Monday, June 7, 2010

On Voting in Tomorrow's Primary: An Opinionated Guide

Check it out: Maine has more candidates running for Governor than ever before. This is a good sign if you consider it a reflection of engagement, although it is probably more another sign of the current discontent with governmental status quo . . . and the bad news is that, in a recent poll, 42% of Maine's likely voters could not name ONE of the 11 candidates running! Let's get caught up on the issues today, my friends, and get ourselves to the polls tomorrow.

For those of you who have asked, I'll tell: based on my involvement with educational and economic development issues at both local and state levels, I am voting for Steve Rowe. I've had the opportunity to work with Steve and believe his vision for education as the basis of our state's future success is critically important. Steve prioritizes early childhood and creative educational programs based on research which shows what a difference these make in creating future citizens. He is a get it done leader rather than a more provocative legislator such as Libby Mitchell (and no, she doesn't get my vote just because she is a woman). After 8 years of governance by a legislator, I'm ready to move toward stronger leadership. I also believe Mitchell more than Rowe will split the vote with the indy's, including Elliot Cutler, leaving room for a Republican victory. Vote Rowe!

It is sad in this election to be losing both our region's state legislators, Hannah Pingree and Dennis Damon, to term limits. Both Pingree and Damon are true leaders unafraid to take stands and stick to them on controversial issues. Hannah has lead the way in environmental health reforms for Maine, and Dennis introduced and continues to support Maine's marriage equity legislation. We owe them both a lot of THANKS for their tireless and unswerving leadership.

The island's own Walter Kumiega is running unopposed for Pingree's seat. Walter's heart is always in the right place, and let's keep our fingers crossed he becomes more willing to deal with conflict and to provide leadership on contested issues when he reaches Augusta than he has been as co-chair of our school committee.

The primary election is important in filling Damon's state Senate seat as two Democrats seek the nomination: Jim Schatz of Blue Hill and Skip Greenlaw of . . .well, also of Blue Hill. Skip is a long-time Stonington resident who has been residing in Blue Hill over the winter but isn't copping to that, which bodes ill for any other stances requiring honesty in his candidacy. Additionally, Skip has been a leader of our local school committee for more than 20 years and the results are not good: our high school was correctly named one of the 10 worst performing in Maine earlier this year, and we have little community engagement with the local process because of Skip's off-putting leadership style. This is the record on which he is running? Can anyone say accountability? Schatz has a lot of integrity and is the kind of quiet leader who is not in it for his own ego but to get important issues done. Schatz gets my vote tomorrow.

And finally: vote NO on Question #1 tomorrow and YES for the bond issues. The bond issues are important economic development items: click here for the full text. Question #1 is another of the "People's Veto" phenomenon, an attempt to confuse the public and overthrow sound tax reform legislation our reps have already passed. Let representative democracy do its work, study the issues, debate them in public, and make informed decisions! Question #1 asks you to overturn existing tax-cut legislation--don't be confused! And what we really should be voting on is a repeal of the People's Veto legislation, so we don't have to continually set our state back with these so-called "people's" (read: special interest) referenda.

Feel free to disagree. Most importantly, get out and vote tomorrow!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Celebrating Prom--and the SATs

May is a big month for our juniors!

In Deer Isle-Stonington, May is about the junior prom. Distinct from the same archetypal event in many other locations, our island prom is a joyous community-wide event supported and attended by young and old alike; one that celebrates our juniors and their connections to family and community as well as their “coming of age.” Even as I write this, student advisors, mentors, and parents are spending long hours at school painting and building, preparing the gym (and themselves) for this annual event.

And on Saturday May 1, a week before the prom, our juniors are expected to attend an event of equal importance to their futures: the Scholastic Aptitude Tests, or SATs. Because this is a relatively new event without the long communal connections of the prom, our students may not receive the same amount of active, visible encouragement and support for this event as they need to succeed.

While the SATs themselves are not new, their importance for all students—and maybe especially for those who think they may not be pursuing additional education after high school—is.

In the past only a select group of students were expected to graduate from high school with “college ready” educations, defined as the ability to successfully solve language and math problems at a certain level of proficiency. In today’s economy and job market, here on the island as much as off, ALL high school graduates need these skills: and the SATs are an important measure of how well our schools are providing students with the education they deserve to succeed after high school.

Additionally, high school students thinking they may not attend college often discover further education at a 2- or 4-year college, community college, or technical school is required to make a decent living in today’s job market. Given the impact of global economic forces on our lobster fishery, and our hopes to continually strengthen opportunities in our year-round community for our young people, we could be encouraging all of our students to aspire to some sort of further education.

