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Tuesday, December 2, 1997 3:15:27 PM
Message From: Greg Jorgensen, gwj@pobox.com
Subject: Re: Letter to the Editor
To: Richard H. Meeker
Hi Richard,
Yes, it's me, your former production manager from a long time ago. I still brag about that job!
I am more than happy to answer your questions.
Given that I wrote the Kick back the kicker piece, I obviously disagree with at least some of what you write-though I wholeheartedly agree about parental involvement. Again, my purpose in writing this column would not be to further my side of the argument. Rather, it's my sense that an awful lot of good, responsible, intelligent Portlanders share your sensibilities regarding money and schools. I'd like to try to understand those sensibilities better. With that in mind-and with my promise not to use your responses to the questions below to beat up on you in print-I wonder if you'd be willing to answer the following questions for me:
1. What has formed your thinking on schools?
Aside from the nine years I spent in public schools in Southern California and Portland (I went to Catholic school through third grade), I have two school-age daughters. My oldest attended schools, both public and private, through second grade. Before we enrolled her in third grade we decided to investigate home schooling and other options. As we gradually grew comfortable with the idea and learned more about the various "flavors" of home schooling, and got to know and trust ourselves and our daughter better, we modified our approach to education.
My wife and I were both tremendously influenced by some of the books we read on the home schooling/unschooling "movement," and some reading I've done on education and learning in general. In particular John Holt and John Taylor Gatto really opened our eyes. I guess like everyone else I had grown accustomed to widespread illiteracy and lack of critical thinking ability, but I never gave it much though until I was faced with raising children of my own. At about the same time I was involved with educational publishers developing educational multimedia software for classroom use, and the contrast between the mostly dedicated developers, writers, and educational consultants on the one hand and the business and political side of the education business on the other was disillusioning.
2. Where do you get your information?
All over -- I'm an obsessive reader. Some information comes from homeschooling & unschooling books. Some comes from mainstream magazines and newspapers, things I hear on t.v., or stuff I find on the internet. Sometimes I bookmark or clip articles if I think I will need to refer to them later but I don't have any direct sources to give you for the specific claims I made in my letter. Even so I stand by them, especially the lack of evidence for a cause-and-effect relationship between per-student spending and academic achievement, even if you allow for the "corrections" in standards in vogue these days.
3. With whom do you discuss this stuff?
Anyone who will listen!
4. What basic beliefs do you hold that support your thinking on schools?
Learning is what is important -- facts, skills, and most important how we acquire, analyze, and integrate information into an understanding of the world. When you read about schools or the various "debates" on education, the focus is generally on teaching, financing, and various political and administrative problems. I think people have been conditioned to accept without question that teaching creates or causes learning, that education is a product provided by schools through teachers. This market-oriented model of education isn't fair to kids, the consumers in this model. Learning takes place in the mind of the student, because they want to learn. Most adults can fondly recall times they really learned something, and it rarely happened in a classroom or as a result of being "taught." In short I don't believe teaching works.
I also believe that the current school system is not really meant to provide quality education to all students. I believe the primary purpose of school is to show children their place in the social order, and to get them used to taking orders, respecting authority, responding to arbitrary and artificial "learning situations" according to bells and curriculum and so on. In the last half of this century the public schools have become government-run day care for "two-earner" families (economic considerations as usual come before anything else). By the time kids reach high school the campus most closely resembles a jail.
I could go on and on but I refer you to the books listed below.
5. Who do you trust on this issue?
Myself. My kids. My wife. We are comfortable researching, analyzing, and making decisions on our own.
6. Where does your thinking leave you on other key issues? That is, if you're willing to say, how do you feel about Oregon's system of collecting revenue? What should you, as an average citizen, be expected to pay? Do you have any other obligations or duties to Oregon? Are you registered to vote? If so, which political party? How often do you vote? Where are you on land-use planning, especially the UGB? In your opinion, how's the legislature serving us at the moment? The governor? The many? City Hall? The county chair? Where are you on light rail? Higher ed? Assisted suicide? Abortion? Are Portland and Oregon becoming better places in which to live or worse ones-or are they stuck?
I think any form of taxation based on income is theft, but that said I voluntarily contribute (under threat of law) a considerable portion of my income to a state and federal government that gives me little in return beyond a bloated, corrupt bureaucracy and an insecure retirement income that I already know won't be enough. I also pay for schools and other government "services" I don't use. On top of this I pay various use taxes -- many government services, such as the courts, public records, business licenses, etc. require fees above and beyond the taxes I've already paid. For all this (amounting to over 35% of my income, more if you include excise taxes, traffic & parking "fines" and other forms of revenue collection) I get to live in the safest country in the world, watch U.S. police actions on CNN, and drive every day on roads that have potholes big enough for me to fall into.
I am willing to pay taxes and happy to participate as a citizen of Oregon and the United States, but the governments that levy the taxes need to attend to the jobs they are supposed to be doing -- as defined by the Constitutions of the U.S. and Oregon -- and stop worrying about how I live my life. One corollary effect of an uneducated, uncritical populace is the shift in focus from real political and government issues to scandal and "lifestyle" issues such as abortion and right to die, which the government has no say in (by definition).
If you haven't guessed I am a registered Libertarian, since 1982. I vote in every local and state election. I voted for president for the first time in my life (I'm 37) in the last election because Harry Browne is a personal hero of mine.
