Wolfpack Press » Op/Ed

The State of the Union in 2012

Mr. Adams — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:10:42 +0000

[From the NY Times. A version of this editorial appeared in print on January 25, 2012, on page A28 of the New York edition with the headline: The State of the Union in 2012.]

A year ago, after the last State of the Union address, we applauded President Obama for challenging the Republicans’ blame-government, slash-and-burn rhetoric. He explained why Washington must do more to help put millions of struggling people back to work and why any credible plan to wrestle down the deficit must include the wealthy paying a fairer share of taxes.

After a rough start to 2011, economic numbers have improved, and Mr. Obama has pushed Congress to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits and outlined an ambitious jobs agenda. But the country’s problems are profound. There are 13.1 million unemployed, and the risk of stagnation is real. Republican candidates are pounding on the wrong, but seductive, notion that the real problem is government spending — especially on the “others,” the poor and minorities. Congressional Republicans have barely wavered in their obstructionism.

Mr. Obama has become steadily more assertive, but he will have to push even harder. The State of the Union address was a chance to do that, and he did not squander it.

He sounded many of the same themes as last year, but his tone was sharper and he was far more willing to apportion blame, particularly singling out the financial industry for its excesses and politicians who are still determined to defend tax cuts for the rich and undo desperately needed financial regulations. “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by,” he said, “or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”

Mr. Obama’s talk of “an economy built to last” was a bit too folksy, but he is right that the country can’t rely on some invisible hand to develop a strategy to compete in the 21st century. Washington must do a lot more to create good jobs, to encourage new industries, to build the infrastructure to support a vibrant economy and to address climate change and promote energy independence.

The president’s calls to deny tax breaks to companies that outsource and provide a tax credit to companies that bring jobs back home are good ones. The real challenge will be to ensure that those repatriated jobs are good-paying jobs. The president called for better job training and education, but a skills gap isn’t the main problem. Employers aren’t going to do a lot more hiring until consumers buy more products. Demand is unlikely to recover until Congress agrees to more federal spending, including aid to states for hiring.

Mr. Obama’s idea to use half of the savings from winding down the wars for public-works projects is laudable and could put hundreds of thousands back to work. Republicans are sure to insist that the money be used for deficit reduction, setting up another battle to simply do the obviously right thing. Mr. Obama has pushed banks and Congress to make it easier for borrowers who are current in their payments to refinance. On Tuesday night, he called — finally — for a full investigation of the lending abuses that inflated the bubble and led to the crash. That is the best hope for getting meaningful redress for borrowers.

In addition to his longstanding call to let the high-end Bush-era tax cuts expire, Mr. Obama called for a “Buffett rule” to ensure that millionaires pay an effective rate of at least 30 percent, ensuring that they never pay less than the middle class. “You can call this class warfare all you want,” he said. “But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.” We agree.

Over the last year, Americans have become more aware of the deep inequities in the economy and of the government’s responsibility to act. Mr. Obama deserves some of the credit for that, but it has a lot more to do with the unrelenting tough times and the efforts of Occupy Wall Street and other protests. What Americans want now is strong political leadership.

Nuclear Weapons: A Cause for Concern? (An Opinion Piece)

Mr. Adams — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:26:10 +0000

By: Kelli Moe Staff Writer

A recent report by the I.A.E.A. (International Atomic Energy Agency) has many countries on edge. The report which was given on November 8th stated that there is a great deal of evidence suggesting “Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device”. The report does not offer any confirmation of an actual bomb. However, it does support the fact that Iran’s nuclear program is making more progress than previously thought. This is of concern to the U.S., who spoke with Israel and other countries about what should be done.

Nuclear weapons have been around since World War II, so they are not a new threat. Many countries have weapons of mass destruction in their hands. Countries such as China, North Korea and Russia are all in possession of weapons. Therefore, it would not be unusual for Iran or other countries to have nuclear devices as well. In fact, it’s probably inevitable.

Iran might say they would be used for protection, but most would argue that they would be used for harm. This is why people are becoming so worked up about the issue. On November 23, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied all claims that they were developing a nuclear weapon saying “The West tells us, you should prove you don’t have atomic bombs. How can something that doesn’t exist be proved? It’s nonexistent.” He went on to say that if they were developing any weapons they would openly say so. He said the U.S. is making false allegations and that what their program is trying to achieve is nothing of anyone’s concern. The program is apparently being used to develop nuclear energy as a standard power source, not a weapon, and it would help to conserve oil.

