Whether you agree or disagree with the recommendations, and whether you agree or disagree with proposals for funding those recommendations, everyone, at least, has heard of and has some understanding about the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education — generally referred to as the Kirwan Commission — and the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
Right?
I mean, it’s all over the news. The Maryland General Assembly is debating its merits and ways to pay for it. The governor has frequently weighed in. Locally, Carroll County’s Board of Education and Board of Commissioners have been talking about it for months.
Despite all that, essentially 7 out of 10 adults in Maryland have never heard of the Kirwan Commission. Fully 69% of respondents to a recent Goucher College poll said they had read “nothing at all” about the task force.
That’s more than a little depressing given how important education of Maryland students is to the state’s future. And how much time elected officials and advocates have spent discussing it and voicing opinions on it over the past year. And how many stories related to the Kirwan Commission recommendations and funding options have been done by news organizations, whether in print, online, on the radio or on TV.
But it’s not surprising. Information is more plentiful, more accessible, than ever, yet it seems fewer and fewer make even the slightest effort to be informed. Oh, people have some sense of what’s happening nationally — they can get that from Stephen Colbert or John Oliver or their friends’ rants on Facebook — but what about non-national? In a social setting, if I bring up a local or regional topic, I might as well be bringing up quantum physics.
What did you think of the policy change the Board of Education made this week? How about that new ordinance Westminster passed? Can you believe what that county commissioner said?
Blank looks.
I understand this seems self-serving, the editor of a newspaper making the case that more people should read the news. While that would certainly be wonderful and would help keep folks better informed, I"m not trying to sell subscriptions but, rather, the concept of knowing what’s going on in your community.
One way would be to attend a meeting now and then. The commissioners meet every Thursday. The councils for each municipality meet once or twice each month. The school board meets the second Wednesday of each month.
Most of the attendees to those meetings come dressed as empty seats. In fairness, the times aren’t always convenient and it’s not easy for everyone to get there.
That’s why most meetings are streamed live and archived, or at least posted soon after, many replayed on cable access. Check out the county government website, the Carroll County Public Schools website, the websites for the various cities and towns, and the Community Media Center website. Or Google it. (And to those municipalities still not streaming in 2020, why not?)
I know. It’s tough to find the time. You could go to Netflix, watch “The Irishman” and catch an episode of “Stranger Things” in the time it takes for some of those Board of Ed meetings to finish.
Certainly, we try to distill down key aspects of these meetings in our coverage, but, far more people read about simple assaults than complicated issues. And, again, not trying to be self-serving. You don’t want to read, that’s your right. (Of course, it’s also your right to vote. I don’t want to see the polls about the percentage of people who know nothing at all about the local candidates they vote for or against.)
So, more and more, people don’t go to meetings. Or watch them. Or read about them. If they know anything at all about an issue, it’s likely to come from a post on Facebook or Twitter — the same folks who say they’re too busy to go to or stream or read about a meeting spend an average of 2 hours, 24 minutes per day on social media — that’s usually rife with incomplete or inaccurate info.
By the way, the Kirwan Commission was formed to come up with ways to improve the quality of Maryland’s public education system. Its recommendations are wide-ranging and come with a massive price tag, the funding of which is being debated in the General Assembly.
Of course, if you’re actually reading this, you’re probably part of the 31% who already knew that.
Bob Blubaugh is the editor of the Carroll County Times. His column appears Sundays. Email him at bob.blubaugh@carrollcountytimes.com.