[1]
Today's Plain Dealer again chronicles the "horror" of living in the city [2] and validates the decision of all the suburbanites [3]that have chosen to flee. Sister Regina [4]touches on the crux of the real problem in her column today. Standards. The school district is changing the standard for success by imposing a dress code. The City of Cleveland needs to set the same standard for our neighborhoods. The new second district police commander gets it.
Now, we have to let our kids know that success is not defined as "getting away with anything you feel like doing." Kids in the suburbs want to know that heady feeling, which is why they come to the city to "let off steam." I heard grumblings this week from the kids that uniforms imposed a culture on them. That has been the typical response from the adults, too.
Do we in the city really want to define "success" and "culture" as a run-down house with blaring music and untended toddlers playing in the street? Let's start setting the standards now. [5]