Many years ago, back when Illinois was considered a wilderness, before the nation even had a Bill of Rights, the leaders of this country proclaimed the following:
“Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
The words are contained in a document called the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, passed by the Congress of the Confederation of the United States.
I am willing to bet most people never heard of it.
This document established a set of rules for the massive area west of the Ohio River that would one day include not only Illinois, but Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota.
Two years earlier the Land Ordinance of 1785 had been passed setting out how lands west of the Appalachian Mountains were to be surveyed and sold. Townships were created and sectioned off.
Section Sixteen in each township was set aside for the maintenance of public schools. The land could be sold or leased for the purpose of funding education.
The man who told me about the Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787, quoting from the documents without referring to any paperwork, is also the fellow who explained to me how public school funding worked in Illinois.
About two-thirds of your property tax bill on average goes to fund public education in this state, although in some communities that percentage is much higher.
All of this is important stuff, but back when I was younger, I didn’t much care. The fellow who changed my mind thought there was a lot of stuff people should know and didn’t, especially newspaper reporters.
One day, he urged me to attend a talk by state School Supt. Robert Leininger in the suburbs of Chicago. During that talk, Leininger explained why the system of funding public schools in Illinois was a mess: Unfair, discriminatory, damaging to students and harmful to homeowners and business owners.
No one seemed to care much, Leininger said, including the governor who appointed him.
After the meeting, Dr. Bill Smith, the fellow who had told me about the history of public education in the country and Illinois and urged me to attend the meeting, laughed.
He was always laughing.
He would impart some bit of knowledge to people, just drop it like a gem falling from a necklace, and chuckle as it sparkled on its way down. Others might not appreciate its value at the time, but Dr. Smith knew.
He had been the school superintendent of Alsip-Hazelgreen School District 126 for 31 years. He was a proud product of the Chicago Public School system, had served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and become a schoolteacher.
He created an all-ages spelling bee in Orland Park that lasted for more than 40 years. The inspiration for that came from “Little House on the Prairie” books that Smith read to his three daughters growing up. Thousands of Chicago area residents would participate over the four decades.
He drew maps of the U.S. freehand in chalk on school playgrounds to help children learn the state capitols. Before there was a Google search, there was Bill Smith. He seemed to know everything.
He never stopped teaching until the day he died in November at the age of 92. He was patient with the ignorance of others. He tolerated their reluctance to learn. He was an educator.
As the year 2020 ends and 2021 stares us in the face, I hope people resolve to learn something new every day. Or, at the very least, listen to those who actually know something. It is my way of honoring Dr. Smith.
I can hear him laughing.
Write Phil Kadner at: PhilKadner@gmail.com
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