Brian,
I second that motion. If Asbury Park closes its' high school
where will they go? Asbury can't get anywhere with a State monitor
affecting everything the school board does/don't do! The grade schools are
excellent but when the kids hit the Middle and High School
peer pressure sets in. You're either with the "in" People or
you're bullied. It's been 50 years since high school for me but I was
privately educated so I can't speak to what's happening
in Asbury schools. I think it's a sin to miseducate children. Maybe
we need Michelle Obama to come to AP and shake everything up! Jim
Keady is a walking Saint in my eyes, but he makes too much sense for
telling the truth about AP. That makes him "persona non grata" here
and thank God for Werner who has been persecuted, harassed and
arrested because he too, tells the truth and the Truth hurts! Werner too, is
referred to as "former historian" which he knows that the
developers since Carabetta to Asbury Partners have almost eradicated
the historical Asbury Park. God Bless you Brian!
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, cbrianwatkins@... wrote:
>
> That label.... "former city councilman" makes me scratch my head EVERYTIME.
>
> We need you back in AP as "current councilman"!!!!!!!!
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> C. Brian Watkins
> cbrianwatkins@...
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Educating for Justice <jim@...>
> Sender: AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:31:28
> To: AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com<AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com>
> Reply-To: AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [AsburyPark] Re: How others see Asbury Park....
>
> Werner,
>
> Thanks for posting the article about the football field. I just posted a
> response on the APP website to those who were critical of this project.
>
> Here is what I wrote....
>
> ###
> Let me preface my comments by saying that I am a former City Councilman in
> Asbury Park and that I coached for one season at the high school.
>
> For people who do not live in Asbury Park and do not work with the kids in
> the city, I think it is difficult to grasp how little leverage teachers and
> community leaders have over kids here. Basically, many of the kids in town
> feel they have nothing to lose, thus the poor graduation rates, crime,
> gangs, etc. To turn this tide, that leverage has to be created. Now, some
> might say, "it has to start with the families." If this is your response, I
> would say that you are very much out of touch with the reality that we face.
> Too many families here are horrifically dysfunctional at best (i.e. this is
> not a starting point).
>
> So, why does having a good athletic facility make sense to address the
> broader social and economic concerns that have been raised by critics here?
>
> 1. You create a first class football program and now the kids have a shot
> at something through football - college. They do not want to lose this.
> They love the game. The game can carry them beyond Asbury Park. They now
> have something to lose - thus, we adults have leverage. Go to class, get
> good grades, don't get arrested, etc. This all starts to make sense to them
> when they have something to lose.
>
> 2. You keep those good athletes engaged and passing their classes, now they
> are eligible for other sports - basketball, wrestling, baseball. Now you
> have them locked into positive activities year-round. Keeps them off the
> streets.
>
> 3. These kids are natural leaders. They are either going to lead in
> something positive or something negative. Once they start leading in the
> positive stuff, the other kids will follow, now you start to build real
> momentum and you have a shot at turning the ship around.
>
> So, while a $700k outlay for a field may seem like a lot at first glance,
> it must be seen as an investment in turning around decades of crime, failure
> and neglect. Would you rather spend the $700k up front with a plan in place
> like the above or would you rather keep the cycle going and pay $50-100k per
> year per kid to have them locked up at Jamesburg?
>
> I could go on with the positive potential of this facility and will if
> asked, but I think readers should get a sense of why this is a very good
> thing for the AP community and for state taxpayers that are underwriting
> much of the school and municipal budgets in Asbury Park. I, like many
> others, want AP to become fiscally self-sufficient, this field, as strange
> as it may seem, can be a catalyst to move the city in that direction.
>
> Peace, Jim Keady
> ###
> --
> Jim Keady, Director
> Educating for Justice, Inc.
> jim@...
> 732.988.7322
> www.educatingforjustice.org
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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