Reply to Mundo Verde/Mitchell Park Playground Controversy

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Reply to "Mundo Verde/Mitchell Park Playground Controversy"

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[quote=Anonymous]At the risk of hijacking the thread, I think that the notion "a charter school offers nothing but headaches to the neighborhood where it's located, unless the school community dedicates itself to reaching out" is downright dismal. I hardly consider children in a playground a headache, but perhaps I have an inherently optimistic disposition.

A community is exactly that -- a community, especially in a diverse urban environment. For any category of participant to sit back in expectation that others win them over sets an exclusionary, tiresome, prove-your-worth tenor.

Imagine community members of every stripe -- residents, schools, businesses et al -- meeting each other on consistently civil terms of community contribution. All are vital. All have much to offer, and none can claim preferential ownership of or entitlement to publicly funded space.

In this case, the community could have addressed this issue by reaching out to the school directly; the school was unaware of any concerns until this suspect mandate emerged. Instead of encouraging conversation, they immediately set an adversarial dynamic that added the unnecessary hurdle of justifying something that, as far as I can tell, doesn't require justification.

Jay

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