One of my brothers, and the wife of another, are both public school teachers. I am a part time professor at a public university. News reports are full of complaints regarding sources of funds…and then allocation thereof for public education. No one seems to be happy. There may be some solutions that we either can’t see or don’t want to embrace. At least for secondary schools can we afford to be so blind…or so intractable?
It makes me wonder.
What do they do with school buses between dropping the kids off in the morning and picking them up later in the day? Ah’m just wonderin’.
Can the buses be used for anything else in those intervals? Ah’m just wonderin’.
How about the drivers? Do they have a half shift, a split-shift or is it two full shifts? Just wonderin’.
Can THEY be used more, better, more efficiently? Again, ah’m just wonderin’.
We have some schools operating year round to better use their physical resources. Is there any value to having some classes start later in the day, ending later in the day and better matching schedules of the parents? With more parents on more non-traditional work shifts and with many people wanting to amass as much work time as possible, is there a social benefit to having the kids start daily classes at a later time when more parents can pick them up afterwards? Ah’m just wonderin’.
While we await a shakeout of property uses, and “moving through” of various demographic bubbles, does it make sense to lease abandoned car lots and install portables to bring some schools closer to some kids? Districts are closing some schools trying to dispose of some sites due to population shifts. In other areas, kids travel pretty far to get to school. SD’s are good tenants; they can establish portables quickly and remove them after a few years. Maybe that’s time enough to help the SD’s and await improvements in the property market that allow owners of car lots to find a permanent use. Ah’m just wonderin’.
Private schools name facilities after benefactors of the school. So do Universities. Cynics can call this “selling naming rights,” but so what? Would it work to sell naming rights to school labs, classroom wings, or playgrounds at public schools? Or is that too “commercial?” Do we think our kids don’t see commercial messages online, on the road, on the bus and even on their shoes, T-shirts, and backpacks? Do we need to protect them from this? If American Airlines wanted to sponsor a classroom wing, is there value to taking their money? If Nike outbid Puma for naming rights for the track, is that a bad thing? Or did we just find a new source of school revenue and I missed the memo? Only wonderin’.
At some churches, some individuals underwrite the cost of prayer books. Is it so bad to find a similar source for school books and allow an imprint or foil, with the name of the benefactor, on the fly leaf page…and even on the exposed sides of the pages? Ah’m just wonderin’.
I keep hearing we should protect kids from the commercial world. What? So they don’t confuse it with the real world??? Shouldn’t we teach kids that commerce is part (not all) of the real world? If we don’t, is that protection…or just procrastination? Isn’t compromise and sacrifice part of the real world? And should we first compromise their education, or maybe our own entrenched positions? Ah’m just wonderin’.
And, by the way, when they try to sell advertising in their annual yearbooks, what is that? Ah’m just wonderin’.
Since this is only wonderin’ I also wonder if any of these make any sense at all.
Jus’ wonderin’.
And wonderin’ if you have any feedback.
HARD
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