THE NAME GAME

Little wonder the Grand Rapids public school system is foundering.  This week the Board of Education voted 7-2 to dump a long-standing policy against naming school buildings after individuals.  Only board members Jim Rinck and Nancy Capriglione had the commonsense to oppose the name game.

You'd think that board members would have learned a thing or two from the recent renaming rumbles the Grand Rapids City Commission had to contend with.  This silly change promises only to plunge the school system into frivolous fights over building names with the added insult of unnecessary costs heaped atop the system's financial woes.

Does anyone truly believe any benefit can come of this?  Is the Board of Education so contemptuous of black and Hispanic kids that they actually think a school named King or Chavez will transform them into better students?  The kids need reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic taught will a little enthusiasm, compassion, and discipline -- not knee-jerk gestures to the special interests that claim to speak for them.

Comments

[Dean Marshall]

Right on,it costs taxpayers a lot of money to make name changes which won`t have any real positive effects to the community.

[The Executive Director]

Hello, Dean.

You nailed it in one simple sentence. So why can't our school board members make their stand on such commonsense?

Regards,
Bill

[Daniel Of The Rockford]

WHOA wait a minute here? Are you some kind of racist? Why everyone knows that changing street names and school names is just great for your self esteem and gives you an all around "feel good" attitude about the day at hand! Sorta like reading our local cage liner on a Sunday morning...all is well with the world cause the Press has but a story about Easter Egg hunts or the like.....
Rink and Capriglione, at the risk of alienating the other side of this community, have taken a stand, and a correct one in my humble opinion, on a subject that borders on the absurd yet garners way more attention then it deserves. Renaming buildings and streets will not solve one damn problem! Getting a taxpaying community united behind a good education WILL!
Nothing is free, the taxpayers of Grand Rapids and every city in Michigan will sooner or later have to come to grips with the situation and RAISE THEIR TAXES TO PAY FOR EDUCATION! The State isn't gonna help..ala Mr Sikkima's comments in our local cage liner the other day...
Some communities have taken the task by the tail and faced the situation...thats the reason their schools are award winning places where a lot fo people wished they could send their children. YA JUST GOTTA DO IT.
Until then, ya got what ya got... New names on a crumbling infrastructure.
Dan of Rockford

[Meredith]

It is amazing how so-called leaders (GR Board of ED) get caught up in doing what is perceived as 'right' as opposed to using common sense and taking a stand against something as ludicrous as this. changing the name of a school or building, which in turn will cost money, is counter productive. The board should be more concerned with what is going on in classrooms and the education the students are receiving!

[The Executive Director]

Hello, Dan and Meredith.

Thank you for your comments. We all know that the Name Game is a lot of fun for those who like to play politics, but it only costs the kids at a time when public schools are failing them. I'll post e-mail links so that you and others can let the G.R. Board of Education know what you think.

Regards,
Bill

[Douglas Keachie]

I agree with you on the name game. On the left Coast the style is to tack on the word "Academy" and so suggest a private school with the small class sizes that everyone, especially teachers, know contribute to better educational outcomes.

Now you may ask about lots of public school teachers sending their kids to private schools, but you need to remember one thing:

The average "private school" costs are swung way dooowwwwnnnn... by the cost of the Catholic schools, which are subsidized by the Church, one way or the other, and which can kick trouble makers out, an option Not Available to Public Schools. The private schools the teachers send their kids to, are the way more expensive ones, as teachers know that paying teachers good salaries AND having small class sizes is a big part of a good education. Would you like your taxes to rise to pay for such a quality of education ? I didn't think so. So quitchurbishin, and try something else.

For example, you could try teaching in a ghetto school and find out just how easy your glib pronouncements are about teaching the bottom quartile of the socioeconomic ladder. I've been there, and watched even the coolest and hippest ethnics struggle like crazy to deal with some of the kids, and having that overpower the good they might be doing for the rest.

You describe yourself as "working stiff," yet you bear a title of executive director of a group with just what sort of financial backing ? How about publishing THAT information where we can all see it ???!!!

Are you another one of BushCo & Friends' Media Plants ? Let's see ALL the NEWS !

[The Executive Director]

Mr. Keachie:

There is no mystery about me or the Local Area Watch. Once we are large enough we will have to file a Form 990 annually with the IRS, which will be available to the public. Presently our operation is below the $25,000 threshold for public reporting. Our funding comes from my savings and the contributions of family members.

It is not that difficult for anyone, including a working stiff like me (I'm a machinist by trade), to found an organization to do some public good. You just have to get out there and do it. If you do, you can don the mantle of a glorious title like "Executive Director" or "Chief Cook & Bottle-Washer", whatever takes your fancy.

By all means, Mr. Keachie, continue posting defenses for public school teachers here. But understand, as I have mentioned before, your concern is misplaced. We are criticizing the entitlement mentality of some teachers and their union. At some point it becomes unconscionable for a public servant to not take account of how heavily his demands weigh upon the public he serves.

Regards,
Bill Tingley

[Douglas Keachie]

"We are criticizing the entitlement mentality of some teachers and their union."

Unless you can use a more specific term than "some," your writing comes across as meaning well over 50%, as otherwise the Union would not be negotiating for the item, if less than 50% believed in the cause being promoted. Unions don't do what their people don't want them to do, just as the people of the US are thrilled with the current results in Iraq, regardless of the cost of gasoline.

Another interpretation is that so many teachers are so over worked that they don't notice what a small minority are pushing through their union.

And your interpretation might be ?