This web log admittedly takes an approach from a somewhat cynical standpoint with the conviction of long time watchers of Plainfield education/politics and finally an "in" with school system employees, administrators, students, parents, and others who wish to eradicate what we see as corruption, deception, waste, and incompetence. Here, we play aloud the song of hope we have sung in our hearts for decades. You are all welcome to join us... Shall We Dance, Plainfield, New Jersey?
11/8/08
The Plainfield Tsunami Track Club
11/6/08
Let Us Mirror The National Tide Of Change!
Many of the discussions and outright arguments that take place in their closed-door sessions or at someone's home will never be shared with you, me or "us." However, if you have kept track, you know that some have challenged, in public, other board members on issues that directly & indirectly affect the children.
(email to: learngreatt@gmail.com) I will commit to getting the ball rolling. Maria Pellum and others (Maybe Bob Darden, etc.) need to CONNECT and continue to advocate without fear of retaliation or hostility in the form of unprofessional/undignified board member jabs!
From The Macro To The Micro
10/14/08
Strategic Annoyances
Just ponder for a second the opening week of a school where no effort is made on the part of the principal to assemble students in groups and provide a year’s “prospectus” from the principal’s standpoint. This practice would stand the chance of serving several purposes:
First, it establishes order and regulation;
Second, it fortifies and empowers the roles of all educators in classrooms and elsewhere on the campus;
Forth, it weeds out the would-be naysayers and defiant students whose behavior had gone unchecked in previous days in the very same school, or “calls out” those new-comers who may take the notion to set out to “prove themselves” amongst the undesirables in the building;
Sixth, it generates discussion amongst the student body, segment-by-segment, making way for and giving rise to student decision-making, concerning where each stands in the compliance continuum;
The establishment of a philosophy of the “United Front” among all “educators” is critical to the successful operation of the school, particularly the school in need of “reform,” Those staff members who raise questions in opposition of the administrative viewpoint must not be cast asunder or shunned, but instead entertained and respected for the forth righteousness and sincerity in raising those concerns.
It is not difficult to imagine how some of our worst aspects as individuals will carry over into our professional activities, thereby creating an environment conducive to pettiness and “shortcuts” which detract from their highest quality professional practices.
When Cronies who lack the appropriate qualifications for jobs are hired, promoted, elevated, celebrated, catered to, etc., the pack mentality and return on favors often runs out of control, leaving instructional priorities at the curbside. Most often, more sooner than later, the holes in the “net” lead us to consider the notion that a “blanketing” approach may have been a more suitable method.
In our school district, a stated mantra has been “we’re serious about learning,” noted by a logo containing a cardinal with eye glasses and a stack of books. Besides the potentially stereotypical suggestion (only/all eye glass wearers are smart, i.e. “nerds”), the fact remains the term serious must indeed be taken “SERIOUSLY!”
It is known fact, especially amongst educators and parents…those who don’t turn a blind eye to the realities, that is. And again, more sooner than later, the walls come tumbling down, so to speak. And all the rationalizing and justifying and blaming and ignoring and shunning and retaliatory annoyances delivered unto the dissenting voice, in the world, will not a solid educational facility make.
For those who elect to speak up in the name of troubleshooting (not trouble-MAKING, as some would call it), the risk of being labeled “negative” is ever-present. This is, to me, a very juvenile method of divisive name-calling in order to mask so many programmatic and logistic deficiencies.
Whether "metric" or U.S. Customary... It Must Add Up!
10/13/08
We Need Info!
A bird's eye view of the educational arena might lend itself to revelations of much of the confusion within the walls of tutelage. However, without the luxury of flight and benefit of sharp vision, our blog will remain a cloudy glimpse at best.
We have endeavored to proceed with this undertaking at the urging of several parents, students and employees of the Plainfield School System, and do take the position of responsibilty very seriously.
Here are some issues we'd like to hear about and see addressed:- 1. The Genesis Grading program: Blessing or farce?
