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Throughout history, communities, states, and even our nation have been faced with problems which have needed to be solved. Some solutions have been decided on by our leaders. Sometimes citizens with the right to vote have decided on a course of action. Problems such as where public buildings should be located, how to raise money to pay for community services, and even whether or not to go to war have all been solved by different groups of people at different times.
Today, our communities are still faced with problems which may be simple to solve, or may be very complicated. There are often many different solutions to a problem. Choosing the best way to solve a problem may take careful thought, research, and a great deal of time. Sometimes important decisions effect many people. Let's look at a hypothetical problem that needs a course of action, or solution. In this way we can learn how to solve problems by weighing all of the choices and possible consequences of our final decision. Background Let's pretend that we live in the imaginary town of Quandary. Quandary is a pleasant community, located in the state of New York. It has friendly people, and many opportunities for participation in local government, volunteer organizations, community recreation, churches, and cultural programs. There are attractive parks, ball fields, a golf course, and even a large community center with an Olympic-size swimming pool. Quandary has an attractive downtown business district. There are also some small industries located in the community. In Quandary, its citizens are proud of their healthcare facilities and school system. For many years the Quandary School District has had five elementary schools, each with students in kindergarten through 6th grade. The five schools, North Elementary School, South Elementary School, East Elementary School, West Elementary School, and Central Elementary School are all fine schools. The students and teachers are proud of their schools. School spirit and loyalty shine brightly in all of the five buildings. When students reach 7th grade, they attend the Quandary 7th and 8th Grade Junior High School, known as QJHS. High school students in grades 9-12 attend QHS, the Quandary High School. The system has worked well for the community's children, and they are happy in their school district. But, Quandary also has a quandary. The Quandary School District has suffered a major cut in funding. State and federal money has decreased due to budget cuts. One of the community's largest tax-paying industries has left Quandary. The citizens feel that they can not afford to have their school taxes increase, but they are not sure how they can avoid it. Quandary has also not grown in several years, and in fact, the population of the community and enrollment in the schools has actually declined.
The Choices The Quandary Board of Education has decided that something must be done to save money and help ease the burden on the taxpayers. During the Board of Education meeting, several possible courses of action were discussed. Board members decided that because of cuts in financial support (money) from the state and federal governments and the decline in enrollment they will be forced to close one of Quandary's elementary school buildings.
The North, South, East, West, and Central Elementary Schools are all of similar size. The junior high, QJHS, is a large building, and could actually house one more grade level. The Board of Education feels that moving 6th graders to QJHS, and making it a grade 6-8 school would help with the solution.
The question of which elementary school to close will be a very difficult decision. The remaining four elementary school will also face changes. Let's look at some possible courses of action. Plan 1:
Each of the four remaining elementary schools will house grades kindergarten through 5th grade. The children from the school that is closing will be split into four groups, busing students from each grade level to each of the four other schools. Plan 2:
Each of the four remaining elementary schools will house grades kindergarten through 5th grade. The children from all of the elementary schools will be redistricted and sent to the school closest to their house. Plan 3:
Two of the remaining elementary schools will house grades kindergarten through 2nd grade. The other two remaining elementary schools will house grades 3-5. Students will go to their closest grade - level school. The final decision will effect students, teachers, staff, and families in all of the schools. What should Quandary do? How should they go about their decision? As a 4th grader in Quandary, what is your suggestion? The Solution Before the solution is finalized, the pros and cons of each possible course of action must be discussed. In the next lesson, the citizens of Quandary will weigh their choices. Definitions
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