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NEW EXPRESSIONWill the state decide .3Who's,smart enough to graduate?by Deborah Padgettand Rhonda HannahManford Byrd Jr. , DeputySuperintendent for PupilServices, said that students.Just when you thought · 18are not taught about the testcredits alone Is sufficient tobefore taking it because, "Agraduate from high school, 'great number of students whothe State comes up with a surtake the test, pass it." He saidprise requirement-the Minithat right now the classesmum Competency test.students are taking should beThe Illinois Legisla uresufficient for a student topassed a bill last spring alpass the test.lowing Minimum CompetencyManford Byrd also claimstests to exist in Illinois on anthat the reason that the test isexperimental basis until 1980.being given is that "EmBased on the experiment , the'ployers who hire youngIllinois Legislature will decide.people coming out of highwhether or not to require the 'schools are claiming thetest in all Illinois high schoolsgraduates can't do the job.after 1980.Th·ey have to spend additionalA spokesman for Lyons ·money to train young emTownship High Schools in La- · ployees ." The MinimumGrange said that their high · Competency test, Byrd says,schools do have competencywill reveal to the Board ,tests, but each student doesstudents' weak areas .not have to take the same test .Sister Mary Ellen of theAccording to the Board ofCatholic. School Board saidEducation of Niles Townshipthat the Catholic Schools arein Skokie their high schoolsnot going to experiment withwill not require the test in thethe competency test . She alsonear future .stated that the State OfficeBut, in Chicago, the publichas not told them that a testschools have already beenmay be required in 1980.experimenting for two yearsA Lane Tech student, whowith the competency test. Thehad been making very goodtest was designed over a 12grades, and was at the top ofmonth span by the Board'sher freshman class said, "TheDepartment of Research anddirections on the test were notEvaluation to determine howclear." She went on to say thatwell a student can cope In theher English teacher didn't exoutside world.plain the test well. "MyThe test deals with suchteacher said that the testbasic things as reading a TVwasn't important and that Itguide, using a telephone bookwas very easy." The Lane Techand knowing the right numberstudent was told that she hadto dial in case of an emerpass but she never receivedgency.her test scores.A ninth grade student atNorie of the students NewPercy L. Julian described theExpression interviewedtest as, "Easy, because I knewreceived a test score. Stueverything on the test already.dents were neither told thatIt was just a waste of classthey passed nor failed .time." He went on to say thatDave Thompson, the Firsthe never received his testLegal Assistant of the Illinoisscores.Department of Education, exLori Hendricks took the testplained that students are notin her freshmen year at [)ungiven back test scores bebar High School : She said thatcause the test is still on an exshe didn't know if she passedperimental basis. He said,"There is no Illinois system ofor failed because she nevertesting in effect yet. " Soreceived a test score. She saidwhether a student is told ofthe test was " insignificant,"his test score or not is still toand that some of thequestionsdidn ' thavebe developed .anything to do with what sheThe puzzling q estion: Ifhad been taught in her highthe test is experimental, whyschool class s.are Chicago students told thatif they don't pass the test,they won 't graduate?According to Dave Thompson, "There is no requirementin Illinois r.ight now that saysif you fall the Competencytest you can 't graduate. So, ifyou pass your requiredcourses-English , history andmath-you should graduateregardless of what you receiveon the Min imum Competencytest."