Acting State Education Commissioner George Coleman appointed a New York state resident to serve on the state-controlled city Board of Education. CT Post columnist MariAn Gail Brown writes … What gives!
From the expression on his face to the way he carries himself, David Norton looks like a confident, affable corporate master of the universe able to get parties who disagree to find common ground.
Read more: www.ctpost.com/news/article/MariAn-Gail-Brown-Why-pick-a-Bridgeport-school-1796539.php
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Please consider this for one moment. The state steamrollered an elected BOE aided by city treachery. Now the State is bringing in some top talent to overhaul a badly damaged system.
Here is my proposal inspired by the noble merger of Gomes & Foster. Let these experts start evaluating the gross mismanagement at the top of the BOE administration. The elected BOE commissioners could run the more mundane daily School operations that directly effect our children. There would need to be communication between both parties. It might be a workable solution.
I appreciate educated intellectuals wanting to be a part in solving the problems facing our education system here in Bridgeport. I come from a family full of dropouts. Out of seven (7) boys and girls (my dad fathered 27) I’m the only one of the males to graduate from high school and have some college (no degree). I have a masters from The School of Hard Knocks. My younger brother got his GED, but is very smart and enjoys reading. Out of the girls, one graduated from high school, but she spent her time on sports with very little attention to academics. Salcedo and Ramos are two very well educated former and current school supers who have served with school board members with various degrees and professional experience among them. What good has that been? What do we have to show for it? In The School of Hard Knocks, one thing I learned is the first step to learning is going to bed early, so as to wake up early. I didn’t even have an alarm clock to wake up early. My sister (the H.S. athlete) had an alarm clock in her room and she would wake me up. My mom did all she could do and gave up. She’d say to us, “If you don’t want to wake up, that’s on you. You are the one who will suffer the consequences.” Living in poverty and getting the electricity shut off didn’t help when the alarm clock needed power. Remembering all we went through, makes me wonder how many children and teens won’t have electricity and an alarm clock when these folks set out to fix our school system. How many of them? I’d put my degree from The School of Hard Knocks against that of any State or local Board of Education member anytime. A walk in my shoes can fix the schools!
This time he is right. The “new” leadership of the failed Bridgeport Board of Education needs to be sensitive to the consequences of quitting school. Sleeping late while the electricity is shut off is a symptom of a subculture that is overwhelmed with the circumstances of their individual lives. Regrettably, they have no clue as to how to get out from under the cloud which has them disenfranchised. They cannot go to their parents because more than 90% of the parents of dropouts are dropouts themselves, content to raise huge families while on public assistance. For many, the only income they have is what comes with that grey card the state issues so they can eat.
I’m an educated man as is my wife and all of my children. Our parents were high school graduates who held jobs adequate to sustain our modest way of life. I don’t worry about having my electricity shut off and there is plenty available to purchase nutritious food, comfortable clothes and to maintain my home. I never gave any thought to dropping out. My parents were involved in my education all the way through graduate school. They always expressed an interest and we would talk about what was going on all the time. They knew when I had a big test or a complicated paper due and expected to be told how I made out. My parents provided for me. I wasn’t going to let them down by not fulfilling my academic responsibilities. I did the same thing with each of my children. The main topic of conversation every night at dinner was school. No pressure, just awareness. My kids did well and I’m proud of what they have become.
My point? POVERTY IS CONQUERED BY THE RAPIER OF EDUCATION.
Yes I agree with you but it seems like you made an excuse for the high dropout rate and the low graduation rate. At what point does the individual take responsibility for their own fate?
The truly disenfranchised in this city are not capable of taking responsibility for their actions. Just because they are disenfranchised does not mean they are not worthy of proper guidance. Unfortunately, they will not get this from home. We live where generation after generation do nothing to improve their lives. It has become a normal way of life. Far too many people actually think food stamps, housing subsidies and stipends are their God-given right. They get so much from the state and that’s what they live on … forever.
The disenfranchised need guidance. Good, skilled guidance. I wonder what would happen if a Bridgeport educator spotted a student teetering on the brink of failure and eventual dropping out, then took action to restore that student to passing grades. Do you think that student might decide to stay in school?
Your attitude borders on racism. To state the individuals are not nor their guardians capable of running their own lives without some plantation mentality that a superior being guide them to make the right decision is insulting at the least, bigoted on its face!!!
Yes Joel, anyone can be a leader. You have a monumental task ahead of you. The BOE, Superintendent of Schools will never be able to do it alone. Turning around the BPT School System is going to have to be a community effort. Will your team be able to turn around the kids and parents, who give up and make them understand getting a good education is their only way to lift them out of the situation they’re in?
The original three need to be reinstated. MJ’s slate needs to be voted in. MJ needs someone on staff who knows every boe player from top to bottom. Ramos must GO. The mayor’s staff and boe board need to listen to the employees and parents and make sound judgements for the kids and the people who elected them.
