Last week I discussed East Maine School District #63 Board’s involvement or lack of involvement in Dr. Clay’s groundbreaking Internet blog site discussions. This week, I have chosen to write this “update” post because the information generated by the dialogue from the original post, Unrealistic and unachievable drivel…, clearly needed clarification and additional reader input.
Upon review of the “messages”, it occurred to me that a point-by-point rebuttal of Dr. Clay’s assertions would not serve the community’s interest, nor would it move us any closer to continuous open dialogue between EMSD#63 and this or any other blog site. So, I've chosen to direct my comments in this post to one item of disagreement and to one item to which we can agree upon.
I disagree with EMSD#63’s Dr. Clay when he states that my “ONLY goal” is "to attack the school district”. His comment is preposterous hyperbole. My goal, as clearly stated on the masthead of this blog site is that of “Revealing Information School Boards, Administrators, Teachers and Taxpayers need to know!”
School Boards, Administrators, Teachers and Taxpayers of EMSD#63 and other School Districts with similarly flawed Strategic Design Plan’s, need to know what Dr. Clay has already acknowledged when he stated: “I agree that our Strategic Design document is unwieldy and impractical to implement.”
How can a public vetting of two obvious major deficiencies; deficiencies acknowledged by Superintendent Clay, be an “attack.” And, if my calling the EMSD#63’s Strategic Design Plan “ponderous, unworkable, unrealistic and unachievable drivel”, is in Dr. Clay’s mind an “attack”, then so be it!
Often, when politicians and bureaucrats find themselves unable to rationally defend their decisions, positions or past statements, they will often resort to vulgar smear tactics; using inflammatory words such as “attack”, as a way to deflect criticism and besmirch their opponent by implying that they are acting out of anger and subjectivity, and thus “they attack.”
School Districts are notorious for latching on to new, exciting and cool-sounding managerial or pedagogical fads. Strategic planning is a recent, and in my opinion, unnecessary and wasteful fad, designed to impart a more “professional persona” to school district operations. A few years ago, a Google search only netted a few thousand hits. Today’s Google search for “school district strategic plan“ registered “about 9,450,000 results (0.41 seconds).”
The Strategic Design Plan is, in Dr. Clay’s own words, “unwieldy and impractical to implement.” No amount of additional nitpicking or stirring, in my opinion, will convert that garbage into a viable plan. After multiple readings, I have concluded that this Strategic Design Plan is a document of words without meaning.
I agree with Dr. Clay regarding his hope to “have honest, public discourse.” I think we have achieved that here. The give and take was sometimes ardent, but I believe that for both parties, it was always honest. I hope Dr. Clay and the School Board will see fit to continue direct dialogue at this blog spot in the future.
Observations about the use of committees and conferences.
When politicians and bureaucrats find themselves unable or unwilling to face difficult or thorny professional problems they often resort to committee or conference creation. They do so, in my opinion, to shroud them selves in a blanket of mist; in an attempt to shield themselves from critical examination at a later date. If the committee or conference PROCESS is performed correctly, THEIR IDEAS will become YOUR IDEAS; ideas eventually implemented by default in your name, without their ever having their fingerprints directly on the final product. To Superintendent/School Board Member/Politician’s their failure is not an option; your committee or conference generated failures however, are.
Dr. Clay informed us that he has developed a plan to have highly paid administrators “extract” a “list of possible goals” from the long lists of belief statements and vision statements; a web of floating abstractions representing a so-called Strategic Design Plan. He further states that he, and I assume the Board, plan to “reconvene the Strategic Design Conference.”
Should you choose to be a part of it, you can now do so with your eyes open.
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