It was 15 years ago that residents living along the path around the Falls voted on referendum to essentially double the size of Oconto Falls High School and approve additions to four other school buildings.
The committee working the proposal was headed by Cheryl Clark and Bill Kamke. They, along with a number of other community members, spent about a year and a half developing the concept presented to the voters.
Initially, it was about new tech ed shops. A cafeteria was put on the list. The need for a bigger gym became apparent. Music instruction facilities were also suggested. Someone came up with the idea for a performing arts center. The thought was, “Yes, this would be useful, but a necessity?” Perhaps the performing arts center could be a second question on the ballot.
After much head scratching, the committee decided there should be only one recommendation on the ballot, and the performing arts center was included in the package. During the marketing campaign, there was some apprehension that the performing arts center would only be available for use by high school students, and elementary and middle school students would be shortchanged. Why should parents of younger students support it?
Yes, they would eventually get to use the place once they made it to high school, but that could be several years off. The counter argument was made that there would be opportunities for younger students to make use of the facility. Over the years, the use of that facility by students not yet in high school has grown every year. It absolutely is a great space for concerts and many other similar activities.
The list of those activities was expanded yet another time last week as the Oconto County Literacy Council sponsored a fundraising event patterned after the game show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?” The group sponsored the event a time or two in other Oconto County communities, but this was the first in Oconto Falls.
By gentle persuasion, or a heaping helping or two of excessively complimentary accolades, this observer agreed to their request to serve as the master of ceremonies.
The plan was to have two teams of fifth-graders going head-to-head with two adult teams made up of community members and educators.
A large crowd was on hand to see the fifth-graders come away with a slight edge in the first round. The second round finished in a dead heat that came down to the fifth-grade captain having to pick odd or even, and she picked correctly.
Upon reflecting on the event, it was fun, there was great community participation, the literacy council made some money, and it was an example of an event that just would not have been as effective in another setting.
Fifteen years ago, no one would have thought about something like that happening if the “X” was marked in the “Yes” box next to the referendum question. It was another hats off tribute to the people on that committee who said there would be a recommendation of all or nothing. Their foresight led to something way beyond what they might have imagined.
The questions that night covered a range of topics, but there was no second guessing as to the category board president Ron Leja would select. It was always math.
There were a number of questions that dealt with geography and foreign countries. There were no questions about world languages, although perhaps there should have been.
Recently on the trail to announcing his candidacy for president, Gov. Walker has made a number of foreign visits. In a number of the locations visited, English was not the native tongue.
A major story in Sunday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about China discussed “English Fever” and the fact that there are now more speakers of English in China than there are in the United States. The intensity of investing in the teaching of English was seen as a key driver for China’s economy.
The irony of these observations, if you connect the dots, is that Wisconsin’s investment in education has been on the downhill slide, and the teaching of foreign languages is one area being threatened. Perhaps a fifth-grader needs to be called upon to connect the dots.
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