The Observation Deck

Wow!

I did a shoot of their awards ceremony and was floored by the multi-ethnic diversity I saw.

Once again I ask: "why doesn't the Lakewood government reflect what I saw?

http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... night-2015

Nice photos!

Short answer to your query: Ask how many of those parents voted in the last municipal election.

Alex, Michael:

My late father and I (being retired educators) volunteered with the Lakewood Schools and I still do. Most of our volunteering was at Garfield. Garfield, in my opinion, is an absolute model school for how students should be treated, and it shows; not only with their awards nights, but in their day-to-day operations. Last fall, we held an evening community cultural pot-luck there, with student and staff presented programs celebrating the diversity that we have in our community. You should have been there. The food, the laughter, the multicultural music and dance events...I could go on and on...

I would suggest to you that Lakewood Schools in general display a very positive attitude towards their students, and have encouraged student success and achievement over a wide range of disciplines. I have personally observed that there is a very positive and affirming experience for Lakewood's students from the moment they step into one of our school buildings. Caring, acceptance, and concern all go a long way in helping and encouraging students to achieve acceptance and success.

Whenever possible, the schools also encourage and support parental and community involvement, as well as supporting staff continuing education needs. The combined resources of this community provide a tremendous base of information and talent to draw upon for the benefit of our students in the Lakewood Schools.

As far as parental participation in elections goes, I don't have the answer to that one. One thing I do know is that the students at Garfield are indeed well trained in participatory democratic awareness and practices. Many of their parents are also very involved with Garfield's evening events as well, so I have a very good feeling about the way Lakewood Schools encourage the community involvement of all of our residents.

We have, in my opinion, simply a terrific school district.

I agree with Gary's comments.

I've visited Garfield a few times over the years on LO stories, and I've always been impressed with the students and staff.

Also, Lakewood Schools are light years ahead of City Hall in terms of community engagement. Groups like the PTA and Boosters are far more reflective of the city than virtually any other City or citizens' groups in town.

This is pretty understandable....the schools interact with students of ALL backgrounds on a daily basis. Home buyers choose Lakewood in many cases for the schools. Many renters move to Lakewood specifically for the schools. These groups share a common interest in education.

On the other hand, most Lakewood citizens (especially renters) have minimal interaction with City Hall. As long as their garbage is picked up each week, they really don't pay attention. They wouldn't know Mike Summers from Suzanne Somers.

Alex Belisle wrote: .... floored by the multi-ethnic diversity I saw.

Alex - your statement reminds me of one day in particular a few years back when I was an on-court coach/mentor for Lakewood Outdoor Basketball Committee; I looked out onto the court at the now/still closed Kauffman Park hoops and witnessed a three-on-three game played by kids whose ages ranged from 13 to 17 ... each and everyone of them of a different race, color, cultural background). Six beautiful young people who did not care one iota what the color of the skin their teammate was. They all just wanted to play baskeball. Let me repeat that: THEY ALL JUST WANTED TO PLAY BASKETBALL. I turned away from the game for a moment to wipe away the tears that started to form.


"Youve Got To Be Carefully Taught" was written by Rogers And Hammerstein.

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your beautiful words and sentiments. I also coached HS basketball in NYC and was a NIKE Basketball shooter. Ever since I can remember I grew up playing on the courts of NYC with every kind of individual one can think of. Matter of fact, some of the girls who ran full court with us were great players.

Yes, it can get rowdy, curses will be thrown and non-players might use the courts when unused for other activities, BUT to literally cut them down at the poles like in Kaufman Park - that's MEAN!

Maybe with a new regime in power in Lakewood, things will be different. Maybe we can welcome all those so called "unsavory elements"

Garfield is our future, whether we like it or not.