Newspaper Page Text
The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, September 21, 2011, Page 9A
The Bang For the Buck School
for Effective Education
Special to the Ledger
By Kate Scarmalis
There has been a giant
fray in the news lately
dealing with education in
American public schools.
As a nation, our schools
are not merely in trouble;
they are in crisis.
The OECD Programme
for International Student
Assessment measures
students’ skills and knowl
edge of 15-year olds in
schools across 65 different
countries. Tests are admin
istered to 4,500-10,000
students in each country
in different reading skills,
math, and science.
In the case of the ranking
of the United States, there
is good news and there
is bad news. The good
news? In reading, we beat
Liechtenstein, though not
by a whole lot. Then we
go to the math and science
scores. A little country
that most people couldn’t
identify has kicked our tail
in math and science.
Then we go to the re
ally bad news. The United
States ranks 15th in read
ing; 24th in mathematics;
21st in science; and, 21st
in high school completion
among the countries tested
in 2010.
The United States will
have its hands full if it
cares to climb the ranks.
Maybe next year, if we
try very hard, we’ll beat
Iceland.
Well, folks, we didn’t
really need hard data to
come to the conclusion that
our educational system
isn’t doing the job. From
the learned mind of Nancy
Pelosi, “We have to pass
this bill to find out what is
in it. . . . Honestly no one
up here knows what’s in
this bill or any other bill
for that matter. It just takes
too long to read the darn
thing.’’
I really don’t know what
bothers me the most,
Nancy Pelosi actually tak
ing herself so seriously that
she would actually utter
such an absurdity, or the
fact that she has not been
laughed off the floor of the
House of Representatives.
If we cannot expect our
legislators (who mainly
have been “educated’’ in
law schools) to read the
bills that they routinely
vote on, what should we
expect of our youth?
Now, let’s not go in that
direction. Anyone who
breathes through their nose
understands that our youth
cannot be abandoned to
an educational system that
leads them boldly into me
diocrity. After all, maybe
they will have higher aspi
rations than that of running
for Congress. In that case
they will rely upon having
a good education to back
them up.
As an educator, I refuse
to yield to the idea of me-
Submitted Photo
Lee County Middle School August Students of the Month
Standing (8th): Brianna Grubbs, Gracen Booker, Spencer Deriso, Tana Yelverton, Gabriella
Kehren, and Tylar Fallaw. Seated (7th): Emily Coley, Mary Lu Reimer, Landon Clarke, Olivia
Kearce, and Amber Ward. Kneeling (6th): Naz Durham, Rupert Dyer, Alexis Bennefield, and
Jonathan Bennett. Not pictured is Garrett Suiter.
Lee County Debs with Mentors and
members of Bethune Cookman University
National Council of Negro Women
with the tools for success.
The Lee County Debu
tante’s will be showcased at
the Madd Hatters Event on
October 22 at 1:00 pm in
Albany Technical College’s
Kirkland building. Tickets
for this program fund
raiser are $25.00, for more
information, please contact
Krystal Oliver-Green at
343-4423.
We want to thank all of
our supporters and friends
for ALL you do to help us
make a difference in Lee
County!
Special to the Ledger
Lee County Debutantes
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travel to Daytona Beach
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Florida...
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By: Harriet Hollis
Lee County Female Mi-
nority Mentoring Program
(LCFMMP) had the won
derful opportunity to tour
the illustrious campus of
Bethune-Cookman Univer
sity on Saturday, September
10,2011. During their tour,
which was given by some
of the senior ladies of the
National Council of Negro
Women (NCNW), they
visited Mary McLeod Bet
hune’s home and gravesite.
According to some of
those in attendance, “It was
awesome and humbling to
be in the presence of such
historical greatness’’. This
trip served to broaden these
young ladies perspectives
about all of their possibili
ties for colleges and career
choices that are available
to them.
Eleven of the Thirteen
2011-2012 Debutantes
made the trip to Day
tona Beach, they were Naji
Dailey, Norianna Saucier,
Monaye Darke, Konosha
Smith, Ariel Mallory,
Diamond Rogers, Maya
McCray, Ashley Walker,
Romisha Tyson, Vinika
Patel, and Miriah Davis.
