Feedback for May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019

5:00 AM

Parting thoughts

Re: Jennifer Cheatham resigns (5/8/2019): Jennifer Cheatham said that district challenges are “absolutely not the reason why I’m leaving.” Nonsense, Ms. Cheatham! I don’t believe a word of that statement.

— Steve Witherspoon,via isthmus.com

Focus [the superintendent} search on what will work, not what makes you feel good. Though it defies nearly every Madison endeavor, desperate times call for results-oriented (not feel good-focused) measures; the most important “box” prospective applicants check should be “Fitness for the position.”

One of the questions prospective applicants should be asked is: ‘’Which 10 books do YOU believe every MMSD student should read before graduating...and why.” I’m hoping, but not hopeful, that Madison’s search for a horse will not result in its hiring a camel.

— Paul W. Schlecht,via isthmus.com

Ali Muldrow is right. The real story is Cheatham going to Harvard. Why? Because those who cannot do, teach. Let her spout her theoretical BS in seminars while Madison does the hard work of educating a very racially and socio-economically diverse demographic, while traversing the treacherous waters that have become the MMSD (race, behavior, etc.).

— David Bushwood Cohen,via Facebook

Re: “Jennifer Cheatham resigning as Madison school superintendent” (5/7/2019): Harvard can have her! Pretty much all she’s fit for is lecturing from an ivory tower about privilege and white fragility.

Cheatham has repeatedly shown she has an agenda that has nothing to do with helping all students learn in a welcoming and safe environment.

I hope her departure leads to a better time for ALL children in our district. Our district is broken (partially due to her tunnel vision) and her agenda was not serving to help it whatsoever.

And, keep a lookout: If the next superintendent starts blocking parents of MMSD students on social media we’re all in trouble. #cheatedbycheatham

— Noelle Ambrose,via Facebook

Comments (2)

Comment Feed

. . . And, sadly, more rotten years to come

The greatest problem facing the MMSD is the inequity in educational outcomes usually measured comparing the achievement of black children to the achievement of white children. The inferential leap that this difference is due to "racism" on the part of the teachers is both ludicrous and ultimately destructive. There are many reasons why black children struggle in school, become discouraged, and act out -- reasons of which our wet-behind-the-ears school board members are clearly unaware. It is much easier for them and the MMSD administration under Jennifer Cheatham to jump to the knee-jerk and empty headed conclusion that everything is due to the racist attitudes of the teachers. What rubbish! Instead of gassing away about "black excellence" the district actually needs to do something about it -- to engage in the serious work of closing gaps in literacy and language skills that are strikingly evident before children enter kindergarten. Instead of adopting a hands-off approach regarding discipline, MMSD should make an extra effort to help children from disadvantaged or culturally different backgrounds learn to discipline themselves. Remember, discipline is about learning and is not the same thing as punishment - there has been far too much focus on punishment as a form of control and retaliation. What we need instead is to front-load our efforts to teach children how to settle down, how to work when they don't feel like it, how to keep up the effort when the task is hard and how to self-encourage. Our schools need a discipline plan that is based on behavioral science and that school staff can understand - not the current 70+ pages of messy policy-speak that has never gotten off the ground.
But continuing on the current path of excessive permissiveness and misdirected blame is going to have the unintended consequence of increasing the disparities in achievement and will likely foster a heightening in negative racist attitudes. If black children continue to have higher dropout rates and embarrassingly low levels of college readiness, how employable will they be in the future? At present, black unemployment in Wisconsin is higher than the national average for black people. Black unemployment and poverty are several times higher than the corresponding rates for white people. The world of work is a lot less forgiving than the MMSD. Blaming the teachers and making excuses will not change this situation. But it may have another unintended consequence. The teachers with the most experience won't quit but they will take early retirement. The seasoned teachers in mid-career will either leave the profession or take jobs elsewhere. The MMSD will have to increasingly rely on younger and less experienced teachers who don't know what they are getting themselves into. They will last a few years - probably 5 years or less - and then they too shall leave. We are on the wrong course. We need a 180 degree change. We are better and smarter than this.

Peter A. Williamson more than 5 years ago

rotten year

So if I'm reading Ms Muldrow and her supporters correctly misbehavior, lack of respect, and a lack of self discipline are actually embedded cultural conditions and calling attention to them is a form of oppression?
I am wondering if people who take this position are familiar with the term enabling. As in, enabling these students for future failure in a larger world in which all of these factors will be necessary for success. School is a place for learning, not just academic learning but also learning to inculcate those character traits that will ensure engagement and success in later life.

chris gargan more than 5 years ago