Education Odds and Ends
Anyone following the Taum Sauk event knows that a lot of ink has been spent on talking about how important the Ameren property taxes are to the Lesterville school. And if you have checked the panel recommendations you will have seen that the Lesterville school is going to receive $900,000 for a new roof. With that in mind here are three recent articles that caught my eye.
State Rep. Ed Robb wants school districts to reimburse students for tuition if they have to take remedial classes in college. Interesting idea that will not pass, even though the students did. I know that years ago my son and the boy who was class valedictorian both had to take remedial courses. It was one of my observations that in a small rural school that the worst thing that could happen to a student was to graduate 3rd, 4th, or 5th in their class. These students almost always flunked out of college. Their high school grades were based on the standing of their parents in the community, not their academic ability.
A related story concerns the fact that the State Department of Education is going to require a standardized final exam at all schools in the state. At the present time rural schools have to offer all sorts of bribes (field trips) to get some students to take the MAP tests seriously, because they don't count toward their grade. I think the prospect of having their students take a required test that counts towards their grade is probably sending waves of fear through many a rural school. In the past many a "good" student did quite poorly on the ACT.
Final education story concerns the Arts. A few years ago Lesterville had a great art teacher, in fact she was probably one of the finest art teachers in the state. While she was here she received a Fulbright scholarship to go to Japan for three weeks and study the education system in that country. The point of this story is after teaching at Lesterville for five years she quit because she was tired of the lack of support she received from parents and staff. She didn't want to leave her home here, so she now commutes to Rolla (160 mile round trip) to teach in that cities school system.
When you come down to float the river stop by and see our new roof.
posted by staff @ 7:40 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Ahhhh yes, a $900,000 roof at the school should return the tourists and vistors to the Black River in droves. It enhances economic development and recreation for sure. Just think, exciting tailgate parties in the parking lot of the school as the visitors gaze at a new roof while businesses in the area dry up and blow away. What a hoot. Pretty soon, the only occupied building in the town of Lesterville will be the school. . . But that won't last for long because without businesses in a community, there will be no children in the area to attend the school. Their parents will have been forced to move on to a place where they can make a living ~ where there are grocery and convenience stores, gas stations and a bank, for example. What a pity this whole process has been. How short-sighted the panel has been. One wonders how they were selected in the first place and who pulled the strings.
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