"I'd rather be watching American Idol."
Last night at the Washington-Rufus King High School basketball game, there wasn't a brawl!
No injuries!
No arrests!
What a proud moment for the Milwaukee Public Schools!
Of course, security was tight.
There were least four uniformed police officers in the gym. Who knows how many were in plain clothes?
There were also as many officers in squads patrolling outside the school.
Another official was at the game -- Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. No doubt he had plenty of security with him.
Was it a photo-op?
I don't know.
It's was a smart move to get his face on the news and give the appearance that he's engaged in dealing with the crisis.
I think that it may be unfair to accuse Barrett of showing up at Wednesday night's game just to present himself as taking a tough, hands on approach when it comes to the MPS violence problem.
By attending the game, Barrett gave the message that the unacceptable behavior that occurred at the Bradley Tech-Bay View game on Tuesday night will not be tolerated. He's making an effort at showing some leadership. That's good.
I do think he's sincere in wanting to get the public schools under control.
Wanting to do something and being able to achieve it are two totally different things.
Does Barrett intend to make appearances at high school basketball games a priority now?
Is that supposed to be the solution?
It's not a solution.
And where's Governor Jim Doyle? MIA.
I think Milwaukee needs some emergency funds so the police department can establish a special unit to patrol public high school sports.
That won't happen, at least not until Doyle is up for reelection again.
In its coverage, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel balances the bad with the good.
Look! A silver lining!
It's easy to lose track of the good news - and there is good news within every school. Large numbers of kids go to school every day, a lot of them are good kids and some of them are doing well in school. The system is under stresses of many kinds, but it is still functioning.
...There have been major improvements in the last decade in some indicators for MPS, such as graduation rates - although some suggest graduating has become easier.
The JS also points out that Milwaukee isn't alone in its public school struggle.
The 90,000-student MPS system remains the largest single venue for educating children in Wisconsin. It serves a far disproportionate share of Wisconsin's struggling learners, the low-income and minority children who present such intractable challenges to the education system here, as they do elsewhere in America.
Elsewhere in America is irrelevant.
Doyle and Barrett and city leaders aren't dealing with America's schools. They are responsible for managing Milwaukee's crisis situation.
WE'RE NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT ACADEMICS HERE!
ALL THIS ENERGY IS BEING SPENT ON HANDLING EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES.
It's a mess.
Maybe Barrett should attend some MPS classes as well as basketball games.
Will that help student performance in the classroom?
As for all the whining about students from Bradley Tech and Bay View not being allowed to attend their sporting events, I think it's misdirected.
The student athletes, their families, and the good kids have a right to be disturbed about the restrictions. They should be angry, but not at school officials.
They should be angry at the thugs.
They're responsible for taking away the excitement and fun offered by high school sports. They ruined it.
It's unfortunate that the good people have to suffer, but actions have consequences.
Do you think the thugs feel guilty?
No way.
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