Education Forum/Sub-Forum

[iheartbooks]

Maybe we can have a thread to discuss education in Kansas City: not just school districts but local colleges as well?  I am tired of reading posts on CD constantly bashing KC and Center school districts with no insight on how to improve them (aside from the "move to JoCo" suggestion").  Also we can talk MCC, UMKC, etc? 

[im2kull]

Maybe we can have a thread to discuss education in Kansas City: not just school districts but local colleges as well?  I am tired of reading posts on CD constantly bashing KC and Center school districts with no insight on how to improve them (aside from the "move to JoCo" suggestion").  Also we can talk MCC, UMKC, etc? 

I think this is a good idea.  I also tend to think that its time we discuss possible changes in this forum, moving forward.  I think that at a minimum we should consider adding an "Education", "DIY", and "New Member Introduction" sub-forum/categorys.

I could see the benefits of an education forum.  Not only would it be a great place for resources like common Phone #'s, contacts, hours, etc...but it would also be a great place for Reviews of public and private K-12 education, along with reviews of higher education and vocational schools.  Beyond that it would serve as a great place to discuss education construction...like the just completed Staley HS (NKC) & Liberty North HS that is under construction.  Not to mention the hot topics, like the scandal and personal money mis-using discovered in the Liberty School District audit this last spring/summer!  Ooo...and lets not forget schoolboard elections, and information that could be posted on this forum about those!  Either way, sounds like a great idea to me, it would help move some of the irrevelant information out of the rest of the forum, and give it a home other than the "General KC" sub-forum.

P.S. - Welcome aboard "Iheartbooks", and "Bahua" is the guy to talk to.  He's our forum "God" of sorts.

[KCMax]

I dont' really see a need for it as schools and education aren't really discussed much on here and there are probably other forums to discuss that kind of stuff, but if there is a demand we'll take it under advisement.

[dangerboy]

P.S. - Welcome aboard "Iheartbooks", and "Bahua" is the guy to talk to.  He's our forum "God" of sorts.

The forum is actually polytheistic, although bahua does sit atop a hierarchy of forum god's.

[WoodDraw]

I don't like having a bunch of forums with only a couple threads each.  Subforums should be created because of specific talk clogging down other forums, not to try to create more discussion.

[Jess]

As an educator in the city, I'd definitely post on a school/ed related forum specific to KC.

[chrizow]

i think an education sub-forum would be great.  education is a huge challenge in the urban core, but there are also options out there that some families may not know about.  it's completely relevant to this site, as it's a huge piece of the puzzle in making urban KCMO/KCK viable living options again.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Its not that the subject matter wouldn't be relevant, important, or interesting - I am just extremely sceptical that there would be more than a post or two a month.  This forum does a pretty good job of not having dozens of inactive sub folders like so many do. 

[chrizow]

perhaps there could just be a bold/sticky EDUCATION thread under General Kansas City or something. 

same for the proposed DIY room.

[staubio]

I agree that simply creating a sub-forum doesn't beget discussion. I think this sort of discussion fits under existing categories and I think it is absolutely relevant and important. I just don't think there is the demand there for a unique room for this. Keep in mind that we must strike the balance between a manageable forum and a thorough one, which is why the existing categories are broad and varied.

Speaking of education, I went to the "dress rehearsal" for the NYC-bound Lincoln Prep Wind Ensemble last night. Inspiring. Those kids are good and are surrounded by involved administrators and teachers. I'd challenge anyone to attend a similar event in the future before they talk more trash on the KCMOSD.

[dangerboy]

I agree that education and urban development are closely intertwined.  That is I tend to think that urban education issues can and should be discussed in the Downtown and Urban core forums.

And kudos to the Lincoln Prep group.  Unfortunately the big problem is that after 20 years the community has been unable to replicate Lincoln's great successes in other schools.

[im2kull]

And kudos to the Lincoln Prep group.  Unfortunately the big problem is that after 20 years the community has been unable to replicate Lincoln's great successes in other schools.

I agree


On the education subforum issue:

I believe that its hard to guage interest, and possible need of a sub-forum dedicated to education without already having one.  Its one of those things that you can't determine the outcome untill it arrives.  I do see a very valid point in keeping this forum lightweight/compact, and broad...versus huge and bloated by categorys (Like say...AVS Forums (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/) Which is absolutely HUGE (800,000+ Members), and has an enormous amount of categorys, even though they ALL cover one very strict group (Audio & Video Home Theater equipment).  On the other hand, this forum has slowly been moving away from purely a Kansas City Development forum, and more towards a general KC development & general news/ideas/trends type forum.  It wouldn't nessecarily be a bad thing to add one or two more subforums in the future, so long as they're broad and don't detract from other parts of the forum.  There's a big difference in having a simple "KC Education" Subforum, rather than going overboard and having a "Lee's summit school district", "MCCKC", "shawnee", "NKCSD", "Liberty", etc subforums.  Those could all be individual threads, or they could be nonexistent all together. 

Point is, we don't know how much interest there is at this time, nor do we know how much interest there would be if we had a Education subforum.  I don't believe this forum has any "Dead" sub-forums at this time, which is amazing.  The most dead forums of all are easily the "North of the River" & "Missouri Suburbs"...but is that because they shouldn't be there, or just because there's a lack of major construction and development worth talking about North of the River or out in the suburbs?  Saying that the two most dead subforums on here each have over 250 topics, and nearly 6,000 posts is quite extrodinary in itself.  This forum is very active, which is a great thing.  Perhaps we should consider creating a place for education specifically, and then evaluate the results after a few months, rather than sit here and "Guess" what the best course of action would be.