p) | 7D), Ww @ee ] of °F @ @ : The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, January 25, 1995! '5 " » APE Tre Vie John W. Johnson any The dramatically rightward shift of the nation which emerged _ from’ November's election has {@ocused attention once again on welfare reform. Welfare reform can only come in the following ways: —The current welfare system tears families apart. Tax and child support laws should be rewritten to encourage marriage. Paternity should be established at birth and, before that, family planning should begin at an early e." —Welfare should become a short-term solution, not a long- term disincentive to work. Job training should be provided to healthy adults, while those with young, ill or disabled children should receive assistance. —The states, not the federal government, should run the wel- fare system. There's nothing like ii scrutiny to keep the system “honest and efficient. + —Remove the disincentives to work from the current system. Cash and other benefits now total more than one can receive at an entry level job...so why work? —Do not look to government employment for the temporary welfare worker employment. A ‘paycheck, not a welfare check, @ ould be the objective. —And finally, there needs to be significant educational system reform - specifically, vocational education needs to be reempha- sized, And the reason that vocational education has been deemphasized is that Americans have a vainglo- rious, notion about perfection. Demanded by the ungrateful, gromted by the ineffectual, and herished by the nearly compe- tent, perfection is, indeed, an illu- sion, -,, And perhaps the most sought after perfection is the continued perpetuation of the illusion that quality (as opposed to quantity) can be achieved through public education. a Al. . Thisicontradiction begins with e ‘perfection declared in this “i PRC) “A The economic viewpoint 7. 7% [3 4; g | Howard Grossman | Dark clouds hover over the “skies ‘of the nation at the same time the sun beams through the ", cracks and crannies to present a mixed view of the future. The political winds have been drifting left and right, and those who would dare to take centrist positions are accused of being indecisive and, therefore, not part of the Ameri- can system of government. Racial equality, while occur- ring in some segments of the @/\merican ideal has not been achieved in most disciplines nor in the fabric of American culture. Idealogues scream across the airwaves of the nation and threaten to engulf the minds and hearts of American citizens. The spirit of American volun- teerism is perhaps at a cross- roads; being asked to make com- mitments financially and person- ally more than at any other time in America’s history. Fiscal disparities weighting heavily toward unfunded man- dates, unfunded liabilities, and increasing pressure on local gov- ernments presents a darkening shadow of “at-risk” communities, unlike any other era of American history. A powerful surge toward tax tuts at the federal level and, therefore, significantly increased © @cutsoffederal programs, can leave states, counties and local govern- merits in a perilous position. The sun rays filtering across the skies of America are some- times lost in the obstacles of hunian frailty, but are, neverthe- less, resilient in their radiance. History provides lessons learned such-as Northeastern Pennsylva- nia going through the most star- @tling régional economic comeback in the history of the United States. Heroic leadership erupts periodi- cally to capture the spirit of the A perfect life is an illusion nation's Declaration of Independence....that all are cre- ated equal. All are not, in fact, created equal. And itis charitable to even suggest that all are even remotely equal. All humans are born with different strengths and weaknesses. That's empirically self-evident. But in pursuit of the notion that public education is among the principal sources of strength in a republican democ- racy, we nevertheless perpetuate the illusion of perfection; indeed, we have institutionalized the idea of perfection to the point where, among other things, young people commit suicide over bad grades. At the same time vocational education in favor of the perfec- tion to be found in the ‘profes- sions’ has been deemphasized in public education. Much of the vocational educa- tion void has attempted to be filled by private industry, either through correspondence schools, hands- on training or a combination of both. We've allseenthe TV ads: “Learn to drive a truck,” or “be a welder and earn big money,” etc., etc. And, with the exceptions of road maintenance, the post office and defense, I'm all for private indus- try doing just about anything in place of public institutions, be they governmental or educational. However, many of those so- called private vocational educa- tion schools are primarily in busi- ness to lure dollars from ill-in- formed students, and not in the business of providing an educa- tion. Part of the reason for this is that students who would be drawn to such hype are not prepared to make judgments