April 18, 2010

Trenton NJ – I have had numerous conversations with fellow Trentonians over the last two weeks about what they see and hear about the current learning environment that is a Trenton Public School classroom. A few concerns are becoming common. My wife says this is called an ethnographic study when you‘re doing post-graduate study (Hmmmm):

1) What are we going to do about our male students who are, generationally, exerting less energy toward becoming educated and legitimately employed?

2) How will the loss of state funding affect the quality of education offered by the School District? As one resident put it, “How can it get any worser?”

4) Will the School District consider alternative methods of educating a largely minority school population? Who remembers the Amistad Legislation?

3) With a state monitor observing the School District, and a state committee about to decide our city’s fiscal fate, is this the new, stealth method of enacting a state takeover of a municipality?

BTW… the Mrs. and I attended the mayoral debate today, at Lighthouse Ministries. Almost all agreed on the lack of parental responsibility and involvement in their children’s education that is prevalent in our city.  More than one of them spoke on the need to use our schools more as a community resource, from the return of vo-tech classes at Trenton High so more students will have a greater chance of leaving school with a marketable skill, to using them as meeting places to discuss local issues.

Hopefully, municipal candidates will weigh in right here, on issues concerning public education with articulate ideas from their agenda.

The most memorable moment from the debate, in my opinion, was City Councilman Manuel Segura reminding his fellow mayoral candidates how broke the city will be in 2011.   

But I digress. Let’s talk, here, intelligently, in this space, to come up with some answers.

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.