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.

When are you getting Married?

Where to start with this one... This question was pretty easy to dismiss in the past and rarely ever bothered me. I turn 31 in a few days and its really starting to do just that, bother me. A number of my friends are married and seeing the period of adjustment many of them have had to go through has been "interesting" to say the least. My normal answer to the question is I am ready, just one thing missing. Anyone care to guess what? Yeah, yeah you got it ... A girl =)

Really though I am starting to wonder. A good friends cousin(girl) and his sister-in-law told me at a recent wedding that I was too nice to ever get married. I am not sure what that is supposed to mean or how to interpret that but maybe they are on to something. At this point, I am tired of the games, but it seems everywhere I turn there is another thing to worry about. I mean is it crazy to expect this process to just be simple. I swear it felt like it was when I was younger. I kind of like you, you kind of like me we go out and get to know each other and see where it goes. Maybe it's just my experience but that simple notion seems to have disappeared.

So now what. There are of course the dating sites. Naseeb, E-harmony, match, etc... Can't lie, I tried a couple but to date haven't met anyone through them of any interest. (Made a couple of good friends) Of course as a person of South Asian descent there are always biodatas. We have all seen the youtube video. It always seemed like a joke, but lately I am starting to think there is something to it:

1. Something in your biodatas makes you compatible (Theoretically)
2. You get to see each other's pics (granted no guarantee that she still looks like her prom picture)
3. The parties are motivated, if not the people themselves at least their family, parents, etc...
4. There is at least an assumption that the other party is not creepy (Yes, Yes not always guaranteed either)

The fact that it has any appeal at all is frightening. I never thought when i was young that few days from my 31st birthday I would be single let alone be thinking of entertaining the idea of having my mom find me someone... When am I getting married? Well for now the answer is still. " I am ready, just one thing missing." =)

Friends

A few of us went out for a birthday last night. It had been a while since we had all gotten together. I am sure most people can relate to this feeling. You just have certain people in your life that are a part of you in some way. It can be years since you hung out with them last but the connection is just there. Well last night was another one of those nights we all got together and it felt like we didn't miss a beat. There was about ten or twelve of us but it felt like a well oiled machine that just worked well. We went bowling and then out dancing and the night was loads of fun. For me at least there were some interesting moments... a few instances of reflection. I find myself still just smiling in a way as I think about the night. I am smiling to a certain degree because I often wonder how we all got here and where we are all going to go from here. it seems life has found a way to bring us all together and considering how much fun we have its for good reason. I have been thinking really seriously recently about leaving California and perhaps starting up somewhere else. It's nights like last night that give me pause, as I wonder if I could ever build friendships and connections like the ones I have here. Its definitely not all rosy and pretty. Even within us friends there are so many "thorny" issues some of which we sweep under the rug and others that we often talk about. Still though issues or no issues its that feeling that you are understood, that you belong, that you can and want to listen to others, and that there are people that care to listen to you... Friends are sometimes the most unappreciated assets of our lives. I for one am glad for the friends I have and for the many wonderful memories I have had with them.

Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today. Am I surprised and shocked? Definitely. Do I think he is deserving of the prize well that is where the real question arises. In my own opinion he does. In my lifetime I can't remember another person that has been able to affect the spirit of so many people as President Obama has. He is not Mahatma Gandhi who by the way never won the prize and definitely deserved it. I would ask you though for a second to think of another person who has so instantly changed the perception of America worldwide. I would ask you to think of another person that has captured the imagination of the world as the President has. I agree with a lot of the critics that he has not been able to deliver on that promise but we haven't really given him much time. I don't remember us judging any other president with a microscope to such a degree as we have President Obama. Every move he makes is scrutinized and challenged, but yet how many times have we heard him loose his cool, say the wrong thing, give a shoulder massage to a foreign dignitary (thanks President Bush), or seemingly loose sight of his goal. To get someone to have hope in change, to actually have them believe in it is to me a great feat and President Obama has gotten a nation to believe and some may argue even a large segment of the population of the world...

Whats wrong with the left.

I should be studying... really I should but this was bugging me and yet again I have neglected to post in a while. Why is it that fringe movements like the Washington Tea Party can get so many things done, that Rush Limbaugh, O' Reilly, Fox News, Conservative radio etc... can garner so much support. Recent Census Bureau data revealed that the shape of the economy post Bush is the worst of any president in modern history. The list of atrocities that have taken place in an era of Republican control while a Republican president and a Republican congress is long and somewhat frightening. There are prison abuse stories, a history of torture, secret prisons, lack of due process, etc... Amazingly until the final days Republicans stuck by President Bush, probably not a wise thing but they did.

