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by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation Peregrine falcons are once again tending nests in the Kansas City area, and the public can watch one pair tend eggs and raise young online. A web camera is aimed at a nest box atop the American Century Investments office building near the Country Club Plaza. Four other nests are active with nesting falcon pairs, Joe Debold, urban wildlife biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) said. “All nests have eggs and incubation is occurring,” DeBold said. “They should hatch in mid-May.” Besides the American Century site, biologists are monitoring nests in the Kansas City metro area on smokestacks at Evergy’s Iatan and Hawthorn power plants, and on ledges or roofs at Commerce Tower and the offices of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Only the American Century site has a nest site web camera streaming live video online this spring. Peregrine falcons are acrobatic, high-speed fliers. They historically nested on ledges on cliffs or bluffs. An endangered species in Missouri, their numbers have been increased in recent decades thanks to nest boxes placed on high places in urban areas. Peregrine falcon restoration is a partnership between MDC, private businesses, and other conservation partners. The adult falcons brave wind, rain, cold, sun, and sometimes hot days as they tend nests and eggs in high places. People can watch on the computer in the comfort of home or office. In early weeks, the adults take turns incubating eggs. They leave to hunt pigeons or other food and often return with food to the nest. Then the day arrives when the eggs hatch and the fuzzy baby falcons emerge. Parents come and go with food for them. Finally, it is surprising to see how fast the young grow and mature. They fledge or leave the nest in summer. To watch a falcon pair tend eggs and then raise young at the American Century building, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zny. For more information about peregrine falcons in Missouri, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZqA. People can watch peregrine falcon pairs incubate eggs and feed newly hatched chicks via a web camera streaming video from a nest on a ledge at American Century Investments in Kansas City. These falcons hatched in earlier years.
Photo by Debra Burns, Missouri Department of Conservation Each year, the Truman Heartland Community Foundation (THCF) asks local mayors to nominate a citizen from their city who lends their time, talents, and energy to better their community. This year, Mayor Todd has selected to bestow the honor posthumously to Christina “Kiki” Claphan. Mayor Todd shared the news via video conference with Kiki’s family on April 29th. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the honor. She represented what you look for in a Citizen of the Year. Not only for her work with the City, but the school district as well. Grain Valley was lucky to have her,” Mayor Todd said. Claphan will be honored September 26th at the THCF’s Toast to Our Towns Gala. Christina “Kiki” Claphan will be honored in September as Grain Valley’s Citizen of the Year.
Photo courtesy: City of Grain Valley Alexis Parra
Sport: Softball Plans after high school: I am attending MCC-Maple Woods to play softball. I want to major in either Sports Management or Sports Medicine. Highlights of your career as a student athlete: One highlight from softball would have to be this fall season our team had over 20 wins with less then 10 losses. What were some of the biggest lessons you learned as a student athlete? One of the biggest lessons I learned as a student athlete was that school had to be my main priority before softball. In order to succeed in softball I had to excel in school. Thank You: I want to give a big thanks to my parents for spending all their free time taking me to games or practices 24/7, but also being my biggest supporters throughout my career. I also want to thank my brothers for helping me here and there to make me better and better each day, but also supporting me. Thanks to all my coaches throughout high school and competitive ball for believing in me and pushing me every practice and game to be a better athlete. I would also like to thank all my teammates for supporting me on and off the field and not only being teammates but being a family. And last but not least, I would like to thank Coach Kankey for giving me the opportunity to further my softball career at the next level. Jake Sanders Sports: Cross Country & Track Plans after high school: I plan to continue to run cross country and track at central Methodist for two years then pursue an engineering degree at K-State. Highlights of your career as a student athlete: Team trip to Colorado last summer. What were some of the biggest lessons you learned as a student athlete? The importance of dedication and work ethic. Thank You: Thank you to my coaches and teammates. I’ve really loved being a part of this team. It’s been a memorable experience and though it ended sooner than we expected, we had a good run and I’ll never forget it. Photo courtesy of Jake Sanders
The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors voted to grant relief of portions of the MSHSAA By-Laws that include summer limits on contact between coaches and student-athletes, at its April meeting on Thursday, April 16th.
