of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio
of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio new 2/11/05You probably heard a commercial on the local radio stations where Chillicothe Mayor Joe Sulzer and Ross County Commissioner Jim Caldwell agree that citizens should vote for the Chillicothe City Schools emergency six-mill operational levy.
The "We Agree" spot caught my because it recites a theme that I am seeing more and more clearly here in Chillicothe and Ross County:
Caldwell: "Our county can't grow without a well-educated workforce."
Sulzer: "And a stagnant school system only discourages growth - something our city needs."
"Workforce"! Is that all our schoolchildren are? Future employees?
Do our leaders consider their chance of being entrepreneurs? Managers? Independant businesspeople? Mayors or county commissioners?
Sure, that kind of advancement usualy has to wait after experience as an employee - but I get the image of a factory school system churning out serfs who are trained with timed bells to stand in lines and recite wrote information and learn for tests...
new 2/11/05The defeat of the emergency six-mill operational levy reminds me of the low-investment / high expectation that American schools have received in the past. I recall stories of one-room schoolhouses placed on the smallest corner of the cheapest land because of stingy taxpayers. Perhaps that attitude did not hinder education in the nineteenth century much since schools then required a minimum of resources - other than the human mind. But, that attitude hurts now.
It was especially poignant as I realized that the grieving students on the front page of the February 9th Chillicothe Gazette were members of the high school marching band - not members of a sports team, who get plenty of rah-rah support and publicity. They are artists who are steeped in culture, and not just performance. (Being a high school musician, I have strong opinions on this issue.)
The Chillicothe City School Board has made foolish decisions. Perhaps I have been overly critical of one of its latest actions, but the school system still deserves support from its taxpayers and voters. Schools are the hopes of a community, and Chillicothe has a proud history in its educational system. I have my doubts that the current system in the last 30-40 years has respected that history, but if it stays in the red, it is unlikely that it will ever repeat that history.
Of course, the schools need to earn respect from taxpayers and voters. I recall that the last referendum on school ambition - the building levy - barely won by two votes. Instead of villifying "no" voters and pitting students against them, schools administrators need to figure out how they have villified themselves.
The Jaycees' citizen of the year for 2004 was Queen Lester - I was there at the ceremony as a reporter for the radio stations. She said that the main reason why she moved here was because of the quality of our schools:
"Born in Oklahoma, then living with her husband in Alabama, Queen moved to Chillicothe in 1953 to work at this VA hospital because she was told the schools here were so good."
Is that true now? It certainly won't be if the schools don't get emergency funding - and better managment - immediately.
You can read up on the school history in the very readable The Memory of Years Sped in their Flight : A History of Public Schools of Chillicothe, Factual and Nostalgic by Elizabeth Kelhofer, published by the Chillicothe City Board of Education in 1975 for the 125th anniversary of the city schools. I found a copy in the Chillicothe public library, and found it "neatly done, with a good feel; concise, complete, yet narrative."
If the factory model for education in public schools - or rather, 'government schools' - don't cut the cake, you might look into the Southern Hills Academy, a small independant school that is growing wonderfully. I was a long-tern substitute teacher there last spring, and was impressed at the positive attitude of "a school community where students are expected to take ownership of their learning in order to reach their highest potential [and] teachers are free to utilize the most effective practices that foster creativity and critical thinking." I only regret that I could not be a better part of that community.
" Revolutionary War vet lived out life in city" ...when?
new 2/11/05For a continuing series on "Black History Month," the Chillicothe Gazette had an article on William Dailey who served as a sailor and dispatcher in the Revolutionary War, and later moved to Chillicothe.
However, the Gazete mentioned two dates for that move...
new 2/11/05The newsletter by the state of Ohio's Division of Geological Survey charts a connection between the famous American Civil War invasion of Ohio and the state's terrain. Drawing from a book providing the timeline and route of Morgan's Raid, the Geological Survey digitized the route acros Ohio and presents a few maps and charts showing how the terrain both helped and hindered Morgan.
The analysis is an interesting blend of geology and history showing the hybrid nature of both disciplines. The "Ohio Geology" newletter is a free biannual publication of the Geological Survey, and can be requested from the Survey by emailing geo.survey@dnr.state.oh.us; phoning 614 / 265-6576; or mailing the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, 2045 Morse Rd., Bldg. C-1, Columbus, OH 43229-6693. Past issues of the newsletter in hypertext format are also available. In my opinion, the Division of Geological Survey is one of the most effective uses of our state tax money!
