The Return of/to Spider-Man

An earlier blog focused on my family trip to see Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark.  My wife, two kids, and I thoroughly enjoyed the production. Much of the staging was spectacular, and the story – though it faltered somewhat in the second act—easily held our attention.  This original version closed for three weeks for some rewriting and reopened with much more favorable reviews.  My kids very much wanted to see the revised version (and actually would also have been pleased to see the original version again) so this past weekend we made our second Spiderman trip.  There is much good news and there is some less than good news.

The second act was a vast improvement over the original version.  The story line was much crisper and clearer, and there was also no superfluous filler (such as a song about Arachne, the spider’s show wardrobe).  There was also more of Dr Osborn aka the Green Goblin, a villain played with real gusto and talent by Peter Page.  The music by Bono and The Edge was also enhanced and seemed to be much more effective in this revised version.  The downside, to some extent the other side of the crisper story line coin, was that the story lost the nuance of the more complete Arachne story.  My younger daughter missed the added focus on Arachne and felt its removal was a loss.  For the rest of us, though we missed seeing more of Arachne, the gain much more than made up for the loss.

What makes this show special, in its first iteration or the new version, is the staging.  It remains brilliant as do the costumes and the sets.  Without the flair inherent in Julie Taymor’s vision of Spider-Man, no amount of revision could have been made this production memorable.  And the producers and directors of Spider-Man were completely correct, the show needed the time and attention to go through the evolution that many Broadway shows need, and given the scale of the production that process needed it happen under the glare of the Broadway lights.  Where the producers and directors were wrong is in underestimating the time this evolution would take.  The resulting five postponements of the opening just served to erode confidence in the show, certainly not a help when the goal is at least earn back the $75 million that this production cost.

As I stated in my last blog on Spider-Man many of the most memorable authors often required many drafts and many rewrites before an outstanding final product emerged.  And many educators recognize that the development of our most outstanding students and graduates is often also an evolutionary process.  For Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark the process is complete, the story did “Rise Above” and the result is certainly worth the wait.  The evolution of Peter Parker and the evolution of many of our students is always a journey where the final product is certainly worth the wait.

Blunt Economics

Across the country, virtually every state is trying to control spending, and nationally we are also working hard to control spending.  Who could argue?  No one wants additional taxes, so raising revenue (absent a more robust economy) on the state level will be difficult while raising the deficit on the national is equally unpopular.  We all demand, and rightly so, fiscal discipline from our leaders.

To control spending, you could do a thorough national, state, and local review of all policies, programs and regulations. It is certain that some programs have a great deal of waste, or have outlived their usefulness, or provide only marginal benefit.  It is equally certain that some unfunded mandates/regulations are costly and not needed.  But doing a program by program or policy by policy review is difficult, time consuming, and often impacted by politics at least as much as merit. Given that difficulty, tax caps have become more and more popular.  You can stringently limit spending increasing but avoid making the tough program by program or mandate by mandate decisions.  We have such a cap now in New York, and as a school board member I can clearly tell that there are serious problems ahead that virtually all school districts will face as a result.  With the legislation recently in place and given unfunded mandates, the built in annual education cost increase (inflation rate) will likely be higher than the cap.  Overriding the cap will require a super majority (60%) and consequently be very difficult but living within the cap will squeeze education and in time almost certainly adversely impact quality.  Tax caps are blunt instruments.  I am not disputing that they can be helpful but there are certainly alternatives and there are certainly negative consequences.

On the revenue side, we also seem to be embracing a blunt approach.  The mantra of no tax increases is alive and well at every level of government.  The appeal is enormous and I’m certainly sympathetic.  But once again there are consequences of following a one size fits all policy rather than taking a more micro look at taxes.  Are there some tax rates that are still too high and tax payers paying more than they should?  Are there others where the tax rate is too low and tax payers should be paying more?  Remember that if there are no possible increases in tax revenues, we will likely be forced to cut important programs (such as in the education area), that are key investments in our future.  Blunt instruments and one size fits all policies may be easier to articulate and implement but may have far greater negative consequences than a more thought through less arbitrary plan of action.

We are all invested in keeping spending under control at all levels of government.  We are all invested in minimizing the tax obligation.  Both need to happen. But moving forward wearing the blinders of blunt policy parameters can’t be the best decision making process when our future is on the line.  Now is the moment for our government leaders to provide the sophisticated leadership that these challenging times demand.

The C Word

I had the pleasure of attending my local high school graduation last week.  This was a class that was recognized for their social action, for their sense of purpose, and for their involvement.  A nice change in priorities from the “me” generation that we suffered through not that long ago.  Early in the ceremony, there was a speech by the class valedictorian who as you can imagine was very bright and articulate, and had a sense of humor besides.  Certainly an impressive young man with a great combination of positive attributes.

The speech by the valedictorian noted that their journey as students had progressed from the relatively simple learning early in elementary school (spell “cat”) to the more complex learning and socializing as you approached and entered middle school, to the much more complex environment in high school.  According to the valedictorian, it was upon entering high school that the students were introduced to the “dreaded C word” where the “C” stood for college. At the point this comment was made there was a laugh from many of the graduates and an unhappy look from a few.  Why the laughs, why the frowns, and why was there a sense of “dread” when it came to thinking about college?

The sense of dread didn’t really come from thinking about college. Rather it came from the realization that almost everything you did in high school would impact the chances of your getting into college, most especially perhaps the schools you most wanted to go to.  Your grades, your standardized test scores, as well as your other school related activities all made a difference.  Add to that, your economic situation, especially the ability of your family to help cover the costs of higher education which can also make a significant difference.  As do any number of life events, from the most positive to the most tragic.

For some of the students graduating, the journey from high school to college was as smooth as can be and they were positioned perfectly for this next step in life’s progression.  But for others in the audience the journey was more complex and the end result may not have been everything they desired.  Sometimes the journey leaves the current graduate in an uncomfortable place and the disappointment permeates the person and perhaps also the family. At an early age, optimism is clouded by failure and a person may end up being judged solely by his or her SATs or high school average.

Students don’t always accomplish everything they want to, especially by age 18.  But what makes our system of higher education work so well is that there are multiple opportunities provided to change schools, majors, career goals.  In many societies and in many situations in life, there isn’t the opportunity to move forward from a difficult situation.  Our system isn’t perfect but the opportunities are there.  So, after high school, the old saying really does apply, “if you don’t succeed at first, try, try again.”  And our role as educators at all levels of education is to help instill in our students the determination and ability to move forward and ultimately succeed.