MULTNOMAH COUNTY OREGON / ADULT COMMUNITY
JUSTICE
VOLUME 7 / ISSUE 4 / JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2002
Our mission is to help corrections clients develop their academic skills so they can take charge of
their lives, build and sustain positive human relationships, achieve their goals and realize their potential.
In all our work, we will place human dignity first and celebrate our clients’ accomplishments.
The Learning Curve
The Learning Curve is a bimonthly newsletter published by The Donald H. Londer Center for
Learning, Multnomah County Oregon, Adult Community Justice.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Learning Center or the Department. Please
direct questions or comments to Al or Esther, editors, at 988-3466.
JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2002
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The Learning Curve
JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2002
LEARNING CENTER LAB HOURS
988-3466
The weekly schedule is: Six days a week, Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; except on Thursday morning (closed for staff meeting); in addition, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (For Saturdays only, please call ahead and make an appointment.)
If you need more information, call the Londer Learning Center at 988-3466 or Cindy Stadel,
Program Administrator at 988-6828.
JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2002
Donald H. Londer Center for Learning
Dept. of Community Justice
Multnomah County, Oregon
Mead Building
421 SW 5th Avenue
Fourth Floor
Portland, OR 97204
The Learning Curve
The Learning
Curve
WOW!
OUR LARGEST GRAD CLASS EVER
Because of the end of the year deadline for completing all GED tests, the LLC had
an extraordinary increase in the number of anxious test takers during the last two
months of 2001, resulting in our largest GED graduating class ever.
The grand total of 82 graduates is more than 80% greater than our previous high.
Our GED prep classes were running in overdrive, especially in December, and our
database is still breathing heavy from the great student rush to finish on time.
The word got out that time was running out, and many long lost students returned
to complete their remaining tests. Some needed to finish one or two, while others took
all five in a month’s time. Most had to confront the two tests that they had been avoiding or, in some cases, hadn’t been passing: the widely dreaded Math and Writing tests.
There were many individual stories with happy endings, but two that brought
special joy to the LLC staff were when a student who had missed passing Math twice
before by only one point finally succeeded on his last try and when another student who
had missed passing his Writing by one point, and was so distraught that he didn’t return
for six months, also passed on his final attempt.
Congratulations to all our successful graduates and best wishes for their future
endeavors.
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IMPORTANT GED REMINDER
As of January 1, 2002 all previous GED tests are no longer valid.
Everyone must start fresh and take all 5 tests to get their General Equivalency
Diploma.
The State Office of Community Services has made some changes in the new
tests. The most obvious changes are in the math test; it is more business oriented plus a
student may now use a calculator during a portion of the exam.
Since the Learning Center had a rush of students trying to complete their GED
before the end of the year deadline, we scheduled two extra testing dates in November
and December. These two extra dates were borrowed from January, so we will begin our
twice monthly official testing in February.
If you are already coming to the LLC, have a staff person give you a practice test.
If you score high enough, we’ll sign you up for an official GED test.
If you are not yet a client of the Learning Center and would like to be, have your
PO or counselor call our referral number 988-3136 ext. 27353.
All men by nature desire knowledge.
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)
JOB SATISFACTION
I look for three things in a satisfying job: performing in front of a crowd, be able
to have personal joy in what I’m doing, and being creative.
First of all, I enjoy performing in front of a crowd because it gets me amped when
I hear people’s reaction to what I’m talking about because the job of being a rapper is
just like writing an essay. You have to come up with a specific topic and stick with it, but
it has to be a good topic because good topics draw large crowds.
Second of all, I enjoy going through the sounds on the keyboard. That’s a big part of the job because you have to make sure that everything sounds good.
