Wooten: Engage youths
By Ellie Ashford
In his last speech as NSBA President, Norman Wooten stressed the importance of engaging adults in the lives of young people, and even more important, helping youths become engaged in their communities.
“Without a generation of young people who feel connected to their community, I’m afraid we’re doomed -- but that doesn’t have to be the case,” Wooten told the audience at the Second General Session Sunday.
“I believe we’re up to the task. The next generation will be prepared to take over civic responsibilities because of our mentoring,” he said. “School board members are committed to ensuring that children are healthy, and you are working to engage them into productive lives within our communities.”
Yet some youths still face some serious challenges, Wooten said. “Our nation’s difficulty in determining our stance on immigration and immigrants,” he said, “is a problem of epic proportions.”
Many students are swept up in this conflict, “with all the attendant challenges of English language acquisition, family upheaval, prejudice, transience, and the simple fear of the unknown,” he said. Add to that the lack of financial resources, shortage of teachers, and the looming recession, and the U.S. is “facing a truly gigantic problem.”
Wooten vowed to “resist as much as necessary becoming an enforcement arm of the immigration service.” It’s important that our schools “remain aloof and allow those debates to take place outside the schoolhouse doors,” he said. “We must educate every child coming through our doors.”
Another challenge Wooten is concerned with is poverty. “We all know that it has long-term effects not only on a child’s education, but on mental and physical health, self-esteem, and the ability to be a contributing citizen.”
He noted that districts provide an amazing array of services that have little to do with education, including breakfast and lunch, transportation, health services, and more.
“I do not question the need for any of these services and do not advocate giving up any of them,” he said. “However, we must find a way to get the message to both the executive and congressional branches of our government that we cannot and will not accept one more unfunded mandate.”
That’s why it’s critical for school boards to become actively involved in advocacy through their state associations and NSBA’s National Affiliate program, he said. Noting that his district (Kodiak, Alaska) is a National Affiliate, he said, “The benefits we reap from that on Capitol Hill alone are invaluable.”
Wooten said his travels across the nation during the past year have given him an opportunity to learn about the wonderful things school boards are doing for children and “has re-energized me to become an even greater advocate for kids.”
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