No Thinking Allowed

DOER

PROFILE

0

ELAYNEGROSS

City: Oak Park
Kudos: Stirring Kids' Imaginations

Photographer Elayne Gross mentors local school children
in the arts. Since October, she has become "Princess
Meena" at poet Suzanne Scaone's "Poetry Palace" in the
third- and fifth-grade poetry classrooms at Glazer
Elementary in Detroit. Gross retired eight years ago to
become a photographer and volunteers her skills to raise
money for kids.

Why Glazer School?
"I'm a teen mentor in pho-
tography at Detroit's Focus
Hope. We were wandering
around taking pictures when
we came to Glazer. I liked it
right away. The energy was
special — it was named after a
late rabbi of Temple Beth El,
B. Benedict Glazer! The tem-
Gross
ple still gives books to the
school's library. When I saw
the students' poetry and artwork, I was in awe of what
these little kids could do. A year later, I was volunteer-
ing there.

What's the value of the poetry program?
"It's important for the development of the kids'
imaginations. They learn how to express themselves
through the stimulation of art. Many artists volunteer
in Detroit schools because the schools are in dire
financial need.

What's special about working with young Detroiters?
"It's watching these kids create. When they're writ-
ing or drawing they're doing some-
thing really positive. They're learn-
ing and blooming. Like in this
poem by third-grader DeAndre
Moore of Detroit:

I love to watch the sun at dusk
At twilight I look at the silvery stars
I love to watch the messy trees
How I love to love.' "

ne of the problems of a
democratic society is per-
suading thoughtful and
talented men and women
to serve in public office.
A group of activists in the
Bloomfield Hills School District
seems intent on making this
problem a bit worse. They are
GEORGE
trying to punish members of the
CANTOR
school
board for having the nerve
Reality
to
actually
come up with an idea.
Check
The board suggested a plan to
move the Lahser High School
campus onto land adjoining Andover High. The
reason advanced for the move was long-term cost
savings in a high quality
district that is feeling sharp
financial pressures.
As a resident of the dis-
trict, I didn't agree with
the proposal when it was
first announced. But the
more I learned about it,
the more sense it seemed
to make.
There were others who
disagreed, which is as it
should be. But this dis-
agreement was vehement.
We were getting at least
two recorded phone calls a
week from opponents of
the plan. After one or two,
I got the idea and came to.
.
welcome the repeated messages about as much as
those from long-distance calling plans and mort-
gage refinancing companies.
Signs that said "No Mega School" also started
sprouting on lawns in the area.
- Advocates of the combined campus plan prom-
ised there would be no combining of the two
schools. They would remain entirely separate, as
with the Plymouth Salem and Plymouth Canton
arrangement in Wayne County.
Opponents were convinced, however, there was
an ulterior motive at work. With no evidence

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor@thejewishnews.com

Moore

beyond their own suspicions, they began putting
up their signs.
- Public opinion turned against the plan, and the
board eventually dropped it. Again, this is the
way it is supposed to work.
Not good enough for the opponents. Now they
want blood. They are targeting the incumbent
board members who supported the plan and are
up for re-election this month. Not based on their
overall record. Only on the issue of the "mega
school," which they insist is still being conspirato-
rially planned in secret.
Now here is an absolutely splendid way of
insuring that people willing to embrace new ideas
will not Serve on the board in the future. Only
those who reject change are welcome.
From the lowest level to
the highest, however, the
American political system
seems designed to penalize
anyone who actually is
capable of thought. Even
in private organizations,
there is always a vocal
minority, threatened by
any change, who will
undercut the best inten-
tioned, most rigorously
researched proposal.
This trend is especially
corrosive in the practice of
going back 30 years or
more and hanging a candi-
date for something he may
have said when he was in
his 20s.
Get into politics, it seems, and you're not
allowed to change your mind or grow. Say some-
thing dumb and immature, and that's what you're
stuck trying to defend, even though the experi-
ences of life may have turned you into a different
person.
•
Show me someone who hasn't changed his
mind since he was 20 years - old and I'll show you
an idiot — the last person I'd want representing
me anywhere.
;People should vote their interests in any elec-
tion. But whose interest is served by having a
swarm of drones in public office? ❑

❑

— Sharon Luckerman, staff writer

For information or a $3 copy of Glazer Students'
Poetry Book, visit Gross' website:
reallifeweddings.com/insideout_poetry_project/

6/11

2004

10

"When I light the candles, I think about how lucky I am to be blessed with my family and how
much I love them."

Candlelighting

REPORT A DOER...

Know a Doer — someone of any age doing interest-
ing, meaningful things in their life outside of their
job? Share suggestions with Keri Guten Cohen, story
development editor, at (248) 351-5144 or e-mail:
kcohen@thejewishnews.com

Shabbat Candlelighting

Friday, June 11, 8:52 p.m.

J

— Robin Lipsky, West Bloomfield
Candlelighting
Friday, June 18, 8:55 p.m.

Shabbat Ends

Shabbat Ends

Saturday, June 12, 10:04 p.m.

Saturday, June 19, 10:07 p.m.

To submit a candlelighting message, call Miriam Amzalak of the Lubavitch nmen Organization at (248) 548-6771 or e-mail: mantzalakqjuno.com

