Thespis Journal

Entries from August 2006

A Slender Rosie…

August 31, 2006 · No Comments

With all of the photo-shopping going on lately, it seems that Rosie O’Donnell was the next most likely candidate. Katie Couric looked great in her new pictures, and Al-Reuters and the New York Times have been doing it for years.

It’s a great picture. I’m glad that it doesn’t endanger any lives or blame America or George Bush first. In fact, Rosie says she likes the picture.

Here’s wishing Rosie O’Donnell and The View a great season in 2006-2007.

Categories: Uncategorized

God Bless Don Rumsfeld

August 31, 2006 · No Comments

In the midst of the worst attack on any public figure in recent history, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave a stunning speech on Monday further explaining and defining the current events in Iraq. He received little coverage for the speech with the exception of incessant, liberal sniping for being political. Wow! The liberal elites who manipulate the media every day are calling an American who has spent a large part of his adult life in resplendent service to our nation a hypocrite. Smarmy news bimbos get to mislead the public about the war while calling Mr. Rumsfeld a hypocrite. While Rumsfeld and the men and women of our armed forces fight terrorism, these people blame America for everything wrong with the world. After all, Jack Murtha said that we created the terrorists.

Secretary Rumsfeld’s articulate words speak for the entire conservative movement at this point.

I’m not one to put much faith in opinion polls. But the other day, I came across an interesting set of statistics that I want to mention. It seems that the Pew Research Center asked opinion leaders in the United States their views of the prospects for a stable democracy in Iraq. Here were some of the results: 63% of people in the news media thought the enterprise would fail. So did 71% of people in the foreign affairs establishment and 71% in academic settings or think tanks.

Interestingly, opinion leaders from the U.S. military are optimistic about Iraq by a margin of 64% to 32%. And so is the American public, by a margin of 56% to 37%. And the Iraqi people are also optimistic. I’ve seen this demonstrated repeatedly–in public opinion polls, in the turnout for the elections, and that tips to authorities from ordinary Iraqis have grown from 483 to 4,700 tips in a month.

This prompts the question: Which view of Iraq is more accurate? The pessimistic view of so-called elites in our country–or the optimism expressed by millions of Iraqis and by the roughly 158,000 troops on the ground? But, most important is the question: why should Iraq’s success or failure matter to the American people? I’d like to address these questions today.

Secretary Rumsfeld concludes with these comments:
“So I suggest to editors and reporters–whose good intentions I take for granted–to do some soul searching. To ask: how will history judge–if it does–the reporting decades from now when Iraq’s path is settled?
I would urge us all to make every effort to ensure we are telling the whole story. To take a moment for self-reflection and reassessment.
Further it is worth noting that there are 158,000 Americans in uniform who are sending e-mails back to friends and families, telling them the truth as they see it. And much of it is different than what those in the United States are seeing and reading about every day
Our country is waging a battle unlike any other in history. We are waging it in a media age unlike any that war fighters have ever known. In this new century, we all need to make adjustments–in government and in the media. And change is hard.
But to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, we are all Republicans. We are all Democrats. We are all Americans. We are all in this together. And what we do today will not only impact us, but our children and our grandchildren, and the kind of world they will live in. “

God Bless Don Rumsfeld!

Categories: Uncategorized

Neal Boortz on TV

August 31, 2006 · No Comments

The always wonderful MsUnderestimated has up two exquisite posts this morning that provide detail on the brainless dribble of some folks on cable news. Tucker Carlson’s latest pathetic attempt at a news show has a segment called “three on three.” I wish we had video like so many other blogs.

I just happened to see this part of his show on Wednesday afternoon when Tucker was “interviewing” his three guests: Jerry Springer, the always hateful and creepy Jennie Backus, and libertarian Neal Boortz. There is little wonder why Tucker Carlson is a failure. He is one of two or three faux conservatives who provide a slight veneer on the otherwise liberal façade at MSNBC. Both Tucker and Joe Scarborough are huge disappointments as anchors and as conservatives. These two gentlemen don’t even do a good job posing as anchormen or conservatives any longer.

