A recent (July 9) column by Brink Lindsey, VP for Research at the Cato Institute, in the WSJ titled “The Culture Gap” produced a number of letters to the editors. Most notable was from Glenn Pope, a 15 year teaching veteran in the southern suburbs of Sacramento working with a racially diverse, low income student body. Mr. Pope writes, “Virtually all my students saw college as the way to realize their life dreams, yet most of my students did not have the study skills to successfully graduate from high school let alone earn a college degree. Most of their parents did not know what study-skills were essential for academic success; as a result approximately one half of the incoming freshman did not graduate. Most of my colleagues seemed to assume their students knew how to acquire knowledge while some led an underground movement to teach study skills.
Success in school begins at home. When support is not available at home, the role of education should be to pick up a lot of the slack. This begins by schools helping the student acquire study-skills, since the acquisition of knowledge begins with knowing how to acquire it. There is a culture gap and education is in neglect of that fact.”
Lindsey also wrote “Poverty in America today is thus largely about failing to get a job and hold it. The problem is not about the lack of opportunity. If it were, this country would not be a magnet for illegal immigrants. The problem is a lack of elementary self-discipline: failing to stay in school, failing to get and stay married to the mother or father of your children and failing to live within the law. The core of the problem with most poverty kids are the differences in the values, skills and habits taught at home. Our productive capacity is now outstripping our cultural capacity.
There is no silver bullet for closing the cultural gap. Those interested in reducing meaningful economic inequality would be well advised to focus on education reform. And forget about adding new layers of bureaucracy and top-down controls. Real improvement will come from challenging the moribund state-school monopolies with greater competition.”
Dr. Jessica Cannon of Wilmington, N.C. wrote “Very few middle or upper income Americans know what it is like to live in true poverty with all its encumbrances. These emotionally crippled children can not be fixed in the public schools – thus society pays a steep price.”
Many problems can be “fixed” by the public school systems. Since it is a well publicized fact that a large number of students are not capable of making even thru the first 12 grades with the totally outdated agrarian system, we are still struggling along creating a larger welfare class, overloading our court systems, increasingly spending money for security and building new jails, prisons, ( we should be creating more mental health facilities; there are signs we may be waking up) and in general embarrassing and disappointing ourselves and others in the process.
Dr. Paul E. Peterson of Harvard writes on 7/24/07 in the WSJ, about school choice, “Charter Schools serve a higher percentage by far of minorities than traditional public schools. The well to do who have their kids involved and over involved in school and after school activities are not crowding out the poor.
Those with better means are preparing their kids for life in the real world however hectic these moms and pops are with their daily lives. The results of their stressful efforts, (both parents and kids) will be better rounded kids prepared to cope with an increasingly hectic future.”
It is one thing to have equal opportunity for everyone but we do not have enough political and social courage to guide those not interested or unable to be promoted up the stairs to “Chief” jobs as garrison Keillor calls them. We must LEAD them to other opportunities to help them develops skills knowing that all jobs require verbal/manual skills of some sort. Anyone who can read and write with a willingness to learn, has a work ethic and a good attitude will eventually be able to secure and hold a job that will pay the living wages for which most all aspire.
George C. Leef, V-P for Research of the John Pope Center for Higher Education Policy writes, “The United States has been saturated with college graduates who often end up taking up jobs that don’t call for ANY higher academic qualifications. Part of the problem of economic inequality is that credential inflation has closed off more and more of the job world to people who have only high school diplomas.” Self-esteem diplomas and trophies for all who sometimes attend will only lead to more populism and a further slide to socialism.
As I continue to talk to teachers (and visit some classes and observe social programs) some hesitant for fear of retaliation, I believe that the administration of #150 will continue to disappoint the community. Complaints of too much bureaucracy, promotions by race and tenure rather than by merit, not enough competition to the strong teachers union, failure to enforce discipline, the need for more counselors, lack of merit pay and pressure to socially promote, more trained special education teachers, the erroneous belief that new schools will make better and smarter students, all add up to an inability to maintain even the status quo.
Should we expect more results in Peoria Public School District #150 in 2007-8? Do we see a lot of positive results? We do, but that is what we expect for a yearly investment of $150,000,000.00.
I will optimistically look forward to #150’s academic year ‘07 and ‘08 as I do every year. Maybe changes touted will bring more desired effects. But don’t count on new schools or libraries to bridge the culture gaps and bring some of the “politically correct” elite out of their “ivory towers”.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
PPD Problems
For six days last week, a lot of info flowed from and through the Journal Star requesting some answers from the PPD as to why many recreational facilities are in such poor physical shape and why so many PPD programs are mismanaged under the parks leadership. Let’s review some facts. The 2007 budget for the district is $49,800,000.00 so progress shouldn’t be hindered by lack of money. Compare Kansas City, Missouri with a population of approximately 600,000 and a budget for 2007 of $56.5 million for their Park District. KC maintains approximately 213 parks and 132 miles of boulevards. PPD's answer, don't expect too much too soon.
Here is some history that I have reported on previous blogs dated 10/20/05, 2/1/06 and 2/2/06. The JS reported on 12/12/03 that Administrator Noble said, when asked about the lack of quality softball sites in Peoria, “board members have been working on this for several months and this PPD project could provide Peoria with enough fields to host the Girls National Softball Association’s Regional fast-pitch tournament. These fields were to be located at 11418 N. Rt. 91, land that the PPD acquired from Bradley in 2003 in a swap for Meinen Field. 2006 has come and gone and there are no PPD Softball Parks even under construction. The County Recorders office shows this site claimed by President Cassidy as owned by the PPD is actually owned by Bradley University who bought a total of 162 acres of farmland for $2,197,910.00 or $13,000.00 an acre. (On 6/18/07 Steve Tarter of the JS, quoting experts, wrote “an acre of good Central Illinois farmland now sells for about $6,000.”) So Bradley paid about $7,000.00 an acre over the going price and took a mortgage out to pay for the land. All on record in the County Courthouse. The JS reported on 8/26/04 “BU arranges land swap with Park District – PPD gets 80 acres near Rt. 91 in exchange for Meinen Field.”
The park district does not own any land out along Rt. 29 close to Fox Rd. Hmmmmm.
On 2/2/06, Administrator Noble is quoted in the JS “the PPD is seeking state grants to start building a $1.5 million dollar top level sports complex on 80 acres of land it owns out on Rt.91.” It doesn’t own 80 acres out “north”. Look it up at the Recorders office. And why state grants (more taxpayer money) when the park continually says it is fiscally sound?
The park district's administrator is the park district She is the one to be held accountable since the board is a rubber stamp and the President is basically a figurehead. Remember the RecPlex debate that appeared in the JS on 3/21/99? President Cassidy is quoted as saying “There would be no required membership fees.” Fact: There always have been membership fees from the day the newly named RiverPlex opened. Cassidy continues, “The $10 million bond borrowed to build the RiverPlex (its actual cost was around $21 million) most, if not all, will be paid thru RecPlex operations”. Fact: The RiverPlex operations have never paid a single dime of the principle and interest on the $10 million bond. Each year new bonds are sold to pay the principle and interest of the RiverPlex, the Golf Learning Center, Logan Pool and other facilities while some payments are made on older bonds or short term bonds. By contrast Peoria County owes approximately $7 million in principle and interest on outstanding bonds, most coming from the borrowing to build the jail and juvenile complex on Maxwell.
On 6/16/07, Roger Allen, PPD Trustee, is quoted in the JS “Even if the RP needs a “small subsidy’ in the beginning, it should be operating in the black in a couple of years.” According to projections, Superintendent Noble said that “of the 17,028 households that showed an interest in the RP, most of these households are likely to join the RP. The RP should show a profit of $515,494 by 2006 with only 5000 members.” Fact: The RP lost $7,000,000,000.00 in the first 40 month of operation and more than $1,000,000,000.00 in 2006. (The financial statement shows the fitness center lost more than $600,000.00 in 2006, one half of the loss shared by OSF.)I have heard that OSF is not a happy camper over the susposed money making Fitness Center. And the original RP Construction fund is still carrying a million dollar plus deficit.
Currently, the PPD has approximately $27 million dollars in outstanding bonds including interest. The 2006 financial reports shows only $18 million but that does not include $12.3 million in new bonds and interest issued in January of 2007. Nor does it include some short term bonds, approxsimately $3 million that are being paid off in 2007.
The recent series of articles in the JS points out the serious flaws in PPD planning and administrating. Blame of many of the failures is correctly placed on the departed Rick Robbins, but Robbins reported to Dennis Mantick who directly reports to the Administrator.
The buck stops at the top. Rule out the mostly newly elected board. They have relinquished their power to the administrator. Don’t count on any major changes without a major increase in property taxes or more bonds. Expect things to change only after the property taxpayer learns how much the zoo expansion is going to cost them on top of all else. Simple arithmetic: the park plans to boost zoo attendance from 100,000 to 170,000. 70,000 times an average of $10 per admittance (admittance averages about $3.90 currently) is only $700,000 more income with the expanded zoo. The old zoo loses approx. $400,000.00 per year, a figure that recently shocked a major contributor who said he was unaware the current zoo loses any money.
Shock and awe from the PPD coming in the very near future? Unless a major contributor steps forward soon, bet on it.
Here is some history that I have reported on previous blogs dated 10/20/05, 2/1/06 and 2/2/06. The JS reported on 12/12/03 that Administrator Noble said, when asked about the lack of quality softball sites in Peoria, “board members have been working on this for several months and this PPD project could provide Peoria with enough fields to host the Girls National Softball Association’s Regional fast-pitch tournament. These fields were to be located at 11418 N. Rt. 91, land that the PPD acquired from Bradley in 2003 in a swap for Meinen Field. 2006 has come and gone and there are no PPD Softball Parks even under construction. The County Recorders office shows this site claimed by President Cassidy as owned by the PPD is actually owned by Bradley University who bought a total of 162 acres of farmland for $2,197,910.00 or $13,000.00 an acre. (On 6/18/07 Steve Tarter of the JS, quoting experts, wrote “an acre of good Central Illinois farmland now sells for about $6,000.”) So Bradley paid about $7,000.00 an acre over the going price and took a mortgage out to pay for the land. All on record in the County Courthouse. The JS reported on 8/26/04 “BU arranges land swap with Park District – PPD gets 80 acres near Rt. 91 in exchange for Meinen Field.”
The park district does not own any land out along Rt. 29 close to Fox Rd. Hmmmmm.
On 2/2/06, Administrator Noble is quoted in the JS “the PPD is seeking state grants to start building a $1.5 million dollar top level sports complex on 80 acres of land it owns out on Rt.91.” It doesn’t own 80 acres out “north”. Look it up at the Recorders office. And why state grants (more taxpayer money) when the park continually says it is fiscally sound?
The park district's administrator is the park district She is the one to be held accountable since the board is a rubber stamp and the President is basically a figurehead. Remember the RecPlex debate that appeared in the JS on 3/21/99? President Cassidy is quoted as saying “There would be no required membership fees.” Fact: There always have been membership fees from the day the newly named RiverPlex opened. Cassidy continues, “The $10 million bond borrowed to build the RiverPlex (its actual cost was around $21 million) most, if not all, will be paid thru RecPlex operations”. Fact: The RiverPlex operations have never paid a single dime of the principle and interest on the $10 million bond. Each year new bonds are sold to pay the principle and interest of the RiverPlex, the Golf Learning Center, Logan Pool and other facilities while some payments are made on older bonds or short term bonds. By contrast Peoria County owes approximately $7 million in principle and interest on outstanding bonds, most coming from the borrowing to build the jail and juvenile complex on Maxwell.
On 6/16/07, Roger Allen, PPD Trustee, is quoted in the JS “Even if the RP needs a “small subsidy’ in the beginning, it should be operating in the black in a couple of years.” According to projections, Superintendent Noble said that “of the 17,028 households that showed an interest in the RP, most of these households are likely to join the RP. The RP should show a profit of $515,494 by 2006 with only 5000 members.” Fact: The RP lost $7,000,000,000.00 in the first 40 month of operation and more than $1,000,000,000.00 in 2006. (The financial statement shows the fitness center lost more than $600,000.00 in 2006, one half of the loss shared by OSF.)I have heard that OSF is not a happy camper over the susposed money making Fitness Center. And the original RP Construction fund is still carrying a million dollar plus deficit.