·- But an ford Byrd Jr : ,insists that each Chicago,public school district mustdevelop its own rules forgraduation . He also said thatsince Chicago is In District299 the School Board in thatdistrict has the right to makeup the graduation requirements. "If youngsters are notsuccessful with the test ,according to the presentpolicy of the School Board,they will not ·receive a bonafled (acceptable) diploma. Students will be given severalopportunities to take the t estover again."By this fall, New Expression has learned, everysen lor who has not passed the: Minimum Competency test inpublic high schools will becounseled into taking a summer school course before receiving a bonafied diploma.In the meantime the testingcompanies see profit forthemselves in this MinimumCompetency law.ETS (Educational TestingService), which prepares theSAT test for college entrance,is trying to sell its test to Illinois.'lew- Expression gave asample ETS Comptency testwith 57 items to 25 teens fromChicagoandsuburbanschools. If 68% correct answers is · passing, then tenstudents failed, ten passedand four didn't finish becausethey said the math , which wason the last part of the test,was never taught in theirclasses and they didn't understand it.The majori ty of wronganswers scored on the testwere in the math area. Thesequestions covered fractions,dec imals , metri cs, graphreading and interest rates .In future issues of NewExpression we will print sampie questions from sampleminimum competency tests.OVER 2000 CLASS RINGS ON DISPLAYThere are no finer rings available anywhere. ORDER AND DESIGN YOUR OWN RING! f ,.YOUR NAME ENGRAV D INSIDE RING WHEN YOU PRESENT THIS AD IN OURCHICAGO OFFICE.H RFFJON S16 Floor-STEVENS BLDG.SUITE 161417 NORTH STATE STREET(NEXT TO THE WEIBOLDTS STORE)CHICAGO, ILLINOIS'IMPORTANT FEATURES: RINGS FOR ALL CHICAGO & SUBURBAN SCHOOLS, SHoOWS YOURGRADUATION YEAR DATE, YOUR SCHOOL CREST, YOUR PERSONAL INITIALS, 100 Yo GUARANTEED, ANY COLOR STONE, BIRTHSTONES, ZODIACS, RAINBOW STONES, 6 WEEK DELIVERY,PLUS MANY OTHER FEATURES!/PHONE 641-1830

The word from teens:Nobodytaughtme aboutmotherhoodPhoto by Eliot Jonesby Kathy Hawkwith Brenda Kllllns,Paul Grant, Angela Offultand Ron SimmonsMelissa Lincoln (not herreal name) lived in a MichiganAvenue condominium . Shewas fifteenyearsold,pregnant and very much afraidof what her parents would doto her. She decided not to tellthem . Seven months passedbefore her parents finallyrealized that their daughterwas pregnant. In those sevenmonths Melissa d idn't see adoctor for prenatal careDoug , her newborn baby,was born six weeks early . Hestayed in the hospital for threemonths after birth withbreathing and liver problemsand had to have heart surgery .Melissa had a kidney infection and very seriousanemia. The doctors still don'tknow the exact cause for all oftheit problems because theyweren't able to treat Melissawhile she was pregnant.Melissa's education in the"School of Experience" istypical of pregnant teenwomen . They don't learn prenatal care in high school.Often they are not matureenough or resourceful enough· to seek help outside of highschool.TeEms don't learn prenatalcare in· high school becauseschool s don't Include it intheir curriculum . The exceptions to this In Chicago arefour special high schools forpregnant students that enrollyoung women .In 1972 the Chicago Boardof Education changed theirpolicy regarding pregnantgirls in high schools . The girlscan now stay in their owndistrict high school Instead ofattending a special school.However, the administratorsof each distric t school decidewhether c lasses can be instituted tor pregnant girls.The Catholic Archdiocesehas no firm po licy about pregnant teens in their hi ghsc h oo l s.Th e Ind i vi dua lsc h ool'sad m inistratordec ides whether a pregnant -. .Pregnancy is a normal state, not a disease .,.,,.girl can stay. in school. Atsome schools the girls canstay and at others they are''persuaded" to leave until thebaby Is born .·Some hospitals In Chicagosuch as Cook County andMichael Reese offer classeson pregnancy and what toexpect during labor . Theclasses may also deal withproper diet and parenting.Phone calls to your localhospitals are the best way todetermine if classes are available.Michael Reese provides aspecial progra!l' for teenAIR FORCE ALWAYSNEEDS MORE LEADERS.girls fifteen-years-old andunder who are pregnant. To beeligible the girl need only behaving her first child. Theptogram includes medicalcare and classes on labor andnutrition as well as a followup service for a year after thechild 's birth .The University of ChicagoLying-In Clin ic has a specialprogram to help youngmothers deal with pregnancyand any fears they might haveco ncerning labor. Counselingwith s ocial workers is alsoava ilabl e.Th esi x- w eekprog ram Inc ludes classes onlabor. It Is geared to youngw ome n who go to Lying-In forprenatal