I'm an intern psychologist at a public elementary school in Southwest Ohio. The principal of our school sends out weekly newsletters to parents and teachers. I felt that his latest was inappropriate. Is it just me?
September 10, 2003
A Weekend of Remembering
Much has changed in our worlds and daily life in the three years since the 911 terrorist attacks on domestic airliners, the world trade center, and the pentagon. With the ongoing war in Iraq, we are reminded daily of the sacrifices of our sons and daughters. The news of the tragic terrorist attack on Middle School #1 in Belsan, North Ossetia in the Russian Federation last week struck far too close to home for those of us in education. The images are ones that will haunt you.
However, fear and dread can paralyze people and that is exactly what we must remember is the goal of such extremists. They seek to disrupt the daily lives of ordinary people in an effort to gain their objectives. We must as we did in the days following 9-11 seek to return our lives to as normal a pattern as is possible while employing the lessons learned from tradgedy. So it is in Belsan this week as the city begins returning to work and schools.
Here in Ohio much is said of test scores, student achievement, and academic progress. These are the corporate goals of education. These are the things that we hold onto because history forgotten is often repeated. We have seen much that we wish not to repeat in our lifetimes, but to do so means that we cannot forget."
I wouldn't have been alarmed by this last line, especially, if it were not for the comments the principal made at our opening day convocation. On that day, he told us that George W. Bush was the education president and that he's signed more education initiatives than any other president and that because Ohio is a major battleground state, Bush is considering Federalizing public education here to solve the school funding crisis.
Let me know what you think.