Anyway, as MsUnderestimated demonstrates in her commentary and video, that the “three on three” segment was completely ridiculous. Tucker has no concept of balancing the time between his guests, and he seems to be compelled to argue with every conservative as he tries to prove his independence to the authorities at NBC. Tucker joined in on shouting down Neal with Jennie and Jerry. When given his few seconds to talk, Neal made some excellent points.

Jenny and Jerry are obviously both accustomed to and enjoy shout fests, and Jerry showed why his syndicated spectacle is always a frenzied mess without any useful purpose to an intellectual pursuit of living. It is amazing that in our free society that anyone would consider having Jerry Springer on as a guest commentator for any political or international affairs topic. It would seem that Mr. Springer would have forfeited any credibility by hosting that trash talking, tabloid sickening circus for the last ten years.

MSNBC and the low rated, disgraceful performance of Tucker Carlson are barely worth a comment. At least Ms U. was able to make the entire episode entertaining. Stop by and check her out-she’s got a great news site with precious commentary and useful insight.

Categories: Uncategorized

Well, Well, Well, It’s Armitage-Not Rove, Cheney, or Libby…What Now…

August 30, 2006 · No Comments

Although it has been known and reported for some time, The Wall Street Journal today made the news very mainstream: the entire Valerie Plame identity scandal was nothing more than a media obsession with a crime that NEVER existed.


From its very start, the ballyhooed case of who leaked the name of CIA analyst Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak has been drenched in partisan politics and media hypocrisy. The more we learn, however, the more it also reveals about the internal dysfunction of the Bush Administration and the lack of loyalty among some of its most senior officials.In other words, the leaker wasn’t Karl Rove or Scooter Libby or anyone else in the White House who has been accused of running a conspiracy against Ms. Plame as revenge for her husband Joe Wilson’s false accusations against the White House’s case for war with Iraq. So what have the last three years been all about anyway? Political opportunism and internal score-settling, among other things.
While conspiracy theories can be used to weave an intricate plotline, the wild-eyed, totally contrived theories promulgated by liberals and their willing accomplices in the media are finally exposed as the deceitful heresy that has become the foundation of the democrat party. If democrats plan to use these fabricated mantras as Fall campaign slogans, the November elections should prove to be very entertaining.

Although Richard Armitage has been outed as the source for the original Rober Novak column, we must remember that there is not now, nor has the ever been a crime committed against Valerie Plame or the United States government. It has been well established the Plame was not an undercover employee any longer, and in any case, she had already outed herself publicly many times over. We explained this in a detailed post on October 23, 2005.


“So, here is what we have. Valerie Plame uses here married name, her cover name, working at the CIA front company called Brewster-Jennings & Associates, contributes $1,000 to the Gore campaign. The media spins this as a revelation resulting from the Novak article-and of course, Karl Rove. But, this is not what this shows. What this shows is that Valerie Plame blew her own cover because she contributed to the campaign of Gore under the same name that she used for her undercover, her married name, and the name of a CIA front company that she worker for. So, Valerie Plame violates who knows what other kinds of protocol using her undercover name, exposing the existence of a CIA front company and all of this is totally ignored because supposedly her name was leaked and that is how people noticed. Now, this is a clever, clever attempt to try to spin the as she didn’t do anything wrong. Why is it perfectly normal for an American and CIA agent to contribute and want to contribute to the Gore campaign.”

Also, often lost in the devious, democrat, demagoguery parroted by the mainstream media for more than three years is the fact that every assertion by Joe Wilson (aka Clown Wilson) has been proven indisputably false.

“ON JULY 22, 2005, the New York Times published a lengthy, front-page article detailing the work of two senior Bush administration officials, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, on the Niger-uranium story. A seemingly exhaustive timeline ran alongside the piece. In 19 bullet points, the Times provided its readers in considerable detail with what it regarded as the highlights of the story. The timeline traces events from the initial request for more information on the alleged Iraqi inquiries in Africa to Joseph Wilson’s trip to Niger; from the now-famous “16 words” in President Bush’s 2003 State of the Union to the details of White House telephone logs; from Bush administration claims that Karl Rove was not involved in the leak to the naming of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, and on from there to the dates that White House officials testified before the grand jury.
As I say, seemingly exhaustive. But there is one curious omission: July 7, 2004. On that date, the bipartisan Senate Select Intelligence Committee released a 511-page report on the intelligence that served as the foundation for the Bush administration’s case for war in Iraq. The Senate report includes a 48-page section on Wilson that demonstrates, in painstaking detail, that virtually everything Joseph Wilson said publicly about his trip, from its origins to his conclusions, was false.”

Only a media culture in which Bush hatred has become the psychotic, impenetrable template for news could produce news stories that make Wilson appear at all credible. The mainstream media continued today to focus on their own irresponsible vendetta while missing the two key elements of this episode.

Since the embarrassing revelation, the Paul Begala wing of the liberal party has been strangely silent. When any of these strident voices fall silent on any topic, it means more than an admission of defeat, it means that further discussion of the tired issue might endanger Ned Lamont or some other current “cut and run” darling of the extreme left. Valerie Plame and Clown Wilson must be sitting at home feeling like a used woman: they were paid for their services and discarded afterwards.

Others on this topic: Rhymes with Right, Donklephant, Mike’s Noise has a Fabulous post.
InstaPundit, GOP Bloggers. Not-A-Pundit.

Mark Levin weighs in..

Categories: Uncategorized

Huber Heights Teacher’s Strike: Media Circus

August 30, 2006 · No Comments

As we previously stated at Thespis Journal, things aren’t always as they appear to be in the mainstream media.-especially in a strike situation. Although the Dayton News stations have made valiant attempts to cover the news radiating from Huber Heights, these mainstream media outlets have lived up their nickname of being the “drive-by” media. Sketchy facts and supported by sound snippets and finished off with remarks from anchor people who have no idea what might be actually transpiring. All three of the newscasts led their 11:00pm Tuesday telecasts with the news of the “forced” federal mediation taking place in Columbus today. Each of the three networks also foolishly sounded a clarion call that school might resume on Thursday, August 31. While school could resume on Thursday, it seems unlikely, and the real news coming from Huber Heights had nothing to do with school resuming on Thursday or any other day in the near future.

The Huber Heights Education Association has repeatedly requested to return to the table. The hapless Superintendent Kirby seemed to think that he would force the teacher’s to return to the table and forfeit their right to strike. He still seems intent on having the strike declared illegal, yet he has never explained to the public the benefit of having this strike declared illegal. Absent an agreement on a new master contract, the teachers could strike again with a new ten notice, and the district could experience another several days or weeks of turmoil.

Without a doubt, every member of HHEA is thrilled that talks are taking place today. True professionals would always rather be with their students teaching and learning. The blame for the interruption of school lies with Superintendent Kirby, his team and his board. Their failure to bring closure to the process has earned him the distinction of being idiot of the week. Kirby has spent more than a week worried about the legality of the strike. He should have been worried about getting students and teachers back in school.

A lot of the current crisis has been brought about as a result of an alternative Mutually Agree Dispute Resolution Procedure (MAD). Both sides agreed to a legally binding change in the procedure. In a pattern that he established in his previous district in Indiana, Mr. Kirby could not abide by his own agreement. He is very familiar with contracts not being settled since the teachers in his last school district worked for two years without a contract. Kirby brought this baggage with him to Huber Heights. Kirby’s tarnished history with labor relations demonstrates what we have been saying all along: the Superintendent is at the center of all that is wrong in the Huber Heights crisis.

Hopefully, the talks went well today. The football team was practicing, so all is well in the district. Prior to Wednesday, all co-curricular and extra-curricular activities had stopped. Surely, the pressure to settle a contract must be enormous. Parents should be demanding to get their students back in school. School may be in session yet this week. While it is a guessing game, Mr. Kirby’s history and blatant disregard for his teachers and his lack of integrity may cause a longer strike than the mainstream media wants us to believe. It seems like the real question to some is the status of the football game on Friday night.

