Governor Cuomo badly reimagines education

Back in 2016, I had the honor of being commencement speaker for my alma mater, Royalton-Hartland. My speech was mostly on point, celebrating our school and community and the great students that came from them.

But, I’m a newspaper columnist, I peddle opinions. So, I briefly went off message and threw a shot at Common Core, the monster of scholastic control that was forced upon educators by non-educators.

I’ll never forget the cheers and vast sea of fist pumps, nodding heads and smiles when I said, “Common Core is rotten to the core.” That universal acknowledgement by the crowd of hundreds spoke to the frustration that teachers, parents and students harbor towards mandates in the classroom.

It didn’t begin and it certainly won’t end with Common Core. The laundry list of educational failures from higher bodies is endless. Think “No Child Left Behind” and “Regents Exams”.

Such programs haven’t worked and will never work as well as powerbrokers would hope because the people who best know the subjects and students (the teachers), have their finger on the pulse of the community (the administrators and school boards), and understand what’s best for their kids (the parents) are all left out of the equation. Under the rules from above, they must do as they are told and cannot do as they should. Elected officials and powerful agencies in the state capitol and Washington, DC, -- and profiteers on Wall Street -- dictate what must be taught and how it should be taught. Education has been standardized by individuals who truly don’t know how to work with children.

That tragic situation is about to get worse in New York if Governor Cuomo has his way.

The Governor’s daily Covid-19 press conferences are a study in political foreplay. He attempts to warm you up to ideas gradually. It’s like reading the tea leaves – he’ll throw some hints your way then days later he hits you with what he wanted to say all along.

In recent weeks, he was repeatedly fond of saying that the distance learning that has been an outcome of New York’s shutdown has been great. I kept wondering why he would say that. It was the furthest thing from the truth. I don't know a single teacher, parent, or student who believes that remote learning has been a winner. It’s been frustrating and heartbreaking for everyone. Sure, we’re all trying, and we all have to under the circumstances, but nothing beats the classroom and the magical abilities of our teachers in the presence of children. 

So, why did he keep championing distance learning?

It was his attempt to make an easy sell out of last week’s announcement – a sale that blew up in his face, by the way, when you gauge the responses by New York’s teachers, principals and superintendents on social media – that the state will be working with the Gates Foundation to “re-imagine” education in the Empire State with a focus on non-classroom learning.

It just so happens the Gates Foundation was the driving force behind Common Core.

We don’t need Common Core 2.0. The first version is bad enough. An impersonal one would be worse.

But, that’s what Cuomo is trying to sell us.

Re-imagining wouldn’t be a bandage to cover the wounds of Covid-19 temporarily as our nation heals. Instead, it would be the scar that’s left once the bandage is removed.

There was an air of permanency in Cuomo’s slideshow and talking points and, given Gates’ investment, you’d expect as much. As Cuomo said, "…the old model of our education system where everyone sits in a classroom is not going to work in the new normal. When we do reopen our schools let's reimagine them for the future.”

The future.

This is, undoubtedly, one of those “never let a good crisis go to waste” moments that politicians crave. Cuomo said as much with less controversial phrasing: "We have a moment in history where we can incorporate and advance ideas. I think this is one of those moments. Let's think about revolutionizing education."

A revolution.

As would be expected from someone totally removed from education, the Governor’s revolution is all about technology and using it to replace, not necessarily augment, the classroom experience.

Nary was a mention given to people.

I don’t care if you have a high-tech classroom or a factory with the very best machinery: Your greatest assets are your people. The folks in the trenches are what get the job done.

The state and federal government have lost sight of that through the years. They think they, statistics and computers – not teachers -- are better suited for managing how our kids learn, what they should learn, and what they can become.

We have to stop that immediately. We can’t go further down this path. We have to make sure Cuomo doesn’t open the gates to the Gates again.

You want to re-imagine education?

Let’s imagine it the way it used to be, when the loving souls who actually know education were allowed to educate.

If we go back to that then we are guaranteed success for our schools, students and society.

From the 11 May 2020 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News

Stimulate the economy: Buy American

The American Experience has been defined by our unprecedented combination of brain and brawn.

Our predecessors, dreaming dreams of Manifest Destiny, tamed a wild land, giving up blood, sweat and lives to make a better world for their children and their children’s children. From those seeds of the American Dream, great metropolises sprung up like forests of concrete and steel, fitted with impressive architecture and ever-evolving factories that gave housing and goods to our burgeoning population. Those modern marvels and what they wrought have continued to develop over the years and helped make America the most powerful economic engine that the world has ever seen.

The path that got us to that level, one that took our nation from nothing to everything, was paved by ingenuity and work ethic that was without peer. The infrastructure, technology, science and products that provided the riches of the past and present were once but thoughts, then fully developed and ultimately realized by some of the keenest minds ever, made real by some of the hardest-working hands and backs ever.

Historically, it is important that we never forget that.

But, today, tomorrow and next year, it is important that we re-emphasize that foundation.

Our economy is in tatters with consumer and entrepreneur confidence at record lows and the stock markets a daily roller coaster of misery. Literally tens of millions of workers have lost their jobs in the past two months. Many more live in fear that they, too, might become jobless this year or next.

How do we stave off this monster and the economic and mental depression that comes with it?

How do we reignite the fire within our markets?

How do we keep people employed and give them the confidence to buy?

Those questions have been asked time and time again amidst every recession we’ve faced. Businessmen, civic leaders and regular folk alike, all deeply affect by this tragedy, want answers, answers that will pan out in the end and put America on the fast-track to recovery. They’ve all thrown around ideas in this latest crisis, imposing some while debating many, from bailouts to rebates to nationalization to stimulus packages to public service programs.

Despite all those fanciful expenditures, realize that our economy doesn’t start with Uncle Sam. It begins at home. It’s we as consumers in a free marketplace who save, invest and spend our money on products and services.

Realize, though, that it begins at home in more ways than one. The very best stimulus that our economy could ever have is from our consumers focusing on buying American and buying local. That is what made our country great and that’s what will bring us out of this significant mess. Americans building and selling things to Americans creates prosperity and the quality of life we previously appreciated. History proves that.

We’ve lost sight of that importance. In decades gone by we did not fully rely on foreign production as we do now. We did not toss away American workers and decent products for inferior, foreign-made goods to save a few dollars here and there. We did not buy all of our products from cold, calculating multinational online retailers. We didn’t threaten our national security and health by going all-in with overseas factories.

No, in the past, we as a people made what we bought, and we bought those goods in stores owned and run by our neighbors. We looked out for one another by basing our buying decisions on pride of workmanship, quality, and Country.

We need to get back to those roots, now more than ever.

When the states’ various economies re-open we must frequent the mom and pop stores, the locally-owned franchises and roadside stands, putting the global corporate conglomerates at a distant second. We must analyze the labels of everything we buy, from food to clothes to durables to cars, ensuring that they were made, whole or in part, on America soil by American hands and American minds.

As buyers become tighter with their dollars and buy less of many yet more of quality they’ll find that American products will make the best investment of their spending dollar, not only in terms of a better-made product, but also to the bigger picture of investing in our national well-being. It is such a simple and effective stimulant: if we buy goods that are made in America we employ American workers, managers, designers and farmers all who extract American resources and turn them into the goods we need and want.

So, please buy what they make, keep money in America and ensure that they - our friends, families, and fellow citizens – are all gainfully employed. The payback of buying patriotically can be an economic, emotional, and national victory.

From the 04 May 2020 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News

Amateur radio, a hobby for the social distancing era

During the coronavirus crisis we’ve been told to be socially distant and remain two meters apart.

Coincidentally, two meters is a very popular amateur radio frequency range which, locally, has taken on special meaning during the statewide shutdown.

Every day, at 11:00 a.m., local amateurs -- called “hams” -- get together on the Lockport Amateur Radio Association’s repeater (146.820 for all of you with police scanners) to check in, check on others, offer camaraderie, and provide help – such as shopping errands or donations of food and supplies -- to shut-ins or the ill who desperately need it.

That daily net, frequented by 20 to 30 radio operators, has served as a beacon of hope, support and love during these difficult times.   

That speaks to the value of ham radio as a two-pronged pursuit: It’s a hobby and a public service.

For hobbyists, it gives people of all ages the chance to learn about, work with, and develop radio technology that will allow them to communicate (by voice, Morse code, or computer) with fellow ham radio operators around the corner or around the world.

From a public service standpoint, amateur radio operators provide communications when storms and other natural disasters wipe out phone networks, cable, and electricity or when societal upheavals like Covid-19 turn the world upside down.

You might be familiar with amateur radio by its presence in pop culture.

The movie “Frequency” starring Jim Caviezel and Dennis Quaid had a plot based on a geomagnetic storm that allowed a ham radio operator to talk to his deceased father decades earlier, which then allowed them to change the course of history. Tim Allen’s character on “Last Man Standing” is an amateur radio enthusiast and his hobby has played a part in quite a few episodes of the show.

You might also recognize amateur from its presence in the community.

If you’ve taken part in events like the Ride for Roswell you’ve seen a small army of men and women with handheld and mobile radios serving as communications support and observers for the riders. Perhaps you’ve seen the folks from LARA showing off their ability to communicate worldwide at the Niagara County Fair.

Getting licensed to take part in all this is an easy task. A few years ago the Federal Communications Commission abandoned the Morse code requirements for its permits, an obstacle that had proved difficult to many (especially the young) and had prevented them from entering the hobby. Now, you just need to pass a written exam, knowing radio and electrical theory as well as the FCC’s rules and regulations. There are plenty of study guides available and many of them actually provide the hundreds of possible questions and answers that the 35-question exams pull from. With time on your hands because of the coronavirus shutdown there’s no better time to study! 

Once the State opens back up, you will be able to take the exam under the watchful eye of local hams. When that time comes, information about the exams and amateur radio in general can be found at the website of the American Radio Relay League (www.ARRL.org).

Back in 2011, I got my radio license (KC2ZZW) from the federal government after decades of participating in other radio pursuits like CB radio and listening to the police scanner or shortwave radio.

In my first days on the air I talked to exotic locales like Argentina and St. Thomas with my modest low-power station. Since then, I’ve talked to more than 80 different countries and more than half of our states.  

I also use ham radio, specifically VHF frequencies like the aforementioned two meter band, as a lifeline. In many areas where I enjoy the great outdoors in New York (like Allegany County and the Adirondacks) there is no cell coverage, but my tiny walkie-talkie can reach ham radio repeater systems listened to by area hams. That offers peace in mind and preparedness for any sort of emergency you can encounter in the wilderness.

While the Internet has made the world a smaller place -- allowing us to log on to our Facebook and Zoom accounts to share messages with friends and family around the globe -- there’s still a place for the joy and service afforded by ham radio. It’s pretty exciting that you can use a small box of electronics and a wire antenna to talk to complete, but welcoming strangers, on every continent or in every neighborhood.

In this era of social distancing, is there a more perfect hobby?  

From the 27 April 2020 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News

Trust businesses to manage health and restart the economy

Amidst the various state shutdowns we keep hearing from governors and other state officials that public health and the economy need to be managed simultaneously and you can’t have one without the other.

I agree, but not enough attention has been placed upon that belief because, for the most part, economic considerations have been cast aside. In most cases the response has been “we will be convening a committee.” Will be.

Granted, the governors need to be focused on prevention and rectification of Covid-19 cases, but they shutdown almost everything without giving much concern for damaging or re-starting the economic engine despite access to the considerable number of bright minds in various economic and health functions of the states’ sometimes oversized governments and the academic and business leaders (like me) more than willing to volunteer and participate in discussions about how to gradually and safely start the economy.

Trust the resources available. And, while doing so, trust those who run American enterprises, large and small.  

You can’t help but feel that many governors have never really immersed themselves in the operations of the private sector. The dog-and-pony shows that they get at ribbon cuttings and press conferences have done little to educate them on the finer nuances of what actually happens on the shop floor or behind the scenes.

If they did have even a passing understanding they would know that businesses manage health and economic functions as a normal part of their business.

Take Confer Plastics for example.

Many readers of this column have toured the plant as members of local organizations or they went through the factory during our various anniversary open houses (a community celebration of our 50^th will be coming up in just a few years). You might even have seen us on TV news reports. While doing so, you saw swimming pool and spa supplies, docks, kayaks, and more being produced by very large machines and being finished by our excellent team of coworkers.

So, you know the environment in which they work and that should give you insight into the limitless safety protocols that are necessary to ensure their safety. The mammoth machines are powered by 440 volts, have tons of hydraulic pressure, and generate considerable heat; there are moving parts and auxiliary equipment galore that require safety features and training; and my team has to understand personal protective equipment, safe lifting and much more.

As the owner of the business it is my responsibility – and a power entrusted in me by local, state, and federal governments…and my coworkers  – to make sure they are safe.

But, I don’t do it alone. Safety is a team effort.

We have an open door policy. 30 people sit on my safety committee that meets regularly to offer ideas and solutions and follow-up on them. The various managers train, observe and protect their teams. My coworkers look out for one another. Many take classes and read up on the latest safety procedures to understand how others put controls and training in place. Every year, I invite the New York State Department of Labor in to conduct an OSHA-style inspection of our various worksites, a true public/private collaboration.

We invest a lot of time, energy and money in making sure our “i”s are dotted and our “t”s are crossed when it comes to the well-being of our team.

