Alonso @ QuEST Conference - Remarks

When he speaks, he does win me over. Of course most of us that are supporting him probably also feel that the real proof will come in the long run. I do feel that he respects and values teachers, but his biggest concern, as all of ours should be, is the progress of the children. Alarming stats he said were giving him urgency:

• Of the class of 2009-- 6,300 began as ninth graders. Now that they are 16 and are Juniors, 1,800 have dropped out.
• Using (latest, I guess) stats on Class of 2001 and college, of those who made it through the 4 years of HS and graduated, only 14% have finished college with a 2 year or 4 year degree. I wonder what this looks like after you take Poly, Western and City out of the mix?

To use his own words, this is clearly "a civil rights issue." And today he quoted the often spoken axiomatic definition of insanity-- as doing the same thing expecting better results.

I wonder what results we'd get if we voted no confidence in the union? The comments he made today were crisp, and void of political rhetoric. Meanwhile, the comments by English (veiled insults) and Johnson (rah rah rah, look at all of my supporters here) were definitely insane.

Sara's post on comparison of school districts was interesting. I don't think that some of the other counties are necessarily working more. It is just that their hourly rate looks better. I know the extra hours I put in to plan during the early morning hours (I typically start working at about 5am) or on the weekends is typical of many city teachers. But there are a lot of other city teachers who:

1. have given up...retired in the job ("old dog, new tricks")...
2. were grandfathered into teaching positions-- many probably could not pass the current praxis exam requirements for general knowledge let alone for their content area...
3. are just lazy, or cynical, or not competant

There is a lot of griping about North Avenue, or Wortham ("Dr Worthless"), or the building administration ("CYA", so much fear)...or complaining that the kids are not what they used to be. As I've said before, a change agent like Alonso will so enrage this culture, as an outsider, that it was only a matter of time before it would try to spit him up like Jonah the Whale. I for one am glad we have anyone other than Copeland or Cooper Boston, who for whatever their strengths, could not seem to turn the ship around.

A note on the kids. They have changed. The world is accelerating in change, and is moving rapidly to a loss of American hegemony and productivity. Why? I don't have it all firm in my mind yet, but I think it has a lot to do with the growth of entertainment as a value. Too much TV. Kids are bored with school, because it is not sexy or fun. Uggh. Frustrating.

I tell my kids that this is a full time job, and the harder they work now, and the more they put into it as an investment of time and energy, the more it will pay in dividends of choice. Educated people are articulate, and can think more complex thoughts. Those who take short cuts now will have their choices narrowed in a complicated, competitive world. This, the rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer, and this really is a civil rights argument. Someone has to start telling the truth about this.