Currently, the PPD has approximately $27 million dollars in outstanding bonds including interest. The 2006 financial reports shows only $18 million but that does not include $12.3 million in new bonds and interest issued in January of 2007. Nor does it include some short term bonds, approxsimately $3 million that are being paid off in 2007.
The recent series of articles in the JS points out the serious flaws in PPD planning and administrating. Blame of many of the failures is correctly placed on the departed Rick Robbins, but Robbins reported to Dennis Mantick who directly reports to the Administrator.
The buck stops at the top. Rule out the mostly newly elected board. They have relinquished their power to the administrator. Don’t count on any major changes without a major increase in property taxes or more bonds. Expect things to change only after the property taxpayer learns how much the zoo expansion is going to cost them on top of all else. Simple arithmetic: the park plans to boost zoo attendance from 100,000 to 170,000. 70,000 times an average of $10 per admittance (admittance averages about $3.90 currently) is only $700,000 more income with the expanded zoo. The old zoo loses approx. $400,000.00 per year, a figure that recently shocked a major contributor who said he was unaware the current zoo loses any money.
Shock and awe from the PPD coming in the very near future? Unless a major contributor steps forward soon, bet on it.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Generation Y
My youngest daughter, Nancy is Director of Business Development of a leading architectural firm in St. Louis. She co-chaired a Division of the Bellville Chamber of Commerce that has met three times with the City of Belleville to dialogue with them on ways to attract and hold Y Generation talent. The average age of the Belleville population is 37.
Most communities like Belleville must realize that they must abandon some of their older “community building” strategies and address what is really happening in their community and the direction it is heading. Peoria needs new business to “grow” our economy and to compete with other cities, counties and states. Articles, success stories and books like “The World is Flat” tell us that our community must do more business not only just in the U.S.A. but in all sectors of the world. Companies like Globe Energy are gearing up to compete through innovation and production to service Peoria and the world, helping, as many other Peoria based companies do, to close the import-export imbalance now so worrisome to our country.
I represented Peoria County in a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning welcoming Globe Energy to Peoria. The event, sponsored by the C of C and EDC, was held in the impressive and expanded Civic Center. The ceremony, attended by approximately 150 people, opened an exhibit, presentation and job fair called “The Future Begins Today”. This traveling professional exhibit shows innovative and proven ways Globe Energy controls temperatures and environments in structures. The classy and informative exhibit is open to the public and skilled job seekers from 8:30 A.M. today through Friday.
It was through community partnerships that we now have this growing Globe Energy located here in Peoria and in Pioneer Park. It is with community partnership and input that the Peoria area will grow to its expectations. To attract and hold businesses, we must do a better job of determing our priorities and keeping the community interesting to young people (Generation Y) and affordable to all ages. We must accelerate our efforts to develop a skilled and willing to work workforce. We must improve our infrastructure; improving our public schools, safety and roadways. We must not build more enhancements than our citizens can afford or are willing to pay to attend.
Peoria has lots of dialoguing and work to do. As the departing (and to be missed), journalist Molly Parker said today “people here are like family. May Peoria stay that way for years.” As the recommended to read book, “The Overachievers” shows what happens when members of the family fail to mutually agree on what individual members wish to do. Or disagree on what individuals within the family wish to achieve and how these differences are worked out or not worked out.
Molly also hinted that we might be a bit “dysfunctional”. But then down deep or not so deep, so are most families, not the least know is the Bill and Hillary scene.
No, it is probably not possible for Peoria to be like Memphis or Cincinnati. Many individuals do not wish what others wish, but we can all be more than we are, enjoy and afford life, if we improve communications between the doers and the ones affected by what they do.
I believe we can all agree that we want more companies like Globe Energy here and that we wish start-ups like Firefly the best of luck for themselves, their financial backers and the community.
And we want more two-sided dialogue between the “movers and the shakers” and the rest of us in our communities.
Most communities like Belleville must realize that they must abandon some of their older “community building” strategies and address what is really happening in their community and the direction it is heading. Peoria needs new business to “grow” our economy and to compete with other cities, counties and states. Articles, success stories and books like “The World is Flat” tell us that our community must do more business not only just in the U.S.A. but in all sectors of the world. Companies like Globe Energy are gearing up to compete through innovation and production to service Peoria and the world, helping, as many other Peoria based companies do, to close the import-export imbalance now so worrisome to our country.
I represented Peoria County in a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning welcoming Globe Energy to Peoria. The event, sponsored by the C of C and EDC, was held in the impressive and expanded Civic Center. The ceremony, attended by approximately 150 people, opened an exhibit, presentation and job fair called “The Future Begins Today”. This traveling professional exhibit shows innovative and proven ways Globe Energy controls temperatures and environments in structures. The classy and informative exhibit is open to the public and skilled job seekers from 8:30 A.M. today through Friday.
It was through community partnerships that we now have this growing Globe Energy located here in Peoria and in Pioneer Park. It is with community partnership and input that the Peoria area will grow to its expectations. To attract and hold businesses, we must do a better job of determing our priorities and keeping the community interesting to young people (Generation Y) and affordable to all ages. We must accelerate our efforts to develop a skilled and willing to work workforce. We must improve our infrastructure; improving our public schools, safety and roadways. We must not build more enhancements than our citizens can afford or are willing to pay to attend.
Peoria has lots of dialoguing and work to do. As the departing (and to be missed), journalist Molly Parker said today “people here are like family. May Peoria stay that way for years.” As the recommended to read book, “The Overachievers” shows what happens when members of the family fail to mutually agree on what individual members wish to do. Or disagree on what individuals within the family wish to achieve and how these differences are worked out or not worked out.
Molly also hinted that we might be a bit “dysfunctional”. But then down deep or not so deep, so are most families, not the least know is the Bill and Hillary scene.
No, it is probably not possible for Peoria to be like Memphis or Cincinnati. Many individuals do not wish what others wish, but we can all be more than we are, enjoy and afford life, if we improve communications between the doers and the ones affected by what they do.
I believe we can all agree that we want more companies like Globe Energy here and that we wish start-ups like Firefly the best of luck for themselves, their financial backers and the community.
And we want more two-sided dialogue between the “movers and the shakers” and the rest of us in our communities.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Library Referendum - Facts Summarized
The Peoria Public Library system is cluttered with books, never read or seldom read. Example: Lakeview Library has 29 thick books called the Encyclopedia American and dated 12/2000. In 7 years the total times checked out is 11. The New Book of Knowledge, dated 2001, consists of a series of 21 thick books, that been checked out a total of 10 times. These are reference books labeled to be checked out by any card holder.(Most reference books can not be checked out; however every reference book in any Peoria Public Library is online and easy to use even when in the library.)
.A series of thick books at the Downtown Library dated 1997 have never been checked out. I described the series in one of my “blogs” on the use of libraries. Peoria’s newest public library has 51 biographies with total a total of 3 checkouts since the branch opened. This new building is also scheduled to close; the question is, why was it ever opened?
I ask that you accompany me on a trip to all libraries and I will show you everything I list as facts in this large request for money for expansion and “redecorating”. One council member agreed to take a tour with me because he said he “needed to learn more about libraries”. He changed his mind perhaps when he discovered who the organizations were that donated the $100,000.00 to the referendum. Pressure from “special interests groups” should be avoided by all elected officials. Decisions should be made on facts.
All statistics show that the reading of books in hard or soft covers is decreasing. An article in The Economist reads “With sales of books declining, sales of mobile-phone novels have jumped and are growing fast. One best selling book has 160,000 downloads a day.” The whole concept of the use or non-use of library books is being changed by technology yet books take up most of the space in all public libraries. Yet you are being asked to tax property owners for more thousands of square feet of unneeded space.
Here are facts that should considered by the City Council before approving any amount close to $35,000,000,000.00 requested by the Peoria Library Board. This is a lengthy statement well worth reading. These facts are the closest to the truths never revealed in the recent $100,000.00 referendum. A referendum that had no organized opposition because most people thought common sense would prevail. (The turnout was less than 22% of all registered voters.)
How could our local politicians and leaders NOT turn down a request to support libraries? If they didn’t support the referendum, they would be accused of supporting ignorance. How could they refuse to sign a document (written for them by the Library Consultants) without feeling the “guilt” of supporting ignorance?
This was a major promotion with no organized opposition headed up by a professional fund raiser. Elected officials are supposed to listen to all informed people and are not supposed to let “special interest” groups determine their actions. Elected officials are supposed to inform themselves especially when raising already high taxes.
Consider what is now on the taxpayer’s plate, the Renaissance Center, the Civic Center expansion, the RiverPlex that has never been able to meet the principal and interest on it’s original loan, Transport potential taxpayer supported development, expansion of TIF’s such as the two just approved by the council, more money for struggling School Dist. #150, rising pension costs, the Gateway Center, the new zoo and new infrastructure for the expanded zoo, inadequate emergency warning systems, tax abating incentives for businesses like Firefly, Globe Energy and many more to come, the possible need for another firehouse and a growing need for more safety officers on the street. The Chief said recently that he could use 25 more officers on the streets.
You are aware of the poor condition of many of our streets. Some of you support a new staffed and equipped firehouse.
On the horizon is the new museum, the Children’s Playhouse to occupy the current Park Headquarters, the need for new Park Headquarters, $120 million for new schools plus the redevelopment of downtown. Our history shows there will be requests for more taxes and more taxpayer supported projects coming in the future.
I attended a meeting last week where the establishment of an Opportunity Center and Innovation Center (one building alone would need to be 30,000 sq.ft.) was recommended. These facilities would be taxpayer and donor supported.
Most people believe that their property taxes are too high now. People with fixed incomes who own older homes do not see their property values rising as taxes rise.
Librarians love books so much they do not want to take them off the shelves. That is the major reason they claim Peoria’s Public libraries are “bursting at the seams” and need more space for more books. Visit these libraries and you will find thousands of books that have never or seldom been read, taking up shelf space. You will find books as new as 2004 on sale tables for as low as a quarter.
Remember the poignant article titled “Fairy Tale Ending” in the JS on April 18/07? In the rows pictured, out of 110 children’s books, 8 had never been checked out, only 5 had been checked out in 2007 and only 21 had been checked out in all of 2006.
An article in the JS dated 5/29/07 “Books not Selling? Burn them – Used bookstore owner sets fire to collection to protest declining support of the printed word.” The article states the owner tried to give 50,000 books away to libraries or thrift shops. None would accept them because they said they have no more space for books. The article points out that a study in 2002 by the National Endowment for the Arts reported that adults reading for pleasure were down almost 57% from 1982.
Look at the history of the Library Board. The 2001 Library Board asked the City Council for $6.9 million to buy land and build a North Side library off Rte. 6 on Allen road. This request was denied; then the council was asked to let the library at least buy the land. The Council denied this also. The council did grant the library money to modernize Harrison Homes Library for approx. $285,000.00. A year later, library board members appeared before the council and asked for $200,000.00 more to refurbish the 2nd floor of Harrison because the first floor was overcrowded. The Council granted the money and $200,000.00 plus was spent on the 2nd floor. This amount included an $80,000.00 elevator that can be operated by key only. (On 12/07/01 the Journal Star reported the following: “In an unanimous vote, the council promised to spend $400,000.00 to buy computers, double the size of the Harrison Library, remodel Lakeview and boost salaries by $200,000.00 and open the Downtown Library on Sundays.”
The Downtown Library is not open on Sundays. It is not open because of the lack of usage on Sunday’s which library staff knew before they were granted the extra money.
At the time of the reconstruction of Harrison Library, it was common knowledge that many of the residents at Harrison Homes were going to be relocated in 4 or 5 years. Today, all that is on the 2nd floor are 4 computers, 3 that haven’t worked in months, a few chairs and tables, a small storage area and rest rooms. There are also rest rooms on the first floor. This locked elevator to the 2nd floor is monitored by closed circuit TV.
The Harrison Library is scheduled to be closed and torn down because the Library board says it is now “underutilized”.
“Bursting at the seams” is the term used to describe Lakeview Library. Yet the library has over 900 linear feet of empty shelves (the length of three football fields).
Why, because Lakeview is the only Library in the entire county that does not use the top and bottom shelves of their stacks. Use these shelves like other libraries do and take down a couple of stacks and clear more space for computers and office space. Lakeview (as well as all public libraries) have 10’s of thousands of romance books that can be bought at Library book sales, Lakeview Museum book sales or any used book store for as little as a quarter.
