Monday, August 04, 2008

Still No Answer to Why Teachers Won't Fight Board and Administration for a Piece of the Action



From: Anonymous [noreply-comment@blogger.com]

Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:01 PM

To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com

Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on Every Dog Will Have His Day.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Every Dog Will Have His Day":

I agree that Susan has created a mess... and I have personally told her as much (Yes I have direct access to both Valdes and Griffin).

And I can agree that Susan needs to feel some repurcussions for some poor decisions, but gutless she is not.

As for needing an opponent right now, that's a no brainer. By having an opponent it allows her to run a campaign and further build her own name recognition. Any incumbent should WANT an opponent for that very reason.

Lee, both Susan and April are fighting, just not in the tone and tenor you had hoped for.

As for why the teachers do not revolt. One can only guess but it is an intriguing question.

Bueracracy seems to invariably evolve to a state in which the primary focus of the beuracracy becomes the perpetuation of its own existence.

This is where I believe that Susan and April have had an impact. Before April, the administration did not have to work to ensure that everything went according to script. In Candy's words it was all a "well orchestrated play". The administration now does have to work to perpuate it's existence. It's harder for them. It disrupts them. It makes them less organized and more prone to make mistakes. Why do you think the administration fights them so hard? If they were rubber stamping go along to get alongs, the administration would not be fighting so desperately to undermine them. If the were go along to get alongs, Elia's husband would have given $500 to Valdes instead of Schmidt.

In studying power, it is common to see the ruling class (i.e. Administration) create a system that is purposefully constructed to impose phsychological dominance on those who are ruled (i.e. staff, teachers, etc).

Consider this: Why did the Jews in the Nazi concentation camps not revolt in the face of certain extermination? They had a vast superiority of numbers. One could also argue that they likely had a superiority in character, courage and intelligence. Yet they did not revolt. I believe that the answer is that they had been pshycologically beaten down.

Another common tactic is to distract the "riff-raff". If you have a very dysfunctional environment were things that upset the workers are continually surfacing, the staff cannot focus long enough on a single item to craft a coheisve strategy to attack any single issue. If they cannot plan and execute a strategy, you have them where you want them: disorganized.

I think the school administration has leveraged these concepts in their organizational model. All in the name of perpetuating the existence of the system that they ride to luxury and power.

Additionally I don't think this economy makes it any easier. Jobs are hard to find and I assure you HCPS leadership is very aware of this. Threats of retaliation and termination are far more intimidating in a tough economy that in a booming one.

I could be way off base but that's my $0.02.

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Posted by Anonymous to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 10:00 AM

This response does not answer my question: why won't teachers fight the administration and board thugs?

The answer that Susan and April are busy behind the scenes does not answer the need for open government. If they are busy behind the scenes, why don't they bring the dialogue to the podium and demonstrate to citizens what they are doing? We don't see any proof coming from behind the Wizard of Oz curtain. Why do they tell you and not the rest of us about their activities to quell the administration? Knowledge is power. If Susan and April horde it, why do they do that? Is it that they are greedy for the self-importance of knowing stuff the rest of us don't? Are they really doing anything as they say they are? Are they so ignorant of democracy that they don't know that citizens are supposed to know what they are doing? That has been the problem with George Bush. He has hidden everything from the citizens, including energy-policy production and torture. I will never accept that elected officials can do things that they don't report to their constituents. Both these women took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution. But when they hide goverment actions from citizens, they are not abiding by this duty of an elected official.

And why doesn't April put something on her blog that has to do with r

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder why Candy Olson described the board meetings as a well orchestrated play. I don't think anyone really wants to hear that, so why would she admit it? I am sure it is true, but I am surprised she would be dumb enough to admit it. Why is she satisfied with meetings being well orchestrated plays? She has talked about wanting more transparency in her many long-winded speeches during the meetings. Why doesn't she want transparency during board meetings?

Also notice how she talks on and on ad nauseum when the mood strikes her, but when one of the other board members talks a little longer than Candy likes, she starts to remind them that they wanted to end early so they can make some ceremony. Watch the board meetings and see her double standard about her own talking vs. other board members. She has contracted the Elia disease: thinking she is Queen of the Universe. If this Candy Olson only knew that every teacher in the schools rolls their eyes when someone mentions her name. She is the epitome of arrogance and the "Good Ol' Boy" system. She needs to step down.

Anonymous said...

You don't have to be fired or threatened.

You are given the worst class assignments, in a portable, and then lunch duty.

CTA is powerless to help.

Your evaluation reflects anything the admin wants it to. Your reputation, sullied, then prevents you from transferring anywhere for relief. You life is hell.

Then something mysteriously happens to your "unit" and you are in the pool (limbo).