Originally Podcast
07/20/2011
by I, Praetorian
I got up this morning, or rather this afternoon as it turns out, thinking about my experiences with district level management or administration is they prefer. It does take a unique personality to want to take on a job like that especially in these lean and education unfriendly times.
So I started to think about the personalities of the district level administrators that I have had any kind of lengthy involvement with. And some of them I've known personally some only in a professional setting, but all seem to have a uniquely similar facet to their personalities. And unfortunately in my experience although that facet varies from person to person there is a completely discernible link. This link becomes more pronounced at the higher levels of middle management. Simply put each of those personalities in my experience have a qualitative dysfunction. For many they lack a sense of humor in any commonly held sense of the term. Some of that is dictated by the wear and tear of the job itself. But in easy-going easy laughing kind of person would not probably last long. Here's why I think that:
First off, in this the year 2011 on the downhill side of public support for public education in general. With the exception of the great philosophical battles that incurred at public education's inception, there has never been a time when educating all children was of less importance. That is less importance to the voter and the talking heads that feed the common voter back the lowest common elements of his or her own dysfunctions in society and as a person. I believe there is no coincidental correlation between the collective rise of our sense of entitlement, narcissism, and individual greed; and the rise in our unwillingness to fund the very institution that brought us and taught us how to use our democratic rights. For those of you who would argue that last statement, either comment or shut up. (I am so weary and sick and extraordinarily angry with those people who have a half-baked, ill thought out philosophy on anything if they are willing to stand up for what they believe no matter how informed or not informed they are on the subject.)
Okay. This is where I get off on another tangent in the very smallest percentage in
of the ranks of educators, there exist one or two individuals per say everyone thousand employed educators that are willing to stand and fight philosophically, emotionally, and mostly at risk of their own jobs, to fight for educators who taught the great talk but cower in the presence of district level and sometimes even site level administration. Although those of us in education know that there is no truth to the old tiredness that you can't fire a teacher, it is amazing how quickly our resolve dissipates at even the slightest hint of having to stand up like human beings and adults. I personally am going through the greatest most unjust most unfair fight of my 15 years in education. And it all started because I chose to stand up not just for my rights but for the rights of a handful of other teachers who for reasons of their own could not or would not stand up for themselves.
Further, I chose to get involved in the fight against what is now the mostly corrupt Board of Trustees (sorry CJ, you are not one of those) and a wholly corrupt and self-serving fear driven Department of human resources. At the directive of the strongest and probably the most narcissistic of the trustees personalities, I have been targeted by a series of extremely poorly evidenced lies. These liars were perpetrated and further resuscitated by the head of our human resources department. The following is simply my opinion: but this man ranks among the most cowardly and self-important men I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. He has all the potential of being a great director but instead he like so many others has chosen to cower and acquiesce to the assumed power of "life or death" of our very very dysfunctional Board of Trustees, School Board. For the last 20 years maybe more, the various board members have served as the quintessential bully boys at this low level of political power. They have interfered with, dictated to, and coerced many good administrators including two very good superintendents who were forced out by the insanity. And this insanity driven by local politics has continued and is still present today. Even though the board members no longer have fistfights and drunken rages as they had in the past. Yep that's right folks, in past years our board members have come to meetings drunk and getting into physical altercations amongst themselves in public session. That's the kind of quality that small to medium-sized districts often attract. Lastly, I am fighting this campaign not just to retain my avocation, but to show everyone in the district that you don't have to cower before those personalities of the lowest common denominator. Especially a retired yes-man from our otherwise esteemed Sheriff's Department. Mine I had's own deputies stormed their union hall in protest of the union backing him for a higher position. It was so outrageous and so blatant that his own street officers are deputies wouldn't stand for him in a position of power they made the newspaper and forced this trustee to withdraw his candidacy. And now I understand exactly why and probably more than I should. Corrupt and cowardly often go hand-in-hand.
Perhaps I will stop here for today I'm fed up just thinking about those trustees that I thought I knew and trusted. And those that I know had criminal pasts.
Until the next time, I wish you brazen foolishness, intelligent insight and the courage to laugh at it all....
I, Praetorian
07/20/2011
by I, Praetorian
I got up this morning, or rather this afternoon as it turns out, thinking about my experiences with district level management or administration is they prefer. It does take a unique personality to want to take on a job like that especially in these lean and education unfriendly times.
So I started to think about the personalities of the district level administrators that I have had any kind of lengthy involvement with. And some of them I've known personally some only in a professional setting, but all seem to have a uniquely similar facet to their personalities. And unfortunately in my experience although that facet varies from person to person there is a completely discernible link. This link becomes more pronounced at the higher levels of middle management. Simply put each of those personalities in my experience have a qualitative dysfunction. For many they lack a sense of humor in any commonly held sense of the term. Some of that is dictated by the wear and tear of the job itself. But in easy-going easy laughing kind of person would not probably last long. Here's why I think that:
First off, in this the year 2011 on the downhill side of public support for public education in general. With the exception of the great philosophical battles that incurred at public education's inception, there has never been a time when educating all children was of less importance. That is less importance to the voter and the talking heads that feed the common voter back the lowest common elements of his or her own dysfunctions in society and as a person. I believe there is no coincidental correlation between the collective rise of our sense of entitlement, narcissism, and individual greed; and the rise in our unwillingness to fund the very institution that brought us and taught us how to use our democratic rights. For those of you who would argue that last statement, either comment or shut up. (I am so weary and sick and extraordinarily angry with those people who have a half-baked, ill thought out philosophy on anything if they are willing to stand up for what they believe no matter how informed or not informed they are on the subject.)
Okay. This is where I get off on another tangent in the very smallest percentage in
of the ranks of educators, there exist one or two individuals per say everyone thousand employed educators that are willing to stand and fight philosophically, emotionally, and mostly at risk of their own jobs, to fight for educators who taught the great talk but cower in the presence of district level and sometimes even site level administration. Although those of us in education know that there is no truth to the old tiredness that you can't fire a teacher, it is amazing how quickly our resolve dissipates at even the slightest hint of having to stand up like human beings and adults. I personally am going through the greatest most unjust most unfair fight of my 15 years in education. And it all started because I chose to stand up not just for my rights but for the rights of a handful of other teachers who for reasons of their own could not or would not stand up for themselves.
Further, I chose to get involved in the fight against what is now the mostly corrupt Board of Trustees (sorry CJ, you are not one of those) and a wholly corrupt and self-serving fear driven Department of human resources. At the directive of the strongest and probably the most narcissistic of the trustees personalities, I have been targeted by a series of extremely poorly evidenced lies. These liars were perpetrated and further resuscitated by the head of our human resources department. The following is simply my opinion: but this man ranks among the most cowardly and self-important men I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. He has all the potential of being a great director but instead he like so many others has chosen to cower and acquiesce to the assumed power of "life or death" of our very very dysfunctional Board of Trustees, School Board. For the last 20 years maybe more, the various board members have served as the quintessential bully boys at this low level of political power. They have interfered with, dictated to, and coerced many good administrators including two very good superintendents who were forced out by the insanity. And this insanity driven by local politics has continued and is still present today. Even though the board members no longer have fistfights and drunken rages as they had in the past. Yep that's right folks, in past years our board members have come to meetings drunk and getting into physical altercations amongst themselves in public session. That's the kind of quality that small to medium-sized districts often attract. Lastly, I am fighting this campaign not just to retain my avocation, but to show everyone in the district that you don't have to cower before those personalities of the lowest common denominator. Especially a retired yes-man from our otherwise esteemed Sheriff's Department. Mine I had's own deputies stormed their union hall in protest of the union backing him for a higher position. It was so outrageous and so blatant that his own street officers are deputies wouldn't stand for him in a position of power they made the newspaper and forced this trustee to withdraw his candidacy. And now I understand exactly why and probably more than I should. Corrupt and cowardly often go hand-in-hand.
Perhaps I will stop here for today I'm fed up just thinking about those trustees that I thought I knew and trusted. And those that I know had criminal pasts.
Until the next time, I wish you brazen foolishness, intelligent insight and the courage to laugh at it all....
I, Praetorian
The prospects for healthcare reform may be chillier than DC weather, but Democrats in the House and Senate are turning their attention to another warmer but still significant national issue: the increasing number of runaway and throwaway youth who are being forced into prostitution. In response to the growing concerns that desperate, runaway teens will be forced into prostitution in a sluggish economy, Congress is pushing several bills to improve how runaway kids are tracked by the police, fund crucial social services, and prevent teens from being caught in sex trafficking. Here's the gist of what the new legislation is trying to accomplish:
