Don't have a lot of time this morning. I'm driving to Palm Beach for the Everglades Coalition meeting, held every January. At last night's Coalition dinner, some school performers selected from the Fairchild Challenge were invited to entertain the crowd. The young man in the photo wrote a poem about the Everglades. It is ironic, of course, that the leader and innovator of the Challenge, Caroline Lewis, was terminated from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and teachers are in an uproar at the same moment the Challenge is on display as an example of the enthusiasm and diversity supporting the Everglades. A frequent criticism of the environmental movement in Florida is that it does not represent our communities. The Challenge not only does but does so splendidly. That is why the dismissal is so outrageous based on trustees' claims. A comment interpreted by junior staffers as having racial overtones caused her to be removed from supervising her staff: what she said (scroll down to earlier posts for details) was exactly to the point of energizing children from schools largely representing minorities.
Here's a quick story. Years ago, I was involved in lobbying public broadcasting to expand its coverage to the Florida Keys and Monroe County. When I first moved with my family to Florida, in 1988, it was to the Keys. I was amazed to learn that National Public Radio's reach didn't extend there and was informed -- after asking questions-- that the board of education in Monroe was responsible for making a request for the service. I finally found a school board member who was sympathetic. The threshold issue was that the Monroe county school board didn't want to have to listen to Miami-Dade county school board meetings whose broadcast was a condition of licensing etc. and couldn't be segmented out for Keys' listeners. I asked my school board friend in Key West: is it really that important to deny people the chance to listen and to be informed by NPR programming because of a school board meetings in Miami-Dade? He leaned in closely to me and said, "It is not about the school board broadcasts. There are just some in this county who don't want other people to become educated."
I was taken aback. But my experience in Florida for the past two decades is just that: there are some who just don't want people to become educated. Especially among children-- whose sense of right and wrong is so sharp-- the power of learning is a wonderful thing to behold, but it can come at a price that would shock you.
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6 comments:
I was at the EVCO conference when the students performed. I saw how the audience gave the teachers and students a standing ovation with as much passion and fervor as the students' performances. The audience had tears on their faces and mentioned how the students validated their mission to conserve and preserve the Everglades.
Caroline did an amazing job in creating the Fairchild Challenge. Her devotion and passion to increase environmental education and awareness in students was so apparent last night.
Bravo! Caroline! I hope you will be able to create another Challenge program in a place that will appreciate your vision and mission. You have an audience clamoring for it! Don't let the students, teachers, and environmental organizations down! Please, you are needed and wanted!
Don't worry Anom above, she will! She will take this program elsewhere, continue it's monumental success, and it will become apparent to Fairchild Gardens that they have made the biggest mistake in the garden's history.
How sad for Fairchild
It is sad, very very sad. It does however speak volumes to the troubles with Fairchilds leadership.
I have a hunch this young man will be attending the rally of support for Mrs. Lewis at Fairchild this Sat. Perhaps then the public will realize the power of learning and demand the removal of executive leadership at the garden that think otherwise. Lets stop the dumbing down of Fairchild. Become a member and vote for change.
AMEN ANONYMOUS! These rouge individuals in executive management are going to be stopped in their tracks. Enough is enough. If they had not fired or chased away so many directors prior to terminating Mrs. Lewis this would have probably slipped under the radar. People are noticing and change is coming!
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