THE SUMTER ITEM N.G. Osteen 1843-1936 The Watchman and Southron
THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015 H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item
H.D. Osteen 1904-1987 The Item
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Margaret W. Osteen 1908-1996 The Item Hubert D. Osteen Jr. Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Graham Osteen Co-President Kyle Osteen Co-President Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Larry Miller CEO Rick Carpenter Managing Editor
20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, South Carolina 29150 • Founded October 15, 1894
COMMENTARY
Buckets, fires and computers “E
ducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” said the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. In South Carolina, we are spending far too much time trying to fill pails (often with holes in them) and not nearly enough time lighting fires. But the good news is that there is no better fire starter for young minds Phil (or old ones Noble for that matter) than a computer connected to the Internet. And therein lies a great hope for our state — and there are real reasons to be encouraged. First the pail, or the bucket as my folks in rural McCormick County would have called it. For too long we in South Carolina have focused on the bucket, partly because it’s fairly easy to look at the bucket and see how full it is; the modern term for this “educational testing.” We know how to measure students’ ability to mostly learn facts and traditional education has largely been about imparting facts to young minds. But what happens to traditional education when most every student has every fact in the world in their pocket via a smart phone and access to the Internet? Why should a kid clutter his mind learning that the Battle of Hastings was in 1066 when with a few quick thumb moves they can get to Wikipedia (or thousands of other sources) and get a 5,000 word essay on the Battle of Hastings, know everyone who was there, learn what happened and why it was important. So let’s take this one step further and consider how the whole concept of teaching is organized, and how it’s perfectly suited for the 18th Century. The school calendar of starting in September and ending in May is based on the old agricultural calendar of needing the kids to help with the planting and harvesting; thus they go to school in the winter months when nothing much grew in the fields. How many kids today have ever even seen a cotton boll or a corn stalk in the field, much less know how to pick then — or ever have? So much for the school calendar. And what about the way the classroom and school day is structured? For the last few hundred years it’s been a single teacher standing in front of a room of 20 to 40 kids all sitting in neat rows watching the teacher work the chalk board — with kids acting up in the back of the room. Then things progressed to where kids actually had their own book — one for each subject or class. And the school day is based on the classic Industrial Age model of division of learning (think division of labor) with learning (subjects) all divided up into neat segments, taught in 50 minute increments and when the bell sounded, the kids moved to another room, with another teacher, with another book and started the whole thing over again. This is pretty much what tra-
ditional education looks like today in South Carolina, South Dakota and South Korea. But (thankfully) that’s all changing — and changing fast — thanks to computers, smartphones, iPads and a myriad other devices that kids all over the world are getting access to as a result of radically falling prices for increasingly powerful devices. (If you are really curious as to why this escalating trend is going to lead to every kid in the world having their own learning device — and quicker than you think — Google “Moore’s Law.”) Now the good news about digital learning in South Carolina is that compared to other states, we are doing pretty well in getting digital learning tools to our kids, and we are beginning to see some real difference in learning results. But beginning is the key word here. (It’s not near enough, but more on that later.) For the last four years, an authoritative group called Digital Learning Now has been evaluating all 50 states on a wide variety of criteria that go into making up each state’s overall scores for “digital learning.” When the first report was issued in 2011, S.C. had a score of 74 percent with a letter grade of C, but we ranked 9th in the country, and 9th is very good. Since then, our score has risen, and the recently released study for 2014 has us up to 81 percent with a B- grade — but we are still ranked 9th of the 50 states. The good news is that S.C. being in the top 10 is great; there are few other good education metrics where we rank anywhere near this high. The bad news is that the results vary widely by different parts of the state, and many of our kids are stuck in abysmal schools with more rats than computers. And other states are getting better more quickly than we are; we are still stuck at 9th place — the same place we were in 2011. (For complete data with breakdowns in many categories for all 50 states, go to DigitalLearningNow.com) All of this is actually pretty exciting, as it offers S.C. students and schools a chance to leapfrog over our abysmally neglected education system of the past. Now no one should believe that simply giving every kid a computer or other learning device is some magic bullet that will solve all of the educational problems in our state overnight, but I know of nothing that will (or has) made a bigger difference faster in our state schools. Folks, 9th is good, but with the right leadership and commitment we could be No. 1. Think about that a minute. South Carolina could be No. 1 in the nation in the all-important area of digital learning. Talk about changing the image of our state. With technology, we can truly light a fire for all of our children — and not just continue to try to fill a leaky bucket. Phil Noble is a businessman in Charleston and president of the SC New Democrats. Contact him at phil@scnewdemocrats. org.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ALICE DRIVE PROJECT PLANNING ‘HAPHAZARD’ I read with interest in last Saturday’s Item the story about yet another delay in the Alice Drive widening project caused by a conflict with the existing sewer system. This brings to mind two very basic questions: who planned this project and why didn’t they know where the sewer lines were located? It seems the planning was as haphazard and shoddy as the construction has been. I certainly hope no more projects using public funds will be awarded to these firms. JIM RIDINGS Sumter
