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From mag38_8327@yahoo.com
I thought you might get a kick out of
[Superintendent Frank] Tassone's house he bought in Las Vegas Nevada with Roslyn's tax
dollar's He lived [there]
with his 34yr. old male stripper boyfriend. (Note: Tassone was sentenced
to prison for his starring role in stealing $11.2 from Roslyn, New York,
school district.
From perry54@earthlink.net
Dear Peter:
I work for De Anza College, a public community college in the Bay Area. My admins convinced the community to fund a $456 million bond issue by raising property taxes. One catch. Not a DIME of these monies can be spent on hiring or raises. Every dime has to be used for
"infrastructure." This includes unnecessary computer upgrades. A giant ticker-tape billboard to
announce events at Flint Auditorium which the school wanted to jettison years ago because it is a net loss.
Bottom line?? All sorts of new labs and facilities are being funded with these monies but not a dime can be spent hiring the necessary personnel to MAINTAIN NEW EQUIPMENT. Thus, overworked techies will now have to be two or three people. I've been at De Anza for 18 years and, like many of the veterans there, I am just trying to survive to a half
decent pension for another 3-5 more years but there is no joy in the profession any more. What joy
there was has been extinguished by the combo of moronic admins and students coming out of the
"Self-Esteem Movement" as practiced by California secondary schools.
Cheers,
From mark@jblawyer.com
Look up John
Taylor Gatto. He has quiet a lot to say about teaching.
REPLY From Boardside:
Thanks for the tip. John Taylor Gatto has
had a remarkable career as a scriptwriter, documentary-record producer, entrepreneur,
and public-school teacher. He has been both New York State and New York
City Teacher of the Year, and he has been writing about education for
over 15 years. He has attracted some controversy, but his Web
site and his books and articles will certainly make you think.
From Kevin.Drew@SFGOV.ORG
Peter,
Interesting musings, I'll read on. I appreciate your
perspective.
I'm the father of 3 kids in school out in Northern CA,
watching and participating in the struggle to see
my kids learn, so far so good. I grew up in
Delmar, and am the product, along with my 4 siblings, of Bethlehem
Central School District. One brother and one sister still
live there, mildly active and always engaged with
the schools.
Learned about your blog from
Jim Kunstler's site, an excellent read. We've just
selected a new superintendent in SF, should be entertaining as
SF politics always are. Glad to have access to another
viewpoint on matters in my old stomping grounds.
Interestingly, everything we do locally has national and
international impacts thanks to Web - even if only
one person reads and is moved by it.
Good Luck.
REPLY From Boardside:
Kevin, thanks so much for e-mailing, and glad we could
keep you in touch with your roots. Your last paragraph is spot-on.
Reading the Web is a bird's-eye view of the planet.
From jbloom@uamail.albany.edu
Peter,
Thanks for linking to our report on writing instruction and for the kind words on the committee's work. . . I wasn't involved in writing the report. . . [It] was really a group effort, led by principal author and Task Force chair, Bob
Yagelski. I assume that Peter North played a major role as well, but I wasn't in on that phase. . . . My participation was largely limited to designing, implementing and analyzing the student focus groups and faculty focus groups and surveys that helped with the Task Force's
work.
Your link brought us several dozen visits from all over the world. Thanks again for the link! Do you know much about your readership?
REPLY From Boardside:
Thanks so much for your e-mails, and again, I found the SUNY-Albany report on undergraduate
writing fascinating. My site has only been fully operational for a few days, and yes, I do know something about my readers.
According to my visitor stats I'm 28th out of 1355 sites that are being
tracked. My readers are coming from all over, California, Massachusetts, New Zealand, China, from a number of colleges and universities and just plain folks who are interested in public education. As you can imagine, I'm also being read by people in my district, some happily, some not.