Why spend $35 million dollars on a rapidly changing system in a community where kids read fewer books and are being taught to view and gather information online. If the demand for computers and computer space is rising, create space by removing thousands of unread or unused books. There are plenty of small empty buildings in Peoria that can accommodate computers and meeting rooms. If the demand for computers for learning is so great, use the ones sitting idle most of the time in the dozens of public school in Peoria. In fact with the addition of 20 new computers at Manual available from 3-8 daily, there are over 200 free computers for use now in the community. Bradley University Library is open to the public and has free computer time for the public. Computers are now on the market for as low as $179.00. 3 billion $100.00 computers that will cost less than a pair of Nike shoes are on the horizon.
Computer usage at all Peoria Public Libraries is unsupervised. Close observation will show that many users are surfing, playing games, watching porn, learning how to create their own Social Security Card, learning how to make a bomb, in fact, they can look up and watch most anything they wish to watch. If a patron wants to use a computer but doesn’t know how to use one, the library does not teach them
Pornography has been observed on some of the monitor screens at the downtown location being viewed by as many as four people. Machines can be filtered but smart people of all ages often know how to bypass filters.
Filtering was a subject of an article in the JS on 5/14/07. The headline was “Should Library Web filters be shelved? Some librarians staged a day of protest against legislation requiring porn blockers.”
Patrons may bring in their own porn discs to use at Peoria Public Libraries and employees say they can tell them not to but cannot stop them nor do they have time to observe how the computers are being used.
Reference books, of which there are many hundreds, are hardly touched. All these reference books taking up space in the Peoria Public Libraries are on line and computers are in the library. Why take up the same space in every library for 10’s of sets of the same reference books when look-ups are much faster on a computer?
As one across the river elected official said recently, “Let Peoria taxpayers build all these things and we will come over and use them.” Thanks, Peoria. The library referendum in his community (East Peoria) was missing the “hype” and it failed.
The Peoria Public Library System is a Tax COLLECTOR, not a Tax PAYER. If $35,000,000.00 is justified because people like libraries to browse and not necessarily check out books, they can go to TAX PAYING bookstores such as Barnes and Noble and Borders. They can browse all day for free. Both locations can be reached by tax supported buses. They can also sit in easy chairs and drink coffee but for the food and coffee THEY will have to pay. I am a frequent visitor and supporter of public libraries but do not believe in supporting them in competition with private enterprise. Private enterprise is where the taxes dollars come from; to support free libraries.
About 4 years ago, 2 self-check out machines were installed at Lakeview. (Most libraries of any size across the country have them) These machines didn’t work with any consistency from date of installation. So most patrons ignore the self check out machines and go to the circulation desk where library employees must take the time to scan and date stamp each book while the self-check out machines mostly stand idle.
These machines were installed only at Lakeview because there isn’t enough activity to warrant the expense at any other library.
The library board claims to have had complaints of patrons waiting too long to check out a book and complaints of not enough parking space. Neither complaint is valid, go visit unannounced. Compare with a grocery store where you PAY for what you remove from the store; the walk and wait at any library location has no comparison. The maximum anyone could walk after parking is less than 150 feet. There would be considerably less wait time if people would use the electronic self-checkout machines. It is usually the patrons decision just like at the grocery store, to use the machines or wait to be waited on by a clerk.
One station at the new (2003) Lakeview Circulation Desk is used to display information. Claims are made that the desk intrudes into the children’s section. It doesn’t, but if it did, that is the fault of the design, not lack of space.
In December, 2000, none of the Peoria Public Libraries were using magnetic cards. All other libraries in the area were. Now the system is using magnetic cards that are accepted by all public libraries serviced by the Alliance Library System including Dunlap, Peoria Heights, Bartonville, Chillicothe, Princeville and other local libraries. You can check out a book with a Peoria Library card and if they don’t have the title you wish in stock, they can order it from another library in the Library Alliance System.
The tax supported Alliance also has approximately 60,000 titles of talking books in stock to send to any library requesting one. Talking books are going out as digital is coming in. A library in another county said “We have stopped ordering them.”
Complaints are made about not enough meeting space at Lakeview yet it has 3 meeting rooms that are open at least 50 hours a week. Fifty hours a week isn’t enough for children’s programs? Any overflow of any of the programs are or could be conducted by none tax supported entities such as most churches, Carver Center, Proctor Center, the two Boys and Girls Clubs, Scout meeting rooms, Commonplace, Southside Mission, Friendship House, ect. School libraries that close at approximately 3:00 have computers and books (250,000) for daytime use. They could be open after school and all summer.
All public school libraries in Peoria have computers; the difference is that teachers teach kids how to use computers and monitor their screens.
The library board says it would like to establish teen centers yet the community abounds with teen centers. All schools offer underutilized extra curricular activities. More extra-curricular programs could be offered if there was the demand. All schools have lots of empty space after 2:30, the community has dozens of places that have or could have “teen centers”. Most churches have youth centers, park districts have social centers as do Proctor, Carver, the RiverPlex, are all free to kids, especially those labeled as “poverty and below”.
The “community centers” at Manual and Trewyn close their libraries at 2:30 P.M., sometimes a half hour later. Why aren’t school libraries designated as “community centers” if libraries are so popular?
The position of Assistant Librarian in Dist. # 150 high schools was eliminated turning librarians into part time clerical people. Why are K-8 schools not required to have certified librarians if the demand for library usage is so great? If the demand was there, the schools would be obligated to fill these positions.
If there is such a demand for books, why are all the Blaine Sumner Library books still on the shelves one academic year after the school was closed?
If school libraries do not have heavy usage, why would there be a growing demand in our public libraries?
The Public Library system has a “sophisticated” computer system. Remember when Peoria Public Library turned down the cities used computer because they were not compatible with the library system? I was told by a council person the these rejected computers were then accepted by the FBI.
None of the Peoria Public Libraries carry Playaway audio books. These audio books were originally made available to local public libraries by grant application. Playaway machines are the size of a deck of cards and could become widely used by those who haven’t time to read a book or by those who multitask. They would also reduce shelf space as libraries often have multiple copies of most books. Playaways are not the same at all as “books on tapes” that require a device in which you need to insert the tapes. Playaway operates by battery.
An article printed in the Journal Star on 3/29/07 wrote that Playaways “Turn your favorite novels into tiny portable digital audio files that libraries can’t keep on their shelves.” 16 libraries in the Peoria area have the Playaway books. Included in the many libraries that own and check out the Playaway books are Chillicothe, Morton, Alpha Park, Tremont, Richwoods, Bradley University Library, etc. Morton has 40 titles and has 24 out on loan. Fondulac Library has 58 titles. Richwoods High School has active checkouts of books from their extensive library, including Playaway.
Absent from the libraries using Playaway Books was the Peoria Public Library System who said “they were considering them”.
Part of the 35 million dollars would be used at McClure YET that library was considered for CLOSING as underused in the approximate year of 2000. Consideration was given that that the Downtown Library was more cost than benefit to the community. Now a large part of the 35 million dollars would be used to redesign the inside and outside of the building. Chairs described as soft and comfortable are to be purchased for patrons of the library including many so called “street people”. Sales of food and beverages are being considered. That would be in direct competition with the private sectors.
The major booksellers in Peoria are Barnes and Noble and Borders who offer amenities such as comfortable seating allow “non-buyers” to spend a whole day browsing, reading, asking for technical help, ect. They have a much larger selection of materials of all types are FREE as long as these materials do not leave the building. They offer food and beverages for sale along with hundreds of other items.
All libraries, public and private, new and used, in Peoria and Peoria Heights are easily accessible by bus and by bike. Parking is not a problem at any library and the parking is free except at the Downtown Library.
On 10/21/01, the Journal Star quoted a library trustee as saying “there was no room to expand at Lakeview.” Six years later, the library board says there is space to expand Lakeview?? Also, why would the library board expand Lakeview before weighing the effect of a new north side location would have on reducing the “overcrowding” at Lakeview?
If Lakeview needs more office space, knock out a wall, retire unread books or utilize existing shelf space (900 feet unused) better to create more office space and more computer space.
The major part of the 36 million dollars, $11 million would be spent on a new Northsiders location possibly along Pioneer Parkway. Pioneer Parkway is largely a commercial area and library studies show that libraries are best suited to be located in pedestrian friendly and “people moving” areas. Lakeview, for example is in the same “people moving” sector as the Theatre, Lakeview Museum, the Girl Scout Headquarters and Owens Center. There are no user friendly sidewalks for bicycles along either side of Pioneer Parkway; not very “people moving friendly”.
The K’s Merchandise empty building has tax collecting potential.
Lakeview is 3 1/2 miles from the Downtown Library and 7 miles from the Dunlap Library. A drive of 3 ½ miles will take you to any library in the area. People who live on the far north side travel at least 7 miles to access downtown Peoria and many do it on a daily basis. People can’t drive 3 ½ miles to access a FREE library?
All area libraries accept Peoria Public Library cards at no cost. Books can be returned to ANY Library system served by the Alliance.
None of the four high school principals and four head librarians was consulted by the Peoria Public Library leaders to ask for their input as to the future needs on kids in schools now and their potential needs in the future. Mary Ward, Director of Library Services and Head Librarian for all of District #150 libraries was not consulted as to what the current and future needs are for kids still in school. Why not? The average age of all the books in Dist. #150 is 1979 and a large number of books will soon go to a recycling center.
Superintendent Hinton has stated that he prefers to have the libraries in the new schools as they are being built. Richwoods has the library adjacent to their study hall so students can use the library as they do their homework. .Kitty Poe, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System states that “the most dependable predictor of high school achievement is a SCHOOL library supported by a trained librarian.” (JS, 12/22/04)
There are an estimated combined 2 million books in Peoria Public Libraries and Peoria Public schools. Almost all social agencies such as Common Place and most churches have books. All can be checked out or read on site. Reading on site is permitted at all books stores, another million books, new and used are available for as little as a quarter.
An article dated May 10th, 1999, in Time Magazine titled “Raising Kids ONLINE” indicated 8 years ago how the newer generation will be accessing information by electronic means.
An article on May 12, 2007, is titled “Short is Good”, talks about condensed smaller books – and the virtue of brevity.”
Bulky “talking books” will be phased out. Fondulac Library (their “no hype” referendum for expansion failed) said they no longer order these bulky books. Digital is here now as is online. Google claims to have every book ever written available on the net.
All indications are that libraries will need less space rather than more.
Staunch library supporters have compared Peoria’s present libraries with cities like suburbs of Chicago that have totally different demographics than Peoria. Many want something new. Studies shows elected officials find it hard to say no to special interest groups.
A leading realtor asks if Peoria Governments know that they are driving people out of the city with, among other non-buying points, rising property taxes.
Comparisons like “libraries are visited more than the Civic Center, Bradley Basketball, etc.” combined, are made. These “sound” like impressive figure but free public libraries are open more than 250 hours per WEEK all year round and a taxpayer supported book-mobile also takes the library to the reader.
Here are some facts council people should know. These facts should be at the Head Librarian’s fingertips on their computerized systems:
What is the total number of Peoria Public Library cardholders?
Of this total, what was the number of actual users in 2006? Example, I probably used the libraries 60 times in 2006. I would be one user, my wife; two users and so on.
Break out above number of all cardholders who live in the Harrison area, Lincoln area, RiverWest area, Downtown area, McClure and Lakeview.
What is the total number of all hard and cover adult section books ad the total number of all children’s books in all Peoria Public Libraries combined?
What is the above breakout by library?
What is the total Number of all soft cover books in system?
What is the breakout by library?
What is the total number of DVD’s, Books on Tape, CD’s, etc.?
What is the breakout by library?
Total number of different titled adult periodicals, magazines, newspapers, in whichever way they are inventoried?
What is the breakout by library?
What is the total number of titles in all libraries combined in all categories? (For example one public library has 8 books of the same title; using Kite Runner as an example. This would be one title).
What is the total number of common use (adult or children) reference books of all kinds by description; example, World Book, Automotive, Air Craft, Dictionaries, Thesaurus, cross reference books, etc?
Why is additional space needed for reference questions asked? How are these requests counted?
What is the total number of all hard cover books, adult and children checked out in a 12 month period?
What is the total number of soft cover books, adult and children, checked OUT in last 12 months?
What is the total number of adult DVD’s, books on Tape, Digital books etc. checked out in the last 12 month period?
What is the total number of all of the above by category and by library location in the past 12 months?
