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Show Sun Advocate IP D G1 D lil 8a Tuesday, August 30, 1994 DBTORBAL... Educating Americas children By KEVIN ASHBY Sun Advocate publisher er's. Wisdom ct Isn't this a great country? While driving to work on Monday and seeing hundreds of kids lined up at bus stops or walkingtoward their schools made me swell with pride. Educating our youth is a national feat worth embracing and supporting. abounds. Self esteem is the that in itself fosters excel- lence. And the opposite is true when we as adults allow the learning process to fal- ter and diminish in value. Education is the capacity for further education. It combines all the minds of the past as we contemplate the present and future. I sometimes wonder about the end in To live in a country that believes education to the extent we do is over- result of being an educated nation. We have produced a vast population able to whelming. We may find individual problems or dislike parts of the educational read, but unable to distinguish what is system. But overall in America, we are worth reading. We tell our children how important saying that our greatness in the world comes from free thinking people, young school is and then let them watch hours and old alike, who believe in lifelong upon hours of TV that has been defined as chewing gum for the eyes or autolearning. Education is as different to each ofus mated daydreaming. as our personalities. What may interest Our true personality is what we are one is boring to another. Math may excite one person while complicating when people are around; character is what we are when everybody goes home. another to a state of despair. If we truly believe in being educated, The arts and language subjects may come to some as easy as the wind flowing we have already learned that education comes in daily doses. There is no end to across a waving field of wheat. For otheducation. Not for the young. Not for the meanor or reason is no there ers, rhyme And if we are not actively pursuing old. to their existence. ing additional knowledge, then it is only lip There is beauty in a society of learn service we are giving to our own education system. Expectation is also a subject that the old seem to think is only for the young. The successful have high expectations for themselves and the people and products around them, including their children. Successful parents expect their children to learn and to also do their best while learning. Mediocrity is running rampant in our youth and p arents are to blame for this social disease. Necessity has always been the spur of genius. But after all we give, freely I might add, to our youth these days, there is a lack of necessity and therefore a lack of concerted effort for success by our youth. Not all our youth, but at least some of them and in increasing numbers each year. It was exciting for me Monday morning to see the kids out and about and excited to see friends and teachers and (subconsciously) books and computers. This annual occurrence defines what we are and what we stand for. The sum of our efforts for a good, productive life. The scene should have been exciting for all of us. Other than the camp at Guantanamo Bay, what else could the United States be doing with the Shirley Cook Price think we should be taking care of ourown. don't I I know what we can do with the refugees. We're spending money that could be used for the homeless, for research a cure for AIDS) or helping others in the U.S. (like Rodney Wilde Price really don't know. think we are going to have to I something with Castro so that the Cubans aren't migrating to the U.S. Everybody should be free to come do here, but notinsuch mass numbers. DITORIAl... Bessie Mahleres Price It's hard to say. might Transporting people back in time By ANN KAY MARSING Staff writer Talking about writing a book and actually doing it are about as similiar as potatoes and parakeets, as anyone who dreams of becoming a famous author knows only too well. My book has been in the making for years, some of it dissected into college papers or different class reports, with a big portion of it still in my head, waiting to resemble life in ink and form. For budding writers, I guess being able to say you know one personally is a big deal at least for me, it is. I somehow feel closer to the reality that I, too, can get it done. During the planning stages of the 30th high school reunion last summer for the Carbon Class of 63, 1 learned that a former classmate, Steven Bunnell, had writ- ten a collection of short stories which had recently been recorded by Books In Motion, a company in Spokane, Wash. As emcee of the reunion program, I never did find the time to talk to Steve about his venture or to even congratulate him. A few weeks ago, after hearing from another classmate about my fourth attempt to give up those nasty things called cigarettes, Steve sent me both sets of his tapes, Guess Who Got The Last Hot Dog ? and Turn Off The Music So We Dont Have To Talk! Amid the excitement of opening the tapes from Bunnell Ink, tremors of guilt mixed with some bad feelings soared through me because I had recently relapsed and was puffing away again. But not to worry. His perception of people coupled with a psychology degree congratulated me on day 30 of my attempt to quit smoking or day 10 for the third time, whichever it happened to be. His continuing encouragement and understanding of how difficult it is to break old habits made me feel good. As soon as I made the time to sit down, put my feet up and listen to what the big recollections of when my four boys were little, I could