tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post4489557425672993631..comments2024-03-01T07:43:16.529-06:00Comments on Smart City Memphis: MCS: Suspending Blue Ribbon For A Day And Political Games For Six MonthsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-27564072297822685472008-01-30T15:36:00.000-06:002008-01-30T15:36:00.000-06:00Anonymous, I will pick up the book. I agree with y...Anonymous, I will pick up the book. I agree with your thoughts. The CEO of a school system should be recruited and chased - if they are worthy of it. The board should secure the search firm and then get out of the way and be prepared to stand behind their decision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-11013171735165229012008-01-30T12:18:00.000-06:002008-01-30T12:18:00.000-06:00indeed the candidate search should include people ...indeed the candidate search should include people from outside the city of memphis, but should not exclude memphians just because they're local. what's often difficult is being a prophet in one's own land. one of the interesting things about hiring outsiders is that they have no dog in the fight and don't have to worry about stepping on toes. so long as they have a genuine love for and commitment to memphis and educating kids, they should be welcome in our community.<BR/><BR/>it has been suggested that a young(er) person be hired as superintendent. this is a real opportunity for MCS as well as the kids in public schools in memphis: looking for the right person to fill this important job. <BR/><BR/>a quality leader of any age would have experience outside our city and a strong understanding of what it takes to turn a school system around. this would mean a comprehensive, community-wide educational commitment. mr. hall may or may not be the right pick for the job - i have no way of knowing whether he is or isn't. however, to blame him for the shortcomings of 100 schools in the mcs district is absurd. children's academic performance which translates into school performance is indicative of community well-being. if a disproportionate number of kids are struggling at schools, it's because they are also struggling in their communities as well. schools reflect community issues, and as such, unless we address the community-wide problem of poverty, it doesn't matter who is picked for the job of superintendent. the problems will remain...<BR/><BR/>it's interesting that you included blue ribbon commentary as well. i attended some of the community forums and as i listened to the teachers talk about their experiences with blue ribbon, i saw a familiar pattern emerging.<BR/><BR/>first, corporal punishment is unacceptable. that being said, accountability through a program like blue ribbon could work if there were a. group buy-in and b. a transparent, coherent and collective process for implementing the program.<BR/><BR/>if the teachers' concerns have merit, it is the implementation of the program, not necessarily its content, that is problematic.<BR/><BR/>teachers must feel empowered to utilize the blue ribbon tools to deal with problems in their classrooms. if they don't understand the new system in place, or if they feel unsupported by the administration, it undermines their classroom authority and actually contributes to problems.<BR/><BR/>if the blue ribbon issues are indicative of how the system operates, then perhaps we have to rethink the balance between what we do and how we do it, system-wide and community-wide.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-53804601401357142802008-01-29T15:32:00.000-06:002008-01-29T15:32:00.000-06:00gcdiane,You should look at the book The Education ...gcdiane,<BR/>You should look at the book The Education Mayor, by Ken Wong. He was a guest on Smart City radio last week and the show can be heard via podcast. SCC, I am sure, will post the link below. Also you can get more information for a recent review of the literature on the subject to be found here: http://www.pipememphis.org/images/cms/Rethinking%20Leadership%20Alternatives.pdf. This is a major decision and I personally think Commissionere Jones should recuse himself as head of the personnel committee; how can he lead a search when he has personally destroyed it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-83640248318790923952008-01-29T14:15:00.000-06:002008-01-29T14:15:00.000-06:00Absolutely fantastic!!! It is hard these days to ...Absolutely fantastic!!! It is hard these days to find objective statements that are eye-opening and highly informative. I, for one, am completely clueless as to why we continue to treat education as if it is a popularity contest and not a profession. <BR/><BR/>Hopefully, the board will see this a a golden opportunity to position the district for change via great leadership. I really would like Smart City to do a comparison of other cities that have turned governance over to the mayor. DC is going through a complete overhaul after Mayor Fenty hired the ex-leader of one of the major ed. reform outfits. Worth taking a look at.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com