Future Prospects for Public Education in Virginia and Why the VEA Supports Creigh Deeds for Governor

Since my last posting, I have turned my attention to several different issues and important events in a variety of arenas including politics, policy, and association business. Last weekend, for example, I attended a VEA Board Retreat at Mariners Landing in Bedford County on beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. Our VEA Board of Directors embarked on a new membership year with an important training on diversity followed by a discussion of the need to create a new vision and mission statement for the VEA followed by the conduct of business with a full board agenda before adjourning at noon on Sunday.

Midweek, I went to Washington, D. C. in order to attend part of NEA's "Super Week." Quarterly, the state presidents and national officers and all of the NEA Board of Directors descend upon our nation's capital for the purpose of conducting the association's business between Representative Assemblies. It's called "Super Week," I suspect, because it involves a super human effort to cram as many meetings into four days as possible.

I came home from "Super Week" earlier than usual this time because I wanted to meet with the UniServ Directors who had been conducting their own staff meeting on Thursday and Friday; and today, I convened a brief meeting of our VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee and PAC Directors in order to finalize some of our local candidate recommendations in preparation for the November 3rd state election.

With regard to the upcoming state election, we at the VEA have launched a series of political messages and mailings including a television ad that I hope will help to communicate to the public and to our members that the gubernatorial race that looms ahead is one that warrants their serious attention. We have made a recommendation for Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia because of Creigh's excellent 18-year-record of support for public education. His record in contrast to his opponent's legislative record made our choice fairly easy this time. Creigh had a 93.5% voting record (compared to his opponent's 52% voting record) over the course of his tenure in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate. He has been a champion for the goal of bringing Virginia's teachers' salaries to the national average, and he recognizes the importance of providing every child in the Commonwealth of Virginia with an opportunity for a great public school and a highly qualified teacher. Creigh's own history is a testament to the power of a public education and the importance of every Virginia student being given an opportunity to succeed.

Creigh Deeds has a long road on the campaign trail ahead of him, however. The economy continues to create worries about the future. President Obama's popularity has taken some serious blows as the result of the health care debate which has, unfortunately, reached new lows as far as public discourse and debate. People are afraid and uncertain about their own futures, much less the futures of the Commonwealth and the nation. It's a tough time to be in public office or to be seeking public office.

One thing I know for sure, however. The future of public education in Virginia hangs in the balance as this political race heats up. We have on the one hand a candidate who clearly and unabashedly supports public schools and public school employees. We know that not just from his rhetoric but from his accumulated actions over the course of an 18 year legislative record. That candidate is Creigh Deeds.

We know from Creigh's opponent in this race for Governor that he is not so much a fan of the opportunities to be found in a system of high quality public schools. Instead, he is a proponent of vouchers and tax credits, and he claims to be a candidate in favor of "bold reforms" such as charter schools. The odd thing about that claim is that when asked for specifics about his plan for charter schools, he had nothing to offer with regard to any specific proposal or outline. He also admitted that given our current laws in Virginia, pursuing an expansion of charter schools in Virginia might be "problematic" but he dismissed the "problem" as being something that he would work out later.

The "problem" is that in Virginia, we have legislation already in place that addresses how charter schools can be established. Furthermore, Virginia's Constitution requires that public schools--including public charter schools--be established, operated, and overseen by local school boards.

For more on how and why charter schools are not the answer for Virginians, please see the following article that was printed in the Washington Post last July: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071102327.html. (To see the article, click on the link.)

What has become increasingly apparent in recent weeks and months is that the line between politics and public policy--including education policy--has become blurred. What used to be relegated to the realm of policy--the establishment of schools and the rules they are run by; the development of "alternative" forms of public education; the discussion of what constitutes educational innovation, creativity, experimentation, etc.--these are increasingly included in the political debate about schools. Worse, the debate is increasingly driven by ideology as opposed to what is research based, considered best practice, or is in the best interest of the children whom are in need of the education.

The fact of the matter is that the research is mixed regarding the success of charter schools in the nation. You can find examples of great ones; but you can also find examples of failing ones, many of which are being closed down daily.

The same can be said of our neighborhood's public schools. There are some great ones, and there are some that are in need of support.

