School Board Meetings; Through the Looking Glass

Have you ever been on a business trip and thought you wandered into the wrong meeting room? You’re in the right hotel, reasonably sure that this is the right floor and yet you cannot understand a single thing that is happening since you have slipped unobtrusively into the back of the room. The language is jargon and acronym filled, the persons on the podium (yes, podium) are separated by a vast gulf of both space and architecture from the audience and you cannot find a spot in the agenda that would give you security in knowing that indeed this is the meeting that you are required to attend.

Try being ten minutes late for a LWSD Board Meeting. It was my first experience at a school board meeting and I pulled the agenda off their website prior to arriving. I entered the spacious and light filled Redmond Town Center building that houses the LWSD Resource Center. Immediately to my left was a sign that stated this room was indeed the board room and I entered with trepidation as I was, as stated, ten minutes late. I took an empty seat; there were plenty. Three professionally dressed folks with binders and folders, blackberry’s and laptops sat up front and although I was in jeans I did have my blackberry with me, so I sat with them. Craning my neck I could see the other four folks in the audience; late middle-age women sitting in back; one knitting (so tale of two cities) and three working studiously at, I kid you not, cutting out intricate paper dolls and snowflake-like tiaras. And yes, I did take the time to try to figure out what these products of much snipping and clipping were; the second was a mystery until I saw one woman fit it to another woman’s head. They had supplies spread out on the floor in front of each of them and were busy the entire two hours; I never saw them look up and I never heard them even whisper to each other.

It turns out the ones up front where there to give presentations of sort; it was the Chief Academic Officer for LWSD; Dan Phelan and the Chief Student Officer; Traci Pierce and someone from their office. After Dan’s presentation; Culture Ends, I asked for a copy of the presentation and was given the full meeting agenda, approximately 37 pages worth of material.
That left just five observers, with five board members, an executive assistant and the Superintendant of Lake Washington schools up front. It was fascinating how they managed to appear so accessible and yet unreachable at the same time. On the LWSD web page are e-mails, biographies and phone numbers for each board member. The agenda is out ahead of time on the web, and a full agenda available for anyone who wants/needs one as you enter the meeting room. Seemingly these members are transparent and accessible.

But it was the meeting room itself that shook me initially. Up on a large podium were the seven seats, the board members plus the superintendant and the executive assistant. Also on the podium was an expansive wooden structure designed to be their collective desk; with appropriate electronic avenues. Each had a large screen monitor, and the audience had an immense screen above their heads to see the pages highlighted by the speakers; one presentation was done by essentially reading the test data to the members while showing it upon the wall and on their monitors. Some members had their own laptops open as well, others had vast notes and the binder with today’s information and tabs. They were separated by about 5 feet from the first line of chairs for the audience, then another 3-4 feet of this desk-like structure, all the while being held up higher than the rest of the room. I had the sense that the idea was to hold them up on a pedestal, away from the madding crowd. Most impressive, Yoda would say. But I don’t think he would have been impressed, and neither was I. Why was the vast display necessary? I immediately wondered about other school districts and how it looked at their board meetings, whether they were getting the same “look but don’t touch, and if you have something to say make an appointment to testify (their word, was it meant to cause pause? Testify? Really?) AND be sure to keep it under three minutes, no questions were to be addressed to the board at that time and no answers would be given.

In addition to the regal atmosphere and the strict rules for interaction there was the disparity in language. It was very hard to understand what they were discussing; there was a high use of acronyms as well as simply a very high echelon of spoken word. Some members said things in such a way that it sounded as if professors with advanced degrees were pontificating to one another. Others spoke plainly but were like a dog with a bone, repeating themselves and re-stating their objections numerous times. Educational jargon, test jargon, acronyms for present testing and future testing… opinions and objections swirled around like volcanic residue.
After phoning the Public Information Office for the LWSD I was informed that although some school districts submit hours for per diem pay (allowed by law up to $3000 per year) this district did not submit that paperwork and in fact had nothing in their charter to allow for any payment. This was purely a volunteer position. I asked about the number of hours, approximately, and was told that generically it depended upon the member; some have greater time to devote to this position, becoming a liaison with schools and the communities, others who have to work full time have fewer hours to give. The office was loath to give an approximation of the number of hours spent on open meetings, working meetings, retreats, testifying in Olympia, speaking at PTSA functions, and on and on.

