Convocation Chaos

While flipping through the tv channels I happened upon the Diane and Sue Show on the local government channel. This particular fabrication….errr….episode was about the convocation that is held at the beginning of each year.
For those who do not know what a DPS convocation consists of just imagine a mega church service without the collection plate (that has already been passed around the city council). All employees are required to attend this Amway style meeting to hear the latest indoctrination by the wizard behind the curtain. All the bright and shiny faces attend clutching their “bible” (DPS employee manual). Their eager eyes look longing towards the stage as they await the words of the “chosen”.
This year the meeting topped all the previous ones. Not only would the captive audience be mesmerized by the words of the exalted leaders but a new twist was added. In addition they would be showered with the words of two success stories in the form of two graduates of Danville Public Schools. So who would these honored quests be? Out of all the many graduates which ones would be chosen?
In a page right out of Saturday Night Live the special quests were a school board member and the son of a school board member! How self serving can one organization become? How many times can they pat themselves on the back? It must be a real strain getting your arm in a position like that. How condescending can one organization get?
Thousands of graduates with much more meaningful success stories could have been chosen but they resort to their own little clique. But should we expect any less?
The tenor of their “party” was diminished somewhat with news from the state that the eternally troubled alternative school (what are they calling it now?) had failed so miserably that it is in trouble of being taken over by the state. Despite numerous revivals, changes in administrations, restructuring of classes, changes in focus, it still is what it has always been, a miserable failure. So what to do next? I’m sure their will be another name change. This is what they usually do to try to reinvent a school. A rose by any other name….. Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome? If that was true the school should be a mental hospital or did they already try that route?
So the new year starts and the same old tired ideas are being recycled as a new step forward. Well guess what? Your can repackage crap and its still crap. Until the school board is replaced and the top administration replaced their will be no improvements. It is time the citizens in Danville said enough is enough. Cut off the head of the snake and let it whither and die. Replace it with a board and administration that are not out for themselves and know how to take responsibility. Then and only then can the employees of DPS attend a convocation that may have some real meaning.