Schools Today
Grand Rapids Public Schools were the focus of Mayor
Heartwell's first year in office. He stressed the importance of preparing
students for employment. He said that unlike in the past, a public
education is going to be for everyone now--not just soldiers but generals
as well. School Superintendent Bert Bleke is radically reorganizing the
schools using the best national studies. I love his small school
initiatives and his Community Engagement Model, and I will work to see
that these ideas come alive. The Governor says that our educational system
is all-important. I agree, I agree, I agree!
The
established system has historically been opposed to this kind of simple
but visionary education, but the tide has turned. The "education crisis"
is a wonderful opportunity in disguise. Simply put, warehousing the
children of the poor is not working. Let’s give them a real chance. What
has put GRPS and education in general in such a sad state?
Financially,
we are reeling from the disaster caused by top-down management models.
Philosophically, those in power (as the mayor alluded to in his "State of
the City" speech last year) thought it was advantageous to FAIL to train
the American people to think critically or develop self-discipline. Public
high school was designed to teach boredom tolerance, punctuality, and
passivity. In other words, the attitude needed to stay in a factory job.
Visualize a thousand points of light, dimmed.
Study
of this issue reveals some surprising things. This March, governors of 45
states met and agreed that "our high schools are obsolete!" The
unavoidable consensus is that a dumbed-down public is not good for the
nation. Without good education and a general love of knowledge, our
country is crippled and the American dream is a violent, carnal
embarrassment. |
When elected, I will build coalitions with city residents, explore better solutions to the same old
issues, impact state regulations, and get results! Please contact me with
any specific questions/comments you may have.
The People Living Off the Poor (the
PLOPS) are out there with their nice suits and their PowerPoint
presentations ready to swoop in, grab all the money we put into education,
and subvert our goals to our detriment. I will be there to make sure it
goes for books and field trips and lots of caring teachers, and not for
PLOPs. Where money is short, I will be recruiting help and building a
spirit of community.I will adopt 6 schools and visit each of them twice a
year. I will encourage the other school board members to do the
same.
I am seeking input from all
families, community organizations, and school staff. I have enthusiastic
support from the very same people who have been promoting wise and
sensitive public policies in Grand Rapids for years and years. I am busy
every day studying relevant issues and will put in time far above and
beyond the two-hour meetings of the board. I will work to take our
educational goals to Lansing. I have the energy and the will to take on a
mountain of bureaucratic indifference. We have so many strengths: a
wonderfully diverse city, exciting and empowering lessons to share, a
national mood of experimentation that we can capitalize on, and a strong
game plan that has already begun.
Some people will always judge others
by their appearance. This is the hard truth about bigotry. I love people
for what they can be, inside, and I will work for us all. I want to
empower everyone with self-discipline and knowledge, especially those who
have the odds stacked against them. The beautiful truth is that we are all
one, and that is the truth I live by.
In grade schools I will help develop , block by block, a system of community networks that support and
enhance the work of teachers, parents, and social workers. I will focus on
reading in particular. I will work to make sure that schools never rob
children of their innate love of learning. I will work to keep harmful
commercial interests out, but partner with businesses that want to help
develop productive, responsible, and employable adults. I will work on
improving school lunches and health in general.
Please vote! I know that the system
is flawed, but there is nothing corrupting me. If anyone can make a
difference that you can really see, it will be me, but I need your help to
get elected. What I follow is a vision, an attainable vision, of a better
community and a more fully realized democracy. I have been thinking,
studying, and working on this for a long time.
To vote, you must be registered by
April 4 to vote on May 3. You can find a lot of excellent general
information regarding voting and registration at the accessKent web site. In addition, you
can find out where your polling place is at The Secretary of State's Publius Voter Information Center.
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