[Vision2020] Weitz and debate

[keely emerinemix]

So.  A lot of my good friends and allies have asked me lately why we -- they? -- somebody -- doesn't just go and TALK to Gerry Weitz about voc-tech, lawsuits, and court costs.  Surely, they say, he's a reasonable guy open to compromise and consensus; surely, they say, he isn't the villain he's made out to be.  It's as if the "talk to the guy" option, not having been previously thought of, has suddenly and to the strains of "Kumbaya," wafted through the crisp winter air.

Forget "Hey, gang!  Let's put on a show!"  Now it's "Hey, gang!  Let's talk to Gerry!  Let's build a voc-tech program!  Let's repair the damage he's done to the district!"

Sure.  

I think that Gerry will find it just ducky to have those of you around
town try to reason with him.  He loves an audience, and the naivete of
those who seek to engage him in rational, solution-oriented debate
doesn't negate the delight he takes in "educating" them.   Have a great
time talking to him, and bless you for your innocent longing to reach a compromise.  Know this, however -- while he pretends to
hear you, and then misrepresents what you've said or manipulates you
into saying something you don't mean, you will be amazed, if not more than a little ticked off, that you and he will have entirely different accounts of your discussion.  This is not a reasonable, calm,
concerned, mature man; this is a bully, a professional gadfly, and a
bit of an eccentric (she said, understating her point in the interest
of civility)..  Have fun if you want, but know that many of us who are
or who have been on the inside are well aware of Gerry's ability to
exhaust, overwhelm, and just plain befuddle other kind, intelligent,
community-oriented people who've tried to reason with him.  



Vocational/professional tech offerings require certain things that MSD
doesn't have, certain tangible things like adequate facilities as well
as certain intangible things like curricular flexibility in light of
the oppressive weight of NCLB.  The failure of the bond election in 2005 locked the district in to an inventory of buildings that are inadequate, inefficient, and in need of upgrades just for four-walls-and-a-roof types of classrooms.  NCLB is unlikely to modified unless a Democrat is elected president, and until then, it's what we've got.  It ain't good, and it restricts the teaching of every single subject imaginable, but it is what it is, and while Donovan would like to pretend it doesn't matter, it does.  

Further, the obvious and
well-documented value of these programs doesn't change the fact that
most parents don't want to think of their children as "non-college
bound."  Beyond that, we don't want to go back to the 60s and 70s, when
teachers determined, often solely on the basis of race or family income level,
who was and who wasn't college bound.  And it seems obvious to me that
some who don't go to college right away may actually end up going later
on, just as some who never go to college -- my husband, for example --
do very well in business and the trades.  The suggestion that MSD is in
any way trying to wipe the "non college-bound" off their curricular
doorstep is ludicrous and beyond offensive.

Yet there are very likely things MSD could be doing and more it already has done.  An emphasis on  information/public relations outreach to stakeholders would highlight the successes and tremendous competence within the administration.  It would also illustrate the difficulties, the obstacles, and the tried-but-failed ideas.  MSD has so much going for it -- it has a solid, shining story to tell, and a seemingly entrenched approach to public information that makes it unlikely that the whole story will ever really be told.  This discussion would make one think that there is absolutely no professional/tech curriculum offered to MSD schoolchildren.   In fact, MSD does quite a bit, especially given the limitations of facilities and funding.  If people are unaware of the course offerings, it's not because those classes don't exist.  It's because for whatever reason, MSD has decided on a low-profile, high-road, non-combative approach to answering its critics.  It isn't working.  A refusal to not "fight issues in the press" guarantees that ink, bandwidth, airwaves and column inches will continue to be occupied by those who have little concern for MSD, for schoolchildren, or for the truth.

Keely




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