What determines shelf life of an item? There are thousands of items on the shelves that have never been checked out. At one library I found a book on the shelf that had not been checked out in 18 years.
Other than books the libraries put up for sale, what is the total number of items, children and adult, of all categories are not on public display and where are they stored?
Rather than making librarians into clerks to accept quarters, why not just give seldom read books away to save space?
What is the breakout of all of the above adult materials by library location and by category: business books, biographies, reference books, history books, fiction books including mystery books, romance books (as separate from fiction such as written by Tony Hillerman, etc.), homemaking, cooking, gardening, construction manuals, mechanical books, do it yourself books; books describing how to repair or build a structure, personality development, personal development books, etc.?
What is the breakout of these categories in children’s sections of each library?
What is the breakout of same categories in each library for children’s DVD’s, CD’s and Books on Tape, etc.?
Same for children’s periodicals, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Breakout of all other categories available in the children’s section.
All this information should be quickly available on the library systems computers
.A series of thick books at the Downtown Library dated 1997 have never been checked out. I described the series in one of my “blogs” on the use of libraries. Peoria’s newest public library has 51 biographies with total a total of 3 checkouts since the branch opened. This new building is also scheduled to close; the question is, why was it ever opened?
I ask that you accompany me on a trip to all libraries and I will show you everything I list as facts in this large request for money for expansion and “redecorating”. One council member agreed to take a tour with me because he said he “needed to learn more about libraries”. He changed his mind perhaps when he discovered who the organizations were that donated the $100,000.00 to the referendum. Pressure from “special interests groups” should be avoided by all elected officials. Decisions should be made on facts.
All statistics show that the reading of books in hard or soft covers is decreasing. An article in The Economist reads “With sales of books declining, sales of mobile-phone novels have jumped and are growing fast. One best selling book has 160,000 downloads a day.” The whole concept of the use or non-use of library books is being changed by technology yet books take up most of the space in all public libraries. Yet you are being asked to tax property owners for more thousands of square feet of unneeded space.
Here are facts that should considered by the City Council before approving any amount close to $35,000,000,000.00 requested by the Peoria Library Board. This is a lengthy statement well worth reading. These facts are the closest to the truths never revealed in the recent $100,000.00 referendum. A referendum that had no organized opposition because most people thought common sense would prevail. (The turnout was less than 22% of all registered voters.)
How could our local politicians and leaders NOT turn down a request to support libraries? If they didn’t support the referendum, they would be accused of supporting ignorance. How could they refuse to sign a document (written for them by the Library Consultants) without feeling the “guilt” of supporting ignorance?
This was a major promotion with no organized opposition headed up by a professional fund raiser. Elected officials are supposed to listen to all informed people and are not supposed to let “special interest” groups determine their actions. Elected officials are supposed to inform themselves especially when raising already high taxes.
Consider what is now on the taxpayer’s plate, the Renaissance Center, the Civic Center expansion, the RiverPlex that has never been able to meet the principal and interest on it’s original loan, Transport potential taxpayer supported development, expansion of TIF’s such as the two just approved by the council, more money for struggling School Dist. #150, rising pension costs, the Gateway Center, the new zoo and new infrastructure for the expanded zoo, inadequate emergency warning systems, tax abating incentives for businesses like Firefly, Globe Energy and many more to come, the possible need for another firehouse and a growing need for more safety officers on the street. The Chief said recently that he could use 25 more officers on the streets.
You are aware of the poor condition of many of our streets. Some of you support a new staffed and equipped firehouse.
On the horizon is the new museum, the Children’s Playhouse to occupy the current Park Headquarters, the need for new Park Headquarters, $120 million for new schools plus the redevelopment of downtown. Our history shows there will be requests for more taxes and more taxpayer supported projects coming in the future.
I attended a meeting last week where the establishment of an Opportunity Center and Innovation Center (one building alone would need to be 30,000 sq.ft.) was recommended. These facilities would be taxpayer and donor supported.
Most people believe that their property taxes are too high now. People with fixed incomes who own older homes do not see their property values rising as taxes rise.
Librarians love books so much they do not want to take them off the shelves. That is the major reason they claim Peoria’s Public libraries are “bursting at the seams” and need more space for more books. Visit these libraries and you will find thousands of books that have never or seldom been read, taking up shelf space. You will find books as new as 2004 on sale tables for as low as a quarter.
Remember the poignant article titled “Fairy Tale Ending” in the JS on April 18/07? In the rows pictured, out of 110 children’s books, 8 had never been checked out, only 5 had been checked out in 2007 and only 21 had been checked out in all of 2006.
An article in the JS dated 5/29/07 “Books not Selling? Burn them – Used bookstore owner sets fire to collection to protest declining support of the printed word.” The article states the owner tried to give 50,000 books away to libraries or thrift shops. None would accept them because they said they have no more space for books. The article points out that a study in 2002 by the National Endowment for the Arts reported that adults reading for pleasure were down almost 57% from 1982.
Look at the history of the Library Board. The 2001 Library Board asked the City Council for $6.9 million to buy land and build a North Side library off Rte. 6 on Allen road. This request was denied; then the council was asked to let the library at least buy the land. The Council denied this also. The council did grant the library money to modernize Harrison Homes Library for approx. $285,000.00. A year later, library board members appeared before the council and asked for $200,000.00 more to refurbish the 2nd floor of Harrison because the first floor was overcrowded. The Council granted the money and $200,000.00 plus was spent on the 2nd floor. This amount included an $80,000.00 elevator that can be operated by key only. (On 12/07/01 the Journal Star reported the following: “In an unanimous vote, the council promised to spend $400,000.00 to buy computers, double the size of the Harrison Library, remodel Lakeview and boost salaries by $200,000.00 and open the Downtown Library on Sundays.”
The Downtown Library is not open on Sundays. It is not open because of the lack of usage on Sunday’s which library staff knew before they were granted the extra money.
At the time of the reconstruction of Harrison Library, it was common knowledge that many of the residents at Harrison Homes were going to be relocated in 4 or 5 years. Today, all that is on the 2nd floor are 4 computers, 3 that haven’t worked in months, a few chairs and tables, a small storage area and rest rooms. There are also rest rooms on the first floor. This locked elevator to the 2nd floor is monitored by closed circuit TV.
The Harrison Library is scheduled to be closed and torn down because the Library board says it is now “underutilized”.
“Bursting at the seams” is the term used to describe Lakeview Library. Yet the library has over 900 linear feet of empty shelves (the length of three football fields).
Why, because Lakeview is the only Library in the entire county that does not use the top and bottom shelves of their stacks. Use these shelves like other libraries do and take down a couple of stacks and clear more space for computers and office space. Lakeview (as well as all public libraries) have 10’s of thousands of romance books that can be bought at Library book sales, Lakeview Museum book sales or any used book store for as little as a quarter.
Why spend $35 million dollars on a rapidly changing system in a community where kids read fewer books and are being taught to view and gather information online. If the demand for computers and computer space is rising, create space by removing thousands of unread or unused books. There are plenty of small empty buildings in Peoria that can accommodate computers and meeting rooms. If the demand for computers for learning is so great, use the ones sitting idle most of the time in the dozens of public school in Peoria. In fact with the addition of 20 new computers at Manual available from 3-8 daily, there are over 200 free computers for use now in the community. Bradley University Library is open to the public and has free computer time for the public. Computers are now on the market for as low as $179.00. 3 billion $100.00 computers that will cost less than a pair of Nike shoes are on the horizon.
Computer usage at all Peoria Public Libraries is unsupervised. Close observation will show that many users are surfing, playing games, watching porn, learning how to create their own Social Security Card, learning how to make a bomb, in fact, they can look up and watch most anything they wish to watch. If a patron wants to use a computer but doesn’t know how to use one, the library does not teach them
Pornography has been observed on some of the monitor screens at the downtown location being viewed by as many as four people. Machines can be filtered but smart people of all ages often know how to bypass filters.
Filtering was a subject of an article in the JS on 5/14/07. The headline was “Should Library Web filters be shelved? Some librarians staged a day of protest against legislation requiring porn blockers.”
Patrons may bring in their own porn discs to use at Peoria Public Libraries and employees say they can tell them not to but cannot stop them nor do they have time to observe how the computers are being used.
Reference books, of which there are many hundreds, are hardly touched. All these reference books taking up space in the Peoria Public Libraries are on line and computers are in the library. Why take up the same space in every library for 10’s of sets of the same reference books when look-ups are much faster on a computer?
As one across the river elected official said recently, “Let Peoria taxpayers build all these things and we will come over and use them.” Thanks, Peoria. The library referendum in his community (East Peoria) was missing the “hype” and it failed.
The Peoria Public Library System is a Tax COLLECTOR, not a Tax PAYER. If $35,000,000.00 is justified because people like libraries to browse and not necessarily check out books, they can go to TAX PAYING bookstores such as Barnes and Noble and Borders. They can browse all day for free. Both locations can be reached by tax supported buses. They can also sit in easy chairs and drink coffee but for the food and coffee THEY will have to pay. I am a frequent visitor and supporter of public libraries but do not believe in supporting them in competition with private enterprise. Private enterprise is where the taxes dollars come from; to support free libraries.
About 4 years ago, 2 self-check out machines were installed at Lakeview. (Most libraries of any size across the country have them) These machines didn’t work with any consistency from date of installation. So most patrons ignore the self check out machines and go to the circulation desk where library employees must take the time to scan and date stamp each book while the self-check out machines mostly stand idle.
These machines were installed only at Lakeview because there isn’t enough activity to warrant the expense at any other library.
The library board claims to have had complaints of patrons waiting too long to check out a book and complaints of not enough parking space. Neither complaint is valid, go visit unannounced. Compare with a grocery store where you PAY for what you remove from the store; the walk and wait at any library location has no comparison. The maximum anyone could walk after parking is less than 150 feet. There would be considerably less wait time if people would use the electronic self-checkout machines. It is usually the patrons decision just like at the grocery store, to use the machines or wait to be waited on by a clerk.
One station at the new (2003) Lakeview Circulation Desk is used to display information. Claims are made that the desk intrudes into the children’s section. It doesn’t, but if it did, that is the fault of the design, not lack of space.
In December, 2000, none of the Peoria Public Libraries were using magnetic cards. All other libraries in the area were. Now the system is using magnetic cards that are accepted by all public libraries serviced by the Alliance Library System including Dunlap, Peoria Heights, Bartonville, Chillicothe, Princeville and other local libraries. You can check out a book with a Peoria Library card and if they don’t have the title you wish in stock, they can order it from another library in the Library Alliance System.
The tax supported Alliance also has approximately 60,000 titles of talking books in stock to send to any library requesting one. Talking books are going out as digital is coming in. A library in another county said “We have stopped ordering them.”
Complaints are made about not enough meeting space at Lakeview yet it has 3 meeting rooms that are open at least 50 hours a week. Fifty hours a week isn’t enough for children’s programs? Any overflow of any of the programs are or could be conducted by none tax supported entities such as most churches, Carver Center, Proctor Center, the two Boys and Girls Clubs, Scout meeting rooms, Commonplace, Southside Mission, Friendship House, ect. School libraries that close at approximately 3:00 have computers and books (250,000) for daytime use. They could be open after school and all summer.
All public school libraries in Peoria have computers; the difference is that teachers teach kids how to use computers and monitor their screens.
The library board says it would like to establish teen centers yet the community abounds with teen centers. All schools offer underutilized extra curricular activities. More extra-curricular programs could be offered if there was the demand. All schools have lots of empty space after 2:30, the community has dozens of places that have or could have “teen centers”. Most churches have youth centers, park districts have social centers as do Proctor, Carver, the RiverPlex, are all free to kids, especially those labeled as “poverty and below”.
The “community centers” at Manual and Trewyn close their libraries at 2:30 P.M., sometimes a half hour later. Why aren’t school libraries designated as “community centers” if libraries are so popular?
The position of Assistant Librarian in Dist. # 150 high schools was eliminated turning librarians into part time clerical people. Why are K-8 schools not required to have certified librarians if the demand for library usage is so great? If the demand was there, the schools would be obligated to fill these positions.
If there is such a demand for books, why are all the Blaine Sumner Library books still on the shelves one academic year after the school was closed?
If school libraries do not have heavy usage, why would there be a growing demand in our public libraries?
The Public Library system has a “sophisticated” computer system. Remember when Peoria Public Library turned down the cities used computer because they were not compatible with the library system? I was told by a council person the these rejected computers were then accepted by the FBI.
