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Health & Fitness

DeKalb Schools Not Painting a Rosy Picture?

Is the picture you have of what "other schools" look like a good one? If not, try this exercise and learn about how you must first understand a problem before you can find a solution.

It is easy to have a picture painted in your mind about what another area of the county might look like, but if you have never seen it for yourself then the image is only your perception of reality.  

Ask yourself how you arrived at your current mental image.  Who helped you paint this picture you have in your mind about how far away another school is from your own or how different another neighborhood is from the one you live in. 

Did someone else tell you about this area of town that you have never seen?  Is it possible that they had a hidden agenda - they wanted you to see things in a way that might not be completely accurate?  If so, what are they telling other people about the area where you live?  

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I challenge anyone who reads this to pick a school you think you know about, through what you have either read, seen on TV or heard about from others, perhaps from your school board member.  And then as soon as you have a little extra time, get directions and actually go for a "site visit" at that school.  Take pictures, walk around, look in the windows if it is not during school hours.  Check out the playground, the entryway, the parking lots and the surroundings. 

How different is this school in real life than the one you had pictured?  If you find that this school is not very different from the one near you, isn't it possible that these children are also very similar to the ones you know, too?

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What Would You Do?

Our schools are public property.  We pay into a big pot of money that is supposed to pay for the grounds, the employees, the maintenance... everything.  So, if you have ever bought something as small as a candy bar in DeKalb County, you can likely claim to be a "stakeholder" in education.  So, as a stakeholder in this school system, would you give the okay to do something that would harm a school or the community surrounding it, as long as it is not YOUR school? 

Would you approve a cell tower or order the school to be closed or refuse to fix a leaking toilet or an air conditioning unit?  Would you deny these children their textbooks or order them to pack as many desks as possible into one room so they sit elbow to elbow all day long while you sit back and ponder your travel budget or consider new tile for the custom shower stall in your office? 

The purpose of this exercise is not to blame anyone for a description they may have provided to you in the past.  This exercise is to challenge yourself to admit that you might not see things in our school system as clearly as you think you do.   

Who Is Painting That Picture in Your Head?

There are a variety of leadership styles for any organization and if you read about them, you can learn which style your company, your school or even your family tends to be based upon.  I believe DeKalb County Schools have succumbed to a "divide and conquer" style of leadership that makes for great political debates and is an easy way to polarize a single group into two or more factions that need leadership in order to do "battle" against one another.

But is that what we really want?  Does anyone think that is actually working for us?  Do you like being told what to think about people you have never met, or places you have never actually been to yourself? 

Graduation rates are hovering as low as 50% here, the equivelent of a coin toss with some kids getting dealt better odds at winning the flip.  Will your child be one of ones that end up in the lucky half?  If so, that still means half their friends will not graduate high school.  Many will end up in jail.  Can you picture that for a moment?  Personally, that's not a picture I want to have in my head.

Vote NO on July 31 (on the telecommunications tower referendum)

So, I am actively speaking out whenever I can in order to try and change the course of our school system which will ultimately improve our property values as well.  If you have not educated yourself on the topic of cell phone towers on school grounds, please visit www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org and consider voting NO when you are asked about the operation of telecommunications towers on school grounds. 

The risks are too great and the benefits too few to take any more chances.  We have to start taking action, taking back our schools and voting for school board candidates that will be responsive to what we need to function as a whole system, not small groups pitted against one another for the scraps being thrown out in the trash.  The money is not the problem - it's how that money is being spent that can make all the difference in the world.

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