Substitute Fc
• Sflidents who seek employ
ment after high school gradua
tion need to master the same
basic academic skills as the
pqltege-bound person. Therefore,
' taxational training and technical
education are no substitute for
education in the core competen
dtlS. These are important
- because the major asset the
d&ployers want in a high school
graduate is basically “the ability
to learn and to adapt to changes
in the workplace” as opposed to
mastery of a particular set of job
skills.
.This statement summarizes a
National Academy of Science
panel report of business and
education leaders titled, High
Schools and the Changing Work
place.” It is a report that
appears worthy of commenting
on as our nation’s youth and
teachers are departing from
school for the summer, and for
many, the seeking of permanent
or summer jobs.
Richard Heckert, vice chair
man and chief operating officer
of the E.I. DuPont Co., and
Chairman of the 20 member
panel said the report is con
cerned only with high school
graduates who do not attend
college, whom he said “repre
sent the largest segment of the
American work force and play a
critical and central role in the
nation’s economy’.’
"Mr. Heckert added that the
panel was seeking to set forth a
Set of core competencies that
include:
The ability to read, write,
reason and compute, including a
mastery of “standard English in
its written and spoken forms”
.andelementaryalgebra
An understanding of American
economic and social life.
Possession of the attitudes
and personal habits that make
for a dependable worker; and
Computer literacy
Equally significant, and we
-think worthy of Special empha
sis, Mr. Heckert also noted that:
Computer literacy is overrated
and a lousy tradeoff as a
substitute for basic skills
because the computer will soon
be a simple tool that anyone can
operate.
“Young people must under
stand that the standards of be
havior, speech (no so-called
“Mack English’’> and dress
expected of employees often
differ markedly from those
ddgdPted in student circles.’’
i JJiere are two interesting and
‘ 4«
r Education?
related factors that help to
explain the significance of the
Academy’s report. First, a new
state-wide test of writing skills
given to North Carolina’s ninth
grade students during the past
school year produced troubling
results. Almost half the students
- 45.4 percent - scored the lowest
possible grade - one - on the test
and only one percent made a
four, the highest score. In all
fairness, the test itself, which
Was designed to measure
students’ ability to communicate
an idea, resulted in such poor
results that many charges have
been made of flaws in the test.
Haws In Test -
Some student argued that the
test’s instructions were
ambiguous and many parents
added with justification that
grading a writing test is at best a
subjective undertaking.
Interestingly enough,
educators themselves have now
been charged with using a form
of educators’ bureaucratic
language that might explain why
our 9th-graders did so poorly on
the test.
Education news reporters
claim, for . example, that
educators too often talk about
the “basic fundamentals” with
no reference nor understanding
of other fundamentals. Then too
they call school teachers “class
room managers” and students
have become “education users.”
And students don’t work on math
problems, rather they spend
“time-on-task.” Much similar
nonsense language is often used.
- ‘ V;- »'/' •'*- * -A. ••'••‘vV .
jjS^SMise- three H
core competencies,
munication test scores,^ ,
communication skill# -.of
'"educators - should be..
serious criticism over
school year, some just __
some not, but the inconsistencies
between our observati
as within them need the^a _
of the schools and parent*
It is time we gave ■serittisi
thought to the fun mea'nfrgw?
learning and adapting eitheqptf
an educator, a student -ory^av
: parent.
*
I
County Commissioners Urged To
Adopt School System Budget Requests
Dear Mr. Johnson:
We, the undersigned fa
culty and staff of Park
Road Elementary School,
respectfully urge the Meck
lenburg Board of County
Commissioners to adopt
the Charlotte-Meek lenburg
School System’s budget
requests for 1964-85 without
reduction. Insupportlhere
...ok-wa -ask that the fot
lowing be considered.
1) Over the past two
decades the school sys
tem’s portion of the total
county budget has gradual
ly declined, notwithstand
ing the {act that the pu
blic demands--HKJB-th*
schools have steadily in
creased.
2. We understand that the
recent one-half percent
sales tax Increase waxaar
marked for schools. We are
concerned, however, that
even if these funds ac
tually filter down to the
schools, that increase may
be offset by corresponding
decreases or “cutting of
corners” in other seg
ment^) of the budget, thus
effectively nullifying the
enhancement impact of the
new sales tax. We urge that
4kU U--i * »
uiis oe avoiaea. ——
3) The county portion of
the school budget must
provide salary increases
for locally-paid school em
ployees at levels that will
match, in full, increases
provided by the North
Carolina General Assem
bly to state-paid school
employees.