The Dayton Daily News has more.
Detroit Schools Show Down: Teachers on Strike
Perkins Teachers are on Strike too. More on the Perkins Strike

Categories: Uncategorized

The 82nd Carnival of Education

August 29, 2006 · No Comments

Welcome to the 82nd Edition of the Carnival of Education
Special Theatrical Edition
Featuring Articles submitted from across the Edusphere

Have you ever had a day, a week, a month, or an entire school year when you thought it would be appropriate for your students, colleagues, or administrators to form the cast of a Broadway play or musical? Do you sometimes find yourself in melodramatic episodes that could be written into a fully formed script or libretto? If so….read on…

Thespis Journal is proud to present education articles from a panoramic view across the horizon of teaching and learning. You might want to play some music from Phantom of the Opera, Annie, Gypsy, Hairspray, or even Wicked as accompaniment for your trip to the Great White Way.

I am expressing my sincere apology to each of you in advance for the lack of parallel structure in the outline of these posts.

Scott Elliott at Get on the Bus will host next weeks carnival. Submissions are due to Scott next Tuesday, September 5 by 9:00pm. EDT. Send your submissions to scemel@aol.com.

Leading Actor…


From the Trenches of Public Education takes a leading role in today’s theatrical carnival with his post, The Right to Burn the Flag and Shoot Ourselves in the Foot. The fine line between innovative lesson demonstrations and public perceptions of our work is carefully explored by Mr. Fermoyle. You might want to check out the book In The Trenches.


The Textbook Evaluator has a great post relative to the marketing and creation of textbooks. There is true expertise in his post.

“Let me be clear, however. I am not against textbooks, nor do I have it in for the big textbook publishers. I do not support the radical decentralization of instructional decisions to individual classroom teachers. My general beef with instructional materials is NOT the materials themselves. My frustration is that the structure of the market for educational materials does not reward innovation, does not reward effectiveness, and does not lead to general improvements in student performance.”

At Texas Ed (a voice from outside public education), there is a powerfully worded, well conceived post about the over-valuation of football coaches in Texas. It’s hard to argue with T-Ed’s reasoning.

The Education Wonks award The Knucklehead of the Day. You have to read the post-the driver is truly a bonehead.

D-Ed Reckoning has a post regarding clueless newspaper reporting.

Ms. Cornelius at A Shrewdness of Apes wins a Tony Award for her leading role in being the most theme appropriate this week when she writes, When Teaching School is like a Divine Comedy. How did she know we needed a comedy, and it’s only the second week of school?

The King And I…

In the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic the King and I, the King of Siam rules with infinite authority making all decisions: Mrs. Anna teaches the King’s numerous children.

The King’s Choice:

In this touching and revealing post at Meri Musings, the author tells of taking her daughter to the first day of kindergarten.

The American Spectator
has a thoughtful and instructive post “No Sex Please: We’re Teenagers.”

Right Wing Nation takes Educration and Liberalism to task. They invented the term, go there for the instruction. No doubt, Right Wing Nation would have no tolerance for the King’s dictatorship.

Mrs. Anna’s Lessons:

The Author of Teaching in the Twenty-First Century quotes the most well-known lyrics sung by Mrs. Anna in The King And I. The very appropriately titled post is “Getting to Know You.

It’s a very ancient saying,
But a true and honest thought,
That if you become a teacher,
By your pupils you’ll be taught.


There’s nothing to Teach
is the title of a post at Supreme Narcissism. The post explores the debate over teaching “intelligent design,” and the pitfalls of sex education.

Sex education from a different perspective is featured in an astute post at NYC Educator. NYC Educator titles the post: Forget Merit Pay!

Mrs. Anna must have some very difficult lessons to teach the children of Siam these days because Jon Swift takes an off-beat view of funding for subjects like science and the like. Swift’s sarcastic wit could be put to good use at our school.

Diane Weir has a lesson for all of us on being an advocate for pre-schoolers vs. being an advocate for preschool. This pungent post is worth it for all of us as a reminder to keep the kids needs first.

The History Boys…
(The 2006 Tony Award for best new play)

There’s a Colorado Flag update at Millard Fillmore’s bathtub.

The Good Human has more on the Colorado flag incident. This is a great post with several links.

