Keep Representation for South County: Jane Howard for County Education Office
Dear Editor,
For most local voters, it comes as a surprise that they have two school districts on the ballot: Gilroy Unified School District or the Morgan Hill Unified School District plus the County Office of Education. The logical conclusion that many people make is: It must refer to the sparsely populated areas outside the city limits. Wrong.
The County office of Education has the entire county divided into seven areas, irrespective of any city boundaries. The cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy and all the hills to the east and west comprise Area Seven. In addition, Alum Rock, Mt. Pleasant and portions of Eastside High School District are included. The county office differs from the local district by providing instruction for students with special needs/equipment, not available in the district; business and other services through pooling hence more economical for districts’ leadership, resource, grant writing and general information; distributes the bulk of the state/county income to watch of the various 32 districts; acts as a hearing body for district impasses such as expulsion, charter schools and inter-district attendance disputes.
On the November ballot are three hopefuls. Both men are from the Alum Rock area; one, however, has dropped out this past week leaving only one resident-contender who can represent the South County. The incumbent is Jane Howard, an energetic, knowledgeable representative. Without her election, the South County will not be represented.
Don Kruse, Morgan Hill
Be Careful About How You Define an Educated Person; It’s Not Just the Classroom
Dear Editor,
Cynthia Walker’s assessment that 78 percent of Gilroy parents do not value education is not only absurd, but based solely on her assumption that because of state standard tests showing how Gilroy tested low, naturally means parents don’t care.
What exactly is Cynthia’s definition of and purpose of education? Is it just about academics, and on how high Gilroy scores when compared to other schools?
Test scores are not an accurate measure of who is working hard and who values education more. A person can become a walking encyclopedia without possessing any power of value. You don’t need a college degree in order to make a lot of money or feed your family. I can name plenty of people in businesses who never set foot in a college classroom, yet earn more than a college graduate.
An “educated” person is one who knows how to acquire everything he or she needs in attaining their main purpose or goal in life. The successful lawyer is not necessarily the one who has memorized the greatest number of principles of law, but the successful lawyer is one who knows where to find a principle of law, plus a variety of opinions to support that principle which fits the immediate needs of a given case. This also applies in equal force to the affairs of industry and business.
My daughter went through the Gilroy school system. For the most part the elementary and junior high level went well with few problems.
At the high school level, with one teacher, the administration did not listen to parent’s complaints, but rather gave every excuse in the book as to why the problem could not get fixed and it took three very long years to get rid of that teacher.
But I do not see this issue with the cheerleaders as catastrophic. If the students have been working hard to keep up their grades, worked at the fundraising, I see no harm in allowing them to go on this trip. The fact that board members took the time to re-examine the issue, taking into account all sides, is a positive move. Education is not just about occupying a seat in a classroom.
I will support people who can look at the whole picture, not those who see black or white. It is time for the focus of education to shift from what’s out there – the curriculum, assessments, classroom arrangement, books and computers. NASA did not send men to the moon by building on the chassis of a model T. In the same way, education cannot hope to move beyond its present state on the chassis of 18th century education.
Shame on Cynthia Walker, for demanding conformity over creativity.
Mary J. Silva, Gilroy
