Archive for the 'Education' Category

Kudos to Ottoville for recognizing education

April 28th, 2012, 2:14 pm by David Trinko

Thank you to Ottoville schools for inviting me out to speak at its National Honor Society induction Friday. I enjoyed it more than you’ll ever know.

I had a preconceived notion of the induction, based on my experiences in high school. I expected something focused exclusively on the students in the National Honor Society, with their parents in attendance.

What I found in Ottoville amazed me. The good people in that school district showed they value education, as the school celebrated their accomplishments together. Members of the community came to watch the ceremony, along with inviting all the freshmen through seniors into the gymnasium to witness it too.

It’s reassuring to see school districts celebrating academic successes in the same ways they do athletic successes. It wasn’t exactly a pep rally, but I hope it was as moving for the students there as it was to me to see a community that cared so deeply about their intellectual strength.

Posted in: Education | Post a Comment »

Report: 12 percent of Ohio kids live in high poverty

February 23rd, 2012, 6:06 am by David Trinko

Map courtesy of kidscount.org

The number of Ohio children living in areas of high poverty is 12 percent, according to a new study released today by the Kids Count Data Snapshot, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (Read more here.)

That’s a pretty startling number all by itself, but it’s really shocking when you consider that’s a 60 percent increase since 2000.

According to the study:

Research indicates that as neighborhood poverty rates increase, undesirable outcomes rise and opportunities for success are less likely. The effects of concentrated poverty begin to appear once neighborhood poverty rates rise above 20 percent and continue to grow as the concentration of poverty increases up to the 40 percent threshold.

This report defines areas of concentrated poverty as those census tracts with poverty rates of 30 percent or more because it is a commonly used threshold that lies between the starting point and leveling off point for negative neighborhood effects. The 2010 federal poverty threshold is $22,314 per year for a family of four.

In general, most of the Midwest fell in the 10 to 15 percent area. It’s not as bad as some places in the South with traditions of poverty problems.

The organization has its own ideas on how to chip away at this problem:

Promoting community change efforts that integrate physical revitalization with human capital development.
Leveraging “anchor institutions” to build strong, supportive communities for children and families.
Promoting proven and promising practices in the areas of work supports, asset building and employment.

I’m not sure there’s any value in working on the second two until you hit the first one pretty hard. Unfortunately, many people living in poverty are living in generational poverty. We need to figure out how to break the cycle before we start investing huge chunks of money into areas of poverty.

And by we, I mean the private sector. Frankly, the private sector and the economy succeed when low-income individuals pick up meaningful work at reasonable pay rates.

Some of this is based on policy decisions too. Not to harp on how great Indiana seems to be doing, but I’d note its high-poverty rate of 8 percent is lower than much of the country. And frankly, the two states aren’t that different, aside from its pro-business approach.

What would you do to correct this problem?

Posted in: Education • Jobs | 2 Comments »

Parents must look out for cyberbullying

February 13th, 2012, 1:48 pm by David Trinko

Ohio has a new state anti-bullying bill, but the real action must take place at home. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Once upon a time, parents only had to worry about the taunts their children heard at school. Now, we’re asked to be ever-vigilant, even in the safety of our homes.

Beth Jokinen provided a good look at cyberbullying in today’s Lima News. (Read her story, Law acknowledges problem with cyberbullying.) And it’s a very real thing.

We’ve seen attempts at cyberbullying in our own home, with text messages and emails directed at our daughters from people claiming to be her friends. We try to keep up with all of them, arming our children with things they can say to disarm a bully, most notably silence. After all, harassing personalities just want to be noticed, and nothing bothers them more than not giving them attention.

It’s a reminder that we all must do our best to protect our children. But that’s a fight we need to fight inside our homes.

I’m concerned about the state’s new anti-bullying bill, which includes language about cyberbullying in it. It also gives schools permission to handle bullying on buses (which stuns me they didn’t already have). While I don’t want anyone’s children, my own included, to be bullied, I also don’t know that I trust the government to identify and stop bullying. After all, area schools already have anti-bullying programs, yet it still happens. Just having a program doesn’t eliminate the problem (I’m looking in your direction, DARE).

Once again, the adults in young people’s lives must step forward and be proactive. Our daughter knows that we reserve the right to look through her email and texts. Once she’s 13, we’ll reserve the right to look at her Facebook account too. Yes, it’s an awful invasion of her privacy, but she and her sisters have invaded our privacy a time or two. It’s part of being in a family together.

I imagine this bill will be another toothless bill, introduced with an aspirational tone that we should all get along. Now it’s up to those of us really in their lives to enforce our own rules to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Posted in: Education • Laws • Parenting | 1 Comment »

Still looking for answers on school funding

January 17th, 2012, 4:59 pm by David Trinko

Anyone looking for answers on school funding in Ohio will have to wait until 2013.

In an Associated Press story (read it here), Ohio House Finance Chairman Ron Amstutz said developing a new approach to paying for Ohio’s public schools is likely to take until 2013.

Here’s the goofy reality of funding for education in Ohio: We all know the current property-tax model has been ruled unconstitutional and apparently won’t work. The problem is no matter which party is in power, it just shoves an ideology down our throats. Former Gov. Ted Strickland wanted an evidence-based model. Current Gov. John Kasich seems to be typically vague about what approach he wants, but whatever it is will be revolutionary, I’m sure.

Ultimately, I don’t believe educating our children must necessarily be a function of government. Until there are more options available for that (paid by the private citizen), I would like to see our taxpayer spent as fairly and equitably as possible. (That’s what I’d call practical libertarianism.)

The current system doesn’t do that. Around here, it punishes many school districts for not being poor enough, thus asking our taxpayers to throw even more money at the government. We’re throwing a lot of money at failing districts halfway across the state while paying more for decent educations locally.

We know the best ideas don’t start in Columbus. They start locally. So let’s hear it, best minds of Limaland: What’s the solution to Ohio’s school funding problems?

Posted in: Education | 2 Comments »

MLK Day matters, so teach about him today

January 16th, 2012, 1:52 pm by David Trinko

People gather at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, for a ceremony to honor his legacy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Today marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day set aside to remember the accomplishments of the peaceful Civil Rights activist.

And how do our youngest, most moldable minds celebrate it? Sitting at home watching “Phineas and Ferb” reruns.

Don’t get me wrong, I like a day off as much as anyone does. But I wonder if taking the day off might miss an important opportunity in education to speak about racial tolerance and equality.

How much better off would our youngsters be if they were in a classroom? Might they benefit from sitting together listening to the “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety and discussing what it means today?

I have faith that some teachers found time last week to at least remind people why it’s a holiday. Still, I’m not sure children understand enough why it is or what impact this one man had on our country.

My family spent some time Sunday explaining who Martin Luther King Jr. was and why he’s important. We didn’t go into too much detail, instead trying to limit it so the 3- and 4-year-old girls weren’t overwhelmed by our nation’s sad history. Instead, we focused on how he believed everyone should be treated equally and fairly, and they agreed someone who fought for that should be recognized.

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