While what we do might seem special to those who have never worked in industry, most of our brothers and sisters in the US manufacturing world do things along those lines. And, so do other workplaces in other economic sectors, based on the health and safety concerns that exist in their workplaces. No one wants anyone to get hurt and we – business owners, managers, workers, governments -- all try our darnedest to make sure they aren’t.  

It might seem foreign to governors who’ve only spent their careers in the public sector but employers do have solutions; they can manage health and be productive at the same time. They always have and they always will. If employers are provided rules and guidance about keeping their employees and customers safe from Covid-19 they will follow them. They will also make their own internal policies and procedures that will further enhance safety. We do such things every day. It’s old hat to us.

This is what we, as a society, need to capitalize on in order to get our economy safely back on track under what could be long-lasting concerns over Covid-19. This could be a cyclic or ever-heightened event that changes how we do things for the next two years or more.

Not doing anything is not the answer.

Trust is the answer.

Trust employers to make the right decisions. Never discount the abilities of those living the American Dream when it comes to innovations and adaptations in everything they do.

Managing the coronavirus outbreak is absolutely critical. But, so is getting the economy running in some fashion -- whether intermittently, gradually, or in smaller volume. Both can be accomplished quite well, by the same things that drive safety in our businesses every single day: care, controls, education, teamwork, and public-private partnerships.

From the 20 April 2020 Greater Niagara Newspapers and the Batavia Daily News

Celebrating dispatchers, the forgotten first responders

Sadly, it too often takes a crisis – be it 9/11 or a local catastrophe – to cause Americans to really celebrate the value that first responders bring to society.

 

We’ve seen that admiration in spades of late as impromptu parades, homemade yard signs, and press briefing commentaries by county, state, and federal executives have shined the spotlight on police, firefighters and ambulance crews for dealing with what the coronavirus crisis has thrown at them and our communities.

 

Even so, almost every one of us is guilty of, at one point – and, for some folks, always -- overlooking one subset of first responders who also deserve accolades, those who are actually the first of the responders – the dispatchers. Dispatchers are special public servants who are, in a way, the first on the scene. They may not be responding to the scene itself but they are responding directly to the people involved – those who need saving and those doing the saving.

 

The amount of stress placed upon dispatchers is considerable as are the skills and abilities they need to navigate their duties. Just ponder the following possible chain of events that happen once a call comes in to the 911 center.

 

The communicator has to calm the harried caller, be it a victim of domestic violence, a witness to an accident, or someone tending to a loved one who has taken ill.

 

Then, the dispatch team has to figure out the appropriate response – who, what, why, where and how. This gets tricky sometimes if the team has to use multiple forms of cellular and satellite technology to triangulate calls and ascertain location and the unique obstacles it may pose.

 

That team then calls out the appropriate police force and fire/EMS personnel, all while giving them the proper details and setting the table for them so they know exactly what they are heading into so they can be mentally and physically prepared and, above all, safe.

 

The dispatcher on the phone must often educate and help a stressed caller handle the event they are in, whether it’s leaving a danger zone, hiding from an attacker or doing critical first aid like administering CPR or the Heimlich maneuver or stopping a deadly bleed.

 

The individual at radio control must help coordinate and monitor all communications of the various agencies and departments on scene and determine if more help is needed and call for that accordingly.      

 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg; there’s so much more that needs doing. There’s a lot going on with just one call to 911.

 

Obviously, our multitasking dispatchers have to wear many hats – communicator, coordinator, and counselor. All of those tasks have to be handled with immediacy – every second matters with emergency calls – and with preternatural calm so the callers aren’t put into further distress and the other first responders can be directed and can direct with confidence.

 

It really takes a special person to be a dispatcher.

 

As someone who religiously listens to Niagara County dispatch I can attest to their professionalism, expertise and genuine humanity. We’re blessed to have them serving the citizens and their brothers and sisters in the public safety world.

 

This week, by regular practice and not because of the Covid-19 crisis, is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week during which the workers of dispatcher centers are recognized for doing what they do. Most often, a Sheriff’s Office or a Police Commissioner’s office will hold a small ceremony or post something on their social media extolling the virtues of their dispatchers.

 

The dispatchers deserve a tip of the hat from us, too.

 

If they’ve ever been there for you maybe you could drop a kindly letter in the mail explaining how they helped you through an emergency. Or, maybe the next time you find yourself calling 911, you could end the call with a simple “thank you”.

 

Those are two words they don’t hear enough.  

 

From the 13 April 2020 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News