On the other hand, So many people are already questioning Obama and the current Democratic party congress on why things haven't turned around including many democrats. Just a thought the United States is like a huge Oil Tanker in an ocean that we are expecting to maneuver like a small speed boat. On top of that the previous regime has ensured that we aren't in open waters either. The multiple missteps have ensured that we are actually in a sea of sorts with very few exit points and only careful maneuvering will ensure that we will actually make our way out safely. I am not saying that we should give the administration and Congress a free pass that's what the nation seemed to do with the last president and look where we ended up, but in light of the circumstances under which President Obama took over we may want to be a little patient...

Our voices of support have to be loud and perhaps even slightly uncivil. Yes I know we are the party of the educated, the party that doesn't play dirty, the party that likes to do things the right way... At some point if the war is in the trenches we may have to adjust our methods. If a Congress man is willing to call the President a liar during a speech in the House we know the other party is not willing to abide by the rules.Ok , I concede we may not want to stoop to their level but we should at the least be prepared to write, post, message, spread the word about our dismay at the discourse taking place around us about the current administration. When things like Death Squads, comparisons of Obama to Hitler, other misconceptions about the health care plans are being put forward daily.

Health Care Reform

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

Let's just start with a question what do we think is a more primitive need, basic health care or education? I am not sure we all agree but I think its health care. The constant chatter out of Washington (Mostly Republicans) is that a government option would mean that we wouldn't have a private system. Just in case someone missed it our K-12 education system is a public one and last I checked there were plenty of private schools around. Is the public school system a great one, I would be the first to point out that it isn't, but ponder the alternative for a second is a bad education or a sub par one better then not knowing how to read at all... A public health care system may not deliver excellent care to all its patrons... last I checked our current private system with the highest paid doctors on the planet... doesn't either. The goal of a health care system at least a public one should not be to provide heart transplants, brain surgeries, or other complicate procedures to the masses. Instead the goal should be to provide basic services to everyone in an efficient manner. (No the regional county hospital is not an efficient manner) I am well aware that the goal should be to save everyone and the goal of the public school system is to graduate everyone. Unfortunately the first priority has to be to provide baseline services and then work on improving the system from that point on... I am not a guru by any means and I definitely don't know all the nuances but I think the solution to this problem has to be multi-faceted... Here are some of my suggestions

1. Increase the number of AMA certified Medical schools ( the number of Caribbean Schools has gone from 3 to something like 30 in the last few years if nothing else those would be dollars spent on our soil ... stimulus anyone) Theoretically an increase in Supply of doctors should decrease salaries
   
2. Provide federal loans that could be considered grants if the Physician or health care professional chooses to stay in the primary care fields. Incentivizing Primary Health care would go a long way in keeping better people in the primary fields rather then losing them to Specializations.
   
3. Create a government option that is designed to compete with the for profit Insurance companies... such and entity would be required to provide baseline profit returns to its own fund and its reports made public so it could be self sustaining.
   
4. Create a separate federal board with state offices to hear about claims that are denied by Insurance carriers. The board would be made up of Industry experts and the decisions of the board would be binding.
   
5. Create a national Information system. A system of Medical Records for all citizens housed and run by the government. Access to the system would be fee based as to help defray the cost.
6. Provide Grants and low interest loans to allow for practices to update software to interface with nationwide system. Prioritize grants and loans based on practices that provide a higher percentage of care to low income families as these practices tend to be less profitable. Grants should also be prioritized based on specialty with primary care practices taking precedence over others.
   
7. Create legislation that requires all health Insurance carriers to provide Insurance to the at risk population, each carrier would be required to insure a certain percentage of people that would otherwise be considered uninsurable. The percentage would be fixed providing a measure to spread risk across the whole system and not burden any particular carrier.
   
8. New legislation to bring the Health Insurance system under national purview considering it is fragmented and currently run state by state.
9. A review of the current Reasonable and Necessary and Usual and Customary standards employed by the industry. Health care professionals should be responsible for determining what care they believe is best for their own patients. Doctors would be subject to blind audits at random by a board of their own peers and those that abused the privileges would be reimbursed at a lower percentage. Boards would be set up nationwide and could loose their accreditation as they would also be cross audited by each other.
   

Those are just some suggestions I have. Just curious to see what if anything happens with the current legislation...

I write with my heart

I write what is real

I write for my part

I write what I feel

I write to explain

I write to understand

I write to retain

I write to comprehend

I write to provoke

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I write as a foe

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I write for pleasure

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I write to run

I write with desire

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I hope to inspire

I hope for peace