These young ladies (all
seniors at Lee County High
School), and the mentors
who accompanied them,
were also able to attend
the Bethune-Cookman
versus South Carolina
State football game. Talk
about rivalry at its best! Of
course, what trip would be
complete without a visit to
a local mall and restaurant.
This experience allowed
for these young ladies to
get a glimpse of what it
would be like to attend col
lege at Cookman.
Dr. Mary McLeod Bet
hune opened the Daytona
Educational and Industrial
Training School for Negro
Girls with $1.50, faith in
God and five little girls for
students. Through Dr. Bet-
hune’s lifetime the school
underwent several stages of
growth and development.
In 1923, it became a co-ed
high school as a result of a
merger with the Cookman
Institute of Jacksonville,
Florida. A year later, the
school became affiliated
with The United Methodist
Church; it evolved into a
junior college by 1931 and
became known as Bethune-
Cookman College
Our goal as a Mentor
ing organization is to
empower our participants
as they strive for great
ness. We are well aware
that exposure to new and
exciting ventures is one
way to ensure that we meet
this goal. Our Mentors are
committed to serving the
community, while provid
ing our “future leaders’’
diocrity in our school sys
tem. Daily I work shoulder
to shoulder with teachers
who would walk barefoot
through hot coals to edu
cate their students. I watch
as administrators monitor
and facilitate teachers to
complete their educational
endeavors. I am aware
of parents who give up
valuable time as well as
contributing other forms of
support to schools.
Fortunately for all of us,
the answer to educational
reform is evident. At least
that is what I have been
hearing from sources all
over town, including those
whose only experiences in
the school system consists
of speeding by school
buildings on the way to the
store.
Every single cook and
bottle washer knows what
to do to improve education.
The media knows. The
problem has been identified
and is so clear; Get rid of
the bad teachers.
That pronouncement does
seem to have a ring of truth
to it, doesn’t it?
Let me tell you about
bad teaching. My princi
pal in Fort Myers, Florida
received a phone call from
a parent whose child was
in the third grade in his
school. The mother’s com
plaint was that she objected
to her child watching soap
operas during the day at
school.
Alarmed, the principal
high-tailed it down to the
student’s teacher to discuss
the problem. He called the
parent back to indicate that
there was no way that the
child could have seen any
television program while
in school as there was no
television set in her son’s
classroom.
The very next day, the
parent called back. She not
only complained about her
son watching a soap opera,
but he had filled her in on
the happenings on “All My
Children’’.
The principal hot-foots
it back to the classroom
to observe the situation.
Across the hall, through
the open
door he
could
clearly see
a television
program
that was
currently
running the dreaded soap
opera. Students busily
were cutting and pasting
pictures on construction
paper. Across the hall,
third graders were taking
note of Erica Kane’s latest
adventures.
What answer did the
principal have to the
situation? He ordered the
Special Ed. Teacher to
keep her classroom door
shut. She couldn’t be fired.
She had tenure.
Now if you think that
I have gone full circle in
blaming teachers for our
educational deficits, you’d
be wrong. Administrators
work with teachers for
years prior to their receiv
ing tenure. If a supervisor
can’t figure out whether a
teacher is effective in their
first four years, there is
something wrong with the
evaluation process, not the
teacher.
My lone voice would
suggest that we need to
untie the hands of earnest
administrators who should
have the power to do some
thing more effective than
to close the door on poor
teaching. The best answer
available to us would be
to see that education come
under local control. The
people paying for the prod
uct would then be respon
sible for seeing that they
have received the benefit of
the program.
Big Brother has been
riding on the backs of our
educational system for
long enough. It’s time we
thought about bucking him
off.
All together now; BEAT
ICELAND! OooRah!
Kate Scarmalis teach
ers English to Speakers
of Other Languages in
the Lee County School
System. She has a B.A. in
Education and an M.A. in
Forensic Psychology.
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Special to the Ledger
It’s that time of year
again. The time of year
when Lee County 4-H’ers
are selling sweet potatoes
to provide funding for club
programming.
Please support the Lee
County 4-H Club by
reserving your “fresh from
the farm”, ten pound bag
of potatoes by the Oct 21st
deadline.
Potatoes will be delivered
just in time for Thanksgiv
ing.
The tentative date is Nov.
15th. For more information
contact your local Exten
sion Office at 759-6025.
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Loan Originator
229.254.6385
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