Big Ideas to Revive schools in Small Towns in CT and Around the Country
After watching a short video about declining school enrollment on a local FB page, I responded as follows. I will post the video on another post so people can share that more readily...
I think I've brainstormed on www.livfully.org.Ideally we could have regular meetings on a FB page dedicated to This Topic, not only this location (Kellogg in Falls Village CT.)
Jenny Law mentioned the importance of looking up micro schools and a growing trend to build relationships. I feel fortunate to have attended Kellogg School in the late 1960s and through the 1970s, K-8.
The late Howard Reed was my sixth grade teacher when he arrived to the area from Falls Village CT from Sheffield CT. Perhaps researching his legacy, which his step son Thom Reed offers national (and worldwide) outreach about an 'off world' experience. It Could be that authentic aliens interacted with Thom and his brother Matt when they were children, as well as their mother and grandmother.
There is information at the Great Barrington Historical Society on this (and a monument at the Covered Bridge in Sheffield MA.) In addition there is the #1 Netflix film by Steven Greer called Disclosure about learning the likelihood of a huge fake set of UFO and technology (and actors) to trick people into believing they are abducted or having other unusual experiences. Howard Reed died under suspect circumstances according to Thom Reed.
Likely the towns and areas could benefit on many levels by leading the way in having meaningful discussions. Some people may be drawn to visit or live in the area just to be part of this particular turn of events.
Getting honest and real about many challenges rural communities have faced (a microcosm of urban dynamics but with a survival ethic to pull through and a cast of informative characters to shed light on what's happening in America that needs fixing is a theme in the tri-corner area.
The Peter Reilly Case put the need for police interviews to be recorded and not be unduly harsh interrogations across the country. With the Black Lives Matter movement gaining ground and concerns of our country becoming more of a military-police state, the issues are highlighted.
Again people may appreciate what happened in such a small town after a tragic turn of events. We know more now to bring to the table as it were to events and problems from long ago.
We are an ongoing history and improvement set of lessons and ongoing learning. With the private schools and connections to many fine colleges (in the population and with the arts and more), the ongoing interests being explored in the local papers and The Salisbury Forum (thankfully near the efforts of many initiatives in Great Barrington MA and even at colleges in Poughkeepsie (hats off to Vassar for instance and many NY institutions that keep CT looking good just over the border such as North East Community Center, Libraries, Big Everything from mountain ranges to farms and Dutchess County in general.)
Torrington CT and the wealthier towns in Farmington CT also add a unique dose of stellar medical services and enhance prospects for local yokels who want to in touch with The Real World. New Haven is only an hour and a half away, home of Yale and many find colleges and offerings. CT is a small and cozy state which could be deemed a 'resort for much of NYC and other parts of MA and CT.
We need to focus on the family-friendly and calm nature of the town and build a sense of a wider community even if we can only let in a few hundred more children at a time (to the grade schools and high schools, maybe the daycares and so on.) Having ways to House People seems to catch folks up big time.
For a moment consider The Turtle Garden Permaculture Game which is a design process. Some of what I am doing here is also looking at Big Picture angles that more could ponder. For now I will post
. Another angle I have suggested is to get programs in place to allow families free recreation/camp programs for kids through age 7 then to have them go to kindergarten at age 6/7 and onto first grade at 7/8 and so on. That way they would be 13/14 in 6th or 7th grade and 15 or 16 in 8th grade.
The sports, music, arts and academics likely would come much more readily with everyone doing Much Better..Then entering the high school level at 16/17 and so on would also improve everyone's main learning experiences.
Maybe more would get college level credit in high school. If kids were more mature, maybe grades 7-12 could meet at the high school and the town rec programs for kids could be held at the school, from infancy through age 7 much like they do at Mount Everett. Building relationships with families and young children can line the nest for educating them and helping meaningful friendships form in the early years when it counts double.
I essentially did this kind of think with homeschooling our four children through ages 5-8, with a later start date for the older two (age 8 going into 2nd grade and age 7 and 3/4 going into 1st grade. That latter one was Kaelan Alexander Palmer Paton who touched many lives in his 16 years as a wonderful person, student, friend and athlete.
He passed trying to save a friend from below the Falls. There is much to ponder on my blog, www.livfully.org with a piece Remembering Kaelan.. It would be lovely to include his legacy as well as that of many local and wider heroes and citizens who we could honor with ongoing efforts to keep the area going. Mark Twain's house draws many thousands of visitors and his fictional Huck Finn inspires many..
.Kaelan was a real-life Huck with a lot of pluck in terms of courage and love for his friends and family..but especially so on his last day of his freshman year of HoUSAtonic Valley Regional High School only a mile from the Falls.
Ideally extra measures the country and world over would be promoted voluntarily to have students, parents, schools and communities work to have basic caregiving guidelines and plans for keeping track of minors. Many parents in custody situations have to adhere to high standards. Much could be gained by giving everyone a heads up about what is permissible and what is not advisable even if it seems obvious or intrusive... the alternative is not much better and can prove fatal.
The other ideas to use the schools to offer simple medical and possibly dental check ups and services would be good. Even basic cooking classes and staples for food to 'conserve energy'. Growing gardens and collaborating with Camp Friedman would make sense and allowing use of the building in the summers and even weekends could prove financially helpful as well as socially good.
That's just a start. Tapping insights from alumni and people across the field much like Jack Mahoney did when visiting many high schools, offering some version of Montessori and Waldorf Classrooms or options on the weekends for workshops or in the evenings for adult ed and meetings could all prove profitable. Thanks for letting me share here and see on www.livfully.org if it's not easy to leave it here. Thanks again...
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