One thing I did notice was the level of alacrity that each member showed for the items on the agenda; they were prepared and ready to go. Not prepared in that they had read the briefings, but prepared with their questions and concerns, as well as possible solutions to the issues that they brought forward. They were there to accomplish the evening’s business, and did so with grace towards each other’s foibles.

There may be many points to make about the inhibiting rules and atmosphere, as well as the sophisticated level of discussion that felt exclusive and elitist, however I had not bothered to speculate about just who was able to take on this volunteer position with innumerable hours, and the load that they carry. Perhaps more on that later.

Inauguration, and change

Today marks history; regardless of whom you voted for, or if you bothered to vote at all; today will go down in history. My boys are at the kitchen table with oatmeal and the front page of the paper; the one with all 43 past presidents pictured as well as an above the fold full color picture of President-elect Obama. They are discussing how past presidents died, and how many of them wore false teeth. It is amazing to me that they consider this day exciting for the fact that they are staying home this morning to watch the inauguration, but really truly do not see that America will forever be changed after 9:00 this morning, pacific standard time.

I remember my dad making us watch the moon landing; it’s been described to me so many times I think that I actually have a memory, even though I was only three. We were gathered in the living room around a small black and white TV and I was so bored; this was not a Hannah-Barbera cartoon. Dad and Mom were so intense, so still and focused. It was important and even I understood. History was made that day and I was oblivious. We also gathered around the TV to watch President Nixon give his resignation speech in 1974; that memory is sharper. Again, we were together as a family of six, silently watching a small TV, and again my parents stuck me with their intensity. At age 11 I knew that they were sad, and worried. Our family did not discuss politics, ever; my Dad still believes that is private and personal, akin to your salary.
In some ways it is a blessing that my younger children don’t look at President Barack Obama and see him as the first black President of the United States, but simply as the next President; one whose poetic speech made Mommy cry when they watched his victory on TV. We were divided at the primaries in our house; Mommy wanted Clinton and Niklas passionately stumped for Obama. Niklas is 9. In some ways their lack of surprise shows progress that they would blithely go about their business of being boys and see nothing more fascinating in the crowds than Chicago Cubs baseball caps. What they don’t see is the amazement, the pride, the sacrifice and the pure hope. Hope that this man and his beliefs can inspire and lead us to change.

William Ayers speaks of change also, in his book To Teach the journey of a teacher, “Our commitments should include a faith in the ability of ordinary people to shape the solutions to their problems, the importance of rethinking each step as we go, and a willingness to embrace partial measures and small changes that point toward justice.” Again, the theme of change, but in a judicious manner, one that will keep the best of what is occurring and begin to fold in the lacking elements that will serve great portions of the student body.

In the Parade section of the Sunday Seattle Times paper was a letter written from President Obama to his daughters; one that spoke of the reasons he decided to take his family on this journey to be President. He stated “I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential- schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. …I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improves our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.”

William Ayers (dare I speak of Ayers and Obama in the same blog?) in his book, would concur that it is schools that must be worthy of their students, and that hands on learning, as opposed to a pre-packaged curriculum, will take a student farther and deeper, in the hands of a capable teacher. President Obama had previously chosen for his children the University of Chicago laboratory school; stating that he had taught there, and that it was five minutes from their home. “A good fit” he called it. On the University web site they state “Learning by doing has guided the efforts of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools since Professor Dewey opened its doors over a century ago… Our mission is focused on students. We are more than just test scores and college admissions statistics. We are about learning well and complementing the work of one of the world's premier institutions of higher learning, the University of Chicago. Our academic program is rigorous, but we are as interested in the development of character as we are in scholastic achievement.”

Joel Spring, in his book American Education also speaks of character development, stating that the No Child Left Behind legislation specifies that instructors must integrate character education into nearly all school subjects, and raises the concern that this is a point of conflict between personal and public goals for schools.
Can character development be taught? And if so are the teachers the right ones to do that? Many many points of view out there, some accepting of this additional challenge, some pointing to the number of hours that the child is in school versus the number of requirements on their time there. They saliently point out the difference in the number of waking hours that the parent has the child and that perhaps that is better left at home. Without character development I do not see the Nation welcoming their 44th president; nor do I see our schools edging towards a more Ayers-like nirvana… smaller schools, with teachers at the center of the classroom practice. Teachers, those who are passionate, invested, creative, courageous and willing to embrace change.

Towards the end of his open letter to his daughters President Obama states “I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give other the chances you’ve had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much – although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.”

