Earth Day celebration

March 14, 2007

The Village of Frankfort will mark April 28 as its annual Earth Day/Arbor Day Celebration.

This community-wide "clean up" day, started in 1995, continues to be one of the most popular events in the Village.

The Village is proud to announce that, once again for the year ended 2006, it has been recognized as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

» Click to enlarge image

"We are very pleased with the number of volunteers who continue to participate every year during our Earth Day clean up event. Frankfort continues to have a strong sense of volunteerism, and it is evident with the increased participation each year for this event. I invite all our residents and civic groups to join us on April 28", commented Frankfort's Mayor Jim Holland.

The Earth Day/Arbor Day Celebration begins at 8:30 AM at the Village's Public Works garage at 100 Sangmeister Road and concludes with a luncheon for all volunteers at Noon in the Heritage Hall Senior Center at 14 S. Hickory Street.

Large groups are encouraged to contact Special Events Coordinator, Mary Canino at the Village Administration Office, prior to the event for appropriate planning.

Further information is available in the "What's New" section of the Village of Frankfort Web site www.villageoffrankfort.com.

Prewrite:
Before reading the article, I understood that celebration and appreciation is a form of appreciation. When someone does something right, they need to get awarded and the best way to get awarded is to have a celebration like through a party, or maybe something like commemoration someone for reaching a certain age can be a type of celebration and appreciation that people do.

Postwrite:
After Mary's class I had understood the difference between Celebration and Appreciation. The fact that celebration is why we would celebrate is if we had a reason to celebrate, what is important to us, the right time to celebrate, the affect or accomplishment of celebration and how often should we celebrate. Appreciation is seen as what we do as appreciation, what we are good/bad of what we appreciate, what are we talking for granted that we should appreciate, consequences of appreciations and what we are doing for appreciation in a right way.

Application:
The that I use this in an every day life is because as a member of PSEC, we celebrate everyday because of the work we did. I think I did a good job lol.

Government to ask public what they think of stem cell science
nächste Meldung
02.03.2007
Science and Innovation Minister Malcolm Wicks has today announced that the UK's two major public funders of stem cell research will run a national public discussion about this cutting-edge area of science.


The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) will run the public dialogue programme to gain an insight into public attitudes towards stem cell research. In this fast moving and important area of science it is essential to know public concerns, views and attitudes, as well as to provide an opportunity for scientists to discuss with the public the challenges that researchers face and the potential benefits from this challenging field of research.

The programme of activities will be sponsored by the Sciencewise unit of the Department of Trade and Industry. It will aim to bring scientists and the public together to identify public expectations, aspirations and concerns about stem cell research.

Speaking at a meeting of leading experts in the field of stem cells in London today, Mr Wicks said: "The Government believes that stem cell research offers enormous potential to deliver new treatments for many devastating diseases where there is currently no effective cure. Huge numbers of people are affected by these diseases and Britain is a world-leader in stem cell research. But there must be a proper dialogue with the wider public on the future of stem cell research. We need to raise public awareness about the potential opportunities and challenges in this area, and that is why this new Sciencewise programme is so important. "

A key element will be to raise awareness about world-class stem cell research in the UK and the progress that is being made towards potential treatments, while communicating realistic examples of its potential.

Professor Julia Goodfellow, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: "It is essential that scientists working in areas such as stem cell research engage in a real dialogue with the public. The new programme will give scientists, funders and the government up-to-date information on what the public really think about stem cell research while giving people the chance to voice their views and concerns. It will also allow the science community to talk to people about the first-class stem cell science in the UK and what the realistic applications are likely to be."

Professor Colin Blakemore, MRC Chief Executive "Scientists who work on stem cells want to ensure they maintain the trust and support of the public for their research. But to achieve this, we need to explain what work is being carried out and why it's being done. We also want to make sure that people are aware of the possibilities of research, what it's realistically likely to achieve, and, above all, the importance of meticulous and careful research that takes ethical issues into account. And we must do everything possible to be sure that potential treatments are safe before they are tested on patients.

"Open dialogue will raise awareness among scientists as well as members of the public. And it could also help us to move more quickly towards potential therapies. Discussion will help to make scientists understand the potential of their work and policy-makers aware of the public's views. In turn, this might lead to laboratory discoveries being applied more quickly in the clinic."

BBSRC and MRC have been awarded a Sciencewise grant of £300,000 to run the programme.

Prewrite:
In this article it explains public dialogue. Public dialogue is great example, it relates a lot to PSEC and how we constantly use public dialogue in our everyday activities and utilize it in a way to further the benefits of our school.

Postwrite:
A key element will be to raise awareness about world-class stem cell research in the UK and the progress that is being made towards potential treatments, while communicating realistic examples of its potential. This is a great example of PSEC community.

Application:
An example of application that I used Public Dialogue a couple weeks ago when I had an interview with Skip Priest. The issue was homelessness. I tended to agree with a lot of his points and he actually helped me develop my view a lot. We were just talking politics for a half hour or so and each brought up great points.

SUPER SIZE ME II; Scientist Stages Experiment Based on the Movie -- and is Surprised

By Kate Douglas

If you'd bumped into nursing student Adde Karimi last September, he probably wouldn't have had much time to chat. He was too busy stuffing his face with burgers, cola and milkshakes. It takes a lot of planning to get 6,600 calories of junk food down you in a day, he explains.

If you're not a born glutton, serious overeating also requires a high level of commitment. Karimi's motivation was commendable. "I did it because I wanted to hate this type of food," he says. He also did it for science.

Karimi was a volunteer in an experiment based on the 2004 documentary "Super Size Me." In the movie, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock spent 30 days eating exclusively at McDonald's, never turning down an offer to "supersize" to a bigger portion, and avoiding physical exertion. Karimi followed a similar regime, gorging himself on energy-dense food and keeping exercise to a minimum.

That's pretty much where the similarities end, though. By the end of Spurlock's McDonald's binge, the filmmaker was a depressed lardball with sagging libido and soaring cholesterol. He'd gained 11.1 kilograms, a 13 percent increase in his body weight, and was on his way to serious liver damage. In contrast, Karimi had no medical problems. In fact, his cholesterol was lower after a month on fast food than it had been before he started, and while he'd gained 4.6 kilos, half of that was muscle.

The brains behind this particular experiment is Fredrik Nystrvm, of Sweden's Linkvping University. In the past year, he's put 18 volunteers through his supersize regime. What fascinates him most is the discovery that there was such huge variation in their response to the diet.

Some, like Karimi, took it in stride. Others suffered almost as much as Spurlock, with one volunteer taking barely two weeks to reach the maximum 15 percent weight gain allowed by the ethics committee that approved the study. We're used to being told that if we're overweight, the problem is simply too much food and too little exercise, but Nystrvm has been forced to conclude that it isn't so straightforward. "Some people are just more susceptible to obesity than others," he says.

Nystrvm had been intrigued by Spurlock's experiment ever since seeing "Super Size Me" but was bothered by its unscientific nature. So when one of his Ph.D. students unexpectedly quit, freeing up some research money, he decided to have a go at replicating it under clinical conditions.

Things got off to a good start. Following one of his regular lectures to medical students on the perils of obesity, Nystrvm asked whether anyone would be interested in taking part in an experiment involving as much free food as you can eat. The response was very positive. As it happened, most of the volunteers were male. "The boys are very committed," says Nystrvm, "but it has been really tough to get girls to sign up." He wanted 10 of each, but in the end has had to settle for 12 men and six women.

The first batch of seven healthy, lean volunteers began their month-long challenge in February 2006. First, Nystrvm calculated their normal daily calorie intake, then asked them to double it in the form of junk food, while avoiding physical activity as much as possible.

Nystrvm allowed them to do just one hour of upper body weight training per week.

"I thought it would help some of the guys to stick to the diet if they believed that some of the extra weight could be in the form of muscle bulk," he says. Aside from that, though, they were encouraged to be as slothful as possible, and were issued with bus passes and pedometers to help.

In another difference from the movie, Nystrvm didn't order his volunteers to eat only at McDonald's. They were also allowed to eat pizza, fried chicken, chocolate and other high-fat food whenever they could no longer stomach burgers.

During the experiment, Nystrvm's volunteers had weekly safety check-ups to monitor their health. In addition, they were subjected to a barrage of tests and exams before starting the diet and afterwards to find out what it had done to their physiology, metabolism and mental health.

Nystrvm can't disclose the full results of his experiment until the study is published later this year. Even then, it will take years of analysis to coax the detailed implications from all the data.

The big mystery is weight gain. Why do some people pile on so much more than others while consuming the equivalent amount of food? Nystrvm's hunch is that it's down to variations in metabolism; some of us are simply better at handling calories than others. If you're lucky, your body can adapt to cope with an extra cream doughnut or even a blow-out dinner by burning off the excess energy in the form of heat. He suspects many of his volunteers fall into this category because they were all slim on their normal diet and because they often commented on feeling warm all the time while overeating.

If Nystrvm is correct, this is what makes his study so unusual and potentially valuable. Most research into obesity is done on people who are already overweight; in other words, those least resistant to calories.

The ability to turn excess food into fat has been an adaptive advantage throughout most of human evolutionary history when our ancestors had to deal with alternating feast and famine. But the erratic availability of food has not been the only factor influencing the evolution of human metabolism.

"In cold areas, people might have adapted more to cope with temperature and so be more likely to burn off excess calories as heat," says Nystrvm. People with this type of metabolism seem better able to cope with today's "obesogenic" world, and Nystrvm hopes that by studying them he will be able to identify new approaches to tackling the obesity epidemic. "Because we have such a huge amount of data we should be able to start teasing apart some of the influences that make some people more susceptible to obesity than others."

(c) 2007 Buffalo News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Prewrite:
Creative conflict is this article. Before reading it I though of creative conflict as being something that is created to rebuttals against one another, but the way I see it from this article is it can be shown in many different ways.

Postwrite:
In this article it explains how there are many different forms of creative conflict, like in this article, it is using the fact that they had retested the super size me diet, and that shows that creative conflict is that they try to change their results.

Application:
I use this skill almost in my everyday life the fact that they had acted on this giving creative conflict like proving something wrong through the way people act and how we can change these peoples lives.

What is social capital?

Whereas physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to the properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections among individuals - social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. In that sense social capital is closely related to what some have called "civic virtue." The difference is that "social capital" calls attention to the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when embedded in a sense network of reciprocal social relations. A society of many virtuous but isolated individuals is not necessarily rich in social capital. (Robert Putnam)

Why social capital matters

Research has begun to show how powerfully social capital, or its absence, affects the well being of individuals, organizations, and nations.

Economics studies demonstrate that social capital makes workers more productive, firms more competitive, and nations more prosperous.

Psychological research indicates that abundant social capital makes individuals less prone to depression and more inclined to help others.

Epidemiological reports show that social capital decreases the rate of suicide, colds, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer, and improves individuals' ability to fight or recover from illnesses once they have struck.

Sociology studies suggest that social capital reduces crime, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, child abuse, welfare dependency, and drug abuse, and increases student test scores and graduation rates.

From political science, we know that extensive social capital makes government agencies more responsive, efficient, and innovative.

