To the Editor:

The resignation of Brunswick High School Principal Art Abelmann is still not clear and most likely will not be.

Some people feel this second resignation from a high school by Abelmann does not speak well for him. This is assuming there is no reason to question Aspen High School in Colorado and Brunswick High School.

With the standardization of education, thought and behavior in our society, why would we think the two high schools are hugely different?

A letter to the editor of the Aspen Times (“Principal Abelmann deserves respect”) stated: “The teachers at AHS greeted an ‘outsider’ as principal and may have had disagreements with Art, but I cannot imagine anyone on the staff questioning his commitment to our children. Shaking things up a bit can be a good thing when new ideas are brought into our insular valley.”

So what does “insular valley” mean? It can suggest a narrow frame of reference. It can suggest minimal contact with people who might be a bit different. It might suggest present forms of education are myopic.

Perhaps the author was saying the community is narrow minded. Perhaps Art Abelmann had become frustrated from dealing with an education system, a type of education that does not bring about real thinking people with a mature sense of responsibility and objectivity.

Our society is in a big mess, if one references the news that headlines represent. It appears we don’t learn from our past. Decision makers compound problems by their approach to dealing with the many problems.

It appears we are going backwards. It appears we are marching in place in quicksand. There are always budget issues, but few people question salaries of administrators as possibly a waste of resources.

One gentleman who spent time with Art Abelmann stated Abelmann had some really good ideas. If “good ideas” meant some people had to change the way they think, who would have been most resistant to change?

Educators and administrators are supposed to be flexible since life is not a mechanical assembly line. I doubt students would have been resistant if they saw a truly advanced system of learning beyond the simple memorization and recall of information.

I personally did not know Art Abelmann, though my experiences on this planet for 66 years tell me we have got a huge problem, and if decision makers are “stuck” or are clueless, then it’s time they take a mature adult approach and be receptive to even the unfamiliar and not fear change, because change is precisely what is needed.

The learning process is continuous throughout life. It doesn’t stop with a diploma or graduation ceremony.

My personal feelings about “traditional” education: It is one of the institutes that perpetuates the same set of problems from one generation to another with little change.

Take some time to stop what you are doing. Look around. Read some headlines. Do you want this insanity to continue, with its absence of integrity?

Research other forms of learning and education. It’s quite an education.

Joe Ciarrocca
Brunswick