‘4 The Dallas Post . Dallas, PA Wednesday, August 11, 1999 {EDITORIALS ‘New program gives teachers chance to shine When schools return to session later this month, students won't be the only ones trying to master new skills. With advances in technology and theory, teachers find themselves unable to teach the same year over and over, while administra- tors struggle to inspire and evaluate them. At first glance, the task might appear to be made more difficult by a teachers’ union that seems to outsiders to be mainly concerned with salaries and benefits. That may be changing in the Dallas School District, where a new “differentiated supervision” program for teachers will be tested. The program espouses different amounts of evaluation and | coaching for teachers of widely varied experience and skill levels, thus the title. What it appears to do is allow more time to work with new teachers and those who are having difficulty, time that is borrowed from more effective teachers who require less supervision. Non-tenured teachers, for example, would have six training encounters per year, instead of four as is now the case, while the best teachers could work on their own in advanced training, with administrative reviews every three or four years. Perhaps the best aspect of this Srogram, atleast so far, is that it has been embraced by teachers, who have signed up for a test in the coming school year. They are particularly enthusiastic about a peer review program, in which they will match up with others for cross evaluations. One must assume, though, that téachers who volunteer to have their skills checked are probably the ones who need improvement the least. Dr. Gilbert Griffiths, Superintendent of Schools, says the district has beenfortunate to have aresponsive teachers’ union, which has pitched in to deal with a member who is struggling. Perhaps this program, which recognizes that excellent teachers don’t need the same degree of supervision as novices, will augment the spirit of cooperation that sometimes seems pain- fully absent to casual observers, who hear often about a school system's failings, and not frequently enough about its suc- CESSES. Publisher's notebook Humiliate me. Make a fool of me in front of my peers. Treat me like dirt, beat me toa pulp. I don’t care how you do it, make me a loser, just like David Duval was in last week's “showdown” with Tiger Woods. Oh, and pay me $400,000 for losing. Heck, I'll take half that. As if money in professional sports hadn’t been overinflated enough, last week we had the spectacle of two 20-somethings playing a three-hour golf match on prime time television, with a total purse of $1.5 million. Do the math; the “loser” walked away with about 20 years worth of wages for an average Joe (or Joan), while the winner took home a cool S1. 1 million. And since . the purse was guaranteed just for showing up, Duval played a tournament that ended Sunday on the East Coast, then hopped a private jet to California for the “Showdown at Sherwood.” Hey, why not try to pick up a few hundred grand in Connecticut if the worst you can do is $400,000 on Monday? ~The real winners, of course, were the television network and the marketing group that just happens to have both golfers as clients. Besides Duval, the losers were viewers who tuned in heping to see a scintillating blood match between the two best golfers in the world, which in itself is a questionable premise. - Sorry, when you're paid that much for losing, it’s pretty hard to sustain a sneer. Actually, I thought the camaraderie between the pair was refreshing, and perfectly appropriate for a game in which the order of obstacles to overcome is yourself, the course, then the opponent. But the match had less drama than the final round of most weekly tournaments, because on: Sundays, there's usually someone on the course who really needs to win. About letters, columns and editorials The Dallas Post attempts to publish opinions on a variety of topics in many forms. Editorials, which are the opinion of the managment of The Post, appear on the editorial page and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. Any.artwork represents the opinion of the cartoon- ist, and columns are the opinion of the author. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, Sublattis the following guidelines: * |_etters should not exceed 500 words. * No writer may have more than one letter published during a 30-day period, except as a reply to another letter. * Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town and a telephone number for verification. * Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat to the writer. » The Post retains the right to accept or reject any letter, and to edit letters for grammar and spelling, as well as to eliminate any libel, slander or objectionable wording. In addition to letters, we welcome longer pieces that may run as columns. The author or subject's relevance to the Back Mountain will be the prime consideration when selecting material for publication. The Dallas Post Published