By Mandy Feder ? Record-Bee columnist
This is the end of innocence, in a good way.
A group of anonymous Lake County youth made their mark and it was pink. Perhaps we”re seeing a halt to apathy to some degree.
This gang of remarkable students painted the Kelseyville “K” pink last weekend to protest the pink slips more than 20,000 educators across the state are receiving.
Though the “K” didn”t really look pink from afar, the action of the youth was bold and original.
I heard one woman say, “It looks different, the ?K,” I think it looks cleaner.” The children hiked up Mount Konocti with pink paint in backpacks. They cleared the brush from around the rocks and carefully painted the worn white stones that make up the proud letter K.
Initially the students discussed the possibility of staging a walkout. After all that is a common protest tactic. But Lake County youth are uncommon. This group didn”t want to miss school, they wanted to save the schools and the programs that they need to continue with quality learning.
Teachers, administrators, parents and students will be protesting today. Concerned and supportive citizens will wear pink to protest the more than $11 billion in cuts to schools and colleges in the Golden State.
Entire music programs are being hacked from some school districts.
“These cuts are going to hurt an entire generation of children and damage California”s public education for years to come,” David Sanchez, president of the California Teacher”s Association (CTA), said.
As for the students here, the teachers (CTA) decided to do the pink Friday thing and one of the students got on www.pinkfriday09.org Web site and noticed that in other areas of the state students were planning things like walkouts, protests and demonstrations. Initially the Lake County youth thought they should stage a walkout. After being advised about the complications of a walkout and wondering if that would truly support the teachers by walking out of their classes, the students chose an alternative action. Additionally the students became aware of the ADA funding issues and the realization that if they walked out, the school stood to lose even more money.
The desire was to call attention to the whole community. After a brainstorming session, the youth cited that the “K” has a high visibility factor.
They made some calls to confirm how to get to the “K” and learned that it is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. They discussed what BLM is and who really owns the land. It was very empowering for them to learn that “This land is your land.”
The students were girls and boys from Kelseyville and Lakeport junior high schools.
Cynthia Parkhill and I talked about the impact of teachers in our own lives. She said her home economics teacher taught her how to sew clothing for people instead of just for Barbie dolls. I recall that my English teacher, Mr. Jacobs, promised that anyone who would receive an “A” in his class would also be capable of walking on water. I felt like I could walk on water when I left the class with the coveted “A” grade.
Sports editor Brian Sumpter”s favorite teacher was John Tricamo, a Professor Emeritus at California State University, San Francisco. He was head of the history department. He was interesting because he was a guard at the Nuremberg trials. Tricamo was from Brooklyn, New York and he grew up with the Brooklyn Dodgers. “He died a million deaths when they moved to Los Angeles, he loved baseball,” Sumpter said. “He challenged me to learn and made it fun. He was one of those teachers you didn”t want to let down. He taught me to work hard and learn as much as I could. Before he died he left me with two valuable life lessons: Baseball”s the only sport that matters and never buy cheap olive oil.”
That”s what teachers offer, hope and challenges for the future. They help to shape and develop skills and interests. It is nothing short of a tragedy to deny this generation and future generations these types of dedicated educators.
“Who knows how long this will last. Now we”ve come so far, so fast. But, somewhere back there in the dust, that same small town in each of us … This is the end of the innocence” ? Don Henley
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee News Editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 ext. 32.
