A new marketing video for the Pittsburgh Promise is set against Coldplay's "When I Ruled the World." It shows images of Jonas Salk and steel mills and makes observations along the lines of "once Pittsburgh mattered in the world" and that it is up to our current generation of students to make it matter again.
Of course our students should be inspired to achieve, but this video just seems off, especially given the commentary about Pittsburgh in connection with the G-20 summit. News reports include headlines like "What a difference 25 years made in Pittsburgh; Hope, grit, sweat resurrected a city felled by rust" and point to Pittsburgh as a model for green and sustainable projects and economic transformation in general. And certainly there were accomplishment between Jonas Salk and green buildings... Andy Warhol and Dr. Thomas Starzl (liver transplanation) come to mind. Of course more can be done, but "sweep the streets I used to rule" does not seem to fit the city that in a single year won both the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup!
PPS celebrates even its own modest accomplishments. It would be hard to believe that actual Pittsburghers had any role in making this video.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
The one thing our visitors from out of town always want to see is the Andy Warhol museum. And when offered a chance to see the high school Andy Warhol went to they want to see that as well. Shout out to Schenley.
Is the video online somewhere? Is this the one said to make grown men cry?
Anon 11:53, do you mean is the coldplay version online, or is the Pittsburgh Promise version online? The Promise version is probably being saved for the live presentations so they are not the same as last year.
The video was shown at the Long Term Facilities study community meeting on the South Side. It was a nice, motivating video but it ruined the song for me, which I really liked!
When I saw it there was no response at all. Pittsburgh is making steady progress, not down and out.
Channel 4 news reported this evening that Pittsburgh has been ranked the 10th "greenest" city in the world. That's something our schools can and should build on!
I have not seen the video, but my wife did. My advice to PPS, burn that video and never play it again. And, furthermore, as a prudent taxpayer, I'd say that the PPS should ask for our money back as well.
Perhaps it should be fixed, then a refund isn't necessary. But it needs to be marked as unacceptable.
Insulting is the best I can say about it.
Maybe they could sell it to a city that is now more like Pgh was in the 80's, if it could be done in a motivational rather than insulting way. Test it out with some focus groups first, though.
Here's an idea: rework it as an inspirational video for PPS administration. It could state that once, only 10 years ago, 80% of children in Pittsburgh attended a Pittsburgh public school; now only 60% are in a (noncharter) Pittsburgh public school and the percentage is dropping. The admin is on the front line in reversing this trend.
Here's a brainstorm: The PFT should sell their big building on the Southside (donate the money from the sale to the Pittsburgh Promise) and move into the BOE's building on Bellefield. Then Tarka's and Roosevelt's offices can be next to one another. Since the PFT and BOE are one and the same in reality, this would save money all the way around. Heck, their new plan for the Gates' money, is spelled out on the PFT's web site. When you have some free time, read about what they have in mind for the future...
Or, sell the BOE Building in Oakland, suggested hundreds of times, and have the BOE / Superintendent move to the PFT building on the South Side.
Having one person hold both the superintendent and union president positions will also save a lot of money!
Minimize the number of BOE admin. and PFT leaders - put them in the classrooms. PFT leaders are paid teacher salaries and it counts towards retirement money. They get something for nothing.
Post a Comment