Dear Editor:

There was an article about a place-based learning program ready to launch due to a generous $400,000 donation. There was no information about the source of the donation or the terms.

When the government gets the idea that it is going to support small businesses, it generally does not consult small businesses. This was true in 1976 when the Maine Legislature used a developing small business community as a basis for establishing the centrally managed economy, rationalizing that small businesses have more difficulty procuring capital investments than large ones. Therefore, the governor commissioned the heads of all the largest businesses in the state to write a report with no small businesses invited to participate.

The plan is for industrial job training for our peninsula, featuring speakers, field trips, and work-study programs, all centrally managed by the public school system.

Who will train the teachers in the specialized skills involved in many businesses?

A crowd of strangers roaming around the workplace does not seem like a great idea, but consistent with established protocol, no one asked businesses for their input.

In the past, I approached the Joint Economic Development Council and The Maine Community Foundation about developing a Museum of Makers, I was told that they were sorry but they could do nothing to support “individuals and small businesses” Both organizations used identical language.

What does that mean? Individuals and free enterprises, or individual freedom. A significant motivator of small businesses is to be one’s own boss.

When there is $400,000 for place-based learning, why isn’t a makers museum a considered option, as an institution independent of our public school system, rooted in, and bringing together our independent makers community, run by and for the makers community, as a place-based learning institution? There are grants available for museums, as well, but there needs to be a committed group organized to bring it about.

Susan M. Andersen

Boothbay Harbor