Citizen Solution

Useful Functions of a Ministry Hub

2009-07-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Body of Christ needs regional and local ministry centers (churches) that work across denomination lines and build up the body of Christ as a whole. These are places where people can com and receive training for ministry as well as train in different areas of expertise that help to advance the Kindgdom. Here are some necessary resources that would help.

Fee-Library
Christian Library and media resource center. They can even charge fees to cover expenses, but buying curriculum, books, and other resources is not necessary if you are only going to read or use them once. They can rent out the resources with an option to by just like blockbuster does, they can even offer items online.

Performing Arts and Media Centers
Why Can't multiple churches come together on a regular basis to communicate the gospel, on stage, television, motion pictures, print and radio. Perhaps Christian media quality would improve if we worked together on becoming more excellent.

24-hour Prayer Centers/Call Centers
People could come anytime to pray or receive prayer. Have you aver just wanted to be with others and just pray for the fire of God to spread? There ought to be enough passion for prayer between all of the churches to keep the flame burning constantly.

Schools of Ministry sponsored by area churches
Isn't it God who ordains people and not man? There is training that churches can agree upon that they can help each other to achieve. Why pay thousands of dollars at a Christian college to receive training that is so readily available in the local church. The churches needs to be raising up it's own leaders for ministry instead of relying on Bible Colleges. Degrees mean nothing to God, and we ought to all be in constant study of the Bible, which is a major function of the church. Why are we only getting recognized for what we have learned if it comes from a Bible College? Even the first Apostles did not know much before they went out into the ministry, they just went with what they knew. The church just needs to GO. Most lay persons in the church know more about the Bible than do pastors of multiple churches overseas who are seeing salvations, miracles, signs and wonders.

Put Yourself In A Tourist's Shoes: A letter to the City of Muskegon

2009-03-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

To the city of Muskegon:
I was searching online for area restaurants to try out one I haven't been to yet. I did not just want to google it because there are no reviews and it does not separate them by category. That is why I was glad to find you offered a link to a directory that states, "For a complete listing of all restaurants that are registered in the City of Muskegon, please visit the Food and Dining section of MuskegonCity.com." When I got to the site I was almost instantly frustrated because it looked nothing like a directory at all. It looked like a service where I needed to create yet another membership for something, I am guessing so that they could sell me something. When I scrolled down to the bottom of the page I saw all of these different categories that had no entries and only three categories with one entry. Basically you the City of Muskegon are saying on the City of Muskegon website that there are only three restaurants in the area, one of which happens to be a bakery.
This is not acceptable if we are to attract visitors who REALLY do not know which restaurants to visit. In fact, my wife works at the subway sandwich shop on Lakeshore Dr. near the Lake Express Ferry. She has story after story of annoyed and even furious passengers from the ferry who are frustrated because the immediate area is not developed and there seems to be little attempt to direct people to hotels, attractions and restaurants in the areas that are more developed than the Lakeside area. I work at Bob Evans on Apple Ave. During the summer season especially I have to help countless tourists that have no idea where anything is, including budding Downtown Muskegon. The City of Muskegon needs to work more collaboratively with the hotels, restaurants, the Lake Express, and I can't forget the theaters and other attractions. They need to be published in one well thought out catalog that promotes the entire area's best attractions, not just Muskegon because the whole county needs to work together in order to attract visitors. The catalog should be updated annually and have customer reviews where only restaurants with a certain level of customer satisfaction are included. Perhaps that will in inadvertently create a standard for area businesses to meet. I would suggest working with the Chamber of Commerce on it. There also needs to be creates a parallel website so the two reinforce each other and all of the area municipalities direct people to.
In order to be in the catalog businesses need to distribute the catalog at their locations. Perhaps call it "The Best of Muskegon" and really make sure it is the "best" of Muskegon". Our visitor will appreciate this and come back again and again because they know where to go (include several detailed maps), they will know what to expect at a place before they get there (the best of Muskegon), and when they decide to come again they will feel more comfortable and familiar with our area. This is much better than a website that flat out lies people about what we have to offer. In the eyes of visitors this looks very bad because a city website is the first place they depend on to champion what their area has to offer. Yes, we have failed at this, but we can make the change now in order to be "Muskegon Together Rising".
Ben Spencer Bob Evans - sales representative/customer service professional.
Baker College Student - Marketing Major