care, but anyone canc ome to the classes.Prentice Women's Hospital,a branch of Northwestern' Memorial has a prenatalcenter for higtJ risk mothers,and so does Rush-PresbyterIan-St. Luke's.Only a few of the hospitalshave centers especially forteens . But a hospital's generalservices offer most of theelements that ood prenatalcare require .Some girls do not believethat prenatal care is necessary. Others are afraid to go orlack the money to pay for prenatal care .Atfourteen -years-old ,Robin Jones had her firstchild . Taking care of the childtook up most of her time . Noone would keep the baby soshe couldn't go to a familyplanning center to obtain birthcontrol. Then, three yearslater, she became pregnantagain . But since she didn'thave the money to pay for prenatal care, she didn't try to getany .Robin, a diabetic, shouldhave seen a doctor ImmedIately . Pregnant diabeticwomen have special problemswith their pregnancies. Shedidn't go to see a doctor. Herbaby was born two weeksMany teen girls ma1early, overweight (8 lbs.), for awonder, "What is good prepremature baby.The baby had breathingnatal care?'' First, it is recejvproblems. Robin had probing medical care from a doctlems controlling her insulinas soon as one suspects. thlevels and had to stay longershe is pregnant. The doctoin the hospital. One of thenormally screens the pat1enurses who assisted with thefor all types of diseases thbirth felt that Robin couldcould affect the child. Shhave avoided these problemslooks for problems that migrif she had known she couldarise while the young lady iget free prenatal care .pregnant. A nutrition pla1Free care is available torshould be started for ththose who want it. The Boardpatient to make sure that shof Health will provide prenatalknows the right things to eacare for a pregnant mother reAs Loretta Lacy of the Depgardless of whether she canof Health put it, " Pregnancy Ipay or not.a normal state, not a diseastNot all problems from poor · · You n.g mothers, especialprenatal care show \JP at birth .teens need adequate heaitThe child may be physicallycare."(This Is the first In a seriEhealthy at birth. But yearsof stories dealing with telater, when the child goes topregnancy.)school, he may have learningdisabilities .·Facts Pregnant T en Wom nShould Know1 . As soon as a womanthinks she is pregnant, sheshould see a doctor. The doctor should take tests for alltypes of diseases and look forproblems that might developin pregnancy such as vaginalInfections or hypertension .2. A diet plan should beestablished for each individual woman by a d.octor to. promote healthy· growth of thechild.3. No medicine, unless prescrlb d by a doctor, should betaken, including aspirins andany illegal drugs .4. Drinking alcohol maycause damage to the fetus .5 . Smoking cigarettes isharmful to the fetus as well asto the mother.6. Be aware of unusual signsIn pregnancy such as bleedinQ, bleared vision , unusual'rashes, headaches, strangevaginal discharges that arheavy or that have a strang.odor. Report any of these todoctor.7. Do not douche. Douchlnwashes away natural chemcals in the vagina and rnamake her prone to lnfectlor8. Exercise shouldbscheduled every day if possble. Walk is good exercisE. 9. Rest Is important; the e pectant . mother must guaragainst exhaustion.10. She should wear suppotive bras.11 . Teeth should be checketMany elements can affect ttchild so It's best to be healthy as possible.12. Cat litter contains virusEthat may be harmful to ttchild.13. If a woman is In contatwith someone who has ttgerman measles, she shou.tell a doctor.Compliments ofWr n.-. kx ung for ptlot 1 n.wM}4tnnrnls,lk-n"Wmmginl ttmothn\n)unp.oop · r,,.,,.,'}l.,\dt tc.'"-.c li hjtKin'bh!tl .,nd mor''And ttw Air I Ortt' no 1 ptoqtll(f! I 0 ';:lr ot WAY lQ tj\11 Into" JUh hk.v OtW of ttu·· ·whk:h ,·11n hd p yt 1u lrnprtM y.;MJr k bt.i. t.,hlp 'lblliry #tnd your prol, ,.;kxlt'll ctmlfM'ellcCANTEENlt'1K IIA\ " COOllfll"',kJnto t oflk 4'r In tht Air r C.)f( '' YQU ran I · fUUlJd (JI rhv roh! youpl.-ty n yr r cOtnmunlly ftf'ld rlw t"'Ot\ lri ll lon you rruJkP lo VU\Jr ( QVncrv·, wcurHyVov -'n kno J ch.,c yutt1P Jorng,., Jutl r lnq)()f1a ,. ,., ttlh wllh '"'JlOf''t lhLyTiw Air r C)tC t' H01 c prug.nm o fiVTt ,, \AMY IU hvlp \XXI . hl.-.v( lh, St· lt(\jlll'l Ar.,,n Af HO I ( r:o& c. yc:xdl k .,m dbout k &dot'''hip mtrtnf]i'm "' ' nOll n'IOh Vu ,. 