4) The Teacher Career
Development Program
promises to bring many
improvements in the edu
cation of our county’s
children by enabling the
schools to attract and hold
the better-qualified teach
ers. If this program is to
begin, the county must
provide start-up funds. We
urge that such local fund
ing be approved.
5) Fringe benefits for
school employees have not
kept pace with other pu
blic employees. We urge,
especially, that the term
life and dental insurance
.ttrArfrnfYiQ Kva _.
I>twjjittiii>j ue lumiru on 8
level with other county em
ployees.
Respectfully signed:
Rowena Simmons, Cora
Ann Hudson, LaRue L.
Perry, Linda Halgh, Thel
ma Campbell, Virginia
Hollingsworth, Robert
Allen, Margaret Gfeesham,
Alberta Pugh, Patricia E.
Gribble, Willie Brown, Vi
Falen, Emily Justus, Bar
. bt«» McArthur, Betty T.
Alsbrooks, Julie Kittle,
Martha Mallory, Linda
McLean, Sandy Selden, Al
thea Gamer, Barbara
Seegars, Doris Stinson,
Eartha B- Fleming, Caro
lyn L. Newman, Betty T.
Werts, Maxine W. Sterner,
Carol R. Helms, Sandra B.
Mullineaux, Jean P. Black,
Louise Vaughns, Vivian F.
Collins, Vanessa J. Robin
ette, Wanda Webb, Dolly V.
Green. Nancy Rogers
Zigorra, Cornell Mcllwain,
and Charfnagne O. Burns.
cypresses Appreciation
Dear Sir:
On behalf of the Metro
lina FoodBank, Inc., I
would like to express our
appreciation to you for
your assistance in publi
cizing the food drive held _
at the recent Kenny Ro
gers' concert in Charlotte.
Your publicity generated
far more than the food that
was collected. We have
benefltted from the height
ened public awareness of
the problem of hunger, (be
increased awareness of the
Food Bank as one solu
tion, the response from
potential volunteers, and
new groups wishing ta per
ticipate with the Food
Bank.
We appreciate your in
terest and assistance.
Lynn B. Sanders
'■'::the charlotte post
■. .
“THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER”
■turu Established 1918
Published Every Thursday
*> The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc.
Subscription Rate $17.68 Per Year
a-- --—
Second Class Postage No. 965500
Postmaster Send 3579s to:
7A1531 Camden Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Telephone: 704-376-0496
Circulation: 11,023
^ 106 Years of Continuous Service
BUI Johnson
Bernard Reeves
..VYan Farrar
: Dannette Gaither
Editor, Publisher
General Manager
Advertising Director
Office Manager
, . Second Class Postage No. 965500 Paid At
Charlotte, North Carolina
Under the Act of March 3,1878
Member, National Newspaper
Publishers* Association
North Carolina Black Publishers Association
Deadline for all news copy and photos Is
5 p.m., Monday. All photos and copy
rfnbmltted become the property of The Post
and will not be returned.
National Advertising Representative ~
Amalgamated Publishers, Inc.
8 Mlehl|(«» A™.
in. Milt
rW*i»et »-*2*
« W 45th 84.. 14*3
Now York, New York IM3«
212-4 R3-I220
From Capitol HiU
Justice Department Switches Sides
Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Post
. .Ten years after the 1964
Civil Righto Act, the City of
Birmingham and Jefferson
County, Alabama, were
unmoved by its mandates.
Both discriminated against
Blacks and women in their
hiring practices. Women
and Blacks were relegated
to the lower-paying jobs,
with the least opportunity
for advancement and be
nefits. White male employ
ees were assigned to the
more desirable, higher
paying jobs with the great
est opportunities for ad
vancement.
In 1974, Blacks and
women filed a class action
suit in the United States
District Court for tbs
Northern District of Ala
bama against the City of
Birmingham and Jefferson
County for their discrim
inatory practices based on
race and sex.
The civil service tests
administered by Jefferson
County end Birmingham
were discriminatory,
which did not conform to
guidelines issued by tbs
Equal Employment Op
portunities Commission.