Dependent upon approval from local and state health officials, the MSHSAA Board voted to make the summertime dead period and the summer limits on contact optional for the summer of 2020. MSHSAA By-Law 1.5 requires member schools to establish a period of nine consecutive days beginning on a Saturday and lasting to the second following Sunday, in which no contact takes place between school coaches/directors of MSHSAA-sponsored activities and students enrolled in the member school, or who will be enrolled in the member school during the next school year. With Thursday’s decision, a school may choose to comply with this “dead period” or to allow teams to hold activities. This decision also relieves portions of By-Law 3.15.3 and 3.15.4, which limits teams to 20 days of contact during the summer. Member schools may allow teams to have more than 20 days of contact in which any coaching or instruction in the skills and techniques of any sport takes place. “The abrupt changes that took place to our normal system of education this spring, have our schools pleading for access to students this summer,” said MSHSAA Executive Director Dr. Kerwin Urhahn. “The membership asked about what possible flexibility and modifications to by-law restrictions that could be offered. If there is no local, state, or national clearance for safe contact with students, then any allowances dealing with summer will be moot. But, in an effort to be prepared for what we hope is possible, this action was taken to grant some relief for the member schools.” In other action, the Board of Directors voted to allow seniors to be viewed as enrolled students through the summer, which allows them to represent their high schools in summertime interscholastic competition. This relief of By-Law 3.15 is designed for this summer only. “Hopefully, this will allow schools to play contests against other schools to provide closure and recognition for students and allow teams and kids to play together this summer,” said Urhahn. At this point, no action was taken to alter any other sections of By-Law 3.15, or the fall no contact period (3.15.1.b) that is scheduled to take place between August 3, 2020 and August 9, 2020. All summertime activities remain optional for students, attendance or participation could not be required. “The first thing that needs to be clearly understood is that all decisions about anything summer-related – be it contact, access, practice, games, conditioning, etc. - must first be approved, cleared and deemed safe by the CDC, State and Local Health Departments, the Governor, and local Mayors” Urhahn concluded. “The end of social distancing and ‘safe at home’ is still not clearly visible yet, and summer activities may not be possible due to the covid-19 pandemic and its own timeline.” Grain Valley High School Activities Director Brandon Hart acknowledged it is difficult to explain what MSHSAA’s press release exactly means with so many unknowns still left in the air. “I know everyone is going to be ready to work hard this summer after being cooped up all Spring. MSHSAA voted to remove the mandatory 20 day contact limitations and summertime dead period. Grain Valley will eliminate our dead period the first week of July, because we understand until we have a better idea about the timeline of ‘opening back up,’ it is difficult to know what type of impact this will have,” Hart said. “This action does give schools more flexibility though, assuming we can resume normal activity this summer. Last week, I communicated with our coaches that we will discard our current summer calendar, and we will create a new summer calendar when we have more information about timelines. It is important that every program get equal opportunities for summer participation so we will have to get back together and create a master schedule that strives to work around the needs of the various programs.” “Dominoes start to fall when you have multiple athletic programs. Grain Valley has a lot of multi-sport athletes, so we want to make sure to eliminate as many conflicts as possible. I would be shocked if a sport is able to have more than 20 contact days, especially if we lose any days this summer.” “Summer weights is probably the biggest challenge. Historically, we have opened the weight room four days a week in the summer, so hopefully we can open back up as soon as possible. Coaches may have to reduce the playbook this Fall, and kids will be a little further behind when we start back up, but everyone is in the same boat. We will work as hard as we can to have a strong summer program, but our main priority is protecting the health and well-being of our families.” Hart concluded, “In other action, MSHSAA also voted to allow seniors to be viewed as enrolled students through the summer so they may represent their high schools in summertime interscholastic competition. I still have many questions and need more guidance from MSHSAA. Typically, summer is used for development, and any competition is controlled.” “That being said, schools understand this summer may be different. Will schools try to play baseball and girls soccer games this summer to provide closure for seniors? Will kids have to choose between their summer competitive team and their high school team? Only time will tell, as we are in unprecedented times. I will be interested to see how this evolves.” A local car enthusiast has found a way to mobilize his fellow hobby car peers to bring a bit of joy to neighbors during the stay at home order. While a traditional car show is not possible, David Maxon organized the first in what he plans to be a weekly rolling car show through neighborhoods in Grain Valley and neighboring communities. “I wish I could take credit for this. My wife and I previously participated in one in another city, and we were both touched by the excitement it seemed to bring to that community. We decided that we would like to see that same excitement in our own community. I have personally been a car enthusiast my entire life, and I have owned my own hobby car (a 1980 Malibu) since I was 16. My wife and son are now also a part of my enthusiasm; they both now have hobby cars of their own. When I brought the idea to my friends and owners at Kustom Cruzers in Grain Valley, they didn't hesitate to volunteer to be a part of the planning process,” Maxon said. Approximately 70 cars and motorcycles participated in the first show on Sunday, April 19th. Grain Valley’s Santa Bus led the way, sounding its familiar siren to alert neighbors of the show’s arrival. Residents lined the streets in Grain Valley’s Woodbury and Rosewood Hills neighborhoods after 4:00pm on Sunday to admire and wave at the many vehicles on display. “I was shocked and excited about the number of people who joined in on the fun,” Maxon said. “We are planning on doing others. I would like to do them every Sunday, weather permitting of course. We are looking to travel through more of Grain Valley, Blue Springs, and other areas in the future.” Residents can search for event information on Facebook under David Maxon/Kustom Cruzers Social Distance Cruise. “The idea has personally given me joy in seeing the smiles on faces young and old. I also hope it teaches my 17-year-old son that car and motorcycle enthusiasts coming together can create joy in a time of uncertainty,” Maxon said. Ken Murphy has been named City Administrator for the City of Grain Valley, a position he has held on an interim basis since former City Administrator Ryan Hunt’s departure last fall. Additionally, Theresa Osenbaugh has been named Deputy City Administrator after serving in an interim role for the same period.
The Board of Aldermen authorized Mayor Michael Todd during the March 9th Board of Aldermen meeting to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Murphy. “They gave me parameters as to what they were okay with. This is different than what we have done in the past because in the past we had contracts with our City Administrators. This is like what we do with most employees when we hire them in and we negotiate a salary. So Ken does not have a contract and the MOU lays out his salary and his requirement to move to Grain Valley,” Todd said. “Since the Board authorized me to negotiate the MOU and we were within the parameters, we came to the agreement and removed the interim title.” The Board will vote to ratify the MOU at a future board meeting. The process has been delayed due to meeting cancellations caused by the COVID-19 related stay at home orders. Osenbaugh was promoted by Murphy to Deputy City Administrator, removing the “interim” title once he was appointed City Administrator. Osenbaugh’s position is not a board appointed position. “I can tell you that she has really been an asset to the City since she came on as City Clerk and she has taken on a lot as she has moved up,” Todd said. An outside search for candidates was not conducted for both positions. Mayor Todd noted the cost of such a search and the background and qualifications of Murphy and Osenbaugh as primary reasons behind the decision not to open the positions to other candidates. “Those searches run north of $20,000, and Ken has been with the City for a number of years in several positions. He has shined in every position he has been in and the Board has always been very happy with his job performance. He has a Master’s degree in City Planning and we felt that we didn’t need to spend the money to look outside the organization when we knew we had someone inside that was more than qualified,” Todd said. “I’ve worked for the City in some capacity for almost fourteen years and I’ve enjoyed being a part of the growth that we’ve seen. I am extremely grateful and humbled that the Mayor and Board of Aldermen have shown the faith in me to name me the next City Administrator. A City Administrator is only successful if they have a great staff around them and I think we have a great staff that will guide us into the future,” Murphy said. One of Murphy’s immediate challenges will be guiding the City through the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and related stay at home orders. “As far as COVID-19 and its effect on the economy and our budget, it is very early, and we won’t know the full effect for some time. We are limiting spending on any non-essential purchases to make sure we are in as good of a place as possible. We have our finance team and financial advisors monitoring the economic climate as well as our revenue sources. With our fiscal year being the calendar year we aren’t faced with the challenge some other communities are in trying to forecast revenues for a new fiscal year at this point,” Murphy said. Small Businesses Seeking Assistance To Stay Afloat Finding Frustration Instead Of Lifeline4/23/2020
Local businesses facing unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related stay at home orders were hopeful for a lifeline through Small Business Administration programs authorized through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law on March 27th. Two programs, the Economic Disaster Injury Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), promised emergency funding for small business owners and independent contractors/freelance/gig workers. As of April 16th, PPP funding was exhausted and EIDL funds were depleted.
Local small business owners faced confusion over how to apply and the information needed to complete the application process. Banks also faced confusion as rules continued to change as the program was rolling out. Businesses were asked to work with their local banks to complete the process, and success for hopeful business owners has been mixed. “Due to the overwhelming demand for these SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans, the State Bank of Missouri, unfortunately, had to limit applications to only existing State Bank customers. To date, our bank has provided close to $2.8 million dollars in PPP loans to assist our small business customers,” State Bank of Missouri President Mark Heins said. The $2.8 million dollars provided by State Bank represents 53 loans to local businesses. National news stories have focused on large loans granted to large chain businesses, such as Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Shake Shack, seemingly pushing out small “mom and pop” businesses from accessing funds intended to assist in their survival. Congress is currently ironing out details to pass additional aid while many small business owners wait to see if the next round will provide any relief to the daily reality they face. Snowie Shaved Ice of KC owners Jeff and Corrie Wolff are usually gearing up for a busy season of serving up shaved ice to local school carnivals and parties, baseball tournaments, 5Ks and athletic events, and area festivals. Instead, the Grain Valley company is facing an uncertain future. “Snowie is essentially shut down right now at what should be the start of our season. We have a concession stand at the Independence Events Center that has been shuttered for the last 6 weeks and has no opening date in sight. We still have costs associated with keeping that stand in place there. For the Snowie bus, our main concern is that our business model is not aimed at driving around in subdivisions all day; my wife (Corrie) and I both work full time jobs and we are now teachers to three elementary and middle-school aged boys,” Jeff Wolff said. The community, sporting, and school events Snowie Shaved Ice of KC depends on have disappeared due to the pandemic and their return in the foreseeable future is uncertain. “We will likely have zero income from the Snowie bus for at least the first half of our season. We have monthly expenses that must be met regardless, such as payments on our equipment, insurance, food handlers permits and inspection fees, business license fees, property taxes, sponsorship agreement installments, etc. Since all of our income is earned during the summer months and has to provide us with a nest egg that can last us through the winter billing cycle, we could be in really bad shape if we can’t do business this year,” Wolff said. “I applied for the EIDL program on the morning it was announced as being available. My application for an immediate cash infusion of $10,000 was submitted and I was told I would get a response within three days. I have heard absolutely nothing since, and as of April 20th the SBA says it has funded 210 loans in the entire state of Missouri, so I’m pretty confident that I won’t be receiving any help.” Jayci Stratton, owner of Studio Five Beauty Boutique, has likewise been unsuccessful in securing small business emergency funding. “I applied for the $10,000 SBA loan about two weeks ago and have not received any communication back.” “There are nine of us in our salon. Each of us has filed for unemployment and no one has received anything. In fact, everyone was initially denied except for me, and that is because of how I file as a business. But my coworkers keep getting told that the system isn’t set up for self-employed people yet and to keep checking back,” Stratton said. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ (DOLIR’s) Division of Employment Security (DES) announced April 20th it is now processing unemployment claims for the self-employed, gig workers, independent contractors, and those who otherwise do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits and have been impacted by the coronavirus. Under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, those who qualify will be eligible for weekly benefit payments of between $133 and $320 per week plus a $600 federal supplement available under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program. The federal guidelines provide the $600 federal supplement only applies to weeks that are payable from March 29, 2020, through July 25, 2020. These two programs are not regular unemployment insurance but are new, fully federally funded assistance programs. To be eligible for a PUA claim, individuals must first file a regular unemployment claim and be found ineligible. Most self-employed individuals who file a claim will receive a notice that they are not an insured worker. This is because they are not covered under the regular unemployment insurance system. Individuals in these groups who have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus, and have not already filed a claim, are encouraged to file online at uinteract.labor.mo.gov. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society If you are a regular reader of The Voice, my monthly newsletter from the Historical Society, you will no doubt remember many references to grocery stores in Grain Valley. From the beginning, the Cannon Mercantile and Jacob Gregg’s grocery store supplied canned and dried foods, fresh meat, produce and farm fresh eggs in a crate to the residents of Grain Valley. Other stores supplied groceries to Grain Valley over the years. Bill and Addie (Cannon) Minter took over the Cannon Mercantile and later relocated a few stores to the north in the current Historical Society Building. For a while Anna Louise (Perkins) and Cecil Poage ran the store and lived in the back. Wayne Minter owned the store when it closed in the late 50s. Clyde Fristoe moved his grocery business from Sni Mills to Grain Valley in the late 1930’s. And the Crull’s had a mercantile store in late 1940’s and early 50s. Perhaps