Election '72

"We cannot overlook other áreas which háve been problems in the past. Certainly discipline and safety must head the list. I have gone to the schools. I have seen these problems. We have made progress. One of the Human Rights Party supported candidates is Gretchen Groth Wilson. "As an HRP candidate I will seek the basic changes that are needed in the Ann Arbor School system. It is crucial that board members initiate these actions and policies rather than just voting appropriately when the issues demand rugent action." "Changes are needed in many areas. Currently the community has very little decisión making authority over the policies and personnel in each school. As a result the interests of only a few individuals are really represented. Instead each school should be directed by a board of democratically elected parents, teachers and students, one-third representation for each segment. "The school board would still set general policies for the total system. The local Boards would determine what policies and innovations are appropriate for that particular school. In this way the school is accountable to those it is supposed to serve." "As a teacher I am concerned that teachers have more influence over the policies and procedures that affect them. Each school board would increase the teachers' voice of these decisions." "Racism is no less a problem in the school system than in the rest of society. The administration and school board have sought to respond to racism through its "Humaneness in Education" program. Yet the standards of the system's own hiring practices indícate that minimal ■ - progress has been made. Letty Wickliffe said she is a candidate because a group of citizens decided that the school board needed a trustee who is an experienced educator in touch with the present needs of children and ways to meet these needs and who feels that the development of the children should be the focus of attention. "Who is most effected by the present school scandal? The adults? No. The Children? Yes. The children have been forgotten while adults are seeking reasons and the newspapers are printing contradictions. Let's concéntrate on the business at hand- selection of candidates who can correct any damage by facing reality. "Empty promises and unrealistic proposals, that stir the emotions of people, are not stimulators for constructive action. Labels-conservative or liberáis, black or white, average or retarded-have no real meanings. They do not teil us anything significant about the thinking of individuals. They are merely classifications which have different meanings for different people. "In order to give our children and youth a chance to function adequately in all ages, they must be exposed to top educational administration and effective learning procedures, that will enable them to obtain the basic skills and techniques in inquiry and decisión making.