Muskegon Junior College for Minors - Proposition

2008-02-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

Solution Essay: High School Reform

Muskegon High School, like many high schools in America, is largely focused on two things. One is a blanket of general requirements, required by its state, for students to graduate. The mounding requirements heaped upon students gives them minuscule freedoms to pursue career interests or electives until they are almost out of high school. The second focus is on a student’s ACT test taking ability. MHS prepares students for the state mandatory tests in hopes of getting them into good colleges and good placement in those colleges. These test scores reflect on the school’s supposed effectiveness in preparing students for college. But, a heavy reliance on test taking skills in order to transfer academic achievement means students are repeating much of the same material in college because not all of the material covered high school is transferred into college accreditation.

This current format is an oppressive disservice to Muskegon High School and results in frustration and a lack of motivation in students which leads many to drop-out of high school or decide not to go to college. The result is less skilled workers in the work force, as well as a tremendous waist of taxpayer money neither of which the Muskegon area can afford. Although government mandates are well intended they are not affective for inspiring students to learn. What will inspire them to learn is giving them opportunities to achieve a career they will enjoy without unnecessary redundancies, even if they have to take some courses they do not like.

One factor that puts in to question the usefulness of high school as we know it is a well known fact that middle schoolers can completely skip high school altogether and go directly to college. All they must do is to pass a GED test when they turn eighteen and then enroll in college. High school, too many students, is a necessary evil and they should not have to wait until they are eighteen to earn a GED. That is age discrimination. I realize there are maturity issues to consider, however, if students are intelligent enough to pass the examination they should be recognized for it and be able to move on with life. As for student maturity levels, they should be on a path for higher learning while still in an environment of peers with like needs. Therefore I propose a pilot program in which Muskegon High School is formatted into a new “Muskegon Junior College” that would essentially be a trade school and college for minors. In addition to earning their GED, a solid foundation of remedial college courses can be easily expected of eight graders as they are, coincidentally, already taken in junior high (e.g. pre-algebra, geography, U.S. History, and language arts essentials). My own wife is currently enrolled in GED classes, so I am familiar with its material. This is the same material I was required to take in middle school, and is the same material covered in remedial classes where I attend at Baker College. If an “equivalent of a diploma” is what is required as a foundation for college courses, then that objective can be met by eighth grade students. Notice I did not say university courses. GED’s are not as valuable to universities or employers as a high school diploma. However when there are college credits accumulated those credits have much more weight than either a high school diploma or a GED. This is why if a student drops out of the Muskegon Junior College without finishing any career program or degree the student’s GED would be invalid. It stresses the reason for allowing them to take the GED early, which is to give them the opportunity to achieve a career they will enjoy without unnecessary redundancies.

If this solution were implemented it would be an efficient use of money because the current allotment of high school money would go directly toward college education thereby saving some public money that would have eventually gone towards college financial aid after high school. The money projected to be saved could be pre-invested into the upgrades needed to configure the high school into a junior college. Students would be engaged in their education because they will see their efforts going towards a degree in their interests. Muskegon Community College and Baker College would be likely offer more advanced classes to meet student demands and increase their capacity for college-ready students. Consequently, the colleges’ marketability would increase. The Muskegon Junior College would likely spur more high schools to follow suit because of school of choice competition. Muskegon area would become a vacuum for new businesses needing highly skilled workers.

