Deasy Gives Breezy Pep Talk

"Setting an ambitious agenda for the new school year, Superintendent John Deasy urged Los Angeles Unified teachers to continue efforts to boost students achievement, and also vowed to get them the computers needed to get the job done."

Ambition in one man does not spread well. The power that resides in schools and teachers is part of the problem, not the solution.

He wants to supply a tablet computer to every student and teacher in the district, too. Does Deasy now think that he is Santa Claus?

"Leadership is the most powerful when we're consistent." How long does Deasy expect to keep up the frantic pace which he boasts about? 20 hour work days are eventually going to take their toll on the m man.

Instead of ambitious agendas and lap-top computers, when will Deasy explore the idea of breaking up the district once and for all? Since the state is slated to hold back $1,500 per student, anyway, without a doubt the immense overhead is keeping money away from the classroom, where it belongs.

Parents deserve more power and authority over their students' education.

"The state has all but given up on public education." Can anyone blame us? The results are hardly gratifying. What are we doing with our students? What are we hoping to accomplish beyond shuffling them through classrooms from year to year?

Marguerite LaMotte's comment after Deasy's pep talk was condescending and disturbing:

"I want to challenge you. Every student you have, look in their eyes. You're all they have."

I cannot think of a better reason to get out of the profession than this arrogant assumption that teachers have a "god-like" power over their students, that they, in the words of Charles Adams, "affect eternity." I am no longer so sure. As I move on in life, I find that I learned so much more by individual initiative rather than by instructor's prodding. The encouragement that I received from some teachers was good, but even the best advice from teachers in the past are just not enough to face the mysteries of the present.

The preeminence accorded to "leadership" and "teachers" is causing more problems for our youth, I believe, than if we just trusted that young men and women do have what it takes on the inside to make it in the world. The rough edges of this world are not so great that young men and women cannot make it. I believed that public education is doing more harm than good when it comes to equipping youth to withstand the rigors of this life, life which is much more than passing standardized tests and getting A's and B's in controlled settings.