PSU Magazine Winter 1988

Children's Literature (Continued from page 8) social world around them are interested in more sophisticated plots and non- fiction. They may also be curious about ap– proaching adolescence. " In general ," says Kimmel , " kids will read about children who are older. They want to know what the next step in the journey is." 4. Take a look at books that have won awards such as the Newbery, Caldecott and Young Readers Choice, but don't feel you ought to like them or restrict your choice to them. Gold and silver seals on the covers of children's books are simply guideposts. As Kimmel notes, Dr. Seuss has never won a Caldecott, Judy Blume hasn't won the Newbery, and Shel Silver– stein has won neither. 5. Visit specialty children's bookstores, which are plentiful in Portland. Staff is often well- informed and helpful , knowing not just where books are located but what's in them. Children may also tend to feel more comfortable in stores designed for them. Steer clear of discount depart– ment stores, where poor quality books end up. 6. Read any read- aloud books to yourself before sharing them with your child. This will save you some discomfort if the author strays into language or sub– ject matter that is distasteful to you. 7. Evaluate children's books as you would adult books, with a view to good, interesting plots, believable characters, careful use of language and realistic dialogue. Watch for authors who write down to their audience or don't allow readers to draw their own conclusions. 8. Try to avoid withholding certain books from children ; instead , steer them in another direction. 9. Relax and enjoy exploring. D Manufacturing (Continued from page JO) out, machines vibrate and there are deflec– tions. Plus, when you are subcontracting something, because you don't know how it is produced , you want to be able to in- PSU 22 spect it before using it." And he points out there are always costs to be considered. A better machine costs more money. At this point in his research , Etesami is not trying to perfect a commercial system that can handle every case. Instead, he is presenting a way of organizing the data in order to analyze it. An actual program with particular machinery and materials in mind , and practical time and money mat– ters considered, is still somewhere down the assembly line. Thanks to the NSF grant, Etesami has been able to fully concentrate in one direction . He is in the process of submit– ting another proposal to further his research. "I feel strongly that my research is very significant and pioneer– ing," says Etesami with obvious pride. "Nobody has tried this. Nobody is work– ing in the area of dimensional inspection in terms of coming up with an organiza– tion for the measurement of parts and finding coordinate points." No one, that is, but the Portland State researcher who has unlimited imagination , a vision for tomorrow and a zero tolerance for error. D Career Choices (Continued from page 13) "There's always the perception of 'What I'm making isn't very much , and what somebody else is making is a lot. And if I could just make the shift to business from the non- profit sector, I would be rich ,' " said Cumpston. "But look at their in– terests. A lot of them have nothing to do with the kinds of jobs - like sales - where big money is possible." Whether the scapegoat is money, or boredom, or the office's bad coffee, the cause of dissatisfaction can be one of wanting too much from one's job. The fact is, counselors say, work is work; it can't be wonderful every hour, every day. There are the rare ones who find a career they would do regardless of pay, but one counselor said if you find a job that gives you great satisfaction 50 percent of the time, you're lucky. Of loyalty and choices If we are more concerned than we used to be about finding our niche in life it's because we have so many more choices - even from 20 years ago. Yet with more choices, it's harder to know what people actually do for a living; jobs aren't as visible or as identifiable as they once were. It's easy to see what a bricklayer does, or a nurse, or a carpenter. But a systems analyst? For most of us, a systems analyst is someone who disappears into an office building at 8:30 in the morning and comes out at 5 or 6. What happens inside during the rest of the day is a mystery. Gone are the days when boys knew they would follow the trades of their fathers and girls knew they would be housewives and mothers. It used to be that when a young man found a job, he was loyal to that employer through most of his working life. But as more and more big companies are threatened by foreign competition and hostile takeovers , those workers are finding that the companies they were loyal to for so many years are not returning the favor. Layoffs and forced early retirements - in the name of streamlining - are making them look at their jobs in a new light, as something that can't be taken for granted. They are finding they must be loyal to themselves first , and that often means switching employers when opportunities arise. Bergman says persons under 35 change jobs on the average of once every 18 months, and those over 35 change every three years. But even though society is giving us more permission to change, the old ideas live on. Said Ronacher, "I still have people come in who say 'I've had four or five jobs, and it's embarrassing. I thought when I started this last job that it would really be the one. But now I've met the challenges, I've enjoyed the job, and I'm ready to move on.' " What counseling can do for that person is show that not only is it okay to change jobs, but that some people are the type that need to change jobs, that like to do many different projects and then move on to something new. D