Bram is diving into education at his blog. He is way out of his comfort zone, and that's okay from time to time.
I posted this at his blog.
Here is the deal. Bad teachers should be fired. That needs to happen throughout time.
Good teachers in the wrong settings, perhaps, should be moved to different settings once or twice. But, PPS can't be keeping bad teachers.
There are very few bad teachers, but they are exist.
Furthermore, if we did fire bad teachers, then it would be easy to decide who needs to stay and who needs to go based upon years on the job.
Because some bad teachers have stayed too long, because of failures of middle and upper management, and because of a lack of peer review among teachers, we are in a mess.
Yes, teachers need to watch out for other teachers, helping and otherwise.
I wish there was more peer review and more peer pressure.
First, gang up on the teacher (among other teachers, staff and administration and even trusted parents) so that the challenges are overcome to make sure that the students are getting good opportunities, making progress and successes are delivered.
But by the end of the year, the staff needs to realize that the hand holding can't be forever.
Sadly, when a teacher is floundering, they don't get the help. And in due time, they don't get the next assignment nor the boot.
Bad teachers that linger are hurting public education, PPS and the Teachers Union. IMNH, good and great teachers have to carry some (say 5%) of the blame. The principals get the lion's share of the blame. Central Admin gets some too.
Great teachers know what's going on in their buildings.
Ask how much impact in all the rubics outlined in the blog posting are with peer review?
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Monday, May 28, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Ron Paul and a perspective on the race matters
Ron Paul gave CNN some answers yesterday and then the CNN reporter asked the same questions today. And, the question got a reply. And then the CNN reporter re-asked the same dang question over again. Go figure.
Then I was reading a thread and came upon this remark reposted from someone called, "theredpill" at http://www.dailypaul.com.
The second flaw in the Ron Paul critique is that his voting record doesn't support what is being implied. After 30 years in public office shouldn't we see a pattern in his voting record that is blatantly racist? Unfortunately for his detractors, we don't. Some votes were not in favor of issues sympathetic to poor blacks. Some votes were not in favor of issues sympathetic to rich whites. In the balance his voting record (which is how he actually MUST be judged) shows an uncanny bravery and consistency. Agree with him or not I can see a constitutional thread through every single vote he's cast. There doesn't appear to be a specific race bias but more a guiding principle of not permitting favors or handicaps based on belonging to a group. His voting records says that people should be free to make their own choices and governments cant legislate who you speak with, love or hate. If I disagree with him at least I know the foundation of my counter argument. The constitution. In an era where lobbyists determine congressional votes by bribery isn't it refreshing and a bit inspiring that no such bias exists with this man? Rather than demonize the man for newsletters why don't you in the media find a consistent strain in his record in public office against blacks, Jews, hispanics or any other ethnic group specifically.
In addition to this I looked for a speech or presentation that contained racist rhetoric. Where is his Sally Kern style "..blacks are lazy" moment? Where is the moment where like Joe Biden, he says that "..."You cannot go to a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian Accent."? Where is his outrageously racist quote similar to those we can find from Senator Byrd, Governor Wallace or even Hilary Clinton's now famous "Ghandi" quote? I can't even find a public Truman-esque "God does hate the Chinese and Japs" meltdown. With the way he's described I'd at least expect to hear something akin to the famous "...(God) created the white man. I know not who created the blacks" quote from Theodore Bilbo but I haven't found it. If Ron Paul is as racist as some in the media implies, I would think there would be a few Freudian slips from Mr. Paul. Yet there don't seem to be any that I can find.
--------------
There were many on the left who protested against accusations that Obama hated America due to his "spiritual mentor's" incendiary words. I think Barack's tolerance and support for Reverend Wright somewhat parallels Ron Paul's current situation. The views we support and our words do come back to haunt us. But should the possibility of his words alone disqualify Ron Paul? If we're going to judge Ron Paul in the history books as a racist, unfit to lead America in its darkest hour then is it fair for us to examine the words of others in the same light?Ghandi is the icon of civil disobedience. He was the face that inspired millions of Indians seeking independence from the British. But if he were judged by his views on race as the press is doing with Dr Paul he would be excluded from the pages of history as a be-speckled, calm loving pacifist.
Ghandi was a outspoken racist when he lived in South Africa. He had a newsletter called Indian Opinion where he regularly presented his anti black rhetoric such as ...
"...Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian location should be chosen for dumping down all kaffirs (niggers) of the town, passes my comprehension. ...About this mixing of the Kaffirs with the Indians I must confess I feel most strongly. I think it is very unfair to the Indian population, and it is an undue tax on even the proverbial patience of my countrymen."
Beyond his anti-black rhetoric Ghandi was also rumored to have a slightly deviant perspective with regards to sex. So let me get this straight. If I'm Ghandi I can basically call people niggers (kaffirs), sleep with young girls and still end up being admired by Martin Luther King, become an icon to every peace activist in the world and even get a spot on the Apple "THINK DIFFERENT" commercial. Sounds good to me. If we judge Ron Paul by his newsletters is it safe to say we should judge Ghandi by his as well? Or does the Ron Paul Rule not apply?
We're taught that Winston Churchill was England's brave leader who kept the allied forces inspired with his words and deeds during WW2. Even though many Americans limited perspective of the British is gleaned from watching royal weddings, there are a good many that have learned that Churchill was a man to be admired. If we apply the Ron Paul rule to him however then he too must be disqualified from history as a racist deserving of scorn and not the leader we've been taught about. Churchill once said.
"...I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place"
Is it safe to say that Winston Churchill and Hitler agreed that there were superior and inferior races? It appears that what they disagreed on is who should lord over them.Abraham Lincoln is portrayed as the central hero in the emancipation of black slaves. A hero worthy of his own monument and face on the five dollar bill. However if we use the Ron Paul Rule we should also be told that he felt blacks were a lesser species and unfit for equality with whites?
Wasn't Abraham Lincoln the one that said
"... Your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living amongst us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated."
Do you in the media ask us to denounce or disregard the words of these men? No and for good reason. They were imperfect men who espoused perfect ideas. As racist as Churchill was I'm happy that he stood shoulder to shoulder with the allies against Hitler. For as racist as Abraham Lincoln was and despite his reluctance to end slavery, he did influence the ending of that institution. Despite his attitudes towards blacks I will always have great respect for Mahatma Ghandi's sacrifice and heroism.
Like these icons of our freedom and peace, Ron Paul's words deserve scrutiny. How one views the world will affect how they govern. Ultimately though, it is his voting record and public statements that are the criteria by which he should be judged. If we vilify Ron Paul we must by definition do the same with Ghandi, Lincoln and dozens of others who are imperfect individuals.
Regardless of the views in those newsletters Ron Paul deserves the same respect afforded to Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden and Barack Obama. He's denounced the controversial contents. Let's move on. The words attributed to Ron Paul are no worse than the blatant racism of our accepted icons of virtue. For Ron Paul supporters, civil liberties, ending militarism and fighting against crony capitalism of the Federal Reserve takes precedence over these newsletters for good reason. If we're collectively shackled by debt or perhaps indefinitely detained for speaking our minds in what used to be the freest nation on earth the content of those newsletters won't really matter. In the final analysis, Ron Paul is an imperfect man with a nearly perfect, and very simple message.
Freedom is popular.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Erik's TV interview about Sports Reform in Pittsburgh Public Schools
This is part 2 of the interview that should run on TV soon. Erik Rauterkus, 16, (proud dad moment injected here), sophomore, gives a sit-down interview with activist and show host, Kenneth Miller, about sports reform pending before the board of directors of Pittsburgh Public Schools. The conversation is pressing as the matter goes to the Education Committee, a sub-group of the board, tonight. The decision is pressing in light of the state budget cuts and the outward migration of many in the city.
The city schools are shrinking! Families that desire great opportunities for their children often move out of Pittsburgh, in large part, in my not so humble opinion, because of the lack of quality offerings in sports, music, after-school activities and holistic living beyond the end of the school day.
Watch this show segment and hear from me again, at the end of the clip.
The other part of the interview will be put online as time permits.
WPIAL, here we come, perhaps, sorta, we hope, one day, maybe.
The city schools are shrinking! Families that desire great opportunities for their children often move out of Pittsburgh, in large part, in my not so humble opinion, because of the lack of quality offerings in sports, music, after-school activities and holistic living beyond the end of the school day.
Watch this show segment and hear from me again, at the end of the clip.
The other part of the interview will be put online as time permits.
WPIAL, here we come, perhaps, sorta, we hope, one day, maybe.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sports Headline: Lucky to get zero. These guys got ripped!
I love the sports reporting abroad. Here is annalysis of a rugby game between my old home town of Christchurch / Canteberry Crusaiders of New Zealand and South Africa's Blue Bulls. The Bulls are defending champions from last season. Those Bulls didn't do so well, it seems.
I get a kick out of the tone of the reporting. (pun), all within a single article:
+ Lucky to get zero
+ No threat of All Star players. All teams have their best players get lifted for stints on national teams. That's a good thing, generally.
+ Guys throwing away their names.
+ thrashed
+ Darkest day
+ thrashed
+ pathetic performance
+ unable to catch, unable to tackle, unable to think
+ showed about as much heart as a French soldier during the opening weeks of the Second World War.
+ Players have completely lost the plot.
+ Simple ease of making mistakes.
+ Senior players can't point fingers after his own poor effort
+ Not showing enough courage and passion.
+ display a shocking inability to master the basic skills of the game.
+ we could not keep hold of the ball
* It’s nice to read about a new living room set or a snazzy garden from a player in family magazines, but to gain respect from fans, you should as least be able to catch a ball and wear your jersey with pride. This characteristic is absent among the current crop of players.
+ did not belong on the same field.
+ Best ever example of simply cannot perform worse.
+ half-hearted attempted tackles
+ it was one-way traffic.
+ one handling error after the other halted them from posing any real threat
+ harsh reality: urgent introspection from every member is surely required.
Full article:
And Bruce Kraus thought I gave him a hard time. Ha.I get a kick out of the tone of the reporting. (pun), all within a single article:
+ Lucky to get zero
+ No threat of All Star players. All teams have their best players get lifted for stints on national teams. That's a good thing, generally.
+ Guys throwing away their names.
+ thrashed
+ Darkest day
+ thrashed
+ pathetic performance
+ unable to catch, unable to tackle, unable to think
+ showed about as much heart as a French soldier during the opening weeks of the Second World War.
+ Players have completely lost the plot.
+ Simple ease of making mistakes.
+ Senior players can't point fingers after his own poor effort
+ Not showing enough courage and passion.
+ display a shocking inability to master the basic skills of the game.
+ we could not keep hold of the ball
* It’s nice to read about a new living room set or a snazzy garden from a player in family magazines, but to gain respect from fans, you should as least be able to catch a ball and wear your jersey with pride. This characteristic is absent among the current crop of players.
+ did not belong on the same field.
+ Best ever example of simply cannot perform worse.
+ half-hearted attempted tackles
+ it was one-way traffic.