Weekly By Bartsen Media, Inc. 1 P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 570-675-5211 Charlotte E. Bartizek ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER OFFICE MANAGER Ronald A. Bartizek PUBLISHER Gregory Culver ; : ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC Kasia McDonough REPORTER Olga Kostrobala Ruth Proietto : CLASSIFIED/TYPESETTING PRODUCTION MANAGER Christine Pizzano OFFICE ASSISTANT : 7] PRINTED WITH PENNSYLVANIA SOY INK ™ Member NEWSPAPER Swamp things. Photo by Monica 'Marzani. ¥ » Rewarding the contempible is ruining American society Editor, The making one of opposites, according to the aesthetic realism school of thought, is what every- one of us is seeing. And if we are capable of giving that declarative statement more than just a cur- sory glance, we should be able to see the truth in it. For in our daily, interactions with all people, our loved ones, and relatives, and co- workers, and even strangers, we . all. wish to make them as our- selves, to have them be as we wish them to be, not necessarily as they are or may be. For, we have no doubt, if all these were like ourself, we would have paradise would we not? Indeed, we would not. What might help though is if we individually became nearly like them, in effect, making ourselves one with them. So, as the infi- nitely kind and super-intellectual Eli Siegal discovered earlier this century, “All beauty is the making one of opposites, and that is what we are going after in ourselves.” As in any work of art, including the making of a person, all parts must come together, black and white, dots and splashes, squares and circles, else we would have a mess rather than a thing of beauty, even though in some art we might feel contemptuous of, it too in- cludes all the elements of oppo- sites, good, bad, weak, strong, zigs and zags. Perhaps then we should take a long hard look at another of Mr. Siegal’s discoveries, although I am sure were he alive he would hasten to say he only saw what was there ever since man began to think, and that is his state- ment that contempt, “the desire to get an addition to self through the lessening of something else,” weakens our own mind and is the source of all meanness and cru- elty. In his book, *Selfand World”, Definition Press, 1981, is summed up the reason for this letter to the Dallas Post: 1. The purpose of everyone is to like the world; 2. the way to like the world and the things in it is to see both as the “aesthetic oneness of opposites; 3. the greatest danger for a person is to have contempt for the world and what is in it, despite their aesthetic structure. The Post editorial page of Au- gust 4 carried two classic ex- amples of this making one of op- posites without resorting to co- vert or open contempt: one was in calling for parents and teachers; organizations to realize they are one in their desire to make an environment that creates beauty, or a real “work of art” instead of creating opposites. Another ex- ample of the desire, and need, to like the world is Arlene Case's constant need to reach out to all people and show that liking the world will create beauty and har- mony, as each of her columns on conservation, show. Her sharing of beauty in all things goes be- yond the words conservation or environment. Another exampleis the weekly photographs by Char- lotte Bartizek, a definition of art as something to be shared, not as something to make more of one- “selfin order to lessen others, which would be aesthetic realism’s defi- nition of contempt. : It is imperative that we all be- gin right now to think how terrible our society has become because of contempt, how contemptis such a part of our lives, that we reward the most contemptible; talk show hosts, profane comedians, as- sorted thieves, liars and neer-do- wells, organizations such as the military (see NATO), when we should hold these up as symbols of shame. So, quoting Mr. Siegal, the founder of aesthetic realism; contempt is “the addition to self through the lessening of some- thing else.” We are going to have to see that we are related to the whole world and every person, or we are going to have contempt, which leads to exploitation - of people and things. Contempt causes insanity! Stop it by simply remembering that the world be- gins where your fingertips end. (For information on Esthetic Re- alism, write the non-profit Foun- dation at 141 Greene Street, New York, N.¥. 10012 or http// www.aestheticrealism.org) John Allen Sweet Valley ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - Aug. 10, 1929 DALLAS BOROUGH BEGINS ROAD IMPROVEMENTS Theodore Snyder, road super- visor of Dallas Borough has had a force of men at work this week constructing, 1,450 feet of hard surface road on Norton Avenue and Spring Street. New bottoms are being placed on these streets and then covered with a thick layer of crushed stone. The sur- face will be treated with tar giving the road a permanent finish. This work is but a part of the projected work of permanent road building which has been adopted by the borough council. 