The U.S., Canada, and Britain decided that sanctions would be a good form of pressure because provoking another war would just be crazy. The sanctions were applied on the 22nd and were mostly aimed at Iran’s central and commercial banks. There were also some sanctions placed on companies involved in Iran’s nuclear industry. Iran is of course unhappy, because they say they are doing nothing wrong. There’s no telling what the outcome will be.

Any country that has nuclear weapons is a problem, because a weapon of that size could do so much harm. That is why nuclear weapons in Iran scare a lot of people. But right now it’s nothing to be extremely worried about. With Iran, there are just a lot of “ifs”. Will they have one in the future? Quite possibly. Will they use it? Maybe. The world will just have to wait and see.

Sources

Kissing Up: The Native American Symbol at Park High School

Mr. Adams — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:08:05 +0000

By Staff Writer – Cora Layman

Having to kiss the Indian mark if you step on it has been a tradition at Park High School for a very long time. Many people do not even know why they have to do this. The Park Wolfpack used to be called the ‘Park Indians,’ which is why the Indian symbol is on the floor by the gym. There was quite a bit of controversy over this mascot name when the high school had it in place. Some people believed that it was not ethical to be calling the mascot an “Indian,” when the correct term was “Native American.” It would be considered an insult to the Native Americans to be calling them Indians, so the name ‘Park Indians’ was dropped.

Park officially decided to change the name from Indian to Wolfpack. Park left the Indian symbol where it is now as a symbol of respect to the Native Americans. If you step on the Indian, it is very disrespectful, so you must kiss it to prove that it was an accident. Kissing the symbol shows you did not mean any harm.

What is striking, even now in this 2011/2012 school year is that opinions still differ on whether or not the tradition stands as a good tradition. Maggie Bunton, a Freshman at Park High School said: “I think the tradition is a great thing to have! It really bonds everyone together because if you see someone step on it, you’re going to make them kiss it! It is a really unique thing to have in our school, and it is something I will remember after I graduate.” There are also people who disagree with this. Sarah, another freshman at Park High School said: “I think it is really annoying. You always have to avoid it, and it seems pretty pointless.” Even as these opinions change throughout the years, one thing remains forever true, Park High School is a unique place and should be proud of its respective traditions.

Career Exploration– What Do The Student’s Think?

Mr. Adams — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:47:36 +0000

Career Exploration– What Do The Student’s Think?

By: Aubrey Asleson

It’s called Career Exploration, and for the first three months of the school year, it’s the ninth grader’s English class. Throughout the trimester, students learn how their hobbies and interests can tie into certain jobs, and use the information to browse careers that appeal to them. By the end of the trimester, Ninth graders are expected to choose a career that they would like to pursue. The first trimester of English class is somewhat different for freshmen student’s this year. You won’t find them writing summaries, learning about pronouns, or composing poems. Instead, ninth graders spend their class trying to find out who they want to be, and what they want to do with their lives.

But what do the students think about this? Feelings vary. Some say it is “unhelpful,” and “frustrating,” for students who can’t decide on a career, although others have a positive outlook. One 9th grader described Career Exploration as, “helpful,” and went on to say, “I learned a lot about myself . . . but it’s also a little too much.” Students had contrasting opinions also, toward pursuing these careers. Some said that they most likely will not pursue their chosen Career Exploration path, while others have said that they are realistically planning to pursue what they chose during this unit. But on the subject of substituting an entire trimester of English class for this, they were mostly unanimous in disagreement. Some students claimed that Career Exploration is, “wasting our time,” and another stated, “we need to focus more on English.”

Mark Porter Viewpoint: Test results show District 833 successes, areas to focus on

Mr. Adams — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:26:57 +0000

[By: Mark Porter, South Washington County Bulletin]

Due to the summer state government shutdown we have experienced a delayed release of student achievement data from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). However, as each new piece of information becomes available, we continue to analyze our student proficiency results for last year. Recently, we received results for the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) in math for grades 3-8 and 11, and for reading in grades 3-8 and 10. We also received GRAD results, a test embedded into the MCA-II for grade 11 in math, grade 10 in reading and grade 9 in writing. GRAD tests (Graduation Required Assessments for Diploma) are required exams for high school graduation.