So why the push for charter schools as the silver bullet that will solve the problems that are being faced in some of our nation's poorest public schools? The media has certainly helped to create the sense of crisis around the current public school system in this country; and it's been egged on by our current Secretary of Education and our President who are familiar with one type of charter school that they have seen succeed in Chicago. I respectfully disagree with their point of view that what may have been good for the troubled schools in Chicago's urban centers necessarily translate to what would be good for the rest of the nation.

The fact of the matter is that most parents are satisfied with their own public neighborhood school! And aren't they the ones to have the best idea as to what is really going on in their kids' schools? For the research on that finding, see http://www.gallup.com/poll/122432/parents-rate-schools-higher-americans-overall.aspx. (To see the article, click on the link.)

Furthermore, just a few days ago (September 23rd), Forbes once again announced that Virginia is the best state in the nation for business, and included in that ranking is a comment on the quality of life in Virginia which includes an index of schools. (For the article, clink on the link: http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/best-states-for-business-beltway-best-states.html.)

What Creigh Deeds promises to do is to continue to move Virginia forward. His opponent would like to take us back to the Leave to Beaver days. If you don't believe that, you need to read his thesis (see full thesis, click this link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/McDonnell_thesis_082909.pdf?sid=ST2009082902758) which he has alternately denied and then refused to retract. For his latest comment on the content of his thesis, see the following link entitled "I'm Not Apologizing:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR_KGwcGOSY#watch-main-area.

Moving forward? Taking us back? The choice for me is clear. The choice for our VEA Fund Directors was clear. Creigh Deeds is our recommendation, and I encourage each and every one of our VEA members to get informed and then get involved so that we can make the difference for Creigh Deeds. We at the VEA want to move Virginia forward.

We will need your help. Creigh will need your help.

Until next time.

Kitty

The Message of the President at Wakefield High

I had the extraordinary privilege yesterday of participating in an historic event. I knew it was historic as did the gymnasium full of young people and adults who were experiencing it along with me. The principal of Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, Mrs. Doris Jackson knew it, and she reminded the students to “be in the moment.” She told them that she knew they were excited, and they were going to want to take pictures and text and “all that,” but she seriously implored them to take time to “BE in the moment.”

“You will talk about this day not just today and tonight and tomorrow...but you will talk about this day to your children years from now...and to their children.”

It was a reminder to everyone in the room that an important moment was about to take place. And those in the gymnasium were going to have the honor of being there to experience it in person.

I felt the electric energy of those hundreds of young people as I entered their school gym. I have no idea how long they had been sitting there, patiently waiting. And they did wait patiently. There was a buzz in the room, but there were no antics, no horseplay, no tomfoolery.

There was just eager anticipation. The crowd erupted into enthusiastic cheers every time the announcer came on the loudspeaker. When Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was being introduced, the crowd came dangerously close to booing because their patience had just about been exhausted by then. They wanted to see and hear their President!

When he finally approached the podium, the students erupted. One might have wondered if they had wandered into a rock concert. This President has an extraordinary appeal, and that, I suspect, is what the critics were so worried about as they voiced their otherwise incomprehensible objections over the President’s desire to speak to the nation’s children on the first day of a new school year.

Part of the President’s appeal to this crowd, however, is that he is one of them. He WAS one of them as a teenager. He reminded his listeners that he had not always been President. He was a kid whose dad disappeared when he was only two years old. He was raised by a single mother who struggled with the everyday challenge of paying the bills, and she wasn’t always able to give him everything that other kids had. There were times when he missed having a father in his life. There were times when he was lonely and didn’t fit in. So he wasn’t always as focused as he should have been, and he sometimes got into trouble. “And,” the President admitted, “my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.”

The difference for the President was that he got some “second chances,” and he took advantage of them and went to college and law school and “followed his dreams.”

His story is not so different from the story of millions of students who populate our classrooms every day. Every teacher knows them. The kids who are struggling with challenges at home that interfere with their ability to concentrate and care about school. Today, perhaps more than ever, kids are suffering from the same worries and anxieties as their parents. There are a lot of families who are struggling right now. Millions have lost their jobs. Millions have lost their homes. Millions more are hanging on by their fingernails, barely keeping up, living month to month with no savings to speak of. The future is uncertain at best and scary at worst. And on top of it all, the adults in their lives seem to have, in some cases, lost their senses and all sense of reality.

