April 1, 2010
The Two Basic Solutions
Two approaches to returning services to Cranston schools have emerged, and it's conceivable that they highlight the natural line dividing all various budgetary disputes at the town level:
[Mike] Stenhouse's admittedly "more aggressive" stance on political issues caused a rift this week with an earlier local partner, BASICS (Benefiting All Students In Cranston Schools), a group that bills itself as a "blame-free" organization looking for practical solutions to Cranston's financial crisis.
On one side are folks who've identified the ever-growing tab for union personnel as the culprit in stealing the services that we once expected away from our students. On the other side are folks who think that if we just raise a little more money everything can go back to the way it once was. Some (as in Tiverton) see taxes as the most expedient route. Some (apparently like the BASICS group) want to exact a voluntary tax supplement.
Anchor Rising readers know where I stand. I simply don't think union bullying and scheming should continue to be rewarded.
People seem to always look for simple solutions to complex problems. The problem is - that does not work.
As many say, most failures of a school are really failures of the PARENTS and of our SOCIETY. Try changing those if you want a real challenge.
Our "dog eat dog" and "only one can win" culture encourages each person to fight like heck to get on top. This is the entire basis for all the new popular reality shows - and that attitude does not come from nowhere! Only one can be survivor. Only one can be the next top model.
You may consider this a liberal view, but we have to accept that people are not all the same and cannot all strive for those high SATs or other test scores. Also, the entire world has changed. We do not need to train people to be assembly line workers (cogs and gears in the Big Machine) any longer. Neither the schools or the parents have kept up with these changes.
Change and growth are difficult things - people fight against them tooth and nail. However, we cannot turn back the clock. Todays schools and parents should encourage the very things they fought against in previous generations - that being much more of a individualistic approach to life and learning, art, writing, communication, trades, etc. as opposed to rote math and science.
It is WAY beneath a thinker like you, Justin, to just keep on ranting at unions when they are as much as victim as we all are....of these changes. And, like all who are in denial (including parents and society), they try to cling onto the past.
Well, right back to conservatism...the idea that clinging to the past is the way to go! The problem is - that it isn't! We have to look to the future, which is different than any time in history.
Posted by: Stuart at April 2, 2010 10:16 AM Sounds like Sten wants to start a political career and compete with his ex-wife.
Just another person or group putting political ambitions ahead of the kids' needs? I wonder if he lives in Peter Palumbo's district - now there's a guy the GOP won't challenge.