One of the indicators of crisis spoken of in President Obama’s inaugural address was that “our schools fail too many.” I can list the things that I believe are failing our students; classroom size, materials designed for hands-on learning, teachers who are given canned curriculum and required standardized tests, inequality in funding for technology, buildings, playgrounds and specialists, students who are not ready to learn in that they are hungry, abused, afraid or lacking the ability to sit still for long periods if time and find themselves at odds with their own body.
President Obama states that we have an obligation to give back, that our true potential can be realized when we join in with something bigger than ourselves; reciprocity joined with moral character.

Some have compared the ideas coming from this President to the ideas that spawned the Civilian Conservation Corps and other ideas from the New Deal. I believe that Ayers would agree that these were “partial measures and small changes that point toward justice.”

When will we see this change? When will it happen? When we are courageous enough to begin the first steps, the first measured response that will make some of the ideals of the University of Chicago laboratory school a possibility in Tacoma Wa, Yakima Wa, Watsonville Ca, Norris Tennessee, and on and on.

To Teach; Perhaps to Dream?

Thus far I have felt very off-center in class this quarter. To me, ready to begin a new chapter in my life, it seems as if the majority of the information has been negative, and overwhelmingly depressing. Thus far this quarter has been evocative of Eyore, from Winnie-the-pooh. "It will never work, no one cares, why even try?"



The schools are too big, too impersonal, to under-funded; they do not allow or support creativity or true higher level learning. Too many schools, and too many teachers practice "mob management (Ayers, p. xiv) and here is a positive little thought "Today, teaching may not seem so attractive, nor so compelling in quite the same way. Not only are schools in worse shape than before, and the problems seemingly more intractible, but there is a narrow, selfish spirit loose in the land. Idealists are "suckers" in the currency of the day, and the notion that schools should be decent, accesible, and responsive places for all children is just more Pie-in-the-sky. With a combative social Darwinism settingt the pace in our society, and a cynical sense that morality has no place in our public lives, teaching today can seem a fool's errand." (Ayers, p. 7)



Ayers concludes that it is not a fools errand; that is is a true calling, an opportunity for caring individuals to make a difference in the lives of children. After all the arguements and reasons NOT to go into this underpaid, underappreciated, laborious field, Ayers concludes that there is still hope.



Thus far, I can only hope, and believe, that the lectures and readings are meant to push us over the edge of being uncomfortable, and make us want to fight for newfound feelings of warmth towards social justice.

One thing said in class bothers me; clearly. To convince the parents of Eastside children that the money they have separated themselves from and given to the PTSA at their school should be spent instead for another school that is in dire need. Yes, I was listening, and yes, that hit the mark. Here is my two cents; if the parents raised the money for their school just who are we to TELL them that they have done wrong, or that they are selfish isolationists for not sharing. Do we tell McDonalds to share with Washington Mutual? McDonalds stock has actually gone up; whereas we all know that Washington Mutual is in the proverbial toilet. Post-flush. These companies do not compete with each other, there would be no loss in forcing one to support the other. We're all people, and those jobs are important.


Perhaps a specific school fundraiser; entirely brought about by the children with some help from the PTSA; in order to fulfill a need that they have researched in a town that they know of, not far from their own. A project that they own, and will remember. THAT is something that can be brought about without making judgements regarding what people do with their own money, in their own child's school.



I fail to see any reason that a school should not be allowed to raise funds for a greater good of their own students, be that for a reading coach, the school play or a chess teacher. I also think, that if we looked even one inch closer at that school you would see some things that were not mentioned in any of the "how can we stand for this" literature or soliloquies. This school may have raised funds for micro-loans. They may have filled jars and jars with coins of all sorts for "Penny's for Peace." They may have rounded up coats for the homeless, food for Hopelink, presents for another school in their district to be given in December. (generally schools have begun to swap their giving tree gifts with another school so that students are not likely to run into the giver while wearing their new sweater. It makes sense and is one of a number of deeper thoughts that have gone into who the students really are. Schools are trying.)



What happened to the preface, remember ... "Talk back, speak up, be heard." It is a good mantra, and one that can change the world.

First Blog

January 8th 2009 -
Having been dragged kicking and screaming into the (what century is this?) I have started a blog. No blood, and easier than creating an account on BlackBoard or subscribing to the x10 email list. Now I just wish that someone would teach us to use the smartboard.