And from our own personal experience we know that social capital makes navigating life a whole lot easier: Our friends and family members cheer us up when we're down, bring us chicken soup when we're sick, offer job leads when we're unemployed, babysit our kids when we're away, join us at the movies when we're bored, give us loans when we're broke, and remember our birthdays even when we forget them.

It is becoming increasingly clear that social capital has an enormous array of practical benefits to individuals and to communities. What is more, social capital has what economists call "positive externalities." That is, networks of trust and reciprocity not only benefit those within them, but also those outside them.

Consequently, when social capital is depleted, people suffer in clear and measurable ways, and there is a ripple effect beyond a scattering of lonely individuals. Shoring up our stocks of social capital, therefore, represents one of the most promising approaches for remedying all sorts of social ills. (Source: BetterTogether, a report issued by the Saguaro Seminar)

2007.02.20

Prewrite
Social Capital in my opinion is where people be affected through a political standpoint. Dictionary.com defines social capital means that "An economic idea that refers to the connections between individuals and entities that can be economically valuable. Social networks that include people who trust and assist each other can be a powerful asset. These relationships between individuals and firms can lead to a state in which each will think of the other when something needs to be done. Along with economic capital, social capital is a valuable mechanism in economic growth."

Postwrite
After Marys class I had understood what social capital means that the way that you are affected by an economic or political idea, which connects individual and entities. this is the way we are born, and the way that we are raised to believe that out economic capital, social capital is valuable mechanism for economic growth.

Application
The way I apply this is because in our lives we see that our community of PSEC, this practice is important because of the group of people in our lives we are so familiar with this, it helps us show the affect the on our lives with social capital.

The Other Side to Racism

Barun Singh

Prof. James Sherley's hunger strike and charges of racism against MIT have catalyzed a welcome public dialogue on race relations. We must be careful, however, to ensure balance as we take advantage of this opportunity to improve community standards and understanding: in addition to examining the extent and effect of racism, both within and beyond minority populations, we must also be willing to discuss the problematic role of race-baiting and hyperbole within the public realm.

Race-baiting, in this context, is defined as the injection of race as a theme or central issue into a debate where it does not bear any significant relevance. Like racism itself, race-baiting is rarely clear-cut, and falls along a continuum. On one end, an individual or organization may maliciously exploit a public desire to correct institutional racism. A less extreme approach may involve the purposeful use of hyperbole as a means of associating a legitimate concern over a relatively minor racist act with extreme historical examples. Least maliciously of all, race-baiting may be no more than a subconscious expression of a feeling of persecution or resentment engendered elsewhere. In all of these cases, guilt and fear, rather than rational argument, are used as tools to force the opposing side to concede. It can be difficult to disambiguate true cases of racism from race-baiting, a fact often exploited by politicians. Some charges of racism as an underlying motivation can be reasonably defended, such as the notorious "Playboy party" advertisement that arguably played on racist sentiments against African-American Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. in 2006. Others, however, fall apart upon even a cursory inspection, such as Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney accusing police of being racist when they responded to her not walking through a metal detector while entering the capitol, or Senator Joseph Biden being accused of racism for describing fellow Senator Barack Obama as articulate. A more general example of race-baiting would be the accusations of racism leveled against all those taking a strong stance on illegal immigration.Although politics is characterized by a level of doublespeak beyond the norm, the examples cited above are not atypical of the types of race-baiting found more generally in society. Consider the following example from my own experience within the MIT community. The Graduate Student Council recently discussed the idea of converting the GSC's diversity committee from an ad-hoc to a standing (permanent) committee; I attended the meeting as a former President of the Council who has also worked to promote MIT's recruitment of underrepresented minorities. Although I supported the laudable sentiment and objectives of the proposal, I also found valid arguments against it, and expressed my concerns. To my surprise, a number of GSC representatives approached me only after the meeting to express their own reasons for believing the proposal flawed. They explained that they had not raised their objections publicly during the open debate for fear of drawing accusations of racism.The Sherley case itself presents another example within our community. By equating the response of the administration to his hunger strike with the beating and lynching of civil rights activists in the '60s, Sherley is guilty of using racial hyperbole to manipulate the emotions of his audience and further his own objectives, whether they be as personal as getting tenure or as noble as fighting racism everywhere.Ironically, individuals who practice race-baiting often cause themselves more harm than good. Such techniques may successfully quell dissenting viewpoints, but they also create resentment among those who have been strong-armed into silence. This resentment, with time, contributes to unnecessarily negative views of the minority community at large. Minorities fighting racism cannot afford to squander the good will of those sympathetic to their cause, thus winning the battle by losing the war.Of course, an individual may incorrectly ascribe racism as a motivation for an offense because he truly believes in what he is saying, not necessarily because he is race-baiting. This fact highlights the importance of understanding that no dialogue is one-sided: responsibility lies with all parties involved to express their views openly, respectfully and honestly. This duty applies as much to those who disagree with accusations of racism as to those who level the accusations. Only by refusing to kowtow to the fear of being called a racist can those who sincerely disagree help foster a productive dialogue.MIT routinely conducts surveys to gauge the sentiment of minorities in the service of promoting a safe and welcoming environment for all members of the community. Clearly it is valuable to determine whether individuals feel intimidated by attitudes towards their race. Is it not also valuable to ascertain how often people feel intimidated by the threat of being stigmatized as racist for expressing views that are less than politically correct?Unfortunately, people often do not have the courage of their convictions to be willing to voice their opposition to an idea if they believe that doing so will be result in their being called a racist. Consequently, the true racists — those who disparage or disagree with the minority based on their race and not their arguments — are disproportionately represented among those who do speak out. This gives the false impression that most of those who do disagree are in fact racist, which justifiably angers the minority. It also makes those who are not racist, but disagree with the minority's arguments, even more hesitant to participate in the debate because they don't want to be associated with those who have spoken out.To the extent that they both hinder free speech, discourage open debate, and result in the judging of individuals based not on their merit, racism and race-baiting are equally destructive to the fabric of our society. If we wish to heal the terrible scar of racial inequality in our society, we must have the courage to confront them both.