11ktAm ohtJut twnt lll nf h\'1nq art t1flkt'f lttwr un. hk ,m '')l.f ,,lk·nt ""l nv tll4-dk'i'lland Q.'t)f,ll (o1H ltr)IJ'-I'lq 1\nd fcllJid eJk)W fK\'S . i'llld J0 dny\ ()( J'N'Ki YI\C o11ifM '-" ll·hyP-11 Vr1U1l dcwtNt·r a whok ""' WtM'tti fiJWn to you 1n lhv Al.t I otc. · And \'tMI t .m!J' lth"' thrw'Jh AHIO I Clook tnt II''"''" .,w yYo tllno glnd \1(111 dk.JCall: Capt. 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NEW EXPRESSION5chool gamblers play their cards 'safe'by Lori Hendrlchswith Andre Williams,Steve Greerand Edward TharringtonIt's September and a newt of gambling pawns (freshnen) are entering high school.)uring the first few weeks ofhool the leaders of gam ling groups will be out re ruiting pawns to play in theirjames. Before the pawns:now It, they will be losingnoney.Apparently , gambling!Xists in most city schoolsmd some suburban schools. igh. school lunchrooms,vashrooms, auditoriums and;chool grounds double as1ambling casinos . We wereold that school grounds are a;afer place to play in the fallmd spring months when;chool is in session .Our survey indicates that ashroom gambling is not)nly dangerous but hurried.3ambling is more tlme; onsuming than other illegal chool activites, such as moking a cigarette or joint or ven cutting classes so timeind location are important if:here is going to be a game torstakes. At Hyde Park last year)ne security officer broke upNashroom games some days1nd joined them other days.It depended on his mood ,"me observer explained.Safer grounds for bettingtre found In old high school uildings such as Calumet,)imeon and Fenger where;chool auditoriums are usedts study halls. Balconies andhe back of auditoriums are an asy escape when the studyeachers are taking atten-dance in the front of the auditoriums . This provides moreseclusion and the games (ifspotted) can be cleaned upbefore a teacher can break upthe game.Newer schools such asWhitney Young and Clementedon't offer these escapes.Because of the glass corridors and bridgeways it'svery easy for security to spot agame going down in theseschools. Even studies areopen space where teachersare no more than five feetaway The safest hidingplaces for these students areon the outside grounds wherethere is still a chance ofgetting caught by security inunmarked patrol cars.ARiverside-Brookfieldstudent told- us that suburbanstudents prefer to avoidschool hassles by gambling intheir homes. He claims thatsuburban students preferpoker (a more serious game)and betting on race horses toquick games such as BlackJack, which is the mostpopular city game .Because of tight security inmany schools a type of facadegame is played . Students playgames like chess , checkersand backgammon for moneybut keep the stakes out ofsight. Outside of school ,pitching pennies is the undercover game where there are"quarter" line games beingplayed. One gambler fromSimeon said that while schoolofficials were looking for cardgames to break up, heavybetting was going down onchess games.While some game stakesare no more than five dollars,othe,·s run up to 200 or more.One teen gambler claims hewon 150 in one game in hisfreshmen year.Of course, there is as muchmoney lost as gained, sothere are debts to be paid.Some pawns or amateurs(sophomores) and at timesregular gamblers lose personal items such as recordalbums, conce rt tickets,wristwatches and radios.Chuck Mackly (not his realname) told us he lost 75 ondice. He described fights overpeople cheating or bad losers.At Fenger, he would gamblein the washrooms or pitchpennies outside.Through our contacts wefound that these gamblerswere often suspended onsusp1c1on. Many gamblerstold us that when they werecaught in a game there wasn'ta hearing process. They werewritten up and handed theirwalking papers for the nextthree days . A hearing processwould allow the accused tobring in a witness to tell whathe thought went on andpossibly clear the person(gambler) of the accusation.Our sources received none ;mostly they claim becausethey have a reputation as agambler.Greg , a gambler from:::: 1meon, told us how he gotstarted and how he tinallyslacked up on playing. Gregstarted in his freshman yearand became a regular (compulsive) gambler. He says hewas caught only once and wassuspended for playing.Now Greg would like to gointo computer programming.He knows that if a personou don't cuthe str ts;hey cut youPhoto by Andre Williamsbecomes