None of the Peoria Public Libraries carry Playaway audio books. These audio books were originally made available to local public libraries by grant application. Playaway machines are the size of a deck of cards and could become widely used by those who haven’t time to read a book or by those who multitask. They would also reduce shelf space as libraries often have multiple copies of most books. Playaways are not the same at all as “books on tapes” that require a device in which you need to insert the tapes. Playaway operates by battery.
An article printed in the Journal Star on 3/29/07 wrote that Playaways “Turn your favorite novels into tiny portable digital audio files that libraries can’t keep on their shelves.” 16 libraries in the Peoria area have the Playaway books. Included in the many libraries that own and check out the Playaway books are Chillicothe, Morton, Alpha Park, Tremont, Richwoods, Bradley University Library, etc. Morton has 40 titles and has 24 out on loan. Fondulac Library has 58 titles. Richwoods High School has active checkouts of books from their extensive library, including Playaway.
Absent from the libraries using Playaway Books was the Peoria Public Library System who said “they were considering them”.
Part of the 35 million dollars would be used at McClure YET that library was considered for CLOSING as underused in the approximate year of 2000. Consideration was given that that the Downtown Library was more cost than benefit to the community. Now a large part of the 35 million dollars would be used to redesign the inside and outside of the building. Chairs described as soft and comfortable are to be purchased for patrons of the library including many so called “street people”. Sales of food and beverages are being considered. That would be in direct competition with the private sectors.
The major booksellers in Peoria are Barnes and Noble and Borders who offer amenities such as comfortable seating allow “non-buyers” to spend a whole day browsing, reading, asking for technical help, ect. They have a much larger selection of materials of all types are FREE as long as these materials do not leave the building. They offer food and beverages for sale along with hundreds of other items.
All libraries, public and private, new and used, in Peoria and Peoria Heights are easily accessible by bus and by bike. Parking is not a problem at any library and the parking is free except at the Downtown Library.
On 10/21/01, the Journal Star quoted a library trustee as saying “there was no room to expand at Lakeview.” Six years later, the library board says there is space to expand Lakeview?? Also, why would the library board expand Lakeview before weighing the effect of a new north side location would have on reducing the “overcrowding” at Lakeview?
If Lakeview needs more office space, knock out a wall, retire unread books or utilize existing shelf space (900 feet unused) better to create more office space and more computer space.
The major part of the 36 million dollars, $11 million would be spent on a new Northsiders location possibly along Pioneer Parkway. Pioneer Parkway is largely a commercial area and library studies show that libraries are best suited to be located in pedestrian friendly and “people moving” areas. Lakeview, for example is in the same “people moving” sector as the Theatre, Lakeview Museum, the Girl Scout Headquarters and Owens Center. There are no user friendly sidewalks for bicycles along either side of Pioneer Parkway; not very “people moving friendly”.
The K’s Merchandise empty building has tax collecting potential.
Lakeview is 3 1/2 miles from the Downtown Library and 7 miles from the Dunlap Library. A drive of 3 ½ miles will take you to any library in the area. People who live on the far north side travel at least 7 miles to access downtown Peoria and many do it on a daily basis. People can’t drive 3 ½ miles to access a FREE library?
All area libraries accept Peoria Public Library cards at no cost. Books can be returned to ANY Library system served by the Alliance.
None of the four high school principals and four head librarians was consulted by the Peoria Public Library leaders to ask for their input as to the future needs on kids in schools now and their potential needs in the future. Mary Ward, Director of Library Services and Head Librarian for all of District #150 libraries was not consulted as to what the current and future needs are for kids still in school. Why not? The average age of all the books in Dist. #150 is 1979 and a large number of books will soon go to a recycling center.
Superintendent Hinton has stated that he prefers to have the libraries in the new schools as they are being built. Richwoods has the library adjacent to their study hall so students can use the library as they do their homework. .Kitty Poe, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System states that “the most dependable predictor of high school achievement is a SCHOOL library supported by a trained librarian.” (JS, 12/22/04)
There are an estimated combined 2 million books in Peoria Public Libraries and Peoria Public schools. Almost all social agencies such as Common Place and most churches have books. All can be checked out or read on site. Reading on site is permitted at all books stores, another million books, new and used are available for as little as a quarter.
An article dated May 10th, 1999, in Time Magazine titled “Raising Kids ONLINE” indicated 8 years ago how the newer generation will be accessing information by electronic means.
An article on May 12, 2007, is titled “Short is Good”, talks about condensed smaller books – and the virtue of brevity.”
Bulky “talking books” will be phased out. Fondulac Library (their “no hype” referendum for expansion failed) said they no longer order these bulky books. Digital is here now as is online. Google claims to have every book ever written available on the net.
All indications are that libraries will need less space rather than more.
Staunch library supporters have compared Peoria’s present libraries with cities like suburbs of Chicago that have totally different demographics than Peoria. Many want something new. Studies shows elected officials find it hard to say no to special interest groups.
A leading realtor asks if Peoria Governments know that they are driving people out of the city with, among other non-buying points, rising property taxes.
Comparisons like “libraries are visited more than the Civic Center, Bradley Basketball, etc.” combined, are made. These “sound” like impressive figure but free public libraries are open more than 250 hours per WEEK all year round and a taxpayer supported book-mobile also takes the library to the reader.
Here are some facts council people should know. These facts should be at the Head Librarian’s fingertips on their computerized systems:
What is the total number of Peoria Public Library cardholders?
Of this total, what was the number of actual users in 2006? Example, I probably used the libraries 60 times in 2006. I would be one user, my wife; two users and so on.
Break out above number of all cardholders who live in the Harrison area, Lincoln area, RiverWest area, Downtown area, McClure and Lakeview.
What is the total number of all hard and cover adult section books ad the total number of all children’s books in all Peoria Public Libraries combined?
What is the above breakout by library?
What is the total Number of all soft cover books in system?
What is the breakout by library?
What is the total number of DVD’s, Books on Tape, CD’s, etc.?
What is the breakout by library?
Total number of different titled adult periodicals, magazines, newspapers, in whichever way they are inventoried?
What is the breakout by library?
What is the total number of titles in all libraries combined in all categories? (For example one public library has 8 books of the same title; using Kite Runner as an example. This would be one title).
What is the total number of common use (adult or children) reference books of all kinds by description; example, World Book, Automotive, Air Craft, Dictionaries, Thesaurus, cross reference books, etc?
Why is additional space needed for reference questions asked? How are these requests counted?
What is the total number of all hard cover books, adult and children checked out in a 12 month period?
What is the total number of soft cover books, adult and children, checked OUT in last 12 months?
What is the total number of adult DVD’s, books on Tape, Digital books etc. checked out in the last 12 month period?
What is the total number of all of the above by category and by library location in the past 12 months?
What determines shelf life of an item? There are thousands of items on the shelves that have never been checked out. At one library I found a book on the shelf that had not been checked out in 18 years.
Other than books the libraries put up for sale, what is the total number of items, children and adult, of all categories are not on public display and where are they stored?
Rather than making librarians into clerks to accept quarters, why not just give seldom read books away to save space?
What is the breakout of all of the above adult materials by library location and by category: business books, biographies, reference books, history books, fiction books including mystery books, romance books (as separate from fiction such as written by Tony Hillerman, etc.), homemaking, cooking, gardening, construction manuals, mechanical books, do it yourself books; books describing how to repair or build a structure, personality development, personal development books, etc.?
What is the breakout of these categories in children’s sections of each library?
What is the breakout of same categories in each library for children’s DVD’s, CD’s and Books on Tape, etc.?
Same for children’s periodicals, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Breakout of all other categories available in the children’s section.
All this information should be quickly available on the library systems computers
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Classroom Benefits - Teacher and Student?
My last blog talked about what teachers teach and kid learn. I clipped this article a few weeks ago and though it interesting. “Mr. Palfrey teaches courses on technology and finds laptops-and the ability to use the Internet—“hugely constructive.” Still, the devices have downsides. “There are times when you’ll be talking about something very serious, like the importance of democracy, and someone will break out in laughter,” he says. “That’s a bit disconcerting.”
Readers wrote in with opinions on the topic. Wrote one: “I’m writing this from class right now bored out of my mind. If teachers would teach better, and there were consequences to my not paying attention, then I wouldn’t be reading this right now.”
Interesting how things have changed in education.
For the better??
Readers wrote in with opinions on the topic. Wrote one: “I’m writing this from class right now bored out of my mind. If teachers would teach better, and there were consequences to my not paying attention, then I wouldn’t be reading this right now.”
Interesting how things have changed in education.
For the better??
Pressure to Perform to False Standards?
A lot of you can relate to this blog. I am quoting from writings by one, Alec M. Resnick, a junior majoring in mathematics and ancient and medieval studies at M.I.T. This article in its entirety can be found on JERRY-P-BECKER-BIG-L@listserve.siu.edu or ask to get on Dr. Becker’s email list at jbecker@SIU.EDU. Resnidk writes about an energetic young high school student he tutored. The student was a typical overstressed teenager, who participated in all proper school, social and family obligations; an overachiever. But some of his studies confounded him. So much pressure was on him to make high grades and do all the extra-curricular activities that he would become frustrated when not understanding or with finding correct answers to some of his class subjects.. Dan says he was typical of people who act and react in creative, original and ingenious ways when confronted with real-world problems, but freeze in an academic context, failing to muster high grades.
Dan points out that the difference between the successful and unsuccessful; student is that the successful student has adapted more effectively to the system or playing the game. The more closely, quickly, and cheerily you can follow the lead of the adults around you, the more successful you will become. What matters to these adults? Grades, scores, prestigious colleges, good jobs-in short; success. Youths and adults from all backgrounds know that education is the way to scramble up the socioeconomic ladder.
Dan believes that this is the reason more and more students are becoming professional students earlier and earlier. School is their job. And, so the ethic goes, a productive worker is a good worker. Though exactly what they produce is unclear, there is no question as to what they become: fully credentialed, well-schooled students. They become the modern aristocrat. They are marked by the dean’s list and honor rolls, stellar SAT scores and relentless community service, glowing letters of recommendation and moving personal essays, all those elements stuffed into that oversized envelope sent off to a dream college the winter of their senior year.
Dan questions how much this has to do with learning. He says any measurement founded upon a combination of fear (of failure and the associated bogeymen) and bribery (or cheating, prestige and the trappings of success) cannot reveal anything of import. Yet private professional schools make billions of dollars teaching students how to take tests and training them in the art of appearing to have learned.
Dan continues that when we try to motivate students fear or greed, we inevitably force them to shut away vulnerable instincts of curiosity and trust. Education has become a commodity. Even is that fact remains unarticulated, student of all ages understand that at the end of all their schooling is a valuable degree.
We all know that education is a prudent investment. We know that a high school degree doesn’t mean as much as it used to. More and more people go to college because that’s what it now means to get a good education.
Dan continues that as long as education is a commodity, its rarity, rather than its content, will determine its market value, this vicious circle will continue. We are spending more time studying more narrowly just to remain competitive. How will it end?
A teaching assistant friend of his at M.I.T. said that more than half of the students in his section consistently and flagrantly copied answers on problem sets. Moreover, he said, when he complained of this to his fellow teachers, they cynically acknowledged that they were in the same boat. Worse, the confirmation was laden with apathy. Cheating was a de fato policy among students.
Dan continues that there is a clear dissonance in our society between the interest of those who give grades, those who get the grades, and those who want the grades. Grades are intended to be a byproduct of learning. A measure independent of the process. But for anyone who has been pushed to study those few extra ours to ace the finals, the proposition that grades area merely ancillary to the learning process is ridiculous.
Dan continues “The situation has grown so dire that students at top universities cannot imagine learning without school, motivation without grades, and success without measurement. The nation’s best students have become so tied to the system they have mastered that the system has mastered them. In some ways they are worse off than they were before they began their education. In most cases, all they have gained is a knowledge of facts, and they have lost confidence in their ability to think, learn, analyze and absorb unaided.”
A professional education company (Kaplan) has an ad that says simply, “Higher score. Brighter future.” Dan says it should be, “Smarter kid. Brighter future” or “Harder worker. Brighter future. A higher SAT score.