- 2. The controversial Scheduling "fiasco" that took place weeks ago.
- 3. The Islamic Holiday celebration and ambiguity/confusion that
took place. - 4. The Mid Marking Period closing date, grading and other calendar questions.
- 5. The administrative hierarchy and who's in charge of WHAT???
- 6. The continuous dispute over the hiring of an "Administrative
Team from Florida" that some folks don't feel measure up in terms of certification, qualification and experience; - 7. The shrinking number of pupils gracing our schools with their presence, daily;
- 8. The policies as mandated by the school board that should effectuate sweeping and lasting change for the better but sometimes hinder and cripple the smooth operation of a school's well-established, sound methods of containment, if not education!
- 9. As we well know, there are those who are sometimes given the "power" to direct, advise, mandate, dictate, or supervise, only to become what some call "powerstruck." (or is it "stricken?") :-) There is a shadow of condescension that follows close behind, wherever they travel, ever ready to be cast over the brilliance of hard-working, dedicated individuals unfortunate enough to serve "under" them. You know the type.
- 10. If fear, mistrust, loathing, contempt, deceit, malfeasance, and corruption continue to fester in the district, where will the system be by this time next year?
9/27/08
A Question of Business Administration Practices
- In a recent post, one blogger fervently defended business administrator, Gary Ottmann's "right" not to have Plainfielder's be aware of some accusations made by the Wayne School district and the State of New Jersey. (<-- Click for the actual audit) We disagree. As a tax payer, one deserves to know if Ottmann actually DID get caught with his hand in the cookie jar, or left fingerprints or even crumbs! After all, by some accounts, he may have helped cause a city tax increase!
- The information, while possibly inconclusive, should suggest that we at least read and judge for ourselves, despite the blogger's apparent attempt at scaring us away from the issue.
- Here are some sources of information on this:
http://www.nj.com/forums/wayne/index.ssf?artid=22103 (A Wayne, NJ Forum you might find interesting)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/taxes/25642114.html
http://www.waynetoday.com/NC/0/323.html
http://www.nje3.org/?tag=gary-ottmann This is the "Excellent Education for Everyone" (E3) Organization that reported the State Division of Taxation may be inquiring.
Toward A New Day In Plainfield Education...
- Well, Plainfield, somebody had to do it!
- Now that it is so painfully obvious that Plainfield Educational leadership has indeed run amock, we think it's high time that someone take up the cause to reverse the cataclysmic flow of corruption that wreaks havoc within the school system and beyond.
- How dare we, as Plainfield educators, parents, home owners, residents, business owners, government officials, or politicians, allow further destruction to the integrity or the quality of education in our beautiful school system to perpetuate! Stand up! Fear no one, fear no action...fear no more!!!
- This web log takes aim at all those factors which together erode the hopes, dreams, aspirations and life's choices of thousands of Plainfield, New Jersey youth, whom deserve better opportunities. Even in the very moments you will read this blog, there will be college students struggling to read, write, and calculate on the level required of post high school students, and they have begun to come back to Plainfield airing valid complaints. The administration constantly blames the teacher, while imposing upon them IMPOSSIBLE directives to carry out. Those truth-speakers are labeled "naysayers," dismissed as makers of "noise," and even persecuted by abusive administrators, who, like stepford wives, often carry out the egotistical mission of the tyrant!
- NO MORE!!!
- If I am a parent in need of assistance to deal with the troubles of day-to-day life and come to the school unhappy, then help me... don't talk down to me, don't "enable" my sometimes irrational behavior by passifying me and lowering standards for my child. Don't conspire with me to target your fellow educators, but show me I can believe in you to run your school like professionals, Keep your halls of learning safe and solemn for my child as well as those of other parents, and let make sure those teachers can teach!
- There are far too many youngters that turn to street lives, gang membership, and unspeakable crimes, partly as a result of the political games played for far too long in the Plainfield school system that hinder progress!
