It’s Saturday night about midnight. Right now about 20 teenagers are hanging out around the corner from me. Trash in the street, bikes lying everywhere. Cussing like Hells Angels at a truck stop. Do they have parents? How can the people living on that corner put up with the noise and trash? I’m disgusted. I wish some of the people on the Plan for Excellence would come and take a look at what they’re up against. When I say all children will not learn, these are the kids I’m talking about. They know I’m on the school board, yet willingly tell me they have left school. One asked me if it was OK to leave the HS because she had a headache. Two boys from Bolich left for the day because they “didn’t feel like being there anymore.” If we don’t find a way to reclaim these kids we will never achieve excellence. They do not have guidance from home on what it takes to survive in the world. Yet we expect them to take tests, bring up our scores for the state, graduate and become productive members of society.
As idealistic as it is to say parents need to do their job, the reality is many don’t. Whether you like it or not, these kids go to school with your kids. They smoke, they drink, they do drugs and they have sex. They are also a part of our scores to the state and federal government. We need to do something for these kids so that regardless of where they come from, they know where they are going. Out into thr cruel, harsh world. If our schools do not show them what it takes to survive, who will?
My fourth grader was taught last week how to write a check. That’s nice but first he needs to understand how the money gets into the checking account. Fourth grade isn’t too early. We need to add to our curriculum financial literacy, maybe even an overhaul of the “home ec” course. These children do not understand what a resume is. They do not have a clue what it takes to get into college at an early enough age. We do not spend enough time steering kids in directions that suit them individually. We spend an inordinate amount of time teaching things the children of this generation will never use. Computer literacy should be it’s own class in each grade in this day and age. And why do we force music class on kids? Some kids just are not cut out for singing or playing an instrument. Some are born with it. My opinion- it should always be an elective. Phys ed on the other hand should be mandatory daily. I can get up the stairs faster than some of our fifth graders. Nutrition is another area we lack in. We preach the food groups and healthy eating and all, yet we serve pizza and French toast and rarely anything that resembles beef, pork, or chicken. It’s all processed and frozen. I realize this is a real money saver. But it is at the expense of our children’s health. Don’t even get me started on the pop at school. Millions of people have survived by only being offered milk at school. OJ is available for those with allergies.
I guess what I’m getting at is we have to be examples and teachers of what life is all about in the classroom. Because unfortunately this is the only place many of these kids are going to get it. We need to use our imaginations and incorporate real life into our curriculum. Otherwise ours will never be an excellent district. The kids around the corner have no desire to learn. I want them to. What I’d like to know is this- what areas of education do you think need adjusted or a complete overhaul?
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20 comments:
Kellie,
Your question is, "What areas of education do we need to change?"
I think that we need to modify your question -- a little. Please allow me to change the question -- as follows:
"What areas of 'training people to solve problems' do we need to change?"
The kids on the corner are solving their problems within the limits of their ability to solve their problems. Their list of problem statements are huge according to my view. Their list of problem statements are 'on-hold' or 'denied' according to their view. One way of reconciling their list vs my list is to ask them and listen (write down) their list.
I think the goal 'to educate' is an almost obsolete term used for an industrial society. I think the goal 'to problem solve' is a required process for adapting to an information-based society.
If we want to solve problems in our community then we must inform and involve EVERYBODY in our community. And, we must do it by using the key public information organizations to link to all of the private organizations who must link to all of the members of our community.
Our problem statements must come out of the closet and get listed on public websites to get priority action.
For example, do you know what the crime rate is in CFO? Or, in your neighborhood? Or, in your block? Have you asked the police?
Who has a list of all of the druggies in school and on the street?
Who is using the list to get the druggies into 12 step recovery processes where problem statements are not denied?
And, who is using the 12 step recovery process to help our BOE members list all of their problem statements in OLD or NEW business?
So, the question becomes how are the druggies and the BOE members similar and different?
Could it be possible that they are both solving their problems by denying each other the ability state their problems?