I couldn’t wait to get out of high school and I couldn’t wait to get out of college. I attended because I knew I had to have these “hunting licenses” or I would not be able to be what I wanted to be. Most of my teachers taught “rote” (they all taught discipline and were backed up by administration and parents, unlike in so many public schools today)and other than reading, writing and basic math, taught me to teach the same way I was taught, rather dull and uninteresting. Yet I considered myself a better than average teacher because I taught kids how to acquire the other tools that would help them succeed in life; namely, what the word work really meant, to communicate, to ask, to tell me in what they were most interested in; that I way I could try to guide them to what they would need to study to fulfill their interests, to listen, to be on time, to be self-disciplined, to complete a task, to follow rules, look after their health, to participate but only in so much participation that they could handle, to compete fairly and not expect that the world owed them a living.
We were all fortunate we were not being taught to tests and did not teach to tests.
Since I was also head coach, I ran into conflict with the FFA teacher. I advised the boys interested in both sports and the FFA at the same after school hours, to make a choice and dedicate themselves to their choice. These were hard decisions they would face later on in life; do not spread yourself too thin and disappoint themselves and those who “count” on your full participation.
We would be far better off in educating our kids today if we had less governmental interference, less pedagogy, less testing for tests, more innovative teachers, more support for these teachers from all levels above, more merit incentive and more self disciplining families, who are the root of the successes and failures of our schools and the product they produce.
As I blogged recently, when I owned my business, we only used an “outside” consultant one time and we really didn’t learn more than what we already knew. We still lacked the finances we needed to make most of the changes recommended. Does this statement sound familiar locally? Unfortunately, I have seen way too many “consultants” with impressive degrees trying to tell us here in Peoria what enough of us if called on and listened to, already know.
And we would provide our services for free.
Dan points out that the difference between the successful and unsuccessful; student is that the successful student has adapted more effectively to the system or playing the game. The more closely, quickly, and cheerily you can follow the lead of the adults around you, the more successful you will become. What matters to these adults? Grades, scores, prestigious colleges, good jobs-in short; success. Youths and adults from all backgrounds know that education is the way to scramble up the socioeconomic ladder.
Dan believes that this is the reason more and more students are becoming professional students earlier and earlier. School is their job. And, so the ethic goes, a productive worker is a good worker. Though exactly what they produce is unclear, there is no question as to what they become: fully credentialed, well-schooled students. They become the modern aristocrat. They are marked by the dean’s list and honor rolls, stellar SAT scores and relentless community service, glowing letters of recommendation and moving personal essays, all those elements stuffed into that oversized envelope sent off to a dream college the winter of their senior year.
Dan questions how much this has to do with learning. He says any measurement founded upon a combination of fear (of failure and the associated bogeymen) and bribery (or cheating, prestige and the trappings of success) cannot reveal anything of import. Yet private professional schools make billions of dollars teaching students how to take tests and training them in the art of appearing to have learned.
Dan continues that when we try to motivate students fear or greed, we inevitably force them to shut away vulnerable instincts of curiosity and trust. Education has become a commodity. Even is that fact remains unarticulated, student of all ages understand that at the end of all their schooling is a valuable degree.
We all know that education is a prudent investment. We know that a high school degree doesn’t mean as much as it used to. More and more people go to college because that’s what it now means to get a good education.
Dan continues that as long as education is a commodity, its rarity, rather than its content, will determine its market value, this vicious circle will continue. We are spending more time studying more narrowly just to remain competitive. How will it end?
A teaching assistant friend of his at M.I.T. said that more than half of the students in his section consistently and flagrantly copied answers on problem sets. Moreover, he said, when he complained of this to his fellow teachers, they cynically acknowledged that they were in the same boat. Worse, the confirmation was laden with apathy. Cheating was a de fato policy among students.
Dan continues that there is a clear dissonance in our society between the interest of those who give grades, those who get the grades, and those who want the grades. Grades are intended to be a byproduct of learning. A measure independent of the process. But for anyone who has been pushed to study those few extra ours to ace the finals, the proposition that grades area merely ancillary to the learning process is ridiculous.
Dan continues “The situation has grown so dire that students at top universities cannot imagine learning without school, motivation without grades, and success without measurement. The nation’s best students have become so tied to the system they have mastered that the system has mastered them. In some ways they are worse off than they were before they began their education. In most cases, all they have gained is a knowledge of facts, and they have lost confidence in their ability to think, learn, analyze and absorb unaided.”
A professional education company (Kaplan) has an ad that says simply, “Higher score. Brighter future.” Dan says it should be, “Smarter kid. Brighter future” or “Harder worker. Brighter future. A higher SAT score.
I couldn’t wait to get out of high school and I couldn’t wait to get out of college. I attended because I knew I had to have these “hunting licenses” or I would not be able to be what I wanted to be. Most of my teachers taught “rote” (they all taught discipline and were backed up by administration and parents, unlike in so many public schools today)and other than reading, writing and basic math, taught me to teach the same way I was taught, rather dull and uninteresting. Yet I considered myself a better than average teacher because I taught kids how to acquire the other tools that would help them succeed in life; namely, what the word work really meant, to communicate, to ask, to tell me in what they were most interested in; that I way I could try to guide them to what they would need to study to fulfill their interests, to listen, to be on time, to be self-disciplined, to complete a task, to follow rules, look after their health, to participate but only in so much participation that they could handle, to compete fairly and not expect that the world owed them a living.
We were all fortunate we were not being taught to tests and did not teach to tests.
Since I was also head coach, I ran into conflict with the FFA teacher. I advised the boys interested in both sports and the FFA at the same after school hours, to make a choice and dedicate themselves to their choice. These were hard decisions they would face later on in life; do not spread yourself too thin and disappoint themselves and those who “count” on your full participation.
We would be far better off in educating our kids today if we had less governmental interference, less pedagogy, less testing for tests, more innovative teachers, more support for these teachers from all levels above, more merit incentive and more self disciplining families, who are the root of the successes and failures of our schools and the product they produce.
As I blogged recently, when I owned my business, we only used an “outside” consultant one time and we really didn’t learn more than what we already knew. We still lacked the finances we needed to make most of the changes recommended. Does this statement sound familiar locally? Unfortunately, I have seen way too many “consultants” with impressive degrees trying to tell us here in Peoria what enough of us if called on and listened to, already know.
And we would provide our services for free.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Cheating-Kids Learn From Adults
Thoughts on Cheating
By Kristi L. Mann
Each semester, I give my speech about cheating. "There is nothing I hate more than cheating, lying, and stealing," I tell my students. They affectionately call me the "Cheat Nazi," although I am sure they mean the new connotation of the word Nazi, meaning fanatic, and not a genocidal maniac. "I would rather be smacked in the face than to catch you cheating in my room," I tell them. Yet I find an increasing number of students don't see anything wrong with cheating at some level.
Students don't consider copying homework to be cheating, I've discovered, because they "... were just borrowing the homework." I have also found that the average cheater is not the student who sits quietly in the back of the room, makes F's on report cards, and has parents who could care less. The average cheater is not the student who is constantly in the principal's office. No, the average cheater is the average student.
The other day, I caught a boy copying another student's U.S. history essay. The two students were visibly distraught, mortified-not because I had caught them in some immoral act, but because the boy copying would not have time to finish before his history class. Though I teach English, being the anti-cheating fanatic I am, I took up the copied material to deliver it to the history teacher. As I marched, half goose-stepping, down the hallway, I felt a sense of pride. Like a soldier with a confirmed enemy kill. I zeroed in on the other teacher and gallantly approached with the quarry in hand. Her response was, "I guess they'll just have to do it over in class."
The horror. The dismay. How could she allow these despicable liars to get another chance? Didn't she care? Wasn't she as ashamed of them as I was? Apparently not. A "do-over." They should certainly have received zeros and a call home, if not a referral to the grade-level principal.
After reflecting for a few days, I decided that the students involved in this incident were not horrible societal misfits who deserved to be drawn and quartered and placed on public display. Perhaps my stance on cheating is a little rigid, I thought, and "do-overs" should be allowed. Maybe they do deserve a second chance. No, they were not criminals. They were Mr. and Ms. Average Student. And they truly believed that what they were doing was OK.
In a court of law, in order for a crime to have taken place, mens rea, the mental intention to do wrong, must exist. (I learned that from "Legally Blonde" and not Yale Law, just in case you thought I was a genius.) Cheating being equivalent to theft in my mind, I decided to look up the mens rea for theft. For this crime to have occurred, one student must have intended to permanently deprive the other student of property. Surely Joe Student did not intend to permanently deprive the other student of her knowledge. He just wanted to borrow it.
For about a week, the ideas of borrowing and cheating have been bouncing around my head like an old game of Pong. Back and forth they go, with no real solution, and no end in sight. I keep settling on the term "borrow." When do I borrow something and why? I usually borrow something when I have no permanent need for that item. Like a paint sprayer or a flatbed truck, or the giant tent for my circus of a wedding. Sure, I may need them once in my life, but I don't buy them because I'll never use them again.
I've read the research and I know what the experts say. Students cheat for the following reasons: pressure to get into top colleges; because other students are cheating and getting 100s, when they're only getting 90s; the fact that nothing happens when they get caught; in response to a workload that is overwhelming; because we place too much emphasis on grades. This list goes on.
-------------------------
SIDEBAR: Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it for themselves.
-------------------------
Statistics show that about 86 percent of all high school students admit to having cheated at least once. But what if students cheat, or borrow, for the same reason I borrow? What if they see the knowledge we give them as really useless, something they'll never need again, and that is the underlying reason for the rampant cheating? Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students, 86 percent in fact, would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it-learn it-for themselves.
There is something inherent in my moral fiber that won't allow me to loosen my policy on cheating. I have thought about it a lot, and although I am ashamed to admit it, I may find myself goose-stepping down the hallway again in the future. But maybe I'll think more about it and remember the problem when I plan my lessons. Maybe I can become a better salesman of my own material, and maybe I can energize and update my teaching methods.
Or maybe all of us, as educators, can take a long, hard look at the relevance of our curriculum and finally change it for the better. Then maybe more of our students will want to buy the knowledge that it represents for themselves.
--------------------------
Kristi L. Mann is a high school English teacher in Duncan, S.C.
************************************
-- Sorry, I duplicated this article and don't know how to erase the duplication.
Merle Widmer
Thoughts on Cheating
By Kristi L. Mann
Each semester, I give my speech about cheating. "There is nothing I hate more than cheating, lying, and stealing," I tell my students. They affectionately call me the "Cheat Nazi," although I am sure they mean the new connotation of the word Nazi, meaning fanatic, and not a genocidal maniac. "I would rather be smacked in the face than to catch you cheating in my room," I tell them. Yet I find an increasing number of students don't see anything wrong with cheating at some level.
Students don't consider copying homework to be cheating, I've discovered, because they "... were just borrowing the homework." I have also found that the average cheater is not the student who sits quietly in the back of the room, makes F's on report cards, and has parents who could care less. The average cheater is not the student who is constantly in the principal's office. No, the average cheater is the average student.
The other day, I caught a boy copying another student's U.S. history essay. The two students were visibly distraught, mortified-not because I had caught them in some immoral act, but because the boy copying would not have time to finish before his history class. Though I teach English, being the anti-cheating fanatic I am, I took up the copied material to deliver it to the history teacher. As I marched, half goose-stepping, down the hallway, I felt a sense of pride. Like a soldier with a confirmed enemy kill. I zeroed in on the other teacher and gallantly approached with the quarry in hand. Her response was, "I guess they'll just have to do it over in class."
The horror. The dismay. How could she allow these despicable liars to get another chance? Didn't she care? Wasn't she as ashamed of them as I was? Apparently not. A "do-over." They should certainly have received zeros and a call home, if not a referral to the grade-level principal.
After reflecting for a few days, I decided that the students involved in this incident were not horrible societal misfits who deserved to be drawn and quartered and placed on public display. Perhaps my stance on cheating is a little rigid, I thought, and "do-overs" should be allowed. Maybe they do deserve a second chance. No, they were not criminals. They were Mr. and Ms. Average Student. And they truly believed that what they were doing was OK.
In a court of law, in order for a crime to have taken place, mens rea, the mental intention to do wrong, must exist. (I learned that from "Legally Blonde" and not Yale Law, just in case you thought I was a genius.) Cheating being equivalent to theft in my mind, I decided to look up the mens rea for theft. For this crime to have occurred, one student must have intended to permanently deprive the other student of property. Surely Joe Student did not intend to permanently deprive the other student of her knowledge. He just wanted to borrow it.
For about a week, the ideas of borrowing and cheating have been bouncing around my head like an old game of Pong. Back and forth they go, with no real solution, and no end in sight. I keep settling on the term "borrow." When do I borrow something and why? I usually borrow something when I have no permanent need for that item. Like a paint sprayer or a flatbed truck, or the giant tent for my circus of a wedding. Sure, I may need them once in my life, but I don't buy them because I'll never use them again.
I've read the research and I know what the experts say. Students cheat for the following reasons: pressure to get into top colleges; because other students are cheating and getting 100s, when they're only getting 90s; the fact that nothing happens when they get caught; in response to a workload that is overwhelming; because we place too much emphasis on grades. This list goes on.
-------------------------
SIDEBAR: Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it for themselves.
-------------------------
Statistics show that about 86 percent of all high school students admit to having cheated at least once. But what if students cheat, or borrow, for the same reason I borrow? What if they see the knowledge we give them as really useless, something they'll never need again, and that is the underlying reason for the rampant cheating? Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students, 86 percent in fact, would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it-learn it-for themselves.
There is something inherent in my moral fiber that won't allow me to loosen my policy on cheating. I have thought about it a lot, and although I am ashamed to admit it, I may find myself goose-stepping down the hallway again in the future. But maybe I'll think more about it and remember the problem when I plan my lessons. Maybe I can become a better salesman of my own material, and maybe I can energize and update my teaching methods.
Or maybe all of us, as educators, can take a long, hard look at the relevance of our curriculum and finally change it for the better. Then maybe more of our students will want to buy the knowledge that it represents for themselves.
--------------------------
Kristi L. Mann is a high school English teacher in Duncan, S.C.
************************************
--
By Kristi L. Mann
Each semester, I give my speech about cheating. "There is nothing I hate more than cheating, lying, and stealing," I tell my students. They affectionately call me the "Cheat Nazi," although I am sure they mean the new connotation of the word Nazi, meaning fanatic, and not a genocidal maniac. "I would rather be smacked in the face than to catch you cheating in my room," I tell them. Yet I find an increasing number of students don't see anything wrong with cheating at some level.
Students don't consider copying homework to be cheating, I've discovered, because they "... were just borrowing the homework." I have also found that the average cheater is not the student who sits quietly in the back of the room, makes F's on report cards, and has parents who could care less. The average cheater is not the student who is constantly in the principal's office. No, the average cheater is the average student.
The other day, I caught a boy copying another student's U.S. history essay. The two students were visibly distraught, mortified-not because I had caught them in some immoral act, but because the boy copying would not have time to finish before his history class. Though I teach English, being the anti-cheating fanatic I am, I took up the copied material to deliver it to the history teacher. As I marched, half goose-stepping, down the hallway, I felt a sense of pride. Like a soldier with a confirmed enemy kill. I zeroed in on the other teacher and gallantly approached with the quarry in hand. Her response was, "I guess they'll just have to do it over in class."
The horror. The dismay. How could she allow these despicable liars to get another chance? Didn't she care? Wasn't she as ashamed of them as I was? Apparently not. A "do-over." They should certainly have received zeros and a call home, if not a referral to the grade-level principal.
After reflecting for a few days, I decided that the students involved in this incident were not horrible societal misfits who deserved to be drawn and quartered and placed on public display. Perhaps my stance on cheating is a little rigid, I thought, and "do-overs" should be allowed. Maybe they do deserve a second chance. No, they were not criminals. They were Mr. and Ms. Average Student. And they truly believed that what they were doing was OK.
In a court of law, in order for a crime to have taken place, mens rea, the mental intention to do wrong, must exist. (I learned that from "Legally Blonde" and not Yale Law, just in case you thought I was a genius.) Cheating being equivalent to theft in my mind, I decided to look up the mens rea for theft. For this crime to have occurred, one student must have intended to permanently deprive the other student of property. Surely Joe Student did not intend to permanently deprive the other student of her knowledge. He just wanted to borrow it.
For about a week, the ideas of borrowing and cheating have been bouncing around my head like an old game of Pong. Back and forth they go, with no real solution, and no end in sight. I keep settling on the term "borrow." When do I borrow something and why? I usually borrow something when I have no permanent need for that item. Like a paint sprayer or a flatbed truck, or the giant tent for my circus of a wedding. Sure, I may need them once in my life, but I don't buy them because I'll never use them again.
I've read the research and I know what the experts say. Students cheat for the following reasons: pressure to get into top colleges; because other students are cheating and getting 100s, when they're only getting 90s; the fact that nothing happens when they get caught; in response to a workload that is overwhelming; because we place too much emphasis on grades. This list goes on.
-------------------------
SIDEBAR: Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it for themselves.
-------------------------
Statistics show that about 86 percent of all high school students admit to having cheated at least once. But what if students cheat, or borrow, for the same reason I borrow? What if they see the knowledge we give them as really useless, something they'll never need again, and that is the underlying reason for the rampant cheating? Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students, 86 percent in fact, would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it-learn it-for themselves.
There is something inherent in my moral fiber that won't allow me to loosen my policy on cheating. I have thought about it a lot, and although I am ashamed to admit it, I may find myself goose-stepping down the hallway again in the future. But maybe I'll think more about it and remember the problem when I plan my lessons. Maybe I can become a better salesman of my own material, and maybe I can energize and update my teaching methods.
Or maybe all of us, as educators, can take a long, hard look at the relevance of our curriculum and finally change it for the better. Then maybe more of our students will want to buy the knowledge that it represents for themselves.
--------------------------
Kristi L. Mann is a high school English teacher in Duncan, S.C.
************************************
-- Sorry, I duplicated this article and don't know how to erase the duplication.
Merle Widmer
Thoughts on Cheating
By Kristi L. Mann
Each semester, I give my speech about cheating. "There is nothing I hate more than cheating, lying, and stealing," I tell my students. They affectionately call me the "Cheat Nazi," although I am sure they mean the new connotation of the word Nazi, meaning fanatic, and not a genocidal maniac. "I would rather be smacked in the face than to catch you cheating in my room," I tell them. Yet I find an increasing number of students don't see anything wrong with cheating at some level.
Students don't consider copying homework to be cheating, I've discovered, because they "... were just borrowing the homework." I have also found that the average cheater is not the student who sits quietly in the back of the room, makes F's on report cards, and has parents who could care less. The average cheater is not the student who is constantly in the principal's office. No, the average cheater is the average student.
The other day, I caught a boy copying another student's U.S. history essay. The two students were visibly distraught, mortified-not because I had caught them in some immoral act, but because the boy copying would not have time to finish before his history class. Though I teach English, being the anti-cheating fanatic I am, I took up the copied material to deliver it to the history teacher. As I marched, half goose-stepping, down the hallway, I felt a sense of pride. Like a soldier with a confirmed enemy kill. I zeroed in on the other teacher and gallantly approached with the quarry in hand. Her response was, "I guess they'll just have to do it over in class."
The horror. The dismay. How could she allow these despicable liars to get another chance? Didn't she care? Wasn't she as ashamed of them as I was? Apparently not. A "do-over." They should certainly have received zeros and a call home, if not a referral to the grade-level principal.
After reflecting for a few days, I decided that the students involved in this incident were not horrible societal misfits who deserved to be drawn and quartered and placed on public display. Perhaps my stance on cheating is a little rigid, I thought, and "do-overs" should be allowed. Maybe they do deserve a second chance. No, they were not criminals. They were Mr. and Ms. Average Student. And they truly believed that what they were doing was OK.
In a court of law, in order for a crime to have taken place, mens rea, the mental intention to do wrong, must exist. (I learned that from "Legally Blonde" and not Yale Law, just in case you thought I was a genius.) Cheating being equivalent to theft in my mind, I decided to look up the mens rea for theft. For this crime to have occurred, one student must have intended to permanently deprive the other student of property. Surely Joe Student did not intend to permanently deprive the other student of her knowledge. He just wanted to borrow it.
For about a week, the ideas of borrowing and cheating have been bouncing around my head like an old game of Pong. Back and forth they go, with no real solution, and no end in sight. I keep settling on the term "borrow." When do I borrow something and why? I usually borrow something when I have no permanent need for that item. Like a paint sprayer or a flatbed truck, or the giant tent for my circus of a wedding. Sure, I may need them once in my life, but I don't buy them because I'll never use them again.
I've read the research and I know what the experts say. Students cheat for the following reasons: pressure to get into top colleges; because other students are cheating and getting 100s, when they're only getting 90s; the fact that nothing happens when they get caught; in response to a workload that is overwhelming; because we place too much emphasis on grades. This list goes on.
-------------------------
SIDEBAR: Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it for themselves.
-------------------------
Statistics show that about 86 percent of all high school students admit to having cheated at least once. But what if students cheat, or borrow, for the same reason I borrow? What if they see the knowledge we give them as really useless, something they'll never need again, and that is the underlying reason for the rampant cheating? Perhaps our curriculum has become so irrelevant to real life that most students, 86 percent in fact, would rather borrow the knowledge than commit to purchase it-learn it-for themselves.
There is something inherent in my moral fiber that won't allow me to loosen my policy on cheating. I have thought about it a lot, and although I am ashamed to admit it, I may find myself goose-stepping down the hallway again in the future. But maybe I'll think more about it and remember the problem when I plan my lessons. Maybe I can become a better salesman of my own material, and maybe I can energize and update my teaching methods.
Or maybe all of us, as educators, can take a long, hard look at the relevance of our curriculum and finally change it for the better. Then maybe more of our students will want to buy the knowledge that it represents for themselves.
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Kristi L. Mann is a high school English teacher in Duncan, S.C.
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Sunday, July 01, 2007
Immigration Bill Defeated
Sure, we are a nation of immigrants making this such a land of opportunity that many risk their lives to live here. Some of our journalists and others would make you believe that illegals are welcome as when Franklin Roosevelt said to the Daughters of the American Revolution: Welcome, fellow immigrants.
Legal immigrants are welcomed by an overwhelming majority of our citizenry. A great majority do not welcome illegal immigrants. We must close our borders to illegal immigration from anywhere. By closing the borders we stop those uneducated, unskilled, those with criminal records and illegal pregnant women. (We are one of the few countries in the world that allow new babies to become automatic citizens without one of the parents being already a citizen. This law must be changed).
We must open the borders for more migrants and immigrants who go thru a legal process and who have skills required by industries of all types. This includes the produce business, the meat producers as well as those with medical expertise, technology, biotech, nuclear, the teaching fields and wherever we have a shortage of people willing to work and have from some education upward. We need these people but we want them to come legally and enforceable records must be kept on them until their temporary visiting rights have expired. If these green cards, ect., are not legally renewed; they must leave this country or apply for citizenship. After a reasonable time the employer must discharge them and update mandatory reports to the prescribed governmental bodies or face steep fines and penalties.
We must suffer short term losses for long term gain. We must lawfully demand that the employers pay on an adjustable monetary formula: The employer must pay the going minimum wage. The employer must also pay an additional flat hourly fee to the local government to offset costs of additional record keeping, law enforcement, health and education. The Federal Government must pay to close the borders and set up the Ellis Island type immigration facilities then required. They must have enough employees to handle the traffic coming and going.
Anyone hiring illegals must register them and report them to the County, who reports them to the State who reports them to the Federal Governments. It should not be the employer’s responsibility to check the validity of documentation submitted. The validity must be checked by the security departments of the federal government. All illegals that can not prove that they are employed and paying taxes should be eventually deported. If illegals are temporarily between jobs, have them report to a county unemployment office (Counties, not cities as all cities are in a county) so a record can be kept of their addresses, family status and activities. Set an arbitrary period of time to find a new job or be rehired back at their old job. Put them on some type of probation until they can return. Give them time to make arrangements for the care of their children. The employer must give them identification paperwork so they can soon legally re-enter this country and go back to work. If the employer indicates that they will not be rehired, the identification papers must state this fact. They cannot re-enter this country unless they have paperwork to show they have jobs waiting. (I know that counties are opposed to any type of costs for ID cards but we have them; all county employees must have an ID card; and I agree if this is an unfunded mandate by the federal government). Fees, fines, ect., should be high enough to cover all costs to the public sector.
Any temporarily unemployment would give them time to return to the country they left. If they cannot prove they have a job to return to, deny them any type of legal entry form. If the demand for their service is there, they will learn about it through their relatives and friends and the employer can send them re-entry documentation.
Be harsh but not too harsh because it is our country that has created this old problem of illegal entry now accelerating at a totally unacceptable rate.