The UGB was a good idea as long as the population growth was slow, but now it seems to be raising property prices through the roof. Developers and the government (through increased tax revenue) benefit from this. If expanding the UGB reduced density I'd be for it, but I think we are stuck with increasing population density from now on out, unless we enforce some kind of immigration policy on the Californians.
The state legislature has no credibility because they don't trust the people who elected them. Any legislature that sends a ballot measure back to the voters and tries to use lies and fear to make people change their mind should be kicked out -- their job is to represent us, not tell us how to live. The governor foolishly vetoed a bill that would stop the unfair testing of homeschooled children even though the legislature passed it, so he doesn't get my vote, either. Oregon is one of two states requiring such testing, and here it's only required of homeschooled students, not those in public or private schools. I doubt it will stand a serious court challenge.
I'm neither for nor against abortion or right-to-die. Those are personal issues, not public or government issues. When the government proves they can do the jobs we elected them to and pay them for they can think about telling us how to live and die.
7. What are the greatest threats to Oregon's way of life these days? Greatest opportunities?
Too many people moving here. Skyrocketing housing prices. Trying to be like Silicon Valley or Seattle by sacrificing quality of life for economic growth. Sucking up to big, rich corporations.
There are many opportunities here if making money is the goal. The natural beauty that I love so much about Oregon is still largely intact.
8. What do you do with your spare time for your own enjoyment? Do you get out into the environment Oregon so often touts? Do you take advantage of downtown cultural events? Sports? Do you see much of the rest of the state?
I go on long motorcycle tours once in a while. My hobby is motorcycle touring. We spend a lot of time together as a family. We do a lot of walks, hiking, going to the beach, going to the desert, etc. We do take advantage of the museums and cultural events -- more than some people because our kids aren't locked up in school all day. We aren't sports fans and I wouldn't care if the Allenblazers and Allen Garden were gone. We do quite a bit of travelling throughout the state -- most of our vacations and trips are in-state. We aren't religious so we don't go to church or take part in religious festivals.
9. What books have you read recently that made an impression on you? Movies?
The last good movie I saw in a theater was "Sling Blade."
I read a lot of books -- everyone in my family except my youngest daughter (4) reads lot. We subscribe to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, some computer magazines, Granta. I don't subscribe to the newspaper; I read the daily news online, sometimes watch CNN in the morning. I read Willamette Week every week. On Sundays I sometimes buy the L.A. Times or the New York Times.
These books on education & learning are favorites and have been very influential:
How Children Fail, by John Holt
How Children Learn, by John Holt
Learning All The Time, by John Holt
Dumbing Us Down, by John Taylor Gatto
Deschooling Society, edited by Matt Hern
Begin Here!, by Jacques Barzun Mindstorms, by Seymour Papert
My favorite books, the ones I read at least once a year:
Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig
Burr, Lincoln, or Julian, by Gore Vidal
The Name of the Rose, by Umerto Eco
Other long-time favorites I keep on my desk for idling:
Boswell's Life of Johnson
Selections from the Tatler and Spectator, by Addison & Steele
Sounds like a pretentious list, I know. My wife and I have both been reading a lot of English history lately -- Alison Weir and so on. I was fascinated by the story of Richard III earlier this year after seeing the Ian McKellen movie.
I enjoyed The Alienist by Caleb Carr, and Felicia's Journey by William Trevor -- those are the two best popular fiction books I've read lately.
I read a lot of non-fiction, much of it related to my work as a computer consultant. None of it makes an impression on me.
10. How much of your information/entertainment is derived from television?
Almost none. We watch very little T.V. As a source of information it is almost useless, save for the occasional Discover Channel or A&E special (I like Biography and some of the history documentaries). Personally the only show that I find entertaining is Seinfeld. My wife likes ER and Star Trek. The kids don't watch much t.v.
11. Do you have a family? Kids? Any in school? Public? Private?
I've been married for eleven years. We have two daughters: Nastassia, 9, and Camille, 4. Nastassia is unschooled and has been out of school since last year, and she is thriving. Camille asked to go to school so she goes three days a week to a private co-op school near us, Magic Garden. Camille will probably not go to school next year unless she insists.
12. What are you doing for work? Do you like your job? Do they pay you enough? Train you enough? Or are you on your own?
I am a well-paid computer software systems analyst and programmer. I am self-employed, have been for some time. Ironically my main contract right now is with the Bonneville Power Administration. I think I am paid well, though enough is a relative thing. I insist on training myself -- I find training classes and seminars boring and slow.
13. What important question/s have I failed to ask?
I can't think of anything, but I could go on and on if I wasn't so tired right now!
Before you laugh too hard at this apparent inquisition or dismiss it out of hand, please keep in mind that I'm serious about this inquiry. I think the last decade has marked a tremendous shift in the values Oregonians-especially Portlanders-bring to public life and I'd love to get some sense of what's behind this sea change. Nor do I assume that people with whom I may disagree are necessarily wrong.
I am flattered you asked, really. I don't know about a sea change. I think libertarian attitudes get more attention now. I think people are very disgusted with the government, but don't know what to do about it.
I am serious and sincere about what I've written, and you may use any or all of it as long as you don't make me sound like a crank or a malcontent.
Can I treat you and Mark to a beer (or whatever) at one of our fine brew pubs sometime? I would really enjoy seeing both of you.
Regards,
Greg Jorgensen
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