IT IS THE "DIFFERENTIATION" OF EDU-DOLLARS - EXPECTED BUDGET CUTS SLASH INTO MAINFRAME OF THE MDUSD

I guess I am more amazed at the throngs lining up to implore the board not to cut one thing or another, as though the board had any power left over what to cut. At this point it comes to dollars; how to split a wafer thin amount of funding into several thousand pieces. Were this a lesson in a classroom, some smart ass edu-theorist would label it "differentiation" one of the edu buzz words that have come to symbolize part of the insanity known as education. For those prone to argue with me on this point, let us be clear that education and learning are two distinctly separate entities, a fact that even Einstein agreed with. So to watch the podcast (thank you Paul, and sorry, I could not bring myself to sit in a packed room and listen to more of the last few years worth of stuff) as the cuts were being made, I am reminded that to every great story there are three acts; a beginning, a middle and an end. The ending of a cycle, historically, involves either an abrupt end, as in losing a battle, or a slow decay of elements until there is nothing left to support the basic framework. In most cases this is a terrible thing. I believe we were watching an ending. Education has devolved. As much as great strides in applying psycho-babble theories and labels have saturated the practice of education from the time the politicians found it an easy mark to affect voters, it has, in its present form become an over bloated vessel of inefficiency that despite continually adding new requirements, standards, testing, textbooks, has resulted in worship of a faulty assessment and no decrease in the percentage of high school dropouts, now slated at 32% (20.1% + 11.8% - see chart), nor a decrease in the number of college freshman requiring remedial instruction, now slated at 25%. Worse, it has festered poor behavior into a standard of its own, uninspired so many young people who might otherwise have challenged themselves and displayed a terrible example in the lack of accountability of those students and their parents. To see that the fiscal incompetence of the state coupled with over bearing bureaucracies within education has resulted in a catastrophic failure in the ability of this and other school districts to sustain the framework imposed, gives me hope that perhaps something good will come out of the rubble in the form of a rebirth of education priorities and goals. The MDUSD's $30 million in cuts included removing the class size reductions for K-3 and 9th grade, ending 5th grade music, library etc. It looks like 135 teachers will be gone. So far no schools were lost, however I am sure that will be coming soon as additional cuts will be required. Trustee Gary Eberhart's suggestion of the relocation of textbook money is a good one, and frankly all the special allocation funding needs to be terminated at this point. With no options, it should all be general fund money, although I know lawyers will have years of fun (and business) getting that changed. In Sacramento, former actor, governor S used some bumper sticker sound bites this morning with "Our wallet is empty and our bank is closed."  Apparently our senses have been repossessed as well.  I'm not sure what kind of puerile drivel he is being fed, but his full frontal assault on the $24 billion budget mess, which by the way needs resolution by July 29 or the state bank balance will be at zero - again, is nothing more than staging for another action movie. Of course he urges that no further cuts should be made to education.  I'm not sure what is left to cut, but watch him come up with additional monies needed to be found. If you want solutions fire everyone involved in allowing this mess to begin. Urge voters to recall every politician who had a hand in this. This is more than a failure of education; it is a failure of leadership at a time when leadership needs to be above reproach. The structure of education should be a model of simplicity. While receiving a public education is a right for every American (and anyone getting over the border and birthing in this country) it does not imply that education must be in a particular mold.  This obsessive desire to homogenize education, while noble, is misguided. Humanity never operates on a level playing field. Not all students should get an academic education; many children have no aptitude for theoretical concepts and should be given every skill needed to secure gainful employment rather than enduring years of studies where they feel left behind. This is not an insult to anyone. I wish I could be a brain surgeon but frankly I do not have that aptitude. That's life. Deal with it. The goal of education is not to make you feel good. You may have the right to a "free" education but you are expected to work your ass off getting it. It is time for us, the people of this country, to take back education from the bureaucrats and the politicians. We do not need over bloated central hubs running our schools. Schools can be self-sustaining; they are almost doing it now except for the district and county oversight which many can and do argue to be worthless interference that siphons funding for administration rather than classrooms. Teachers should be evaluated based on the application of instruction and those not capable or substandard should be removed. I am all for merit pay once the classroom setting is changed to afford the opportunity for growth - which means the behavior problems need to be excised. I believe the teacher union is not a benefit to the teachers; over the past decade virtually all the union business has revolved around contract negotiations which at best have been marginal. For the dues paid, teachers deserve much more.  Teachers do need training to be their own advocates. Teachers are by and large not proficient in negotiation or conflict management, a condition worsened at the MDUSD in my opinion under the former leadership through administrative control and intimidations as well as a lack of decent union representation. So now what? Another attempt at a parcel tax? An athletic foundation trying to raise monies for high school athletics to return, along with a family sport fee of $300 or so per sport?  The state wants the school year shortened to balance its budget. Already the district has lost summer school programs except for those seniors in danger of not graduating on time. I am waiting for virtual classrooms to be set up for the "gifted" students where one teacher can have an online class of 90 kids.  I do believe that the MDUSD board of education is acting to the best of its ability given what little is has to work with. To have to sit through fifty speakers knowing that each person had valid concerns, and yet be unable to do anything but wait through it before pulling out the axe, must have been a rough evening for them.  While I have differing views of a future that does not involve a district, please do not mistake that for an animosity toward them; it is not. I do believe that while we have the system we have that these board members, certainly the majority team, are best suited for the tasks. If there is magic to be had I wish them the very best. And where I can report on their plans in the hope of success, I will continue to do so. I am, however, looking ahead at what Shakespeare called "The undiscovered country," the future that has yet to be written. It does not take much foresight to see how many changes are needed, how complicated the system has become to its own detriment.  We have the potential for a great system of education, just as we have the opportunity to be a country that develops the future rather than struggling to catch up with it. This is a challenge and will continue to be so. With a week left until the end of what has been a turbulent school year, it is truly time to look at all the possibilities for the future and to start those discussions so that changes can begin. What we leave behind will only depress us. MisterWriter