Overall, students enrolled in the district continue to demonstrate a high level of proficiency, meeting or exceeding grade level expectations in reading and math, and performing well above statewide proficiency rates. However, included in these results are specific areas of concern, particularly regarding achievement gaps between student subgroups of gender, ethnicity, special education, English Learners (EL) and socioeconomic status. Both our accomplishments and our opportunities for improvement are worthy of further discussion.

The reporting of math results this year are by far the most challenging due to recalibration of the assessment by MDE, resulting in a 9 percent statewide decrease in proficiency. A decrease in proficiency was also experienced in our district, but slightly less than the statewide decrease resulting in an actual increase in relative standing in all grades tested except grade 5. Students participating in the grade 11 Math MCA-II results place the district in the top 12 across the state of those with 100 or more students enrolled. On the more rigorous GRAD test for math, Woodbury High School demonstrated an almost unheard of 22 percent increase in proficiency.

In reading, 83 percent of students enrolled in the district are proficient compared to 75 percent at the state level. There were no changes made to the MCA-II Reading test this year, so results are somewhat more comparable to last year. Reading highlights include an increase in proficiency, and with the exception of grade 7 (at 78 percent proficiency) the district now has 80 percent or more of its students proficient on the state reading standards. Again, results at East Ridge, Park and Woodbury high schools place the district in the top 14 districts with 100 or more students enrolled. In addition, Park High School demonstrated a 7 percent increase in proficiency on the GRAD Reading test, with 87 percent of students identified as proficient.

These are just some of the outstanding results. We know that the progress of our students is evidence of the focus and efforts our team places on student achievement. We will celebrate the successes of the district as a whole and for individual sites, but we also know we need to work harder to change the results that weren’t as we’d hoped.

In particular, our initial analysis efforts reveal significant gaps in performance between student subgroups. While we have successfully addressed gender-based achievement gaps in most content areas, there continues to be a narrowing gap in proficiency between boys and girls in reading, with girls demonstrating greater proficiency. It appears that some schools have been more successful than others in addressing this concern. We will continue to share internal “best practices.” With regard to ethnicity, special education, EL and socioeconomic status the gaps are more significant, persistent and consistent.

In reading, proficiency gaps between our highest and lowest performing ethnic subgroups have been reduced at many grades, but remain as large as 17 percent. In math, the gaps for ethnic student subgroups are even more significant with some gaps as high as 35 percent. Clearly, this is where our efforts and resources need to be directed this year and in the years ahead.

The issue of gaps in achievement amongst student subgroups is not a challenge unique to our district, but just as we want to be a leader in overall student achievement, we also want to be a statewide leader in closing these gaps. It is our mission to ignite a passion for learning in all students.

Mark Porter is superintendent of School District 833.

Diversity Day Highlights Unique Dancing Around the World

Sam — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:18:43 +0000

Cheers, music, and applause erupted from the Park High School auditorium on Wednesday March 3 as Park High School hosted Diversity Day. This special presentation, set up by Guidance Counselor Dr. Vo, was an opportunity for students to see a variety of different cultures through the art of dance. Various members of the student body were involved in the assembly including Park’s Step Team, Hip Hop Club, and the break dancing group, the Funky Munkys. There were also some guest performers including Mexican folk dancers and a play. Presented during first, second, and fourth hour, the performances were a unique display of the various cultures and traditions in Park High School.

The presentation began with Park’s Step Team, known as the Wolf Riders. This popular group, which is in its second year,

performed their African style dance techniques in which intricate percussive rhythms are created by using one’s body as an instrument. The Wolf Riders combined these rhythmic moves with hip-hop dance and their signature howl to impress the audience.

Next, Park High School’s Hip Hop Crew performed. Dressed in green t-shirts and black pants, the team, created last fall by senior Sandra Yang, danced to a montage of songs including energetic tunes such as “Tic Toc” and some slower ballads.

Several members of the Hip Hop crew stayed on stage after their number to display their break dancing moves .These five young men, who won last fall’s talent show, are the Funky Munkys, and have become a very well known group at Park High School. The men impressed the audience with their break dancing skills including several handstands and head spins in their

short routine.

Finally, the last of Park’s students displayed their dance moves. Seniors Chris Nimely, Peterson Pierre, and Nick Pieper did a tribute to the late Michael Jackson by free style dancing to Jackson’s song “Smooth Criminal”. The three men were dressed in suit coats and fedoras, matching the outfit that Jackson wore when performing this song for the musical movie Moonwalkers . The student’s performance featured some Jackson moves including the moonwalk and some unique moves such as back flips by Pierre.

