Newberg holds a special place in my heart. Although I have not lived there since 1977, I am a proud Newberg High School graduate. It was at NHS that band director Dick Elliot gave me the confidence to become a life-long percussionist, and choir director George White helped me develop the singing voice that led to my participation in the Portland Symphonic Choir, the chorus of the Oregon Symphony. Social studies teachers Dan Lever and Ed Wiesehan instilled in me the understanding that the names and dates of events are such a small part of learning about history – they helped their students see the how and the why, and led us to discernment and interpretation, essential components of critical thinking. And for me, the influence of these four educators and several others at Newberg High helped me to decide to pursue a career in education.
Newberg is where I met the man I married, introduced by a friend in the lobby of Pennington Hall at George Fox College (now University). Newberg is where both of my daughters moved for their own post-secondary experience, each graduating from Fox. I have many dear friends in Newberg, including those in my faith community. Newberg is where my parents-in-law retired, living the final years of their lives at the aging-in-place community at Friendsview.
Because of all these connections, I have been closely following the events that have led up to the campaign to recall the current school board chair and vice-chair. Others have spoken well to the manner in which these elected officials have led the board to engage in illegal and unethical activities, so I will not take time here to address their egregious actions surrounding the dismissal of Dr Morelock and the hiring of a lawyer who promotes himself as a business attorney, not an expert in education law. Instead, I will talk about school.
Based on my expertise as a teacher, I have come to the conclusion that neither of the board members in question has a reasonable understanding of how school works. As a 34-year-veteran secondary social studies teacher, I can say with all certainty that many students deal with a tremendous amount of stress on a daily basis. If the primary goal is for students to learn, educators must help these kids manage their stresses so that they have brain space available to consider what we want them to learn. That stress management is one of the basic building blocks of providing a quality education. A classroom with a warm and welcoming environment, including inclusive signs and posters on the walls, contributes in a positive manner toward helping students deal with the stress in their lives. Students who have experienced trauma need to know where the safe places are for them. And a sign, or a flag, or other tacit representations of acceptance says “come in – this is a place for you to be you”.
I can also say with certainty that, despite what has been said by the vice-chair, teachers do not “politically indoctrinate” their students. We teach students critical thinking skills, helping them learn to not simply go along with what they hear but to question and examine the sources of information for accuracy. We do not indoctrinate, and those who say we do are fear-mongering, for their own purposes.
As someone who cares about the Newberg School District students and staff, I strongly encourage those who are eligible to vote, to please vote to remove Dave Brown and Brian Shannon from the school board. Their abject lack of understanding of what happens in schools disqualifies them from serving, and they are causing harm that will be difficult to repair. Please vote “Yes”, to recall Dave Brown and Brian Shannon.