the longest run, as grocery stores go, was the Frantz Grocery Store on the east side of Main Street. Roland Frantz, younger son of Ray and Ella (last weeks’ story) and Louise (Huff) Frantz operated a store there for 25 years. It closed in 1973. Frantz Grocery was one of the last old-time stores of its kind, offering services that slowly died out with the introduction of modern supermarkets. The grocery store specialized in high-quality meat and Mr. Frantz and his butcher, Otis Williams, cut it for the customer’s needs. If Mom needed a 3-pound roast, that’s what she got! If company was coming it might be 4 or 5-pounds. If you ordered hamburger it was ground just before it went into the wrapper and a variety of lunch meats could be bought by the slice. When the store closed, Roland Frantz reminisced about his stores’ past. He recalled Saturday’s when as many as 25 customers would drop off their grocery list; he would fill their orders and deliver the food to their homes. On Saturday evening, he remembered “...the farmers would come to town to buy groceries, gather around the old coal stove and talk” until he had to kick ’em out at midnight. Behind the check-out counter were the “ticket” books. Like other stores in Grain Valley, Frantz’s Grocery extended credit. I don’t recall my family having a “charge account” at the store, but my grandmother did and occasionally she allowed me to get a candy bar or my favorite Hostess cupcakes and put them on her ticket! Does anyone recall the grocery delivery van? I remember it was usually parked in the alley behind the store, and I think it was some type of brown panel truck, but I can’t be sure. My family only rarely got deliveries, but I can remember Mom buying groceries for Grandma and having them delivered. After the grocery store closed Grain Valley residents only had a convenience store for several years. The population in 1973 was probably less than one-tenth of our current size. Now we have not only Price Chopper, but 4 gas station convenience stores. And, just for the record, you can only charge with “plastic,” the eggs are in cartons, and there are no home deliveries! Visit Grain Valley Historical Society online at www.grainvalleyhistory.com. Frantz Grocery Store on the east side of Main Street operated by Roland Frantz.
Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society As I noted in my last article, we are living in an amazing time in history. In my opinion, what we’re experiencing now will leave an indelible mark upon our world, our nation, and our families. Some of the changes on the horizon will be good. Others will not. Last time, I talked about the resurgence of self-reliance and minimalism.
In this article, I want to discuss our changing communication landscape. We tend to assume that communication is what it is and has always been this way. Some kids nowadays cannot imagine a world without a device. Here, hold my cell phone and travel back in time with me for a bit. In times past, most people could not read. They communicated by talking. In these “oral societies,” people talked more. They entertained each other with songs, poems, interesting stories, and humor. In these oral societies, people’s brains processed information differently. They had better memories. For example, in the Old Testament times, many of the Jews had memorized all five books of the law (called the Pentateuch). That’s basically the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. I can’t even remember my wife’s phone number and am absolutely dependent upon my speed dial. I used to think there was something wrong with me because I had a bad memory. But then I realized, we all do. We are all products of our environment. While doing research on oral societies and communication theory, I realized that in an oral society people listened “better” and they remembered better. Their brains were wired to do so. With the introduction of written language, and symbolic convergence, came the ability to immortalize and verify communication. But, because reading and writing were considered a luxury, they were exclusively utilized by the ruling class who had power and wealth. In addition, scrolls were very expensive, and documents had to be copied by hand (monks didn’t just pray all the time you know). The Gutenberg printing press changed everything. Documents could be mass produced and shared with a larger audience. Written material could be widely disseminated. All kinds of information could be mass produced. This changed everything. One of the results of the printing press was the Protestant Reformation as the common people were able to read the Scriptures for themselves. But all of this information was big and bulky and had to be carried by mouth or by hand. Not only was it bulky, but it was slow. For example, in 1760, it took six weeks for news of King George II’s death to reach the colonists in America. Some advances were made by the Pony Express and eventually, the train, but it was still too slow. The telegraph, introduced in the mid-1800s, gave birth to the electronic age. Samuel Morse’s first message sent was, “What has God wrought?” The bigger question was, perhaps, what would this mean? This shift changed everything. Information could now be sent over a wire and opened up the door for immediate information to travel coast to coast. But the problem was the wire. Nobody likes to be tied to a wire. Wireless technology led to the invention of mass communication technology like radio and television. Not only was communication instant, but it was also primarily a visual medium. Reading was one thing. Seeing it was quite another. Communication research has constantly shown that we believe what we see over what we hear as nonverbal communication is about 70% of our communication. But, radio and TV demanded a venue. Who has time to sit in front of the radio and wait for the Lone Ranger to come on? The digital age was born. This was the age of the computer and computer-based technology which led to personal computers, phones, and tablets. Connected to this technology was the ability, not only to view