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2/16/2009
Ponschock: In education, results must be paid for
As the debate continues over whether Appleton should pass a referendum on school bonding for upgrades of equipment and facilities, security measures and such what is usually argued here is that taxes will increase. I prefer to look at another perspective. That perspective is results.
Here is an example which I hope will provide some amount of proof that the Appleton schools deserve the support of the community. The example for me is personal even though I have no children in the public school system here or anywhere else either.
The Appleton North High School has, over a number of years, produced unique and artistically relevant stage plays. One of these will be performed later this month. Contrast this with an upscale suburb of Milwaukee: Shorewood.
I have a friend in Milwaukee who has a young daughter and they are originally from here (Little Chute.) We share an interest in theater and the arts. After I suggested that they come up here to see The Odyssey by Mary Zimmerman, (page down) the mom told me that what two of the Shorewood high schools were doing was a combined production of The Sound Of Music.
Weigh each of these in your hands: The Sound Of Music or The Odyssey Of Homer interpreted for the 21st Century by a dramatist whose work has previously included Ovid's Metamorphoses. Which one is heavier and by heavier I mean artistically relevant? The answer should be easy. (I will also note that the same Appleton high school performed Zimmerman's Metamorphoses a couple seasons ago and that I attended the performance simply as an interested theater-goer.)
My friend in Milwaukee said that they seem to do Sound Of Music every couple of years where she lives in Shorewood. In contrast how often does a high school do The Odyssey or Metamorphoses?
Results rather than an increase in spending is the point of this message. Results have to be paid for. By this example I wish to show that we are getting results in training young performers. They are getting an experience more relevant than Julie Andrews for a portfolio that can be used in more advanced work at university and beyond.
I wanted my friend's 12-year-old to see what was being done by students in grades only a couple of years removed from her own and to show what is possible for high school students to perform rather than what is prosaic and proforma.
Results, as long as they are forthcoming in teaching and learning, are the goal of education.
You don't get The Odyssey results on The Sound Of Music investments.
Lon Ponschock is an Appleton resident.
COMMENTS
I don't buy it Lon. Music Man comes after The Odyssey. Sounds kind of like Sound of Music - ? Nevertheless, here's the question: How do you know what wages and benefits should be? How do you know whether the market drives increases in wages? Why automatically approve a referendum because supposedly more money means a better education?
Jo (Mon Feb 16 09:13:15 2009)
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