at the boards' monthly business meeting. The approved statement sav "The mission of the Alpine School District is to empower each stu-dent to function effectively in soci-ety as a competent, productive, caring, and responsible citizen." Goals of a system built on this mission are to "involve students as full partners in their pursuit of learning and accountable for their actions; enlarge parental and com-munity involvement to enhance school and student success; and establish a curriculum and an in-structional delivery system that has measurable outcomes." Also to "ensure that every school is an effective learning center with a positive learning climate; increase the sensitivity, effectiveness, effi-ciency, and satisfaction of teach-ers, administrators, and other educational professionals; (and) increase learning and productivity through technology." Dr. Steven Baugh, district superintendent, earlier said one of the prime objectives of a school board is to provide long-ter- plan-ning and vision for a district. He said the Shift in Focus mis-sion statement provides that vi-sion. IVext issue Thurs., ( Sept. 7 Deadline Tues. Because of the Labor Day holiday, the newsg office will be closed Monday. Deadline for adver news will be Tuesday, Sept. 5, however, your will not be delivered until Thursday, Sept. 7. fliie (Qtroup I.Kit I KHKI-Nil. ITMIf-O- SI,0I,K P.O. Box 7, 59 West Main, American Fork 7j6 7g69 llleaaant (Sroue Reuieui ISSN No 8755-907- ? U.S.P.S. No. 4357-800- 0 Published weekly except semi-weekl- y for Thanksgiving, and Christmas by Newtah, Inc. 11 South Main Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 Telephone NumDers Advertising & Circulation. 9 News 3 Publisher Brett R. Bezzant Editors Marc Haddock Marcella Walker Subscription price $19" per year Second class postage paid at Pleasant Grove, Utah Postmaster: Send address changes to P O Box 7. American Pork, Utah M003 |