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SRQ DAILY Jun 24, 2017

"Smart school principals encourage students to take daily music classes because academic achievements resulting from this approach can be impressive."

- Margaret Goreshnik, Allegro Music Academy
 

[Under The Hood]  A Conspiracy of Voters
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

Perhaps it's an inevitable symptom of democracy. Whenever a close election, or even just a contentious one, reaches its inevitable conclusion, the malicious theories will start immediately. Even now, I still hear from people angry that the last Sarasota City Election fell prey to malicious forces colluding together to oust one politician in favor of others who would better serve their agenda. There’s no other explanation. There had to be a conspiracy.

And here’s the thing. There was. In fact, I can say with certainty that every elected official representing the region today got there only with the help of outside forces conspiring to influence the outcome of the contest and produce the result they and those close to them desired, with no regard for opponents’ competing agenda. I know this to be true because it’s the definition of democracy.

When we learn in school that democratic societies choose government leaders based on the will of the majority, it seems so pure and simple. It’s only when we see democracy in action that it will dawn upon us that the majority may not always include us. And it only seems less righteous as we realize the countless other ways the system can get gamed. Voter suppression, gerrymandering, special interests.

Yet it’s worth remembering that the system at the end of the day comes down to that same pure and simple measure our social studies teachers told us about. You can buy as many billboards and mailers as the print shop can make, elections get decided by a count of votes tallied, and, short of massive fraud, that count still delivers leadership responsive to the candidate with the broadest and most significant support.

Party bosses, developers, neighborhood leaders, social activists—all these groups get derided for influencing elections, but really, these are people trying to influence an election, but they have no true power to decide it. And every group suffers wins and losses. The cyclical nature of democracy should prove to us that no single group holds such a stranglehold on power that it can truly subvert the fickle but sactrosanct will of the masses.

A Congressional election earlier this week drew the attention of national media, and even inspired many local Democratic activists northward to try and flip a district long held in GOP hands. It didn’t work, and the Republican won by a little less than 10,000 votes. Now Democrats express concern gerrymandering made this race impossible (to be fair, this is a Southern district once represented by Newt Gingrich, not some maliciously twisted district intended to steal a seat from the other team). Had Democrats won, I’m sure Republicans would complain how $30 million in outside money had tainted results. In truth, voters came out and the Republican side narrowly won out. End of story.

But losing is hard, whether it’s watching your favorite team lose the Super Bowl in overtime or watching a politician representing your ideals downed by someone with a very different vision for the future. Democracy invests us personally in leaders, and we neither bow to an aristocracy nor write them off as a group disconnected from our own lives.

None of this is to suggest we should be unconcerned with campaign finance reform or fair districting or transparency in the donor class. But when you do lose an election, it’s imperative not to blame the other side but to listen to them, if only to figure out how their message could connect with so many even if it sounded venomous to you. And if you don’t believe the people made the right choice, know it's up to you to change their minds.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor for SRQ Media Group. 

[Education]  Creating Innovators
Jennifer Vigne, jvigne@edfoundationsrq.org

"We've created an economy based on people spending money they do not have to buy things they may not need, threatening the planet in the process. We have to transition from a consumer-driven economy to an innovation-driven economy," says Tony Wagner, expert in Residence at Harvard University’s Innovation Lab and author of Creating Innovators and The Global Achievement Gap.

As a country, state and local community that is part of a global technology-driven economy, we need to excel in innovation or we will get left behind. This stark reality stresses the need for education to accelerate its rate of change since the classrooms of today are often not aligned with the skills required by tomorrow’s workforce. This was a key topic of discussion during this week’s 2017 Florida Chamber Foundation Learners to Earners Annual Summit. Of all the speakers, I was particularly impressed with Mary O’Hara-Devereaux, a futurist who provoked us to reimagine the future – the future that our children and grandchildren will consider as their today.

Sarasota County students enjoy the advantages of a philanthropic community that appreciates the importance of innovation. Tech active classrooms of tomorrow are now an everyday part of our middle school education, helping foster group learning and critical thinking. Increasing STEM content in our elementary school curriculum continues while engineering and robotics classes that promote project-based learning are being implemented into more area high schools each year. The trend will continue but the pace of innovation within American schools, from early education through post-secondary institutions, is not keeping up with global advances.

If you think the internet changed our world the past decade, imagine the implications artificial intelligence will have on our lives.  We are in the throes of a transformative era where the average life expectancy of a female is predicted to reach 100 years by 2057; 47 percent of jobs will disappear within 25 years; urbanization will create 1 billion new middle-class consumers, 90 percent of which will be in emerging markets, mostly in Asia; and by 2040, technological innovations will outpace humans’ adaptability. It is enough to make anyone’s head spin. Wagner notes that, as a whole, America’s education system focuses on individual achievement, specialization, risk aversion, passive learning and extrinsic incentives.  In conflict, innovation is driven by collaboration across disciplines where failure is often the only path to success.

