Mobile without the ,Alabama?
Forget water coolers and cubicles - - all the talk everywhere is and will be for sometime the landing of the Airbus contract on our Brookley Field. The economic impact not just for the City and County but for the entire State will be enormous. It seems Mobile has become a money magnet and the Europeans apparently have a thing for us. We are kind of cute, aren’t we, stretched out on a tranquil bay, our arms around two beaches? Congratulations to all who worked diligently over the past three years to assure the Air Force, NG and EADS that our city is worthy of such a big contract. Fingers crossed that Boeing’s expected protest will heard but not listened too, and that other businesses will begin to pay closer attention to Mobile ( I expect the Disney folks are already here scouting around for a lot of acreage and that I-65 is backed up all the way to Atlanta with the corporate exodus from there to here -LOL). Having traveled quite a bit I am sometimes flustered having to say “Mobile,Alabama” when asked from where I hail - instead of just “Mobile.” It seems we are moving much closer to being a City instead of just a city. March really did come in like a lion! Hope to cover this and more in my Lagniappe County View column.
Tags: countyview, EADS, preston
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
“Having traveled quite a bit I am sometimes flustered having to say ‘Mobile, Alabama’ when asked from where I hail - instead of just ‘Mobile.’”
You’re kidding, right? You do realize the Mobile MSA is only ranked 121 in the entire nation?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
While in Russia, Finland, Thailand and even parts of Great Britain I was
as surprised when met with blank faces saying “Mobile.” So I learned
to add “Alabama” after it and that seemed to work in most cases,
even though still a few said “That’s in Georgia, right?”
March 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am
The industrial recruitments taking place in our area have been outstanding. B
But I do have a serious area of concern: Mobile’s public education system. How can one explain the juxtaposition of a burgeoning job base and a declining educational system. In the future will we need to transport qualified workers into the area to fill the potential influx of thousands of new jobs? As a teacher who cares greatly for our kids and this beautiful city, I believe we must quickly—and correctly—deal with this terrible irony we find ourselves in the midst of! Growth must be balanced and well-managed. A critical aspect of our growth, the education system, is out of balance and is in desperate need of being managed well.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Well stated!
When officials talk about cutting teacher jobs instead of adding them in a growing environment such as ours, that scares me. Seems there should be a plan in place to set-aside certain amounts of funds for Mobile County public education, from profits in this growing city. Or do you think that would be pouring gas on a fire? Management is a deeply complex issue since you are dealing with public servants and not a private corporation. Another factor is perhaps too much complacency on the part of public school parents. Remember it’s difficult to attract a lot of sympathy from private school parents and taxpayers without kids, many who used to care but are now jaded by a system they believe will never change. Lots of good things must come together before a correct plan can be delivered. Seems to me also that in an economy where people are spending their money more carefully, some of those private school families must be thinking about public schools again. So organization, targeting enough people to democratically bring about the needed change, is a key I think. I’m glad you brought this up and I hope more people pay attention to the disparity between Mobile’s burgeoning business status and the fever of our public school system . . . by the way I have no kids and I’m not up-to-date on high school curriculum - - seems like schools in Mobile county should be offering aerospace mechanic classes, intro to engineering, etc. but I am guessing they do not . .?
March 5th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Ken Robinson-
The traditional response has been “just put them in private schools.”
Preston-
Once again, I feel the root of this problem is cultural.
What a lot of folks don’t realize about our public school problems isn’t just the pragmatic aspect of “Where will my kids get an education?” but also with the implication it has regarding the society’s priorities and belief system. It gives the impression the populace is comfortable with a certain level of ignorance and apathetic about the ability to change it.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Kevin,
I think you nailed it when you said apathetic. That is a big chunk of the problem and I’m sure our area is not unique in this trait. Consider the “average” family routine and at the end of the day what’s missing is the time to care. After getting the kids fed, dressed and off to school and then going to work yourself where maybe things aren’t any brighter than the school system . . .then either picking up the kids or dropping them off to daycare and then back to work and then to the grocery store and fixing dinner and washing clothes and helping with homework and then maybe - somehow it’s gonna be fit in - watching American Idol. Our culture is to get caught up in such a trap and be hard put to find the way out. Maybe if school systems and other such institutions were open on weekends our culture might find it’s education voice, but weekends, as everyone knows, is for resting and entertainment. As for private schools, it’s strange but most of the complaints one hears about them is the cost. Could our solution be to run public schools like private schools? I don’t mean charge tuition but rather the model itself. What makes the kids, parents, teachers and administrators happy in private schools? I’m not positive but I will guess: uncrowded classrooms. well-paid teachers - happy and showing it teachers. Stronger focus on curriculum being freed of the reigns of overladen administration of a giant system. I have an idea . . maybe if we broke the public school system into autonomous districts - ripped it apart and rebuilt it into say five school boards completely free and unconnected to one another, this might lessen the burden of such a gigantic administration that currently acts only as it is designed, and focus better attention of teachers and students in their own little school districts. I’m sure I’m not the first and won’t be the last to suggest it, but I really think it has a better chance than what we have today.
