Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 4

Forum THE UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL i TUESDAY, NOV. 25. 1997 K.C. Meadows, editor, 468-3523 LOCALLY OPERATED MEMBER DONREV MEDIA GROUP Donald W. Reynolds, Founder Ukiah Daily vurnal (DSPS 646-920) Dennis Wilson, Publisher K.C.

Meadows Editor John Speck Advertising Director Vfc Martinez Production Manager Yvonne Bell Office Manager Ken B6M Circulation Manager Camornla Aiioclation OTHER OPINIONS from around the state The Long Beach Press-Telegram On educating teachers After months of study, some of California's most influential educators have come up with a plan to sharply improve the training of teachers, and trustees of the State University system have enthusiastically endorsed it. A lot is riding on this plan. Nobody doubts that California's schools must perform at a higher level. In mathematics, for example, 54 percent of fourth-graders last year scored below basic levels, compared to 38 percent nationwide; 49 percent of eighth-graders failed; and overall, California was fight down there with Mississippi and Louisiana, the three most dismally scoring states in the nation. The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future concluded last year that nationwide we are more concerned about the qualifications of veterinarians who treat our cats and dogs than the teachers who are educating our boys and girls; and that the single greatest weakness in our system is the way we recruit and train teachers.

(T)he president's group on teacher training, which drew up the report approved by CSU trustees is headed by Robert C. Maxson, president of Cal State Long Beach, which has developed innovative programs that get student teachers off campus and into public school classrooms for on-site instruction and California is going to need 300,000 new teachers in the next 10 years, and the CSU system "will be expected to train most of them. Nothing could do more for the state's prospects than training them well. But that's hard to do when schools of education are funded poorly and too often treated with disdain. The remedy for this, according to the presidents' group, is to make the training of teachers a university-wide responsibility, strengthen undergraduate training and establish exit standards for prospective teachers.

Too many unqualified people are being hired as emergency-permit instructors. Teachers must be educated well, and they must be trained well for the classroom. The Sacramento Bee On universal preschool Letters to the Daily Journal Self-serving piece To the Editor: The article "College Foundation Land Sale Proper?" which appeared in the UDJ on Nov. 18. must be one of the most self-serving and obfuscating pieces of writing since Richard Nixon's.

"I am not a crook" speech. The article contains no relevant information for the public mind. The members of the Mendocino College Foundation are not named. The fund managers are not named. The sales brokers are not named.

However, the royal "we" is invoked no less than seven times. Mr. DeMeulenaere states that the Mendocino College Foundation has "touched many lives" in the Mendocino College District. Pray tell us who the "we" is that has touched our lives. Many citizens in the college district are interested in who put the "touch" upon them and for how much.

By what process was the royal "we" anointed to their positions on the board? What are the personal economic interests of the Foundation board members? Are any community service groups represented on the Foundation Board? Is there any minority representation on the board? Is there any student or faculty representation on the board? Who were the select appraisers, Realtors and fund managers and brokers? When Mr. DeMeulenaere decides to provide relevant, detailed information about the Mendocino College Foundation and its actions instead of a self-serving hash of propaganda, the public interest will be served. Albert Pierce Ukiah Barricades are dangerous To the Editor: I agree completely with Donald Allen about the dangerous barricades on Ford Street and Clara Avenue. My goodness, do you really think they (the bumps) are going to slow down traffic on those two streets? No way. Some will think it is a lark to speed and dodge them, plus Donald is right about our emergency service, too.

We have lived here over 50 years and we don't like those ugly things. Mrs. George Portlock Ukiah Traffic 'calming' To the Editor: "So, what's going on down at the end of Clara and Ford Streets lately?" A question asked by several thousand people a day as they drive through the Wagenseller's neighborhood. The construction work in progress is something called "traffic and, as the name implies, it is intended to slow vehicles down to a safe speed in residential areas. It's not a new idea (even to Ukiah) but it does represent a new approach to dealing with traffic impacts on neighborhood streets.