60 Years Ago - Aug. 11, 1939 # BIDS SOUGHT IN DALLAS TWP. SCHOOL EXPANSION Four new rooms and possibly eight will be added to the Dallas Township High School this fall if bids which the board is now seek- ing, permit construction without abond issue. On Monday evening the board authorized its secretary to advertise for bids after finding that the financial condition of the district makes such a plan fea- sible. Sound economical man- agement of the district's affairs left the board with a balance of $6,000 in the treasury at the close of this year. A similar balance under careful management is ex- pected at the close of next year and with $6,000 additional ap- propriation expected .from the state. 50 Years Ago - Aug. 12, 1949 FEMALE PREACHER WILL LEAD LOCAL CHURCHES Rev. Ruth Underwood, daugh- ter ‘of the late Rev. George nderwood and Mrs. Underwood began her pastoral duties on Sun- day at the Alderson, Noxen, Ruggles Charges of the Methodist Church to which she was recently assigned. All three churches where she preached the same ser- mon at three different services were crowded with members and their friends who had come to hear a woman preach for the first time in their community. Rev. Underwood will live with her mother at the parsonage adjacent tothe Alderson Methodist Church. 40 Years Ago - Aug. 13, 1959 CHILDREN’S WING OPENS AT BMT MEMORIAL LIBRARY Back Mountain Library opened “its new Children’s Wing Tuesday afternoon when children for the first time discovered they had a room all their own, with small chairs grouped about low tables and treasured volumes within easy reach. Mrs. Robert Bachman will have charge of the children’s room. Only small organizations and groups can now use the An- nex as a meeting place. Fire of undetermined origin but believed to have started from spon- taneous combustion, completely destroyed a four story barn Sun- day at the farm of Sheldon Mosier, in Dallas Township. The loss was estimated at $8,000 for the barn and $3,000 for the contents. About half of the amount was covered by insurance. 30 Years Ago - Aug. 14, 1969 LINEAR PLANT RE-OPENS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT Like a slumbering giant awak- ing from a long nap, the Linear Plant located on Rt. 309, Dallas is showing signs of activity. Idle since its shutdown in 1967 as a result of a bitter and prolonged labor- management dispute, the plant was sold last week by the Rubatex Holding Corp. of New York City to the Dallas Realty Corp. a wholly- owned subsidiary of VTR of New York City. Manager of the plant Darrel Smith announced that em- ployment in the intitial stages of the plant's operations will be ap- proximately 150. The Dallas plant. to be named Valley Paperback Mfg. Co. will be used to expand the company’s present printing and binding facililties for paper- back books located in Phoenix. You could get - Cut up chicken, 35¢ Ib.; cube steaks; $1.09 1b; peaches, 3 lbs., 29¢; cauliflower, lg. hd. 39¢; corn, 59¢ doz.; Vir- ginia Lee peach pies, 55¢; 1b.-6 oz., size; Raisin bread, 1lb., loaf 35¢. 20 Years Ago - Aug. 8, 1979 HL BOROUGH DEVELOPS ANTI-DRUG STRATEGY Harveys Lake Borough officials are reported taking steps to deal with an acknowledged drug prob- lem in the community. According to sources the borough is investi- gating a reported regular use of marijuana and LSD by youths “hanging out” in the Sunset area and has “some things pending.” The nature and progress of the investigation, however, were not made public. LEGISLATORS DIRECTORY Federal Officials Representative Paul E. Kanjorski (Democrat) Wilkes-Barre: 825-2200 Washington: (202) 225-6511 e-mail: paul.kanjorski@ hr.house.gov # 400M, 7 N. Wilkes-Barre Blvd., Wilkes-Barre PA 18702 or 2353 Rayburn Building, Wash- ington, DC 20515 Senator Arlen Specter (Republican) Wilkes-Barre: 826-6265 Washington: (202) 224-4254 e-mail: senator_specter@specter.senate.gov 116 South Main Street, Wilkes- ~ Barre PA 18701 or 711 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510 Senator Rick Santorum (Republican) Scranton: 344-8799 Washington: (202) 224-6324 Fax: (202) 228-4991 e-mail: senator @santorum.senate.gov 527 Linden St., Scranton, PA 18503 120 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 State Officials State Senator Charles D. Lemmond (Republican) (717) 675-3931 e-mail: smurphy @pasen.gov 22 Dallas Shopping Ctr., Memorial Hwy., Dallas PA 18612-1231 State Representative George Hasay (Republican) 287-7505 or 542-7345 or 474-2276 or 477-3752 144 North Mountain Boulevard, Mountaintop PA 18707 Hasay’s district encompasses: Harveys Lake, Lehman Township, Jackson Township,’ Lake Township, Franklin Township, Ross Township, and Dallas Township's north voting district. State Representative Phyllis Mundy (Democrat) 283-9622 or 655-3375 Suite 113, 400 Third Avenue, - Kingston PA 18704 Mundy’s district encompasses: Dallas Borough, Dallas Township except for the north voting district, and Kingston Township. 0) 0) 0) >) O oO § oO a 4 a. 4
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers