This week's blogger, P.G. Sittenfeld, subscribes to the adage that 'it takes a village' to educate a child. In this case, Sittenfeld, the Director of Community Engagement for The Community Learning Center Institute, says Cincinnati has much to be proud of as a community when it comes to improving our public education system. In this week's blogs he challenges each of us to recognize how our own time and talents will continue to make an impact on every child's education.
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How a city finds its swagger
Posted By: P.G. Sittenfeld
9/8/2010
On four separate occasions this past summer, I hosted in Cincinnati friends of mine who either live in or around New York City. Like all New Yorkers, they are unabashed in their belief that their home turf is the center of the universe. None of the four had ever been to Cincinnati before. Our humble corner of the country, as far as they were concerned, is fly-over country.
That, however, was before they came to the Queen City.
After a long weekend here, all four of them - each a discriminating critic of what constitutes a desirable community - confessed to being wow-ed.
Our itinerary was as follows:
We made ample use of our beautiful parks system: Saturday morning sand volleyball at Sawyer point; a visit to the beautiful Bengals-built tree house in Mt. Airy Forest; and a stroll at sunset around Ault Park.
To balance out all that recreation, we indulged in Cincinnati's culinary musts: My guests were intrigued by Cincinnati chili; charmed by the grazing options and ambience at Findlay Market; and became fast addicted to Graeters ice cream. (If there's a rule that says you can only have Graeter's once a day, several of my visitors insisted on breaking it!)
We explored our city's art - both old and new - at the Taft Museum and Contemporary Art Center. We glimpsed the architecture of historic buildings like Music Hall, the Museum Center, and Withrow High School. We cheered our (1st place!) Reds on to victory. And we took in the views - from both Price Hill and Mt. Adams - of our mighty river, our rolling hills, and our proud downtown skyline.
Their 72 hours in Cincinnati left my guests breathless and impressed. And just think how many of our City's gems and hidden treasurers there wasn't time to show them.
I love showing off Cincinnati to visitors because it lets me see the City anew through their eyes, and inevitably leaves me feeling lucky that I call this place home.
Being positive about where we live is easy in good times. I would argue it's just as important that we promote a civic swagger in hard times, too. And there's no doubt that these are hard times.
The City soon faces another daunting budget deficit that will demand difficult cuts. We have a long way to go to make people feel safe in every neighborhood. The City needs to attract new businesses and fresh young talent to our community. Our race relations must continue to improve.
These challenges are real and they will not be addressed overnight. But we also know that solutions and progress will come not by complaining, not by criticizing, not by cutting down the very community we wish to build up, but instead by first believing that Cincinnati's brightest days remain ahead of us.
The best way to do that is to remind ourselves that we have much about which we can and should continue to feel good. Indeed, Cincinnati is blessed with assets that would make it the envy of most cities.
I have not yet mentioned our greatest asset of all: the people who are this city. I had the good fortune during the time in my life that I was away from Cincinnati to live and work in some of the most exciting cities on earth: Bangkok, London, and yes, New York City. I admit that I might be a bit biased, but my unscientific observation suggests that the people in Cincinnati are as proud of their home, as friendly with their neighbors, and as dedicated to the future of their city as any people on the planet.
So let's start being our own best promoters. Because a city's flaws and strengths need not be mutually exclusive. We can confront our problems and still project a swagger.