Dover Doins: We all want what is best for kids

Welcome to school challenge 2020.

The Dover school system, aka SAU 11, consists of Dover High School, Bellamy Academy, Dover Middle School, Dover Career Technical Center, Garrison, Horne Street and Woodman Park Elementary Schools.

The district is made up of approximately 4,200 students and 600 employees. To put this into perspective Lee, New Hampshire has an approximate population of 4,400.

Under normal, ordinary circumstances it runs as smoothly as a system responsible for the aforementioned number of buildings and humans can do on a daily basis. In addition to the education of the students, it is responsible for the transportation of the students to and from and their care and feeding them. Also, in a typical circumstance there are a variety of athletic and educational teams which, during their seasons, require additional transportation after school as regularly as 1 to 5 hours to and from New Hampshire communities.

It has generally been accepted by most that over the years, the Dover system has done a good job. Many of you reading this have been educated in that system and perhaps have had parental relationships with it as well.

Then in mid-March of 2020 things really changed. One of my favorite quotes comes from 2,000 years ago. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher penned these words, “The only thing that is constant is change.” Many of us like to think of ourselves as aware and always ready for change, but no one expected the pandemic.

With the COVID-19 challenge throwing curveballs, schools were temporarily closed for a couple weeks and Dover’s system changed to an online type of instruction, all new to the teachers and students. It became an end of the school year experience with no idea what was next.

And that is where we are now. Much exploration has taken place as we try and determine whether the opening of the country is a positive at the present. That has had an effect on the determination of whether the schools will open, stay closed with remote learning, or evolve into a hybrid type of partly in school and partly remote learning.

This has caused great consternation as the parents and teachers look at the pluses and minuses regarding back to school physically or online.

The Dover School Board is expected to make a decision Monday night.

Undoubtedly the board and superintendent will try and do the right thing, whatever that is. Both parents and teachers want the same thing ... what’s best for the kids. The virus is the driving force between whether in school is the right thing from a safety standpoint both for the kids and the teachers, many of whom are parents as well and who look at the potential of acquiring the virus and that throwing a great curveball into their lives. Dover parents look at it from the same standpoint. And to add to the confusion, there are a number of parents who find the online instruction useless, while there are others that are 100% in favor of it. Add to these problems the variety of personal educational needs.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with much of what I have written, but I need to address some comments that I have heard recently.

Please understand that everyone is working to make the educational experience the best it can be during these trying times. Intimations have been made that one group or another does not have the best of intentions. We know we can’t change the minds who are set in their ways. All I am asking is that you all understand that everyone wants what they think is best for their child and the education system. Give them a break and try and understand their intentions. Existing with COVID-19 has had a negative effect on many parents and observers,.

Here are a couple thoughts about having a proper mindset: “Children have never been good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” - James Baldwin.

Bob Dylan is a great entertainer and poet. Remember these lines from his “The Times They Are a’Changin”? “Come mothers and fathers throughout the land, and criticize what you can’t understand, your sons and your daughters are beyond your command, your old road is rapidly agin’, please get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand, for the times they are changin’.”

I used three words in this column regarding things that have been linked with our current school system. They are: Normal, Ordinary and Typical – these are not with us now. There is however another one that is a given: Responsible. We’ll all get together if we work together.

Empathy my friends, empathy.

Ron Cole can be reached at mrdoverdoins@gmail.com.