Hundreds of cities across North America and around the world are adopting residential traffic management programs with the express purpose of Across California each year, the state Department of Education estimates there are about a million 3- and 4-year olds, mostly from poor families in urban or rural communities, who do not attend preschool This is a big problem and, admirably, Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin wants to fix it. She's appointed a large task force of educators, business people and parents to study the costs and potential structure of a state- subsidized universal preschool program January to move the state toward universal preschool. There are lots of reasons why this is a good idea, especially now But universal preschool would nonetheless amount to huge costs for the state the governor's office estimates from $3 billion annually if all 3- and 4-year-olds were served in a half-day program to $6 billion for a full day program. While there will likely be enough tax revenues in the next budget cycle to boost education spending for the third time in three years, the administration doubts it will amount to that much. Given projections, and the huge needs faced by the rest of the K-12 system, from which this money would come, a key question for Eastin's task force must be: Does it make sense to subsidize preschool for the thousands of middle- class and wealthy parents who are already willing and able to pay for private programs? The task force must also consider the fiscal practicality of a full-day as opposed to a half-day program and what kinds of activities would best prepare 4-year-olds for school without rushing them too early into a rigorous curriculum.

In a better and more forward-looking California, the many glaring needs of public schools and the children they serve would all be met. A woefully short school day and year would be lengthened; and arts programs that have long since been jettisoned by strapped school districts would be restored; school roofs wouldn't leak. But even in light of all the competing priorities, Eastin is right to initiate a serious effort to make preschool available to the too many children who now go without. by reducing "cut-through" traffic and speeding when it becomes a safety hazard or an intolerable nuisance. Our own new General Plan calls for such a program, (the city "shall provide for mitigation from traffic volumes and speeds not conducive to neighborhood character." Policy Ct 18.1 These programs are intended to bring residents and city staff together to design and construct devices which will prevent or deter the negative impacts of traffic on their streets.

Traffic calming utilizes a broad range of techniques and devices. They can be as simple as speed limit or stop signs (like we have along Dora and Hortense) or the radar trailer and increased enforcement. These methods may be temporary at best and usually lead to more intensive calming devices such as "Offsets" (S-curving the roadway), roundabouts, "neck downs" (narrowing the lanes), or standard center median dividers. Examples of these can be found along Clara and Ford. More drastic measures can include speed- humps or street closures (full or partial) such as were recently installed on Marlene and Betty streets.

Three years ago, residents of the Wagenseller's neighborhood began meeting with city engineering staff at the direction of the City Council to work out a plan to slow down traffic on Clara and Ford. This was in anticipation of the increase in traffic expected from the new Kmart store and other development along Orchard Avenue. Clara and Ford already carry a combined volume of just under 7,000 vehicles per day and additional traffic and speeding would be intolerable. Until the extension of Orchard is completed to Brush Street we must live with the high volume of traffic, but we do not have to tolerate speeding cars and trucks at all hours of the day and night. The plan we came up with is a pilot project for certain key areas and was approved by the Traffic Engineering Committee and the City Council to coincide with the completion of the Kmart project.

Curb and gutter work along the north side of the Kmart parking lot was designed to create a narrow S-curved roadway and a wide landscaped area to buffer the parking lot from the neighborhood. The city contracted out the concrete work for the center medians and bulb-outs and is providing the materials for the roundabouts. The residents will construct the planters, install and maintain the landscaping. Over the next six to 12 months we will evaluate the effectiveness of the project through speed and volume studies, observation of driving behavior and written comments from the public at large. We are interested in your comments (both negative and positive) and hope you will take the time to write them down (so we can keep track) and get them in to City Hall.

We do suggest you wait until we finish all the painting, signs and landscaping, and drivers get used to the changes, before forming your opinions. All we really want is to see that people drive with care and respect for our neighborhood and every other neighborhood in town. We have a great deal of information on residential traffic management which we are happy to share. You can reach us at: The Wagenseller's Neighborhood Committee, Box 1171, Ukiah, CA 95482. Please drive with care and "Those who drive like Hell are bound to get Eric Larson Wagenseller's Neighborhood Committee Ukiah -t-.

More on barricades i To the Editor: agree with the letter from Donald Allenlof Ukiah about the awful danger of the barricades.on Ford and Clara streets. Someone will get killed for sure. It is awful. Katie Abshire Redwood Valley Thanks for Scarecrow City To the Editor: We would like to thank the many Ukiah for sponsoring the scarecrows for the Sc.arer crow City recently at the Octoberfest. Our scfyofll was fortunate enough to make eight for this event It was fun for the many students involved projects, and the monies supplied by the sponsors were used by the plies and materials.

Don Michael Chilberg Student Body President Pomolita Middle SchopJ WHERE TO WRITE President Bill Clinton: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Washington, D.C. 20500; 456-1111, FAX (202)456-2461. Governor Pete Wilson: State Capito'1, Sacramento, 95814. (919) 445-2841; FAX (916)445-4633. Sen.

Barbara Boxer: U.S. Senate, Washington; D.C. 20510; (202)224-3553; San Francisco, (415.) 403-0100. Sen. Dianne Feinstein: U.S.

Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. (202)224-3841; San Francisco (415) 249-4777. Congressman Frank Riggs: 1st District, 1714 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515.

(202) 225-3311; Fax (202)225-3403. Field representative in Ukiah Darrell Shull, 327 N. State St. Suite 207, Ukiah, 95482, 462-9176; FAX 462-9195, E-mail Ten causes of 'burnout' Every once in a while, I have a friend or hear about someone who has been working 16 hours a day, seven days a week, and this has been going on for months. Because of my own personal experience, I feel very sad for this person, because I know if things do not change, they are headed for some very serious problems.

Someone once said, "You can burn the candle at both ends and it does produce a brilliant flame, but it sure is hard on the candle." While I began this column with an extreme example, there are many other people in our society today who are under a tremendous amount of stress and without their being aware of it, they may be headed for the modern day phenomenon known as "burnout." When it comes to our job or career, "burnout" is a relatively new term, and if you will stop and think about it, it came along about the time jet airplanes began to criss-cross the skies. It seems as though our tendency to get burned out is directly related to our penchant for speed. This is quite natural when we stop and think about it. For example, when does a car overheat and blow up? When it's barely moving? Of course not. The dadburned contraption blows up after it has been running 100 miles an hour for several hours.

But back to the subject of burnout. Please understand, there is a big difference between a person being physically tired and able to rest for a few Jim Davidson is a syndicated columnist. Jim Davidson days, then going back to work, and the person who feels a lot of stress and pressure and it just won't go away. As it relates to this, I heard a humorous story a while back about this school teacher named Maxine, who went to her principal and said, "I've had it up to here. I'm stressed out, the other teachers don't like me, I can't get the kids to mind and I'm just burned out!" The principal said, "Maxine, before you can be burned out, first you have to be lit." Sometime back, Small Business America, a newsletter of The National Association for the Self-employed, listed 10 causes of burnout.

If you have any inclination that you may be headed for burnout, if you are not already there, you may want to think seriously about these causes to see if one or more relate to you. Ten causes of burnout 1) Do you feel yourself under pressure to stic- ceed all the time? 2) Do you need to generate excitement agfli'A and again to keep from feeling bored? 3) Is one area of your life disproportionately important to you? 4) Do you feel a lack of intimacy with the peoj ple around you? 5) Are you unable to relax? 6) Are you inflexible, once you have stand on something? 7) Do you identify so closely with your actiyi: ties that if they fall apart, you do, too? 8) Are you always worried about preserving your image? 9) Are you taking yourself too seriously? 10) Are your goals unclear, shifting back arid forth between long-range and immediate? 1 Well, how about it? Did you see yourself in any of these 10 causes of burnout? I sure did several times. A few years ago, I discovered that I was headed for burnout and I've been able to back the throttle off just a little bit. Having triple bypass heart surgery will do it every time. What those of us who have what is known-as type personality need to be constantly ed of is the principle that is at the center of'tha whole universe: balance.

I Please go back and reread the 10 causes burnout, because they could help you avoid some) serious problems down the road..