How is it that supposedly “credentialed” teachers find it necessary (are required?) to sit in on a workshop like this?

How hard can it be to teach Johnny to read?
How many years should that take?

Is there ever a teacher training point where one can say “enough is enough”?

Why is it that despite all the of pedagogies, all of the Masters degrees, all of the continuing education, all of the experts, all of the expense, OUSD still generates really poor results?

Do private reading tutors — who I assume must get paid for generating good *results* in short amounts of time — ever sign up for these sorts of workshops?

Rick’s website advertises one workshop linked under Brain Compatible Teaching.

Rick’s main qualification for that show seems to be that he spent two years in Ghana. I see nothing on his website to indicate Rick (or his sidekick) has any sort of serious training as a psychologist.

Is really says a lot about OUSD’s bureaucracy that it has to schedule workshops to potentially assist newcomers in navigating its labyrinth of floor plans, directories, and policy manuals. I’m reminded of Gecko’s famous speech in Oliver Stone’s Wall $t:

“Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can’t figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I’ll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents.”

This bull session was obviously given a “thumb’s up!” by board member Gary Yee, who made a special guest appearance in order to shmooze and give a 30m lecture on the “History of OUSD”.

Obviously Yee hasn’t learned anything from history. Indeed, he’s one of the leading, clueless players in OUSD’s latest farcical repitition of it.

Hey, District 4 voters! Recall.

A “vision”. Really.

Christopher P. Chatmon, is an Executive On-Loan from Urban Strategies Council. According to 10-13-1- MOU his contract can be extended with consent of both parties through June 30, 2013. His executive salary is at no District expense and is suppose to be funded by The East Bay Community Foundation.

Tomorrow night’s Board meeting Consent Report has $350,000 contract for an Executive on Loan with Urban Strategies Council only this contract is funded by OUSD. Maybe there are two executive on-loan programs? Maybe not.

Jim Mordecai

*** African American Male Achievement ***
Christopher P. Chatmon, Executive Director, No further info

*** Conscious Classroom Management Workshop ***
Rick Smith, “Consultant”

What does any of this have to do with teaching Johnny how to read?

Once again we see the bureaucracy working for its own interests — in this case, a three day, “let’s all get together to introduce ourselves and gossip” coffee klatch — instead of the interests of the *taxpayers* it was purportedly instituted to serve.

Once again we see top level bureaucrats justifying their own existence (while making themselves and their friends rich) by conjuring up these sorts of ridiculous initiatives, and building up their own small empires used to produce ridiculous events such as this one.

Back on topic (somewhat): I attended the weeklong btsa induction institute this summer and am excited about being able to give support to a new(er) teacher this year. When I began, this was not available for teachers, and I know it would have made a huge difference in my own teaching practice. I am looking forward to mentoring my participating teacher for two full years.

OUSD identifies one Lisa Spielman as TDO’s Director, Leadership, Curriculum, & Instruction. SJMN values her total compensation package at $142K.

The same sources respectively identify Kafi Payne as TDO’s Manager and her compensation at $128K.

Then beleaguered taxpayers are left wondering “Where does all the money go?”

On topic. On target.