news
By Tom Watkins Michigan was recently sent
some good news on the school funding front and bad news on the reform and restructuring front.
President Obama pushed
through Congress a 26 billion dollar “jobs bill.” The bill will direct $318 million to Michi- gan schools (Michigan will also receive $380 from this same federal bill to prop up Medicaid). According to the U.S. Department of education the new educational funding for Michigan is the equivalent of 4,700 average teacher’s sal- aries.
Certainly the state that
led the nation into the recent world recession and remains at or near the bottom on any economic recovery measure- ment can uses extra cash to help prop up our schools.
However, given the resis-
tance to change, this new cash infusion will simply take the pressure off the governor, legislature and schools to enact the necessary new 3 R’s of Reform, Restructure and Reinvention. The money will quickly dissipate and the need for change within our schools will remain.
This short-term federal
“jobs” fix won’t solve a long- term Michigan education problem. This new money from Uncle Sam will do noth- ing but delay the inevitable reforms that are necessary to make us again competitive on the global stage.
What Congress did was
tantamount to giving a $318 million bottle of whiskey to a state with a drinking problem.
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE Michigan’s bankrupt ways
off tough decisions to deal with our structural budget crisis. The special and narrow interests have beaten back at- tempts of real reform, continu- ing to pretend and spend as though nothing has changed- when, in fact, everything has changed.
Michigan has a system of Tom Watkins Could what happened to GM
happen to the state of Michi- gan? Could we be forced into reforming our bankrupt ways that have created a continuing saga of structural budget defi- cits and spend-and-pretend mentality?
Now, Michigan and other
states are getting an influx of cash, with no reform at- tached.
What President Barack
Obama demanded, of GM and Chrysler, is that they “restruc- ture, modernize, and make themselves more competi- tive.”
Yet, Michigan is not much
different from GM. We are taking federal stimulus money with the only stipulation that it be used to maintain current teachers’ jobs.
Our state leaders also
should be expected to, as the president demanded of the auto industry, “restructure, modernize, and make them- selves more competitive.”
Michigan, which has led the
parade of economic decline for a decade before the nation caught up, has been putting
government at the state and local levels we cannot afford. We have a crisis that is being ignored. You would think it would create a sense of urgen- cy for action. To date, it has not.
Action needed includes
program elimination, layoffs, pay, benefit and tax cuts, dual pay schedules for new hires in state and local government, and forced consolidation of municipalities and school districts along with major ef- ficiency shake-ups, to name a few.
Michigan has been slow to
embrace this changing em- ployment dynamic, with many governments and schools at the local levels responding slower still.
Lansing will not fix itself.
The voters of Michigan should take charge.
Michiganians this Nov. 2
will be asked whether to con- vene a constitutional con- vention to revise the state’s supreme law. This is some- thing the State Constitution requires every 16 years.
Do you think our govern-
ment is broke — and broken? Tom Watkins is a business
and educational consultant in the U.S. and China and former Michigan state super- intendent of schools. E-mail:
tdwatkins@aol.com.
University of Michigan Health System cardiovascular medicine specialist marks Clean Air Act on Capitol Hill
University of Michigan
Health System cardiovascular medicine specialist Robert D. Brook, M.D., spoke on Capitol Hill during the 40th anniversa- ry celebration of the Clean Air Act hosted by the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Heart Association.
Research by Brook, an as- sociate professor of
inter-
nal medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at U-M, adds to the growing evidence that pollution from
industry, traffic and power generation causes damaging strokes and heart attacks.
Brook spoke May 21 during
a series of seminars intended to educate policymakers about the link between air pollution and cardiovascular disease and the importance of main- taining clean air.
The theme of the event
was “Breathe Cleaner, Live Longer.”
Additional speakers in- cluded Arden Pope, Ph.D. of
Brigham Young University and the head of research at the EPA.
The Clean Air Act defines
the EPA’s responsibilities of protecting and improving the nation’s air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer.
The agency is required to
set and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to airborne contami- nants that are known to be hazardous to human health.
First taking effect on July
26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has made participating in everyday life less challenging for people with disabilities.
This is accomplished by
reducing barriers to education and employment opportuni- ties and by improving commu- nication capabilities and envi- ronmental navigation.