The twelve Muskegon County high schools are currently served by a state-of-the-art Career Tec Center through MAISD, where high school juniors and seniors can go to gain vocational skills. I interviewed a student counselor there named Kay Sheaffer (Personal Interview February 13, 2008) Currently there is room for almost 300 more students in the 1000 student capacity center where they train in twenty different careers. In a county with over ten thousand high school students that facility should be over full. This is not because students do not value its rich resources. In fact, according to Mrs. Sheaffer students “find they do better (there) with hands on training than in traditional high school settings.” From what I have seen of the students in the Tech Center, it is apparent that they truly enjoy the experience. The reason they are only operating at only 71.1 percent capacity is because of the many state graduation requirements students have to be meeting before they are eligible to come. Student’s career aspirations are the key motivation for their educational experience. If state regulations for a diploma take that away from students then many students will start to see “no school” as the better option. It is important schools work with students to spark that interest and encourage them to pursue it. Of course the Career Tech Center can not accommodate all of Muskegon High school’s 1500 students, but is capable of taking some students. MHS was the old location for the Tech Center before they built the new location and could redevelop some of the old vocational programs it used to hold as well as new programs.

I interviewed (Mary Nellis, February 13, 2008) a student counselor at Muskegon High School, and found that they have several honors and AP classes, one of which can offer college credit which had to be taken after school after school. These are mostly to help students place better in their ACTs. The problem is: not every student is a talented test taker. Schools know this. In fact, they also have a solution, next year MHS will require juniors to take yet another class… the ACT class. In this class they will learn the ins and outs of test taking strategies in order to get better grades on the test. This format is not preparing students for college because colleges are about preparing students for a career. Neither is it engaging students in the learning experience. In 2007 the MHS drop-out rate was 46 percent. Drastic reformation is imperative.

Bill Gates is a leading critic of the American high schools because he is extremely concerned about the failures of state education systems across America. Inadequate workforces keep American companies including Microsoft from being innovative enough to compete in the global economy. He is also investing substantial moneys to help find solutions. (Gates, 2007) said of our nation’s high schools, “We are failing too many people of color, and failing to prepare every student for college.” Minnesota Gov. Tim (Pawlenty, 2007) said in his “State of the State” address, “In too many cases our high school students are bored, checked-out, coasting, not even vaguely aware of their post high school plans, if they have any, and they are just marking time.” This personifies High school students all across the country including Muskegon County. One student, Shaketra Price said, “I hate school because you have to get up early and do all sorts of things you don’t want to do. I don’t see why we have to go to high school all of those years and then we have to go to college for the same number of years. It just takes so long.” Even though she like many students see school as a necessary evil school many students like, Andrice Jones, who enjoy high school share underlying concerns about not getting recognition for their accomplishments. She said, “You are just going to have to take the same classes all over again. It’s pointless.” (Personal interview, February 13, 2008) According to these students, who happen to be people of color Bill Gates is right. The system is failing too many people of color because of redundancies.

What about the students who are entering high school and are unable to read or are unable to complete their GED? The success of this proposal depends upon junior high school students meeting requirements already expected by them today. The GED only standardizes those same requirements. A student should never be passed in courses where they do not meet the objectives that qualify them to pass. Such an act is a severe failure on behalf of the middle school system and sabotages both the student and the high school they attend. Students who need specialized help should be in programs specifically tailored to their needs in order to help those students achieve the required objectives.

What if certain students are not suited for college? Many who are suited for college will never know if they are because they are not inspired to learn. This school’s purpose is to spark that interest and encourage them to pursue their vocational dreams. Some students are not built for advanced classes, but all students are capable of pursing a trade of their choice, unless they are severely disabled.

Not all of the teachers in MHS are certified to teach college level courses. They will need financial assistance in order to gain certification as well as higher pay due to their increased educational value. Also, it will take a few years to set up the new college system, curriculum and update facilities. This will allow some time for current teachers to add certifications. The money needed for this plan will be well invested and efficiently used.

State and federal governments should take the necessary steps to provide for these demands. This innovative concept could potentially revolutionize the nation’s educational systems. It is in the government officials’ best interest to invest in innovative solutions for the current education crisis in Muskegon and greater America. With support from the academic community as well as parent and students there is no reason government officials would not seriously consider implementing this pilot proposal.

Works Cited

McCallum, L (2007, April, 23). Gates and Pawlenty focus on the "3Rs" of reform. Minnesota Public Radio, Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/04/18/hssolutions

Pugmire, T (2007, April, 23). Pawlenty's motivation is part politics, part personal. Minnesota Public Radio, Retrieved February 20, 2008, from http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/20