Your Turn 3-6-03

Hindsight isn’t 90-90-90

Dear Illinois Times Editor:
We commend the Illinois Times and journalist Pete Sherman for covering
education-related topics in the article that appeared February 6 [“Dis-integration”].
In my discussion with Pete for that article, I mentioned that district representatives
visited a 90-90-90 school in California. I’d like to take this opportunity to
clarify my statement. Such schools with 90 percent low-income, 90 percent minority
population, and 90 percent of their students meeting state testing standards
do exist. Although the San Diego school visited by District 186 personnel is
a high poverty, high minority school that has seen significant increases in
math and reading scores since 1998, they are not considered a 90-90-90 school.

Sincerely,

Carol L. Votsmier
Director of Communications
Springfield Public School District 186

Editor’s note:
A case study on 90-90-90 schools, published in the journal Accountability
in Action, can be read at www.makingstandardswork.com/Downloads/AinA%20Ch19.pdf

ERA remembered

Dear editor,
I liked your story on the ERA [February 27]. It brought back memories of a more
idealistic time. Phyllis Schlafly may not want to go through all that again,
but she’s welcome to step aside.

Donna Snyder
Springfield

Cheap is chic

Times are tight. The Consumer Confidence Index is at a 10-year low. Unemployment is getting so bad the pollsters might soon find themselves out of work. Is it any wonder people are flocking to buy duct tape rather than LG Electronics’ new Internet-enabled refrigerator? When the economy gets this bad, cutting back becomes a way of life. That’s why so many people are reading this letter in a newspaper they picked off the ground. Hopefully they won’t need to use it as a blanket when they go to sleep tonight.

I’ve started to notice people showing off about how well they can get by with less. For years my brother boasted about his large, expensive cars, which he traded in every other year whether he needed to or not. Now he picks me up in a smaller car, bragging about its gas mileage. Reverse chic is showing off the shirt you picked up at the thrift store, or splitting the cost of the Sunday newspaper with your next-door neighbor. It’s Martha Stewart making a festive holiday centerpiece using the hem from an orange prison-issue jumpsuit, a bar of soap, and a shiv borrowed from her cellmate. Here’s wishing things don’t get so bad that you have to follow her instructions.

Barry H. Gottlieb

This article appears in May 8-14, 2003.