Have we met the enemy and found that they are us?
Hope this helps.
Lou
Lou please stop changing what people say.I know you mean well but frankly we are sick of it.
If I read "problem statement" one more time I will jump off the Y bridge!
Who is WE? How many people are WE? Is WE one person, two people or more than 10 people?
Can you answer Kellie's question rather than attacking another person?
I hope this helps?
Lou Schott
To: Kellie, Leslie, and others who want to discuss the challenges of our community,
I think Kellie's question is getting to the essence of our most critical concerns in our community.
We spend a huge amount of money on holding people in prisons, half-way houses, and within the criminal justice system. Many attorneys are financially dependent on the continued malfunction of our druggies, alcoholics, and sexual abusers in our community. Attorneys will need to find a new source of income -- when we learn how to use 'creative constructive conflict'.
One of our challenges is to understand that the 'education process' TELLS people how to act. Our 'education process' has little time to LISTEN to the reasons why people FEEL they want to act using the addiction processes.
The '12 Step Recovery Processes', 'Creative Problem Solving Processes, and the processes by which 'all of Nature's systems change and grow' are all similar because they devote far more time to the LISTENING processes.
However, LISTENING is just the first CUE. The next step is to ACT on the CUE. And, the third step is to see if we get the expected RESULT. So, we need to repeat the pattern -- as follows:
1. Listen to the CUEs
2. Act on the CUEs
3. Ask if we got the expected RESULT.
Thus, we can replace our need to feel anxious, angry, and annoyed in a manner that causes us to repeat our negative addictions. And, we can start using repeating patterns that become addictive because they get long term positive results.
The above does not describe the whole systems solutions. But, the above does get us started in a useful direction. Thus, we move towards rapidly adapting smart systems solutions targeted to LISTEN to the needs of all community members. In summary, we have informed and involved EVERYONE.
Kellie, if you were to start to summarize what you see being said on your blogs and how you intend to act -- as a result of what you see then you will be using one of the important leadership techniques.
Let me know how you think that I can help you and our community.
Lou
To: CF_Loses_Again and others who are not interested in my comments,
If you are not interested in my comments then you have a number of options -- as follows:
1. Skip over it.
2. Read it & respond to the issues.
3. Ask me to stop writing so you can feel better.
CF_Loses_Again has chosen #3. The #3 approach tells me what not to do. However, the #3 approach does not tell me what I can do to be useful -- except to remain silent. And, a 'dead man' can remain silent.
And, then others complain about the apathy of voters.
What I saw happening on our blogs was a lot of people VENTING THEIR FEELINGS and their judgments of good, bad, right, and wrong. Those people who want to FEEL BETTER by diminishing others and setting needless limits on others have BEGUN to limit their attacks.
CF_Loses_Again, You may want to start your own blog. You could set limits on who shares their comments. And, you could try to deal with people who want you to stop doing something so that you CAN FEEL BETTER.
The challenges that we face in our community involve complex systems. Solving these problems involves informing all members of our community and listening to what ALL of them think. The problems that we face are more complex than the problems that we must solve to put a 'man on the moon'.
I am sorry CF_Loses_Again to tell you that I can not help your FEEL BETTER on this one. I have a lot to say because I think that we have a lot that our community needs to know. Your choicees are: Become part of the solution process. Or, remain one of the losers -- (AKA problem statements).
Lou Schott
To: Leslie and others who want to respond to Kellie's question,
Yes. Your response brings up a number of useful thoughts. Kids, growing up on the streets, learn to cooperate with each other and use group norms. Those group norms are targeted to help them FEEL BETTER. They do not stay home because it's boring. And, no one else is at home.
Babies only want to FEEL BETTER. Babies have not learned how to THINK -- yet. Sometimes a parent or baby sitter THINKS that if they 'punish a baby for crying' then they (the parent) can FEEL BETTER.
Kids, growing up on the street, only want to FEEL BETTER. These kids have learned the values of a victim. They think like victims.