To close the event, Park allowed the special guests, a group of Mexican folk dancers to take the stage. The group had prepared a special routine for the students that included dance styles, music, and clothing from three states of Mexico. The first state shown was Yucatan and two women came on stage wearing white floor length dresses with flowered embroidery and bright bows in their hair. The women danced a singular da

nce that featured feet tapping and twirling a bright colored scarf around in the air.

Next, a young boy and girl came out to represent the Mexican state of Chiapas. The two teens danced a partner dance, in which the girl and boy would dance across from one another, making eye contact but not touching. The girl wore a beautiful flowing dress and the boy looked distinguished in a white dress shirt and black pants.

Woman dancing in a Mexican ribbon dress

Finally, the last state featured was Jalisco. This area’s style of dance, known as ribbon dancing, is the most well known dance style in Mexico. The routine featured a woman wearing a purple pastel ribbon dress that she twirled to make an intriguing optical display.

Diversity Day offered the students to see some of the unique cultures in the world through various types of dancing. Students of all different races were featured in the show and all came together to bring entertainment and awareness to the student body.

Dirty Business

tjorgenson — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:30:16 +0000

On any normal day here at Park High School, chances are that you have been walking down a hallway and you find yourself having to dodge garbage, or even a puddle of some sticky drink. Day after day I see fellow students carelessly throwing their trash onto the floors of our hallways, classrooms, lunchroom, and bathrooms. Not only is it annoying for everyone else, it’s also just plain gross!

Trashcans are strategically placed all over the school, in classrooms, hallways (now marked by neon tape), the lunchroom, and even the exterior of the building. The only place that I know of that doesn’t have trashcans, are the bathrooms. Is it really that hard to walk maybe 50 feet to a trashcan? Personally I don’t believe that it’s too difficult.

Pride in our school is something that Park students greatly show. Any day, you’ll see Park students representing their school by wearing their forest green and white Wolfpack apparel. However, clothing isn’t the only way we can show pride in our school. Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, we all can show more school spirit by keeping our school cleaner. Even a simple task such as picking up a piece of paper on the floor can demonstrate pride in our school, and community.

As many of you know, Park High School has gotten a face lift over the past few years. Some of the many new spaces gained are the large group room, front entrance and the activities and Administrative offices. Showing respect to these spaces for future generations use is something we must do. By keeping everything clean and tidy, it shows that we really do have respect for our school, community, and others.

Lastly, keeping our school clean, shows that we are a mature student body. High school is a place where we come to learn and grow. School should be a safe, sanitary learning environment. It can be very distracting, annoying, and just plain nasty to have to deal with other people’s trash and or messes. Being mature and responsible means that you are able to take care of yourself, others and the spaces around you. By doing your part, you are showing that you are mature, respectful, and responsible.

In conclusion, I think we can all say that keeping our school cleaner would be beneficial for everyone. It could mean as much as you wont ruin your brand new 80 dollar shoes by stepping in a piece of sticky gum or in a pool of murky purple juice. Or it could even be something as little as not having to brush those annoying paper frizzles off your desk. Showing more pride, respect, responsibility, maturity is something we can all perform. Lets all try to be more respectful towards our school, community and others. Remember, we are PHS!

Park High School’s Not So Favorite Hour

tjorgenson — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:24:39 +0000

Usually, when the question of what is your favorite subject of the day is asked, witty students would reply with lunch. Even though lunch is technically not a subject, it is widely known for its popularity. It is where students satisfy their hunger while catching up on their social lives. But now when the question is asked, lunch is no longer an answer that comes up. Maybe that is a sign, a sign that Park High School lunches are not up to par of what defines an enticing lunch. The foods are too costly. The regular lunches are $2.00 a meal, but everyone who has eaten one of these lunches would agree that it is not satisfying enough. The pizzas at school are too overpriced, and the serving sizes are too tiny. The pizza slices would be perfect size if we were ants! A statement that is repeatedly heard when a student buys pizza is “what a rip-off”!

