In this data-frenzied budget crunching time, we only hear the problems in getting funding. After our long election year trying to get change at the MDUSD, I am reminded, once again, of the issue of staff morale on sites due to a misplaced principal or an administrator who should not have the role at all.
A recent study from the Teachers College Record suggests that ...
I made this little video after driving around town yesterday. See if you agree with my perceptions...
Have a good weekend.
MisterWriter
At the 1/27 board meeting, turnabout 
happened as the superintendent's recommendations on cutting six VP's was vetoed and instead six directors/assistant directors within the administration were put on the potential cut list that and also Sue Berg, the superintendent's communication specialist. McHenry was instructed to return with a priority list of 6 cuts out of 16 positions by the Feb 10 meeting, although Berg's position was cut (at the end of this school year) separately with a 3/2 vote.
Read the CCT article HERE. Apparently the superintendent was not happy, judging by his comments. Was this retaliation? Or was this the start of what will be an ugly budget cutting process?
McHenry said: "It's really difficult to stay motivated to do a job when it just doesn't seem like the board is going to support what you're going to do," he said. "I just think that what is happening here is wrong. I do think that it's somewhat vindictive and retaliatory and I'm going to see what action I can take to address it in whatever form is appropriate."
You decide.Click the pic for the article. Or click HERE to relive the whole thing at MDUSD Blog.
Despite the revel in a new presidency, the specter of an increased military conflict in Afghanistan certainly detracts from the optimism that we have felt recently. The Obama administration is considering double the U.S. force in Afghanistan to more than 60,000 troops within 18 months.
I spotted this on Brittney Gilbert's Eye on Blogs, off Craigslist and thought it worth a share... here is a family who are victims of job loss, a home one day and homeless the next. Read their post beneath the image below. If you can help the address posted on the top should be good for about 10 days until Craigslist erases it.
"Two years ago, he was a Chevron fraud agent, paying off a student loan and working toward a teaching credential, he said. The company laid him off and they soon burned through their savings, then lost their Antioch apartment. They wound up in their Mitsubishi Gallant — the couple in front, their two young children sleeping in back. They swapped cans for cash and lay half-awake at night, he said. Police would point them to safer spots...For A.B., his wife and their children, sleeping in their car and now searching for hope from a shelter has lent new meaning to the nuclear family, he said." (see the bottom for the link to the full story)
I am looking for a place for my family, which is comprised of me, my wife, our two kids: Son, 8, and Daughter, 4. We were both laid off from our jobs, tried to stay above water, and fell underneath, a common path for so many today.
We are now starting to get back on our feet again. Our credit is bad; we have had an eviction from our last place. The savings was depleted as we tried to stay afloat. We just need a break. If you are a landlord, private renter, etc.....that has a place to rent around $800, and is willing to give my family and I a chance, please email the link above.
And if you wondered, yes, I am the one who was interviewed in the Contra Costa Times about homeless families, I am AB, that should be enough to tell you about my situation, if not, please read the article for clarity. Thank you.
PostingID: 1010312637
You can read the Contra Costa Times piece HERE.
The new issue of The Concordian is available online... the print issue will be in homes 1/28. Click the cover below for the current issue... 
Part 2:
“Teachers are having to do more with less,” Lancaster said. “We are expected to achieve a certain level and under No Child Left Behind, that level keeps going up.”
In addition, Lancaster believes that teachers are unable to differentiate the needs of the students in their classes. “In my class, I have four or five English language learners, three to five special education needs students and ...
At a January 21st panel discussion on the subject of education funding and the issues at hand, speakers Paul Strange, Gary Eberhart, both of the MDUSD Board of Education, along with Assembly member Tom Torlakson’s District Director, Craig Cheslog, and Walnut Creek Intermediate teacher, Kandi Lancaster, tackled perspective viewpoints on why we are where we are and what we can do about it. It was an informative and depressingly interesting tale about what I call Armageducation – a disintegration of the fabric of education from one end of the spectrum involving funding, to the other end; the result of all the edu-genetic tampering within the classroom.
Now there are those who argue that the education mess is a partisan-botched attempt at some kind of purification of the American way of learning, while others state the need for removing legislation and allowing parents to determine the best course of education for their children.
by Andre' Gensburger
We’re looking for a few good sales people. By itself, that may well be an ordinary statement with no reason to dwell on it. The thing is that there are so few people out there who want to do sales. For many, the word “sales” holds a connotation not unlike a vampire seeking out dinner. And, in truth, we all hate sales people because they force us to do things we would not normally want to do – spend our money on things we actually want!
In the newspaper business, we need sales people to generate advertising sales. This should be easy. We have a great product and we certainly reach a large number of people.
In Clayton and Concord, our papers are direct mailed to readers… Free! That is not called sales, surely. “Good morning mister business owner,” I might say. “I have a delivery vehicle that will get your product information into every home in Clayton and 34,000 in Concord. People will read all about what your business offers. That’s what you want, right? New customers?”
Good sales people do not come across as sales people; they are ordinary men and women who are a pleasure to talk with because they are not vampires. They are personable and merely chat about the product they represent. If the need does not exist, then there will be no sale – no matter how much one might wish otherwise.
Car dealers are experiencing this right now. It’s a recession. Stocks are down. The housing market is at a record low. People are not buying cars. Business is bad. Huh? Business should be great! When you buy something, you want the best price possible. Now is the time to buy a car. Go negotiate with a hungry dealer. You will never get a better deal on a car than you will now.
Houses are out there too, and the prices are great. Interest rates are fantastic. So what’s the problem?
A recession is like a meal without a plate; something is missing from that comfortable feeling we have during a stable economy.
And yet people are spending money. People are still eating, buying clothes and the malls are hardly empty. We still have our utilities and most of us have our jobs, despite an unfortunate circumstance for many others. In the end, someone will buy a car or a house and slowly the recession will slow as movement takes place once again. Only then people will be complaining: “I should have bought that house while the price was low.”
We’re looking for a few good sales people. We need someone nice. We need someone who is not afraid to greet a customer and hold a conversation. If that is you, call us at
672-0500.
We need someone who can tell businesses why their word needs to get out there. After all, every business owner needs new business so that they can survive.
Every business wants to reach the public so that consumers can once again start using plates with their meals.We can deal with that!
Making a difference takes determination and courage. I'm happy to let you know about my story in the Clayton Pioneer (1/23/09) that has a feature on Anna Chan.
Aside from being a regular reader and comment poster, Anna has done some amazing work on behalf of Katie Grace Groebner and other children. Click the image or HERE to get the online version of the Pioneer. The story is on page 9. 
MisterWriter
I attended an education forum tonight that shed some light on a massive failure of the education system the likes of which we have never seen before...
50% of the districts in California on the verge of insolvency...
A potential
$42
Billion
projected
deficit by
June 2010
(18 months away) that will cripple everyone...
"We are cutting bone and
marrow right now!"
Teachers are stretched as thin as they can be...
$30 million in cuts over the last 3 years...
"This is beyond ideology..."
This is a crisis....
In the next few weeks the state will be out of money and will be handing out IOU's...
"We took back our
country....now it is time to
take back our state!"
AN EDUCATION SERIES BEGINNING....FRIDAY NIGHT.....on
Check out and buy the book HERE <<<<
Mark Curtis brilliant commentary, January 17, 2009 By Helen Mendel (San Francisco Bay Area) -
This book is insightful,humorous and is an in depth look at what a Presidential campaign entails. It is a good read and very entertaining. Mark is a brilliant political journalist with a great depth of experience in political arenas that enables his readers to understand the inside the beltway politics. This is a book well worth reading and owning.
Click to watch Mark's video interview on Ch 2
For those of you unfamiliar with Mark's Bay Area connection, you obviously missed his news anchor days ay KTVU 2, or his post anchor days at http://www.markcurtismedia.com/
"I refuse to enlist in the Israeli military. I shall not be part of an army that needlessly implements a violent policy and violates the most basic human rights on a daily basis. Like most of my peers, I too have not dared to question the ethics of the Israeli military.
Feeling stressed out? Tired of life's millions of worries? Plug in some headphones and take this 15 minute hypnotism trial. Make sure you can be undisturbed.
If you want to see what else hypnotism can do for you, CLICK HERE
"The school measures its success in many ways -- standardized achievement scores are higher than those at the three largest Providence high schools -- but parents are most excited by these statistics: Almost every senior gets into college, 80 percent go to college, and five years later, most of those students are still in college or have graduated."
UPDATE Monday, January 19th - It seems that there are strong views on both sides and so I decided to update this posting with some wider-scope thoughts. Click the READ MORE to get the expanded story.
This anonymous report comes from the MDUSD's Valle Verde Elementary School where a recent multi-month head lice infestation confounded the community. It seems that partisanship is active as a pro-Democratic principal plans to enforce the inauguration of President Obama upon all the youngsters of the school site so that it makes the news.
I don't have all the answers but here is one suggestion. Like most people, I can see what does NOT work. Stuffing education into the lower spectrum of any kind of funding and continually slashing budgets is a stupid way to run the state and the country.
I have, in the past, suggested dynamiting the whole system. Like a giant parasite that feeds off a host, all the pieces that suck the lifeblood out of education have been making the rules and running the process. Those idealists within, who believe in making a difference in a child, have little control over the giant cancer we call the education system.
MDUSD's Board President Gary Eberhart responded to my posting, yesterday, about the dire financial situation for education. Here is his response that was originally posted in yesterday's comments, that I felt should be made a posting of its own. - MisterWriter 
"I totally agree that we need to overhaul public education. If we want our economy to have the freedom to continue to grow beyond the current boundaries, we must interject efficiencies. There are a lot of things that come to mind when you think about government; efficiency is not one of them. There are ways that school districts can assist in reducing statewide expenses...
>READ MORE
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
From Supt. Gary McHenry: "Fifty-five million dollars. Nearly one-third of what the Mt. Diablo Unified School District is currently spending on employee salaries. Fifty-five million dollars. The amount of the deficit our District would be facing in June 2011 under the budget Governor Schwarzenegger proposed for 2009-10 on New Year's Eve."
It looks like the worst is ahead, waiting for the Terminator to act. In this district where the recent six and a half million reductions already took a toll, ask yourself where this insanity will end? >READ MORE
I was certain that one day I would fly. Of course, I was six, an orange bath towel knotted tight around my neck in my pajamas, running through the house, oblivious to the fact that in a few short years my parents would divorce, my sister would die and I would be sent away to another country because the schooling was better and it was easier to handle me long distance. >READ MORE
I have often been accused of being an idealist by my diatribes against this or that. By itself I do not take that as an insult, but for the fact that the quasi-intellectual snob issuing the diss is so enamored with the dog eat dog principle that he/she/it can only focus on the diss and nothing more.
Fact: we are sinking! Despite the massive amounts of money spent to convince the masses that the failing in education is based on the teacher, with big government - especially the semi-literate president of the last eight years - coming to the rescue, we have seen no improvements in anything but the test scores itself, and yet the rise of dropouts, the rise in remedial college entrance requirements and the sheer useless degrees that are conferred have done nothing to bolster America's place within the global economy. And now, at the height of the recession, we are faced with an ever spiraling decline in potential as we addict our youth to insane, empty pop-culture and the promise that their shielded ego's do not have to break a sweat because they are "special."
Bush claims NCLB as his crowning victory. Victory of what? He has turned the whole system on its ass and achieved nothing; he could not even fully fund the program over his entire two terms.
NCLB is an embarrassment of political victory over intellect. It has generated jobs for no reason; a generation of people pretending to be achieving some tangible that no one can articulate beyond citing "data" as a quantifiably religious experience. The truth is that through NCLB we have allowed politicians and lawyers to hold us back while the world prepares its youth to take over our lead.
We are a nation engulfed in debt, religious dogma that is shrouded in legal protections, all of which inhibits any possible progress. Everyone has a God-given right, so much so that almost everything can be construed an offense against someone's right, requiring endless litigation, consultation and compromise before finally settling on the premise that the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Nature would scream that it is survival of the fittest. The weak do not survive in nature. But in America the weak are the cornerstone of the new church of everlasting litigation. Blessed is he with the lawyer for he shall inherit the precedent.
In a recent article in TCR (Teacher's College Record) Charles Murray’s recently released book, Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality, essentially argues that earning a BA is a waste of time for many Americans because they are not able to perform BA-level work due to a lack of intrinsic abilities. Murray’s new book is fruit from the same poison tree that produced his racial theories of intelligence in The Bell Curve, published in 1996. In The Bell Curve, Charles Murray argued that low test scores among minorities were caused more by nature than nurture.
You can read that article HERE. Right or not, we have become a nation obsessed with direct cause and effect relationships. We attribute our education policy to this effect which, in turn, changes generationally, causing a "flavor of the month" fad approach to education practices that serve only to attract intellectually stunted politicians who can latch onto the singular concepts.
In my opinion, the standards serve as a signpost. The skill and the passion of the teacher serve as the power. Unity is found by encouraging not limiting those who have the power to shape and mould a generation. Instead, our political machine and government claims to act in the best interest of education by slapping a set of limits that not only hold back our populace, but start a chain reaction of self-destructive events that ultimately leads to a nation of idiots, degreed and yet unskilled, educated without substance of character because we are afraid of stunting their personas through anything but positive affirmation. We all laughed at Saturday Night Live's Stuart Smalley, and yet we have made that our mantra.
In California we are faced with dire consequences in the bid to find a balanced budget. The state, a fiscal nightmare over the last few generations, has now come to the breaking point; no budget and no money. Amongst the stupid ideas; shortening the school year, issuing IOU's to teachers - who surely can't find a bank to cash those - and adding additional taxes.
In the 1940's, students learned the basics. Simple books that helped cement the skills needed:
reading, writing and arithmetic. Every bureaucrat argues that times are more complex now, and yet despite the complexity, despite the millions of dollars and the revised, standards-based textbooks, we have still not produced a generation of functionally literate students that are proficient at reading, writing and arithmetic. Is it that we cannot make children feel badly for not learning their multiplication facts; or is it that the average student can spell "fuck you" but can't even spell principal (as in their school's principal) or even the word "elementary." Hardly surprising considering that television glorifies sex and violence, whilst music glorifies gangsters, drugs and prison, while religion has been kept busy purging the molesters and crooks, and the leaders of this country spend their time justifying a war on terror they can neither explain, nor evaluate, yet remain certain will continue into the next century.
If I am idealistic, it is my last ditch effort at injecting some sanity into the lunacy we call society. We need no more shopping mall clones. We need no more legal loopholes for corporations and diplomats and politicians who, in another time, may well have been lined against a wall and executed for treason. Legally we are unable to define perjury anymore, and certainly cannot execute our right to purge government of the weak, the greedy and the stupid.
I'll stick to my idealism. I like to believe that despite everything humanity has a measure of good. It is, after all, in the darkest of times that we shine as a species. It seems that it takes disaster to make us rise to the occasion, beyond greed and profit, and actually care that we are one species who, by our own doing, may be rapidly running out of time.
I'm not sure what it will take for people to wake up. It may already be too late. We may already be destined to be the former trustees of this world. I hope not. We just have to stop accepting anything less than integrity and decency, even if that means we pay a little more for our products and pray a little more for our souls.
MisterWriter
If you are ever in that area on a Saturday early morning, you will find an interesting assortment of people and some interesting items as well.
MisterWriter
all photos (c) 2009 Andre' Gensburger
Ladies and Gentlemen, the porn industry is suffering and needs a federal stimulus package so that it can erect new fronts to its inter-structure and bring unison to a climactic fruition.
When I awoke this morning to see Larry before Congress, I nearly peed my pants. Only in America can the prostitutes form a union and demand legal protection under the Constitution claiming an inalienable right to get screwed.
Knowing some people who rely on this industry as their mainstay, I am certainly curious how people can relegate sex to the mundane, beyond passion and relationship and focus strictly on an act of commerce, but then we are used to bending over for the taxation controls of this country, so it should come as no surprise when the disabled porn-master himself, pimped up in a designer suit, can face off against Congress with a hand out and a sorrowful, Oliveresque, "Please sir, can I have some more?"
Only in America. I've booked my plane flight to Washington D.C. for my personal bailout. More to come!
MisterWriter
One of the regular readers of this site, and Claycord.com recently received excellent news today:
"I hit the charity jackpot. I am so excited for Katie Grace and Savanha," said Anna Chan, who had taken it upon herself to start a letter writing campaign to various organizations to see what kind of freebies she could get the Groebner girls. She has written in excess of fifty letters.
Anna explains: "This all transpired from one of my letters sent to East Bay Regional Parks about requesting discounted / donated passes for the family, so that they could enjoy our beautiful Regional Parks on sunny days!
Some very kind person at the EBRPD forwarded my letter and it ended up on Elaine's desk!
This morning, a lady named Elaine Taylor telephoned me. She lives in Diablo, works for a foundation called Taylor Family Foundation. And, she is friends with another lady, named Kimberlie Gambino that help offer a camp for children with disabilities.
I spoke at length with Elaine. How wonderful and a compassionate person she is. She told me that my letter writing was "very compelling". She is ready and able to "cut the checks" she says for any activity that the Groebner girls would like to enroll in. Elaine was so sweet. She said that I could be the Groebner family's "grant writer", which actually I already am! Just write a list, with the help of the Groebner family, and send it off to her right away. She will write the check tomorrow!
That takes care of the Cosby show at the Paramount on February 14th. Hooray for Katie Grace!"
Excellent work, Anna. In addition to this, Anna has managed to secure the following passes/tickets for the Groebners:
Oakland Zoo - 4 family passes - good for 4 separate visits
Chabot Space & Science Theatre
The Jungle
Lindsay Wildlife Museum
The Ruth Bancroft Garden
California Academy of Sciences
Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation
The Taylor Family Foundation allocates $5,000 per child per year. You can learn more about them HERE.
To learn about Camp Taylor click HERE 
It is important to recognize these companies that are sharing goodwill and making a difference with their contributions. It also goes to show that one person with a big heart is far better than one person with a big wallet. There is no value that can be placed on caring and these acts of kindness that have been generated by Anna are worthy of our applause and recognition.
To read the Katie Grace stories, click the "By Category" links at the top right of the page.
- MisterWriter
Readers know that I support the work of the police force. Despite the news that highlights all the things that go wrong in an officer - civilian encounter, it is important to note that most officers do their difficult job with respect for the rest of us.
And so I present two items; the first a story I wrote about the Concord/Clayton police dispatchers' act of kindness to the Groebner family over the holidays. Click that picture to read the issue of the Clayton Pioneer (the story is on page 3.)
The second item comes from CBS Eye on Blogs which featured a photo and a caption that illustrates civility well. CLICK the picture below to go there.
There are days where, despite one's best efforts, nothing seems to happen. Typically these are gloomy days, like today, a sickly gray haze that chills you and removes the joy from the day itself.Sitting in my car and watching people flit in and out of a shopping plaza, I ask myself, "Where are they all going? There is nothing happening.".
The supermarket employee standing out front of the store is smoking. He stands still for a time, his cloud of toxin blending with the already washed out sky, before dropping it to the floor, still smoldering, and going out to the lot to collect errant carts. One at a time.
And then comes the old man who looks a good 110 years old, complete with felt hat, getting assistance with groceries loaded into his car. He drives! And he is happy that he is going nowhere fast.
MisterWriter
Sent via my BlackBerry
I had the pleasure of writing an article on the Serendipity program at Mt. Diablo High School for the January issue of The Concordian and I have to tell you that I was amazed at what they do. You are in a professional restaurant setting. For all the flak the MDHS gets, you have got to go have lunch here. Click the big cover and go read what they are serving. And tell 'em I sent you.
MisterWriter
So I am at Costco and it isn't packed but I have had my cart struck at least six times by idiots who can't steer in an orderly fashion. I won't pick on a race that seems to be the worst offender but to say I have some of it in my own gene pool and I steer my cart with manners and care. Am I missing something in this bulk-buying frenzied experience?
MisterWriter
Sent via my BlackBerry
One of my goals this year is to get a new blog started that serves to help people who suffer from anxiety related disorders, or stressed out and facing other symptoms. One of my close friends, Jonathan Talbot is such a person. For him I have started this site in the hope that others will find solace and comfort, as well as practical solutions.
I have assumed the helm of this blog so as to preserve the anonymity of those involved. Anxiety is not a sign of failure. Neither is it a sign of a defective human being. It is a product of our society and does come with solutions. It helps to know that you are not alone. You are not alone!
If you have every suffered from stress related symptoms or chronic anxiety, whether generalized or panic attacks, it is my sincere hope that this blog will help strengthen your resolve that you are not alone and that there are solutions to help you.
You may also email me directly at andre@misterwriter.com and I will be happy to add my input or direct you to where help may be found. You may suffer from anxiety but you can also be the ruler of your life. My friend Jonathan Talbot is. You can be as well.
The Stress and Anxiety Club . If you know someone who belongs, please send them this link. Thanks.
MisterWriter
