Post 1 in weekly series. I promised recently that I would begin a new, weekly feature. This is the first installment in fulfillment of that promise: a weekly education post.
These are not easy times for education. Perhaps the truest statement is that there are no easy times: school can be difficult even in comfortable conditions (much to learn, and a small society within one’s school to navigate). We do not have even comfortable conditions, as we’ve limited fiscal resources in a community where many families, sadly, have limited private resources. To say that they have private limited resources is to avoid the hard words that many in our community are children of poverty.
Denial of this truth does nothing to make it less true.
Here we are – the fortunate and unfortunate, the prosperous and impoverished, all in the same community, all hoping for as much and better for our children as we have today.
The condition of education weighs on me, although I have been mostly quiet on the subject of K12 schooling. To be quiet is not to be indifferent, to be distant is not to be unconcerned.
That’s what inspires a weekly series: to write about topics one has considered carefully without yet writing.
Now, there are likely to be some who would prefer that I did not write. Of this I will say two things: they presume too much to know what I’ll write, and in any event others’ preferences and unfounded presumptions will not constrain my remarks.
My forefathers (here I write of my actual forefathers, not those of my pseudonym) came to this continent before the Revolution, and in the generations since my family has always believed in learning for its sake and for what it makes possible for oneself and others.
Easy for them to believe so – many of those generations enjoyed a consensus in support of learning and how to achieve great things (both for individuals no matter how small and for a society so very large).
Americans are an ambitious and accomplished people: our many achievements in the humanities, natural & social sciences, and technology are at the forefront of global accomplishment. Much of our success owes to our liberties: our freedoms attract other talented peoples, and allow our own talented people to cooperate easily with others abroad.
But people don’t achieve as a nationality – they achieve as individuals, with all the particular, immediate, specific teaching and interaction achievement requires.
For children, especially ones whose mornings and evenings are hard, individual attention in the afternoon may make all the difference.
THE EDUCATION POST: Tuesdays @ 10 AM, here on FREE WHITEWATER.
(About the graphic for this series – it’s a screenshot of a calculator app for Android phones that emulates a Hewlett Packard 33C. I used an HP calculator in school, and they were amazing machines. My phone’s calculator app pays tribute to a fine machine of yore.)
This is a huge issue for Whitewater. Some of the people in this space are amazing. Others just think that they are. The last school board race was a real shock. That race gave Whitewater a taste of the difference between wanting versus being able. Relying on stories from a long time ago isn’t good enough. It’s true that some people in Central Office won’t want you anywhere these topics. Really funny how you respond, “they presume too much to know what I’ll write, and in any event others’ preferences and unfounded presumptions will not constrain my remarks.” The first part it key. They don’t get you at all. It’s so obvious that you’re an educated person who likes learning.
It’s an overdue commitment. We’ve many sharp people in the city. There’s ample room for many people to discuss these issues.
More focus on actual education topics is needed everywhere. In the community, the biggest topics about campus (I’m a professor) often come from Media Relations. That’s not always helpful. Rah-Rah-Rah isn’t supposed to be a school motto anywhere. The last ten years or so have been terribly bad that way.
I’ve long known one of Wisconsin’s best-regarded public relations executives. It was simply a fortunate meeting earlier in my career. As critical as I am of some public relations, her intellect and talent still impress. There’s nothing grandiose about her; it’s what makes her work so grand.
Good idea.
I second the good idea comment.
So cause and effect is a real thing after all. 🙂
Hume’s doubts notwithstanding. 🙂
There are many intelligent voices in Whitewater. For education, some of those voices are in K12, some are on campus. Most of those people don’t get heard. Focusing on those voices will be a good use of your time. That’s true even if you disagree with them. Focusing on other publications here will just be a waste of time/talent. Go big.
Agreed: Whitewater is filled with sharp people – not few, but many.
If it’s go big or go home, then it’s really only go big – I’m already home.