published: Friday, October 05, 2012

Leader needs to help students work with their heads

Editor:

Electing a new school superintendent would appear to be limited to local politics, but I hope Highlands County voters will see it from a global perspective. I lived and worked in several developing countries helping to move them from Third to First-World status.

Thirty years ago, one could find American delegates at international development conferences talking about what would happen to the United States if we actually succeeded in helping developing countries to develop.

With the invention of container ships, the transportation barrier disappeared. It seemed as if billions of competing low-cost foreign workers were now right next door competing with American workers.

By 1980, those of us in a position to see these changes coming concluded that the only hope for our workforce was to stop fighting automation and globalization. Instead, we needed an immediate and huge investment in education and training so the next generation of Americans worked with their heads rather than their muscles.

By 1980, those of us in a position to see these changes coming concluded that the only hope for our workforce was to stop fighting automation and globalization. Instead, we needed an immediate and huge investment in education and training so the next generation of Americans worked with their heads rather than their muscles.

To say that it did not happen would be an understatement.

By 2008, the United States became the only developed nation with a higher percent of 55- to 64-year-olds who had graduated from high school than 25- to 34-year-olds. We were losing ground.

Faced with small-picture leadership at the state and national levels, local voters need to look for actions that are within our control. A critical first step is to hire the best school superintendent.

I attended a forum in Sun 'N Lake where I heard the candidates for school superintendent, Wally Cox and Rebecca Fleck, speak. Within a few minutes it was clear who had both educational credentials and leadership skills. It was not Mr. Cox.

I asked Mr. Cox if he would be willing to take some night courses to help with his weak academic background. He said that he would not because he saw himself as a CEO rather an educator. Then, when I learned of the school system's debt incurred under his CEO tenure, it was clear that he failed his CEO test. I decided to vote for Rebecca Fleck.

James Upchurch