The Buffalo Springfield verse, as I recall, says, "There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear." But it's clearing up for me and many others. It's our challenge with education and economic opportunity. How better stewardship might unlock the secrets of many dilemmas. Cultural, political, and societal. World wide. How 'bout we first act and think locally with solutions that apply globally.
I was recently visiting with other community leaders about mental health issues and the increasing frequency of suicides throughout our society. And I'm noting gun violence, increased property crimes and the frightening increase in drug and heroin addiction in several stratas of society. A huge number of workers out of work, or becoming under-employed. With few, if any benefits. Many students are rightly apprehensive about future job opportunities. An increase in the abuse of prescription drugs attesting to real or perceived needs to self-medicate for various reasons. The unprecedented anger and lashing out expressed in this "presidential" campaign by candidates and their supporters. All symptomatic of larger issues. What they are "ain't exactly clear," but they're coming into focus. Education and economic opportunity. Read with me and let's work together to figure this out. For all our sakes. We're allowing too many politicos, enabled by the media, to distract us with frivolous issues such as transgender bathrooms and "rampant voter fraud," both of nonexistent practical impact. Let's look at some issues that do make a difference.
Education
We want/need education that matters. Education that gives us life and career choices. Education that evolves with the economies and societies it serves. That produces income-generating, tax paying citizens. We want creative problem solvers and thinkers. Not just taught-to-test automatons and memorization experts. We want a curriculum with a healthy dose of the basics that also honors the need for civics, conflict resolution and the arts. All designed in complement with the latest technologies. We want ALL children to have a community-worthy education. Public or private or charter or hybrid. And that won't happen without good teachers and committed administrative leadership. And that caliber of individual deserves to be fairly paid in a competitive world.
Note: I'm a strong proponent of public education, but I believe in school choice for specific student needs or where the public schools are not competitive. I've been a public school advocate for decades and have helped create public school/community partnerships across the state of Texas. The lifestyle and tone of most communities is greatly influenced by public education. And, teachers, first responders and a majority of job holders, the lifeblood of our communities, are the products of our public schools. We especially need to develop strong school-to-work pipelines. So, we have a vested interest in education, whether or not we have kids in school. And don't be fooled that charter options are automatically better than public schools. Some are excellent. But, some are ill-conceived money-wasting shams that have had mercifully short histories. Do your homework before you make quality judgments on school choice.
We've got to reclaim education as a top priority for the sake of our children, and for the enlightened self-interest of our communities. We've got to act like the "government of the people," show some backbone, work with our school boards and elected officials if we expect better. State of Texas budget expenditures for education are woefully short of most other states. Money is not the only answer, but is a barometer of emphasis and priority. We can and must do better.
Economic Opportunity
The dynamics of economic opportunity are a challenging roller coaster. And not nearly as much fun. Many good jobs have been sent overseas. And technologies are replacing many human job functions. We've got too many folks out of work, underemployed and without education or job training for better jobs. These trends have been developing for decades, but have accelerated recently as economic downturns and recessions created an urgency for technological efficiency, more competitive and market responsive business models. So, business leaders, economists, educators and labor leaders have got to create new models and synergies to reflect the modern dynamics. We're also reaping the results (good, bad and ugly) of our desire to be a part of the "global economy."
I'm a cowboy, lover, writer, finance guy and guitar picker. So, economic development is not necessarily my strong suit. But, I'm not stupid, and I do care. As do most of you. So, let me suggest where we've all been gullible, naive and played for just that by too many of our bipartisan politicos. One area of economic opportunity that could have made a huge difference in our fortunes over the past few years: Our Infrastructure. For decades we've watched as engineers have noted the deterioration of our nation's infrastructure. Our highways, bridges, schools, government buildings, underground utilities, dams, etc. There's no argument about the need. But, too many spineless elected officials at many levels didn't want to be noted as voting to spend tax monies, so wouldn't do their frequently tough jobs. And, WE let them get away with it. A massive infrastructure program, promised by Obama and other politicos, would have created a huge number of high-paying jobs, fixed our crumbling infrastructure systems and been a major boost to our economy. There could hardly be a more obvious opportunity for responsible government. But, they weren't and we weren't either. I'm ashamed of them and me. We should voice our expectation that the nation's infrastructure will be a top priority of the next Washington administration.
The Mosey Response
We're supposed to slow down, pay attention, be informed and make a difference. It is in all our best interests to be concerned about education and economic opportunity. We can't just leave these issues for the mythical "they" to address. Let's be honest as to how that's worked for us so far. No, let's promise to that friend in the mirror that we're going to pay better attention. To make sure we're better informed from multiple sources. To stop that false rationale that "It's not my problem. There's nothing I can do. It's "their" responsibility." To see how we can work with friends, neighbors, teachers, principals, school board members, chambers of commerce, economic development groups and government officials to do better. This is not rocket science. Though our results might influence it. Let's expect better and pledge our support for same. Let's ask, "why," and "why not," and expect answers. The elections are coming up. Let's keep these issues in mind as we determine who can best represent our interests and that of our diverse communities. Let's vote as if it matters. It does.
I'd love to hear your suggestions. How would you propose we constructively impact education and economic opportunity? Thanks for caring. If this resonates, share it. Let's Mosey!