They would have to be reinstated. They have two years left on their term. Foster’s team would come in next.
I didn’t finish my latest brain fart extolling the virtues of an education. Pressed the wrong button. Should have stayed in school longer and learned how to use a computer.
Back to my point. For four decades the BOE has been influenced by various iterations of calamarian control. Today, Testa is consulted when someone needs to be fired. There is more to a school system than teachers at blackboards teaching the three Rs. The business side is lucrative. Precious dollar resources have been spent on goods and services provided by the politically connected.
The Salcedos and Ramoses hurt us badly. They robbed us of the very essence of any hope for economic recovery. Presently, we are not educating our students. We are not preparing them for jobs in the local community. There is no hope at this time.
No amount of economic development will succeed if we cannot demonstrate, among other things, there exists an educated work force ready to do the jobs that come into this town. Believe me, investors performing stringent economic due diligence pay careful attention to the availability of a competent work force before any investment decision is contemplated.
I am confident MJF understands this issue and she will place the highest priorities on the remediation of the BOE.
Depriving Mario Testa of any influence will have dramatic and significant results.
Education … first … and foremost.
Power is never given only TAKEN. When the City decided for its citizens to relinquish our rights as voters. (You never ever decide for the people who get ELECTED TO REPRESENT NOT DICTATE THAT’S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF GOVERNMENT!)
This is another example, a GLARING example that the Finch administration is out of touch with the people hizzoner was elected to serve. September 13th is fast approaching. What’s that I smell in the air, rotisserie chicken? Naw, that ain’t it. Diesel exhaust? Naw … Wait, wait, I know what it is. It’s CHANGE.
*** Give change a chance already! *** Do it for the kids, not the politics. ***
*** Doesn’t matter much where he lives, as long as he does the job, no? *** CHANGE ***
I’m grateful to anyone who is willing to donate their time and talent to helping Bridgeport’s kids. I don’t give a damn where he lives if he’s willing to take on this enormous, probably thankless task.
Let’s not worry about the dissolution of a body elected by the people. These people we elected form a choice basis that was orchestrated by El Squid. “I don’t care who you vote for, says El Squid, so long as you pick from the list I give you.”
Well, these hand-picked calamarians blew it and have been blowing it for far too many years. I applaud the state for realizing these people were not qualified to restore our schools system to an effective and efficient body capable of producing an educated populace striving for personal success. I say good riddance to the politically connected philistines and wholeheartedly welcome the state appointed saviors of the good way of life. We can impeach presidents, senators, congressmen, dog catchers and mayors; why not “impeach” a bunch of dopes elected to the BOE but didn’t do the job?
I for one am looking forward to this crew coming in and pointing fingers.
charlie, I’m not surprised you find my comments offensive. The truth is not always the most popular stance.
I stand by what I said and resent any implication that racism is inferred.
Read my comments again you insufferable dolt. If after you have read them a least three times, ask someone to explain.
The BOE has been politicized for a long time. Even with a handful of Working Families members it got nothing done. Every meeting was contentious, big egos, lots of screaming, disagreements over petty issues, spite, vindictiveness.
Whoever has volunteered to serve on the reconstituted BOE is to be commended. They are serving for the benefit of the children.
Hey charlie,
Nowhere did I say the so-called “superior being” needs to be white.
Take your dumb ass down to the next graduation ceremony at Housatonic Community College. There you will see many many “minorities” obtaining degrees. Quite a few of these “minorities” are graduating Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Cum Laude and, remarkably, a good number admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. Nobody gave these kids anything. The program at HCC is rigorous. They worked hard to graduate. I’m not only proud of every one of them, white, black, blue or green; I’m proud of the people who encouraged these kids to succeed. These kids are fortunate. They had caring families and advisers who kept them in school. That’s not the case for all minority families in this town. Those kids who get to walk across the stage at graduation aren’t disenfranchised are they? It’s the kids who come from families with a history of underachievement who we have to pay attention to. These underachievers could make a contribution to society if we had the right structure in place that would identify their vulnerabilities long before their problems escalate to point where dropping out is the only option. Our BOE doesn’t see it that way. I’m hoping the new people will.
And you accuse me of a racist “plantation” attitude towards these people.
You disgust me, you myopic piece of shit.
For many city residents poverty is a chosen lifestyle. That is the downside to public assistance and social welfare programs. Families have been on welfare, living in subsidized housing for generations. Selling drugs or guns on the side is a way to make a little money. Food stamps and SAGA healthcare benefits are regarded as a birthright, not a stepping stone. I’ve been on welfare, lived in homeless shelters. Only a very small percentage of the people I met actually gave a damn and worked their way out of a bad situation. The majority of people at the low end of the economic food chain don’t know any other way. A good portion of that majority consists of people with mental health issues. Still others have physical disabilities. It is wrong to paint them all with a broad brush.
yahooy, since you just gave us a history of blacks and Latinos in Bridgeport maybe you can tell us the story about “Corporate Welfare?”
