It is a little embarrassing to be remotely connected to some of the negativity surrounding the vote on the school budget. It is injurious to claim that people who voted against the budget are uncaring about the welfare of the students. I am sure that all the parents and citizens care and their voting reflects the realization that more and more money does not constitute a better education. This is not the forum to quote the many scholarly articles that inform this assertion, but educators especially should be studying the works of John Taylor Gatto, NYC Teacher of the Year 1989, 1990, 1991, and NY State Teacher of the Year, 1991, who wrote Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, and The Underground History of American Education. He purports that the current education paradigm is not viable and should be changed, yet this and most schools adhere to antiquated methods, resistant to radical and progressive upheaval. Again, money is not the answer! It is also disheartening to hear that certain people are considered as unsavory elements to our society. People who live in trailers are as important and should have as valid a voice as those who live in a mansion. I have chosen in my life to devote myself to raising my children and have eschewed the potential pecuniary gain of a career and in so doing I live very modestly, unable to purchase my own home. I have M.A. & B.A. degrees in Education, so education has been my lifes work and focus. I am currently homeschooling my two children and I assure you that I have spent under $500 over the past year to do so. While I do not seek proselytes in this movement, it is interesting that most homeschoolers operate with a greatly reduced budget and yet produce students that are outperform their public school peers in GPA and standardized testing (neither indicator being the goal, but seen as necessary evils in the scholastic environment that exists) and they have higher graduation rates. Calling names, being negative, and dismissing divergent opinions are bullying tactics, tactics that we certainly should not inculcate in the next generation, but which seem to be evident with the peevish and disconsolate remarks about losing the vote to those who dont care or who dont take part. I assure you everyone cares, and perhaps people dont get involved because they risk the censure and ridicule by those who disagree with them. I am an alumni of this school and while I have warm memories, I do not believe that it is the place that made me what I am today, it is merely one of many experiences, some good, some bad, that have contributed to the process, with my family being the primary force in my development. Were I a citizen of Minerva, I would use these ashes of disappointment as an opportunity to look for creative, transforming ideas to improve the idea of schooling.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 20:08:46 +0000
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