+ one handling error after the other halted them from posing any real threat
+ harsh reality: urgent introspection from every member is surely required.
Full article:
Bulls lucky to get zero
Pretoria - The one positive the Blue Bulls Company should take from yesterday's woeful Bulls performance is that they probably won’t lose any players for the Currie Cup competition.
It is incredibly hard to envision them producing any Springboks for the World Cup if they keep on performing like they did against the Crusaders.
The Crusaders thrashed the (current) champions 27-0.
It is not often that you see guys throwing away their names in 80 minutes of rugby like we saw yesterday, which is probably the Bulls' darkest day in recent Super Rugby history.
You would have to go back to 2005, when they also scored zero points (against the Higlanders), to find a more pathetic performance like the one in Timaru yesterday.
The Bulls were unable to catch, unable to tackle, unable to think, and showed about as much heart as a French soldier during the opening weeks of the Second World War.
Yes, they were lucky to get zero.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke simply cannot continue ignoring the reality of the performance from some of his players.
Pierre Spies, Wynand Olivier and Fourie du Preez, to name a few, have completely lost the plot.
And, if they want to have any chance whatsoever against the Reds next week, Ludeke has to make some drastic changes.
Every player makes mistakes, but the simple ease with which players like Spies and Olivier knocks the ball on, is simply unacceptable.
A clearly frustrated Victor Matfield admitted that those mistakes are unacceptable, but he could hardly point any fingers after his own poor effort.
Chris Jack taught him a lesson at lineout time, and his own handling error just after halftime resulted in the second Crusaders try at a crucial juncture in the match.
But, this is their problem. The senior players are not showing enough courage and passion and display a shocking inability to master the basic skills of the game.
"Not once could we build phases, simply because we could not keep hold of the ball," Matfield complained afterwards.
It’s nice to read about a new living room set or a snazzy garden from a Bulls player in family magazines, but to gain respect from rugby fans, you should as least be able to catch a rugby ball and wear your jersey with pride.
Unfortunately, this characteristic is absent among the current crop of Bulls.
However, one should not take away anything from the Crusaders, who currently play top-notch rugby, even without the likes of Dan Carter and Ritchie McCaw.
Sonny Bill Williams is the all beast he’s been made out to be, and the disregard he showed for the Bulls defence to score his team’s first try, shows exactly just how much better he is than the Bulls centre pairing.
The Crusaders completely dominated their opponents in every aspect of the game.
The Bulls simply did not belong on the same field.
If there’s ever been an example of one team giving it as good as they’ve got, and one who simply cannot perform worse, then yesterday’s match was just that.
Williams’ try, after he easily broke through half-hearted attempted tackles by Morne Steyn and Wynand Olivier, and three penalties from flyhalf Matt Berquist, gave the Crusaders a handy, though not unassailable lead at halftime.
Matfield’s blunder though, resulted in a try by Israel Dagg, and after that it was one-way traffic.
The Bulls tried to get momentum, with guys like Zane Kirchner, Francois Hougaard and Dean Greyling giving their best, but one handling error after the other halted them from posing any real threat to the Crusaders line.
The Bulls only chance for points came in the first half, when Morne Steyn missed a penalty.
This is the harsh reality for a team, where urgent introspection from every member is surely required.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
New Song: My Country...
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8630731
The song is a bit PG-13-ish. But it has a beat and some strong messages.
Lyrics
Now tell me again how this country is the land of the free and the home of the brave
You can't really believe that what you see now is the reason so many brave men gave
Teacher used to say we had the Bill of Rights
I think they took our rights and sent us the bill
Well I don't know about you my friend but I think I've had my fill
They been walking on me for my whole life I think it's finally time to draw the line
You can tell old John Cougar Mellencamp he can stick his song where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Got a checkpoint up the road ahead better pull out your ID
And your taxes just went up again gotta cough up some more money
Be careful what you're saying when you're on the phone you never know who might be listening in
They got cameras watching everywhere you go so they know just where you been
You know you better think about the books you read or your name might go on a list
Don't take too many pictures now, or they'll think you're a terrorist
They're watching you every time you turn around and they don't like what they see
You gotta be f*** ing kidding me if you think this country's free
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Well the banks messed up so they took money from us and gave a zillion dollar bonus
And they didn't give a damn what we had to say I swear to God they think they own us
But when they say "bend over" and you say "yes sir" and then you vote for them again
If you're the kind of people who fought our wars tell me how'd we ever win?
They been walking on us for far too long and don't you think it's time to draw the line?
Why don't you tell those jerks in Washington to stick their laws where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
They say America love it or leave it
Well I loved it, and it left me
The song is a bit PG-13-ish. But it has a beat and some strong messages.
Lyrics
Now tell me again how this country is the land of the free and the home of the brave
You can't really believe that what you see now is the reason so many brave men gave
Teacher used to say we had the Bill of Rights
I think they took our rights and sent us the bill
Well I don't know about you my friend but I think I've had my fill
They been walking on me for my whole life I think it's finally time to draw the line
You can tell old John Cougar Mellencamp he can stick his song where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Got a checkpoint up the road ahead better pull out your ID
And your taxes just went up again gotta cough up some more money
Be careful what you're saying when you're on the phone you never know who might be listening in
They got cameras watching everywhere you go so they know just where you been
You know you better think about the books you read or your name might go on a list
Don't take too many pictures now, or they'll think you're a terrorist
They're watching you every time you turn around and they don't like what they see
You gotta be f*** ing kidding me if you think this country's free
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Well the banks messed up so they took money from us and gave a zillion dollar bonus
And they didn't give a damn what we had to say I swear to God they think they own us
But when they say "bend over" and you say "yes sir" and then you vote for them again
If you're the kind of people who fought our wars tell me how'd we ever win?
They been walking on us for far too long and don't you think it's time to draw the line?
Why don't you tell those jerks in Washington to stick their laws where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
They say America love it or leave it
Well I loved it, and it left me
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Ranting at PureReform's blog and a slew of questions from A+ Schools
The signal to noise ratio isn't what is hoped for nor is it what is needed in terms of the discussions and fight for the best solutions for Pittsburgh Public Schools.
http://purereform.blogspot.com/2010/07/schools-questions-plans-for.html
Folks, ... here we go again, around and around. There is a lot of suffering going on. And, sadly, I feel that most of these discussions are just batting at the leaves on the tree of the suffering.
Tuesday night's (community meeting) featured talk of 'power.' Folks from Homewood attended and it was lead by Randall Taylor and Dr. Barnett.
Golly. The power isn't with the people, of course. But, before power is taken and earned -- we've got to have some conversations that get to the roots of the problems. Certain issues matter. Ranting wildly has fleeting value in terms of fixing system-wide problems.
How. Why. Those make harder questions. That discussion takes discipline to occur. Yep, we also need to be speaking of lack of discipline in the schools' classrooms and hallways. But this lack of discipline needs attention as we meet in community and online too.
The personality and "who" of Mr. Roosevelt is what it is. To dwell and have the conversation stuck on him is to choose weakness. It was even said to me by a few that they like the idea of 'single gender' but they are against it because it is of Mark Roosevelt's administration. Say what? Go figure.
We got to dance on the problems and stomp them out of the plans.
We know a single-gender public school approach is blowing into town through Westinghouse.
Even these A+ questions, nice as they are, amount to more spinning in circles.
In my not so humble opinion, we -- (whole community of caring stewards for strong public schools) -- MUST put our leverage to play in meaningful spots so as to have a tactical impact upon the outcomes.
I sense that there is way too much of the reactionary bumbling around from citizens.
Precision would serve us better.
Here is a question: Why do we need feeder patterns for high school students? Can we get rid of feeder patterns for high school students come January 2011? With the end of feeder patterns for high school students, what are the ways that OVER SUBSCRIBED SCHOOLS are going to determine who gets admission.
Presently, for what it is worth, the only schools in PPS where there is a demand for spots is at CAPA (grades 6-12, Creative and Performing Arts School now located Downtown) -- and Sci Tech. With Sci-Tech, they have a lottery. It is harder to get into the grades of 6, 7 and 8 at Sci-Tech as they have smaller classes in those years. And, some in the early years are getting asked to leave. So, there are more spaces in Sci-Tech, by design, at the grade 9 and above stages.
So, if an extra 300 people want to attend Allderdice, as is the big fear from elsewhere, but I expect it to be a non-issue, then how does the district handle that problem? Is it POLITICAL CLOUT for string pullers to get kids into Allderdice?
I think Allderdice, if it gets way more popular, could design a few admission requirements in the weeks and months to come that are fair and public. Then we can discuss those.
For example, if a student in 8th grade wants to go to Allderdice in 9th grade, that student will need to make an application and not have missed 20 days of school in the 8th grade. If demand is greater, perhaps more than 10 days away from school in 8th grade will be a kiss of death for admission to Allderdice as a 9th grader.
Perhaps students will need to have a letter, or two, of reference from a teacher or two from grades 6, 7 or 8 to get into Allderdice.
With CAPA, there is an audition process.
With the I.B. School, students need to have good grades and have a good grasp on a world language (either French, German, Spanish, or Japanese). Those that enter the I.B. program, in middle school years and in high school years, have to have some education/understanding of a language as all the students at that school have been with strong languages.
We might need to have an application process for other schools that can't expand to match the demand.
But more to the point, if Allderdice is way more popular of a choice for a school, then Allderdice can expect more from the students that attend there. If there is trouble from a student, and homework isn't getting done, fights, whatever -- then that student can be removed from a popular school and another admitted.
Most of all, if there is a demand for an extra set of seats at Allderdice, then the school should expand. Perhaps some 12th grade students would like the option of being on a later schedule -- or something. Not only can more students fit into the building, but the building could grow.
In other schools, if there is less of a demand, that school will shrink. So be it.
Let the people vote with their feet in their choice of schools at the high school level.
But, for now, people, let's find the few important issues that should be put front and center -- so that the board can manage the policy and do its job -- and the plans now on the table can make better sense in their eventual application.
Upate: Part 2
The aim is for good schools to get better. That is one goal. The good schools are not yet good enough. (Some have told me that NONE of the PPS schools are worth a darn, but I don't buy fully into that position.)
With a no feeder pattern HS policy, any kid who desires can get into a good school.
Now we might have a good school or two or three -- (CAPA, IB, +), BUT only CERTAIN KIDS can get into them. (via audition @CAPA, language @IB, lottery @ SciTech).
Excellence for all.
Not, good for some.
Then, without the feeder patterns, the not-so-good schools now will get worse in that they will empty of students who want to get an education at a place that fits them.
Lets say that NOBODY would choose to go to DROP OUT FACTORY #1 -- then it would close for a lack of students or else the PPS would work VERY HARD to re-do the school into an attractive model to retain and recruit students from the neighborhood as well as from throughout the city.
Remember, all the schools in the city are less than half of what they used to be. Ten thousand students are now absent from PPS -- forever -- with no end in sight.
So, people are really leaving the city already and have been.
The model of subtraction of students (as students vote with their feet) and closing more schools with new forced feeder patterns is keeping Pgh on the downward spiral. It is all about the management of decline.
PPS has been closing schools anyway. I say that some schools might need to close if they are doing a poor job and none choose to attend there.
Schenley's closure was a forced one as people wanted to go there. That is the wrong way to close a school. PPS can shift feeder patterns and do what it wants.
Given this real world example of Westinghouse with its single gender classrooms, what if they built it and nobody showed up? FINE. To another degree, what about U-PREP. How many would be there if it was an OPTION among all the other schools throughout the city.
If PERRY HS gets its act together -- it could be the hot school for students as it was in the past. Kids all around the city wanted to go to Perry and cried for a week if they didn't get in back in late 80s, early 90s. If Perry flounders as a school, it will drain itself of its students / customers.
If CAPA HS is in such demand, why not expand it? Recently it absorbed more grades 6-7-8 with the closing of another high demand Rodgers. That was a move and not an expansion. If CAPA is working, -- it has the best scores - then DUPLICATE it. Replicate it. Repeat what works.
I would not have a problem turning Westinghouse into CAPA ver 2. More might go there, with a proven model, than would go to single gender classrooms.
We need the district to act in a way that is more about customer service. FEEDER PATTERNS prevent the consumer centric thought cycle from being a part of the PPS culture.
Feeder patterns allow the district to yank the students and families around at will, and on a whim because some are not going to move from the house they live in nor lie about residency.
Finally, if we give folks who buy a house in the area of a school, say, DROP OUT FACTORY #1, the option of sending their student to ANY SCHOOL in the city, then there is HOPE that the neighborhood would get new investment. City-wide benefit occur with the ending of the feeder patterns. DEPRESSED areas can't rebound in Pittsburgh while PPS forces kids into schools that are DROP OUT FACTORIES or are NOT a good fit for that student.
New investments into the city and our neighborhoods can come. But, new investment money demands guarantees of positive public fixtures. Investments will stay away from building upon a foundation of shifting sands. Those feeder patterns, and their shifts, are like shifting sands to investment money.
I predict an economic revival in the city-wide housing market with the removal of the PPS FEEDER PATTERN policy.
Wonderful Q from the thread at the other blog:
Where do the struggling students go when all the competive schools are filled up? Prison high, or we don't care anymore high?
Humm. We care.
We need to work hard to make sure that the 'competitive schools' are able to expand. Then they won't fill up.
Building capacity (bricks/mortar) isn't the real issue. PPS has buildings and plenty of room.
(Past rant) Expansion of 'competitive schools' was one reason I wanted CAPA to expand into the other floors of its downtown building -- but to NOT fill with grades 6, 7 and 8. A bigger CAPA as a downtown HS with expansion made more sense.
Then PPS would have needed to make TWO middle school replacements for RODGERS, such as at Knoxville (south) and another East school if not a fix-up of Rodgers.
EXPAND what works!
We should be talking about a CAPA-styled program moving into Westinghouse, given that CAPA is popular and it is working. How about a CAPA with sports, and even a CAPA where the kids get to switch their major if they want or a CAPA where the kids get a MINOR. Then CAPA Downtown can be specialized and CAPA east (at Westinghouse) can be more well rounded.
But, again, there should be no feeder patterns.
The IB School needs to be able to expand too, and with the move to Peabody, that might be better able to occur. But really, an expansion onto Reizenstein building with a second gym, auditorium and cafeteria would have been more ideal than uprooting and fitting into Peabody without windows, etc. The Reizenstein physical space is expandable. New classrooms could be added there are there is plenty of land.
I hear that the sizes per grade at the IB school (Pgh Obama) might have been pushed to 200 as a goal rather than 150 as a limit. ??
There are spaces at IB now -- but students need to want to work hard and have a background of languages before admission.
PPS must allow for expansion without dropping in quality.
A serious issue is "struggling students." Some are smart but don't conform in a specific school setting. They struggle with others. Some do struggle with learning and doing their work so as to advance.
One tactic is a willing transfer while still on good academic / behavior standing. Too often we shift expelled and suspended students from building to building -- AFTER they've blown up / melted down. If PPS didn't force them into a school setting with the feeder pattern enslavery, then they might opt elsewhere once they figure out that 'this place isn't right for me.'
Restarts to different schools while on good terms (and prior visits of consideration) should be encouraged as a way to prevent drop-outs and ejections.
As for PRISON High, we've already got one of those. Is it at capacity? I don't know.
Closed in the past PPS Connelley and closed PPS South Vo Tech were warm, family-like schools that gave support and kept kids in school and became places where kids gravitated too. Those options were places for some who might be called 'pluggers' to flourish. Gone from our landscape, sadly. That 'Gateway School' might be part of the answer too. ??
http://purereform.blogspot.com/2010/07/schools-questions-plans-for.html
Folks, ... here we go again, around and around. There is a lot of suffering going on. And, sadly, I feel that most of these discussions are just batting at the leaves on the tree of the suffering.
Tuesday night's (community meeting) featured talk of 'power.' Folks from Homewood attended and it was lead by Randall Taylor and Dr. Barnett.
Golly. The power isn't with the people, of course. But, before power is taken and earned -- we've got to have some conversations that get to the roots of the problems. Certain issues matter. Ranting wildly has fleeting value in terms of fixing system-wide problems.
How. Why. Those make harder questions. That discussion takes discipline to occur. Yep, we also need to be speaking of lack of discipline in the schools' classrooms and hallways. But this lack of discipline needs attention as we meet in community and online too.
The personality and "who" of Mr. Roosevelt is what it is. To dwell and have the conversation stuck on him is to choose weakness. It was even said to me by a few that they like the idea of 'single gender' but they are against it because it is of Mark Roosevelt's administration. Say what? Go figure.
We got to dance on the problems and stomp them out of the plans.
We know a single-gender public school approach is blowing into town through Westinghouse.
Even these A+ questions, nice as they are, amount to more spinning in circles.
In my not so humble opinion, we -- (whole community of caring stewards for strong public schools) -- MUST put our leverage to play in meaningful spots so as to have a tactical impact upon the outcomes.
I sense that there is way too much of the reactionary bumbling around from citizens.
Precision would serve us better.
Here is a question: Why do we need feeder patterns for high school students? Can we get rid of feeder patterns for high school students come January 2011? With the end of feeder patterns for high school students, what are the ways that OVER SUBSCRIBED SCHOOLS are going to determine who gets admission.
Presently, for what it is worth, the only schools in PPS where there is a demand for spots is at CAPA (grades 6-12, Creative and Performing Arts School now located Downtown) -- and Sci Tech. With Sci-Tech, they have a lottery. It is harder to get into the grades of 6, 7 and 8 at Sci-Tech as they have smaller classes in those years. And, some in the early years are getting asked to leave. So, there are more spaces in Sci-Tech, by design, at the grade 9 and above stages.
So, if an extra 300 people want to attend Allderdice, as is the big fear from elsewhere, but I expect it to be a non-issue, then how does the district handle that problem? Is it POLITICAL CLOUT for string pullers to get kids into Allderdice?
I think Allderdice, if it gets way more popular, could design a few admission requirements in the weeks and months to come that are fair and public. Then we can discuss those.
For example, if a student in 8th grade wants to go to Allderdice in 9th grade, that student will need to make an application and not have missed 20 days of school in the 8th grade. If demand is greater, perhaps more than 10 days away from school in 8th grade will be a kiss of death for admission to Allderdice as a 9th grader.
Perhaps students will need to have a letter, or two, of reference from a teacher or two from grades 6, 7 or 8 to get into Allderdice.
With CAPA, there is an audition process.
With the I.B. School, students need to have good grades and have a good grasp on a world language (either French, German, Spanish, or Japanese). Those that enter the I.B. program, in middle school years and in high school years, have to have some education/understanding of a language as all the students at that school have been with strong languages.
We might need to have an application process for other schools that can't expand to match the demand.
But more to the point, if Allderdice is way more popular of a choice for a school, then Allderdice can expect more from the students that attend there. If there is trouble from a student, and homework isn't getting done, fights, whatever -- then that student can be removed from a popular school and another admitted.
Most of all, if there is a demand for an extra set of seats at Allderdice, then the school should expand. Perhaps some 12th grade students would like the option of being on a later schedule -- or something. Not only can more students fit into the building, but the building could grow.
In other schools, if there is less of a demand, that school will shrink. So be it.
Let the people vote with their feet in their choice of schools at the high school level.
But, for now, people, let's find the few important issues that should be put front and center -- so that the board can manage the policy and do its job -- and the plans now on the table can make better sense in their eventual application.
Upate: Part 2
The aim is for good schools to get better. That is one goal. The good schools are not yet good enough. (Some have told me that NONE of the PPS schools are worth a darn, but I don't buy fully into that position.)
With a no feeder pattern HS policy, any kid who desires can get into a good school.
Now we might have a good school or two or three -- (CAPA, IB, +), BUT only CERTAIN KIDS can get into them. (via audition @CAPA, language @IB, lottery @ SciTech).
Excellence for all.
Not, good for some.
Then, without the feeder patterns, the not-so-good schools now will get worse in that they will empty of students who want to get an education at a place that fits them.
Lets say that NOBODY would choose to go to DROP OUT FACTORY #1 -- then it would close for a lack of students or else the PPS would work VERY HARD to re-do the school into an attractive model to retain and recruit students from the neighborhood as well as from throughout the city.
Remember, all the schools in the city are less than half of what they used to be. Ten thousand students are now absent from PPS -- forever -- with no end in sight.
So, people are really leaving the city already and have been.
The model of subtraction of students (as students vote with their feet) and closing more schools with new forced feeder patterns is keeping Pgh on the downward spiral. It is all about the management of decline.
PPS has been closing schools anyway. I say that some schools might need to close if they are doing a poor job and none choose to attend there.
Schenley's closure was a forced one as people wanted to go there. That is the wrong way to close a school. PPS can shift feeder patterns and do what it wants.
Given this real world example of Westinghouse with its single gender classrooms, what if they built it and nobody showed up? FINE. To another degree, what about U-PREP. How many would be there if it was an OPTION among all the other schools throughout the city.
If PERRY HS gets its act together -- it could be the hot school for students as it was in the past. Kids all around the city wanted to go to Perry and cried for a week if they didn't get in back in late 80s, early 90s. If Perry flounders as a school, it will drain itself of its students / customers.
If CAPA HS is in such demand, why not expand it? Recently it absorbed more grades 6-7-8 with the closing of another high demand Rodgers. That was a move and not an expansion. If CAPA is working, -- it has the best scores - then DUPLICATE it. Replicate it. Repeat what works.
I would not have a problem turning Westinghouse into CAPA ver 2. More might go there, with a proven model, than would go to single gender classrooms.
We need the district to act in a way that is more about customer service. FEEDER PATTERNS prevent the consumer centric thought cycle from being a part of the PPS culture.
Feeder patterns allow the district to yank the students and families around at will, and on a whim because some are not going to move from the house they live in nor lie about residency.
Finally, if we give folks who buy a house in the area of a school, say, DROP OUT FACTORY #1, the option of sending their student to ANY SCHOOL in the city, then there is HOPE that the neighborhood would get new investment. City-wide benefit occur with the ending of the feeder patterns. DEPRESSED areas can't rebound in Pittsburgh while PPS forces kids into schools that are DROP OUT FACTORIES or are NOT a good fit for that student.
New investments into the city and our neighborhoods can come. But, new investment money demands guarantees of positive public fixtures. Investments will stay away from building upon a foundation of shifting sands. Those feeder patterns, and their shifts, are like shifting sands to investment money.
I predict an economic revival in the city-wide housing market with the removal of the PPS FEEDER PATTERN policy.
Wonderful Q from the thread at the other blog:
Where do the struggling students go when all the competive schools are filled up? Prison high, or we don't care anymore high?
Humm. We care.
We need to work hard to make sure that the 'competitive schools' are able to expand. Then they won't fill up.
Building capacity (bricks/mortar) isn't the real issue. PPS has buildings and plenty of room.
(Past rant) Expansion of 'competitive schools' was one reason I wanted CAPA to expand into the other floors of its downtown building -- but to NOT fill with grades 6, 7 and 8. A bigger CAPA as a downtown HS with expansion made more sense.
Then PPS would have needed to make TWO middle school replacements for RODGERS, such as at Knoxville (south) and another East school if not a fix-up of Rodgers.
EXPAND what works!
We should be talking about a CAPA-styled program moving into Westinghouse, given that CAPA is popular and it is working. How about a CAPA with sports, and even a CAPA where the kids get to switch their major if they want or a CAPA where the kids get a MINOR. Then CAPA Downtown can be specialized and CAPA east (at Westinghouse) can be more well rounded.
But, again, there should be no feeder patterns.
The IB School needs to be able to expand too, and with the move to Peabody, that might be better able to occur. But really, an expansion onto Reizenstein building with a second gym, auditorium and cafeteria would have been more ideal than uprooting and fitting into Peabody without windows, etc. The Reizenstein physical space is expandable. New classrooms could be added there are there is plenty of land.
I hear that the sizes per grade at the IB school (Pgh Obama) might have been pushed to 200 as a goal rather than 150 as a limit. ??
There are spaces at IB now -- but students need to want to work hard and have a background of languages before admission.
PPS must allow for expansion without dropping in quality.
A serious issue is "struggling students." Some are smart but don't conform in a specific school setting. They struggle with others. Some do struggle with learning and doing their work so as to advance.
One tactic is a willing transfer while still on good academic / behavior standing. Too often we shift expelled and suspended students from building to building -- AFTER they've blown up / melted down. If PPS didn't force them into a school setting with the feeder pattern enslavery, then they might opt elsewhere once they figure out that 'this place isn't right for me.'
Restarts to different schools while on good terms (and prior visits of consideration) should be encouraged as a way to prevent drop-outs and ejections.
As for PRISON High, we've already got one of those. Is it at capacity? I don't know.
Closed in the past PPS Connelley and closed PPS South Vo Tech were warm, family-like schools that gave support and kept kids in school and became places where kids gravitated too. Those options were places for some who might be called 'pluggers' to flourish. Gone from our landscape, sadly. That 'Gateway School' might be part of the answer too. ??
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Some quotes
Don't eat the seed. Sow and reap!
Teach things we don't understand. Don't teach what you understand.
Don't give to God that is nothing.
Take a leap of faith, a step of faith.
For leaders, putting your head in the sand is a fumbling of duties.
Pittsburghers care about our kids. If we knew it would help, we'd cut off our arms to help our children. But, coming to the understanding of what is best seems to be much of the problem. And, when we don't try hard enough -- we all are defeated.
Pittsburgh would like to be "Knowledge Town." We need places that spark our imaginations. We don't aspire to be 'Rote Memorization Town." We should be wise, full of knowledge, insightful, and full of imagination and capacity to fix.
I do not want to see all of our science crammed into the Science Center. I don't want all of the cultural aspects of our city confined to the Cultural District. I don't want the History Center to be the lone keeper of every historical artifact.
I want diversity. I want an urban, unique, mixed use place that has spaces and relationships that work to fire up our intergerational wonder.
Talking about the stars and heavens is rich. And, when we had this mentality, and capacity as part of the Buhl Science Center and its star theater, Pittsburgh was growing.
Now, Pittsburghers often leave the city.
On a number of occasions, I've spoken at the public podium and have pointed out that the former Lazarus Department store in Pittsburgh, with its downtown TIFFs (tax breaks) and Corporate Subsidies -- and because of its low sales price of the property from the URA and with hair-brained deal from the Mayor's planners -- Lazarus paid less per year than the rent for the Old Post Office on the North Side that was a reuse and home to the Children's Museum.
When a stadium deal or a convention center deal or a new arena deal is pondered, we as citizens, as parents, as taxpayers, are going to get beat up badly. We are going to pay the brunt of the costs.
For the kids sake, we have a serious desire to hold out the highest of hopes. We want splendid opportunities for the next generation.
We don't want to cobble together rinky-dink solutions for our kids. And, we know that it takes great perspectives to find elegant, uplifting solutions.
This place should not deplete you. Rather nourish.
A feather of an ostrich is kept in my office. The feather gives a reminder for an approach to politics from a softer approach. The feather comes from one of the biggest birds, but it can't fly a lick. The ostrich fame comes from its act of putting its head in the sand. That is not a good place to be. This is a bad habit. It is terrible for building perspectives. When your head is in the sand, it is a by-gone conclusion that you can't see the stars.
In youth, every event looks unique.
How do you deal with the moment? How do you look forward? How to react to the anticipation of the future?
We can choose what we bring to tomorrow. We can't know what tomorrow brings.
A tiny action is stronger than a lifetime of worry.
Expect a challenging life. Why think not?
As we face a troubled and puzzled world, let us not build troubled and puzzled solutions.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Spirit of confirmation is in the air. Undeterred. Persistent.
Do not absolve the institutions for responsibility. There is institutional racism.
They've got buckets full of money. But we've got oceans full of good ideas. They do not have a monopoly on good ideas. When they think they've got a monopoly on the ideas, then we've got a de-facto monopoly on principles, because they've sold out. They are closed minded. There is nothing worse.
It is not for the slaves to talk about freedom.
Politics is complicated. Democracy is messy. Voting is simple.
The best we can hope for is for full knowledge of who is paying for campaigns. That's timely disclosure for direct and supplemental campaigns.
Teach things we don't understand. Don't teach what you understand.
Don't give to God that is nothing.
Take a leap of faith, a step of faith.
For leaders, putting your head in the sand is a fumbling of duties.
Pittsburghers care about our kids. If we knew it would help, we'd cut off our arms to help our children. But, coming to the understanding of what is best seems to be much of the problem. And, when we don't try hard enough -- we all are defeated.
Pittsburgh would like to be "Knowledge Town." We need places that spark our imaginations. We don't aspire to be 'Rote Memorization Town." We should be wise, full of knowledge, insightful, and full of imagination and capacity to fix.
I do not want to see all of our science crammed into the Science Center. I don't want all of the cultural aspects of our city confined to the Cultural District. I don't want the History Center to be the lone keeper of every historical artifact.
I want diversity. I want an urban, unique, mixed use place that has spaces and relationships that work to fire up our intergerational wonder.
Talking about the stars and heavens is rich. And, when we had this mentality, and capacity as part of the Buhl Science Center and its star theater, Pittsburgh was growing.
Now, Pittsburghers often leave the city.
On a number of occasions, I've spoken at the public podium and have pointed out that the former Lazarus Department store in Pittsburgh, with its downtown TIFFs (tax breaks) and Corporate Subsidies -- and because of its low sales price of the property from the URA and with hair-brained deal from the Mayor's planners -- Lazarus paid less per year than the rent for the Old Post Office on the North Side that was a reuse and home to the Children's Museum.
When a stadium deal or a convention center deal or a new arena deal is pondered, we as citizens, as parents, as taxpayers, are going to get beat up badly. We are going to pay the brunt of the costs.
For the kids sake, we have a serious desire to hold out the highest of hopes. We want splendid opportunities for the next generation.
We don't want to cobble together rinky-dink solutions for our kids. And, we know that it takes great perspectives to find elegant, uplifting solutions.
This place should not deplete you. Rather nourish.
A feather of an ostrich is kept in my office. The feather gives a reminder for an approach to politics from a softer approach. The feather comes from one of the biggest birds, but it can't fly a lick. The ostrich fame comes from its act of putting its head in the sand. That is not a good place to be. This is a bad habit. It is terrible for building perspectives. When your head is in the sand, it is a by-gone conclusion that you can't see the stars.
In youth, every event looks unique.
How do you deal with the moment? How do you look forward? How to react to the anticipation of the future?
We can choose what we bring to tomorrow. We can't know what tomorrow brings.
A tiny action is stronger than a lifetime of worry.
Expect a challenging life. Why think not?
As we face a troubled and puzzled world, let us not build troubled and puzzled solutions.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Spirit of confirmation is in the air. Undeterred. Persistent.
Do not absolve the institutions for responsibility. There is institutional racism.
They've got buckets full of money. But we've got oceans full of good ideas. They do not have a monopoly on good ideas. When they think they've got a monopoly on the ideas, then we've got a de-facto monopoly on principles, because they've sold out. They are closed minded. There is nothing worse.
It is not for the slaves to talk about freedom.
Politics is complicated. Democracy is messy. Voting is simple.
The best we can hope for is for full knowledge of who is paying for campaigns. That's timely disclosure for direct and supplemental campaigns.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Blast from the past: Winter of 2006 press release as a candidate
Press Release: ImmediateMark Rauterkus, candidate for Pittsburgh's City Council, district 3, special election slated now for March 14, 2006, released a four point plan to those in attendance at the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce meeting today after the Craig Patrick of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins presentation.
From Daniel Repovz, Media Coordinator, Elect.Rauterkus.com Media@Rauterkus.com, 412-904-2976
The Rauterkus campaign stresses freedom, future, fitness and flow to benefit our entire region. Rauterkus said, "The plan is simple and as we think again on these opportunities, everyone I talk to is in agreement with me. 1) Own what you build. 2) Return what you lease. 3) Grow where you can flourish and contribute to flow. 4) Fix what you broke."
1. Should the Penguins get a new arena from the windfall of the gambling casino, then others must keep it. The city should not own the new building. Mario could own, operate, insure and program the new building. Do not build a new building and expect to hand its ownership over to the city nor an authority.For further information or quotes, call Mark Rauterkus, 412-298-3432 or Mark@Rauterkus.com
2. Should the Penguins move out of the historic Civic Arena, then they should not be the ones to tear it down. The Mellon Arena can return as a civic arena and stay as a place for other events such as Disney on Ice, Circus, Carrick High School Graduations, and scholastic basketball tournaments, such as the WPIAL and PIAA championships. Those events don't require luxury-corporate boxes with leather seats and catering services.
3. The Penguins and other civic and regional leaders should build the new hockey arena at the old airport or some other area in suburban Pittsburgh. The arena does NOT need to be built in downtown.
4. We should re-open the now closed, indoor ice rink on the South Side located behind UPMC's South Side Hospital. Rebuilding that venue and grounds should provides quality recreational opportunities to the city residents and the region. The Penguins had a big hand in getting that rink covered. Private operators had the contract to operate the facility at no cost to the city. Much more can be done to build there for many benefits of fitness and the future.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Chris Chandler has had roots in New Orleans. Recently he moved to California.
New very cool Featured Video at www.chrischandler.org
T.H.E. .M.U.S.E. .A.N.D. .W.H.I.R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T
June, 2010
New Orleans, LA
Vol issue
By Chris Chandler
5-30-10
Hell Yea! The Gulf oil spill is now the worst ecological disaster in U.S. history, "We're #1! We're #1!"
One hundred and fifty years ago, corporations were granted the same rights as people under the constitution. Absurdly based on the 14th Amendment which was intended to free the slaves, and then used to make sure those former slaves stay indebted servants to a new over-seer: the over-class.
It is called corporate personhood.
For years, the way I saw it was if corperations are people then the Revolutionary War was more of a corporate take over. The Declaration of Independence should read:
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one company to dissolve the financial bands which have connected them with another.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all corporations are created equal, that they are endowed by their CEOs with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of profit.
If "corporations" and "people" are synonimes than it is not much of leap to say The Constitution might as well read:
We the corporations of the United States, in order to form a more perfect merger, establish profit, insure domestic product, provide for the common defense, promote the corporate welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to our shareholders…
Ever since "personhood" was established, corporations have been winning court cases granting them due process, equal protection, freedom of speech, etc. chiefly the ability to donate to political causes in the same way that people do.
I have been against this concept for years.
But alas, after this incident in the Gulf of Mexico (soon to be known as The Dead Sea) I see the error in my ways. I say give them full citizenship and treat them as such.
If they want the rights of citizens they should also have the accountibilty of citizens. I mean, I know if my negligence caused the death of eleven people I would be in jail. Not to mention the destruction of Mother Earth they should go to jail for mom -slaughter.
So, I say first, put the entire corperation on trial – everyone on the payroll. How do you like you corperate personhood now? Put 'em on trial for for manslaughter. Mom-slaughter. Put them in jail for poisoning the food chain – 'cos in prison you often do shit where you eat.
I envision not just the CEO going to prison but every congressional appologizer. I wanna see every CEO GO TO PRISON! every CFO, every CIO, CISO CPA and CP3O-- GO TO PRISON. Every VP SVP and VIP for that matter. They are corperate persons afterall.
I wanna see every desk jockey, paper pusher, trader of stock, stock holder, share holder, folder holder, folder stuffer, every secretary to the secretary and secretary to be hired… GO TO PRISON, I wanna see every delivery boy, and office carpet vacumer go to prison just for being corporate persons.
Make an example of them – just like you make an example of the guy sitting in prison for smoking dope in his own apartment in the ghetto.
I wanna see the leathernecks go to prison, the pipe fitters and every oil rig inspector and inspector of the inspectors GO TO PRISON.
And if there is not enough room in the prison, let out the guy who is in there for smoking dope in his own apartment.
I wanna see the writers and the actors in those BS BP ad campaigns "Beyond patrolium, a greener oil company" GO TO PRISON!
I wanna see every gas station attendant and BP convenience store cigarette dealer and car wash brush ceaner GO TO PRISON.
I envision whole gas pumps dressed in orange jump-suits quivering with their little Bristish accents as a large scary man, quoting the 14th ammendment says, "insert prison joke here."
I wanna see every user of every British Patrolium GO TO PRISON. I wanna see every user of petrolium go to prison.
I SHOULD TO GO TO PRISON,
As we all watch the BP bank accounts and the bank accounts of Halliburton and Transatlantic for that matter drained while they are paying the billions,.. quadrillions in reperations.
Instead what we have is a bunch of oil slick lawyers proposing caps on compensation to congress via campaign donations.
Talk about cap and trade.
I thought you guys were against that. But le' me tell ya pal your liability cap blew out when that blow out preventor valve blew and I say it is time to BILL BABY BILL!
I say you should drain your coffers by employing every idle shrimp boat captain and his crew in every idle boat in every port from Gulfport Mississpi to clean up your mess.
Use the community we have.
Even if you spend all of the 14 billion you made in profits last year. All of the 16 you made the year before that – you should spend every dime hiring every out of work oyster fisherman in Pensacola and unemployed seafood resteraunt waiter in New Orleans.
I wanna see your share holders standing on off ramps holding buckets with signs that read "will work to pay locals for their loss."
And as for Haliburton and Transatlantic? Its no wonder Haliburton droped the name "Black Water.".
Transatlantic? You knew your oil rig was too big to fail. That's why you were claiming it was from the Marshall Islands – which is an oil company with a flag.
It should have come as no suprise that Marshall Island inspectors might be a little lax on an oil rig heading to the Americas since America did its nuclear testing there and completely blew one of the Islands off the face of the earth.
But since you did choose to fly the flag of the Marshall Islands, I say it makes you an Illegal Immigrant and I find myself suddenly agreeing with the State of Arizona and you should be deported. All of you.
It makes you a foreigner – and a crime like this – perptrated by a foreginer can only be viewed as foreign eco-terrorisim and the place you should be deported to is Guantinimo Bay where you can sit in your little orange jump suits and be waterboarded – with water, from the Gulf YOU DESTROYED.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Presentation to Pgh Public Schools Committee about East End Plan
Last night I spoke at a public hearing about our schools. The focus was called into question, rightly so. But the aim was to hear from citizens about schools in the East End of Pittsburgh.
A committee was hand-picked by PPS Superintendent, Mark Roosevelt. The work of the committee is to review all the available facts, ponder solutions and make suggestions to the administration and the board.
One recent study looked at the facilities, the downward migration trends of the city and its schools, and suggested, among other things, to close Peabody High School.
In this work, the committee is to ponder the East End, but ignore CAPA, Allderdice and a few other schools that are clearly in the east. Go figure.
My statement goes to the fact that when consultants visit, they looked at the physical building. They'd see a nice gym. A nice pool. However, they overlooked the programs that need to fit into these spaces. The boys varsity team, the JV team and the girls varsity team and its JV team needs to share the court with the middle school girls and boys teams at Schenley / Obama. On paper, the gym is fine. But, it is not good when there are 900 people wishing to go to a game and only 240 fit into the gym so 100 end up sitting outside. Your miles may vary. Same too with the swim pool. The middle school has meets so the high school team gets bumped. But worse is the middle-school PE classes that go for an extra 45 minutes every day beyond the close of the classes for the varsity athletes. Program problems trump building conditions and those consultants didn't lift a finger to ponder the programs that need to fit within our schools.
Another point I made goes to the 'feeder patterns.' Perhaps it is time to take all the feeder patterns and kill them. We've got schools of choice where families from anywhere within the city can opt to have their children go to CAPA, or Perry (Tradational), or Allderdice (engineering magnet and Chineese language magnet), or Obama (I.B.) or Sci-Tech, or U-Prep. Others exist too. The point is, if you live on a certain street some are forced to certain schools. That stinks.
The district could move to an 'all-magnet' or 'all-choice' system. Then if a certain school is failing, people could vote with their feet and leave.
And if there were more choices in an all-choice system, one of the options could be a single gender school for boys and a single-gender school for girls. Let's open a public school alternative to Central Catholic, Oakland Catholic and even Ellis (an all girls school).
Westinghouse could be a city-wide all girls school and Oliver could be the all-girls school. Or, the boys and girls campuses could switch or even flip every three to five years.
A committee was hand-picked by PPS Superintendent, Mark Roosevelt. The work of the committee is to review all the available facts, ponder solutions and make suggestions to the administration and the board.
One recent study looked at the facilities, the downward migration trends of the city and its schools, and suggested, among other things, to close Peabody High School.
In this work, the committee is to ponder the East End, but ignore CAPA, Allderdice and a few other schools that are clearly in the east. Go figure.
My statement goes to the fact that when consultants visit, they looked at the physical building. They'd see a nice gym. A nice pool. However, they overlooked the programs that need to fit into these spaces. The boys varsity team, the JV team and the girls varsity team and its JV team needs to share the court with the middle school girls and boys teams at Schenley / Obama. On paper, the gym is fine. But, it is not good when there are 900 people wishing to go to a game and only 240 fit into the gym so 100 end up sitting outside. Your miles may vary. Same too with the swim pool. The middle school has meets so the high school team gets bumped. But worse is the middle-school PE classes that go for an extra 45 minutes every day beyond the close of the classes for the varsity athletes. Program problems trump building conditions and those consultants didn't lift a finger to ponder the programs that need to fit within our schools.
Another point I made goes to the 'feeder patterns.' Perhaps it is time to take all the feeder patterns and kill them. We've got schools of choice where families from anywhere within the city can opt to have their children go to CAPA, or Perry (Tradational), or Allderdice (engineering magnet and Chineese language magnet), or Obama (I.B.) or Sci-Tech, or U-Prep. Others exist too. The point is, if you live on a certain street some are forced to certain schools. That stinks.
The district could move to an 'all-magnet' or 'all-choice' system. Then if a certain school is failing, people could vote with their feet and leave.
And if there were more choices in an all-choice system, one of the options could be a single gender school for boys and a single-gender school for girls. Let's open a public school alternative to Central Catholic, Oakland Catholic and even Ellis (an all girls school).
Westinghouse could be a city-wide all girls school and Oliver could be the all-girls school. Or, the boys and girls campuses could switch or even flip every three to five years.
Monday, November 16, 2009
My statement before the board and administration at Pittsburgh Public Schools tonight -- "bringing it."
Updated:
I spoke in public comment period on November 16, 2009, to the Pittsburgh Public Schools board and administration. After, a friend said, "Mark, you were bringing it tonight."
I did raise some good points.
Nutshell: Luke Ravenstahl, mayor, should be removed from the board of the Pittsburgh Promise due to his budget that calls for a tax on college tuition. The tax is crazy and goes the wrong way.
- - -
First, to Randall Taylor, outgoing board member, thanks for your years of service. May your retirement be sweet. And to the new board member, Doctor, it is my wish that you'll have half the stamina showed by of Mr. Taylor for all the heavy lifting he has done to raise issues. Welcome.
As a recap of some of the points I heard tonight from other speakers, I'd like to see the board bend to the will of the students at Sci Tech who want their school's name to be Sci-Tech. To do that, you'd have to break a board policy that prohibits the school name to be that of a concept or theme. CAPA, the Creative and Performing Arts school name was to be the last along those lines, as per new board policy on naming schools. Give the kids the ownership in their school so as to keep the name that was started there.
I'd rather see the Sci Tech School use the mascot of Zombies, but whatever.
At the I.B. School, they'll have their naming conference soon. They too face the same board stipulations. But, I think that Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente 6-12 High School works well. There they can be known as the Clemente Olympians.
Ken spoke earlier tonight about the merging of sports in the city with the others in the WPIAL. I love that idea and have championed it in the past as well. We need an overhaul of sports, athletics and music -- and all things afterschool in Pittsburgh. Getting our teams to compete with the suburban teams would do wonders for our opportunities and programs.
Another speaker, Maryellen spoke about music, and while I agree with the need for music opportunities, it isn't about funding either sports OR music. They both are in the same realm of afterschool, mostly. They both need attention. They both offer opportunities for growth and community building. They both allow our students to be smarter, more connected, more engaged in their schools and successful into the future.
My points for the statement tonight go to looping. Mark Roosevelt spoke at a recent Excellence for All parent meeting and talked about how teacher empowerment is expected to occur in the near future with the arrival of some new funding and energy via the Gates Foundation. Looping moves teachers from 9th grade to 10th grade classes, and so on as the students progress year by year. Then the teachers follow the students in their schedules.
I'm not so sure that is a wise move -- but rather, the looping should occur with the sports coaches and the band directors and the health / PE teachers and home-room teachers and with guidance councilors and others who are support staff. If we had more empowered coaches and band leaders, we'd have less of a need for the looping of the core academic teachers within the schools.
The students do need care, year-to-year and week-to-week and day-to-day. Adults should follow and watch out for the kids as they grow. Some kids check out, if you let them, and might soon drop out, sadly. These are some of the things that great coaches do all the time. They monitor. They mentor. They encourage. They challenge. They motivate.
Let's invest in the kids. But, let's do it the right ways. Let's take better advantage of outside adults who can better motivate some kids by pulling the adults into the framework of schools.
I spoke in public comment period on November 16, 2009, to the Pittsburgh Public Schools board and administration. After, a friend said, "Mark, you were bringing it tonight."
I did raise some good points.
Nutshell: Luke Ravenstahl, mayor, should be removed from the board of the Pittsburgh Promise due to his budget that calls for a tax on college tuition. The tax is crazy and goes the wrong way.
- - -
First, to Randall Taylor, outgoing board member, thanks for your years of service. May your retirement be sweet. And to the new board member, Doctor, it is my wish that you'll have half the stamina showed by of Mr. Taylor for all the heavy lifting he has done to raise issues. Welcome.
As a recap of some of the points I heard tonight from other speakers, I'd like to see the board bend to the will of the students at Sci Tech who want their school's name to be Sci-Tech. To do that, you'd have to break a board policy that prohibits the school name to be that of a concept or theme. CAPA, the Creative and Performing Arts school name was to be the last along those lines, as per new board policy on naming schools. Give the kids the ownership in their school so as to keep the name that was started there.
I'd rather see the Sci Tech School use the mascot of Zombies, but whatever.
At the I.B. School, they'll have their naming conference soon. They too face the same board stipulations. But, I think that Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente 6-12 High School works well. There they can be known as the Clemente Olympians.
Ken spoke earlier tonight about the merging of sports in the city with the others in the WPIAL. I love that idea and have championed it in the past as well. We need an overhaul of sports, athletics and music -- and all things afterschool in Pittsburgh. Getting our teams to compete with the suburban teams would do wonders for our opportunities and programs.
Another speaker, Maryellen spoke about music, and while I agree with the need for music opportunities, it isn't about funding either sports OR music. They both are in the same realm of afterschool, mostly. They both need attention. They both offer opportunities for growth and community building. They both allow our students to be smarter, more connected, more engaged in their schools and successful into the future.
My points for the statement tonight go to looping. Mark Roosevelt spoke at a recent Excellence for All parent meeting and talked about how teacher empowerment is expected to occur in the near future with the arrival of some new funding and energy via the Gates Foundation. Looping moves teachers from 9th grade to 10th grade classes, and so on as the students progress year by year. Then the teachers follow the students in their schedules.
I'm not so sure that is a wise move -- but rather, the looping should occur with the sports coaches and the band directors and the health / PE teachers and home-room teachers and with guidance councilors and others who are support staff. If we had more empowered coaches and band leaders, we'd have less of a need for the looping of the core academic teachers within the schools.
The students do need care, year-to-year and week-to-week and day-to-day. Adults should follow and watch out for the kids as they grow. Some kids check out, if you let them, and might soon drop out, sadly. These are some of the things that great coaches do all the time. They monitor. They mentor. They encourage. They challenge. They motivate.
Let's invest in the kids. But, let's do it the right ways. Let's take better advantage of outside adults who can better motivate some kids by pulling the adults into the framework of schools.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Spoke at City Council
On August 24, 2009, Erik and I went to Pittsburgh City Council and made some simple statements.
Sadly, the video format from Viddler is no longer supported.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I don't call this reform.
Hard hitting letter to the editor about school district.
I've enjoyed the PURE Reform blog and the discussions there in the past year.
P-G LTE: You call this reform?I love how the Vo Tech issue was mentioned in the wake of closing of South Vo Tech.
The Pittsburgh school district needs to be more responsive
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
By Kathryn Fine
Four years ago, the Pittsburgh Public School Schools hired Superintendent Mark Roosevelt to navigate the district through the murky waters of No Child Left Behind, declining enrollment, underused facilities, budget deficits and a racial achievement gap through which you could drive a yellow school bus. While progress has been made toward some of these goals, real success will take the support of every part of the Pittsburgh community: parents, students, teachers, administration and school board.
Parents United for Responsible Educational Reform (PURE Reform) was started last summer by parents and city residents concerned that not enough information was reaching school district stakeholders. We aimed to serve as a clearinghouse for information through our Web site and to provide the opportunity for dialogue on our blog.
PURE Reform grew from the "Save Schenley" movement but now is focused on districtwide reform. Two issues reach into every part of the reform process: community buy-in and transparency.
Community buy-in
Mr. Roosevelt has proposed a myriad of large-scale changes during his tenure. Successful implementation of such changes must be accompanied by stakeholder buy-in. Yet efforts to meaningfully engage communities have been conspicuously absent.
• Sweeping plans were made to create smaller, 6th-to-12th grade, themed schools without community input about the right balance with comprehensive neighborhood schools, the geographic distribution of various types of schools and the impact of these changes on sports and extracurricular activities. Thus, most of the East End may be left without a full-service, comprehensive high school.
• When the merger of the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts with Rogers CAPA Middle School was proposed, the CAPA community, including the committee that was appointed by the superintendent, strongly argued against the move, citing concrete examples of how it would be detrimental to these two model performing arts schools. These stakeholders were ignored.
• Schenley stakeholders raised concerns about the dramatic decrease in diversity that would result from creating the University Prep and International Baccalaureate high schools, only to have their concerns dismissed.
• Many parents and teachers voiced opposition to a policy that allows no grades below 50 percent, which encourages mediocrity and artificially pumps up graduation rates, to no avail.
• A committee formed to select a site for the International Baccalaureate program that was displaced when Schenley was closed did not have a single member from the four schools being considered. Subsequently, Peabody and Westinghouse stakeholders formed committees to discuss the fate of their schools. This would seem to indicate that the district administration was taking its planning process to the streets, but these groups resulted from the community responding to district initiatives that had already set the dominoes tumbling, leaving few options left on the table.
• A year after the school district closed South Vo-Tech, the superintendent pledged to create a new site for the Career and Technologies Education Program. Four years later, there is still no commitment to fulfill this promise.
Transparency
Transparency is another essential component for successfully implementing far-reaching reforms. The current reform process is rife with examples of how the administration has been less than forthright:
• The Pittsburgh Public Schools contracted with Community Education Partners, a private firm that specializes in educating troubled students, for more than $5 million per year despite the fact that CEP has a track record of running what The Nation magazine has called "soft prisons" in other major cities. When PURE Reform requested information regarding performance evaluations for this organization and its facility here, the district stated that no written record of any assessment exists.
• The district administration has touted the University of Pittsburgh's involvement with the University Prep High School as a key to this school's success. To date, the exact nature of this collaboration has not been clearly articulated.
• When the superintendent recommended closing Schenley High School, substantial information was presented that countered the district's claims regarding the school's renovation needs and associated costs. The administration stymied resistance to the closure by including in its propaganda a $76 million-plus renovation figure, which was far more than needed to make the school safe for at least 30 years. The district's own experts, backed up by a committee of community professionals, estimated a $40 million renovation cost. Recent developments, such as information on inconsistencies in asbestos maintenance in the schools and the receipt of $55 million or more over two years in federal stimulus money for "shovel ready," bricks-and-mortar projects, should make revisiting the Schenley closure a real possibility.
PURE Reform is dedicated to the improvement of all of our public schools and wants desperately for public school reform to succeed. We understand that extensive changes are needed but will not accept change for change's sake. Excellent ideas are nothing without credible and efficient implementation.
We certainly do not claim to have all of the answers. We are simply asking for a comprehensive, transparent and truly inclusive reform process. It is now up to the Pittsburgh Public Schools administration to listen.
Kathryn Fine is a co-founder of PURE Reform and lives in Highland Park (www.purereform.com).
I've enjoyed the PURE Reform blog and the discussions there in the past year.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Scrub your speech of these phrases, Mr. Roosevelt and PPS Administrators
The Tribune Review has the expression in the paper again today, "We looked at the data, ..."
Wave the red flags. Time out. Wash your mouth out with soap.
Last night I was at another meeting in the east end hosted by the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. brass. Three school administrators were given the curtosy of an extended introduction and speaking time and I heard these same phrases again.
The PPS (Pgh Public Schools) Administrator said, "We want to bring the numbers to the table." She was convinced of a certain course of action because she was privileged to have seen the numbers, the data, the research. She was hopeful that the numbers could be shared with others who are "at the table." Then, once their facts were spilled, the table would be on-board and see the light.
A third verse of the same theme boils down to an evaluation of the work and outcome suggestions of a special community task force. About 30 members of the public were hand-picked, names still not released to the public, for guidance. These folks formed a task force to make a suggestion as to where to put the long-term home of the district's I.B. program. The I.B. program had been harbored within Schenley High School, which was dismantled last year.
The data that the I.B. long-term site selection task force was able to wrestle with has not been released. Who was on the task force wasn't released yet. And the work product, the meeting minutes, the in-depth decision justifications and any hint of financial impacts -- all are still under wraps.
I don't want the data to be revealed to those who are 'at the table.' I want it to be revealed to everyone everywhere.
I don't want to hear how the district administrators have access to findings and raw performance measures yet the people who pay for the schools do not.
Often, those numbers are not released because they are embarrassing. Frankly, what is more embarrassing is trying to make fixes to the district while having heads in the sand. The behaviors we've come to expect within the schools and within the planning process is atrocious.
It is unforgivable that the Bloomfield Garfield Corporation has to ask for the results of a community task force that includes more depth than what is read in the Post-Gazette. The questions should not even need to be asked. The insights and details should have been posted to the web all along. Agendas, minutes, attendance at meetings, presentations, facts, figures, costs, projections, historical graduation rates, numbers of certified teachers, costs of additional faculty education, timelines for training, space figures at schools, busing costs, new renovation costs, re-sale projections, etc., etc., etc.
I'm sure most of this has been thought of by someone. Well, I'm not sure, but I give them the benefit of the doubt.
I want to see it. And, I want everyone to see everything.
We don't know how many kids went to classes at the ALAs (Accelerated Learning Academy) as the school year started two to three weeks before the other schools. What was the August 1st attendance in 2008 and 2007? Now we hear the school year at the ALAs is going to shorten. Why? How successful has it been so far?
I don't need to know WHO was in class. I need to know how many were there, how many were to be there, and for teachers too. And, reports as to the effectiveness of these extra school days, by date, needs to be a measure that is revealed.
These few examples are only the tip of the iceberg.
How much is paid each year to Microsoft for software licenses? How much is going to be paid for proprietary licenses with the Science and Technology Jr./Sr. High? How much will be saved by using OpenOffice.org and Linux?
Who was on the High School Reform Task Force? Where was that group's work product. All of that went out the window by they way when the asbestos excuse was found at Schenley. A group had meetings for nearly two years and nothing of those meetings was able to be release nor implemented.
What about the budget for the Pittsburgh Promise?
I'm not asking for new audits. I'm asking for an open process. And, the way that is done in our modern time is with the internet. It goes deeper than a few PowerPoint slides as well.
Some months ago I spoke to this same theme with the school board when I heard that the PARENT DASHBOARD system was being scratched. This had been a valuable tool for some parents with some teachers for some kids as they could see homework assignments and class attendence -- nearly real time. But, the district pulled the plug on that window into the schools. (Go figure.)
Rather, a new, beefy, whiz bang system, developed in-house, was being rolled out. It would be able to grade tests and measure classroom, school, grade and district results -- more than just an individual score. It was in beta testing and was fast as lightening -- and those on the school board were prohibited from seeing it. They were to authorize it, but they were not able to evaluate it.
The elected school board members were kept in the dark. And, by-and-large, they were okay with that. It is worse than being a back-seat driver -- as they were being stuffed in the trunk. Meanwhile, the citizens are not even in the car. We're getting out of the way, happy it doesn't mow down our kids as they walk to and from school.
I don't want to hear, ever again, about the data that the district sees that is hidden from what anyone anywhere else can see.
Wave the red flags. Time out. Wash your mouth out with soap.
Last night I was at another meeting in the east end hosted by the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. brass. Three school administrators were given the curtosy of an extended introduction and speaking time and I heard these same phrases again.
The PPS (Pgh Public Schools) Administrator said, "We want to bring the numbers to the table." She was convinced of a certain course of action because she was privileged to have seen the numbers, the data, the research. She was hopeful that the numbers could be shared with others who are "at the table." Then, once their facts were spilled, the table would be on-board and see the light.
A third verse of the same theme boils down to an evaluation of the work and outcome suggestions of a special community task force. About 30 members of the public were hand-picked, names still not released to the public, for guidance. These folks formed a task force to make a suggestion as to where to put the long-term home of the district's I.B. program. The I.B. program had been harbored within Schenley High School, which was dismantled last year.
The data that the I.B. long-term site selection task force was able to wrestle with has not been released. Who was on the task force wasn't released yet. And the work product, the meeting minutes, the in-depth decision justifications and any hint of financial impacts -- all are still under wraps.
I don't want the data to be revealed to those who are 'at the table.' I want it to be revealed to everyone everywhere.
I don't want to hear how the district administrators have access to findings and raw performance measures yet the people who pay for the schools do not.
Often, those numbers are not released because they are embarrassing. Frankly, what is more embarrassing is trying to make fixes to the district while having heads in the sand. The behaviors we've come to expect within the schools and within the planning process is atrocious.
It is unforgivable that the Bloomfield Garfield Corporation has to ask for the results of a community task force that includes more depth than what is read in the Post-Gazette. The questions should not even need to be asked. The insights and details should have been posted to the web all along. Agendas, minutes, attendance at meetings, presentations, facts, figures, costs, projections, historical graduation rates, numbers of certified teachers, costs of additional faculty education, timelines for training, space figures at schools, busing costs, new renovation costs, re-sale projections, etc., etc., etc.
I'm sure most of this has been thought of by someone. Well, I'm not sure, but I give them the benefit of the doubt.
I want to see it. And, I want everyone to see everything.
We don't know how many kids went to classes at the ALAs (Accelerated Learning Academy) as the school year started two to three weeks before the other schools. What was the August 1st attendance in 2008 and 2007? Now we hear the school year at the ALAs is going to shorten. Why? How successful has it been so far?
I don't need to know WHO was in class. I need to know how many were there, how many were to be there, and for teachers too. And, reports as to the effectiveness of these extra school days, by date, needs to be a measure that is revealed.
These few examples are only the tip of the iceberg.
How much is paid each year to Microsoft for software licenses? How much is going to be paid for proprietary licenses with the Science and Technology Jr./Sr. High? How much will be saved by using OpenOffice.org and Linux?
Who was on the High School Reform Task Force? Where was that group's work product. All of that went out the window by they way when the asbestos excuse was found at Schenley. A group had meetings for nearly two years and nothing of those meetings was able to be release nor implemented.
What about the budget for the Pittsburgh Promise?
I'm not asking for new audits. I'm asking for an open process. And, the way that is done in our modern time is with the internet. It goes deeper than a few PowerPoint slides as well.
Some months ago I spoke to this same theme with the school board when I heard that the PARENT DASHBOARD system was being scratched. This had been a valuable tool for some parents with some teachers for some kids as they could see homework assignments and class attendence -- nearly real time. But, the district pulled the plug on that window into the schools. (Go figure.)
Rather, a new, beefy, whiz bang system, developed in-house, was being rolled out. It would be able to grade tests and measure classroom, school, grade and district results -- more than just an individual score. It was in beta testing and was fast as lightening -- and those on the school board were prohibited from seeing it. They were to authorize it, but they were not able to evaluate it.
The elected school board members were kept in the dark. And, by-and-large, they were okay with that. It is worse than being a back-seat driver -- as they were being stuffed in the trunk. Meanwhile, the citizens are not even in the car. We're getting out of the way, happy it doesn't mow down our kids as they walk to and from school.
I don't want to hear, ever again, about the data that the district sees that is hidden from what anyone anywhere else can see.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Congratulations Barak Obama, story from Chris Chandler
I enjoy this guy's newsletter. This month, he talks of the election and sports -- Georgia style and all.
M.U.S.E. .A.N.D. .W.H.I.R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T.
By Chris Chandler
www.chrischandler.org
Vol X issue iii
December 1, 2008
Washington, DC
Sorry so late this month. I have been in my home town of Stone Mountain, Georgia. This is the first news letter since the election.
I was in DC on Tuesday, November 4th. Holy Cow!
From 11:02 (the moment the polls closed on the west coast and the media announced the election) till the wee hours of the morning a traffic jam formed on the blocks that surround the white house. People laid down on their horn. All night long George was treated to one continual thousand car horn salute.
People were excited. Excited for the change Barak Obama has professed will come.
Upon his election last month yes, in 2008 -- there are people alive on this earth whose parents, not great grand parents, not grandparents parents were slaves. If you were born in 1863 and sired a child in your 50s, that child is now in their 90s. It has been a short time. It has been an eternity. Change.
In the year of my birth, Martin Luther King said in his I Had a Dream speech, "Let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia." Because he longed for change to come to America.
He mentioned my home town because at the time it was the home of a very powerful Ku Klux Klan reeking terror throughout the south land in which I was born. Because of the Klan, it is also the home of the world's largest carving the Confederate Memorial where the stone images of the three Confederate leaders are indelibly chiseled to the side the mammoth slab of granite that inexplicably protrudes from the Georgia red clay larger than Mount Rushmore itself.
In 1915 the modern Klan was formed on this site in a ceremony that involved burning a cross from the mountain's summit. The inferno was so large it could be seen from the city of Atlanta some 20 miles away. The inferno it represented was much larger. The rebel revelers longed for no change to come to America.
It was in that setting that I came into this world. I saw my town of three thousand grow on rally days to ten thousand hooded heroes march through the town as young girls through flowers at their feet. How could I not long to be among them. I did.
Yes, I grew up a racist, how could I not? You could blame me. I was a kid. You could blame my parents but how could they know any better? Growing up in rural Alabama during the depression, it did not seem like a place that change was going to come to. You could blame my grand parents. My grandmother was sixty at Brown Vs. Board of Education. She did not know there needed to be change in America.
Upon the outcome of Brown Vs Board of Education, the state of Georgia changed her state flag to add the Confederate battle flag as if to say, "Change was never going to come to America."
I am probably the youngest person you will likely meet that went to a segregated school. In 1970 Jimmy Carter defeated Lester Maddox for governor and went about practically desegregating the last of the segregated schools. Change was coming to Georgia. I was in the first grade.
I played football on the first desegregated little league team in my county: The Central De Kalb 85 lb Packers. Before they were the Packers they were known as yes The Crackers. Donning a "University of Georgia G" on our helmets I found myself on the opposite end of the America I had known. I learned to depend on, play with, sacrifice for my black team mates. Team work. When The Packers played teams in counties more isolated than De Kalb I found my team and therefore myself on the receiving end of jeers and threats and even getting into sand lot brew-ha-has defending defending.. well, my team but vicariously desegregation. Change was a foot (ball.)
As I was growing up, Stone Mountain was a white trash trailer court. But this too was changing. Atlanta, the city too busy to care, beat Birmingham in a bid for a major airport and sprouted like the Kudzu on either side of the Hank Aaron Highway. A city with no navigable waterway instead became -- not a port city but -- an airport city. Change was coming to the world. She grew from 300,000 to 4 million. The dirt road I grew up on is now a four lane highway with a traffic light. Co-Cola, CNN, Home Depot and the rest.
The growing city won a bid for the Olympics in 96. The long distance marathon event ran round Stone Mountain itself now an Atlanta suburb -- with the finish line in front of the monument. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis' granite gaze cast down upon a Kenyan runner, black as the population of Stone Mountain, throwing his hands into the air passing the finish line with Georgia's Confederate battle flag blowing in the breeze. Change was coming to America. Georgia changed her flag.
The white flight that inevitably parallels a growing city blew right past Stone Mountain leaving in its wake a suburban black middle class. The words "Stone Mountain" were on the pages of the New York Times for a second time in her history when the town that Martin Luther King singled out elected a black mayor. Change was brewing in America. Only some old timer whites remain. My mother is one of them.
I came to visit her recently. At the corner of Rockbridge Road and Cynthia McKinney Blvd (another African American that ran for president this year) there is a shell station down the street from my mother's house. A young African American man approached me wearing his mall bought Negro League baseball jersey (made in Bangladesh) and blood-diamond bling saying, "You have no idea where you is."
I do. One visible sign that change is at hand is that a black teenager was willing to take a ride with a middle aged oddly clad bald white man. I took him to the old city hall, now a museum. I showed him the bell presented to the town by the King foundation to let Freedom Ring. I took a drink from the colored water fountain I would not have been allowed to drink from as a child. He in turn drank from the "white." Parts of my childhood I am glad to have relegated to the annals of small town museums.
The city of Stone Mountain carried Barak Obama , but not the state of Georgia. But more importantly he carried the nation, and the vote of my mother.
Change has come to America. "Let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia."
Congratulations Barak Obama.
Monday, November 03, 2008
My oh my. Lots of people are playing goalie these days.
Here, the USA Men's Water Polo team sets up on defense as the dark caps (China) set up to shoot. This was from the first game of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Pool play.
Political Tips through the lense of a water polo game:
Play goalie -- turn off your phone. I'm hearing of some friends that are turning off their phones, or did so for much of the weekend. The auto-dialer and volunteer calls are pouring in. The election ads are washing over us all, here in PA, a battleground state.
Some tips for playing a good defense -- teamwork.
Put up one arm when approached.
Keep to the center (of the cage).
Keep your feet moving (kicking).
Keep your eye on the ball. What matters most?
Mark your man.
One vote, like one goal, doesn't make the whole outcome of the tournament (nor campaign).
Keep your head above water -- as in don't burn out. It is okay to get a break and turn to the bench for replacements.
Communicate among those on your team.
When you see something interesting, take a photo of it. Carry your camera. Witness. Document. Cross your legs when doing so. See the guy in the foreground of the photo.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
LTE: Gambling and Children
Letter to editor for your consideration
By Mike Ference
Clairton, PA 15025
Illegal Gaming exposed for Chuck E Cheese Tokens
By Mike Ference
Who would have thunk it. Casino operators are able to do what DAs and
keystone cops have not been able to do since illegal gambling began to
flourish at the end of prohibition – shut down government protected gaming
operations that allowed certain groups and individuals to rake in tax-free
money in mob-controlled towns scattered across the commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
To boost revenues in seven existing casinos, the Pennsylvania Gaming
Control Board is passing out grant money to assist police departments in
finding and prosecuting businesses that house illegal gambling operations.
My gut says there’s got to be a lawsuit with a 50/50 chance of exposing
just how corrupt Pennsylvania government really is and maybe a story or
two on how certain crimes committed by the right ethnic group seem to get
a pass.
Mob lawyers – with extensive background in union affairs – could easily
argue past practice should prevail. In other words, Pennsylvania gambling
devices have a god-given right to stay plugged in because for decades the
gambling joints have been pilfering the hard-earned money of loyal patrons
for decades with no interference from the law.
I’ve also done the research by quizzing an expert on organized crime (who
has written extensively on the mob, he even had a grandfather whacked)
about the, who, what and where of illegal gaming operations. According to
this seasoned law enforcement officer only two scenarios are possible in a
town playing host to illegal gaming operations. One, government and law
enforcement officials are collecting bribes or protection money to assure
the gambling biz is never interrupted. Two, if there are no bribes, money
is being left on the table. Either way, it seems taxpayers could benefit
from a class-action suit and finally get their share of gambling funds
based on government incompetence or good old-fashioned corruption.
As for as the grant money being shelled out by the Pennsylvania Gaming
Control Board; my seven grandkids and I would be willing to guide local
police to all the gambling operations in the Mob Valley section of
Allegheny County (sorry I mean Mon Valley) just for fun or a few Chuck E
Cheese tokens.
Sadly, the folks who are paid to do the same appear to be clueless.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Bill Ogden's ideas about the current bailout situation
Good Afternoon Everyone!
My calculator only goes up to 99,999,999. So I had to use some brain cells that I thought were used up -- a notebook and pen! Here is what I figured:
President Bush wants to bail out all the Banks because the Banks aren't being paid back the money that they lent out.
Already...it is estimated that the President gave out about $300,000,000,000 ($300 Billion) to banks and other corporations who have overextended themselves--(within last 60 days)
Now He wants an additional $700,000,000,000 ($700 Billion) to bail out wall street again.
He, Congress, and Talking Heads are spinning. "They" say they want to help "Main Street" and hate it whenever anyone says Wall Street. BTW: "Main Street" is supposed to mean you and me.
Who will be responsible for paying back the $1,000,000,000,000 ($1 Trillion)???
You and me silly... Main Street USA.
The way I see it, we would all be better off if we learned how to live within our means.
I am speaking from experience because I'm also guilty of using credit beyond my earnings. This means that I need to correct my situation with personal sacrifice and hard work.
The President, Congress, and the Talking Heads ignore these lessons of life.
Sacrifice and paying off debts are not in there vocabulary.
The Answer to this Nations Dilema is pulling ourselves up by our proverbial bootstraps and not using credit cards--etc...it's our biggest addiction problem. GUILTY as charged! I cut all of mine up today 09/30/08 at 2:30pm...the withdrawals are beginning to settle in...shake shake twitch twitch. It means purchasing items that I can afford. Want and Need aren't always the same. Even if it means that Debra and I remain in the same home or keep the same car longer.
As a Nation, it may take 7 years of hard work and sacrifice across the board.
Let's play Devils Advocate for a moment. $1,000,000,000,000 divided by 225,000,000 (225 million US Residents 18 yrs and older) equals about: $4500 each.
If Big Brother wants to play Big Bank to everyone and own you....ahh ahh I mean "Help" you--Main Street...then...why not print up some more Federal Reserve Notes and mail them out to all of the US Citizens 18 years and older?
Who cares if the US dollar depreciates in value...it going to anyways after they bail out Wall Street...ahh ahh I mean the banks....ahh ahh I mean Main Street...uggghhhh!
How's this one instead: Americans are Forgiven all past Tax Debt no matter what the amount is great or small and Everyone receives a clean slate...as well as a Free Pass for all of 2008! Do you think this would help "Main Street" as well as "Wall Street"??
What's good enough for Wall Street should be good enough for Main Street...and vice versa.
When a person or entity restructures personal and commercial debt--it is important to eliminate unneccessary expenses. Some families implement a monthly budget and sometimes go to great lengths to pay off debts--ie: Yard Sales etc...
The Federal Govt. is the largest employer in the world...with no end in site.
Beginning 05/01/09 we can Start from Scratch by cutting spending.
Abolish the IRS and implement a National Sales Tax...everyone will begin paying their so-called "fair share" inclulding Illegal aliens and Syndicated Crime who have false ssn numbers. The US citizens who are on "fixed" incomes can show a card giving them a discount for purchases.
Is the National Sales Tax (Fair Tax) perfect? Nothing is...but it has to be better than the thousands of pages of tax codes and inconsistencies. End all "Tax Write-Offs"...no more Tax Filing. April 15th will be declared "American Freedom Day!"
There is plenty more to CUT...but I don't want to upset the millions of people that I send this out to.
Okay...back to work everybody!
--Bill Ogden
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Fallen Czar: Presentation at public comment to Pgh City Council on Sept 10, 2008
Notes: These speaker notes were used on September 10, 2008, for a 3-minute public comment to Pittsburgh's City Council.
My name is Mark Rauterkus.
My family and I live at 108 South 12th Street in the historic South Side of Pittsburgh. My other homes include places on the internet as such as a blog, Rauterkus.blogspot.com and two wikis: Fix PA.wikia.com and A for Athlete . wikia.com. Plus, I've been enjoying "Twitter."
My sons attend Pgh Public Schools and last month they won five gold medals at the Citiparks Swim Meet in Highland Park. We expect to run in the 5K in the Great Race.
I am the elected vice chair of the Allegheny County Libertarian Party.
We are hosting a house concert on Wednesday, September 17, 2008.
Everyone is invited. But, you need to RSVP. Send an email or call.
We've put a new roof on our house and are inviting people to gather with a great singer, songwriter and performer -- Joe Jencks. His song, Come With Me, was utilized in one of my past campaign CDs. He is a splendid performer.
This is a musical and community event, not a political rally.
From past Joe Jencks house concert
I am on the ballot in 2008, but it is for a spot in the Electoral College. But I understand it is poor form to campaign for seats to the Electoral College as it only draws attention to the fact that the popular vote for President of the United States is not that important anyway.
So, at the house concert -- we'll focus on the music and the singing of Joe Jencks.
While in Beijing last month, I heard of some news of a fallen czar.
This story is much less lyrical and musical than what Joe Jencks delivers, but let's share the happenings with the public watching on cable TV.
Those in this chamber are smart and are sure to already know of this czar.
Exotic names and customs span various government: Emperors, Pharaohs, Czars, Dictators, Kings, A revolution brews today in Thailand where they have a king and an Australian author and blogger in jail for 3 lines in a novel that sold 7 copies.
In Canada, our neighbors to the north, the Prime Minister has called for a new election.
Generally, when a czar falls, people flee and go into hiding or exile. When caught, space is put between his head and torso.
Royalty stories and their "press releases" always include family ties and relationships.
This czar and story is different.
The Post-Gazette and fellow Pittsburgh bloggers have covered this saga, not some foreign language correspondent in some distant land.
This czar was promoted twice by a mayor -- our mayor, Luke Ravenstahl.
Mr. Pat Ford was Pittsburgh's Czar for Development. He ruled with an authority.
He is gone now. Just in August, while I was in China.
Pat Ford's fall however is not with blood on the streets. Rather, in Pittsburgh, it is different.
Development czar, Pat Ford, has not worked in many months. He was given a leave -- with pay. Now that he has resigned, he will still be paid for the rest of the year.
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| From planning-urban |
Furthermore, from his place in exile -- Pat Ford was able to release a blistering letter that was unflattering to the present administration. I heard that his letter was cause for an interuption of either a golf outing in San Diego or a convention in Denver.
Frankly, it is nice that he is gone.
I doubt this story is actually gone gone. It won't be swept under the persian rug forever.Rather than dwell on the negative, I like to point out other solutions with better outcomes.
In my humble opinion, it would have been better had Pat Ford been fired. He is still getting paid, to this day, even after his inflammatory outburst.
Why in the blasted name of 'czars' was he promoted to such esteem? Pittsburgh is an American city. Hello. We shouldn't do czars. We don't do czars because we don't cut people's heads off.
Nice: he's gone.
Better: he's fired.
Best: nobody is re-hired. Fire the entire family and family of authorities.
Now is the time to live a long held and cherished dream of mine. Pittsburgh can get rid of all of its authorities.
They are nothing but trouble.
Yesterday's budget amendment in papers to council called for $6-M to the URA.
The stadium authority is giving land to the Steelers, again. This is the Three Rivers Stadium Authority.
The sports and exhibition authority needs to rob the RAD funds as they can't make money.
The airport authority is a bust -- without flights into and out of Pittsburgh and a massive terminal that can't be paid for.
The PORT Authority -- don't get me started.
The Parking Authority with its new building and lighted sign.
I want democracy and accountability.
I don't even want a bike czar.
We biked around Beijing and visited a land of past emperors. It is nice to be home where we have don't have czars.
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