Why do we only care after the fact?

[parentofpeople]

<p>I just watched a news story that took place in Wilmington Delaware. It showed one of several public hearings, where the input from the community will be used to help form policies for public schools across Delaware. The goal is to set a policy stop bullying on social media, computers, cell phones etc. </p>

<p>The thing I noticed is that there were exactly 22 people in the auditorium. All I could think of was how packed that place would be with people if there were a case of cyber bullying that had a devastating outcome. Then the room would be filled with people complaining that the school wasn’t doing enough to control this type of behavior. Or conversely if a child gets in trouble for breaking one of the rules, the parents would be up in arms and pack the house complaining about how unfair the rule was. </p>

<p>I know we are all busy, but it just struck me how empty the place was at the time people could actually have some input.</p>

[BCEagle91]

<p>A few years ago I had a coworker on the school board, a coworker with his wife on the school board and another coworker on the town council. We have school board and town council meetings on CATV and Google Video. If I want to express my opinion on a matter, I could just walk ten to thirty yards to talk to the appropriate person. They aren’t in those positions now but they are still connected.</p>

<p>I could also express my opinion and ask for information about school and town stuff on the town forums.</p>

<p>In general, town meetings are empty when people are generally happy with management. The get boisterous when there’s a problem. The overall economy has something to do with the atmosphere too.</p>

[sryrstress]

<p>A problem in my school corporation is that at some of these types of events, the public, or a select few parents, are involved in a hearing/committee, but it’s basically for public show. The task at hand gets shelved after a bit of attention and the school goes back to do whatever it wants regarding the matter. I’ve seen it time and time and time again.</p>

[Lafalum84]

<p>

In general, town meetings are empty when people are generally happy with management. The get boisterous when there’s a problem.

I once complained to our hs principal when we could barely get a dozen parents to come to monthly Parent Communication meetings (in a hs with 1500 kids). He replied, “In some ways that’s a good sign. If they were mad, they’d be here complaining.”</p>

[BerneseMtn]

<p>Here is another example about heroin:</p>

<p>

The room wasn’t nearly big enough.</p>

<p>Perhaps shaken by the deaths in Naperville of six people from heroin overdose last year, a crowd far larger than expected came to a presentation on the topic Monday night at the 95th Street Library. When some 300 people packed the large meeting room set aside for the gathering, organizers wound up repeating the event for another group just as large who couldn’t get in for the first round and waited 90 minutes in the hall.

</p>

<p>That was from February 2012. They are hosting two more sessions tonight and later this week.</p>