Ken Hinton to meet with concerned parents
According to the Journal Star, D150’s Ken Hinton will meet with a group of outspoken parents opposed to cutting art and science programs with the shortening of the primary school day by 45 minutes. That’s great news, except, as usual, it appears that he’s the one who will be doing most of the talking and has no interest in actually listening to their concerns.
He seemed to kinda talk in circles, so I’ll rephrase what I think he was trying to say: “I’d be happy to meet with Ms.Vespa and other concerned parents now that the vote has been made. I am not sure if I will be able to persuade them, but I am quite a charming guy, and we always do what’s best for the children.
Even if I can’t persuade them, it really doesn’t matter because we’re not going to do what the public wants anyway. We never have in the past, so I ask, why start now? The role of a good administrator is to remain consistent and I plan on being consistently stubborn.
If they continue to be a thorn in my side I’ll dangle a carrot in front of them in the form of the promise that this is only a one year test and this could be revisited next year. That should appease them. What I won’t tell them is that next year it will be nearly impossible to bring back the 45 minutes of lost school time because money won’t be budgeted to cover lengthening of the school day and hiring extra teachers.”
May 16th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Why is he meeting with parents if he has no plans to even consider change?
May 16th, 2008 at 10:43 am
[…] PeoriaIllinoisan puts words in Hinton’s mouth: Even if I can’t persuade them, it really doesn’t matter because we’re not going to do what the public wants anyway. We never have in the past, so I ask, why start now? The role of a good administrator is to remain consistent and I plan on being consistently stubborn. […]
May 16th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Uh oh, my butt is about to district 150. Aaah, I always feel better after I district150. Especially after eating beans.
Ahem, I couldn’t resist… On a more mature note, Ms. Vespa has my respect for doing something about it. She’s probably making the complacent majority feel guilty and annoyed, and will more than likely take some criticism for being a do-gooder or a “Marge Simpson,” but Ms. Vespa, just ignore it, they’re just trying to make themselves feel less guilty. Keep doin yo thang, you have my respect.
On a more ranty note.. cut the school day short by 45 minutes. Damn, has any other school system in America done anything like that? District 150, we’ve all heard about your mediocrity for years, but you’re setting new ground. Congrats on leading the pack, and on coming up with new ideas and breaking new ground. That’s definately thinking outside the box… the shitty side.
OK, I’m done.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:10 am
May 16th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Shoot, you can’t embed videos in the comments. Go here: http://www.youtube.com/v/ooR_Bh_MEqA&hl
May 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Isn’t it illegal to shorten the school day 45 minutes a day? Has the union tried to fight it? If not, some legal action should be filed to prevent this action!
May 16th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Swish!
PeoriaIllinoisan: 3
District 150: 0
May 16th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
trackback - http://peoriarocks.blogspot.com/2008/05/d150-and-beat-goes-on.html
May 17th, 2008 at 7:28 am
That’s more like a shameless plug than a traceback, but considering the seriousness of this topic and my personal frustration with District 150 singlehandedly trying to destroy the City of Peoria, I’ll let it slide.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:34 am
PI, I’ll fess up. I honestly don’t know what a trackback is… I just figured it was a relevant cross post.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Spot on!! The only thing you missed is that the King will have his way no matter how many heads he has to chop off to get it. He will have his own way regardless. And the BOE - they’ve been drinking out of the same cup of “King Kool-Aid” too long. It’s time for them all to go . . .
May 19th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I was talking with my cousins who both teach in WI and they commented on the fact that children learn more in the early hours of the day. Both said they prefer to have time in the middle of the day for prep work as you never know how the day is going to go.
All I can say is Catholic school is looking pretty good for next year! Or a move across the river.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:45 am
[…] PeoriaIllinoisan puts words in Hinton’s mouth: Even if I can’t persuade them, it really doesn’t matter because we’re not going to do what the public wants anyway. We never have in the past, so I ask, why start now? The role of a good administrator is to remain consistent and I plan on being consistently stubborn. […]