Thomas Friedman makes a compelling case for the rapid rate of acceleration in his most recent book, Thank You for Being Late, by identifying the significant technological advancements of 2007, which was the year the iPhone was introduced, Facebook launched, Twitter started to scale globally, Google launched the Android and Amazon released the Kindle. Just 10 years later in 2017, Tesla surpassed Ford Motor Company and GM in market capitalization—a company founded less than 15 years ago.

In this era of rapid change and technological advancement, it is incumbent upon us to collectively create the “make or break strategies” asserted by O’Hara-Devereaux during the summit so that we create the comparative human advantage. We need more imagination, more creativity, more collaboration and, perhaps most importantly, a profound elevation in how we value education. The time is now to create innovators and the Education Foundation of Sarasota County is committed to being a driving force in expanding advances being made for our students, teachers and schools. 

Jennifer Vigne is president of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.  

[Higher Education]  The Moment We Strive For
Dr. Larry Thompson, lthompso@ringling.edu

Every project, creative or not, has that moment. That victorious, throw-your-hands-in-the-air moment. That YES moment where every hour you’ve spent creating, building and perfecting your work comes to fruition. It’s the culmination and validation of your courage to dream big. It’s a landmark moment.

June 15 delivered that very moment to one of Ringling College of Art and Design’s brilliant Game Art graduates—and to the entire Ringling College Game Art program. Trent Sivek (Game Art, ’17) was just recently announced this year’s winner of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) College Game Competition. Selected by a panel of judges wading through submissions from over 400 colleges and universities, Trent’s work Phonetica does not stop at pushing the boundaries of our own Game Art program but those of Game and Game Art and Design majors across the country.

Phonetica is the first game in the history of our Game Art program to be selected as a finalist at E3. Imagine, the first time a Ringling College game made it to the finals, it became the overall winner. On top of that, this project was a senior thesis project created by Trent and Trent alone. But catch this, his game beat out games that had entire teams of students behind them—some with as many as 14 students working on it.

Game Art program head Jim McCampbell describes this experience as “the Game Art major’s finest moment.”

And I couldn’t agree more.

Our Game Art program has been nationally ranked in the top 20 Game Design Schools and Colleges in the US and among the top 10 Private Game Design Schools and College in the US (Animation Career Review) based on a number of criteria including academic reputation, selectivity, depth and breadth of the program, value and geographic location. 

And, don’t get me wrong, we are obviously always excited and proud to be ranked and listed among the best of the best. But, actions speak louder than words. Trent walked the talk when in triumphed in head to head competition with the country’s best teams of Game and Game Art and Design schools. This just further demonstrates the quality of a Ringling College education and the quality of our world-class faculty.

This E3 event, while exciting for the College, serves as a career launcher for students looking to enter the gaming industry. This year’s E3, which consists of a week’s worth of events including the College Competition, brought 68,400 attendees. That’s 68,400 potential eyes on Trent’s game, and 68,400 opportunities to meet industry players—professionals, media, and celebrities—in one concentrated area. And that figure doesn’t even include viewers online. Millions of people around the globe watched the events of the conference. This kind of exposure for Ringling College and Sarasota is priceless.

And that’s what we aim to give our students: that real-world experience that delivers education, exposure and, after tireless and tedious work, that YES moment that makes it all worth it.

Dr. Larry R. Thompson is president of Ringling College of Art and Design. 

[From Margaret Goreshnik]  Will Music Lessons make your child smarter?
Margaret Goreshnik

A few years ago, Governor of Georgia Zell Miller came up with the idea of sending every newborn child in the state—approximately 100.000 children a year—home from the hospital with a CD of classical music.

Scientific studies have shown that early musical training shapes children’s growing brains and boosts their learning power, aiding in the development of logic, abstract, thinking, memory and creativity. Dr. Mark Tramo, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School says: “We believe a handful of neural codes is used by the brain, so exercising the brain through music strengthens other cognitive skills. It’s like saying if you exercise your body by running, you enhance your ability not only to run, but also to play soccer and basketball.”

Music should be taught before anything else. Smart school principals encourage students to take daily music classes because academic achievements resulting from this approach can be impressive. With music lessons, children focus on the task and listen better to directions. Music teaches them to be confident and to believe in themselves.

There are many reasons to teach music to children, and enhancing their brain power is only one of them. Music can soothe emotions and excite enthusiasm. It gives us a sense of cultural identity.

The Allegro Music Academy is the largest music, dance and etiquette school in Manatee and Sarasota counties. We start music and dance classes as early as 3 to 4 years old. After 5 years old, we offer lessons on all musical instruments and voice. Music lessons at this age improve the musical ear, rhythm, memory, coordination and concentration. We help school age children through music to fight ADD syndrome. In adults, we can fight the affects of Alzheimer’s with music, which is shown to improve memory and concentration. For more information, call 941-358-8511. Allegro Music Academy is located at 241 Whitfield Ave., Sarasota. All our teachers have a university degree in music.

We offer private and group classes for all instruments, dance and etiquette classes. Summer Camps 2017 are scheduled for June–August.

Dr. Margaret Goreshnik is director of Allegro Music Academy. 



[[SCOOP]]  CareerEdge Spearheading Short-Term Certification Programs

Given the high demand for skilled workers in the Manatee region, CareerEdge Funders Collaborative is partnering with educational institutions to provide short–term express programs in order to quickly move individuals into apprenticeship–based occupations in the trades. Two of these partnerships are collaborations with Suncoast Technical College (STC) and Gettel Automotive to recruit entry–level automotive technician trainees and Manatee Technical College on express programs for Plumbing and Electrician certifications. “CareerEdge continues to explore creative ways to help connect people to high demand career-laddering jobs while assisting employers with their workforce needs”, says Executive Director Mireya Eavey. 

CareerEdge

[[SCOOP]]  Sarasota Opera Joins Opera for All Voices: Stories of our Time

Sarasota Opera has joined forces with six opera companies nationwide to create a new commissioning initiative entitled Opera for All Voices: Stories of our Time. This new venture is committed to telling wide–ranging stories that resonate with audiences regardless of age or prior experience with opera. Selected works will be co–commissioned and co–produced with other participating companies. Opera for All Voices recognizes the need in opera for the creation of works with outstanding artistic quality and relevant subject matters but are also flexible in scope and scale allowing for more manageable budgets. The project hopes to address the serious need of bringing new audiences to opera through commissioning new works that are sensitive to the changing viewing habits amongst audiences today while also addressing pre-conceived notions about the art form 

Sarasota Opera

[[KUDOS]]  2017 LECOM President's Distinguished Service Awards

In conjunction with its 25th anniversary, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) in Bradenton presented the 2017 John M. Ferretti, D.O., President’s Distinguished Service Award to Anthony J. Ferretti, D.O., to Robert J. George, D.O., and to Richard P. Olinger, CPA, at commencement ceremonies on June 4. The John M. Ferretti, D.O., President’s Distinguished Service Award is presented to dedicated supporters who have demonstrated a profound and manifest pledge to LECOM and to its mission of preparing students to become first-rate osteopathic physicians, pharmacy practitioners and dentists. 

LECOM

[[SCOOP]]  Kevin Smith Begins Production of 'Killroy Was Here' with Ringling College

Kevin Smith; iconic filmmaker, author, actor and director of Clerks, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back has returned to Sarasota in collaboration with Ringling College, to shoot the first installment of his latest horror anthology film Killroy Was Here. “Killroy Was Here is an exciting project as part of our ongoing effort to provide hands-on, active production crew experience and screen credits for Ringling College students and graduates while also bringing world-renowned producers, directors and Hollywood-level entertainment productions to Sarasota to use the College’s film facilities,” said Dr. Larry R. Thompson, President of Ringling College. 26 Ringling College students and graduates are working with area production professionals, including Digital Caviar and other local businesses to shoot Killroy on locations throughout Sarasota and Pinellas Counties, and at the college’s new Ringling Studios soundstage and post-production facility. 

Ringling College of Art and Design

[[SCOOP]]  Literacy Bags Available for Title I Kindergarteners

Sarasota County Schools and the Suncoast Campaign for Grade–Level Reading are working together to increase early–reading proficiency for incoming kindergarteners by providing a literacy bag to improve school readiness and summer-learning opportunities for children from low-income families at Title 1 schools. The Sarasota County Task Force for Grade-Level Reading Subcommittee for Early Learning is partnering with the Patterson Foundation to ensure children entering kindergarten have enriching literacy materials that can support their learning in the months before school begins. Each literacy bag includes alphabet flash cards, first-word flash cards, number flash cards, color and shape flash cards, jumbo crayons, a Childcraft English Alphabet Literacy Chart, a set of upper-case and lower-case alphabet magnets, drawing paper and an English/Spanish picture book. 

Sarasota County Schools

[[KUDOS]]  Doctor's Hospital of Sarasota Wins Quality Awards

Each year hundreds of patients are treated at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota for stroke, heart attack and heart failure. To ensure local residents get the best care, the hospital has made a commitment to follow specific quality measures by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology Foundation. The hospital was recently recognized with several quality awards including three important awards for heart attack and stroke treatment; Stroke Gold Plus Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center- Silver, and Heart Failure Silver Plus. The hospital earned these awards by meeting specific quality measures for the diagnosis and treatment of patients; proper use of medications; and before patients are discharged, receiving information on managing their conditions and a follow up appointment. The goal is to reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life. 

Doctor's Hospital of Sarasota

[[SCOOP]]  SRQ Airport Hosts TSA PreCheck Enrollment Event

The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) will be enrolling passengers in the TSA PreCheck expedited screening program from July 31 through August 11. TSA PreCheck is an expedited screening program that enables identified low-risk air travelers to enjoy a smart and more efficient screening experience. For TSA PreCheck travelers, there is no need to remove shoes, 3-1-1 liquids, laptops, light outerwear or belts. Today, TSA PreCheck has more than 450 lanes at 167 US airports.  

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport

SRQ Media Group

SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

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