CTA president tells Tahoe educators it’s time to unify
By Kathryn Reed
When those in education take a stance against colleagues – as in administrators vs. unions, K-12 v. community colleges, classified vs. certificated – the message the public hears is disenfranchisement among the ranks.
“We are more defined by what separates us than what binds us,” Dean Vogel told a group of educators Monday night at Lake Tahoe Community College.
Vogel, who has been president of the California Teachers Association for nearly a year, was invited to speak by the college’s Classified Employees Union and Faculty Association. The former just unionized and joined the CTA.
CTA President Dean Vogel speaks May 7 at Lake Tahoe Community College. Photo/Kathryn Reed
“What we don’t do enough of is coming together and talking in groups like this,” Vogel said.
An array of people was in the college theater – from K-12 teachers to LTCC’s president to a college board member.
Vogel said it’s time people in the profession start having conversations with parents and the community as a whole so they know what is going on, so they understand what is happening in the classroom, the impact of decisions by people who are far removed from the classroom, and what funding cuts mean.
“I’ve yet to meet a teacher who says all this testing stuff makes good sense,” Vogel said.
But he says when he meets with Arne Duncan, U.S. secretary of Education, and others in Washington the talk is all about testing.
“They don’t understand they have the capacity to stop this,” Vogel said of the nonstop testing of students. “The argument always is you have to assess kids. They don’t understand what that means.”
Computer based assessment of students could be a federal mandate in 2015. But the technology is not there for everyone.
Vogel added that policymakers have talked about funding universities based on how students test out. He touched on how a degree from a CSU or UC used to be within reach for a middle class family. Now it can be $35,000 – what Stanford used to cost.
Money and testing are the two words that permeate discussions about education. Students and learning seem to have been lost in the conversation.
That may not change as another election season gets under way.
Vogel said it’s critical the education community tap into the 73 percent of voters who are happy with their schools. Vogel said it’s important to look at people who have voted in the past five elections. Those are solid voters.
With Gov. Jerry Brown expected to release the May revised budget for 2012-13 next week, all eyes are on Sacramento. But already those in education know the coffers will be diminished if voters say nay to the governor’s proposal on the November ballot. That is money to keep funding levels – not something to add to the bottom line.
Now if we could only talk them into ‘unifying’ toward sustainable ways that don’t keep perpetuating the unsustainable subjects being taught that keep real progress at bay, we might actually get something for all that money. . .
“Teaching to the test” is still better than “attending just for the job (I might get)”, but both are integral parts of today’s “educational” goals – for both sides – and our current culture.
“When those in education take a stance against colleagues – as in administrators vs. unions, K-12 v. community colleges, classified vs. certificated – the message the public hears is disenfranchisement among the ranks.”
Welcome to LTCC, where apparently only the current president and one board member could take the time to listen or discuss. But this is not new news in the disfunctional world that is and has been LTCC. A new classified employee union because of the disarray and abusive behavior of the Board, 3 interim and “permanent” presidents and an equal number of chief business officers, all within 3 years.
With graduation rates in the low SINGLE digits, millions wasted on repeatability abuses for recreational courses and precious little to offer in critical skills training relevant to Lake Tahoe, promotion to 4 year colleges or economic development in cooperation with other local agencies, LTCC has devolved into little more than a “glorified community center”, all thanks to the current Board who still seems to think that they are in the motel.
Way past time to listen to those on the faculty and staff who understand that critical missions of the College and can make it happen. And the first and most important step: Dump the current Board, under whose watch LTCC has danced and mediated on their own wonderfulness(repeated 16 times because we couldn’t get it right on the first 15) as the K-12 District has increasingly set the educational standard in South Lake Tahoe.
Craig Brinckman is a disgrunteled former employee,who lives in Reno and has no ties to So.Lake Tahoe or LTCC.
Tom is only partially correct. I, like him, am a former employee. As regards ties to So. Lake Tahoe, I have active and ongoing efforts at developing economic and environmental improvements for the Lake Tahoe Basin, unlike Tom. And Tom is absolutely right…I continue to be opposed to the waste, mismanagement at LTCC, where I spent more than 2 years working on positive change.
LTCC is shortchanging the community of South Lake Tahoe and the students. As a California taxpayer, I (and you) fund LTCC and I have every right to seek value for my investment.