A History Teacher says “They Don’t Get It, We Can Help.” I hope that this History Teacher gets to see History Boys.

From History is Elementary: What is it Going to Take -a wonderful post on motivation.

Wicked…
(The 2003 smash hit featuring songs of the legendary Stephen Schwartz. Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and is noticeably more inspired and artistic.)

Scheiss Weekly has a post for us that reminds me of Elphaba, that Wicked Witch of the West: Fire burn and cauldron bubble; That one witch is rambling again.


I keep saying this but here it is again: There are certain skills that intelligent persons simply must have, at certain ages. When one becomes a self-sustaining adult, (which status of course many ‘adults’ never attain because their families and they themselves allowed them to go through school without doing or learning anything!!!) (My SELF ESTEEM!!!!!!) a decent person will be armed with skills, marketable skills, with which to earn one’s own living.

Alexander at This Week in Education writes about the rate of Blogging, and the appropriate number of posts for an education blogger. There are two week totals of posts from several prominent education blogs and a comparison chart. This is Wicked good.

Edspresso has a salty posting in which they respond to commentary and concerns from AFT members.

NCLB Let’s Get It Right pours the java right back in Wicked fashion to Edspresso. These two bloggers could create and intriguing plotline to watch at the theater.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest…
The Tony Award winning play by Dale Wasserman that explores a ward of mentally challenged patients. Cuckoo’s Nest is a compelling drama, and a famous movie circa 1975.

Campus Watch has an article filled with additional information regarding the use of the popular site Facebook as a coping technique relative to the tragedies at Virginia Tech.

Going to the Mat has a detailed post with analysis regarding Principal Signing Bonuses In Maryland: Incentive without Insurance. Like many concerned citizens today, Matt demands accountability measures that accompany the pay incentives.

At Get Lost Mr. Chips, the author tells a tale about the first day of school that had to make the teachers believe they were starring in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

Children of Eden…

This post reminds me of the show-stopping musical number Generations from the Stephen Schwartz musical Children of Eden. What It’s Like on the Inside has a post regarding the class of 2010. Warning: this might make seasoned educators feel as though you have been teaching for Generations.

Chris Quimby illustrates that there is no back to school for homeschoolers and boasts about the advantages of home schooling in a poetic treatise called Back To School.

Online Charter Schools are not synonomis with Home Schooling! Spunky Home School has quite an essay on this topic, and she’s right! I’m not sure what qualifies an online charter as a school. (This is an editor’s choice article.)

Trivium Pursuit Blog has information on Vitruvius in for home schooling.

Creative Home Schooling Is Thinking Out of The Box boasts of a success on a standardized test for a home schooled child. Way to go!

Sometimes it is better to do nothing! Read all about it in Paul’s Tips.

The Pajama Game…
In this 1954 musical, the workers at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory are about to go on strike for a pay raise.

Scott says the Huber Heights Strike is difficult to handicap. Thespis says that Superintendent Kirby needs to lead. Best wishes to the Huber Heights, Ohio teachers who are fighting for teachers wages and rights for local teachers and teachers across Ohio!

Featured Actor…

Scott Elliot at Get on the Bus has a caution for teachers-especially teachers of primary grade children-regarding overly complex and demanding school supply lists. Scott has a point about public perceptions regarding alternative agendas being promoted through the very specific supply list.

The Hall Monitor also has new ways of acquiring school supplies.

The Workplace Prof Blog has an insightful post on age discrimination in the hiring and promotion of adjunct faculty members.

Where are the students in the National Standards Debate is a question posed and answered by Poor, Starving College Student.

Ms_Teacher is shaking her head in disbelief at grade level promotions. I thought NCLB was supposed to solve all of these issues.

At Discourse About Discourse, the author talks about metawriting and best and worst writing prompts. This featured performer asks for feedback about the performance.

Anonymous Educator posts on the topic of internet addiction for students and battling this internet addiction.

The Jill Carroll Story comes from The Current Events in Education from an extremely creative and imaginative teacher. There are even lesson ideas; how wonderful!

A Teacher from New York
spending a year in Turkey sends in the latest report.

