The Observation Deck

Happy Holidays to all, I hope they're filled with joy.
Thank you to the posters that have kept this topic going and informative, I look forward to hearing more from you as my article gets published and you all take the time to read it in the January issue of the Lakewood High School Times. The Times looks forward to one day working together with the Lakewood Observer, so that student voices are heard louder by the community.


Best Regards,
Ivor Karabatkovic

Ivor:

It's a fine thing that you are writing for the award winning high school newspaper. I would like very much to read the article. But over the past few years finding a copy of the Lakewood High School Times for public reading is about as hard as finding the Holy Grail. In the old days, somebody from the paper supplied a stack to Lakewood Public Library for distribution in the community news room.

Is there a website for this newspaper yet?

How about supplying Lakewood Public Library's community news room with some copies? The paper is off the radar screen citizen readers.

Is this by design?

After the editor bashed the Lakewood Observer with a clueless and patronizing editorial full of puffed-up regard for the shimmering guppy journalist model of professionalism, completely missing the boat of the LO's post-professional civic ark, the enterprise lost much credibility with me. So I take it you have seized power and will flood the credibility quotient to higher ground with a respectful sense of how the LO might include the award-winning kernels in its free-floating ark.

Kenneth Warren

Ken-

Don't be too hard on the Times cubs. They just learned the rules, so they don't understand the Chaos Theory of the Observer Project.

They aren't the only ones. I've sat through a couple of gatherings where people who know much more than I do explained how we were doing it wrong.

I don't understand how we can be doing something original "wrong."

As long as I have been aware of the Times, they have followed a particular path. They have won many awards and they are stars of High School papers. They have earned every accolade.

The Times mission is not to try to publish any writer who submits. That's the Observer Way.

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A newbie to this board, I should expalin that Ivor was responding to a post of my challengeing some of his assumptions and assertions. I then deleted the post rather than editing it.

I am the sibling of a person with a disability. To sum up my original post, I was concerned that Ivor's article, based on his original premise, would veer into the area of "poor Jimmy in the wheelchair" writing that befalls so much "journalism" about people with disabilities. Call it the "Jerry's Kids Syndrome".

My point was that "disabilities" cover a wide range of conditions, from dyslexia and ADHD to Downs and physical disabilities of varying degrees. Attempting to draw a blanket parallell between the hearing-impaired, Harvard-bound student with the 1550 SATs and the 17 year-old with a mental age one third of his chronological age serves the interest of neither.

Yes, the federal government underfunds IDEA (the word "federal" is important here, since there are those who will ask why a city that taxes so highly can't provide for its students).

Yes, No Child Left Behind makes statistics on students with disabilities difficult to comprehend.

Neither one of these is exactly a news flash. Other news organiztions with even more awards in their case than the Lakewood Times have gotten there first.

I could write more, but while I haven't had the benefit of a year of journalism training, I would respectfully ask that you write a "powerful piece" by looking at the achievements, uncertaintiies, and even foibles of students with disabilities, by putting the "student" before the "disability."

Rather than telling us how life screwed Jimmy (believe me, Jimmy and his sister have both contemplated this) by making him DIFFERENT, tell us how he is LIKE the rest of us. Warts and all.

As I said in my original post, maybe Jimmy is an introverted, sullen 16 year old who WANTS to be ignored. Like a lot of "normal" 16 year olds. If he is , is that OK? Tell us about it.

But above all, PLEASE don't lump Jimmy and Jane and Joshua and Jason and Jennifer under some dehumanizing umbrella called "disabled:" It's been done..

Dee Martinez wrote: As I said in my original post, maybe Jimmy is an introverted, sullen 16 year old who WANTS to be ignored. Like a lot of "normal" 16 year olds. If he is , is that OK? Tell us about it.

But above all, PLEASE don't lump Jimmy and Jane and Joshua and Jason and Jennifer under some dehumanizing umbrella called "disabled:" It's been done..

Dee


Thank you.

Everyone connected with the Observer would love to help, read, edit or help anyway with stories about this. It has to be unbelievably painful to be labeled in such a way that encourages failure, and builds senseless walls of separation.

Please contact either Heidi Hilty, Ken Warren or myself.

Everyone of us have plus and minuses that allow us to achieve in some areas and make it tougher in others.

Thanks again.


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The strength of the Observer is that people with first-hand knowledge can tell their own stories. They don't have to go through a perception filter.

I'd also like to learn from Dee.

Hello Ivor,

Yes, I was a student with exceptionalities at Lakewood High. I am a 1969 graduate. I was also a Learning Disabilities tutor at Emerson in the early '70's, before moving on to teach elsewhere. I was one of the very early secondary special educators in our state.

The following paragraph applies to special education as a whole, and not to Lakewood necessarily.