The whole speech was, in my opinion, worthy of any student’s attention.

Some of the gems that I took special note of as I sat there and listened in rapt attention along with the rest of folks in the room include the following:

“You become good at some things through hard work.” He followed that up by encouraging students to experiment with different things and pursue different topics in order to learn what they are “good at.” He encouraged them to take advantage of every opportunity to learn and participate in activities so they could discover their own individual talents, abilities, and passions.

“All kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn,” and he suggested that perhaps his listeners might decide to “stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look.”

“There is no excuse for not trying.”

What else can you say about that?

When I returned home from Arlington yesterday, I walked into a local 7-Eleven to get a cup of coffee, and I saw a couple of my former students. The last time I saw them, they were in the third grade. This year they are starting fifth grade. As is typical of boys that age, they had grown about six inches since the last time I saw them, but they recognized me immediately and spoke.

I told them that I had just been to hear the President’s speech, and their eyes lit up, and one of them said, “Realllllly???”

I asked them if they had had a chance to see it at school. “No. They told us we might get to see it Friday,” they said rather wistfully.

I was sad for them that they didn’t get to participate in the historic moment live, because, frankly, I think it will likely lose something in its delayed format.

Don’t get me wrong. The message will still be strong and clear.

Work hard. Do your best. Stay in school. Take personal responsibility for your own success. There is no excuse for not trying.

Those are powerful words any time, live or taped.

Furthermore, I believe that the words are particularly powerful when delivered in the context of a culture that glamorizes and glorifies individuality but diminishes and downplays the idea of personal responsibility.

Hum. Maybe that is what the critics were worried about.

Regardless of the critics and pundits and the Twitterers, in the end, the President proved once again that he has an extraordinary talent for using words and ideas to communicate important concepts and messages. I believe that his message resonated in a powerful way with his young listeners yesterday at Wakefield High and in the hundreds of schools where it was allowed to play live. I believe that it will resonate in a powerful way with the listeners who have an opportunity to listen to it later as well. It’s just that they won’t experience the same sense of participating in an historic moment.

It won’t be a critical difference, perhaps, but it will be a difference.

One last thought before I sign off.

I think we should ALL take the President’s message to heart even though we may not be students, and as adults, we are not necessarily the intended audience. That makes his message no less important, however.

“Work hard. Do your best. There’s no excuse for not trying.”

Wouldn’t our country be better off if we all took that message to heart everyday in everything we do?

Wouldn’t we be better off as a country, as citizens, and as human beings trying to make a positive difference in this world of ours?

Until later,

Kitty

On the Back to School Message of the President

President Obama has scheduled an address to children on the importance of working hard and doing their best as the new school year kicks off for much of the country on Tuesday, September 8.

Much to my consternation, Conservatives have decided to take offense.

They are accusing the President of attempting to "indoctrinate" the nation's children.

Apparently some of the critics of the idea think the President will try to sell his economic plan and his hopes for health care reform to the captive audience while he speaks.

Really?

Does anyone think the kids would even listen if he were to start talking economics and health care? Do they know any children at all?

In localities all around the country, teachers are being told not to show the speech to their students because it is being viewed as "political."

Really?

Since when did working hard and valuing an education become a political message?

Given the craziness that seems to have gripped many of the otherwise rational citizens of our nation, you would think I would be getting used to this topsy turvy world by now.

I admit, though, that I am really struggling with this one.

We have our first ever African American President who is where he is in large part because of his access to an education that he has used to help him reach the highest office in the land.

He has repeatedly mentioned the importance of his getting a good education as a contributing factor of his success.

We know from his election night speech and his Inaugural speech and his dozens of other speeches that he has a gift for oratory that can uplift and inspire his listeners.

For many children of color or children from low income families or children from single-parent homes who have never considered that THEY might ever become president, his message could easily be a powerful motivator.

And why wouldn't we want to motivate our kids to work hard, do their best, value their education, respect their teachers and the opportunities available to them?

This is indoctrination? This is political?

Really?

This from the same folks who, not so long ago, insisted on forcing teens to watch Channel One's morning version of the daily news and the accompanying advertisements? Where was the outrage about indoctrination then?

Let's not forget that President Obama is the President of the United States. Having an opportunity to address the children of the nation in order to encourage them to work hard and do their best is a privilege that goes along with the job.

President Reagan did it and it was okay.

President George H. W. Bush did it and it was okay.

I would think we would want to use any and all methods we can to start kids off on a positive note with a view of what their education can mean to them or what they can do if they just put their minds up to it.

I would think we would want to use any and all methods we can to start kids off with the intention that they are going to do well, set goals, and finish school.

But instead, there are those who would teach our students to disrespect not only their President, but the office of president.

So much for Civics 101.

Kitty

An Open Letter to VEA Members: Why We Need to Work Hard for Creigh Deeds for Governor

I am writing this entry from out of town, and I am writing regarding a topic that brings me no great pleasure, I assure you.

I feel compelled to share, however, how deeply disturbed I am now that I have read for myself the Bob McDonnell thesis that has been the topic of so much conversation and controversy since Sunday.

I have read it through myself instead of depending on the editorializing of the political pundits. I believe it is worth the time it will take for you to read it yourself.

Please understand. I get it that it was written 20 years ago. I get that it was an academic paper. I get that things change...people change...and perhaps, I could even get that we should give Mr. McDonnell the benefit of the doubt...until I actually read his words for myself.

In my opinion, they are quite chilling in their condemnation of a large portion of our society--working women, those who consider themselves "feminists," members of the GLBT community, heads of single-parent homes, singles who delay or choose not to marry at all, those who believe in and promote public education or government assistance of any sort for families in distress...and the list goes on. Anyone who isn't a conservative Republican interested in the preservation of the family unit as defined by the Christian Bible is subject to criticism and judgment.

His passion is clear. His intention for the Republican Party as a vehicle for social engineering is unmistakable. His longing for the 1950's "Leave It To Beaver" days is palpable.

I, too, remember the 1950's as an idyllic time. I grew up in a traditional two-parent family and had the luxury of a wonderful childhood. I knew I was loved. To this day, I know where my family's roots are. I am one of the lucky ones. In today's world, I may very well be in the minority.

That doesn't make me superior, and it shouldn't make me smug or judgmental of those who have had a different experience...either by choice or by happenstance.

The judgment around the issue of women needing to work outside the home; of women believing that they have equal rights in our society; the condemnation for those who are part of the GLBT community; the clear and unmistakable assessment that the family unit as a traditional mother, father, and one or two children with no deviation...it's all there.

It isn't a matter of putting words in the man's mouth. It is a matter of reading the man's words for yourselves.

Again, I get that he wrote these words 20 years ago. I get that people change, and certainly, I would hope that we all mellow a little from the rigidity of our youth as we experience life's various challenges.

But I find it very difficult to believe that one's personal, deeply held values and heartfelt beliefs would have changed that much. And frankly, as you read the responses of those who worked with Mr. McDonnell while he was in the House of Delegates, you will see that they believe the thesis does, in fact, portray Mr. McDonnell's personal and political views and gives us a peek at what sort of Governor he would become if elected.

Please don't just take my word or it, however. I am just one individual who has my own biases and filters. I am more than ready to admit that I run the risk of not being totally objective in my reaction to this document.

And please understand. I feel some compassion for Mr. McDonnell given that the firestorm around his words rouses a certain amount of compassion for anyone who finds himself in the midst of a media free-for-all...but in this matter we have too much at stake not to be aware so that we can know what our choices are in November.

It is up to us to be informed.

We have access to the actual document.

I think we should take advantage of the information available to us.

I am including the link to the thesis below so all you have to do is cut and paste into your browser and read.

It took me a little over an hour to read all the way through. You can get the gist of it by skimming it, I think, but like being at the scene of a car wreck, I found myself unable not to read it carefully all the way through, so it took me a little over an hour.

I suggest that you need to read it for yourself, because in my opinion, the pundits don't do it any justice. You have to see it for yourself.

In my opinion, it gives us all motivation to work as hard as we can to elect Creigh Deeds Governor of Virginia in November. We need an inclusive Governor who accepts people from all walks of life and who is looking for solutions to society's problems not for ways to condemn those who don't agree with one particular point of view.

The Bob McDonnell Thesis:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/McDonnell_thesis_082909.pdf?sid=ST2009082902758