easily picture his wife locking herself in the bedroom each night after dinner (real or imagined) for a little solace after another long, hard day at the helm of a big and busy family. Lest I should forget, I still have whats left of an old that read, Insanity is heredity you get it from your children. Perhaps what stands out most in the tapes is how magically Steve is able to transport the listener back in time, whether it be childhood or something that happened last week. While its easy becoming so involved with everyday living to never take the time to remember how it used to be, Steve recalls incidents with vividness and color, painting those hidden thoughts and fears we all had but sound d, but them back. Wejust can't take care of them. How do we take care of them whenwecan't even take care of our own people. T-sh- irt guy had to say, I was hungry for more as each tale unfolded. Several of Steves stories sent me back to my own teenage years right here in Carbon County and the situations I found myself in, some the same as his. I really related to the crime committed on Bunnells used car lot, since I was a party to the same thing on Marsing Ranch, more rarely spoke of. In reference to his first taste of sin, than once. One of the best parts was trying to fig- how I wish I had had the same I could have used Miller ure out who he was referring to, as names experience were changed to protect the innocent, or Creek instead of Price Canal. In a world that is often times way too guilty, depending on ones point of view. Steve finds rich humor in childinnocombined the tears and serious, at Laughter cence and hilarity of kids I knew in Price hood happenings, first loves, child rearand its surrounding suburbs during the ing, teaching and his private 50s and early 60s. (For further reference, practice as well as in friends, relatives Steve, we were all alike, even though we and his hometown. Laced within each account is a tidbit of were different.) self-hel-p that he has learned along the reflections of Steves poignant Many refer to his wife and family, especially his way, points of information that I can only eight children. As he said at the reunion speculate have helped him grow as a perwhen he received the coveted Stud Muffin son, hoping to pass his discoveries on to award for having the most kids in the the next generation or his peers. I certainly learned from his encounters class, My wife and I had eight children nine. want didnt and can honestly say the episode on giving before deciding we (Continued on Page 9A) own words and From his deliberate my Chayse Hansen Price Send relief aid (just the necessities) like food a nd water to Guantanamo. think Cuba should dp I something to stop orcon-tro- l the refugees. This country shouldn't have to pay for another country's people. Letters to the editor Cleaning up Americas act Editor: e Remember back in Dick when days Tracy spent his comic book career proving that crime doesnt pay? It didnt matter what the guy with the black hat did it didnt get him anywhere. So what happened? How is it that now, crime does pay? If a public representative manages to stay in his position long enough, he can steal a very handsome living, provided he is so inclined. Those whom we should be able to look up to as an example of honor and service are, in some cases, devoid of integrity. Right becomes that which enhances his fortunes andor increases his power over other citizens. Wrong becomes that which does not redound to his credit, either politically or financially. We Americans have come to prefer perception to reality. We equate beauty with goodness even though we are consistently disillusioned by the unbecoming behavior of our old-tim- equate social position with noble attributes even if these pillars behave more basely than animals in a bar- ... the Cubans cruel-hearte- think we should send heros. We "Look refugees? Haitian-Cuba- n are racing the Haitians!" nyard, even if some prove to be totally devoid of conscience, lacking the most rudimentary human decency. We allow the reputations of good people to be destroyed in order to advance the political fortunes of a foe. We buy tabloids, the purpose of which is to destroy human beings for money. We know that almost everything written in the scandal sheets is a lie. These could be more correctly entitled Reputations for Sale or If Youre Silly Enough to Pay for It, Well Invent It and Print It. This is not entertainment. This is the wholesale degrading of a nation, of a people whose every intent was originally to aspire to nobility of character. We dont have to continue on this course. Common sense tells us that when we stop indulging in irresponsible behavior, we will stop teaching our children to become even more irresponsible than we are. They magnify everything they see us do. The law of diminishing returns applies here. Whatever they see us do, they must outdo. Only bigger and better will satisfy their need to excel, whether for better or for worse. If its not decent, if its not honorable, if its not elevating, if its not destined to raise our sights to greater heights as a people, lets avoid it. Lets call it what it is destructive, degrading, demeaning, unworthy of us. If it wont help our children or grandchildren become better citizens, lets not rent it and watch it. If we would not want our children to behave the way our politicians behave, lets vote them out. Lets not deceive ourselves. Wrong behavior on the part of our leaders tends to give us permission to act the same way. We are inclined to mirror the weaknesses ofour leaders. Lets be a little more selective (Continued on Page 9A) |