As the 2008 elections are coming up on November 4, school officials and parents across the nation have been especially concerned with the safety of their children. They are uncomfortable with the idea their children’s schools are completely opened allowing anyone to walk in, and therefore want to cancel school on this day. Kathy Christie, the chief of staff at the Education Commission of the States, on the other hand, thinks keeping kids home on Election Day “creates an inconvenience and another worry about day care for their parents” and feels that we are “losing the opportunity to send a very strong message to children about civic duties” (New York Times). Personally, I think safety should be the primary concern, but it is all up to David Orr, Cook County Clerk, to decide.
As of now, he is leaning towards canceling school “In an ideal world, it would be nice for children to see voters in their schools, but you have to ask yourself, what if?” After reading Orr’s response, it reminded me of the discussion we had in class the other day about idealists vs. pragmatists. Here, Orr serves as the perfect example of a pragmatist in action. He understands that it would be great to expose students to the Election Day atmosphere, but in reality he knows that a student’s safety is more important. This is a perfect instance of where a pragmatist checks on the idealist.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/us/19cancel.html?ref=us
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