Based on reviews, students at Park High School feel the lunches are unsuitable for their appetite. According to Tyler Thompson, “Chicken Patties are the only decent thing at lunch, yet they don’t even serve them everyday”. Mark Carson agrees by adding in, “The lunch servers really don’t care to make any appealing lunches, and they would just throw together what is available”. Usually, as the intercom announces the lunch items for the day, students tend to show a look of disgust on their faces. Many accuse the lunch servers of using leftovers. Nick Pieper once announced, “Wow these school lunches are getting worse by the day”! I personally would agree with this. For example at school today, the lunch item was spicy pepperoni on rice. You can’t be serious. That shouldn’t even be considered a meal!

The unappealing lunches have caused many students to want to go out to eat lunch. Fast food places are unhealthy, yet students would rather go to these places because all agree that they are more edible than school lunches. Many students would compare Park High School to East Ridge. East Ridge has a spacious environment where students eat their enjoyable lunch. When asked what would make students stay to eat lunch at school, August Omot and many other students agreed that, “Park High School needs a Food Court”! They said that even though food courts are placed in the school, the food items could still meet the health nutrition policy. Subway and Chipotle are popular choices. Maybe getting a food court would be practical. Just imagine: no more dealing with rubbery tasting French toast sticks, cold hard fries, or those disgusting wraps! That sounds a lot like heaven to me. We are a world of developing technology, so let’s start with Park High School’s cafeterias.

Hello 2010!

Frannie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:48:41 +0000

2009 is over and 2010 has finally begun. It’s amazing to think that we have survived through ten years of the millennium, when in 1999 the whole world was worried that all the computers would end and thus ending the world as we knew it. I remember that a friend of mine and her family had stockpiled survival food and kits just in case. Looking back now, it seems so silly.

Then in 2001, there were the attacks on the World Trade Towers in New York City on September 11, as well as the attack on the Pentagon and the plane crash in Pennsylvania. We were only in grade school, whether we were kindergarteners or fourth graders. Maybe we understood it and maybe we didn’t at first. But we will always remember.

From September 11 on, the United States has faced difficult times. First, we invaded Afghanistan and from there Iran, where we searched for weapons of mass destruction. Americans began to question the decisions of government even more with the fiasco that was Hurricane Katrina, which the country is still picking up the pieces from. There were the outbreaks of the avian flu and then H1N1 influenza (first known as swine flu).

And then there was the biggest difficulty of the decade: the recession. So many jobs were lost, homes were foreclosed, and families began struggling. This was even worse than the crash in 1929 that began the Great Depression.

Over the last ten years, we have lost many influential people: Charles Schulz (2000), Dale Earnhardt (2001), John Ritter (2003), Johnny Cash (2003), Steve Irwin (2006), Heath Ledger (2008), Bernie Mac (2008), Billie Mays (2009), Michael Jackson (2009), Patrick Swayze (2009), and many more that were near and dear to our hearts.

But the decade of the 2000s has had many good events, especially for us teenagers. Cells phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players such as the iPod became the norm in American society. DVD’s replaced the old VHS tapes. Many websites became popular due to the rising popularity of the internet: Google, Yahoo, eBay, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The 2000s were definitely the beginning of the technology age.

Trends became popular for some and not so popular for others. There was the rise of the Crocs, which many people love to hate, as well as Uggs. For boys, the fauxhawk became popular and the straighten hair became popular with girls.

Popular book series were Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the Twilight Saga. Movies that made it big in the box office were the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter films, Pirates of the Caribbean series, the Spiderman series, Ice Age, and many more.

Maybe the 2000s weren’t so horrible after all and maybe they were. But we can see this as a period of growth for our nation and the world. We have become stronger as individuals and as a whole. So here’s to 2010 and beyond! May the next ten years be better than the last ten!

Mosquito Nets Save Lives

tjorgenson — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:26:13 +0000

Malaria kills…. about 1 million people a year, mostly people living in Africa. And here’s another sad fact: Every 30 seconds a child in Africa dies from malaria.

With those sad statistics in mind, it is pretty amazing to realize that something as simple, as old school and as inexpensive as a mosquito net can save lives. The United Nations foundation, Nothing But Nets provides insecticide treated nets, sets them up, and educates people about their value.

This week you will find paper cups in your first hour classroom to raise money for this worthy and straightforward cause. If you like charities that are clean, straight and simple, this is the cause for you– No bells or whistles, not much bureaucracy, just money for a good cause. Please give generously. Your class has an opportunity to win breakfast, but more importantly, we all have a chance to be global citizens. After the drive, you can still support this important cause by going to:

http://www.nothingbutnets.net/nets-save-lives/