Sunday, July 10, 2005
Pleasant Ridge - Attracting Families
Pleasant Ridge fought for and won the right to keep a neighborhood school. This comment catches it squarely for me:
That catches the heart of the city, and neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Crime is important, but when it comes right down to it, families WILL leave the neighborhood if their neighborhood doesn't have a strong school. And if you're going to move you will look at ALL options, which many times will mean moving out of the city to the suburbs.
So I applaud Pleasant Ridge for organizing and fighting to keep a school. In addition, I think it's great that they're going for the Montessori Method. The city has huge waiting lists for the current set of 4 Montessori schools, and this is a great way to not only retain, but ATTRACT families to the city.
However, since my wife is a Montessori trained teacher who majored in Montessori Education at Xavier University, I personally find the final comment comical:
I just picture a summer seminar for a couple hours defining what 'Montessori' is. And knowing how many students at Xavier and other schools specialize or major in Montessori, I know that it would require much more than that to develop a good Montessori teacher.. but maybe I'm wrong and these summer programs are intense. All in all, I think it's good, I just hope that it's not Montessori in Name Only.
"The city is in trouble and the schools are a small block of that," said
Chris Reece, a Pleasant Ridge parent who lobbied to save the school. "If you
don't have a strong neighborhood school, you're going to have a tough time
keeping people here."
That catches the heart of the city, and neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Crime is important, but when it comes right down to it, families WILL leave the neighborhood if their neighborhood doesn't have a strong school. And if you're going to move you will look at ALL options, which many times will mean moving out of the city to the suburbs.
So I applaud Pleasant Ridge for organizing and fighting to keep a school. In addition, I think it's great that they're going for the Montessori Method. The city has huge waiting lists for the current set of 4 Montessori schools, and this is a great way to not only retain, but ATTRACT families to the city.
However, since my wife is a Montessori trained teacher who majored in Montessori Education at Xavier University, I personally find the final comment comical:
Teachers are being trained in the Montessori method this summer and next
year so the school will have Montessori-certified teachers when it opens, said
district spokeswoman Janet Walsh.
I just picture a summer seminar for a couple hours defining what 'Montessori' is. And knowing how many students at Xavier and other schools specialize or major in Montessori, I know that it would require much more than that to develop a good Montessori teacher.. but maybe I'm wrong and these summer programs are intense. All in all, I think it's good, I just hope that it's not Montessori in Name Only.
Comments:
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What the article shows is that either the school board is wrong or the local residents are wrong.
If the school board could not have determined what is best, then they should have been removed. They are not needed.
I am uncomfortable with decisions of this type being made by amatuers that are driven by selfish interests and trying to get a bigger piece of the public pie.
If Montessori is so good, why isn't it used thoughout the school district? This is just another reason why public schools as we know them here ought to be abolished.
If the school board could not have determined what is best, then they should have been removed. They are not needed.
I am uncomfortable with decisions of this type being made by amatuers that are driven by selfish interests and trying to get a bigger piece of the public pie.
If Montessori is so good, why isn't it used thoughout the school district? This is just another reason why public schools as we know them here ought to be abolished.
I actually agree with the sour kraut(!) that the current system is deeply flawed (or at least I think that was his point) but that doesn't prevent us from applauding the job that these families have done. Safety and education are the keys folks, safety and education......
As for the summer training, I know a current Sands teacher who did this program and it is an intensive and challenging program that runs over the course of several weeks so I wouldn't worry too much about that part.
As for the summer training, I know a current Sands teacher who did this program and it is an intensive and challenging program that runs over the course of several weeks so I wouldn't worry too much about that part.
# posted by 
: 4:04 PM
: 4:04 PM
You are so ridiculous Dieter Schmied, err... Sour Kraut. Not more than a day ago you left this post in response to the 'Purple People Bridge Gateway Project':
"There are many designs that could have been but the one feature that would have made any of them more acceptable is anyone preferred by the people that had already shown the strongest interest . That is the group that had raised the $20,000 and did the initial work themselves. We didn't need city hall's involvement and maybe that is what city hall is afraid of. Even the worst design, if chosen freely by our fellow citizens that showed their interest earlier, could have been acceptable because it would have reflected an honest and sincere effort of our fellow citizens and maybe the reflection of the real tastes of most of us. In any case it would have been chosen by us and not them."
So somehow, when it comes to urban design/architecture the city should listen to amatuers who are passionate. When it comes to educating our children, we should listen to the city/school board. And decisions like this shouldn't be left to 'amatuers that are driven by selfish interests'. How is that different than the bridge? I personally think citizen groups should be listened to in both cases. It is you who is being inconsistent. But that is to be expected, as all you ever do is troll various local blogs and disagree with whatever is posted.
"There are many designs that could have been but the one feature that would have made any of them more acceptable is anyone preferred by the people that had already shown the strongest interest . That is the group that had raised the $20,000 and did the initial work themselves. We didn't need city hall's involvement and maybe that is what city hall is afraid of. Even the worst design, if chosen freely by our fellow citizens that showed their interest earlier, could have been acceptable because it would have reflected an honest and sincere effort of our fellow citizens and maybe the reflection of the real tastes of most of us. In any case it would have been chosen by us and not them."
So somehow, when it comes to urban design/architecture the city should listen to amatuers who are passionate. When it comes to educating our children, we should listen to the city/school board. And decisions like this shouldn't be left to 'amatuers that are driven by selfish interests'. How is that different than the bridge? I personally think citizen groups should be listened to in both cases. It is you who is being inconsistent. But that is to be expected, as all you ever do is troll various local blogs and disagree with whatever is posted.
I can't believe you are asking about the difference between the design of an entrance to an obscure obsolete bridge and the education of those that will determine the future of this country.
If that bridge were demolished tomorrow ,it's effect on the wide world would not be noticed. The bridge is nothing more than something to talk about when there is little to talk about; something like the weather. That is why I am willing to let those people that have a thing about that bridge should be allowed to play with it like you might let your kids play with something that is no longer any use to you.
Now when you consider this world or the children of no use, then we can let the amatuers play with education.
Tschuss!
If that bridge were demolished tomorrow ,it's effect on the wide world would not be noticed. The bridge is nothing more than something to talk about when there is little to talk about; something like the weather. That is why I am willing to let those people that have a thing about that bridge should be allowed to play with it like you might let your kids play with something that is no longer any use to you.
Now when you consider this world or the children of no use, then we can let the amatuers play with education.
Tschuss!
Montessori is great for a lot of kids. I went to both and was glad I spent time in Montessori because in the other school, we had to sit around waiting for dumb asses like sour kraut.
People like him at the reason we have a lot of problems in this country. What a negative loser.
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People like him at the reason we have a lot of problems in this country. What a negative loser.
# posted by : 10:30 PM
: 10:30 PM << Home