Barun Singh is an opinion editor for The Tech. He welcomes comments and responses to this article on his Web site at http://barunsingh.com or to letters@the-tech.mit.edu.

Prewrite
Before I had read this article, I had understood that this type of problem called racism is in the world every day. For instance, the blacks, might be living in the Bronx, they may not be poor, but many of these people would call it the "ghetto". Why do they do this if they have a whole life ahead of them? Well maybe its because of the fact how they were affected since birth, mainly their color of skin. That is my view of racism.

Postwrite
When reading this article, I had understood the concept of where racism is headed in our near future. The type of things that they have in this article shows the way we apply this, even though we may not seem racist, for instance, the people that like politics show they have even some racism, for example "such as Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney accusing police of being racist when they responded to her not walking through a metal detector while entering the capitol, or Senator Joseph Biden being accused of racism for describing fellow Senator Barack Obama as articulate. A more general example of race-baiting would be the accusations of racism leveled against all those taking a strong stance on illegal immigration." would be perfect example of these types of types of racist people in order to work and try to ignore the fact of what they had done.


Application
In my daily life, racism is seen. Racism is shown inside of school, even in this school, there is racism; Racism is the way to change your life by accepting others, even if they are different colored skin, or different culture. I feel the more we accept others, the more we get in return.

DIVERSITY: Does your government represent you?

BY ROBIN FARMER TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Feb 25, 2007

Racial diversity in central Virginia is still largely black and white.

The area is becoming more diverse, but the changes are not yet reflected in local government. No Latinos or Asians are known to sit on boards of supervisors, city councils or school boards, according to a Times-Dispatch survey of 20 localities.

African-Americans, especially on boards of supervisors or city councils, remain underrepresented when compared with their percentage of the population. Their numbers are higher on school boards.

Some residents, experts and board members interviewed say race doesn't matter. Others say while race should not be a key factor in who gets elected, communities are best served when the boards are diverse. Whether Latinos and Asians can play an increased political role depends on how well they can organize in the future.

In November, voters in Richmond, which is 56 percent black, elected a 6-3 majority-white City Council and 5-4 majority-white School Board.

"African-Americans had to help vote the white council members in," city resident Delores Abdul-Badee said. "I don't vote for someone because you are my skin color," she said, adding that her vote depends on the individual.

In Chesterfield, Prince George and King William counties, where blacks are at least an estimated 20 percent or more of the population, no blacks serve on the elected boards. In Chesterfield and Prince George, the boards are all white.

The racial makeup of an elected body does not have to reflect the locality's constituents to be effective, said Joseph A. Leming, chairman of the Prince George Board of Supervisors.

"I would hope an elected board would represent its citizens regardless of race, creed, color, religion or sexual orientation," he said.

"Can we elect black representatives? Yes. Have they been elected? Yes," he said.

Frank Adams, the first Native American elected to the King William Board of Supervisors, agrees that racial composition should not matter, but he sees value in having diverse boards.

The reason? "My fellow tribal members and the other tribes in King William are comfortable talking to me about issues that involve the county in their lives," said Adams, elected in 2004.

Chesterfield resident Rafael Valladares Jr. also believes constituents would be better represented by their own. He said Latinos should be on the boards to understand the necessities of the community.

The mind-set of the board members is key, said Murel M. Jones, chairman of the department of political science and public administration at Virginia State University in Ettrick.

"It is important for public servants to be mindful of the diverse cultural backgrounds of the citizens who they serve. However one defines diversity, whether focusing on the inclusion of women, African-Americans, other ethnic and cultural groups, and income status, one has better public-policymaking when the needs and aspirations of others are considered," Jones said.

Thomas Doland, chairman of the Chesterfield School Board, offers a similar view.

"I think if you've got a heart for that, you can be a good representative as long as you're a good listener and give people an opportunity to be a part of public engagement," Doland said.

. . .

The lack of black board members would be more of an issue if members were still appointed instead of people who choose to run for election, he said.

Chesterfield School Board members were appointed by county supervisors until voters approved elected school boards in 1994. The first elected board was chosen the following November.

"I don't hear people saying we need a black representative or a black School Board member," said Joan Girone, who took office in 1976 as the first woman elected to the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors. She served for 12 years.

"Right now we're looking at potential members for the Board of Supervisors. I am not aware of a black offering for election at this point," said Girone, who served with two black members during the 1980s.

The low number of elected black leaders concerns the Virginia state chapter of the NAACP, said King Salim Khalfani, its executive director.

If some of these counties, such as Prince George, King William and King and Queen, had active NAACP branches, they would have voter-registration efforts and target the lack of representation on the boards that set policies and control budgets, he said.

. . .

A board's racial composition should reflect the community, said Harold T. Green Jr., an African-American resident of Chesterfield for 18 years.

"But if people don't run, it won't," said Green, rector of the board of visitors of VSU.

Even with growing diverse populations, there are several reasons why few minorities seek election. One appears to be not enough of an organized effort to get minorities to run for office or even vote. Another factor may be cultural traditions.

For Latinos to join the boards, they must become more educated and politically active, said Juan Santacoloma, Hispanic liaison for Chesterfield.

"Many are not registered because in our cultures, we don't have the culture to vote. Many people don't participate in this kind of activity," Santacoloma said.

Only 2.7 percent of the Latino population in Virginia is eligible to vote, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

There isn't much movement now to prepare candidates, but Santacoloma said he hopes that changes.

The Latino community will need to organize, said John Moeser, visiting fellow at the University of Richmond's Center for Civic Engagement. He predicts it will.

For Asians, there is a tendency not to get involved and to be distrustful of the political process, said Eric Liang Jensen, chairman of the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans of Virginia, a nonpartisan pan-Asian statewide organization. That is one reason the Asian American Society of Central Virginia encourages and sponsors people to join leadership programs to prepare them for public service.

The absence of Asian-Americans in general from politics stems from internal and external factors, said Frank H. Wu, dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit and an expert in diversity issues.

"For some Asian-Americans, especially newer immigrants, the language of American democracy is literally a new language. They come from backgrounds that are not democratic, are corrupt or that encourage conformity rather than dissent. They may not realize the importance of politics: They believe if you stick to yourself, work hard, encourage your children to study and so on, all will be well.

"So they may be less eager to embrace the hurly-burly of the public square," Wu said.

Prewrite:
After reading this article, I had understood what it had been trying to say, how the government that we live in in our daily lives affect us through diversity. I use diversity in a day to day bases because of the fact that we live in a diverse community, it helps me accept others.

Postwrite:
I feel that the different ways that people are treated on a day to day basis just because of the way that they were born doesn't make it a good reason to be wrongly judged, like on this article, where it explains how people are wrongly judged by the color of their skin.

Application:
The way that we use diversity to my life is that we are in a diverse community. The diverse community that we are in is the PSEC community. Inside of this community, we have many different races, and to see so many different people in all different kinds of backgrounds helps us understand how they live and what they go through.

Evaluation and Reflection

WASL tests the state as well as students

By Linda Shaw

Seattle Times staff reporter

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

To honor students who passed reading, writing and math on the WASL last year — and to inspire this year's sophomores to do well — the Federal Way High School staff hung these fliers from the ceiling of the school's main hallway.

Related

* 10th-graders feel the pressure as make-or-break WASL looms
* Learning from last year's test scores: Who's struggling the most (PDF)
* Timeline: Growing up with the WASL (PDF)
* Talk about it: Share your thoughts in our WASL forum

Twenty sophomores sit in twos and threes, huddled over math problems. A few months ago, they were in drama class, or P.E. or other electives at Chief Sealth High. But when the West Seattle school offered a course to help them pass the exam they need to graduate, they signed up.

They switched because they're nervous about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), their parents are nervous, or both. After 13 years, more than $100 million in testing costs and lots of debate, Washington sophomores are 30 school days away from the biggest test of their lives.

They are the first class in this state to face a graduation test — something students in about half the states already face, or will face soon. Here, they will be expected to pass reading, writing and math on the WASL sometime in the next two years to earn their diploma. Or, if they fail twice, they can demonstrate their skill on some equally difficult but yet undefined alternative.

"How come they picked us?" laments Domonique Williams, one student in the Sealth class, echoing a sentiment that's heard frequently from sophomores these days.

Members of the Class of 2008 and their parents aren't the only ones with worries. More than a reflection on individual students, this year's results on the 10th-grade WASL are a test of what the state has — or hasn't — accomplished since the education-reform act was passed in 1993.

Did the schools do enough to prepare students? Did state lawmakers provide enough dollars to help schools do that? Is the WASL a good test of what students know? Does it set the bar too high — or too low? Is it fair to ask all students to pass it — even those just learning English, or those with disabilities?

All these questions and more continue to be debated in classrooms, in Olympia hearing rooms, among teachers and students.

Judging by last year's WASL results, none of the concerns will disappear soon.

Last spring, fewer than half of the state's 10th-graders passed the test's three key subjects. (The fourth — science — won't be a graduation requirement until 2010.) Even optimistic projections put the failure rate this spring at around 40 percent, meaning roughly 34,000 students would have to face taking the test at least a second time.

The statistics for some groups of students cause even more concern. For example:

• More than three-quarters of the state's poorest students failed reading, writing or math on last year's 10th-grade exam. Thirty percent failed all three subjects.

• Half of the state's African-American and Hispanic students didn't even come close to passing the math section of the 2005 exam, scoring a one on a four-point scale.

• Sixty-one percent of students who are learning English — excluding those who have been in the country for less than a year — failed all three subjects last year. So did 60 percent of special-education students who weren't exempt from taking the test.

• Passage rates vary among school districts, but even the richest aren't close to 100 percent. In Mercer Island, for example, 20 percent of last year's sophomores failed at least one of the three main subjects.

Many hope the passing rates will rise significantly over the next year or two for a couple of reasons. First, 10th-graders now have a reason to take the test more seriously. Students will be able to retake the exam (or parts of it) up to four more times for free — and more if they pay for it.

Schools have started or plan to step up efforts to help students who fail. The Federal Way School District, for example, provided special classes and summer-school programs for all the students in the Class of 2008 who failed the math or reading parts of the WASL when they were in seventh grade.

District officials expect nearly three-quarters of their 10th-graders to pass the reading section of the test this spring, up from the 54 percent who passed in seventh grade. They project 62 percent will pass math, up from 39 percent. And they hope to raise those numbers even more in the dwindling number of school days before the reading and writing WASL begins in March. (The math and science sections will be given in April.)

Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson is marking the days, too, but she's counting the roughly 850 between now and when the Class of 2008 is supposed to graduate. In that time, she's confident schools can get students the help they need — starting with the $38 million to $40 million she's sure the Legislature will approve this session for extra summer help.

In the two WASL prep classes at Sealth, teachers gave a practice test shortly after the class began in mid-November. The results weren't surprising for students who sought extra assistance, but they weren't promising. Of 36 students, six scored high enough to indicate they could pass the math part of the exam. That news quieted the room.

"Dang," one student finally said.