From Abrey@aol.com
Dear Peter Golden: First, how I found you. James Howard
Kunstler's link on his home page, recommending that readers peruse it,
led me to your site. Then I chose to read your current postings (Boardside II, June 21st-present). Within your June 29th post you
mentioned the observation that there are no shortcuts to a good
education, or critical thinking. . .That reminded me of something my
late wife Rebecca often said: a computer is not a substitute for a good
teacher. She was a pre-school/Kindergarten teacher, and while she used
our Apple Macintosh LCII computer at home extensively to prepare her
lessons and materials, she was insistent that a similar computer
available in her classroom be used sparingly, and then only as a reward
for students who completed their class work early. Her school board,
along with many others, were convinced that having computers in the
classroom would help students be competitive (as it was endlessly said
and believed at the time), despite a 1992 MacWorld expose of computers
in the classroom which clearly demonstrated otherwise. She felt it was
an entertaining gadget at best. And she was very fussy about finding
software for it that met her standards of what she considered good
educational software. There are apparently lots of educational software
programs out there, but nearly all of them she discarded for one reason
or another, once she got a chance to actually sit down and run them. She
found many reasons: navigational problems or too confusing to use;
subjects not presented coherently; software was annoying to use (too
loud or noisy, too repetitive in the wrong places, too much an emphasis
on the cuteness or brand of character rather than on the lesson being
taught); lessons taught by the program were not appropriate for her
pedagogical needs, or were clearly the wrong lessons that a pre-K child
should learn. Very few of the programs she evaluated, she felt would be
useful for teaching students anything. This was over ten years ago. I
wonder if the same holds true today. Regards.
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear Abrey: Thank you for your thoughts. I believe that
schools should be careful in succumbing to the not uncommon illusion
that a computer alone makes you more educated. However, the use of a
computer, as a tool in the pursuit of skills and knowledge, is
invaluable. That is the difference today from a decade ago: computers
are stitched into the fabric of our society, and children must learn to
use them. Yet even though a computer makes it easier to write, it
doesn't make you a writer. Even though a computer makes it easier to
calculate, it doesn't make you a mathematician. Teachers perform those
functions, and they need to know where computers fit into their
classrooms. True, you can't just hand out computers to students and say,
"Have fun." But you can build a sound program that utilizes
technology, and that is what I'd like to see done.
From VPorlier@aol.com
My
wife and I, who live in East Berne, were delighted to read of your efforts
in the public education arena (and it is that) in last week's Enterprise
and today's Times Union.
"Dronoid"
is a masterful neologism for a mind set that extends far beyond the school
systems.
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear VPorlier: I'm happy you sent your thoughts along,
and I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, there has been some confusion about
that word of mine, "Dronoid."
It has nothing to do with someone's point of view or how they vote on a
particular matter, but rather how they reach their conclusions. Do they give the
issue a lot of thought? Do they evaluate all sides of the argument? Do they
have personal or political motives for their views or do they keep the best
interests of students and the community in mind? Do they consider the facts or
just state an opinion? (The late Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan often used the quote: "You're entitled to your own
opinion, but not your own facts.") To me, Dronoid
is the flip side of the pejorative "Micromanager,"
an insult that you will often hear from people who want to avoid looking
at an issue too closely and debating its merits.
Thanks for being in touch, and for giving me a chance to clear
up the confusion.
From Jerry@allthelaw.com
Hi Peter:
Congratulations for perhaps being the 1st school board
member to have a "blog" in NY. Additional accolades for
promoting the utility of conflict in a sea of consensus-seeking
eukaryotes. I'm Jerry Moore and since 1999 I've run a discussion board
covering Scotia-Glenville, state, national and international education
issues. . . . The home page for my discussion board is at
http://www.myshortpencil.com/schooltalk/cgi-bin/discus.cgi.
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear Jerry: Nice of you to contact me and to send along
your congratulations. Perhaps I'm the first board member to put up a
blog, but it would be wonderful if I wasn't the last.
From
lesjimny@yahoo.com
I am Jim Hartnett, a
taxpaying resident of Bethlehem, and the Guilderland School District.
I became aware of your blog from the TU article.
Thank you for your willingness to serve the community in your position
on the School Board. I look forward to reading your musings with
regard to the board's actions. The recent TU summary of the
test results of all the area schools highlights the fact that higher per
student funding does not necessarily yield better math, English, or
science scores.
Again, thank you for being a person of reason and intelligence on the
Board who, at present, does not appear to have become mind-numbed by the
teachers union's influence.