When you call the police then you punish them. There are more kids and they collectively have more time then you have. When you call the police then you put yourself in a position of peril. And, they may start to punish you.
But, what happens when you start to listen to them? What happens when you ask them how they feel? What happens when you ask them what they think? What happens when you ask them, "How can I help?"
Lou Schott
Update:
Lou I took your advice and talked to some of them. I now have my Christmas lights up outside thanks to two bored teenagers! For free!! Woo Hoo. Next weekend I'm gonna round up some more bored teenagers and see if I can get my new car washed!
To: Kellie & others who want to help solve the problems of our kids growing up on the street,
Your 'early intervention' in the lives of these 'street kids' and your 'capacity to care' will likely be remembered far longer by them than if you had called the police. Your 'capacity to care' responds to their need to 'hang out' around 'that ladies house who is on the BOE'. I suspect that they are telling you something in the only way that they know how.
Your relationship with the 'street kids' can grow and change in a positive manner. For the kids, they only want to FEEL BETTER (avoid boredom). For you, they could become part of your campaign team. They can pass out flyers and help you reach out to your community.
However, let me hasten to say, "I think that I would not invite them to a BOE meeting." Talk about being bored!. Yawn!
-=-==-=--=-=
Please allow me to return to your original question. It is, "What areas of education need to change?"
I asked a young man who graduated from CFO -- your question. Our young man has graduated from the police academy and has worked at a Canton 'crack house' as a security officer. He has survived his first shoot out with an addict who was using a 45 Magnum. (More on this -- only if you ask).
Our young man will testify that drugs at CFO high school are a SERIOUS problem. He also says that our school does not teach anything about the '12 step recovery process'.
Years ago, I compared the '12 step recovery process' to the 'creative problem solving process'. The two processes are similar.
Both processes have the following three phases:
1. Define a shared purpose & HOPEs for the future.
2. LISTEN to the problems of others who have victimized others and themselves -- while they continue to repeat patterns of action designed to help themselves FEEL BETTER.
3. Stop repeating patterns of action that only have a short-term positive result for the addict (actor) and start repeating patterns of action that have a long-term positive result for the addict and others around them.
If I were writing to focus on the 'creative problem solving process' then I would use a few different words in the above statement. But, the basic principles are the same.
Finally, to CF_Loses_Again and those others who want to silence me so they can FEEL BETTER,
I feel 'sincerely sad' that I cannot help you FEEL BETTER by remaining silent. My sadness compares to the time in my past when I felt compelled to tell all of my family members that my father had been 'sexually molesting' their female children for years. I knew that my message to my family members would not help them FEEL BETTER. I knew that my message would cause them GREAT PAIN. I knew that it would cause them GREAT PAIN because it had caused me GREAT PAIN. And, yet I had to tell them so I could warn my brother (a parent of the two female children who had not been molested -- yet).
And thus it is that I feel great sadness that I cannot help you feel better -- at this time. My hope is that this too will pass for you. My hope is that you will continue to share your thoughts and feelings with us. My hope is that you will come to a point where you feel better because we ALL feel better.
Sincerely, Lou Schott
To: Barry and others concerned about the number of addicts in our school and community,
I just got back from talking with the CFO police. They will be getting back to me with better information. From a data point of view, the best the police can do is report to us on the number of arrests. Meaning, this does not count the amount of addiction that does not rise above the radar. I plan to ask the 'school resource officer' Bill Shover for a more subjective opinion.
Actually, I think that he should talk directly to the PfE team targeted to 'Involve Family, Business, & Community'. Then, I do not need to triangulate his comments.
The problem with all of this is that Officer Shover is only one indicator. To get the real nitty-gritty, we need to interview students. I have two grandkids who graduated within the last 5 and 3 years. I can tell you that they confirm the opinion stated in my first blog on this topic.
In other news, the Lieutenant that I talked to at the police station reads the 'Help-Inform-Involve-CFO' group distribution list. And, he reads Kellie's and Molly's blog.
He knew me immediately. But, I had never met him. I asked him for feedback on my role in the eCommunity. He said, "I see you as very intense and I really admire you for it."
Barry, Please forgive me for tooting my own horn.
-=-=-=-=-=-
To: CF_Loses_Again and others who want to silence me,
Please do not roll over and victimize me with your passivity -- just because you cannot set limits on me. We need you to stay informed and involved.
In response to your challenge, I consider the addiction problems in our school, library, city council, newspaper, community, state and nation as the highest priority. If we can stop our victimizers (addicts) from victimizing themselves and others then we will surplus a huge amount of money to embrace the 'creative problem solving processes'.
We can train every student and every community member to be a 'problem solver' and not a 'problem causer'. And, we have begun doing it right here and right now.
I trust this is helpful to everyone in our community.
Lou Schott
To: Barry & others who want to know more about the addiction problems in our school and community,
Yes. I share your need to have more reliable indicators telling us more about the seriousness of the addiction problems in our community. And, we can work on developing an honest, open (PUBLIC), and responsible discussion of our addiction problems in our families, school, library, city council, and local newspaper.
I want to recognize your concern for stigmatizing our situation. Let me try to put my concern in terms of dollars.
I own enough rental property in our community to have my property taxes go up by $3,000 -- based on the approval of the last school levy.
And, I voted for the levy knowing that it would cost me. So, when I press our community members to recognize and take ownership of their problems then I do it knowing that the stigma of owning our problems will cost us.
My least cost option is to sell and move out of our community. But, where do I go? Do I go to another community that refuses to own it's problems? Or, do I stay and accept the stigma and work for a higher level of solving problems.
Enter the Internet and the 'Creative Problem Solving Processes'.
We have the tools and the techniques to identify the seriousness of our problems. And, we have the techniques to define our problems via the CPS processes.
The open question is -- do we have enough community leaders and community members willing and able to do a continuing public intervention?
If I did not think that we could develop the stomach for confronting our own problems then I would cut and run. We can solve these problems. But, we cannot solve them if we let our victims and our victimizers let our shame bind us into silence.
One of the great surprises in my life was when I was put in a position of confronting my father for sexually molesting the female children in our family. My sister, who had been molested starting at the age of five, was pushing me to confront my father. I set up a family meeting. My brother who had 2 female children molested (starting at the age of 5) flew in from Floridia for the meeting. Another brother, whose children had not been molested -- YET, was too busy to come to the meeting.
The day, the hour, and the minute of the meeting was upon us. I was in the room with my father and my dying mother. And, my sister (who had been silent for 30 years) and pushing me to confront my father for about 10 years was outside of the house cowering with my brother. They had come to help confront. But, they could not set aside their own need to FEEL BETTER about their situation by imagining (hoping) that the future could hold a better solution to their problems.
We must accept the pain to have a gain.
Lou Schott
Ask your "husband" what he was like. Hanging out and messing around past midnight was not a problem. I also remember that you were not a perfect angel. Asking where the parents are? Not a problem when you were young was it.
You are saying you are out at midnight and there are children out. Do you and your "husband" not remember how it was when we were young?Don't ask where the parents are. Kids try to get away with whatever they can. We can only do so much. Just like we all used to do when we were young. I know what we all used to do. So do you. Think before you talk!!
Eyesrolling, parents getting involved is definitely important, but we cannot afford to throw up our hands and give up on the children whose parents aren't involved. The local school board and the district administration do not have the power to force parents to be accountable. Frankly, I'm tired of the people who are using lack of parental involvement as an excuse for not trying harder with these kids. The district has to educate ALL children that attend and ALL of those children have an impact on our test scores.
