Here is another letter to the editor of the Standard-Democrat, written by Kevin Blanton, class of 85. Kevin works as a pediatrician at Ferguson Medical Group in Sikeston, and has four children in Sikeston public schools. Dear Mr. Jenson— Currently my youngest daughter is a student at Lee Hunter Elementary, the same grade school I attended 40 years ago. Despite ongoing upkeep and repairs, that facility (as well as the other grade schools) is no longer adequate to provide a safe and effective learning environment for our children. The proposed school bond issue that will be before us on April 8th will make dramatic improvements to our Sikeston Public School’s facilities. Society has changed. No longer is it safe to leave our homes unlocked. I used to ride my bicycle unsupervised to school. My parents never had to question or worry whether I would make it there safely. With growing threats of school violence (if not just growing awareness), it is no longer prudent to have grade schools with exterior doors to most every classroom and no real means to prevent an evildoer from appearing anywhere on campus. The proposed new grade school buildings would address this concern by having limited and secured access. Furthermore, it would also provide improved safety for our children against tornados--each grade school as well as the High School and Kindergarten would be getting a safe room that would be built to withstand an F5 tornado. We have all seen the devastation recent tornados can bring. Many residents here lived through the tornado of 1986 that caused severe damage to our community. Technology and the means or providing education has changed dramatically since Lee Hunter and the other schools were built. At that time only half of all homes had TVs. Those homes that did have TV could only receive 2-3 channels. When I was at Lee Hunter, advanced classroom technology was a reel projector—teachers needed only 1 plug outlet in their classrooms. Now our teachers have an extreme array of options, fueled by a variety of audiovisual devices as well as the Internet. Our students need not just read from a book or learn from the chalkboard. Creative, interactive, and at times self-directed learning is possible. However, all to often our talented teachers are limited in their ability to utilize these devices by the classrooms in which they teach. Internet access and electrical outlets are limited—and it would be impossible to outfit these classrooms without major renovations. Since I have returned home to practice medicine, one of my roles has been the recruitment of new physicians and other health-care providers to the community. Almost all of the prospective recruits that have children want to see our schools. They often use the quality of our school buildings as a litmus test of our community’s progressiveness and passion for the future. Those that have children in Kindergarten or 9th grade leave very impressed with our schools. Our Math and Science Building at the high school is truly awesome. However, those that tour our grade schools are often taken aback. It is impossible for them gain a full appreciation of our extremely talented and dedicated teaching professionals. They can and do however see our unattractive, crumbling, 60 year old buildings. Time and time again they leave with the impression that this is a community that will not invest in itself or its children. It gives them pause about re-locating here. In passing this bond issue, we can make it clear that we do believe in our future and are willing to make the necessary investment to ensure that our children have the best possible learning environment. If prospective recruits see a vibrant and passionate school system with state-of-the-are facilities, they will want to move here to practice medicine. Our medical community can grow and mature. This in turn will encourage more businesses to locate here. Many people commute to Sikeston to work. More of them will choose relocate here and have their children attend our schools. It is no exaggeration to say that better schools will lead to a better Sikeston. This is something we can control. It is something we can achieve. I encourage all to vote Yes for the School Bond issue on April 8th. Kevin Blanton, MD Sikeston High School, Class of 1985 Please consider the issues at hand, and join Kevin in voting YES on April 8th!
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 22:15:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015