_Of th£ 624 firemen in_
Birmingham, ~onIy~Two
were Bleak. There were
•49 Birmingham police, 41
of whom were Black The
Blacks that were hired by
Birmingham and Jeffer
son County ware subjected
to racially discrimina
Alfreds L. Madison -
tory acta and conditions
Around half of the em
ployees of the 8treet and
Sanitation Departmsnt'
were Black. They collected
the garbage, trash and
dead animals. These were
unclassified dirty low
paying labor Jobs with no
chance for promotion or
pension benefits.
Lawyers Committee for
Civil Rights filed the suit on
behalf of the Block plain
Uffa. They charged Bir
mingham and Jefferso*'
County with violating Title
VII of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act and tha Equal Protec
tion Claus# of the Four
teenth Amendment.
A brief wee filed by the
L.S. Department of
Uce for enforcement of
Title VII of the Civil
Righto Act of 1964, the
Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Street Act of 1966
and the nondiscrimination
provision of the State and
Local Fiscal Assistance
Act of 1972.
After the District Court
found discrimination in the
Birmingham and Jefferson
County hiring practices,
which were upheld by the
Appeals Court and refused
review by the Supreme
Court, the City of Birming
ham, Jefferson County,
plaintiffs and the Jus
tice Department entered a
consent decree. This de
cree seeks to correct dis
crimination against Blacks
and women which were re
veaied by the trial record.
It ensures against a re
currence of future race and
sex employment discrim
ination. The decree pro
vides for accelerated re
cruitment certification and
promotion of women and
Blacks. It precludes hiring
of UMJQglified Blacks and
women, or rejection of de
monstrably better quali
fied white males in favor of
less qualified Blacks and
women.
In 1982, white nudes
brought a suit against the
City of Birmingham and
Jefferson County for its
implementation of the con
sent decree. They allege
that Blacks are being
the deference of whites
They complain that Blacks
are being Mred over whites
who have scored higher on
Civil Service tests and with
leas related Job experience
than whites.
The Courts ruled that the
t<*ts were discriminatory.
It’s impossible for Blacks
to have had as much ex
perience in civil service
positions as whites because
scarcely any Blacks held
dvil service positions be
fore implementation of the
consent decree.
Justice Department Civil
Rights division under As
sistant Attorney General
William Bradford Rey
nolds filed a brief on behalf
of the white males, even
though the Justice Depart
ment played a great role in
effecting the consent de
cree. i,..
When the decree was
presented to the District
Court no one objected to
any parts of It. For the
Justice Department to
change its course would be
inconceivable if if were not
in keeping with the Rea
gan Administration’s very
strong determination to
turn back the clock on all
dvil rights gains. This is
just another facet of Mr.
Reagan’s efforts to keep
Ms campaign promise to
the Heritage Foundation,
to make getting rid of dvil
rights a top priority.
The Justice Department
tntrodrasd* new tntarpre
tation of the consent de
cree, which states that race
and sex discrimination
can be remedied by hiring
and promoting qualified
Blacks, even If white mates
may be considered better
qualified.
Openfr ]
What GSmes Guninnm
Ri^ht To Cut School BrS<?
Mr. T.L. Odom, Chairman
Board of County Commis
sioners
720 East Fourth Street
Charlotte, N.C. 28202
Dear Mr. Odom,
What gives the County
Have you^tate^&^Valiil
through the schools to see
' the condition nf btiilriingg
looked at the furniture and
checked the equipment to
jUt i* in good shape?
Wy&i l&KNflyavr ipany
schools ,*#*re Tnol “'’kii<
conditiooeaT If Aid*drug
and. alcohol program
important? Are buses
safe?
Is <the art program
important?
The questions can go on
and on, but as I look over
the ‘ proposed budget I
realize that^tnese are somd
of the areas that will take
the cuts. As president of the
Chariot te-Mecklenburg
Council of PTA I have
talked, with just about
every president in the PTA.
As I listen to their concerns
and what they are doing to
improve their schools and
provide educational
materials for the students I
am appalled as to the kind
of things they have going
on to raise money for many
needs. I dare say out of 100
schools in our system that
parents have raised well
over $200,000.00 dollars to
provide for students. If you
pull the parents out, you
lose this money and
education suffers more.
