What a pain!

MoCo’s school board Vice Prez Pat O’Neill has a strong message for uncooperative parents in the county: No PIAs, or pain-in-the-ass, parents are allowed.

The issue of overly combative parents has long bubbled under the surface in the state’s largest school system. Those same parents, according to school officials, do more harm than good, because their endless pursuit of information takes time away from moving forward with the education of all students.

Those assertions were always whispered, and never said on-the-record. That is, until Tuesday.

It was during a school board meeting that day that the tension finally reached the surface. The board was discussing language in a policy to require schools to provide opportunities for “a broad range of stakeholders” to be a part of their improvement teams, which are made up of parents who recommend ways for a school to be better.

Some parents feel like they’re excluded from the process, but there’s a good reason for that, said O’Neill, a former improvement team member.

“I’m not aware of groups being excluded,” she told her board colleagues. “I am aware that if I was a principal working on this, I might not pick the PIAs, the pain-in-the-ass people in the school, to be at the table. They may only be representing their own views and not the greater interests of the school.”

O’Neill’s comment, which evoked chuckles in the board room, was immediately posted on various Web blogs.

On Thursday, O’Neill said her comments weren’t directed at any parents in particular, “but if it hit a nerve, then maybe some of them felt identified. If the shoe fits, wear it.”

— Marcus Moore

Feel free to raise your children as you like. Feel free to cuss all you want.
In our home we have made a different choice.
Our elected leaders should be setting the example that reflects how our local school administrators behave.
Board members telling principals it is OK to discriminate gives principals permission to exclude parents for any reason – any reason.
I don’t support that type of school system.
You are free to disagree and support a school system where principals can bully and exclude parents – and flat out ignore the “seven keys”.

Oh please! Take the sick out of your as…oh wait, your rear end. Don’t want to offend you.

Well then you would LOVE our Superintendent! He calls our kids “cream of the crap”!

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0708/536671.html

Sorry, we don’t talk to each other this way in our house, and I don’t want my children being spoken to this way by the adults in charge of their education. The Board of Education and Superintendent model the behavior that they expect from MCPS school staff. And thanks to their lead, parents get excluded from participation and shut out of their local schools with the blessing of the Board and Superintendent.

Here’s part of an article on creativity
“Embrace your inner grouch”,
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227072.500-embrace-your-inner-grouch.html

“Surprisingly, people who were dissatisfied and willing to pipe up were found to be the most creative (Academy of Management Journal, vol 44, p 682). “It was very striking,” says Zhou, “and counter-intuitive.”"

“She points out that disgruntled employees are often discouraged from voicing complaints, so their valuable insights are stifled. The study found that the creativity of whiners could only be harnessed with the help of supportive colleagues who listened to and channelled their discontent. “Top managers really need to rethink how to do things,” she says.”

You can read the seven other suggestions for being more creative at
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227072.400-eight-ways-to-boost-your-creativity.html