addicted to gambling , he will not be trusted onhis job. Gambling has alreadyjeopardize his friendships.He says, "If you're intogambling enough, it can teachyou a lesson. I learned not toplay where you can get caughtand not to play with yourclose friends. Generally itisn't worth all the trouble."I/Photo by Nona Paramoreby Johnny VaughnI shot craps; won a lot of. Cracked niggers upthe head with pop bot. I even started fightsiOCca!llolnally. I was a gangfor little poohbut gangsran around and stuck upand took their money. Iget nothin' but edueveryone should know.Gordon Andrews, 16This Is the story of oneyouth in Chicago whospent a large part of hisIn the str&Etts. Tl)e staff oJExpression decided that.could best relate that lifehrough the experiences ofteen-someone likeGordon allowed me to interhim tor two hours at my. He spoke very openlyt the streets and howhey have changed his life.When you do It, you don' tthink about it. When you'repoor and starving how are youput yourself In the· on to think about It? You e streets to get over.'t think about whatlae needs. Youe streets; thestreets cut you. You eithermake it or break it.I grew up In the projects. Iwas afraid to walk the streetsbecause of ali the trouble thatwas outside waiting for me.When I was 12 I got Involved inwhat the streets had to offer.We snatched purses andstuck up old ladies. My partners got convicted. I didn't. Iwas smart. My older brotherO.O.'d (overdose of drugs).Well, when I snatched myfirst purse, I was scared. I wasshaking. It made me a trackstar. It gave me motivation torun track In school, so Istarted running track.Gordon is now a senior andcaptain of the school'swrestling team .There wasn't nothing else totake up my mind. No one gaveme any attention. You go to acorporation to try to getsomething and they Ignoreyou. They Ignore youngpeople.The police serve and protectthemselves. They're gonnaharass everybody they can.Have you ever been put In apollee line up and everybodylooks at you, and you getpicked out of the lineup?That's what life is all about.It's a dog, doggy world.I need help to becomesomething I want In life. Iwant to be a neurosurgeon.First I need an athleticscholarship.Gordon explained that hehad just gone after somespecial help by calling Pamei.JRobinson, head of socialservices at the Urban League.I want to go to the OlympicTraining Cal]'lp In Colorado. Icalled the Urban League, andshe said, "No problem." Ididn't even go into her office.She got the money for ·me.A street kid doesn't alwayshave his dreams fulfilled.Some need motivation, likeGordy, who really wants to bea neurosurgeon. He went tothe Urban League andOperation PUSH, to seekfunding and scholarships. OrTim, who wants to be a rockstar and has begun takinglessons and begins startinghis own rock group, and Tedwho wants to become afamous baseball pitcher, whohas been seeking scholarships and bringing up hisbatting average. Withoutmotivation like Gordy's theymay find themselves back onthe streets.Your SCHWINN DealerHas It Together!Every Schwinn bicycle is completely assembled, adjustedand ready to ride at no extra cost.See Schwinn 10-speeds, : -speeds, 3 speeds and great bikesfor kids Each one Is coverE d by the Schwinn Dealer FivePoint Protection Plan. When Schwmn doIt It's doneright!ASSEMBLED ANO;AOJUSTED. AT NO EXTRA CHARGE ·· .

6NEW EXPRESSIONOn TV, press, stageYou 01go'ro1onceTeens cast media spellOh time don't g1ve you thetimeTo do It again,And deep down in your heartyou may derive a new start.Oh I want to be somebody.!Oh I want to be somebody!Pasha Dunbar writes songlyrics like this as a member ofthe Original Youth Theater.She enjoys being a part of adrama group as well as havingthe chance to write and oarform her song lyrics .The song " I Want to beSomebody" Is one of tencreated by the teen musicianswho compose for the OriginalYouth Theater's production of"Search for Your Goals." Thecast of Original Youth TheaterIs now performing In community centers· throughout thecity and suburbs.Original Youth Theater Isone of three communicationprojects for Chica

Roderick Smith, Simeon, Kathy Hawk, St Willibrord. Staff artists Patricia Anne Vass, Jacqueline Ryan. Whit ney Young Paula Eubanks, Whitney Young; Eflc Williams, Ltndblom. 'drunkenness in the parks' and school yards. Teen driving accidents have increased by 33 per cent since the drinking age was lowered, and so the