Geneva Teachers, Students and Community Come Together to Celebrate Education

About 200 participants—teachers, students, administrators, civic leaders, parents, police and fire department personnel and members of the Fourth Estate—came together Wednesday morning to celebrate education in Geneva.

At School District 304's annual leadership breakfast at , District 304 Superintendent Dr. Kent Mutchler gave the keynote speech on the American Education Week theme: “Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility.”

Mutchler began by thanking School Board members, who put themselves out there by seeking election to a position that is often thankless, sometimes comes under harsh scrutiny and provides no monetary compensation.

"To me, that is about as benevolent as anything can be," he said.

Mutchler illustrated his points with quotes from Thomas Jefferson ("Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government."), Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Abraham Lincoln ("Give me six hours to cut down a tree, and I will take the first four to sharpen the ax.")

"That’s what we’re doing here today," he said of the Lincoln quote.

School Board President Tim Moran pointed to a Time magazine story and other articles that suggested the conclusion "that the ability to keep up with the American Dream is through education."

Moran called for civility in public discourse and said student council members from all Geneva schools, many of whom were present at Wednesday's breakfast, should learn from the examples of School Board members "who know how to agree to disagree."

"We must voice our disagreements," he said. "But when the level of invective takes the front page, we have lost our ability to make progress."

What did members of grade-school student councils take from the speeches and discussion?

"Everything," said Kasey Murphy of Harrison Street School's Student Council. Like her peers, Kasey was elected to the council after she wrote and made a speech in front of her class.

"I learned what jobs people do and how some jobs, like being a principal, aren't always easy," said Madi Calay of Heartland Elementary School's Student Council. "It's important to make sure kids are getting a chance to know and learn things every day."