Peter Russo, a student teacher helping with the class, told those who scored at Level 2 (levels 3 and 4 are passing) that they were on the dance floor, in the key, in the ballpark. To the Level 1 students, he was encouraging but direct: "You have a lot of work to do."

Value still debated

In theory, the WASL is supposed to ensure that no student graduates from high school without strong skills in reading, writing and math. Supporters, including Gov. Christine Gregoire, argue that requiring students to pass the exam will inject more meaning into a diploma they say has become pretty thin.

Critics, including the state PTA and the teachers union, counter that the WASL was not designed to evaluate individual students, and no single test should determine anything as important as graduation. They worry that putting such high stakes on the WASL will do more harm than good, including raising the dropout rate.

Some teachers and parents also say the WASL gets too much attention, crowding out subjects and skills it doesn't cover.

"I don't like all the focus to be on one test," says Tammy Jahrman, a math teacher at Meadowdale High in Lynnwood.

The stress level this year is clearly climbing.

"People talk about it all the time. It's such a big deal," says Zenash Kasa, a sophomore at Renton's Hazen High, who says her mother has hired a tutor to help her with math.

Though members of the Class of 2008 grew up with the WASL — they were preschoolers when the law passed, and have taken the fourth- and seventh-grade versions of the exam — there's been enough uncertainty that the graduation requirement hasn't always seemed real.

"I think the kids — and some of the teachers — thought it might not actually happen," said Ben Graeber, a language-arts teacher at Hazen.

Graeber recently asked students what questions they have about the test. They had so many he spent nearly a half-hour just writing them down.

The students wondered how hard it is, who grades it, why they have to pass it. They asked whether they had to pass science (not until 2010), and some mistakenly thought they had to write every answer in cursive.

"I was surprised at how scared they are," Graeber said.

Some teachers consciously work to ease the rising tension.

"If we panic, they panic," says David Vinson, who teaches language arts at Federal Way High School. "We have to say, 'You can do this.' Because I really think they can."

The WASL prep class at Sealth started earlier than originally planned. Greg Fritzberg, who teaches education at Seattle Pacific University, originally approached the school about offering it next fall, after students know how they scored on their first try at the test this spring. But in conversations with Sealth Principal John Boyd, they thought, why wait?

Fritzberg's views of using the WASL as a graduation requirement are mixed, primarily because he's not sure there has been enough support to help students be ready. But he feels a moral obligation to help this very first class prepare for the exam.

"No matter what you think about it," he says, "we shouldn't be missing days and hours to help kids who are facing it."

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Prewrite:
I believe Evaluation and Reflection means to me is to view and to respond. The actual meaning for evaluation according to dictionary.com is to study of appraising, and the meaning of reflection is a fixing of the thoughts on something. What this applies to the article above is about how WASL is and how it affects peoples' lives, regardless of their social status or anything else.

Postwrite:
Although we didn't have class that day, I still have a clear idea about what the topic is for this blog. Evaluation is to study someone, or something. Reflection is the something to help fixing someone by giving them opinion.

Application:
The way that I use evaluation and reflection in my daily life as a PSEC student is that I active listen to what people say, and then I evaluate as they are speaking. I reflect when I am done and look at my evaluation to see if I understand everything that I had been informed.

What to do for college-bound child

By Jan Faull

Special to The Seattle Times

More Jan Faull

As your child heads off to college, you'll likely feel a sense of pride and relief that he is eagerly fleeing the nest for higher education, and some moments of sadness as you know you'll miss the child. Guilt may even set in for unfortunate things you've said or done over the years.

Your young adult, on the other hand, is probably filled with excitement and possibly apprehension. "Will I get along with my roommate? I've always had a room to myself; I can't imagine sharing a bedroom with anyone." "What will my classes and professors be like? How will I manage the workload?"

As your child packs and prepares for this academic adventure, don't burden her with your emotions. Go ahead and say you'll miss her, but keep the focus off yourself and ask in an upbeat fashion, "Need some help?"

The most unique aspect of parenting is that you work yourself out of a job. But it has not been for nothing. Research indicates that children who have been well connected at home make an easier adjustment to college life than those disconnected from their parents. You've been involved in the joys and rigors of parenting day-by-day and soon it will be over, or will it?

Before dropping your son or daughter at the dorm, be sure to say, "I love you. I believe in you. I won't stand in your way. I'll send money if you need it. Call as often as you like." Once you are home, be prepared for a barrage of phone calls. How you manage these is the key to your new role of parenting this young adult from afar.

When your college student calls because he's mad at his roommate, missing home, overwhelmed with academic pressure, not fitting in with dorm or social life, or sensing this college is just not right for him, realize that he's doing so because he knows it's safe to express his outrageous thoughts and feelings to you. He feels pressure to remain cool around his college buddies; therefore, the likely people to share this bewildered side with are good ol' Mom and Dad, who love him and won't judge him, no matter what.

Hold off offering lots of advice. Ask, "What's going on, how are you feeling?" Use active listening: "Boy, you sound really stressed." Or reiterate her outrage: "Your roommate and her boyfriend were making out on her bed and you were right there in the room? I don't believe it!" Ask your son or daughter, "What are you going to do? Is there anything I can do to help?"

You'll only escalate your child's emotions by saying, "Stop crying. You're making too much of this. Settle down." Although you might be right, those lines will probably anger your child rather than quiet her down; she may abruptly end the conversation.

If you really believe that your child, because of the frequency of the calls and the intensity of his emotions, can't pull his head out of this troubled water, encourage him to seek counseling or mental-health resources available on the campus. You may also need to say, "You can come home if you need to."

Usually these emotional phone calls are nothing more than a temporary response to being overwhelmed with the changes college life presents. Your conversation may end with no resolution. The purging of emotions, however, does provide a distinct benefit: Your freshman's mind clears enough to manage the situation for herself. At the end of the phone call, you'll feel worse, your child most likely better. If you call the next day, she's probably doing just fine.

