Closing the Circle

For John, BLUF:  In Virginia Horse Country the arrogance of a School Board helped elect Glenn Youngkin as Governor, and Winsome Sears at Lieutenant Governor.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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‘We Righted a Wrong’: Virginia Governor Pardons Father Whose Daughter Was Sexually Assaulted at School

From Natioonal review, by Reporter Ari Blass, 10 September 2023 1:16 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin has pardoned a father, Scott Smith, who was convicted of disorderly conduct for protesting a school-board meeting after his daughter was sexually assaulted by a male wearing a skirt in a girls’ bathroom.

“I spoke with Mr. Smith on Friday, and I had the privilege of telling Mr. Smith that I will pardon him, and we did that on Friday,” Youngkin told Fox News Sunday.  “We righted a wrong.  He should’ve never been prosecuted here.  This was a dad standing up for his daughter.”

Of course he did.  This is closing the circle.  The actions (and inactions) of the Loudoun County School Board helped put Governor Youngkin in office.  The pruported rapist not only committed this crime, but when transferred to a new school, went on to repeat his performnce.

Unless the nomenclature cleans up its act there will be more distrust in institutions, and more office holders displaced.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hearing the Voters

For John, BLUF:  Across the Fruited Plain School Boards (Committees) are being disrespectful toward Parents and other Rate Payers.  The good news is I do not see this arrogance on the part of the Lowell School Committee.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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'Majority Doesn’t Always Dictate':  Fairfax County School Board Ignores 84% Rejection of Gender Ideology

From PJ Media, by Reporter Catherine Salgado, 6 July 2023, 11:33 PM.

Here is the lede plus two:

Democrats pose as the champions of democracy—except when democracy doesn’t go their way.  After 84% of parents in a Virginia county rejected co-ed sex education and gender ideology in schools, the taxpayer-funded school board dismissively announced that “the majority doesn’t always dictate.”

Fairfax County has been a hotspot of crazy LGBTQ ideology and persecution of concerned parents for quite a while now.  Woke or authoritarian nonsense from Fairfax schools includes pushing pornographic books on kids and suspending maskless students despite Virginia’s governor having lifted COVID-19 restrictions.

Despite being paid by taxpayer funds and thus being employees of the district’s parents, the school board has rejected poll results showing that parents in the county overwhelmingly reject gender ideology in schools and combining sex education for boys and girls from fourth grade onwards.

The only poll that counts is during an election.  In this case the Voters of Fairfax County, Virginia (a Washington suburb), have to stand up for themselves and vote the bums out.  Decisively.

As Voters we need to make sure our voices are heard.  Voters voting send a signal to elected officials.  More voters means a stronger signal.  Thus, it is important to encourage your neighbors to vote.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Parents Strike Back

For John, BLUF:  .  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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NY Parents Set to Sic the Law on School Board That Insists on Porn in School

From PJ Media, by Reporter Megan Fox, 26 March 2023, 9:45 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

The school board wars are turning up the temperature on porn-pushing administrators.  In Fairport, N.Y., a group of parents has grown tired of asking for the school board to remove explicit books and materials from their schools.  After months of asking nicely, speaking to the board, writing letters, and other efforts, the Fairport Educational Alliance has filed a claim against the board’s insurance bond.

This type of claim has been tried with forced masking in other parts of the country but has been unsuccessful.  However, parents in Fairport say the major difference between those complaints and this one is that the school district is breaking federal and state laws which are tied directly to the complaint.  This was the major flaw in trying to file insurance claims against schools for masking, as there were no laws on the books preventing them from imposing masks.  There are, however, multiple laws against endangering children and distributing child pornography.

Going through the usual channels to remove the material hasn’t worked, as radical board members simply refuse to remove pornographic and obscene material despite months of petitioning.  But filing a claim against the insurance bond could have expensive consequences if the insurance company investigation finds the board has violated its oath of office and put the insurance company at risk.  The Fairport Educational Alliance believes this action will be successful because it is tied to several violations of state and federal law regarding the protection of children from obscenity and harm.

Schoiol Boards, or School Committees are the fundamental political building block.  From there politics flows, up to the White House.  But, all politics is local, per Tip O'Neil, and it starts at the local level.

It is the duty of Parents, and Grandparents, and interested Citizens, to be informed about what is going on in schools.  From there voting can pick the best peoople to sit on the School Committee.  Our goood future is based on a goood education for our children.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Teachers on Strike

For John, BLUF:  The Democrats, with Joseph Biden as their President, are toying with a game of economic 52 Card Pickup.  It might not end well for them.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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‘Our Fight Is Against Capitalism’ and ‘the Patriarchy,’ Says Union Boss Leading Teachers Strike

Here is the sub-headline:

The teacher strike in Minneapolis shows how prescient FDR was when he warned about the dangers of public sector unions.

From Foundation for Econoomic Education (FEE), by Jon Miltimore, 12 March 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

Minneapolis teachers were striking for a fourth consecutive day Friday on bridges and overpasses throughout the city. Some 4,500 members of the Minneapolis Teachers Federation and Education Support Professionals are demanding more compensation, improved working conditions, and smaller class sizes.

“Our fight is against the patriarchy, our fight is against capitalism, our fight is for the soul of our city,” said Greta Callahan, head of the Minneapolis teachers union.

The article tells us that average teacher saleries are good (Indeed.com, says mean salary is $76,000 pa, 98% above national average), tenure is good, and performance of students, in terms of high school graduation is poor (schools graduate only 74.2% of high school students, state average is 83.8% and national average is 85.3%).

In my humble opinion, this strike is about the revolt of the COVID Moms.  When the Union says it is against the Patriarch it is really against the Matriarchy.  It is K-12 and Mothers are the ones focused on that.  When the Union says it is against Capaitalism it is really saying it is against Charter Schools, Private Schools. Parochial Schools and Home Schooling.  Because the Public Schools are under-performing, these "Capitalist" challengers must be suppressed for the Public Schools to keep their monopolies.

But, I doubt that will be part of the public discussion.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Does Shop Class Help Language Learning?

For John, BLUF:  Don't kids in Middle School take Shop anymore?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Using mechanical tools improves our language skills

From Medical Press, by Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, 11 November 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

Our ability to understand the syntax of complex sentences is one of the most difficult language skills to acquire.  In 2019, research had revealed a correlation between being particularly proficient in tool use and having good syntactic ability.  A new study, by researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon and Université Lumière Lyon in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, has now shown that both skills rely on the same neurological resources, which are located in the same brain region.  Furthermore, motor training using a tool improves our ability to understand the syntax of complex sentences and—vice-versa—syntactic training improves our proficiency in using tools.  These findings could be applied clinically to support the rehabilitation of patients having lost some of their language skills.  This study is published in November 2021 in the journal Science.

Language has long been considered a very complex skill, mobilizing specific brain networks.  However, in recent years, scientists have revisited this idea.

Research suggests that brain areas, which control certain linguistic functions, such as the processing of word meanings, are also involved in controlling fine motor skills.  However, brain imaging had not provided evidence of such links between language and the use of tools.  Paleo-neurobiology has also shown that the brain regions associated with language had increased in our ancestors during periods of technological boom, when the use of tools became more widespread.

When considering this data, research teams couldn't help wondering: what if the use of certain tools, which involves complex movements, relies on the same brain resources as those mobilized in complex linguistic functions such as syntax?

I am hoping that the Lowell School Committee can illuminate the answear to this question.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Policing School Committee Meetings

For John, BLUF:  It appeaars that the Biden Administration, for some reason, has decided the back the hand, with Federal power, of petty tyrants running local school committees.  Not everywhere, and not even most places, but too many places.  This is a mistake.  If we strangle democracy at the lowest level, what happens about that?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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School board meetings show only that freedom is messy

From The Wshington Exminer, by Reporter Salena Zito, 10 October 2021, 12:01 AM.

Here is the lede plus three:

Eighty years ago, dairy farmer Jim Edgerton stood up at a town hall meeting in his hometown of Arlington, Vermont, to voice his disagreement with the town councilors’ decision to build a new school.  Edgerton was the only person at the meeting or in town who objected to the proposed building.

His opposition was mostly unremarkable, but he held his ground nonetheless.  No one would have known about it had not Norman Rockwell, a newcomer in town, been there.

As he watched Edgerton exercise his freedom of speech, the famous illustrator of Americana could not stop thinking about the State of the Union address President Franklin D. Roosevelt had delivered on Jan. 6, 1941, in which he warned that the values and liberties the public took for granted were under attack.  Rockwell would go on to illustrate that moment, making Roosevelt’s words relatable by depicting them in use in small-town America.

It is inconceivable that the federal government today wants to squash that freedom through vague rules and intimidation.  Garland seems to be making the calculation that the Jim Edgertons of this world will cower under the concern the government is watching them.

Wikipedia says it is in the public domain.

The local School Board or School Committee is the first rung of Democracy.  This last week, in Chicago, 98 people were shot and 10 died.  This is pretty normal.  Shouldn't the FBI be out there trying to save Black Lives in Chicago, rather than doing the work of the local police in policing School Committee meetings across the Fruited Plain?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Interests of the Voters

For John, BLUF:  I think one of the consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic handling will be that the Common Man may be unhappy with the way local government has handled the situation.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Unlawful assembly?  Arrests in Northern Virginia school board meeting after parents erupt over CRT

From Hot Air, by Blogger Ed Morrissey, 23 June 2021, 8:21 AM ET.

Here are the exceprts at The InstaPundit:

How does a public comment period at a school board turn into an unlawful assembly, and then into an ugly scrum?  The Loudoun County school board apparently got tired of getting lectured over critical race theory by angry parents, who already were upset over the suspension of a teacher from a previous public-comment session.  The school superintendent suddenly declared the meeting closed and told police to start arresting people who refused to leave, and … we have this great moment in woke representative government. . . .  Bear in mind that this took place at a public comment session — whose explicit purpose is to hear points of view from the community on proposed regulation and policy.

Plus

In that sense, it’s not even about critical race theory or transgender pronouns.  This conflict is about the definition of representative governance in local school systems, the First Amendment, and abuses of authority.  Its eventual resolution will show whether accountability actually exists for politicians in Northern Virginia, and perhaps in many other places as well.  Speaking of which, accountability takes more than one form.

While the Democrats in Congress are thinking about "Court Packing" the Common People are thinking about voting out the autocrats on local school boards.  I wonder if that kind of thing could ripple up the levels of elected office all the way to the Halls of Congresss?

Local elections tend not to pull many voters, but if the people are aroused that little bit of wisdom might be found to be wrong.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Be Fully Sensitive

For John, BLUF:  A fundamental question we should ask is why people come to this Country, and then we should ask how we can make that rewarding for them, keeping in mind that they have, de facto, rejected their previous culture.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Lowell School Committee hears plans for culturally and linguistically sustaining practices

Here is the sub-headline:

Member Mike Dillon blasts as “Marxist”

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Reporter Alana Melanson, 5 May 2021, 10:31 PM.

Here is the core of the issue, the Slide Presentation by Chief Equity & Engagement Officer Latifah Phillips.  Is it about helping students or is it part of an effort to implement teaching based on some form of Critical Race Theory.

I, personnally, am sensitive to School Committee Member Mike Dillon's point about a "Marxist" orientation.  In parts of this nation that debate is playing out, often with the local School Board being pitted against the Voters.  Such is the case in Loudoun County, Virginia, where the School Board is up in arms about the voters.♠  In municipal elections in Southlake, Texas, with issues regarding Critical Race Theory, the vote went anti-CRT by roughly 70 to 30 percent, and turnout ballooned to almost three times the normal rate.

Yes, we need to be aware of the ghost of Antonio Gramsci, but we also have to be aware of the need to educate our students and help their parents prepare them for adulthood.

To that extent we need to look at how the Lowell Public School Department is implementing its program of Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices (CLSP).

Because our students come from a number of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds it is important that we understand how those cultural and linguistic factors impact our students and their ability to learn.

For example, a recent study found that minority teaching assistants in STEM subjects reduces course drop rates and increases course completion rates among minority students.  That should be an important sign that we need to pay attention to cultural and linguistic issues as we set about teaching our students.

At the same time, we should be careful not to replicate, for immigrants, their previous cultures or linguistic settings if the parents are not interested in that kind of accommodation.

People emigrate for a reason and that reason is often disatisfaction.  In turn, they immigrate to the United States for a reason.  It may be as simple as this is where the Coyotes dumbed them.  Perhaps this is the only Country that would accept them.  They are here not by choice, but by happenstance, and that is sad.

However, many people immigrate to the United States for a reason:

• They come because the territory represents a richness of natural resources, set for exploration and exploitation,
• They come because there is a rich jobs market and they wish to take advantge of that market to land a job and earn a living.
• They come because they have some sense that the the People and the Government offer a relatively free envoironment for thought and religious practice.

The second two sets of immigrants may not wish to see their children educated in ways that are reminiscent of the parents old culture.  They may be chary of their children developing a yearning for "the old ways", the "old sod".

Some descretion is required in application.  But, we must be trying to find ways to make the educational experience highly productive for all our students.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Loudoun County reminds me of East German Poet Bertolt Brecht and his satirical poem "Die Lösung" (The Solution).

School Boards Are Hot

For John, BLUF:  School Committees are findinding that the voters who elected them are a bit more restless than normal.  No doubt COVID-19 and accompanying school closures are a part of it.  However, another part is the use of wokeness to explain performance problems and develop paths for improvement  It may be worse if it appears to parents (some parents) that versions of Critical Race Theory are being imported into the local school system.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Asian parent calls out Va. school board over wokeness in powerful speech — gets told to sit down

From The Blaze, by Reporter Breck Dumas, 7 May 2021.

Here is the lede:

Former Wall Street Journal writer and Asian American immigrant Asra Nomani delivered a moving speech before the Virginia school board overseeing her son's education, lambasting officials for their "anti-racism" propaganda push before she was cut off and told:  "Go to your seat."

Unlike most other years, i am seeing a lot of anti-School Board animus this year.  The hotbed may be Loudoun County, Virginia, but it is showing up across the Fruited Plain.  (Northern California, Rochester, Palo Alto, Vail, AZ, Pheonix.)  Some of it is directed toward School Committees going "woke".  However, I expect, some is a result of resentment against teachers and their unions, who won't follow the sciece with regard to COVID-19.

In this case it is wokeness.  I loved this part:

But then a buzzer rang, signifying that Nomani's speaking time was up.  An official immediately began telling Nomani that her "time has expired," and repeatedly calling for the "next speaker" before ultimately telling the mother:  "Please, go to your seat."

In sharing the video of her speech on social media, Nomani tweeted, "I spoke from my heart to the @fcpsnews school board.  Watch board chair Ricardy Anderson rage at me.  Didn't she get the memo that watching the clock is 'white supremacy'?  She reveals the board's true anti-Asian animus.  @ricardy4Mason, YOUR time has expired."

My understanding, from Public School Civics, is that School Committees represent the voters and the interests of the voters with regard to Public Education.  It appears, to use a US Department of State expression, some School Committee members have "gone native".  They now represent the interests of the educators against those of the parents.  Frankly, there is a lot to be said for the professionalism and dedication of the School Staff in sum.  However, the School Committee that makes its allegience too obvious risks being voted out next term, unless the schools are suddenly very high performing.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Critical Race Theory Questoned

For John, BLUF:  Why is this of interest, why it is of importance, at least here in Lowell, is the question of if our new School District program, "Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices" is a form of Critical Race Theory.  So what is Critical Race Theory (CRT)?  This is about one view.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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What critical race theory is really about

From The New York Post, by Investigative Journalist Christopher F. Rufo, 6 May 2021, 7:25pm.

Here is the lede plus two:

Critical race theory is fast becoming America’s new institutional orthodoxy.  Yet most Americans have never heard of it — and of those who have, many don’t understand it.  This must change. We need to know what it is so we can know how to fight it.

To explain critical race theory, it helps to begin with a brief history of Marxism.

Originally, the Marxist left built its political program on the theory of class conflict.  Karl Marx believed that the primary characteristic of industrial societies was the imbalance of power between capitalists and workers.  The solution to that imbalance, according to Marx, was revolution:  The workers would eventually gain consciousness of their plight, seize the means of production, overthrow the capitalist class and usher in a new socialist society.

It didn't happen that way.  What resulted was, generally, misery.  Over 100 million died as a result of really smart people trying to overcome economics and stear nations toward controlled economies.

This article is by Investigative Journalist Christopher F. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.  It was adapted by The New York Post with permission of City Journal.

In summary,

No longer simply an academic matter, critical race theory has become a tool of political power.  To borrow a phrase from the Marxist theoretician Antonio Gramsci, it is fast achieving cultural hegemony in America’s public institutions.

Part of the issue is how one understands "equity".  We tend to think of it in legal and financial terms.  However, the Critical Race Theoriests have a different understanding.  Since the Marxist class based approach didn't work, CRT would offer a different, more obvious classification, with enforcement:

An equity-based form of government would mean the end not only of private property but also of individual rights, equality under the law, federalism and freedom of speech.  These would be replaced by race-based redistribution of wealth, group-based rights, active discrimination and omnipotent bureaucratic authority.

On the one hand, we should all wish that everyone gets their fair share.  On the other hand, it has been American tradition that one earns what one gets.  And to an ever-expanding degree, the number of people with a fair share of the pie has been expanding.  As it should be.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Reaching All Students

For John, BLUF:  The Lowell School Department is under pressure to help students do better.  Thus new lines of pedagogical improvement are being sought.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Lowell School Committee hears plans for culturally and linguistically sustaining practices

Here is the sub-headline:

Member Mike Dillon blasts as “Marxist”

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Reporter Alana Melanson (amelanson@lowellsun.com), 5 May 2021, 10:43 p.m.

Here is the lede plus three:

Lowell Public Schools have been working on a plan to unify and strengthen culturally and linguistically sustaining practices (CLSP) within the district, but some of the components may be a tough hurdle for some school officials.

Committee member Mike Dillon blasted the efforts as “Marxist” and not having enough “diversity of thought or politics.”

Chief Equity & Engagement Officer Latifah Phillips presented the plans to the School Committee Wednesday night, which include a proposal to hire a CLSP coordinator at an estimated $100,000 salary in the next school year to support the initiatives.

In outlining the three-step process of building a CLSP continuum, Phillips said it starts with understanding one’s own culture, lens of viewing of world and personal biases.  Next comes trust and relationship building, followed by developing cultural proficiency and practices that empower students, she said.

It appears that Lowell School Committee Member Mike Dillon thinks CLSP is the thin edge of the wedge of Critical Race Theory (CRT).  (See him talk at this link https://youtu.be/Cz_S1fQkQlg)  He is asking as to if CLSP is a neo-Marxist attempt to replace class consciousness and conflict with racial consciousness and conflict, with an end goal of replacing capitalism (and democracy) with a government controlled economy.

I expect that this will be resolved by discussions at the sub-committee level and by reassuring interactions between School Committee Members and School Staff.

There should be no doubt that there are disparities for students along racial lines.  The above linked Slide Presentation shows that.  But, it appears there are also issues within racial groups, which suggests there are cultural differences within racial and ethnic groups.  These need to be addressed and resolved.  Perhaps CLSP is the answer.  On the other hand, Critical Race Theory only promises misery.  It brings Venezuela on its wings.

Regards  —  Cliff

Messy Finish

For John, BLUF:  Tonight was the second meeting of the Election Commission on the [anonymous] accusation that Mr Dominik Lay does not live in Lowell  I blogged about the first meeting here.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Hearing to Determine Residence
of
Mr Dominik Hok Y Lay

From Lowell Comcast Channel 99, at 1700. A Zoom call

The situation is that Mr Robert Hoey resigned from the Lowell School Committee over a racist remark uttered while on the City Life Show.  It was an anti-Semitic slur.

The meeting was quick, with some quibbling between the lawyers over the late provision of information.  The Election Commission voted to allow the late admission of material.

Then the Commissioners had a chance to ask questions.  Only Commissioner James Pope asked questions and they centered on how many days a week Mr Lay was in his home each week.  The line of questioning was rejected by Mr Lay's Attorney, Mr Milliard.

Then we got to the Motion.  Mr Pope moved that Mr Lay was not a Lowell Resident.  Ms Bev Anthes abstained, but was bullied into seconding the Motion.  The vote was one for the motion and one abstention, with the Chairwoman not voting, as she was the chair and it was deemed not a tie.

Mr Lay is out, unless there is an appeal and he wins.

One wag has suggested to me that since there were questions raised after the 2017 election, and ignored, perhaps the person to fleet up should be Mr Dennis R Mercier from the 2017 election.  He is the one who would have fleeted up if Mr Lay had been ruled uneligible at the time.  Interesting thinking.

Regards  —  Cliff

Harvarded

For John, BLUF:  At this moment in time, when we should be focused on School Reopenings, we are dealing with someone saying something stupid, out loud and then on that person's replacement.  What should have been easy was complicated by someone bringing up what appears to be a personal issue.  "Harvarded"?♠.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Hearing to Determine Residence
of
Mr Dominik Hok Y Lay

From Lowell Comcast Channel 99, at 1700.  A Zoom call

The situation is that Mr Robert Hoey resigned from the Lowell School Committee over a racist remark uttered while on the City Life Show.  It was an anti-Semitic slur.♥

Who will replace Mr Hoey?  Next in line is Candidate Dominik Lay.  However, someone, anonymously,♦ opined to the City Government that Mr Lay does not live in Lowell, but lives down in Boston. If Mr Lay is dismissed as a Canidate (as of Election Day in November 2019), then the Seat on the School Committee falls to the next person in line, in this case, Mr Ben Opara.  If he declines or is disqualified, then it would go to the next in line, as per the table below.

CANDIDATE NAME	VOTES	PERCENT
Michael Dillon, Jr	4296	11.12%
Jacqueline Doherty	4105	10.63%
Andre P Descoteaux	4095	10.60%
Robert J Hoey, Jr	4057	10.51%
Connie A Martin	3768	9.76%
Hilary Mae Clark	3747	9.70%
Dominik Hok Y Lay	3645	9.44%
Benjamin T Opara	3388	8.77%
James A Peters	2779	7.20%
Gerry Nutter	2451	6.35%
S O’Connor Barboza	2236	5.70%

This imbrogio started slowly, but picked up speed this week.  Thus there was a lot of material to review.  After almost an hour of the hearing it was adjourned until 5:00 PM on Thursday, giving time for the submission of more information.

I think it is still an open issue as to how the Election Commission will decide.♣

UPDATE:  Updated the spelling of Mr Lay's Attorney's last name.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  My Wife's assessment, based on Harvard University's apparent prejudice against Asian-Americans.  Perhaps the Supreme Court will sort it out.
♥  As my Wife suggested to me, it is likely Mr Hoey was searching for a name, couldn't find it, and blurted out a term from his youth used to describe a Jewish person.  Not done as an effort to denigrate someone, but by accident, to identify them.  Still, an incident that deserves notice and some action.
♦  Mr Lay's Lawyer, Mr Milliard, brought up the issue of an annymous accusation, but the City's Lawyer, Ms Christine O'Conner dismissed it out of hand.
♣  From the webpage it looks like the web page needs to be updated or the Commissions for the Commissioners need to be renewed.

Your School Has a Bad Name

For John, BLUF:  I think it wasn't until Ninth Grade that I was in a named school (Bancroft.  For a while the woman two doors down from us on Mansur, in her youth, had been a Bancroft student).  History is to be learned from and erasing history erases learning.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The revolution devours all before it

From The Washington Examiner, by Columnist Byron York, 27 January 2021, 08:57 AM.

Here is the lede plus three:

The latest enactment of that old truth happened Tuesday night in, of all places, a Zoom meeting of the San Francisco School Board.  In that meeting, members voted to strip the names of American historical figures -- George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and even California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein -- from schools in San Francisco.

What began in recent years as a call to remove the names of Confederate leaders from schools, roads, and military bases, and then to tear down Confederate statues, has now moved on to target all of American history.

The San Francisco Board created a School Names Advisory Committee in May 2018.  Members passed a resolution committing the board to "changing the names of schools named for historical figures who engaged in the subjugation and enslavement of human beings; or who oppressed women, inhibiting societal progress; or whose actions led to genocide; or who otherwise significantly diminished the opportunities of those amongst us to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The last phrase, targeting anyone who had "diminished the opportunities" of anyone else, was a catch-all that would allow the School Board to go after virtually any name it chose.  And indeed, on Tuesday night, the Board voted to change 44 school names.

Not only did they tag George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but also Paul Revere♠ and sitting US Senator from California, Diane Feinstein.

Of course the San Francisco School Board hasn't yet found a way to reopen those schools, but at least there will be name changes.

Frankly, this action would cause me to run for the School Board in the next election.  Schools being closed for COVID-19.  Schools not meeting the needs to the students.  What is there not to run against?

One hopes that at some point the People will rise up and throw the bums out.  Rise up in the classic, "go to the polls", sense.  Or maybe there will be the formation of a new political party.  Call it the Grizzley Bear Party.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Can Patriots' Day be far behind?

Are We Doing Education Right?

For John, BLUF:  We need to rethink education and we need to go down range and think back to high school and before.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

"From elementary school through college, girls are more disciplined about their schoolwork than boys; they study harder and get better grades."

From the Blog of Professor Ann Althouse, today, 8 February 2019.

Here is Professor Althouse's lift from an Old Gray Lady article, "Why Girls Beat Boys at School and Lose to Them at the Office/Hard work and discipline help girls outperform boys in class, but that advantage disappears in the work force.  Is school the problem?" by the clinical psychologist Lisa Lamour (That is one long title.):

"Girls consistently outperform boys academically.  And yet, men nonetheless hold a staggering 95 percent of the top positions in the largest public companies.  What if those same habits that propel girls to the top of their class — their hyper-conscientiousness about schoolwork — also hold them back in the work force?...  So how do we get hyper-conscientious girls (and boys, as there certainly are some with the same style) to build both confidence and competence at school?...  Th[e] experience — of succeeding in school while exerting minimal or moderate effort — is a potentially crucial one.  It may help our sons develop confidence, as they see how much they can accomplish simply by counting on their wits.  For them, school serves as a test track, where they build their belief in their abilities and grow increasingly at ease relying on them.  Our daughters, on the other hand, may miss the chance to gain confidence in their abilities if they always count on intellectual elbow grease alone."

Professor Althouse calls attention to her tag "Scrupulosity", which she says is the downside of conscientiousness.  I think of scrupulosity as being an almost psychotic concern for not sinning.  But that may be something peculiar to certain religious traditions.

So, does school set females up for failure?  We need to ask if there is any basis for that thought.  Or, are we fishing in the wrong pond?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

School Superintendent

For John, BLUF:  Minutes from the Executive Session would be good.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Board goes dark in quest to keep acting superintendent

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Ms Elizabeth Dobbins, edobbins@lowellsun.com), 6 February 2019

Here is the lede plus two:

Will she stay or will she go?

Two weeks after Acting Superintendent Jeannine Durkin told the Lowell School Committee she would not apply for the permanent superintendent position, four of the seven School Committee members said they were interested in negotiating a contract to keep her in the district.

In a 4-2 vote, the School Committee approved a motion to enter into executive session Wednesday night to discuss the contracts with Durkin and the district's Interim Chief Financial Officer Billie Jo Turner.

Enough with "Acting" Superintendent.  Either Jeannine Dorkin is good enough or they need someone new ASAP.  (Hint:  She is more than good enough!)

Regards  —  Cliff

A Better Education

For John, BLUF:  Radical improvement may require radical change.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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How New Orleans Is Helping Its Students Succeed

Here is the sub-headline:

The New Orleans turnaround shows the power of giving more freedom to teachers and principals — and then holding them accountable for their performance.

From The Old Gray Lady, by Opinion Columnist David Leonhardt, 15 July 2018.

For those who noted the dateline, I am cleaning up older stories I valued. Here are two key paragraphs:

After Katrina’s devastation, New Orleans embarked on the most ambitious education overhaul in modern America.  The state of Louisiana took over the system in 2005, abolished the old bureaucracy and closed nearly every school.  Rather than running schools itself, the state became an overseer, hiring independent operators of public schools — that is, charter schools — and tracking their performance.

This month, the New Orleans overhaul entered a new stage.  On July 1, the state returned control of all schools to the city.  The charter schools remain.  But a locally elected school board, accountable to the city’s residents, is now in charge.  It’s a time when people in New Orleans are reflecting on what the overhaul has, and has not, accomplished.

Based on the article I wonder if the question is, are our Lowell Public Schools at the point where the criteria for our next School Superintendent should include the willingness to decentralize our system to an almost charter school like character?

Regards  —  Cliff

Break the Current Model and Free the Children

For John, BLUF:  It looks possible we will lose another School Superintendent.  It would be nice if the School Committee reached deep and hired someone with new ideas, someone to boost our MCAS Scores snd graduation rates and to help with our Vocational Education deficit.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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School and its Discontents

From , by Mr Eric Anglada.  This Article was in the January-February 2014 Issue of The Catholic Worker (Vol LXXXI, No 1), page 7.  Attribution should be give to The Catholic Worker.

Here is the lede plus five:

In the spring of 1971, Dorothy Day refused an invitation to receive an honorary degree from the Catholic University in Washington, DC.  “The Catholic Worker,” she wrote, “stands in a particular way...for people who need some other kind of schooling than that afforded by universities and colleges of our industrial capitalist system.”  She added that the Catholic Worker is trying to “stimulate the young to study ways by which they can change the social and educational system nonviolently.”

In that spirit, as part of our ongoing work at New Hope Catholic Worker Farm, in what Peter Maurin liked to call an “agronomic university,” we hosted more than thirty people last September for a four-day workshop on alternative education.  We sought to clarify our thoughts and practices in relation to the world of school, education, and learning.  From unschooled children, to frustrated grad students, to parents exploring alternative education models for their children, to avid lifelong learners, our workshop contained a wide array of backgrounds and experiences.  Thus we began our seminar by reflecting on our own experience of education, asking ourselves two basic questions:  What has worked?  What has not?

Recalling our time in both compulsory schooling and university life, we cited several things that worked:  occasionally inspiring teachers, exposure to great literature, social life, resources that big educational institutions afforded and extracurricular activities such as sports and theater.

As discussions continued, however, we found that the drawbacks of school outweighed the benefits.  Competition and compulsion made for an inhospitable context for authentic learning.  Drab, artificial environments, with uncomfortable desks lined up in rows—the atmosphere the elite once envisioned, we later learned—created a stale place for study.  The vast amount of transportation involved in centralized schooling uses an enormous amount of resources.  Debt has forced many young people into a de facto life of servility.  And tragically, standardized testing encourages a narrow focus on language and mathematics, at the cost of learning practical skills, studying critical history and theory, or exploring the spiritual life.

In order to better understand our education experiences, we read and discussed the history of school. We relied heavily on the valuable work of John Taylor Gatto, a public school educator for thirty years, well known for publically resigning from his job in the pages of the Wall Street Journal (“I Quit, I Think”).  His An Underground History of Education provides hugely important insights into the history and nature of schooling.

While education, as Gatto points out, has been centered on the home and the community for most of human history, compulsory schooling—six classes a day, five days a week, nine months out of the year—is a recent phenomenon.  Originally an idea of Plato, it wasn’t until centuries later, in 1819, that compulsory education was first signed into law, in Prussia.  Prussia’s system inculcated values like obedience and lent itself to social stratification and uniformity in thought.  School proved to be a perfect transition for children to go on to work in the military or the mines.  Such a bold program of schooling did not go unnoticed.  In the US, intellectuals like Horace Mann became fascinated with Prussia’s educational system, seeing school as the perfect way to create a disciplined, ordered citizenry.  In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to follow in Prussia’s path. Notably, the literacy rate has never been higher in Massachusetts than it was in 1850—before compulsory schooling was instituted.

Remember that Apple Ad, with the woman running into a room with a large hammer and throwing it into a monitor.  Yes, break the mold and the hold.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hitting A Square Corner on Wednesday

For John, BLUF:  This is not good.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Motion seeks Lowell school superintendent's firing

From The [Lowell] Sun, by Reporter Rick Sobey, rsobey@lowellsun.com, 14 July 2018.

Here are the second through fifth paragraphs of the story:

A motion on Wednesday's School Committee agenda, filed by members Jackie Doherty and Connie Martin, would terminate his contract "for good cause."

They also submitted a joint motion to place Khelfaoui on paid administrative leave.

The third and final joint motion dealing with the superintendent position would appoint Assistant Superintendent Jeannine Durkin as acting superintendent.

Ending his contract would require four votes on the seven-member committee. School Committee member Gerry Nutter would be the third vote. Mayor Bill Samaras, who has generally supported Khelfaoui, could be the crucial swing vote.

This does not look like it will end well.  Even if there is not a vote to oust Dr Salah Khelfaoui it will be notice that a strong minority of the School Committee doesn't like him and has him on notice.  The Superintendent, in turn, will have an eye on a good exit strategy.

In the mean time, I have not heard anyone talk about the critical issues, which are:

1. Upping MCAS Scores
2. Increasing Graduation Rates
3. Finding a way (or ways) to provide vocational education for those wanting it but not going to Greater Lowell Technical High School, and,
4. Seeing if there is a more effective approach to education than the nearly 200 year old system, developed for a different time.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Bus Contract

For John, BLUF:  This Special Education bus contract imbroglio does not seem perfectly clear and straight forward.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Lowell board delays decision on special-ed transportation pact

That would be the Lowell School Committee.

This article is from The [Lowell] Sun, by Reporter Todd Feathers (tfeathers@lowellsun.com), 10 November 2017.

Here is the lede plus two:

After weeks of deliberation and a lengthy executive session on Thursday, the School Committee voted 5-1 to delay making a decision on the district's special-education transportation contract.

The committee has been considering terminating the current contract with SP&R Transportation after a 5-year-old boy was left on a bus for five hours earlier this year.&Nbsp; School administrators have been in talks with Pridestar EMS to take over the contract, and the company presented a detailed proposal on Thursday.

But after an executive session, the committee reconvened and with no discussion voted to table the issue until Nov. 15.

This leaves me with three questions:

1. If the Contract Incumbent is in breach of contract (incompetent), why have they not been terminated?
2. Does the School Committee, or the School Administration have contracting authority?
3. Shouldn't the issuing of a new contract require free and open competition between all qualified parties, with the award going to the lowest responsible bidder?

Regards  —  Cliff