At one time Special Education was thought by many to be an elementary issue that would disappear by junior high. Obviously, that was not the case. As we learned more, services expanded from trying to address student difficulties, to homework assistance- and then for many students; placement into a special class, in order to cover their academics in a manner that they could better understand. In the old days, we generally had category-specific rooms. (i.e. LD classes) Today, cross-categorical classes are often seen, where students having a great many needs are in the same room, often making individualized instruction even more challenging. There is a great effort these days, to bring more and more special students back into the mainstream.

As a student, I had many good experiences at Lakewood High, and some that were not very good, as well. On the whole, I would say that the majority of staff and students tried to understand, and work with students who were, in some way, different from those in the mainstream. I am sure that would continue to be the prevailing practice today.

As far as your alleged cafeteria/garbage situation goes, my first reaction would be that these student helpers should not, in any way, be identified as special needs students, for a number of reasons. First, that might not be the case at all. That may simply be a volunteer activity open to any student who might be willing to do what seems to amount to a beneficial community service. There are also, as I've indicated, confidentiality issues involved. I would not therefore, mention your allegation any more, either in an e-mail or in your article. Whether some special education students may, or may not be involved in this activity, is probably not the central focus of your article anyway. Many students in my day and yours, have done work around that school.

Self-esteem and self-worth are key issues with children. If some students feel marginalized, or left out, disciplinary issues can result. The Congress and Department of Education have debated how suspension and expulsion issues should apply to special needs students. To me, a greater issue would be how to make them feel more welcomed in the environment that we are creating for all students. I believe that the more that we try to force all students through the same cattle chute at the same time, the more problems that we will encounter.

Again, more diversity. Please.

May I say that I deeply appreciate your backtracking and re-checking your facts. That's the mark of a good journalist! As you combine your passion with the virtue of prudence, perhaps a Pulitzer Prize will not be far off!

I think that a society could be evaluated, in large part, by how it treats those who have difficulty adapting to its demands. I am certain that we all need to do much better concerning this sensitive issue. Perhaps you will have some good fortune in that regard. After 31 years of fighting the good fight, it thrills me to see a young person coming along to pick up the torch.

Mr.Warren,

I never submitted one piece of work after the Times bashed the Observer because I didn't like the editor and how he handled things. This year is different, and we the editors know how not to run the show so there won't be any more bashing of great city projects. At least not when we're in charge.

That's a promise

Rather than telling us how life screwed Jimmy (believe me, Jimmy and his sister have both contemplated this) by making him DIFFERENT, tell us how he is LIKE the rest of us. Warts and all.

Dee,

That is a great point. I haven't thought of that perspective yet, and my article could benefit greatly from it. Thank you for contributing your ideas and your two cents, just like I had asked of everyone willing in my first post.


Ken,
I'll have to talk to the editor about getting a few copies to the Library. We're low on advertisers so I don't know what our budget at the moment is. There's no website yet. We do have podcasting, but no website with articles. We stay at school until 10PM before every deadline anyway, we don't have time to keep a website going.

The bashing of the LO was one individual, who just happened to be the editor of last year. He's off at college now, and instead of using the Lakewood Observer to help the paper, he chose the other route. I tried many times to get the paper involved with the LO because I know first hand what benefits the LO brings to young future journalists. The editors from last year didn't want to hear it. This year is different. And although we haven't formally had dinner and chatted over projects yet with Jimmy O, we're working on it. First day of school, the new editor of the Times came to me and asked me how can the Times and the LO work together. That's a great start.

DL,
we do publish anything that gets submitted, but we only have limited space and limited issues per year. You can't expect a great story ready for print out of everyone.

For example: When I published my editorial about the dress code last year, I was swarmed by emails from LO editors trying to change the "tone" of the article, and wanting to talk about it over lunch and so on. The Times just pressed CTRL+ALT+P and my teachers loved every sentence of it.

Hey it's all great though. No hard feelings. I never wanted to write, and I never do write. Once a year if I get motivated or crazy enough I write an article and stay up extra late on my vacations to get numbers right. I stick to being behind the camera because photos tell it the way it really is. I'd go crazy if I was a writer, because I'd have to listen to this 5 days a week for 52 straight weeks.

To tell you the truth, I'm ready to throw in my towel and call it quits.

I thought this would be a great idea and to finally bring some light to the High School students about what goes on in their building but apparently other publications that our students don't even read have done that and it's off limits for me now.

I must have been dellusional when I thought that telling students and teachers that 1.5% of our countries budget goes towards us to help us get somewhere with our education was a good thing to do. I don't know.

Make the article whatever you all want it to be, dream big. Like Jim O'Bryan always says, if you want to see an article in the paper- write it yourself. Just prepare yourself to be bombarded with hate mail.

And on crazy days, expect to be choked for the things that others in this paper write.

I'll stick to being a photographer.

By the way, new photos from sporting events are up. It's been tough without my camera to keep things updated and I appreciate everyone's patience on seeing photos. Look for even more swimming photos next weekend.

Adios amigos.

Hello Ivor,

Now just wait a minute!

Don't you let all of us oldsters on this post discourage you from writing!

For example:

Just because I'm a columnist, does not mean that I alway "bat the ball out of the park"! Writing is very difficult to do at times. For example, I am presently sitting on two great columns that may never see the light of day, because I cannot resolve them in my mind.

The fact that I've written many good columns for three periodicals, does not mean that a bad one can't come along, or that I've wished that I'd handled a situation differently, or that I could not figure a way to properly present my information.

I used to be a photographer too, and a good one. I've shot weddings, news, sports, and whatever. One day I realized that as long as I was taking the pictures, I might be recording the action, but I was not part of it.

You see, I wanted to make a difference. I started to write. I started to teach. I wanted to be in on the action.

Yes photographers can make a difference too, but that power of the pen? As well as having the awesome responsibility to help a child? Wowie!

Some people thought that with my speech impediment, that I should not be a teacher. What I discovered was that having a difficulty myself, helped to make me a more compassionate and responsive educator.

So listen to others, up to a point, but do not be discouraged.

You seem to be a great thinker, and you write in this post in a way that is very clear to understand. I would encourage you not to quit writing, just because you might start to feel overwhelmed.

Keep up the good work!

Ivor Karabatkovic wrote:DL,
we do publish anything that gets submitted, but we only have limited space and limited issues per year. You can't expect a great story ready for print out of everyone.

For example: When I published my editorial about the dress code last year, I was swarmed by emails from LO editors trying to change the "tone" of the article, and wanting to talk about it over lunch and so on. The Times just pressed CTRL+ALT+P and my teachers loved every sentence of it.

Ivor-

Good news/bad news, eh?

Times have changed at the Times (when I attended LHS and dirt was invented).

I have some ideas about the caution of LO editors, but can't speak for them in this case.

Ivor:

You've got the brains and heart, deep experience and perspective on the world and the Wood, with a fine command of the language.

Keep writing.

It's a skill in short supply and combined with your photography would put you in a stronger place to compete.

The written word turns you into a lightening rod man. So toughen your skin, sharpen your sword, capture the truth and don't let the editors of the Lakewood Observer push you around.

You're not delusional, and you're no pushover.

Keep up the great work.

We're all on your side, even as we choke on words.

Kenneth Warren

Ivor Karabatkovic wrote:To tell you the truth, I'm ready to throw in my towel and call it quits.

I thought this would be a great idea and to finally bring some light to the High School students about what goes on in their building but apparently other publications that our students don't even read have done that and it's off limits for me now.

I must have been dellusional when I thought that telling students and teachers that 1.5% of our countries budget goes towards us to help us get somewhere with our education was a good thing to do. I don't know.

Don't give up. The more important the issue the harder it is to get information and cooperation. There are a lot of people out there who would like to get the inside scoop on what is going on in schools and city government.

Keep it simple. Don't try to say it all at once. It can become overwhelming.

Don't forget: The schools are drowning in money. Money is not the problem.

Remember: Years ago people graduated from the 8th grade with an education equivalent to today's high school graduate. This is just a guess but I don't think you heard a lot of whining about how hard it was.

Ivor, I don't know where you got the 5% from. I'm not saying it's a bogus figure. I'm trying to stay neutral. My only question is, if 5% is not enough, what is enough? 6%? 10%? 50%? Here is a link to some interesting stats, although they are a few years old:

http://www.oclc.org/reports/escan/econo ... ending.htm

Doug

dl meckes wrote:

Ivor Karabatkovic wrote:DL,
we do publish anything that gets submitted, but we only have limited space and limited issues per year. You can't expect a great story ready for print out of everyone.

For example: When I published my editorial about the dress code last year, I was swarmed by emails from LO editors trying to change the "tone" of the article, and wanting to talk about it over lunch and so on. The Times just pressed CTRL+ALT+P and my teachers loved every sentence of it.

Ivor-

Good news/bad news, eh?

Times have changed at the Times (when I attended LHS and dirt was invented).

I have some ideas about the caution of LO editors, but can't speak for them in this case.

Ivor

Quit you whinning and get writing.

The secret to this project is that "everyone's opinion, is valid." But then does that opinion hold up to scrutiny of the humble masses. This is one reason I balk at "overheard opinion." While it might be valid, where is the owner/ownership to work it through the vetting process.

It is not my city, your city, Ken's city, Gary's City it is our city. Together we can try to chart a course that works, especially if we open the doors and turn on the lights to the process. The same is true with the schools. While I remember your piece, and I do remember speaking with you about it. I do not remember anyone not willing to publish it.

FWIW


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