There is a great deal to discuss. We have heard comments about the H.R. position possibly going to a former employee who allegedly walked away from his last position with severance pay after 6 months of employment. We have discussed, once again, the former Director of Elementary Education because it has been stated that she is applying for the principalship of NHS. A topic that keeps bobbing up is the Red Apples and their influence on this superintendent. There is a budget that needs to be sliced and a superintendent who may or may not wield the ax in the best interest of children. These are current and important issues that require our attention. Why? Because the public (We the people...) has a responsibility for not only being aware of this, but for having input into this process. The best venue to express these views is at the Board of Education. However, at the very least, you can express your views and opinions freely on this blog. (We are aware that some members of the Board do read the blog.)
It is very easy to down mouth our comments (which may be called denial); however this is the information that we have uncovered.Blog on!
I just want to support some of the people who write in here. I feel that calling a group of people groupies is fine. They call themselves apples. What's the difference? Groupies are a bunch of people who follow their chosen idol everywhere they go and hang on every word. They support every utterance out of this idol's mouth without question. You get the picture. Apples, on the other hand, can get rotten. I think being called groupies is more flattering actually
ReplyDeleteSorry, this isn't a new topic. It's the same inter-related disfunctional topic that has been rehashed in previous threads.
ReplyDeleteSuggestion - Did anyone attend yesterday's Achievement Gap meeting with the kids at BMHS? Did anyone hear the CYL kids talk with the Policy Committee earlier this week? THoughts?
You are correct, this is not a new topic. were discussing the same people same topics, but in a different way. same towel, different color. kind of repetitive. Is this meant to discuss the education for my children or for the BOE members ot bash one another.
DeleteThe achievement gap et al doesn't stand a chance until our leader changes her ways and stops listening to her pets! You haven't heard the underlying problem here, 7:22. Your collective group of bullies is in denial. We are in dire need of a real leader!
ReplyDeleteI don't always agree with the points raised on this blog (just as I didn't always agree with what was posted on YourCt and NorwalkNet), but I do find that there is a value to having a public forum where ideas can be exchanged. I'm not going to plan a Finance Committee agenda around anonymous insults I read here, but I will privately make the appropriate inquiry if the issue involves those areas over which the BoE is required to exercise oversight.
ReplyDeleteWould I prefer less vitriol? Sure (and not just because in my brief time in office I have been entreated to more than my share of invective). We are all aware that you don't change anyone's opinion by insulting them, or mold public opinion by insulting the character of a leader. And, quite frankly, the insults and catcalls do give ammunition to those who resist change by giving them the forum to claim that proponents of change are merely doing the bidding of those who anonymously hurl insults.
But like it or not, the human condition being what it is, frustrations will sometimes give way to less than couth behavior (a frailty from which I do not possess any measure of immunity myself). The goal for all of us who wish to participate in this forum is to accept that though we all aspire to only be touched by our better angels, we should consider pausing before hitting the "publish" button as sometimes those "better angels" are waiting in line behind frustration, anger and fear.
To this I would add that the tone of a blog is set first by the person who manages it, selects the topics, etc.
DeleteSome more civility from the person in charge of this forum would, one can only hope, go a long way towards it serving its stated purpose.
This is in no way intended to squelch your criticism, but rather to ask that it be expressed without insults, nicknames or over-the-top contempt for its targets.
I think Steve C. is setting a good tone. It's good he's akcnowledging some of his own "rookie" mistakes in not using language as precisely as a smart guy is supposed to do. Now if he can work on shorter sentences . . . .
DeleteDoes anyone else think it's a bit daft that folks write in here complaining about insults only when Supt. Marks is criticized? Did any of these "civility police" utter a word to defend the late Dr. William Jassey when his memory was defamed by Roz McCarthy and the CGS students she incited?
My criticism was not of Steve C., who does not maintain this blog. I can think of nothing that Steve C. has written that has been insulting or petty or contemptuous.
DeleteI do not purport to be the "civility police", but rather one individual expressing an opinion. My opinion just happens to relate to the tone and manner of the discussions here. My comments have been limited to what I've read here, and the last thing I need to do is embark on a one-person mission to stamp out all instances of incivility in public discourse, whether it pertains to Ms. McCarthy, Dr. Jassey, Superintendant Marks or Harry Becker.
I also don't have much use for forums on incivility, as they normally devolve into platitudes at best, and finger-pointing at worst. Instead, I think it makes more sense to speak up when and where someone gets offensive or insulting in tone, and that is the approach I have tried to take.
Who's Harry Becker?
DeleteSuperintendent back in ye olde days. (He succeeded Benjamin Franklin, if I remember correctly.)
DeleteWhen Freddie Lynn and Ichuro Suzuki took Rookie of the Year honors (as well as MVP), I don't think either of them thought being called a "rookie" was an insult.
ReplyDeleteIf this is the FIRST TIME Susan Marks has been the Superintendent of a school district, then she's a "ROOKIE". The question is whether she's a "Rookie of the Year" or another well-intentioned player who had trouble making the transition into the bigs.
We have a good topic here. I'm interested in reading what people think the value is in anonymous commnets.
ReplyDeleteDoes any one read them? Does any one with a vote on the BoE or a "seat at the table" get any info from these threads?
Please don't think any less of me, but I love the political satire that comes out here. I don't laugh every time I read Doonsbury, but I still check it out every day. Just like here.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big girl. I can wade through a few snarky comments now and then. It's not like this blog is having a weekly contest to give nicknames to the BoE (HINT< HINT!)
OH, GET A LIFE.
ReplyDelete11:58- Just so I get this straight-- you are following a blog and reading comments from people whom you believe to have no life (because they are reading the same blog and posting to the same threads as you are).
ReplyDeleteAre "self-loathing" and an homage to Groucho Marx ("I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member") always items 1 & 2 on your agendas for the RedApples Meetings?
Good one!
Delete7:22 again. You've lost me - i have no time to spend reading or commenting on this blog. Have fun folks.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous comments do serve a purpose. There are situations in which we find ourselves where we either view, hear or discover something that smacks of being illegal or is just clearly wrong. Do we report this to superiors? Chances are we do not. Anonymity allows people to report what they see without the fear of reprisal. That's just one example of why some people report here anonymously.
ReplyDeleteTo add to the above comment, anonymity is appealing to some because there are very real people who do not want to appear at a Board meeting to speak. These people may be embarrassed because of a language barrier, a physical problem, a problem due to shyness....whatever the reason......Fortunately technology has provided them with a new tool so that they can be heard. This is a new age. The blogs are as important a vehicle in getting messages to the public as are the formal meetings. I suggest that we not discourage these voices by criticizing spelling or typing errors.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be some place for anonymous complaints to be raised-- we all have to make sure that we stop malicious rumors. But we know that where ever you go, people are afrain of retribution. There have been a few instances where the Supt. has refused to meet wiht teachers who had concerns about their principals wihtout the principal being there to confront the accusers. Sure there has to be a balance, but doesn't there also have to be a willingness to look into complaints with an open mind?
ReplyDelete