March 5th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Preston-
“What makes the kids, parents, teachers and administrators happy in private schools?” I think that changes according to who is asked.
For some, it is the belief that their kids are getting a “better education” in the private schools. Of course, if the bar is set as low as they believe in the public schools, wouldn’t that mean the private schools don’t have be too good to look better in comparison? I’ve heard plenty of teachers from around the nation complain about the comparatively lower pay and qualification standards in private institutions.
Then there are the “seg academies” that cropped up in the decades after desegregation. They still exist, a great number with religious affiliation. I hear the word “safer” used with their reasons for enrollment and it sometimes seems to have a racially-motivated tinge to it.
You also have others who like the private schools for the traditional aspect, family lineage that insists they force attendance because “that’s just the way it is.”
Others dig the social cachet of private school enrollment, that it puts them in a more exalted status.
I’ve known plenty of Mobilians who went to private school and, judging from their “intelligence,” seemingly received sub-par educations. I’ve also met products of public schools who were “smarter than your ave-rage bear.” It seems to me that the experience fluctuates greatly from case to case, teacher to teacher, student to student.
This is a complex and vexing situation but one that must be addressed if Mobile is to make true progress. It also does little to instill faith in our leadership’s dedication to the problem when the city’s movers and shakers enroll their kids in private schools. Are we really looking for a solution or just trying to find our way around the problem?
March 6th, 2008 at 8:36 am
“What a lot of folks don’t realize about our public school problems isn’t just the pragmatic aspect of “Where will my kids get an education?” but also with the implication it has regarding the society’s priorities and belief system. It gives the impression the populace is comfortable with a certain level of ignorance and apathetic about the ability to change it.”
And what does that say about the government? The purpose of a public school system is to instill government ideologies into its citizens. You must also keep in mind that most of the private schools around here are religion-based, and their purpose is to instill the ideologies of whatever church is running the place no matter what they say in the beginning. All three of the private schools I attended taught their take on Christianity.
As far as public vs. private, I’ve had a ton of experience with both. I can say that the POSSIBILITY better education is in the public schools. The training and continuing education program set forth by the county and state are excellent. There are better resources such as technology and books, and the kids have the chance to be exposed to a better education if the teacher does their job. A majority of the time, they are not. They’re working the system. Do you realize that academic electives are sacrificed for classes in boardgames? That’s why when I hear about all these cuts, I’m hoping that’s what they’re aiming for.
Personally, I find that one of the many problems with the public school system hasn’t really been addressed. Focus has been directed so much to the children that teacher well-being and education level is not an issue anymore. “Well, school isn’t about the teacher; it’s about the student” is usually the attitude people take. Nobody has respect for teachers. Hell, I never respected them while in school, and there are some for which I still have no respect. The media has presented only two extreme views of teachers: the demigod miracle worker or a total psycho totalitarian. Harold Dodge stood up in front of a group of teachers and even admitted the reason we had meager pay and sub-standard treatment was society’s fault.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
No one is running with my suggestion to split up the school board and districts - and commissioners, so there can be specific focus in each district, and for that I too blame society. . .
Just like some people should not be President, others should perhaps not be teachers ( not speaking of anyone in this forum.) I personally find all the hoops one is made to jump through to become a teacher, ridiculous ( not the good ridiculous, the bad one - sad, huh?)
Schools could attract better teachers if they reached out more, but so mired in antiquated laws and regulations they fail to. What they should do is watch American Idol - those folks know how to find talent.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Anyone remember Doug Magann?
If you would like to get a good look at the inner workings of the Mobile system and its problems, bookmark and read the following series of articles. You’ll be very glad you did.
http://www.theharbinger.org/articles/magann/index.html#DECISION
In particular, the first two installments in the Magann essays, “Manifest Realities” and “The Power Brokers,” give a good view of the historic climb the school system has and who has worked against it.
His objectivity was not well received.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Thanks for the link Kevin - I read the essays and now I get it. We could have the best school superintendent in the world and that person wouldn’t be able to penetrate the gates of Montgomery and a chunk of snowy taxpayers with kids. That’s a shame - I hope it changes one day soon.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I know dudes who come to internet for fun, just to meet some new people and talk with them. I’m one of those.