IS IT WORSE TO BE HOMELESS OR NAMELESS?

As you may know, part of the plan submitted to the US Navy had a homeless component that required a study to be completed, first accounting for the number of homeless within a variety of sub-groupings, and also how the development of the CNWS could include a component to benefit the homeless. If you have not read the report, which you probably have not given the topic, it is an interesting read and one that should elicit much discussion, especially given the recent visitations by Concord's celebrity homeless, Ricky Fisher, as reported on Claycord.com. "Applying a variety of estimation methods, including the 2007 countywide homeless count, the area population distribution by income and other estimators, the point-in-time size of the homeless population in Concord is calculated to be between 591 and 874 with an average of 669 and a median of 604. The homeless population in the Study Area is predicted to be approximately 73% single adults, 26% persons in families and 1% unaccompanied youth. As many as half of all homeless adults may have a medical, mental health and/or substance abuse disability. Up to 40% of homeless single individuals may be defined as “chronically homeless.”  There are many types of programs and services designed to meet the needs of homeless people residing within the Study Area. These include approximately 150 shelter beds, 136 dedicated transitional housing beds, nearly 100 transitional rental assistance slots, and approximately 240 permanent housing beds or units, including 130 rental assistance slots. Other targeted services include a multi-service center, mobile health services, advocacy and domestic violence services. Using several methods, we estimate there are between 591 and 874 homeless individuals, including adults and children, in the City of Concord at any given time... Adding the numbers derived from the Sheltered and Unsheltered portions of the 2007 count for identified locations within the Study Area produces a total estimate of 874 homeless persons in the City of Concord ..." 598 were sheltered. Of the unsheltered group 225 were men, 43 women and 8 of unknown gender.  There were 6 children under the age of 16 and 5 children between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. "In the fall of 2006, the Mount Diablo School District reported that 128 students had been identified as homeless." This is a fascinating read and one that residents should be aware of.  The study also breaks down the types of services available and the number of homeless taking advantage of these services. While we do maintain a stereotype image of the homeless person as the man or woman standing at the off ramp with a will work for food sign, the truth is more that many families are impacted and in losing work may wind up crossing that thin line of safety that many Americans have, transitioning them to the streets, their cars or many of the services available.  For some this is a short period; for others far longer.  Certainly true is the component of mental illness and drug or alcohol abuse that we see more prevalently. Ask yourself if you know of an MDUSD student whose family falls into that classification; a child in class with your child. Would you know? Of course not. When you look at the death throes of the recessive/depressive economy and its impact on the jobs of people we know, we can certainly understand that instability of the process. No one is immune.  There are no guarantees; just the good fortune of time and place and blind stinking luck, unless you are a devout Christian, in which case you have already resigned it all to God's will. Either way, the line is thin that separates one side from the other. Read the survey HERE - it is an interesting read. And check out the story on the city of Concord's homeless action plan in the upcoming Concordian due out April 1.

IT IS ALBERT EINSTEIN APPRECIATION DAY - AND WHAT BETTER WAY THAN TO WATCH THE MAN, THE ROBOT AND THE APPLICATIONS OF HIS MIND.

It is no secret that I have an Albert Einstein fascination. I am impressed with the level of thought that came at a time when technology was too primitive to test most of his theories. His theories are still being proved today. Known best for E=mc2, most people do not understand what it means. Likewise, his General Theory of Relativity remains vague to most people. And so here are some videos of Einstein explaining his famous equation, a newsreel of his death, a Japanese Albert Einstein robot (that shows how immortal one can be, even if your rubber ears flap!) as well as some interesting explanations of relativity, the first time travel machine (being built right now) and gravitational waves, all a part of Einstein's theories. When I consider that most of this came from his thought process followed by active debate and calculations, and then I look at today's high schoolers who have trouble sitting still for five minutes, I have to wonder whether technology is de-evolutionary in result. Enjoy.    -MisterWriter

THE GRAND JURY HAS REPORTED BACK ON THE MDUSD. ARE YOU CURIOUS WHAT THEY FOUND?

The Grand Jury has made its recommendations and concurs with what Trustees Eberhart, Strange and Whitmarsh had been saying all along.  

"FINDINGS:

1. The Mount Diablo Unified School District has a $286.3 million budget for the 2008-2009

fiscal year.

2. The Superintendent, rather than the Board, controlled the agenda for board meetings and decided what information to give or withhold from the Board.

3. Some Board members did not have a full understanding of their duties regarding their function and financial responsibilities to taxpayers. As a result, they failed to lead and instead, followed the Superintendent’s directives.

4. The District had not paid its correct federal payroll tax obligations for several years. In

2005 the District paid a levy of over $105,000 for payroll taxes, interest, and penalties.

The Board did not approve these payments and was unaware of these issues because

financial documents given to the Board lacked adequate detail. In 2008 the IRS informed

the District that it may owe $833,000 in unpaid payroll taxes, interest, and penalties.

This matter remains unresolved as of this writing.

5. ADP, a private corporation which had served as the District’s payroll tax processor,

cancelled its contract in November 2006, because the District failed to fund the necessary

amounts to provide for payment to the IRS.

6. The Board approved the creation of an in-house attorney position as a cost cutting measure. It directed that the attorney report to the Superintendent. This reporting relationship limited the volume and type of work provided to the Board by the in-house attorney.

7. Between 2002 and 2007, the District paid for work performed by an outside law firm. The law firm worked without a valid contract. This action violated District policy and the Board was unaware of this situation because renewal contracts were not forwarded by the Superintendent.

8. District policy dated 7/16/2002 requires Board approval for all bills over $25,000. The Superintendent frequently violated this policy by not submitting bills in excess of $25,000 to the Board. As one example, he unilaterally authorized payment in 2007 of a disputed bill for almost $110,000 to an outside legal firm.

9. The Superintendent withheld critical financial information from the Board.

10. The Superintendent inhibited the free exchange of information between various departments within the District. These actions undermined employee morale and, in some cases, led them to not report for work or to resign."

Gary McHenry looks like he should have been fired based on the Grand Jury report.

For the most part, the changes the Grand Jury have recommended have already been achieved with the new board majority, a point in their favor and validation of much of the commentary they have had all along.  In particular, Strange and Eberhart repeatedly stuck their necks out going head to head with the Superintendent and the then board majority.

In light of the report, much credibility has been established by the new board majority and, hopefully, a strong message to Dick Allen and Linda Mayo that their job functions are to work on behalf of the stakeholders of the district and not the superintendent. 

Voters chose wisely when they ousted April Treece and voted in Sherry Whitmarsh, and returned Gary Eberhart. 

My only question is "Can the superintendent now be fired, rather than allow him to collect his payments through the end of the school year?"

Read the rest of the report and the responses from Strange and Eberhart at  www.mdusd.net.

MisterWriter
Sent via my BlackBerry

PETA RECORDS REVEAL DIRTY SECRET - IT IS CHEAPER TO KILL ANIMALS THAN ADOPT THEM. BUT IS THAT ALL THERE IS TO THE STORY? AND WHO KNOWS THE TRUTH?

A Web site http://www.petakillsanimals.com/ is reporting that PETA has secretly destroyed thousands of animals rather than adopting them out which the site claims is a matter of economics over ethics. Claiming that from July through December 2008, PETA killed over 25,112 dogs, cats and other animals, maintains a walk-in freezer to store the dead animals until cremation, the site claims a 90% death rate for animals they have taken in. Click the picture to see the report and click HERE to see the supporting documentation.  "In 2000, when the Associated Press first noted PETA's Kervorkian-esque tendencies, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk complained that actually taking care of animals costs more than killing them. "We could become a no-kill shelter immediately," she admitted." People ask why I report on these negative things; if you cannot trust an organization designed to spare animals and push the ethical treatment of animals, then who do you trust? How do I know who is right? How can I know? If you read the PETA site you will see many wonderful things being done. Click on the picture of the pigs below to get there. What I do know is that deception is the mainstay of controversy and confusion is the bedfellow of doubt. Keep the masses with a migraine long enough and no one will give a damn about the truth.  The truth is too hard to find. I maintain, sadly, that corruption and greed, ignorance and excess has turned our world upside down. And if you are a history buff you will easily see the parallels between our current state and that of the Roman Empire as it spiraled toward the end of its existence. I maintain that Abraham Lincoln's famous quote should be rewritten as follows:  You can fool some of the people some of the time and you can confuse the rest of the people the rest of the time. So much for ethics. MisterWriter

MISTERWRITER WELCOMES THE WORLD - READERSHIP IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES GROWS DAILY...

An interesting phenomenon is the every growing ranks of foreign readers. I would first, like to welcome you all.  Please do remember that American spelling may seem incorrect (as compared to British spelling - Color=Colour) and of course, since I am living in the United States, expect that my views will be slanted by my immediate observations, even though I do read a daily slew of foreign newspapers online and try to take a global perspective where possible. 6% of my readers are Canadian, with another 6% from the U.K.. India ranks at 2% of my readers, and whole lot of countries from Brazil to Macedonia rate at 1% of the visitor log. Please do feel free to comment on the postings. You may remain anonymous and we may disagree - I will not bite your head off. It is my hope that MisterWriter will be of interest to a wide audience and I do appreciate any input, good or bad. So welcome to the world. And thanks for stopping by. MisterWriter

THE NEW DISEASE - EDUCLEGALPHOBIC RETENTION - AND FOR THAT YOU MAY NOT HUG A CHILD EVER! WHEN ARE THE ROBOT TEACHERS GETTING HIRED?

No offense to the lawyers I know, including those in my own family, but c'mon, it is getting nutso out there in lawsuit land. So teachers are not allowed to hug children. Makes sense. You have a nurturing roles where you play surrogate mommy or daddy, counselor, coach, dietician, mentor and more, but God forbid one of those little angels wants a hug. Now this is not news. I became a teacher for the MDUSD district in 2000 and I still remember the instruction I was given. Do not hug the children. And so I asked. What if they come up and hug me? The answer was, stand still with your arms out, so that they are clearly hugging you and you are not hugging them. I should have quit right then. To hear those words, any teacher knows that is not reality. A child who needs a hug needs to be hugged. This is not some kinky abuse gesture - it is unfortunately part of a desperate need children have these days. I guess the home life ain't so good! So when I read this article about a Connecticut school, it reminded me of this little education gem. Yet another piece of insanity spurred on by the potential for lawsuits that lawyers are more than happy to deal with. Please let me know when teachers will actually be allowed to be compassionate souls once again. I would like to broadcast that event! MisterWriter

A SAD DAY FOR THE POLICE AND THE MANY COMMUNITIES INVOLVED;AND NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY

There is not much to say about the shooting deaths of the four Oakland police officers other than a shared community loss and a dangerous sign of our times. Do watch the services - you can watch online live. And if you pass a police officer today, you might consider thanking them for the work they do. As for the other side of the story - there is no other side.  One of the worst parts of our society today is the need to always portray everyone as a victim, including murderers, rapists and thugs. Let's be clear, these are all a product of their upbringing and looking at the upbringing that is not going on.  In deference to the officers who lost their lives, I will not even write the name of the person who should never have been on the streets to begin with.  Society failed the officers by allowing trash like that to roam free. Blogger Dub C had a lot to say on this topic HERE. My sympathies extend to the families of the officers and to the brotherhood and sisterhood of police who have experienced a huge loss and have shown, by the sheer numbers attending today, their solidarity.   Click HERE for the link to watch the CBS video coverage. MisterWriter

THE WORD WAS "CIVILILZATION" BUT THE VIDEO SHOWS ONE OF HUMANITY'S DARKER SIDES. DO YOU KNOW WHY MEAT IN THE SUPERMARKET COMES IN PRISTINE WHITE STYROFOAM CONTAINERS?

You can click the picture to see the whole sordid mess. Blood on snow, what better sign of intelligence in action! MisterWriter

I WANT ONE - MY VERY OWN JETSON MOBILE! FLYING CARS, SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO VERY SOON.

It is Jetson time! When I read this article I just knew "I gotta get me one of those!" I have nothing else to add except READ THE STORY HERE! MisterWriter

TENT CITY, USA, SPONSORED BY THE NEW INFINITI - YOU GOTTA LOVE THE FACT THAT WHEN IT COMES TO ADVERTISING WE ARE A PROSTITUTION BUSINESS.

Way to go Huffington Post! MisterWriter

MDUSD Board getting beaten up by angry parents/teachers over athletics cuts. But where do they think the money is coming from?

A long evening of speakers coming forward to urge the board to return sports highlighted the board to return sports. Some accused the board of using sports to push the parcel tax, while others pleaded with the board how sports affected their lives. While the board listened, it became apparent that many people are unaware that the extent of the cuts are, to a large degree, governed by the federal and state legalities of how programs are administered and how the whole mess called education funding, is handled. "Sports over special lunches," one speaker demanded. "We did not look at alternatives," another said. "There should be no free passes." One speaker told how he had spent time in juvenile hall only to get involved in athletics (wrestling) that "helped me to become a better person." While I do believe that most people understand the value of athletics, including Gary Eberhart and Sherry Whitmarsh who have student sports players, I do believe that the presentation tended to create an adversarial position between the audience and the board.   I do believe that the board has acted appropriately to make the cuts as mandated.  I disagree that athletics is the most important part of school - akin to students claiming recess to be their favorite  part of the day - however it is, as with all aspects of learning, an integral part.  If it is possible to return, I have no doubt that athletics would be the first item restored.  The real question should not be to question the board, but to ensure that Measure D passes along with the other resolutions that would at least ensure some positive aspect in the whole arena of education funding. Is that the end game? No. The whole mess of education legalities, politics and limitations needs to be addresses. For schools to survive and students to actually learn, we need to move past the limited points of view that seem to pervade any discussion about education. The board has a resolution listing the items to be reinstated with appropriate funding restoration. Athletics is listed on the Tier One resolution ($4.2 million.) "assuming we have a balanced budget next year," said trustee Dick Allen. He is referring to potential state budget cuts that would require $3.2 million more in cuts than at present. Now people, go forth and spread the word.  And be sure to read my last post about the survey done amongst students.  The ramifications of that study need to be looked at as well. MisterWriter

RAISING A NATION OF LYING, CHEATING, THIEVES, AND THAT IS BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION - WHAT OUR YOUTH HAD TO SAY IN A NATIONAL SURVEY...

If you have not heard about it yet, you should beeline over to charactercounts.org and look at the 2008 survey of over 30,000 students from across the nation.  The survey asked questions ranging from self-evaluative beliefs about the student's reliability and peer perception of their honesty, and then went full force into direct questions about lying to parents and teachers, stealing from parents and friends, stealing from stores, cheating on tests and more. The results are even subdivided across gender, public versus private schools, those involved in sports etc...  The answers are frightening. Here are some basic rundowns: Over HALF have lied to their parents about something big two or more times. Over 20% have presented work they copied off the Internet, while 60% have cheated on tests (40% cheated more than once.)  Likewise, 60% admitted to having copied homework two or more times, with 20% being single offenders, making an 80% cheating rate. 22% have stolen from their parents or a relative, with 11% having done so more than one time.  Compared to 19% having stolen from a friend, it seems parents are better to steal from. 30% admitted to having stolen from a store with 15% admitting to having stolen more than one time. Of this, 35% were boys and 26% were girls. The result was a hair less for those involved in varsity sports. 83% admitted to lying to their parents came from public and religious private schools with a slightly lower 78% coming from independent, non-religious schools. And finally, 30% of the participants acknowledged to having answered untruthfully.  Click HERE FOR THE COMPLETE SURVEY. Yep, I feel good as a parent. Of course I am not naive enough to think otherwise and I have caught my children in a variety of sins. The true measure of life is learning from the mistakes.  While critics of the survey argue that the increased pressure on kids drives them to commit these sins, I reject that as an excuse. What we lack is strong parenting and strong consequences. We have allowed everything to settle to the lowest common denominator and what we are left with is crap.  Those who rise above are considered genius compared to those who do not. A friend suggested that I focus on the good things we do. I would like to believe that I do highlight all the good things, especially in the newspaper articles I write. But I will tell you how sorry I feel for those students that do not break the rules, who try their best and bust their ass only to find that society rewards the sneaks, liars and cheats.  We need to change the message we send to students by highlighting the value of learning, struggling, overcoming challenges without cutting corners. But how do we do that when the real life examples all around say otherwise? Teachers will attest to the fact that it takes one 'nutso' parent to upset the good work done in  a classroom. Why? Because the needs of the 'nutso' outweigh everyone else's needs.  Yes we need to highlight the good, if for no other reason than the fact that it has become a minority standard in a society where the majority are losers. To get past that we need to abandon the notion that everyone has a right to be stupid.  We used to condemn those that glorified ignorance and the trash aspect of life. Now we have how many television shows and how many movies devoted to that topic. I'm still waiting for the asteroid. MisterWriter

BUT HE WAS A "GOOD BOY," SAYS HIS FAMILY... WHO ELSE IS SICK OF HEARING THAT EXCUSE? AND SHOULD WE BE RELEASING THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS OR ARE WE JUST ONE GIANT PENAL COLONY?

26 year old Lovelle Mixon, the shooter who killed four Oakland police officers, was described by his family as "a good boy," before the disclosures of his true character. "Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said that DNA from an unsolved rape in the city in February was a probable match to that of 26-year-old Lovelle Mixon. Mixon's family members said he was upset that he was unable to find work, felt his parole officer was not helping him and feared he would be arrested for a parole violation.  Mixon was convicted of assault with a firearm in San Francisco in 2002 and was sentenced to six years in state prison. Hinkle said Mixon was paroled on Oct. 6, 2007, after serving about five years but was returned to prison on Feb. 26, 2008, for violating his parole. Mixon was paroled a second time on Nov. 1, 2008, he said. Mixon was a suspect in a murder case in Alameda County in late 2007 but police didn't have enough evidence to charge him in the case, according to Hinkle. However, in investigating the murder case authorities determined that Mixon had violated his parole by possessing drug paraphernalia and engaging in identity theft, forgery, fraud and attempted grand theft, Hinkle said." Why was this person even paroled? "The city of Oakland, population 400,000, had more than 1,900 total parolees at the time of Mixon's gunbattle with police, including nearly 300 who had been returned to custody or whose parole was about to be revoked. State prison officials said Mixon's parole officer was responsible for 70 of those parolees. A caseload of that size is nearly unmanageable, and also not unusual, said Lance Corcoran, spokesman for California's prison guard union, which includes parole officers. Too many parolees prevents officers from effectively monitoring or guiding them back into society, Corcoran said. "There is no control," he said. "It's simply supervision, and supervision at distance."" But here's an interesting part... "Mixon applied to participate in a work furlough program but the Alameda County Sheriff's Office rejected him, saying in a Jan. 29, 2001, letter in his court file that he didn't return an employment agreement and his "past case of violence could pose a threat to the program, staff and community."" So of course, he gets released. California is fast becoming one giant penal colony both in attitude and actions. And it is not getting better. Read the article HERE. MisterWriter

THE WILL OF RANDOMNESS - PICTURES OF THE WHIM OF THE FATES AND THE FATE OF THE WHIM!

A concrete pillow for local homeless. They all have bicycles and cell phones these days. This one was at Heather Farm park in Walnut Creek with a beer can behind him... While this one was on Concord Avenue in Concord... And this gentleman is always at the Bailey Rd Hwy 4 exit at BayPoint at 5pm each day... The Concord Skate Park, which is right next door to the Police Station on Galindo always has a fine array of artwork... Like this fine rendition of a Picasso... And a lot of excellent poetic expressions...   This sign caught my eye in BayPoint. It speaks for itself... And the ever popular railroad arts series has continued to enjoy a rise in popularity... Passing the site of the tragedy where the police car flipped into a house badly injuring an officer, reporters were still clinging on like vultures a few days later. Across from the Antioch Marina is a bird sanctuary and across from that, more displays of underappreciated public artwork... Right next to this fine collection of wooden palettes... While further down toward the Home depot complex, a gaggle of day laborers wait patiently, apparently unaware of the recession... It was quite popular a decade ago to portray the worst aspects of humanity. And then television and film decided the adopt that mantra and portray all aspects of a deranged and dangerous civilization unraveling. Now be as optimistic as you want, but you have to face the ugly as well as the hopes, and let me assure you that the ugly is prevalent and very easy to find. I see the misfortune as the glass darkly, that sliver of misfortune that can smack any one of us across the face and twist our reality in a split second. Life is precious. Life is cheap. Both statements are truisms. But why are we so desperately looking for the fastest way to the most base component? Why are the gangster motifs so attractive to our kids?  Why do I feel like I am in the twilight zone as I watch the world unravel before my eyes? Or is it the will of randomness, the fickle fate of Pat Condell's godless world where human arrogance and human stupidity find themselves as entwined as gay lovers awaiting some legal document affirming status? And how does this play end? Will it be Shakespearean in its depth of tragedy or will, at the eleventh hour and fifty ninth minute, find some miracle transform the hell on earth into some semblance of purpose and destiny?  Or is that too Battlestar Galactica for you? MisterWriter

WHY IS EDUCATION SO DAMN UNIMPORTANT TO EVERYONE? EACH YEAR IT GETS WORSE THAN THE YEAR BEFORE. EACH YEAR THERE ARE MORE RESTRICTIONS ON FUNDING. EACH YEAR PRISONERS GET MORE RIGHTS THAN EDUCATORS. AND WHILE EVERYONE WANTS THE STAR TEST SCORES TO KEEP GOING UP, WE STILL HAVE TOO MANY DISINTERESTED, APATHETIC, RUDE, UNREGULATED, SELF-SERVING STUDENTS WITH NO IMPULSE CONTROL AND SIMPLY TAKING UP SPACE. SO WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Do you like the look of this school?  That is Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tennessee.   The truth about education is that it should be the one place in our society free from the ridiculous. This is a 12 year program that is designed to produce the next generation of tax paying wage earners that will help keep the country and the economy strong.  It should be the one place where we have no doubt about the learning taking place, where the survival of our country rests. It should be made up of clean buildings, the latest technology, the best teachers and the strictest codes of conduct. No one should be able to mess with our education facilities. Our graduates should have received a well rounded education, learned to be critical thinkers and problem solvers, pioneers, ambitious and hard working whether they wind up laying bricks or designing computers. And our schools should be working on making each class the strongest. Equal ability students should be grouped to enhance the pacing that the teacher can do. Weaker students get remedial help. Behavior students find themselves sent to a behavior school manned by an army drill sergeant who will not put up with crap. Those who do not wish to learn may join a trade or join the military. There is no argument about the rights of losers and whiners. And parents threatening lawsuits should run the risk of jail time for false and frivolous filings. Students should take pride in their schools and accept the challenge of learning with pride and purpose. THE REAL WORLD So what do we have now? Well for starters that above is a fantasy I would like to see happen. What I see now are unruly, disrespectful clusters of youth; the boys looking and acting like thugs, and the girls looking like young prostitutes in their dress and demeanor. I watch kids smoking the moment they leave campus, spitting, swearing, fighting and making comments about their schools and their classes and teachers with the utmost disrespect. More time is spent figuring out how to bail on a class, steal from a store, spend a class text messaging each other and avoiding any semblance of courtesy, than anything else. Before you email me that your child is not that way, I do realize that there are normal kids out there. And to be honest, I do not blame the kids for their conduct. I blame the parents and the school. The parents have no excuse. The schools gave away the power. Schools never had these problems when students could get caned. But then some parent had to have some lawyer prove how that was cruel and unusual punishment and schools suddenly evolved into powerless institutions of good feelings for all. THE SHIP IS SINKING I walked a local high school campus last year and watched the sea of trash. The custodians were overburdened and had begged the gardening crew to help them pick up the little lazy, ill bred students would not. Still, the ocean of trash remained. And so I questioned the principal and for every suggestion I was shot down.   Students could not be forced to clean up the trash as that would violate child labor laws. Trash could not be left in classrooms as a deterrent because it posed a health hazard. Students could not be restricted from eating if they littered because they have to eat. It was always about the rights of the students. The students had the right to be stupid. The school had no rights. The teacher does not even have an enforceable right to expect respect. And I asked the principal: "How can we expect this generation of students to know about conservation and green applications when we cannot even get them to pick up their own trash?  He looked at me and shrugged. "I know," he said. And that is where the conversation ended. And I left very angry at how ridiculous this notion of protecting the rights of stupid children is. The needs of the one do not outweigh the needs of the many. MAINSTREAMING IS A DIRTY WORD It is stupid that a classroom is comprised of so wide a range of abilities and personalities that teaching is fragmented. I do not care how fancy the edu-label is that gets used to describe this. Mainstreaming is what you should do to cows in a field, not kids in a classroom.  The range slows the pace and yet the pacing requirements speed up the pace leaving a void where the weaker students in the mid range are. The bright kids are bored. The weaker kids are lost. The foreign language speakers are in a trance from the barrage of illiterate content coming their way, while the behavior kids have mommy and daddy cause trouble for the teacher and the principal by demanding the rights that they should not have in the first place. Legal notices are stapled to classroom walls about all the areas that some parents had generated a lawsuit settled by the school district that then became a requirement.  These are then followed through with the anti-potential lawsuit strategies such as ensuring that no kid has hurt feelings, or that the kid with the crappiest piece of work they did two minutes before class still gets a sticker because God forbid his feelings get hurt. There is more logic in a circus than in a school. There is more order in a zoo than a school. And everyone is good at bitching about the problems but no one has the guts to stand up and try to change things. I have seen entire classrooms of parents allow one crazy parent to stir up trouble just because the school would allow her to get away with it.  I have seen a school where a student with a history of sexual harassment, having transferred to a new school and called out by the teacher for continuing to harass, having the teacher chewed out because the "student has rights, too."  What mindless thinking can offer that defense? A principal of questionable character and ability. TALKING EXCELLENCE IS NOT AS EXCELLENT AS SOLUTIONS My point here is not to slam individuals, but to slam the system as a whole. We talk about excellence as though it were present and yet it is bullshit. Excellence is a rare element that we cannot nurture and cannot elevate because we spend all our time trying to maintain a lawsuit-free stance and offend no one.  Teachers are told to teach, yet stripped of the ability to do so. Teaching is not about turning pages on command; it is about having the pulse of the classroom, cultivating the respect of the students and providing incitement to learn. So now there is no money for sports, arts, library, music, VP's and a host of other things that have been stripped away. Federal and state mandated programs must remain, however. Those things that are idiotic and self-serving to the minority, to the system abusing parents who would rather blame everyone else than their own manner of parenting, be unwilling to come and help the teacher. The needs of the one outweighing the needs of the many. Gifted students can vegetate (someone should audit that program for accuracy or truth in advertising) while English Language Learners get a solid half hour with a dedicated teacher at the expense of the other 80% of the class. Lunacy. And we wonder why the kids do not respect education. And we wonder why they form groups to evade and avoid and ditch and party and vandalize; they have immunity. A child can graffiti your property and you have not got the right (unless court ordered) to force them to clean it off. That is up there with getting sued by the burglar in your house because he got injured. THE SECRET OF WHY A CHILD SUCCEEDS IN SCHOOL The kooks are running things. And we stupidly let that happen. Dropouts will continue. Program dollars will still be hurled at ways to raise scores, despite the stupidity of the scores. It does not take a million dollars to figure out how to make a child do well. I will tell you that secret right here. For free!! In order for a child to succeed in school... THEY HAVE TO WANT TO!  Think back to the one or two teachers you had that made the difference. They found your switch and made you want to bust your ass to succeed.  Where the will is present the results are attainable. We do not make our students want to do anything. Because we cannot make them do anything. Because we cannot force them to do anything. Because they do not fear school, teachers, principals, police, or even their parents. If a student fears none of those things, that parent should be very, very scared. So now we have no money. We have no way to generate real learning because we are still looking at somehow fixing the old system. For God's sake, let it die. It is time to rebuild. Spend money holding parents accountable for the conduct of their children. Allow schools some authority on where a child attends.  End mainstreaming. Allow foreign language learners schools with bilingual teachers until they are strong enough to do without. Send behavior problems away. It is not our problem. And then use the quality we cram into teachers to reach new heights. I would be happy teaching a class of 30 low performing students as much as a class of 30 high performing students. With that homogenized group you are able to pace at a more sane level. Together. With fewer losses. It is time for parents to be pissed off. This is not about money. This is about direction and focus. Get politicians out of education. Get lawyers out of education. Hold people accountable for their choices and recognize that not everyone will achieve the same way.  Doing nothing will result in a total collapse of education in this country within the next ten years. We cannot sustain what we are doing. Economically we are failing, in part because of greed and in larger part because of stupidity.  Edu-politicians with agenda and binders of data, none of which is objective data, have no business talking what teachers have to live. So what will you do? Or will you gloss over this, as so many do, smile, shrug and wait to see what happens on its own?  Your choice. You just need to choose soon! MisterWriter

STAR WARS' GEORGE LUCAS SAYS THAT "KIDS WILL LOVE THIS BOOK..." It is their future.

2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's KidsBased on real science and technology and lots of sociological forecasts from experts, 2030 provides a really fun, easy-reading way for kids to explore the world they will inherit as adults. Award-winning author, Amy Zuckerman, and James Daly, Editorial Director of GreatSchools, have filled the book with  illustrations by John Manders following kids through their school day. Kids should be enthralled with this fun and user-friendly tech view of the future. Click the picture to learn more or to buy the book. MisterWriter

PAT CONDELL HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND THE UNITED NATIONS PLAN TO CRIMINALIZE OPINIONS THAT DIFFER WITH THE ISLAMIC FAITH.

"And it is the so-called mainstream Muslims, grouped in the Organization of the Islamic Conference, who are now demanding through the agency of the United Nations that Islam not only be allowed to make absolutist claims but that it also be officially shielded from any criticism of itself."  Click the image to the left to read the article, or watch Pat Condell tell it with no punches held back, below.  What do you think? - MisterWriter

For more of Pat Condell visit his YOUTUBE site HERE

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE PRETTY LITTLE PLANET I LIVE ON? I AM DEPRESSED! SEND MONEY!

I await the asteroid now! They say it is coming. The asteroid will cleanse the past and offer hope to the few bipeds left to rebuild without the political and legal ramifications of a society gone insane.  While we wait, we hope to raise money to save sports, library, music and sanity in general. Can you spare a latte or two? I have an overwhelming desire to carve my name on a rock so that after the dust settles and alien archeologists come and study the remnants of humanity, that I will have made a mark. Right next to the pile of debris, trash, radioactive isotopes and discarded pharmaceuticals that we flush down the toilet. The problem is not a financial one. It is a character flaw that we share as a species. We have become self-indulgent and we cannot see right from wrong. Wrong is what we are doing. Right is what we wish we were doing.  What will change? Sadly, people do not change until they are forced to. And with that logic, bailouts be damned - let it all collapse and rebuild something of greater worth and stronger value, and stop allowing the pathetic people of the world to drag us down to some milktoast level so that their feelings are not hurt.  Save education? Really? Is education worth saving in its present form? I could really debate that one. As hard as I try to support our school system, I have serious doubts that this system warrants saving.  The problem is that there is no alternative.  I have no easy answer. Education went from cane wielding power mongers to flaccid wimps incapable of tongue lashing those ignorant few parents who destroy it for all. Somewhere that needs to change.  You are not guaranteed an education at a particular school. Raise a brat, get sent elsewhere, away from my sight. This guarantee of rights for all, including the right to be stupid is insanity at its best. We are supposed to want a strong nation under God with liberty and justice for all. We have a weak nation, divided, with endless litigation and endless legalities that stop anyone from doing anything remotely positive. And all we hear is lip service. The asteroid is close.... MisterWriter

CALLING ALL PINK-SLIPPED TEACHERS. ADD YOUR VOICE - SAY YOUR PIECE - VENT, SCREAM, SHOUT.

The other day I posted an email from one MDUSD teacher who had been pink-slipped. Now I am calling on all pink-slipped teachers to post a comment - say your piece, vent, make your views known. You may be anonymous, but your message needs to be heard. MisterWriter

WHAT WAS THE QUESTION, AGAIN?

I see this sign along Concord Blvd, and it never changes. It makes me wonder what the question was? These days it is difficult to know.

MisterWriter

THE MOOS THE MERRIER - SOMETIMES BOVINES SEEM TO KNOW WHAT LIFE IS REALLY ABOUT!

Cows are just so nice to look at. What a life; roam the pasture, graze all day, and offer sustenance to those greedy life forms known as humans. It is "udderly" ridiculous if you think about it. MisterWriter