about the qual- ity of such courses; to expect otherwise begs the question of a need for vocational education in the first place. This, of course, speaks even more loudly to the need for more vocational training in the public education system where the entire process is sub- ject to public scrutiny, higher standards and more stringent expectations. Be all this as it may, both par- ents AND teachers are not en- tirely happy with our educational system in general. For example. —Many teachers say parents are too permissive. —At the same time, less than half of teachers surveyed say they are very satisfied with their jobs. (This compares with 52 percent of the total public, and the biggest complaint seems to be that teach- ers feel they are primarily there to ‘manage’ as opposed to ‘teach’ students.) Teachers, in general, are blamed far too much for society's ills; instead, much of the blame can be laid at the feet of: . —A mushrooming school bu- reaucracy having a negative effect on their work in the classroom. In 1960 there were 40,000 school districts in the U.S.; today there are 16,000. At the same time, over the past 20 years the number of principals and supervisors has increased 83 percent while the number of teachers has increased 64 percent. —Television and the image it creates for students that they would be ‘entertained’ in the class- room. —Perhaps, most importantly, teachers said that poor attitudes toward learning and little parent involvement with a child's educa- tion at home, were important factors in ‘whyJohnny can'tread.’ And if Johnny can't read, (or is unable to produce or service something with his hands) there's a good chance that he, and the children he produces, will go on welfare. The at-home factor cannot be stressed enough. If parents con- tinue to believe that it is the sole responsibility of public education to educate their children, then the quality of education will suf- fer. And paying lip service to involvement by joining a parent/ school group does not entirely address the real issue: The child must perceive that learning—vocational or = other- wise—is not just a function of textbooks and classroom routine. He or she must come to under- stand that education is a lifelong process, and not something to be endured until one is old enough to quit. This is where parents become involved with their child's educa- tion at home can make the critical difference between a child who was presented information and a child who learned. And ultimately, this means the difference between a society which, in all ways, either pros- pers, or declines into’ an ever widening gap of both economical and intellectual have and have nots. Individuals can make a difference in our future nation, the spirit of states, the spirit of regions, and the spirit of counties, communities and neigh- borhoods. Witness the astonish- ing results of people in Northeast- ern Pennsyvlania who have con- tributed so significantly to the region's economic growth and quality of life, such as Roy E. Morgan of Forty Fort, Thomas P. Shelburne of Centermoreland, Ernest D. Preate, Sr. of Scranton, and a host of other leaders who have lent their time, energies and monies toward the great causes of people's needs. Much of American and much of Northeastern Pennsylvania, its beauty, spectacular natural re- sources, and richness and diver- sity are unlike any other country or most other regions of the na- tion. People are inventive and create new ways to solve new and older problems as demonstrated by the growing number of partnerships of the private, public and not-for- public sector of the nation and the region. Those who stand and fight for their belief take much heat, but glow in success as ex- emplified by one person, John McGee, who fought for years for his vision of minor league profes- sional baseball returning to North- eastern Pennsylvania. In the tiny hamlets, villages, towns, townships and boroughs and in the cities of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the nation lie astonishing capacities for posi- tive improvement and significant change. People like Dr. Ed Dessen of Hazleton who almost singlehandedly created anew and startling capacity to change the lifestyle of an entire community area. People like General Frank Townend who rose to heights of citizen leadership during the days before and the days after Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. These examples bode well for the future of this nation and region. The one great failing which exists almost across the board, whether it be national, state, re- gional, county municipal or neigh- borhood is the inability to think long term. No one seems to want to account for the generations ahead. Rather, the dark and ominous clouds which overarch the geography around us are those which relate to the absence and failure to account for those who will follow many decades ahead. This failure speaks to the diffi- culty of placing yourself in 1995 as if you were in the same place, the same region, and the same country in the Year 2035. There is an organization called the World Future Society which attempts to accomplish this al- most impossible task. The Soci- ety is based in Bethesda, Mary- land with a worldwide member- ship. The Northeast Pennsylva- nia Chapter has been meeting at Wilkes University over the last few years through a group called Futurists. Difficult as it is, the Northeastern Pennsylvania com- munity needs to substantially advance long range thinking. One such task in a strategic sense has been the regional vi- sioning project of the Economic Development Council of North- eastern Pennsylvania (EDCNP). The Council identified five major critical areas facing 21st century Northeastern Pennsylvania, de- veloped policy papers around these five critical areas, and fur- ther defined specific actions which can be a guidepost for the region's future. Working with the four Penn State Regional Campuses serving Northeastern Pennsylva- nia at Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Hazleton and Schuylkill Haven, EDCNP has published 17 reports on the regional visioning NEPA 2000 series. Hopefully, this can serve as a springboard for the region to be- lieve, act and implement changes and functions which can expand Northeastern Pennsylvania's ho- rizons to combat the dark clouds and allow the positive sunrays to be the inheritance of regional 21st century life. Howard Grossman is Executive Director of the Economic Develop- ment Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He lives in Dallas. dees _} Library news Library is looking for a few good volunteers By NANCY KOZEMCHAK The Back Mountain Memorial Library has completed another busy, exciting year with a total book circulation count for 1994 of 89,161; 52,136 adult and 37,025 juvenile. Book Club circulated 2,808 books; Reference totaled 4,187 and Access Pennsylvania books totaled 1,702. There were 661 new adult borrowers and 669 juvenile borrowers added to the library. Re-registrations were adult 1,284 and juvenile 1,399. New books added, adult 1,657 and juvenile 317. Books with- drawn for the year, adult 382 and juvenile 240. Interlibrary loan books circulated 726. The library enjoyed many story hours with much activity in the childrens room and varied programs and money making projects for the entire library. The library is looking for a few volunteers who would be able to commit three or more hours a week at the library. There are many areas where our volunteers do a tremendous job of helping with the work load of the staff at the library. Some of the areas that help is needed are shelving books, alphabetizing the daily circulation cards, filing cards in catalogs and slipping books at the main desk. The library shelves always need to be checked for correct filing and straightened. Any interested person is asked to stop at the library for information and a volunteer application. New books at the library: “Carry Me Home" by John M. DelVecchio is a powerful and poignant epic that places the Viet Nam soldiers to their final battlefield—the home front. High Meadow Farm, in the fertile hill country of central Penn- sylvania, would be their salva- tion. In Viet Nam, they had fought side by side, brothers in arms. Now in the face of personal trag- edy and bureaucratic deception, they would create a more endur- ing allegiance. “Nest of Vipers” by Linda Da- Generous program supporters : : First Fidelity Bank has awarded a $5,000 grant from the Mary J. Foster Trust to benefit children irr from low-income families. The grant will be used for tutoring services provided by the Mercy iy Institute of Educational Development (MIED) at Mercy Center, Dallas. Receiving the grant from i Sr. Francel D'Andrea, RSM are the members of the MIED Administrative Team Sisters Ann tices. vies is a gripping debut novel that” | reinvents the financial thriller, bringing it into the modern world of incredibly complex—and cor- , ruptible—markets. Sarah | Jensen—smart, ambitious, inde" pendent, and beautiful—is one of the most successful currency traders in the City of London... When the governor of the Bank of, England invites her to his office, . she's intrigued. She hears of suspects of corrupt trading prac: “The Time of the Cricket” by William D. Blankenship is anovet * * of classic mayhem in modern’ Tokyo. The novel follows the trail = of Kay Williams, an American object d'art agent, and Cricket Kimura, Yakuza executioner for '-* the Japanese mafia. Focusingon the legend and the present-day‘. legacy of the sword of the Ems" peror Meiji, the story goes deep. « under the tightly woven Japanese. social fabric to reveal an under- world rarely seen. 3" 3 ¥ %" Patrice Wassel, RSM, Bridget Clark, RSM, Mary Clare Dougherty, RSM and Patricia Ann Mundy, anid RSM. CARY G20 2ainad AY Life Improvement Loans| LN) : : F rs \ rr Pe ty I 3 3 7 i Irreran Enter Our “Loans To Go” Sweepstakes. in ATripTo Hawaii. ~~ You Could Wi Sa f) 2 Now you can win an all-expense paid trip to the Aloha State, plus a hundred other ol 3 Rey DEE N Ao pe » L Si v rea 6 ariva cv. Tou ow ) { a NS great prizes in our “Loans to Go” Sweepstakes’. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers