Sheldon, you are right in that I didn't properly reply to your statements. But the problem seems to be that everyone is in love with the concept of Minneapolis having its own radio station. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. I'm sure that this forum could come up with 200 similar Wonderful programs if we were asked.
Everybody seems to think that I am against the radio station. I don't listen to it very often, but there are a lot of things I don't do that I still believe are very valuable for the community. The question still is, where will the funds come from to finance the program once the DOT pulls out? A few souls are crying that the traffic programming is much needed. Someone else has pointed out that the station isn't worth that much on the open market because it can't be heard very far outside the limits of Minneapolis. If the second statement is correct, what is the station's value to the DOT, which sees traffic jams in seven or more counties on a daily basis. The Minneapolis Teachers' pension fund is now in trouble. Taxes are going to be raised for that and some programs may be cut and more schools will be closed. We have to face the facts that people in Minneapolis don't have many children, often move elsewhere when they do, and the result is declining enrollment in the district. With respect to kids who are not interested in academic subjects, I agree that some creativity is needed when teaching them. I've thought for years that reading, decimals, and fractions could be made much more interesting for many if the subjects and calculations involved, not oranges, but batting averages, percent completed passes, 400 meter hurdle interval times, or whatever. There are a lot of good biographies and stories about athletes and competitions. I'd bet somewhere, the stats for the first Olympic Games back in ancient Greece are readily available. With something like the Baseball Almanac, you could teach a fabulous statistics course, and when it was all done and they asked "What do I do now?", in about 20 minutes a counselor could provide them with fifty job leads to pursue. Ray Marshall Minnehaha Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 17:43:38 -0600 From: "Sheldon Mains" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [Mpls] RE: Should the Mpls Schools be operating a radio Ray, you did a great job of setting up a straw man and knocking him down. But please re-read my email. It was NOT about training people to work in radio stations! It was about using the KBEM program (and other programs) to reach kids that have no interest in academic subjects. (I would also point out that in this economy, any help wanted ad that includes a livable wage and health benefits is swamped by applicants.) Your other point--which programs would be cut--assumes that the $400,000 has to come from the existing MPS budget. Who said that was the only option? sheldon ................................. Sheldon Mains Seward Neighborhood, Minneapolis, Minnesota REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
