Giving Kids the Gift of Writing

For many of us, writing is part of our jobs. And for a few of us, it's the main part. (Sometimes, for us, it's like digging ditches with our fingertips, but most of the time it's pretty rewarding.)

For many others among us though, writing is something that's done only on rare occasions. One of those occasions is Christmas.

Christmas is the time when many adults sit down, with pen or keyboard, and recount the highlights of the past year - often in excruciating detail. Others just scratch out a few words of greeting and well-wishes at the bottom of a color- ful card.

For kids, Christmas is the time to write letters to Santa Claus; or to write silly poems about snowmen and reindeer. And those letters and poems are always more fun and inter- esting to read than Aunt Ethel and Uncle Baxter's torturous yearly descriptions of their summer trips to visit their kids in Fresno.

The second half of this week's special Christmas edition of The Times is devoted to the writing of students at Waits- burg Elementary School. We hope you enjoy this tradition at The Times that goes back decades. Many of the parents of the kids pictured there probably appeared on these pages years ago.

We give special thanks to the teachers who took the time to type up all their students' writing and send it to us: Pam Nolan-Beasley, Dinah Lindsey, Deanna Coulston, Marne Henderson, Jennifer Fischer and Sarah Reser.

And we salute them too, for helping their students learn about things like haiku and diamante poems, and allitera- tion, as well as how to write a letter. Reading their work, we couldn't help but think that there may be a few budding newspaper editors among them.

As you read the kids' writing and witness what they've learned, think also about the schools these kids were in when they wrote those words.

The Waitsburg and Dayton school districts are both plan- ning levy elections early next year. Waitsburg voters will consider a replacement M&O levy that will provide funding to keep the school budget roughly where it is now for two more years. (See the article on Page 1 for more information.)

In Dayton, voters will consider, in April, a bond levy that would fund a major overhaul of school facilities. It will be the first major work done there in 30 years.

At this point, we're not lobbying for or against either measure. But we urge our readers to take the time to learn more about these important decisions.

At a meeting in Waitsburg earlier this fall - one that was well publicized in this paper ahead of time - Superintendent Carol Clarke prepared a presentation outlining the needs of the schools for the next few years, and the cost of meeting those needs. Only three people attended the meeting who were not school staff or school board members. One of those was a Times reporter.

It's very likely that, each Christmas for years to come, Waitsburg elementary school students will offer up their writing on these pages. We hope you'll consider where these kids will be when they put those words to paper, and the work and dedication their teachers will put into helping them write so well.

And remember, too, that someday The Times will need a new editor.