In a timely post the HunBlog provides an update on Katrina’s Aftermath on Education.

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The 1962 Tony-Award Winning Best Musical

Matt Inglot shares secrets with college students regarding starting their own business. Success Points for Starting A Business as a Student could make you a millionaire by age 40!

Peter Pan…

Scheiss Weekly has a wonderful post about her confused experiences with a teacher and the novel for children, Peter Pan. This is a fascinating post. You might want to think of the marvelous Jule Styne music, Never land Waltz as you are reading.

Applause! Applause! Thanks for visiting the special theatrical edition of the Carnival of Education. See you on the midway next week!

Check out the Carnival of Education Archives.

Check out the Mudville Gazette on the naming of a school
.
A Post on Guest Blogging at Junkyard Blog
The Conservative Cat

Categories: Uncategorized

Kirby’s Latest Fumble

August 29, 2006 · No Comments

Superintendent William Kirby seems like he has done it again! He has proven that he is inept at utilizing two of the most fundamental management techniques in a strike situation. If he manages the Huber Heights Schools so recklessly on a daily basis, there is little wonder why the district is facing this crisis.
Kirby should be using his time to facilitate a settlement in the on-going dispute. All of the efforts of Kirby and his negotiating team should be directed at bringing closure to the conflict. Students need to be in school, and they deserve competent teachers who are in the classroom eager to teach and mentor all the young people in the Huber Heights Schools.
Instead Kirby is playing classic games, yet he obviously has no skill or expertise in forcing a settlement. His efforts appear bumbling at best, and totally mean-spirited at worst. First, according to the Tuesday edition of the Dayton Daily News, Kirby admits to having tried (unsuccessfully) to intimidate his teachers with the threat of canceling their health insurance. He says that the law requires that the benefits be canceled. Kirby’s statement is blatantly false. The Board of Education can continue to pay for the benefits if they choose to do so. Most boards do not in a strike situation. Kirby should be man enough to own up to his decision to threaten his teachers and agitate this situation.
Secondly, Kirby has still not made good on his threat to file with the State Employment Relations Board to have the strike declared illegal. Any idiot could have filed that complaint on Friday of last week. Apparently Mr. Kirby’s incessant talking about the filing is all that has happened. Surely the public must wonder about Kirby’s leadership abilities: it is now Tuesday, and Mr. Kirby and his board have yet to file the concern that has seemed to be the center piece of their strategy to settle the strike. Kirby has been talking about having the strike declared illegal for more than a week. The flaws of Kirby’s ridiculous plan are exposed here.
Superintendent Kirby seems to lack the motivation to settle the strike. Obviously, the circumstances of the work stoppage have overwhelmed him. Perhaps it’s time for someone else to take the leadership role to get the Huber Heights community through this situation.

Categories: Uncategorized

Superintendent Continues Delay Tactics

August 28, 2006 · No Comments

One has to wonder if Superintendent William Kirby has any intentions of ever settling a contract with his teachers. According to the Dayton Daily News, Kirby plans to spend the day today trying to penalize and outmaneuver the teachers instead of talking with them. While refusing to engage a federal mediator, Kirby and his fellow administrators are playing legal games again. Kirby appears willing to invest time in arguing over semantics and trivialities rather than get his teachers and students back in school.

One has to wonder how long this hapless leader will allow this drama to play on.

Lots of other links from the Dayton Daily News.

Categories: Uncategorized

True Leadership Needed in Huber Heights Strike

August 27, 2006 · No Comments

While Superintendent William Kirby and his highly paid negotiators spend valuable time worrying about the legality of the teacher’s strike, he and his team could be using their time to foster and promote a settlement that will get the students back to school permanently. The Huber Heights teachers, students, and community deserve more from a man who is supposed to be the educational leader of the community. Kirby seems to have a propensity to focus on trivialities while the community senses a crisis. He displayed a bizarre brand of intellectual bankruptcy when he placed last week’s football game above the fundamental educational needs of the students in the Huber Heights schools. The Huber Heights students and teachers deserve more. Those involved in Huber Heights schools deserve a productive year with a singular focus on teaching and learning; however Mr. Kirby appears to be more concerned with the possibility of a temporary victory that would be nothing more than a band-aid on a gushing wound.