You can’t just put anything in front of a crowd of people and expect them to like it. I like
to satisfy my listeners; if they’re not satisfied, I’m not satisfied. Last but not least, I love being creative. I like to come with many different styles
because that makes a rapper what he is. People don’t like to hear the same thing
through the whole album, and neither do I. I consider myself as one of my listeners and
sometimes I catch things on my songs that I don’t like so I go back and make sure that I
get it right. That way I know I’m going to put something out that a lot of people like. But
not every listener is going to like every thing. It even happens with some of the greats.
But I know when I put something out, I’m going to have a good portion of people that are
going to like my stuff and that is because of my creativeness.
Performing in front of a crowd, having personal joy in what I do, and being
creative are the things that make me satisfied with the work that I do.
Michael E, student
I think a satisfying job should have these three characteristics: it should have a
variety of duties; something I enjoy doing; and it should have a pleasant environment.
First of all, a good job should have a variety of duties. For example, I worked for
my parents at a wrecking yard. I would crush cars, pull all kinds of auto parts, run a
forklift, and it was fun.
Second, a satisfying job would be something I enjoy doing. For example, one job
I really enjoyed was being a snowboard instructor. I love being on the mountain and
breathing the fresh air. I love to teach kids how to snowboard while having fun
snowboarding as well.
Finally, a satisfying job should have a pleasant environment like working with
people that enjoy the same activities that I do.
In conclusion, a satisfying job should have a variety of duties, a pleasant
environment, but most of all be something I enjoy doing.
Justin K, student
POET’S CORNER
FINANCIAL AID FOR COLLEGE
Due to budget constraints, the LLC can no longer provide a free term of college
tuition to our GED graduates.
What we can provide is the application form and personal assistance in applying
for Federal Student Aid.
In addition, if the applicant is not eligible for financial aid or if the funds are
delayed, the LLC can pay for one or two classes to help the GED graduate begin their
college experience.
WHO REALLY WROTE HAMLET?
Biographies of William Shakespeare do exist, but precious little is known for certain about him. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, he got married at 18, had three children, left his family, and went off to London. His name was listed among actors who performed twice for the queen, and he is listed among the shareholders in the Globe Theatre. He returned to Stratford in his 40s, bought a big house, dealt in real estate and grain for a while and died in 1616. His will mentioned no plays or poems or books. Only six examples of his handwriting are known to exist: six signatures, each spelled differently. When he died, nobody seems to have noticed.
How did this small-town boy with little or no education learn so much about law, history, Italy, Latin, Greek, royalty, and all the other knowledge that filled Shakespeare's plays?
Well, say the biographers and historians, by keeping his eyes and ears open and being a genius.
Since the middle of the last century, non-believers in the Stratford man have been putting up other names as the "real" author, who might, for a variety of reasons, have used "William Shakespeare" as a pen name: Francis Bacon, Ben Johnson, Christopher Marlowe. But most of these challengers have fallen by the wayside.
Then, early in this century, an English schoolmaster named J. Thomas Looney went looking for Shakespeare the way a detective might - with a list of characteristics the true author would need to have had, historical fingerprints. After years of searching through old documents, Looney came up with this man: Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, who lived from 1550 to 1604.
History had all but ignored de Vere. And yet, he was the highest-ranking earl in the kingdom - and brilliant, earning two master's degrees before he was seventeen years old. And he seems to have cut a wide swath through England, France and Italy four centuries ago, was an intimate of Queen Elizabeth I, sailed off in his own ship to help battle the Spanish Armada, got himself captured by pirates, killed a man, and engaged in a scandalous extramarital affair.
Looney found several poems written by de Vere under his own name when he was in his early 20s, poems Looney thought were similar to some of those attributed to Shakespeare plays. For example, de Vere's guardian, Lord Burghley, the most powerful man in England, seemed to be satirized as Polonious in Hamlet.
De Vere seemed to quit writing when still a young man. But Looney was sure the writing continued under the name "William Shakespeare."
