Better names come to mind

Although I normally cover Bedford County Board of Education, I wasn't at the specific meeting at which the name of Learning Way Elementary School was chosen. Last week, while driving past the construction site, I got to thinking about the issue.

It's far too late to change the name of the school -- I'm sure plaques and signage have already been ordered -- and mine is just one opinion out of 40,000. But I have to say, I'm really disappointed in the name.

"Learning Way" was first chosen several years ago as the name of the newly-created street which connects Madison Street to the Central High School campus. Both the new Harris Middle School and Learning Way Elementary face Learning Way. It's a fine name for the street, but I really think they could have done something more creative with the name of the school. There are any number of people, places and things they could have honored. Here are just a few names that would have been better:

Jim Mitchell Elementary: Shelbyville native Jim "Pork Chop" Mitchell, who died last October, was not only a Pro Bowl player for the Atlanta Falcons, he was someone who truly cared about children. My nephew had the privilege of participating in his summer football camp two or three times at Central High School, and it was a terrific experience -- with a curriculum that stressed sportsmanship, discipline and integrity as well as athletic skills.

Bicentennial Elementary: Planning for the school began during Bedford County's bicentennial, and it will be complete in time for Shelbyville's bicentennial.

Beautiful Jim Key Elementary: At the turn of the 20th Century, long before the Celebration and when the Tennessee Walking Horse was still in its infancy, the most famous horse in America was an Arabian-Hambletonian from Shelbyville, trained by his owner, former slave and patent medicine entrepreneur William Key, to count, spell and perform other feats. The horse appeared at fairs and expositions around the country and in Europe.

There was presumably a trick of some sort to Jim's "intelligence," but no one -- not even Harvard researchers -- could ever figure out how William Key might have been manipulating the animal. In any case, the horse's promoter, Albert Rogers, used him to raise money for humane societies, and a million schoolchildren joined the horse's fan club, which required them to pledge to be kind to animals.

Pencil City Elementary: Shelbyville lost a little bit of its heritage when the city council, at the request of Sanford Brands, changed the name of Pencil Street to Sharpie Way. This would have been a way to get it back, without offending or promoting any company in particular.

Those are just a few possible ideas -- I'm sure you have others. I even toyed with the idea of suggesting "Pauline Cushman Elementary," after the Union spy who was imprisoned in Shelbyville by Braxton Bragg and freed when Union troops overtook the city. That suggestion was more tongue-in-cheek, but, seriously, how cool would it be for a fourth or fifth grader to go to a school named for a real-life spy? You might see a whole lot more interest in history classes... .

John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government and other topics. His home page is lakeneuron.com.