Category: Opinions

Education decisions should be made locally

Dear editor:

This week, Congress passed historic legislation to fix No Child Left Behind and permanently end Washington’s Common Core mandate. The Every Student Succeeds Act will return decisions about education to where they belong – with those closest to the children.

I believe our children receive the best possible education when decisions are made at the local and state level. This bill does just that – puts an end to Washington mandates and allows Kansans to make their own decisions about how to improve education.

Included in the bill is legislation I introduced that permanently ends the federal government’s ability to use any incentive or tool of coercion to force states to adopt Common Core – or any set of standards.

Washington has no business dictating to states and school districts what is best for their students. We can now finally say goodbye to federal interference in what we teach our kids in school.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.

Social media can create business opportunities

Views
Opinion column
by Murrel Bland

Anne Cull advises clients that social media can be used as an effective business development tool. That was the message she brought to about 60 persons who attended the monthly membership meeting of the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce Friday, Dec. 4, at the Venue at Willow Creek.

Cull, who owns Think Viral, a business-to-business company in the Kansas City Startup Village in the Rosedale community, said it is necessary to go to the best places to attract clients and prospects. She said it is most important to implement trust with people you most want to do business with.

“People who trust you are willing to make referrals,” she said.

Cull said it is important to use social media selectively and to avoid extensive spam messages. She suggested the best social media sites to use for building a quality database are Linkedin and Twitter. And she said that before joining these sites it is important to ask the basic question—is this person someone that you might do business with.

She suggested that in building this database on Linkedin, it is important to print out an Excel version of contacts and to keep only those whom you want to develop as clients. She said it is important to devote a certain amount of time—say 15 minutes a day—to keep your database current.

Cull said that Facebook may be cute, but it will generate much spam that will overload your website. You will waste too much time sorting through Facebook messages, Cull said. She agreed that Facebook may have millions of users, but if you don’t reach the right people, it doesn’t matter how many people you reach.

She also said Twitter also can be an effective business development tool—but only if it is directed at those that you really want to contact. Twitter allows a 140-character message called a “Tweet.”

Cull said that Linkedin and Twitter can be very useful tools to discover where networking opportunities are such as Chamber of Commerce meetings.

Cull worked for Sandler Training before going into business for herself in 2009. She attended California State University at Long Beach.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.

Opinion column: What are we really thankful for?

Window on the West
Opinion column
by Mary Rupert

I have written lists of things I am thankful for over the past month or so, but they mostly are what you would expect – I am thankful for a nice family, enough food to eat, a nice place to live and the many blessings I have received.

Those are the most important things, and I am truly thankful for them.

My list included:

1. I am thankful today that I woke up feeling well.

2. I am thankful today for those who care about me. Thank you!

3. I am thankful for the many opportunities I have had in my life.

4. I am thankful for the many talents I have received.

5. I am thankful for a genuinely nice family.

6. I am thankful for the continuing opportunity to work in my field.

7. I am thankful today for the various messages that are being sent to me via email and mail. Someone took the time to include me. It’s good to be included.

Then I got to thinking – what am I really thankful for that separates me from everyone else? What are those specific things I am really glad about?

So here’s my new list:

1. I am very thankful there is no one watching me work over my shoulder. Generally, I think that creates nervous employees.

2. I am thankful that I no longer have to drive in rush-hour traffic, usually.

3. I am thankful that while there is some amount of routine, there also is a lot of variation in the work I do each day.

4. I am thankful that I live on a side street without much traffic.

5. I am thankful that I live in the Midwest, in Kansas City, Kan., in a place where I have strong roots and there are kind, compassionate people. I am grateful that the kind people far outnumber the mean people.

6. I am thankful for the freedoms that allow me to express my opinions, and that you do, too.

7. I am thankful that when I was very young, in grade school, my teachers insisted on students doing their own work.

8. I am thankful for all of my teachers through the years, from grade school to grad school. Each one helped me along my path.

9. I am thankful that there are a couple of remote controls for the television sets here, so there is no squabbling over what to watch on TV.

10. I am most thankful, specifically, that my son has recovered from an illness that hospitalized him last month.

11. And I am thankful for each reader of this website. Thanks for spending a few minutes now and then, and thanks for expressing your opinions occasionally.

What are you thankful for? Feel free to add your list in the comments section.

To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].