things, “live and in color,” we could also record audio and visual images in a digital environment, share them forever in cyberspace, and listen on demand. With every age, communication methods changed--and those methods changed everything. So, what does that have to do with us and COVID-19? Well, one of the things that this time period has taught us is that we desperately need one another. Or, at least we need a segment of the population. At this time, our communication has gone from being “wide” to a little “deeper.” We have become aware of what is most important—our family and friends. We’ve also learned that we need to be cognizant of various methods of communication. Zoom was not a part of my vocabulary until recently. I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I sense that communication and delivery systems will change the way we do just about everything. Let me mention four: First, I believe, that in the days ahead, we’ll realize how valuable face-to-face communication is, but we’ll be on the lookout for alternate ways to communicate. We don’t want to be caught off guard, again. Maybe they’ll invent smell-o-vision and virtual environments where you can digitally reach out and touch someone (the technology is already here). In other words, we will spend more F2F time with the people we love and look for alternate means of connecting with other people and entities on a deeper level. Second, we will question our need to go “out” more than we have to—especially in flu season. Recently, my family has done some shopping online and had groceries delivered to our home. My wife, who has always been reluctant to allow strangers to pick out our tomatoes, has seen the value. She orders, uses an app to follow the person who is shopping for us (and knows exactly how long that milk has been sitting in the cart), and texts back and forth with our shopper. Why go to the store when the store will come to you? And while we’re on that, does that store need to be down the street or could it be a warehouse in a centralized location? Amazon saw this shift many years ago. Now if we can just get those drones to work. Third, larger businesses that have been forced to close their doors and have employees work from home will fervently look for ways to minimize brick and mortar costs and conduct business in a virtual environment. They have learned how fragile our economy is and how a virus can change everything. They are making plans now to ensure their survival and that survival may not be in a building. Finally, although it may not be immediate, our educational landscape will change. I see two major changes. First, educational facilities, who in my estimation reacted brilliantly to the need to conduct education in an online environment, will be proactive about the future of online education. Because of governmental oversight and funding, this shift will involve measures of control, but it will happen—eventually. In addition, parents will change. During this epidemic, many parents discovered that they appreciated the opportunity to better guide the education of their child and worked in cooperation with their local child’s teacher in a digital environment. True, some parents simply cannot wait until their kids go back to school. They need to get back to work and just need their kids to be in a structured learning environment. However, some parents have seen the value of personally guiding their child’s educational destiny. I believe there will be a slow shift to more parents who homeschool and those who choose a virtual education hybrid. These parents are beginning to think about some important issues and have noticed some inequities in education. For example, some parents from different cities and regions have talked on social media about the educational expectations for their child. Some kids have structured learning while some kids were told to read several books. Some parents, not wanting their child to fall behind, have chosen to supplement their child’s education. They are now asking some deep questions. They recognize that, simply put, a child’s education is a relationship that is dependent upon the parent, the child, the educational facility, and the local teacher (and, of course, governmental standards and oversight). Some parents want more control and don’t want to limited to a particular brick and mortar building. In the digital future, it could be, that, for some students, education will not be tied to a city or zone. They will cut the wire. They will not go to school. School will come to them. The focus will be upon completing required educational objectives, but also specialization. Maybe you’ve noticed, in recent years, that parents are “into” early and targeted learning. Naturally, they want their children to “succeed” and they’re watching education programs and having their children play learning games on their devices. On the horizon, it could be, that parents will integrate home learning with some sort of digital educational facility that is designed to empower their child’s individual needs and learning styles to produce a targeted product. Why sit in a classroom when you can gain individualized learning in a synchronous (live) or asynchronous (Memorex) learning environment? The goal is not education, but assimilation into the workforce. To illustrate, if your fifth grader wants to be an architect, we’ve got a learning track for that. We teach you the required stuff and also integrate targeted learning from professionals in the field. This learning will not be by location, but tied to financial means. Naturally, all of this is speculation and off in the distance. And, of course, it will be dependent upon the health of our economy and governmental oversight and control. While I’m on that topic, next week I’ll finish up my thoughts on this time in history by talking about Big Brother, religion, and the Mark of the Beast. Wayne Geiger is the Pastor of First Baptist Grain Valley, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Speech, and freelance writer. |
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