Denver, CO

image from http://www.rwm.org/rwm/tf_col.html

If you’re a loyal reader or here for the first time but have read through my previous blog posts, you’ll know that I took the about-denverco.com website to a community meeting about education. This post shall be a reflection on the meeting and my overall feel of the successes of the meeting and where it didn’t work.
First, let me begin by saying this was an incredible experience. If you have not taken the time to participate in your state’s government before, then please do so. You will not forget it. Helping to make decisions, engage in discussions about ideas, these are all things that invigorate me and I think probably do the same for most anybody. For this reason, and because many people are concerned with education in Colorado and the U.S.A., there was a sizeable group of local politicians, educators, parents, grandparents, councilmen and councilwomen, and students at this community meeting.
Issues discussed: How do we improve Colorado education?
It was clear that everyone in attendance agreed that Colorado public schools need improvement. And everyone agreed a good start for this was to do away with CSAP. Another key focus of the meeting was to expand the ways in which we teach, what we teach, and how that information is presented to kids. Basically an overwhelming consensus that our education is too standardized.
Where I felt this meeting was lacking was that we focused much on what the system needed to remove or change, but not in the least on how to change it and what the education system in the future would look like it. The meeting was able to establish what was not working in education and what should work better, but no strategies on how to implement it.

These conversations are taking place around the state of Colorado, in an effort to garnish as much community ideas, support, and involvement about the future of Colorado education. This affects all of us, either because we have kids in Colorado’s education systems, or we care about our state, our nation, and will continue to live here, hopefully as leaders of the free world.
For more info please visit www.conversation2007.org