Comments on: The New Blog http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/ Covering the beat of Portland Public Schools Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:00:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Steve Buel http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-11 Steve Buel Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:05:38 +0000 http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/#comment-11 Great new site, Steve. I am looking forward to many hours of great dialogue. Great new site, Steve. I am looking forward to many hours of great dialogue.

]]> By: Steve Rawley http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-7 Steve Rawley Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:26:54 +0000 http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/#comment-7 Dr. Dapo, I am humbled by your praise. The problems of our African American youth are, of course, part of the ongoing legacy of economic oppression. No school system can solve these problems on its own. We need to address issues of race and class on a much larger scale. But it seems our current PPS policy actually exacerbates these problems. While you could debate whether or not it is intentional, PPS policies are <em>effectively</em> a form of institutional racism. It is my opinion that as long as Jefferson High School is considered a "black" high school, this city will allow it to fail its students. If all of the Jefferson cluster's students attended Jefferson, instead of transferring out, the school would be a wonderfully multi-cultural school, while still maintaining a strong black plurality. Then it would be much harder for Portland's citizens to throw up their hands and declare defeat. That's why I want to foster cross-cultural bonds, and part of the reason I started this Web site. Dr. Dapo, I am humbled by your praise.

The problems of our African American youth are, of course, part of the ongoing legacy of economic oppression. No school system can solve these problems on its own. We need to address issues of race and class on a much larger scale.

But it seems our current PPS policy actually exacerbates these problems. While you could debate whether or not it is intentional, PPS policies are effectively a form of institutional racism.

It is my opinion that as long as Jefferson High School is considered a “black” high school, this city will allow it to fail its students.

If all of the Jefferson cluster’s students attended Jefferson, instead of transferring out, the school would be a wonderfully multi-cultural school, while still maintaining a strong black plurality. Then it would be much harder for Portland’s citizens to throw up their hands and declare defeat.

That’s why I want to foster cross-cultural bonds, and part of the reason I started this Web site.

]]> By: Dr. Dapo http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Dr. Dapo Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:40:02 +0000 http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/#comment-5 Thanks Steve-you are a true communuty person. We have lost our purpose of direction. We have lost our sense of community. We find ourselves pouring our waters in the basket. We need to be concerned about the youth in every aspect of our lives. THey are the future. It is a fact. The youth picks it up where we left off. It has been a disaster--condition of our youth, especially the African American youth. It seems they have been abandoned, forgotten, left out and threw-away. We need must re-connect, re-build and re-energize our community. We must stay connected. Thanks Steve-you are a true communuty person. We have lost our purpose of direction. We have lost our sense of community. We find ourselves pouring our waters in the basket. We need to be concerned about the youth in every aspect of our lives. THey are the future. It is a fact. The youth picks it up where we left off. It has been a disaster–condition of our youth, especially the African American youth. It seems they have been abandoned, forgotten, left out and threw-away. We need must re-connect, re-build and re-energize our community. We must stay connected.

]]> By: Steve Rawley http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Steve Rawley Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:44:00 +0000 http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/#comment-4 Thanks, Terry. The design is based on a WordPress Theme by Robbie Williams (see credit link on the footer). I basically substituted a pencil for a banana in the header (I kid you not!), and left the rest pretty much as Robbie published it. I'm interested to see how the forum works out going forward. There are tons of bells and whistles, which I think kind of clutter things up. I may disable some of these later, but for now, I'm running with the default features enabled. I hope people let me know if they have any trouble using things! Thanks, Terry. The design is based on a WordPress Theme by Robbie Williams (see credit link on the footer). I basically substituted a pencil for a banana in the header (I kid you not!), and left the rest pretty much as Robbie published it.

I’m interested to see how the forum works out going forward. There are tons of bells and whistles, which I think kind of clutter things up. I may disable some of these later, but for now, I’m running with the default features enabled.

I hope people let me know if they have any trouble using things!

]]> By: Terry http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Terry Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:17:55 +0000 http://ppsequity.org/2008/01/31/the-new-blog/#comment-3 I love the design, the look, the feel of this new site, Steve. It's clean, simple, and straighforward. I especially like the forum option. Great idea and great work! I love the design, the look, the feel of this new site, Steve. It’s clean, simple, and straighforward. I especially like the forum option.

Great idea and great work!

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