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Pre-Write:
This article that I had chose shows how to treat, and act to your college-bound child. The article has a section in it where it shows how you should act with your child when they are having trouble. You need to use active listening to analyze the problem, and try to help them. The definition of active listening is to listen to one and to analyze and ask for feedback.

Post Write:
I do not think we had the class this week, but other than what we know during the class, I had learned that people need to practice talking. Active listening is important because we need to use it in the day to day lives. In the article, it is to show how parents should be actively listening to their children.

Application:
Active listening is good to be used in class, and at school because we need to be actively listening because we can get information better that way. This is a great example of active listening because the parent needs to get feedback from the child so that they can somehow help.

Volunteering hits 30-year high in U.S.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who volunteer to mentor students, beautify neighborhoods and pitch in after disasters is at a 30-year high, fueled in part by a boom in teen participation, a new study says.

The report by the Corporation for National and Community Service tracked volunteer rates since 1974. It found that more than 1 in 4 adults — or 27 percent — give time to their communities, a jump from a low of 20.4 percent recorded in 1989.

Teens aged 16 to 19 saw the biggest jump, with 28.4 percent volunteering compared to just 13.4 percent in 1989.

Service among midlife adults (ages 45 to 64) and senior citizens (ages 65 and over) remained strong at 30 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively. The study, which was to be released today, credits higher education levels, delayed childbearing and longer life expectancy.

"We are encouraged that emerging studies consistently show increased volunteering by young Americans. If supported properly, we may be on the cusp of a new civic generation," said Robert Grimm, director of research and policy development at the corporation.

The group, which promotes volunteering through federal programs such as Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, attributed increased volunteering among youths to a rise in service-learning programs in schools and colleges that combine classroom study with community work.

Increased altruism in response to disasters such as the Sept. 11 attacks also have played a role, Grimm said.

The report analyzed volunteering rates in 1974, 1989 and 2003-2005, using information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It also found:

• More adult volunteers serve through religious organizations (35.5 percent) than through other types of groups such as schools (24.6 percent).

• Baby boomers are volunteering in greater numbers, accounting for a 37 percent increase in participation among midlife adults since 1989.

• Older adults tend to volunteer more intensively, serving 100 or more hours a year. In contrast, most teens (67.9 percent) contribute more sporadically, amounting to 99 or fewer hours a year.

"America needs more volunteers to mentor and tutor at-risk youth, care for seniors, respond to disasters and meet a wide range of other critical needs," said David Eisner, CEO of the organization.

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Pre-write:
What I thought of this article was that it is amazing how people, even more so teens are participating in community service more than ever before. Even though this article does not explain about what mentoring is, it shows how people are now working for the better. Mentoring is defined by served as trust by counselor or teacher. What that means to me is that mentoring is a form of teaching through someone else with knowledge. Even people like you and me can be a mentor, by helping a child or adult and giving a part of our day to touch someones life. People began doing community service which is a good way to show the affect of mentoring, and how it has an impact on our life.

Post-write:
I do not believe we had class that day, but from what I understood, mentoring is extremely important because we need mentoring on a day to day life because mentoring is to teach someone that you know to others, something like what teachers do.

Application:
Mentoring is important, during school we need to practice mentoring, teachers help the students by giving us information that we know, we also have mentor groups which gives people a chance to talk to the teacher and discuss problems, or learn.

Justices consider limits on punitive damages

By Charles Lane

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court heard a tobacco company's plea for relief from a $79.5 million punitive-damages award Tuesday, in an Oregon case that could illuminate the Roberts court's approach to tort reform.

In recent years, the court has helped business on the punitive-damages issue, ruling that excessive awards violate companies' constitutional rights. But Tuesday's case may be especially significant because the firm seeking help is tobacco company Philip Morris, and it has been found liable not for bilking a consumer of money but for killing him.

A ruling in Philip Morris' favor would suggest the court is so concerned about high punitive damages that it would protect even an unpopular corporate defendant. For their part, consumer and anti-smoking groups hope a court will rule against Philip Morris and show that punitive-damage limits do not apply to especially reprehensible conduct.

By the end of arguments Tuesday, however, it seemed the court was reluctant to rule broadly in either direction.

Instead, several members of the court suggested the best way to handle the case would be to send it back to the Oregon Supreme Court for clarification of technical state law issues.

"What's worrying me about this case is ... that we're going to be in a kind of bog of mixtures of constitutional law, unclear Oregon state law, not certain exactly what was meant by whom in the context of the trial, et cetera," said Justice Stephen Breyer.

Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg made similar points, as did Justice David Souter.

Compensatory damages are usually awarded to compensate for economic losses or pain and suffering. In most of the country, punitive damages may be added to deter and punish corporate misconduct.

Tuesday's case began with a lawsuit in Oregon by Mayola Williams, the widow of Jesse Williams, a lifelong Marlboro smoker who died of lung cancer in 1997.

She alleged that the company had knowingly lied when it minimized the health risks of smoking in public statements beginning in the 1950s and stretching over four decades.

Jesse Williams repeatedly referred to those statements in explaining his refusal to quit smoking.

In 1999, an Oregon jury found Philip Morris liable for fraud. It awarded Mayola Williams $821,000 in compensation, and assessed the company $79.5 million in punitive damages.

Also Tuesday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit blocked a landmark judgment against the tobacco industry, allowing the companies to continue selling "light" and "low tar" cigarettes until their appeals can be reviewed.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.

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Pre-class write:
Public Judgment is a public decision, which allows citizens to make their own decisions. This shows me that people can get their own decision through the common voice of people. After reading the article above, I had a better understanding about public judgment. In this article, it shows how large companies have a strong voice when it comes to making choices but the peoples' voice.

Post write:
After Mary's class I see how public judgment can affect our lives. The reason for this is because people like these show how life is and how for instance the tobacco company and how they can affect lives, and through the voice of the people.

Application:
The way that public judgment affects my life as a PSEC student is by having a voice in the school, for instance, the community meetings, we can give our voice and our opinion, which is a good form of public judgment.

Many political ads online, but who sees them?

By Jonathan Martin

Seattle Times staff reporter


In this YouTube video supporting Dave Reichert, a Democrat tries to block a Republican from taping Darcy Burner at a campaign event.


The most clever local political ad you've probably never seen started with a couple of ticked-off musicians in North Carolina.

In August, members of the defunct band Squirrel Nut Zippers cut a catchy tune — "Have You Had Enough?" — in hopes of helping progressive candidates. The song took on a life of its own, passing among bloggers across the country until it became the basis for an ad targeting incumbent Republicans.

Last month, a version aimed at U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, was posted on YouTube.com by a supporter of his opponent. It is the kind of parody rarely seen in grim network TV ads, with vintage cartoon images and swinging trumpet riffs.

Despite the effort, it's been viewed all of 2,081 times.

That's the rub with the growing phenomenon this campaign season of Internet video sites like YouTube. No matter how witty or provocative, political ads on the Web are — at least for now — largely an inside joke among political junkies.

"I think the jury is still out on their ultimate effectiveness in actually generating votes," said Randy Pepple, a former GOP campaign manager and CEO of Rockey Hill & Knowlton, a public-relations firm in Seattle. "They have had some results generating money. But we haven't seen them generate votes."

That has not stopped candidates and their supporters in the most-contested local races from posting videos, including Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell and Republican Mike McGavick in the U.S. Senate, and Reichert and his Democratic opponent, Darcy Burner, for the Eastside congressional seat. Everything from homemade hit pieces to banal stump speeches to candidates' gaffes is up for viewing on the Web.

What creators of those videos want, said Peter Mitchell of the boutique ad agency Mercury Seattle, is for them to go "viral." That happens when a video fills e-mail boxes across the country like a contagion.

In 2005, a cartoon parody of President Bush at JibJab.com went viral, with 2 million views within two weeks. Video of Sen. George Allen, R-Va., calling an opponent's campaign volunteer "macaca" — the name of an African monkey — has been seen more than 250,000 times since he made the remark this summer.

"I absolutely think the viral stuff is where you will change people's opinion," Mitchell said. "If you are sitting in your living room and see a mudslinging ad on TV, you can say, 'It's only political people.' When something goes viral, it will come to you from a friend."

His firm, working on behalf of Seattle City Council candidate Richard McIver last year, built a Web site poking fun at McIver's opponent, Dwight Pelz. The site (www.whatwilldwightdonext.com) featured a Magic 8 ball; each click spit out a new race that Pelz, now chairman of the state Democratic Party, had considered entering. McIver won the race.

The site wasn't seen very many times, but it was seen by "the right people" in political circles, Mitchell said. "I wouldn't measure success in the number of hits and megabits. Success is whether you changed the debate, whether you changed the discussion."

The "macaca" episode — with Allen using the term to describe the volunteer of Indian descent — has shown the potency of the gotcha video.

Reichert supporters recently posted on YouTube video of a silly dance between a Republican trying to tape Burner at a campaign event and a Democrat holding a piece of paper in front of the lens. That video, however, has been seen less than 1,000 times.

Political blogs are the most common source for turning a video viral, but bloggers acknowledge that most of their readers are already political insiders.

It won't be until campaigns can send e-mails to narrowly focused groups — such as all the independent voters in the Reichert-Burner race — that Web videos will really take off, said John Wyble of Moxie Media, a left-leaning political consulting group in Seattle.

"It's one thing to have political insiders looking at these. It's another for it to become viral and penetrate down to swing voters," he said.

Even if they are not yet critical to campaigns, Web sites such as YouTube and Google Video are repositories of political ingenuity. An ad by Yvonne Ward, a Democrat in Auburn running for the state Senate, replicates the legendary Rainier beer motorcycle ad, with the candidate on her bike.

The ad using the Squirrel Nut Zippers' "Have You Had Enough?" has been such a hit that it has been recut for about 18 races across the country. In it, cartoons are spliced with images from an old Dwight Eisenhower commercial while singer Rickie Lee Jones urges voters to "throw the rascals out."

Andrew Tsao, a network TV director in Bellevue and a Burner supporter, posted it on YouTube last month after asking bloggers for a copy tailor-made for Reichert. "Any campaign in America today that does not pay very careful attention to the use of viral media does so at their own peril," Tsao said.

On that point, Tsao and Republican campaign strategist J. Vander Stoep, an adviser to McGavick's campaign, can agree.

"There's going to come a day when ... it will be demonstrated that campaigns' actions on the Web are decisive," Vander Stoep said. "Is it this year? Nobody knows. Talk to me after the

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Prewrite:
I believe that the article above has a great meaning to it. Political imagination has a strong affect on many people. I think that after Mary's class, I will be able to understand the topic much better.

Postwrite:
I feel that after Mary's seminar today that I have a better understanding about Political Imagination now. The reason for this is because when I had went into the classroom, I thought that Political imagination was the government trying to change us, but it is actually about the certain political candidates running for election through other forms of creative and influencing tactics. For instance, the article above shows how people run for election, and get people to notice them, is by getting in touch with people through the internet. Which is a great example of political imagination.

Application:
The way that I use Political imagination in life could probably be at PSEC is probably by giving ideas, for instance, giving ideas during a class would help with political imagination because it will help the class as a whole, rather than just one person.