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear Jim: Your kind words are much appreciated, but I
did want to address your comment regarding the teachers union. At times,
the union has been an easy target for the frightening growth of our
property taxes. The truth is that the union is merely doing its job by
advocating for its membership. Unions are also part of the debate that
should be going on between boards and administrators. If all three
groups perform as I believe they should, and the people in the community
come out to vote in May, then the system should work. If not, the system
breaks down. It is true: Teachers unions are quite organized, but the
candidates they support in school-board elections have to run against
challengers. Sometimes the challengers win. Of course, I've heard things
I don't agree with from union reps, but they're entitled to their
opinion. And how much the union spends on school-board races across the
state is an interesting question, but I don't have the answer. As to
whether candidates change their positions to get this support is another
good question, but again, I haven't fully explored this issue. Even if
they do, the community can come out and vote against them. Which brings
me to my final point. School boards are part of the Jeffersonian ideal.
If people vote, they will get the candidates they want. If they stay
home, that is not the fault of the union. In the end, the answer boils
down to personal responsibility and whether the community as a whole is
willing to hold up its end of the democratic bargain.
Thanks so much for your e-mail. Have a great summer and
do check back from time to time.
From
gregb@ntcnet.com
Peter:
I found your blog via the NYSSBA E-Clips. . . . Great work, keep with it! I've served on a component board and now on a BOCES board, have been on both sides of arguments and find comfort that others (you) are frustrated with the goings on at BOE meetings. I often wish our component BOE meetings were televised. It would do the community
good to see how their elected officials act in these meetings.
I'm sure an informed public would have a different opinion come May each year. I
guess it must be the rural school nature of the beast, not much news makes it to the local papers, so the events fall like fodder into the village rumor mills.
I agree with you on Tom Freidman. I plan on reading 'The World is Flat' and now thanks to you have queued up 'How' onto my reading list.
Thanks for your candor, insight and ability to continue to serve in one of
the most rewardingly difficult jobs there is. You're on 'My Favorites' list. I'm looking forward to more good stuff from the field.
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear gregb: I'm so grateful that you wrote. I was hoping
that NYS School
Board Association e-mailing education stories around our state would
spread the word about blogging. So far, so good. I'm beginning to hear
from people, and I look forward to reading their blogs.
From Rudycalling.com
I think you have a great idea and it may be the beginning of a way for communities to get a message to school boards and the politicians as to what is happening in the nation's educators.
First, it is a shame that people just don't realize that a district's budget is just about a "given". Close to 95% of the budget is mandated by laws and contracts. Within that reality is the fact that there is fixed annual increase of about 5% or more that is driven by step increases, wage increases (that compound the step increases), increases driven by inflation (healthcare, utilities, supplies, etc).
With this scenario, teacher's salaries will double in 7 years and the budgets will follow suit. The only way to fix this wild ride is to freeze salaries and increase productivity. I hope this is one of the goals of your
blog. Good Luck!!
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear Rudycalling: Thanks so much for being in touch. You
are correct: there are many costs that drive budgets, but the contracts
are made by school boards, and the overall budget is voted on by the
community. Again, whatever side you're on, it is important to vote. You
change things by putting candidates who agree with you on the board and
by your vote on the budget. I know this disappoints some people, who in
some ways have given up, but I offer some advice that his sustained me,
and others. Better to light one candle than curse the darkness.
From brus@juno.com
First, let me express my gratitude for your blog. This is really needed. That you write well is a fabulous bonus.
Second, I want to comment on so many things you said in your blog, but will confine myself to one. That was your view stated in a response to an email on teacher unions’ influence. As I understand it you feel the system can work since a community that votes can get the board it wants, even one not supported by the unions.
This seems to presume unions are just another voice, albeit a well organized one, in the local debate between board, administration and teachers. But I see this debate occurring within a framework set by the State. And at the state level the unions’ staggering political influence has given us a rigged framework.
For example, look at the formula for contingency budgets. It essentially says the community must increase its school spending at least about the rate of inflation. Such a law not only ratchets up spending, but also prevents correcting policies subsequently seen as expensive budget errors. It makes budget size virtually immune to local debate, unless you regard niggling over a fraction of a percent as substantive.
Even in 2006, when Guilderland actually had a budget lower than the contingency budget, being a hair less it was hardly a consequential statement. Worse, it showed how budget voting is becoming a meaningless exercise. The choice was: approve this budget or your taxes will be even higher.
In effect there is no significant community control over school budgets. This is the result of State mandated framework constraints. The odds of any school board overcoming them are miniscule, just as the teacher unions expected when lobbying for them.
Again, thanks for the blog and the chance to express an opinion.
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear brus: First
off, how nice of you to compliment my writing. My English teachers from junior high and high school would be proud, and they should be, for they are the ones who taught
me how to write, setting a standard of excellence through meticulous
attention to detail. By that I mean spelling, grammar, and thinking
through what exactly you wanted to say. It was good discipline, and I
believe writing well--in fact, all academic excellence--is rooted in the
excellence produced by applying the seat of your pants to the seat of a
chair: in other words, discipline. Thomas Jefferson once referred to
intellectual work as manual labor, and that has been my experience.
As for your general concern about budgets
being immune to local debate: That has not been my experience. I have
seen budgets revised by comments made at our Citizens Budget Advisory
Committee and certainly through input by the board. From what I have
observed administrators put together budgets with an eye toward passing
them. If it were not that way here I would tell you. I have frequently
disagreed with their choices, but that doesn't mean all the employees
involved in producing the budget don't undergo a fair amount of anxiety
until that budget is passed. I was there during the 2006 budget, and I
can say with relative certainty that had the community turned down that
budget, it would not have been raised. That's not a game that this
superintendent or board would play. It's too disrespectful to the
community. At bottom the answer to controlling budgets is found in one
place: the voting booth: In Guilderland we often have candidates with a
variety of views on this subject, and you should pick the ones who agree
with you, and perhaps bring a number of your neighbors along to vote.
Same with the budget. You just have to vote--year in, year out. And
never give up.
Once again, thanks so much for writing.
And do enjoy your summer.
From rsavage@nycap.rr.com
Peter,
I was happy to read in the TU about your efforts re your school board, and wondered that you might be able to answer a question for me.
It seems to me that parents need something more than the PTA. Parents need a
separate and independent "association" for themselves--where they are actually free to share their real concerns with each other.
The Internet could offer the perfect platform--busy parents could participate from
home--except, I assume, for the ability of teachers and administrators to sue anyone writing an unkind word.
Do you know anything about this possibility? Could parents feel safe to pass on to each other in "black and white" what their kids are orally passing on to them?
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear rsavage: You raise some interesting
questions about parents' groups. I happen to believe they are quite
valuable, and personally I would enjoying seeing a blog that outlined
their concerns. The PTA serves a different function, but they, too, make
an enormous contribution to our district. As for being sued by
administrators and teachers: I've never heard of such a thing, though I
know in our district there has been some controversy when parents come
forward. I see it as a clash of opinions, and while that can get
uncomfortable for all involved, I think the discussion is healthy.
I would not like to see personal attacks taken at people who work at the
schools: after all, they are doing the best they can. Barring any cheap
shots I believe your idea is an excellent one, and I would look forward
to reading the comments. I hope you have a wonderful summer.
From dmeeusen@nycap.rr.com
Good morning , Mr. Golden:
In this day with people 'drowning' with outside commitments, the Blog is a NEW way to discuss/debate differences/sameness. Many people, if they do go to information meetings, will not speak up for many 'fear' reasons. Blogs [fill] this need for information without the feeling of intimidation. I believe that there is a real need to explain to both the members and the watching public, what exactly a 'Blog' is.
A BLOG is NOT a threat.
I say THANK YOU , Mr. Golden!
REPLY From Boardside:
Dear dmeeusen: And I say thank you for
the kind words and for writing. By definition, a blog, short for Web
log, is a publicly accessed journal: One of our board members seemed to
be confused by the definition, believing that only an immediately
interactive site is a blog. Those type of blogs require an administrator
to mediate--to prevent "flaming," where anger boils and people
send out cheap shots. Since I work a day job and do this for free, I
wouldn't be around to perform that function. Still, if you e-mail me I
will post and respond.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that
blogs are a new way for very busy people to be in touch. Yet blogs do
represent a threat to those who would like a public process to be
conducted in private, for those who don't want their thinking and votes
to be scrutinized by the taxpayers who will have to fund the outcomes of
their decisions. In my view, since the schools are run on public money,
the decision-making process should be as clear as a perfect summer sky.
Sadly, there are those who prefer the weather to be cloudy and
threatening rain. You can easily tell the difference between the two
groups by watching our board meetings.
Enjoy your summer.
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