There are single parents out there working 2 jobs just to keep a roof over their family’s heads. There are parents that are fighting addictions. There are even parents who really believe that they shouldn't have to get involved because it's the school district responsibility alone to educate their child (I don't agree with this attitude but that's what some believe). These types of parents can't or won't get involved. The district needs to find a way to reach these kids early (say Kindergarten – 3rd grade). These kids need to be in classes with high achieving children to have positive learning behaviors modeled for them. And yes, the district should try to find family programs that are positive and non-judgmental and will attract more parents to get involved. But there will always be parents that we won’t get involved no matter what you do, and we have to be prepared to give the same effort to their children that we give to the children of parents that are very involved. There are schools in urban districts with extremely high rates of poverty and low levels of parental motivation that are excellent. If they can do it, Cuyahoga Falls and Silver Lake should certainly be able to do it, but we need to stop making excuses.
Our district will never be excellent if we fail to make every child count.
To: EyesRolling and others who want to involve the parents and more community members,
Yes. We need to involve the parents (and more community members). They can be part of the solution or part of the problem. I can offer comments on raising children -- as a single parent. I raised my 4 children as a single father from about 1968 to 1978. More about this experience -- later (as required).
Since I have rented homes to many families with single parents from about 1975 to now, I continually monitor their needs versus the requirements that their society places on them.
Let me summarize the situation of a single parent. They are blamed but not trained. And, they are not trained because they were NOT LISTENING when they were having sex.
And, peole learn to NOT LISTEN for any number of reasons. One reason is that if they listen then they may not be able to FEEL BETTER -- ASAP.
Parents (who only want to FEEL BETTER) have learned the 'process of victimization' from their parents, grand parents, peers, and politicians. And, since all of these people cannot imagine (THINK)about a future without applying the 'process of victimization', they are unable to imagine a future consisting of all of the possibilities.
Enter the Internet and the Creative Problem Solving Process.
We can define the 'CPS process' for the benefit of 80% of our community by using the Internet. But, the 'CPS process' will just be another distraction to those who are unwilling to give up the 'process of victimization'.
Thus, we need to understand the pain resulting from the 'process of victimization' (abuse and addiction) before we will embrace the pleasure of the CPS processes.
More on this ... later.
-=-=-=-=-
To: Therhesus,
Please allow me to thank you for your support in our community battle to solve real problems in our community.
At the same time, I am a little uncomfortable being described as 'noble'. I am here to say that I have been both victimized and been a victimizer. Sometimes our heros (rescuers) can diminish us. And, sometimes our victims can victimize us. A lot depends on our ability to see the big picture.
I am reasonably sure that my dying mother did not see me as 'noble' -- when I led the confrontation of my father. In fact, she probably experienced me as the 'victimizer' -- since I caused her great pain during her dying experience.
I have come to a point where I do not label actions as good, bad, right and wrong. I see myself as either being useful or useless as we work toward our shared purpose.
I hope that you consider this as useful to our community.
Lou Schott
Eyesrolling, I didn’t mean to imply that you or anyone else would give up on the kids whose parents don’t get involved, and I agree that we need to get to the root of the problem to make improvements. My concern is that I keep hearing “lack of parental involvement is the problem.” I’ve heard it from teachers, administrators and other parents. If lack of parental involvement is THE problem, then the PFE really only needs a parental involvement committee and the involved parents, teachers and administrators are off the hook, we can all go home. But I don’t think any of us really believes that lack of parental involvement is THE problem, but rather ONE OF MANY issues facing our district. I’m concerned that we’ll get hung up on counting the trees and wind up missing the forest all together.
And Barry, I didn’t mean to sound critical of single parent families. I was a single mom myself many years ago, working during the day and going to school at night. I am concerned that we maybe assuming that parents who don’t volunteer in the classroom, don’t make it to PTA meetings or don’t attend open house are “uninvolved parents.” In reality, they may be very involved with their children when they can be, just not on the school’s time table.
Another thing that I think we need to be very careful of is making assumptions about other families’ choices (and Eyesrolling, I’m not saying you are assuming but I need to make this point because I think others may be assuming). What we may think is a parent choosing to work a second job over spending time reading with their kids or helping with their homework may in actuality be a parent choosing to work a second job so that they don’t have to choose between paying the gas bill or the electric bill this month.
I don’t know what the answers are, but we need to find a way to involve parents in a nonjudgmental way that meets THEIR needs first. Maybe parental involvement and how to increase it would be a good topic for a survey. If we ask the parents what they want and need from the schools to better help their kids, we might be surprised at the answers. We’ll definitely know better what programs will be worthwhile and be well received by the parents.
Barry, actually I am researching the shift away from ability grouping in schools for the reconfiguration piece of the Teaching & Learning subcommittee, and it has been proven that grouping multi-ability kids together results in marked improvement in the lower- and middle ability children when compared to kids that are grouped with those of similar abilities, without appreciable differences in the high-achieving children's results. The problem for the lower-ability children who are “tracked” (or ability grouped) is that they often get that label early on in their educational career and then find that they are stuck with it for 13 years, much in the same way that gifted children who may not test well can miss out on being included in the gifted program simply by virtue of a test score that didn’t meet the mark.
In "CROSSING THE TRACKS:
How "Untracking" Can Save America's Schools," by Amy Wheelock, the author states: "Tracking does not result in the equal and equitable distribution of effective schooling among all students. Instead, tracking allocates the most valuable school experiences -- including challenging and meaningful curriculum, engaging instruction, and high teacher expectations -- to students who already have the greatest academic, economic, and social advantages, while students who face the greatest struggles in school and in life receive a more impoverished curriculum based on lower expectations for their capacity to learn."
I also have other sources to support this and will probably eventually do a blog post on the topic once our research has been presented to the whole Teaching and Learning subcommittee.
To: Everyone who has commented on this blog -- including CF_Loses_Again,
What I am seeing is people in our community starting to solve their problems by identifying their problems. WOW.
Please applaud yourself and each other.
More.... Later...
Lou Schott
To: Barry and others who want to solve problems by defining our problems,
The question: What do you mean when you say a single parent was "NOT LISTENING" while having sex?
An answer: If a single parent had been LISTENING then they may not have conceived a child, got married, and divorced, etc.
The LISTENING process requires us to THINK.
'Mother Nature' designed the sexual process to involve FEELINGS and instincts. The thought process is much less involved in sex.
Hope this helps.
Lou
However, as a civilization, we continue to confuse our feelings with our thoughts. Or, worse yet, we do not know that we do not know the difference between a feeling and a thought. Thus, we are unwilling and unable to intervene on our own behalf. We are unable to feel the joy of the creative problem solving because we are busy repeating the pleasures and the pains of the vicimization process.
To: Barry and others who want problems solved,
Yes, feelings and thoughts are closely paired. We help ourselves solve problems (think through the cause and effects) -- when we begin with some sense of our feelings.
Babies feel. Most of us cannot remember much about the events and our thoughts before the age of two.
The question before us is -- what are the 'street kids' feeling that makes them unwilling to apply their ability to think and succeed in their school work?
We can makes some assumptions. But, we could also ask them and listen to them and probably learn something. According to my wife, Dr. Kenny - PHD in Counseling, the research indicates that feelings are also a way of summarizing thoughts and enabling people to act.
Babies get to use a short cut. Soldiers must use their training (stored thought) to prempt their feelings as they march into sheets of bullets. Some of our soldiers will control their feelings and thoughts. Others will pee down their leg as they look for cover.
My uncles serving in WWII avoided developing close buddies. Thus, they could avoid the pain and thoughts around losing a buddy.
We also know from the research that some military teams will have a higher rate of survival -- because of the leadership style. I think that our community leaders need to examine if their leadership style is calibrated to lead us into a climate where we can compete with the global information-based society.
We need to ask both our 'street kids' and our leadership if they really feel like they are willing to change. Because, we need both to start doing some things differently.
Is this comfortable for you? What do you think?
Lou
there is a gator among us
see you Jan 8
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