And so this May, let’s be “loud and proud” in celebrating and supporting not one but TWO milestone events for our high school juniors: on May 1 the SATs, and on May 8 the prom.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

"Precious" at the Opera House

Many questions can be raised about our showing of the film "Precious: based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire" at the Opera House as part of our Alt-Movie Series this week. Why show a film about inner-city tragedy and dysfunction in our rural hamlet? Why show a film which could possibly further negative stereotypes of African-Americans in the nation's whitest state, where few have access to everyday encounters with racial and ethnic minorities? Why show films which detail poverty, abuse and their effects at all?

Because "Precious" is a complicated, beautifully made film which shows the potential impacts of poverty and abuse in ALL of our communities. It is a story which must be told--as Sapphire knew when she published the book on which it is based, "Push," in 1996. “Ralph Ellison spoke of an invisible man, but girls like Precious are our invisible young women—not seen by their own people let alone white society,” says Sapphire.

The character of Claireece “Precious Jones” Sapphire created and whom director Lee Daniels, along with producers Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, faithfully renders is so deeply human and fully realized, not only in her misery but in her imaginative, thoughtful processes, that it is impossible for any but the most pessimistic and politically orthodox critics (of which there have been many, both of the book and now of the film) to not be dumb-struck with empathy and compassion for her story. As Sapphire says, her story and this film are "for all the precious girls" in all of our communities. Let's make them visible, and let's all care enough to take action--as so many do in this film, from school principals to teachers to social workers--to offer them the love they deserve and need to chart their own courses from misery.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Why STREB?

I've been cross-posting this week from NYC on our Opera House Arts' blog, Curtain Tales. If you don't already follow that, keep an eye on it for the latest words related to our work at OHA and mission, Incite Art, Create Community!

Choreographer--or I think I'd better say movement artist--Elizabeth Streb was one of three panelists on the opening plenary, facilitated by OHA's "our own" critic-in-residence Alicia Anstead, for APAP 2010. Presenting between our lugubrious new NEA chairman, Rocco Landesmann, whose comments re support for artists waxed so spurious one could only yawn; and my fellow Bowdoin College grad Paul Miller, a.k.a. DJ Spooky (download his app for your iPhone and become your own DJ), Streb--ice-pick thin with a stand-up shock of died black hair at 59--brought the session to life with her remarks on the importance of--well, yeah--movement.

Streb showed a video message she had created when asked if she would send a message to newly-elected President Obama last year. After some hesitation, she did it. Her message is: there is one simple solution to solving the problems you face--war in Afghanistan, an economic recession, a need to overhaul our country's health and education systems. That solution is movement. If you, Mr. President, insist that every American must jump up and down three times every morning, turn around, and throw their arms up in a giant X--slowly but surely our problems would be solved.

It's a dramatic way to make an important point: the human body is a kinetic (i.e., movement) machine, and we as Americans simply don't move enough to function as well intellectually, emotionally, economically, and politically as we need to to face the current challenges the world presents to us. And moving with consciousness through the artistic discipline of dance--and Streb might argue, especially highly physical dance of the type she practices, which can veer toward the NFL--might take us to places we never before knew to be possible.

So, people, let's do it! Stand up and jump up and down three times, now and every morning. Spin around and throw your arms up into the air in a giant X! Let's move it. The new decade is on. -- Linda

Getting Serious About Creativity in the Classroom

I've been cross-posting this week from NYC on our Opera House Arts' blog, Curtain Tales. If you don't already follow that, keep an eye on it for the latest words related to our work at OHA and mission, Incite Art, Create Community!

Following on my concept of "the whole new mind for a whole new decade" posted earlier this week, Thursday afternoon I helped to lead an Education Leaders Institute (ELI) meeting in Augusta. The focus is to create a team of innovation leaders from around the state to re-design public education--moving it from the WHAT is being taught to the HOW of students learning . . . with a focus on ensuring that creativity, imagination, and innovation are primary learning methods for the new century.

This all hooks together with OHA's Kennedy Center Partners in Education program with our local schools, which helps teachers learn to integrate artistic processes and disciplines into their classroom teaching to advance the creativity of HOW their students are learning literacy, math, and interpersonal skills.

Another key piece of this in Maine is the MLTI laptop program, which in many communities has been a huge gift for how their students are learning and taking off with the innovative skills demanded by our changing economy. Deer Isle hasn't done as well with MLTI as we might, and therefore we are including technology integration as an art form--digital media arts integration--in our Kennedy Center offerings. The importance of the MLTI program to creativity brought Apple's Jim Moulton to our Thursday ELI meeting. Jim is a fantastically innovative thinker, especially around education. Check out this piece he wrote back when he blogged for Edutopia's Spiral Notebook, "It's Time to Get Serious About Creativity in the Classroom." -- Linda