9/11/2012

On this day 11 years ago, I awoke to images that are the equivalent of Pearl Harbor for many in our generation. At the time I was working for the California State Assembly and immediately made my way to our office to see what if anything needed to be done. I was the only one that made it to work that day. Very shortly afterwards I was contacted by our Chief of Staff and told that after I took care of a couple administrative things I should head home and await further instructions. I provide this background not to suggest anything really, besides the fact that we were all, all in shock. Disbelief, angst, fear, a feeling of a lack of control, etc... were the feelings of the day.

The question that I think merits discussion now 11 years later is where have we come since then? 9/11/2001 was a test of our resolve as a country, a people, a community, and a democracy. Did terrorists and the prospect of terror change us into something entirely different? Did this change make us better or worse? The answers to these questions may seem obvious to some but proposing better alternatives seems harder.

We have Guantanamo and many agree we should close it. What should we do with the prisoners that can't go back to their own country and won't be taken in anywhere else? Obviously it would have been best not to have a Guantanamo in the first place... but in our moment of terrified fervor we didn't think that far ahead.

We went to Afghanistan and again many agree we should completely withdraw. What should we do about the Taliban? Over the last decade we have attempted to dismantle all other military and violent presence in Afghanistan besides our own. Have we eliminated the Taliban or will our withdrawal allow them to fill the large hole of power that is left behind? Again perhaps we shouldn't have gone in, but in our moment of terrified fervor we didn't think that far ahead.

We went to Iraq, Saddam Hussein is dead. Is Iraq, especially it's people any better off today? Our position in Iraq is certainly better, today American and Western oil companies own access to most of the oil in Iraq. Iraq today has higher levels of oil production than before before the war. Is the internal Shia v. Sunni strife any better? Not our problem, I may agree, but over the last few years we have armed, and disarmed one faction or the other as we saw fit. Do we just leave and let them figure out the mess caused by us drawing and redrawing lines to our liking? Yeah there were no weapons of mass destruction, and Al-Qaeda wasn't in Iraq... perhaps we shouldn't have gone in...

I think what we as Americans should take away from that fateful moment 11 years ago as we reflect back is an understanding that reacting in terrified fervor can sometimes have bad results... Should we not react then, I am not sure there is an answer to that inquiry. All I know is that our forefathers created a democracy that has a system of checks and balances that can sometimes make progresses slowly, but arguably that prevents hasty decisions that leave us in a position like we are today in two of the longest wars in our history, with a prison that we can't seem to close, the list goes on...

One day... two perspectives...

Another day in my life
Another lost opportunity
Another obstacle
Another another....
Loss...

I was sitting down trying, crying, lying...
in wait hidden in a corner
a shell of my former
self...

Another day in my life
Another open door
Another challenge
...another Another
Victory...

I was standing up in a crowd, proud, loud...
no longer hidden in a corner
a shell of my former
self...

You...

I think of you
I am never thought of by you
I glance at you
I am not seen by you
I dance with you
I am not felt by you
I comfort you
I am hurt by you
I listen to you
I am not heard by you
I treasure you
I am spurned by you
I love you
I am not loved by you…

The damage is done...

The damage is done,
Only shards remain where once,
A whole heart was claimed

The devastation is vast,
Rows of abandoned home
Far as the eye can see

You can still hear the music
The soulful sounds of a movement
Crowds spilling through the streets

All that remains is silence
A vast sense of loss
All but defeated

The damage is done
We will rise again
The heart vows to keep beating

Some return
Face the challenge
And remain …

Others have moved on
They cannot bear it
The faint beat of a weakened heart

They want to help
They want to scream
They reluctantly abandon her in her time of need

So few have returned
How will the heart beat again
How will the blood flow through it’s veins as it once did

Progress is being made
The lost ones are being replaced by new souls
Brave humans ready for the challenge

She will rise
Her heart will beat once again
She will never be conquered

Or will she…

Boom Pow a rig explodes
Her homes were taken and now her livelihood
How will she weather this storm…

(Shared Contribution by AM)

Had it not been seen...

Had it not been seen,
We would have continued like before....
And not changed

She has to wait
Time spent was too precious
Maybe she will

Had it not been touched
We wouldn’t have noticed the blazing temperature
And continued like before…

She could have waited
We would have worked at it
Now it’s gone

Had it not been heard
We would not have noticed the shrieking
And continued like before…

She should have waited
Anger didn’t solve anything
Now the end has arrived

Had it not been said,
I might have saved face
And continued like before…

She would have waited
The moment was too real
Now there is loneliness

Another burnt Tea Kettle
Another date gone south
I really have to learn how to make Tea

(Shared Contribution by AM)

Shades

Shades of jealousy,
Tainted colored memories,
You devastate me.

Fighting with fire,
In it’s glorious rage
You frustrate me

Shades of Pride
Smiles cheek to cheek
You intoxicate me

Fighting with the wind
In it’s sheer power
You deflate me

Shades of glory
Victorious times
You congratulate me

Fighting with water
In it’s peaceful serenity
You placate me

Shades of loss
Depression ensues
You blame me

Fighting with the earth
In it’s abundance
You stimulate me

Shades of truth
Moments that are lost
You are me…

(Shared Contribution by AM)

Educational Reform in California

*** Let me preface this by saying these are just my opinions, rants, etc... proceed with caution***

Some of you know this and others don't. I work as a financial planner and a majority of my clients are teachers. In fact I am currently sitting in the lounge of an elementary school in Santa Ana. Let me start by saying I am not even sure that we can call the current educational system in California a system. There are way too many things wrong with it. I don't want to seem like I am just here to complain but I think to get a fair understanding I should first lay out what I think are the issues with the system.

