A Speech To Parents Regarding A New Season at LAUSD

With the new school season quickly approaching, I wanted to let all LAUSD parents, students and teachers know that transformation is on the way.

One leader, Superintendent David Brewer, is now in charge of this transformation and will be working with the school board to achieve new levels of heightened student achievement and increased graduation rates. And requests input from all interested parties, from wherever it may come from.

I'd like to empower everyone on the job in the district from tree trimmer to school board president to use common sense and life-experience to do their best job, and let management know how they can help you do a better job and improve the district.

For example, maybe the gym teacher suggests moving classes to after lunch, when the kids have more energy to burn, rather than right before lunch when they are ready to drop because no one eats a good breakfast. Maybe a principal that tells teachers, “Hey no mid-term exams the day after American Idol finals. Kids won’t study, and overall test scores will drop.” (Based on what the teacher learned last year.)

Let common sense prevail, wherever legally possible. Knowledge comes from everyone within the system (it is called a school “system”), and if your ship is sinking, don’t ask what kind of life jacket they are throwing you.

For example, maybe the janitor can tell cafeteria not to serve a certain item anymore, because most of it is ending up in the trash. (The meal planner would never know, because all of it was served. Or the parking lot attendant who notifies the principal that the lights need to be replaced in the staff parking lot because kids shot them with a BB gun. (And the principal would never know because he leaves work before dark.) Kids know the problems; parents know the problems; teachers know the problems. Many of them have the solutions. Embrace your biggest asset, community input. (And I see Brewer doing that.)

Now, let’s look at some bigger picture solutions outside LAUSD’s job description that can help “fix” LAUSD.

So, a more immediate first thing that can be done to fix the school system starts at home. Parents need to accept responsibility and become active participants in their children’s lives. You can judge what a young kid says, and how they behave by the standards imposed on them by the parents. It’s tough to say “no” to your kids, when other parents say, “yes”, or don’t say anything at all, because the kids are left un-attended.

Too many parents think it is the schools and teachers job to instill dignity, respect and discipline into their kids. BUT IT IS NOT. That is the parents’ job. The schools job is to educate kids. Help fix LAUSD by fixing your kids, so the school can do its job. (Teach them how to read, write, add, etc.) Asking your kid, “How was school today? Did you do your homework?”, is not taking responsibility for your child’s education.

I know it’s tough to be a parent to your kid, these days. The high cost of housing, taxes and gas makes it hard to make ends meet, and both parents (if there are even both parents at home) have to work long hours, and travel through long traffic-jammed commutes, for not enough pay, at the end of the day.

And at the end of that day, It’s much easier to say, “yes”, than argue a long protracted battle over how late a kid can stay out, or how many hours they can use myspace, youtube, ipod, xbox, or even regular old TV. And it doesn’t help when other parents refuse to do a thing to help instill discipline, morals or standards in their kids.

But you must rise to the challenge and be the leaders and role models in your kids’ lives. Parents, don’t rely on the City to be your kids’ babysitters after school. Rely on each other. Spend more time talking to each other about after school activities. Do more for each other. Talk about what your kids are and are not allowed to say and do. Try and convince other parents to go along with the higher standard, so all the kids that play together lift each other up, instead of drag each other down.

So that’s ONE thing the community can do to fix the schools (besides reducing classroom size, paying teachers more so we can recruit new ones, after school programs, safer streets and other things that are out of your control):

Take on more responsibility to do the job you asked for when you had a kid. Be a mentor — to your own kids. You cannot leave the job of raising your kids and teaching them responsibility and values needed to keep them in school, graduating and productive members of society we need them to be to a school system. That’s not THEIR job, it’s YOURS. Take on the challenge. It will be almost as enriching and rewarding of an experience as myspace or YouTube.

There IS much for LAUSD to do as well, especially in the areas of management of quality and productivity as it related to operations and the administrative system itself. But the parents and kids have a long way to go before they can start pointing too many fingers at the system itself.

Thank You