"There is no better time than now to make sure hope and optimism are not lost." (AASA President Randall Collins)
Educational shepherds, as referenced by AASA President Randall Collins, waited outside Hall A of the Moscone Center for the opening general session. Fifteen minutes before the first presentation the doors were finally opened. My wife, Deb, and I rushed in along with the other administrators like a bunch of sheep waiting to be pastured. We found a place right behind the reserved seating (6 rows back). This was the closest we have been to the front of the class since we were freshmen in college. I sat between my wife and a gentleman that I have never met before. His name was Greg Bartlett, an assistant superintendent from Maine. As we waited, we exchanged small talk about our districts and the cultural differences between the coastal east and the western inland of Wyoming. Then the lights went up and the voices of children in song gave note to the 2009 AASA National Convention.
San Francisco Unifed School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia provided the welcome and greeting for this city. He said that his district is the first to recognize NCLB as a civil rights issue and invited all districts to do the same. I enjoyed his enthusiasm, but have always thought that NCLB origins were based on civil rights. Garcia went on to say that social justice can not exist without equity in education. This is so true, especially if equity is defined as what it takes to be the same. This applies to everything from educational funding models to basic civil rights. At any rate, the stage was set for Randall Collins and Donna Brazile to follow.
Collins was fantastic! He was very matter of fact and powerful in his description of a new energy that he senses in education and in the country as well. He called it optimism. He believes that the American power from within will generate a burning for change and with the new Presidential Administration, hope has ignited a flame. He described educational leaders as Educational Shepherds for the future saying our calling is noble and our success is critical. This country is hungry for success and it is up to the Shepherds to provide the guidance.
Thinking that Collins provided a difficult act to follow, the "Road Diva" as Donna Brazile called herself, came out to "stir things up." To say she was an advocate of our newly elected president is an understatment. She said that she was so glad we have a black president that she could now become Irish. Brazile's humor was fitting, but lead into a more serious message of hope. I enjoyed Brazile because of her tell-it-like-it-is approach to solving problems. Brazile went on advocating for hope, pleading with education leaders not to be afraid of creating lasting change. She said that many politicians don't know how to find their spine when it comes to standing up for change unless the polls say its OK.
Donna Brazile is the real thing. Her message supported what she is calling "a season of hope." She ended her presentation with Verse 6, Chapter 9 out of Revelations. Look it up...as Brazile said, find the good and praise it.
San Francisco Unifed School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia provided the welcome and greeting for this city. He said that his district is the first to recognize NCLB as a civil rights issue and invited all districts to do the same. I enjoyed his enthusiasm, but have always thought that NCLB origins were based on civil rights. Garcia went on to say that social justice can not exist without equity in education. This is so true, especially if equity is defined as what it takes to be the same. This applies to everything from educational funding models to basic civil rights. At any rate, the stage was set for Randall Collins and Donna Brazile to follow.
Collins was fantastic! He was very matter of fact and powerful in his description of a new energy that he senses in education and in the country as well. He called it optimism. He believes that the American power from within will generate a burning for change and with the new Presidential Administration, hope has ignited a flame. He described educational leaders as Educational Shepherds for the future saying our calling is noble and our success is critical. This country is hungry for success and it is up to the Shepherds to provide the guidance.
Thinking that Collins provided a difficult act to follow, the "Road Diva" as Donna Brazile called herself, came out to "stir things up." To say she was an advocate of our newly elected president is an understatment. She said that she was so glad we have a black president that she could now become Irish. Brazile's humor was fitting, but lead into a more serious message of hope. I enjoyed Brazile because of her tell-it-like-it-is approach to solving problems. Brazile went on advocating for hope, pleading with education leaders not to be afraid of creating lasting change. She said that many politicians don't know how to find their spine when it comes to standing up for change unless the polls say its OK.
Donna Brazile is the real thing. Her message supported what she is calling "a season of hope." She ended her presentation with Verse 6, Chapter 9 out of Revelations. Look it up...as Brazile said, find the good and praise it.
1 comment:
Bob...I heard Arne Duncan speak as part of a superintendent's panel at the EdTrust conference last fall in DC. He also spoke of the social justice aspect of equal education for every child. I find that kind of approach particularly appropriate for those of us that are reservation schools serving Native American students. We have to meet the challenge of closing that achievement gap.
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