January 1979 RAIN Page 21 GOODTHINGS New Western Energy Show Film, $40 rental or $475 purchase from: N.W.E.S. 226 Power Block Helena, M'.f 59601 Ski Trails & Old Timers' Tales in Idaho and Montana, Ron Watters, 1978, 272 pp., $7.95 from: Solstice Press North Country }3ook .Express Box 9223 I know we plug these·guys a lot, but if you can see this film, you'll know why! Wonderful singing and dancing theater put on in towns around Montana. Moscow, ID 83843 I like the headspace of this ski-touring resource booki it has a well-honed sense of place, a nice appreciation for local folklore centered around the "long snowshoe," and a commitment to sport that is integrated with environment. )'here's no better way I can think of to teach about energy use and the potentials of the good life. This film captures the spirit of the group and its show so well that you'll smile all the way through it. See the October 1977 (Vol. IV, No. 1) issue of Rain if you want more info on. the sh,ow. -LdeM 300 trails in the northern Rockies are mapped out by sub-regions with aerial iHustrations and notes on terrain, degrees of difficulty and avalanche dangers. In all, a well-rounded guide to touring *NWES is recruiting 3 actors and actresses for next summer's tour, so here's a great opportunity to plug in.. (See RUSH for more details.) • the powdery pleasures of Big Sky cm.in-· try. Nice job, Ron. -SA Further, when we begin to view the schools in terms of the kids and their community, we get a different perspective. You can't help but wonder how much a child really ga.ins from the plethora of "servites," equipment, materials, et al., that come from centralized services. If a teacher is trapped with lesson plans, secretarial work, building curriculum plans, district goals and objectives, workshops, in-services, state and federally imposed paperwork, etc., etc., how much is left for the kids? Where is the give and take, the love, the spontaneity, the random nature of learning? The kids find-themselves in situations where their curiosity, integrity and wisdom are often questioned; their choices are severely limited; their learning restrained and not organic. There is much missing for them. Frankly, there is not only much missing for children, but much also for parents and teachers. It seems clear that furthercentralization of the schools can only heighten the loss. Cutting back the present configuration of the schools will likewise alienate child, parent and teachers. The only choice that remains is to begin the process of decentralizing the schools. My sense is that were parents and teachers to look closely at decentralized, locally controlled, and small schools, that many of the problems facing the schools could be resolved. What I have come to believe about schools can be summarized in six points: * A small, decentralized school controlled by parents and supported by some equitable distribution of tax and other monies will be more cost-effective than the same school in a centralized school district, while being better able to provide truly quality-oriented learning experiences. * Such a school cannot only provide a.more tlran adequate environment for learning, but can also be 'more responsive~to the needs of the community it serves. * A parent committee controlling a small school can be more efficient and effective than a·school board lording over its feudal domain of schools. . • * A small, decentralized school can be more responsive to the rich cultural diversity of the larger community; or it can better preserve, maintain and encourage cultural and ethnic diversity and identity. * A small, decentralized school can engender the values needed to sustain a harmonious relationship with the processes that support life. * A small, decentralized school can foster an aesthetic and qualitative awareness of life processes. These•six point~ are in need of further clarification, and I plan to devote considerable time in the next year to them. I see this as a beginning, and would welcome the feedback of readers. But what I rearly hope is that there is a small, vocal group of parents out there who have already seen the need for decentralization of the schools. If you are there, please let us know your whereabouts. That work is a right livelihood, and needs to be supported in whatever way possible. D
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz