Dr Deasy Liked Good Friday’s … Not That That Matters Anymore

LA SCHOOLS … AND OTHER MUSINGS-And then all that has divided us will merge. And then compassion will be wedded to power. And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind. And then both men and women will be gentle. And then both women and men will be strong.

And then no person will be subject to another’s will. And then all will be rich and free and varied.
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many. And then all will share equally in the earth’s abundance. And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old. And then all will nourish the young. And then all will cherish life’s creatures. And then all will live in harmony with each other and the earth. And then everywhere will be called Eden once again. - Judy Chicago

Last Friday, starting at sundown, was the first day of Passover, in Hebrew: PESACH - The Festival of Freedom.

It was also, for Gentiles: Good Friday – the most solemn of days.

And Friday also marked the eighteenth anniversary of the death of Helen Bernstein (photo)- who was a lot of things to a lot of people. Teacher. Mother. Friend. Union leader. Maven – a Yiddish word meaning ‘accumulator of knowledge’.

In Judaic Numerology (Gematria) the number 18 (or actually the total of 1 and 8) equals "CHAI", Hebrew for LIFE. Hence 18 is a blessed+meaningful number.

On Friday at noon a small and very unorthodox MINYAN (the smallest number of believers that can form a congregation) met on the steps of Helen Bernstein’s namesake high school at noon and told small stories and remembered the teacher and the mother and the friend and the union leader and the fighter for social justice and the maven.

The plaque on the wall says:

“Helen Bernstein Was An Inspiration For All Who Believe In The Light Of Learning; A Passionate Voice For Teachers, And A Relentless Fighter Who Acted On Her Belief That Children Come First.”

The world was not changed by what we said, it already had been and continues to be.

L’Chiam.

ON THURSDAY THERE WAS A MEETING OF THE LAUSD BOARD OF ED EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND PARENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE. Perhaps the best education program in the District that most engages parents is the SLRDP (School Readiness Language Development Program) – so, naturally, most of the meeting was taken up with the District’s proposal to eliminate the already severely reduced SLRDP. Not all at once mind you. Half this year and half the next.

From LAUSD’s own promotional material: “The School Readiness Language Development Program (SRLDP) is an oral language program intended to prepare students for kindergarten. It provides students, including the child who is an English Language Learner (ELL) and needs primary-language instruction; and the child who is a Standard English Language Learner (SELL), who will be four-years old by December 2nd of the year of enrollment, the opportunity to increase the ability to listen, to speak effectively, to use vocabulary appropriately, and to develop academic readiness skills. It provides a parent involvement and education program that helps meet the needs of parents to positively facilitate the prekindergarten child’s developmental potential.”

To get an idea of just how bright the idea to ax SLRDP is, compare+contrast the following two stories: 

●Los Angeles Unified Considers Killing Preschool Program & ●Literacy Gap Between Latino and White Toddlers Starts Early, Study Shows

As committee member Kim Pattillo Brownson said: "There’s already 87,000 kids who don’t have seats just within the District’s geographic boundaries who are preschool eligible, many of whom are low-income. Adding 10,000 more kids to that number is an astonishing move for an educational institution."

ALL IS NOT SHINY+WONDERFUL IN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC PRESCHOOLS – which depend on tobacco tax money for funding: Prop 10 of 1998. Unfortunately Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) has been so successful that that funding is drying up; California is being bit-in-the-butt by our own success! And for reasons not fully understood, Gov. Brown (raised by a stay-at-home mom back in the 1940’s) is not a fan of preschool – which he calls childcare.

There are some that bravely “…but don’t quote me!” suggest any future marijuana tax receipts go to state preschool funding. I could support that …but how will we pay for the bullet train?

In truth, preschool can+should be paid for through Local Control Funding Funds …but that would require the locals to get up in arms, take control and insist.

“Implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula provides an exciting opportunity for Early Learning and Development (ELD) advocates to expand access to the programs and services that prepare our young children for academic and lifelong success. Experience tells us that ELD can and should be a prominent component of any K-12 reform strategy, given that ELD initiatives – such as high-quality preschool and infant and toddler care – can make a great difference in student outcomes. 

