I have learned to assess educators in my life by a simple but powerful criteria. Are they good for kids or not? The subtlety by which behavior is not good for kids was brought home to me by an experience I had in my professional development. I have a pretty full plate. Trying to finish […]
It is said that knowledge is power. While this is true, without information there is very little knowledge. In 2008 we were collecting very little information that was not federally or state mandated. This left the board, its curriculum committee and the administration with very little power to change. Without the knowledge of what is […]
When I joined the Affton School District Board of Education in 2007 I did not understand much of what I was getting into. I had attended meetings, I had met with current board members, I had even met with the sitting superintendent. I had done my homework so I was prepared. My research on the […]
As a school board member I am bombarded with information, statistics and acronyms. These are the products of our current system of education. There are those that see this and assume that the system is broken. They assume it needs to be discarded and thrown away. After actually getting involved instead of assuming, I have […]
My family has been involved in scouting for generations. I clearly recall as a young boy reading my father’s handbook from cover to cover. I read it over and over again as I grew up. In those days it was more of a field guide than it is today. There was a lot of information […]
The last few generations are unarguably “me” oriented. We have been taught to take care of ourselves and not worry about others. We have been taught to fight for a group’s agenda even when it becomes irrational. Our motivation has become fear of losing something for ourselves. When I look at education I see a system plagued […]