Why wouldn't de Vere have put his own name to the plays? In Looney's view, it was because play-writing was beneath the dignity of nobility. Furthermore, de Vere would have been barred from using his own name because he had inside knowledge of all the court intrigues. Powerful people, like Lord Burghley, and even Queen Elizabeth, would have been embarrassed had the public known de Vere was the author and the plays were satire. So, (according to Looney and others who continued his work after he died) de Vere chose a natural pen name. Gabriel Harvey, a poet and secretary to de Vere, had saluted him in a speech before the queen as a man whose "countenance shakes a spear." Then, when de Vere's friends and relatives decided to publish his plays, long after de Vere's death, they chose as a "front man" the obscure, semiliterate, country bumpkin, William Shakespeare of Stratford, who had the added advantage of being dead."
Article by Al Austin
“GBH” April 1989
GOOD PARENTING
There are millions of parents in today’s society, but being a good parent is the
key issue. We as parents have responsibilities with raising children. Also parents need to show a lot of love and spend quality time with a child.
First of all, there’s the responsibilities with raising a child. They need the basic things like food, clothes, and a good home.
Secondly, parents need to spend quality time with their children. For instance,
going to the park for the day. Make it the whole day without interruptions.
Perhaps the most important part about being a good parent is not only loving a
child, but showing and giving that child unconditional love.
In conclusion, being a good parent is important to the child, and also important to
the parent. Along with the responsibilities, the time, and the loving, have pride and fun
being a parent.
Jason C, student
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
I disagree that it is better to be an only child. There are some advantages to
being an only child, but there are also disadvantages to being a lonely child.
First of all, I believe being an only child spoils you. Some other disadvantages
are being lonely while growing up, not being able to have someone to play with. Parents
don’t always understand what children go through, and kids communicate with each
other on their own levels. Being an only child has a lot of responsibility as far as taking
on all the adult pressures that go on in a household.
There are also some advantages of being the only child. One is never having to
share your toys, or waiting for your brother or sister to get out of the bathroom. Another
is getting what you want when you want, depending on your parent’s financial situation.
You also get a lot of quality care with your parents, meaning you don’t have to share your
parents with your siblings.
All in all, I still believe that being an only child sucks. I have seven brothers and
sister and I am very proud to have them in my life. They really support me in all I do. I
just think every child deserves to be blessed with at least one brother or sister.
La Toya A, student
SKUNKS
My boss had skunks under his house. The skunks got into a fight with his cat.
The stench was bad! So we set a trap and got three skunks. Then we shot them, put
them in a hole, and pushed dirt on top of them.
Charles C, student
CELEBRATING OUR GRADUATES
Our graduation will take place on Thursday, February 28th at 3 p.m. at the
Multnomah County Courthouse, 1021 SW Fourth Avenue, 6th Floor Boardroom.
Everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate our graduate’s achievements.
THE EIGHTY-TWO GRADUATES
Craig A, Derwain A, LaToya A, Alex A, Michael B, Nicole B, Moritz B, Wendy B,
Chad B, Jeb B, David B, Henry B, Joyce B, Michael B, Ricardo C, Matthew C,
Rebecca C, Daniel C, Greg C, Barbara C, Curtis C, Jason C, Kevin D, Gary D, Cary D,
Jaydee D,
GRADUATES
Jordan E, Sandra F, Jaime F, Christopher F, Kellie G, Craig H, Krystal H, Harold H,
Kelly H, Ryan J, Scott J, Richard J, Michael J, Rick J, Joseph L, Lee L,
Neil L, John L, Dawn L, Robert M, Roderick M, Lonnie M, Aaron M, Kris M,
Chris M, Kirk M, Jeaneene N, Ronnie N, Malysa O, Thomas P, John P, Neil P,
Aundrie P, Duncan P, Stacey P, Matthew R, Thomas R, Earl R, LaToya R, Richard R,
Warren R, Michael S, Elliott S, Jennifer S, Brian S, Beren S, Marie S, Theresa T,
Jacqueline T, Eddy V, Troy V, Josh W, Robert W, Jaime W, Michael Y, David
Y.