I’ve been thinking about change a lot lately. Sometimes it is
inevitable, such as the changing of the seasons. Sometimes it is
brought about by deliberate actions, such as when we build a dam,
flood a valley, and provide irrigation and electricity.
I’ve been thinking about change a lot lately. Sometimes it is inevitable, such as the changing of the seasons. Sometimes it is brought about by deliberate actions, such as when we build a dam, flood a valley, and provide irrigation and electricity. And sometimes it is the unintended consequence of seemingly unrelated acts, such as when we drive our cars and impact the climate of our planet.
Change happens all around us. In our society, in fact, change is the norm … new freeway construction, new housing projects and shopping centers, new technology at home and at work, new styles of clothing … Most of this we take in stride, adjusting to it almost automatically. But some change impacts us more profoundly, and we must pause.
My children are growing up, way too fast. Of course it’s wonderful to watch this happen, but the enjoyment is tempered by nostalgia for the little years, and concerns about the future. You are probably familiar with the Serenity Prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.” We must accept that our children are growing up, adjust our expectations, and find our joy in the growth they are making and the people they are becoming.
This year, at schools across the district we are implementing a new online grading system. This change is not inevitable, nor is it altogether smooth. Many of us are finding the entering of grades under this system, often with outdated computers, to be very cumbersome and time-consuming.
Mind you, we recognize the value of making the information more accessible to the parent community, and we do not dispute the need to work this out.
But as always seems to be the case, new expectations and demands on our time come without any reductions in the workload elsewhere, and without an influx of funding to provide the necessary infrastructure.
So we must choose each day between spending time after school preparing the next day’s lessons, grading student work, returning parent calls and e-mails, or doing battle with the new system. Hopefully, as we each invest the time required to learn this new system, we will work out some of the problems. If not, we will be looking to our administration to provide a remedy.
Which brings me to the school district itself. As our new superintendent completes his first year on the job, we have seen a change in culture that permeates the district. There has not been a relaxation of standards nor a lowering of expectations, and there should not be. What has changed is the level of respect for the professionalism of district employees, including teachers. There is a newfound sense of being part of a team, rather than being in the crosshairs. This is one change that has been easy to adjust to. For those who might have some ongoing issue with the district, I hope the desire for resolution does not blind you to the positive change that we have already seen.
I think to a certain extent people must be wired to seek change. We change jobs and careers, buy new cars, try new hairstyles, and rearrange the furniture in our homes. In fact, the appeal of change is so universal that political candidates can run successful campaigns on the simple slogan, “It’s time for a change,” without any indication whatsoever of the particular kind of change they have in mind.
As election day approaches, we have an opportunity for the kind of change that is deliberate. There is also the danger that voters will bring a kind of change that they don’t really intend. As citizens, we have the obligation not only to vote, but to seek information beforehand so that we can vote responsibly.
Across the country, we hear of anti-incumbent fever. People are poised to vote out of office the very representatives whose views they support, all in the name of change. Within our own community, some individuals clamor for the ouster of all existing school board members. This makes no sense. Sitting board members fall into different camps, as do candidates not currently on the board. It is important to discover their positions on issues, and vote accordingly.
Morgan Hill teachers, through our elected representatives, have endorsed four candidates for school board.
They are incumbents Don Moody and Shelle Thomas, and newcomers Claudia Rossi (a parent of two children in the district) and Ron Woolf (a retired middle school math teacher, ASB director, and adult school principal). We would very much appreciate your vote for these candidates. We feel that they are outstanding.
Finally, please vote Yes on Proposition 25, and help fix California’s budget process.
Jeanie Wallace teaches math and social studies at Ann Sobrato High School, has two children who attend schools in the district and is writing on behalf on the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers.