Every time that we see Mr. Kirby in the news or read about him in the newspaper, he is touting his effort to have the strike by the local OEA affiliate declared illegal. Kirby behaves as if the state employment relations board declaring the strike illegal would make the whole situation evaporate. His thinking represents nothing more than a simplistic myth. Teachers would retain their right to strike, and would no doubt file another notice, and be on strike again within a matter of days.

Kirby’s lame move to the State Employment Relations Board followed his pathetic attempt to get the press and the public interested in his blizzard of paperwork which amounted to administrative propaganda regarding the current state of bargaining. Surely, he must have been hoping that if he, acting as deity, could let the teachers know his “final offer” that the teachers would sense his warm personality and melt in their resolve to achieve a fair and equitable settlement. Kirby may have hoped that teachers would shrink from the challenge and be afraid to strike. Friday must have been a harsh reality check for Mr. Kirby.

There’s obviously a lot going on in the Huber Heights teacher’s strike than we are seeing and reading in the mainstream media. There are always many factors at work behind the scenes which are not witnessed by the media or the union members. What is public, however, is Kirby’s determination to keep the district solvent in the years ahead, without regard for the interim stability of the district. A rigid philosophy, holding the financial bottom line above all other factors will not produce an effective district. A truly creative, imaginative leadership team must think beyond the unencumbered balance of the district for fiscal year 2010. Most Ohio school districts are fortunate if they have a fiscal management plan that extends further than two years. By allowing a narrowly defined fiscal policy to control every decision, Kirby has allowed controversy to erupt in the Huber Heights community, and has exposed the district to a level of scrutiny that raises the negative perception of the district in the mind of average voters. Kirby will live to regret all of the circumstances which led to this strike.

In the meantime, it is incumbent on Kirby to get his negotiators back to the table to meet with the Union representatives. Non-stop negotiations should begin immediately. The administration/board side must show some flexibility. Clearly there are resources to produce a settlement that is more attractive than the so-called final offer. It is a little shocking that the administration would resort to the obsolete technique of releasing a “last offer” unless their intent was to implement the offer (forcing the teachers to accept it), and to inflame an already strained process. Kirby seems to have excelled at both of these goals.

A leader must lead, and Kirby has seemed more like a professional whiner than a dynamic leader who can facilitate a solution in this current situation. Superintendent Kirby should lead the way back to the table, and join his teacher’s in a collaborative effort to construct a fair settlement sometime early this week. It’s time to stop playing the games that he has obviously been playing for several months.

Read more in the Dayton Daily News here, here, here, and here.

Kathie Bracy has more.

Categories: Uncategorized

Ghost Light: Posts of the Week

August 27, 2006 · No Comments

The drive-by media is trying their best to convince us today that the only story this week is the anniversary of Katrina. Please! There are lots of other interesting news stories and commentary available. Enjoy, and keep the ghost light on.

Seth at Hard Astarboard pokes fun at the democrats for their agenda for the Fall campaign: A War on Wal-Mart. Now, that is laughable!


Dr. Sanity has her weekly “Carnival of the Insanities.” You’ll enjoy it.

Gull at Perish The Thought has new insights claiming that Kofi Annan has softened his stance against Israel.

The Buzz Blog has the weekly Fair Tax Blogburst. Keep the Fair Tax Alive!

The Education Wonks are tracking the travels and commentary of Margaret Spellings again. It must a terrible life to have to travel the world defending the NCLB legislation.

Mr. McNamar has a great post at The Daily Grind called Whaddya Wanna Bet.

Blue Crab Boulevard tells the story of 128 Hammond, Indiana students suspended on the first day of school for dress code violations.

Joanne Jacobs has information that debunks the cry for more and more P.E.

Scott Ellioit at Get on the Bus has a list of MSM Education Bloggers.

AJ Strata has a short column on Liberal Whiners.

Hot Air reports again on Britan’s George Galloway and his moonbat views of the world. He should get over here quick and campaign with Nutty Ned!

Categories: Uncategorized