Incarcerated illegals should be automatically deported once they have served their time and their identity placed in all immigration records so they cannot ever reenter this country. On this issue, be very, very, tough.
David Rogers of the WSJ says some parts of the defeated Immigration Bill could be salvaged such as the AgJobs portion which confines itself to 1.5 million workers with proven records of ag employment and who are willing to remain on farms for the next 3 to 5 years to qualify for permanent residency. He says that another portion of the bill would expand college education and military service opportunities for children of the illegals. Studies indicate that 6 out of ten illegal Mexicans lack a high school education. 76% of all from India have a college degree or more. As long as these educational and military service opportunities are the same as already offered to current citizens, I see no objection. Base these decisions on eligibility and merit; same advantage to all. All children born of illegals on U.S. soil are automatic citizens but these children are barred from such in-state tuition. As earlier stated this law should be changed and newborns of illegals must eventually earn the right to become citizens.
Mundane jobs now offered to the unskilled (the term “unskilled” is mis-leading - any one who knows the English language has an advantage; they can learn) do require three basic skills, a work ethic, dependability, and reasonable honesty. I use “reasonable” in this statement because it appears that the majority of U.S. citizens will do some cheating if they can get away with it. A book to read titled "The Overachievers"; the secret lives of driven kids, gives case histories on cheating apparently rampant in our school systems. Some cheating goes on in sports (think steroids and other enhancement drugs, corporate CEO's like Ebbers, Richard Scrushy, Ken Lay and all tax cheaters and stock value enhancing cheaters). Why hold illegals to honesty standards higher than in our own lives, businesses and school systems?
Those concerned about rising costs of illegals becoming legal or barred from entry, I say “grin and bear it”. I am a believer in the law of supply and demand. If the demand is there for more employees, employers will pay a higher wage and pass the costs on to the consumer. Eventually someone is going to have to pay Peter if he is going to pay Paul. If the corrupt and overly bureaucratic Mexico starts legitimizing the activities within their own country, Mexican businesses will be forced to pay more to their employees lessening the demand for their citizens to come to the U.S.
U. S. employers exploiting illegals are being subsidized by the taxpayers. Most of us, I believe, are against subsidies unless the entity being subsidized is NOT in competition with others in the community and these entities can show that they would fill a needed “sector gap”. Allowing illegals in this country under any circumstance is a subsidy to businesses as it is to citizens who employ illegals around their residences.
Any immigrant other than those with green cards and others with temporary visas must eventually leave when their time is up, reapply or apply for citizenship, learn English and pledge allegiance to one country only; the United States of America. If they can’t pledge to support the country they try so desperately to enter, why let the permanently live here?
There is no answer that will satisfy even close to everyone. However, it is not a proper choice to round up all illegals, fine them and return them to the country they left. Or arresting those gainfully employed. The onus should be on the employer who knew they were illegal and that he could hire them cheaper. Supposedly to keep costs of what they produced down so they can compete with other countries. Or is it to make a larger profit? There are better ways to handle the situation if our politicians had the guts and common cause to do it.
Don’t count on any immigration action soon except some more half-hearted efforts to close our borders. Too much at stake for politicians “testing the wind” as to votes gained or votes lost in their next reelection bid. Not only votes, but big contribution dollars are at stake here. It is most unfortunate that illegal immigration is such a political football. If Republicans and Democrats and certain “special interest” business people had the best interests of this country in mind, in the long run voters would vote for the best candidate instead of the candidate who opens up the short term “goodies cupboard”.
Too bad for not only this country but Mexico and the whole world.
I suggest that those who are as concerned about this problem, and yes it is a problem greater than the many of the other problems facing our elected officials and bureaucrats, I suggest reading Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Foundation and the author of “Mexifornia: A State of Becoming. 2003. Also read his columns in the WSJ titled “El Norte”, dated 1/19/04 and “Mi Casa es Casa dated 12/28/05”. Also read a "A Middle Ground on Immigration” dated 6/10-11 by Mike Pence in the WSJ. Pence, I believe is still a Republican Congressman from Indiana.
I quote the WSJ so much that some of you may believe that I believe everything the WSJ editorial board and their columnists print. My beliefs on the immigration policies run counter to their beliefs. They are mostly one hundred percent of the side of business. I am on the side of most businesses and 100% on the side of our country. There would also be side benefits to the unions but they may or may not agree.
Most proposals call for more government and I am opposed to bigger bureaucracies. A lot of what is being proposed could be privatized with governmental oversight. With proper leadership there should be less cost and greater efficiency. Any policies or laws must be universal to the whole U.S.A. to create a level field.
I am not hopeful that much of what I propose, which is a collection of what others are proposing, because I do not think today’s politician have the guts to stand up to all the “special interests” that would be affected. That the consumer would pay more is a given. But people with foresight see the very likely scenario that is being actualized in Europe as I write.
If you disagree with what I write, come up with better plans or correct me where I am in error. If you agree, pass my site on to like minded others.
Thanks for reading my “column”.
Legal immigrants are welcomed by an overwhelming majority of our citizenry. A great majority do not welcome illegal immigrants. We must close our borders to illegal immigration from anywhere. By closing the borders we stop those uneducated, unskilled, those with criminal records and illegal pregnant women. (We are one of the few countries in the world that allow new babies to become automatic citizens without one of the parents being already a citizen. This law must be changed).
We must open the borders for more migrants and immigrants who go thru a legal process and who have skills required by industries of all types. This includes the produce business, the meat producers as well as those with medical expertise, technology, biotech, nuclear, the teaching fields and wherever we have a shortage of people willing to work and have from some education upward. We need these people but we want them to come legally and enforceable records must be kept on them until their temporary visiting rights have expired. If these green cards, ect., are not legally renewed; they must leave this country or apply for citizenship. After a reasonable time the employer must discharge them and update mandatory reports to the prescribed governmental bodies or face steep fines and penalties.
We must suffer short term losses for long term gain. We must lawfully demand that the employers pay on an adjustable monetary formula: The employer must pay the going minimum wage. The employer must also pay an additional flat hourly fee to the local government to offset costs of additional record keeping, law enforcement, health and education. The Federal Government must pay to close the borders and set up the Ellis Island type immigration facilities then required. They must have enough employees to handle the traffic coming and going.
Anyone hiring illegals must register them and report them to the County, who reports them to the State who reports them to the Federal Governments. It should not be the employer’s responsibility to check the validity of documentation submitted. The validity must be checked by the security departments of the federal government. All illegals that can not prove that they are employed and paying taxes should be eventually deported. If illegals are temporarily between jobs, have them report to a county unemployment office (Counties, not cities as all cities are in a county) so a record can be kept of their addresses, family status and activities. Set an arbitrary period of time to find a new job or be rehired back at their old job. Put them on some type of probation until they can return. Give them time to make arrangements for the care of their children. The employer must give them identification paperwork so they can soon legally re-enter this country and go back to work. If the employer indicates that they will not be rehired, the identification papers must state this fact. They cannot re-enter this country unless they have paperwork to show they have jobs waiting. (I know that counties are opposed to any type of costs for ID cards but we have them; all county employees must have an ID card; and I agree if this is an unfunded mandate by the federal government). Fees, fines, ect., should be high enough to cover all costs to the public sector.
Any temporarily unemployment would give them time to return to the country they left. If they cannot prove they have a job to return to, deny them any type of legal entry form. If the demand for their service is there, they will learn about it through their relatives and friends and the employer can send them re-entry documentation.
Be harsh but not too harsh because it is our country that has created this old problem of illegal entry now accelerating at a totally unacceptable rate.
Incarcerated illegals should be automatically deported once they have served their time and their identity placed in all immigration records so they cannot ever reenter this country. On this issue, be very, very, tough.
David Rogers of the WSJ says some parts of the defeated Immigration Bill could be salvaged such as the AgJobs portion which confines itself to 1.5 million workers with proven records of ag employment and who are willing to remain on farms for the next 3 to 5 years to qualify for permanent residency. He says that another portion of the bill would expand college education and military service opportunities for children of the illegals. Studies indicate that 6 out of ten illegal Mexicans lack a high school education. 76% of all from India have a college degree or more. As long as these educational and military service opportunities are the same as already offered to current citizens, I see no objection. Base these decisions on eligibility and merit; same advantage to all. All children born of illegals on U.S. soil are automatic citizens but these children are barred from such in-state tuition. As earlier stated this law should be changed and newborns of illegals must eventually earn the right to become citizens.
Mundane jobs now offered to the unskilled (the term “unskilled” is mis-leading - any one who knows the English language has an advantage; they can learn) do require three basic skills, a work ethic, dependability, and reasonable honesty. I use “reasonable” in this statement because it appears that the majority of U.S. citizens will do some cheating if they can get away with it. A book to read titled "The Overachievers"; the secret lives of driven kids, gives case histories on cheating apparently rampant in our school systems. Some cheating goes on in sports (think steroids and other enhancement drugs, corporate CEO's like Ebbers, Richard Scrushy, Ken Lay and all tax cheaters and stock value enhancing cheaters). Why hold illegals to honesty standards higher than in our own lives, businesses and school systems?
Those concerned about rising costs of illegals becoming legal or barred from entry, I say “grin and bear it”. I am a believer in the law of supply and demand. If the demand is there for more employees, employers will pay a higher wage and pass the costs on to the consumer. Eventually someone is going to have to pay Peter if he is going to pay Paul. If the corrupt and overly bureaucratic Mexico starts legitimizing the activities within their own country, Mexican businesses will be forced to pay more to their employees lessening the demand for their citizens to come to the U.S.
U. S. employers exploiting illegals are being subsidized by the taxpayers. Most of us, I believe, are against subsidies unless the entity being subsidized is NOT in competition with others in the community and these entities can show that they would fill a needed “sector gap”. Allowing illegals in this country under any circumstance is a subsidy to businesses as it is to citizens who employ illegals around their residences.
Any immigrant other than those with green cards and others with temporary visas must eventually leave when their time is up, reapply or apply for citizenship, learn English and pledge allegiance to one country only; the United States of America. If they can’t pledge to support the country they try so desperately to enter, why let the permanently live here?
There is no answer that will satisfy even close to everyone. However, it is not a proper choice to round up all illegals, fine them and return them to the country they left. Or arresting those gainfully employed. The onus should be on the employer who knew they were illegal and that he could hire them cheaper. Supposedly to keep costs of what they produced down so they can compete with other countries. Or is it to make a larger profit? There are better ways to handle the situation if our politicians had the guts and common cause to do it.
Don’t count on any immigration action soon except some more half-hearted efforts to close our borders. Too much at stake for politicians “testing the wind” as to votes gained or votes lost in their next reelection bid. Not only votes, but big contribution dollars are at stake here. It is most unfortunate that illegal immigration is such a political football. If Republicans and Democrats and certain “special interest” business people had the best interests of this country in mind, in the long run voters would vote for the best candidate instead of the candidate who opens up the short term “goodies cupboard”.
Too bad for not only this country but Mexico and the whole world.
I suggest that those who are as concerned about this problem, and yes it is a problem greater than the many of the other problems facing our elected officials and bureaucrats, I suggest reading Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Foundation and the author of “Mexifornia: A State of Becoming. 2003. Also read his columns in the WSJ titled “El Norte”, dated 1/19/04 and “Mi Casa es Casa dated 12/28/05”. Also read a "A Middle Ground on Immigration” dated 6/10-11 by Mike Pence in the WSJ. Pence, I believe is still a Republican Congressman from Indiana.
I quote the WSJ so much that some of you may believe that I believe everything the WSJ editorial board and their columnists print. My beliefs on the immigration policies run counter to their beliefs. They are mostly one hundred percent of the side of business. I am on the side of most businesses and 100% on the side of our country. There would also be side benefits to the unions but they may or may not agree.
Most proposals call for more government and I am opposed to bigger bureaucracies. A lot of what is being proposed could be privatized with governmental oversight. With proper leadership there should be less cost and greater efficiency. Any policies or laws must be universal to the whole U.S.A. to create a level field.
I am not hopeful that much of what I propose, which is a collection of what others are proposing, because I do not think today’s politician have the guts to stand up to all the “special interests” that would be affected. That the consumer would pay more is a given. But people with foresight see the very likely scenario that is being actualized in Europe as I write.
If you disagree with what I write, come up with better plans or correct me where I am in error. If you agree, pass my site on to like minded others.
Thanks for reading my “column”.
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