However, parents do care
but when did it become our
responsibility to have to
fund even moce lbaa what
we are doing
like you, we
trust to guide
officers in tL
that will best j our
students.__ __
The parents have offered
a great deal to our com
.mutotv to help in our
[js£hobls; to do things for our
SlotMift, if you and your
board make the cuts in the
budget that wiIT~eTrect ~
education as a whole, in the
long run only the students
will suffer.
,-,Vjfj,k8k you to* lease
review other areas to make
cuts, but to give careful
consideration to the
proposed budget for the
school.
i - — '
The school system has
worked hard to improve
the quality of education for
our students and you all
hold in your hands the
answer to trfto continue to
improve the quality of
education here in
Charlotte. As you well
know that Charlotte has
received National recogni
tion for many of their
programs.
Again I urge you to
please give careful
consideration to the cuts in
the budget and to approp
riate the funds needed for
the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
School System.
Thank You,
Jackie C. Shore, President '
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Council of PTA
3439 Windsor Dr
Charlotte. N.C. 28209
DXi <rHianks* Supporten
Dear Editor:
There were a lot of happy
people at D.G. Martin for
Congress headquarters the
eveningJune 5, when the
,rim-off election results*
piest, I suppose, but hu£
dreds of my supporters
shared the excitement of
our winning the Democra
tic nomination for the 9th
District Congressional
seat
I want to thank the voters
for their confidence in our
approach to the cam
paign: our emphasis on
issues, on independence, on
fiscal responsibility, on ex
perience. They showed that
they care about these im
portant factors, and I will
continue to emphasise
these factors in the wrontiia '
leading up to the Novem
ber election.
I wantto thank Ben Tison
for his endorsement of my
candidacy in the run-off,
and Susan Green for con
ducting a clean and pro
fessional campaign. I know
that both of these strong,
capable political leaders
will provide outstanding
service to the people of this
area for many years to
'l yi* r
_ Andl want to thank those
volunteers who backed me
in this race with their hours
of effort, their enthu
siasm, their money, their
la tents, tneir comn^pient,
and their beliefs in my
potential as their next Con
gressman. Quite simply, I
could not have won without
them.
I urge Democratic,
Republican, and Indepen
dent voters in the 9th Dis
trict to study carefully the
points that all the can
didates make in their cam
paigns in the weeks and
months ahead In the Con
gressional race, in particu
lar, I believe there are
differences that make me a
strong choice as the Con
gressman who can best
represent all the people of
this great district of our
state.
Sincerely,
D.G. Martin
Manorial May Take Oner
Continued From Page ia
after the Fountain House
program in New York. The
foals are to help clients
acquire independent living
and pre- vocational skill* so
hat they spend less time in
wspitala and are better
able to hold down Jobs.
Mental Health Services
also provides marriage and
amily counseling, indivi
h*al and group therapy,
ind medication when
aeeded. There are special
anagrams for children and
adolescents; workshops on
i variety of mental health
topics, such as "Overcom
ing Depression," “Stress
Management,” “Assertive
Behavior,” and “Enhanc
ing Interpersonal Rela
tionships"; and consul
tation to other agencies and
community groups. •'
The professional staff in
cludes masters level social
workers and psychologists,
Ph.D.’s, and psychiatrists.
All services are available
to residents of Mecklen
burg County. Pees are
based on ability to pay. For
further information, Wl
175-3575.
Using l ax Strategies
WASHINGtON, DC -
rhe American Association
>f State Colleges and
Jniversities (AASCU), in
cooperation with the
iccountlng Arm of Coopers
« Lybrand,. this week
Miblished a 40-page booklet
hat outlines a number of
inancial planning
eOhniques, Including the
ise of tax shelters, that can
lelp middle-income
•rents provide for their
children’* college
duca turns._;_£
Allan W. Os tar, prea
Sent of AASCV, says the
wklet, “Early Planning
or College CoaU: A Guide
dr Parents,’’ Is designed to
help meet the needs of
•rents who fear they
night not be able to afford
0 "at U»tr children to
college.”
Os tar notes that for moat
middle-income parents, the
coat oTcollage educational"
for their children is rapidly
becoming an over
whelming financial
burden. “While
fees are 1M
student
being drastically
especially for ,
middle-income
Copies of "Early
Planning fgf'CbBageCoiiia:
A Guide for Paints” can
be purchased for W OO each
from Early Planning for
CdJege Coats, PO Box
<«7, Rockville, MD aoeso
Members of the Press can
obtain copies by calling
AASCU’s Public Informa
tion Office