“A strong body of research shows children’s social-emotional and cognitive development during the period from birth to age 5 greatly influences the degree to which they will be prepared for kindergarten and perform throughout school. With effective preparation and community engagement, local early learning advocates can capitalize on this unique opportunity provided under LCFF implementation to position ELD at the forefront of California’s public agenda for the next decade.” –Children Now | “Leveraging the Local Control Funding Formula: Making the Case for Early Learning and Development in Your School District” |

Either that or every man Jack+Jill of us are going to have to take up a two-pack-a-day habit.

Dr. McKenna got all loveable+curmudgeonly at the meeting and asked what program the angry multitudes of SLRDP teachers+parents+rugrats suggest the District eliminate to fund SLRDP? There wasn’t a person in the room that wasn’t ready to push MiSiS under THAT bus!

It almost made one miss Dr. Deasy, who believed he could fund any+everything with bond funds. Almost.

THE FORCES OF ©ORPORATE $CHOOL ®EFORM ARE NOT WITHOUT THEIR CONVICTIONS, and they picked up eleven more on Monday when eleven teachers and administrators in the Atlanta Public Schools were found guilty of cheating on standardized tests.The Atlanta superintendent was also a plaintiff but died earlier in the month. These folks weren’t in it for the GPA; they were in it for the money. This was not a “you got caught cheating and you have to take an ‘F’ …or make up the test after school”. This was “You’re suspended …You’re expelled …You are convicted felons led away in handcuffs”. And the crime? Conspiracy+Racketeering – under the RICO (‘Racketeer Influenced Criminal Organization’) statute.

Is a ©$® a racket? I only put this stuff out there; this is independent thinking time. You need to reach your own conclusion.

MEANWHILE IN LOS ANGELES and also on Friday Parent Revolution (the group supposedly founded by Ben Austin – but really founded by Green Dot founder Steve Barr) announced that (two) parents from 20th St Elementary School spontaneously started circulating a Parent Trigger petition to take over/make over/whatever that school. 

Friday is a slow news day. Good Friday is the slowest of news days. Late on Friday was John Deasy’s favorite time to announce shenanigans. Deasy is of course gone …he had nothing to do with any of these shenanigans. He probably didn’t even know about them.

You know that lovely little bridge in Los Feliz/Silverlake, where Franklin Avenue crosses over Monon St., just before you come to Marshall High School? The Shakespeare Bridge?  I heard from a guy who knows a guy who works for the city; they will be selling that bridge. I can get it for you for…

…how much do you have in your wallet?

NCLB: “Ironically, it is Democrats who are most determined to preserve President George W. Bush’s legacy of high-stakes testing. It is worthy of note that none of the world’s highest-performing nations—such as Finland, Japan, China, Korea, Canada, Poland, Estonia, and Singapore—tests every child every year; in that burdensome and expensive practice, the United States stands alone.

“This is a useful time to remember that the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act had one purpose: to send additional resources to schools enrolling large numbers of poor children. Over the past two decades, ESEA has become a vehicle for those who believe that standards and testing will cure poverty and low performance, a strategy that has failed to attain its goal after two decades of trying.” - Diane Ravitch: THE LOST PURPOSE OF SCHOOL REFORM 

Take at look at the article: TIME TO COOL IT WITH BASHING SCHOOLS. Read it twice.

In the US we educate all of our kids from 5 or 6 to 18; Special Ed kids until they’re 21. Not just the best and brightest or the rich-and-whitest …but every sam dingle one of ‘em!

There’s plenty of room for improvement. Plenty …but we’re doing a pretty up-and-walking job of it. I take great delight in pointing out the bone-head moves we make and the wrong turns we take; how we get preoccupied with local control like it’s some new thing when local control really doesn’t get much localler than the local school board …in sane jurisdictions the most local of local government.

America has a love-hate relationship with Boards of Education. Mark Twain said: “First God made idiots; that was for practice. Then He made School Boards.” If you remember The Music Man (which is Americana the Musical) the comic foils, the closest thing to bad guys – and the marks in the con (America loves a con!) – is the River City School Board; four yahoos who argue about everything and agree on nothing. But if you blow a pitch pipe they sing in perfect four-part-harmony.

“Singing harmony, in unison, sweet harmony
Gotta hoist the flag and I'll beat your drum.”

All seriousness aside: Happy Eastover everyone, with the colored eggs and the chocolate rabbis.

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf