L.A. Parker on urgency
L.A. Parker writes in Saturday's Trentonian about why there is not a bigger sense of urgency in addressing the city's problems.
Here's a taste:
"Missing but crucial agendas in the City of Trenton are a sense of urgencyand unflappable honesty.
"Does anyone else see the garbage pigeonholed on South Broad Street?
"Why do teachers outnumber parents at "Back to School Night?"
"Should not education be the one goal that we push our children towardwhether the classroom offers standard or vocational studies?
"It's almost as if our houses are ablaze and we choose to extinguish theflames with saliva rather than break out the heavy hoses.
"That stuff hitting the fan right now is anything but spit; we are engaged ina great civil war regarding education, violence, guns, gangs, homelessness, abandoned houses and a litany of other issues.
"Some issues need time for solutions, but for others the time for action is now."
Here's a taste:
"Missing but crucial agendas in the City of Trenton are a sense of urgencyand unflappable honesty.
"Does anyone else see the garbage pigeonholed on South Broad Street?
"Why do teachers outnumber parents at "Back to School Night?"
"Should not education be the one goal that we push our children towardwhether the classroom offers standard or vocational studies?
"It's almost as if our houses are ablaze and we choose to extinguish theflames with saliva rather than break out the heavy hoses.
"That stuff hitting the fan right now is anything but spit; we are engaged ina great civil war regarding education, violence, guns, gangs, homelessness, abandoned houses and a litany of other issues.
"Some issues need time for solutions, but for others the time for action is now."
Labels: Gangs, L.A. Parker
posted by Trentonian Editor at
11:52 PM
1 Comments:
L.A. most times I try to avoid your editorials. They read so predictable and argumentative. However this one strikes home in a way I'm not sure even you want to discuss. Truly, Trenton is in urgent need of many forms of assistance. On both forums goverment as well as education the city is tragic. Your statement on South Broad Street, mirrors the entire city, by way of decay and derogatory pastimes. This fact in itself leads to apathy in all areas. Your acknowledgement of parents not attenting Back to School Night, must be a joke. Why would you think any parent would/
should have confidence in a school system floating on scandal and disgrace. The Trenton School District has been a long standing stage act, even before the Palmer years. The priorities solicited there have nothing to do with educating students. L.A., every parent wants the best education possible for their child, and the parents of Trenton are no exception. Yet, why should they bother to attend meetings that only serve rhetoric and same ole, same ole speeches that further insult the intelligence of genuine parents, teachers and students. Teachers out number the parents at school meetings because, the district demands it. Most of the teachers could care less. They take their money and run, going through the motions until retirement. Their jobs are protected by tenure rights. This fact is more than reflective in student scores. Educationally, Trenton students are among the worst in the state. Yet, the importance of this is mute. Trenton students don't support any true political agenda, therefore their issues are dispensible. Obviously, the district could care less. They fight more over their own ego security and district money than education. You don't have to tell a student that they are not important when a board member states, "the students don't need books", while the same board member uses student funds to finance their travel. This in itself explains the dire need for change not only in the school district, but throughout the city, starting with the Mayor. Trenton's gang solution has been to not acknowledge them from the start. This statement came from our education Mayor. Yet after over 30 murders, we know he was wrong or at the very least disinterested. He doesn't live here. Homelessness
is a cottage industry, serving as a tool to admire and elevate the people and agencies who toot their own horns in recognition of starting programs to fix the problem. Abandoned houses, city services, senior care and health services are seriously deficient. Yet, government resources find better venues to spend the dollars desperately needed in Trenton. Perhaps they don't care. More than likely they don't have to. There is no real support for this kind of thinking in Trenton. Therefore, as citizens continue to exhaust themselves over issues that pertain to their health, safety and welfare, they remain overlooked by the very people who took an oath to serve them.
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