Today was report card conference for Clyde.  He got an A and a B in the two classes that he gets graded on and progress on the sections that he gets measured on.  I am quite proud of him.  The teachers all had the same thing to say:

He’s a wonderful child.
He loves school.
He is so happy.
He is so bright.
He is so stubborn!!!!!!!!!

Not unlike his mother, if the kid is not interested in doing something, you have a very difficult time getting him to fall in line.  You can ask, beg, cry, coerce, and until that child decides he is ready to do what is asked of him….good luck to you.

Tree…apple.

I never question where he gets his traits from, at least until its time to watch football.  He is a mini me with a penis.  The childhood curse that all of our parents threw upon us: I hope you have kids just like you!  My mother’s worked.  It worked quite well.

I am just as stubborn, except I have 29 years on the kid so I win via experience.

My stubborn streak in the workplace is not always a good look.  I’ve been called uppity by many because I get an idea in my head about how things should be and will not deviate from the plan.

I know when people think I am uppity, so I am able to recognize the shade when it is tossed at other people.

Former Philadelphia Public Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman

I used an older picture of her because I prefer her look with her natural hair, but it is Arlene all the same.

Arlene was forced out of her position by the current Mayor Michael Nutter because her leadership did not meet the vision he had for the school district.  Perfectly fine, that is his right to put in leaders who closely fit his vision for the city.

The problem is…there are many families in the city of Philadelphia, and observers who are not residents who have issues with how Dr. Ackerman exited her position.

First because her contract was ended early, she was entitled to a buy out.  She received about $905,000 on paper in the severance settlement. 40% of that goes to pay Uncle Sam, she will not get another $130,000 or so until a few years later.  She walked away with about $413,00. It sounds like a good deal, I think that most of my constant readers would be okay if someone plopped 400,000 in their bank account.

There was outrage though at the financial settlement though when it was announced to the public.  There was grumbling that a combination of public money and private donations went to this woman in the form of almost a million dollars.  How dare she accept that much money when the Philadelphia School System is so strapped for cash?
The simple answer…..she earned it.

It was a negotiated contract, and she allowed herself to be bought out of it. She was entitled to even MORE money, but she left the finances of her final award year with the school district so that it could fund more charter schools for the district.

I doubt I would have been that generous, but then again I am violently opposed to charter schools.

I don’t see nothin wrong…….

Until you look at what the latest outrage from the populace is against Dr. Ackerman.

You see, Dr. Ackerman filed for unemployment compensation benefits.

Apparently she was not supposed to according to all of the angry birds in the city of Philadelphia.

I was unaware that if you worked, and were forced out of your position, and you qualify under the law of the state for benefits that it is a crime to apply for those benefits.

I do not recall similar outrage when Paul Vallas walked away from the school district with a 6 figure settlement, after he decimated our school system and the number of charter schools and schools for profit exploded.

Paul Vallas did actual damage to the school district and our ability to educate our children.  This is a picture of Paul though:

Doesn’t look much like Arlene Ackerman does he?

I don’t want to think that the anger towards Dr. Ackerman is about her being an accomplished Black woman…but nothing else makes much sense.

Below is a portion of the statement announcing the separation of Dr. Ackerman.  It was joint statement issued by Dr. Ackerman, Mayor Nutter, and the School Reform Head:

“We see tangible evidence of the progress the District has made toward that goal in just three short years under Dr. Ackerman’s leadership. Dr. Ackerman and her team earned praise from President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan for an intervention approach aimed at turning around the District’s struggling schools under the Empowerment, Renaissance and Promise Academy initiatives. Dr. Ackerman did not shy away from taking on the tough issues that had been neglected for decades such as rightsizing the District through a five-year master facilities plan aimed at better utilizing our resources and implementing new accountability measures for staff. And Dr. Ackerman demonstrated real results: three years of gains in test scores; a 29% decline in violent incidents; 7% gains in the six-year graduation rates; and lastly, Parent University where more than 40,000 parents took courses throughout the past three years.

If she’s done a good job, why should she not be compensated for that good job?

Again, I would prefer to channel my inner Herman Cain and say that the times have changed.  The thing about racism though is that until you’ve experienced it you can’t see the subtle versions of it, nor is it truly tangible to you.

It is simpler to think that the populace is upset because the district is underfunded.  It is much more likely that the anger directed at Dr. Ackerman is similar to the anger directed at President Obama, or me when I head out to Bloomingdale’s wearing my Walmart sweatsuit.

It may no longer be obvious but it is certainly there.

It looks like – at least on the surface that the uppity negress who dared file for unemployment needs to be checked.

I would like to be wrong though.