The Old Man and the Sea

The old man and the sea. Regardless of the season, or the weather, or the day of the week, he sits quietly on a big rock between the shore and the endless ocean that begins at the waters edge of Bay St. George. Just sitting, watching, resting, reflecting about his past, perhaps, examining his present, maybe, or simply contemplating his future. Who knows...his thoughts are his own...but the splendor of his surroundings are a catalyst for my own reflections.

The air is charged with the scent of salt and moisture as I walk along the beach near the old man and the sea. I hear him murmur, so I turn my eyes to his weathered form. “Have you ever stood in the sand at the water’s edge”, he asked, “and experienced the power of the waves?” “Interestingly, it’s not the power of the white water around my ankles that makes me lose my balance”, he said, “but the relentless way that the waves keep eroding from beneath the surface”.

My early morning visits to the beach are not unlike those of the old man and the sea. I, too, cherish the serenity of my surroundings as a means of reflecting on my past and contemplating my future. Unlike the old man, though, my thoughts on this morning are consumed more with current issues that affect those of us who strive to make a living in this place.

My thoughts wander from the silence of the ocean roar as the sun’s comforting warmth lulls me into immediate musing about a story aired earlier in the morning on a local radio show. A story about government’s ‘white paper’ review of public post-secondary education in the province.

Theoretically speaking, a white paper review is simply a process for evaluating ‘what is’ as a means of substantiating ‘what should be’. Politically speaking, however, the process has historically been viewed as an opportunity to streamline services and cut government cost.

In today’s fiscal climate, public post-secondary institutions around the country are caught between a rock and a hard place. This is especially true here in Newfoundland and Labrador where both Memorial University (including Sir Wilfred Grenfell College and the Marine Institute) and College of the North Atlantic have had to address substantial budget reductions while continuing to provide adequate service in an extremely competitive marketplace.

In particular, according to the story, College of the North Atlantic has been hard-pressed to provide traditional core instructional services to the students knocking on their doors, let alone attempt to participate in the broader rural development agenda that has been advocated by the William’s administration. Yet it is precisely this agenda - a commitment to rural community development, workforce training, educational access, business development - that can potentially support the province in rebounding from its current quandary.

In an effort to build economic prosperity and create sustainable opportunities, rural communities in this province face an age-old dilemma: they cannot attract or create jobs without an educated workforce and they cannot retain educated workers without a vibrant and healthy economy. College of the North Atlantic, unlike any other institution in the province, is uniquely positioned to address both sides of this dilemma. By building functional partnerships with development organizations, municipalities, and others, the College is already strategically positioned to play a lead role in supporting government’s mandate to build a stronger rural economy through accessible, affordable education, workforce training and community capacity building.

The Newfoundland and Labrador public college system already has the capacity to facilitate and mediate, if necessary, new ways of thinking about rural community development in places that have been traditionally isolated from cutting-edge ideas. It already has the potential to support the start-up and success of local business through entrepreneurship education and small business assistance. It is already uniquely positioned to develop relationships with local industry to provide workforce training and take a more active lead in enhancing regional development initiatives. It has the capacity but it is underutilized!

Many community colleges throughout North America have gone beyond traditional education and training to play an important role in support of local economic development. They are strengthening the foundation for economic development in their communities and regions by building capacity, promoting regional cooperation and supporting small business initiatives. As a widely trusted, politically neutral, provincially-based institution, College of the North Atlantic, in my estimation, is academically endowed and geographically positioned to act as conveners, bringing together leaders from business, government, education, and other community organizations to chart a common regional vision for the future.

If government is serious about stream-lining educational services in this province they must consider eliminating an environment where a potpourri of provincial departments and agencies continue to compete for training funds that were historically allocated to post secondary institutions. The question begs to be asked, for instance, whether government departments and quasi-government agencies are appropriately suited, theoretically mandated, or even philosophically inclined, for that matter, to be building community capacity through education and training. Should this component of the rural development process not be a collaborative approach led by credible educational institutions as opposed to a competitive free-for-all?

Rebuilding devastated communities and revitalizing the regional economy(s) of Newfoundland and Labrador has already proven to be a daunting and difficult task. In addition, the complex arena of competitive players - government, regional economic development boards, municipalities, the university, the college, and others - has not made the process any easier. It takes more than good intentions to rebuild an economy, especially in places that have lost their traditional job base and have no obvious prospects for the future. To survive, and more importantly, to flourish, those communities and regions must develop a new economic core based on distinctive assets that can make them competitive in the larger economy. This requires insight and vision that goes well beyond the traditional community economic development work of recruiting a plant to fill a vacant building.

A new consciousness normally precedes change and that has not yet been fully realized in Newfoundland and Labrador. Simply attempting to revitalize our rural economy through a myriad of haphazard social and economic development initiatives is no different than unleashing a surly bull in a crystal china shop. Broken economies and shattered communities are evidence of this!

Exposure to new and innovative ideas and a raised awareness of a community’s need for new direction is an essential first step in the development process. Providing learning opportunities that both expand a community’s vision and dispenses concrete knowledge of successful practices is absolutely essential. This crucial first step cannot be left to chance, or assimilated in a piecemeal fashion, or undertaken by ill-prepared government agencies, or coordinated by a weak-kneed public post-secondary education system.

The library at Confederation Building is jam-pack with White Paper reviews and departmental evaluations. Some have proven immeasurably beneficial in forging government policy while others have not been worth the paper they are written on. Let’s hope that the current White Paper on Public Post-Secondary Education not only recognizes the fragility of the existing system but also acknowledges the potential benefits of halting the erosion of services as a means of reinvesting in the sustainability of rural communities in this province.

You see, it’s not the power of the white water around our ankles that makes us stumble and fall, but the relentless way that the waves continue to erode from beneath the surface. How can one argue with the old man and the sea?