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On the article Park Resident to Fill Grosse Pointe School Board Vacancy
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On the article Teen Released Pending Further Investigation
Bob Carr
9:17 am on Friday, April 26, 2013
Good catch on the slip. Sure hope that the bit about "Santorum has been released from policy custody" doesn't make it to the wire services out of context!
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On the article Village Ace Celebrates Grand Opening on Mack
Bob Carr
10:32 am on Sunday, April 21, 2013
ReplyI wish Elmer's and Ace the very best. When I enter the store, I recognize the same helpful faces as always. But without those, I wouldn't know I was in the same store. Certainly it isn't the store on Kercheval that my kids corrected me for calling Damman's till the day it closed. This store is too neat and too compartmentalized and too "modern."
Perhaps it will take time for the Mack location to develop the vaguely haphazard arrangement of this and that which makes for a comfortable hardware store. Part of this may be a sort of nostalgia and resistance to chance on my part. But one of the assistants told me that shortly after the soft opening day, a grandfather had brought in his granddaughter and that she had burst into tears not to find popcorn. Maybe it will only be when that popcorn popper is reliably popping that I'll know that I'm in the Damman's, er, Ace that I know and love.
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On the article Assembly Featuring Rick Santorum at Grosse Pointe South Canceled
Bob Carr
6:47 pm on Thursday, April 11, 2013
ReplyBut it is time to move on. My suggestion is that those opposed to Mr. Santorum bring forth their champion. Let him or her be held to the same opt-in form, etc. Let good ideas confront bad, whichever might be which. Then we can argue about something else.
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On the article Assembly Featuring Rick Santorum at Grosse Pointe South Canceled
Bob Carr
6:46 pm on Thursday, April 11, 2013
ReplyI agree with Allison: I would be happier if everyone on both sides of this debate posted under true names rather than the internet equivalent of a hood. I would be happier still if everyone on both sides of this debate could converse in a civil fashion without enthusiastic descent into insult and ad hominem. Too much of this stream is microcosm of the dogmatism and intolerance that has reduced state and federal government to dysfunction.
The irony is that those most virulently opposed to Mr. Santorum have generously handed him a wonderful gift. The teachers who prevailed upon Dr. Outlaw, Dr. Outlaw in his decision, and Dr. Harwood and the GPPSS Board in supporting that decision, all lost sight of the big picture and in so doing pushed Mr. Santorum into the national spotlight. I had happily forgotten about that man, as I suspect had many. Thanks to GPPSS, he leaped back into the national news. And right or wrong, Grosse Pointe Schools breathed credibility into his hypothesis of liberal bias in education.
The numerous failure modes that created this excitement need to be remedied when tempers cool. In the meantime, this episode has become a lesson in crisis management that should be leveraged for its educational value.
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On the article Assembly Featuring Rick Santorum at Grosse Pointe South Canceled
Bob Carr
10:25 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Katie, you are correct about the dangers of extremes on both left and right. I even agree that more educators are biased to the "left" than the "right." But please let's give the students their due. After all, when I think back to my own days in high school, my favorite teachers were very much on the left, and my least favorite on the right. Did they brainwash me? Not hardly. I was a teenager and entirely immune from conditioning, whether for good or ill. As if to prove the point, during that time I was a delegate to the county and state Republican Party Conventions.
Please do not tell my daughter that I put this in writing, but my opinion is that the students at South are more than smart enough to be able to tell s*&% from shinola. Dr. Outlaw and the Board of Education do them a great disservice by not showing the same faith in their judgment. My bet is that the question and answer session at Mr. Santorum's appearance will demonstrate that the students are more than a match for Rick Santorum, or his peers from either major party.
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On the article Assembly Featuring Rick Santorum at Grosse Pointe South Canceled
Bob Carr
4:14 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
ReplyI am glad to hear that, having successfully achieved national exposure, GPPSS has reached a "compromise" regarding Rick Santorum's presentation.
Like many, I requested an explanation from Dr. Outlaw after his initial cancellation, to which request he quickly responded. I have been disappointed that he has not been as responsive to my subsequent request for the GPPSS policy for selection of speakers. Such a policy is the clear way to ensure that decisions are consistent rather than merely politically correct.
One part of Dr. Outlaw's explanation, however, is certainly false: Rick Santorum has spoken to at least one other Michigan high school. He spoke at Heritage Christian Academy (K-12) in Kalamazoo on February 27, 2012, where he inspired the son of a friend of mine to become active in politics.
I am not a supporter of Rick Santorum or his views. But once upon a time I was disappointed not to be able to invite a candidate to speak to my Class: the nominee of the Socialist Workers' Party for Gerald Ford's House seat was perceived as "controversial." I did not support him either. But Voltaire had something right that all the doctors of education seem to have missed when he said, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." It is only from hearing the good and the bad, even the "controversial," that students, parents and educators will have possibility of thinking for themselves and telling one from the other.
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On the article Kate Murray Takes Over as Grosse Pointe North's Principal
Bob Carr
8:17 am on Friday, March 1, 2013
ReplyI wish Kate Murray the best at North. She has long experience at North and with Grosse Pointe Schools.
But why the churn and indecision of the process? In July, it was Assistant Superintendent of HR Dean and Curriculum Director Johnson because the search committee couldn't find suitable candidates and the timing wasn't right to continue. In August, it was Tom Tobe on a one year contract because the process would stretch through spring. In March, it's Kate Murray... who has been Assistant Principal at North since September 2011.
I could be wrong... but I believe that GPPSS could have managed this process to require less than four principals in nine months.
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On the article Will Right-to-Work Law Lead to Recall of Gov. Snyder?
Bob Carr
4:35 pm on Saturday, December 29, 2012
ReplyLabor doesn't like Snyder but there is no way they'll make a run at a recall vote. A second defeat on the heels of the Walker recall try in Wisconsin is too big a gamble to take. More likely they'll wait to see if Snyder over-reaches (a good probability) and let him hang himself.
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On the article Biggby Coffee in Grosse Pointe Farms to Close Doors Dec. 30
Bob Carr
5:34 am on Saturday, December 29, 2012
ReplyVery sorry to see Biggby's go. It's been my office away from the office since it opened. Such a different atmosphere from Caribou or Starbucks. And my girls simply love going by for creamy Teddy Bears or other frozen drinks. This is such a loss. Best wishes in your journey!
Bob Carr
3:41 pm on Friday, May 3, 2013
Congratulations to Brian Summerfield!
I am sure that Mr. Summerfield's capabilities are deeper than those suggested by Ms. Gafa. Certainly, I hope that he was selected for reasons beyond being "non-polarizing." The instances where the Board has gotten into trouble have been cases where an advocate unafraid of controversy might have provided the best counsel in avoiding it. Moreover, Brendan Walsh leaves mighty big shoes to fill in confronting the financial issues which will continue to vex GPPSS.