Recently, I received an article penned by Helen Herndon. She works in the St. Louis Public Schools and often shares her critique of the current school board in local newspapers and via the internet. In her latest commentary, Herndon likened the public schools to a medical intensive care unit where those who are in the most critical need should be given the most staff and resources. I’ve often referred to the hemorrhaging nature of the school district, so Herndon’s use of a medical metaphor aroused my curiosity.
Herndon’s article noted that many of the district’s students come from “tremendously challenging backgrounds and environments.” There are a myriad of issues facing children at home and in their neighborhoods that don’t disappear just because they cross the school threshold. She goes on to lay out the ill-fated approach to achieving academic achievement when the treatment plan doesn’t match the diagnosis.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the pool of candidates for the school board. Some of them admitted never going to a board meeting and, worse, never stepping into a school. To think you can prescribe medication (policy, practices, procedures) without doing the work required for a diagnosis (understanding the needs of students, teachers and administrators by seeing them interacting in their environment) is unbelievable. It’s also arrogant, unethical and, in my opinion, criminal.
Under a true medical situation, using this scenario, if the patient(s) got sicker, somebody would have some tall explaining to do or maybe even face a lawsuit. For candidates to be so cavalier about these positions, especially during this crisis period, is amazing and unacceptable.
This is not a job for Mr. or Ms. Nice, although we should expect school board members to be civil. Board members have to be fighters n but not in the physical sense of going after those who disagree with them, as Vince Schoemehl was accused of doing. They have to boldly stand up for our children against greed, ignorance and stupidity. We need knowledgeable, informed, committed, resilient, sensitive, articulate school board members with backbone and openness to community participation.
Essentially, two slates will take us to the polls on April 5. Most folks who have been involved with the schools favor the Victory for Kids slate. The candidates Veronica O’Brien, William Purdy and Peter Downs have been on the frontlines for quality education and rational functioning in the district. When elected, the slate will still be the minority of the board.
I wish I could require that every school board candidate first survive a full day as a teacher in a middle school. Candidates couldn’t do any blunts to get through the day, couldn’t threaten students with a nine or a Mac-10, and couldn’t call the 5-0 or po po. If they wigged out before home time, that’s an automatic elimination. And, if they couldn’t understand any of the above, they couldn’t even file as a candidate.
It’s doubtful that my wish will be granted. After all, Francis Slay is still in Room 200.
Meanwhile, the district is still on the operating table, its vital signs fading. If your loved one is about to go under the knife, wouldn’t you want to know the track records and credibility of those performing the experimental surgery? Do your homework and get out to vote on April 5, but know that on April 6 there will be much work to do.