1. Mediocrity is rewarded
2. No accountability standards (testing every five days doesn't count)
3. Teaching to a test and not to the student
4. Poor recruitment
5. Watered down recruitment standards
6. Horrible budgeting
7. Lack of innovative thinking and solutions

I could go on with a few more things but I am sure you get the picture. The system is broken in a lot of different places. Now as an outsider let me say that I think the fault lies everywhere. The Unions protect their constituency, the teachers and administrators, the legislators protect their constituency, their election campaign fund, and the parents and children, well there is really no one to protect them. Here are some of the things I would do.

I am going to combine points 1 thru 3 because I feel the solution to these is the most important and I believe my suggestion tackles all three issues. The main key is the need for accountability and the fact that mediocrity should not be rewarded. We harp on our kids constantly that mediocrity in the real world is not rewarded but from my own experience I can tell you that at least 25 -30 % of the teachers I run into are rewarded for just that, mediocrity. Testing is currently the only way that we hold teachers accountable if at all and how we gauge progress in kids. It doesn't work. Remember that kid that was good at all the tests, could ace any of them, was he/she a great student? Remember the other kid that labored, studied hard, did all the homework but struggled with tests, was he/she a bad student?

In my opinion teachers should be held accountable by three constituencies, their peers, the student's parents, and their principal or administrators. At the end of the year each of these three parties should get to fill out surveys in reference to the teacher with the surveys being weighed 33% for both the admin and peers, and 34% for the parents. The teacher portion of this survey would break down as such, surveys by teachers in your grade level and by teachers in the grade level above you, since they can gauge your progress from the previous year. Teachers that teach the 12th grade would be gauged by how many kids they graduate. If a teacher does not get the appropriate marks they would be put on probation for the next two years. Why two you ask, no teacher should be fearful to teach in the manner she chooses, or punished for having a "bad class". The Union would be put on notice as well and they would have two years to make sure they took the opportunity to help their constituent, the teacher. Teachers that end up on the list more than twice would be subject to a one year probation. Again the union would obviously be notified. That would I believe at least start to resolve the first three issues.

Now comes the poor recruitment and the low recruitment standards. Teachers should be the bright of the bright and I am sorry in a lot of schools I go to they are not. A masters degree from University of Phoenix carries the same weight as a degree from Harvard. A masters degree in English Literature, Nuclear Physics, or Education are all of the same value. The government has a similar system of rewarding for units but I am not sure it should be that flat. There has to be some form of subjectivity to the units and degrees people attain when it comes to their pay.

Ever asked a teacher if they get paid enough? Let me know if you find one that thinks they do. Now realistically for the stuff they deal with they probably don't, but neither do a lot of other people in the world. I worked in the restaurant industry for a while at a Farmer Boys, I would challenge anyone to be a lead cook at a fast food restaurant like that and do well. I definitely couldn't hang and those guys get paid 10 - 14 dollars an hour. Now lets take a look at a teachers pay.( I am taking my numbers from the SAUSD pay schedule) A starting teacher with a bachelors degree makes $48000 a year. Lets take a closer look at this number. Teachers get about 12 weeks off a year which is about 10 weeks more than most people. So most people work 50 weeks a year while teachers work 40. So per week a teacher makes $1200. So on an annual basis teachers make $60000 ($1200 * 50) Go offer a college kid a job that pays him $60000 a year and see how many of them balk at that, even out of good institutions. So why can't we recruit people from better schools. In my opinion its simple; no one understands what teachers make or how they make it. Teachers in Santa Ana get paid $60000 on an annual basis, on top of that they get a pension, ten percent of which is funded for them. They have excellent health benefits to which the district contributes pretty healthily. There needs to be a marketing campaign that lets people know what the true salary packages of teachers are worth. One this would help recruit better teachers, and two teachers themselves would get a better understanding of where they stand in comparison to other professions. Without actually changing anything we would make teaching seem like a good choice.

Now for the budgeting issues, not much to be done there. The districts just have to be forced to run on a ten year average. What I mean by that is districts should look at what they have received in funding over the last ten years. In any year that they have a surplus over that average they should be forced to save a significant portion of that in a rainy day fund. In years that they are below the shortfall can be covered by that fund.

This last problem is a problem with the system. We need to let teachers be creative and teach to the needs of the class in front of them. By force feeding formulaic teaching ciricullums to teachers we are taking away the whole point of having them, to teach. I agree that schools need to teach similar stuff so kids are on the same level, but lets be realistic kids are not on the same level. No two classes are the same and teachers should be able to shift according to the class in front of them.

Ok this has been a very long rant, and if any of you have gotten to this point I congratulate you. I am not sure I would have made it. These are some rudimentary suggestions and obviously I am an outsider looking in but I hope at least some of my points make sense.