- We will endeavor to "watchdog" the innerworkings of an apparently corrupt system run by individuals who often mismanage and engage in abusive power plays, and for what? For some, it remains a mystery. This is no "Plaintalker" or "Crescent Times" page and we do not pretend to "report" from a "spin-free," objective, or "fair" viewpoint. Plainfield, this is all out WAR, against ignorance, in the name of resurrection of quality education and resurgence of free speech in Plainfield Public Schools!
- This web log admittedly takes an approach from a very cynical standpoint with the conviction of a long time watcher of Plainfield politics and finally an "in" with school system employees, administrators, students, parents, and others, who wish to expose corrupt and incompetent activities.
- We are tired. We are fed up. We are dignified and determined enough about change that we would sacrifice our personal time and go forth with the drive of a freight train, ready to transport folks to academic freedom. The railroad by which we travel is no longer "underground" but one of bold, collective righteousness...one of mandated reform and righteous indignation. This train we endeavor to conduct shall not stop midway, where incompetence, corruption or dictatorship lie upon our tracks. But we shall sound the alarm of justice upon every track along the way. This train will be joined by a multitude of others, voyaging to destinations where the need for the collaborative for reform arises.
- Shall we begin the journey, Plainfield? All Aboard!!!
Email us: weaponof1@gmail.com. To know of such atrocity and not report it is nothing short of complicity in a crime against humanity.
Send us your true accounts
- For the purpose of troubleshooting, we seek "verifyable" accounts of abuse, incompetence, and corruption that have impeded, hindered, precluded, frustrated, or otherwise negatively impacted the educational process, from your standpoint. Make no mistake about it, this blog is about sharing those instances wherein the flaws of leadership or policies thereof have shackled us as parents, educators or other agents of change. These poor decisions often strain professional relationshps and polarize individuals who would otherwise work well together, and (dare we say) this is often by design.
- Now for the brief disclaimer: We reserve the right to editorial selectivity and judgment. Our mission, being that of "top-down" scrutiny and corrective measures, naturally requires us to prioritize, choosing the shortest algorithm to instant solutions and remedies. For every action that suppresses the truth about corruption in Plainfield, we hope to counteract it multifold with the REAL stories. It is not unlikely that this blog will give rise to a reporting of wrong-doings to proper authorities, so please be very careful and VERY HONEST about what you disclose. Be prepared to back up tales with substantiation depending on how far you wish to go with your comments.
- While the State Department Of Education has visited the Plainfield School disctrict, supposedly in the name of reform, some observers have expressed dissatisfaction with less than punitive outcomes or corrective consequences thus far, though many of us know Plainfield's shortcomings are partly due to corruption. We await the blade of sweeping justice, impatiently and desperately.
- Please take a gander at the state audit most recently done. Despite the attempt by some to downplay the significant waste and inexplicable spending, we urge you to carefully inspect the equipment expenditures and purchase order timetables. And please question the rationale behind hiring uncertified staff (some of whom still remain in the district), and even the business administrator's previous legal/ethical challenges in the Wayne, NJ School District (GOOGLE him and judge for yourself). Plainfield has had a long list of uqualified, yet bold and brazen individuals who often come here and hit the ground running with assinine ideas and methods of administration. Everytime you turn around there's a new directive handed down that goes against the grain of common sense and conventional wisdom. We've set out to tackle some tough issues, as you can see. They all negatively affect student achievement. What about the recent state report on Plainfield school violence? What exactly is firm in the minds of school leadersip with regard to the school conduct code? Where is the consistency? We say it's non-existent! We'd venture to say most would agree. Too many parents, staff and administrators FEAR students or fear their rejection. Wake up! They need structure and boundaries.
- And we think it is of imperative that you grab some neighbors, grab some friends and come on out to the board of education meetings, to let them know just how stupid we are NOT! Our property values deserve better, our taxes deserve to be better spent, and most of all the children of today deserve a better tomorrow than the last 8 corrupt regimes have forced upon them.
- More to follow...Much more!
email us at weaponof1@gmail.com