Deadlines are a part of part daily life, even on the path around the Falls. The Times Herald had an early deadline for submission of this week’s ramblings, due to the Labor Day holiday.
The holiday serves as the unofficial end of summer and the start of the school year, at least in Wisconsin. Students in a number of other states already have two weeks under their belts.
The theory in Wisconsin is that the overall economy depends on families taking one last vacation fling at the Wisconsin Dells or some other tourist area. If the truth were told, the back-to-school sales might actually be a bigger spurt to the economy in Wisconsin, but we have a limited view of Madison, far off in the distance.
Anyone traveling to Madison in recent weeks knows that the trip takes a little longer than it had in the past, due to all the highway construction. Most of that work was put on hold for the Labor Day weekend and all the heavy traffic. Noon on Friday was the deadline for that construction to be suspended.
In Wisconsin, the unofficial deadline for most construction work on highways is the start of the deer hunting season in the middle of November. Some might say that is due to the heavy traffic that comes with that season. Others would suggest that absenteeism can be a problem on the job site at that time of the year, so it makes sense to hang up the tools for the season.
When it comes to road construction, it might have made some sense to consider the school year start. School bus traffic in the district will be somewhat inconvenienced by reconstruction of the U.S. Highway 141 and County Road E intersection at Abrams. Getting into and out of Abrams will be a little more complicated and will add a few miles to the routes. On the other hand, it will be safer to travel at that intersection.
The greater inconvenience will be state Highway 22 through Oconto Falls, where access to Washington Middle School will be restricted. Working with the supervisor of the project, it was hoped that temporary intersections would be open, since close to 20 buses drop students at that location. Apparently the start of school and the resulting bus traffic didn’t enter into the planning for the project.
The first home varsity football game is scheduled for the night of Sept. 12. Traffic that evening might turn into a contest, too.
Now that the deadline for starting school has passed, some thoughts about the start of school and why we are in the business might be in order. Some have suggested that business leaders are the people who set the tone for what happens in the classroom. The guiding principle with this approach might be, “What is it that employers expect of our student?” If the goal of schooling is to create effective workers, maybe the connection between Labor Day and schooling is greater than we ever thought.
Ironically, when we think about the kindergartners entering our classrooms for the first time this week, how can we begin to prepare them for careers? Many of the jobs they will have as adults entering the work force have not even been created at this point. The world of work is ever changing.
Our nation’s Founding Fathers felt that education was the key to having a successful democracy. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”
Education is about a brighter future. Expectations are higher than ever before, both for our students and the teachers working in our classrooms. Our schools are not failing. They hold great promise for the future. There are more things on the agenda than there ever have been in the past, and we are making things happen.
We look forward to another exciting school year as we welcome many new faces in our classroom, both sitting in student desks and standing at the front of the classroom. We have a great set of new teachers who will be joining the team this year. There is energy in the air. This will be a very exciting year, even if teachers have to dodge the traffic cones to get started. They need to be cautious and travel safely because they hold the future in their hands.
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