In addition to the proclama-
tion issued by Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, several Michi- gan organizations will com- memorate the anniversary of the ADA.
Michigan Department of
Civil Rights Director Daniel H. Krichbaum stated, “This an- niversary commemorates the hard work and sacrifice that advocates made to achieve
August 25-31, 2010
Page C-8 Why go back to school?
By Carlos Johnson Do you have a clear, pre-
cise, detailed goal for your child when it comes to their education? Do you have set expectations? More impor- tantly, does your child have a clear set of goals and expecta- tions of what he or she wants and needs from school?
If your answer is no, then
now is the time to start set- ting those goals and making the expectations clear. After all, a goal is a dream we work to achieve. If you can’t see your child’s dreams, chances or purpose they won’t either. This doesn’t mean your child has to know at this very moment what they want to be when they grow up, but it does mean they should be allowed to dream and explore differ- ent careers and interests.
When they find an interest
you must encourage it and allow them to dream it. They may change their dreams along the way, but that’s all right. Our goal should be to be train our children to be dream seekers. Seekers who are eager to take on life and fulfill what good works God has called them to fulfill.
I ask this question often to
parents and students: “After the excitement of school shopping is over, after all the new outfits have been worn. After the new school supplies have been used, and after all
PAREN-T-EEN TIPS By Carlos Johnson
the new friends have been met. Now what?” I ask that question because why should anyone go to school? What’s the purpose? Is it to show off the new clothing styles? If not, why is it that some kids won’t return to school until they have their new gear? Have they run out of things to wear? What happened to the clothes they wore last week?
Why go to school? What’s
the purpose? Is it free child care? If not, why is it that once school begins, schools don’t see parents again unless their child is getting an award or is in trouble?
Why go to school? What’s
the purpose? Is it because it’s the law? Is the law strong enough to make kids get up early every morning, walk down dangerous streets, go through school metal detec- tors, say no to gangs, violence, drug dealers and sex? Is the law strong enough to get kids to deal with teachers who
the ADA, and the continuing struggle for equality and re- spect. As the entity charged with enforcing Michigan’s pro- tections about discrimination, we are proud to be a part of the celebration.”
Director Janet Olszews-
ki of the Michigan Depart- ment of Community Health added, “The ADA dramatically changed the way persons with disabilities live their lives, giving them greater access to things such as voting, recre- ation, public transportation and health care.
“We are proud to celebrate
this historic Act and to work with the Michigan Develop- mental Disabilities Council to continue to strengthen rights.”
On July 13, the Develop-
don’t care or can’t relate? Is the law strong enough to get kids to go home to do home- work, and then go to bed so they can start the whole thing over again the next day? Is the law the purpose for going to school?
If your child does not have
a clear, defined and powerful purpose for going to school, a purpose that will carry them past, over or through the dan- gers of today’s world, a pur- pose much bigger than getting a good job to pay bills or to become so-called success- ful. If your child is not moti- vated with more than just new clothes, trust me, there will come a day when your kid will ask the million-dollar ques- tion, “Why should I go back to school?”
POWER PAREN-T-EEN
TIPS OF THE WEEK: On the farm man had to have a strong horse. In the factory man had to have a strong back. Today man has to have a strongmind and purpose.
Carlos Johnson is the
founder of the I.M.A.G.E. Personal Success Train- ing Institute and Back- 2-The Family Ministries. He conducts Power Paren-T- een seminars for parents and “Helping YOU-th Succeed” workshops for youth. He may be contacted at
www.ima-
geofsuccess.com or by call- ing 1-(888) IMAGE-24.
ADA celebrates 20th anniversary
mental Disabilities Council marked the anniversary with its theme “Celebrating 20 Years of the ADA.”
The Council will hosted
a panel discussion on the impact of ADA on the disabil- ity community as well as pro- fessional storytelling with the “Father of the ADA,” Justin Dart, and a giant street puppet created in Dart’s likeness by the Matrix Theater Company.
This free event was spon-
sored by the Disability Net- work and Genesee County Community Mental Health.
It included music, balloons
and games, Community Access Awards, a soccer match and accessible bicycle rides, as well as food and beverages.
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