This dialogue began with comments about keeping the disenfranchised in the classroom. Let’s focus on the issue.
yahooy, these are your words, “They cannot go to their parents because more than 90% of the parents of dropouts are dropouts themselves content to raise huge families while on public assistance. For many, the only income they have is what comes with that grey card the state issues so they can eat.”
As I said earlier, since you just gave us a history of blacks and Latinos in Bridgeport maybe you can tell us the story about “Corporate Welfare?”
This isn’t about race, Mackey. It’s about culture. It will be difficult for you to convince me diverting this issue to Corporate Welfare correlates to keeping the disenfranchised in the classroom. I am adamant we must improve our efforts in this regard which I am convinced will improve our society. Why are you busting my balls?
I’ll tell you why I think you are busting my balls. You have the attention span of a newborn gnat. If you could get past the first three words, you would see my whole passion is to convert the disenfranchised by providing meaningful guidance and monitoring. Everyone needs a little advice once in a while. I don’t care how disabled anyone is. Whatever obstacle is placed in the way of academic success can be torn down by caring enlightened people. Surely it is drugs and dysfunctional family units. Plus we have a society that rewards dysfunction with generous entitlements which remove any hope of motivation to improve ones life. The government will put food on the table and pay for the roof over their head. The message … “Go ahead; drop out. You’ll be taken care of.”
People have to eat and people have to be sheltered. I do not advocate a sudden end to entitlements. But I am convince if we are effective in our remediation of our school system we can provide all of our students with a very precious gift; the gift of knowledge. The parable of give a man a fish allows him to eat for one day. But if you teach that same man HOW to fish he eats forever and he provides for others as well.
This isn’t about race, Mackey. This is about humanity.
If I were you I would throw out that calendar you look at every day. The ’60s are over.
Check out HCC and all of the other Community Colleges. You will see there are a very large number of people improving themselves. They did not do it alone. Now we have to concentrate with our best efforts to get those who would otherwise be left behind into the mainstream.
All of our problems are solved with JOBS, JOBS & JOBS. Absolutely everyone should be prepared to earn a living not left to rot in the detritus this town is right now.
MJF and Gomes understand these issues and the importance. We are on the brink of establishing the infrastructure that will return Bridgeport to prosperity and prominence. Her election is not assured. Now it is more important than ever to get on the phone and ask people to get out and vote for her.
The calamarians are hard at work trying to maintain their power. They can succeed only if we let them.
yahooy, why didn’t you write this the first time? I was putting a face to people you were talking about in Bridgeport, who are the disenfranchised in Bridgeport, blacks and Latinos.
Let’s talk about 2011 and not the ’60s, Bridgeport’s population is 2/3 black and Latino, Bridgeport school system is over 80% black and Latino.
You said, “It will be difficult for you to convince me that diverting this issue to Corporate Welfare correlates to keeping the disenfranchised in the classroom.” Here is what you overlooking, the poor, the disenfranchised have no voice, they are out of sight and out of mind. The priority of society is to look down and not up. Let’s blame the poor for their condition but we don’t look at Corporate Welfare and how they suck blood out of the taxpayers.
Wordy.
Look. We have the best shot we have ever had to get the calamarians out of the lucrative business of public education. Our resources can focus on keeping the disenfranchised in the classroom so they can become educated and improve their shot at La Dolce Vita.
You are right that Corporate bailouts robbed the municipalities of the funds that maybe could improve the lives of the poor.
But that is not what we are talking about right now. We have got to keep these kids in school. Give them an education … the very tool that will ensure they can take care of themselves and their families just like you and me.
I’m no pollyanna … hardly. But I do see tremendous benefit in education. I believe it is the responsibility of the educator to be the first responder when a kid starts the downward spiral leading to dropping out. Just yesterday, a superintendent of a nearby school district told me some kids in Bridgeport just stop going to school. That’s it, good bye. No notice, no nothing. If they are over the legal age, the administrators make a few cursory calls then fill out the forms and the kid is dropped. All done. Next!!!
I want a better system. I want a kid to struggle to drop out. I want to make it difficult. I want a program put in place that will give a kid a chance to make up whatever work they didn’t do. Get them back on track. Show them the ticket to a good or better life is a diploma.
You just don’t see a lot of kids hanging out on street corners with letter sweaters, class rings and newly minted diplomas.
Keep them in school. Educate them. Make them SELF sufficient.
I realize I’m talking about blacks and Latinos. You don’t realize, it doesn’t make any difference to me. I see all of the disenfranchised as potential contributors to the betterment of this city.
I would find it hard to believe these kids aspire to a life of drugs, crime and welfare. Someone has to take charge and GUIDE them through the labyrinth and not consider them worthless. They are not worthless. I’m not kidding about watching a Housatonic Community College graduation ceremony. That’s our future. Not just the future of Bridgeport but the future of the State and the Country. I wish to god I could see the number of graduates grow by tenfold, 100-fold or whatever.