Pam Eilerson brought some “skeletons” out of the archives of the letters to the editor in an attempt to discredit Susan Tellem on the subject of education. In doing so, she helped to show a few of Ms. Tellem’s leadership qualities: self-reliance by ensuring her own kids got an education up to her own standards; a willingness to address important issues head-on even though it might rub some people the wrong way; and an appreciation for the fact that money alone is not the answer to the sad decline of public education.
I went to a Catholic school in Ireland when I was a young lad and had a very high quality education. When I was in 7th grade I was doing the same things I would do many years later in the university when I came back to the states. We had nine classes a day which included Latin, Physics, Calculus, History, French and-if you were born in Ireland-Gaelic. Our school did not have a lot of money but they had standards and they ensured they were complied with.
There is a big paradigm shift starting to take place with home schooling; Charter schools and other innovative measures designed to bring competition and choice into the educational arena. Like the break-up of AT&T and the resultant explosion of telecommunications, which has transformed the modern world, educational systems in America will have to adjust or we will continue to lag behind India and other emerging economies. This transition, like all sociological change, will be uncomfortable for some for a while but will be better for everyone in the end. Just throwing money after the old paradigm may not be the answer. All discussion in this area is healthy. I agree with Susan Tellem’s views. I may not have chosen some of her words, but I respect her speaking out. She’s good in a fight and she does not shy away from grabbing the bull by the horns and speaking out for the individual taxpayer. Those are excellent leadership qualities for a city councilperson.
Rick Mullen