HOLD PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS Dr. Williams’ letter published on June 17 makes little to no sense to me. Dr. Williams states, “Approximately 98 percent of the persons incarcerated in Sumter County for being delinquent in child support had never been required to complete the five-page financial declaration forms which are essential in the court’s determination of that parent’s ability to pay. These alarming statistics are part of an extensive study done on child support in South Carolina, conducted by The Family Unit Inc., a local 501(c)(3), nonprofit, charitable organization.” What she fails to state is that she is listed as the head of The Family Unit Inc. and it is a Sumter organization. These forms may be essential to helping the court to make a decision on payment. But, it is not required by the court. So, it is the responsibility of the person to ensure it is presented to the court. She also states that the court charges 25 cents per page for the five page document. I think it is just foolish to say a person cannot afford one dollar and twenty five cents to get an essential five-page financial declaration form for the court. If filled out at the court, there is someone that can notarize it. She states that an overwhelming majority of the non-custodial parents are unemployed. So they have time to get everything completed. She also states that the organization “has spent hundreds of dollars and
dedicated hundreds of research hours on child support in South Carolina.” If the organization wishes to advocate for those who do not pay child support, spend the time and money helping them work with the courts. I believe that Dr. Williams’ heart is in the right place. But, it is time to hold people responsible for their actions. MICHAEL W. BARRY Sumter
BE VIGILANT, AWARE AND DON’T HELP THIEVES This past Saturday night, I became the victim of at least two thieves. My Red Troy-Bilt Bronco Riding Law Mower was stolen off my property. It was stored in a shed several hundred feet from my fence line, it was cabled, covered and without the key. I am asking any individual or business owner who is buying big ticket items from individuals who do not have a title, bill of sale or receipt to do the right thing and make a simple call to law enforcement to see if the item is on their list of stolen items. You do not want to buy stolen goods nor do you want to perpetuate this type of behavior. Just because it is on Ebay, Craigslist or similar sites or advertised in newspapers, Carolina Trader, etc., does not mean it is not stolen. Law enforcement has a lot on their plate and if we as citizens can help stop a criminal, we are all better off. Remember, they are looking for their next victim, and it could be you. I also advise people to keep records on their expensive items, pictures, serial numbers and any other information that is available on the equipment. Law enforcement was surprised by all the details I was able to furnish. I was told most people don’t bother with this information. I most likely will not get my mower back, but it might increase the likelihood. Be vigilant and aware. K.KREKLAU Sumter
DON’T LET POLITICAL ADS MAKE FOOL OF YOU As we head into another “political season” all of the clowns are out talking trash while we think very little about our democracy.
Most people don’t realize that the biggest threat to democracy is you, the voter. The last election was thrown away because the voters didn’t vote. The average voter is ignorant of what benefits them and what doesn’t. Most people know more about a sports team, and it’s more important than their country. We need to learn that socialism and democracy go hand in hand; Capitalism and democracy does not. Your vote is the most important we have, and the politician will do or say anything to get your vote. The politicians are bought and paid for, and your vote is the only thing that puts you in the game. Political speeches and most commercials are aimed at the “ignorant.” We need to know enough to cast an informed vote and know when we are being played for fools. LEE INGLE Sumter
WHITE OFFICERS SHOOTING BLACKS IS FOCUS OF MEDIA Has anyone noticed that the majority, if not all, of the reported shootings and murders of unarmed blacks by law enforcement officers in America have been perpetrated by white or none black law enforcement officers and/or none black authority figures? Why is that? Why isn’t there widespread media coverage of African American law enforcement officers physically abusing, shooting and killing unarmed white American citizens? I am not naïve enough to believe that this article will not draw some negative or argumentative responses from my fellow American citizens. However, I must wonder why my posterity and race must consider the possibility of death or great bodily harm whenever we are stopped by white law enforcement. Why? I dare not venture to offer an answer from my perspective because my perspective has been incurably prejudiced by America’s history and habitual and systemically entrenched treatment of blacks and attitude toward blacks. O.W. PRINCE Sumter
HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Send your letter to letters@theitem.com, drop it off at The Sumter Item office, 20 N. Magnolia St., or mail it to The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, SC 29151, along with the writer’s full name, address and telephone number (for verification purposes only). Letters that exceed 350 words will be cut accordingly in the print edition, but available in their entirety at www.theitem.com/opinion/letters_to_editor.